Luke 12 · The Lantern

Multis autem turbis circumstantibus, ita ut se invicem conculcarent, cœpit dicere ad discipulos suos: Attendite a fermento pharisæorum, quod est hypocrisis.

When leaven is praised it is as composing the bread of life, but when blamed it signifies a lasting and bitter maliciousness.

And again in another place our Lord taught His disciples to beware of the cunning of the Pharisees and Sadducees, saying, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees, and of the leaven of Herod;" and thou mayest know that He here calleth cunning and wickedness by the name of leaven.

Now when great crowds were standing around, etc. After the Lord rebuked in the Pharisees the craftiness of malignant pretense, here he invites the disciples to caution against the pretense that has been rebuked. And since duplicity of this kind is caused by love that wrongly humbles, or love that wrongly inflames, therefore this part is divided into two.

Nihil autem opertum est, quod non reveletur: neque absconditum, quod non sciatur.

Since, then, He had censured their hypocrisy, which covered the secrets of the heart, and obscured with superficial offices the mysteries of unbelief, because (while holding the key of knowledge) it would neither enter in itself, nor permit others to enter in, He therefore adds, "There is nothing covered that shall not be revealed; neither hid, which shall not be known," in ord…

Nothing, however, is covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. And how in the present age does the hypocrisy of many long remain hidden? Therefore, it must be understood about the future time, when God will judge the hidden things of men.

Second, with regard to the certitude of the cause rendering credible information, he adds: Nothing however is covered that shall not be revealed, nor hidden that shall not be known: so that by covered is understood knowledge lying hidden in the intellect, and by hidden, delight lurking in the affections: both of which are manifest to God, according to that passage of Jeremiah 1…

Quoniam quæ in tenebris dixistis, in lumine dicentur: et quod in aurem locuti estis in cubiculis, prædicabitur in tectis.

The Gnostic, then, is impressed with the closest likeness, that is, with the mind of the Master; which He being possessed of, commanded and recommended to His disciples and to the prudent.

Or this is addressed to the Pharisees; as if He said, O Pharisees, what you have spoken in darkness, that is, all your endeavours to tempt me in the secrets of your hearts, shall be heard in the light, for I am the light, and in My light shall be known whatsoever your darkness devises.

And what is more, for greater confusion they will be made manifest even to all; on account of which he adds: Because what you have said in darkness shall be spoken in the light. He says this with regard to manifestation in respect of sight.

Dico autem vobis amicis meis: Ne terreamini ab his qui occidunt corpus, et post hæc non habent amplius quid faciant.

Wherefore, brethren, leaving willingly our sojourn in this present world, let us do the will of Him that called us, and not fear to depart out of this world.

To put it in another light, as being his friends, we should not fear death but rather imitate the faith of the holy ancestors. When he was tempted, the patriarch Abraham offered his only-begotten son Isaac, considering that God was able to raise him up even from the dead. What terror of death can assail us, now that life has abolished death?

It is necessary that we fear God. Whence in the Gospel: "Do not fear those who kill the body and after this have nothing more that they can do; but I will show you whom you should fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has power to cast into gehenna." I would prefer to be in the greatest punishment of this world for seven thousand years than to endure the least eternal punish…

Ostendam autem vobis quem timeatis: timete eum qui, postquam occiderit, habet potestatem mittere in gehennam: ita dico vobis, hunc timete.

But as to the threats of the devil, fear them not at all, for he is powerless as the sinews of a dead man are powerless. Give ear to me, then, and fear Him who has all power, both to save and destroy, and keep His commandments, and ye will live to God.

Fear him who, after he has killed, has the power to cast into Gehenna. For there are two kinds of persecutors: one openly raging, the other deceitfully and fraudulently flattering: wishing to arm and instruct us against both, the Savior commands us above to beware of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, and here not to fear the slaughter of executioners, because evidently after deat…

Nonne quinque passeres veneunt dipondio, et unus ex illis non est in oblivione coram Deo?

Literally, hereby is signified the quickness of the Divine foresight, which reaches even to the least things. But mystically, the five sparrows justly represent the spiritual senses, which have perception of high and heavenly things: beholding God, hearing the Divine voice, tasting of the bread of life, smelling the perfume of Christ's anointing, handling the Word of Life.

To bestow yet another means of comfort on our minds, he forcibly added that five sparrows are scarcely perhaps worth a penny, and yet God does not forget even one of them. He also said that the separate hairs of your head are all numbered. Consider how great care he takes of those that love him.

(ordin.) Now that which in number is one is in weight an ass, but that which is two is a dipondius.

sed et capilli capitis vestri omnes numerati sunt. Nolite ergo timere: multis passeribus pluris estis vos.

