Migne Reading Room

PL 54 · cols. 240–243

Leo the Great, Sermons

Sermon XXXIII

PL 54:240
lumen suum invexit. Honoretur itaque a nobis sacratissimus dies, in quo salutis nostrae auctor apparuit; et quem magi infantem venerati sunt in cunabuls, nos omnipotentem adoremus in coelis. Ac sicut illi de thesauris suis mysticas Domino menerum species obtulerunt, ita et nos de cordibus nostris, quae Deo sunt digna promamus. Quamvis enim omnium bonoruu sit ipse largitor, etiam nostrae tamen fructum quaerit industriae: non enim dormientibus provenit regnum coelorum, sed in mandatis Dei laborantibus atque vigilantibus; ut si dona ipsius non irrita fecerimus, per ea quae dedit mereamur accipere quod promisit. Unde cohortamur dilectionem vestram ut abstinentes vos ab omni opere malo, quae sunt casta et justa sectemini. Filii enim lucis abjicere debent opera tenebrarum (Rom. xiii, 12). Itaque odia declinate, mendacia abjicite, superbiam humilitate destruite, avaritiam projicite, largitatem diligite: decet enim ut capiti suo membra conveniant, ut promissarum beatitudinum mereamur esse consortes: per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, qui cum Patre et Spiritu sancto vivit et regnat Deus in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
[…] brought its light. Let the most sacred day, then, be honoured by us, on which the Author of our salvation appeared; and let us adore as almighty in the heavens Him Whom the magi venerated as an infant in the cradle. And as they brought out of their treasures mystical kinds of gifts to the Lord, so let us too bring forth from our hearts what is worthy of God. For although He Himself is the giver of all good things, yet He seeks the fruit of our diligence also: for the kingdom of heaven does not come to those who sleep, but to those who labour and keep watch in the commandments of God; so that, if we do not make His gifts void, we may deserve through what He has given to receive what He has promised. We therefore exhort your love that, abstaining from every evil work, you follow the things that are chaste and just. For the sons of light ought to cast off the works of darkness (Rom. 13:12). So shun hatreds, cast away lies, destroy pride with humility, throw away avarice, love generosity: for it is fitting that the members agree with their head, so that we may deserve to be sharers of the promised beatitudes: through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, God, for ages of ages. Amen.
SERMO XXXIII [Al XXXII.]
SERMON XXXIII [Al. XXXII].
In Epiphaniae solemnitate III
On the Solemnity of the Epiphany, III.
Cap. I. — Quamvis sciam, dilec⟨t⟩issimi, quod sanctitatem vestram hodiernae festivitatis causa non lateat, eamque secundum consuetudinem evangelicus vobis sermo reseraverit, tamen ut nihil vobis nostri desit officii, loqui de eadem quod Dominus donaverit audebo: ut in communi gaudio tanto religiosior sit omnium pietas, quanto magis omnibus fuerit intellecta solemnitas. Providentia namque misericordiae Dei dispositum habens pereunti mundo in novissimis temporibus subvenire, salvationem omnium gentium praefinivit in Christo; ut quia et cunctas nationes a veri Dei cultu impius dudum
Ch. I. — Although I know, dearly beloved, that the reason for today's festival is not hidden from your holiness, and that the Gospel reading has, according to custom, laid it open to you, yet, that nothing of our office may be lacking to you, I shall venture to speak of it what the Lord shall have granted: so that in the common joy the devotion of all may be the more religious, the more the solemnity has been understood by all. For the providence of God's mercy, having determined to succour the perishing world in the last times, foreordained the salvation of all nations in Christ; so that, since all the nations too, from the worship of the true God, an ungodly […]
Editors' notes and page, col. 240

Footnotes

(e) ‹si dona› · printed under col 239, running over to col 240

Ita septem nostri codd. In editis, illius irrita non fecimus. Mox, quae promisit in mss. S. Petri et uno Vat.

So seven of our codices. In the editions, "illius irrita non fecimus". Shortly after, "quae promisit" in the manuscripts of St Peter's and one Vatican [codex].

