PL 54 · cols. 203–207

Leo the Great, Sermons

Sermon XXIV

Nativitatis celebrare debemus. Quod digne ac diligenter fiet a singulis, si meminerit quisque cujus corporis membrum sit, et cui capiti coptatum; ne sacrae aedificationi discors compago non haereat. Considerate, dilectissimi, et secundum illuminationem Spiritus sancti prudenter advertite, quis nos in se susceperit, et quem susceperimus in nobis: quoniam sicut factus est Dominus Jesus caro nostra nascendo, ita et nos facti sumus corpus ipsius renascendo Ideo et membra Christi, et templum sumus Spiritus sancti: et ob hoc B. Apostolus dicit, Glorificate, et portate Deum in corpore vestro (I Cor. vi, 20).

[…] Nativity we ought to celebrate. This will be done worthily and carefully by each one, if each remembers of what body he is a member and to what head he has been fitted; lest a discordant joint should fail to hold fast in the sacred building. Consider, dearly beloved, and by the illumination of the Holy Spirit wisely observe, Who it is that has taken us up into Himself, and Whom we have taken up into ourselves: since, as the Lord Jesus became our flesh by being born, so we too have become His body by being reborn. Therefore we are both members of Christ and the temple of the Holy Spirit: and for this reason the blessed Apostle says, Glorify and bear God in your body (1 Cor. 6:20).

Qui formam nobis suae mansuetudinis et humilitatis insinuans, ea nos virtute imbuit quia redemit, ipso Domino pollicente: Venite ad me, omnes qui laboratis et onerati estis, et ego reficiam vos. Tollite jugum meum super vos, et discite a me quia mitis sum ei humilis corde, et invenietis requiem animabus vestris (Matth. xi, 28, 29). Suscipiamus ergo regentis nos veritatis non grave nec asperum jugum, et simus ejus humilitati similes, cujus gloriae volumus esse conformes: ipso auxiliante et perducente nos ad promissiones suas qui secundum magnam misericordiam suam potens est peccata nostra delere, et sua in nobis dona perficere, Jesus Christus Dominus noster, qui vivit ut et regnat in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

He, instilling in us the pattern of His meekness and humility, has imbued us with that power by which He redeemed us, the Lord Himself promising: Come to Me, all you who labour and are burdened, and I will refresh you. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Matt. 11:28, 29). Let us therefore take up the yoke, neither heavy nor harsh, of the Truth that rules us, and let us be like in humility to Him to Whose glory we wish to be conformed: He Himself helping us and leading us to His promises, Who according to His great mercy is able to blot out our sins and to perfect His gifts in us, Jesus Christ our Lord, Who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

SERMO XXIV [Al. XXIII].

SERMON XXIV [Otherwise XXIII].

In Nativitate Domini IV.

On the Nativity of the Lord, IV.

CAP. I. — Semper quidem, dilectissimi, diversis modis multisque mensuris humano generi bonitas divina consuluit, et plurima providentiae suae munera omnibus retro saeculis clementer impertiit; sed in novissimis temporibus omnem abundantiam solitae benignitatis excessit, quando in Christo.

CHAP. I.—Always indeed, dearly beloved, in divers ways and in many measures has the divine goodness provided for the human race, and it has mercifully bestowed very many gifts of its providence in all past ages; but in these last times it has surpassed all the abundance of its accustomed kindness, when in Christ […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 203

Footnotes

(a) ‹Quod digne ac› · printed under col 203

Sic ex mss. S. Petri et prima editione. Al., intelligenter.

So from the manuscripts of St Peter's and the first edition. Others, intelligenter [intelligently].

(b) ‹in nobis: quoniam› · printed under col 203

Ita codd, S. Petri, quibus congruunt mss. collect. 1 et 2. Solum enim omittunt vocem nostra quam praeferunt alii codices et Leonino more exigere videtur subsequens vox ipsius. Antea legebatur in editis et aliquot mss.: Sicut factus est Dominus caro nostra nascendo, ita et non facti sumus ipsius renascendo. Post pauca, Spiritus Dei, pro Spiritus sancti, est in nonnullis codicibus.

So the manuscripts of St Peter's, with which the manuscripts of collections 1 and 2 agree. For they only omit the word nostra, which other manuscripts show and which the following word ipsius seems to require, in Leo's manner. Formerly there was read in the printed editions and some manuscripts: Sicut factus est Dominus caro nostra nascendo, ita et nos facti sumus ipsius renascendo. A little after, Spiritus Dei for Spiritus sancti is in some manuscripts.

