PL 54 · cols. 190–198

Leo the Great, Sermons

Sermons XXI–XXII

nullo sunt erudita mandato, nec acceperunt legem, quae non accepere rationem ; ubi autem est illuminatio rationis, ibi est et disciplina pietatis, quae dilectionem et Deo debet et proximo. Non enim aliter probatur homo amator esso sui, nisi appareat eum et supra se naturae suae auctorem, et secundum se naturae suae amare consortem. Merito in his duobus mandatis tota lex pendet et prophetae ; merito disputationum omnium latitudo sub paucorum brevitate verborum plenissimo est explicata compendio. Diligatur Deus, diligatur et proximus, ita nt formam diligendi proximi ab ea qua nos Deus diligit dilectione sumanus, qui etiam malis bonus est, et benignitatis suae donis non solum cultores suos confovet, sed etiam negatores. Amentur propinqui, amentur extranei ; et quod debetur amicis, supererogetur inimicis. Quamvis enim quorumdam malignitas nulla humanitate mitescat, non sunt tamen infructuosa opera pietatis, nec umquam perdit benevolentia quod praestat ingrato.

[…] have been taught by no commandment, nor have they received a law, since they did not receive reason; but where there is the illumination of reason, there is also the discipline of piety, which owes love both to God and to the neighbour. For a man is not proved to be a lover of himself in any other way than if it appears that he loves both the Author of his nature above himself and the sharer of his nature next to himself. Rightly on these two commandments the whole law depends, and the prophets; rightly the breadth of all disputations has been set out in the brevity of a few words, in a most complete summary. Let God be loved, let the neighbour also be loved, so that we take the pattern of loving our neighbour from that love with which God loves us, Who is good even to the wicked, and cherishes with the gifts of His kindness not only His worshippers but also those who deny Him. Let kinsmen be loved, let strangers be loved; and what is owed to friends, let it be paid over and above to enemies. For although the malice of some is softened by no kindness, the works of piety are nevertheless not fruitless, nor does benevolence ever lose what it bestows on the ungrateful.

Nemo se, dilectissimi, ab opere bono faciat aliennm, nemo de sua tenuitate causetur, tanquam qui sibi vix sufficit, et alium juvare non possit. Magnum est quod proferat ex parvo, et in divinae lance justitiae non quantitate munerum, sed pondere pensatur animorum. Evangelica vidua duos nummos in gazophylacium misit (Marc. xii, 42), et omnium divitum dona transcendit. Nulla apud Deum vilis est pietas, nulla infructuosa miseratio. Diversos quidem hominibus dedit census, sed non diversos quaerit affectus. Aestiment omnes substantias suas, et qui plus accepere, plus tribuant. Fiat abstinentia fidelium, cibus pauperum, et quod quisque subtrahit sibi, proficiat indigenti : quia licet multum et animis et corporibus conferant remedia parcitatis, parum tamen utilia sunt ipsa jejunia, nisi misericordiae sanctificentur effectu. In eleemosynis enim virtus quaedam est instituta baptismatis, quia sicut aqua exstinguit igem, sic eleemosyna peccatum ; et per eumdem Christum dicitur, Lavamini, mundi estote (Isai. i, 16), per quem dicitur, Date eleemosynam et omnia munda sunt vobis (Luc. xi, 41) ; ut nemo ambig⟨a⟩t, nemo diffidat regenerationis sibi nitorem etiam post muta peccata restitui, qui eleemosynarum studuerit purificatione mundari.

Let no one, beloved, make himself a stranger to good work, let no one plead his slender means, as one who is barely sufficient for himself and cannot help another. Great is what he brings forth from little, and in the scale of divine justice it is weighed not by the quantity of the gifts but by the weight of the souls. The widow of the Gospel put two coins into the treasury (Mark 12:42), and surpassed the gifts of all the rich. No piety is cheap in God's sight, no compassion fruitless. He has given men different fortunes, but He does not seek different dispositions. Let all assess their resources, and let those who have received more give more. Let the abstinence of the faithful become the food of the poor, and what each withdraws from himself, let it profit the needy: because, although the remedies of frugality confer much on both souls and bodies, the fasts themselves are of little use unless they are sanctified by the effect of mercy. For in almsgiving there has been established a certain power of baptism, since as water extinguishes fire, so alms extinguish sin; and it is through the same Christ that it is said, Wash yourselves, be clean (Isa. 1:16), through Whom it is said, Give alms, and all things are clean to you (Luke 11:41); so that no one should doubt, no one should mistrust, that the brightness of regeneration is restored to him even after many sins, if he has been eager to be cleansed by the purification of almsgiving.

SERMO XXI [Al. XX],

SERMON XXI [Al. XX],

In Nativitate Domini nostri Jesu Christi I.

On the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, I.

CAP. I. — Salvator noster, dilectissimi, hodie natus est, gaudeamus. Neque enim locum fas est ibi esse tristitiae, ubi natalis est vitae ; quae consumpto mortalitatis timore, nobis ingerit de promissa aeternitate

CHAP. I. — Our Saviour, beloved, has been born today: let us rejoice. For it is not right that there should be a place for sadness where there is the birthday of life; which, the fear of mortality being consumed, brings to us, from the eternity that has been promised, […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 190

Footnotes

(b) ‹et per eumdem› · printed under col 190

Vox Christum videtur abundare, vel in ejus locum substituenda vox spiritum. QUESNELLUS.

The word "Christum" seems to be superfluous, or the word "spiritum" [spirit] should be put in its place. QUESNEL.

In aliquot mss. et in editis ante Quesnellum, nec non in exemplari Pauli Diaconi deest, ibi.

In some manuscripts and in the editions before Quesnel, and also in the copy of Paul the Deacon, "ibi" [there] is lacking.

Editors' prose

SYNOPSIS. — I. Nemimem extraneum esse a laetitia Nativitatis Domini, quae sola sine sorde peccati est. — II. Miram esse hujus mysterii dispensationem. — III. Qui novum hominem vult induere, ei veterem esse deponendum.

SYNOPSIS. — I. That no one is a stranger to the joy of the Nativity of the Lord, which alone is without the stain of sin. — II. That the dispensation of this mystery is wonderful. — III. That he who wishes to put on the new man must lay aside the old.

Page

running head: 189 SERMO XXI. 190 (shared with col 189)
marginal letters: A ‹nullo sunt erudita mandato›; B ‹micis. Quamvis enim›; C ‹nentia fidelium, cibus pauperum›; D ‹In Nativitate Domini nostri›
old-edition numerals: 63 before ‹quae non accepere rationem›; 64 before ‹SERMO XXI [Al. XX],›
signature: none
other: the Synopsis is printed in col 190 after the caption of Sermo XXI.

PL 54:191

laetitiam. Nemo ab hujus alacritatis participatione secernitur, una cunctis laetitiae communis est ratio : quia Dominus noster, peccati mortisque destructor, sicut nullum a reatu liberum reperit, ita liberandis omnibus venit. Exsultet sanctus, quia propinquat ad palmam. Gaudeat peccator, quia invitatur ad veniam. Animetur gentilis, quia vocatur ad vitam. Dei namque Filius secundum plenitudinem temporis, quam divini consilii inscrutabilis altitudo disposuit, reconciliandum auctori suo naturam generis assumpsit humani, ut inventor mortis diabolus, per ipsam quam vicerat vinceretur. In quo conflictu pro nobis inito, magno et mirabili aequitatis jure certatum est : dum omnipotens Dominus cum saevissimo hoste, non in sua majestate, sed in nostra congreditur humilitate, objiciens ei eamdem formam eamdemque naturam, mortalitatis quidem nostrae participem, sed peccati totius expertem. Alienum quippe ab hac nativitate est quod de omnibus legitur : Nemo mundus a sorde, nec infans, cujus est unius diei vita super terram (Job. xiv, 4, sec. LXX).

[…] joy. No one is shut out from sharing in this gladness; there is one common reason for joy for all: because our Lord, the destroyer of sin and death, as He found no one free from guilt, so came to free all. Let the saint exult, because he draws near to the palm. Let the sinner rejoice, because he is invited to pardon. Let the gentile take heart, because he is called to life. For the Son of God, according to the fullness of time which the unsearchable depth of the divine counsel appointed, took on the nature of the human race to reconcile it to its Author, so that the devil, the inventor of death, might be conquered through that very [nature] which he had conquered. In this conflict, entered upon for our sake, the struggle was waged by a great and wonderful law of equity: while the almighty Lord engages with the most savage enemy, not in His own majesty but in our lowliness, setting against him the same form and the same nature, sharing indeed our mortality but wholly free of sin. For foreign to this birth is what is read of all: No one is clean from stain, not even an infant whose life upon the earth is of one day (Job 14:4, according to the Septuagint).

