Weights And Balances

Statera dolosa abominatio est apud Deum... Statera dolosa, non tantum in mensuratione pecuniae, sed et in judicaria discretion tenetur; qui enim aliter causam pauperi,aliter causam potentis,aliter sodalis, aliter audit ignoti, statera utique librat iniqua. Sed et is qui sua bene gesat meliora quam proximorum, suaque errata judicat leviora, trutina ponderat dolosa. Necnon et ille qui onera importabilia imponit in humeros hominum, ipse autem uno digito non vult ea tangere. Ille etiam qui bona in publico, et mala agit in occulto, pro iniquitate librae dolosae abominabitur a Domino. At qui sinceriter agit in omnibus, qui causam et causam aequa lance discernit, is nimirum justi judicis voluntati et actioni congruit. Sanctus Beda, Super Parabolas Salomonis, Caput XI Source: Migne PL 91.971b-c

A deceitful balance is an abomination before the Lord... 1 A deceitful balance is not only found in the measuring of money but it even holds in the discretion of judgement, for he who hears the cause of the poor man in one way and the cause of a powerful man in another, and the cause of a friend in one way and that of a stranger in another, he weighs wickedly. But even the one who judges his own deeds as better than his neighbours and his own errors as lighter weighs in a deceitful balance. And also he who imposes insupportable burdens on the shoulders of men and with a finger will not move them. 2 And then he who does good deeds in public and wicked ones unseen, because of the wickedness of a deceitful balance shall be abominated by the Lord. But he who acts honestly in everything, he who discerns between cause and cause with a fair weighing, he certainly harmonises a justly judging will with action. Saint Bede, Commentary On Proverbs, Chapter 11 1 Prov 11.1 2 Mt 23.4

A Judge Counselled

Vides igitur quid auctoritas tribuat, quid suadeat misericordia. Excusationem habebis, feceris: laudem, si non feceris. Sed si non potueris facere; nec tamen nocentes atterere squalore carceris, sed absolvere, plus quasi sacardos probabo. Potest enim fieri ut causa cognita, recipiatur ad senientiam reus, qui postea aut indulgeniiam sibi petat, aut certe sine gravi severitate, quod quidam ait, habitet in carcere. Scio tamen plerosque gentilium gloriari solitos, quod incruentam de administratione provinciali securim revexerrint Si hoc gentiles, quid Christiani debent? Ad omnia tamen accipe responsum Salvatoris. Nam cum adulteram reperissent obtulerunt eam Salvatori, captantes ut si absolveret eam, videretur legem solvere, qui dixerat: Non veni legem solvere, sed adimplere: si damnaret, videretur adversus finem venisse propositi sui. Hoc igitur praevidens Dominus Jesus, inclinato capite, scribebat in terra. Quid scribebat, nisi illud propheticum: Terra, terra scribe hos viros abdicatos; quod de Jechonia descriptum est in Hieremia prophetam? Cum Judaei interpellant, in terra scribuntur nomina Judaeorum: cum adeunt Christiani, non scribuntur in terra fidelium nomina, sed in coelo. In terra autem scribuntur abdicati a patre proprio, qui patrem tentant, et contumelias irrogant auctori salutis. Cum interpellant Judaei, inciinat caput Jesus; et quia non habet ubi reclinet caput suum, iterum erigit, quasi dicturus sententiam, et ait : Qui sine peccato est, prior lapidet eam. Et iterum inclinato capite, scribebat in terra. Audientes illi exire coeperunt singuli, incipentes a senioribus: vel quod ipsi plura haberent crimina, qui diu vixerant: vel quia priores vim intellexerunt sententia, quasi prudentiores, et coeperunt sua magis peccata deflere, qui alieni criminis venerant accusatores. Recedentibus ergo illis, remansit solus Jesus, et elevans caput ad mulierem, ait: Ubi sunt, qui te accusabant? Nemo te lapidavit? Et illa respondit: Nemo. Dicit ei Jesus: Nec ego te damnabo. Vade et vide amodo ne pecces. Non damnat, quasi redemptio; corrigit , ita: quasi vita: quasi fons, abluit. Et quia quando se inclinat Jesus, ideo inclinat, ut jacentes elevet: ideo ait remissio peccatorum: Nec ego te damnabo. Habes quod sequaris; potest enim fieri, ut ille criminosus possit habere spem correctionis: si sine baptismo est, ut possit accipere remissionem: si baptizatus, ut poenitentiam gerat, et corpus suum pro Christo offerat. Quantae sunt ad salutem viae. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Epistula XXV, Studio Source: Migne PL 16.1040b-1042a

See, then, that He who gives you power would persuade you to be merciful. You will be excused if you do it, praised if you do not. But if you are not able to do it, if you are unwilling to afflict the perpetrator with the squalor of a prison, I, a priest, shall approve of you far more. For it may well be that when the cause is set forth the guilty man may be reserved for judgment, who later may ask pardon for himself, or certainly may suffer what is called a less severe stay in prison. Even pagans, I know, are accustomed to boast that they have brought back the axes from their provincial government unstained with blood. And if pagans do this what should Christians to do? In all these matters receive the answer of the Saviour. The Jews brought an adulteress they had caught to the Saviour, so that they might seize on Him if He were to forgive her, because by doing that He would appear to flout the law, He who had said, 'I do not come to destroy the law, but to fulfil it,' and if He were to condemn her, He might seem to act against the purpose of His coming. Therefore the Lord Jesus, foreseeing this, inclined His head and wrote upon the earth. What did He write but that word of the prophet, 'O Earth, Earth, write these men deposed,' which was told of Jeconiah in the prophet Jeremiah. 1 When the Jews interrupt Him, their names are written in the earth, when the Christians draw near, the names of the faithful are not written on the earth but in heaven. For they are written on the earth as cast off by their Father, they who tempt their Father, and heap insult on the author of salvation. When the Jews interrupt Him, Jesus inclines His head, but not having anywhere to lay His head, 1 He raises it again, and as if about to give sentence, says, 'Let him that is without sin cast the first stone at her.' And again He inclined His head and wrote upon the ground. When they heard this they began to go out one by one beginning with the oldest, either because those who had lived the longest had committed the most sins, or because, being wiser, they were the first to understand His meaning, and so they began to lament their own sins who had come as the accusers of the evil of another. When they departed Jesus was left alone, and lifting up His head, He said to the woman, 'Woman, where are those who accused you? Has no man cast a stone at you?' She said, 'No one.' And Jesus said to her, 'Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more.' He does not condemn because He is the Redemption, He corrects as the Life, He cleanses as the Fountain. For when Jesus bends down, He does so that He may raise up those who have fallen. Therefore the absolver of sins says, 'Neither do I condemn you.' You have here what you should follow, for it may be that there is hope of amendment for this guilty man, and if he is not baptised, that he may receive remission, and if he has been baptised that he may do penance and offer up his body for Christ. See how many ways there are to salvation. Saint Ambrose, from Letter 25, to Studius 1 Jn 8.3-, Mt 5.17, Jerem 22.29 2 Mt 8.20

The Word And Men

Sermo Domini vivus est et multiplex, quia loquitur per homines, loquitur et per se: per homines multos, per se unum. Videamus magnum sacramentum. Verbum Dei humana carne vestitum semel visibile apparuit: quotidie idipsum, iterata voce, conditum ad nos venit. Humanitatem Christi mali non solum videre, sed etiam occidere potuerunt. Quotidie sermonem Dei mali audiunt et contemnunt. Quemadmodum autem illi non occidissent, si cognovissent; ita isti nequaquam verba Dei audita contemnerent, si virtutem eorum interno sapore gustarent. Sermo Dei vivus est, quia in eo vita est et cor vivificat. Quod foris est transit, quod intus mutabilitatem non recipit. Vivus est ergo, quia non mutatur; efficax, quia non deficit. Non fallitur judicio promissio ejus, oblivione non moritur, nec intentione mutatur. Operatio ejus difficultate non vincitur, judicium ambiguitate non fallitur. Veraciter permittit, fortiter facit, subtiliter discernit. Vivus est ut credas; efficax ut speres. Penetrabliis in judiciis; vivus in praeceptis et prohibitionibus: efficax in promissis et comminationibus.  Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber VI, Tit XVII De Verbi Dei efficacia Source: Migne PL 177.820b-821a

The word of the Lord is living and manifold since it is spoken through men and through Himself, through many man and through Himself alone. Let us consider this great mystery. The word of God appeared visible, vested in human flesh, and every day by the repeated voice He becomes established in us. The wicked not only saw the humanity of Christ, but they were even able to kill it, just as every day the wicked hear the word of God and scorn it. But as they would not have killed Him if they had known Him, so men would never scorn the words of God they hear if they tasted the power of their inner flavour. The word of God is living, because in Him is life and by Him the heart is brought to life. What is outside passes away, what is within does not change. It is living, therefore, because it does not change, effective, because it does not fail. Its promise does not deceive judgement, nor does it perish in forgetfulness, nor does its meaning alter. Its work is not undone by difficulty, nor is its teaching obscured by ambiguity. It enters in truthfully, acts powerfully, judges with discernment. It is living so that you might believe, effective so that you might hope. It is penetrating for judging, alive for commanding and prohibiting, effective in promises and in warning. Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 6, from Chapter 7, On The Effective Word of God

