PL 54 · cols. 466–468

Leo the Great, Sermons

Sermon XCVI

hoc merebitur dilectio Dei dilectio proximi, ut nullas jam adversitates sentiat, nulla scandala pertimescat; sed finito omnium tentationum certamine, in tranquillissima Dei pace requiescat, per Dominum nostrum, qui cum Patre et Spiritu sancto vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

[…] love of God, love of neighbour, will merit this: that it should no longer feel any adversities, nor fear any stumbling-blocks; but, the struggle of all temptations ended, should rest in the most tranquil peace of God, through our Lord, Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

SERMO XCVI [Al. XCIII].

SERMON 96 [Otherwise 93].

Sive tractatus contra haeresim Eutychis; habitus Romae in basilica sanctae Anastasiae.

Or a treatise against the heresy of Eutyches; delivered at Rome in the basilica of Saint Anastasia.

CAP. I. — Sicut peritorum, dilectissimi, prudentiumque medicorum est, passiones infirmitatis humanae remediis praevenire, et quemadmodum saluti contraria declinentur ostendere, ita pastoralis officii est, ne Dominico gregi haeretica malignitas noceat, providere, et qualiter luporum et latronum improbitas sit cavenda demonstrare: quia numquam potuit haeretica impietas sic latere ut non a sanctis patribus nostris et semper deprehensa sit et jure damnata. Sollicitudidem itaque nostram, quam dilectioni vestrae impendimus, 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: quae impietas, et falsum hominem, et Deum dicit esse passibilem. Quod quo audeant animo quove concilio dubitare non possumus; quia enim ipsi a veritate Evangelii recesserunt et mendacia diaboli sunt secuti, alios quoque volunt socios suae perditionis efficere; et ideo paterna vos et fraterna sollicitudine commonemus ut inimicos catholicae fidei, hostes Ecclesiae, incarnationis Dominicae negatores, et instituto a sanctis apostolis Symbolo repugnantes, in nullum recipiatis consensionis affectum, dicente Apostolo: Haereticum hominem post unam et secundam correptionem devita, sciens quia qui hujusmodi est, subversus est, et delinquit proprio judicio condemnatus (Tit. III, 10, 11).

CHAP. I. — Just as it belongs to skilled and prudent physicians, dearly beloved, to forestall the afflictions of human infirmity with remedies, and to show how things contrary to health are to be avoided, so it belongs to the pastoral office to take care that heretical malice does no harm to the Lord's flock, and to show how the wickedness of wolves and robbers is to be guarded against: for heretical impiety has never been able to lie so hidden that it was not always both detected and justly condemned by our holy fathers. It has not escaped our solicitude, then, which we expend on your affection, that certain Egyptians, chiefly merchants, have come to the City, and are defending the things wickedly committed at Alexandria by the heretics, asserting that there was in Christ only the nature of the Godhead, and that the human flesh which He took from the blessed Virgin Mary had no reality at all: an impiety which says both that the man was false and that God is passible. With what mind or with what design they dare this we cannot be in doubt; for since they themselves have departed from the truth of the Gospel and have followed the lies of the devil, they wish to make others too partners of their perdition; and therefore with a father's and a brother's solicitude we admonish you to receive into no fellowship of agreement the enemies of the Catholic faith, the foes of the Church, the deniers of the Lord's incarnation, and those who fight against the Creed established by the holy apostles, as the Apostle says: A heretical man, after a first and a second correction, avoid, knowing that he who is such is subverted, and sins, being condemned by his own judgement (Titus 3:10–11).

Editors' notes and page, col. 466

Footnotes

(f) ‹hoc merebitur dilectio Dei› · printed under col 465

Vocem dilectio repetivimus ex tribus Lectionariis et alio cod. Vat.

We have repeated the word dilectio from three Lectionaries and another Vatican codex.

(g) ‹in tranquillissima Dei pace requiescat,› · printed under col 465, running on under col 466

Prima editio. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit, et regnat in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

The first edition: Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit, et regnat in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

(h) ‹Sive› (in the sub-caption of Sermo XCVI) · printed under col 466

Hunc tractatum in mss. collectionum 3, 4 et 5 tantum reperimus. In codicibus autem collect. 4 et 5 nomini sanctae Anastasiae additur virginis. Observandum praeterea est in omnibus mss. tractatus nomen huic uni sermoni esse praefixum. Id antiquam originem prodit. Sermones ab antiquis appellatos fuisse tractatus, ex Zenonis, Augustini aliorumque priscorum Patrum exemplis liquet.

We have found this treatise only in the mss. of collections 3, 4 and 5. In the codices of collections 4 and 5, moreover, virginis is added to the name of Saint Anastasia. It is further to be observed that in all the mss. the name tractatus is prefixed to this one sermon alone. This betrays an ancient origin. That sermons were called tractatus by the ancients is clear from the examples of Zeno, Augustine and other early Fathers.