Nihil ergo in istam singularem nativitatem de carnis concupiscentia transivit, nihil de peccati lege manavit. Virgo regia Davidicae stirpis eligitur, quae sacro gravidanda fetu divinam humanamque prolem prius conciperet mente quam corpore. Et ne superni ignara consilii ad inusitatos paveret effectus, quod in ea operandum erat a Spiritu sancto, colloquio discit angelico. Nec damnum credit pudoris, Dei genitrix mox futura. Cur enim de conceptionis novitate desperet, cui efficientia de Altissimi virtute promittitur? Confirmatur credentis fides etiam praeeuntis attestatione miraculi, donaturque Elizabeth inopinata fecunditas ; ut qui conceptum dederat sterili, daturus non dubitaretur et virgini.

Nothing, then, passed into this singular birth from the concupiscence of the flesh, nothing flowed from the law of sin. A royal Virgin of the stock of David is chosen, who, being about to become pregnant with a sacred offspring, was to conceive the divine and human Child in mind before body. And lest, ignorant of the heavenly counsel, she should be frightened at unwonted effects, she learns by the angel's discourse what was to be wrought in her by the Holy Spirit. Nor does she, soon to be the Mother of God, believe it a loss to her chastity. For why should she despair over the newness of the conception, to whom its accomplishment is promised by the power of the Most High? The faith of the believing woman is confirmed also by the witness of a preceding miracle, and unexpected fertility is granted to Elizabeth; so that it might not be doubted that He Who had given conception to a barren woman would give it also to a virgin.

CAP. II. — Verbum igitur Dei Deus, Filius Dei, qui in principio erat apud Deum, per quem facta sunt omnia, et sine quo factum est nihil (Joan. i, 1-3), propter liberandum ab aeterna morte hominem, factus est homo : ita se ad susceptionem humilitatis nostrae sine diminutione suae majestatis inclinans, ut

CHAP. II. — The Word of God, then, God, the Son of God, Who in the beginning was with God, through Whom all things were made, and without Whom nothing was made (John 1:1–3), in order to free man from eternal death, was made man: so bending Himself to take up our lowliness without diminution of His majesty that […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 191

Footnotes

(a) ‹reperit, ita› · printed under col 191

Codex Vercellensis et Homiliar. Pauli Diac., cum prima editione, pro liberandis.

The Vercelli codex and the Homiliary of Paul the Deacon, with the first edition, [read] "pro liberandis" [for the freeing of (all)].

(b) ‹inventor mortis diabolus,› · printed under col 191

Unus cod. S. Petri, et alius Bon., cum prima editione, per ipsam qua vicerat naturam vinceretur. Veron. cod. 74, per ipsam qua vicerat vinceretur.

One codex of St Peter's, and another, of Bologna, with the first edition, [read] "per ipsam qua vicerat naturam vinceretur" [might be conquered through the very nature by which he had conquered]. Verona codex 74 [reads] "per ipsam qua vicerat vinceretur" [through the very (nature) by which he had conquered].

In ms. Bon. et prima editione omittitur ei.

In the Bologna manuscript and the first edition "ei" [to him] is omitted.

(d) ‹de omnibus legitur :› · printed under col 191

Codex Corbeiensis hunc locum ita habet, Quesnello teste : Nemo mundus a sorde, nec infans unius die, si sit vita ejus super terram. In ms. S. Petri, nec infans, cujus unius diei vita super terram. In prima editione, nec infans unius diei, cujus vita est super terram. Paulo post omittitur ergo in mss. Vercel. et duobus Veron., nec non in Homil. Pauli Diaconi.

The Corbie codex, on Quesnel's testimony, has this passage thus: "Nemo mundus a sorde, nec infans unius die, si sit vita ejus super terram" [no one is clean from stain, not even an infant of one day, if his life be upon the earth]. In the St Peter's manuscript, "nec infans, cujus unius diei vita super terram" [not even an infant whose life upon the earth is of one day]. In the first edition, "nec infans unius diei, cujus vita est super terram" [not even an infant of one day, whose life is upon the earth]. A little after, "ergo" [then] is omitted in the Vercelli manuscripts and two of Verona, and also in the Homiliary of Paul the Deacon.

(e) ‹humanamque prolem prius› · printed under col 191

Codex S. Petri, et prima editio, concepit.

The St Peter's codex and the first edition [read] "concepit" [she conceived].

(f) ‹ad inusitatos paveret› · printed under col 191, continued under col 192

Ita codd. mss. tres et pleraeque editiones ad marginem ; quibus facile adjungi possunt alii duo Regii mss. codd., in quibus legitur affectus, errore librarii Sed et sensus exigit ut, hac lectione retenta, alia rejiciatur, quae in prioribus edit. habebat, affatus; non emin loquitur hic de colloquio angelico, cujus potius interventu, ut statim post legitur, exempta est Maria pavore illo quo ex inusitato conceptionis Verbi effectu affecta fuisset. QUESNELLUS. — Lectionem textus confirmant etiam cod. S. Petri, unus Veron. et exemplar Pauli Diaconi.

So three manuscript codices and most editions in the margin; to which can easily be joined two other royal manuscript codices, in which "affectus" is read by a copyist's error. And the sense too requires that, this reading being kept, the other be rejected which the earlier editions had, "affatus" [address]; for he is not speaking here of the angelic discourse, by whose intervention rather, as is read immediately after, Mary was freed from that fear with which she would have been affected by the unwonted effect of the conception of the Word. QUESNEL. — The reading of the text is confirmed also by the St Peter's codex, one of Verona, and the copy of Paul the Deacon.

(g) ‹quod in ea operandum erat› · printed under col 192

Ms. Veron., de Spiritu sancto. Mox in cod. S. Petri, didicit, pro discit.

The Verona manuscript [reads] "de Spiritu sancto" [from the Holy Spirit]. Next, in the St Peter's codex, "didicit" [she learnt] for "discit" [she learns].

(h) ‹novitate desperet,› · printed under col 192

Codd. Vaticanus, S. Petri, et Bon. ac prima editio, cujus.

The Vatican codex, St Peter's and Bologna, and the first edition [read] "cujus" [whose].

(i) ‹credentis fides etiam› · printed under col 192

Quidam vulgati, librariorum errore, praecunctis.

Certain printed editions, by the copyists' error, [read] "praecunctis" [before all].

Page

running head: 191 S. LEONIS MAGNI SERMONES. 192 (shared with col 192)
marginal letters: A ‹nitate laetitiam. Nemo›; B ‹objiciens (c) ei eamdem›; C ‹efficientia de Altissimi virtute›; D ‹(c) In ms. Bon.› (in the footnotes)
old-edition numerals: 65 before ‹quod in ea operandum erat›
signature: none
other: none

PL 54:192

manens quod erat, assumensque quod non erat, veram servi formam ei formae in qua Deo Patri est aequalis uniret (Philip. ii, 6), et tanto foedere naturam utramque consereret, ut nec inferiorem consumeret glorificatio, nec superiorem minueret assumptio. Salva igitur proprietate utriusque substantiae, et in unam coeunte personam, suscipitur a majestate humilitas, a virtute infirmitas, ab aeternitate mortalitas : et ad dependendum nostrae conditionis debitum, natura inviolabilis naturae est unita passibili, Deusque verus et homo verus, in unitatem Domini temperatur ; ut quod nostris remediis congruebat, unus atque idem Dei hominumque mediator (I Tim. ii, 5), et mori posset ex uno, et resurgere posset ex altero.

[…] remaining what He was and assuming what He was not, He united the true form of a servant to that form in which He is equal to God the Father (Phil. 2:6), and joined both natures in so close a covenant that neither did the glorification consume the lower nor the assumption diminish the higher. The property of each substance, then, being preserved, and both coming together into one person, lowliness is taken up by majesty, weakness by power, mortality by eternity: and to pay the debt of our condition, the inviolable nature has been united to the passible nature, and true God and true man are blended into the unity of the Lord; so that, as befitted our healing, one and the same Mediator of God and men (1 Tim. 2:5) could both die from the one and rise again from the other.

Merito igitur virgineae integritati nihil corruptionis intulit partus salutis : quia custodia fuit pudoris, editio veritatis. Talis igitur, dilectissimi, nativitas decuit Dei virtutem et Dei sapientiam Christum, qua nobis et humanitate congrueret, et divinitate praecelleret. Nisi enim esset, Deus verus non afferret remedium ; nisi esset homo verus, non praeberet exemplum. Ab exultantibus ergo angelis nascente Domino, Gloria in excelsis Deo canitur, et pax in terra bonae voluntatis hominibus nuntiatur (Luc. ii, 14). Vident enim coelestem Jerusalem ex omnibus mundi gentibus fabricari : de quo inenarrabili divinae pietatis opere, quantum laetari debet humilitas hominum, cum tantum gaudeat sublimitas angelorum ?