(f) ‹humilitate destruite,› · printed under col 240

Editi ante Quesnellum, avaritiam largitate delete. Ita etiam nostri codd. collect. 3, 4 et 5. At lectionem a Quesnello textui insertam invenimus in duobus mss. S. Petri, in Lectionario Patavino PP. Eremitanorum, in Veron, nec non in codd. collect. 1 et 2. Dein, benedictionum pro beatitudinum in quatuor nostris codd. et prima editione. In ms. S. Petri mereantur pro mereamur.

The editions before Quesnel, "destroy avarice with generosity". So also our codices of collections 3, 4 and 5. But the reading inserted in the text by Quesnel we have found in two manuscripts of St Peter's, in the Padua Lectionary of the Eremitani Fathers, in the Verona [manuscript], and also in the codices of collections 1 and 2. Then "benedictionum" for "beatitudinum" in four of our codices and the first edition. In the manuscript of St Peter's, "mereantur" for "mereamur".

(g) ‹tamen ut› · printed under col 240

Sic ex ms. Petri. Alias, nostri mihil desit.

So from the manuscript of [St] Peter's. Elsewhere, "nostri nihil desit".

(h) ‹quanto magis› · printed under col 240

Addidimus omnibus ex cunctis nostris codd. et editis ante Quesnellum.

We have added "omnibus" from all our codices and the editions before Quesnel.

Editors' prose

Synopsis. — I. Tunc Christus mundum liberaturus venit, cum omnes conclusi erant sub peccato, ut nemo de suis meritis gloriaretur. — II. Cur sub Herode natus, cur stella demonstratus? Gratia intus operabatur, ut signum intelligeretur, ut Christus inquireretur. — III. Quanta Judaeorum caecitas Cristo nascente. Implet gentium vocatio promissionem Abrahae factam. — IV. Cur magi, adorato Christo, per aliam viam revertutur. Cur Christo in Aegyptum transferri voluit. — V. Gratiarum actione celebrando haec festivitas, in qua vocationis gentium primitiae. Quomodo stellam imitabimur.

Synopsis. — I. Christ came to set the world free at the time when all were shut up under sin, so that no one might glory in his own merits. — II. Why He was born under Herod, why He was shown by a star. Grace was working within, that the sign might be understood, that Christ might be sought. — III. How great the blindness of the Jews when Christ was born. The calling of the Gentiles fulfils the promise made to Abraham. — IV. Why the magi, having adored Christ, return by another way. Why Christ willed to be carried into Egypt. — V. This festival, in which are the first-fruits of the calling of the Gentiles, is to be celebrated with thanksgiving. How we shall imitate the star.

