Poor Correction

Quid autem vides festucam in oculo fratris tui, usque, Et trabem in oculo tuo non vides? Multi, superbia et odio praeventi, acerrime corripiunt eos quos subita ira vident turbatos, oculum mentis a solito puritatis statu quasi festuca irruente mutasse, atque hinc eos magis amant vituperare quam emendare, et ideo impossibile illis dicitur ut festucam fratris oculo quis demat, qui suo trabem in oculo gestat. Qui fieri potest ut si irasceris homini, velis eum corrigi; si autem oderis, non potes eum velle corrigere. Quantum inter trabem et festucam distat, tantum inter odium et iram. Sanctus Beda, In Matthaei Evangelium Expositio, Lib I, Caput VII Source: Migne PL 92.36c

Why do you see the speck in your brother's eye, and not the plank in your own eye? 1 Many, possessed by pride and hatred, bitterly reprove those who they see suddenly troubled with anger, when the eye of the mind has been changed from its accustomed state of purity by the entrance of a speck of dust, and they love more to denounce them than to correct them, and thus it is impossible to say to these that he should take out the speck from his brother's eye, who in his own bears a plank. It is possible that if you are angry with a man you may wish to correct him, but if you hate him, you cannot wish to correct him. For as great as the distance is between a speck of dust and a plank, so it is between hated and anger. Saint Bede, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Book 1, Chapter 7 1 Mt 7.3

Hating Life

Et odivi vitam, quia malum super me opus quod factum est sub sole, quia omnia vanitas et pastio venti Si mundus in maligno positus est, et in tabernaculo isto Apostolus ingemiscit dicens, Miser ego homo, quis me liberabit de corpore morti hujus, recte odio habe omne quod sub sole factum est. Ad comparationem quippe paradisi et illius vitae beatitudinem, in qua spiritualibus pomis et virtutum deliciis fruebamur: nunc quasi in ergastulo et carcere sumus et valle lacrymarum, in sudor vultus nostri comedentes panem Sanctus Hieronymous, Commentarius In Ecclesiasten, Caput II Source: Migne PL 23.1031b

And I hated life, because what was done beneath the sun weighed on me as an evil, since it was all a vanity and a feeding of the wind. 1 If 'the world is in wickedness set,' 2 and the Apostle groans in this tabernacle, saying, 'I am a wretched man, who shall free me from this body of death,' 3 rightly he has hate for everything that is done beneath the sun. Certainly compared to paradise and the blessed life, in which we shall feast on spiritual fruits and the delights of the virtues, we are now as if in a workhouse and a prison and in a valley of tears, and in the sweat of our faces we eat our bread. 4 Saint Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2 1 Eccl 2.17 Vetus Latina 2 1 Jn 5.1 3 Rom 7.24 4 Gen 3.19

Hate And Wickedness

Contempta autem saecularium opum cupiditate, omnem a se occasionem perversae et pravae voluntatis recidit. Diligens enim super aurum et topazion mandata Dei, dehinc ait, Propter hoc ad omnia mandata tua dirigebar, omnem viam iniquam odio habui. Non deflectitur, non detorquetur per terrenas cupiditates, sed ad omnia Dei mandata dirigitur: non occupant obvia. Vidit aurum, scivit hoc terrae limum esse: vidit gemmas, meminit esse aut montium aut maris calculos: vidit illicem ad lasciviam vultum, scit tamquam avibus coeli ex his sibi laqueis evadendum. Resistit ergo coalitis sibi naturae suae vitiis, et omnem viam iniquitatis odit. Ideo itaque et ad mandata omnia dirigitur, quia ea super terrena desideria diligit: et dirigitur, ne particeps eorum fiat quibus dicitur: Natio prava et perversa. Et omnem viam iniquitatis odit, ut sit in eo quia est via, Domino scilicet nostro, qui est benedictus in saecula saeculorum. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis,Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum CXVIII Source: Migne PL 9.613a-c

Contemptuous of the desire for worldly wealth, he withdraws himself from every occassion of perverse and depraved choice, for loving the commandments of God above gold and topaz, 1 so he says: 'On account of this I was directed to all your commandments, and for every wicked way I had hate.' 2 He is not turned aside or twisted about by worldly desires, but he is directed to every commandment of God, nor is he delayed on the way. He has looked on gold, and has known that it is but scrapings of the earth, he has seen jewels, and has remembered that they are but stones of the mountains or of the sea. He sees an attractive and alluring face and he knows that he must escape from it like the birds of heaven from traps that are laid for them. Therefore he resists because of his awareness of the nature of the vices, and for every wicked way he has hate. Thus he is directed to the commandments of God, because he loves with a desire beyond the things of the world, and he is directed lest he become one among those to whom it is said, 'a people depraved and perverse.' 3 Indeed for every wicked way he has hate, so that the way might be in him, that is, the way of our Lord, He who is blessed forever. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 118 1 Ps 118.127 2 Ps 118.128 3 Lk 9.41

