PL 54 · cols. 244–248

Leo the Great, Sermons

Sermon XXXIV

quod promisit potens est et facere (Ibid., 21). Hunc diem David in psalmis canebat, dicens: Omnes gentes, quascumque fecisti, venient et adorabunt coram te, Domine, et glorificabunt nomen tuum (Psal. lxxxv, 9); et illud: Notum fecit Dominus salutare suum, ante conspectum gentium revelavit justitiam suam (Psal. xcvii, 2). Quod utique exinde fieri novimus, ex quo tres magos, de longinquitate suae regionis excitos, ad cognoscendum et adorandum Regem coeli et terrae stella perduxit. Cujus utique famulatus ad formam nos sui hortatur obsequii: ut huic gratiae, quae omnes invitat ad Christum, quantum possumus, serviamus. Quicumque enim in Ecclesia pie vivit et caste, qui ea quae sursum sunt sapit (Coloss. iii, 1), non quae super terram, coelestis quodammodo instar est luminis; et dum ipse sanctae vitae nitorem servat, multis viam ad Dominum quasi stella demonstrat. In quo studio, dilectissimi, omnes vobis invicem prodesse debetis, ut in regno Dei, ad quod recta fide et bonis operibus pervenitur, sicut lucis filii splendeatis: per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, qui cum Deo Patre et Spiritu sancto vivit et regnat per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

[…] what He has promised He is able also to perform (ibid. 21). This day David sang in the psalms, saying: All the nations, whatsoever Thou hast made, shall come and adore before Thee, O Lord, and they shall glorify Thy name (Ps. 85:9); and that other: The Lord has made known His salvation, before the sight of the nations He has revealed His justice (Ps. 97:2). This we know to have come about from the time when a star led three magi, roused from the remoteness of their country, to know and adore the King of heaven and earth. Their service indeed exhorts us to the pattern of their homage: that we should serve, as far as we can, this grace which invites all to Christ. For whoever in the Church lives piously and chastely, who minds the things that are above (Col. 3:1), not the things that are upon the earth, is in a manner like a heavenly light; and while he himself keeps the brightness of a holy life, he shows to many, like a star, the way to the Lord. In this zeal, dearly beloved, you ought all to help one another, so that in the kingdom of God, to which one comes by right faith and good works, you may shine as sons of light: through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who with God the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns through all ages of ages. Amen.

SERMO XXXIV [Al. XXXIII].

SERMON XXXIV [Al. XXXIII].

In Epiphaniae solemnitate IV.

On the Solemnity of the Epiphany, IV.

Cap. I. — Justum et rationabile, dilectissimi, verae pietatis obsequium est, in diebus qui divinae misericordiae

Ch. I. — It is a just and reasonable homage of true piety, dearly beloved, on the days which, of the divine mercy, […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 244

Footnotes

(e) ‹Omnes gentes,› · printed under col 243

Cod. Casin., quas fecisti. . . . . et honorificabunt nomen. Patav. quoque habet, et honorificabunt, loco et glorificabunt; et dein, in conspectu, pro ante conspectum.

The Monte Cassino codex, "quas fecisti . . . . . et honorificabunt nomen". The Padua [codex] too has "et honorificabunt" in place of "et glorificabunt"; and then "in conspectu" for "ante conspectum".

(f) ‹de longinquitate suae regionis› · printed under col 244

In editis et aliquot codd., excitatos. Quesnellus in margine, forte excitos; quam lectionem cum nacti simus in duobus mss. S. Petri, et duobus Vat., ac uno Patav., textui inserere ⟨n⟩on dubitavimus.

In the editions and some codices, "excitatos". Quesnel in the margin, "perhaps excitos"; and since we have met with this reading in two manuscripts of St Peter's, two Vatican ones and one of Padua, we have not hesitated to insert it in the text.

(g) ‹stella perduxit› · printed under col 244

Post verbum perduxit, haec alia addita leguntur in Codd. excusis: Et recte intuentibus quotidie apparere non desinit. Et si potuit notum facere Christum in infantia latentem, quanto magis potest eumdem manifestare in majestate regnantem! Quae cum in omnibus quos vidi mtlioris notae codd. mss. desiderentur, in duobus scilicet Thuaneis et uno Corbeiensi, dubium non est, ut mihi quidem videtur, quin ex annotatione marginali alicujus astrologiae plus aequo dediti, in textum tandem irrepserint. Sed vel ipsa textus series expungenda esse illa verba manifeste demonstrat. Quesn. — Ista pariter verba absunt a codd. collect. 1 et 2, nec non a quibusdam nostris Lectionariis Patav., Veneto, etc. Quod si in mss. S. Petri leguntur nihil moveat: nam post vocem regnantem habent cum Patre et Spiritu sancto, in saecula saeculorum, Amen; et mox subjicitur: Cujus utique famulatus, etc. Ea autem clausula, cum Patre, etc., ante finem sermonis inserta, eorum verborum intrusionem magis magisque confirmat.

