PL 54 · cols. 185–189

Leo the Great, Sermons

Sermons XIX–XX

damnavit : ut intelligeremus quoniam qui esurientem non refovet, illi denegat cibum qui quod pauperi est datum, sibi dixit impensum. Et hujus maledictionis arbores erunt, quibus a judicante dicetur: Discedite a me, maledicti, in ignem aeternum, quem praeparavit Pater meus diabolo et angelis ejus. Esurivi enim, et non dedistis mihi manducare ; sitivi, et non dedistis mihi bibere, etc. (Matth. xxv, 41, 42). Quae ideo singula recoluntur, ut advertamus non futurum extra misericordiam, qui vel partem horum operum fuerit exsecutus. Anima autem neminem juvans erit arbor non habens poma, cum totius pietatis invenietur aliena.

[…] condemned: so that we might understand that he who does not refresh the hungry denies food to Him Who said that what is given to the poor is spent on Himself. And of this curse will be the trees to which it will be said by the Judge: Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire, which My Father has prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you did not give Me to eat; I was thirsty, and you did not give Me to drink, etc. (Matt. 25:41, 42). These things are recalled one by one for this reason, that we may take note that he will not be outside mercy who has carried out even a part of these works. But the soul that helps no one will be a tree that bears no fruit, since it will be found a stranger to all piety.

Decimi ergo mensis jejunium, quod hiemalis est temporis, ad agriculturam nos mysticam vocat, qua segetum et palmitum atque arborum vires, quibus humana sustentatur infirmitas, spiritalibus studiis excolantur : ut Dominicus ager suis ditetur impendiis, et quem numquam expedit esse sine fructu, de propria fiat ubertate fecundior. Quod utique intelligit sanctitas vestra, ad totius Ecclesiae profectus esse referendum, quorum in fide germen est, in spe incrementum, in charitate maturitas : quia castigatio corporis et instantia orationis tunc veram obtinent puritatem, cum eleemosynarum sanctificatione nituntur, dicente Domino: Date eleemosynam, et eece omnia munda sunt vobis (Luc. xi, 41). Quarta igitur et sexta feria jejunemus ; sabbato autem apud beatissimum Petrum apostolum vigilias celebremus, ipso praestante et adjuvante qui cum Patre et sancto Spiritu vivit et regnat per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

The fast of the tenth month, then, which belongs to the winter season, calls us to a mystical husbandry, by which the strengths of the crops and the vines and the trees, by which human weakness is sustained, are to be cultivated with spiritual efforts: so that the Lord's field may be enriched by its own outlays, and that which it is never expedient to be without fruit may become more fertile from its own abundance. This, assuredly, your holiness understands is to be referred to the advancements of the whole Church, whose seed is in faith, whose growth is in hope, whose ripeness is in charity: because the chastening of the body and the earnestness of prayer then obtain true purity, when they rest upon the sanctification of almsgiving, as the Lord says: Give alms, and behold, all things are clean to you (Luke 11:41). Let us fast, therefore, on the fourth and the sixth day of the week; and on the Sabbath let us celebrate vigils at [the church of] the most blessed Apostle Peter, He Himself granting and helping, Who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit through all ages of ages. Amen.

SERMO XIX [Al. XVIII].

SERMON XIX [Al. XVIII].

De Jejunio decimi mensis VIII.

On the Fast of the Tenth Month, VIII.

CAP. I. — Cnm de adventu regni Dei, et de fine temporum mundi discipulos suos Salvator instrueret, totamque Ecclesiam suam in apostolis erudiret :

CHAP. I. — When the Saviour was instructing His disciples about the coming of the kingdom of God and about the end of the times of the world, and was teaching His whole Church in the apostles: […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 185

Footnotes

(o) continued from col 184, set in n184

(a) ‹illi denegat cibum qui› · printed under col 185

Ms. Veronensis, quidquid pauperi; et paulo post, a judice, pro a judicante.

The Verona manuscript [reads] "quidquid pauperi" [whatever (is given) to the poor]; and a little after, "a judice" [by the judge] for "a judicante" [by the one judging].

(b) ‹cum totius› · printed under col 185

Vulgati ante Quesnellum cum ms. Gandiival. aliisque nostris recentiorum collectionum codd. inserunt vocem fructu, quam a nostris praestantissimis Lectionariis et ab exemplari Pauli Diaconi abesse deprehendimus. Solum quidam ex his habent, invenitur, pro invenietur.