Humility And Pride

Humilitatem illam veram et sanctam dico, quam religionis et Dei amor suadet, non timor dominationis extorquet. Illius humilitatis facimus mentionem quae charitatis est juncta consortio; quae non auctoritate extorquetur imperii, sed nutritur lege vivendi. Nemo profecto mores naturae tantum vitiis aestimet imputandos, cum facultate nutritur supercilium, cum potestate crescit imperium. Quando igitur infirmis corporibus sufficeret medicina, si cum homine nascerentur et vulnera? Nutritur superbia, dum hic se verbris sapientiorem, natalibus judicat ille meliorem; hic dum non vult loco moveri, ille dum putat se posse contemni. Ita videndum vitio superbia odia crescere in comparatione personae: dum hic adulantium oculis auri argentique ponus ingerit, ille ambitum honoris opponit; hic dum in se praefert abundantiam opum, ille sermonum, hic dum se vult propter consilium expeti, ille propterr convivium desisderat salutari. Enumerari vix possunt vitia superbiae, quae si homo vincere aut cavere posset, nullum laqueum diabolicae damnationis incurreret. Sanctus Valerianus Cemeliensis, Homilia XIV, De bono humilitatis Source: Migne PL 52.736b-c

I say that humility is true and holy which religon and the love of God teaches, not that which the fear of domination demands. We refer to that humility which is a bound consort of love, which no authority of office extorts but is nourished by the law of life. Let no one think that vices should be imputed only to the ways of nature, when capability nutures arrogance and power grows with position. Would then medicine suffice for a fault of the body if man were born with wounds? Pride is nourished when this one deems himself wiser in words, and another judges himself better by lineage, when one is unwilling to be moved from his place, and another thinks it is possible that he is scorned. Thus when we compare people we must see hatreds grow because of the vice of pride. While one man heaps up a mass of gold and silver in the eyes of his flatters, that one opposes with boasts of honour. While this one exalts himself in his abundant resources, another does so with his oratory. While one wishes to be sought because of his counsel, that one desires to be hailed for the feasts he holds. One can scarcely count the vices that spring from pride, which if a man could conquer avoid, he would not rush into any snare of the Devil's damnation. Saint Valerian of Cimelium, from Homily 14, On The Good of Humility

Two Infirmities

Nam infirmitas corporis miseranda est, non odienda: infirmitas autem animae non est miseranda, sed odienda: quia infirmitas corporis non est in nostra poteste, ut aut non veniat super nos, aut recedet a nobis: infirmtias autem animae in nostra est potestate, ut aut non veniat super nos, aut recedat a nobis, Infirmitas enim corporis tenet nos, nec tenetur a nobis; infirmitas autem animae non tenet nos, sed tenetur a nobis. Ideo illa infirmitas miseranda est, hace odienda. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia XXI Source: Migne PG 56.749

An infirmity of the body deserves compassion not hate, but an infirmity of the soul deserves hate not compassion, because an infirmity of the body is not in our power, that either it might not come upon us, or that it might go from us, but an infirmity of the soul is in our power, that either it might not come upon us, or that it might go from us. For an infirmity of the body holds us, it is not held on to by us, and an infirmity of the soul does not hold us, but it is held on to by us. Therefore the former infirmity deserves compassion, the latter hate. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 21

Stephen And Forgiveness

Positis genibus clamavit dicens: ne statuas illis hoc peccatum. Si enim, inquit, dimiseritis hominbus peccata eroum, dimittet et vobis Pater vester coelestis peccata vestra. Si autem non dimiseritis, nec Pater vester dimittet debita vestra. Videtis, fratres, quia cum Dei gratia in potestate nostra positum est, qualiter a Domino judicemur. Si, inquit, dimiseritis, dimittetur vobis. Jam saepe dixi, fratres, et frequenter dicere debeo, nemo se circumveniat, nemo se seducat; qui vel unum hominem in hoc mundo odio habet, quidquid Deo in operibus bonis obtulerit, totum perdit, quia non menitur Paulus apostolus dicens: Si dedero omnes facultates meas in cibos pauperum, et si tradidero corpus meum, ut ardeam, caritatem autem non habuero, nihil mihi prodest. Quam rem etiam beatus Joannes confirmat, dicens: Omnis qui non diligit fratrem suum, manet in morte. Et iterum: Qui fratrem suum odit homicida est. Hoc loco fratrem omnem hominem oportet intelligi; omnes in Christo fratres sumus. Nemo sine caritate de virginitate praesumat, nemo de eleemosunis, nemo de orationibus confidat; qui quandiu inimicitiam in corde tenuerit, neque istis, neque aliis quibuslibet bonis operibus placare sibi Dominum poterit. Sanctus Maximus Taurinensis, Homilia LXIV, In Natali Sancti Stephani Levitae et Protomartyris Source: Migne PL 57.381c-82a

On his knees he cried out, saying: 'Do not hold this sin against them.' 1 'For if,' He said, 'you forgive men their sins, your Father in heaven shall forgive you your sins. If you do not forgive them, nor will your Father forgive your trespasses.' 2 You see, brothers, that when the grace of God has been placed in our power, how we shall be judged by the Lord. 'If,' He says, 'you forgive, you shall be forgiven.' I have often said, brothers, and I shall frequently say it, that no one should delude himself, no one seduce himself, who has hatred for even one man in this world, for then whatever he offers to God in the way of good works, all of it perishes, because Paul the Apostle did not lie when he said, 'If I should give all my possessions for food for the poor, and if I should give my body over to be burnt, if I have not love, it shall not profit me at all.' 3 Which matter the blessed John confirms, saying: 'Every man who does not love his brother, remains in death.' And again, 'He who hates his brother is a murderer.' 4 In which passage every man should be understood to be a brother. And thus let no one trust in chastity without love, let no one have confidence in alms or prayers. While a man holds hostility in his heart, neither these nor any other good work can please the Lord. Saint Maximus of Turin, from Homily 64, On The Feast Day of St Stephen 1 Acts 7.60 2 Mt 6.14-15 3 1 Cor 13.3 4 1 Jn 3. 14-15

