PL 54 · cols. 447–452

Leo the Great, Sermons

Sermons XC–XCI

jejunii nostri sacrificio placatus exaudiat per Jesum Christum Dominum nostrum, qui vivit regnat in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

[…] appeased by the sacrifice of our fast, may hear us: through Jesus Christ our Lord, Who lives [and] reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

SERMO XC [Al. LXXXVIII].

SERMON 90 [Otherwise 88].

De Jejunio septimi mensis V.

On the Fast of the Seventh Month, V.

CAP. I. — Sacratum, dilectissimi, in septimo mense jejunium, ad communis devotionis exercitia praedicamus, fidenter vos paternis cohortationibus incitantes, ut quod fuit ante Judaicum, vestra fiat observantia Christianum. Est enim omni tempore aptum et Testamento utrique conveniens, ut per castigationem et mentis et corporis misericordia divina quaeratur, quia nihil est efficacius ad exorandum Deum quam ut homo ipse se judicet, et numquam desinat a venia postulanda, qui se scit numquam esse sine culpa. Habet enim hoc in se vitium humana natura, non a Creatore insitum, sed a praevaricatore contractum, et in posteros generandi lege transfusum, ut de corruptibili corpore etiam quod animam corrumpere possit oriatur. Hinc interior homo, tametsi jam in Christo regeneratus et a vinculis captivitatis est erutus, assiduos habet cum carne conflictus, et dum cohibet concupiscentem patitur repugnantem. In qua discordia non facile obtinetur tam perfecta victoria ut etiam illa quae sunt abrumpenda non illigent, et quae sunt interficienda non vulnerent. Quantumlibet sapienter et provide judex animus exterioribus sensibus praesit, inter ipsa tamen curas atque mensuras regendae carnis et alendae, nimis ei semper vicina tentatio est. Quis enim ita se aut a voluptate corporis aut a dolore sejungit, ut ad ipsam mentem non pertineat, quod extrinsecus aut blanditur aut cruciat? Indivisum est gaudium, indiscreta tristitia: nihil in homine iracundia non accendit, nihil laetitia non resolvit, nihil aegritudo non afficit. Et quae illic declinatio potest esse peccati, ubi una passio est et regentis et subditi? Merito Dominus protestatur quod spiritus quidem promptus est, caro autem infirma (Matth. XXVI, 41).

Chapter I. — We proclaim, dearly beloved, the sacred fast in the seventh month for the exercises of common devotion, confidently rousing you with fatherly exhortations, so that what was formerly Jewish may by your observance become Christian. For it is fitting at every time and in keeping with both Testaments that the divine mercy be sought through the chastisement of both mind and body, since nothing is more efficacious for entreating God than that a man should judge himself, and never cease from asking pardon, knowing that he is never without fault. For human nature has in itself this flaw, not implanted by the Creator but contracted from the transgressor, and passed on to posterity by the law of generation, that from the corruptible body there arises even that which can corrupt the soul. Hence the inner man, although already reborn in Christ and rescued from the chains of captivity, has constant conflicts with the flesh, and while he restrains it in its lusting he suffers it resisting. In this discord so perfect a victory is not easily won that even the things which must be broken off do not entangle, and the things which must be slain do not wound. However wisely and providently the mind as judge presides over the outer senses, yet amid the very cares and measures of ruling and feeding the flesh temptation is always too near to it. For who so separates himself either from the pleasure or from the pain of the body that what either flatters or tortures from outside does not reach the mind itself? Joy is undivided, sadness is not kept apart: there is nothing in a man that anger does not inflame, nothing that gladness does not relax, nothing that sickness does not affect. And what avoidance of sin can there be where the suffering of ruler and subject is one? Rightly the Lord declares that the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak (Matt. 26:41).

CAP. II. — Et ne usque ad inertem desidiam desperatione ducamur, quae impossibilia sunt homini ex

Chapter II. — And lest we be led by despair into sluggish idleness, the things which are impossible to man by

Editors' notes and page, col. 447

Footnotes

(a) ‹jejunii nostri› · printed under col 447

Ita cum nostris codd. et vulgatis ante Quesnellum, apud quem nullo nostro ms. suffragante, sacrificium placatus accipiat. Clausulam ex codice Veneto expressimus. Al., Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

So with our mss. and the printed editions before Quesnel, in whom, with none of our mss. supporting it, [we read] sacrificium placatus accipiat. We have given the closing clause from the Venice ms. Others, Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

(b) ‹ut quod fuit› · printed under col 447

Septimi mensis jejunium apud Hebraeos agebatur ipso expiationis die.

Among the Hebrews the fast of the seventh month was kept on the very Day of Atonement.

Ita cum Lectionar. Veneto editiones anteriores Rainaudo et Quesnello, apud quos, sit. Mox tempori pro tempore in ms. Vat. collect. 5.

So, with the Venice Lectionary, the editions earlier than Rainaud and Quesnel, in whom [we read] sit. Shortly after, tempori for tempore in the Vatican ms. of collection 5.

(d) ‹per castigationem› · printed under col 447

Addidimus et ex laudato ms. Veneto.

We have added et from the Venice ms. already cited.

(e) ‹Habet enim hoc in se› · printed under col 447

Editi pro vitium habebant generaliter. Emendationem suppeditavit laudatus cod. Venetus.

The printed editions had generaliter for vitium. The Venice ms. already cited supplied the correction.