The printed editions before Quesnel, with the Gandiival. manuscript and others of our codices of the more recent collections, insert the word "fructu" [fruit], which we have found to be absent from our most excellent Lectionaries and from the copy of Paul the Deacon. Only, certain of these have "invenitur" [is found] for "invenietur" [will be found].

Exemplar Pauli Diaconi, divitiis.

The copy of Paul the Deacon [reads] "divitiis" [riches].

(d) ‹totius Ecclesiae› · printed under col 185

Ita ex nostris Lectionariis Vat., S. Petri et Veron., et melius quam in Vulg., profectum, ut liquet ex sequenti relativo, quorum.

So from our Lectionaries, the Vatican, St Peter's and Verona, and better than "profectum" [advancement, singular] in the printed editions, as is clear from the following relative "quorum" [of which, plural].

(e) ‹eleemosynarum sanctificatione› · printed under col 185

Sic ex iisdem Lectionariis. Al., nitescunt.

So from the same Lectionaries. Elsewhere, "nitescunt" [they shine].

(f) ‹Quarta igitur et› · printed under col 185

Mss. duo S. Petri, duo Vat., collect. 4 et 5, et exemplar Pauli Diaconi, sexta sabbati.

Two manuscripts of St Peter's, two Vatican, collections 4 and 5, and the copy of Paul the Deacon [read] "sexta sabbati" [the sixth (day) of the week].

(g) ‹vigilias celebremus,› · printed under col 185

In Vat. 3836 desunt sequentia usque ad finem. In duobus vero S. Petri, post vocem celebremus, legitur, Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, qui cum Patre, etc.

In Vat. 3836 what follows is lacking up to the end. But in two of St Peter's, after the word "celebremus", there is read: "Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, qui cum Patre, etc." [Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who with the Father, etc.].

(h) ‹de adventu regni Dei,› · printed under col 185, continued under col 186

Praetulimus vetustiora et praestantiora Lectionaria Vat. 3836, duo basilicae S. Petri, et Veronense 74. Alias, et de mnndi fine ac temporum.

We have preferred the older and more excellent Lectionaries, Vat. 3836, two of the basilica of St Peter, and Verona 74. Elsewhere, "et de mundi fine ac temporum" [and about the end of the world and of the times].

Editors' prose

SYNOPSIS. — I. Abstinentia Domino viam parat, et mentem erigit ad coelestia. — II. Cur Quatuor Temporum jejunia instituta, quibus et subjungendum jejunium a vitiis. — III. De cultu Dei, ac de usu bonorum temporalium. De duplici jejunio.

SYNOPSIS. — I. Abstinence prepares the way for the Lord and raises the mind to heavenly things. — II. Why the fasts of the Four Seasons were instituted, to which the fast from vices also is to be joined. — III. On the worship of God, and on the use of temporal goods. On the twofold fast.

Page

running head: 185 SERMO XIX. 186 (shared with col 186)
marginal letters: A ‹damnavit : ut intelligeremus›; B ‹talibus studiis excolantur›; C ‹SERMO XIX [Al. XVIII].›; D ‹serunt vocem fructu› (in the footnotes)
old-edition numerals: 58 after ‹quem numquam expedit›
signature: none
other: the notes begin with the end of note (o) continued from col 184 (set in n184). The Synopsis is printed in col 185 after the caption of Sermo XIX.

PL 54:186

Cavete, inquit, ne forte graventur corda vestra; in crapula, et ebrietate, et cogitationibus saecularibus (Luc. xxi, 34). Quod utique praeceptum, dilectissimi, ad nos specialius pertinere cognoscimus, quibus denuntiatus dies, etiam si occultus, non dubitatur esse vicinus. Ad cujus adventum omnem hominem convenit praeparari : ne quem aut ventri deditum aut curis saecularibus inveniat implicatum. Quotidiano enim, dilectissimi, experimento probatur satietate carnis aciem mentis obtundi, et ciborum nimietate vigorem cordis hebetari, ita ut delectatio edendi etiam corporum contraria sit saluti, nisi ratio temperantiae obsistat illecebrae, et quod futurum est oneri, subtrahat voluptati. Quamvis enim sine ani⟨m⟩a nihil caro desideret, et inde accipiat sensus unde sumit et motus ; ejusdem tamen est animae, quaedam subditae sibi negare substantiae, et interiori judicio, ab inconvenientibus exteriora frenare, ut a corporeis cupiditatibus saepius libera, in aula mentis possit divinae vacare sapientiae, ubi omni strepitu terrenarum silente curarum, in meditationibus sanctis, et in deliciis laetetur aeternis. Quod etsi in hac vita difficile est continuari, potest tamen frequenter assumi, ut saepius ac diutius spiritalibus potius quam carnalibus occupemur ; et cum melioribus curis majores impendimus moras, ad incorruptibiles divitias, etiam temporales transeant actiones.