The Good Of Hate

Odivi congregationem malignorum, et cum impiis non sedebo. Minus fuerat sancto viro malum vitasse concilium, nisi et congregationem odisset omnimodis subdolorum. Odium enim signifcat divisionem, sicut est in amore collegium. Et cum superius se dixerit in vanitatis concilio non sedisse, modo se profitetur cum impiis non sedere. Utrumque quidem erat omnino deserendum. Sed alii sunt vani, alii impii. Vani sunt qui caducis inquisitionibus occupantur, et in superflua tempus narratione consumunt. Impii autem, haeretici, qui quaestionibus perfidis Scripturas divinas depravare contendunt, sicut Petrus apostolus ait: Depravantes eas ad suum interitum et perditionem. Hos ergo utrosque jure monet esse fugiendos, quia illi superfluitates diligunt, ista tale perversitatis infigunt. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus XXV Source: Migne PG 70.184c-d

I have hated the gathering of the wicked and with the impious I have not sat. 1 Hardly may the good man have avoided wicked counsel unless he has hated such a gathering with all its evil ways. For hatred signifies division, as in love there is fraternity. And when before he says of himself that he has not sat in the council of vanity, 2 so it profits him not to sit with the impious. Certainly he fled both. But the vain are one thing, the impious another. The vain are those who are occupied in vain enquiries, and in wasting time with pointless talking. The impious however, are heretics, who with treacherous questions endeavour to corrupt the Holy Scriptures, as Peter the Apostle says: 'Corrupting them to their own ruin and destruction.' 3 Both of these, therefore, he rightly warns us to flee, those who love needless things, and those who cleave to perversities. Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, Psalm 25 1 Ps 25.5 2 Ps 25.4 3 2 Pet 3.16

Love And Change

Attendat enim Caritas vestra, ut dicam vel quod Dominus suggerit. Accepit legem populus Iudaeorum. Ista in decalogo non observavit. Et quicumque obtemperabat, timore obtemperabat poenae, non amore iustitiae. Portabat psalterium, non cantabat. Cantanti enim voluptas, timenti onus est. Ideo vetus homo aut non facit, aut timore facit, non amore sanctitatis, non delectatione castitatis, non temperantia caritatis, sed timore. Vetus enim homo est, et vetus homo canticum vetus potest cantare, non novum. Ut autem cantet canticum novum, sit novus homo. Quomodo autem possit esse novus homo, audi, non me, sed Apostolum dicentem: Exuite vos veterem hominem, et induite novum. Et ne quis putaret, cum dixit: Exuite vos veterem hominem et induite novum: aliquid ponendum esse et aliquid accipiendum cum de mutando praeciperet homine, subiecit et ait: Quapropter deponentes mendacium, loquimini veritatem. Hoc est quod ait: Exuite veterem hominem et induite novum. Hoc dixit: Mutate mores. Sacculum diligebatis, Deum diligite. Nugatoria iniquitatis, temporales voluptates diligebatis, proximum diligite. Si dilectione facitis, canticum novum cantatis. Si timore facitis, facitis tamen, portatis quidem psalterium, sed nondum cantatis. Si autem nec facitis, proicitis ipsum psalterium. Melius est vel portare, quam proicere. Sed rursus, melius cum voluptate cantare, quam cum onere portare. Nec pervenit ad canticum novum, nisi iam cum voluptate cantans. Nam qui portat cum timore, adhuc in vetere est. Et quid est quod dico, Fratres, attendite. Non concordavit cum adversario suo, qui cum timore adhuc facit. Timet enim ne veniat Deus, et damnet illum. Nam nondum delectat castitas, nondum illum delectat iustitia, sed iudicium Dei formidans, a factis temperat. Non concupiscentiam ipsam damnat, quae saevit in eo. Nondum illum delectat quod bonum est. Nondum ibi habet suavitatem ut cantet canticum novum, sed de vetustate poenas timet. Nondum concordavit cum adversario. Tales enim homines plerumque supplantantur tali cogitatione, ut dicant sibi: 'Si fieri posset, non nobis minaretur Deus, non talia per Prophetas suos diceret quae homines deterrent, sed veniret dare omnibus indulgentiam ignoscere omnibus, postea veniret, neminem mitteret in gehennas'. Iam quia iniquus est, iniquum vult Deum. Vult te Deus facere similem sui, et conaris tu Deum facere similem tui. Placeat tibi ergo Deus qualis est, non qualem illum esse vis. Perversus enim es, et talem vis Deum qualis es, non qualis est. Si autem placeat tibi qualis est, corrigeris, et diriges in eam regulam cor tuum, a qua nunc alienus distortus es. Placeat tibi Deus qualis est, ama qualis est. Non te ipse amat qualis es, sed odit te qualis es. Ideo tui miseretur, quia odit te qualis es, ut faciat te qualis nondum es. Faciat te, dixi, qualis nondum es. Nam illud tibi non promittit quia faciet te qualis est. Nam eris qualis est, sed ad quemdam modum, id est, imitator Dei velut imago, sed non qualis imago est Filius. Nam etiam imagines in hominibus diversae sunt. Filius hominis habet imaginem patris sui, et hoc est quod pater eius, quia homo est sicut pater eius. In speculo autem imago tua non hoc est quod tu. Aliter est enim imago tua in filio, aliter in speculo. In filio est imago tua secundum aequalitatem substantiae, in speculo autem quantum longe est a substantia! Et tamen est quaedam imago tua, quamvis non talis qualis in filio tuo secundum substantiam. Sic in creatura, non hoc est imago Dei, quod est in Filio qui hoc est quod Pater, id est, Deus Verbum Dei per quod facta sunt omnia. Recipe ergo similitudinem Dei, quam per mala facta amisisti. Sicut enim in nummo imago imperatoris aliter est et aliter in filio, nam imago et imago est, sed aliter impressa est in nummo; aliter habetur in filio, aliter in solido aureo imago imperatoris, sic et tu nummus Dei es, ex hoc melior quia cum intellectu et cum quadam vita nummus Dei es ut scias etiam cuius imaginem geras et ad cuius imaginem factus sis, nam nummus nescit se habere imaginem regis. Ergo ut dicere coeperam odit te Deus qualis es, sed amat te talem qualem te esse vult, et ideo ille te ut muteris hortatur. Concorda cum illo, et incipe primo bene velle et odisse te qualis es. Hoc sit tibi initium concordiae cum sermone Dei, ut incipias primo tu odisse te qualis es. Cum coeperis et tu odisse te talem qualis es, sicut te talem odit Deus, incipis iam ipsum diligere Deum qualis est. Sanctus Augustinus Hippoensis, Sermones de Scripturis, Sermon IX, Cap VII-VIII Source: Migne PL 38.81-82