(f) ‹et in posteros› · printed under col 448

Sic cum Quesnello idem ms. Venetus et Vat. collect. 5. Al., generali.

So, with Quesnel, the same Venice ms. and the Vatican one of collection 5. Others, generali.

(g) ‹Hinc interior homo,› · printed under col 448

Vulg. ante Quesn. et plures codd., si tamen.

The printed editions before Quesnel and several mss., si tamen.

(h) ‹ut etiam› · printed under col 448

Addidimus illa ex ms. Veneto. Mox alligent pro illigent in prima editione.

We have added illa from the Venice ms. Shortly after, alligent for illigent in the first edition.

(i) ‹judex animus› · printed under col 448

Vulg., suis exterioribus praesit. Praetulimus lectionem cod. Ven.

The printed editions, suis exterioribus praesit. We have preferred the reading of the Venice ms.

(j) ‹indiscreta tristitia: nihil› · printed under col 448

Ita melius ex prima editione, uti etiam indicavit corrigendum Latinus Latinius. Al., in hominem.

So, better, from the first edition, as Latino Latini also indicated it should be corrected. Others, in hominem.

Editors' prose

SYNOPSIS. — I. Poenitentiam semper esse necessariam propter continuas inimici insidias et concupiscentiam carnis. — II. Omnia impossibilia ex imbecillitate humana, esse possibilia ex virtute divina. — III. De amore Dei et mundi. — IV. Amorem Dei bonis operibus nutriri. Cur septimi mensis jejunium.

SYNOPSIS. — I. That penance is always necessary because of the continual snares of the enemy and the concupiscence of the flesh. — II. That all things impossible through human weakness are possible through divine power. — III. On the love of God and of the world. — IV. That the love of God is nourished by good works. Why there is a fast of the seventh month.

Page

running head: 447 S. LEONIS MAGNI SERMONES. 448 (across the page)
marginal letters: A ‹cordiarum jejunii nostri›; B ‹fiat observantia Christianum›; C ‹abrumpenda non illigent›; D ‹CAP. II. — Et ne usque›
old-edition numerals: 351 after ‹placatus›; 352 before ‹aegritudo›
signature: none
other: "numquam" in ‹et numquam desinat› is printed in small capitals (NUMQUAM), set in lower case; "qui vivit regnat" lacks et as printed

PL 54:448

imbecillitate propria, possibilia spondet ex virtute divina: Angusta enim et arcta est via quae ducit ad vitam (Matth. XII, 14), et nemo in eam gressum inferret, nemo vestigium promoveret, nisi difficiles aditus ipse se Christus viam faciendo reseraret: ut auctor itineris fiat possibilitas ambulantis, quia idem et introducit ad laborem et perducit ad requiem. In quo ergo nobis spes est aeternae vitae, in eodem est et forma patientiae. Si enim compatimur, et conregnabimus (II Tim. II, 12; Rom. VIII, 17): quoniam, ut Apostolus ait; qui se dicit in Christo manere, debet sicut ille ambulavit et ipse ambulare (I Joan. II, 6). Alioqui falsae professionis imagine utimur, si cujus nomine gloriamur, ejus instituta non sequimur: quae utique nobis onerosa non essent, et ab omnibus nos periculis liberarent, si nihil aliud quam quod amandum jubetur amaremus.

his own weakness, He promises are possible by divine power: For narrow and strait is the way that leads to life (Matt. 12:14), and no one would set foot on it, no one would advance a step, unless Christ Himself, by making Himself the way, unlocked the difficult entrances: so that the Author of the journey becomes the walker's ability to walk, since the same One both brings us in to labour and brings us through to rest. In Him, then, in Whom we have the hope of eternal life, there is also the pattern of patience. For if we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with Him (2 Tim. 2:12; Rom. 8:17): since, as the Apostle says, he who says that he abides in Christ ought himself also to walk as He walked (1 John 2:6). Otherwise we use the semblance of a false profession, if we do not follow the precepts of Him in Whose name we glory: which would certainly not be burdensome to us, and would free us from all dangers, if we loved nothing other than what we are commanded to love.

CAP. III. — Duo namque amores sunt ex quibus omnes prodeunt voluntates, ita diversae qualitatibus, sicut dividuntur auctoribus. Rationalis enim animus, qui sine dilectione esse non potest, aut Dei est amator aut mundi. In dilectione Dei nulla nimia, in dilectione autem mundi cuncta sunt noxia. Et ideo aeternis bonis inseparabiliter inhaerendum, temporalibus vero transeunter utendum est: ut peregrinantibus nobis et ad patriam redire properantibus, quidquid de prosperitatibus mundi hujus occurrerit, viaticum sit itineris, non illecebra mansionis. Ideo beatus Apostolus praedicat dicens: Tempus breve est: reliquum est ut qui habent uxores, tamquam non habentes sint; et qui flent, tamquam non flentes; et qui gaudent, tamquam non gaudentes; et qui emunt, tamquam non possidentes; et qui utuntur hoc mundo, tamquam non utantur. Praeterit enim figura hujus mundi (I Cor. VII, 29-31). Sed quod de specie, de copia, de varietate blanditur, non facile declinatur, nisi in illa visibilium pulchritudine Creator potius quam creatura diligatur, qui cum dicit: Diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo, et ex tota mente tua, et ex tota virtute tua (Matth. XXII, 37), in nullo nos vult ab amoris sui vinculis relaxari. Et cum huic praecepto proximi quoque copulat charitatem, imitationem nobis suae bonitatis indicit: ut quod diligit diligamus, et quod operatur operemur. Quamvis enim Dei agricultura simus, et Dei aedificatio (I Cor. III, 9), et neque qui plantat sit aliquid, neque qui rigat, sed qui incrementum dat Deus (Ibid., 7); in omnibus tamen exigit nostri ministerii servitutem, et nos dispensatores