After the word "perduxit" these further words are read, added, in the printed codices: "And to those who look rightly it does not cease to appear daily. And if it could make known Christ lying hidden in infancy, how much more can it manifest the same reigning in majesty!" Since these are missing in all the manuscript codices of better note that I have seen, namely two of de Thou and one of Corbie, there is no doubt, as it seems to me at least, that they finally crept into the text from a marginal annotation of someone given more than was right to astrology. But the very sequence of the text plainly shows that those words are to be struck out. Quesnel. — These words are likewise absent from the codices of collections 1 and 2, and also from some of our Lectionaries, of Padua, Venice, etc. That they are read in the manuscripts of St Peter's should not move anyone: for after the word "regnantem" they have "with the Father and the Holy Spirit, for ages of ages, Amen"; and then there follows: "Cujus utique famulatus", etc. That clause, "with the Father", etc., inserted before the end of the sermon, confirms more and more the intrusion of those words.

(h) ‹huic gratiae,› · printed under col 244

Prima editio, qua omnes invitantur ad Christum.

The first edition, "by which all are invited to Christ".

(i) ‹In Epiphaniae solemnitate IV.› (call before the sub-caption) · printed under col 244

Cod. S. Petri, De Epiphania contra Manichaeos.

The codex of St Peter's, "On the Epiphany, against the Manichaeans".

Editors' prose

Synopsis. — I. Magi a longinqua regione vocati, ut Christiana fides roboraretur, quae Deum et hominem Christum credit. — II. Magi prophetia Balaam edocti, Judaeorum responso confirmati. Isti spe ducis temporalis decepti; Herodes timore consortis turbatus. — III. Magorum iter munerumque delectus gratiae intus docentis opus fuere. Eorum diligentia fidei nostrae serviebat. — IV. Manichaeorum impietas incarnationis fidem ac veritatem evertit. — V. Manichaei vitandi; eorum sacrilegia detecta. Pro iisdem aliisque haereticis preces fundere, Ecclesiae institutum.

Synopsis. — I. The magi were called from a distant region so that the Christian faith, which believes Christ to be God and man, might be strengthened. — II. The magi, taught by the prophecy of Balaam, were confirmed by the answer of the Jews. The Jews were deceived by the hope of a temporal leader; Herod was troubled by fear of a partner. — III. The journey of the magi and the choice of their gifts were the work of grace teaching within. Their diligence served our faith. — IV. The impiety of the Manichaeans overturns the faith and the reality of the incarnation. — V. The Manichaeans are to be avoided; their sacrileges are exposed. To pour out prayers for them and other heretics is an institution of the Church.

Page

running head: S. LEONIS MAGNI SERMONES. 244 (across both columns of the page; the page number over this column)
marginal letters: A ‹niam quod promisit› (line opening the column); B ‹dammodo instar est luminis›; C ‹nostrae serviebat› (in the synopsis); D ‹non est, ut mihi quidem› (footnote area)
old-edition numerals: 122 before ‹Dei, ad quod recta fide›
signature: none
other: the caption SERMO XXXIV [Al. XXXIII] and its sub-caption are printed within this column only; miseri-/cordiae hyphenated across the break to col 245, set whole here (col 245's text begins "opera"); the column opens with -niam, the end of quoniam (set whole in col 243)

PL 54:245

opera protestantur, toto corde gaudere et honorifice ea quae ad salutem nostram gesta sunt celebrare: vocante nos ad hanc devotionem ipsa recurrentium temporum lege, quae nobis post diem in quo coaeternus Patrl Filius Dei natus ex Virgine est, brevi intervallo Epiphaniae intulit festum, ex apparitione Domini consecratum. In quo fidei nostrae magnum praesidium providentia divina constituit, ut dum solemni veneratione recolitur adorata in exordiis suis Salvatoris infantia, per ipsa originalia documenta probaretur veri in ipso hominis orta natura. Hoc enim est quod justificat impios, hoc est quod ex peccatoribus facit sanctos, si in uno eodemque Domino nostro Jesu Christo et vera Deitas, et vera credatur humanitas: Deitas, qua ante omnia saecula in forma Dei aequalis est Patri; humanitas, qua novissimis diebus in forma servi unitus est homini.