Let your charity attend that I might speak what the Lord suggests to me. The Jewish people received the law. They did not observe those things in the decalogue. And any who did comply did so out of fear of punishment, not out of love of righteousness. They were carrying the harp, they were not singing. In singing there is joy, fear is a burden. Thus the old man either does not do it, or does it out of fear, not out of love of holiness, not out of delight in chastity, not out of temperate charity, but out of fear. He is the old man and the old man can sing the old song but not the new one. That he might sing the new song, he must be the new man. How one can become the new man, listen not to me, but to the Apostle saying, 'Put off the old man and put on the new.' 1 And lest anyone should think when he says 'Put off the old man and put on the new' that something must be laid aside and something taken up when he gives instructions about changing the man,  he says after: 'Therefore putting aside the lie, speak the truth.' 2 This is what he says by: 'Put off the old man and put on the new.' He says: Change your ways. You loved the world, now love God. You loved the worthless things of wickedness and fleeting pleasures, now love your neighbour. If you act from love, you are singing a new song. If you act from fear, but do it, you are indeed carrying the harp, but you are not yet singing. But if you do not do it, you are throwing away the harp. It is better to carry it than throw it away, but it is better again to sing with joy than to bear something as a burden. And one does not achieve the new song unless one is singing it in joy. If you are carrying the harp in fear, you are still in the old song. And to what I say, attend, brothers. Anyone who is still doing it out of fear has not come to an agreement with his adversary. 3 He fears lest God come and condemn him. He does not yet delight in chastity, he does not yet delight in righteousness, but it is because he dreads God's judgement that he refrains from such deeds. He does not condemn the  lust that seethes within him. He does not yet take delight in what is good. He does not yet have the sweetness that sings the new song, but because of old habits he fears punishments. He has not yet made an agreement with the adversary. Such men are often tripped up by thoughts like this, so that they say to themselves, 'If it were possible to do this, God would not be threatening us, he would not say all those things through the Prophets to worry people, but he would have come to be indulgent to everybody and pardon everybody, and after he came he would not send anyone to hell.' Now because he is unjust he wants to make God unjust. God wants to make you like Him, and you are trying to make God like you. Be satisfied with God as He is, not as you would like Him to be. You are perverse, and you want God to be like you, not as He is. But if you are satisfied with Him as He is, then you will be set right and you will align your heart along that rule from which you are now twisted away. Be satisfied with God as He is, love Him as He is. He does not love you as you are, He hates you as you are. So He pities you, because He hates you as you are and wants to make you as you are not yet. Let Him make you, I have said, that which you are not yet. For He did not promise you to make you what He is. You shall be as He is in a certain way, that is, you shall be an imitator of God like an image, but not the kind of image that the Son is. There are different sorts of images even among men. A man’s son bears the image of his father, and is what his father is because he is a man like his father. But your image in a mirror is not what you are. Your image is in your son in one way, in a different way in a mirror. Your image is in your son by way of equality of nature, but in the mirror how far it is from your nature! And even so, it is a kind of image of you, though not as in your son which is according to nature. So the image of God in the creature is not what it is in the Son who is what the Father is, that is, God the Word of God, through whom all things were made. 4 Receive, then, the likeness of God, which you lost through evil deeds. It is as the emperor's image is in a coin in a different way from the way it is in his son; for there is an image and an image, one impressed in one way on a coin and one in another way in a son. The emperor's image is different in his son and on a gold solidus. So you are as God's coin, and a better one in that you are God's coin with intelligence and a certain life, so you can know whose image you bear and to whose image you were made; a coin does not know it carries the king's image. Therefore, as I was saying, God hates you as you are but He loves you as He wants you to be, and that is why He exhorts you to change. Come to an agreement with Him, and begin with a good will and hate yourself as you are. Let this be the beginning of your agreement with the word of God, that you begin by first of all hating yourself as you are. When even you have begun to hate yourself as you are, just as God hates such a thing, then you are already beginning to love God as He is. Saint Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 9, Chaps 7-8 1 Ephes 4.22-24 2 Ephes 4.25 3 Mt 5.25 4 Jn 1.3

