But those who do not preach chastely, about whom the Apostle laments. But what does he say? So what? As long as, in every way, whether for a pretext or in truth, Christ is preached. Therefore, he allowed there to be hired hands. The shepherd preaches Christ in truth, the hired hand preaches Christ for a pretext, seeking something else. Nonetheless, both preach Christ, and both preach Christ. Listen to the voice of the shepherd Paul: whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached. The shepherd himself wanted to have the hired hand. They do what they can, they are useful as far as they can be. But when the Apostle sought out other purposes, for the weak to imitate his ways: I sent to you, he says, Timothy, who will remind you of my ways. And what does he say? I sent a shepherd to remind you of my ways; that is, who walks just as I walk. And sending the shepherd, what does he say? For I have no one of like mind, who will genuinely care for you. Were there not many with him? But what follows? For all seek their own, not the things of Jesus Christ; that is: I wished to send you a shepherd; for there are many hired hands, but it was not fitting to send a hired hand. For performing other tasks and businesses, the hired hand is sent: but for those tasks which Paul then desired, a shepherd was necessary. And he scarcely found one shepherd among many hired hands: because there are few shepherds, many hired hands. But what is said of the hired hands? Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But what does the Apostle say of the shepherd? Whoever purifies himself from such things will be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, useful to the Lord, prepared for every good work. Not prepared for some tasks, and unprepared for others; but prepared for every good work. These things I have said about the shepherds.
The fleeing hireling, Donatists, wolves, and robbers.
But now we will speak about the hired hands. The hired hand, when he sees the wolf lying in wait for the sheep, flees. The Lord said this. Why? Because he does not care for the sheep. Therefore, the hired hand is useful only as long as he does not see the wolf, as long as he does not see the thief and robber; but when he sees them, he flees. And who among the hired hands does not flee from the Church when he sees the wolf and the robber? Wolves are abundant, robbers are abundant. They are the ones who climb up by another way. Who are these who climb up? Those who, from the party of Donatus, wish to plunder the sheep of Christ, they climb up by another way. They do not enter through Christ: because they are not humble. Because they are proud, they climb up. What does it mean: they climb up? They are exalted. From where do they climb up? By another way: from where they wish to be called of a party. Those who are not in unity, are of the other party, and they climb up from that very party, that is, they are exalted, and they wish to steal the sheep. See how they climb up. They say, "We sanctify, we justify, we make people righteous." See where they have climbed up. But he who exalts himself will be humbled. The Lord our God is able to humble them. But the wolf is the devil: he lies in wait to deceive, and those who follow him; for it has been said, that dressed in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. If the hired hand sees someone speaking depraved things, or having harmful thoughts for their soul, or doing something wicked and obscene, and because he seems to have some significant role in the Church, from which the hired hand hopes for benefits, and when he sees the person dying in sin, he sees them following the wolf, he sees their throat being dragged by the bite to punishment; he does not tell them: "You sin"; he does not rebuke them, lest he lose his benefits. Therefore, this is: When he sees the wolf, he flees; he does not say to them: "You commit a crime." This is not a flight of the body, but of the soul. The one whom you see standing in body, flees in spirit when he sees the sinner, and does not tell him: "You sin"; and even takes counsel with him.
How can a grape be gathered from thorns?
My brothers, does not a presbyter or bishop sometimes ascend and say nothing from a higher place except not to steal others' goods, not to commit fraud, not to commit crimes? They cannot say otherwise, who sit on the chair of Moses, and it speaks of them, not they of it. What then is this: Do they gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles? and: Every tree is known by its fruit? Can a Pharisee speak good things? A Pharisee is a thorn: how do I read a grape from a thorn? Because you, Lord, have said: What they say, do; but what they do, do not do. Do you command me to pluck a grape from thorns, when you have said: Do they gather grapes from thorns? The Lord answers you: I did not command you to gather a grape from thorns; but observe, pay close attention, lest perhaps, as it often happens, the vine, as it wanders over the ground, gets entwined in thorns. For we sometimes find this, my brothers, a vine placed over a fig tree, because it has a thorny hedge there, it extends its tendrils, and it inserts itself into the thorny hedge, and a cluster hangs among the thorns; and he who sees the cluster plucks it, not from the thorns, but from the vine, which is intertwined with the thorns. So then they are thorny; but sitting in the chair of Moses, the vine entwines them, and clusters hang from them, that is, good words, good precepts. You pluck the grape, the thorn does not sting you, when you read: What they say, do; but what they do, do not do. However, the thorn stings you, if you do what they do. Therefore, to pluck the grape and not cling to the thorns: What they say, do; but what they do, do not do. Their deeds are thorns, their words are grapes, but from the vine, that is, from the chair of Moses.
