De sancto Paulo apostolo
The Apostle’s Prerogatives and Names
The chapter introduces the symbolic meanings of Paul's name and the six spiritual prerogatives that defined his apostolic ministry.
The name Paul is interpreted as 'mouth of the trumpet,' 'their mouth,' 'a wonderful chosen one,' or 'a miracle of election.' Alternatively, Paul comes from 'pausa,' which in Hebrew means 'rest' and in Latin means 'modest.' Through these terms, we understand the six prerogatives that Paul held above others. The first is a fruitful tongue, because he preached the Gospel from Illyricum all the way to Jerusalem, which is why he is called the 'mouth of the trumpet.' The second is deep-seated charity, as seen in his words, 'Who is weak, and I am not weak?' and so on. From this comes the term 'their mouth'—the mouth of the heart, of which he says: 'Our mouth is open to you, O Corinthians, our heart is enlarged.' The third is a miraculous conversion, which is why he is called a 'wonderful chosen one,' because he was miraculously chosen and converted. The fourth is a hardworking hand, which is why he is called a 'miracle of election.' It was truly a great miracle that he chose to earn his own living with his own hands while preaching incessantly. The fifth was delightful contemplation, because he was caught up into the third heaven; from this came the Lord's rest, because in contemplation, the rest of the mind is required. The sixth is virtuous humility, and for this reason he is called 'the little one'. There are three opinions regarding this name, Paul. Origen holds that he was always known by two names and was always called both Saul and Paul; Rabanus, however, maintains that he was called Saul before his conversion, after Saul the proud king, but after his conversion he was called Paul—meaning 'little one'—because of his modest and humble spirit, which is why he interpreted his own name by saying, 'I am the least of the apostles,' and so on. Bede, on the other hand, believes he was named Paul after Sergius Paulus, the proconsul whom he converted to the faith. Pope Linus wrote the account of the passion of Saint Paul. After his conversion, the Apostle Paul suffered many persecutions, which the blessed Hilary briefly lists: 'The Apostle Paul is beaten with rods in Philippi, put in prison, and fastened to a wooden frame by his feet; he is stoned in Lystra; he is persecuted by the wicked in Iconium and Thessalonica; he is thrown to wild beasts in Ephesus; he is lowered from the wall in a basket in Damascus; he is brought to Jerusalem, beaten, bound, and ambushed; he is imprisoned in Caesarea and accused; while sailing to Italy, he is driven by danger; arriving in Rome, he is judged under Nero and finished by death.' So says Hilary. He accepted his apostleship to the Gentiles, raised a certain crippled man in Lystra, brought back to life a young man who had fallen from a window and died, and performed many other miracles; on the island of Malta, a viper fastened onto his hand, but it did him no harm; instead, he shook it off into the fire.
The Martyrdom of Saint Paul
A narrative account of Paul's final years in Rome, his confrontation with Nero, his execution, and the miraculous recovery of his head.
It is also said that anyone born into the family line of the man who gave Paul hospitality is completely unharmed by venomous creatures; that is why, when children are born, their fathers place snakes in their cradles to test if they are truly their children. Sometimes it's found that Paul is lesser than Peter, sometimes greater, and sometimes equal; but in truth, he's lesser in dignity, greater in preaching, and equal in holiness. Haymo reports that from the crowing of the rooster until the fifth hour, Paul would apply himself to manual labor; then he would dedicate himself to preaching, often drawing out his sermon until nightfall, while the rest of the time was quite enough for eating, sleeping, and prayer. When he arrived in Rome, Nero had not yet been confirmed in his rule and was hearing that a dispute had arisen between Paul and the Jews regarding the Law of the Jews and the faith of the Christians. Nero did not care much about it, so Paul went and preached freely wherever he wanted. Jerome also says in his book On Illustrious Men that in the twenty-fifth year... ...after the Lord's Passion—that is, in the second year of Nero—Paul was sent to Rome in chains and remained in open custody for two years, debating against the Jews. Then, released by Nero, he preached the Gospel in the western regions, but in the fourteenth year of Nero, on the same year and day that Peter was crucified, he was beheaded. So says Jerome. His wisdom and religious life, however, were spread everywhere and held in admiration by all. He even drew many from Caesar's household into friendship with him and converted them to the faith of Christ; some of his writings were even read before Caesar and wonderfully commended by all, and the Senate also thought highly of him. One day, while Paul was preaching toward evening on a balcony, a young man named Patroclus—Nero’s cupbearer [REDACTED] a great favorite of his—climbed into a window to hear Paul better because of the crowd; he fell asleep, tumbled out, and died. When Nero heard the news, he was deeply grieved by his death and immediately appointed someone else to his position, but while he was still mourning, word came that Patroclus was alive and standing at the door. Hearing that Patroclus was alive—whom he had known to be dead just a short while before—Nero was terrified and refused to let him in, but eventually, at the urging of his friends, he allowed him to enter and asked, "Patroclus, are you alive?" He replied, "I am, Caesar." Nero asked, "Who made you alive?" He answered, "Jesus Christ, the King of all ages." Enraged, Nero said, "So, will he reign forever and dissolve all the kingdoms of the world?" Patroclus replied, "Yes, Caesar." Then Nero slapped him and said, "So, you serve that king?" He replied, "I certainly do, because he raised me from the dead." Then five of the emperor’s ministers, who were always at his side, asked, "Emperor, why are you striking a young man who is so sensible and answers so truthfully?" For we, too, serve that most invincible king. When Nero heard this, he threw them into prison to torture them