Cod. S. Petri, et nostra peccata delere, et sua in nos dona perficere. Dein in aliquibus codd., per infinita saecula saeculorum.

The manuscript of St Peter's, et nostra peccata delere, et sua in nos dona perficere. Then in some manuscripts, per infinita saecula saeculorum.

(d) ‹humano generi› · printed under col 203

Ms. S. Petri ac Bon., et prima editio, veritas divina.

The manuscripts of St Peter's and Bologna, and the first edition, veritas divina [the divine truth].

Editors' prose

Synopsis. — Per verbi incarnationem figuras et promissiones esse completas.—II. Nisi Deus fieret homo, nullum hominis vulneribus remedium superesse. — III. Christum verum Deum esse et verum hominem peccati originalis expertem; cujus Nativitatis imago in baptismate.— IV. Ab hac alienos esse Manichaeos Christum negentes corporaliter natum.— V. Alios haereticos nonnihil habere sani, Manichaeos nihil non impium.— VI. Ab illorum ficta pietate cavendum; unitati fidei, sine qua nihil verum, inhaerendum esse.

Synopsis. — That through the incarnation of the Word the figures and promises were fulfilled.—II. That unless God became man, no remedy remained for man's wounds. — III. That Christ is true God and true man, free of original sin; the image of His Nativity is in baptism.— IV. That the Manichaeans, who deny that Christ was born bodily, are strangers to this.— V. That other heretics have something sound, the Manichaeans nothing that is not impious.— VI. That we must beware of their feigned piety, and hold fast to the unity of the faith, without which nothing is true.

Page

running head: 203 S. LEONIS MAGNI SERMONES. (across cols 203–204)
marginal letters: A ‹Nativitatis celebrare debemus›; B ‹et onerati estis, et ego reficiam vos. Tollite jugum›; C ‹III. Christum verum Deum› (in the synopsis); D (in the footnotes) ‹(b) Ita codd, S. Petri›
old-edition numerals: 78 before ‹CAP. I. — Semper quidem›
signature: none
other: the caption SERMO XXIV [Al. XXIII]. with the italic sub-caption In Nativitate Domini IV. is printed within col 203 only. The first head of the synopsis carries no numeral. In the synopsis ‹negentes› (for negantes) is set as printed; in note (b) ‹non facti sumus› (for nos) is set as printed. Notes (e) and (f), printed under col 203, have their calls in col 204 and are set in n204.

PL 54:204

ipsa ad peccatores misericordia, ipsa ad errantes veritas, ipsa ad mortuos vita descendit: ut verbum illud coaeternum et coaequale genitori in unitatem Deitatis suae naturam nostrae humilitatis assumeret, et Deus de Deo natus, idem etiam bomo de homine nasceretur. Promissum quidem hoc a constitutione mundi, ut multis significationibus rerum atque verborum semper fuerat prophetatum; sed quantam hominum portionem figurae illae et mysteria obumbrata salvarent! nisi longa et occulta promissa adventu suo Christo impleret; et quod tunc paucis credentibus profuit faciendum, innumeris jam fidelibus prodesset effectum. Jam ergo nos non signis neque imaginibus ad fidem deducimur, sed evangelica historia confirmati, quod factum credimus adoramus; accedentibus ad eruditionem nostram propheticis instrumentis, ut nullo modo habeamus ambiguum, quod tantis oraculis scimus esse praedictum.

[…] mercy itself came down to sinners, truth itself to the erring, life itself to the dead: so that that Word, co-eternal and co-equal with the Begetter, should take up into the unity of His Godhead the nature of our lowliness, and, God born of God, the same should also be born man of man. This was indeed promised from the foundation of the world, as it had always been prophesied by many foreshadowings of things and of words; but how small a portion of men would those figures and overshadowed mysteries have saved, had not Christ fulfilled by His coming the long and hidden promises; and had not that which then profited a few believers as something to be done now profited countless faithful as something done. Now, then, we are not led to faith by signs and images, but, confirmed by the Gospel history, we adore what we believe to have been done; the prophetic records being added to our instruction, so that we may in no way hold as doubtful what we know to have been foretold by such great oracles.