[…] works bear witness, to rejoice with the whole heart and to celebrate with honour the things that were done for our salvation: the very law of the recurring seasons calling us to this devotion, which, a short interval after the day on which the Son of God, co-eternal with the Father, was born of the Virgin, has brought us the feast of the Epiphany, consecrated by the appearing of the Lord. In it divine providence has set a great safeguard for our faith, so that, while the infancy of the Saviour, adored in its beginnings, is recalled with solemn veneration, the true nature of man arising in Him might be proved by the very evidences of His origin. For this is what justifies the ungodly, this is what makes saints out of sinners: if in one and the same our Lord Jesus Christ both true Godhead and true manhood are believed: Godhead, by which before all ages, in the form of God, He is equal to the Father; manhood, by which in the last days, in the form of a servant, He was united to man.

Ad roborandam ergo hanc fidem, quae contra omnes praemuniebatur errores, ex magna gestum est divini pietate consilii, ut gens in longinqua Orientalis plagae regione consistens, quae spectandorum siderum arte pollebat, signum nati pueri qui supra omnem Israel esset regnaturus, acciperet. Nova etenim claritas apud magos stellae illustrioris apparuit, et intuentium animos ita admiratione sui splendoris implevit, ut nequaquam sibi crederent negligendum, quod tanto nuntiabatur indicio. Praeerat autem, sicut res docuit, huic miraculo gratia Dei; et cum Christi nativitatem nec ipsa adhuc Bethleem tota didicisset, jam illam credituris gentibns inferebat: et quod nondum poterat humano eloquio disseri, coelo faciebat evangelizante cognosci.

To strengthen this faith, then, which was being fortified beforehand against all errors, it was brought about by the great kindness of the divine counsel that a nation dwelling in a distant region of the eastern quarter, which excelled in the art of observing the stars, should receive the sign of the Child born who was to reign over all Israel. For a new brightness of an unusually brilliant star appeared to the magi, and so filled the minds of those who gazed on it with wonder at its splendour that they believed they must by no means neglect what was announced by so great a token. And the grace of God, as the event showed, presided over this miracle; and when not even Bethlehem itself had yet wholly learned of Christ's nativity, it was already bringing it to the nations that were to believe; and what could not yet be declared by human speech, it made known through heaven proclaiming the good news.

CAP. II. — Quamvis autem divinae dignationis esset hoc munus, ut agnoscibilis gentibus fieret nativitas Salvatoris, ad intelligendum tamen miraculum signi patuerunt magi etiam de antiquis Balaam praenuntiationibus commoneri, scientes olim esse praedictum et celebri memoria diffamatum: Orietur stella ex Jacob, et exsurget homo ex Israel, et dominabitur gentium (Num. XXIV, 17). Tres itaque viri, fulgore insoliti sideris divinitus incitati, praevium micantis luminis cursum sequuntur, existlmantes se significatum puerum Jerosolymis in civitate regia reperturos. Sed cum eos haec opinio fefellisset, per Judaeorum scribas

Chapter II. — But although it was a gift of the divine condescension that the nativity of the Saviour should become recognizable to the nations, yet for understanding the miracle of the sign the magi were open to being reminded also by the ancient foretellings of Balaam, knowing that it had long ago been foretold and spread abroad in celebrated memory: A star shall rise out of Jacob, and a man shall rise up out of Israel, and He shall have dominion over the nations (Num. 24:17). So the three men, stirred by God through the brightness of an unwonted star, follow the course of the gleaming light that went before them, thinking that they would find the Child it signified at Jerusalem, in the royal city. But when this opinion had deceived them, through the scribes of the Jews […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 245

Footnotes

(a) ‹quae nobis post› · printed under col 245

Quesnellus hoc loco addit, istum, quod et ab aliis editis, et a nostris ms. abest, et sensu ipso postulante expungendum fuit. Melius cum ms. Veron., illum legi posset.

Quesnel adds "istum" at this place, which is absent both from the other editions and from our manuscripts, and had to be struck out as the sense itself requires. It could better be read "illum", with the Verona manuscript.

(b) ‹solemni veneratione› · printed under col 245

Sic restituimus ex nostris codd. et editis ante Quesnellium, apud quem, colitur.

So we have restored from our codices and the editions before Quesnel, in whom [it reads] "colitur".

(c) ‹documenta probaretur› · printed under col 245 (its letter reads as (e) in the scan; italic c and e are hard to tell apart)

Ita duo codd. S. Petri et duo Vat., ac Veron. unus cum Quesnello. Alii editi, veri hominis in Christo orta natura.