Chapter III. — For there are two loves from which all wills proceed, as different in their qualities as they are divided by their authors. For the rational mind, which cannot exist without love, is a lover either of God or of the world. In the love of God nothing is excessive, but in the love of the world all things are harmful. And therefore we must cling inseparably to eternal goods, but use temporal ones in passing: so that for us who are pilgrims and hastening to return to our fatherland, whatever of the prosperity of this world comes our way may be provision for the journey, not an enticement to stay. Therefore the blessed Apostle preaches, saying: The time is short: it remains that those who have wives be as though they had none; and those who weep, as though they did not weep; and those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice; and those who buy, as though they did not possess; and those who use this world, as though they did not use it. For the fashion of this world passes away (1 Cor. 7:29–31). But what flatters by its beauty, its abundance, its variety, is not easily avoided, unless in that beauty of visible things the Creator rather than the creature is loved, Who, when He says: You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, and with your whole mind, and with your whole strength (Matt. 22:37), wills us to be loosed in nothing from the bonds of His love. And when He joins to this precept the love of neighbour also, He enjoins on us the imitation of His goodness: that we should love what He loves, and do what He does. For although we are God's husbandry and God's building (1 Cor. 3:9), and neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God Who gives the increase (ibid., 7); yet in all things He requires the service of our ministry, and us dispensers […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 448

Footnotes

(f), (g), (h), (i), (j) printed under col 448 but called in col 447, set in n447

(k) ‹esse non potest,› · printed under col 448

De hoc texiu apud Quesnellianos celebri, et de Quesnelli postilla eidem apposita, plura in observationibus ad hunc sermonem dicenda erunt.

About this text, famous among the Quesnellists, and about Quesnel's gloss attached to it, more will have to be said in the observations on this sermon.

Page

running head: 447 S. LEONIS MAGNI SERMONES. 448 (across the page)
marginal letters: A ‹imbecillitate propria›; B ‹periculis liberarent›; C ‹tamquam non gaudentes›; D ‹incrementum dat Deus›
old-edition numerals: 353 after ‹copulat›
signature: none
other: the text's reference "(Matth. XII, 14)" for "Angusta … ad vitam" is wrong (Matt. 7:14), set as printed

PL 54:449

suorum vult esse donorum, ut qui fert Dei imaginem, Dei faciat voluntatem. Propter quod in oratione Dominica sacratissime dicimus: Adveniat regnum tuum, fiat voluntas tua sicut in coelo et in terra (Matth. VI, 10). Quibus verbis quid aliud postulamus, quam ut Deus quos necdum sibi subdidit subdat, et sicut in coelo angelos, ita et in terra homines ministros suae faciat voluntatis? Hoc autem petentes amamus Deum, amamus et proximum; et non diversa in nobis, sed una dilectio est, quando et servum servire, et dominum cupimus imperare.

[…] of His gifts He wishes to be, so that he who bears the image of God may do the will of God. For this reason in the Lord's Prayer we say most sacredly: Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matt. 6:10). By these words what else do we ask than that God should subject to Himself those whom He has not yet subjected, and that, as in heaven He makes the angels, so on earth too He should make men ministers of His will? And in asking this we love God, and we love our neighbour too; and there is in us not a divided love but one, when we desire both that the servant serve and that the Master rule.

CAP. IV. Hic igitur affectus, dilectissimi, quo amor terrenus excluditur, bonorum operum consuetudine roboratur, quia necesse est ut bonis actibus conscientia delectetur, et libenter faciat quod fecisse se gaudeat. Assumitur ergo jejunium, multiplicatur largitio, justitia custoditur, frequentatur oratio, fitque ut singulorum desiderium sit unum omnium votum. Nutrit patientiam labor, mansuetudo exstinguit iram, benevolentia calcat invidiam, immundae cupiditates sanctis desideriis enecantur, avaritia liberalitate depellitur, et onera divitiarum fiunt instrumenta virtutum. Sed quia insidiae diaboli etiam inter talia studia non quiescunt, rectissime in quibusdam articulis temporum, vigoris nostri est instituti reparatio: et ubi de clementia coeli et ubertate agri potest mens praesentium bonorum avida gloriari, et in ampla horrea fructibus congregatis, animae suae dicere: Habes multa bona, epulare (Luc, XII, 19): ibi quamdam increpationem divinae vocis accipiat, audiatque dicentem: Stulte, hac nocte reposcunt animam tuam a te: quae autem praeparasti, cujus erunt (Ibid. 20)? Haec

CHAP. IV. This disposition, then, dearly beloved, by which earthly love is shut out, is strengthened by the habit of good works, because it is necessary that the conscience take delight in good actions and gladly do what it rejoices to have done. So fasting is taken up, almsgiving is multiplied, justice is kept, prayer is frequented, and it comes about that the desire of each is the one wish of all. Toil nourishes patience, meekness quenches anger, benevolence tramples on envy, unclean lusts are killed off by holy desires, avarice is driven out by liberality, and the burdens of riches become the instruments of virtue. But because the snares of the devil do not rest even amid such pursuits, most rightly at certain junctures of the seasons there is a renewal of the vigour of our established observance: and where the mind, greedy for present goods, can boast of the mildness of the sky and the fertility of the field, and, with the fruits gathered into ample barns, say to its soul: You have many good things, feast (Luke 12:19): there let it receive a certain rebuke of the divine voice, and hear Him saying: Fool, this night they demand your soul of you: and the things you have prepared, whose will they be (ibid. 20)? This

Editors' notes and page, col. 449

Footnotes

(a) ‹quam ut Deus› · printed under col 449

Editi, quem. Melius ex cod. Veneto, quos, unde postea, homines.

