PL 54 · cols. 281–284

Leo the Great, Sermons

Sermon XLIII

auxiliante nobis per omnia Deo omnipotente, cui cum Filio et Spiritu sancto una est Deitas, una majestas in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

[…] with God almighty helping us in all things, to Whom with the Son and the Holy Spirit there is one Godhead, one majesty, for ever and ever. Amen.

SERMO XLIII [Al. XLI].

SERMON 43 [Otherwise 41].

De Quadragesima V.

On Lent, 5.

Cap. I. — Apostolica, dilectissimi, doctrina nos admonet, ut deponentes veterem hominem cum actibus suis (Ephes. iv, 22; Coloss. iii, 8), de die in diem sancta conversatione renovemur. Si enim templum Dei sumus, et mentium nostrarum Spiritus sanctus habitator est, dicente Apostolo: Vos estis templum Dei vivi (II Cor. vi, 16), multa nobis vigilantia laborandum est ut cordis nostri receptaculum tanto hospite non sit indignum.

Ch. 1. — The apostolic teaching, dearly beloved, admonishes us that, putting off the old man with his deeds (Eph. 4:22; Col. 3:8), we be renewed from day to day by a holy manner of life. For if we are the temple of God, and the Holy Spirit is the dweller of our minds, as the Apostle says: You are the temple of the living God (2 Cor. 6:16), we must labour with great vigilance that the receptacle of our heart be not unworthy of so great a Guest.

Et sicut in domibus manufactis laudabili diligentia providetur ut si quid aut infusione imbrium, aut turbine procellarum, vel ipsa fuerit antiquitate corruptum, cita in integrum cura restituat; ita jugi oportet sollicitudine praecaveri ne quid in nostris animis incompositum, ne quid inveniatur immundum. Quamvis enim aedificium nostrum sine ope sui non subsistat artificis, nec fabrica nostra possit esse incolumis, nisi ei protectio praefuerit conditoris, tamen quia rationabiles lapides sumus et viva materies, sic nos auctoris nostri exstruxit manus, ut cum opifice suo etiam is qui reparatur, operetur. Gratiae igitur Dei obedientia se humana non subtrahat, nec ab illo bono, sine quo non potest bona esse, defieiat: ac si quid sibi impossibile aut arduum in mandatorum effectibus experitur non in se

And just as in houses made by hands it is provided with praiseworthy diligence that, if anything has been damaged either by the pouring in of rains, or by the whirlwind of storms, or by age itself, prompt care restores it to soundness, so we must take precaution with unceasing solicitude that nothing disordered, nothing unclean be found in our souls. For although our building does not stand without the help of its Builder, nor can our structure be safe unless the protection of its Founder stands over it, yet because we are rational stones and living material, the hand of our Maker has so built us up that he too who is being repaired works together with his Craftsman. Let human obedience, then, not withdraw itself from the grace of God, nor fall away from that good without which it cannot be good; and if it finds anything impossible or hard for itself in carrying out the commandments, [let it] not in itself […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 281

Footnotes

(a) ‹anchor: contineamus› · printed under col 281

Post verba, ab omni malitia contineamus, leguntur in aliis editionibus viginti fere lineolae, in quibus haec verba: Secunda igitur et quarta et sexta feria jejunemus, etc., quae scriptoribus ecclesiasticis amplam disputandi materiem praebuere. Ea e sermonis contextu eliminanda censuimus, cum mss. quinque codicum auctoritate, tum aliis pluribus freti argumentis, quae in dissertatione de Sabbati jejunio fuse expenduntur. Quesn. — Nos in solis mss. posteriorum collectionum 3, 4 et 5, eas lineolas reperimus, non vero in mss. collect. 1 et 2, nec in Lectionariis S. Petri, Venet., Patav., Vallicell., Padiliron., etc. Verba autem expuncta haec sunt: Cum inimicis autem crucis Christi nulla consensione jungamur, ne impiorum consortio sanctitas fidelium polluatur. Lux separetur a tenebris, et fugiant filios diaboli filii veritatis. In templum autem Domini, quod est Ecclesia Christi, nihil contaminatum inferri, nihil profanum oportet admitti: ut omni immunditia a penetralibus cordis exclusa, sanctificetur jejunium nostrum, et simus aeternum habitaculum sancti Spiritus, qui nos a peccatorum sordibus emundatos et possidere semper dignetur et regere. Secunda igitur et quarta et sexta feria jejunemus, sabbato autem apud beatum Petrum apostolum vigilias celebremus, qui commendati sibi gregis curam habere non desinens, custodiam nobis de suis precibus obtinebit. Auxiliante nobis per omnia, etc.