Prayers For Enemies And Brothers

Ego autem, inquit, dico vobis: Diligite inimicos vestros, benefacite his qui oderunt vos, et orate pro persequentibus ac calumniantibus vos. Haec est latitudo charitatis et consummata armatura justitiae, quae usque ad dilectionem inimicorum extenditur. Nam persecutorum rabies contra Christi Eccleisam tribus dimicat modis; mentis scilicet odio, et verborum maledictis, atque injuriarum et tormentorum cruciatibus: contra quae Christus docuit, pro inimicitiis dilectionem impendere, pro odio vero odiorumque injuriis beneficia retribuere, necnon et pro persecutione ac calumniis eorum, orationes fundere. His quippe partibus charitas dimicat, ut omnia mala in bono vincat. Singulis enim singula opponuntur, ut omnes malitiae partes bonitate vincantur. Unde, si juxta est inimicus, dilectio emolliat cor ejus; si vero longe, beneficia nostra eum visitando perquirant; et si quo sit loco ignoratur, penitus oratio profusa apud Deum etiam latentem inveniat. Verumtamen in omnibus discretio virtutum satis moderanda est, et sollicite perscrutandum, quid sit quod Joannes pro peccantibus ad mortem fratribus prohibeat orare, Dominus vero etiam pro inimicis id fieri jubeat. Ubi nihil aliud occurrit, quam quia sunt aliqua peccata in fratribus, quae inimicorum persecutionibus graviora videntur, pro quibus nec rogare liceat. Sunt autem et tales, juxta Apostolum, cum quibus nec cibum sumere permittiter. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Liber III Source: Migne PL 120.262d-263b

But I say to you, He said, love your enemies, and go good to those who hate you and pray for those who persecute you and speak evil of you. 1  This is the breadth of love and the perfect armour of righteousness, which reaches even to the love of enemies. For the savagery of the persecutors against the Church of Christ wars in three ways: certainly by the mind's hatred, and with wicked words, and with the blows of injury and violence, against which Christ taught that love should obscure hostility, that blessings should be returned for the hatred and injuries of those who hate, and, not least, that prayer should be poured out for their persecutions and evil speech. In these ways love fights, that it conquer every evil with good; in every way opposing them, so that every wicked way is conquered by goodness. Whence, if the enemy is near, love softens his heart, and if he is far away, our blessings seek him out and visit him, and if we are ignorant where he is, our prayers poured out to God yet find him wherever he is. However in all things discretion must moderate virtue, and we must consider carefully why it might be that we are not permitted to pray for brothers sinning unto death, 2 when the Lord commanded us to pray for our enemies. And this can be nothing else than that there are some sins among brothers which seem to be much worse than the persecutions of enemies, for which we are not allowed to pray. And they are such ones, according to the Apostle, with whom we are not permitted to eat. 3 Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 3 1 Mt 5.44 2 1 Jn 5.16 3 1 Cor 5.9-13

Love And Victory

Diligite inimicos vestros. Forte illi quem recens pulsat injuria, videantur ista non convenire rationi. Sed respiciat, quicumque est, ad vitae suae quietem; et intelliget quia inimicum dilexisse, vicisse est. Infinitum autem est, quantum periculi homini incumbat, cum duos aemulo furore consimiles ad pugnam ille diabolus magister litis armaverit, cujus est consuetudinis ad instiganta odia amoras portare ac reportare sermones. Quando est autem ut ille diem sine tribulatione transigat, vel quando est ut ab illo nox sine impia cogitatione discedat, quem ira indignatione stimulat? Numquam profecto sine suspicione vitam ducet, cui est semper necesse cogitare et timere quem laeserit. Summa itaque cura sunt dolores asperi blando verborum medicamine temperandi, quatenus et duritia cordis pacis studio castigata mollescat. In quo loco beatos illos judico, qui verba labiorum suorum tacito ore custodiunt, et memores coelestium mandatorum alienae vocis contumeliam non requirunt. Cessant enim odia, ubi non reputatur injuria; nec habet ullam virtutem iracundia, si desit unius in contentione persona. Ita duplex patientiam manet victoria: hominem vicisse proprios animorum motis, et temperasse mores alienos. Sanctus Valerianus Cemeliensis, Homilia XII De Bono Conservandae Pacis Source: Migne PL 52.729c-d

'Love your enemies.' 1 Perhaps to one recently struck by injury these words seem little in harmony with reason. But let him, whoever he is, look again to the peace of his own life and he will understand that to have loved an enemy is to have gained a victory. Unlimited peril looms over a man when the devil, the master of strife, has armed to fight two men who match each other in their fury, he whose custom it is, in order to kindle hatred, to carry bitter words back and forth. When does a man pass a day without distress, or when does night run its course without wicked thoughts, if wrath is provoking him to indignation? He shall never live a life without anxiety who always finds it necessary to think about and fear someone he has harmed. With the greatest care harsh pains should be soothed by the gentle medicine of words, so that even hardness of heart may soften corrected by the desire for peace. With which thought, I deem them blessed who with silent mouth guard the words of their lips, and mindful of the heavenly precepts, do not draw forth insults in the voice of another. For hatred ends when injury is not pondered; anger has no power if the voice of one person is absent in a quarrel. Thus a double victory awaits patience: a man has gained victory over his own impulses and he has restrained the conduct of another. Saint Valerian of Cimelium, from Homily 12, On The Good of The Preservation of Peace 1 Mt 5.44