When our Lord said, "not a hair," he was not thinking of length but of the number of hairs, as we see from these words, "The hairs of your head are numbered." I still think that nothing that was a natural part of the body should be lost.

But even the hairs of your head are all numbered, not actually in the act of counting, but understood in the capacity of knowledge. For God does not direct a watchful solicitude in tedious counting, but to whom all things are known, as if all things were numbered. Nevertheless, they are well said to be numbered, because we count the things we want to keep.

For the expression of which he adds: But even the hairs of your head are all numbered: from which it is given to understand that he has the greatest care for man.

Dico autem vobis: Omnis quicumque confessus fuerit me coram hominibus, et Filius hominis confitebitur illum coram angelis Dei:

On martyrdom the Lord hath spoken explicitly, and what is written in different places we bring together. "But I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess in Me before men, the Son of man also shall confess before the angels of God; but whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I deny before the angels." "Whosoever shall be ashamed of Me or of My words in this adulterous and sinf…

(ubi sup.) Both in condemnation a greater punishment is announced, and in blessing a greater reward; as if He said, Now you confess and deny, but I then, for a far greater recompense of good and evil awaits them in the world to come. There are other modes also of denying which St. Paul describes, saying, They profess that they know God, but in works they deny him. (Tit.

But I say to you: Everyone, etc. After he has urged them to guard against deceitfulness and to repel timidity, here thirdly he urges them to preserve truthfulness. For the truthfulness of confession is opposed to the deceitfulness of dissimulation.

qui autem negaverit me coram hominibus, negabitur coram angelis Dei.

These therefore will be they whom He forewarns above not to be afraid of being only killed; and this forewarning He offers, in order that He might subjoin a clause on the necessity of confessing Him: "Every one that denieth me before men shall be denied before God" -by Him, of course, who would have confessed him, if he had only confessed God.

Now they who deny are first indeed those who in time of persecution renounce the faith. Besides these, there are heretical teachers also, and their disciples.

From which appears the equity of retribution with respect to those who confess: and so that nothing be lacking, the equity with respect to those who deny is shown, when he adds: But he who shall have denied me before men shall be denied before the Angels of God, namely when the Lord will say that word from Matthew twenty-five: "I know you not," etc.

Et omnis qui dicit verbum in Filium hominis, remittetur illi: ei autem qui in Spiritum Sanctum blasphemaverit, non remittetur.

After deterring His disciples from denial of Himself, He adds an admonition to fear blasphemy: "Whosoever shall speak against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but whosoever shall speak against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him." Now, if both the remission and the retention of sin savour of a judicial God, the Holy Ghost, who is not to be blasphemed, will bel…

But if our Saviour means to imply, that if any injurious word is spoken by us against a common man, we shall obtain pardon if we repent, there is no difficulty in the passage, for since God is by nature merciful, He restores those who are willing to repent. But if the words are referred to Christ how is he not to be condemned who speaks a word against Him?

Secondly, he admonishes to decline falsehood on account of the irremissibility of blasphemy, which, although it is remissible when committed through ignorance, is nevertheless irremissible when committed from certain malice. On account of which he says: And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him.

Cum autem inducent vos in synagogas, et ad magistratus, et potestates, nolite solliciti esse qualiter, aut quid respondeatis, aut quid dicatis.

I would therefore beseech you, Pammachius, as a foremost lover of learning, and Marcella, as an outstanding examplar of Roman virtue, men who are bound together by faith and blood, to lend aid to my efforts by your prayers, in order that our Lord and Savior might in His own cause and by His mind make answer through my mouth.

(inter.) Now he says, how, with respect to the manner of speaking, what, with respect to the manner of intention. How ye shall answer to those who ask, or what ye shall say to those who wish to learn.

Spiritus enim Sanctus docebit vos in ipsa hora quid oporteat vos dicere.

Ait autem ei quidam de turba: Magister, dic fratri meo ut dividat mecum hæreditatem.

At ille dixit illi: Homo, quis me constituit judicem, aut divisorem super vos?

Well then does He avoid earthly things who had descended for the sake of divine things, and deigns not to be a judge of strifes and arbiter of laws, having the judgment of the quick and dead and the recompensing of works. You should consider then, not what you seek, but from whom you ask it; and you should not eagerly suppose that the greater are to be disturbed by the less.

And unto another, who by the perfection of the doctrine of Christ wished to satisfy his lust for oppression, He answered, "Who hath made Me a judge and a ruler over you?" And unto another who, in His name, wished to gather together riches, and who was scheming that by the mighty deeds, and the signs, and the wonders, which he wrought by His power, he might become the owner of p…

And since, as Bede says in the Gloss, "Christ is not the God of dissension, but of peace and unity," therefore he refutes the aforesaid petition, when he adds: But he said to him, namely Jesus: Man, who appointed me a judge or a divider over you?

