PL 54 · cols. 208–211

Leo the Great, Sermons

Sermon XXV

sicut per fidem justitia, ita etiam per fidem veram vita obtinetur aeterna, dicente Domino Salvatore: Haec est autem vita aeterna, ut cognoscant te solum verum Deum, et quem misisti Jesum Christum (Joan. xvii, 3); qui vos proficere et perseverare faciat usque in finem, qui vivit et regat cum Patre et Spiritu sancto in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

[…] as justice is obtained through faith, so also eternal life is obtained through true faith, as the Lord our Saviour says: And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom Thou hast sent (John 17:3); may He make you advance and persevere to the end, Who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.

SERMO XXV [Al. XXIV].

SERMON XXV [Otherwise XXIV].

In Nativitate Domini V.

On the Nativity of the Lord, V.

CAP. I. — Quamvis, dilectissimi, ineffabilis nativitas Domini nostri Jesu Christi, qua se saturae nostrae carne vestivit: audeo tamen non de facultate mea fidere, sed de ipsius inspiratione praesumere, ut in die qui in sacramentum humanae restitutionis electus est, aliquid a nobis quod audientes possit aedificare promatur. Non enim quia major pars Ecclesiae Dei quod credit intelligit, ideo necessarium non est etiam quae dicta sunt dicere, cum utique nunc multis ad fidem primum venientibus oris nostri officium debeamus, meliusque sit doctos onerare jam notis quam rudes fraudare discendis. Quod ergo Filius Dei, qui cum Patre et Spiritu sancto non unius personae, sed unius essentiae est, dignatus est humilitatis nostrae particeps fieri, et unus passibilium, unus voluit esse mortalium, tam sacratum tamque mirabile est, ut ratio divini consilii sapientibus mundi patere non possit, nisi humanae ignorantiae tenebras lux vera discusserit. Non enim in solo opere virtutum, aut in sola observantia mandatorum, sed etiam in tramite fidei angusta et ardua via est quae ducit ad vitam (Matth. vii, 14); et magni laboris est magnique discriminis, inter dubias imperitorum opiniones et verisimiles falsitates per unam sane doctrinae semitas inoffensis gressibus ambulare; et cum undique se laquei erroris opponant, omne periculum deceptionis evadere. Quis autem ad haec idoneus, nisi qui spiritu Dei docetur et regitur? dicente Apostolo: Nos autem non spiritum hujus mundi accepimus, sed spiritum qui ex

CHAP. I.—Although, dearly beloved, the nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which He clothed Himself with the flesh of our nature, is beyond utterance: yet I dare, trusting not in my own ability but presuming on His inspiration, that on the day which was chosen for the mystery of man's restoration something may be brought forth by us that can edify the hearers. For it is not the case that, because the greater part of the Church of God understands what it believes, it is therefore unnecessary to say again what has been said, since we certainly owe the service of our mouth to the many who are now coming to the faith for the first time, and it is better to burden the learned with what they already know than to cheat the untaught of what they should learn. That the Son of God, then, Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit is not of one person but of one essence, deigned to become a sharer in our lowliness, and willed to be one of those capable of suffering, one of mortals, is so sacred and so wonderful that the reason of the divine counsel cannot lie open to the wise of the world, unless the true light has scattered the darkness of human ignorance. For not only in the work of virtues, or in the observance of the commandments alone, but also on the path of faith, narrow and steep is the way that leads to life (Matt. 7:14); and it is a matter of great labour and great danger, amid the doubtful opinions of the unskilled and falsehoods that look like truth, to walk with unstumbling steps along the one path of sound doctrine; and, while the snares of error set themselves up on every side, to escape every danger of deception. But who is fit for these things, except one who is taught and ruled by the Spirit of God? as the Apostle says: But we have received not the spirit of this world, but the Spirit Who is from […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 208

Footnotes

(f) ‹(Joan. xvii, 3);› · printed under col 207

In eodem Bon. et prima editione, nos.