Dealing With Anger

Rex. Utinam, pater, retribuere possim inimicis meis juxta impetum et desiderium irae meae : irasci possum et plusquam volo, sed retributionem in mea non habeo potestate ; ille qui omnia potest retribuat abundanter facientibus mihi superbiam et accipiat anima mea de illorum confusione laetitiam. Abbas. Illustrissime rex, proprium est hominis quandoque irasci, sed cavendum est ne ira convertatur in odium et peccatum, sicut scriptum est: Irascimini, et nolite peccare. Prohibet autem Deus ne cadat Sol super iracundiam vestram, et, ut hoc simpliciter exponamus, induret ira nostra a mane usque ad vesperum. Habeamus itaque in omnibus patientiam: si quis offenderit nos, personae peccatum habeamus odio, non personam; hoc enim perfectorum odium sive perfectum, sicut scriptum est: Perfecto odio oderam illos. Abjectis ergo maledictionibus reddamus maledicentibus et malefacientibus bona pro malis: habeamus exemplum in beato Stephano, qui pro persequutoribus suis oravit et obdormivit in Domino. Ille etiam, qui docet hominem scientiam, suo nos docet et informat exemplo, dum pro suis crucifixoribus orans, Pater, inquit, dimitte illis, quia nesciunt quid faciunt. Si maledixerimus hominibus, maledictio convertetur in sinum nostrum, et ira quam habemus erga illum, qui Dei est imago, omnem nobis reddet iratum. Si quis, pater, multos haberet filios et aliquis illorum alium flagellaret in oculis patris, credo quod non irasceretur filio pater flagellato, sed potius flagellanti. Coelesti ergo patri reservemus omne judicium, nec faciamus malum aut oremus malum malefactoribus nostris, ne nobis fiat oratio nostra in peccatum. Petrus Blenensis, Dialogus Inter Regem Henricum II et Abbatem Bonaevallensem Source:  Migne PL 207.980a-d

King: That, father, I might return to my enemies according to the passion and desire of my anger. I am able to be angry and more I wish to do it, but in me I do not have the power to return it. That one who is able to do everything, may he return it abundantly to those who are proud before me and may my soul receive joy from their confounding. Abbot: Illustrious king, sometimes anger comes upon a man, but let us be wary lest we turn our anger into hate and sin, as it is written, 'Be angry and sin not.' 1 Indeed God prohibits us from letting the sun go down on our anger, 2 and if we may explain this simply, makes numb our anger from morning to night. So let us have patience in all things. If someone offends us, let us hate the sin of the person, but not the person, for this is the hatred of those who are perfect, or the perfect hatred, as it is written, 'With perfect hatred I have hated them.' 3 Therefore let a refusal to speak ill of those who speak ill of us be our return to those who speak ill of us and to evil doers let us return good for evil. Let us have an example in blessed Stephen, who prayed for his persecutors and slept in the Lord. 4 He who indeed teaches men wisdom 5 teaches and fashions us with His example, praying during his Crucifixion: 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.' 6 If we curse men, the curse returns into our own laps, and the anger which we have against another, he who is an image of God, shall be returned to us. If there is a father of many sons, and one of them whips another before the eyes of his father, I believe that the father will not be angry with the one who is whipped but rather with the one who is doing the whipping. To our heavenly Father is reserved all judgement. Let us neither do evil to those who do evil to us, nor let us pray for evil to come to them, lest our prayer be accounted a sin. Peter of Blois, from a Dialogue Between King Henry the Second and the Abbot of Bonneval 1 Ps 4.5 2 Ephes 4.26 3 Ps 138.22 4 Acts 7.59 5 Ps 93.10 6 Lk 23.34

Hated By The World

Nolite mirari, fratres, si odit vos mundus. Mundum dilectores mundi dicit. Nec mirandum quod qui amant mundum fratrem a mundi amore separatum, et coelestibus tantum desideriis intentum, amare non possunt. Abominatio est enim peccatori religio, ut Scriptura testatur Sanctus Beda, In I Epistolam Sancti Joannis Source: Migne PL 93 102c

Do not wonder, brothers, if the world hates you. 1 He speaks of the lovers of the world. One should not wonder that they who love the world are separated from their brothers by the love of the world and they are not able to love those who are intent only on heavenly cares. For religion is an abomination to the sinner, as Scripture testifies. 2 Saint Bede, from the Commentary On The First Letter of Saint John 1 1 Jn 3.13 2 Sirach 1.25

They Who Hate Me Love Death

οἱ δὲ εἰς ἐμὲ ἁμαρτάνοντες ἀσεβοῦσιν τὰς ἑαυτῶν ψυχάς καὶ οἱ μισοῦντές με ἀγαπῶσιν θάνατον   Ἀσέβεια μέν ἐστιν ἡ εἰς Θεὸν ἁμαρτία· ἀσεβεῖ δὲ καὶ εἰς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχὴν ὁ σωρεύων κόλασιν τῇ ἑαυτοῦ ψυχῇ, τὴν τοῖς ἀσεβέσιν ἡτοιμασμένην· ἀκόλουθον δὲ καὶ τὸ ἀγαπᾷν θάνατον τοὺς σοφίαν μισοῦντες, εἴπερ ἡ σοφία ζωή. Ὠριγένης, Ἐκλογή Εἰς Παροιμίας, Κεφ Η' Source: Migne PG 17.185a

They who sin against me are impious to their own souls, and they who hate me love death. 1 Impiety is the sin against God. By impiety one is set against one's own soul, heaping up punishment for the soul, with impieties preparing it. Consequently they love death who hate wisdom, since wisdom is life. Origen, On Proverbs,  Chap 8, Fragment 1 Prov 8.36