Hinc enim est quod Dominus Abrahae ait: In semine tuo benedicentur omnes gentes (Gen. xxii, 18). Hinc David promissionem Dei prophetico spiritu canit dicens: Juravit Dominus David veritatem, et non frustrabitur eam: De fructu ventris tui ponam super sedem tuam (Ps. xxxi, 14). Hinc idem Dominus per Isaiam, Ecce virgo, inquit, in utero accipiet et pariet filium, et vocabitur nomen ejus Emmanuel: quod interpretatur, Nobiscum Deus (Isai. vii, 14). Et iterum Exiet virga de radice Jesse et flos de radice ejus ascendet (Isai. xi, 1). In qua virga non dubie beata Virgo Maria praedicta est, quae de Jesse et David stirpe progenita, et Spiritu sancto fecundata, novum florem carnis humanae, utero quidem materno, sed partu est enixa virgineo.

Hence it is that the Lord says to Abraham: In your seed shall all nations be blessed (Gen. 22:18). Hence David sings the promise of God in the prophetic spirit, saying: The Lord has sworn truth to David, and He will not frustrate it: Of the fruit of your womb I will set upon your throne (Ps. 31:14). Hence the same Lord through Isaiah says: Behold, a virgin shall receive in the womb and shall bear a son, and His name shall be called Emmanuel, which is interpreted, God with us (Isa. 7:14). And again: There shall come forth a rod from the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up from his root (Isa. 11:1). In this rod the blessed Virgin Mary was without doubt foretold, who, sprung from the stock of Jesse and David and made fruitful by the Holy Spirit, brought forth the new flower of human flesh, from a mother's womb indeed, but by a virginal childbirth.

CAP. II.— Exsultent ergo justi in Domino, et in laudem Dei corda credentium, et mirabila ejus confiteantur filii hominum; quoniam in hoc praecipue Dei opere humilitas nostra cognoscit, quanti eam suus conditor aestimarit. Qui cum origini humanae multum dederit, quod nos ad imaginem suam fecit, reparationi nostrae longe amplius tribuit, cum servili formae ipse se Dominus coaptavit. Quamvis enim ex una eademque pietate sit, quidquid creaturae Creator impendit, minus tamen mirum est hominem ad divina proficere, quam Deum ad humana descendere.

CHAP. II.—Let the just, then, exult in the Lord, and the hearts of believers in the praise of God, and let the sons of men confess His wonders; since in this work of God above all our lowliness learns how highly its Maker valued it. For though He gave much to man's origin in making us after His own image, He bestowed far more on our restoration, when the Lord Himself fitted Himself to the form of a servant. For although whatever the Creator spends on the creature comes from one and the same goodness, yet it is less wonderful that man should advance to divine things than that God should come down to human things.

Editors' notes and page, col. 204

Footnotes

(e) ‹in unitatem Deitatis suae› · printed under col 203

Aliqui codd. Vat. et Bon., ac prima editio, materiam.

Some Vatican manuscripts and that of Bologna, and the first edition, materiam [the matter].

(f) ‹ut multis› · printed under col 203

Duo S. Petri et unus Vat., signationibus.

Two [manuscripts] of St Peter's and one Vatican, signationibus [markings].

(g) ‹Christo impleret;› · printed under col 204

Unus mss. S. Petri et prima editio, ut quod.

One manuscript of St Peter's and the first edition, ut quod.

(h) ‹prophetico spiritu canit› · printed under col 204

Supplevimus dicens ex aliquot mss. et editionibus. Dein prima editio: Juravit Dominus veritatem David. Cod. S. Petri, Juravit Dominus, et non poenitebit eum: De fructu ventris tui ponam super sedem meam.

We have supplied dicens from some manuscripts and editions. Then the first edition: Juravit Dominus veritatem David. The manuscript of St Peter's: Juravit Dominus, et non poenitebit eum: De fructu ventris tui ponam super sedem meam [The Lord has sworn, and it will not repent Him: Of the fruit of your womb I will set upon My throne].

(i) ‹in utero› · printed under col 204

Ms. Bon. et prima editio, concipiet. Mox in cod S. Petri, vocabunt pro vocabitur? et in duobus ejusdem basilicae, quod est interpretatum.

The Bologna manuscript and the first edition, concipiet [shall conceive]. Next, in the manuscript of St Peter's, vocabunt for vocabitur? and in two of the same basilica, quod est interpretatum.

(j) ‹In qua virga› · printed under col 204

In duobus Vat. et uno Bon., non dubium quod. Prima editio, non dubie quod. Duo mss. S. Petri et unus Vat., non dubium, sine quod.

In two Vatican manuscripts and one of Bologna, non dubium quod. The first edition, non dubie quod. Two manuscripts of St Peter's and one Vatican, non dubium, without quod.