In the same Bologna manuscript and the first edition, nos [us].

(g) ‹In Nativitate Domini V.› · printed under cols 207–208

In uno ms. S. Petri hic sermo inscribitur: de Nativitate Domiui coutra haetericos; in alio, contra Judaeos et haereticos.

In one manuscript of St Peter's this sermon is entitled: On the Nativity of the Lord, against the heretics; in another, against the Jews and heretics.

(h) ‹de facultate mea› · printed under col 208

In editis ante Quesnellum et in aliquibus mss. deest fidere, quam vocem praesertim in mss. S. Petri et Casin. invenimus.

In the editions before Quesnel and in some manuscripts fidere is lacking, a word which we have found in particular in the manuscripts of St Peter's and Monte Cassino.

(i) ‹ut in die qui› · printed under col 208

Unus cod. S. Petri, in sacramento humanae restitutionis. Alius S. Petri et quatuor Vat., in sacramento humanae restaurationis.

One manuscript of St Peter's, in sacramento humanae restitutionis. Another of St Peter's and four Vatican ones, in sacramento humanae restaurationis.

(j) ‹dignatus est› · printed under col 208

Ita duo codices S. Petri et sex Vaticani, uti pariter legitur cap. 3. Al., humanitatis. Promiscue tamen voces humilitas et humanitas a Leone usurpan⟨t⟩ur.

So two manuscripts of St Peter's and six Vatican ones, as is likewise read in ch. 3. Others, humanitatis. The words humilitas and humanitas, however, are used by Leo interchangeably.

(k) ‹per unam› · printed under col 208

Ms. S. Petri, sanam.

The manuscript of St Peter's, sanam.

Editors' prose

Synopsis. — I. Rudibus Ecclesiae filiis debitorem se fatetur Leo. Non in sola mandatorum observantia, sed et in tramite fidei angustam esse viam. — II. Verbum Patri aequale et consubstantiale, per incarnationem Patre minorem factum quoad humanam naturam. — III. Profundum incarnationis mysterium expenditur. — IV. Christum in veteri lege praenuntiatum. in nova missum, nonnisi Spiritu Dei cognosci posse. — V. Nisi Verbam caro fieret, mors reqnaret ab Adam. Filius Dei homo factus, ut homines fierent filii Dei. Virtus baptismatis. — VI. Incarnationem et mysterium esse et exemplum.

Synopsis. — I. Leo confesses himself a debtor to the untaught sons of the Church. The way is narrow not only in the observance of the commandments but also on the path of faith. — II. The Word, equal and consubstantial with the Father, was made less than the Father through the incarnation as regards human nature. — III. The deep mystery of the incarnation is weighed. — IV. Christ, foretold in the old law and sent in the new, can be known only by the Spirit of God. — V. Unless the Word had become flesh, death would reign from Adam. The Son of God became man that men might become sons of God. The power of baptism. — VI. The incarnation is both a mystery and an example.

Page

running head: S. LEONIS MAGNI SERMONES. 208 (across cols 207–208)
marginal letters: A ‹sicut per fidem justitia›; B ‹cognosci posse. — V.› (in the synopsis); C ‹cum Patre et Spiritu sancto non unius personae›; D ‹cetur et regitur? dicente Apostolo› (the letter is printed so that it reads like B; by position it is D)
old-edition numerals: 83 after ‹Domini nostri Jesu Christi,›
signature: none
other: the caption SERMO XXV [Al. XXIV]. with the italic sub-caption In Nativitate Domini V. is printed within col 208 only; the call (g) stands before the sub-caption. The footnotes under col 208 open with the end of note (g). In note (g) ‹Domiui›, ‹coutra›, ‹haetericos› are set as printed; in note (j) a dropped letter in ‹usurpan⟨t⟩ur› is supplied. After ‹evadere› the text prints a low stroke read as a full stop.