Rightly, then, the birth of salvation brought no corruption to the virginal integrity: because the bringing forth of the Truth was the safeguard of chastity. Such a birth, then, beloved, befitted Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God, by which He might both be like us in humanity and excel us in divinity. For unless He were true God, He would not bring a remedy; unless He were true man, He would not afford an example. So, when the Lord is born, Glory to God in the highest is sung by the exulting angels, and peace on earth to men of good will is announced (Luke 2:14). For they see the heavenly Jerusalem being built from all the nations of the world: over which unspeakable work of the divine goodness how greatly ought the lowliness of men to rejoice, when the loftiness of the angels rejoices so much?

CAP. III. — Agamus ergo, dilectissimi, gratias Deo Patri, per Filium ejus, in Spiritu sancto, qui propter multam misericordiam suam, qua dilexit nos, misertus est nostri ; et cum essemus mortui peccatis, convivificavit nos in Christo (Eph. ii, 5), ut essemus in ipso nova creatura, novumque figmentum. Deponamus ergo veterem hominem cum actibus suis (Eph. iv, 22; Colos. iii, 8); et adepti participationem generationis Christi, carnis renuntiemus operibus. Agnosce, o Christiane, dignitatem tuam, et divinae consors factus naturae, noli in veterem vilitatem degeneri conversatione redire. Memento cujus capitis

CHAP. III. — Let us give thanks, then, beloved, to God the Father, through His Son, in the Holy Spirit, Who because of His great mercy, with which He loved us, has had pity on us; and when we were dead in sins, He brought us to life together in Christ (Eph. 2:5), that we might be in Him a new creation and a new handiwork. Let us, then, put off the old man with his deeds (Eph. 4:22; Col. 3:8); and having obtained a share in the birth of Christ, let us renounce the works of the flesh. Recognize, O Christian, your dignity, and, having been made a partaker of the divine nature, do not return by degenerate conduct to the old baseness. Remember of what Head […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 192

Footnotes

(f) continued from col 191, set in n191

(g), (h), (i) called in col 191, printed under col 192, set in n191

(j) ‹assumptio.› · printed under col 192

Eadem habentur epist. 28, cap. 3.

The same words are found in Letter 28, chapter 3.

(k) ‹mortalitas : et› · printed under col 192

Editi ante Quesnellum, cum aliquot posteriorum collectionum codicibus, ad rependendum. Caeteri praestantiores mss. ut in textu. Paulo post, infusa est, pro unita est, in codice Veronensi. In cod. autem Padiliron. et in alio Veron., in unitate pro in unitatem.

The editions before Quesnel, with some codices of the later collections, [read] "ad rependendum" [to repay]. The other, better manuscripts [read] as in the text. A little after, "infusa est" [has been poured into] for "unita est" [has been united], in the Verona codex. But in the Polirone codex and in another of Verona, "in unitate" [in the unity] for "in unitatem" [into the unity].

(l) ‹qua nobis et› · printed under col 192

Ita mss. septem Quesnelli et omnes nostri. Prius legebatur humilitate etiam in exemplari primae editionis collect. 3.

So seven manuscripts of Quesnel and all of ours. Formerly "humilitate" [in lowliness] was read, also in the copy of the first edition of collection 3.

(m) ‹propter multam› · printed under col 192

Ita mss. codd, quinque Quesnelli. Plerique tamen nostri et Gaudiival. ejusdem Quesnelli cum anterioribus editionibus, charitatem suam.

So five manuscript codices of Quesnel. Most of ours, however, and the Gaudiival. [codex] of the same Quesnel, with the earlier editions, [read] "charitatem suam" [His charity].

(n) ‹degeneri conversatione› · printed under col 192

Duo mss. Vaticani et unus S. Petri, recidere, Vercel., retrocedere ; Padiliron., recedere.

Two Vatican manuscripts and one of St Peter's [read] "recidere" [to fall back], the Vercelli "retrocedere" [to go backwards]; the Polirone "recedere" [to withdraw].

Page

running head: 191 S. LEONIS MAGNI SERMONES. 192 (shared with col 191)
marginal letters: A ‹manens quod erat›; B ‹tati nihil corruptionis›; C ‹Deo Patri, per Filium ejus›; D ‹(h) Codd. Vaticanus› (in the footnotes)
old-edition numerals: 66 after ‹CAP. III. —›
signature: none
other: the notes begin with the end of note (f), called in col 191.

PL 54:193

et cujus corporis sis membrum. Reminiscere quia erutus de potestate tenebrarum, translatus es in Dei lumen et regnum. Per baptismatis sacramentum Spiritus sanctus factus es templum : noli tantum habitatorem pravis de te actibus effugare, et diaboli te iterum subjicere servituti : quia pretium tuum sanguis est Christi ; quia in veritate te judicabit, qui in misericordia te redemit, qui cum Patre et Spiritu sancto regnat in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

[…] and of what body you are a member. Recall that, rescued from the power of darkness, you have been transferred into the light and the kingdom of God. Through the sacrament of baptism you have been made a temple of the Holy Spirit: do not drive so great an Indweller away from you by wicked deeds, and subject yourself again to the slavery of the devil: because your price is the blood of Christ; because He will judge you in truth Who redeemed you in mercy, Who reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ages of ages. Amen.

SERMO XXII [Al. XXI].

SERMON XXII [Al. XXI].

In Nativitate Domini II.

On the Nativity of the Lord, II.

CAP. I, — Exsultemus in Domino, dilectissimi, et spiritali jucunditate laetemur, quia illuxit nobis dies redemptionis novae praeparationis antiquae, felicitatis aeternae. Reparatur enim nobis salutis nostrae annua revolutione sacramentum, ab initio promissum, in fine redditum, sine fine mansurum.

CHAP. I. — Let us exult in the Lord, beloved, and rejoice with spiritual gladness, because there has dawned for us the day of the new redemption, of the ancient preparation, of eternal happiness. For by the yearly cycle the sacrament of our salvation is renewed for us, promised from the beginning, rendered at the end, to endure without end.

Editors' notes and page, col. 193

Footnotes

(a) ‹te judicabit,› · printed under col 193

Al., qui misericorditer, Ms. Vercellensis, qai veritate te judicabit, qui misericordia te redemit Christus Dominus noster, qui vivit, etc. Padiliron. similiter praefert ; et solum claudit sic, qui cum Patre et Spiritu sancto vivit et regnat Deus per infinita saecula saeculorum. Amen.

Elsewhere, "qui misericorditer" [Who mercifully]. The Vercelli manuscript [reads] "qui veritate te judicabit, qui misericordia te redemit Christus Dominus noster, qui vivit, etc." [Who will judge you by truth, Who redeemed you by mercy, Christ our Lord, Who lives, etc.]. The Polirone [codex] presents it similarly; and it only closes thus: "qui cum Patre et Spiritu sancto vivit et regnat Deus per infinita saecula saeculorum. Amen." [Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, God, through infinite ages of ages. Amen.]

(b) ‹before the sub-caption In Nativitate Domini II.› · printed under col 193, continued under col 194