(i) ‹sceleste ab haereticis› · printed under col 466

De caede Proterii Alexandrini episcopi haec intelligenda esse optime in marginali postilla observavit Quesnellus. Etsi enim variis in locis alia sceleste ab Eutychianis gesta fuerint, sola tamen Proterii caedes Alexandriae patrata (quod sciamus) indicari potuit.

Quesnel observed very well in a marginal note that these words are to be understood of the murder of Proterius, bishop of Alexandria. For although other things were wickedly done by the Eutychians in various places, yet only the murder of Proterius committed at Alexandria (so far as we know) could be pointed to.

Editors' prose

SYNOPSIS. — I. Monet ut symbolo apostolorum inhaerentes caveant ab Alexandrinis negotiatoribus unicam in Christo naturam Romae defendentibus. — II. Eutychem olim in aliis haereticis esse damnatum. Discernendum esse in Christo quid ex deitate sit, quid ex humanitate. — III. Cum damnatis haereticis non esse communicandum. Romanae fidei laus.

SYNOPSIS. — I. He warns them, holding fast to the Creed of the apostles, to beware of the Alexandrian merchants who were defending at Rome a single nature in Christ. — II. That Eutyches was condemned long ago in other heretics. That one must distinguish in Christ what is from the Godhead and what from the manhood. — III. That there must be no communion with condemned heretics. Praise of the Roman faith.

Page

running head: 465 SERMO XCVI. 466 (page spanning cols 465–466)
marginal letters: A ‹hoc merebitur dilectio Dei›; B ‹CAP. I. — Sicut peritorum›; C ‹veritatem: quae impietas›; D ‹Amen.› (in the footnote block, the end of note (g))
old-edition numerals: 373 after ‹sceleste ab haereticis›
signature: none
other: the caption SERMO XCVI [Al. XCIII]. and its italic sub-caption are printed in col 466 only, centred in the column, followed by the italic synopsis.

PL 54:467

CAP. II. — Propria enim pertinacia perit. et sua a Christo discedit insania, qui eam impietatem per quam ante se multos scit periisse sectatur, et religiosum sibi atque catholicum putat id quod sanctorum Patrum judicio et in Photini perfidia, et in Manichaei dementia, et in Apollinaris insania, constat esse damnatum: ut adhuc quasi novae et necdum damnatae in perniciem animarum suarum consentiant pravitati, qui incarnationis Dominicae denegant sacramentum.

CHAP. II. — For he perishes by his own obstinacy, and departs from Christ by his own madness, who follows that impiety through which he knows that many before him have perished, and thinks that to be religious and Catholic which by the judgement of the holy Fathers is known to have been condemned both in the faithlessness of Photinus, and in the dementia of Mani, and in the madness of Apollinaris: so that, to the ruin of their own souls, those who deny the mystery of the Lord's incarnation still consent to the depravity as though it were new and not yet condemned.

Quasi aliud tota evangelica lectione doceamur quam hoc uno divinae misericordiae sacramento humanum genus in iis qui credunt esse salvatum: quod unigenitus Dei Filius, aequalis per omnia Patri, nostrae assumptione substantiae, manens quod erat, dignatus est esse quod non erat, verus scilicet homo, verus Deus, qui absque cujusquam sorde peccati, integram sibi nostram perfectamque naturam veritate et carnis et animae univit, et intra uterum beatae Virginis matris Spiritus sancti virtute conceptus, nec editionem partus, nec primordia fastidivit infantiae: ut Verbum Dei Patris humanam sibi inesse substantiam, et deitatis potentia, et carnis infirmitate loqueretur, de corpore habens corporeas actiones, et spiritales de deitate virtutes. Humanum quippe est esurire, et sitire, et dormire; humanum est metuere, flere, tristari; humanum denique est crucifigi, mori, atque sepeliri: sed divinum est super mare ambulare, aquas in vina convertere, mortuos suscitare, mundum propria morte tremefacere,

As though we were taught anything else by the whole reading of the Gospel than that by this one mystery of the divine mercy the human race has been saved in those who believe: that the only-begotten Son of God, equal to the Father in all things, by the taking up of our substance, remaining what He was, deigned to be what He was not, namely true man, true God, Who without any stain of sin united to Himself our nature whole and perfect, in the reality both of flesh and of soul, and, conceived within the womb of the blessed Virgin Mother by the power of the Holy Spirit, disdained neither the bringing forth of birth nor the beginnings of infancy: so that the Word of God the Father might declare that human substance was in Him, both by the power of the Godhead and by the weakness of the flesh, having from the body bodily actions, and from the Godhead spiritual powers. For it is human to hunger, and to thirst, and to sleep; it is human to fear, to weep, to be sad; it is human, finally, to be crucified, to die, and to be buried: but it is divine to walk upon the sea, to turn water into wine, to raise the dead, to make the world tremble by His own death, […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 467

Footnotes

(a) ‹sanctorum Patrum judicio› · printed under col 467, running on under col 468

Haec a Leone fusius explicantur serm. 24, 47, et alibi; nec non epist. 109 et 165: in quo tamen animadvertendum est Photini haeresim ad Nestorianam, Manichaei autem et Apollinaris ad Eutychianam accedere.