Dixitque ad illos: Videte, et cavete ab omni avaritia: quia non in abundantia cujusquam vita ejus est ex his quæ possidet.

But He does not leave us without instruction: for having found, so to speak, a seasonable opportunity, He frames a profitable and saving discourse; and protesting as it were against them, declares, "Take heed, and keep yourselves from all covetousness." He showed us that pitfall of the devil, covetousness, a thing hateful to God, and which the wise Paul even calls idolatry, per…

Therefore He also added these words: "Take heed, and beware of covetousness," urging us to avoid covetousness as if it were some diabolical pit. And to whom did He say this: "Take heed, and beware of covetousness"? To these two brothers.

Second, with respect to the dissuasion from avarice, he adds: And he said to them: Take heed and beware of all avarice. Take heed, namely, so as to be provident, and beware, so as to be cautious: Ephesians 5: "See, brethren, how you walk cautiously, not as unwise, but as wise," etc.

Dixit autem similitudinem ad illos, dicens: Hominis cujusdam divitis uberes fructus ager attulit:

Accordingly he has not forbidden us to be rich in the right way, but only a wrongful and insatiable grasping of money. For "property gained unlawfully is diminished." "There are some who sow much and gain the more, and those who hoard become impoverished." Of them it is written: "He distributed, he gave to the poor, his righteousness endures for ever." For he who sows and gathe…

"The redemption of a man's soul is his riches." This silly fool of a man did not have that kind of riches. Obviously he was not redeeming his soul by giving relief to the poor. He was hoarding perishable crops. I repeat, he was hoarding perishable crops, while he was on the point of perishing because he had handed out nothing to the Lord before whom he was due to appear.

And he spoke a parable to them, saying, etc. Here, second, he calls back from the anxiety of avarice by a terrible example; concerning which three things are introduced, namely the occasion of vain security, the conception of vain security, and the removal of vain security.

et cogitabat intra se dicens: Quid faciam, quia non habeo quo congregem fructus meos?

What does the rich man do, surrounded by a great supply of many blessings beyond all numbering? In distress and anxiety, he speaks the words of poverty. He says, "What should I do?" … He does not look to the future. He does not raise his eyes to God. He does not count it worth his while to gain for the mind those treasures that are above in heaven.

Look also at the rich man's pleasures. "What shall I do?" Are these not the very same words that the poor man also utters? What shall I do? I have nothing to eat, nothing to wear. Consider, if you will, the words of the rich man as well: "What shall I do? I have... nowhere... to store my" many "crops." What fine tranquility! The poor man too says: what shall I do?

And because riches so make one secure that they render him anxious, therefore he adds: And he thought within himself saying: What shall I do, because I have no place where I may gather my fruits?

Et dixit: Hoc faciam: destruam horrea mea, et majora faciam: et illuc congregabo omnia quæ nata sunt mihi, et bona mea,

(ubi sup.) It was easy for him to say, I will open my barn, I will call together the needy, but he has no thought of want, only of amassing; for it follows, And he said, This will I do, I will pull down my barns. Thou doest well, for the storehouses of iniquity are worthy of destruction. Pull down thy barns, from which no one receives comfort. He adds, I will build greater.

Observe also in another respect the folly of his words, when he says, I will gather all my fruits, as if he thought that he had not obtained them from God, but that they were the fruits of his own labours.

And the reason for this is that he is compelled to deliberate, and therefore he adds: And he said: This I will do: I will pull down my barns and build greater ones, and there I will gather all my crops and my goods. The Gloss: "Behold, great anxiety from avarice," because there is anxiety about destroying what has been made and building anew.

et dicam animæ meæ: Anima, habes multa bona posita in annos plurimos: requiesce, comede, bibe, epulare.

(non occ.) Now if any one lives so as to die daily, seeing that our life is naturally uncertain, he will not sin, for the greater fear destroys very much pleasure, but the rich man on the contrary, promising to himself length of life, secks after pleasures, for he says, Rest, that is, from toil, eat, drink, and be merry, that is, with great luxury.

The devil, even in the midst of our efforts, does not relax his schemes. At certain periods of time, we must take care of the reenergizing of our strength. The mind, concerned with the goods of the present, can rejoice in the temperate weather and the fertile fields.

Secondly, as regards the conception of vain security through a foolish promise, there is added: And I will say to my soul, that is, to my animal nature; John twelve: "He who loves his soul will lose it." Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years: Revelation three: "You say: I am rich and made wealthy and have need of nothing" etc.; and Zechariah eleven: "Blessed be the L…

Dixit autem illi Deus: Stulte, hac nocte animam tuam repetunt a te: quæ autem parasti, cujus erunt?

Sic est qui sibi thesaurizat, et non est in Deum dives.