In Homiliario Pauli Diaconi, nec non in Lectionario antiquo ms. Ecclesiae Vercellensis, hic sermo alia exhibetur forma ac in editis et in aliis codicibus. Discrimen hoc loco accurate indicandum visum est. Caput primum cum editis concordat, et varietas incipit ab initio capitis secundi. Nam omissis verbis, Advenientibus ergo temporibus, dilectissimi, quae redemptioni hominum fuerant praestituta, capitis initium est : Ingreditur haec mundi infirma Filius Dei, et caetera usque ad verba, mortis legibus subjacere. Nova autem nativitate, deinde sequitur, generatus, quia inviolata virginitas concupiscentiam nescivit, substantiam ministravit. Assumpta est de matre Domini, natura, non culpa cum reliquis, quae leguntur in fine capitis 3 usque ad illa, vitium excluderet vetustatis. Hinc autem in Homiliario Pauli Diaconi et ms. Vercellensi eadem lectio habetur, quae continua serie continetur in epistola 28 S. Leonis ad Flavianum a fine capitis tertii ad medium caput quartum, id est, ab illis verbis, Nam quia gloriabatur diabolus, et caetera (quae in praesenti sermone leguntur sub finem capitis primi) usque ad ea, Assumpta est de matre Domini, natura, non culpa ; quae eodem contextu iisdemque verbis in epistola ad Flavianum recitantur. Post verba autem, vitium excluderet vetustatis, in praedictis Homiliariis non statim consequitur, ut in editis, caput 4 sermonis : Cum igitur misericrrs omnipotensque Salvator; sed interseruntur tres periodi omissae capitis tertii. Nam post verba excluderet vetustatis, haec statim leguntur : Verax namque misericordia Domini cum ad reparandum humanum genus, etc., usque ad ea, nisi de eo quod subegerat vinceretar. Tum additur caput 4: Cum igitur misericors omnipotensque, cum reliquis usque ad ea verba : Solvitur itaque lethiferae pactionis malesuasa conscriptio. Deinde, omissis nonnullis, etiam subjicitur : Fortis ille nectitur vinculis suis, et ligato mundi principe usque ad ea quae habentur circa medium cap. 5, obtineas per gratiam, quod non habebas per naturam. Tum, praetermissis reliquis capitis 5, subditur caput 6 : Habentes ergo tantae spei, et caetera usque ad finem periodi hac lectione, quam de novi, ut dtcunt, solis ortu videtur honorabilis; et omissis interjectis vocibus, transilitur ad verba, qui etsi mirandam habent pulchritudinem, adorandam tamen non habent dcitatem, cum reliquis usque ad finem sermonis. Haec tanta unius ejusdemque sermonis varietas in duobus tam vetustis exemplaribus a caeteris omnibus mss. et editionibus suspicionem injicit hunc sermonem fortc diversa forma a Leone editum fuisse ; et ex forma quae in his duobus codicibus continetur integrum testimonium continuata serie exscriptum, fuisse insertum epistola 28. Hoc indicasse sufficiat ; aliorum judicium esto.

In the Homiliary of Paul the Deacon, and also in the ancient manuscript Lectionary of the Church of Vercelli, this sermon is presented in a different form from that in the printed editions and in the other codices. It seemed right to indicate the difference accurately in this place. The first chapter agrees with the editions, and the variation begins at the start of the second chapter. For, the words "Advenientibus ergo temporibus, dilectissimi, quae redemptioni hominum fuerant praestituta" [when the times had come, beloved, which had been appointed for the redemption of men] being omitted, the chapter's beginning is: "Ingreditur haec mundi infirma Filius Dei" [the Son of God enters these weak things of the world], and the rest up to the words "mortis legibus subjacere" [to be subject to the laws of death]. Then follows "Nova autem nativitate … generatus, quia inviolata virginitas concupiscentiam nescivit, substantiam ministravit" [begotten by a new birth, because inviolate virginity knew no concupiscence, (yet) supplied the substance]. "Assumpta est de matre Domini, natura, non culpa" [from the mother of the Lord was taken nature, not guilt], with the rest which is read at the end of chapter 3 up to the words "vitium excluderet vetustatis" [should exclude the vice of the old state]. From here, however, in the Homiliary of Paul the Deacon and the Vercelli manuscript the same reading is found which is contained in continuous sequence in St Leo's Letter 28 to Flavian, from the end of the third chapter to the middle of the fourth chapter, that is, from the words "Nam quia gloriabatur diabolus" [for since the devil boasted], and the rest (which in the present sermon are read towards the end of the first chapter), up to "Assumpta est de matre Domini, natura, non culpa"; which are recited in the same context and in the same words in the letter to Flavian. But after the words "vitium excluderet vetustatis", in the aforesaid Homiliaries chapter 4 of the sermon, "Cum igitur misericors omnipotensque Salvator" [since, then, the merciful and almighty Saviour], does not follow at once, as in the editions; but three omitted periods of chapter 3 are inserted. For after the words "excluderet vetustatis" these are read at once: "Verax namque misericordia Domini cum ad reparandum humanum genus" [for the true mercy of the Lord, when for restoring the human race], etc., up to "nisi de eo quod subegerat vinceretur" [unless (he) were conquered by that which he had subdued]. Then chapter 4 is added, "Cum igitur misericors omnipotensque", with the rest up to the words "Solvitur itaque lethiferae pactionis malesuasa conscriptio" [so the ill-persuading bond of the death-bringing compact is dissolved]. Then, some things being omitted, there is also subjoined: "Fortis ille nectitur vinculis suis, et ligato mundi principe" [that strong one is bound with his own chains, and the prince of the world being bound], up to what is found about the middle of chapter 5, "obtineas per gratiam, quod non habebas per naturam" [you may obtain by grace what you did not have by nature]. Then, the rest of chapter 5 being passed over, chapter 6 is subjoined: "Habentes ergo tantae spei" [having, then, (the confidence) of so great a hope], and the rest up to the end of the period, in this reading: "quam de novi, ut dicunt, solis ortu videtur honorabilis" [than (it) seems honourable on account of the rising of the new sun, as they say]; and, the intervening words being omitted, it passes over to the words "qui etsi mirandam habent pulchritudinem, adorandam tamen non habent deitatem" [which, although they have a beauty to be wondered at, yet have no deity to be adored], with the rest up to the end of the sermon. So great a variation of one and the same sermon in two such old copies from all the other manuscripts and editions raises the suspicion that this sermon was perhaps issued by Leo in a different form; and that from the form contained in these two codices a whole testimony, copied out in continuous sequence, was inserted in Letter 28. Let it suffice to have indicated this; let the judgement be that of others.

Codex S. Petri, et in margine edit. Colon. a. 1547, Petri Cadisti, nostrae. At novae exigunt caeteri codices, et oppositio vocis antiquae. Vox reparationis erat in editis ante Quesn., uti in nonnullis mss. reperimus. Scribendum fuit, praeparationis, non tam ex Quesnelli codd. quam ex accuratioribus nostris Lectionariis et ex Homiliario Pauli Diaconi, cum praesertim sensus id cfflagitet. Temporibus enim ante Christi adventum plures prophetiae et figurae praeparatio redemptionis seu reparationis, non autem reparatio dici potuerunt.

The St Peter's codex, and in the margin of the Cologne edition of the year 1547, of Peter Cadistus, [read] "nostrae" [our (redemption)]. But the other codices require "novae" [new], as does the contrast with the word "antiquae" [ancient]. The word "reparationis" [of restoration] was in the editions before Quesnel, as we have found in some manuscripts. "Praeparationis" [of preparation] had to be written, not so much from Quesnel's codices as from our more accurate Lectionaries and from the Homiliary of Paul the Deacon, especially since the sense demands it. For in the times before the coming of Christ the many prophecies and figures could be called a preparation of the redemption or restoration, but not the restoration itself.

Editors' prose

SYNOPSIS. — I. Incarnatione Verbi primam Dei erga homines dispositionem compleri, sed sacramento occultiore. — II. Novo ordine, nova nativitate Filium Dei esse generatum. III. Cur ex Virgine nasci Christus elegerit. — IV. Illusum esse diabolum per incarnationem ex Virgine. — V. Ideo natum esse Christum in carne, ut renasceremur ex Spiritu. — VI. Non Hominis Dei, sed novi solis ortum Manichaeos colere.

SYNOPSIS. — I. That by the Incarnation of the Word God's first dispensation towards men is fulfilled, but by a more hidden sacrament. — II. That the Son of God was begotten by a new order, by a new birth. III. Why Christ chose to be born of a Virgin. — IV. That the devil was deceived through the Incarnation from the Virgin. — V. That Christ was born in the flesh so that we might be reborn of the Spirit. — VI. That the Manichees worship not [the birth] of the God-Man but the rising of the new sun.

Page

running head: 193 SERMO XXII. 194 (shared with col 194)
marginal letters: A ‹et cujus corporis sis membrum›; B ‹nem ex Virgine› (in the Synopsis); C ‹nario antiquo ms.› (in the footnotes); D ‹praesenti sermone leguntur› (in the footnotes)
old-edition numerals: 67 after ‹quia illuxit›
signature: none
other: the Synopsis is printed in col 193 after the caption of Sermo XXII; the call (b) stands before the sub-caption. The Synopsis prints "esse generatum, III." with a comma and no dash before III.

PL 54:194

in quo dignum est nos erectis sursum cordibus divinum adorare mysterium, ut quod magno Dei munere agitur, magnis Ecclesiae gaudiis celebretur. Deus enim omnipotens et clemens, cujus natura bonitas, cujus voluntas potentia, cujus opus misericordia est, statim ut nos diabolica malignitas veneno suae mortificavit invidiae, praeparata renovandis mortalibus suae pietatis remedia inter ipsa mundi primordia praesignavit ; denuntians serpenti futurnm semen mulieris quod noxii capitis elationem sua virtute contereret (Genes. iii, 15) ; Christum scilicet in carne venturum, Deum hominemque significans, qui natus ex Virgine violatorem humanae propaginis incorrupta nativitate damnaret.