(k) ‹Exsultent ergo› · printed under col 204

Retinuimus lectionem primae editionis, quae mss. Lectionariis S. Petri et codd. collect. comprobatur. In caeteris editis et mss. desiderantur verba, justi in Domino, et.

We have kept the reading of the first edition, which is confirmed by the manuscript Lectionaries of St Peter's and the manuscripts of the collections. In the other editions and manuscripts the words justi in Domino, et are missing.

(l) ‹in hoc praecipue› · printed under col 204

Quinque mss. et prima editio. diei opere, sed antea scribendum fuerit, in hujus.

Five manuscripts and the first edition, diei opere [in the work of the day]; but then one would have had to write in hujus.

Page

running head: S. LEONIS MAGNI SERMONES. 204 (across cols 203–204)
marginal letters: A ‹ipsa ad peccatores misericordia›; B ‹mus adoramus; accedentibus›; C ‹fecundata, novum florem carnis›; D (in the footnotes) ‹bus. Dein prima editio›
old-edition numerals: 79 after ‹novum florem carnis›
signature: none
other: notes (e) and (f) are printed under col 203. The text of col 204 ends at the foot of its text block with a full stop (‹descendere.›).

PL 54:205

Hoc autem nisi facere dignaretur omnipotens Deus nulla quemquam species justitiae, nulla forma sapientiae a captivitate diaboli et a profundo aeternae mortis erueret. Condemnatio enim ex uno in omnes cum peccato transiens permaneret, et lethali vulnere tabefacta natura nullum remedium reperiret, quia conditionem suam suis viribus mutare non posset. Primus namque homo carnis substantiam accepit e terra, et rationali spiritu per insufflationem creantis animatus est (Gen. ii, 7), ut ad imaginem et similitudinem auctoris sui vivens, formam Dei bonitatis atque justitiae in splendore imitationis tamquam in speculi nitore servaret. Quam naturae suae speciosissimam dignitatem si per observantiam legis datae perseveranter excoleret, ipsam illam terreni corporis qualitatem ad coelestem gloriam mens incorrupta perduceret. Sed quia invido deceptori temere atque infeliciter credidit (Gen. iii, 6), et superbiae consiliis acquiescens, repositum honoris augmentum occupare maluit quam mereri, non solum ille homo, sed etiam universa in illo posteritas ejus audivit: Terra es, et in terram ibis (Gen. iii, 19). Qualis ergo terrenus, tales et terreni (I Cor. xv, 48); et nemo immortalis, quia nemo coelestis.

But had almighty God not deigned to do this, no appearance of justice, no form of wisdom would rescue anyone from the captivity of the devil and from the depth of eternal death. For the condemnation passing from one to all together with sin would remain, and nature, wasted by a deadly wound, would find no remedy, because it could not change its condition by its own strength. For the first man received the substance of flesh from the earth and was animated with a rational spirit by the breathing of his Creator (Gen. 2:7), so that, living after the image and likeness of his Author, he might keep the form of God's goodness and justice in the splendour of imitation, as in the brightness of a mirror. Had he perseveringly cultivated this most beautiful dignity of his nature by observance of the law given him, his uncorrupted mind would have brought that very quality of the earthly body to heavenly glory. But because he rashly and unhappily believed the envious deceiver (Gen. 3:6), and, yielding to the counsels of pride, preferred to seize rather than to merit the increase of honour laid up for him, not only that man but also all his posterity in him heard: Earth you are, and to earth you shall go (Gen. 3:19). As, then, was the earthly one, such also are the earthly (1 Cor. 15:48); and no one is immortal, because no one is heavenly.

CAP. III.— Ad hoc itaque peccati et mortis vinculum resolvendum, omnipentens Filius Dei, omnia implens, omnia continens, aequalis per omnia Patri, et in una ex ipso et cum ipso comsempiternus essentia, naturam in se suscepit humanam, et Creator ac Dominus omnium rerum, dignatus est unus esse mortalium; electa sibi matre, quam fecerat: quae salva integritate virginea, corporeae esset tantum ministra substantiae, ut humani seminis cessante contagio, novo homini et puritas inesset et veritas. Non ergo in Christo ex utero virginis genito, quia nativitas est mirabilis, ideo nostri est natura dissimilis. Qui enim verus est Deus, idem verus est homo; et nullum est in utraque substantia mendacium. Verbum caro factum est provectione carnis, non defectione Deitatis: quae sic potentiam suam bonitatemque moderata est, ut et nostra suscipiendo proveheret; et sua communicando non perderet. In hac nativitate Christi secundum prophetiam David, veritas de terra orta est, et justitia de coelo prospexit (Ps. lxxxiv,