(Hom. 23. in Gen.) For here shalt thou leave those things, and not only reap no advantage from them, but carry a load of sins upon thy own shoulders. And these things which thou hast laid up will for the most part come into the hands of enemies, but of thee shall an account of them be required.

Thus it is for the one who treasures up for himself and is not rich toward God. If he who treasures up for himself and is not rich toward God is a fool and to be taken away in the night, then he who wishes to be rich toward God should not treasure up for himself, but distribute his possessions to the poor. Thus he will rightfully be considered wise and a son of the light.

And because this sentiment is common to all the avaricious, he therefore adds: So is everyone, who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.

Dixitque ad discipulos suos: Ideo dico vobis, nolite solliciti esse animæ vestræ quid manducetis, neque corpori quid induamini.

Wherefore neither are we to provide for ourselves costly clothing any more than variety of food. The Lord Himself, therefore, dividing His precepts into what relates to the body, the soul, and thirdly, external things, counsels us to provide external things on account of the body; and manages the body by the soul, and disciplines the soul, saying, "Take no thought for your life…

How carefully and with what great skill he brings the lives of the holy apostles to spiritual excellence. And with them he benefits us too, because he desires all humankind to be saved and to choose the wise and more excellent life.

And he said to his disciples, etc. Here now for the third time he calls back from the anxiety of avarice by an irrefragable argument, which is taken from a threefold genus of creature: first, from the rational creature; second, from the sensible creature, at: Consider the ravens; third, from the vegetative creature, at: Consider the lilies of the field.

Anima plus est quam esca, et corpus plus quam vestimentum.

Considerate corvos, quia non seminant, neque metunt, quibus non est cellarium, neque horreum, et Deus pascit illos. Quanto magis vos pluris estis illis?

And He adds a plain example of instruction: "Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them." "Are ye not better than the fowls?" Thus far as to food.

As before in raising our minds to spiritual boldness, He assured us by the example of the birds, which are counted of little worth, saying, Ye are of more value than many sparrows; so now also from the instance of birds, He conveys to us a firm and undoubting trust, saying, Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which neither have storehouse nor barn, and God feede…

Again, Luke 12: Consider the ravens etc.; The Gloss: "The saints are rightly compared to birds, who, doing nothing in the world nor laboring, desire only eternal things, already like the angels"; but the more one relinquishes these things, the more one is made like the angels: therefore etc.

Quis autem vestrum cogitando potest adjicere ad staturam suam cubitum unum?

Si ergo neque quod minimum est potestis, quid de ceteris solliciti estis?

Considerate lilia quomodo crescunt: non laborant, neque nent: dico autem vobis, nec Salomon in omni gloria sua vestiebatur sicut unum ex istis.

Similarly He enjoins with respect to clothing, which belongs to the third division, that of things external, saying, "Consider the lilies, how they spin not, nor weave. But I say unto you, that not even Solomon was arrayed as one of these." And Solomon the king plumed himself exceedingly on his riches.

It must also be noted that lilies are not generated in the roughness of mountains and in the untamedness of forests, but in the pleasantness of gardens.

Consider the lilies etc. Here now thirdly he takes an argument from plant life. And first he sets forth a sensible likeness, then he adds the application. He sets forth, therefore, the likeness when he says: Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither labor nor spin.

Si autem fœnum, quod hodie est in agro, et cras in clibanum mittitur, Deus sic vestit: quanto magis vos pusillæ fidei?

What, I ask, more graceful, more gay-coloured, than flowers? What, I say, more delightful than lilies or roses? "And if God so clothe the grass, which is to-day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O ye of little faith!"

Therefore, if lilies or angels are clothed with glory surpassing that of humans, we must not despair of God's mercy in us, to whom the Lord promises a similar appearance of angels through the grace of resurrection.

Then after the similitude he adds the adaptation and draws the conclusion: But if the grass, which is today in the field and tomorrow is cast into the oven, that is, quickly withers: Psalm: "Let them be as the grass of the housetops, which, before it is plucked up, has withered"; and James 1: "The sun rose with its burning heat and dried up the grass, and its flower fell, and t…

Et vos nolite quærere quid manducetis, aut quid bibatis: et nolite in sublime tolli:

Moreover, He Justly added, "Give us this day," seeing He had previously said, "Take no careful thought about the morrow, what ye are to eat." To which subject He also adapted the parable of the man who pondered on an enlargement of his barns for his forthcoming fruits, and on seasons of prolonged security; but that very night he dies.

It must however be observed, that He says not, Do not seek or take thought about meat, or drink, or raiment, but what ye shall eat or drink, in which He seems to me to reprove those who, despising the common food and clothing, seek for themselves either more delicate or coarser food and clothing than theirs with whom they live.