[…] in which it is fitting that we, with hearts lifted up on high, should adore the divine mystery, so that what is done by the great gift of God may be celebrated with the great joys of the Church. For God, almighty and merciful, Whose nature is goodness, Whose will is power, Whose work is mercy, as soon as the devil's malice had put us to death with the poison of its envy, foretold, at the very beginnings of the world, the remedies of His goodness prepared for the renewal of mortals; announcing to the serpent the future seed of the woman, which by its power should crush the pride of his harmful head (Gen. 3:15); signifying, that is, Christ, Who was to come in the flesh, God and man, Who, born of a Virgin, should condemn the violator of the human race by an incorrupt birth.

[Nam quia gloriabatur diabolus hominem sua fraude deceptum divinis caruisse muneribus, et immortalitatis dote nudatum duram mortis subiisse sententiam, seque in malis suis quoddam de praevaricatoris consortio invenisse solatium ; Deum quoque, justae severitatis exigente ratione, erga hominem, quem in tanto honore condiderat, antiquam mutasse sententiam ; opus fuit, dilectissimi, secreti dispensatione consilii, ut incommutabilis Deus, cujus voluntas non potest sua benignitate privari, primam pietatis suae dispositionem sacramento occultiore compleret, et homo diabolicae

[For since the devil boasted that man, deceived by his fraud, had lost the divine gifts and, stripped of the dowry of immortality, had undergone the harsh sentence of death, and that he himself had found in his evils a certain consolation from the fellowship of the transgressor; and that God too, as the reason of just severity required, had changed His former purpose towards man, whom He had created in such great honour: there was need, beloved, by the dispensation of a secret counsel, that the unchangeable God, Whose will cannot be deprived of its kindness, should fulfil the first disposition of His goodness by a more hidden sacrament, and that man, driven into guilt by the cunning of the devil's wickedness, […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 194

Footnotes

(b) continued from col 193, set in n193

(d) ‹celebretur.› · printed under col 194

Cod. S. Petri, Etenim Dei in nos benignitas cujus natura, etc.

The St Peter's codex [reads] "Etenim Dei in nos benignitas cujus natura, etc." [For the kindness of God towards us, whose nature, etc.].

(e) ‹mortificavit invidiae,› · printed under col 194

Editi ante Quesn. cum Gaudiival. et nostris duobus Vat. collect. 4 et 5, praedestinata. Codices Lectionarii cum Homiliario Pauli Diaconi, praeparata.

The editions before Quesnel, with the Gaudiival. [codex] and our two Vatican [codices] of collections 4 and 5, [read] "praedestinata" [predestined]. The codices of the Lectionary, with the Homiliary of Paul the Deacon, [read] "praeparata" [prepared].

(f) ‹Deum hominemque› · printed under col 194

Ita Quesn. et nostri codd. Anteriores edit., signans.

So Quesnel and our codices. The earlier editions [read] "signans" [marking].

(g) ‹nativitate damnaret.› · printed under col 194

Uncinis inclusa eadem prorsus habentur in ep. 28, ad Flavian., c. 3 et 4.

What is enclosed in brackets is found in exactly the same words in Letter 28, to Flavian, chapters 3 and 4.

(h) ‹nudatum› · printed under col 194

Mss. S. Petri, diram.

The St Peter's manuscripts [read] "diram" [dreadful].

(i) ‹Deum quoque,› · printed under col 194

Erat in edd. juste, sine diphthongo et cum commate, ita ut hoc adverbium referretur ad verbum mutasse. Correximus ex nostris codd. emendationemque confirmat lectio epistolae 28, c. 3, justitiae exigente ratione.

In the editions there was "juste" [justly], without the diphthong and with a comma, so that this adverb was referred to the verb "mutasse" [had changed]. We have corrected it from our codices, and the reading of Letter 28, chapter 3, "justitiae exigente ratione" [as the reason of justice required], confirms the emendation.

(j) ‹opus fuit, dilectissimi,› · printed under col 194

Ms. Vercellensis, secreta dispensatione.

The Vercelli manuscript [reads] "secreta dispensatione" [by a secret dispensation].

Page

running head: 193 SERMO XXII. 194 (shared with col 193)
marginal letters: A ‹in quo dignum est›; B ‹muneribus, et immortalitatis›; C ‹dam habent pulchritudinem› (in the footnotes); D ‹tem reparatio dici› (in the footnotes)
old-edition numerals: 68 before ‹Deum quoque›
signature: none
other: the square bracket before ‹Nam quia gloriabatur› is printed in the text (the editors' "uncini", note g); it closes in col 195. The word diabolicae is hyphenated across the break into col 195 and set whole in col 194.

PL 54:195

iniquitatis versutia actus in culpam, contra Dei propositum non periret.]

[…] should not perish contrary to the purpose of God.]

CAP. II. — Advenientibus ergo temporibus, dilectissimi, quae redemptioni hominum fuerant praestituta, [ingreditur haec mundi infima Jesus Christus Filius Dei, de coelesti sede descendens, et a paterna gloria non recedens, novo ordine, nova nativitate generatus. Novo ordine, quia invisibilis in suis, visibilis factus est in nostris ; incomprehensibilis voluit comprehendi ; ante tempora manens, esse cepit ex tempore ; universitatis Dominus servilem formam, obumbrata majestatis suae dignitate, suscepit ; impassibilis Deus non dedignatus est homo esse passibilis, et immortalis mortis legibus subjacere].

CHAP. II. — When, then, the times had come, beloved, which had been appointed for the redemption of men, [Jesus Christ, the Son of God, enters these lowest parts of the world, descending from the heavenly throne and not withdrawing from the Father's glory, begotten by a new order, by a new birth. By a new order, because, invisible in what is His own, He was made visible in what is ours; the incomprehensible willed to be comprehended; abiding before times, He began to be in time; the Lord of the universe took the form of a servant, the dignity of His majesty being overshadowed; the impassible God did not disdain to be passible man, and the immortal to be subject to the laws of death].

Nova autem nativitate genitus est, conceptus a Virgine, natus ex Virgine, sine paternae carnis concupiscentia, sine maternae integritatis injuria : quia futurum hominum Salvatorem talis ortus decebat, qui et in se haberet humanae substantiae naturam, et humanae carnis inquinamenta nesciret. Auctor enim Deo in carne nascenti Deus est, testante archangelo ad beatam Virginem Mariam : Quia Spiritus sanctus superveniet in te, et virtus Altissimi obumbrabit tibi ; ideoque quod nascetur ex te sanctum, vocabitur Filius Dei (Luc. i, 35). Origo dissimilis, sed natura consimilis ; humano usu et consuetudine caret, sed divina potestate subnixum est, quod virgo conceperit, quod virgo pepererit, et virgo permanserit. Non hic cogitetur parientis conditio, sed nascentis arbitrium, qui sic homo natus est, ut volebat et poterat. Si veritatem quaeris naturae, humanam cognosce materiam ; si rationem scrutaris originis, virtutem confitere divinam. Venit enim Dominus Jesus Christus contagia nostra auferre, non perpeti ; nec succumbere vitiis, sed mederi. Venit ut omnem languorem corruptionis et universa ulcera sordentium curaret animarum : propter quod oportuit ut novo nasceretur ordine, qui novam impollutae sinceritatis gratiam humanis

And He was begotten by a new birth, conceived by a Virgin, born of a Virgin, without the concupiscence of a father's flesh, without injury to the mother's integrity: because such a birth befitted the future Saviour of men, Who should both have in Himself the nature of human substance and know nothing of the defilements of human flesh. For the Author of God being born in the flesh is God, as the archangel testifies to the blessed Virgin Mary: Because the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and therefore the holy thing that will be born of you will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35). The origin is unlike, but the nature is like; that a virgin should conceive, that a virgin should give birth and remain a virgin, lacks human use and custom, but rests on divine power. Let not the condition of her who bears be considered here, but the free choice of Him Who is born, Who was born man in such a way as He willed and was able. If you seek the truth of His nature, recognize the human material; if you search out the reason of His origin, confess the divine power. For the Lord Jesus Christ came to take away our contagions, not to suffer them; not to succumb to vices, but to heal them. He came to cure every languor of corruption and all the sores of befouled souls: for which reason it was fitting that He should be born by a new order, Who was bringing to human […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 195

Footnotes

(a) ‹iniquitatis versutia› · printed under col 195

Prima editio et mss. S. Petri, atque Bon.. coactus in culpam.

The first edition and the manuscripts of St Peter's and of Bologna [read] "coactus in culpam" [forced into guilt].

