Children And Perfection

Κάκεῖνο, ὅπερ ἔφης, συνήγορον εὑρίσκω τῶν πρώην γραφέντων σοι, μὴ παιδία γίνεσθαι ταῖς φρεσὶν, ἀλλὰ τῇ κακίᾳ νηπιάζειν, ταῖς δὲ φρεσὶ τελειοῦσθαι, τοῦ πανσόφου γράψαντος Παύλου. Οὐ γὰρ ἔστιν, οὐκ ἔστι μὴ ἀποσμήξαντας τὴν κακίαν, καὶ νηπιάσαντας πρὸς ἀγνείαν, ἢ φρεσὶ τελειωθῆναι, ἢ εἰς ἄνδρα τέλειον εργάτην ἀνεπαίσχυντον ἀναβῆναι. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΥΜΒ', Ἰσιδωρῳ Διακονῳ Source: Migne 78.425b

That, which as you say, I set down among the things recently written to you, does not mean that we should be like children in our minds, but that we should be childlike in wickedness while perfecting the mind. Unless we are cleansed of all wickedness it is not possible that we shall regain a childlike purity and chastity, so that we might achieve perfection of mind and be lifted up to the blameless work of the perfect man. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 442, To Isidore The Deacon

Taking Wives

Oὕτως εἶπεν Kύριος ὁ θεὸς Ισραηλ ἐπὶ τὴν ἀποικίαν ἣν ἀπῴκισα ἀπὸ Ιερουσαλημ οἰκοδομήσατε οἴκους καὶ κατοικήσατε καὶ φυτεύσατε παραδείσους καὶ φάγετε τοὺς καρποὺς αὐτῶν, καὶ λάβετε γυναῖkας.. Τί δέ ἐστι τὸ λαθεῖν γυναῖkας; Ἐδήλωτεν ὁ περὶ τῆς σοφίας εἰπών Ταύτὴν ἐζήτησα Κύμην ἀγαγέσθαι ἐμαυτῷ, καὶ ἐραστὴς ἐγενόμην τοῦ κάλλους αὐτῆς. Δεῖ ταύτης ἐρᾷν, ὡς ἐν Παροιμίαις Σολομὼν εἰσηγήτατο, φἡσας Ἑράσθητι αὑτῆς, καὶ τηρήσει σε καὶ χαράχωσον αὐτὴν, καὶ ὑψώσει σε. Καὶ ἄλλας ὦ νόει παρὰ τὴν σοφίαν γυναῖκας, τὰς λοιπὰς ἀρττάς, Οὕτω γὰρ ἐξέσται πολλὰς γυναῖκας λαξεῖν ἐξ ὧν δεῖ τεχνοποιεῖν. ἀπὸ σοφίας λόγον σοφίας, ὡς ἂν καὶ ἄλλους οἰχοδομήσῃς" ἀπὸ σωφροσύνης ἔργα σωφροσύνης, ἵνα σώφρονας ποιήσῃς βίῳ χαὶ λόγῳ" ἀπὸ ὀικαιοσύντς ἔργα διχαιοσύνης ἐν κοινωνί καὶ συναλλάγμασι" ἀλλὰ καὶ δικαίους διδάσκων τεχνοποιῆσεις ἀπὸ δικαιοσύνης. Υἱοὺς δὲ ποιήσεις ἀπὸ τῶν υἱῶν καὶ θυγατέρας" υἱοὺς μὲν τὰ θεῖα νοῆματὰ χαὶ τὰ δόγματα, θυγατέρας δὲ τὰς πράξεῖς. Ὠριγένης, Ἐκλογαι Εἰς Ἱερεμαιν Source: Migne PG 13.577a-b

Thus says the Lord God of Israel to all those gone into exile from Jerusalem, build houses and dwell in them and plant gardens and eat their fruits, and take wives... 1 But what is it to take a wife? He makes it clear who speaks of wisdom saying, 'I sought to take this bride for myself, and I was made a lover of beauty.' 2 And it is indeed needful to love her, as Solomon teaches us in Proverbs with these words, 'You shall love her and she will guard you, and with a ditch dug about her she will exalt you.' 3 Yet let it be understood that there are other wives apart from wisdom, the other virtues. So it is permitted to take many wives, from which children should be produced. Wise speech is born from wisdom, so that you may edify others. Prudent works are born from prudence, by which you may make others prudent in life and words. Just works in civil life and agreements are born from justice, and in teaching others to be just you will produce children from justice. Indeed you will produce sons and daughters, sons who are holy thoughts and teaching, and daughters who are deeds. Origen, Commentary On Jeremiah, Fragment 1 Jerem 29.4-5 2 Wisdom 8.2 3 Prov 4.6

Pride And Punishment

In illa hora accesserunt discipuli ad Iesum dicentes quis putas maior est in regno caelorum... Quia solverat Christus tributum pro solo Petro, indignati alii et putantes Petrum praeferri, quaeritur igitur quis sit major in regno coelorum? volens superbiam eorum contundere, proponit exemplum humilitatis, ne alii aliis velint praeferri. Et ideo statuit in medio puerum, ut innocentiam parvuli, quam ex natura habebat, et industria et virtute imitentur. Multi dicunt illum parvulum fuisse sanctum Martialem Lemovicensem. Multi etiam hoc credunt dictum esse de seipso, qui puer erat malitia et non aetate, et verus humilis, qui non venit ministrari, sed ministrare. Littera sic legitur: Amen dico vobis, nisi conversi fueritis, etc., ab hac elatione et indignatione, in qua nunc estis, et efficiamini ita innocentes et humiles per virtutem, sicut parvuli sunt per aetatem, non intrabitis in regnum coelorum. Quicunque autem humiliaverit se, etc. Quandoquidem aliter non intratur, ergo quicunque humiliaverit se, sicut parvulus iste, qui videns pulchram mulierem, non delectatur, qui non aliud cogitat, et aliud loquitur, intrabit in regnum coelorum. Et quanto humilior erit, tanto major efficietur. Et qui susceperit unum parvulum, etc. Quia apostoli de ambitione invicem murmurantes, per exemplum suum infirmos et simplices ad ambitionem possent incitare, ideo praecipit suscipi infirmos, et scandalizantibus eos poenam comminatur. Et hoc est: Qui susceperit unum parvulum talem in nomine meo, attrahendo ad eruditionem dulciter juxta Apostolum, Suscipite infirmos, me suscipit; vel qui susceperit hospitando, benefaciendo, me suscipit. Qui autem scandalizaverit unum de pusillis istis... Vel male instruendo, vel malo exemplo, sicut vos modo facitis qui malo exemplo ambitionis vestrae alios corrumpitis, expedit ei ut suspendatur mola asinaria in collo ejus, et demergatur, etc. Ad litteram sic exponitur: Haec poena turpissima erat, et erat criminosorum, quasi dicat: Expedit, hoc est, melius esset ei tam turpissima morte perire, quam fratrem scandalizare, quia fratrem scandalizare, peccatum est, mori vero non est peccatum. Vel aliter: Saeculares homines dicuntur esse dediti rotae hujus mundi, juxta illud: In circuitu impii ambulant. Per molam ergo asinariam saecularis vitae circuitus, et labor exprimitur: et per profundum maris, extrema damnatio designatur. Dicit ergo: Melius esset alicui contemplativo, ut volveret molam asinorum, id est saecularis esset, volvens sollicitudinem mundanorum, et per hoc demergeretur in profundum inferni, quam esset contemplativus scandalizans fratres suos, levior enim poena esset sibi in inferno. Vel aliter: In Scripturis asinus figuram gentilis populi designat, qui est alligatus ad molam, hoc est, ad lapideos deos, quos caecis oculis frequenti errore circumeunt, et sic in profundum inferni demergitur. Ac si diceret: Melius esset ei quod esset gentilis, ligatus ad lapideos deos, et periret in inferno, quam esset fidelis scandalizans fratres suos. Melius est enim non cognoscere veritatem, quam post agnitam retro ire. Anselmus Laudunensis, Enarrationes In Matthaeum, Caput XVIII Source: Migne PL 162.1405d-1406d