So two codices of St Peter's and two Vatican ones, and one Verona one, with Quesnel. The other editions: "veri hominis in Christo orta natura".

(d) ‹contra omnes› · printed under col 245

Editi ante Quesnellum, pronuntiabitur, ut in codd. collect. 3 et 4. Secuti sumus Quesnelli lectionem, quam mss. S. Petri et duo Vat. confirmant. Cod. Veron., muniebatur. Mox, factum est pro gestum est, in uno Vat. collect. 5.

The editions before Quesnel: "pronuntiabitur", as in the codices of collections 3 and 4. We have followed Quesnel's reading, which the manuscripts of St Peter's and two Vatican ones confirm. The Verona codex: "muniebatur". Shortly after, "factum est" for "gestum est" in one Vatican [codex] of collection 5.

(e) ‹quod tanto nuntiabatur› · printed under col 245

In tribus nostris codd. ac prima editione, judicio. Paulo post, dicere pro disseri in duobus mss. S. Petri. Ms. Veron., discere.

In three of our codices and the first edition: "judicio". A little after, "dicere" for "disseri" in two manuscripts of St Peter's. The Verona manuscript: "discere".

(f) ‹existlmantes se› · printed under col 245, running over to col 246

Prima editio et unus Vat., signatum, alius Vat., significatum sibi puerum.

The first edition and one Vatican [codex]: "signatum"; another Vatican one: "significatum sibi puerum".

Page

running head: 245 SERMO XXXIV. (printed across the page with 246)
marginal letters: A ‹cordiae opera protestantur›; B ‹in forma Dei aequalis›; C ‹poterat humano eloquio›; D ‹postulante expungendum› (in the footnotes, note (a))
old-edition numerals: 123 after ‹orta natura.›
signature: none
other: col opens with the tail of a word hyphenated from col 244 (‹cordiae›, i.e. misericordiae), set whole by col 244

PL 54:246

atque doctores, quod sacra de ortu Christi praenuntiaverat Scriptura, didicerunt; ut gemino testimonio confirmati, ardentiori fide expeterent quem et stellae claritas et prophetiae manifestabat auctoritas. Prolato autem divino oraculo per responsa pontificum, et declarata spiritus voce, quae dicit: Et tu, Bethleem, terra Juda, non es minima inter principes Juda: ex te enim exiet dux qui regat populum meum Israel (Mich. V, 2; Matth. II, 6): quam facile et quam consequens fuit ut Hebraeorum proceres crederent quod docebant. Sed apparet illos carnaliter cum Herode sapuisse, et regnum Christi commune cum hujus mundi potestatibus aestimasse: ut et isti temporalem sperarent ducem, et terrenum metueret ille consortem.

[…] and teachers they learned what sacred Scripture had foretold of the birth of Christ; so that, confirmed by a twofold testimony, they might seek with more ardent faith Him whom both the brightness of the star and the authority of prophecy were making manifest. And when the divine oracle had been brought forward through the answers of the chief priests, and the voice of the Spirit had been declared, which says: And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are not the least among the princes of Judah: for out of you shall come forth a leader who shall rule my people Israel (Mic. 5:2; Matt. 2:6): how easy and how consistent it was that the chiefs of the Hebrews should believe what they were teaching! But it is plain that they thought carnally with Herod, and reckoned the kingdom of Christ to be of a kind with the powers of this world: so that these hoped for a temporal leader, and he feared an earthly partner.

Superfluo, Herodes, timore turbaris, et frustra in suspectum tibi puerum saevire moliris. Non capit Christum regio tua, nec mundi Dominus potestatis tuae sceptri est contentus angustiis. Quem in Judaea regnare non vis, ubique regnat; et felicius ipse regnares, si ejus imperio ipse subdereris. Cur sincero officio non facis quod subdola falsitate promittis? Perge cum magis, et verum regem suppliciter adorando vencrare. Sed tu, Judaicae sequacior caecitatis, non imitaris gentium fidem, corque perversum ad crudeles convertis insidias, nec illum occisurus quem metuis, nec illis nociturus quos perimis.

You are troubled, Herod, by a needless fear, and in vain do you strive to rage against a Child you suspect. Your realm does not hold Christ, nor is the Lord of the world content with the narrow bounds of your sceptre's power. He whom you do not wish to reign in Judaea reigns everywhere; and you yourself would reign more happily if you yourself were made subject to His rule. Why do you not do in sincere duty what you promise in crafty falsehood? Go on with the magi, and venerate the true King by adoring Him in supplication. But you, rather a follower of Jewish blindness, do not imitate the faith of the gentiles, and turn your perverse heart to cruel plots, destined neither to kill Him whom you fear nor to harm those whom you slay.