[…] Take heed, He says, lest perhaps your hearts be weighed down with surfeiting and drunkenness and worldly thoughts (Luke 21:34). This precept, beloved, we recognize as pertaining more especially to us, to whom the day that has been foretold, even if it is hidden, is not doubted to be near. For its coming it befits every man to be prepared, lest it find anyone either given over to the belly or entangled in worldly cares. For it is proved, beloved, by daily experience that the edge of the mind is blunted by satiety of the flesh, and the vigour of the heart dulled by excess of food, so that the delight of eating is contrary even to the health of bodies, unless the reason of temperance resists the allurement and withdraws from pleasure what is going to be a burden. For although the flesh desires nothing without the soul, and receives its senses from the same source from which it also takes its motion, yet it belongs to the same soul to deny certain things to the substance subject to it, and by an inner judgement to restrain the outward parts from what is unfitting, so that, more often free from bodily desires, it may be at leisure for divine wisdom in the hall of the mind, where, with all the din of earthly cares silent, it may rejoice in holy meditations and in eternal delights. And although this is difficult to keep up continuously in this life, it can nevertheless often be taken up, so that we may more often and for longer be occupied with spiritual rather than carnal things; and while we spend longer stretches on better cares, even temporal actions may pass over into incorruptible riches.

CAP. II. — Hujus observantiae utilitas, dilectissimi, in ecclesiasticis praecipue est constituta jejuniis, quae ex doctrina sancti Spiritus ita per totius anni circulum distributa sunt, ut lex abstinentiae omnibus sit ascripta temporibus. Siquidem jejunium vernum in Quadragesima, aestivum in Pentecoste, autumnale in mense septimo, hiemale autem in hoc qui est decimus celcbramus, intelligentes divinis nihil vacuum esse praeceptis, et verbo Dei ad eruditionem nostram omnia elementa servire ; dum per ipsius mundi cardines, quasi per quatuor Evangelia, incessabiliter discimus quod et praedicemus et agamus. Dicente enim propheta : Coeli enorrant gloriam Dei, et opera

CHAP. II. — The benefit of this observance, beloved, has been established above all in the Church's fasts, which by the teaching of the Holy Spirit have been so distributed through the circle of the whole year that the law of abstinence is assigned to every season. For we celebrate the spring fast in Lent, the summer fast at Pentecost, the autumn fast in the seventh month, and the winter fast in this one, which is the tenth, understanding that nothing is empty of the divine precepts, and that all the elements serve the Word of God for our instruction; while through the very hinges of the world, as through four Gospels, we learn unceasingly what we are both to preach and to do. For as the prophet says: The heavens declare the glory of God, and the works […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 186

Footnotes

(h) continued from col 185, set in n185

(i) ‹convenit praeparari :› · printed under col 186

Aliquot codd. Vat., ms. Veron. cum Homil. Pauli Diac, nec non prima edit., ne quemquam.

Some Vatican codices, the Verona manuscript with the Homiliary of Paul the Deacon, and also the first edition, [read] "ne quemquam" [lest anyone].

(j) ‹experimento probatur› · printed under col 186

Sic Lectionaria vetustissimum Vaticanum, S. Petri, et Veronen., nec non Homil. Pauli Diac., Al., potus satietate. Paulo post ms. Veronen., pro corporum, habet, corporis.

So the Lectionaries, the very old Vatican, St Peter's and Verona, and also the Homiliary of Paul the Deacon. Elsewhere, "potus satietate" [by satiety of drink]. A little after, the Verona manuscript has "corporis" [of the body] for "corporum" [of bodies].

(k) ‹tamen est› · printed under col 186

In aliquibus mss. Vat. deest, animae. Et infra, pro ab inconvenientibus, duo mss. S. Petri et duo Vat., ab introeuntibus, et pro frenare, in codd. S. Petri, refrenare.

In some Vatican manuscripts "animae" [of the soul] is lacking. And below, for "ab inconvenientibus" [from unfitting things], two manuscripts of St Peter's and two Vatican [read] "ab introeuntibus" [from things entering], and for "frenare" [to restrain], in the codices of St Peter's, "refrenare" [to rein back].