PL 54:209

Deo est, ut sciamus quae a Deo donata sunt nobis (I Cor. ii, 12); canente etiam David: Beatus homo quem tu erudieris, Domine, et de lege tua docueris eum (Ps. xciii, 12).

[…] is from God, that we may know the things that have been given to us by God (1 Cor. 2:12); David also singing: Blessed is the man whom Thou shalt instruct, O Lord, and shalt teach him out of Thy law (Ps. 93:12).

Cap. II. — Habentes itaque, dilectissimi, inter pericula erroris praesidia veritatis, et non humanae sapientiae verbis, sed doctrina Spiritus sancti eruditi, quod didicimus credimus, quod credimus praedicamus, Dei Filium ante saecula a Patre genitum, et Patri sempiterna et consubstantiali aequalitate coaeternum, venisse in hunc mundum per uterum Virginis in hoc sacramentum pietatis electae, in qua et ex qua aedificavit sibi Sapientia domum (Prov. ix, 1), et formam sibi servi in similitudinem carnis peccati, incommutabilis Verbi Deitas coaptavit (Rom. viii, 3): in nullo apud se et Patrem et Spiritum sanctum minor gloria sua: quia diminutionem et varietatem summae et aeternae essentiae natura non recipit. Propter nostram autem infirmitatem extenuavit se incapacibus sui, et velamine corporis splendorem majestatis suae, quem visus hominum non ferebat, obtexit. Unde etiam exinanisse se dicitur (Philip. ii, 7), tanquam se propria virtute evacuaverit, dum in ea humilitate qua nobis consuluit, non solum Patre, sed etiam seipso factus est inferior. Nec aliquid illi hac inclinatione decessit, cui cum Patre et Spiritu sancto, hoc quod est esse, commune est: ut hoc ipsum iutelligamus ad omnipotentiam pertinere, quo qui secundum nostra minor est, secundum propria minor non est. Quia enim lux ad obcaecatos, virtus ad imbecilles, misericordia respexit ad miseros, de magna factum est potestate, ut Dei Filius substantiam humanam causamque susceperit, qui et nostram naturam quam condidit reformaret, et mortem quam non fecit aboleret.

Chap. II. — Having therefore, dearly beloved, amid the perils of error the safeguards of truth, and being taught not by the words of human wisdom but by the teaching of the Holy Spirit, what we have learned we believe, and what we believe we preach: that the Son of God, begotten of the Father before the ages, and co-eternal with the Father in an everlasting and consubstantial equality, came into this world through the womb of a Virgin chosen for this mystery of godliness, in whom and out of whom Wisdom built herself a house (Prov. 9:1); and the Godhead of the unchangeable Word fitted to Himself the form of a servant in the likeness of sinful flesh (Rom. 8:3): in no respect less in His glory, in Himself, than both the Father and the Holy Spirit, because the nature of the supreme and eternal essence admits no diminution and no variation. But because of our weakness He made Himself slight for those who could not contain Him, and with the veil of a body He covered the splendour of His majesty, which the sight of men could not bear. Hence He is also said to have emptied Himself (Phil. 2:7), as though He had drained Himself of His own power, while in that humility by which He provided for us He became lower not only than the Father but even than Himself. Nor was anything lost to Him by this stooping, to Whom, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, that which is being is common: so that we may understand this very thing to belong to omnipotence, that He Who according to what is ours is less, according to what is His own is not less. For because the light regarded the blinded, strength the weak, mercy the wretched, it was done by great power that the Son of God took upon Himself human substance and the human cause, so as both to refashion our nature, which He had created, and to abolish death, which He had not made.

Cap. III. — Repudiatis igitur longeque rejectis omnibus opinionibus impiorum, quibus aut stultitia est Christus aut scandalum, exsulet rectarum mentium fides, et verum unumque Dei Filium, non solum secundum Deitatem qua a Patre genitus, sed etiam secundum humanitatem qua de matre Virgine est natus, intelligat. Ipse est enim in humilitate nostra, qui est in majestate divina, verus homo et verus Deus: sempiternus in suis, temporalis in nostris; unum cum Patre in substantia, quae nunquam fuit minor Patre, unum cum matre in corpore quod creavit.