And do not you seek what you shall eat. Here fourthly he recalls from the solicitude of avarice through a desirable promise, concerning which three things are introduced: for he dissuades the solicitude of avarice and cupidity by promising sufficiency of provision, superexcellence of reward, and superabundance of treasure.

hæc enim omnia gentes mundi quærunt. Pater autem vester scit quoniam his indigetis.

"Wherefore I say, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for your body, what ye shall put on. For your life is more than meat, and your body than raiment." And again, "For your Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things." "But seek first the kingdom of heaven, and its righteousness," for these are the great things, and the things which are small and…

(ubi sup.) For to be careful about visible things is the part of those who possess no hope of a future life, no fear of judgment to come.

Therefore he adds: For all these things the nations of the world seek, because they have worldly wisdom: Baruch 3: "The sons of Agar, who sought out the prudence that is of the earth, the merchants of Merrha and Theman." But heavenly men ought not to be intent upon these things, because they are of the household of the supreme Father.

Verumtamen quærite primum regnum Dei, et justitiam ejus: et hæc omnia adjicientur vobis.

And your own gospel likewise has it in this wise: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and these things shall be added unto you." But to Esau the blessing promised is an earthly one, which he supplements with a heavenly, after the fatness of the earth, saying, "Thy dwelling shall be also of the dew of heaven.

Behold, we see, dearest brothers, how many of you have gathered for the feast of the martyr: you bend your knees, you beat your breasts, you utter words of prayer and confession, you wet your faces with tears. But consider, I ask, your petitions; see whether you are asking in the name of Jesus, that is, whether you are seeking the joys of eternal salvation.

On account of which he adds: But seek first the kingdom of God, as the principal object of intention; and all these things shall be added unto you, as provisions for the journey, because he who is prepared to give the kingdom will without doubt not deny food; he who is prepared to give eternal things will not deny temporal things.

Nolite timere pusillus grex, quia complacuit Patri vestro dare vobis regnum.

Vendite quæ possidetis, et date eleemosynam. Facite vobis sacculos, qui non veterascunt, thesaurum non deficientem in cælis: quo fur non appropriat, neque tinea corrumpit.

"Lay not up for yourselves, therefore, treasures on the earth, where moth and rust destroy, and thieves break through and steal," says the Lord, in reproach perchance of the covetous, and perchance also of those who are simply anxious and full of cares, and those too who indulge their bodies.

(Hom. 25. in Act.) For there is no sin which almsgiving does not avail to blot out. It is a salve adapted to ever wound. But almsgiving has to do not only with money, but with all matters also wherein man succours man, as when the physician heals, and the wise man gives counsel. (ubi sup.) For without alms it is impossible to see the kingdom.

Or, the thieves are heretics and evil spirits, who are bent upon depriving us of spiritual things. The moth which secretly frets the garments is envy, which mars good desires, and bursts the bonds of charity.

Ubi enim thesaurus vester est, ibi et cor vestrum erit.

For every man naturally dwells upon that which is the object of his desire, and thither he directs all his thoughts, where he supposes his whole interest to rest. If any one then has his whole mind and affections, which he calls the heart, set on things of this present life, he lives in earthly things.

Now this must not only be felt concerning love of money, but all the passions. Luxurious feasts are treasures; also the sports of the gay and the desires of the lover...

Now great effort must be made regarding where the treasure is placed, because the mind is also placed in the same place; therefore he adds: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Treasure is that which the mind principally loves, according to that passage in Matthew 13: "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden" etc.

Sint lumbi vestri præcincti, et lucernæ ardentes in manibus vestris,

et vos similes hominibus exspectantibus dominum suum quando revertatur a nuptiis: ut, cum venerit et pulsaverit, confestim aperiant ei.

We ought "to have our loins girded: " in other words, we are to be free from the embarrassments of a perplexed and much occupied life; "to have our lights burning," that is, our minds kindled by faith, and resplendent with the works of truth. And thus "to wait for our Lord," that is, Christ.

(ubi sup.) But if a man has both of these, whosoever he be, nothing remains for him but that he should place his whole expectation on the coming of the Redeemer. Therefore it is added, And be ye like to men that wait for their Lord, when he will return from the wedding, &c.

Second, with regard to the solicitude of expectation in the heart, he adds: And you yourselves like men waiting for their lord, when he shall return from the wedding, that is, when he shall come to judgment, descending from heaven.

Beati servi illi quos, cum venerit dominus, invenerit vigilantes: amen dico vobis, quod præcinget se, et faciet illos discumbere, et transiens ministrabit illis.