(l) ‹aeternis. Quod› · printed under col 186

Melius etsi pro si, quod erat in editis, scripsimus ex antiquissimo Vatic. duobus S. Petri, et Homil. Pauli Diac. Post p⟨a⟩uca in ms. Veron. et in Bomil, Pauli Diac. omittitur adverbium potius.

We have written "etsi" [although], better than "si" [if], which was in the printed editions, from the very old Vatican, two of St Peter's, and the Homiliary of Paul the Deacon. A little after, in the Verona manuscript and in the Homiliary of Paul the Deacon, the adverb "potius" [rather] is omitted.

(m) ‹majores impendimus moras,› · printed under col 186

Unus codex Vat. et alins Veron.. in incorruptibiles. Mox transeunt in duobus Vaticanis et prima editione.

One Vatican codex and another, the Verona, [read] "in incorruptibiles" [into incorruptible (riches)]. Next, "transeunt" [they pass] in two Vatican [manuscripts] and the first edition.

(n) ‹quasi per quatuor Evangelia,› · printed under col 186

Codex Veron., Homil. Pauli Diac. et prima editio, incessabili tuba.

The Verona codex, the Homiliary of Paul the Deacon and the first edition [read] "incessabili tuba" [with an unceasing trumpet].

Page

running head: 185 SERMO XIX. 186 (shared with col 185)
marginal letters: A ‹Cavete, inquit›; B ‹tamen est (k) animae›; C ‹circulum distributa sunt›; D ‹Petri, et Veronen.› (in the footnotes)
old-edition numerals: 59 after ‹quod futurum est›
signature: none
other: the notes begin with the end of note (h), called in col 185.

PL 54:187

manuum ejus annuntiat firmamentum : dies diei eructat verbum, et nox nocti indicat scientiam (Ps. xviii, 1, 2); quid est per quod veritas nobis non loquitur? Ipsius voces in die, ipsius audiuntur in nocte, et pulchritudo rerum unius Dei opificio conditarum, non desinit cordis auribus magistram insinuare rationem, ut invisibilia Dei per ea quae facta sunt intellecta conspiciantur (Rom. i, 20), et non creaturis, sed Creatori omnium serviatur. Cum ergo universa vitia per continentiam destruantur, et quidquid avaritia sitit, quidquid superbia ambit, quidquid luxuria concupiscit, hujus virtutis soliditate superetur ; quis non intelligat quantum nobis praesidii per jejunia conferatur? in quibus indicitur, ut non solum a cibis, sed etiam ab omnibus carnalibus desideriis temperetur. Alioqui superfluum est suscipere esuriem, et iniquam non deponere voluntatem ; reciso affligi cibo, et a concepto non resilire peccato. Carnale est, non spiritale jejunium, ubi soli corpori non parcitur, et in iis quae omnibus deliciis nocentiora sunt, permanetur. Quid prodest animae foris agere quasi dominam, et intus servire captivam, membris propriis imperare ; et jus propriae libertatis amittere ? Et merito plerumque patitur famulam rebellantem, quae non reddit Domino debitam servitutem. Jejunante ergo corpore ab escis, mens jejunet a vitiis, et curas cupiditatesque terrenas regis sui lege dijudicet.

[…] of His hands the firmament proclaims: day to day utters speech, and night to night shows knowledge (Ps. 18:1, 2); what is there through which the truth does not speak to us? His voices are heard in the day, His in the night, and the beauty of things founded by the workmanship of the one God does not cease to instil a teaching reason into the ears of the heart, so that the invisible things of God may be seen, being understood through the things that have been made (Rom. 1:20), and service may be rendered not to creatures but to the Creator of all. Since, then, all vices are destroyed through continence, and whatever avarice thirsts for, whatever pride aspires to, whatever lust covets, is overcome by the firmness of this virtue, who would not understand how much protection is conferred on us through fasts? In them it is enjoined that we abstain not only from foods but also from all carnal desires. Otherwise it is superfluous to undertake hunger and not to lay aside a wicked will; to be afflicted by the cutting off of food, and not to spring back from the sin one has conceived. It is a carnal, not a spiritual fast, where the body alone is not spared, and there is persistence in the things that are more harmful than all delights. What does it profit the soul to act outwardly as a mistress and inwardly to serve as a captive, to command its own members and to lose the right of its own freedom? And deservedly it often suffers a rebellious handmaid, the soul that does not render to its Lord the service it owes. While the body, then, fasts from foods, let the mind fast from vices, and let it judge earthly cares and desires by the law of its King.