After the words "let us refrain from all malice", about twenty short lines are read in other editions, among which are these words: "Let us fast, then, on the second, fourth and sixth day," etc., which have given ecclesiastical writers ample matter for dispute. We judged that they should be removed from the context of the sermon, relying both on the authority of five manuscript codices and on several other arguments, which are weighed at length in the dissertation on the Saturday fast. Quesn. — We have found those lines only in the manuscripts of the later collections 3, 4 and 5, but not in the manuscripts of collections 1 and 2, nor in the Lectionaries of St Peter's, Venice, Padua, the Vallicelliana, Polirone, etc. The words struck out are these: "But let us be joined by no agreement with the enemies of the cross of Christ, lest the holiness of the faithful be polluted by the fellowship of the ungodly. Let light be separated from darkness, and let the sons of truth flee the sons of the devil. Into the temple of the Lord, which is the Church of Christ, nothing defiled may be brought, nothing profane admitted; so that, all uncleanness being shut out from the inner recesses of the heart, our fast may be sanctified, and we may be an eternal dwelling-place of the Holy Spirit, Who may deign always both to possess and to rule us, cleansed from the filth of sins. Let us fast, then, on the second, fourth and sixth day, and on the Sabbath let us celebrate the vigils at the church of blessed Peter the apostle, who, never ceasing to have care of the flock entrusted to him, will obtain protection for us by his prayers. With [God] helping us in all things," etc.

(b) ‹anchor: per omnia Deo› · printed under col 281

Cod. Venet. addit Patre.

The Venice codex adds "the Father".

Hic sermo insertus invenitur appendici sermonum S. Augustini, cui in aliquibus mss. perperam ascribitur. Est ibidem serm. 148, al. 36 olim de Tempore 73.

This sermon is found inserted in the appendix of the sermons of St Augustine, to whom it is wrongly ascribed in some manuscripts. It is there serm. 148, otherwise 36, formerly De Tempore 73.

(d) ‹anchor: Apostolica, dilectissimi› · printed under col 282

Exemplar Pauli Diac., sententia. Dein prima editio, ut deponamus... et de die in diem... renovemur.

The exemplar of Paul the Deacon [reads] "sententia" (teaching). Then the first edition [reads] "that we put off ... and from day to day ... be renewed".

(e) ‹anchor: antiquitate corruptum› · printed under col 282

Addidimus cita ex Homil. Pauli Diac. et app. Augustini.

We have added "cita" (prompt) from the Homiliary of Paul the Deacon and the appendix of Augustine.

(f) ‹anchor: aedificium nostrum› · printed under col 282

Ita cum Quesnello et prima editione duo codd. S. Petri, alius Vat., exemplar Pauli Diac. et app. Aug. Al., sine opere.

So [read], with Quesnel and the first edition, two codices of St Peter's, another Vatican one, the exemplar of Paul the Deacon and the appendix of Augustine. Others [read] "sine opere" (without the work).

(g) ‹anchor: auctoris nostri› · printed under col 282

Sic melius ex cod. Veneto et prima editione, quam in aliis edit., exstruit. Quesnelli annotationem in verba sequentia, in observationibus ad hunc sermonem dabimus.

So [we read "exstruxit"], better, from the Venice codex and the first edition, than "exstruit" in other editions. Quesnel's annotation on the following words we shall give in the observations on this sermon.

(h) ‹anchor: bona esse, defieiat› · printed under col 282

Editi ante Quesn., at si quid. Exemplar Pauli Diac., aut si quid. Quesnellus cum appendice Aug., ac si quid, et ita etiam duo codd. S. Petri.

The editions before Quesnel [read] "at si quid". The exemplar of Paul the Deacon, "aut si quid". Quesnel, with the appendix of Augustine, "ac si quid", and so too two codices of St Peter's.