The printed editions, quem. Better from the Venice codex, quos, whence afterwards, homines.

(b) ‹quia necesse est ut› · printed under col 449

Al., rectis.

Others, rectis.

In antiquissimo Vat. 3836 finis hujus sermonis multo diversus profertur sic: Sed quia insidiae diaboli etiam inter talia studia non quiescunt, hoc quod de propheta voce cantatum est, in affectum assumatur orantium, ut non solum labiis, sed et corde dicatur: Custodi me, Domine, ut pupillam oculi, sub umbra alarum tuarum protege me (Ps. XVI, 8). Incessabiliter enim divino egemus auxilio, et haec est humanae devotionis insuperabilis fortitudo, ut illum protectorem semper habeamus, sine quo fortes esse non possumus. Quod ergo et sanctificationi corporum et reparationi prosit animarum quarta et sexta sabbati jejunemus; sabbato vero etiam vigilias celebremus apud beatissimum apostolum Petrum, ut piarum ovium deprecationibus gloriosissimi pastoris patrocinetur oratio. Per Dominum nostrum regnantem cum Patre, et cum Spiritu sancto in saecula saeculorum. Amen. Licet hujus Romani Lectionarii auctoritas, et stylus hunc finem Leoni tribuendum suadet, vulgatam nihilominus lectionem, quae Leonem pariter spirat, et legitur in caeteris codicibus atque in Lectionario Veneto, noluimus deserere. Cum vero tanta varietas Leonis stylum referens, amanuensibus tribui nequeat, id unum hinc colligi posse videtur S. pontificem hunc sermonem bis recitasse, sole fine mutato. Aliquid enim simile aliis in sermonibus, qui alias insignes mutationes praestantissimis Lectionariis mss. probatas exhibent, accedisse probabilissimum est. Confer. serm. 22, in quo Lectionarium Vercellense et Homiliarium Pauli Diaconi non exiguam ab editis aliisque codicibus varietatem praeferunt, uti ibidem observavimus annot. 1. Ita etiam serm. 59, c. 1 et 4, varias et alterius formae lectiones in Vat. 3835 ac in cod. Casinensi deprehendere licuit, quae eamdem causam habere videntur. Post nonnulla editi et posteriores codd., vigoris est nostris reparatio instituta. Magis Leonina visa est syntaxis Lectionarii Veneti.

In the very ancient Vatican 3836 the end of this sermon is given in a much different form, thus: "But because the snares of the devil do not rest even amid such pursuits, let what was sung by the prophet's voice be taken up into the affection of those who pray, so that it is said not only with the lips but also with the heart: Keep me, O Lord, as the apple of the eye; under the shadow of Thy wings protect me (Ps. 16:8). For we need the divine help unceasingly, and this is the invincible strength of human devotion, that we should always have Him as protector without Whom we cannot be strong. So, as it may profit both the sanctification of bodies and the restoration of souls, let us fast on the fourth and sixth day of the week; and on the Sabbath let us also keep vigil at the church of the most blessed apostle Peter, so that the prayer of the most glorious shepherd may support the entreaties of the faithful sheep. Through our Lord, Who reigns with the Father and with the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen." Although the authority of this Roman Lectionary, and the style, urge that this ending be ascribed to Leo, we have nevertheless been unwilling to abandon the common reading, which breathes Leo equally and is read in the other codices and in the Venice Lectionary. But since so great a variation, which reproduces Leo's style, cannot be ascribed to copyists, this one thing seems able to be inferred from it: that the holy pontiff delivered this sermon twice, with only the ending changed. For it is most probable that something similar happened in other sermons, which show other notable changes attested by the most excellent manuscript Lectionaries. Compare sermon 22, in which the Vercelli Lectionary and the Homiliary of Paul the Deacon present no small variation from the printed editions and the other codices, as we observed there in note 1. So too in sermon 59, chapters 1 and 4, it was possible to find variant readings of a different form in Vatican 3835 and in the Monte Cassino codex, which seem to have the same cause. After nonnulla the printed editions and the later codices [read] vigoris est nostris reparatio instituta. The syntax of the Venice Lectionary seemed more Leonine.

(d) ‹Stulte, hac nocte› · printed under col 450

Prima editio, reposcam.

The first edition, reposcam.