CAP. III. — Meminerit primam dilectionem Deo, secundam deberi proximo, omnesque affectus suos hac regula dirigendos, ut nec a cultu recedat Domini, nec ab utilitate conservi. Quomodo autem Deus colitur, nisi ut quod ipsi placet, placeat et nobis; nec ab ejus imperio noster unquam resultet affectus? Quoniam si hoc quod ille vult volumus, ab illo sumet infirmitas nostra virtutem, a quo ipsam accepimus voluntatem : Deus est enim, sicut ait Apostolus, qui operatur in nobis et velle et perficere pro bona voluntate (Philip. ii, 13). Nec superbia itaque homo inflabitur, nec desperatione frangetur, si bonis divinitus datis in gloriam dantis utatur, et ab iis desideria sua revocet quae sibi nocitura cognoscit. Abstinens enim ab invidiae malignitate, a luxuriae dissolutione,

CHAP. III. — Let it remember that the first love is owed to God, the second to the neighbour, and that all its affections are to be directed by this rule, so that it withdraws neither from the worship of the Lord nor from the benefit of its fellow servant. But how is God worshipped, unless what pleases Him pleases us also, and our affection never springs back from His command? For if we will what He wills, our weakness will take strength from Him from Whom we have received the will itself: for it is God, as the Apostle says, Who works in us both to will and to accomplish according to [His] good will (Phil. 2:13). So a man will neither be puffed up with pride nor broken by despair, if he uses the goods divinely given for the glory of the Giver, and calls back his desires from the things he knows will harm him. For abstaining from the malignity of envy, from the dissoluteness of lust, […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 187

Footnotes

(a) ‹per quod veritas nobis› · printed under col 187

Unus ms. S. Petri, alius Vat. ac prima editio, non loquatur.

One manuscript of St Peter's, another Vatican, and the first edition [read] "non loquatur" [(through which) it would not speak].

(b) ‹per ea quae facta sunt› · printed under col 187

Homil. Pauli Diac., intellectu conspiciantur.

The Homiliary of Paul the Deacon [reads] "intellectu conspiciantur" [may be seen by the understanding].

Vocem praesidii supplevimus ex quatuor Lectionariis, nimirum antiquissimo Vat. duobus S. Petri et Veron. Mox idem Vat. et Veron., atque Homil. Pauli Diac., discitur, perperam pro indicitur.

We have supplied the word "praesidii" [of protection] from four Lectionaries, namely the very old Vatican, two of St Peter's and the Verona. Next, the same Vatican and Verona, and the Homiliary of Paul the Deacon, [read] "discitur" [it is learnt], wrongly for "indicitur" [it is enjoined].

(d) ‹et a concepto› · printed under col 187

Secuti sumus primam editionem et Homil. Pauli Diaconi. Caeterae editiones, non desinere, quod nullis nostris codicibus probatur : habent enim omnes corrupte, non silere ; silere autem facile quidem ex resiltre amanuensium lapsu irrepere potuit, non vero ex desinere.

We have followed the first edition and the Homiliary of Paul the Deacon. The other editions [read] "non desinere" [not to cease], which is supported by none of our codices: for all of them have, corruptly, "non silere" [not to be silent]; and "silere" could easily have crept in from "resilire" [to spring back] by a slip of the copyists, but not from "desinere".

(e) ‹foris agere› · printed under col 187

In Homil. Pauli Diaconi desunt quasi, et infra, propriis.

In the Homiliary of Paul the Deacon "quasi" [as] is lacking, and below, "propriis" [its own].

(f) ‹libertatis amittere ?› · printed under col 187

Cod. Veronensis, Ut merito plerumque patiatur.

The Verona codex [reads] "Ut merito plerumque patiatur" [so that it deservedly often suffers].

(g) ‹debitam servitutem.› · printed under col 187, continued under col 188

Prima editio, jejunet ergo corpus ab escis. Sequentes editiones. Jejunans ergo corpus ab escis. Quesnelli emendationem nostri codices confirmant. Solus codex Veron., Jejunans ergo corpore ab escis; sed in hanc lectionem subjiciendum erat mente, non mens.

The first edition [reads] "jejunet ergo corpus ab escis" [let the body, then, fast from foods]. The following editions, "Jejunans ergo corpus ab escis" [the body, then, fasting from foods]. Our codices confirm Quesnel's emendation. Only the Verona codex [reads] "Jejunans ergo corpore ab escis"; but with this reading "mente" [in mind] would have had to follow, not "mens" [the mind].