CAP. III. — Deducti igitur, dilectissimi, in Bethleem magi stellae praecedentis obsequio, gavisi sunt gaudio magno valde, sicut evangelista narravit; et intrantes domum, invenerunt puerum cum Maria matre ejus: et procidentes adoraverunt eum; et apertis thesauris suis, obtulerunt ei munera, aurum, thus et myrrham (Matth. II, 10, 11). O perfectae scientiae mirabilem fidem, quam non terrena sapientia erudivit, sed Spiritus sanctus instituit! Unde enim hi viri, cum proficiscerentur de patria, qui nondum viderant Jesum, nec aliquid contuitu ejus, quod tam ordinate venerarentur, adverterant, hanc deferendorum munerum servare rationem? nisi quia praeter illam stellae speciem, quae corporeum incitavit obtutum, fulgentior veritatis radius eorum corda perdocuit, ut priusquam labores itineris inchoarent, cum sibi significari intelligerent, cui in auro regius honor, in thure divina veneratio, in myrrha mortalitatis confessio

Chapter III. — Led, then, dearly beloved, into Bethlehem by the service of the star going before them, the magi rejoiced with exceeding great joy, as the evangelist has related; and entering the house, they found the Child with Mary His mother: and falling down they adored Him; and opening their treasures, they offered Him gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh (Matt. 2:10, 11). O wonderful faith of perfect knowledge, which no earthly wisdom taught, but the Holy Spirit instructed! For how did these men, when they set out from their homeland, who had not yet seen Jesus nor perceived anything by beholding Him that they should venerate so fittingly, come to keep this plan of the gifts to be brought? Only because, beyond that appearance of the star which stirred their bodily gaze, a more resplendent ray of truth taught their hearts thoroughly, so that before they began the labours of the journey they understood that He was signified to them to whom in the gold royal honour, in the frankincense divine veneration, in the myrrh the confession of mortality

Editors' notes and page, col. 246

Footnotes

(f) continued from col 245, set in n245

(g) ‹Bethleem, terra Juda,› · printed under col 246

Ita quatuor Vat. et Veron. unus cum Quesnello, et similiter serm. 32, c. 3. Alii editi, nequaquam minima es. Duo codd. S. Petri, non eris minima.

So four Vatican [codices] and one Verona one, with Quesnel, and similarly Sermon 32, ch. 3. The other editions: "nequaquam minima es". Two codices of St Peter's: "non eris minima".

(h) ‹Non capit Christum› · printed under col 246

Prima editio, regia tua, cum ms. Veron.

The first edition: "regia tua", with the Verona manuscript.

(i) ‹viderant Jesum,› · printed under col 246

Prima editio cum ms. Veneto et codd. Vat. collect. 3, 4 et 5, nec aliquo contuitu ejus, quod eum tam ordinate venerarentur. Similiter cod. Veron., qui solum omittit eum. Editio Rainaudi pro quod habet quo. Cod. Casanat. collect. 2, nec aliquod contuitu, quo tam ordinate venerarentur. Quesnellus, licet nihil indicet, ex his variis lectionibus unam compegisse videtur, quam nullibi invenimus: Nec aliquid contuitu ejus, quo cum tam ordinate venerarentur. Lectionem quorum codd. S. Petri et ms. Casinen. collect. 1 exhibuimus. Paulo post, signari sibi, pro sibi significari legitur in prima editione.

The first edition, with the Venetian manuscript and the Vatican codices of collections 3, 4 and 5: "nec aliquo contuitu ejus, quod eum tam ordinate venerarentur". Similarly the Verona codex, which only omits "eum". Raynaud's edition has "quo" for "quod". The Casanatense codex of collection 2: "nec aliquod contuitu, quo tam ordinate venerarentur". Quesnel, though he indicates nothing, seems to have put together from these various readings one which we find nowhere: "Nec aliquid contuitu ejus, quo cum tam ordinate venerarentur". We have given the reading of the [printed: quorum] codices of St Peter's and of the Monte Cassino manuscript of collection 1. A little after, "signari sibi" for "sibi significari" is read in the first edition.