Page

running head: 449 SERMO (the head SERMO XCI. runs across the page over cols 449–450)
marginal letters: A ‹tores suorum vult esse›; B ‹gaudeat. Assumitur ergo›; C ‹tem: Stulte, hac nocte›; D ‹beside footnote (c), at ut piarum ovium›
old-edition numerals: 354 after ‹Sed quia›
signature: none
other: none

PL 54:450

sollicitissima meditatio debet esse sapientis, ut quoniam breves dies istius vitae et incerta sunt spatia, numquam sit mors improvisa morituro, nec inordinatum incidat finem, qui se novit esse mortalem. Quod itaque et sanctificationi corporum, et reparationi prosit animarum, quarta et sexta feria jejunemus; sabbato autem apud beatissimum Petrum apostolum vigilias celebremus, ejus orationibus adjuvandi, ut sanctorum desideriorum consequamur effectum: per Christum Dominum nostrum, qui cum Patre et Spiritu sancto vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

[…] must be the most careful meditation of the wise man, so that, since the days of this life are short and its spans uncertain, death may never be unforeseen for one who is to die, and he who knows himself to be mortal may not meet an untimely end. So, as it may profit both the sanctification of bodies and the restoration of souls, let us fast on the fourth and sixth day; and on Saturday let us keep vigil at the church of the most blessed apostle Peter, to be helped by his prayers, so that we may obtain the fulfilment of holy desires: through Christ our Lord, Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

SERMO XCI [Al. LXXXIX].

SERMON 91 [Otherwise 89].

De Jejunio septimi mensis VI.

On the Fast of the Seventh Month, VI.

CAP. I. — Devotionem fidelium, dilectissimi, nihil est in quo providentia divina non adjuvet. Siquidem exercendis ad sanctimoniam mentibus atque corporibus, ipsa quoque mundi elementa famulantur, dum dierum ac mensium distincte variata revolutio quasdam nobis paginas aperit praeceptorum, ut quod sacra admonent instituta, hoc quodammodo loquantur et tempora. Unde cum septimum mensem nobis anni recursus attulerit, non ignoro observantiam vestram ad celebrandum solemne jejunium spiritaliter incitari: quoniam experimento dedicistis quantum haec praeparatio et exteriora hominum et interiora purificet, ut cum a licitis abstinetur, facilius illicitis resistatur. Continentiae autem ratio, dilectissimi,

CHAP. I. — There is nothing, dearly beloved, in which divine providence does not assist the devotion of the faithful. For in the training of minds and bodies towards holiness even the very elements of the world serve, while the distinctly varied revolution of days and months opens to us certain pages of precepts, so that what the sacred institutions admonish, the seasons too in a manner speak. Hence, since the return of the year has brought us the seventh month, I am not unaware that your observance is spiritually stirred to keep the solemn fast: because you have learned by experience how much this preparation purifies both the outward and the inward parts of men, so that when one abstains from lawful things, unlawful things are the more easily resisted. But the principle of continence, dearly beloved,

Editors' notes and page, col. 450

Footnotes

(d) call in col 449 (‹Stulte, hac nocte›), printed under col 450, set in n449

(e) ‹nec› · printed under col 450

Legendum forte, inopinatum, non inordinatum, olim conjectaram. At conjectationi modo non parum detraho, tum quod vox ista congruentem huic loco per se significatum habet, tum quod se ipse doctor noster explicat lib. II de Vocat. gentium cap. 21, his aliis verbis idem cogitatum referentibus: Quod ergo ab initio mortale est, qualibet occidat die, non contra legem mortalitatis occumbit, nec umquam ei vicinus est posse vivere, quam posse deficere. Quem enim finem in praesenti sermone inordinatum dicit, illic contra legem mortalitatis appellat. QUESNELLUS. — Putavit Quesnellus in hac annotatione libros de Vocat. gentium esse Leonis, cum tamen alterius incerti auctoris sint, ut alibi demonstrabimus. Omnes tamen nostri codices vulgatam lectionem praeferunt.

I had once conjectured that perhaps inopinatum should be read, not inordinatum. But now I detract not a little from the conjecture, both because that word has of itself a meaning suited to this place, and because our doctor explains himself in book II of the Calling of the Nations, ch. 21, with these other words expressing the same thought: "Therefore what is mortal from the beginning, on whatever day it perishes, does not die against the law of mortality, nor is being able to live ever nearer to it than being able to fail." For the end which in the present sermon he calls inordinatum, he there calls contrary to the law of mortality. QUESNEL. — Quesnel supposed in this note that the books on the Calling of the Nations are Leo's, although they are of another, uncertain author, as we shall show elsewhere. All our codices, however, give the common reading.

(f) ‹esse mortalem› · printed under col 450

Prima editio cum mss. collect. 3 et 4, Quod ergo et. Codices collect. 6, Quod itaque ut. Editiones Quesnello anteriores: Quod itaque ut et sanctificationi. Quesnelli lectionem a nobis receptam codex Venetus confirmat.

The first edition, with the mss. of collections 3 and 4, Quod ergo et. The codices of collection 6, Quod itaque ut. The editions earlier than Quesnel: Quod itaque ut et sanctificationi. The Venice codex confirms Quesnel's reading, which we have adopted.

(g) ‹sabbato autem› · printed under col 450

Ms. Venet., ad beatissimum; et paulo post, orationibus ipsius adjuvandi.

The Venice ms., ad beatissimum; and a little after, orationibus ipsius adjuvandi.

(h) ‹per Christum Dominum nostrum› · printed under col 450

Sequentia ex eodem codice supplevimus.

We have supplied what follows from the same codex.

(i) ‹ipsa quoque mundi elementa› · printed under col 450

Solus Quesnellus, famulentur.