severely—those whom he had previously loved so much; then he had all the Christians sought out and punished with various torments without any questioning. Then Paul, bound among the others, was led before Nero; Nero said to him, "O man, servant of a great king, yet bound to me, why do you take my soldiers away from me and gather them for yourself?" Paul replied to him, "I have gathered soldiers not only from your own corner, but from the whole world, to whom our king will bestow such gifts that will never fail and that will exclude all need." If you are willing to be subject to him, you will be saved." He exists in such power that He will come as the judge of all, and will dissolve the form of this world through fire. Hearing this, Nero was inflamed with anger because Paul had said the form of the world would be dissolved by fire, and he ordered all the soldiers of Christ to be burned by fire, and Paul... to be beheaded for high treason. However, such a crowd of Christians was killed then that the Roman people broke into the palace by force, and attempting to stir up a rebellion against him, they shouted: "Stop, Caesar, temper your slaughter or your decree; they are our own people whom you are destroying, they protect the Roman empire." Fearing this, the emperor changed the order so that no one would touch the Christians until he could judge them more thoroughly. Consequently, Paul was brought back and presented to Nero; when Nero saw him, he shouted most vehemently: "Take away this evildoer, behead this impostor, do not let this accuser live, destroy this corrupter of the senses, remove this changer of minds from the face of the earth." Paul replied: "Nero, I will suffer for a short time, but I will live eternally for the Lord Jesus Christ." Nero said: "Take his head, so he may understand that I am stronger than his king, whom I have defeated, and let's see if he can live forever." Paul replied, "So that you may know I live eternally after my body dies, once my head is cut off, I will appear to you alive. Then you'll know that Christ is the God of life, not of death." After saying this, he was led to the place of execution. As he walked, the three soldiers escorting him asked, "Tell us, Paul, who is this King of yours whom you love so much that you choose to die rather than live for his sake, and what reward will you get for it?" Then Paul preached to them so effectively about the kingdom of God and the punishments of hell that he converted them to the faith. When they asked him to leave freely wherever he wanted, he said, "Far be it from me, brothers, to flee; I am not a fugitive, but a legitimate soldier of Christ. I know that through this passing life I will pass to eternal life, and soon, once I am beheaded, faithful men will take my body." "But you, note the place and come there tomorrow morning; you'll find two men praying by my tomb, Titus and Luke. When you tell them why I sent you, they will baptize you and make you partners and co-heirs of the heavenly kingdom." Because he was speaking of this, Nero sent two soldiers to see if he had been killed yet. When he tried to convert them, they said, "When you are dead and have risen again, then we will believe what you say; but for now, come quickly and accept what you have earned." As he was being led to the place of his passion at the Ostian Gate, he met a certain matron named Plantilla, a disciple of Paul—who according to Dionysius was also called Lemobia, because she happened to have two names—who began weeping and commending herself to his prayers. Paul said to her, "Go, Plantilla, daughter of eternal salvation, lend me the veil you use to cover your head. I will bind my eyes with it, and afterward I will return it to you." As he handed it to her, the executioners mocked him, saying, "Why are you giving such a precious cloth to this impostor and magician, only to lose it?" When Paul had arrived at the place of his passion, he turned toward the east. With his hands stretched out toward heaven, he prayed for a long time with tears and in his native tongue, and gave thanks. Afterward, he said goodbye to the brothers, tied his eyes with Plantilla’s veil, knelt on the ground, stretched out his neck, and was beheaded. Immediately, his head sprang from his body and, in a clear voice, called out in Hebrew: "Jesus Christ," a name that had been so sweet to him in life and which he had spoken so often. It is said that in his letters he mentioned Christ or Jesus, or both, five hundred times. From his wound, a wave of milk splashed onto the soldier's clothes, and afterward blood flowed out; a great light shone in the air, and a most sweet fragrance emanated from his body. Dionysius, however, says this in his letter to Timothy about the death of Paul: "In that hour, full of sadness, my dear brother, when the executioner said to Paul, 'Prepare your neck,' the blessed apostle looked up to heaven, shielding his forehead and chest with the sign of the cross, and said, 'My Lord, Jesus Christ, into your hands I commend my spirit.' Then, without sadness or compulsion, he stretched out his neck and received the crown. As the executioner struck and severed Paul's head, the most blessed one, in that very blow, unfolded the veil, collected his own blood in it, bound it, wrapped it, and handed it to that woman. He then said to the soldier who had returned, 'Lemobia, where have you left my master Paul?'" The soldier replied, "He's lying there with his companion outside the city in the Valley of the Gladiators, and his face is covered with your veil." She answered, "Look, Peter and Paul have just entered, dressed in brilliant robes, and they were wearing crowns on their heads that glowed with a radiant light." She then brought out the blood-stained veil and showed it to them; because of this, many believed in the Lord and became Christians. This is what Dionysius says. When Nero heard what had happened, he was terrified and began to discuss it all with his philosophers and friends. While they were talking about this, Paul came in through closed doors and, standing before Caesar, said, "Caesar, look—I am Paul, a soldier of the eternal and invincible King. Believe even now, because I'm not dead, but alive, and you, poor man, will die an eternal death because you unjustly kill the saints of God." And having said