Page

  • running head: S. LEONIS MAGNI SERMONES. 240 (across both columns of the page; the page number over this column)
  • marginal letters: A ‹lumen suum invexit› (line opening -bus lumen); B ‹mini. Filii enim lucis›; C ‹Cristo nascente› (in the synopsis); D ‹omnium gentium praefinivit›
  • old-edition numerals: 118 before ‹III. Quanta Judaeorum› (in the synopsis)
  • signature: none
  • other: the caption SERMO XXXIII [Al XXXII.] and its sub-caption are printed within this column only; the column opens with -bus, the end of nationibus (set whole in col 239); the Cap. heading of Cap. I is printed with damaged type
PL 54:241
error averterat, et ipse peculiaris Dei populus Israel ab institutis legalibus pene totus exciderat, conclusis omnibus sub peccato (Rom. xi, 32), omnium misereretur. Deficiente enim ubique justitia, et toto mundo in vana et maligna prolapso, nisi judicium suum divina potestas differret, universitas hominum sententiam damnationis exciperet. Sed in indulgentiam ira translata est, et ut clarior fieret excrendae gratiae magnitudo, tunc placuit abolendis peccatis hominum sacramentum remissionis afferri, quando nemo poterat de suis meritis gloriari.
[…] error had long since turned away, and Israel itself, God's own people, had almost wholly fallen away from the ordinances of the law, He might, all having been shut up under sin (Rom. 11:32), have mercy on all. For, justice failing everywhere and the whole world having slid into vain and wicked things, had not the divine power deferred its judgement, the whole of mankind would have received the sentence of damnation. But wrath was changed into indulgence, and, that the greatness of the grace to be displayed might become clearer, it pleased [God] that the sacrament of remission should be brought for the abolishing of men's sins at a time when no one could glory in his own merits.
Cap. II. — Hujus autem, dilectissimi, ineffabilis misericordiae manifestatio facta est Herode apud Judaeos jus regium tenente, ubi legitima regum successione cessante, et pontificum potestate destructa, alienigena obtinuerat principatum: ut veri Regis ortus illius prophetiae probaretur voce, quae dixerat: Non deficiet princeps ex Juda, neque dux de femoribus ejus, donec veniat cui repositum est, et ipse erit exspectatio gentium (Gen. xlix, 10). De quibus quondam beatissimo patriarchae Abrahae innumerabilis fuerat promissa successio, non carnis semine, sed fidei fecunditate generanda; et ideo stellarum multitudini comparata, ut ab omnium gentium patre, non terrena, sed coelestis progenies speraretur. Ad creandam ergo promissam posteritatem, haeredes in sideribus designati, ortu novi sideris excitantur, ut in quo coeli adhibitum fuerat testimonium, coeli famularetur obsequium. Commovet magos remotioris Orientis habitatores stellis caeteris stella fulgentior, et de mirandi luminis claritate viri ad haec spectanda non inscii, magnitudinem significationis intelligunt: agente hoc sine dubio in eorum cordibus inspiratione divina, ut eos tantae visionis mysterium non lateret, et quod oculis ostendebatur insolitum, animis non esset obscurum. Denique officium suum cum religione disponunt, et his se instruunt donis, ut adoraturi unum tria
Ch. II. — Now the manifestation of this ineffable mercy, dearly beloved, took place while Herod held royal power among the Jews, when, the lawful succession of kings having ceased and the power of the pontiffs having been destroyed, a foreigner had obtained the principality: so that the birth of the true King might be proved by the voice of that prophecy which had said: The prince shall not fail out of Judah, nor the leader from his thighs, until He comes for Whom it is laid up, and He shall be the expectation of the nations (Gen. 49:10). Of these [nations] a countless succession had once been promised to the most blessed patriarch Abraham, to be begotten not by the seed of the flesh but by the fruitfulness of faith; and therefore it was compared to the multitude of the stars, so that from the father of all nations there might be hoped for a progeny not earthly but heavenly. To create, then, the promised posterity, the heirs designated in the stars are roused by the rising of a new star, so that the service of heaven might wait upon that in which the testimony of heaven had been invoked. A star brighter than the other stars stirs the magi, dwellers in the remoter East, and, from the brightness of the wondrous light, the men, not unskilled in observing such things, understand the greatness of what it signified: the divine inspiration without doubt working this in their hearts, so that the mystery of so great a vision should not be hidden from them, and what was shown to their eyes as unwonted should not be obscure to their minds. Accordingly they arrange their duty with religious care, and furnish themselves with these gifts, so that, being about to adore One, three […]
Editors' notes and page, col. 241

Footnotes

(a) ‹ut clarior fieret› · printed under col 241

Al., exercendae. Quesnellus, exerendae, cum aliquot nostris mss. Postea, de suo merito in Lectionariis S. Petri.

Others, "exercendae". Quesnel, "exerendae", with some of our manuscripts. Afterwards, "de suo merito" in the Lectionaries of St Peter's.

(b) ‹Hujus autem,› · printed under col 241

Vox dilectissimi a Quesnello adjecta, nobis inventa est in ms. S. Petri.

The word "dilectissimi", added by Quesnel, has been found by us in the manuscript of St Peter's.

(c) ‹quondam beatissimo› · printed under col 241

Duo codd. S. Petri, Petri Abrahae. Paulo ante jam pro quondam in Lectionario Patavino S. Antonii.

Two codices of St Peter's, "Petri Abrahae". A little before, "jam" for "quondam" in the Padua Lectionary of St Anthony's.

(d) ‹comparata, ut› · printed under col 241

Ita emendavimus ex omnibus nostris codd. et nonnullis editis. Prima editio et Quaesn., ab omni. Paulo post in mss, Patav., ut cui coeli.