(b) ‹ingreditur› · printed under col 195

Editi, haec infima. Inseruimus mundi auctoritate codicum S. Petri, Vercellensis, Patavini, S. Antonii, Veneti, et Homil. Pauli Diaconi. In ep. quidem 28, ad Flavianum, cap. 4, in quam hic locus a Leone traductus fuit, omnes codd. praeferunt mundi. Nonnulli codd. in hoc sermone, sicut et in eadem epistola, pro infima, habent infirma. Mox editi ante Quesnellum cum quibusdam mss. habent, Dominus noster, vel Deus noster, loco verborum, Filius Dei.

The editions [read] "haec infima" [these lowest parts]. We have inserted "mundi" [of the world] on the authority of the codices of St Peter's, Vercelli, Padua, St Anthony's, Venice, and the Homiliary of Paul the Deacon. Indeed in Letter 28, to Flavian, chapter 4, into which this passage was carried over by Leo, all the codices present "mundi". Some codices in this sermon, as also in the same letter, have "infirma" [weak parts] for "infima". Next, the editions before Quesnel, with certain manuscripts, have "Dominus noster" [our Lord] or "Deus noster" [our God] in place of the words "Filius Dei" [Son of God].

Duo mss. Vat. et Bon., cum prima editione, generatus quia conceptus a Virgine. Duo S. Petri, generatus est quia conceptus ex Virgine.

Two Vatican manuscripts and the Bologna, with the first edition, [read] "generatus quia conceptus a Virgine" [begotten, because conceived by a Virgin]. Two of St Peter's, "generatus est quia conceptus ex Virgine" [He was begotten, because conceived of a Virgin].

(d) ‹Auctor enim› · printed under col 195

In editis ante Quesnellum et in codd. posteriorum collectionum abest Deo.

In the editions before Quesnel and in the codices of the later collections "Deo" [of God] is absent.

(e) ‹quod nascetur› · printed under col 195

Duo mss. S. P⟨e⟩tri, de te.

Two manuscripts of St Peter's [read] "de te" [from you].

(f) ‹humano usu et consuetudine› · printed under col 195

Editi inserunt, quod credimus, quae verba non necessaria melius expunximus ope meliorum codd. S. Petri et primae editionis. Dein unus ms. liber S. Petri et alius Venet., ut virgo conceperit, et virgo pepererit, etc. In uno Vat. deest secundo loco, quod.

The editions insert "quod credimus" [which we believe], words not needed which we have preferred to strike out with the help of the better codices of St Peter's and of the first edition. Then one manuscript book of St Peter's and another of Venice [read] "ut virgo conceperit, et virgo pepererit, etc." [that a virgin should conceive, and a virgin give birth, etc.]. In one Vatican [codex] "quod" [that] is lacking in the second place.

(g) ‹qui sic homo› · printed under col 195

Tres mss. Vat., unus S. Petri, ac prima editio, factus est. Caeteri ut in textu.

Three Vatican manuscripts, one of St Peter's, and the first edition [read] "factus est" [was made]. The others as in the text.

(h) ‹Si veritatem quaeris› · printed under col 195

Ita edidit Quesnellus, cui suffragantur mss. S Petri. Erat in editis et aliquot codd., humanae naturae, cognosce materiam.

So Quesnel edited, and the manuscripts of St Peter's support him. In the editions and some codices there was "humanae naturae, cognosce materiam" [(if you seek the truth) of human nature, recognize the material].

(i) ‹et universa› · printed under col 196

Editi ante Quesn. cum aliquot mss. posteriorum collectionum, vulnera. Tres Vat. et prima editio, vitia. Retinuimus ulcera auctoritate codd. S. Petri. Paulo post, pro inferebat, Quesnellus in codice Corbeien. legit inserebat

The editions before Quesnel, with some manuscripts of the later collections, [read] "vulnera" [wounds]. Three Vatican [manuscripts] and the first edition, "vitia" [vices]. We have kept "ulcera" [sores] on the authority of the codices of St Peter's. A little after, for "inferebat" [was bringing], Quesnel reads "inserebat" [was implanting] in the Corbie codex.

Page

running head: 195 S. LEONIS MAGNI SERMONES. 196 (shared with col 196)
marginal letters: A ‹bolicae iniquitatis versutia›; B ‹ex Virgine, sine paternae carnis›; C ‹teriam ; si rationem scrutaris›; D ‹noster, vel Deus noster› (in the footnotes)
old-edition numerals: 69 after ‹sine paternae carnis concupiscentia,›
signature: none
other: the closing square bracket after ‹non periret.› and the pair around ‹ingreditur … subjacere› are printed in the text (the editors' "uncini", notes g of col 194). The type of this page is worn and faint.

PL 54:196

corporibus inferebat. Oportuit enim ut primam genitricis virginitatem nascentis incorruptio custodiret, et complacitum sibi claustrum pudoris, et sanctitatis hospitium, divini Spiritus virtus infusa servaret, qui statuerat dejecta erigere, confracta solidare, et superandis carnis illecebris multiplicatam pudicitiae donare virtutem : ut virginitas, quae in aliis non poterat salva esse generando, fieret et in aliis imitabilis renascendo.

[…] bodies a new grace of unstained purity. For it was fitting that the incorruption of the One being born should guard the first virginity of His Mother, and that the power of the divine Spirit poured into her should preserve the enclosure of chastity and the dwelling of holiness that had pleased Him, Who had determined to raise up what was cast down, to make firm what was broken, and to bestow a manifold power of chastity for overcoming the allurements of the flesh: so that virginity, which in others could not remain intact in bearing, might become imitable by others too in being reborn.

CAP. III. — Hoc ipsum autem, dilectissimi, quod Christus nasci elegit ex Virgine, nonne apparet altissimae fuisse rationis? ut scilicet natam humano generi salutem diabolus ignoraret, et spiritali latente conceptu, quem non alium videret quam alios, non aliter crederet natum esse quam caeteros. Cujus enim similem cum universis advertit naturam, parem habere arbitratus est cum omnibus causam ; nec intellexit a transgressionis vinculis liberum, quem ab infirmitate mortalitatis non invenit alienum.

CHAP. III. — But this very thing, beloved, that Christ chose to be born of a Virgin, does it not appear to have been of the deepest reason? Namely, that the devil should be unaware that salvation had been born for the human race, and, the spiritual conception being hidden, should believe that He Whom he saw to be no different from others had been born no differently from the rest. For He Whose nature he noticed to be like that of all, he supposed to have a case equal to that of all; nor did he understand that He was free from the bonds of transgression Whom he did not find a stranger to the weakness of mortality.

Verax namque misericordia Dei, cum ad reparandum humanum genus ineffabiliter ei multa suppeterent, hanc potissimum consulendi viam elegit, qua ad destruendum opus diaboli, non virtute uteretur potentiae, sed ratione justitiae. Nam superbia hostis antiqui non immerito sibi in omnes homines jus tyrannicum vindicabat, nec indebito dominatu premebat, quos a mandato Dei spontaneos in obsequium suae voluntatis illexerat. Non itaque juste amitteret originalem humani generis servitutem, nisi de eo quod snbegerat vinceretur. Quod ut fieret, sine virili semine conceptus est Christus ex virgine, quam non humanus coitus, sed Spiritus sanctus fecundavit. Et cum in omnibus matribus non fiat sine peccati sorde conceptio, haec inde purgationem traxit. unde concepit. Quo enim paterni seminis transfusio non pervenit, peccati se illic origo non miscuit. Inviolata virginitas concupiscentiam nescivit, substantiam ministravit. [Assumpta est de matre Domini,

For the true mercy of God, though many means were ineffably at its disposal for restoring the human race, chose above all this way of providing for it, by which, to destroy the work of the devil, it would use not the might of power but the reason of justice. For the pride of the ancient enemy not undeservedly claimed for itself a tyrannical right over all men, and it pressed down with no undue dominion those whom it had enticed from God's command, of their own will, into obedience to its will. So it would not justly lose the original servitude of the human race unless it were conquered by that which it had subdued. That this might come about, Christ was conceived without male seed of a virgin, whom not human intercourse but the Holy Spirit made fruitful. And whereas in all mothers conception does not take place without the stain of sin, she drew her cleansing from the source from which she conceived. For where the transmission of a father's seed did not reach, the origin of sin did not mingle itself there. Inviolate virginity knew no concupiscence, [yet] supplied the substance. [From the mother of the Lord was taken […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 196

Footnotes

(i) called in col 195, printed under col 196, set in n195

(j) ‹Oportuit enim› · printed under col 196

Sic emendavimus ex duobus mss. S. Petri, et duobus Vat., nec non ex prima editione. Al., in vulgatis, ut primam genitricis integritatem nascens incorruptio custodiret.