At that time the disciples came to Jesus saying, 'Who is greater in the kingdom of heaven... 1 Because Christ paid the tribute for Peter only, 2 the others were indignant thinking that Peter was preferred, and thus they asked 'Who is greater in the kingdom of heaven?' Wishing to stamp down on their pride, He proposed an example of humility, lest any should wish to be preferred to others. And therefore he placed a child in their midst, that by effort and virtue they might imitate the innocence of a child, which it has by nature,  Many say that this child was Saint Martial of Limoges. 3 And many think that He said this of Himself, who was a child in wickedness and not age, and truly humble, and who did not come to be served but to serve. 4 According to the letter it then reads: 'Amen, I say to you, unless you turn...' from pride and the indignation in which you now are, and make yourselves innocent and humble through virtue, being as little children in age, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. For whoever humbles himself... In no other way shall it be entered, therefore whoever humbles himself like this child, who seeing the beauty of a woman does not lust, and does not think one thing and say another, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. And the more humble he is, the much more he shall achieve it. And he who receives one of these little ones... Because the Apostles are murmuring against one another on account of their ambition, so their example is liable to stir up ambition in the weak and simple, and therefore He commands them to take up the weak, and He warns them of the punishment of those who cause scandal. And this is: 'He who receives one of these little ones in my name,'  to draw them to understanding,  and according to the Apostle, 'Receive the weak,' 5 'He receives me.' Or whoever shall receive for the sake of hospitality and good deeds, he receives me. For he who shall scandalise one of these little ones... By bad teaching, or by bad example, as you do in your way who with the bad example of your ambition corrupt others, it is better for him to be have a millstone of an ass hung around his neck and to be drowned in the sea. According to the letter this is the most wretched and most infamous punishment, as if He said: 'It is better, that is, it is preferable, to perish by such a wretched death than to scandalise a brother, because to scandalise a brother is a sin, but it is not a sin to die.' Or otherwise: Worldly men are said to be bound to the wheel of this world, according to which: 'In a circle the impious walk.' 7 Therefore the millstone of the ass signifies the circle of the worldly life and its toil, and the depth of the sea signifies final damnation. Thus He says that it is better for any contemplative to circle around with the millstone of the ass, that is, to be worldly and circle around in worldly cares, and because of this to be drowned in the depths of hell, than to be a contemplative who is a cause of scandal to his brothers, for the punishment in hell shall be lighter for the former. Or otherwise: In the Scriptures the ass signifies the Gentile people, who are bound to the millstone, that is, to their gods of stone, about whom they circle around in endless error with blinded eyes, and so in the depths of hell they are drowned. As if He said: 'Better it would be for him to be a Gentile, bound to gods of stone and destroyed in hell, than to be one of the faithful who causes scandal to his brothers. Better it is not to know the truth, that to turn back after knowing it.' Anselm of Laon, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 18 1 Mt 18.1 2 Mt 17.24-27 3 Later forgeries claimed that this 3rd century Gaulish bishop was an original follower of Christ. 4 Mt 20. 8 5 1 Thes 5.14 6 Ps 11.9

Martyrs And Innocents

Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini, Deus Dominus, et illuxit nobis. Benedictum nomen gloriae ejus, quod est sanctum. Neque enim otiose venit quod ex Maria natum est Sanctum: sed copiose diffundit et nomen et gratiam sanctitatis. Nimirum inde Stephanus sanctus, inde Joannes sanctus, inde sancti etiam Innocentes. Utili proinde dispositione triplex ista solemnitas Natale Domimi comitatur: ut non modo inter continuas solemnitates devotio continua perseveret, sed et fructus Dominicae Nativitatis exinde nobis velut ex quadam prosecutione evidentius innotescat. Siquidem advertere est in his tribus solemnitatibus triplicem quamdam speciem sanctitatis; nec facile praeter haec tria sanctorum genera, quartum aliud posse arbitror in hominibus reperiri. Habemus in beato Stephano martyrii simul et opus et voluntatem: habemus solam voluntatem in beato Joanne; solum in beatis Innocentibus opus. Biberunt omnes hi calicem salutaris, aut corpore simul et spiritu, aut solo spiritu, aut corpore solo. Calicem quidem meum bibetis, ait Dominus Jacobo et Joanni: nec dubium quin de passionis calice loqueretur. Demum cum Petro diceret: Sequere me, evidenter eum ad imitationem suae provocans passionis; conversus ille vidit discipulum, quem diligebat Jesus, sequentem, non tam gressu corporis, quam promptae devotionis affectu. Et bibit ergo Joannes calicem salutaris, et secutus est Dominum sicut Petrus, etsi non omni modo sicut Petrus. Quod enim sic mansit, ut non etiam passione corporea Dominum sequeretur, divini fuit consilii, sicut ipse ait: Sic eum volo manere donec veniam; ac si dicat: Vult quidem et ipse sequi, sed ego sic eum volo manere. An vero de Innocentium coronis quis dubitet? Ille pro Christo trucidatos infantes dubitet inter martyres coronari, qui regeneratos in Christo non credit inter adoptionis filios numerari. Alioquin quando coaevos sibi pueros puer ille qui natus est nobis, non contra nos, propter se pateretur occidi, quod utique solo nutu poterat prohibere, nisi melius aliquid eis provideret? ut, quemadmodum caeteris infantibus tunc quidem circumcisio, nunc vero baptismus sine ullo propriae voluntatis usu sufficit ad salutem, sic nihilominus pro eo susceptum martyrium illis sufficeret ad sanctitatem. Si quaeris eorum apud Deum merita, ut coronarentur, quaere et apud Herodem crimina, ut trucidarentur. An forte minor Christi pietas, quam Herodis impietas, ut ille quidem potuerit innoxios neci dare, Christus non potuerit propter se occisos coronare? Sit ergo Stephanus martyr apud homines, cujus voluntaria passio evidenter apparuit in eo vel maxime, quod in ipso mortis articulo tam pro persequentibus, quam pro se ipso sollicitudinem gereret ampliorem, vinceretque in eo sensum corporeae passionis internae compassionis affectus; ut illorum magis scelera, quam sua vulnera plangeret. Sit Joannes apud angelos martyr, quibus, tanquam spiritualibus creaturis, spiritualia devotionis ejus signa certius innotuerunt. Caeterum hi sunt plane martyres tui, Deus, ut in quibus nec homo nec angelus meritum invenit, singularis tuae praerogativa gratiae evidentius commendetur. Ex ore infantium et lactentium perfecisti laudem. Gloria in excelsis Deo, angeli dicunt, et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis. Magna quidem, sed, audeo dicere, necdum perfecta laus, donec veniat qui dicat: Sinite parvulos ad me venire, quia talium est regnum coelorum; et pax hominibus, etiam sine voluntatis usu in sacramento pietatis. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermones De Tempore, In Nativitate Sanctorum Innocentium, De quatuor continuis solemnitatibus, scilicet Nativitatis Domini, ac SS. Stephani, Joannis, et Innocentium. Source: Migne PL 183.129c-131c

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord and He enlightened us. 1 Blessed the name of His glory which is holy. 2 For He who was born holy from Mary did not come uselessly, but He abundantly spreads forth the name and grace of holiness. Certainly because of this Stephen was holy, and likewise John and the Holy Innocents. Usefully, then, these three solemnities are arranged in association with the birth of the Lord, so that there is no interruption of the devotion of the successive feasts, but rather the fruit of the Lord's Nativity becomes known more openly to us by this accompaniment. Certainly with these three solemnities we are directed to a sort of threefold type of holiness, and besides these three types of holy people, I cannot think how it is found among men. In the blessed Stephen we have the work and the will of martyrdom. In the blessed John we have the will alone. In the Holy Innocents the work alone. All these drink of the cup of salvation, either in both the body and the spirit, or in the spirit alone, or in the body alone. 'You shall certainly drink of my cup,' says the Lord to James and John, and doubtless he spoke of the cup for the passion. 3 Then He said to Peter, 'Follow me,' evidently calling him to the imitation of His own passion. And he turned and saw the Apostle who Christ loved following them, not so much with the steps of the body, but with the love of eager devotion. And therefore John drinks of the cup of salvation and is following the Lord like Peter, even if not in every way like Peter, because he remained and did not follow the Lord in corporeal passion, but in Divine counsel, just as He said: 'If I wish him to remain until I come.' 4 As if He said, 'Surely he wishes to follow, but I wish him to remain.' And who doubts the Innocents have their crown? He who doubts that the infants slaughtered for Christ are crowned among the martyrs, does not believe those regenerated in Christ are numbered among His adopted sons. Besides, would that boy born for us, not against us, allow them to be slain who were of the same age as He, which with a nod He was able to prohibit, unless He foresaw something better for them? So it was with those other infants then circumcised, as now baptised, that without anything of their own will, it is enough for salvation, and likewise with a few who have suffered martyrdom for Him it has been enough for holiness. If you wonder at the merit of these children with God, so that they were crowned, seek with Herod the crimes for which they were slain. Or perhaps the piety of Christ is inferior to the impiety of Herod, so that he was able to slay the innocent but Christ was not able to crown those slain because of Him? Let it be, therefore, that Stephen was a martyr with men, he whose will and passion openly appeared in him, and especially at the point of death, when he showed such great care for his persecutors and not for himself, and he conquered in himself the feeling of bodily suffering with the love of eternal compassion. 5 So he lamented more for their crimes than for his own wounds. Then let John be a martyr with the angels, by which, as with spiritual creatures, with his spiritual devotion he made known His signs more certainly. And the others are certainly your martyrs, Lord, those in whom man nor angel finds merit, each one by your singular prerogative of grace being more evidently commended. From the mouths of infants and babes you perfect your praise. 6 'Glory to God the Highest,' the angels say, 'and peace on earth to men of good will.' 7 Certainly it is great, but if I might dare say it, your praise is not yet perfected, until He comes who says: 'Allow the children to come to me, because theirs is the kingdom of heaven.' 8 And it is peace for men even without the use of the will in the mystery of piety. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons for the Year, On the Holy Innocents, On The Four Successive Solemnities, the Nativity of the Lord, and Saint Stephen, and Saint John and the Holy Innocents. 1 Ps 117.26-27 2 Dan 3.52 3 Mt 20.23 4 Jn 21.25 21.22 5 Acts 7.58-59 6 Ps 8.3 7 Lk 2.14 8 Mt 19.14