Editors' prose

Synopsis. — I. Quomodo gratiae cooperetur homo, ut interius renovetur, quod nemini non est necessarium. — II. Paucos esse quos vel adversa non turbent, vel prospera non inflent. — III. Omnibus necessitatem poenitendi incumbere. — IV. Maxime operibus misericordiae deleri peccata.

Synopsis. — I. How man cooperates with grace so as to be renewed inwardly, which is necessary for everyone. — II. That few are those whom adversity does not trouble or prosperity puff up. — III. That the necessity of repenting lies upon all. — IV. That sins are wiped out above all by works of mercy.

Page

running head: 281 | SERMO XLIII. (printed across the page with col 282)
marginal letters: A ‹tineamus : auxiliante›; B ‹Dei sumus, et mentium … Spiritus sanctus›; C ‹tur, operetur. Gratiae›; D ‹beside footnote (a), "Christi nulla consensione"›
old-edition numerals: 163 after ‹inflent› (in the synopsis, before "III.")
signature: none
other: the synopsis has no dash between "inflent" and "III.", as printed; the word hyphenated across the break from col 280 ("con-tineamus") is set whole in col 280

PL 54:282

remaneat, sed ad jubentem recurrat: qui ideo dat praeceptum, ut excitet desiderium et praestet auxilium, dicente propheta: Jacta in Deum cogitationem tuam, et ipse te enutriet (Ps. liv, 23). An forte quisquam ita insolenter superbit, et ita se illaesum, ita immaculatum esse praesumit, ut nullius jam renovationis indigeat? Fallitur prorsus ista persuasio, et nimia vanitate veterascit quicumque inter tentationes hujus vitae ab omni se vulnere credit immunem. Plena omnia periculis, plena sunt laqueis. Incitant cupiditates, insidiantur illecebrae, blandiuntur lucra, damna deterrent, amarae sunt obloquentium linguae, nec semper veracia sunt ora laudantium. Inde saevit odium, hinc decipit mendax officium: ut facilius sit vitare discordem, quam declinare fallacem.

[…] remain, but run back to Him who commands: who gives the precept for this reason, that He may stir up desire and supply help, as the prophet says: Cast your thought upon God, and He Himself will nourish you (Ps. 54:23). Or is anyone perhaps so insolently proud, and does he so presume himself to be unharmed, so spotless, that he now needs no renewal? That conviction is utterly deceived, and whoever believes himself immune from every wound amid the temptations of this life grows old in excessive vanity. All things are full of dangers, full of snares. Desires incite, allurements lie in wait, gains flatter, losses deter, the tongues of detractors are bitter, and the mouths of those who praise are not always truthful. On the one side hatred rages, on the other a lying courtesy deceives, so that it is easier to avoid the quarrelsome man than to shun the deceitful one.

Cap. II. — In ipsis autem virtutibus obtinendis tam dubius modus et tam incerta discretio est, ut si quisquam inter bonorum malorumque confinia, subtilissimi discriminis potuerit servare mensuras, difficile sit ut bene sibi consciam probitatem obtrectantium lingua non mordeat, et iniquorum evadat opprobria, cui est amica justitia. Jam cum ad ipsas rerum temporalium varietate cogitatio humana convertitur, quantae se opponunt caligines, quanti pravarum opinionum oboriuntur errores, ut de objectu contrariorum sumatur materia querelarum. Nam licet omnium fidelium corda non dubitent nullis hujus mundi partibus, nullisque temporibus providentiam abesse divinam, nec de stellarum potestate, quae nulla est, saecularium negotiorum pendere proventus, sed aequissimo et clementissimo summi Regis arbitrio cuncta disponi: quoniam, sicut scriptum est, Universae viae Domini misericordia et veritas (Ps. xxiv, 10), tamen cum quaedam non secundum desideria nostra procedunt, et sub humani