"The pain of the stroke" means that inflicted at the beginning upon disobedient man in Adam, that is, death; which [stroke] the Lord will heal when He raises us from the dead, and restores the inheritance of the fathers, as Isaiah again says: "And thou shall be confident in the Lord, and He will cause thee to pass over the whole earth, and feed thee with the inheritance of Jaco…

Blessed are those servants whom the Lord will find watching when He comes. One watches who keeps the eyes of the mind open to the sight of the true light. One watches who fulfills by action what he has believed. One watches who drives the darkness of sluggishness and negligence away from himself. Hence Paul says: Awake to righteousness, and sin not (I Cor. XV).

(Dion. in Ep. ad Tit.) The "sitting down" is taken to be the repose from many labours, a life without annoyance, the divine conversation of those that dwell in the region of light enriched with all holy affections, and an abundant pouring forth of all gifts, whereby they are filled with joy.

Et si venerit in secunda vigilia, et si in tertia vigilia venerit, et ita invenerit, beati sunt servi illi.

Our Lord knew the proneness of human infirmity to sin, but because He is merciful, He docs not allow us to despair, but rather has compassion, and gives us repentance as a saving remedy. And therefore He adds, And if he shall come in the second watch, &c.

Or since the watches are the hours of the night which lull men to sleep, you must understand that there are also in our life certain hours which make us happy if we are found awake. Does any one seize your goods? Are your children dead? Are you accused?

(Severus.) Or, to the first watch belong those who live more carefully, as having gained the first step, but to the second, those who keep the measure of a moderate conversation, but to the third, those who are below these. And the same must be supposed of the fourth, and if it should so happen also of the fifth.

Hoc autem scitote, quoniam si sciret paterfamilias, qua hora fur veniret, vigilaret utique, et non sineret perfodi domum suam.

In the next parable also he makes a flagrant mistake, when he assigns to the person of the Creator that "thief, whose hour, if the father of the family had only known, he would not have suffered his house to be broken through." How can the Creator wear in any way the aspect of a thief, Lord as He is of all mankind?

But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. From this preceding analogy, an exhortation is also implied when it is said:

But know this, etc. Here thirdly he subjoins an incitement to watchfulness, which he introduces in this manner, namely by proposing a parabolic example and by concluding with the principal intent.

Et vos estote parati: quia qua hora non putatis, Filius hominis veniet.

Ait autem ei Petrus: Domine, ad nos dicis hanc parabolam, an et ad omnes?

That steward who should treat his fellow-servants well in his Lord's absence, would on his return be set as ruler over all his property; but he who should act otherwise should be severed, and have his portion with the unbelievers, when his lord should return on the day when he looked not for him, at the hour when he was not aware -even that Son of man, the Creator's Christ, not…

It was added also in their due season, because a benefit not conferred at its proper time is rendered vain, and loses the name of a benefit. The same bread is not equally coveted by the hungry man, and him that is satisfied. But with respect to this servant's reward for his stewardship, He adds, Blessed is that servant whom his Lord when he comes shall find so doing.

And Peter said to him. After he had invited all to vigilance in general, here he invites prelates in particular. This indeed he does in this order. For first he commends the vigilance of prelates: second, he reproves insolence, there: But if that servant shall say etc.; third, he aggravates negligence, there: But that servant who knew.

Dixit autem Dominus: Quis, putas, est fidelis dispensator, et prudens, quem constituit dominus supra familiam suam, ut det illis in tempore tritici mensuram?

And this is a great work, and acceptable before God, because he understands the object of his wealth, and has given to the poor of the gifts of the Lord, and rightly discharged his service to Him.

Now to the courageous rightly belong the great and difficult of God's holy commandments, but to those who have not yet attained to such virtue, belong those things from which all difficulty is excluded.

To this question of Peter, the Lord does not seem to respond on the surface; but if one attends more deeply, He responds perfectly, intimating that the aforementioned parable about vigilance pertains commonly to all, but specially to prelates, when He says: And the Lord said: Who, do you think, is the faithful and prudent steward?

Beatus ille servus quem, cum venerit dominus, invenerit ita facientem.

(in Proœm. in reg. fus.) He says not, 'doing,' as if by chance, but so doing. For not only conquest is honourable, but to contend lawfully, which is to perform each thing as we have been commanded.

For whatever difference there is in the merits of good hearers and good teachers, such also there is in their rewards; for the one whom when He cometh He finds watching, He will make to sit down; but the others whom He finds faithful and wise stewards, He will place over all that He hath, that is, over all the joys of the kingdom of heaven, not certainly that they alone shall h…

Second, with regard to the excellence of the reward, he adds: Blessed is that servant whom, when his lord comes, he shall find so doing: Matthew chapter twenty-five: "Well done, good and faithful servant," etc.

Vere dico vobis, quoniam supra omnia quæ possidet, constituet illum.