So we have emended from all our codices and some editions. The first edition and Quesnel, "ab omni". Shortly after, in the Padua manuscripts, "ut cui coeli".

(e) ‹obsequium.› · printed under col 241

Prima editio cum mss. S. Petri, Commonet. Laudatus cod. Patav., Commovit . . . et in mirandi luminis claritate. Dein, magnitudinem sanctificationis, in eadem editione et in mss. Bon. et tribus Vat.

The first edition with the manuscripts of St Peter's, "Commonet". The Padua codex already cited, "Commovit . . . et in mirandi luminis claritate". Then "magnitudinem sanctificationis" in the same edition and in the Bologna manuscripts and three Vatican ones.

(f) call in col 242; the note begins under col 241 and is set in n242

Page

  • running head: 241 SERMO XXXIII. (across both columns of the page; the page number over this column)
  • marginal letters: A ‹error averterat›; B ‹alienigena obtinuerat›; C ‹ritate viri ad haec›; D ‹nonnullis editis› (footnote area)
  • old-edition numerals: 119 before ‹promissam posteritatem›
  • signature: none
  • other: none
PL 54:242
se simul credidisse demonstrent: auro honorantes personam regiam, myrrha humanam, thure divinam.
[…] they might show that they had believed together: honouring with gold the royal person, with myrrh the human, with incense the divine.
Cap. III. — Ingrediuntur itaque Judaici regni praecipuam civitatem, et in urbe regia ostendi sibi postulant quem ad regnandum didicerat procreatum. Conturbatur Herodes, timet saluti suae, metuit potestati, requirit a sacerdotibus et doctoribus legis quid de ortu Christi Scriptura praedixerit, in notitiam venit quod fuerat prophetatum; veritas iluminat magos, infidelitas obcaecat magistros; carnalis Israel non intelligit quod legit, non videt quod ostendit; utitur paginis quarum non credit eloquiis. Ubi est, Judaee, gloriatio tua (Rom. iii, 27)? Ubi de Abraham parte ducta nobilitas? Nonne circumeisio tua praeputium facta est (Rom. ii, 25)? Ecce major servis minori (G⟨e⟩n. xxv, 25), et alienigenis in sortem haereditatis tuae intrantibus, ejus testamenti, quod in sola littera tenes, recitatione famularis.
Ch. III. — They enter, therefore, the chief city of the Jewish kingdom, and in the royal city ask that He be shown to them Whom [they] had learned was begotten to reign. Herod is thrown into confusion; he fears for his safety, he is afraid for his power; he inquires of the priests and teachers of the law what the Scripture had foretold of the birth of Christ; what had been prophesied comes to his knowledge; truth enlightens the magi, unbelief blinds the masters; carnal Israel does not understand what it reads, does not see what it points out; it uses pages whose words it does not believe. Where, Jew, is your boasting (Rom. 3:27)? Where is the nobility drawn from Abraham's side? Has not your circumcision become uncircumcision (Rom. 2:25)? Behold, the elder, you serve the younger (Gen. 25:25), and, while foreigners enter into the lot of your inheritance, you serve by reciting that testament which you hold in the letter alone.
Intret, intret in patriarcharum famitiam gentium plenitudo, et benedictionem in semine Abrahae, qua se filii carnis abdicant, filii promissionis accipiant. Adorent in tribus magis omnes populi universitatis auctorem; et non in Judaea tantum Deus, sed in toto orbe sit notus, ut ubique in Israel sit magnum nomen ejus (Ps. lxxv, 2). Quoniam hanc electi generis dignitatem sicut infidelitas in suis posteris convincit esse degenerem, ita fides omnibus facit esse communem.
Let the fullness of the Gentiles enter, let it enter into the family of the patriarchs, and let the sons of the promise receive the blessing in the seed of Abraham which the sons of the flesh renounce. In the three magi let all peoples adore the Author of the universe; and let God be known not in Judaea only, but in the whole world, so that everywhere His name may be great in Israel (Ps. 75:2). For as unbelief proves this dignity of the chosen race to be degenerate in its posterity, so faith makes it common to all.
Cap. IV. — Adorato autem Domino, magi, et omni devotione completa, secundum admonitionem somnii non eodem quo venerant itinere revertuntur. Oportebat enim ut jam in Christum credentes non per antiquae conversationis semitas ambularent, sed novam ingressi viam a relictis erroribus abstinerent. Tum ut etiam Herodis vacuarentur insidiae, qui in puerum Jesum impietatem doli per simulationem disponebat officii. Unde quia spes istius erat
Ch. IV. — Now when the Lord had been adored, and all devotion fulfilled, the magi, following the warning of a dream, return not by the same way by which they had come. For it was fitting that, now believing in Christ, they should not walk along the paths of their former manner of life, but, having entered upon a new way, should keep away from the errors they had left. Then also, so that the plots of Herod might be made void, who was preparing against the child Jesus the impiety of a treachery under the pretence of homage. Hence, since the hope of this […]
Editors' notes and page, col. 242