Angels And Little Ones

Videte ne contemnatis unum ex his pusillis: dico enim vobis quia Angeli eorum in caelis semper vident faciem Patris mei qui in caelis est. Removet hic contemptum, qui est ex fastu superbiae Praelatorum. Et subjugit duas rationes: unam dignitatis, et alteram utilitatis. Dicit ergo: Videte ne contemnatis... Vae qui spernis, nonne et ipse sperneris?.... cum fatigatus desieris contemnere, contemneris. Unum, nedum plures, ex his pusillis. Nolite timere, pusillus grex, quia complacuit Patri vestro dare vobis regnum. Pusillum et magnum ipse fecit, et aequaliter est illi cura de omnibus. Dico enim vobis... Ratio est sumpta a dignitate: quia haec est dignitas animarum, quod quilibet habet Angelum custodem deputatum. Angeli eorum.. Eis deputati. Nonne omnes sunt administratorii spiritus, in ministerium missi propter eos qui haereditatem capient salutis? Nemo est adjutor meus in omnibus his, nisi Michael, princeps vester. Angelus ejus est. In caelis... Per metonymiam, hoc est, in caelestibus per contemplationem, exeuntes quocumque currant per ministerium: semper enim assistunt intimis per contemplationem. Ego sum Raphael Angelus, unus ex septem qui adstamus ante Dominum. Hoc dixit, quando ministravit in terra circa Tobiam. Semper vident... Et ideo eadem aeternitate quae Deus est, mutabilitatem naturae transcendunt. Faciem... Praesentiam. Patris... Qui vult exhibere omne quod bonum est. Mei... Per consubstantialitatem, quia substantiam vident. Qui in caelis est. Ubi exhibet claritatem vitae beatae. Millia millium ministrabant ei. Numquid est numerus militum ejus? et super quem non surgit lumen illius? Sanctus Albertus Magnus, Commentarium in Mattheum, Caput XVIII Source: Here, p321

See that you do not scorn one of these little ones. I say to you that their angels in heaven always look on the face of my Father who is in heaven. 1 Here He removes the contempt which comes from the haughtiness of proud office holders. And He adds two reasons, one of dignity and another of utility. Therefore He says: 'See that you do not scorn...' 'Woe to you who scorn, is it not that you shall be scorned?... When you weary and cease to condemn, you shall be condemned.' 2 'One...' not more, '...of these little ones.' 'Do not fear, little flock, because it has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom.' 3 'He made the little and the great, and He has equal care for all of them.' 4 'I say to you...' The reason for this dignity is given, because this is the dignity of a soul, that it may have an angel appointed for its guardian. 'Their angels...' Which are appointed to them. 'Is it not that they are all ministering spirits, sent to serve on account of those who shall seize on the inheritance of salvation?' 5 'No one is my helper in this but Michael, your prince.' 6 'It is his angel.' 7 'In heaven...' By metonymy, that is, they are among heavenly things by means of contemplation even when they go out, hurrying wherever they will to minister, for they are always stood amid profoundest things by contemplation. 'I am the angel Raphael, one of seven who stand before the Lord.' Which he said who ministered to Tobias on the earth. 8 'They always see...' And thus with the same eternity which is God they transcend changeable nature. 'The face...' That is, in the presence of. 'Of the Father...' He who wishes to show everything which is good. 'My...' This by consubstantiality, because they see the substance. 'Who is in heaven.' Where He shows the splendour of the blessed life. 'A thousand, thousand ministered to him.' 9 'Is there a number to his armies? Is there one on whom His light does not rise?' 10 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Matthew, Chapter 18 1 Mt 18.10 2 Isaiah 33.1 3 Lk 12.32 4. Wisd 6.8 5 Heb 1.14 6 Dan 10.21 7 Act 12.15 8 Tob 12.15 9 Dan 7.10 10 Job 25.3

Fathers And Harmony

Et ibant filii ejus, et faciebant convivia, etc. Quum pro divisione haereditariae sortis frequenter soleat esse zelus et aemulatio inter fratres; patet prudentia Job, qui sic vitam instituerat filiorum, ut se mutua caritate diligerent, et sese ad amica convivia per vicissitudines invitarent. Bonum siquidem est et jucundum, habitare fratres in unum. Quia quanto gratior est in conspectu Dei et hominum amor fraternus, tanto enormius est, si inter eos dissensiones et schismata nutriantur. Propter hoc dicit apostolus: Obsecro vos fratres, per nomen Domini nostri Jesu Christi, ut idipsum sentiatis, et non sint in vobis schismata. Erat itaque plena concordia inter filios et filias ad patrem, ut secundum apostolum servarent invicem unitatem spiritus in vinculo pacis. Si enim a patre filii dissentirent, jam non esset inter eos caritas, quia non observarent patri debitam caritatem. Avelle a Sole Solis radium, et non lucet: praecide rivum a fonte, et arescit : abscinde ramum ab arbore, et siccatur; et membrum a corpore, et putrescit. Separa filium a devotione paterna, et jam non est illius, sed frater et collega illorum, quibus dicitur: Vos ex patre diabolo estis. In principio Isaiae legitur: Filios enutrivi et exaltavi: ipsi autem spreverunt me. Ultimum autem verbum ejusdem prophetae est: Vermis eorum non morietur, et ignis eorum non extinguetur. In veteri testamento praecipiebatur Agnus Paschalis comedi in una domo, ut in habitantibus consonantia morum et affectuum notaretur identitas, sicut scriptum est: Qui inhabitare facit unius moris in domo. Idipsum itaque beato Job ad aliarum virtutum cumulum accedebat, quod filios suos nutrierat in amore, et vagos adolescentiae motus sub censura cohibuerat disciplinae. Heli enim, licet in aliis justus esset, ideo visus est reprobatus a Domino, sellaque in qua sedebat eversa, collo fracto, cecidit, quia filios non correxit. Dilexisti, dicit ei Dominus, magis filios tuos quam me. Periit igitur, quia circa filiorum correctionem negligens fuit. Uxor etiam ejus abortiendo mortua est, et filii ejus Ophni et Phinees sunt occisi. Caveant patres spirituales, qui in cathedris sedent, ne ob negligentiam ipsorum sui filli occidantur, ne destruatur Ecclesia, ne in ipsorum confusionem et perniciem cathedrae subvertantur. Petrus Blenensis, Compendium In Job: Ad Henericum II Illustrissimum Anglorum Regem, Caput I Source: Migne PL 207.801b-802a

And his sons would hold feasts... 1 Among whom, because of the division of inheritance by which there is frequently accustomed to be jealously and envy among brothers, the prudence of Job is made manifest, who so established the life of his sons, that they love one another with mutual love, and through vicissitudes invite one another to friendly feasts. 'How good and joyful it is for brothers to dwell in unity.' 2 Because as much as the fraternal love of men is pleasing in the sight of God, so much more the worse it is if dissensions and divisions are nourished among them. On account of which the Apostle says: 'I beg you brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you agree, so that there are no schisms among you.' 3 Thus there was complete harmony among the sons and daughters for the father, so that according to the Apostle they serve one another in a spirit of unity and in the bond of peace. 4 For if sons are in dispute with the father, there is no love among them, because they do not observe the wanted love of the father. Take the rays from the sun, and it does not shine. Cut off the river from the spring and it dries up. Cut the branch from the tree and it withers, the limb from the body and it rots. Separate a son from paternal devotion, and now he is not his, but a brother and associate of them to whom it is said: 'You are of your father the devil.' 5 In the beginning of Isaiah it reads: 'Sons I nourished and lifted up, but they spurned me.' At the end the words of the same prophet say: 'Their worm will not die, and their fire shall not be quenched.' 6 In the Old Testament it was commanded that the Paschal Lamb should be eaten in one house, that in the harmonious conduct of the dwellers might be noted the same affection, as it has been written: 'He who makes to dwell of one mind in the house.' 7 Therefore the height of virtues approached the blessed Job through others, because he nourished his sons in love, and restrained the unstable variances of youth beneath the censure of discipline. But Eli, who was righteous among other men, was seen to be reproved by the Lord and the seat in which he sat was overturned, and his neck was broken, because he did not correct his sons. 'You have loved your sons more than me,' the Lord said to him. Therefore he perished because he neglected to correct his sons. Indeed his wife died in giving birth, and his sons Ophni and Phinehas were slain. 8 Let spiritual fathers beware, who sit in their seats, lest because of negligence they slay their own sons, lest they destroy the Church, lest in their disorder and wickedness their seats are overthrown. Peter of Blois, Compendium On Job, To Henry II Most Illustrious King Of The English, Chapter 1 1 Job 1.4 2 Ps 132.1 3 1 Cor 1.10 4 Ephes 4.3 5 Jn 8.44 6 Isaiah 1.2, 66.24 7 Ps 67.7 8 1 Kings 1-4