(h) ‹secundam› · printed under col 188

Codex Veron., debere se.

The Verona codex [reads] "debere se" [that it owes].

(i) ‹velle et perficere› · printed under col 188

Codd. Vatic. collect. 4 et 5, per bonam voluntatem.

The Vatican codices of collections 4 and 5 [read] "per bonam voluntatem" [through good will].

(j) ‹Nec superbia› · printed under col 188

Itaque pro dcnique libentius scripsimus ob auctoritatem plurium et praestantiorum nostrorum codicum nec non Homiliarii Pauli Diaconi.

We have more willingly written "itaque" [so] for "denique" [finally] on the authority of more and better codices of ours, and also of the Homiliary of Paul the Deacon.

Page

running head: 187 S. LEONIS MAGNI SERMONES. 188 (shared with col 188)
marginal letters: A ‹manuum ejus annuntiat›; B ‹riem, et iniquam non deponere›; C ‹Domini, nec ab utilitate conservi›; D ‹tionariis, nimirum› (in the footnotes)
old-edition numerals: 60 after ‹hujus virtutis soliditate›
signature: none
other: none

PL 54:188

a perturbatione iracundiae, a cupiditate vindictae, purificabitur veri sanctificatione jejunii, et incorruptibilium deliciarum voluptate pascetur, ut per usum spiritalem etiam terrenas copias in coelestem noverit transferre substantiam, non sibi condendo quae acceperit, sed magis magisque multiplicando quod dederit. Unde paternae charitatis affectu dilectionem vestram monemus, ut jejunium decimi mensis fructuosum vobis eleemosynarum largitate faciatis, gaudentes quod per vos Dominus pauperes suos pascit et vestit; quibus utique posset eas quas vobis contulit tribuere facultates, nisi pro ineffabili misericordia sua et illos justificare vellet de patientia laboris, et vos de opere charitatis. Quarta igitur et sexta feria jejunemus ; sabbato autem apud beatissimum apostolum Petrum vigilias celebremus, qui et orationes, et jejunia, et eleemosynas nostras precibus suis dignabitur adjuvare, praestante Domino nostro Jesu Christo, qui cum Patre et sancto Spiritu vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

[…] from the agitation of anger, from the desire of vengeance, it will be purified by the sanctification of a true fast, and will be fed with the pleasure of incorruptible delights, so that by a spiritual use it may know how to transfer even earthly riches into a heavenly substance, not by storing up for itself what it has received, but by multiplying more and more what it has given. Therefore with the affection of fatherly charity we admonish your love to make the fast of the tenth month fruitful for you by generosity in almsgiving, rejoicing that through you the Lord feeds and clothes His poor; to whom He could certainly have granted the means which He has conferred on you, were it not that in His ineffable mercy He willed to justify both them by the patience of their toil and you by the work of charity. Let us fast, therefore, on the fourth and the sixth day of the week; and on the Sabbath let us celebrate vigils at [the church of] the most blessed Apostle Peter, who will deign to assist with his prayers our prayers and fasts and alms, through the gift of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ages of ages. Amen.

SERMO XX [Al. XIX].

SERMON XX [Al. XIX].

De decimi mensis Jejunio IX.

On the Fast of the Tenth Month, IX.

CAP. I. — Dispensationes misericordiae Dei, quas Salvator noster pro humani generis reparatione suscepit, ita sunt, dilectissimi, divinitus ordinatae, ut Evangelium gratiae velamen legis tolleret, non instituta destrueret. Unde custodienda nobis est Dominica illa sententia, qua dixit se non venire legem solvere, sed implere, ut nos quoque huic regulae, quantum donante Deo possumus, serviamus : scientes nihil esse de veteris Testamenti constitutionibus negligendum, si vigilanter studeamus agnoscere quid ibi transitura obumbratione velatum, quid permansura actione sit conditum. Nam discretio ciborum

CHAP. I. — The dispensations of God's mercy, which our Saviour undertook for the restoration of the human race, have been so divinely ordered, beloved, that the Gospel of grace took away the veil of the law but did not destroy its institutions. Hence we must keep that saying of the Lord in which He said that He came not to abolish the law but to fulfil it, so that we too may serve this rule as far as, by God's gift, we are able: knowing that nothing of the ordinances of the Old Testament is to be neglected, if we study watchfully to recognize what was veiled there by a foreshadowing that was to pass away, and what was established by a practice that was to endure. For the distinction of foods […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 188

Footnotes

(g) continued from col 187, set in n187

(h), (i), (j) called in col 187, printed under col 188, set in n187

(k) ‹et illos› · printed under col 188

Vetustissimus Cod. Vat. et duo alii, justifiearet de patientia.