this, he vanished. Nero, however, was so terrified that he became like a madman, not knowing what to do; at the urging and advice of his friends, he released Patroclus and Barnabas along with the others and allowed them to leave freely wherever they wished. Those soldiers, Longinus the master of soldiers and Accestus, came to Paul’s tomb in the morning and saw two men—Titus and Luke—praying, with Paul standing in their midst. When Titus and Luke saw them, they were terrified and began to flee, and Paul vanished. They called out to them, saying, "We aren't pursuing you as you think, but we want to be baptized by you, just as Paul told us—the same Paul we just saw praying with you." Hearing this, they turned back and baptized them with great joy. Paul's head, however, had been thrown into a valley and could not be found because of the multitude of others who had been killed and thrown there as well. It is read in that same letter of Dionysius that when a pit was being cleaned out at one point, and Paul's head had been thrown in with other refuse, a certain shepherd lifted it up on his staff and fixed it near his sheepfold. For three nights in a row, he saw an ineffable light shining over that head along with his master; when this was reported to the bishop and the faithful, they said, "Truly, this is the head of Paul." The bishop and the entire multitude of the faithful went out and carried that head with them, and... on a certain golden table. placing it there, they wanted to join it to the body. The patriarch answered them, "We know that many of the faithful were killed and their heads scattered, so I hesitate to join this head to Paul's body. Instead, let's place this head at the feet of the body and pray to the almighty Lord that, if it is indeed his head, the body may turn and join itself to it." When everyone agreed, they placed the head at the feet of Paul's body, and suddenly, while everyone was praying and standing in awe, the body turned and joined itself to the head in its proper place; and so they all blessed God and truly recognized that this was the head of Paul. That is what Dionysius says.
Lamentations and Praises of the Apostle
A collection of reflections, including Dionysius's lament and Chrysostom's panegyric, praising Paul's virtues, charity, and apostolic endurance.
Gregory of Tours, who lived during the time of Justin the Younger, reports that a certain man... ...was preparing a noose for himself in despair, yet he kept calling on the name of Paul, saying, "Help me, Saint Paul." Then a squalid shadow appeared, urging him on and saying, "Come on, good man, do what you're doing; don't delay." But he, still preparing the noose, kept saying, "Most blessed Paul, help me." Once the noose was ready, another shadow appeared, looking like a man, and said to the one who was urging the man on, "Flee, you wretch, because Paul the advocate has arrived." Then the squalid shadow vanished, and the man came to his senses, threw away the noose, and accepted a fitting penance. Gregory writes in his register: many miracles are shown to come from the chains of blessed Paul, and while many people ask for a small bit of the filings, a priest stands by with a file and quickly scrapes something off the chains themselves for those who ask, so that there is no delay. Yet for some who ask, the file is drawn across the chains for a long time, and still, nothing is obtained from them. In that same letter, blessed Dionysius laments the death of his master, Paul, with pious words: "Who will give water to my eyes and a fountain of tears to our pupils, so that we may weep day and night for the light of the churches, which has been extinguished?" Who would not put on weeping and groaning? Or who would not be clothed in mourning, stunned in mind, and struck with amazement? For look, Peter, the foundation of the churches and the glory of the holy apostles, has departed from us and left us as orphans. Paul, too, the friend of the Gentiles and the comforter of the poor, has failed us and is no longer found—he who was the father of fathers, the teacher of teachers, the shepherd of shepherds; the abyss of wisdom, the high-sounding pipe, the tireless preacher of truth—I mean Paul, the most noble of the apostles. This earthly angel and heavenly man, the image and likeness of the Godhead and a God-formed spirit, has left us all—left us, I say, needy and unworthy in this contemptible and wicked world. He has entered into his God, his Lord and friend: alas, my brother Timothy, beloved of my soul, where is our father, our master and lover? Where will he greet you from now? Look, you've been left alone, as if orphaned; he won't write to you anymore with his own most holy hand, saying, 'My dearest son, come, my brother Timothy—what sorrow, darkness, and loss has happened here, that we've been made orphans?' His letters no longer come to you, in which it was written, 'Paul, a lowly servant of Jesus Christ'; he won't write to the cities about you anymore, saying, 'Welcome my beloved son.' Fold up the books of the prophets, brother, and seal them, because we have no one left to interpret their parables, examples, and sayings. The prophet David mourned his son and said, 'Woe is me, my son, woe is me.' But I say, 'Woe is me, my master, truly woe is me.' From now on, the gathering of your disciples coming to Rome to seek us has failed and ceased. No one will say anymore: 'Let us go and see our teachers and ask them how we ought to govern the churches entrusted to us,' and they will interpret for us the sayings of our Lord Jesus Christ and the sayings of the prophets. Truly, woe to those children, my brother, because they are deprived of their spiritual fathers, just as the flock is deprived of them; and woe to us too, brother, who are deprived of our spiritual masters, who gathered the understanding and knowledge of the Old and New Law and bound them together in their writings. . Where is the journey of Paul and the labor of his holy feet; where is the mouth that spoke, the tongue that counseled, and the spirit that was so pleasing to its God? Who wouldn't weep and wail? For those who deserved glory and honor before God are being handed over to death like criminals. Woe to me, for in that hour I looked upon the holy body stained with innocent blood. Alas for me, my