Quod si dixerit servus ille in corde suo: Moram facit dominus meus venire: et cœperit percutere servos, et ancillas, et edere, et bibere, et inebriari:

Those, however, who are believed to be presbyters by many, but serve their own lusts, and, do not place the fear of God supreme in their hearts, but conduct themselves with contempt towards others, and are puffed up with the pride of holding the chief seat, and work evil deeds in secret, saying, "No man sees us," shall be convicted by the Word, who does not judge after outward…

He says, "Neglecting the duty of being diligent and faithful, and despising watchfulness in these things as being superfluous, he lets his mind grow intoxicated with worldly cares. He is seduced into improper courses, dragging by force and oppressing those who are subject to him.

But if that servant shall say etc. After he commended the vigilance and providence or care of prelates, here he censures their insolence; which indeed he does by reproving the enormity of sin and by threatening the severity of judgment.

veniet dominus servi illius in die qua non sperat, et hora qua nescit, et dividet eum, partemque ejus cum infidelibus ponet.

(in lib. de Sp. San. c. 16.) The body indeed is not divided, so that one part indeed should be exposed to torments, the other escape.

Observe also the punishment. "He will cut him apart," He says, that is, He will deprive him of the gift of teaching. Lest anyone think that this gift would help him escape severe punishment, He says: how will the gift help him when at that time he will no longer have it? For to be cut in two means to be deprived of grace.

Secondly, with regard to the threatening of the severity of judgment, he adds: The lord of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect, and at an hour when he does not know: Deuteronomy thirty-two: "The day of destruction is near, and the times hasten to arrive"; and Zephaniah one: "The great day of the Lord is near, near and exceedingly swift." And although it is n…

Ille autem servus qui cognovit voluntatem domini sui, et non præparavit, et non facit secundum voluntatem ejus, vapulabit multis:

If, accordingly, when he ought to do good, he do evil, does not he appear to do greater evil than he who does not know God? For this reason, they who have not known God and do evil are condemned to death; but they who have known God, and have seen His mighty works, and still continue in evil, shall be chastised doubly, and shall die for ever.

Now if those ignorant of the law are in a worse condition than those who know the law, how can this saying of our Lord in the Gospel be true? "That servant who knew his master's will but did not make ready or act according to his will shall receive a severe beating.

"The servant who knew the will of his Lord and did not prepare and did not act according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes." If a man does not prohibit evil by example or by counsel, woe to him! You make yourself a teacher of sacred Scripture, but you persuade the contrary of good and truth.

qui autem non cognovit, et fecit digna plagis, vapulabit paucis. Omni autem cui multum datum est, multum quæretur ab eo: et cui commendaverunt multum, plus petent ab eo.

And everywhere we, more readily than all men, endeavour to pay to those appointed by you the taxes both ordinary and extraordinary, as we have been taught by Him; for at that time some came to Him and asked Him, if one ought to pay tribute to Caesar; and He answered, "Tell Me, whose image does the coin bear?" And they said, "Caesar's." And again He answered them, "Render theref…

Be sensible, therefore, O bishop, of the dignity of thy place, that as thou hast received the power of binding, so hast thou also that of loosing. Having therefore the power of loosing, know thyself, and behave thyself in this world as becomes thy place, being aware that thou hast a great account to give. "For to whom," as the Scripture says, "men have entrusted much.

On account of which he adds: But he who did not know, through a defect of knowledge, and did things worthy of stripes, through the commission of fault, shall be beaten with few stripes, through the mitigation of the divine sentence.

Ignem veni mittere in terram, et quid volo nisi ut accendatur?

Baptismo autem habeo baptizari: et quomodo coarctor usque dum perficiatur?

They maintain that those who have attained to perfect knowledge must of necessity be regenerated into that power which is above all. For it is otherwise impossible to find admittance within the Pleroma, since this [regeneration] it is which leads them down into the depths of Bythus.

But our Lord was hastening the kindling of the fire, and hence it follows, And what will I, save that it be kindled? (nisi ut accendatur) For already some of the Jews believed, of whom the first were the holy Apostles, but the fire once lighted in Judaea was about to take possession of the whole world, yet not till after the dispensation of His Passion had been accomplished.

Secondly, as to the perfection of the remedy of the passion it is added: But I have a baptism to be baptized with. Note that the passion of Christ is called a baptism, because in his blood they are purified as in the bath of baptism: Revelation 7: "These are they who have come out of great tribulation and have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb"; whence Hebrews 9: "If…

Putatis quia pacem veni dare in terram? non, dico vobis, sed separationem:

erunt enim ex hoc quinque in domo una divisi, tres in duos, et duo in tres

Though the connection would seem to be of six persons, father and son, mother and daughter, mother in law and daughter in law, yet are they five, for the mother and the mother in law may be taken as the same, since she who is the mother of the son, is the mother in law of his wife.