The Faithful and the Sanctified

Omnibus sanctis qui sunt Ephesi, et fidelibus in Christo Jesu. Quoniam sanctificata est mulier in fratre fideli et vir infidelis sanctificatus est in muliere fideli. Et sunt vasa quoque sancta, et mutae pecudes quae Deo mactantur in templo: propterea eos quos sanctos dixerat, vocavit et fideles: quia fides ex mente propriae descendit arbitrio: sanctificatio vero ex sanctificantis interdum, absque voluntate nostra, sumimur largitate. Sanctus Hieronymus, In Epistolam Pauli ad Ephesios, Liber Primus Source Migne PL 26.444a-b

'To all the saints in Ephesus, and to the faithful in Jesus Christ.' 1 Because a woman is sanctified by a faithful brother and a faithless man is sanctified by the faithful wife, 2 and there are sacred vessels and there are dumb beasts that are sacrificed to God in the temple, 3 besides those whom he speaks of as sanctified, he also names the faithful, because faith comes from the judgement of one's own mind, but sanctification is from the one who sanctifies, that without our will we receive by largess. Saint Jerome, Commentary On The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians, Book 1 1. Ephes 1.1 2 1 Cor 7.14 3 Num 4. 21

Blessing And Righteousness

Μακάριοι οἱ φυλάσσοντες κρίσιν, καὶ ποιοῦντες δικαιοσύνην ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ. Τῇ αἰσθήσει τῆς ἁμαρτίας ὁ τῆς ἀρετῆς μακαρισμὸς ὑπεισέρχεται. Ο γὰρ τὰς ὑπὲρ ταύτης εὐθύνας ἐκτίνων μακαρίζει τοὺς ταύτης ἀπηλλαγμένους, καὶ δικαιοσύνῃ τὸν οἰκεῖον βίον διακοσμοῦντας. Μακαρίζει δὲ οὐ τὸν ἅπαξ τῇ δικαιοσύνη χρησάμενον, ἀλλὰ τὸν ἀεὶ καὶ διηνεκῶς τοῖς ταύτης ἑπόμενον ίχνεσι. Θεοδώρητος Ἐπίσκοπος Κύρρος, Ἑρμηνεία εἰς Τους Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμός ΡΕ’ Source: Migne PG 80.1723a

Blessed are those who keep a watch on judgement, and act righteously all the time. 1 It is by an awareness of sin that one enters into the blessing of virtue. For He who disciplines to correct blesses those who are far from such a thing and who have adorned their lives with righteousness. But He does not bless a man who once did some righteous deed, but he who always and continually cleaves to the path of virtue. Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 105 1 Ps 105.3

Accusations And Silence

Mirum forsitan videatur vobis, fratres, cur Dominus apud praesidem Pilatum a principibus sacerdotum accusetur, et taceat, nec nequitiam eorum sua responsione convincat, cum utique ingestam accusationem nonnisi refellere soleat subsecuta defensio. Mirum, inquam, fiat, fratres, quod arguatur Salvator, et taceat; taciturnitas enim interdum pro consensu habetur; videtur namque confirmare, quod objicitur, cum non vult respondere, quod quaeritur. Accusationem ergo suam Dominus tacendo confirmat? Non plane accusationem suam tacendo confirmat, sed despicit non refellendo; bene enim tacet, qui defensione non indiget. Ambiat defendi, qui metuit superari. Festinet loqui, qui timet vinci. Christus autem cum condemnatur, et superat; cum judicatur, et vincit, sicut ait propheta: Ut justificeris in sermonibus tuis, et vincas cum judicaris. Quid ergo opus erat ei loqui ante judicium, cui ipsum judicium erat plena victoria. Vincit enim cum judicatur Christus, quia sic innocens approbatur; unde ait Pilatus: Innocens ego sum a sanguine hujus justi. Melior est igitur causa, quae non defenditur, et probatur; plenior justitia est, quae non verbis astruitur, sed veritate fulcitur. Taceat lingua necesse, ubi ipsa aequitas sibi adest; taceat in bono negotio, quia et malas causas obtinere consuevit. Nolo sic defendi justitiam, sicut solet iniquitas excusari. Quod vincit Christus, non orationis est, sed virtutis; scit enim Salvator, qui est sapientia, quomodo tacendo vinceret, quomodo non respondendo superaret: atque causam suam mavult comprobare quam dicere. Quae enim res illum compelleret ad loquendum, cum silentium satis sufficeret ad vincendum? Sed fortasse metus eum cogeret, ne salutem perderet, nisi quod ipsa erat tota causa victoriae; suam enim salutem perdidit, ut salutem omnium lucraretur; in se vinci maluit, ut victor esset in cunctis. Sed quid de Christo loquar? Susanna mulier apud inimicos suos tacuit, et vicit. Non enim apud Danielem judicem verborum se ratione defendit, non patrocinii sermone tutata est; sed in sancta femina, tacente lingua, pro ea castitas loquebatur. Castitas enim Susannae adfuit in judicio, quae eam defendit et in paradiso; ibi enim pudori ejus consuluit, 143 hic saluti; ibi ne macularetur pudicitia, hic ne innocentia damnaretur. Castitas ergo Susannae et presbyteros, et impudicos convicit in paradiso, et in judicio falsos accusatores obtinuit, bisque victrix reos facit testimonii, quos reos fecerat adulterii. At quem tandem judicem meretur castitas? Danielem puerum juniorem, nec dum pubescentis aetatis. Multum igitur de Deo pudicitia consequitur, cum judicem virginem promeretur; secura enim est de victoria castitas, cui est judicatura virginitas. Pudicitiae autem causam, nisi vir pudicus audire non debuit; talem enim arbitrum meretur castimonia, apud quem non periclitetur verecundia. Cognito igitur Daniel Susannae negotio, cum eam falsis accusationibus vellet plebs imperita damnare, ait idem: Mundus ego sum a sanguine hujus. Quo dicto peccantis populi revocavit errorem. Hac ergo voce circa Susannam Daniel utitur; qua circa Dominum usus est Pilatus; ait enim Pilatus: Mundus ego sum a sanguine hujus justi. Eadem igitur sententia solvitur pudicitia, qua est absoluta justitia. Sed Daniel melius quam Pilatus; ille enim pudicum sanguinem non condemnat, sed liberat; hic autem justum sanguinem et confitetur, et tradit. Quid enim profuit testimonium perhibuisse innocentiae, et velut reum addixisse nequitiae, nisi quod gravius peccatum est, unum eumdemque et pronuntiare justum, et tradere quasi criminosum? Ipse enim iniquitatis suae testis est, qui ore absolvit, et corde condemnat. Laverit licet manus suas Pilatus, tamen sua facta non diluit; et quamvis abstergere se putaverit justi sanguinem de suis membris, eo tamen sanguine mens ejus tenetur infecta. Ipse enim occidit Christum, qui eum tradidit occidendum; judex enim constans et bonus, ne sanguinem innocentis addiceret, nec invidiae cedere debuit, nec timori. Daniel ergo melius quam Pilatus: ille peccantis populi revocavit errorem; hic autem furentis Synagogae sacrilegium confirmavit. Sanctus Maximus Taurinensis, Homilia XLVI , De accusato et judicato Domino apud Pilatum Source: Migne PL 57.331c-334b