father, master, and teacher; you were certainly not guilty of a death like this. Now, then, where shall I go to seek you, glory of Christians and praise of the faithful? Who has forced your voice to fall silent—you, the flute of the churches, the high-sounding flute, the plectrum of the ten-stringed psaltery? Look, you have entered into the Lord your God, whom you desired and longed for with your whole heart. Jerusalem and Rome were made equals in evil through a wicked friendship: Jerusalem crucified our Lord Jesus Christ, while Rome put his apostles to death. Jerusalem, however, serves the one it crucified, whereas Rome honors with solemnity those it put to death. And now, my brother Timothy, those you loved and longed for with your whole heart—I mean King Saul and Jonathan—were not separated in their life, nor in their death. And I am not separated from my master, the Lord, except when the most wicked and unjust men separated us. Yet the separation of this hour won't last forever; his soul knows those he loves, even without them speaking to him, those who are now distanced from him. But on the day of resurrection, it would be a great loss to be separated from them. So says Dionysius. Therefore, Chrysostom, in his book on the praises of Paul, commends this glorious apostle in many ways, saying: 'He who called Paul’s soul a distinguished meadow of virtues and a spiritual paradise was not wrong at all.' But what tongue could be equal to his praises, since his soul alone possesses all the goods that are in all things, and fully gathers them all—not only of men, but, what is more, of angels? Yet we won't remain silent for that reason; rather, we'll say a few things. For this is the greatest kind of praise, when virtue and the greatness of the one being praised surpass the poverty of speech, and to be defeated in this way is much more glorious for us than to have often been victorious. Where, then, could we more appropriately begin his praises than from this very point? First, to show that he possesses the goods of all. Abel offered a sacrifice and is praised for it, but if we bring Paul’s offering into the mix, it will appear as far above it as heaven is above the earth; for he offered himself up every single day, and he offered this sacrifice in a twofold way, carrying the mortification of Christ in both his heart and his body. He didn't offer sheep or oxen, but offered himself in this twofold way, and he wasn't content with that, but also strove to offer the whole world, for he flew like a bird across land and sea, through Greece and the lands of the barbarians, and every region under the sun, turning men into angels—or rather, carrying men themselves from the state of demons into the state of angels. What could be found equal to this offering, which Paul sacrificed with the sword of the Holy Spirit and presented on that altar set above the heavens? Abel fell, struck down by the treachery of his own brother, but Paul was killed by those he longed to rescue from countless evils. Do you want me to show you his countless deaths—as many, in fact, as the days he lived? We read that Noah saved only himself and his family in the ark, but Paul, while a much fiercer flood was raging, did not save the world by joining planks together for an ark, but by composing letters in place of planks, rescuing the world from the midst of the waves. This ark, moreover, is not carried about in one place, for it encompasses the ends of the earth, and its planks are not sealed with bitumen and pitch, but with the Holy Spirit. By taking these people in, he turned those who were almost more foolish than irrational animals into imitators of the angels. In this way, too, he surpassed that ark, because that ark received a raven and sent it out again, and though it took in a wolf, it could not change its wild nature; but Paul took in hawks and kites and turned them into doves, casting out all wildness and introducing the gentleness of the Spirit. Everyone admires Abraham because he left his homeland and his relatives at God’s command, but how can he be compared to Paul? For Paul left not just his homeland or his relatives, but the world itself; indeed, he looked down on heaven and the heaven of heavens, and all these things, by embracing Christ. He sought only one thing for the sake of all—the love of Christ—saying, 'Neither the present, nor the future, nor height,' and so on. Abraham risked himself to save his brother's son from enemies, but Paul endured countless dangers to rescue the whole world from the very hand of the devil, and by his own deaths he secured the greatest safety for others; Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son, but Paul sacrificed himself a thousand times over; some admire the patience of Isaac, who allowed the wells he had dug to be filled in, but Paul, seeing his own wells choked with stones—that is, his own body—not only gave way as Isaac did, but also strove to lift up to heaven those who were persecuting him. For the more this fountain was blocked, the more it gushed forth, and the more often it poured out rivers from itself. Scripture marvels at the long-suffering and patience of Jacob, but what kind of soul is so adamant that it could imitate the patience of Paul? He endured service for the Bride of Christ not for seven years, but for his whole life. He was scorched not only by the heat of the day and the frost of the night, but he suffered a thousand temptations, torn and bruised now by lashes, now by stones. Leaping into the fray everywhere, he snatched captive sheep from the jaws of the devil. Joseph was adorned with the virtue of purity, and I fear that... It would be ridiculous to praise Paul for this, who, by crucifying himself, viewed not only the beauty of human bodies but everything that seems bright and fair in the world as we view ash and cinders; he remained as one dead, completely unmoved toward the dead. Everyone is amazed by Job, for he is a wonderful athlete, but Paul, enduring in the struggle not for months but for many years, shone so brightly—not scraping the filth of the flesh with a potsherd, but frequently running into the very mouth of the lion and fighting against countless temptations—that he was more tolerant than any stone. He endured insults not from three or four friends, but from all the faithless, and