Consideration Of Past And Future

Ἐμίσησας πάντας τοὺς ἐργαζομένους τὴν ἀνομίαν, ἀπολεῖς πάντας τοὺς λαλοῦντας τὸ ψεῦδος. Τοὺς μὲν ἐν τῇ πολιτείᾳ πταίοντας ἐργαζομένους τὴν ἀνομίαν ὠνόμασεν· τούτους δὲ μισεῖ ὁ Θεός τοὺς ἀποπεσόντας τῆς ἀληθείας. Ἑτεροδόξους λαλοῦντας ψεῦδος εἶπεν, οὓς ἀπολεῖ ὁ Θεός. Καὶ τήρει διαφορὰν τοῦ, ἐμίσησας, καὶ, ἀπολεῖς. Πρῶτον μὲν εἰ χεῖρον τὸ, ἀπολεῖς, τοῦ, ἐμίσησας· δεύτερον δὲ διὰ τί τὸ μὲν εἰς παρεληλυθότα ἔκλινε χρόνον, τὸ δὲ εἰς μέλλοντα. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Εἰς Τους Ψαλμους, Ψαλμός Ε' Source: Migne PG 69.741c

'You have hated all those who work iniquity, you shall destroy all those who speak lies.' 1 Those who sin in public are named workers of iniquity, and God hates those who have fallen from truth. And he calls heretics the speakers of lies, whom God shall destroy. And consider the difference of the words 'You have hated' and 'You shall destroy,' first if the worst be found in 'you shall destroy' or 'you have hated,' then secondly note that one indicates a time that has passed and the latter the future. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 5 1 Ps 5.7

Abhorring An Egyptian

Non abominaberis Aegyptium, eo quod fuisti incola in terra ejus. Quamvis enim mundo renuntiantes, id est, pristinam saeculi conversationem, vel concupiscentiam declinemus, tamen, dum praesentis saeculi necessitatibus subdimur, quasi Aegyptiam nationem nequaquam exstinguimus, licet ab ipsa quadam discretione separemur, non de superfluis cogitantes, sed, secundum Apostolum, victu quotidiano indumentoque contenti. Hoc enim singulariter mandabatur in lege: Non abominaberis Aegyptium. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis,Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum,In Deuteronomium Caput XI Source: Migne PL 83.363c

You shall not abhor an Egyptian, for you were a sojourner in his land. 1 Although renouncing the world, that is, the former way of life in the world, or casting off desire for it, however while we are under the sway of certain necessities of the present age we do not utterly extinguish the Egyptian nation, from which with a certain prudence we should separate ourselves, thinking not of needless things, but according to the Apostle being content with our daily food and covering. 2 For this particularly is commanded in the law, 'You shall not abhor an Egyptian.' Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Deuteronomy, Chap 11 1 Deut 23.7 2 1 Tim 6.8

Religious Hatred

Nonne odientes te, Domine, odivi, et super inimicos tuos tabescebam? Perfecto odio oderam illos; inimici facti sunt mihi. Est religiosum odium, quotiens in nobis odio est qui Deum odit. Inimicos quidem nostros amare praecipimur, sed nostros, non et Dei. Nam, juxta Deum, et patrem et matrem et conjugem et filios et fratres odisse devotum est. Odit ergo odientes Deum, et inimicorum odio tabescit, et odit odio perfecto, et inimici sibi facti sunt. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis,Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum CXXXVIII Source: Migne PL 9.815

The haters of you, Lord, did I not hate, and did I not wither because of your enemies? With a perfect hatred I hated them, and they have become my enemies. 1 It is a religious hatred as many times as there is in us hatred for him who hates God. Certainly we are commanded to love our enemies, 2 ours, but not God's. For on account of God hatred of father and mother and wife and children and brothers is devotion. 3 He hates, therefore, the haters of God, and because of His enemies he withers, and with a perfect hatred he hates, and they have become his own enemies. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 138 1 Ps 138. 21-22 2 Mt 5.44 3 Lk 14.26

A Perfect Hatred

Τέλειον μῖσος ἐμίσουν αὐτοὺς, κ.τ.ἐ. Εἰ ὁ τέλειος μισήσας τὸ πονηρὸν, ἀπέχεται πάσης κακίας, ὁ μεταλαμβάνων τῆς οἱασδηποτοῦν κακίας αὐτῶν τελείως οὐ μεμίσηκε Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος ΡΛΗ' Source: Migne PG 12 1664

'With a perfect hatred I hated them... 1  If the hatred of wickedness is perfect, a man withdraws from all evil, and so inasmuch as he participates in wickedness he does not hate with a perfect hatred. Origen, Excerpta On the Psalms, from Psalm 138 1 Ps 138. 22

Avarice And Murder

Dona iniquorum reprobat Altissimus. Qui offert sacrificium ex substantiam pauperum, quasi qui victimat filium in conspectu patris sui. Divitiae, inquit, quas congregabit injustus, evometur de ventre ejus; trahit illum angelus mortis: ira draconum multabitur: interficiet illum lingua colubri. Comedet autem eum ignis inexstinguibilis. Ideoque vae qui replent se quae non sunt sua. Vel, quid prodest homini, ut totum mundum lucretur, et animae suae detrimentum patiatur? Longum est per singula discutere vel insinuare, per totam legem carpere testimonia de tali cupiditate. Avaritia mortale crimen. Non concupisces rem proximi tui. Non occides. Homicidia non potest esse cum Christo. Qui odit fratrem suum, homicida ascribitur; vel, qui non diligit fratrem suum in morte manet. Quanto magis reus est qui manus suas coinqiunavit in sanguine filiorum Dei, quos nuper acquisivit in ultimis terrae, per exhortationem parvitatis nostrae? Sanctus Patricius Hibernorum Apostolus, Epistola Ad Coroticum Source: Migne PL 53.815c-816a