Footnotes

(f) ‹myrrha› · printed under col 241, running over to col 242

Cave ne quid in his verbis Nestoriano dogmati affine suspiceris, dum tam humanam quam divinam in Christo agnoscit personam Leo noster. Quemadmodum enim tertium in illo suppositum cogitari nemo dixerit, cum personam regiam ab utraque illa discretam appellare videtur, sic nec humanum suppositum a Verbo distinctum in Christo somniasse Leo est existimandus. Unicam ergo Christi personam intelligit, quae simul et dignitate regia, et natura humana, et essentia divina per incarnationem Verbi praedita invenitur. Quesn. — Personae quidem nomen veteres nonnumquam accepisse pro tamquam, aliquot exemplis ostendimus not. 71 in tract. 16, lib. i, S. Zenonis, p. 133. Ita hoc loco, honorantes personam regiam, humanam et divinam, idem est ac auro honorantes Christum tamquam regem, myrrha tamquam hominem, thure tamquam Deum; et in hanc quidem sententiam sermone sequenti, c. 3: Cui, inquit, in auro regius honor, in thure divina veneratio, in myrrha mortalitatis confessio deberetur. Confer etiam serm. 36, c. 1. Porro in duplici natura Christi personae unitatem pluribus in locis palam profitetur.

Beware of suspecting in these words anything akin to the Nestorian dogma, when our Leo acknowledges in Christ a human as well as a divine person. For as no one would say that a third subject is to be thought of in Him, when he seems to call the royal person distinct from both of those, so neither is Leo to be thought to have dreamed of a human subject distinct from the Word in Christ. He understands, therefore, the single person of Christ, which is found endowed at once with royal dignity, human nature and divine essence through the incarnation of the Word. Quesnel. — That the ancients sometimes took the noun "persona" in the sense of "as", we have shown with several examples in note 71 on tractate 16, book 1, of St Zeno, p. 133. So in this place "honouring the royal, the human and the divine person" is the same as "honouring Christ with gold as king, with myrrh as man, with incense as God"; and indeed to this effect in the following sermon, ch. 3, he says: "to Whom was due royal honour in the gold, divine veneration in the incense, the confession of mortality in the myrrh". Compare also Serm. 36, ch. 1. Moreover, he openly professes in many places the unity of the person in the twofold nature of Christ.

(g) ‹postulant› · printed under col 242

Nonnulli codd. posteriorum collectionum addunt, puerum. Prima editio, puerum quem ad regendum sibi didicerunt procreatum. Aliquanto post, Ubi est, Judaee, glorificatio tua? in mss. S. Petri, Bon. et prima editione.

Some codices of the later collections add "puerum". The first edition, "the child whom they had learned was begotten to rule for them". Somewhat later, "Where, Jew, is your glorification?" in the manuscripts of St Peter's, Bologna and the first edition.

(h) ‹Quoniam› · printed under col 242

Duo codd. S. Petri, unus Vallicell. et alius Patavinus: Hanc elegit generis dignitatem, ut sicut infidelitas in suis posteris fecit (Patav., convicit, Vallic., convicit) esse degenerem, ita fides omnibus fecit (melius Putav. et Vallicell., faciat) esse communem.