The very old Vatican codex and two others [read] "justificaret de patientia" [he would justify by patience].

(l) ‹Quarta igitur et› · printed under col 188

Idem antiquissimus ms. Vat. et Veron., sexta sabbati.

The same very old Vatican manuscript and the Verona [read] "sexta sabbati" [the sixth (day) of the week].

(m) ‹vigilias celebremus,› · printed under col 188

In Homiliario Pauli Diaconi, quoniam et orationes; et post adjuvare subjicitur, Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, etc.

In the Homiliary of Paul the Deacon [it reads] "quoniam et orationes" [since both our prayers]; and after "adjuvare" there follows "Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, etc." [Through our Lord Jesus Christ, etc.].

(n) ‹before the sub-caption De decimi mensis Jejunio IX.› · printed under col 188

Editus ex ms. hujus sermonis unico Nicolai Fabri, de quo vide quae diximus in praefat. ad Sermones, n. 10.

Published from the single manuscript of this sermon, that of Nicolas Le Fèvre (Faber), concerning which see what we have said in the preface to the Sermons, n. 10.

(o) ‹Nam› · printed under col 188, continued under col 189

Editi ante Quesnellum ex eodem codice, districtio. Hanc lectionem Quesnellus indicavit in margine; utrum vero ex codice an ex ingenio correxerit ignoramus.

The editions before Quesnel, from the same codex, [read] "districtio" [strictness]. Quesnel indicated this reading in the margin; but whether he corrected from a codex or from his own wit, we do not know.

Editors' prose

SYNOPSIS. — I. Alia in lege pro tempore instituta, alia etiam in nova lege permansura. Quale jejunium; et omnia praecepta moralia. — II. Jejunium decimi mensis ecclesiasticis regulis praescriptum pro agendis Deo de perceptis terrae fructibus gratiis. Terrae fecunditatem ubertas animorum aemuletur, ut Dei homo sit imitator. — III. Omnia praecepta continet charitas, qua homo a bestiis discernitur. Sic diligendus proximus a nobis, quomodo nos a Deo. A misericordiae operibus ne pauper quidem excluditur.

SYNOPSIS. — I. Some things in the law were instituted for a time, others are to endure in the new law as well. Such is fasting, and all the moral precepts. — II. The fast of the tenth month prescribed by the Church's rules for giving thanks to God for the fruits of the earth received. Let the richness of souls rival the fertility of the earth, so that man may be an imitator of God. — III. Charity, by which man is distinguished from the beasts, contains all the precepts. Our neighbour is to be loved by us as we are loved by God. Not even the poor man is excluded from works of mercy.

Page

running head: 187 S. LEONIS MAGNI SERMONES. 188 (shared with col 187)
marginal letters: A ‹a perturbatione iracundiae›; B ‹tissimum apostolum Petrum›; C ‹CAP. I. — Dispensationes›; D ‹(i) Codd. Vatic.› (in the footnotes)
old-edition numerals: 61 after ‹dilectionem vestram›
signature: none
other: the notes begin with the end of note (g), called in col 187. The Synopsis is printed in col 188 after the caption of Sermo XX. The call (n) stands before the sub-caption.

PL 54:189

et hostiarum, circumcisio carnis, differentia baptismatum, et observatio baptismorum, non adhuc sub figuratis significationibus sunt agenda, quae etiam sunt rebus ipsis quae significabantur impleta; mandata vero et praecepta moralia sicut sunt edita perseverant, quia non aliud insinuant quam loquuntur et apud Christianam devotionem augmento crescunt, non cessatione deficiunt. Diligere itaque Deum et proximum, honorare patrem et matrem, non adorare deos alienos, et caetera, quae aut terribiliter sunt prohibita, aut salubriter imperata, non aliter ex legalibus institutis quam ex evangelicis veneramur edictis, ut quamvis multa accessserint ex novitate gratiae, nihil tamen imminutum sit de antiquitate justitiae. Unde merito disposuerunt apostolicae sanctiones ut veterum jejuniorum utilitas permaneret, et licet Ecclesiae consuetudo prolixioribus se castigationibus exercere didicisset, amplecteretur tamen continentiae sanctificationem ex lege venientem : quibus enim donatum erat posse quod majus est, indecens fuit non celebrare quod minus est.