Quesnel alone, famulentur.

(j) ‹incitari: quoniam› · printed under col 450

Ita ex duobus Lect. mss. Rergom. et Veneto S. Marci. Al., experiendo. Paulo post iidem codd., et cum a licitis.

So from two manuscript Lectionaries, that of Bergamo and the Venetian one of St Mark's. Others, experiendo. A little after, the same codices, et cum a licitis.

Editors' prose

SYNOPSIS. — I. Dei voluntatem ex ipsis etiam elementis edoceri, quae et a cibis, et a mundana sapientia abstinere jubet. — II. Tam Nestorii quam Eutychis haeresim esse detestandam. — III. Veritatem carnis in Christo ex sacrificio Eucharistiae et praecepto eleemosynae probari.

SYNOPSIS. — I. That the will of God, which commands abstinence both from foods and from worldly wisdom, is taught even by the elements themselves. — II. That the heresy of Nestorius and that of Eutyches alike are to be abhorred. — III. That the reality of the flesh in Christ is proved from the sacrifice of the Eucharist and the precept of almsgiving.

Page

running head: (SERM)O XCI. 450 (the head SERMO XCI. runs across the page over cols 449–450)
marginal letters: A ‹sollicitissima meditatio›; B ‹abstinere jubet (synopsis)›; C ‹riora purificet›; D ‹beside footnote (e), at in praesenti sermone›
old-edition numerals: 355 before ‹SERMO XCI›
signature: none
other: none

PL 54:451

non in sola castigatione corporum, nec in diminutione tantum habeatur escarum. Majora enim virtutis istius bona ad illam animae pertinent castitatem. quae non solum carnis concupiscentias conterit, sed etiam mundanae sapientiae vana contemnit, dicente Apostolo: Videte ne quis vos decipiat per philosophiam et inanem fallaciam secundum traditionem hominum (Coloss. II, 8).

[…] is not to be held to consist only in the chastening of bodies, nor only in the reduction of food. For the greater goods of this virtue belong to that chastity of the soul which not only crushes the lusts of the flesh but also despises the vanities of worldly wisdom, as the Apostle says: See that no one deceives you through philosophy and empty deceit according to the tradition of men (Col. 2:8).

CAP. II. — Continendum ergo est a cibis, sed multo magis ab erroribus jejunandum: ut mens nulli carnali dedita voluptati, nullius sit captiva mendacii: quia sicut in praeteritis, ita etiam in nostris diebus non desunt veritatis inimici qui intra catholicam Ecclesiam movere audeant bella civilia, ut in consensum impiorum dogmatum imperitos quosque ducentes, sibi glorientur accrescere quos a Christi corpore potuerint separare. Quid enim tam adversatur prophetis, tam repugnat Evangeliis, tam denique est apostolicis rebelle doctrinis, quam in Domino Jesu Christo ex Maria genito, et sempiterno Patri intemporaliter coaeterno, unam et singularem praedicare naturam? Quae si hominis tantum intelligenda est, ubi est quae salvat Deitas? si tantummodo Dei, ubi est quae salvatur humanitas? Fides autem catholica, quae omnibus resistit erroribus, etiam simul istas impietates refutat, damnans Nestorium divina ab homine dividentem, detestans Eutychen in divinis humana vacuantem: quoniam veri Dei Filius Deus verus, unitatem et aequalitatem habens cum Patre, et cum Spiritu sancto, idem verus homo esse

CHAP. II. — So we must abstain from foods, but much more must we fast from errors: so that the mind, given over to no carnal pleasure, may be the captive of no falsehood: because, as in times past, so also in our own days there is no lack of enemies of the truth who dare to stir up civil wars within the Catholic Church, so that, leading all the unlearned into agreement with impious doctrines, they may boast of growing by those whom they have been able to separate from the body of Christ. For what is so contrary to the prophets, so repugnant to the Gospels, so rebellious, finally, against the apostolic teachings, as to preach in the Lord Jesus Christ, born of Mary and timelessly coeternal with the everlasting Father, one single nature? If this is to be understood as of man only, where is the Godhead that saves? if only of God, where is the manhood that is saved? But the Catholic faith, which resists all errors, refutes these impieties too at one stroke, condemning Nestorius, who divides the divine from the man, and abhorring Eutyches, who empties the human out into the divine: since the Son of the true God, true God, having unity and equality with the Father and with the Holy Spirit, the same, to be true man

Editors' notes and page, col. 451

Footnotes

(a) ‹in diminutione tantum› · printed under col 451

Editi ante Quesn., habetur. Duo memorata Lectionaria ut in textu.

The editions before Quesnel, habetur. The two Lectionaries mentioned [read] as in the text.

(b) ‹habeatur escarum› · printed under col 451

Quesnellus in margine et cod. Bergom., Major enim virtus istius boni... pertinet.

Quesnel in the margin, and the Bergamo codex, Major enim virtus istius boni... pertinet.

Vulgati, inter. Correximus ex prima editione et nostris codicibus.

The printed editions, inter. We have corrected from the first edition and our codices.

(d) ‹dogmatum imperitos› · printed under col 451

Prima editio et cod. Bon., quosdam. Mox cod.. Bergom., pro accrescere, habet adhaerescere.

The first edition and the Bonifatian codex, quosdam. Soon after, the Bergamo codex has adhaerescere for accrescere.