So we have emended from two manuscripts of St Peter's and two Vatican, and also from the first edition. Elsewhere, in the printed editions, "ut primam genitricis integritatem nascens incorruptio custodiret" [that incorruption, being born, should guard the first integrity of the mother].

(k) ‹servaret,› · printed under col 196

Ita duo codd. S. Petri, unus Bon. et prima editio. Al., quae.

So two codices of St Peter's, one of Bologna, and the first edition. Elsewhere, "quae" [which].

(l) ‹salva esse generando,› · printed under col 196

Emendationem suppeditarunt duo exemplaria S. Petri et duo Vat. ac prima editio. Al., fieret in aliis imitabilis et confitendo et renascendo.

The emendation was supplied by two copies of St Peter's and two Vatican, and the first edition. Elsewhere, "fieret in aliis imitabilis et confitendo et renascendo" [might become imitable in others both by confessing and by being reborn].

(m) ‹ut scilicet natam› · printed under col 196

Recepimus lectionem nostrorum codicum, quae est etiam editionum ante Quesnellnm. Apud hunc, humani generis.

We have adopted the reading of our codices, which is also that of the editions before Quesnel. In him, "humani generis" [of the human race].

(n) ‹premebat, quos› · printed under col 196

Cod. Vercell., e mandato.

The Vercelli codex [reads] "e mandato" [out of the command].

(o) ‹amitteret originalem› · printed under col 196

Ita mss. quatuor Quesn. et aliquot nostri cum Homil. Pauli Diac. Editi anteriores cum mss. Victorioo et Gaudiivai Quesnelli et Vat. collect. 5, dedititii. Alius Vat. collect. 4, debiti, pro humani generis.

So four manuscripts of Quesnel and some of ours, with the Homiliary of Paul the Deacon. The earlier editions, with Quesnel's Victorine and Gaudiival. manuscripts and the Vatican of collection 5, [read] "dedititii" [of the surrendered]. Another Vatican, of collection 4, [reads] "debiti" [owed] for "humani generis" [of the human race].

(p) ‹sine virili semine› · printed under col 196

Correximus ex mss. S. Petri et Bon. Al., editus est.

We have corrected from the manuscripts of St Peter's and of Bologna. Elsewhere, "editus est" [was brought forth].

(q) ‹Assumpta est› · printed under col 196, continued under col 197

Ita mss. Corb., Gaudiival., Vict. et Reg,, non vero, de matre, hominis natura, ut antea QUESN. — Primo tamen editio habet Domini, uti etiam plerique nostri codd., nec non exemplar Pauli Diaconi ; et (quod multo pluris faciendum est) idem legitur in omnibus mss. epistolae 28, ad Flavianum, c. 4. Solus codex Vat. 244 collect, 5 hoc in sermone praefert, hominis ; in epistola autem ad Flavianum, Domini.

So the Corbie, Gaudiival., Victorine and Royal manuscripts, and not "de matre, hominis natura" [from the mother, the nature of man], as before. QUESNEL. — The first edition, however, has "Domini" [of the Lord], as also most of our codices, and also the copy of Paul the Deacon; and (what is to be valued much more) the same is read in all the manuscripts of Letter 28, to Flavian, chapter 4. Only the Vatican codex 244 of collection 5 presents "hominis" [of man] in this sermon; but in the letter to Flavian, "Domini".

Page

running head: 195 S. LEONIS MAGNI SERMONES. 196 (shared with col 195)
marginal letters: A ‹manis corporibus inferebat›; B ‹Cujus enim similem›; C ‹non humanus coitus›; D ‹editio. Al., quae› (in the footnotes)
old-edition numerals: 70 after ‹diabolus›
signature: none
other: the square bracket before ‹Assumpta est› is printed in the text; the passage continues in col 197.

PL 54:197

natura, non culpa.] Creata est forma servi sine conditione servili, quia novus homo sic contemperatus est veteri, ut et veritatem susciperet generis, et vitium eucluderet vetustatis.

[…] nature, not guilt.] The form of a servant was created without the condition of a servant, because the new man was so blended with the old that He both took up the reality of the race and shut out the vice of its antiquity.

CAP, IV.—Cum igitur misericors omnipotensque Salvator ita susceptionis humanae moderaretur exordia, ut virtutem inseparabilis a suo homine Deitatis per velamen nostrae infirmitatis absconderet, illusa est securi hostis astutia, qui nativitatem pueri in salutem generts humani procreati, non aliter sibi quam omnium nascentium putavit obnoxiam, Vidit enim vagientem atque lacrymantem, vidit pannis involutum (Luc. ii, 12), circumcisioni subditum, et legalis sacrificii oblatione perfunctum. Agnovit deinceps solita pueritiae incrementa, et usque in viriles annos de naturalibus non dubitavit augmentis. inter haec intulit contumelias, multiplicavit injurias, adhibuit maledicta, opprobria, blasphemias, convicia, omnem postremo in ipsum vim furoris sui effudit, omnia tentamentorum genera percurrit; et sciens quo humanam naturam infecisset veneno, nequaquam credidit primae transgressionis exsortem, quem tot documentis didicit esse mortalem.

CHAP. IV.—Since, then, the merciful and almighty Saviour so ordered the beginnings of His taking up of humanity that He hid the power of the Deity, inseparable from His manhood, under the veil of our weakness, the cunning of the unsuspecting enemy was deceived: he thought that the birth of the Child, begotten for the salvation of the human race, was subject to him no otherwise than the birth of all who are born. For he saw Him wailing and weeping, he saw Him wrapped in swaddling clothes (Luke 2:12), subjected to circumcision, and discharged through the offering of the legal sacrifice. Then he recognized the usual growth of boyhood, and he did not doubt of the natural increase right up to the years of manhood. Meanwhile he heaped on Him insults, multiplied injuries, applied curses, reproaches, blasphemies, abuse; at last he poured out on Him all the force of his fury and ran through every kind of temptation; and knowing with what poison he had infected human nature, he by no means believed that He was free from the first transgression Whom by so many proofs he had learned to be mortal.

Perstitit ergo improbus praedo et avarus exactor in eum qui nihil ipsius habebat insurgere, et dum vitiatae originis praejudicium generale persequitur, chirographum quo nitebatur excedit, ab illo iniquitatis exigens poenam, in quo nullam reperit culpam. Solvitur itaque lethiferae pactionis male su⟨a⟩sa conscriptio, et per injustitiam plus petendi, totius debiti summa vacuatur. Fortis ille nectitur suis vinculis, et omne commentum maligni in caput ipsius retorquetur. Ligato mundi principe, captivitatis vasa rapiuntur. Redit in honorem suum ab antiquis contagiis purgata natura, mors morte destruitur, nativitas nativitate reparatur: quoniam simul et redemptio aufert servitutem, et regeneratio mutat originem, et fides justificat peccatorem,

So the wicked robber and greedy exactor persisted in rising against Him Who had nothing of his; and while he pursues the general sentence already passed on our vitiated origin, he oversteps the bond on which he relied, exacting the penalty of iniquity from Him in Whom he found no fault. Thus the ill-procured writing of the deadly compact is dissolved, and through the injustice of demanding more, the sum of the whole debt is cancelled. That strong one is bound with his own chains, and every device of the malicious one is turned back upon his own head. The prince of the world being bound, the vessels of the captivity are seized. Nature, cleansed of its ancient contagions, returns to its honour; death is destroyed by death, birth is restored by birth: since at one and the same time redemption takes away slavery, and regeneration changes our origin, and faith justifies the sinner,

Dap. V,—Quisquis igitur Christiano nomine pie fideliter gloriaris, reconciliationis hujus gratiam justo perpende judicio. Tibi enim quondam abjecto, tibi extruso a paradisi sedibus, tibi per longa exsilia morienti. tibi in pulverem et cinerem dissoluto, cui jam non erat spes ulla vivendi, per incarnationem Verbi potestas data est, ut de longinquo ad

CHAP. V.—Whoever, therefore, you are who glory piously and faithfully in the Christian name, weigh with just judgement the grace of this reconciliation. For to you, once cast down, to you, thrust out from the abodes of paradise, to you, dying through long exiles, to you, dissolved into dust and ashes, who had no longer any hope of living, power has been given through the incarnation of the Word, so that from afar […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 197

Footnotes

(a) ‹forma servi sine conditione› · printed under col 197

Ita mss. quatuor et Gaudiival. In editis, virili. Quesn.—Nostri quoque codd., cum prima editione, servili. Mox in Vercell., et novus, pro quia novus.

So four manuscripts and Gaudiival. In the printed editions, virili [of a man]. Quesnel.—Our manuscripts too, with the first edition, have servili [of a servant]. Next, in the Vercelli manuscript, et novus, for quia novus.