Perhaps it seems a wonder to you, brothers, why the Lord at the court of Pilate, when He was accused by the chief priests, was silent, and did not convict their wickedness with His own answer, 1 when an accusation is not customarily allowed unless it is possible that it might be refuted by a subsequent defence. Let there be wonder here, brothers, that the Saviour is accused and is silent, for silence is held to be consent, since it seems to confirm what is asserted when one chooses not to answer what is asked. Did, then, the Lord confirm his own accusation with silence? No, plainly His silence did not confirm His accusation, but he scorned a rebuttal, for he is wisely silent who is in no need of defence. He who is keen to defend himself fears that he shall be overcome. He makes haste to speak who fears to be overthrown. But when Christ is condemned, He overcomes, and when He is convicted He conquers, as the prophet says, 'That you be justified in your words, and triumph when you are judged.' 2 What need, then, was there for Him to speak before judgement, when that judgement was full of victory? For Christ triumphs when he is judged because He is proved innocent, whence Pilate says, 'I am innocent of the blood of this righteous man.' 3 Thus better is that cause which is not defended and is proved. Greater is the righteousness which no words prop up but which the truth supports. It is necessary that the tongue be silent when justice is near, for the tongue is silent in good affairs and accustomed to labour for bad cases. Righteousness is not defended in the way that wickedness is customarily excused. Christ does not conquer with speeches but with virtue. The Saviour, who is wisdom, knows how to conquer by silence and how to overcome without answering, and in this way He prefers to prove His own case than to speak. What is it that would compel one to speak when silence is sufficient to conquer? But perhaps fear compels, lest safety be lost? Yet that was the whole cause of victory, that He should lose his safety so that He might advance the salvation of everyone. He preferred for Himself to be conquered so that He might be a victor for everyone. But why do I speak of Christ? Susanna was silent before her enemies and triumphed. 4 For it was not until Daniel that her cause was defended with words, nor was she protected with speech by lawyers, but in holy womanhood, with a silent tongue, she spoke for her chastity. Susana was chaste in judgement, which she defended in the garden. There she looked to her modesty, here to her salvation. There lest her modesty be defiled, here lest innocence be damned. Therefore the chastity of Susanna convicted the wicked elders in the garden, and in court revealed false accusers, and twice the victorious woman makes them guilty by witness who would have made her guilty of adultery. But what judge should chastity have? Daniel, a youth, who had not yet reached the age of maturity. Therefore modesty receives much from God when it merits a virginal judge. For chastity is certain of victory when it is judged by virginity. But the cause of modesty should not be heard unless before a modest man, for chastity merits such a judge, and it will be endangered without it. Thus Daniel understood Susanna's case, and when the unlearned people wished to condemn her with false accusations, he said, 'I am clean of this blood.' Which saying he exposed the error of a people at fault. With this voice Daniel was of use to Susanna, which then Pilate employed for the Lord, for he said: 'I am clean of the blood of this righteous man.' Thus modesty quashed the same sentence with its perfect justice. But Daniel was better than Pilate, since he did not condemn modest blood, but freed it, while the latter confessed blood to be righteous and then handed it over. What use to have held to the witness of innocence and then to have assented to the guilt of wickedness, unless that the sin is heavier to pronounce one and the same man just and then to hand him over as a criminal? He is a witness of his own wickedness who with his mouth absolves and with his heart condemns. Pilate may wash his hands, but he cannot make his act clean. Though he thinks to scrub the blood of a righteous man from his members, yet his mind is stained with it. For he kills Christ who hands him over to his killers. The good and constant judge, lest he abandon innocent blood, should not be overcome by envy or fear. Therefore Daniel was better than Pilate, for the former exposed the error of a people in fault, and the latter confirmed the sacrilege of the enraged Synagogue. Saint Maximus of Turin, Homily 46, On the Accusation And Judgement of the Lord before Pilate 1 Mt 27.12 2 Ps 50.6 3 Mt 27.24 4 Dan 13

Judgement And Joseph

Joseph autem vir ejus esset justus, et nollet eam traducere, voluit occulte dimittere eam. Bene justus, quoniam justitiae custos erat, videbat namque sponsam concepisse suam, quam noverat a nullo viro fuisse attactam; videbat gravidam, quam vere noverat castam, et quia legerat in propheta de radice Jesse exiet virga, et flos de radice ejus ascendet, et noverat beatam Mariam originem duxisse de stirpe David, qui fuit filius Jesse, legeratque etiam: Ecce Virgo in utreo concipiet, et pariet filium, idcirco non discredebat, vel diffidebat hanc prophetiam esse implendam in ea, et cum esset justus, et omnia juste vellet agere, dignum existimavit ut haec nulli proderet, et tamen eam non acciperet uxorem, sed, mutato proposito nuptiarum, dimitteret eam, ut maneret sponsa sicuti fuerat. Et hoc est quod dicit evangelista, et nollet eam traducere, id est palam facere, sed occulte voluit dimittere, id est tempus nuptiarum mutare; quod si fecisset, perpauci essent qui non magis autumarent eam meretricem quam virginem, et idcirco repente consilium Joseph divino mutatum est consilio, nam haec eo cogitante, ecce angelus Domini in somnis apparuit ei. Justo Joseph, juste omnia cogitanti, et disponenti bene justus directus est nuntius, qui ad conservandam Virginis famam monuit ut eam acciperet uxorem. Hinc beatissimus Ambrosius ait: Maluit Dominus quosdam de suo ortu, quam de matris pudore dubitate; maluit aliquos modum suae conceptionis ignorare, quam castitatem suae Genitricis infamare; hoc est magis elegit ut filius fabri diceretur, quam ut ejus mater adultera vocaretur. Per hoc vero quod angelus in somnis apparuit Jospeh, requies designatur mentis, et quia requiescebat a curis saecularibus, idcirco angelica visitatione pariter et locutione meruit perfrui. Remigius Antissiodorensis, Homilia IV Source: Migne PL 131.887a-d

Joseph, her man, was righteous, and unwilling to disgrace her, he wished to send her away quietly... 1 Certainly he was a righteous man, because he was a guardian of righteousness, for he saw his betrothed had conceived, whom he knew no man had touched, he saw her pregnant whom he truly knew to be chaste, and because he had read in the prophet, 'From the root of Jesse shall come forth a shoot, and a flower from the root shall rise up,' 2 and he knew the blessed Mary's lineage to be of the seed of David, who was the son of Jesse, and he had also read, 'Behold a virgin shall conceive in her womb and she shall give birth to a son,' 3 therefore he did not disbelieve or doubt that this prophecy had been fulfilled in her, and since he was righteous and wished to do everything justly, he judged it best that he would not give her over to disgrace. Yet he did not receive her as his wife, but changing the intention of marriage, he wished to send her way, so that she would remain betrothed just as she was. And this is what the Evangelist says, 'And unwilling to disgrace her,' that is, to do so publicly, 'he wished to send her away quietly,' that is to postpone the time of marriage, which if he had done, there would have been few who would not have deemed here a harlot rather than a virgin, and therefore suddenly the plan of Joseph was altered by the Divine plan, for as he was thinking on this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. To the righteous Joseph, who thinking of all things rightly, and well disposed, was yet directed by a messenger, who admonished him to preserve the reputation of the Virgin by taking her as his wife. Hence the most blessed Ambrose says that the Lord preferred that some should doubt the mother's birth than her modesty, and to be ignorant of her conception than question the mother's chastity, that is, He chose that He should be called the son of a carpenter than his mother be called an adulteress. And then through this, that an angel appeared in a dream to Joseph, the mind's rest is indicated, even that because it rested for worldly cares it thus merited the enjoyment of an angelic visitation together with its speech. Remigius of Auxerre, from Homily 4 1 Mt 1.19 2 Isaiah 11.1 3 Isaiah 7.14

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

Judging Oneself And Others

et unumque eorum coram facie sua ambulabat Nam sunt multa peccata quae committimus, sed idcirco nobis gravia non videntur, quia privato nos amore diligentes, clausis nobis oculis, in nostra deceptione blandimur. Unde fit plerumque ut et nostra gravia leviter, et proximorum mala levia graviter judicemus. Scriptum quippe est: Erunt homines seipsos amantes. Et scimus quia vehementer claudit oculum cordis amor privatus. Ex quo fit ut hoc quod nos agimus, et grave esse non existimamus, plerumque agatur a proximo, et nimis nobis detestabile esse videatur. Sed quare hoc quod nobis vile videbatur in nobis grave videtur in proximo, nisi quia nec nos sicut proximum, nec proximum conspicimus sicut nos? Si enim nos sicut proximum aspiceremus, nostra reprehensibilia districte videremus. Et rursum si proximum aspiceremus ut nos, nunquam nobis ejus actio appareret intolerabilis, qui saepe fortasse talia egimus, et nil nos proximo intolerabile fecisse putabamus. Hoc male divisum mentis nostrae judicium corrigere per legis praeceptum Moyses studuit, cum dixit ut justus deberet esse modius, aequusque sextarius. Hinc Salomon ait: Pondus et pondus, mensura et mensura, utrumque abominabile est apud Deum. Scimus quia in negotiatorum duplici pondere aliud majus, aliud minus est. Nam aliud pondus habent ad quod pensant sibi, et aliud pondus ad quod pensant proximo. Ad dandum pondera leviora, ad accipiendum vero graviora praeparant. Omnis itaque homo qui aliter pensat ea quae sunt proximi, et aliter ea quae sua sunt, pondus et pondus habet. Utrumque ergo abominabile est apud Deum, quia si sic proximum ut se diligeret, hunc in bonis sicut se amaret. Et si sic se sicut proximum aspiceret, se in malis sicut proximum judicaret. Debemus ergo nosmetipsos sollicite sicut alios videre, nosque ipsos, ut dictum est, ante nos ponere, ut pennata animalia incessanter imitantes, ne nesciamus quid agimus, coram facie nostra semper ambulemus. Perversi autem, sicut paulo ante jam diximus, coram facie sua non ambulant, quia ea quae agunt nunquam considerant, ad interitum tendunt, in pravis actibus exsultant. De quibus scriptum est: Qui laetantur cum malefecerint, et exsultant in rebus pessimis. Saepe vero justus qui eos conspicit deflet, sed ipsi phreneticorum more planguntur, et rident. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia IV Source: Migne PL 76.819b-820c