Sins And Fathers

Deus servabit filiis illius dolorem patris, et cum reddiderit, tunc sciet. Scriptum novimus: Qui reddis peccata patrum in filios ac nepotes, in tertiam et quartam generationem. Et rursum scriptum est: Quid est quod inter vos parabolam vertitis in proverbium istud in terra Israel, dicentes: Patres comederunt uvam acerbam, et dentes filiorum obstupuerunt? Vivo ego, dicit Dominus Deus, si erit vobis ultra parabola haec in proverbium in Israel. Ecce omnes animae, meae sunt; ut anima patris, ita et anima filii, mea est. Anima quae peccaverit, ipsa morietur. In utraque igitur hac sententia dum dissimilis sensus invenitur, auditoris animus ut discretionis viam subtiliter requirat instruitur. Peccatum quippe originale a parentibus trahimus; et nisi per gratiam baptismatis solvamur, etiam parentum peccata portamus: quia unum adhuc videlicet cum illis sumus. Reddit ergo peccata parentum in filios, dum pro culpa parentis, ex originali peccato anima polluitur prolis. Et rursum non reddit parentum peccata in filios: quia cum ab originali culpa per baptismum liberamur, iam non parentum culpas, sed quas ipsi committimus, habemus. Quod tamen intelligi etiam aliter potest: quia quisquis pravi parentis iniquitatem imitatur, etiam ex eius delicto constringitur. Quisquis autem parentis iniquitatem non imitatur, nequaquam delicto illius gravatur. Unde fit, ut iniquus filius iniqui patris non solum sua quae addidit, sed etiam patris peccata persolvat; cum vitiis patris, quibus iratum Dominum non ignorat, etiam suam adhuc malitiam adiungere non formidat. Et iustum est, ut qui sub districto iudice vias parentis iniqui non timet imitari, cogatur in vita praesenti etiam culpas parentis iniqui persolvere. Unde et illic dictum est: Anima patris mea est, et anima filii mea est. Anima quae peccaverit, ipsa morietur: quia in carne nonnunquam filii etiam ex patris peccato perimuntur. Deleto autem originali peccato, ex parentum nequitia in anima non tenentur. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, Moralia, sive Expositio in Job, Liber XV, Caput LI Source: Migne PL 75.1110b-1111a

God shall store up the grief of the father for his sons. And when He repays, then he shall know it. 1 We know that it is written, 'He who visits the sins of the fathers upon the sons, and upon the sons of the sons, to the third and fourth generation.' 2 And again it is written, 'Why is it that among you that you turn a parable into a proverb in the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge?' As I live, says the Lord, you shall not have this for a proverb any more in Israel. Behold all souls, they are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sins, it shall die.' 3 Thus in both these sentences, while a dissimilar meaning is found, the mind of the hearer is instructed that it should carefully search out the way of discernment. Since we derive original sin from our parents, unless we are freed from it by the grace of Baptism, we bear the sins of our parents with us, seeing that we are obviously still one with them. Thus 'He visits the sins of the fathers to the sons,' when because of the guilt of the parent, the soul of the offspring is defiled with original sin. But again He does not 'return the sins of the fathers to the sons,' because when we are freed from original guilt by Baptism, we no longer are in possession of the sins of our fathers, but only those which we have committed ourselves. And this may be understood in yet another way: that anybody who imitates the wickedness of a depraved father is also bound up in his sin. But whoever does not imitate the wickedness of a father, is not burdened with his sin. Whence it happens that the wicked son of a wicked father not only adds to his own sins but even pays for the sins of the father, which he is not ignorant that the Lord has been vexed by and yet he does not fear to add to wickedness. And it is right that he who is beneath the gaze of the judge and who does not fear to imitate the ways of a wicked parent, is compelled to pay in this present life for the evils of a parent. Whence it is said: 'The soul of the father is mine, and the soul of the son is mine. The soul that sins, it shall die,' because by the sin of the father sons are sometimes destroyed in the flesh. But with original sin removed, they are not bound in the soul by the wickedness of the parents. Saint Gregory the Great, Moralia, or Commentary on Job, Book 15, Chap 51 1 Job 21.19 2 Exod 34.7 3 Ezek 18.2-4

Wisdom And Little Ones

Et sapientiam parvulis praestitereunt non utique superbis, nec tumida se elatione jactantibus, sed parvulis. Parvuli autem sunt humiles et innocentes, sicut Apostolus monet: Nolite pueri effici sensibus, sed malitia parvuli estote. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus XVIII Source: Migne PL 70.140c

'And giving wisdom to little ones,' 1 Not to the proud, not to those who boast, puffed up in their own elation, but to little ones. For little ones are humble and innocent, and as the Apostle exhorts, 'Do not be children in your minds, but be little ones in evil.' 2 Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, Psalm 18 1 Ps 18.8 2 1 Cor 14.20

Caring For Beasts And Men

Ὁ μὲν ἐλεήμων ἀνὴρ μακροθυμεῖ, ἐν παντί τε μεριμνῶντι ἔνεστι σοφία· ἐμπεσεῖται γὰρ μέριμνα ἀνδρὶ νοήμονι, φροντιστής τε ὢν ζωὴν ζητήσει· καὶ ὁ ζητῶν τὸν θεὸν εὑρήσει γνῶσιν μετὰ δικαιοσύνης, οἱ δὲ ὀρθῶς ζητήσαντες αὐτὸν εἰρήνην εὗρον. Ἐμοὶ δὲ δοκεῖ καὶ Πυθαγόρας τὸ ἥμερον τὸ περὶ τὰ ἄλογα ζῷα παρὰ τοῦ νόμου εἰληφέναι. Αὐτίκα τῶν γεννωμένων κατά τε τὰς ποίμνας κατά τε τὰ αἰπόλια καὶ βουκόλια τῆς παραχρῆμα ἀπολαύσεως, μηδὲ ἐπὶ προφάσει θυσιῶν λαμβάνοντας, ἀπέχεσθαι διηγόρευσεν, ἐκγόνων τε ἕνεκα καὶ μητέρων, εἰς ἡμερότητα τὸν ἄνθρωπον κάτωθεν ἀπὸ τῶν ἀλόγων ζῴων ἀνατρέφων. Χάρισαι γοῦν, φησί, τῇ μητρὶ τὸ ἔκγονον κἂν ἑπτὰ τὰς πρώτας ἡμέρας. Εἰ γὰρ μηδὲν ἀναιτίως γίνεται, γάλα δὲ ἐπομβρεῖται ταῖς τετοκυίαις εἰς διατροφὴν τῶν ἐκγόνων, ὁ ἀποσπῶν τῆς τοῦ γάλακτος οἰκονομίας τὸ τεχθὲν ἀτιμάζει τὴν φύσιν. Δυσωπείσθωσαν οὖν Ἕλληνες καὶ εἴ τις ἕτερός ἐστι τοῦ νόμου κατατρέχων, εἰ ὃ μὲν καὶ ἐπ´ ἀλόγων ζῴων χρηστεύεται, οἳ δὲ καὶ τὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐκτιθέασιν ἔκγονα, καίτοι μακρόθεν καὶ προφητικῶς ἀνακόπτοντος αὐτῶν τὴν ἀγριότητα τοῦ νόμου διὰ τῆς προειρημένης ἐντολῆς. Εἰ γὰρ τῶν ἀλόγων τὰ ἔκγονα διαζεύγνυσθαι τῆς τεκούσης πρὸ τῆς γαλακτουχίας ἀπαγορεύει, πολὺ πλέον ἐπ´ ἀνθρώπων τὴν ὠμὴν καὶ ἀτιθάσευτον προθεραπεύει γνώμην, ἵν´ εἰ καὶ τῆς φύσεως, μαθήσεως γοῦν μὴ καταφρονῶσιν. Ἐρίφων μὲν γὰρ καὶ ἀρνῶν ἐμφορεῖσθαι ἐπιτέτραπται, καί τις ἴσως ἀπολογία τῷ διαζεύξαντι τῆς τεκούσης τὸ ἔκγονον· ἡ δὲ τοῦ παιδίου ἔκθεσις τίνα τὴν αἰτίαν ἔχει; ἐχρῆν γὰρ μηδὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν γῆμαι τῷ μηδὲ παιδοποιεῖσθαι γλιχομένῳ ἢ δι´ ἡδονῆς ἀκρασίαν παιδοκτόνον γεγονέναι. Πάλιν αὖ ὁ χρηστὸς νόμος ἀπαγορεύει ἡμέρᾳ τῇ αὐτῇ συγκαταθύειν ἔκγονον καὶ μητέρα. Ἐντεῦθεν καὶ Ῥωμαῖοι, εἰ καί τις ἔγκυος καταδικασθείη τὴν ἐπὶ θανάτῳ, οὐ πρότερον ἐῶσιν ὑποσχεῖν τὴν τιμωρίαν πρὶν ἢ ἐκτεκεῖν. Ἄντικρυς γοῦν καὶ ὅσα τῶν ζῴων κυοφορεῖ, ὁ νόμος οὐκ ἐπιτρέπει ἄχρις ἂν ἀποτέκῃ σφαγιάζεσθαι, μακρόθεν ἐπισχὼν τὴν εὐχέρειαν τῶν εἰς ἄνθρωπον ἀδικούντων. Οὕτως ἄχρι καὶ τῶν ἀλόγων ζῴων τὸ ἐπιεικὲς ἀπέτεινεν, ἵνα ἐν τοῖς ἀνομογενέσιν ἀσκήσαντες πολλῇ τινι περιουσίᾳ φιλανθρωπίας ἐν τοῖς ὁμογενέσι χρησώμεθα. Οἳ δὲ καὶ περιλακτίζοντες τὰς γαστέρας πρὸ τῆς ἀποτέξεως ζῴων τινῶν, ἵνα δὴ γάλακτι ἀνακεκραμένην σάρκα θοινάζωνται, τάφον τῶν κυοφορουμένων τὴν εἰς γένεσιν κτισθεῖσαν μήτραν πεποιήκασι, διαρρήδην τοῦ νομοθέτου κελεύοντος, Ἀλλ´ οὐδὲ ἑψήσεις ἄρνα ἐν γάλακτι μητρὸς αὐτοῦ· μὴ γὰρ γινέσθω ἡ τοῦ ζῶντος τροφὴ ἥδυσμα τοῦ ἀναιρεθέντος ζῴου, φησίν ἡ σάρξ, μηδὲ τὸ τῆς ζωῆς αἴτιον συνεργὸν τῇ τοῦ σώματος καταναλώσει γινέσθω. Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς, Στρωματεων, Λογος Β' Κεφ' ΙΗ' Source: Migne PG 8.1033a-35b