(b) ‹vidit pannis› · printed under col 197

Tres mss. Vat. et S. Petri, obvolutum.

Three Vatican manuscripts and that of St Peter's, obvolutum [wrapped round].

Homiliar. Pauli Diaconi, ad viriles.

The Homiliary of Paul the Deacon, ad viriles.

(d) ‹omnem postremo … effudit,› · printed under col 197

Idem Homil. Pauli, omniaque. Dein in tribus codd. Vat. S. Petri et Bonon. ac prima editione, percucurrit, pro percurrit, quod tamen praeteritum significationem antecedenti cohaerentem indigitat. Mox iidem codd. et prima editio, sciens quod.

The same Homiliary of Paul, omniaque. Then in three manuscripts, the Vatican one of St Peter's and that of Bologna, and in the first edition, percucurrit for percurrit; this perfect, however, indicates a meaning consistent with what precedes. Next, the same manuscripts and the first edition, sciens quod.

(e) ‹chirographum quo› · printed under cols 197–198

Duo mss. Vat., tenebatur; prima editio, utebatur. Dein, excidit pro excedit, non tam habent editi aute Quesnellum, sed etiam aliqui codices; alii vero nostri, atque a Quesnello adhibiti, ut in textu.

Two Vatican manuscripts, tenebatur; the first edition, utebatur. Then excidit for excedit is read not only by the editions before Quesnel but also by some manuscripts; but others of ours, and those used by Quesnel, read as in the text.

(f) ‹lethiferae pactionis› · printed under col 198

Homil. Pauli Diaconi et prima editio, malesuada.

The Homiliary of Paul the Deacon and the first edition, malesuada.

(g) ‹per longa exsilia› · printed under col 198

Idem Homil. Pauli. moranti.

The same Homiliary of Paul, moranti [lingering].

Page

running head: 197 SERMO (continued across the page as "SERMO XXII." over col 198)
marginal letters: A ‹natura, non culpa.] Creata est›; B ‹inter haec intulit contumelias›; C ‹et omne commentum maligni›; D (in the footnotes) ‹(quod multo pluris faciendum est)›
old-edition numerals: 71 after ‹non aliter sibi›
signature: none
other: the footnotes under col 197 open with the end of a note whose call stands in col 196 (from ‹nostri codd., nec non exemplar Pauli Diaconi› to ‹Domini.›); it belongs to col 196 and is not set here. Note (e) runs over to the foot of col 198. In note (e) the printed text reads ‹aute Quesnellum› (misprint for ante).

PL 54:198

tuum revertaris auctorem, recognoscas parentem, liber efficiaris ex servo, de extraneo proveharis in filium; ut qui ex corruptibili carne natus es, ex Dei Spiritu renascaris, et obtineas per gratiam quod non habebas per naturam; ac si te Dei Filium per spiritum adoptionis agnoveris, Deum Patrem audeas nuncupare. Malae conscientiae reatu absolutus, ad coelestia regna suspires, voluntatem Dei facias divino fultus auxilio, imiteris angelos super terram, immortalis substautiae virtute pascaris, securus adversus inimicas tentationes pro pietate confligas, et si coelestis militiae sacramenta servaveris, non dubites te in castris triumphabilibus regis aeterni pro victoria coronandum, cum te resurrectio piis parata susceperit in regni coelestis consortium provehendum.

[…] you may return to your Author, recognize your Parent, be made free from a slave, be advanced from a stranger to a son; so that you who were born of corruptible flesh may be reborn of the Spirit of God, and obtain by grace what you did not have by nature; and, if you have recognized yourself as a son of God through the spirit of adoption, may dare to call God Father. Absolved from the guilt of a bad conscience, you may sigh for the heavenly kingdom, do the will of God upheld by divine help, imitate the angels upon earth, be fed by the power of immortal substance, fight secure for godliness against hostile temptations, and, if you have kept the oaths of the heavenly warfare, not doubt that you are to be crowned for victory in the triumphal camp of the eternal King, when the resurrection prepared for the godly has taken you up to be advanced into the fellowship of the heavenly kingdom.

CAP. VI. — Habentes ergo tantae spei fiduciam, dilectissimi, in fide qua fundati estis, stabiles permanete; ne idem ille tentator, cujus jam a vobis dominationem Christus exclusit, aliquibus vos iterum seducat insidiis, et haec ipsa praesenti diei gaudia suae fallaciae arte corrumpat, illudens simplicioribus animis de quorumdam persuasione pestifera, quibus haec dies solemnitatis nostrae, non tam de nativitate Christi, quam de novi, ut dicunt, solis ortu honorabilis videatur. Quorum corda vastis tenebris obvoluta, et ab omni incremento verae lucis aliena sunt; trahuntur enim adhuc stultissimis gentilitatis erroribus, et quia supra id quod carnali intuentur aspectu, nequeunt aciem mentis erigere, ministra mundi luminaria divino honore venerantur. Absit ab animis Christianis impia superstitio prodigiosumque mendacium. Ultra omnem nodum distant a sempiterno temporalia, ab incorporeo corporea, a dominatore subjecta: quia etsi mirandam habent pulchritudinem. adorandam tamen non habent Deitatem. Illa ergo virtus, illa sapientia, illa est colenda majestas, quae universitatem mundi creavit ex nihilo, et in quas voluit formas atque mensuras terrenam coelestemque substantiam omnipotenti ratione produxit. Sol, luna et sidera sint commoda utentibus, sint speciosa cernentibus; sed ita ut de illis gratiae referantur auctori, et adoretur Deus, qui condidit, non creatura, quae servit. Laudate igitur Deum, dilectissimi, in omnibus operibus ejus atque

CHAP. VI.—Having, then, the confidence of so great a hope, dearly beloved, remain steadfast in the faith in which you have been founded; lest that same tempter, whose dominion Christ has already shut out from you, should seduce you again by some snares, and corrupt by the art of his deceit even these joys of the present day, making sport of simpler minds through the pestilent persuasion of certain people, to whom this day of our solemnity seems worthy of honour not so much for the birth of Christ as for the rising, as they say, of the new sun. Their hearts are wrapped in vast darkness and are strangers to every increase of the true light; for they are still dragged along by the most foolish errors of heathenism, and because they cannot raise the eye of the mind above what they behold with carnal sight, they venerate the lights that serve the world with divine honour. Far be from Christian minds the impious superstition and monstrous lie. Beyond all measure do temporal things stand apart from the everlasting, bodily from the incorporeal, subjects from the ruler: for even if they have a beauty to be admired, they have no Godhead to be adored. That power, then, that wisdom, that majesty is to be worshipped which created the whole universe of the world out of nothing, and by almighty reason brought forth the earthly and the heavenly substance into what forms and measures it willed. Let sun, moon and stars be useful to those who use them, lovely to those who behold them; but so that thanks be rendered for them to their Author, and God be adored, Who made them, not the creature, which serves. Praise God, then, dearly beloved, in all His works and […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 198

Footnotes

(h) ‹habebas per naturam;› · printed under col 198

Sic ex duobus mss. Vaticanis, cod. Bon. et prima editione. Al., ut si te.

So from two Vatican manuscripts, the Bologna manuscript and the first edition. Others, ut si te.

(i) ‹adversus inimicas tentationes› · printed under col 198

Prima editio, propria libertate.

The first edition, propria libertate [by your own freedom].

(j) ‹cujus jam› · printed under col 198

Codd. Vercell. Bonon., et prima editio, a nobis; et dein, nos iterum. Quidam codd. Vat. collectionum posteriorum, pro dominationem, habent damnationem.

The Vercelli and Bologna manuscripts, and the first edition, a nobis [from us]; and then, nos iterum [us again]. Some Vatican manuscripts of the later collections have damnationem for dominationem.

(k) ‹simplicioribus animis de quorumdam› · printed under col 198

Al., praesumptione. Quesn. in margine.

Others, praesumptione [presumption]. Quesnel in the margin.

(l) ‹vastis tenebris obvoluta,› · printed under col 198

In prima editione deest et.

In the first edition et is lacking.

(m) ‹a dominatore subjecta:› · printed under col 198

In eadem editione, quae, pro quia.

In the same edition, quae for quia.

(n) ‹illa est› · printed under col 198

Homiliar. Pauli Diaconi, adoranda sola majestas.

The Homiliary of Paul the Deacon, adoranda sola majestas [the majesty alone to be adored].

(o) ‹et adoretur Deus,› · printed under col 198

In eodem Homiliario, qui haec condidit. Et paulo post, Laudate igitur Dominum, in prima editione et codice Bononiensi.

In the same Homiliary, qui haec condidit [Who made these things]. And a little after, Laudate igitur Dominum, in the first edition and the Bologna manuscript.