...and each one walked with his face set forward. 1 For there are many sins we commit but they do not seem grave to us, because lacking love on account of our own self love, we have closed up our eyes in the charm of our own deceit. Whence it often happens that we judge our defects to be trivial and the trivial faults of our neighbours to be weighty matters. Thus it is written: 'Men shall be lovers of themselves.' 2 And we know that it is by a lack of love that we tightly close up the eye of our heart. Because of which, that which we do ourselves and do not judge to be grave, frequently appears extremely detestable to us when done by our neighbour. But why does that which seems a light thing to us in ourselves appear so grave to us in our neighbour, unless it is that we do not look on our neighbour to be like us, nor that we are like our neighbour? For if we were to see ourselves to be like our neighbor, we would look sternly on our faults. And again if we were to see our neighbour to be like us, never would his act be intolerable to us, we who have perhaps done grave things and then think we have done nothing to our neighbour. This flawed and divisive judgment of our minds is corrected through a teaching of the law that Moses was zealous for, when he said that the measure should be right and the weight fair, 3 Hence Solomon says: 'Different weights, different measures, both are abominable to the Lord.' 4 We know that in the deceits of business there is one weight greater and one less, and likewise men have one weight when they think of themselves and another when they think of their neighbour. They are prepared for the giving of lighter weights and the reception of heavier ones. Thus all men who think of the things of his neighbour in one way and think in another way about his own have different weights, both which are abominable to the God, because if a man should love his neighbour as himself, he should love him to be amid good things. 5 And if he looks on his neighbour to be like himself, he would condemn himself in evil affairs just as he does his neighbour. We should have care, then, to see ourselves like others, so that, as has been said, we place ourselves before ourselves, so that ceaselessly imitating these winged creatures, lest we do not know what we do, we walk with our faces set forward. For the perverted, as we have said a little before, do not walk with the face set forward, because they do not think on the things they do, and racing to ruin they exult in wicked deeds. Concerning which it is written: 'They who rejoice when they do evil, and exult in the worst things.'  6 And though the righteous man who looks on them often weeps, yet they cry out in the manner of madmen, and smile. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 4 1 Ezek 1.9 2 2 Tim 3.2 3 Levit 19.36 4 Prov 20.10 5 Levit 19.18, Mt 5.43.44 6 Prov 2.14

Wisdom And Foolishness

Scriptum est: Quia mundus in Dei sapientia, per sapientiam Deum non congnovit: placuit Deo per stultitiam praedicationis salvos facere credentes. Mundus sapientiam habuit, per quam Deum non potuit cognoscere positum in sapientia sua. Sapientia mundi fuit ratio humana, secundum visibilium rerum naturam et elementa hujus mundi formata. Sapientia Dei fuit ejus ineffabilis majestas, et incomprehensibilis bonitas. Erat et prudentia mundi circa commoda carnis diligens circumspectio. Sapientia ergo mundi quae humana ratione incedit, negat fidem; prudentia autem mundi quae carnis tantum commoda quaere docet, et vitare incommoda, destruit bonam operationem. Propterea sapientiam mundi stultam reputat Deus, et prudentiam judicat inimicam, quoniam illa veritati adversatur, ista dilectioni. Propterea utramque destruxit Deus: sapientiam, per stultitiam; prudentiam, per insaniam. Quasi enim, stultitam quaedem Dei fuit secundum humanum sensum, quod ad abjecta et indigna sibi se humiliavit. Insania autem reputata, quod sine necessitate tam dura susinuit. Et tamen qui in sapientia sua cognosci non potuit, quasi in stultitia agnita est, quoniam qui in sua celesitudine manes non potuit comprehendi, in sua humilitatione coepit agnosci. Quasi enim in sua sapientia Deus fuit, quando in eo quod ipsum decere videbatur, permansit; sed ibi agnitus non est, donec quasi desipuit et indigna suscepit. Ibi autem sapientiam mundi destruxit, ubi se in eo quod stultum mundo videtur, demonstravit, ut disceret homo supra rationem mundi esse quod videbat in natura hominis Deum apparere. Deinde autem quasi per insania Deus prudentiam carnis evacuavit, quando contra ejus existimationem agens carnem suam, sine retractione ad poenas et tormenta exposuit, et sic eam ad incorruptionem resurrectionis eduxit, ostendens quod non parcendo, sed castigando et persequendo carnem servare oportet. Sic ergo quia in sapientia sua per sapientiam mundus non cognovit Deum, placuit Deo per stultitiam praedicationis salvos facere credentes. Stulta enim videbantur quae dicebantur, sed tamen per haec demonstrata magis sunt stulta quae probabantur et amabantur. Quae probabantur ratione stulta, et quae amabantur dilectione insana; illa sine veritate, ist sine utilitate. Stultum enim fuit supra carnis sensum veritatem Dei pertinaciter non recipere, et insania fruit propter carnis commodum detrimentum animae patienter sustinere. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber I, Tit CXCVII De sapientia Dei et mundi Source: Migne PL 177.586a-587a

It is written, 'Because in the wisdom of God the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save believers.' 1 The world had its wisdom, through which, established in it own wisdom, it was unable to know God. The wisdom of the world was human reason which was fashioned for visible things and the elements of this world. The wisdom of God was His ineffable majesty and incomprehensible goodness. The prudence of the world was for the affectionate care of the flesh. Therefore the wisdom of the world that is given to human reason denies faith, for the prudence of the world teaches that one should seek only the comforts of the flesh and avoid its harm, whence it ruins good work. Therefore God reckons the wisdom of the world foolishness and judges prudence to be an enemy, since the former is averse to truth, the latter to love. Whence God overthrew both, wisdom by foolishness and prudence by madness. For according to human understanding it was by a certain foolishness of God that He lowered Himself to an abject and unworthy state. And it was reputed madness that without necessity He endured such trials as He did. And yet He who was not able to be known in His own wisdom, was as by foolishness known, because He who  in His heaven cannot be comprehended began to be known in His humiliation. For He was as God in His own wisdom when He seemed to do what befitted Him, but because of that He was not known, until He, as one acting unreasonably, took up an unworthy state. And thereby He destroyed the wisdom of the world when in what seemed foolish to the world He revealed Himself, so that man might learn of the reason beyond the world, since He saw God appear in the nature of man. Finally as by madness God emptied the flesh of prudence when against its judgement He took up the flesh and exposed Himself without excuse to punishment and torment, yet by that He led it to the incorruption of resurrection, showing that it is not by being spared but by beatings and persecution that one should care for the flesh. Therefore because in its own wisdom the world did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save believers. For what the preachers say seems foolish, yet by these things the things that men have approved and loved were demonstrated to be more foolish. What they approved in reason was foolish, and what they loved with delight was madness, for the former was without truth, the latter without usefulness. For it was foolish under the understanding of the flesh to stubbornly refuse the truth of God, and insane because of the advantage to the flesh to patiently suffer the ruin of the soul. Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 1, Chapter 197, On The Wisdom of God and the World 1 1 Cor 1.21

Death And Susanna

Ingemuit Susanna, et ait: Angustiae mihi sunt undique. Undique enim mors; hinc quidem corporea, inde spiritualis. Si hoc, inquit, egero, mors mihi est; si autem non egero, non effugiam manus vestras. Vestras, o Pharisaei, manus nec adultera effugit, nec pudica: vestras accusationes nec sanctus, nec peccator evadit. Dissimulatis peccata vestra, ubi inveneritis aliena: alioquin si quis forte suum non habet, vestrum ei impingitis crimen. Quid tamen Susanna facit, inter mortem et mortem, animae scilicet et corporis, undique angustata? Melius est mihi, inquit, absque opere incidere in manus hominum, quam derelinquere legem Dei mei. Nimirum sciebat ista, quam horrendum sit incidere in manus Dei viventis. Nam homines quidem, cum occiderint corpus, animae non habent ultra quid faciant: ille autem timendus est, qui potestatem habet et corpus et animam mittere in gehennam. Quid familia Joachim tardat? Irruat per posticum, nam in pomerio clamor auditur; clamor autem luporum gravium, et balantis oviculae inter eos. Sed non patitur ab eis innoxiam devorari, qui ab ipsis eorum faucibus tam dignanter eripuit etiam eripi non merentem. Merito proinde cum duceretur ad mortem, erat cor ejus fiduciam habens in Domino, quem usque adeo timuisset, ut timorem omnem postposuisset humanum, et ipsius legem et simul vitae praeposuisset, et famae. Non enim dictus fuerat sermo hujuscemodi aliquando de Susanna. Sed et parentes ejus justi erant, et vir ejus honoratior omnium Judaeorum. Merito igitur a justo Judice justam de injustis obtinuit ultionem, quae tam vehementer justitiam esurivit, ut propter eam contemneret mortem corporis, opprobrium generis, luctum inconsolabilem amicorum. Et nos, fratres, si a Christo audivimus: Nec ego te condemnabo, si peccare jam nolumus contra ipsum, si in Christo volumus pie vivere; necesse est sustineamus persecutionem, ne malum pro malo, aut maledictum pro maledicto reddamus. Alioquin qui patientiam non servaverit, perdet justitiam; hoc est, vitam perdet; hoc est, perdet animam suam. Mihi vindictam, et ego retribuam, dicit Dominus. Ita prorsus est. Ipse retribuet, sed si ei vindictam serves, si non tollas ab eo judicium, si non reddas retribuentibus tibi mala. Faciet judicium, sed injuriam patienti; in aequitate judicabit, sed pro mansuetis terrae. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermones De Sanctis, In Festo Annuntiationis Beatae Mariae Virginis, Sermo III Source: Migne PL 183.395a-396a