'The merciful man is long-suffering, in every one who has care there is wisdom. For to the thoughtful man care will come, and, given to thought, he will seek life, and he who seeks God shall find knowledge with righteousness, and they who have sought Him rightly have found peace.' 1 And it seems to me that Pythagoras took his gentleness for irrational creatures from the Law. For example, he prohibited the immediate use of the young of sheep and goats and cattle at the instant of their birth, not permitting it even for the sake of sacrifice, both on account of the offspring and the mothers, thus by use of irrational creatures educating man to gentleness for what is inferior. 'Allow, then,' he says, 'the offspring to be with the mother for the first seven days.' For if nothing happens without a cause, and at birth milk is for the sustenance of the offspring, he that removes that which has been born for the supply of milk, dishonours nature. Let the Greeks, then, be ashamed, and whoever else disputes the Law, since it is kind to irrational creatures. And moreover they expose even the offspring of men, though long ago and prophetically the Law thrust back their savagery in the above-mentioned commandment. For if it prohibits the offspring of irrational creatures to be taken from the mother before suckling, much more in the case of men does it set down beforehand a remedy for brutishness and savagery of disposition, so that even if they scorn nature, they might not do teaching. For they are permitted to make use of kids and lambs, and perhaps there might be some reason for removing the offspring from the mother, but what cause is there for the exposure of a child? For the man who dislikes siring children has no right to marry in the first place, he who then by eagerness for pleasure becomes a child killer. Again, the kindly law prohibits the slaying of the offspring and the mother together on the same day. Thence also the Romans, if some pregnant woman were condemned to death, do not allow her to suffer the punishment until she gives birth. The Law too expressly prohibits the killing of animals who are pregnant until they have given birth, at a remove restraining the inclination of man to do wrong to man. Thus it extended its clemency to irrational creatures, that from the exercise of kindness for creatures of different species, we might practice it with much greater abundance for those of the same species. Those also who kick the bellies of certain animals before birth that they might feast on flesh mixed with milk, make a grave of the womb that was created for the birth of the child, even though the Law expressly commands, 'But neither shall you boil a lamb in the milk of its mother.' 2 For it should not be that the nourishment of the living animal should become relish for that which has been deprived of life, and that which is the cause of life should not be an assistant in the consumption of the body. Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata, Book 2, Chapter 18 1 Prov 9.11,14.23,17.12 2 Deut 14.21

The Testimony Of Death

Illud quoque egregium, quod ait Scriptura: Ante mortem non laudaveris quemquam. Unusquisque enim in novissimis suis cognoscitur, et in filiis suis aestimatur, si bene filios suos instituit, et disciplinis competentibus erudivit. Siquidem ad negligentiam patris refertur dissolutio filiorum. Tum quia unusquisque, quandiu vivit, obnoxius est lapsui, nec senectus immunis a crimine; ideo legis quia Abraham mortuus est in senectute bona, eo quod in bonitate propositi sui permansit. Mors igitur vitae est testimonium. Nam si laudari ante gubernator non potest, quam in portum navem deduxerit, quomodo laudabis hominem, priusquam in stationem mortis successerit? Et ipse sui est gubernator, et ipse vitae hujus jactatur profundo, quandiu in salo isto, tandiu inter naufragia. Dux ipse nisi confecto praelio non sumit lauream, nec miles arma deponit, nec stipendii mercedem adipiscitur, nisi hoste superato. Mors igitur stipendiorum plenitudo, summa mercedis, gratia missionis est. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Bono Mortis, Caput VIII Source: Migne PL 14.556b-c

That is also excellent which Scripture says: 'You shall not praise any man before his death.' 1 Any man is known by his last days, and he is judged by his offspring, if he has raised good sons, and educated them sufficiently in studies. Indeed wayward children are referred to the negligence of the father. So as anyone while he lives is liable to fall, nor is an old man immune from error,  thus you read that 'Abraham died in good old age.' 2 by which it is asserted that he remained in a good state. Death, therefore, is a testimony of life. For if it is not possible to praise a pilot before he leads the ship into port, how will you praise a man before he has arrived at the resting place of death? He is the pilot of his own life cast out on the deep, where there will be plain sailing and where there will be shipwrecks. A general, unless he is victorious in battle, does not receive laurels, nor does a soldier put down his arms or obtain the reward of his pay until the enemy is conquered. Therefore death is the fullness of pay, the consummation of reward, the joy of discharge after service. Saint Ambrose, On the Good of Death, Chapter 8 1 Sirach 11.28 2 Gen 25.8

A Father's Teaching

Ὡσεὶ τροφοφορήσαι ἄνθρωπος... Ἀκύλας. Ὡσεὶ ἄραι τροφὸς τὸν υἱον ἐβάστασεν, ἡρμήνευσεν. Ὠριγένης δὲ ἐν ταῖς εἰς τὸν Ἰερεμίαν ὁμιλίαις φησί· Συμπεριηνέχθη καὶ συγκατέβη ὑμῖν, τὴν ἡμετέραν ἀσθένειαν οἰκειούμενος· ὡς διδάσκλαος συμψελλίζων παιδίοις, ὡς πατὴρ ἰδίους τιθηνούμενος παῖδας, καὶ τοὺς τρόπους αὐτῶν ὑποδυόμενος, καὶ κατὰ μικρὸν ἄγων αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ τὰ τελειότερα καὶ ὑψηλότερα. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Δευτερονόμιον, Κεφ Α', Ἐκλογή Source: Migne PG 17.24a

As a man carries a child... 1 Aquila's translation has: 'As a father bears the son he carries.' And Origen in his homilies on Jeremiah says: 'He adapts and condescends to us, accommodating Himself to our weakness, as a teacher will speak slowly to little boys, and as a father deals gently with his children, and adopting their conduct, little by little He leads them to things which are more perfect and higher. ' Origen, On Deuteronomy, Fragment 1 Deut 1.31

Raising Children

Ὥσπερ διὰ τῆς τεκνογονίας σωθήσεται ἡ τῶν γονέων ξυνωρὶς, εἰ τῆς τῶν τέκνων ἐπιμελοῖτο ζωῆς· οὕτω καὶ ἐνατίων πειραθήσεται, εἰ ἀμελοίη τῆς ἐκεῖνων φυλακῆς. Γελοῖον γὰρ ἂν εἴη τοὺς μὲν πώλους εὐθὺς ἐκ νεότητος πολλῆς ἀξιοῦσθαι φροντίδπς, καὶ βαδίσματος ἕνεκα καὶ βρώσεως καὶ πόσεως καὶ πάσης εὐθύτητος· ὦν καὶ ἡ τιμὴ εὔωνος, καὶ ἡ χρῆσις σύμμετρος, καὶ ἡ φθορὰ σύντομος· ἀνθρώπους δὲ, οὔς ὁ Θεὸς διέπλασε, καὶ εἰκόνι οἰκείᾳ ἐτίμησε, καὶ πάλιν ἰν' ἑαυτῷ ἀνεπλάσατο καταλιμπάνειν ἀγερώχους, καὶ ὡς ἂν τύχῃ φέρεσθαι πρὸςἂ βούλονται, καὶ ἡ εὐόλισθος νεότης οὐ νοεῖ. Εἰ ταῦτα σοι φαίνεται χρήσιμα, πάσῃ φυλακῇ σεμνότητος ἀσφαλίζου τὰ τέκνα σου. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΤΙϚ Καλλιμακῳ Κομητι Source: Migne PG 78.365b

As by the procreation of children salvation follows for the parents, if they have care for the life of their children, in the same manner the opposite befalls if they neglect such care and guarding. It would be ridiculous that one should hold to every correctness with young horses, in their walking, and then with their food and water, expending great care and anxiety from their first age, for which, however, there is but trivial reward, and common use, and swiftly it perishes, but then one should neglect men to wildness and shamelessness, men whom God shapes and adorns with his own image, and again which He in Himself renews and restores, so that they blindly go to whatever they wish, with no undertsanding of the errors of youth. If these things seem profitable to you, firmly adorn your children with every guard. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 316, To Count Callimachos

Children And The Last Hour

'Pueri, novissima hora est.' In hac lectione pueros alloquitur; ut festinent crescere, quia novissima hora est. Aetas corporis non est in voluntate. Ita nullus secundum carnem crescit quando vult; sicut nullus quando vult nascitur: ubi autem nativitas in voluntate est, et crementum in voluntate est. Nemo ex aqua et Spiritu nascitur nisi volens. Ergo si vult, crescit: si vult, decrescit. Quid est crescere? Proficere. Quid est decrescere? Deficere. Quisquis novit natum se esse, audiat quia puer est et infans; avide inhiet uberibus matris, et cito crescit. Est autem mater Ecclesia; et ubera eius duo Testamenta Scripturarum divinarum. Hinc sugatur lac omnium sacramentorum temporaliter pro aeterna salute nostra gestorum, ut nutritus atque roboratus perveniat ad manducandum cibum, quod est: In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum. Lac nostrum Christus humilis est; cibus noster, idem ipse Christus aequalis Patri. Lacte te nutrit, ut pane pascat: nam corde contingere Iesum spiritaliter, hoc est cognoscere quia aequalis est Patri. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis,In Evangelium Ionannis, Tractatus III Source: Migne PL 35.1997-1998