(e) ‹praedicare naturam?› · printed under col 451

Ita cum Quesnello laudatus cod. Venetus. Anteriores editiones cum aliis codd., Quia, et ita etiam in tractatu contra Eutychianos cap. 3, qui in appendice edetur.

So, with Quesnel, the Venice codex cited above. The earlier editions with other codices, Quia; and so also in the treatise against the Eutychians, ch. 3, which will be published in the appendix.

(f) ‹detestans Eutychen› · printed under col 451

Quesnellus, divinis. Praepositionem in ex anterioribus editis et codd. Bergom. et Veneto revocavimus; Eutyches enim, qui Christo non Divinitatem, sed veram humanitatem negavit, non divinis humana vacuasse, sed in divinis vacuasse humana dicendus est. Tractatus etiam contra Eutychianos habet, in divinis.

Quesnel, divinis. We have restored the preposition in from the earlier editions and the Bergamo and Venice codices; for Eutyches, who denied to Christ not the Godhead but true manhood, must be said not to have emptied the human by the divine, but to have emptied the human out into the divine. The treatise against the Eutychians also has in divinis.

Page

running head: 451 S. LEONIS MAG(NI) (the head runs across the page over cols 451–452)
marginal letters: A ‹simi, non in sola›; B ‹corpore potuerint separare›; C ‹beside footnote (a)›; D ‹beside footnote (g), at nellianam praecessere›
old-edition numerals: 356 after ‹in praeteritis,›
signature: none
other: footnotes (g)–(j), printed under col 451, have their calls in col 452 and are set in n452

PL 54:452

dignatus est, nec conceptu Virginis matris est sejunctus a carne nec partu: sic humanitatem sibi uniens, ut Deus incommutabiliter permaneret; sic Deitatem homini impertiens, ut eam glorificatione non consumeret, sed augeret. Qui enim factus est forma servi, forma Dei esse non destitit, nec alter cum altero, sed unus in utroque est: ut ex quo Verbum caro factum est (Joan. I, 14), nullis dispensationum varietatibus fides nostra turbetur; sed sive in miraculis virtutum, sive in contumeliis passionum, et Deum qui homo est, et hominem credamus esse qui Deus est.

[…] deigned, and was not separated from the flesh either in the conception of the Virgin mother or in the birth: so uniting manhood to Himself that He remained unchangeably God; so imparting Godhead to the man that He did not consume it by glorification but increased it. For He Who was made [man] in the form of a servant did not cease to be in the form of God, nor is He one with another, but one in both: so that, from the time that the Word was made flesh (John 1:14), our faith may be disturbed by no variations of the dispensations; but whether in the miracles of His mighty works or in the insults of His sufferings, we may believe both that He Who is man is God, and that He Who is God is man.

CAP. III. — Hanc confessionem, dilectissimi, toto corde promentes impia haereticorum commenta respuite, ut jejunia vestra et eleemosynae nullius erroris contagio polluantur; tunc enim et sacrificii munda est oblatio, et misericordiae sancta largitio, quando ii qui ista dependunt, quod operantur intelligunt. Nam dicente Domino: Nisi manducaveritis carnem Filii hominis, et biberitis ejus sanguinem, non habebitis vitam in vobis (Joan. VI, 54), sic sacrae mensae communicare debetis, ut nihil prorsus de veritate corporis Christi et sanguinis ambigatis. Hoc enim ore sumitur quod fide creditur: et frustra ab illis Amen respondetur, a quibus contra id quod accipitur, disputatur. Dicente autem propheta: Beatus quis intelligit super egenum et pauperem (Ps. XL, 1), ille circa pauperes vestimentorum et ciborum laudabilis distributor est, qui se Christum in indigentibus et vestire novit et pascere: quoniam ipse

CHAP. III. — Bringing forth this confession, dearly beloved, with your whole heart, reject the impious fabrications of the heretics, so that your fasts and alms may be polluted by the contagion of no error; for then both the offering of the sacrifice is clean and the bestowal of mercy holy, when those who pay out these things understand what they are doing. For since the Lord says: Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you will not have life in you (John 6:54), you ought so to communicate at the sacred table as to have no doubt whatever about the reality of the body and blood of Christ. For that is taken by the mouth which is believed by faith: and in vain do those respond Amen who argue against that which is received. And since the prophet says: Blessed is he who understands concerning the needy and the poor (Ps. 40:1), that man is a praiseworthy distributor of clothing and food to the poor who knows that in the needy he is clothing and feeding Christ: since He Himself

Editors' notes and page, col. 452

Footnotes

(g) ‹Virginis matris› · printed under col 451

Addidimus verbum est ex editionibus quae Quesnellianam praecessere, et ex codd. Bergom. et Veneto. Mox ms. Bergom., nec partu sic humanitatem sibi uniens, ut Deus incommutabiliter non permaneret.

We have added the word est from the editions which preceded Quesnel's, and from the Bergamo and Venice codices. Soon after, the Bergamo ms., nec partu sic humanitatem sibi uniens, ut Deus incommutabiliter non permaneret.

(h) ‹ut jejunia› · printed under col 451

Quesnellus omittit vestra. Aliae editiones, jejunia et eleemosynae vestrae. Praetulimus lectionem cod. Veneti et duorum Vatt. Mox editi ante Quesn., contagione. Nostri codd., contagio.