Ch. 2. — And in the very attaining of the virtues the measure is so doubtful and the discernment so uncertain that, if anyone has been able to keep the measures of the finest distinction on the borders between good and evil, it is hard for the tongue of detractors not to bite a probity well conscious of itself, and for one to whom justice is dear to escape the reproaches of the wicked. Again, when human thought turns to the very variety of temporal things, how great are the darknesses that oppose themselves, how many errors of perverse opinions arise, so that matter for complaints is taken from the encounter with adverse things. For although the hearts of all the faithful do not doubt that divine providence is absent from no parts of this world and from no times, and that the outcomes of worldly affairs do not hang on the power of the stars, which is none, but that all things are disposed by the most just and most merciful judgement of the supreme King, since, as it is written, All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth (Ps. 24:10), yet when certain things do not proceed according to our desires, and under human […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 282

Footnotes

(d)–(h) calls in col 281, printed under col 282, set in n281

(i) ‹anchor: Jacta in Deum› · printed under col 282

Al., cogitatum tuum.

Others [read] "cogitatum tuum" (thy thought).

(j) ‹anchor: insolenter superbit› · printed under col 282

Particulam et restituimus ex prima editione et app. Aug.

We have restored the particle "et" from the first edition and the appendix of Augustine.

(k) ‹anchor: veracia sunt ora› · printed under col 282

Cod. Bon. et prima editio, blandientium.

The Bologna codex and the first edition [read] "blandientium" (of those who flatter).

(l) ‹anchor: hinc decipit› · printed under col 282

Adjectivum mendax in editis inventum Quesnellus in marginem rejecit. Nos ex nostris mss., et Homil. Pauli Diac., append. Aug. ac etiam ex ipso contextu revocavimus.

The adjective "mendax" (lying), found in the editions, Quesnel relegated to the margin. We have recalled it from our manuscripts, and the Homiliary of Paul the Deacon, the appendix of Augustine, and also from the context itself.

(m) ‹anchor: incerta discretio› · printed under col 282

Verbum est reposuimus ex prima editione, ex duobus mss. Vatt. nec non ex Homil. Pauli Diac. et app. Aug.

We have put back the word "est" from the first edition, from two Vatican manuscripts, and also from the Homiliary of Paul the Deacon and the appendix of Augustine.

(n) ‹anchor: Nam licet› · printed under col 282

Duo codd. S. Petri, omnia.

Two codices of St Peter's [read] "omnia" (all things).

(o) ‹anchor: cuncta disponi› · printed under col 282

Prima editio omittit quoniam.

The first edition omits "quoniam" (since).

Page

running head: SERMO XLIII. | 282 (printed across the page with col 281)
marginal letters: A ‹remaneat, sed ad jubentem›; B ‹Cap. II. — In ipsis autem›; C ‹summi Regis arbitrio›; D ‹beside footnote (h), "Diac., aut si quid"›
old-edition numerals: 164 after ‹obtinendis tam› (at the head of the line "dubius modus")
signature: none
other: the note call after "superbit" is printed (j), as printed

PL 54:283

judicii errore superior est plerumque iniqui causa quam justi, vicinum nimis atque contiguum est, ut etiam magnos animos concutiant et in aliquod illicitae causationis murmur impellant. Siquidem istis varietatibus etiam excellentissimus propheta David usque ad periculum se turbatum profitetur, et dicit: Mei autem pene moti sunt pedes, pene effusi sunt gressus mei, quia zelavi in peccatoribus, pacem peccatorum videns (Psal. lxxii, 2). Unde quia paucorum est tam solida fortitudo, ut nulla inaequalitatum perturbatione quatiantur, et multos fidelium non adversa tantum, sed etiam secunda corrumpant, sanandis vulneribus quibus humana infirmitas sauciatur, diligens est adhibenda curatio. Ideo enim de periculis quibus mundus hic plenus est quaedam breviter percurri, ut dicente Scriptura: Quis gloriabitur castum se habere cor, aut mundum se esse a peccato (Prov. xx, 9)? omnes sibi intelligant delictorum indulgentiam et reparationis necessariam esse medicinam.