Children, it is the last hour. 1 In this passage he addresses the children that they may make haste to grow, because 'it is the last hour.' The age of the body is not determined by one's own will. Thus no one grows in respect of the flesh when he will, just as no one is born when he will, but where being born is a matter of the will, the growth also is with the will. No one is 'born of water and the Spirit,' 2 unless he wills it. Therefore if he will, he increases; if he will, he decreases. What is it to grow? To advance. What is it to decrease? To go back. Whoever knows that he is born, let him hear that he is a child; let him eagerly cling to the breasts of his mother, and he grows quickly. The mother is the Church, and her breasts are the two Testaments of the Divine Scriptures. Hence let him suck the milk of all the the mysteries which were done in time for our eternal salvation, that nourished and strengthened he may attain to the eating of solid food, which is, 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.' 3 Our milk is Christ who is humble, our solid food the same Christ equal with the Father. With milk He nourishes you, that He may feed you with bread, for to touch Christ spiritually in the heart is to know that He is equal with the Father. Saint Augustine of Hippo, from the Third Tractate on the First Letter of John 1 1 Jn 2.18 2 Jn 3.5 3 Jn 1.1

Death And The Greater Life

Cum essem parvulus, quasi parvulus loquebar, quasi parvulus sapiebam, quasi parvulus cogitabam: at ubi factus sum vir, ea quae parvuli erant destruxi. Hoc dicit, quia exeuntes sancti de hoc mundo, plus necesse est inveniant, quam nunc putant, sicut Joannes Apstolus de Salvatore dixit: Tunc videbimus illum, sicut est. In hac ergo vita parvuli sumus ad comparationem futurae vitae; quia sicut vita haec imperfecta est, ita et scientia. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Corinthios Primam, Caput XIII Source: Migne PL 17.253a-b

When I was a little child, I spoke like a little child, I knew as a little child, I thought as a little child, and when I become a man, the things of the child passed away. 1 He says this because those who are holy, going out from this world, will inevitably encounter more than they now think, as the Apostle John said about the Saviour: 'Then we shall see Him as He is.' 2 Therefore in this life we are children compared to the future life, because as this life is flawed, so is its knowledge. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The First Letter of Saint Paul To The Corinthians, Chapter 13 1 1 Cor 13.11 2 1 Jn 3.2

Goods And Marriage

Copulatio itaque maris et feminae generandi causa bonum est naturale nuptiarum. Sed isto bono male utitur, qui bestialiter utitur, ut sit eius intentio in voluptate libidinis, non in voluntate propaginis. Quamquam in nonnullis animalibus rationis expertibus, sicut in plerisque alitibus, et coniugiorum quaedam quasi confoederatio custoditur et socialis nidificandi sollertia vicissimque ovorum dispertita tempora fovendorum et nutriendorum opera alterna pullorum magis eas videri faciunt agere, cum coeunt, negotium substituendi generis quam explendae libidinis. Quorum duorum illud est in pecore simile homnis, hoc in homine simile pecoris. Verum quod dixi ad naturam pertinere nuptiarum, ut mas et femina generandi societate iungantur et ita invicem non fraudent, sicut omnis societas fraudulentum socium naturaliter non vult, hoc tamen evidens bonum cum infideles habent, quia infideliter utuntur, in malum peccatumque convertunt. Eo modo ergo et illam concupiscentiam carnis, qua caro concupiscit adversus spiritum, in usum iustitiae convertunt fidelium nuptiae. Habent quippe intentionem generandi regenerandos, ut qui ex eis saeculi filii nascuntur in Dei filios renascantur. Quapropter qui non hac intentione, hac voluntate, hoc fine generant filios, ut eos ex membris hominis primi in membra transferant Christi, sed infideles parentes de infideli prole gloriantur; etiamsi tanta sint observantia, ut secundum matrimoniales tabulas nonnisi liberorum procreandorum causa concumbant, non est in eis vera pudicitia coniugalis. Cum enim virtus sit pudicitia, cui vitium contrarium est impudicitia, omnesque virtutes etiam quae per corpus operantur in animo habitent, quomodo vera ratione pudicum corpus adseritur, quando a vero Deo ipse animus fornicatur? Quam fornicationem sanctus ille Psalmus accusat, ubi dicit: Ecce enim qui longe se faciunt a te peribunt; perdidisti omnem qui fornicatur abs te, vera igitur pudicitia, sive coniugalis sive vidualis sive virginalis, dicenda non est, nisi quae verae fidei mancipatur. Cum enim recto iudicio praeferatur nuptiis sacrata virginitas, quis non sobria mente christianus etiam non univiras christianas catholicas nuptas, non solum vestalibus, sed etiam haereticis virginibus anteponat? Tantum valet fides, de qua dicit Apostolus: Omne quod non est ex fide peccatum est; et de qua item scriptum est ad Hebraeos: Sine fide impossibile est placere Deo. Sanctus Augustinus Hippoensis, De Nuptiis et Concupisentia, Liber I Source: Migne PL 44.415-416

Thus the union of male and female for the purpose of procreation is the natural good of marriage. But he uses this good badly who uses it bestially, so that his intention is in the pleasure of lust, not in the wish for offspring. Nevertheless in not a few animals without reason, as in most birds, there is both maintained a certain confederation of pairs and a social combination of skill in nest building, and their sharing between one another of the time for cherishing their eggs and in the work of feeding their young give them the appearance of acting, when they come together, for the purpose of the continuance of their kind rather than satisfying lust. Of these two, the one is the likeness of man in a beast, the other the likeness of the beast in man. The truth which I ascribed to the nature of marriage, that the male and the female are bound together as associates for procreation, and thus do not deceive other, as all society has a natural dislike of a deceitful associate, although even faithless men possess this evident good of nature, yet, since they use it without faith, they only turn it to evil and sin. In like manner, therefore, that carnal concupiscence by which 'the flesh lusts against the Spirit.' 1 is converted to the use of righteousness by the marriages of the faithful. For they hold to the intention of generating to be regenerated, that those who are born of them as children of the world may be reborn as sons of God. Whence those who do not beget children with this intention, this will, this end, that they be transferred from being members of the first man into members of Christ, but glory as unbelieving parents over unbelieving children, even if they observe such things as the matrimonial tablets set forth, not laying together but the purpose of the procreation of children, there is no true conjugal chastity in them. For as much as chastity is a virtue, whose opposing vice is unchastity, and as all the virtues, even those which operate through the body, have their place in the soul, how can the body be in any true sense be claimed to be chaste, when the soul itself fornicates apart from the true God? Which fornication the holy Psalmist denounces when he says: 'Behold, they who place themselves far from You shall perish; You have destroyed all who fornicate apart from you.' 2 Therefore it must not be said that there is no true chastity, whether conjugal, or of a widow, or of a virgin, unless it is given to the true faith. For though consecrated virginity is rightly preferred to marriage, yet what Christian in his sober mind would not prefer catholic Christian women who have even been married more than once, to not only vestals, but also to heretical virgins? So great is the benefit of faith, concerning which the Apostle says, 'Whatever is not of faith is sin;' 3 and concerning which it is written to the Hebrews, 'Without faith it is impossible to please God.' 4 Saint Augustine of Hippo, On Marriage and Concupiscence, Book 1 1 Galat 5.17 2 Ps 72.27 3 Rom 14.23 4 Heb 11.6

Great Before The Lord

Et erit magnus coram Domino... Non corporis hic, sed animae magnitudinem declaravit. Est coram Domino magnitudo animae, magnitudo virtutis: est etiam parvitas animae, et pueritia virtutis. Juxta enim animae et corporis numeramus aetates, non pro ratione temporis, sed pro qualitate virtutis; ut vir perfectus ille dicatur, qui careat errore pueritiae, et lubricum adolescnetiae animi maturtiate non sentiat: pusillus autem, qui nullum adhuc virtutis videatur habuisse processum. Unde illud in Hieremia, cum misereretur Dominus deflentis Ephraem, et peccata propria deprecantis: ' A juventute, inquit, mea delictus mihi filius Ephraem, puer in deliciis. Si enim non fuisset puer in deliciis numquam peccavisset. Et bene utrumque dixit, et in deliciis, et puerum; est enim puer, qui non peccat: Ecce puer meus, quem elegi. Per delicias itaque peccavit, qui ita erat informatus a Domino, ut nescius esset erroris, Ergo et si puer in deliciis non fuisset, et si virum perfectum virtutis processisset aetate, numquam lapsus fuisset; ut illi necesse esset veniam suorum petere delictorum, cum magis meritorum praemia sperare deberet. Quid etiam Dominus noster in Evangelio videtur exprimere, cum dicit: 'Nolite contemnere unum ex pusillis istis' Sed loco suo plura serventur. Ergo pusillus contrarius est magno. Et si, juxta Apostolum, parvulus sub elementis est: 'Cum enim essemus parvuli, sub elementis hujus mundi eramus': ergo magnus supra elementa mundi est. Erit itaque Johannes magnus non virtute corporis sed animae magnitudine. Denique non fines alicujus propagavit imperii, non triumphos aliquos bellici certaminis adoreis praeoptavit, sed quod est amplius, in deserto praedicens, delicias hominum corporisque lasciviam magna animi virtute depressit. Parvulus ergo in saeculo magnus in spiritu. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Evangelii secundum Lucam, Liber I Source: Migne PL 15.1546b-d