Two codices of St Peter's, one of the Vallicelliana and another of Padua: "He chose this dignity of the race, so that as unbelief made it (Padua, 'convicit'; Vallicelliana, 'convicit') degenerate in its posterity, so faith made it (better, Padua and Vallicelliana, 'faciat') common to all."

(i) ‹non per› · printed under col 242

Prima edito, antiquas. Aliquanto post, furiam post furorem in eadem editione et mss. S. Petri ac Bon.

The first edition, "antiquas". Somewhat later, "furiam" after "furorem" in the same edition and the manuscripts of St Peter's and Bologna.

Page

  • running head: SERMO XXXIII. 242 (across both columns of the page; the page number over this column)
  • marginal letters: A ‹se simul credidisse›; B ‹tua praeputium facta est›; C ‹mnii non eodem›; D ‹tura Christi personae› (footnote area)
  • old-edition numerals: 120 before ‹abdicant, filii promissionis›
  • signature: none
  • other: none
PL 54:243
soluta commenti, in majorem furorem iracundia regis ardescit. Nam recolens tempus quod indicaverant magi, in omnes Bethleem pueros rabiem crudelitatis effundit, et caede generali universae civitatis illius in aeternam gloriam transituram trucidat infantiam; aestimans fore ut, nullo illic parvulo non occiso, occideretur et Christns. At ille, qui sanguinem suum pro mundi redemptione fundendum in aliam differret aetatem, Aegypto se parentum ministerio subvectus intulerat, repetens scilicet Hebraeae gentis antiqua cunabula, et principatum veri Joseph majoris providentiae potestate disponens, ut illam diriorem omni inedia famem qua Aegyqtiorum mentes veritatis inopia laborabant, veniens de coelo panis vitae (Joan. vi, 48) et cibus rationis auferret; nec sine illa regione pararetur singularis hostiae sacramentum, in qua primum occisione agni, salutiferum crucis signum et pascha Domini fuerat praeformatum.
[…] contrivance had been undone, the anger of the king blazes up into a greater fury. For, recalling the time which the magi had indicated, he pours out the rage of his cruelty upon all the boys of Bethlehem, and with a general slaughter butchers the whole infancy of that city, which was to pass into eternal glory; reckoning that, if no little one there were left unkilled, Christ too would be killed. But He, Who was deferring to another age the shedding of His blood for the redemption of the world, had, carried by the ministry of His parents, betaken Himself into Egypt, seeking again, that is, the ancient cradle of the Hebrew nation, and ordering the principality of the true Joseph by the power of a greater providence, so that, as the bread of life coming down from heaven (John 6:48) and the food of reason, He might take away that famine, more dire than any want of food, from which the minds of the Egyptians were suffering through lack of truth; and that the sacrament of the unique Victim might not be prepared without that country, in which, by the slaying of the lamb, the saving sign of the cross and the Pasch of the Lord had first been prefigured.
Cap. V. — His igitur, dilectissimi, divinae gratiae mysteriis eruditi, diem promitiarum nostrarum et inchoationem vocationis gentium, rationabili gaudio celebremus: gratias agentes misericordi Deo, qui dignos nos fecit, sicut ait Apostolus, in partem sortis sanctorum in lumine; qui eripuit nos de potestate tenebrarum, et transtulit in regnum Filii dilectionis suae (Coloss. i, 12, 13); quoniam, sicut prophetavit Isaias, Gentium populus, qui sedebat in tenebris, vidit lucem magnam, et qui habitabant in regione umbrae mortis, lux orta est eis (Isai. ix, 2). De quibus idem dicit ad Dominum: Gentes quae te non noverunt, invocabunt te; et populi qui te nescierunt, ad te confugient (Isai. lv, 5). Hunc diem Abraham vidit, et gavisus est (Jn viii, 56), cum benedicendos fidei suae filios in semine suo, quod est Christus, agnovit, et omnium se futurum gentium patrem credendo prospexit (Rom. iv, 18), dans gloriam Deo, et plenissime sciens quoniam
Ch. V. — Instructed, then, dearly beloved, by these mysteries of divine grace, let us celebrate with reasonable joy the day of our first-fruits and the beginning of the calling of the Gentiles: giving thanks to the merciful God, Who has made us worthy, as the Apostle says, of a share in the lot of the saints in light; Who has rescued us from the power of darkness, and has transferred [us] into the kingdom of the Son of His love (Col. 1:12, 13); since, as Isaiah prophesied, The people of the Gentiles, that sat in darkness, has seen a great light, and to those who dwelt in the region of the shadow of death a light has risen (Isa. 9:2). Of whom the same [prophet] says to the Lord: Nations that have not known Thee shall call upon Thee; and peoples that knew Thee not shall flee to Thee (Isa. 55:5). This day Abraham saw, and was glad (John 8:56), when he recognized the sons of his faith who were to be blessed in his seed, which is Christ, and foresaw by believing that he would be the father of all nations (Rom. 4:18), giving glory to God, and knowing most fully that […]
Editors' notes and page, col. 243