CHAP. III.—So, to undo this bond of sin and death, the almighty Son of God, filling all things, containing all things, equal to the Father in all things, and co-eternal in one essence from Him and with Him, took human nature into Himself; and the Creator and Lord of all things deigned to be one of mortals, having chosen for Himself a mother whom He had made: who, her virginal integrity unharmed, was to be only the minister of the bodily substance, so that, the contagion of human seed being absent, there might be in the new Man both purity and truth. Therefore in Christ, born from the womb of a virgin, the nature is not unlike ours because the birth is wonderful. For He Who is true God is the same true man; and there is no falsehood in either substance. The Word was made flesh by the advancement of the flesh, not by the failing of the Godhead: which so tempered its power and goodness that it both advanced what is ours by taking it up and did not lose what is its own by sharing it. In this nativity of Christ, according to the prophecy of David, truth has sprung from the earth, and justice has looked down from heaven (Ps. 84:[…]

Editors' notes and page, col. 205

Footnotes

(a) ‹omnipotens› · printed under col 205

Vox Deus addita ex mss. S. Petri, Vat. et Bon. ac prima editione. Mox specie pro species in ms. S. Petri.

The word Deus has been added from the manuscripts of St Peter's, the Vatican and Bologna, and the first edition. Next, specie for species in the manuscript of St Peter's.

(b) ‹lethali vulnere› · printed under col 205

Duo mss. Vat., unus Bon., ac prima editio, tabefacta. Cod. S. Petri, labefactata.

Two Vatican manuscripts, one of Bologna, and the first edition, tabefacta. The manuscript of St Peter's, labefactata [shaken].

Sic ex nostris mss. et editis ante Quesnellum, apud quem, accipit.

So from our manuscripts and the editions before Quesnel; in his, accipit.

(d) ‹formam› · printed under col 205

Dei abest in prima editione.

Dei is absent in the first edition.

(e) ‹Sed quia invido› · printed under col 205

Editi ac nonnulli codd., et deceptori, vel atque deceptori Delevimus conjectionem ex duobus mss. S. Petri.

The printed editions and some manuscripts, et deceptori or atque deceptori. We have deleted the conjunction on the evidence of two manuscripts of St Peter's.

(f) ‹CAP. III.—› · printed under col 205

Aliquot codd. et prima editio, Ad hujus.

Some manuscripts and the first edition, Ad hujus.

(g) ‹aequalis per omnia Patri, et› · printed under col 205

Duo mss. S. Petri ignorant in. Dein cod. Bon. et prima editio, in ipso sempiternus, pro eum ipso consempiternus. Infra: Naturam suscepit nostram in duobus mss. S. Petri, pro, naturam in se suscepit humanam.

Two manuscripts of St Peter's do not have in. Then the Bologna manuscript and the first edition, in ipso sempiternus, for cum ipso consempiternus. Below: Naturam suscepit nostram in two manuscripts of St Peter's, for naturam in se suscepit humanam.

(h) ‹ut humani› · printed under cols 205–206

Quatuor codd., in quibus duo S. Petri ac prima editio, generis; et, Non enim, pro, Non ergo.

Four manuscripts, among them two of St Peter's, and the first edition, generis; and Non enim for Non ergo.

(i) ‹ideo› · printed under col 206

Addidimus nostri ex duobus mss. S. Petri, et confirmatur ex epistola 28, ad Flavianum, cap. 4.

We have added nostri from two manuscripts of St Peter's, and it is confirmed from Letter 28, to Flavian, ch. 4.

(j) ‹et sua communicando› · printed under col 206

In duobus codd. S. Petri ac totidem Vat., uno Bon. ac prima editione, non proderet.

In two manuscripts of St Peter's and as many Vatican ones, one of Bologna, and the first edition, non proderet.

Page

running head: 205 SERMO (continued as "SERMO XXIV." over col 206)
marginal letters: A ‹Hoc autem nisi facere›; B ‹perduceret. Sed quia invido›; C ‹quae salva integritate virginea›; D (in the footnotes) ‹Petri.› (end of note a)
old-edition numerals: 80 after ‹dignatus est›
signature: none
other: the scripture reference ‹(Ps. lxxxiv,› at the foot of the text runs on as ‹12)› at the head of col 206. In note (g) the siglum is printed ‹g)› without its opening parenthesis, and ‹eum ipso› (for cum ipso) is set as printed. In note (e) ‹conjectionem› stands for conjunctionem, set as printed.