And he will be great before the Lord... 1 Here it is not the body but the soul that declared greatness. In the presence of the Lord greatness of soul, is greatness in virtue; littleness of soul is a puerility of virtue. We may reckon age by the soul or by the body, but not by calculation of time, but on account of the quality of virtue, so that a man is said to be perfect who is free from the errors of youth, who on account of maturity of soul does not know the unstable ways of youth. He is very little who appears not to have progressed in virtue. Whence in Jeremiah when the Lord comforts the weeping and praying Ephraem and pardons his sins: 'From his youth, He says, beloved to me, my son Ephraem, a child in pleasures.' 2 For if he were not a child in pleasures he would never have sinned. And well it speaks of both crimes and of youth, for there is the boy who does not sin, 'Behold my son, whom I have chosen.' 3 By pleasure, then, he erred, he who thus shaped by the Lord so that he not know error. So if a boy has never been in error, and if he has advanced to the age of the perfect man of virtue, never would he have fallen, so that he would have to beg forgiveness for sins, when rather he would hope to gain the reward of  merit. Which even our Lord in the Gospel seems to express when He says, 'Do not treat one of these little ones with contempt.' 4 But in its place let there be greater guarding. Therefore little is contrary to great. And if, according to the Apostle, a little boy is beneath the elements: 'When we were little ones we were beneath the elements of this world,' 5 so he who is great is above the elements of the world. Thus John will be great, not by bodily strength, but by greatness of soul. He did not push forward the frontiers of some empire, he did not desire some triumphs with the spoils of war, but, what is greater, preaching in the desert, he crushed down the human enjoyments and the desires of the flesh by the greatness and strength of his soul. Little, then, in the world, great in spirit Saint Ambrose, from the Commentary The Gospel of Luke, Book 1 1 Lk 1.17 2 Jerem 31.20 3 Isaiah 43.10 4 Mt 18.10 5 Galat 4.10

Man And Boy

Ερώτησις Θ' Τί δήποτε κομιδῇ νέῳ ὄντι τῷ Σαμουὴλ ὁ τῶν ὅλων ὢφθη Θεός; Εἰς ἔλεγχον τοῦ γεγρηρακότος ἀρχιερέως τὸ μειράκιον ἠξιώθη τῆς θείας ἐπιφανείας. Οὕτω γαρ ἤν ἄγαν νέος, ὡς τὴν περὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ διδασκαλίαν μηδέπω δύνασθαι δέξασθαι. Αὐτικα γοῦν ὁ Ἡλεὶ μετὰ τὴν τρίτην κλῆσιν συνεὶς ὡς ὁ Θεός ἐστιν ὁ καλῶν, περιτὸν μὲν εἰπεῖν, καὶ ὑπέλαβεν ὡς ὁ Θεός ἐστιν ὁ καλῶν· ἔφη δέ· Ἐὰν καλέσῃ σε ὁ καλῶν ἐρεῖς, Λάλει, Κύριέ μου ὅτι ἀκούει ὁ δοῦλος σου. Ἀλλ' ὅμως καὶ τὴν τοιαύτην ἡλικίαν τῆς πολιᾶς προτετίμηκεν ὁ Θεός· καὶ τὸν ὀκτὼ καὶ ἐνενήκοντα ἕτη βεβιωκότα, καὶ τεσσαράκοντα ἕτη ἀρχῆς ἀξιωθέντα διπλῆς, καὶ κριτὴς γὰρ ἦν, καὶ ἀρχιερεὺς καταλιπὼν, τῷ σμικροτάτῳ διειλέχθη παιδίῳ· διδάσκων ὅσῳ πολιᾶς ἀμείνων νεότης ἀρετῇ κοσμουμένη. Ὁ μέντοι Ἡλεὶ δῆλός ἐστιν οἰκείοις μὲν κοσμούμενος κατορθώμασι· διὰ δὲ τὴν τῶν παίδων πονηρίαν τῆς πανωλεθρίας τὴν ψῆφον δεξάμενος. Δηλοῖ δὲ αὐτοῦ τὴν εὐσένειαν καὶ τὰ ῥήματα. Πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ οὐκ ᾐσχύνθη πατακαλέσαι τὸν νέον μηνῦσαι τὰ θεόθεν ἀπαγγελθέντα· ἀλλὰ καὶ ὅρκοις αὐτὸν κατέδησε καὶ ἀραῖς, ὥστε μηδὲν ἀποκρύψαι τῶν δηλωθέντων. Εἶτα τὴν ἐξενεχθεῖσαν ψῆφον μαθὼν, τὴν ἀξιέπαινον ἀφῆκε φωνήν· Κύριος ἐστι, τὸ ἀρεστὸν ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ ποιήσει. Καὶ μέντοι καὶ τῶν υἱῶν τὴν σφαγὴν ἐγνωκὼς, οὐκ ἀγεννῶς ἢνεγκεν ὁ πατὴρ καὶ πρεσβύτης· τὴν δέ γε κιβωτὸν δορυάλωτον γεγενῆσθαι μαθὼν, κατέπεσε μὲν ἀπὸ τοῦ δίφρου, τῇ δὲ τῆς ἀθυμίας ὑπερβολῇ τοῦ βίου τὸ τέλος ἐδέξατο. Θεοδώρητος Ἐπίσκοπος Κύρρος, Εἰς Την Πρωτην Των Βασιλειων Source:Migne PG 80.129a-b

Question 9 Why was it that the God of all appeared to Samuel while he was yet so young? 1 For the reproof of the high priest who was old the youth was worthy of the Divine appearance. For he was yet very young and so not able to receive the teaching of God. And quickly Heli, after the third calling, understanding that it might be God who was calling, spoke with sense, and supposing that it might be God who was calling, said: 'If he calls you, who has called, say: Speak, my Lord, because your servant is listening.' Even with this said, God did pass over the years of the old man, scorning him who had lived ninety eight years, who for forty two years had been honoured with the office of magistrate, for he was a judge and high priest, and He spoke to a little boy, by that teaching how much more adorned with virtue might be youth than old age. And though it is clear that Heli was adorned with right deeds, on account of the depravity of his sons he received the sentence of death. But his words did show his piety. For firstly he did not blush to ask a youth about what had been spoken to him by God. And then he even constrained him with oaths and curses, that the boy reveal all clearly to him. Then when he had learnt the full extent of it, he gave voice to praise: 'It is the Lord, who shall do what is pleasing before Him.' Then learning of the slaughter of his sons, the father and old man was not carried off by such bereavement, but when he learnt that the ark had been seized by the enemy, then he fell from his seat, slain by the grave grief of his soul, receiving the end of his life. Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Questions On The First Book Of Kings 1 1 Kings 3.10-

Learning And Simplicity

Ὥσπερ οἱ τοῖς πρώτοις γράμμασι στοιχειούμενοι παῖδες, τῷ καθηγητῇ ἀτενίζουσι πρὸς ὅτερ ἂν τὴν γραφίδα ἀρμόσῃ, ἄσμενοι καὶ εὐπειθῶς τοὺς χαρακτῆρας δεχόμενοι· οὕτως καὶ τοὺς τῶν θείων φοιτητὰς ἔπεσθαι τοῖς τούτον διδασκάλοις, νηπιώδη ἀπλότητα, καὶ ἀνενδοίαστον συγκατάθεσιν ἔχοντας. Ἀπεκρύβη γὰρ, φησὶ, ταῦτα ὁ Κύριος ἀπὸ σοφῶν καὶ συνετῶν, καὶ ἀπεκαλύφθη νηπίοις. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΥΜ' Ἰσιδορῳ Διακονῳ Source: Migne PG 78.425b

As boys learning their first letters attend to their teacher so that their letters conform to his, and they are pleased and eager to receive the letters, so even should the learners of things Divine follow their teachers, in childlike simplicity, and with unshakeable harmony. For things which are hidden from the wise and prudent, as the Lord said, are revealed to little ones. 1 Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 440, To the Deacon Isidore 1 Mt 11.25