Footnotes

(a) ‹crudelitatis effundit,› · printed under col 243

Quesnellus hac lectione, quae erat anteriorum editionum, in notationem rejecta, ex tribus codd. id est duobus Thuan. et uno Corb., quibus concinunt nostri Patav., Venet. et Casin., hanc aliam inseruit: Et caede generali in beatam civitatis illius desaevit infantiam. Nos vero antea editorum lectionem restituendam putavimus, eo quod non solum reperiatur in mss. collectionum 3, 4 et 5, verum etiam in Lectionariis libris S. Petri, qui laudatis codicibus praeferendi visi sunt: cum praesertim ad eamdem lectionem accedant mss. Casan. et Barb. collect. 2, in quibus legitur: Et caede generali in universam civitatis illius in aeternam gloriam transituram desaevit infantiam. Concinit etiam Lectionarium Vallicel., in quo solum pro trucidat, est trucidavit. Post pauca: At ille, quia sanguinem, in ms. Patav.

Quesnel, having relegated to a note this reading, which was that of the earlier editions, inserted from three codices, that is, two of de Thou and one of Corbie, with which our Padua, Venice and Monte Cassino [manuscripts] agree, this other one: "And with a general slaughter he raged against the blessed infancy of that city." We, however, thought that the reading of the earlier editors should be restored, because it is found not only in the manuscripts of collections 3, 4 and 5, but also in the Lectionary books of St Peter's, which seemed preferable to the codices cited: especially since the Casanatense and Barberini manuscripts of collection 2 come close to the same reading, in which one reads: "And with a general slaughter he raged against the whole infancy of that city, which was to pass into eternal glory." The Vallicelliana Lectionary also agrees, in which only, for "trucidat", there is "trucidavit". A little after: "At ille, quia sanguinem", in the Padua manuscript.

(b) ‹ut illam› · printed under col 243

Unus cod. S. Petri et alius Vat., duriorem.

One codex of St Peter's and another Vatican one, "duriorem".

(c) ‹qui eripuit nos› · printed under col 243

Cod. S. Petri, de tenebris et de potestate tenebrarum.

The codex of St Peter's, "from darkness and from the power of darkness".

(d) ‹Gentes quae te› · printed under col 243

Ms. Casin., non cognoverunt. Mox, qui te nescierunt, ex eodem cod. scripsimus, cum idem legatur serm. 29, cap. 3. Al., nesciebant. Ms. Patav., nesciunt.

The Monte Cassino manuscript, "non cognoverunt". Shortly after, we have written "qui te nescierunt" from the same codex, since the same is read in Serm. 29, ch. 3. Others, "nesciebant". The Padua manuscript, "nesciunt".

(e) call in col 244; the note is printed under col 243 and set in n244

Page

  • running head: 243 S. LEONIS MAGNI SERMONES. (across both columns of the page; the page number over this column)
  • marginal letters: A ‹soluta commenti›; B ‹sacramentum, in qua primum›; C ‹te; et populi qui te›; D ‹collect. 2, in quibus legitur› (footnote area)
  • old-edition numerals: 121 before ‹qua primum occisione›
  • signature: none
  • other: quo-/niam hyphenated across the break to col 244, set whole here; the reference "(Jnviii, 56)" is printed without the usual "Joan." form