[…] judgement's error the cause of the wicked man is often superior to that of the just, it lies all too near and close at hand that they should shake even great souls and drive them into some murmur of unlawful complaint. Indeed, even the most excellent prophet David confesses that he was troubled by these vicissitudes to the point of danger, and says: But my feet were almost moved, my steps had well-nigh slipped, because I was jealous of sinners, seeing the peace of sinners (Ps. 72:2). Hence, because few have fortitude so solid that they are shaken by no disturbance from inequalities, and because not only adversity but prosperity too corrupts many of the faithful, diligent care must be applied to heal the wounds by which human weakness is injured. For I have run briefly over some of the dangers of which this world is full for this reason: that, since Scripture says, Who shall boast that he has a chaste heart, or that he is clean from sin? (Prov. 20:9), all may understand that the pardon of offences and the medicine of restoration are necessary for them.

Cap. III. — Quando autem opportunius, dilectissimi, ad remedia divina decurrimus, quam cum ipsa nobis sacramenta redemptionis nostrae temporum lege referuntur? Quae ut dignius celebremus, saluberrime nos quadraginta dierum jejunio praeparemus. Non enim ii tantum qui per mortis Christi resurrectionisque mysterium in novam vitam baptismo sunt regenerante venturi, sed etiam omnes populi renatorum, utiliter sibi et necessarie praesidium hujus sanctificationis assumunt: illi, ut quae nondum habent, accipiant; isti, ut accepta custodiant. Dicente namque Apostolo: Qui stat videat ne cadat (I Cor. x, 12), nemo est tanta firmitate suffultus, ut de stabilitate sua debeat esse securus. Utamur igitur, dilectissimi, saluberrimi temporis venerabilibus institutis, et sollicitiore cura cordis nostri specula tergamus. Quantumlibet enim caste et sobrie mortalis haec vita ducatur, quodam tamen pulvere terrenae conversationis aspergitur, et nitor mentium ad Dei imaginem conditarum non ita a fumo totius vanitatis alienus est, ut nulla possit sorde fuscari, et non semper indigeat expoliri. Quod si etiam cautissimis animis necessarium est, quanto illis amplius est expetendum, qui tota fere anni spatia aut securius aut forte negligentius transierunt?

Ch. 3. — And when do we more fittingly run to the divine remedies than when the very sacraments of our redemption are brought back to us by the law of the seasons? That we may celebrate them more worthily, let us most wholesomely prepare ourselves by the fast of forty days. For not only those who are to come into new life through the mystery of Christ's death and resurrection by regenerating baptism, but also all the peoples of the reborn, take up the protection of this sanctification profitably and necessarily for themselves: the former, that they may receive what they do not yet have; the latter, that they may guard what they have received. For since the Apostle says, Let him who stands take heed lest he fall (1 Cor. 10:12), no one is propped up by such firmness that he ought to be secure about his own stability. Let us use, then, dearly beloved, the venerable institutions of this most wholesome season, and with more anxious care let us wipe clean the mirrors of our heart. For however chastely and soberly this mortal life is led, it is nevertheless sprinkled with a certain dust of earthly conduct, and the brightness of minds created after the image of God is not so free from the smoke of all vanity that it can be darkened by no dirt and does not always need polishing. And if this is necessary even for the most cautious souls, how much more must it be sought by those who have passed almost the whole span of the year either too carelessly or perhaps too negligently?

Editors' notes and page, col. 283

Footnotes

(a) ‹anchor: etiam magnos animos› · printed under col 283

Exemplar Pauli Diac., concitent.

The exemplar of Paul the Deacon [reads] "concitent" (stir up).

(b) ‹anchor: ad remedia divina› · printed under col 283

Editi ante Quesn., recurrimus.

The editions before Quesnel [read] "recurrimus" (we run back).

Ita omnes nostri codd. et editiones Leonis ante Quesn., nec non exemplar Pauli Diac. Solum in mss. S Petri, regenerandi venturi, ubi librariorum errore scriptum apparet, regenerandi pro regenerante. Hinc autem forte manavit ut alii amanuenses transcripserint solam vocem, regenerandi, omissa alia voce venturi, quod append. Aug. et Quesnellus suscepere.

So all our codices and the editions of Leo before Quesnel, and also the exemplar of Paul the Deacon. Only in the manuscripts of St Peter's [is there] "regenerandi venturi", where "regenerandi" appears to have been written for "regenerante" by the error of copyists. From this perhaps it came about that other scribes copied the single word "regenerandi", leaving out the other word "venturi", which the appendix of Augustine and Quesnel adopted.