Chap. III. — Therefore, all the opinions of the ungodly, to whom Christ is either foolishness or a stumbling-block, being repudiated and cast far away, let the faith of right minds rejoice, and let it understand the true and one Son of God, not only according to the Godhead in which He was begotten of the Father, but also according to the manhood in which He was born of the Virgin mother. For He Who is in the divine majesty is Himself in our lowliness, true man and true God: everlasting in what is His, temporal in what is ours; one with the Father in the substance which was never less than the Father, one with His mother in the body which He created.

Editors' notes and page, col. 209

Footnotes

(a) ‹Beatus homo› · printed under col 209

In prima editione deest homo.

In the first edition homo is missing.

(b) ‹quod didicimus› · printed under col 209

Mss. S. Petri et unus Vat., credimus et praedicamus Dei Filium Deum ante saecula a Patre genitum. Prima editio addit Deum, et omittit a Patre.

The St Peter's manuscripts and one Vatican [manuscript]: "we believe and preach the Son of God, God begotten of the Father before the ages". The first edition adds Deum and omits a Patre.

Codd. S. Petri, in hoc sacramento.

The St Peter's codices: in hoc sacramento.

(d) ‹incapacibus sui› · printed under col 209

In mss. S. Petri et uno Vat. ac editione Veneta an. 1485, et sui velamine.

In the St Peter's manuscripts, in one Vatican [manuscript] and in the Venice edition of the year 1485: et sui velamine.

(e) ‹hoc quod est› · printed under col 209

Ita codd. Quesn. et plerique nostri; sed in antea vulgatis esse aberat.

So Quesnel's codices and most of ours; but in the previously published [editions] esse was absent.

(f) ‹de magna factum est› · printed under col 209

Al. in uno Vat., pietate. Mox duo Vat., substantiam, humanamque caasam susciperet. In codice S. Petri similiter legitur susciperet. Dein. in iisdem Vat. deest nostram.

Otherwise, in one Vatican [manuscript], pietate. Shortly after, two Vatican [manuscripts]: substantiam, humanamque causam susciperet. In the St Peter's codex likewise susciperet is read. Then, in the same Vatican [manuscripts], nostram is missing.

(g) ‹stultitia est› · printed under cols 209–210

Editi ante Quesn. et plures nostri codices, Crux Chrisii. At Christus est in ms. S. Petri. Aliquanto post, in humilitate pro in humanitate, cum Quesnello retinuimus ex pluribus et potioribus nostris codd.

The editions before Quesnel and several of our codices: Crux Christi. But Christus is in the St Peter's manuscript. A little after, we have kept in humilitate instead of in humanitate, with Quesnel, from several and better codices of ours.

Page

running head: 209 SERMO (the page head reads SERMO XXV. across both columns)
marginal letters: A ‹Deo est, ut sciamus› (at the line ending "(I"); B ‹3): in nullo apud se›; C ‹magna factum est potestate›; D ‹in the footnote area, beside "(a) In prima editione", cropped at the gutter›
old-edition numerals: 84 after ‹diminutionem et›
signature: none
other: none