Susanna groaned and said, 'There is anguish for me on all sides...' 1 For death is on all sides, here of the body, there of the spirit. 'If I shall do this it is death for me,' she says, 'but if I do not, I shall not escape your hands.' Your hands, O Pharisees, that do not turn away from an adulteress, 2 nor a modest woman. Neither a holy woman, nor a sinful one escaped your accusations. You disregard your sins where you come on those of another. Perhaps only if someone did not have yours, would you impute your crime to them. But what does Susanna do between death and death, the death of the body and the death of the soul, with anguish on all sides? 'Better it is for me,' she says, 'to fall into the hands of men, than to abandon the law of my God.' Certainly she knew that it is a terrible thing to fall into hands of the living God. For when men kill the body, beyond what they do, they do not take hold of the soul, but He is fearful who has the power to send both the body and the soul to hell. 3 Why did the family of Joachim delay? They slipped in through a side door. In the orchard a cry was heard, a cry of great wolves and the bleating of a little sheep among them. But it was not permitted they she who was harmless be devoured by them, she who was worthy to be seized from their throats did not deserve to be seized by them. With merit, then, when she was lead to death her heart had confidence in the Lord, who even then she feared, so that she set Him above every human fear, and at the same time set His law above her life and honour. For though not a word was said anywhere about this regarding Susanna, yet it was said that her parents were righteous, and her husband was a man who was most honoured among the Jews. With merit therefore, vengeance was obtained from the righteous judge against unjust men, since she so vehemently hungered for justice, and because of that cared not for this body of death, 5 and the opprobrium of the people, and the inconsolable grief of friends. And so it is with us, brothers, if we have been heard by Christ. I shall not condemn you if you have no wish to sin against Him, if you wish to live piously in Christ. It is necessary that we should endure persecution and not return evil for evil, nor a curse for a curse. 4 For he who does not cleave to patience ruins righteousness, and he ruins his life, that is, he ruins his soul. 'Vengeance is mine and I shall repay,' says the Lord. 6 So it will be. He shall repay if you guard His vengeance, if you do not take judgement away from Him, if you do not return evil to those who have given it to you. He shall give judgement, but for the one who endures wrongdoing. He shall judge fairly, but for the meek of the earth. 7 Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons On The Saints, On The Feast Of The Annunciation, from Sermon 3 1 Dan 13.22 2 Jn 8.3-11 3 Heb 10.31, Mt 10.28 4 Mt 5.6, Rom 7.24 5 1 Pet 3.9 6 Rom 12.19 7 Isaiah 11.4

Sin And Patience

Aut divitias bonitatis ejus, et sustentationis, et patientiae contemnis? Ignoras quonaim benignitas Dei ad poenitentiam te adducit? Divitias bonitatis Dei ille agnoscere potest,qui considerat quanta in terris mala quotidie homines gerunt, et quomodo pene omnes declinantes, et simul inutiles facti, latam et spatiosam perditionis ambulant viam, angusto vitae itinere neglecto, et tamen his omnibus Deum productentem solem suum quotidie, et pluvias ministrantem, et qui considerat quanti quotidie in Deum blasphemant, et in coelum extendunt linguas suas. Jam quid de fraudibus, de vi, de scelere, de sacrilegiis et piaculis dicam? Quibus tamen omnibus in hoc loco illi videntur in scelere praeferri, qui alios judicantes,ipsi commitunt quae in caeteris puniunt. Si quis ergo hanc bonitatem Dei et sustentationem ejus, et patientiam contemnit, ignorat quod per haec ad poenitentiam provocatur. Sustentatio vero a patientia hoc videtur differre, quod qui infirmitate magis, quam proposito delinquunt,sustentari dicuntur: qui vero pertinaci mente velut exsultant in delictis suis, ferri patienter dicendi sunt. Sed sicut omnia in mensura fecit Deus,et pondere, et numero,ita etiam patientiae ejus certa mensura est: quam mesuram credendum est esse consumatam vel ab his qui diluvio perierunt vel ab his qui in Sodomis colelesti igne vastati sunt. Unde et de Amorrhaeis dicitur: Nondum enim repleta sunt peccata Amorrhaeorum usque nunc. Fert ergo Deus patienter, et exspectat uniuscujusque poenitentiam. Sed non nos dissolvat hoc, et tardos ad conversionem faciat,quia rursus patientiae ejus et sustentationis certa mensura est. Origenes, Commentariorum In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Romanos, Liber II, Interprete Rufino Aquileiense Source: Migne PG 14.874b-875a

Or do you scorn the riches of His kindness and endurance and patience? Are you ignorant that the kindness of God is to lead you to penance? 1 He is able to recognise the riches of the kindness of God who considers how much evil in the world men do every day, and how everyone goes astray and at the same time do worthless things, walking in the way of ruin that is wide and easy and neglecting the narrow way of life, and yet for all these God brings forth His sun every day and serves them with rain. 2 And consider how many blaspheme God everyday and thrust out their tongues to heaven. 3 What then shall I say of lies and violence and crimes and sacrilege and shameful acts? By all which things they also appear bearing wrong, who condemn others and then do what they punish in others. If, then, someone should scorn the kindness and endurance and patience of God, he neglects that which calls him to penance. Now endurance seems to differ from patience in this way: endurance pertains to him who wanders from what is wished because of weakness, but patience is a bearing with one who exults in his wickedness because of an obstinate mind. But as God takes the measure of all things, and weighs them, and reckons them, 4 so His patience has a certain measure, which measure must be thought to have been filled up either with those who perished in the flood, or with those who were consumed by heavenly fire in Sodom. Whence it is said of the Amorites: 'Not yet even now are the sins of the Amorites filled up.' 5 Therefore God is patient and hopes for the penance of everyone. But this should not cause us to relax and make us tardy for conversion, because His patience and endurance has a certain measure. Origen, from the Commentary on the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans, Book 2, Translated by Rufinus of Aquileia 1 Rom 2.4 2 Mt 7.13-14, 5.45 3 Ps 72.9 4 Wisd 11.21 5 Gen 15.16

Judgement And Compassion

Videns autem Pharisaeus, qui vocaverat eum, ait intra se, dicens, Hic si esset propheta, sciret utique quae et qualis esset mulier quae tangit eum, quia peccatrix est. Ecce Pharisaeus veraciter apud se superbus, fallaciter justus, aegram reprehendit de aegritudine, medicum de subventione, qui ipse quoque de elationis vulnere aegrotabat, et ignorabat. Unde necesse semper est ut cum peccatores quosque coaspicimus,nosmetipsos prius in illorum calamitate defleamus. Quia fortasse in similibus aut lapsi sumus, aut labi possumus, lapsi non sumus. Et si censura magisterii debet semper virtute disciplinae vitia persequi, oportet tamen ut sollicite discernamus, quia districtionem debemus vitiis, compassionem naturae. Sanctus Beda, In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, Liber III, Caput VII Source: Migne PL 92.424d-425a

The Pharisee who had invited Him, seeing this, said to himself, 'If this man were a prophet, he would know what sort of woman she is who has touched him, for she is a sinner.' 1 Note that the Pharisee, truly proud in himself and falsely righteous, in sickness denounces sickness, and the physician for his aid, and in his elation he sickens from a wound of which he is ignorant. Whence it is always necessary that when we look upon sinners we should first lament ourselves in their ruin. Because perhaps we have fallen into similar things, or we may have fallen if we have not. And if it should be that the censure of a teacher should drive out faults with the virtue of discipline, yet it is necessary that we judge with care, for it is with a compassionate nature that we should draw from vice. Saint Bede, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Luke, Book 3, Chapter 7 1 Lk 7.39

A Deep Piercing

Unde praedicator egregius, cum loquens subtiliter diceret: Vivus est sermo Dei et efficax, et penetrabilior omni gladio ancipiti, et pertingens usque ad divisionem animae ac spiritus illico subjunxit: Compagum quoque et medullarum, et discretor cogitationum et intentionum cordis. Distinguit enim Dei sermo compages et medullas, quia discernit cogitationes et intentiones cordis. Per compages quippe ossibus ossa junguntur. Et saepe dum quid recta cogitatione agimus, sed subito in laudis amorem declinamus, atque hoc pro laude facimus quod prius facere pro veritate coeperamus, quia cogitationes cogitationibus adjunguntur, quasi quaedam in spiritu compages fiunt. Sed habent ossa, quae in compage juncta sunt, etiam medullas. Quod praedicator sanctus apertius intulit, cum subjunxit: Discretor cogitationum et intentionum cordis. Compages enim nostrae cogitationes sunt, medullae autem intentiones. Et saepe aliud cogitamus, atque aliud est quod per cogitationem intendimus. Nam si quis proposito nummorum praemio pupilli vel viduae causam defendat, et, fortasse Ecclesiam ingrediens, in suis precibus Deo dicat: Tu vides quia causam pupilli et viduae defendo, iste procul dubio quod cogitat scit, sed quo intendat ejus cogitatio ignorat. Aliud quippe cogitat, atque alio intendit. Non enim defensionem pupilli vel viduae, sed mercedem nummorum quaerit. Nam tolle temporale praemium, et pupillum ac viduam non defendit. Sermo itaque Dei discretor est cogitationum et intentionum cordis, quia non aspicit quid apud temetipsum cogitas, sed per medullam compagis, id est per intentionem cogitationis quid accipere requiras. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Secundus, Homilia IX Source: Migne PL 76.1053c-1054a