even from his brothers, spat upon and cursed by all. While Job had great hospitality and care for the poor, the care that he lavished on those weak in the flesh, Paul showed to those sick in soul. Job's house was open to every traveler, but Paul's soul was open to the whole world. While Job, having countless sheep and oxen, was generous to the poor, Paul, possessing nothing more than his own body, served the needy sufficiently from that, mentioning somewhere, 'These hands have served my needs and those who were with me.' Yet worms and wounds also brought the holy Job cruel suffering; but if you consider the beatings, hunger, chains, and dangers that Paul endured from his own people, from strangers, and from the rest of the world—the anxiety he bore for the churches, the burning concern he felt for every single person who stumbled—you will see that his soul was harder than any stone, and in its strength surpassed iron and adamant. For what Job endured in his body, Paul endured in his soul; he was consumed by a sadness more painful than any grief over everyone who fell away. Because of this, constant fountains of tears flowed from him, not just by day but also by night, and he was afflicted more intensely than any woman in labor for each one of them—which is why he even said, "My little children, for whom I am again in the pain of childbirth." Moses chose to be blotted out of the book for the salvation of the Jews; Moses, therefore, offered himself to perish along with the rest, but Paul offered himself for the sake of others. He didn't want to perish with those who were perishing, but rather to be cut off from the eternity of glory so that others might be saved. Indeed, the one fought daily against Pharaoh, while the other fought against the devil; the one contended for a single nation, the other for the whole world—not with sweat, but with blood. John ate locusts and wild honey, but Paul lived in the middle of the world's noise just as the other lived in the quiet of the desert—though he wasn't fed on locusts or wild honey. Yet he was content with a diet much simpler than that, indulging only in what was necessary, driven by the burning desire to preach. Truly, his great constancy appeared against Herodias; and he rebuked not just one or two or three, but countless tyrants who held similar power—indeed, tyrants far more savage than those. It remains for us to compare Paul to the angels, among whom we proclaim him magnificent, because he obeyed God with every care. This is what David said in wonder: "Mighty in strength, doing his word," and so on. But what else does the prophet marvel at in the angels? "He makes," he says, "his angels spirits, and his ministers a burning fire." Yet we can find this in Paul, who like fire and spirit cleansed the whole world; but he hasn't yet attained heaven, and this is truly marvelous, because he lived on earth while still clothed in mortal flesh. How worthy of condemnation we are, then, when we don't even try to imitate the smallest part of the good things that one man gathered within himself. For he didn't receive a different nature, nor did he possess a different soul, nor did he live in another world; but in the same land, in the same region, and raised under the same laws and customs, he surpassed in strength of spirit everyone who is or has been human. The marvelous thing about him isn't just that, because of the abundance of his devotion, he didn't feel the pain he endured for the sake of virtue; it's that he valued virtue itself as his reward. While we struggle for the sake of a promised reward, he embraced virtue and loved it even without a reward, enduring with all gentleness everything that might hinder virtue by its harshness. He rose higher every day, grew more ardent every day, and fought with a new clarity even when faced with danger. When he saw his own death approaching, he called others to the Communion and delight of his joy, saying: "Rejoice and congratulate me." And so, he rushed toward the confusion and insults he endured for the sake of his preaching with more eagerness than others rush toward the pleasures of good things; he hungered for death rather than life, chose poverty over wealth, and embraced labors far more than others embrace rest after work, choosing sorrow more than others choose pleasure, and praying for his enemies more zealously and fruitfully than others pray against theirs. There was only one thing he feared and dreaded: offending God; and there was nothing else he desired, except to please the Lord always. I don't mean to say he desired nothing of the present life, but he didn't desire the future either. Don't talk to me about rewards, nations, armies, money, provinces, or power; he considered these things no more than spiderwebs, but he looked to what is promised in heaven, and then you will see his burning love for Christ. For the sake of His love, he did not crave the dignity of angels or archangels, nor anything like them; for he enjoyed the love of Christ, which was greater than all things, and with this he considered himself more blessed than anyone, while without it he did not want to be a companion to rulers or princes, but with this love he would rather be the lowest—even among the number of the punished—than be without it among the highest honors and the sublime; for this was his greatest and unique torment. To be separated from this love was hell to him; it was his only pain, an infinite and unbearable torment; but to enjoy the love of Christ—that was his life, his world, his kingdom, his promise, and these were the only goods that seemed countless to him. He despised everything we fear, just as one easily dismisses a withered blade of grass. Tyrants, however... He saw people raging as nothing more than gnats, and he viewed death, torture, and a thousand torments as mere children's games, provided he could endure something for Christ. He was more adorned by being bound in chains than by being crowned with a diadem; confined in prison, he lived in heaven. He accepted lashes and wounds more willingly than others snatch up prizes, and he loved pain no less than rewards. Since he truly considered these very pains to be in the place of rewards, he even called them grace, because what is a cause of sadness for us brought him the greatest pleasure. He also