Page

running head: SERMO XXXIV. 246 (printed across the page with 245)
marginal letters: A ‹atque doctores›; B ‹baris, et frustra›; C ‹tre ejus: et procidentes›; D ‹(g) Ita quatuor› (in the footnotes)
old-edition numerals: 124 after ‹proceres crederent›
signature: none
other: col ends with a word hyphenated into col 247 (con-|fessio), set whole here

PL 54:247

deberetur. Et haec quidem, quantum ad illuminationem fidei pertinebat, potuerunt illis credita et intellecta sufficere, ut corporali intuitu non inquirerent quod plenissimo visu mentis inspexerant. Sed diligentia sagacis officii usque ad videndum puerum perseverans, futuri temporis populis et nostri saeculi hominibus serviebat: ut sicut omnibus nobis profuit, quod post resurrectionem Domini vestigia vulnerum in carne ejus Thomae apostoli exploravit manu; ita ad nostram utilitatem proficeret, quod infantiam ipsius magorum probavit aspectus. Viderunt itaque magi, et adoraverunt puerum de tribu Juda, de semine David secundum carnem (Rom. I, 3), factum ex muliere, factum sub lege (Galat. IV, 4), quam non solvere venerat, sed adimplere (Matth. V, 17).

[…] was due. And these things indeed, as far as concerned the enlightenment of faith, could have sufficed them, believed and understood, so that they would not search out with bodily sight what they had beheld with the fullest vision of the mind. But the diligence of their shrewd service, persevering until they saw the Child, was serving the peoples of time to come and the men of our age: so that, just as it has profited us all that after the resurrection of the Lord the hand of the apostle Thomas probed the marks of the wounds in His flesh, so it should turn to our benefit that the gaze of the magi verified His infancy. So the magi saw and adored the Child of the tribe of Judah, of the seed of David according to the flesh (Rom. 1:3), made of a woman, made under the law (Gal. 4:4), which He had come not to destroy but to fulfil (Matt. 5:17).

Viderunt et adoraverunt puerum, quantitate parvulum, alienae opis indignum, fandi impotem, et in nullo ab humanae infantiae generalitate dissimilem. Quia sicut fidelia erant testimonia, quae in eo majestatem iuvisibilis Deitatis assererent, ita probatissimum esse debebat Verbum carnem factum, et sempiternam illam essentiam Filii Dei, hominis veram suscepisse naturam: ne vel ineffabilium operum secutura miracula, vel susciqiendarum supplicia passionum, sacramentum fidei ex rerum diversitate turbarent; cum justificari omnino non possent, nisi qui Domiaum Jesum et verum Deum et verum hominem credidissent.

They saw and adored the Child, small in size, in need of another's help, unable to speak, and in nothing unlike the common condition of human infancy. For just as the testimonies were faithful which asserted in Him the majesty of the invisible Godhead, so it had to be most fully proved that the Word was made flesh, and that that everlasting essence of the Son of God had taken up the true nature of man: lest either the miracles of ineffable works that were to follow, or the torments of the sufferings to be undergone, should unsettle the mystery of faith by the diversity of these things; since none at all could be justified except those who believed the Lord Jesus to be both true God and true man.

CAP. IV. — Huic singulari fidei, dilectissimi, et praedicatae per omnia saecula veritati diabolica Manichaeorum resistit impietas: qui sibi ad interficiendas deceptorum animas nefandi dogmatis ferale commentum de sacrilegis et fabulosis mendaciis texuerunt, et per has insanarum opinionum ruinas eo usque praecipites proruerunt ut sibi falsi corporis fingeret Christum, qui nihil in se solidum, nihil verum oculis hominum actionibusque praebuerit; sed simulatae carnis vacuam imaginem demonstrarit. Indignum enim videri volunt, ut credatur Deus Dei Filius femineis se inseruisse visceribus et majestatem suam huic contumeliae subdidisse, ut naturae carnis immixtus, in vero humanae substantiae corpore nasceretur: cum totum hoc opus non injuria sit ipsius, sed potentia; nec credenda pollutio, sed gloriosa dignatio. Si enim lux ista visibilis nullis immunditiis, quibus superfusa

Chapter IV. — This singular faith, dearly beloved, and the truth preached through all ages, the devilish impiety of the Manichaeans resists: they have woven for themselves out of sacrilegious and fabulous lies the deadly fabrication of an abominable dogma, to slay the souls of the deceived, and through these ruins of insane opinions have rushed headlong so far as to fashion for themselves a Christ of false body, Who presented nothing solid in Himself, nothing true to the eyes and dealings of men, but displayed the empty image of a counterfeit flesh. For they would have it seem unworthy that God the Son of God should be believed to have entered into a woman's womb and to have subjected His majesty to this indignity, that, mingled with the nature of flesh, He should be born in a true body of human substance: whereas all this work is not an injury to Him but [an act of] power; not a pollution to be believed, but a glorious condescension. For if this visible light, by no uncleannesses on which it is poured […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 247

Footnotes

(a) ‹ut sicut omnibus› · printed under col 247

Prima editio omittit nobis.