The word of God is living and active, even sharper than any two edged sword, and it pierces even to the division of soul and spirit, even to joints and marrow, and it discerns between the thoughts and the intentions of the heart. 1 The word of God distinguishes between joints and marrow since it discerns between the thoughts and the intentions of the heart. Bones are joined to bones by joints, and often while we think rightly, yet suddenly we decline from love to praise, and we do for praise what we began to do for truth, because thoughts to thoughts are joined, as if by certain joints in the spirit. But these bones, which by joints are joined, also have a marrow. Which the holy preacher openly brings forth when he adds, 'and it discerns between the thoughts and the intentions of the heart.' For the joints are our thoughts and the marrow is the intent of our heart. And often we think one thing, and we intend something else with the thought. For if someone for the promise of a payment of money defends the cause of a widow or an orphan, and perhaps he enters a church, and in his prayers he says to God, 'You see that I am defending the cause of the orphan and the widow,' this is without doubt what he thinks he knows, but his thought is ignorant of his intent. He thinks one thing and he intends another. For it is not the defence of the orphan or the widow but money he seeks. Take away the temporal reward, and he does not defend the orphan and the widow. Thus the word of the Lord discerns between the thoughts and the intentions of the heart, because it does not look to what you think about yourself, but to the marrow of the joint, that is, to the intent of the thought, what it is that you seek to gain. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 2, from Homily 9 1 Heb 4.12

Teaching And Judgement

Αὐτίκα γοῦν ὁ Μωσῆς, τῷ τελείῳ προφητικῶς παραχωρῶν παιδαγωγῷ τῷ λόγῳ, καὶ τὸ ὄνομα καὶ τὴν παιδαγωγίαν προθεσπίζει καὶ τῷ λαῷ παρατίθεται τὸν παιδαγωγόν, ἐντολὰς ὑπακοῆς ἐγχειρίσας· προφήτην ὑμῖν ἀναστήσει, φησίν, ὁ θεὸς ὡς ἐμὲ ἐκ τῶν ἀδελφῶν ὑμῶν, τὸν Ἰησοῦν τὸν τοῦ Ναυῆ αἰνιττόμενος τὸν Ἰησοῦν τὸν τοῦ θεοῦ υἱόν· σκιαγραφία γὰρ ἦν τοῦ κυρίου τὸ ὄνομα τὸ Ἰησοῦ προκηρυσσόμενον ἐν νόμῳ. Ἐπιφέρει γοῦν, τὸ λυσιτελὲς τῷ λαῷ συμβουλεύων, αὐτοῦ ἀκούσεσθε λέγων, καὶ ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ὃς ἂν μὴ ἀκούσῃ τοῦ προφήτου τούτου, τούτῳ ἀπειλεῖ. Τοιοῦτον ἡμῖν ὄνομα σωτηρίου προφητεύει παιδαγωγοῦ. Διὰ τοῦτο αὐτῷ ῥάβδον περιτίθησιν ἡ προφητεία, ῥάβδον παιδευτικήν, ἀρχικήν, κατεξουσιαστικήν, ἵν' οὓς ὁ λόγος ὁ πειθήνιος οὐκ ἰᾶται, ἀπειλὴ ἰάσεται, οὓς δὲ ἡ ἀπειλὴ οὐκ ἰᾶται, ἡ ῥάβδος ἰάσεται, οὓς δὲ ἡ ῥάβδος οὐκ ἰᾶται, τὸ πῦρ ἐπινέμεται. Ἐξελεύσεται, φησί, ῥάβδος ἐκ τῆς ῥίζης Ἰεσσαί. Ὅρα καὶ τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν καὶ τὴν σοφίαν καὶ τὴν δύναμιν τοῦ παιδαγωγοῦ· οὐ κατὰ τὴν δόξαν, φησί, κρινεῖ, οὐδὲ κατὰ τὴν λαλιὰν ἐλέγξει, ἀλλὰ κρινεῖ ταπεινῷ κρίσιν καὶ ἐλέγξει τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς τῆς γῆς. Καὶ διὰ Δαβίδ· Kύριος παιδεύων ἐπαίδευσέν με καὶ τῷ θανάτῳ οὐ παρέδωκέν με· τὸ γὰρ ὑπὸ κυρίου παιδευθῆναι καὶ παιδαγωγηθῆναι θανάτου ἐστὶν ἀπαλλαγή. Καὶ διὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ προφήτου φησίν· ἐν ῥάβδῳ σιδηρᾷ ποιμανεῖς αὐτούς. Ταύτῃ καὶ ὁ ἀπόστολος κινηθεὶς ἐν τῇ πρὸς Κορινθίους τί θέλετε; φησίν, ἐν ῥάβδῳ ἔλθω πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἢ ἐν ἀγάπῃ πνεύματί τε πραΰτητος; Ἀλλὰ καὶ "ῥάβδον δυνάμεως ἐξαποστελεῖ Kύριος ἐκ Σιὼν δι' ἄλλου προφήτου λέγει. Ἡ δὲ παιδαγωγικὴ αὕτη ἡ ῥάβδος σου καὶ ἡ βακτηρία σου παρεκάλεσάν με, εἶπέν τις ἕτερος. Αὕτη τοῦ παιδαγωγοῦ ἡ δύναμις ἡ σεμνή, ἡ παρακλητική, ἡ σωτήριος. Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς, Ὁ Παιδαγωγός, Λόγος Πρώτος, Κεφ Ζ’ Source: Migne PG 8.321c-324b

Now Moses, prophetically giving place to the perfect teacher, the Word, predicts both the name and the office of the Teacher, and giving to the people the commands of obedience, sets before them the Teacher. 'From among the brethren God will raise up a prophet for you like me,' pointing toward Jesus the Son of God by allusion to Jesus the son of Nun. For the name of Jesus predicted in the Law was a shadow of Christ. Then caring for the advantage of the people, he adds: 'You shall listen to him,' and he warns 'the man who will not hear this prophet.' 1 This name he predicts is that of the Teacher, the author of salvation. Whence prophecy equips Him with a rod, a rod of discipline and of rule and of authority, so that those whom the persuasive word does not heal, warnings may heal, and those whom warnings do not heal, the rod may heal, and those who the rod does not heal, fire shall devour. 'There shall come forth,' it is said, 'a rod out of the root of Jesse.' And then see the care and wisdom and power of the Teacher: 'He shall not judge according to opinion nor according to report, but He shall give judgement for the humble and reprove the sinners of the earth.' 2 And through David: 'The Lord in His teaching has instructed me and not given me over to death.' 3 For to be chastised by the Lord and instructed is deliverance from death. And through the same prophet He says: 'You shall rule them with a rod of iron.' 4 Thus also the Apostle, being troubled, in the Epistle to the Corinthians says, 'What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love with a spirit of meekness?' 5 And He says through another Prophet: 'The Lord shall send a rod of power from Sion,' And regarding this same rod of instruction, someone else said, 'Your rod and staff have comforted me.' 6 Such is the power of the Teacher, sacred, comforting, saving. Clement of Alexandria, The Teacher, Book 1, Chapter 7 1 Deut 18.15, 19 2 Isaiah 11.1-4 3 Ps 117.18 4 Ps 2.9 5 1 Cor 4.21 6 Ps 109.2, Ps 22.4

Better Judgements

Non secundum visionem oculorum judicabit, neque secundum auditum aurium arguet: sed judicabit in justitia pauperes, et arguet in aequitate pro mansuetis terrae, et percutiet terram virga oris sui, et spiritu labiorum suorum interficiet impium. Et erit justitia cingulum lumborum ejus, et fides cinctorium renum ejus. Haec nos ad primum adventum referimus Salvatoris: Judaei in fine mundi contendunt futura. Porro LXX transtulerunt: Non secundum gloriam judicabit, neque juxta sermonem arguet: sed judicabit humili judicio, et arguet humiles terrae. Nullius enim personam accipit in judicio: sed Scribis et Pharisaeis ac principibus loquitur: Vae vobis, hypocritae: Et, Auferetur a vobis regnum Dei, et dabitur genti facienti fructus ejus. Nec secundum sermonem et auditum aurium corripuit. Illis enim dicentibus: Magister, scimus quia verax es, et viam Dei in veritate doces, et non ad te pertinet de aliquo: neque enim vides in faciem hominum: sciens malitiam eorum, respondebat: Quid me tentatis, hypocritae? et caetera his similia. Judicabat autem in justitia pauperes spiritu, quorum est regnum Dei: et arguebat in aequitate mansuetos et humiles terrae, dicens ad Apostolos: Adhuc et vos insipientes estis? Et iterum: Necdum scitis neque intelligitis? Et ad Petrum specialiter: Modicae fidei, quare dubitasti? Vel certe pro humilibus atque mansuetis alios arguebat, qui eos opprimere conabantur. Percussit quoque omnia terrena opera virga, sive ut LXX transtulerunt, verbo oris sui, loquens in Evangelio: Nolite putare, quia venerim mittere pacem super terram: non enim veni mittere pacem, sed gladium. Et spiritu labiorum suorum interficiet impium: de quo in nono Psalmo legimus: Increpasti gentes, et periit impius: nomen eorum delesti in saeculum et in saeculum saeculi. Et Paulus Apostolus scribit: Quem Dominus Jesus interficiet spiritu oris sui. Percusso autem impio, accinctus est Dominus justitia et veritate et fide. Ipse enim factus est nobis a Deo sapientia, et justitia, et sanctificatio et redemptio, qui et in Evangelio loquitur: Ego sum lux, et vita, et veritas. Et de Psalmis dicitur: Veritas de terra orta est: et justitia de coelo prospexit. Unde et Apostolus hortatur Ephesios: State ergo succincti lumbos vestros in veritate, et induti lorica justitiae. Quod si pro veritate, fides legitur, illud dicendum, quod cingulum Domini, quo cinctus est Jeremias, fides credentium sit. Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentariorum In Isaiam Prophetam, Lib IV Source Migne PL 24.146a-147a