(d) ‹anchor: cordis nostri› · printed under col 283

Vulgati male, piacula. In melioribus codd. et in app. Aug., ut in prima editione, et apud Quesnellum, specula; et optime quidem: nam S. pontifex loquitur de conscientia justorum gravibus peccatis experte, quae tamquam speculum sedulo tergenda est etiam a pulvere culparum leviorum, ne in graviora decidant.

The common editions wrongly [read] "piacula" (sins). In the better codices and in the appendix of Augustine, as in the first edition and in Quesnel, [it is] "specula" (mirrors); and very rightly: for the holy pontiff is speaking of the conscience of the just, free of grave sins, which like a mirror must be diligently wiped clean even of the dust of lighter faults, lest they fall into graver ones.

(e) ‹anchor: qui tota› · printed under cols 283–284

Quesnellus cum exemplo Pauli Diac., App. Aug. et cod. Veneto, nec non mss. collect. 4 et 5, pro fere habet particulam forte, eamque delet ante adverbium negligentius. Prima editio collect. 3 utrobique habet forte. Commodior est caeterarum editionum lectio textui inserta, cui concinunt mss. S. Petri. App. Aug., transegerunt pro transierunt.

Quesnel, with the copy of Paul the Deacon, the appendix of Augustine and the Venice codex, and also the manuscripts of collections 4 and 5, has the particle "forte" (perhaps) instead of "fere" (almost), and deletes it before the adverb "negligentius". The first edition of collection 3 has "forte" in both places. More suitable is the reading of the other editions, inserted in the text, with which the manuscripts of St Peter's agree. The appendix of Augustine [has] "transegerunt" for "transierunt".

Page

running head: 283 | S. LEONIS MAGNI SERMONES. (printed across the page with col 284)
marginal letters: A ‹judicii errore superior est›; B ‹percurri, ut dicente Scriptura›; C ‹custodiant. Dicente namque Apostolo›; D ‹beside footnote (b), "Editi ante Quesn."›
old-edition numerals: 165 after ‹resurrectionisque›
signature: none
other: none

PL 54:284

Quos charitate debita commonemus, ut non ideo sibimet blandiantur, quia nobis conscientiae singulorum patere non possunt, cum oculos Dei simul universa cernentis, non addita locorum, non parietum septa secludant; nec solum ei acta et cogitata, verum et agenda et cogitanda sint cognita. Ista ergo scientia summi judicis, iste est tremendus aspectus, cui pervium est omne solidum, et apertum omne secretum; cui obscura clarent, muta respondent, silentium confitetur, et sine voce mens loquitur. Nemo patientiam bonitatis Dei (Rom. ii, 4) de peccatorum suorum impunitate contemnat; nec ideo illum aestimet non offensum, quia necdum est expertus iratum. Non sunt longae vitae mortalis induciae, nec diuturna est licentia insipientium voluntatum in aeternarum dolorem transitura poenarum, si dum justitiae sententia suspenditur, poenitentiae medicina non quaeritur.

These we admonish with due charity not to flatter themselves on the ground that the consciences of individuals cannot lie open to us, since neither the hidden recesses of places nor the enclosures of walls shut them off from the eyes of God, Who sees all things at once; and not only what has been done and thought, but also what is to be done and thought, is known to Him. This, then, is the knowledge of the supreme Judge, this the awesome gaze, to which every solid thing is passable and every secret open; to which dark things are bright, mute things answer, silence confesses, and the mind speaks without a voice. Let no one despise the patience of God's goodness (Rom. 2:4) because his sins go unpunished; nor let him reckon Him unoffended because he has not yet experienced Him angry. The truce of mortal life is not long, nor is the licence of foolish wills lasting: it will pass over into the pain of eternal punishments if, while the sentence of justice is suspended, the medicine of penance is not sought.