PL 54:206

12). In hac nativitate etiam Isaiae sermo completus est dicentis: Producat terra, et germinet, Salvatorem, et justitia oriatur simul (Isa. xlv, 8). Terra enim carnis humanae, quae in primo fuerat praevaricatore maledicta, in hoc solo beatae virginis partu germen edidit benedictum, et a vitio suae stirpis alienum. Cujus spiritalem originem in regeneratione quisque consequitur; et omni homini renascenti aqua baptismatis instar est uteri virginalis, eodem Spiritu sancto replente fontem, qui replevit et virginem; ut peccatum quod ibi vacuavit sacra conceptio, hic mystica tollat ablutio.

[…] 12). In this nativity the word of Isaiah too was fulfilled, who says: Let the earth bring forth and bud the Saviour, and let justice spring up together (Isa. 45:8). For the earth of human flesh, which had been cursed in the first transgressor, in this birth of the blessed virgin alone brought forth an offspring blessed and a stranger to the vice of its stock. Its spiritual origin each one obtains in regeneration; and to every man who is reborn the water of baptism is like the virginal womb, the same Holy Spirit filling the font Who filled the virgin also; so that the sin which there the sacred conception made void, here the mystical washing may take away.

CAP. IV. — Ab hoc sacramento, dilectissimi, insanus Manichaeorum error alienus est, nec ullum habent in Christi regeneratione consortium, qui eum de Maria Virgine negant corporaliter natum: ut cujus non credunt veram nativitatem, nec veram recipiant passionem; et quem non confitentur vere sepultum, abnuant veraciter suscitatum. Ingressi enim praeruptam exsecrandi dogmatis viam, in qua nihil non tenebrosum, nihilque non lubricum est, ruunt in profunda mortis per praecipitia falsitatis; nec aliquid solidum, cui innitantur, inveniunt, qui praeter omnia diabolici probra commenti, in ipso praecipuo observantiae suae festo, sicut proxima eorum confessione patefactum est, ut animi, ita et corporis pollutione laetantur, nec fidei integritatem, nec pudorem servantes; ut et in dogmatibus suis impii, et in sacris inveniantur obsceni.

CHAP. IV.—From this mystery, dearly beloved, the insane error of the Manichaeans is estranged, and they have no share in the regeneration of Christ who deny that He was born bodily of the Virgin Mary: so that, as they do not believe His true nativity, they do not accept His true passion either; and Him Whom they do not confess to have been truly buried they deny to have been truly raised. For having entered on the steep way of an execrable doctrine, in which there is nothing not dark and nothing not slippery, they rush into the depths of death over the precipices of falsehood; nor do they find anything solid to lean on, they who, besides all the shameful things of their devilish invention, on the very chief feast of their observance, as has been disclosed by their recent confession, delight in pollution of the body as of the mind, keeping neither the integrity of faith nor modesty; so that they are found both impious in their doctrines and obscene in their rites.

CAP. V.— Aliae haereses, dilectissimi, licet merito omnes in sui diversitate damnandae sint, habent tamen singulae in aliqua sui parte quod verum est. Arius Dei Filium minorem Patre et creaturam esse definiens, et ab eodem inter omnia creatum putans Spiritum sanctum, magna impietate se perdidit; sed sempiternam atque incommutabilem Deitatem quam in Trinitatis unitate non vidit, in Patris essentia non negavit. Macedonius a lumine veritatis alienus, divinitatem sancti Spiritus non recepit, sed in Patre et Filio unam potentiam, et eamdem confessus est esse naturam. Sabellius inexplicabili errore confusus, unitatem substantiae in Patre, et Filio, et Spiritu sancto inseparabilem sentiens, quod aequalitati tribuere debuit, singularitati dedit. Et cum veram Trinitatem intelligere non valeret, unam eamdemque

CHAP. V.—Other heresies, dearly beloved, although all of them deserve to be condemned in their diversity, yet each has in some part of itself what is true. Arius, defining the Son of God as less than the Father and a creature, and thinking that the Holy Spirit was created by Him among all things, destroyed himself by great impiety; but the everlasting and unchangeable Godhead which he did not see in the unity of the Trinity he did not deny in the essence of the Father. Macedonius, a stranger to the light of truth, did not accept the divinity of the Holy Spirit, but confessed one power and the same nature in the Father and the Son. Sabellius, confounded by an inexplicable error, perceiving the unity of substance in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit to be inseparable, gave to singularity what he ought to have attributed to equality. And since he could not understand the true Trinity, one and the same […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 206

Footnotes

(k) ‹Cujus spiritalem originem› · printed under col 206

Duo mss. S. Petri, in regeneratione consequimur.