He shall not judge according to the vision of the eyes, nor shall he determine according to the hearing of the ear, but He shall judge the poor justly and the shall determine fairly for the meek of the earth, and He shall strike the earth with the staff of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt about His waist, and faith the girdle of His loins. 1 We refer this to the first coming of the Saviour, the Jews argue that it is about the end of the world. The Septuagint translation runs: 'He shall not judge according to glory, not shall he determine according to speech, but He shall judge with a humble judgement and determine for the humble of the earth.' For He is no respecter of persons, but He says to the Scribes and Pharisees and elders: 'Woe to you hypocrites.' And: 'The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and it shall be given to a people to produce fruits from it.' 2 He shall not chastise according to the hearing of the ear. For when they said, 'Master, we know you are true, and you teach the way of God in truth, and you are not in awe of any man, nor are you are respecter of persons,' He was aware of their cunning, and answered: 'Why do you test me, hypocrites?' 3 And other things similar to this. But He shall judge justly the poor in spirit, of whom is the kingom of heaven, and he shall determine fairly among the meek and humble of the earth, saying to the Apostles: 'Are you yet so witless?' And again: 'Do you not know nor understand?' And to Peter specifically: 'O man of little faith, why did you doubt?' 4 Or certainly he will dispute with others for the humble and meek, against those who strive to oppress them. He also strikes all worldly works with a rod, or as the Septuagint translation has it: 'With the word of His own mouth,' saying in the Gospel: 'Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth, for I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.' 5 'And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.' Concerning which in the ninth Psalm we read: 'You cried out against the people and the wicked perished, you destroyed their name in the age and forever.' 6 And Paul the Apostle writes: 'Whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of His own mouth.' 7 For when the Lord is girded with righteousness and truth and faith, the wicked are struck down. For He was made by God for us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, He who says in the Gospel: 'I am the light and life and truth.' 8 And in the Psalms it is said: 'Truth has arisen from the earth, and justice looks down from the skies.' Whence the Apostle exhorts in Ephesians: 'Therefore stand with your loins bound with truth, and wearing the breastplace of righteousness,' 9 Because if faith is read for truth, it must be said that the girdle of the Lord, with which Jeremiah was bound, is the faith of believers. 10 Saint Jerome, Commentary On The Prophet Isaiah, Book 4 1 Isaiah 11.3-4 2 Mt 23.13, 21.43 3 Mt 22.15-18 4 Mark 8.17 5 Mt 10.34 6 Ps 9.6 7 2 Thes 2.8 8 1 Cor 1.30, Jn 8.6 9 Ps 84.2, Ephes 6.14 10 Jerem 13

Error And Correct Judgement

Vos secundum carnem iudicatis.. Primae ad Corinthios tertio: Cum sit inter vos zelus et contentio, nonne carnales estis et secundum hominem ambulatis? sive iudicatis, quiaipsum purum hominem esse credebant et gloriam suam ut homo quaerere; et ideo eius testimoniumarguebant. Ego autem non iudico quemquam, in praesenti scilicet; supra tertio: Non misit Deus Filium suum in mundum, ut iudicet mundum. Non iudico, condemnando, sicut vos me modo condemnatis; et hoc non, quia non possim vel nesciam, immo scio et possum; propterea dicit: Et si iudico ego, iudicium meum verum est... Non carnale, non incertum neque secundum faciem; Isaiae undecimo: Non secundum visionem oculorum iudicabit, neque secundum auditum aurium arguet; et ideo in iudicio errare non possum: Quia solus non sum, sed ego et qui misit me Pater. Unde quia in iudicando ab ipso non discedo, ideo non erro; supra quinto: Non possum a me ipso facere quidquam, sed sicut audio, iudico, et iudicium meum iustum est. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput VIII Source: Here, p760-761

You judge according to the flesh.... 1 In the third chapter of the first letter to the Corinthians: 'When there is jealousy and contention among you, are you not carnal creatures and walking according to men?' 2 Or judging so, because they believe themselves to be pure men and as men they seek their own glory, and therefore they dispute His testimony. 'But I do not judge anyone,' that is, in the present. Above in the third chapter: 'God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world.' 3 That is, I do not judge to condemn, as you now condemn me, and not because I cannot or do not know how, for indeed I do know and am able, therefore He says: And if I judge, my judgement is true... 4 Not carnal, not uncertain, not according to appearance. In the eleventh chapter of Isaiah: 'He shall not judge according to the vision of the eyes, nor shall he determine according to the hearing of the ear.' 5 Therefore I cannot err in judgement, 'because it is not me alone, but I and He who sent me, the Father.' Whence because I am not cut off from Him in judgement, therefore I do not err. In the fifth chapter above: 'I cannot do anything from myself, but as I hear so I judge, and my judgement is just.' 6 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 8 1 Jn 8.15 2 1 Cor 3.3 3 Jn 3.17 4 Jn 8.16 5 Isaiah 11.3 6 Jn 5.30

Correction From On High

Ὁ Θρόνος σου, ὁ Θεὸς, εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος· ῥάβδος εὐθύτητος, ἡ ῥάβδος τῆς βασιλείας σου.  Ἐπειδὴ πολλὰ πρὸς τὸ ἀνθρώπινον ἀνατεινόμενος διελέχθη, ἐπανάγει νῦν ἐπὶ τὰ ὕψη τῆς περὶ τοῦ Μονογενοῦς δόξης τὸν λόγον. Ὁ Θρόνος σου, φησὶν, ὁ Θεὸς, εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος· τουτέστιν, ἡ βασιλεία σου ἐπέκεινα τῶν αἰώνων, καὶ ἐννοίας πάσης ἐστὶ πρεσβυτέρα. Καὶ καλῶς μετὰ τὴν τῶν λαῶν ὑποταγὴν τὸ μεγαλοπρεπὲς τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀνυμνεῖ. Ῥάβδος εὐθύτητος, ἡ ῥάβδος τῆς βασιλείας σου. Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἀπέδωκεν αὐτῷ τὴν ἰδίαν προσηγορίαν, σαφῶς αὐτὸν ἀναγορεύσας Θεόν· Ὁ Θρόνος σου, ὁ Θεὸς. Παιδευτική τίς ἐστιν ἡ ῥάβδος τοῦ Θεοῦ· παιδεύουσα δὲ, εὐθείας καὶ οὐ παρατετραμμένας ἐπάγει τὰς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ προσηγόρευται. Ἐὰν γὰρ ἐγκαταλίπωσιν οἱ υἱοὶ αύτοῦ τὸν νόμον μου, καὶ τοῖς κρίμασι μου μὴ πορευθῶσιν, ἐπισκέψομαι ἐν ῥάβδῳ τὰς ἀνομίας αὐτῶν. Ὁρᾷς τὴν δικαίαν κρίσιν τοῦ Θεοῦ; Οὐκ ἐπὶ τῶν τυχόντων χρῆται, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τῶν ἁμαρτανόντων. Αὔτη δὲ καὶ παρακλήσεως λέγεται ῥάβδος· Ἡ ῥάβδος γάρ σου, φησὶ, καὶ ἡ βακτηρία σου, αὖταί με παρεκάλεσαν. Αὔτη καὶ συντριμμοῦ ἐστι ῥάβδος. Ποιμανεῖς γὰρ αὐτοὺς ἐν ῥάβδῳ σιδηρᾷ ὡς σκεῦος κεραμέως συντρίψεις αὐτούς. Συντρίβεται δὲ τὰ χοῖὰ καὶ πήλινα ἐπ' εὐεργεσίᾳ τῶν ποιμαινομένων· καθὸ καὶ παραδίδοται Εἰς ὅλεθρον τῆς σαρκὸς, ἵνα τὸ πνεῦμα σωθῇ. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Εἰς Τον ΜΔ' Ψαλμον Source: Migne PG 29.404b-d