The first edition omits "nobis".

(b) ‹proficeret, quod› · printed under col 247

Ita nostri fere omnes ac melioris notae codices cum editis ante Quesnellum, et congruentius: nam vox quod in hoc secundo membro non est relativa, sicut nec in primo, uti esse deberet, si legeretur cum Quesnello et codd. collect. 5, nec non Lectionar. Veron., in infantia ipsius.

So nearly all our codices and those of better repute, with the editions before Quesnel, and more consistently: for the word "quod" in this second member is not a relative, just as it is not in the first, as it would have to be if one read, with Quesnel and the codices of collection 5 and also the Verona Lectionary, "in infantia ipsius".

Parvum pro parvulum, et discretum pro dissimilem in duobus codd. S. Petri. Etiam ms. Veron. habet discretum.

"Parvum" for "parvulum", and "discretum" for "dissimilem", in two codices of St Peter's. The Verona manuscript also has "discretum".

(d) ‹probatissimum esse› · printed under col 247

Debebat pro decebat scripsimus ex mss. S. Petri tribusque aliis melioris notae codd. ac prima editione. De articulo quidem maxime necessario agitur, qui probatissimus esse debebat. Item ex iisdem S. Petri codd. ac prima edit., suscipiendarum revocavimus, pro excipiendarum.

We have written "debebat" for "decebat" from the manuscripts of St Peter's and three other codices of better repute and the first edition. For the question is of a most necessary article [of faith], which had to be most fully proved. Likewise from the same codices of St Peter's and the first edition we have restored "suscipiendarum" for "excipiendarum".

(e) ‹oculis hominum› · printed under col 247, running over to col 248

Ita edidimus auctoritate mss. S. Petri, Veneto, Ver⟨o⟩n., nec non codd. collect. 1 et 2. Editi cum ms⟨s⟩. trium posteriorum collectionum, actibusque; qu⟨a⟩m lectionem secutus Quesnellus notavit in margine forte legendum, tactibusque. Sed meliores codices hanc emendationem excludunt.

So we have edited on the authority of the manuscripts of St Peter's, the Venetian and the Verona ones, and also the codices of collections 1 and 2. The editions, with the manuscripts of the three later collections: "actibusque"; following this reading Quesnel noted in the margin that perhaps "tactibusque" should be read. But the better codices exclude this emendation.

(f) ‹naturae carnis› · printed under col 248

Vide inter observationes nostras, quae in similem locum serm. 23 ibidem notabuntur. Post pauca, pro hoc opus, in ms. Corb. Quesn. legitur, hoc corpus; et pro credenda, idem eod. ridenda, pro quo legendum, pudenda, Quesnellus in margine suspicatus est; nulli tamen nostri codd. suffragantur.

See among our observations what will be noted there on a similar passage of Sermon 23. A little after, for "hoc opus", in Quesnel's Corbie manuscript is read "hoc corpus"; and for "credenda", the same codex [has] "ridenda", for which Quesnel suspected in the margin that "pudenda" should be read; yet none of our codices supports it.

Page

running head: 247 S. LEONIS MAGNI SERMONES. (printed across the page with 248)
marginal letters: A ‹fessio deberetur›; B ‹puerum, quantitate›; C ‹ceptorum animas›; D ‹(a) Prima editio› (in the footnotes)
old-edition numerals: 125 after ‹Thomae apostoli›
signature: none
other: col opens with the tail of con-|fessio, set whole at the end of col 246

PL 54:248

fuerit, violatur, nec radiorum solis nitorem, quem corpoream esse creaturam non dubium est, loca ulla sordentia vel coenosa contaminant: quid illius sempiternae et incorporeae lucis essentiam potuit qualibet sui qualitate polluere? quae se ei, quam ad imaginem suam condidit, sociando creaturae purificationem praestitit, maculam non recepit; et sic sanavit vulnera infirmitatis, ut nulla pateretur damna virtutis. Quod divinae pietatis magnum et ineffabile sacramentum, quia omnibus sanctarum Scripturarum testificationibus est nuntiatum; isti, de quibus loquimur, adversarii veritatis, legem per Mosen datam et inspirata divinitus prophetarum oracula respuerunt, ipsasque evangelicas et apostolicas paginas, quaedam auferendo et quaedam inserendo violaverunt; confingentes sibi sub apostolorum nominibus, et sub verbis ipsius Salvatoris, multa volumina falsitatis, quibus erroris sui commenta munirent, et decipiendorum mentibus mortiferum virus infunderent.