PL 54:210

In assumptione enim naturae nostrae nobis factus est gradus quo ad ipsum per ipsum possimus ascendere. Nam illa essentia quae semper ubique tota est, locali descensione non eguit, et tam ei proprium fuit totam homini inseri, quam ei proprium est totam a Patre non dividi. Manet ergo, quod in principio erat Verbum (Joan. i, 1), et non est ei accidens ut quod est aliquando nen fuerit. Sempiterne enim Filius, Filius est; et sempiterne Pater, Pater est. Uude cum ipse Filius dicat: Qui videt me, videt et Patrem (Joan. xiv, 9), excaecavit te, o haeretice, impietas tua, ut qui majestatem Filii non vidisti, Patris gloriam non videres: dicendo enim genitum esse qui non erat, Filium asseris temporalem; et dum Filium asseris temporalem, credis Patrem esse mutabilem. Mutabile enim est, non solum quod minuitur, sed etiam quidquid augetur; et si ideo Patri impar est Genitus, quia, ut tibi videtur, generando eum qui non erat genuit, imperfecta erat etiam generantis essentia, quae ad habendum quod non habuit, generando profecit. Sed hanc impiam perversitatem tuam fides catholica exsecratur et damnat; quae in Deitate vera nihil temporalitatis agnoscit, sed unius sempiternitatis et Patrem confitetur, et Filium: quia splendor ex luce ortus non est luce posterior, et lux vera numquam est sui splendoris indiga, sic substantiale semper habens fulgere, sicut substantiale semper habet existere. Hujus autem splendoris manifestatio, missio dicitur, qua Christus mundo apparuit. Qui cum omnia invisibili majestate sua semper impleret, tamen quasi de remotissimo altissimoque secreto, iis quibus erat ignotus advenit, cum caecitatem ignorantiae sustulit, et, sicut scriptum est, sedentibus in tenebris ei in umbra mortis, lux orta est eis (Isai. ix, 2),

For in the taking up of our nature a step was made for us, by which we might ascend to Him through Him. For that essence which is always everywhere whole had no need of a descent from place to place; and it was as much its property to be grafted whole into man as it is its property not to be divided in any part from the Father. It remains, therefore, that in the beginning was the Word (John 1:1), and it does not befall Him that what He is He at some time was not. For the Son is everlastingly Son, and the Father everlastingly Father. Hence, since the Son Himself says: He who sees Me sees the Father also (John 14:9), your impiety has blinded you, O heretic, so that you, who have not seen the majesty of the Son, should not see the glory of the Father: for by saying that He Who was not was begotten, you assert that the Son is temporal; and while you assert that the Son is temporal, you believe that the Father is changeable. For not only what is diminished is changeable, but also whatever is increased; and if the Begotten is unequal to the Father for this reason, that, as it seems to you, in begetting He begot One Who was not, then the essence of the Begetter too was imperfect, which advanced by begetting to the having of what it had not. But this impious perversity of yours the catholic faith abhors and condemns; for it recognizes nothing of temporality in the true Godhead, but confesses both the Father and the Son to be of one everlastingness: because the brightness sprung from the light is not later than the light, and the true light is never in want of its own brightness, having shining always as its substance, just as it has existing always as its substance. Now the manifestation of this brightness is called the sending, by which Christ appeared to the world. Though He always filled all things with His invisible majesty, yet, as if from a most remote and most high secret place, He came to those to whom He was unknown, when He took away the blindness of ignorance, and, as it is written, to them that sat in darkness and in the shadow of death a light has arisen (Isa. 9:2),

Cap. IV. — Quamvis enim etiam prioribus saeculis ad illuminationem sanctorum patrum et pophetarum lumen veritatis emissum sit, dicente David: Emitte lucem tuam et veritatem tuam (Psal. xlii, 3); et diversis modis multisque signis opera praesentiae suae Deitas Filii declararit; omnes tamen illae significationes, cunctaque miracula, testimonia fuerunt istius missionis de qua dicit Apostolus: Cum ergo venit plenitudo temporis, misit Deus Filium suum, factum ex muliere, factum sub lege (Galat. iv, 4). Quid vero hoc est, nisi Verbum carnem fieri, Conditorem mundi per uterum Virginis nasci, Dominum majestatis humanis

Chap. IV. — For although in earlier ages also the light of truth was sent forth for the enlightenment of the holy fathers and prophets, as David says: Send forth Thy light and Thy truth (Ps. 42:3); and although the Godhead of the Son made known the works of His presence in divers ways and by many signs; yet all those intimations and all the miracles were testimonies of that sending of which the Apostle says: But when the fullness of time came, God sent His Son, made of a woman, made under the law (Gal. 4:4). And what is this but the Word becoming flesh, the Founder of the world being born through the womb of a Virgin, the Lord of majesty [fitting Himself] to human

Editors' notes and page, col. 210

Footnotes

(g) continued from col 209, set in n209

(h) ‹temporalem› · printed under col 210

Ita melius ex codd. S. Petri. Editi eum aliis mss., credidisti.