[…] and of victims, the circumcision of the flesh, the difference of baptisms and the observance of washings, are no longer to be performed under figurative significations, since they have also been fulfilled by the very things that were signified; but the moral commands and precepts endure as they were issued, because they convey nothing other than what they say, and in Christian devotion they grow by increase and do not fail by ceasing. So to love God and neighbour, to honour father and mother, not to worship strange gods, and the rest, which have been either fearfully forbidden or wholesomely commanded, we revere no differently from the ordinances of the law than from the edicts of the Gospel, so that, although much has been added by the newness of grace, nothing has been diminished of the ancient justice. Hence rightly the apostolic ordinances arranged that the benefit of the old fasts should remain, and that, although the custom of the Church had learnt to exercise itself with longer chastenings, it should nevertheless embrace the sanctification of continence that came from the law: for to those to whom it had been granted to be able to do what is greater, it was unfitting not to celebrate what is less.

CAP. II. — Hac ergo ratione, dilectissimi, evidenter instructi, ecclesiasticis regulis jejunium decimi mensis adjungimus, idque devotioni vestrae, sicut est moris, indicimus : quoniam plenum pietatis plenumque justitiae est ut terrenorum fructuum perceptione eonclusa agantur Deo gratiae, et sacrificium ei misericordiae cum jejunii immolatione solvatur. Gaudeat quisque de copia sua, et multa se horreis suis intulisse laetetur, sed ita ut de abundantia ejus etiam a pauperibus gaudeatur. Fecunditatem segetum, fluenta vitium, partus arborum, ubertas imitetur animorum : quod dedit terra, dent corda : ut possimus dicere cum propheta : Terra nostra dedit fructum sum (Ps. lxvi, 7). Deus namque verus et summus agricola non solum corporalium, sed etiam spiritualum auctor est fructuum, et utraque semina, utraque plantaria duplici novit exercere cultura : dans agris profectus germinum, dans animis incrementa virtutum, quae sicut ab una providentia sumpsere principium, ita ad unius operis vocant effectum. Homo enim, ad imaginem et simlitudinem Dei factus, nihil habet in naturae suae honore tam proprium quam ut bonitatem sui imitetur auctoris, qui donorum suorum, sicut misericors largitor est, ita est et justus exactor, volens nos operum suorum esse consortes ; ut quamvis nullam nos valeamus creare naturam, possimus tamen acceptam per Dei gratiam exercere materiam : quia non ita usui nostro bona terrena collata sunt, ut carnalium tantum sensuum voluptati satietatique servirent ; alioquin nihil a pecudibus, nihil distaremus a bestiis, quae alienis necessitatibus consulere nesciunt, et solam sui ac suorum fetuum curam habere noverunt.

CHAP. II. — Clearly instructed, then, by this reasoning, beloved, we join the fast of the tenth month to the Church's rules, and we proclaim it to your devotion, as is the custom: since it is full of piety and full of justice that, when the gathering of the fruits of the earth is completed, thanks should be given to God, and the sacrifice of mercy be paid to Him together with the offering of fasting. Let each rejoice in his plenty, and be glad that he has brought much into his barns, but in such a way that the poor too may rejoice in his abundance. Let the richness of souls imitate the fertility of the crops, the streams of the vines, the offspring of the trees: what the earth has given, let hearts give: so that we may say with the prophet: Our earth has given its fruit (Ps. 66:7). For God, the true and supreme husbandman, is the author not only of bodily but also of spiritual fruits, and knows how to work both kinds of seed and both kinds of plantings with a twofold tillage: giving to the fields the advance of their shoots, giving to souls the increase of virtues, which, as they have taken their beginning from one providence, so call to the accomplishment of one work. For man, made to the image and likeness of God, has nothing so proper to the honour of his nature as to imitate the goodness of his Author, Who, as He is the merciful bestower of His gifts, so is He also their just exactor, willing us to be sharers in His works; so that, although we are able to create no nature, we may nevertheless work the material received through the grace of God: for earthly goods have not been conferred for our use in such a way that they should serve only the pleasure and satiety of the carnal senses; otherwise we should differ in nothing from the cattle, in nothing from the beasts, which do not know how to take thought for the needs of others, and know how to have care only for themselves and their own young.

CAP. III. — Animalia igitur, carentia intellectu,

CHAP. III. — Animals, then, lacking understanding, […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 189

Footnotes

(o) continued from col 188, set in n188

(a) ‹voluptati satietatique› · printed under col 189

Alias, serviant.

Elsewhere, "serviant" [they serve].