burned with the greatest sorrow, which is why he said: "Who is scandalized, and I am not on fire?" Even if someone might say there is some pleasure in sorrow, many who are wounded by the deaths of their children find some consolation in their weeping, and they grieve more when they are forbidden to grieve. Thus, Paul also found consolation in tears night and day; for surely no one wept for his own troubles with as much affection as he wept for the troubles of others. How could you imagine him afflicted when he wept for the ruin of sinners—he who desired to be excluded from the glory of heaven so that they might be saved? He considered it much more bitter for them not to be saved than for himself to perish. To what, then, could one compare him? To iron? To adamant? What could someone call that soul—golden, or rather, adamantine? It was stronger than any adamant, more precious than gold and gems, surpassing all other materials in both firmness and value. To what, then, could anyone compare such a soul? To nothing that exists at all. If the strength of a diamond were given to gold, or the honor of gold to a diamond, then perhaps in some way a comparison could be made to Paul's soul. But why bring up diamonds and gold to describe Paul? If you weighed the whole world against him, you'd clearly see the immense weight of Paul's worth; the world, therefore, is found wanting. We declare Paul more worthy than everything that exists in the world. If the world isn't more worthy than he is, what about heaven? But even that is found to be inferior. For if God placed not only heaven, but even the things contained in the heavens, below the charity of Paul, how much more does the Lord—who is as much more kind than Paul as goodness excels malice—judge him to be more worthy than countless heavens? God doesn't love us only as much as He is loved by us, but far more abundantly—so much so that language can't even explain it. God also caught him up into paradise and lifted him to the third heaven, and not without reason, since Paul, while walking on earth, conducted himself in all things as if he were enjoying the company of the angels. For while he was still bound to a visible body, he rejoiced in their perfection, and though subject to such great bodily frailties, he strove to appear in no way inferior to the heavenly virtues. For he flew through the whole world teaching as if he had wings, and as if he were already in the body, he made light of labors and dangers; and as if he already possessed heaven, he looked down on all earthly things entirely, and as if he were already living among the incorporeal virtues themselves, he kept watch with a constant intention of heart. Angels have often been entrusted with the care of various nations, but none of them governed the people committed to them as Paul did the whole world. Just as a most indulgent father feels for a son who has been taken prisoner, and the more he is struck by insults and blows, the more he pities and weeps for him, so Paul applied greater balms of love to those by whom he was afflicted. For he often wept and grieved intensely for those who had beaten him five times and thirsted for his blood, and he prayed for them, saying, 'Brothers, the desire of my heart, etc.' He was also bitten and torn apart inside when he saw them perishing. For just as iron placed in a fire becomes entirely fire, so Paul, suspended by love, became all love. As if he were the common father of the whole world, he imitated their own parents in his love and action toward men; indeed, he surpassed all fathers—not just carnal ones, but even spiritual ones—in his solicitude and love. For he desired to present every single person to God, as if he himself had brought the whole world into being, and thus he hastened to lead everyone into the kingdom of God, spending his body and soul for those he loved. This humble man, a traveling worker who made his living with leather, advanced with such power that in barely thirty years he brought the Romans, Persians, Parthians, Medes, Indians, Scythians, Ethiopians, Sarmatians, Saracens, and every other human race under the yoke of truth; and just as fire thrown into straw or hay consumes everything, so he consumed all the works of the demons. As Paul’s voice rang out and the fire of his spirit surged forward with greater intensity, everything gave way and fled—both the cults of the demons and the tyranny of rulers. And the threats and traps of those within his own house. But just as darkness is chased away by the rising rays of the sun, and adulterers and thieves hide in pits while robbers retreat and murderers flee to their caves—with everything becoming bright and clear under those illuminating rays—so too, as Paul spread the Gospel everywhere, error was driven out and truth returned; adulteries and other shameful acts were abandoned and consumed, perishing like straw in the heat of that fire. Yet amidst all this, the fame of the truth rose up like a brilliant flame, ascending even to the heights of heaven, lifted up precisely by those who seemed to be crushing it; neither dangers nor attacks could hinder its progress. The nature of error is such that it withers and fades or ceases when nothing resists it; but the state of truth is the opposite: it is stirred up and grows when many oppose it. Since God has so ennobled our human nature that we should strive to be found like Him, we shouldn't think this is impossible; for He who formed him also formed you, and just as He was, so is your God. If you wish to recognize the gifts of God in Paul, know that his very garments were a terror to the demons. This is all the more admirable because Paul couldn't be accused of recklessness when he rushed into danger, nor of cowardice when dangers arose. He loved his present life for the sake of the benefit of teaching, yet he also deeply despised it for the sake of that philosophy to which his contempt for the world had raised him. Finally, when you see Paul fleeing from danger, you should admire him no less than when he gladly confronts it. For just as the one is a matter of fortitude, so the other is a matter of wisdom; and when you hear him saying something about himself, you should admire it just as you would if you saw him despising himself. For just as the latter is a matter of humility, so the