So, better, from the St Peter's codices. The editions, with other manuscripts: credidisti.

(i) ‹essentia, quae› · printed under col 210

Editiones posteriores prima et auteriores Quesnello, adhibendo quod non habuit, generando perfecit. Potiores codices lectionem textui iusertam approbant.

The editions later than the first and earlier than Quesnel: adhibendo quod non habuit, generando perfecit. The better codices support the reading inserted in the text.

(j) ‹mundo apparuit› · printed under col 210

Et cum omnia in duobus mss. Vat. et prima editione. Dein abstulit pro sustulit in aliquibus nostris codd., qui etiam praeferunt conjunctionem et, in editis ante Quesn. omissam.

Et cum omnia in two Vatican manuscripts and the first edition. Then abstulit instead of sustulit in some of our codices, which also show the conjunction et, omitted in the editions before Quesnel.

(k) ‹Deitas Filii› · printed under col 210

Ita ex duobus mss. S. Petri et uno Vat. collect. 5 Al., declaravit.

So from two St Peter's manuscripts and one Vatican [manuscript] of collection 5. Otherwise, declaravit.

(l) ‹Filium suum› · printed under col 210

Editi natum. Recepimus laudatorum codicum lectionem, quae Vulgatae congruit.

The editions: natum. We have adopted the reading of the codices cited, which agrees with the Vulgate.

Page

running head: O XXV. 210 (end of the page head SERMO XXV.)
marginal letters: A ‹In assumptione enim›; B ‹enim est, non solum›; C ‹quibus erat ignotus›; D ‹in the footnote area, beside "nello retinuimus"›
old-edition numerals: 85 after ‹credis Patrem esse mutabilem.›
signature: none
other: the call (k) is printed without its closing parenthesis

PL 54:211

se coaptare p⟨r⟩imordiis, et licet conceptui spiritali nulla sint terreni seminis mixta contagia, ad suscipiendam tamen verae carnis substantiam solam sumere de matre naturam? Hac missione, qua Deus unitus eest homini, Filius impar est Patri, non in eo quod ex Patre, sed in eo quod est factus ex homine. Aequalitatem enim, quam inviolabilem habet Deitas, non corrupit humanitas; et Creatoris ad creaturam descensio, credentium est ad aeterna provectio. Nam quia sicut ait Apostolus, in sapientia Dei non cognovit mundus per sapientiam Deum, placuit Deo per stultitiam praedicationis salvos facere credentes (I Cor. i, 21). Mundo ergo, id est prudentibus mundi, sapientia sua caecitas facta est, nec potuerunt per illam cognoscere Deum, ad cujus notitiam non nisi in sapientia ejus acciditur. Et ideo quia mundus de vanitate suorum dogmatum superbiebat, in eo constituit Dominus salvandorum fidem, quod et indignum videretur et stultum, ut deficientibus omnibus opinionum praesumptionibus, sola Dei gratia revelaret quod comprehendere humana intelligentia non valeret.

[…] to fit Himself to human beginnings, and, although no contagions of earthly seed are mingled in the spiritual conception, yet for the taking up of the substance of true flesh to take from His mother only her nature? By this sending, by which God was united to man, the Son is unequal to the Father, not in that which He is from the Father, but in that which He was made from man. For the manhood has not impaired the equality which the Godhead holds inviolable; and the descent of the Creator to the creature is the advancement of believers to things eternal. For since, as the Apostle says, in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom did not know God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe (1 Cor. 1:21). To the world, then, that is, to the prudent of the world, its own wisdom became blindness, and they could not through it come to know God, to Whose knowledge there is no approach except in His wisdom. And therefore, because the world was proud of the vanity of its doctrines, the Lord established the faith of those to be saved in that which would seem both unworthy and foolish, so that, when all the presumptions of opinion failed, the grace of God alone might reveal what human understanding could not comprehend.