[…] has been poured, is defiled, and no filthy or muddy places stain the brilliance of the sun's rays, which is beyond doubt a bodily creature: what could pollute, by any quality of its own, the essence of that eternal and incorporeal Light? For that Light, by uniting itself to the creature that it made to its own image, bestowed purification and received no stain; and so healed the wounds of infirmity that it suffered no loss of power. Because this great and ineffable mystery of the divine goodness has been announced by all the testimonies of the holy Scriptures, these adversaries of the truth of whom we speak have rejected the law given through Moses and the divinely inspired oracles of the prophets, and have violated the very pages of the gospels and of the apostles, taking away some things and inserting others; fabricating for themselves, under the names of the apostles and under the words of the Saviour Himself, many volumes of falsehood, with which to fortify the fabrications of their error and to pour a deadly poison into the minds of those they would deceive.

Videbant enim sibi universa obsistere, omnia reclamare, et non solum novo, sed etiam veteri Testamento sacrilegam impietatis suae dementiam confutari. Et tamen in furiosis mendaciis persistentes, Ecclesiam Dei deceptionibus suis perturbare non desinunt: hoc miseris quos illaqueare potuerint persuadentes, ut negent a Domino Jesu Christo humanam naturam vere esse susceptam; negent eum vere pro mundi salute crucifixum; negent de ejus latere lancea vulnerato sanguinem redemptionis et aquam fluxisse baptismatis; negent eum sepultum, ac die tertia suscitatum; negent eum in conspectu discipulorum ad considendum in dextera Patris super omnes coelorum altitudines elevatum; et ut tota apostolici veritate Symboli sublata, nullus metus terreat impios, nulla spes incitet sanctos, negent a Christo vivos et mortuos judicandos: ut quos tantorum sacramentorum virtute privaverint, doceant in sole et luna colere Christum, et sub nomine Spiritus sancti ipsum talium impietatum magistrum adorare Manichaeum.

For they saw that everything stood against them, that all things cried out against them, and that the sacrilegious madness of their impiety was refuted not only by the New but also by the Old Testament. And yet, persisting in their raging lies, they do not cease to disturb the Church of God with their deceptions, persuading the wretches whom they have been able to ensnare to deny that human nature was truly taken up by the Lord Jesus Christ; to deny that He was truly crucified for the salvation of the world; to deny that from His side, wounded by the lance, there flowed the blood of redemption and the water of baptism; to deny that He was buried and raised on the third day; to deny that in the sight of the disciples He was lifted up above all the heights of the heavens to sit at the right hand of the Father; and, so that, with the whole truth of the apostolic Creed taken away, no fear may terrify the ungodly and no hope spur on the saints, to deny that the living and the dead are to be judged by Christ: so that those whom they have robbed of the power of such great mysteries they may teach to worship Christ in the sun and the moon, and, under the name of the Holy Spirit, to adore Manichaeus himself, the master of such impieties.

CAP. V. — Ad confirmanda igitur, dilectissimi, corda vestra in fide et veritate, prosit omnibus hodierna festivitas, et ex testimonio manifestatae Salvatoris infantiae confessio catholica muniatur, et naturae nostrae carnem in Christo negantium anathematizetur

Chapter V. — To strengthen your hearts, then, dearly beloved, in faith and truth, let today's festival profit all, and by the testimony of the Saviour's infancy made manifest let the catholic confession be fortified, and let the […] of those who deny the flesh of our nature in Christ be anathematized […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 248

Footnotes

(e) continued from col 247, set in n247

(g) ‹veteri Testamento› · printed under col 248

Editi, sacrilegae. Praetulimus mss. S. Petri. Mox tres codd., in furoris mendaciis.

The editions: "sacrilegae". We have preferred the manuscripts of St Peter's. Shortly after, three codices: "in furoris mendaciis".

(h) ‹quos illaqueare› · printed under col 248

Sic ex laudatis mss. S. Petri et duobus aliis Vaticanis. Al., potuerunt.

So from the cited manuscripts of St Peter's and two other Vatican ones. Others: "potuerunt".

(i) ‹confirmanda igitur, dilectissimi,› · printed under col 248

Sic ex iisdem mss. S. Petri. Al., nostra.

So from the same manuscripts of St Peter's. Others: "nostra".