Two manuscripts of St Peter's, in regeneratione consequimur [we obtain in regeneration].

(l) ‹inveniunt, qui› · printed under col 206

Ita Quesnellus cum prima editione et tribus nostris codicibus. Al., proter. Paulo post, et animi et corporis in codd. S. Petri.

So Quesnel, with the first edition and three of our manuscripts. Others, propter. A little after, et animi et corporis in the manuscripts of St Peter's.

(m) ‹pollutione laetantur,› · printed under col 206

Ita emendavimus ex ms. S. Petri, et duobus Vat. atque uno Bon Al., neque in fidei integritatem, nec in pudore servantes. In prima editione et in alio ms. Bon., nec in pudore, nec in fide integritatem servantes.

So we have corrected from the manuscript of St Peter's, two Vatican ones and one of Bologna. Others, neque in fidei integritatem, nec in pudore servantes. In the first edition and in another Bologna manuscript, nec in pudore, nec in fide integritatem servantes.

(n) ‹licet merito omnes› · printed under col 206

Editi, in sua perversitate. Correximus ex mss. S. Petri, cum discrimen cujusque S. pontifex potet. Paulo post iidem codd. S. Petri, et Bon., verum sit.

The printed editions, in sua perversitate [in their perversity]. We have corrected from the manuscripts of St Peter's, since the holy pontiff notes the difference of each. A little after, the same manuscripts of St Peter's and that of Bologna, verum sit.

(o) ‹Sabellius› · printed under col 206

Sic ex cod. S. Petri. Alias, inexplanabili.

So from the manuscript of St Peter's. Elsewhere, inexplanabili.

Page

running head: SERMO XXIV. 206 (continuing "SERMO" over col 205)
marginal letters: A ‹12). In hac nativitate›; B ‹non credunt veram nativitatem›; C ‹Arius Dei Filium›; D (in the footnotes) ‹confirmatur ex epistola 28›
old-edition numerals: 81 after ‹ut et in dogmatibus›
signature: none
other: the footnotes under col 206 open with the end of note (h) and with notes (i) and (j), whose calls are in col 205 (set in n205). In note (l) ‹proter› (for propter) and in note (n) ‹potet› (for notet) are set as printed.

PL 54:207

credidit sub triplici appellatione personam. Photinus mentis caecitate deceptus, in Christo verum et substantiae nostrae confessus est hominem, sed eumdem Deum de Deo ante omnia saecula genitum esse non credidit. Appllinaris, fidei soliditate privatus, Filium Dei ita veram humanae carnis credidit suscepisse naturam, ut in illa carne diceret animam non fuisse, quia vicem ejus expleverit ipsa Divinitas. Hoc modo si omnes quos catholica fides anathematizavit retractentur errores, in aliis atque aliis quiddam invenitur quod a damnabilibus possit abjungi. In Manichaeorum autem scelestissimo dogmate prorsus nihil est quod ex ulla parte possit tolerabile judicari.

[…] person he believed in under a threefold name. Photinus, deceived by blindness of mind, confessed in Christ a true man of our substance, but did not believe that the same was God begotten of God before all ages. Apollinaris, deprived of the solidity of faith, believed that the Son of God took up the true nature of human flesh in such a way that he said there was no soul in that flesh, because the Divinity itself filled its place. If in this way all the errors which the catholic faith has anathematized are examined, in one and another something is found that can be separated from what is damnable. But in the most wicked doctrine of the Manichaeans there is nothing at all that can in any part be judged tolerable.

CAP. VI. — Sed vos, dilectissimi, quos nullis dignius quam beati Petri apostoli alloquor verbis, genus electum, regale sacerdotium, gens sancta, populus acquisitionis (I Petr. ii, 9), aedificati super inviolabilem petram Christum, ipsisque Domino Salvatori nostro per veram suceptionem nostrae carnis inserti, permanete stabiles in ea fide quam confessi estis coram multis testibus, et in qua renati per aquam et Spiritum sanctum, accepistis chrisma salutis et signaculum vitae aeternae.