How did He say that "five in one house will be divided," yet in the enumeration mentioned "six" persons? We answer: one person is counted twice, namely: the daughter and the daughter-in-law are the same person. In relation to the mother she is called a daughter, and in relation to the mother-in-law she is called a daughter-in-law.

And for this reason He adds: For from this time there shall be five in one house divided, that is, separated from carnal affection; and according to that passage in the penultimate chapter of Deuteronomy: "Who said to his father and to his mother: I know you not, and to his brethren: I know them not, and they knew not their own children.

dividentur: pater in filium, et filius in patrem suum, mater in filiam, et filia in matrem, socrus in nurum suam, et nurus in socrum suam.

He says at last, "The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother-in-law against the daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against the mother-in-law." Since this battle among the relatives was sung by the prophet's trumpet in the very words, I fear that Micah must ha…

(non occ.) Now hereby He declared a future event, for it so happened in the same house that there have been believers whose fathers wished to bring them to unbelief; but the power of Christ's doctrines has so prevailed, that fathers were left by sons, mothers by daughters, and children by parents.

It should be noted how he speaks of the five divided, when it seems he has mentioned six persons: father and son, mother and daughter, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

Dicebat autem et ad turbas: Cum videritis nubem orientem ab occasu, statim dicitis: Nimbus venit: et ita fit.

(in Hexam. Hom. 6, 4.) Now we must observe, that conjectures concerning the stars are necessary to the life of man, as long as we do lot push our searches into their signs beyond due limits. For it is possible to discover some things with respect to coming rain, still more concerning heat and the force of the winds, whether partial or universal, stormy or gentle.

Moreover, he said to the crowds: When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, A storm is coming, and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say there will be heat, and it happens. The cloud rising from the west signifies his flesh rising from death. For from that, the rain of the Evangelical preaching has been poured upon all lands.

And he said also to the crowds, etc. After he invited to vigilance, here secondly he rebukes negligence, which does not care about the grace of Christ coming. And this part has two sections. In the first of which he rebukes negligence with respect to recognizing grace; and secondly, with respect to doing penance, at the passage: Now there were present at that very time some.

Et cum austrum flantem, dicitis: Quia æstus erit: et fit.

Hypocritæ! faciem cæli et terræ nostis probare: hoc autem tempus quomodo non probatis?

quid autem et a vobis ipsis non judicatis quod justum est?

But then who could know the times of him of whom he had no evidence to prove his existence? Justly also does He upbraid them for "not even of themselves judging what is right." Of old does He command by Zechariah, "Execute the judgment of truth and peace; " by Jeremiah, "Execute judgment and righteousness; " by Isaiah, "Judge the fatherless, plead for the widow," charging it as…

But it is the duty of the bishop to judge rightly, as it is written, "Judge righteous judgment;" and elsewhere, "Why do ye not even of yourselves judge what is right?" Be ye therefore as skilful dealers in money: for as these reject bad money, but take to themselves what is current, in the same manner it is the bishop's duty to retain the unblameable, but either to heal, or, if…

Secondly, as to the admonition of the interior judgment, it is added: Why do you not even of yourselves judge what is just? As if to say: even if you neglect the exterior admonition, do not neglect the interior one. Whence Ecclesiasticus 31: "Know the things of your neighbor from yourself," that is, from your natural judgment.

Cum autem vadis cum adversario tuo ad principem, in via da operam liberari ab illo, ne forte trahat te ad judicem, et judex tradat te exactori, et exactor mittat te in carcerem.

So unbridled is their madness, that they declare they have in their power all things which are irreligious and impious, and are at liberty to practise them; for they maintain that things are evil or good, simply in virtue of human opinion.

(Hom. 16. in Matt.) It seems to me that He is speaking of the present judges, and of the way to the present judgment, and of the prison of this world. For by these things which are visible and at hand, ignorant men are wont to gain improvement. For often He gives a lesson, not only from future good and evil but from present, for the sake of His ruder hearers.

The third point, concerning the warning of the higher edict, he adds: When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, on the way.

Dico tibi, non exies inde, donec etiam novissimum minutum reddas.

Where thou wilt suffer want until thou payest the last farthing; and this is what He adds, I say unto you, thou shalt not depart hence.

The Lord says this in order to bring the hardened to fear and urge them toward peace. He knows that the fear of loss and punishments humbles the earthly-minded more than anything else, and therefore He says this. They understand this speech as referring also to the devil. For he is our adversary.

Therefore he adds: I say to you, you shall not go out from there until you have paid the last mite, that is, never, because you will never pay it back. Bede: "He always pays penalties by suffering for sins, but never by obtaining pardon." Hence until does not set a limit here, just as neither does it there: "The Lord said to my Lord, etc., until I place," etc.

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