Hired men fleeing, while they favor the wicked. Augustine is not a hired man.
Therefore, they flee when they see the wolf, when they see the thief. However, I began to say this because from a higher place they cannot say anything except: Do good, do not swear falsely, do not defraud, do not deceive anyone. But sometimes they live in such a way that advice is sought from the bishop about taking someone else's estate, and such advice is requested from him. This sometimes happens to us, and we say it having experienced it: for we would not believe it otherwise. Many people seek bad advice from us, advice to lie, to deceive; thinking they are pleasing us. But in the name of Christ, if the Lord wills what we say, none such has tempted us and found in us what they wanted. Because if He who called us wills it, we are shepherds, not hirelings. But what does the Apostle say? "It means little to me that I am judged by you or by a human day; but neither do I judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself, yet I am not thereby justified. The one who judges me is the Lord." Therefore, my conscience is not good because you praise it. For what do you praise, what you do not see? Let him praise who sees; let him also correct, if he sees anything there that offends his eyes. For we do not profess to be perfectly healthy; but we beat our chest and say to God: Be merciful, that I may not sin. Yet I think, as I speak before Him, seeking nothing else from you but your salvation; and we often groan in the sins of our brethren, and we suffer deeply, and we are tortured in spirit, and sometimes we rebuke them; indeed, we never fail to rebuke them. All who remember what I say are witnesses as to how often the sinful brethren have been rebuked by us, and sternly rebuked.
Concerning the sheep, an account which the shepherd must render.
I am now considering our counsel with Your Holiness. In the name of Christ, you are the people of God, you are the catholic people, you are members of Christ: you are not divided from unity. You communicate with the members of the Apostles, you communicate with the memories of the holy martyrs, spread throughout the earth, and you belong to our care, that we might give a good account of you. However, our whole reason, which it is, you know. Lord, you know that I have spoken, you know that I have not been silent, you know with what mind I have spoken, you know that I have wept to you, when I spoke, and was not heard. This, I think, is our whole reason. For the Holy Spirit made us secure through the prophet Ezekiel. You know that reading about the watchman: Son of man, he says, I have appointed you as a watchman for the house of Israel; if, when I say to the impious: Impious, you shall die by death, you do not say it; this is, therefore, why I tell you to say; if you do not announce: And the sword comes, and takes him away, that is, what I have threatened to the sinner; indeed, that impious one will die in his impiety, but I will require his blood from the hand of the watchman. Why? Because he did not speak: But if the watchman sees the sword coming, and blows the trumpet, so that he may flee; and he does not take heed; that is, he does not correct himself, so that he is not found in the punishment that God threatens; and the sword comes, and takes someone; indeed, that impious one died in his iniquity: But you, he says, have delivered your soul. And in that place of the Gospel, what else does he say to the servant? When he said: Lord, I knew you were a harsh or hard man, because you reap where you did not sow, and gather where you did not scatter; and fearing, I went and hid your talent in the earth: behold, you have what is yours. And he says: Wicked and lazy servant, because you knew I was harsh and hard, reaping where I did not sow, and gathering where I did not scatter, my very greed should have taught you that I seek profit from my money. Therefore, it was fitting for you to give my money to the moneychangers, and I, coming, would have collected what is mine with interest. Did it say: To give and to collect? Therefore, brothers, we give; he will come who collects. Pray, that he may find us prepared.