Cap. IV. — Confugiamus igitur ad praesentem ubique misericordiam Dei, et ut sanctum Pascha Domini digna observantia celebretur, cunctorum se fidelium corda sanctificent. Mitescat saevitia, mansuescat iracundia, remittant sibi omnes culpas invicem suas, nec exactor sit vindictae, qui petitor est veniae. Dicentes enim: Dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris (Matth. vi, 12); durissimis nos vinculis illigamus, nisi quod profitemur impleamus. Unde si orationis hujus sacratissimum pactum non tota sui conditione servatum est, nunc saltem conscientiam suam unusquisque cognoscat, et alienis ignoscendo delictis, abolitionem suorum obtineat peccatorum. Dicente namque Domino: Si dimiseritis hominibus peccata eorum, dimittet et vobis Pater vester, qui in coelis est, delicta vestra (Matth. vi, 14; xviii, 35; Luc. vi, 37): non longe est ab unoquoque quod poscit, cum de benignitate supplicis sententia pendeat judicantis qui humanarum precum misericors et justus auditor, aequitati suae de nostra lenitate praescripsit, ut non haberet in eos jus severitatis, quos non invenisset cupidos ultionis. Clementes autem et mites animos etiam largitas decet. Nihil est enim dignius quam ut homo sit sui auctoris imitator, et secundum modum propriae facultatis, divini sit operis exsecutor. Nam cum aluntur esurientes, vestiuntur nudi, foventur infirmi, nonne auxilium Dei

Ch. 4. — Let us take refuge, then, in the mercy of God, present everywhere, and, that the holy Pasch of the Lord may be celebrated with worthy observance, let the hearts of all the faithful sanctify themselves. Let cruelty grow mild, let wrath grow gentle, let all forgive one another their faults, and let him who is a seeker of pardon not be an exacter of vengeance. For when we say: Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors (Matt. 6:12), we bind ourselves with the hardest of bonds unless we fulfil what we profess. Hence, if the most sacred compact of this prayer has not been kept in its full terms, now at least let each one recognize his own conscience, and by pardoning the offences of others obtain the abolition of his own sins. For since the Lord says: If you forgive men their sins, your Father Who is in heaven will also forgive you your offences (Matt. 6:14; 18:35; Luke 6:37), what each one asks for is not far from him, since the sentence of the Judge hangs on the kindness of the suppliant; for He, the merciful and just hearer of human prayers, has laid down for His own equity a rule taken from our leniency, that He should have no right of severity against those whom He had not found eager for revenge. And generosity too befits clement and gentle souls. For nothing is more worthy than that man should be an imitator of his Maker and, according to the measure of his own means, a performer of the divine work. For when the hungry are fed, the naked clothed, the sick cherished, is not the help of God […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 284

Footnotes

(e) continued from col 283, set in n283

(f) ‹anchor: licentia insipientium› · printed under col 284

Sic ex duobus mss. S. Petri et homil. Pauli Diac. emendavimus. Al., voluptatum. Codex Vat. collect. 3, licentia insipientium, aut dulcedo voluptatum.

So we have corrected from two manuscripts of St Peter's and the Homiliary of Paul the Deacon. Others [read] "voluptatum" (of pleasures). A Vatican codex of collection 3 [reads] "licentia insipientium, aut dulcedo voluptatum" (the licence of the foolish, or the sweetness of pleasures).

(g) ‹anchor: digna observantia celebretur› · printed under col 284

Ita restituimus ex omnibus nostris codd. et editis ante Quesnellum, qui praetulit lectionem appendici Aug. communem, cunctorum fidelium corda sanctificentur.

So we have restored from all our codices and the editions before Quesnel, who preferred the reading shared with the appendix of Augustine, "cunctorum fidelium corda sanctificentur" (let the hearts of all the faithful be sanctified).

(h) ‹anchor: suorum obtineat peccatorum› · printed under col 284

Mss. S. Petri, dicente discipulis Domino. Post pauca, pro aequitati suae, quidam codd. habent aequitatis suae regulam.

The manuscripts of St Peter's [read] "the Lord saying to the disciples". A little further on, for "aequitati suae", some codices have "aequitatis suae regulam" (the rule of His equity).

(i) ‹anchor: foventur infirmi, nonne› · printed under col 284

Lectionar. Venet. S. Marci, auxilio Dei munus (forte manus) expletur ministri.

The Venice Lectionary of St Mark's [reads] "by the help of God the gift (perhaps: the hand) of the minister is fulfilled".