CHAP. VI.—But you, dearly beloved, whom I address in no worthier words than those of the blessed apostle Peter, a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of acquisition (1 Pet. 2:9), built upon the inviolable rock, Christ, and grafted into the Lord our Saviour Himself through His true taking up of our flesh, remain steadfast in that faith which you have confessed before many witnesses, and in which, reborn through water and the Holy Spirit, you received the chrism of salvation and the seal of eternal life.

Si quis autem vobis aliud annuntiaverit praeter id quod didicistis, anathema sit. Nolite impias fabulas praeponere lucidissimae veritati, et quidquid contra regulam catholici et apostolici symboli aut legere, aut audire contigerit, id omnino mortiferum et diabolicum judicate. Non vos seducant deceptoriis artibus ficta et simulata jejunia, quae non ad purificationem, sed ad perditionem proficiunt animarum. Speciem quidem sibi pietatis et castitatis assumunt, sed hoc dolo actuum suorum obscena circumtegunt, et de profani cordis penetralibus jacula quibus simplices vulnerentur emittunt: ut, sicut ait propheta, sagittent in obscuro rectos corde (Ps. x, 3). Magnum praesidium est fides integra, fides vera, in qua nec augeri ab ullo quidquam, nec minui potest: quia nisi una est, fides non est, dicente Apostolo: Unus Dominus, una fides unum baptisma; unus Deus et Pater omnium, qui super omnes et per omnia, et in omnibus nobis (Ephes. iv, 5, 6). Huic unitati, dilectissimi, inconcussis mentibus inhaerete, et in hac omnem sectamini sanctitatem (Heb. xii, 14), in hac praeceptis Domini deservit, quia sine fide impossibile est placere Deo (Hebr. xi, 6), et nihil sine illa sanctum, nihil castum est, nihil vivum: justus enim ex fide vivit (Habac. ii, 4); quam qui diabolo decipiente perdiderit, vivens mortuus est, quia

But if anyone announces to you anything other than what you have learned, let him be anathema. Do not set impious fables before the most lucid truth, and whatever you may happen to read or hear against the rule of the catholic and apostolic creed, judge it wholly deadly and diabolical. Let not feigned and pretended fasts, with their deceitful arts, seduce you, which serve not the purification but the perdition of souls. They put on the appearance of piety and chastity, but by this guile they cover over the obscenities of their deeds, and from the recesses of a profane heart they send out darts by which the simple are wounded: so that, as the prophet says, they shoot in the dark at the upright of heart (Ps. 10:3). A great defence is a faith entire, a true faith, in which nothing can be added by anyone nor taken away: for unless it is one, it is not faith, as the Apostle says: One Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, Who is above all, and through all, and in us all (Eph. 4:5, 6). Cling to this unity, dearly beloved, with unshaken minds, and in it pursue all holiness (Heb. 12:14), in it serve the commandments of the Lord, because without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6), and without it nothing is holy, nothing is chaste, nothing is living: for the just man lives by faith (Hab. 2:4); and whoever, by the devil's deceit, has lost it is dead while living, because […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 207

Footnotes

(a) ‹catholica fides› · printed under col 207

Ita mss. duo S. Petri, quibus concinit codex Casinencis collect. 1, ubi anathemat, forte pro anathematizat. Vulgati et alii codd., damnat.

So two manuscripts of St Peter's, with which the Monte Cassino manuscript of collection 1 agrees, where anathemat [stands], perhaps for anathematizat. The common editions and other manuscripts, damnat.

(b) ‹accepistis› · printed under col 207

Et., charisma. Ques.— Nos vero hanc lectionem in nulla editione, qua usi sumus, reperimus. Post pauca, aliquid annuntiaverit, pro aliud annuntiaverit, in mss. S. Petri et prima editione.

[Others,] charisma. Quesnel.— We, however, have found this reading in no edition that we have used. A little after, aliquid annuntiaverit for aliud annuntiaverit in the manuscripts of St Peter's and the first edition.

Al., proficient, in uno ms. Vat.

Otherwise proficient, in one Vatican manuscript.

(d) ‹circumtegunt, et› · printed under col 207

Mss. S. Petri, Bon. et prima editio, de profanis.

The manuscripts of St Peter's and Bologna and the first edition, de profanis.

(e) ‹vivens› · printed under col 207

Cod. Bon. et prima editio, mortuus erit.

The Bologna manuscript and the first edition, mortuus erit [will be dead].