These things are explained more fully by Leo in serm. 24, 47 and elsewhere; and also in epist. 109 and 165: in which, however, it is to be noticed that the heresy of Photinus comes close to the Nestorian, but those of Mani and Apollinaris to the Eutychian.

Page

running head: 467 APPENDIX AD PRIMAM PARTEM OPERUM S. LEONIS MAGNI. 468 (page spanning cols 467–468; the head already names the Appendix although Sermo XCVI ends on this page)
marginal letters: A ‹CAP. II. — Propria enim› (printed once in the gutter, shared with col 468); no B–D seen beside col 467
old-edition numerals: 374 after ‹nec editionem›
signature: none
other: below the footnote a full-width italic editors' note (beginning "Quesnellus duas praefationes") runs across both columns, then a rule and the full-width title APPENDIX / AD PRIMAM PARTEM / OPERUM S. LEONIS MAGNI / PRAEFATIO with its paragraphs 1–2; all of this follows the end of Sermo XCVI and is NOT in this unit (not set here). The geometry file for this page gives the gutter at x 235.5 pt, but the true gutter is about 244 pt; cols 467–468 were rendered with corrected crops.

PL 54:468

et cum vivificata super omnem coelorum altitudinem carne conscendere: ut qui hoc credunt dubitare non possint quid humanitati ascribere, quid debeant assignare deitati: quoniam in utroque unus est Christus, qui et Deitatis suae potentiam non amisit, et veritatem perfecti hominis nascendo suscepit.

[…] and to ascend with His flesh, brought to life, above all the height of the heavens: so that those who believe this cannot doubt what they ought to ascribe to the manhood and what to assign to the Godhead: since in both there is one Christ, Who both did not lose the power of His Godhead, and by being born took up the reality of perfect man.

CAP. III. — Hos ergo, dilectissimi, de quibus loquimur, tanquam venenum mortiferum fugite, exsecramini, declinate, et ab eorum colloquiis, si increpati a vobis corrigi noluerint, abstinete: quoniam, sicut scriptum est, Sermo eorum serpit ut cancer (II Tim. II, 17). Justo enim judicio ab Ecclesiae unitate rejectis nulla est tribuenda communio, quam non nostris odiis, sed suis sceleribus perdiderunt. Vos ergo, dilecti Deo et apostolico testimonio comprobati, quibus beatus apostolus Paulus doctor gentium dicit: Quoniam fides vestra annuntiatur in universo mundo, custodite in vobis quod tantum praedicatorem agnoscitis sensisse de vobis. Nemo vestrum efficiatur hujus laudis alienus, ut quos per tot saecula docente Spiritu sancto haeresis nulla violavit, ne Eutychianae quidem impietatis possint maculare contagia. Confidimus autem quod protectio Dei corda vestra fidemque custodiat: ut cui hactenus fideliter obedistis, in aeternum perseverante catholicae fidei observantia placeatis, per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

CHAP. III. — These men, then, dearly beloved, of whom we speak, flee as a deadly poison, execrate, avoid, and, if when rebuked by you they refuse to be corrected, abstain from conversation with them: since, as it is written, Their speech creeps like a cancer (2 Tim. 2:17). For to those cast out from the unity of the Church by a just judgement no communion is to be granted, which they have lost not by our hatreds but by their own crimes. You, then, beloved of God and approved by apostolic testimony, to whom the blessed apostle Paul, the teacher of the Gentiles, says: For your faith is proclaimed in the whole world, keep in yourselves what you recognize that so great a preacher thought of you. Let none of you become a stranger to this praise, so that those whom, through so many ages, under the teaching of the Holy Spirit, no heresy has violated, not even the contagion of the Eutychian impiety may be able to stain. And we trust that the protection of God will guard your hearts and your faith: so that, by an observance of the Catholic faith persevering for ever, you may please Him Whom you have hitherto faithfully obeyed, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Editors' notes and page, col. 468

Footnotes

(a) continued from col 467, set in n467.

Page

running head: 467 APPENDIX AD PRIMAM PARTEM OPERUM S. LEONIS MAGNI. 468 (page spanning cols 467–468)
marginal letters: A ‹facere, et cum vivificata›; B ‹Vos ergo, dilecti Deo›; C ‹nam accedere.› (in the footnote block, the tail of note (a) of col 467)
old-edition numerals: (none)
signature: none
other: Sermo XCVI, and this unit, end at "per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen." in the upper half of col 468. Below it on the page: the tail of note (a) of col 467; a full-width italic editors' note ("Quesnellus duas praefationes … in fine ejusdem adjiciemus.") on the two prefaces and the allocution that Quesnel ascribed to Leo; a rule; then the full-width title APPENDIX AD PRIMAM PARTEM OPERUM S. LEONIS MAGNI, PRAEFATIO, and its §§ 1–2 (the start of the editors' admonition on the doubtful sermons). None of this after "Amen." is set in this unit.