'Your throne, O God, is forever, the rod of correction is the rod of your kingdom.' 1 After concerning itself with human nature and having expended many words about it, now the prayer returns to the glorious height of the Only Begotten. 'Your throne, O God is forever,' it says. That is, your kingdom is established beyond the ages and is most ancient in every understanding. And wondrously, when your people have become obedient, they shall celebrate the magnificence of your kingdom. 'A rod of correction is the rod of your kingdom.' Whatever is the title given to Him, it is clearly calling Him God. 'Your throne, O God.' The rod is that which corrects and while it corrects it improves, and since it does not bring about perverse judgement, it is proclaimed to be of His kingdom. 'For if his sons forsake my law and do not walk in my judgements, I shall requite their iniquities with a rod.' 2 You see the just judgement of God? He does not act against just anyone but against sinners. And this same rod is  said to be one of consolation, 'For your rod and staff,' he says,'are my consolation.' 3 'You shall rule them with a rod of iron, as an earthen vessel you will shatter them.' 4 For earth and mud will be shattered because of the pleasures which rule over them, whoever is given over 'to the dissolutions of the flesh,' and 'that they might be saved.' 5 Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 44 1 Ps 44.7 2 Ps 88.31,33 3 Ps 22.4 4 Ps 2.9 5 1 Cor 5.5

Judging Rightly

Et factum est verbum Domini ad Zachariam, dicens: Haec ait Dominus exercituum, dicens: Judicium verum judicate, et misericordiam et miserationes facite, unusquisque cum fratre suo. Et viduam, et pupillum, et advenam, et pauperem nolite calumniari: et malum vir fratri suo non cogitet in corde suo. Et noluerunt attendere, et averterunt scapulam recedentem, et aures suas aggravaverunt ne audirent. Et cor suum posuerunt ut adamantem, ne audirent legem, et verba quæ misit Dominus exercituum in spiritu suo per manum prophetarum priorum: et facta est indignatio magna a Domino exercituum. Et factum est sicut locutus est, et non audierunt: sic clamabunt et non exaudiam, dicit Dominus exercituum. Et dispersi eos per omnia regna quæ nesciunt: et terra desolata est ab eis, eo quod non esset transiens et revertens: et posuerunt terram desiderabilem in desertum. LXX: Et factus est sermo Domini ad Zachariam dicens: Haec dicit Dominus omnipotens, dicens: Judicium justum judicate, et misericordiam et miserationem faciat unusquisque ad fratrem suum: et viduam, et pupillum, et pauperem non opprimatis: et malitiae unusquisque fratris sui nolite meminisse in cordibus vestris. Et noluerunt attendere, et dederunt dorsum contemnens: et aures suas aggravaverunt, ut non audirent: et cor suum posuerunt inobediens, ut non audirent legem meam, et verba mea quae misit Dominus omnipotens in spiritu suo, in manibus prophetarum priorum. Et facta est ira magna a Domino omnipotente, et erit sicut dixi, et non audierunt eum. Sic clamabunt, et non exaudiam eos, dicit Dominus omnipotens: et ejiciam eos in omnes gentes quas ignoraverunt: et terra desolata est post eos a perambulante et revertente, et posuerunt terram electam in solitudinem. Haec magis volui, ista quaesivi, quae non facientes, captivitati estis traditi; et non desolationis ac mortis quinti mensis septimique jejunium. Justum judicium judicate, ne audiatis in Psalmis: Usquequo judicatis iniquitatem, et personas peccatorum sumitis? Judicate pupillo et viduae: humilem et pauperem justificate, ne vobis quoque loquatur Isaias: Qui justificant impium propter munera: et quod justum est justo auferunt: et propter vos Abaccuc ex persona eorum qui opprimuntur, Deo faciat invidiam: Contra me factum est judicium, et judex accipit: ideo dissipata est lex, et non pervenit usque ad finem judicium, quia impius opprimit justum. Nec novum putemus Dei esee praeceptum, olim per Moysen ista mandaverat: Sic magnum judicabis ut parvum: personam non accipies, et pauperis non misereberis in judicio: quoniam Dei judicium est. Misericordiam quoque et miserationes faciet unusquisque cum fratre suo. Post judicii serveritatem sequatur in cunctos clementia, et maxime in fratres, quos vel ejusdem sanguinis, vel unius nobiscum fidei esse perspicimus. Viduam quoque et pupillum, de quibus nobis praeceptum est: Esto pupillis pater, et pro viro matri eorum; judicans pupillum, et justificans viduam. Et advenam et pauperem nolite calumniari, quia alterum peregrinatio, alterum egestas humilem facit. Et malum vir fratri suo non cogitet in corde suo, sive ut a Septuaginta dicitur: Et malitiae unusquisque fratris sui non meminerit in cordibus suis. Fratrem autem et proximum, vel omne hominum genus debemus accipere; quia ex uno sumus parente generati, vel eos qui domestici fidei sunt, juxta parabolam Evangelii, quae proximum non consanguineum, sed omnes homines vult intelligi. Quod autem ante debeat ira finiri, quam sol occumbat, et omnium malorum quae ab liis passi sumus, deleri memoria, et in multis locis legimus, et maxime in Jeremia, qui ex persona Dei loquitur: Et malitiae proximi sui unusquisque in cordibus vestris ne memineritis. Cum ego ista praeceperim, illi attendere noluerunt, et verterunt scapulam recedentem, sive dorsum contemnens, ex habitu corporis mea imperia respuentes. Solemus enim quando rugata fronte, et nare contracta contemnimus admonentes, dorsum vertere, juxta illud quod scriptum est: Verterunt ad me dorsa, et non facies suas. Sanctus Hieronymous, Commentariorum In Zachariam Prophetam, Liber II Cap VII Source: Migne PL 25.1461a-1462b

The word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying: 'Thus says the Lord of hosts: Judge with true judgement, and show mercy and compassion, each one to his brother. Do not speak ill of the widow, the orphan, the  migrant and the poor man. Let a man not think evil of his brother in his heart. And they did not listen. They turned their shoulders away, they made their ears deaf lest they hear, they hardened their hearts to adamant lest they hear the Law, even the words which the Lord of hosts sent with His spirit through the works of the prophets in times before, and the indignation of the Lord of hosts was great. And it was done as said, they did not hear. So when they called out I do not attend to them, says the Lord of hosts. So it was I scattered them thourgh every land they did not know, and their land was made desolate because of them, a place were no one came or went, for they made a land so fair a waste. The Septuagint has: 'The word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying: 'Thus says the Lord of hosts: Judge with true judgement, and show mercy and compassion, each one to his brother. Do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the migrant and the poor man, and let no one be mindful of the wickedness of his brother in his heart. And they did not hear, and they gave their backs to scorn, and they made deaf  their ears so they did not hear and they fixed their hearts in disobedience that they not hear my Law, and even the words which the Almighty Lord sent with His spirit through the hands of the prophets in times before. And the anger of the Almighty Lord was great, and it shall be as I have said, and they did not hear him. So they shall cry out, and I shall not hear them, says the Lord Almighty. I shall cast them out among all the people they do not know, and the land will be desolate because of them, for he who comes and goes, they who have made the chosen land a waste.' 1 These things I wished for, these things I sought, and because they were not done, you were handed over to captivity, and not to the desolation and mortification of the fifth and seven month fasts. 2 Judge justly lest you hear as in the Psalm: 'How long will you judge for wickedness, and put on the mask of the sinner? Judge for the orphan and the widow, justify the humble and the poor.' 3 Lest Isaiah also say to you: 'They who justify the wicked for gifts, and strip justice from the righteous man,' 4 and because of you, Habakkuk, in the person of those who are oppressed, shall speak their grievance to God, 'Judgement was made against me, and the judge received it, therefore the law is flouted, and there is no coming to true judgement, because the wicked oppress the righteous.' 5 Nor think this is a new teaching of God, that which was once commanded through Moses: 'So you shall judge the great as the small, you shall not be in awe of persons, and the poor you shall not  indulge in judgement, because it is the judgement of God.' 6 Also let everyone be merciful and compassionate with his brother. After the severity of judgement let clemency follow for all, and especially brothers, who are of your same blood, or who we see to be of the same faith with us. Also with the widow and orphan concerning which we are commanded: 'Be a father to orphans and a husband to their mother, judging for the orphan and justifying the widow.' 7 And do not speak ill of the migrant and the poor man, because you were once wanderers and you were once made needy by want. 8 And let a man not think evil of his brother in his heart, or as the Septuagint says, 'Let no one be mindful of the wickedness of his brother in his heart.' And for 'brother' we should understand a neighbour and every type of man, because we are all descended from one parent, or they are the servants of the faith, according to the parable of the Gospel, that wishes a neighbour to be understood not by blood relation but as all men. But let anger cease before the sun sets, 9 and let us suffer every evil from men, ridding ourselves of the memory of it, as we read in many places, and especially in Jeremiah, who in the person of God says: 'Let no one have the memory of a neighbour's wickedness in his heart.' 10 But when I commanded this, they were unwilling to attend, and they turned their shoulders away, or they scorned me with their backs, disregarding my teaching by a gesture of the body. For we are accustomed to ignore admonishments with the brow furrowed, and the nostrils narrowed, and with the back turned, according to which it is written: 'They turned their backs on me, and not their faces.' 11 Saint Jerome, Commentary on The Prophet Zechariah, Book 2, Chapter 7 1 Zech 7.8-14 2 Zech 7.5 3 Ps 81.2-3 4 Isaiah 5.23 5 Hab 1.3-4 6 Deut 1.17 7 Sirach 4.10 8 Deut 10.19 9 Lk 10.25-37, Ephes 4.26 10 cf Jerem 31.34 11 Jerem 2.27