'The Most High rejects the gifts of the iniquitous. He who offers a sacrifice taken from the belongings of the poor is like one who sacrifices a son in the sight of his father.' 1 'Riches,' it says, 'which the unrighteous man gathers, will be vomited out of his stomach. The angel of death will drag him away, the rage of dragons will be his punishment; the tongue of the serpent will kill him.' 2 Indeed the unquenchable fire will consume him. And so woe to those who fill themselves with what is not theirs. And likewise: 'What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and yet lose his soul?' 3 Long it would be to discuss or refer to the testimonies throughout the whole law that speak out against such greed. Avarice is a deadly crime. 'Do not covet your neighbour's goods. Do not kill.' 4 The murderer can not be with Christ. 'Whoever hates his brother is a murderer,' and likewise, 'Whoever does not love his brother remains in death.' 5 How much more guilty is he who has stained his hands with the blood of the children of God, those who He only recently acquired at the ends of the earth through the encouragement of our insignificance? Saint Patrick Apostle of the Irish, from The Letter to Coroticus 1 Sirach 34.23-24 2 Job 20. 15-16 3 Mt 16.26 4 Exod 20.17,13 5 1 Jn 3.14-15

The Sinner And The Righteous Man

Παρατηρήσεται ὁ ἀ,αμαρτωλὸς τὸν δίκαιον, καὶ βρύξει ἐπ' αὐτὸν τοὺς ὀδόντας αὐτοῦ. Ἐντεῦωεν μανθάνομεν, ὅτι, ὥσπερ πέφυκεν ἐναντίον εἶναι σκότος καὶ φῶς, οὕτω ὁ ἁμαρτωλὸς τῷ δικαίῳ. Ἐὰν οὗν ἴδῃς τότε μισούμενον τὸν δίκαιον, μὴ ὄκνει λέγειν περὶ τοῦ μισοῦντος αὐτὸν, ὡς ἔστιν ἁμαρτωλός. Οἱ γὰρ φρονοῦντες τὰ κοσμικὰ, καὶ τῇ τοῦ παρόντος βίου τύρβῃ τὸν ἑαυτῶν ἐνδήσαντες νοῦν, ἀεὶ πως ἐπιμεμήνασι τοῖς τὸν εὐαγῆ καὶ ἀπόλεκτον διαβιοῦσι βίον, καὶ ἐχθρὸν ἠγοῦνται τῆς δικαιοσύνης τὸν ἐρατήν. Ὠριγένης, Ἐκλογαί Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος ΛϚ' Source: Migne PG 17.128

'The sinner observes the righteous man, and he grinds his teeth over him.'  1  As we have learned above, as light and darkness are contraries, so the sinner and the righteous man. If then you see someone hating a righteous man, do not shrink from naming him a sinner. For those who think of worldly things, their minds overthrown by the troubles of this life, always rage madly at the one who lives an upright and elect life, and an enemy they deem him who is a lover of righteousness. Origen, Excerpta On the Psalms, from Psalm 36 1 Ps 36.12

Soul Haters

Κύριος ἐξετάζει τὸν δίκαιον καὶ τὸν ἀσεβῆ· ὁ δὲ ἀγαπῶν ἀδικίαν μισεῖ τὴν ἑαυτοῠ ψυχὴν, κ.τ.ἐ. Διὸ πᾶς ὁ ἁμαρτάνων ὡς ἄν τις μισῶν ἐπιβουλεύει τῇ ἰδίᾳ ψυχῇ. Ὥωπερ οὖν ὁ πράττων τὸ δίκαιον αὐτὸν ἀγαπᾷ, ἑαυτόν τε καὶ τὸν πλησίον εὐεργετῶν, τῷ εἰς ἁρετὴν αὐτὸν ἄγρειν ὡς ἑαυτον. Ἀσεβῆ δὲ νῦν λέγει τὸν διὰ τὸ ἁμαρτάνειν καταφρονοῦντα Θεοῦ, ὅς καὶ κρίνεται μετὰ τοῦ δικαίου, ὡς πολλαχόθον δῆλον, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἐν Γενέσει· Καὶ ἔσται δίκαιος ὡς ὁ ἀσεβής· ὁ γὰρ πάντη ἄθεος οὐκ ἀναστήσεται ἐν κρίσει. Κἂν μὴ λέγῃ τις, ὅτι μισεῖ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχὴν, ἐλεγχεται διὰ τοῦ ἀδικίαν ἀγαπᾷν μισῶν αὐτήν· ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ὁ ἀκολασίαν ἀγαπῶν, ἢ δειλίαν, ἢ ἀφροσύνην. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος Ι'

'The Lord interrogates the righteous and the impious; he who loves iniquity hates his own soul,' etc 1 For everyone who sins is like one who in hatred ambushes his own soul. And likewise he who acts righteously loves his soul, and concerning himself and his neighbour he acts well, so he leads both to virtue at the same time. It says the impious by sinning spurns God, he who with the righteous is judged, which is found in many places, and certainly in that passage of Genesis: 'And shall it be so with the righteous as with the impious?' 2 For he who is utterly without God shall not rise in judgement. 3 And even if he says that he does not hate his own soul, he shows that he does hate it by his love of iniquity, and in like manner it is with the one who loves incontinence and indolence and foolishness. Origen, On the Psalms, from Psalm 10 1 Ps 10. 6 2 Gen 18.25 3 Ps 1.5