The Resurrection And Children

Magnum fratres et mirabile donum concessit vobis Deus, hunc Paschae salutarem diem, in quo resurgens Dominus resurrectionem praestitit universis; et de imis ad altiora conscendens, nos quoque ad superiora de inferioribus in suo corpore sublevavit. Sumus enim secundum Apostolum omnes Christiani corpus Christi et membra, resurgente igitur Christo omnia necessario cum eo sua viscera surrexerunt. Dum enim ille ab inferis transit ad superos, nos de morte transire fecit ad vitam. Pascha enim Hebraice transitus dicitur, vel profectus, scilicet quia per hoc mysterium de pejoribus ad meliora transitur. Bonus transitus est transire de peccatis ad justitiam, de vitiis ad virtutes, ad infantiam de senectute; infantiam autem dixerim, non aetatis, sed simplicitatis; habent enim et merita aetates suas, in occiduis enim prius constituti eramus senio peccatorum, resurgente Christo renovati sumus innocentia parvulorum. Habet et Christiana simplicitas infantiam suam; sicut enim infans nescit irasci, fraudare non novit, referire non audet; ita et Christianitatis infantia laedentibus non irascitur; spoliantibus non resistit, caedentibus non repugnat. Denqiue, sicut jussit Dominus, etiam orat pro inimicis, auferentibus tunicam relinquit et pallium, verberantibus maxillam praebet et alteram; nisi quod in hoc melior est Christi infantia quam naturae; illa enim peccare nescit, ista contemnit; ila per infirmitatem innoxia est; ista est innocens per virtutem. Atque ideo laudi magis ascribendum est, non tam malefacere non posse quam nolle. Ergo, sicut diximus, aetates quaedam sunt meritorum; nam et senectus morum invenitur in pueris, et innocentia infantum repetiur in senibus. Denique quod in junioribus senectus quaedam sit honestatis, dicit Propheta: Senectus enim venerabilis non diuturna, nec annorum numere computata; cani enim sunt sensus hominis. Ad apostolos autem jam seniores, et majores natu dicit Dominus: Nisi fueritis, et efficiamini sicut puer iste non intrabitis in regnum coelorum. Revocat igitur eos ad orignis suae fontem, et retrorsum ad infantiam redire compellt, scilicet, ut qui corpore fragili senuerant, innocentiae moribus renascantur, sicut ait Salvator: Nisi quis renatur fuerit ex aqua et Spriitu sancto, non intrabit in regnum Dei. Dicitur ergo apostolis: Nisi conversi fueritis, et efficiamini sicut puer iste. Non dicit sicut pueri isti, sed sicut puer iste; unum eligit, unum proponit. Videamus igitur quis ille tantus sit qui discipulis proponitur imitandus. Non hunc arbitror esse de plebe, non de publico, non de multitudine caeterorum, praecipue qui per apostolos universo mundo tribuit sanctitatis exemplum; non, inquam, hunc de publico esse arbitror, sed de coelo. Ipse est enim de coelo puer, de quo dicit Isaias propheta: Puer natus est nobis, filus datus est nobis. Ipse plane puer est, qui sicut innocens, cum malediceretur, non remaledixit; cum percuteretur, non repercussit; quin potius in ipsa passione pro suis oravit inimicis, dicens: Pater, dimitte eis; nesciunt enim quid faciunt. Ita simplicitatem, quam infantibus natura tribuit, Dominus misericordiae bonitate cumulabat. Iste ergo puer est, qui imitandus parvulis proponitur, et sequendus; nam ipse dicit: Tolle crucem tuam, et sequere me. Sanctus Maximus Taurinensis, Homilia LVIII, De Paschae Solemnitate IV Source: Migne PL 57.363c-366b

A great and wonderful gift God has given to us, this salutary day of the Pasch, in which the rising Lord set the resurrection before all, and with His rising from the depths to the heights, we are also lifted up from inferior to superior things in His body. For according to the Apostle we Christians are all members of the body of Christ, 1 and therefore, with Christ's rising, it must be that all the parts have arisen with Him. For while He passed from the depths to the heights, He makes us pass over from death to life. The Hebrew Pasch means 'a passing over', or 'a going forward', and so through this mystery we pass over from things worse to things better. A good passing over is to pass over from sin to righteousness, from vices to virtues, from old age to childhood; a childhood, I say, not of years, but of simplicity. Years have their merits, for before in our ways we were old in sin, but with the rising of Christ we are renewed in the innocence of little ones. Christian simplicity has its childhood, for as an infant does not know wrath, nor how to deceive, nor strikes back, so even the childhood of Christianity is not angered by blows, it does not resist thieves, it does not return the blows of those who assail. And then, as the Lord commands, we pray for our enemies, we give up our shirt and cloak to those who would carry them off, and we offer the other cheek to those who strike. Unless in this the childhood of Christ is better than that of nature, for the latter does not know how to sin, the former spurns it, the latter by weakness is harmless, the former by the strength of the virtues. And, therefore, more praise must be ascribed to that which does not wish to do evil than that which is incapable of doing it. Thus, as we have said, the years have their merits, for even an old age of conduct is found in children, and an innocence of infants in the old. And then in youths a certain old age may be noble, as the Prophet says: 'Venerable old age is not measured by length of time, nor the number of years, but by white hair is understanding for men.' 2 For the Apostles were all adults, and to those old by birth the Lord says: 'Unless you turn and become as this child, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.' 3 He thus recalls them to the fount of their origin, and He compels them to return to childhood, that they who age in the fragile body be renewed in the innocence of conduct, as the Saviour says: 'Unless a man is born of water and the Holy Spirit, he shall not enter the kingdom of God.' 4 And therefore it is said to the Apostles: 'Unless you turn and become as this child.' And He does not say 'like these children', but 'like this child'. He chooses one. He proposes one. Let us consider, then, who this might be who is proposed to the disciples that they should imitate. I do not think him to be from the common people, nor from the wider public, nor from other multitudes, especially since he through the Apostles was given as an example of holiness to the whole world. No, I say, he is not from the public, but from heaven. For He is that child from heaven of whom Isaiah says: 'A boy is born for us, a son is given to us' 5 This plainly is the boy, who is innocent, who when cursed, does not return the curse, when struck, does not return the blow, but rather in his suffering prays for enemies, saying: 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.' 6 Thus the simplicity which nature gives to infants, the Lord heaped up with the kindness of mercy. He, then, is the child, the little one who is proposed for imitation and for following, for He says: 'Take up your cross and follow me.' 7 Saint Maximus of Turin, from Homily 58, On The Paschal Solemnity 4 1 1 Cor 12.27 2 Wisd 4.8-9 3 Mt 18.3 4 Jn 3.3 5 Isaiah 9.6 6 Lk 23.34 7 Mt 16.24

Infants And Baptism

In extremum vero epistolae quaesisti quid eis respondendum sit, qui dilectionem tuam de parvulorum animabus requirunt, qui sine gratia baptismatis moriuntur, dicens: Si corpus originali tenetur culpa, unde anima quae a Deo datur rea erit, quae adhuc in actuali delicto corpori non consensit? Sed hac de re dulcissima mihi tua charitas sciat quia de origine animae inter sanctos patres requisitio non parva versata est. Sed utrum ipsa ab Adam descenderit an certe singulis detur, incertum remansit; eamque in hac vita insolubilem fassi sunt esse quaestionem. Gravis enim est quaestio, nec valet ab homine comprehendi. Quia, si de Adam substantia anima cum carne nascitur, cur non etiam cum carne moritur? Si vero cum carne non nascitur, cur in ea carne quae de Adam prolata est obligata peccatis tenetur? Sed cum hoc sit incertum, illud incertum non est, quia nisi sacri baptismatis gratia fuerit renatus homo, omnis anima originalis peccati vinculis est obstricta. Hinc enim scriptum est: Non est mundus in conspectu eius nec unius diei infans super terram. Hinc David ait: In iniquitatibus conceptus sum  peperit me mater mea. Hinc ipsa Veritas dicit: Nisi quis renatus fuerit ex aqua et Spiritu sancto, non intrabit in regnum coelorum. Hinc Paulus Apostolus ait: Sicut in Adam omnes moriuntur, ita et in Christo omnes vivificabuntur. Cur ergo infans qui nihil egit, in conspectu omnipotentis Dei non valet esse mundus? Cur Psalmista ex legitimo coniugio prolatus, in iniquitate conceptus est? Cur nisi qui mundatus aqua baptismatis fuerit, mundus non est? Cur in Adam omnis homo moritur, si originalis peccati vinculis non tenetur? Sed quia genus humanum in parente primo velut in radice putruit, ariditatem traxit in ramis; et inde omnis homo cum peccato nascitur, unde primus homo permanere noluit sine peccato. De his autem subtilius audaciusque loqui debueram; sed dum me et curarum tumultus premunt, et harum portitor ut laxari debuisset importunus exstitit, unde multa debui, pauca locutus sum. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, Registri Epistolarum, Liber IX, Epistula LII, Ad Secundinum

At the end of your letter, you ask what answer should be returned to those who question your love for the souls of little ones, those who die without baptism, saying, 'If the body is bound by the original fault, why is the soul by God found a guilty thing when it has yet to consent to actual error in the body?' But this matter which your dearest charity would know from me, concerning the origin of the soul, has been turned over often by the holy fathers. But whether it descends from Adam, or it is given to each one, remains uncertain; and in this life they have admitted it is an insoluble enquiry. Weighty indeed is the question and it is not possible for a man to resolve it. Because if from the substance of Adam the soul is born with the flesh, why indeed does it not die with the flesh? If, however, it is not born with the flesh, why in that flesh which is passed down from Adam does the chain of sin hold? But with this uncertain, yet this is not uncertain: that unless with the grace of holy baptism a man is renewed, every soul is bound with the chain of original sin. Whence it is written: 'There is nothing clean in His sight on the earth, not even a day old infant.' 1 And David says, 'I was conceived in iniquity and in fault my mother birthed me.' 2 And the Truth Himself says, 'Unless a man be reborn by water and the Holy Spirit he shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.' 3 And Paul says: 'As all die in Adam, so in Christ all shall live.' 4 How it is then that infants who have done nothing are not able to be clean in the sight of God? Why does the Psalmist who was brought forth in lawful marriage call himself conceived in iniquity? Why unless he who shall be cleansed by the water of baptism is not clean? Why in Adam do all die, if the chain of original sin does not bind? But because the human race has in its first parent, as it were, a rotten root, so the sickness spreads out into the branches. Concerning all this, one should speak more subtlety and more carefully, but we are pressed down by the cares of many troubles, such things I would rather be relieved of than to stand burdened by, whence for the many things I would say, I have said but a few. Saint Gregory the Great, Registry of Letters, Book 5, from Letter 52, To Secundinus 1 Job 15.15 2 Ps 50.7 3 Jn 3.3 4 1 Cor 15.33