former is a matter of magnanimity. He was more deserving by speaking of himself than by keeping silent, because if he hadn't done so, he would have been more blameworthy than those who have learned to praise themselves importunately. For if he hadn't boasted, he would have lost all those entrusted to him. He would have lost them because, while he was humbling himself, he would have been exalting them. Paul was more pleasing when he boasted than another would be in hiding his own praises; and no one ever gained as much by concealing his merits as he did by revealing them. It is a great evil to say great and wonderful things about oneself, and it is the height of madness to want to be decorated with praises when there is no urgent necessity for it. To speak this way isn't a sign of being in God, but rather a sign of insanity. For this empties out all the reward earned by labor and sweat; it is the mark of a boastful, insolent, and self-promoting person to speak highly of himself. But to say only what is necessary for the present cause is the fruit of one who loves and considers the remedies of many—just as Paul did. When he was caught by false apostles, he was compelled to speak of his own praises, especially those that showed his authority, yet he kept many greater things hidden. “I will come,” he says, “to visions and revelations of the Lord,” and so on. Paul had such great and frequent conversations with God—more than any of the prophets or apostles—that through them he was made all the more humble. He seemed to fear blows so that you might learn that, according to nature, he was one among many; but by his will, he was not only above many men, but was even like one of the angels. It isn't a sign of being worthy of blame to fear blows, but rather to commit something unworthy of piety out of the fear of those blows. For by this very fact—that he fears blows yet isn't conquered in the struggle—he's shown to be more admirable than one who doesn't fear them at all. Just as it isn't a fault to grieve, but rather to say or do things through that grief that displease God, so we see what kind of man Paul was: living in such a nature, he was able to live in a way that was, in a sense, above nature—for if he feared death, he didn't actually refuse it. For it isn't a crime to have a nature subject to weaknesses, but rather to be a slave to those weaknesses; and that is why he is rightly held in such admiration, for he overcame the frailty of nature by the strength of his will, even when he separated from the company of John, who was called Mark. He accomplished this most rightly through the office of preaching, since, as it is said, whoever takes on that office 'must not be soft or indecisive, but strong and robust in all things.' No one should take up the work of this noble ministry unless they are prepared to surrender their soul to death and danger a thousand times over. For anyone who lacks such a spirit will ruin many others by their example; it is far more useful for them to stay quiet and keep to themselves. A pilot, a man fighting wild beasts, or one destined for the gladiatorial arena—none of them needs to have a soul as prepared and ready for danger and death as the one who has taken on the office of preaching. For the dangers are truly greater, the adversaries more savage, and there is no other struggle quite like it. For heaven is set before us as the reward, and hell as the punishment. If any friction has arisen among them, don't consider it a sin; for it isn't wrong to be stirred, but it is wrong to be stirred irrationally and without any just cause. Our provident Creator implanted this impulse in us to rouse souls that are asleep, sluggish, or paralyzed by inertia. He gave our minds the sharpness of anger just as He gave a sword its edge, so that we might use it when necessary. Kindness is always good, but only when the time calls for it; when that time isn't present, even kindness is flawed. Paul often used this impulse, and he was better off being angry with those who spoke immodestly. What was wonderful about him was that, even with chains, beatings, and wounds, he was far more splendid than those shining in diadems and purple; and when he was being led in chains across such a vast sea, he rejoiced as if he were being led into a great empire. After arriving in Rome, he wasn't content to stay there, but traveled through Spain, never allowing himself to spend even one day in idleness or rest. Instead, he was more ardent than fire in his passion for preaching, fearing no dangers and blushing at no mockery. This is truly more worthy of admiration than when he was so bold, always prepared for battle and breathing a kind of fire of war, yet at the same time showing himself to be placable and flexible. For when they told him, in his rage—or rather, his fervor—to go to Tarsus, he didn't refuse; and when they said he had to be lowered over the wall, he endured it. He did these things so that he might persist in preaching longer and go to Christ with many who had come to believe through him. He was truly afraid that, left alone, the poor might be deprived of the salvation of many. But when those who fight under one master see the wounds inflicted on him, see his blood flowing, and yet see him never yielding to his enemies but standing firm, brandishing his spear, striking down his adversaries with blow after blow, and sparing himself no pain—they are, without a doubt, all the more eager to submit to such a leader. This is exactly what happened with Paul. For when they saw him bound in chains, yet still preaching in prison, and when they saw him wounded, yet still capturing his very tormentors with his words, they were filled with all the more confidence. He expressed this when he said: 'So that most of the brothers, having gained confidence in my chains, are much more bold to speak the word of God without fear.' Then he took on a more certain eagerness and moved even more forcefully against his adversaries. For just as fire, when it falls upon various materials, usually grows greater and gains strength, so too did the tongue of Paul, wherever it was applied, immediately draw those people to himself. Even his attackers became spiritual fuel for the fire, because through them the flame of the Gospel grew even more. This comes from Chrysostom.