Quesnel omits vestra. Other editions, jejunia et eleemosynae vestrae. We have preferred the reading of the Venice codex and of two Vatican ones. Soon after, the editions before Quesnel, contagione. Our codices, contagio.

(i) ‹qui ista dependunt› · printed under col 451

Al., quid operentur.

Others, quid operentur.

(j) ‹nihil prorsus› · printed under col 451, running on under col 452

Respicit S. pontifex Eutychianorum errorem, qui veritatem corporis et sanguinis Christi post unitionem Verbi in ipsa urbe Roma negasse traduntur serm. 96, cap. 1, his verbis: Sollicitudinem nostram latere non potuit quosdam Aegyptios praecipue negotiatores ad Urbem venisse, eaque quae Alexandriae sceleste ab haereticis sunt admissa defendere, asserentes solam Deitatis in Christo fuisse naturam, nec carnis humanae, quam sumpsit ex beata Maria Virgine, habuisse penitus veritatem. Id in Eutychis sensum, quem idcirco in divinis humana vacuantem hoc ipso in sermone capite antecedenti prodidit; et clarius in ep. 35, cap. 1: Qui unigenitum Dei Filium sic de utero beatae Virginis praedicat natum, ut humani quidem corporis speciem gesserit, sed humanae carnis veritas Verba unita non fuerit; seu, uti traditur ep. 31, ut quod formam servi gessit, quod nostri similis fuit atque conformis, quaedam nostrae carnis fuerit imago, non veritas. Praemonere igitur et praemunire S. pontifex voluit auditores ne quis forte ex hac zizania per Urbem disseminata de ea veritate veri corporis et sanguinis Christi ambigeret, quam in Eucharistia confitebantur et approbabant, dum Eucharistiam sumpturi ad verba sacerdotis dicentis, Corpus Christi et sanguis Christi, respondebant, Amen. Eodem pariter consilio doctrinam et praxim circa Eucharistiam ad Eutychianum errorem revincendum adhibuit etiam ep. 59, cap. 2: In quo hactenus desidiae tempore jacuere, ut nec auditu discerent, nec lectione cognoscerent, quod in Ecclesia Dei in omnium ore tam consonum est, ut nec ab infantium linguis veritas corporis et sanguinis Christi inter communionis sacramenta taceatur. Frustra autem Calvinistae haec Leonis testimonia deludere nisi, reponunt mentem ejus fuisse non dubitandum de veritate corporis et sanguinis Christi in se, non autem non dubitandum de veritate ejusdem in Eucharistia: nam palam S. pontifex affirmavit: Hoc enim ore sumitur quod fide creditur. Igitur si fide credendum est verum corpus et verus sanguis in Christo, idem verum corpus et verum sanguinem ore sumi non est ambigendum.

The holy pontiff has in view the error of the Eutychians, who are reported in sermon 96, ch. 1, to have denied in the very city of Rome the reality of the body and blood of Christ after the union with the Word, in these words: "It could not escape our solicitude that certain Egyptians, chiefly merchants, have come to the City and are defending the things wickedly committed by the heretics at Alexandria, asserting that there was in Christ only the nature of the Godhead, and that the flesh which He took from the blessed Virgin Mary had no reality at all." That this was Eutyches' meaning, he disclosed in the preceding chapter of this very sermon, where for that reason he calls him one who empties the human out into the divine; and more clearly in letter 35, ch. 1: "who so preaches the only-begotten Son of God to have been born of the womb of the blessed Virgin that He bore the appearance of a human body, but the reality of human flesh was not united to the Word"; or, as is stated in letter 31, "that what bore the form of a servant, what was like us and conformed to us, was a kind of image of our flesh, not its reality." The holy pontiff therefore wished to forewarn and fortify his hearers, lest anyone, from this tare sown through the City, should perhaps doubt that reality of the true body and blood of Christ which they confessed and approved in the Eucharist, when, about to receive the Eucharist, they answered Amen to the words of the priest saying, The body of Christ and the blood of Christ. With the same purpose he also employed the doctrine and practice concerning the Eucharist to refute the Eutychian error in letter 59, ch. 2: "In which they have lain until now in the time of sloth, so that they neither learned by hearing nor came to know by reading what is so harmonious in the mouth of all in the Church of God that not even by the tongues of infants is the reality of the body and blood of Christ passed over in silence among the sacraments of communion." But in vain do the Calvinists, having tried to elude these testimonies of Leo, reply that his meaning was that one must not doubt of the reality of the body and blood of Christ in itself, not, however, that one must not doubt of its reality in the Eucharist: for the holy pontiff openly affirmed: "For that is taken by the mouth which is believed by faith." Therefore if a true body and true blood in Christ is to be believed by faith, there is no doubt that the same true body and true blood is taken by the mouth.

(k) ‹ille circa› · printed under col 452

Cod. Venetus, inopes.

The Venice codex, inopes.

(l) ‹pascere: quoniam› · printed under col 452

Editiones Quesnello anteriores addunt particulam ut, quae tamen in plerisque nostris codicibus deest. Mox uni de fratribus his meis legitur in iisdem editionibus, non tamen in nostro Lectionario Veneto quod lectionem textus a Quesnello inductam confirmat.

The editions earlier than Quesnel add the particle ut, which, however, is lacking in most of our codices. Soon after, uni de fratribus his meis is read in the same editions, but not in our Venice Lectionary, which confirms the reading of the text introduced by Quesnel.