Cap. V. — Agnoscat igitur catholica fides in humilitate Domini gloriam suam, et de salutis suae sacramentis gaudeat Ecclesia, quae corpus est Christi: quia nisi Verbum Dei caro fieret et habitaret in nobis, nisi in communionem creaturae Creator ipse descenderet, et vetustatem humanam ad novum principium sua nativitate revocaret, regnaret mors ab Adam (Rom. v. 14) usque in finem, et super omnes homines condemnatio insolubilis permaneret, cum de sola conditione nascendi, una cunctis esset causa pereundi. Solus itaque inter filos hominum Dominus Jesus innocens natus est, quia solus sine carnalis concupiscentiae pollutione conceptus. Factus est homo nostri generis, ut nos divinae naturae possimus esse consortes. Originem quam sumpsit in utero virginis, posuit in fonte baptismatis: dedit aquae, quod dedit matri; virtus enim Altissimi et obumbratio Spiritus sancti (Luc. i, 35), quae fecit ut Maria pareret Salvatorem, eadem facit ut regeneret unda credentem. Quid autem sanandis aegris, illuminandis caecis, vivificandis mortuis aptius fuit, quam ut superbiae vulnera humilitatis remediis curarentur? Adam praecepta Dei negligens, peccati induxit damnationem; Jesus factus sub lege reddidit justitiae libertatem. Ille diabolo obtemperans usque ad praevaricationem, meruit ut in ipso omnes morerentur; hic Patri obediens

Chap. V. — Let the catholic faith, then, recognize its own glory in the lowliness of the Lord, and let the Church, which is the body of Christ, rejoice in the sacraments of its salvation: because, unless the Word of God had become flesh and dwelt among us, unless the Creator Himself had come down into fellowship with the creature and by His nativity had recalled human oldness to a new beginning, death would reign from Adam (Rom. 5:14) until the end, and an indissoluble condemnation would remain upon all men, since from the mere condition of being born there would be for all one cause of perishing. Alone, therefore, among the sons of men the Lord Jesus was born innocent, because He alone was conceived without the defilement of carnal concupiscence. He was made a man of our race, that we might be able to be partakers of the divine nature. The origin which He took in the Virgin's womb He placed in the font of baptism: He gave to the water what He gave to His mother; for the power of the Most High and the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35), which caused Mary to bring forth the Saviour, the same causes the water to regenerate the believer. And what was more fitting for healing the sick, enlightening the blind, giving life to the dead, than that the wounds of pride should be cured by the remedies of humility? Adam, neglecting the precepts of God, brought in the condemnation of sin; Jesus, made under the law, restored the freedom of righteousness. The one, obeying the devil even to transgression, deserved that in him all should die; this One, obedient to the Father

Editors' notes and page, col. 211

Footnotes

(a) ‹solam› · printed under col 211

Prima editio, sumpsit.

The first edition: sumpsit.

(b) ‹ad aeterna› · printed under col 211

Sic ex mss. S. Petri et prima editione. Al., subvectio. In uno cod. Vat., subvectio: quia, sicut ait Apostolus, non cognovit hic mundus per sapientiam Deum.

So from the St Peter's manuscripts and the first edition. Otherwise, subvectio. In one Vatican codex: subvectio: quia, sicut ait Apostolus, non cognovit hic mundus per sapientiam Deum.

Conjunctionem et in editis insertam ante vocem deficientibus, delevimus auctoritate ms. S. Petri et codd. Vat. collect. 4 et 5.

The conjunction et, inserted in the editions before the word deficientibus, we have deleted on the authority of the St Peter's manuscript and the Vatican codices of collections 4 and 5.