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Paulus interpretatur os tubae vel os eorum seu electum mirabile vel electionis miraculum, vel Paulus a pausa, quod est requies hebraice, modicus latine. Per haec intelliguntur, sex praerogativae, quas habuit Paulus prae caeteris. Primum est lingua fructuosa, quia ab Illyrico usque ad Hierosolymam praedicavit evangelium, et ideo dicitur os tubae, secundum caritas viscerosa, quia quis infirmatur et ego non infirmor etc. : indesdicitur os eorum, os scilicet cordis, de quo ipse dicit: os nostrum patet ad vos, o Corinthii, cor nostrum dilatatum est. Tertium est conversio miraculosa et inde dicitur electum mirabile, quia mirabiliter electus et conversus fuit. Quartum est manus operosa et inde dicitur electionis miraculum. Magnum enim miraculum fuit, quando elegit sibi propriis manibus sumptus acquirere et incessanter praedicare. Quintum fuit contemplatio deliciosa, quia raptus est usque in tertium coelum et inde fuit domini requies, quia in contemplatione exigitur requies mentis.
Sextum est humilitas virtuosa et inde dicitur modicus. De hoc antem nomine Paulus tres sunt opiniones. Origenes vult, quod semper fuerit binomius et vocatus sit semper Saulus et Paulus; Rabanus vero vult, quod ante dictus est Saulus a Saule, rege superbo, sed post conversionem vocatus est Paulus, quasi parvulus, a modico et humili spiritu, unde et nomen suum interpretando dicebat: ego sum minimus apostolorum etc. Beda autem vult, quod dictus est Paulus a Sergio Paulo proconsule, quem ad fidem convertit. Passionem sancti Pauli Linus papa conscripsit. — Paulus apostolus post sui conversionem multas persecutiones passus est, quas beatus Hilarius brevitér enumerat dicens: Paulus apostolus in Philippis virgis caeditur, in carcere ponitur et ligno pedibus affigitur, in Listris lapidatur, in Yconio et Thessalonica ab iniquis persequitur, in Epheso feris datur, in Damasco per sportam e muro deponitur, in Jerusalem sistitur, caeditur, ligatur, insidiatur, in Caesaria clauditur, criminatur, navigans in Italiam periculo dirigitur, Romam veniens sub Nerone judicatur et occisus finitur. Haec Hilarius. Apostolatum inter gentes accepit, quendam contractum in Listris erexit, juvenem, qui de fenestra ceciderat et exspiraverat, suscitavit et multa alia miracula fecit, apud Mitilenem insulam vipera manum ejus invasit, sed nihil eum laesit, quin potius in ignem ipsam excussit.
Dicitur quoque, quod omnes, qui de progenie illius hominis, qui Paulum hospitio excepit, nascuntur, a venenosis ullatenus non laeduntur, unde cum pueri nati sunt, in cunis eorum patres serpentes ponunt, ut probent, si veri eorum filii sint. Invenitur autem aliquando, quod Paulus est minor Petro, quandoque major, quandoque aequalis, sed revera minor dignitate, major praedicatione, aequalis sanctitate. Refert Haymo, quod Paulus a pullorum cantu usque ad quintam horam labori manuum insistebat, deinde praedicationi vacabat, ita quod plerumque usque ad noctem sermonem protrahebat, residuum vero temporis comestioni , somno, orationi satis necessarium erat. Dum venisset vero Romam; cum Nero nondum esset in imperium confirmatus et etiam audiens , quod de lege Judaeorum et fide christianorum inter Paulum et Judaeos quaestio vertebatur, non multum inde curavit et sic Paulus, quo volebat, libere ibat et libere praedicabat. Hieronymüs quoque in libro de viris illustribus ait, quod XXV. anno a passione domini, hoc est Neronis secundo, Paulus Romam vinctus mittitur et per biennium in libera manens custodia adversus Jadaeos disputavit, deinde a Nerone dimissus evangelium in occidentis partibus praedicavit, XIV vero Neronis anno, eodem anno et die, quo crncifixus est Petrus, capite truncatur. Haec Hieronymus. Ejus autem sapientia et religio ubique divulgabatur et ab omnibus admirabilis habebatur, multos etiam de domo Caesaris sibi in amicitiam copulavit et eos ad Christi fidem convertit, quaedam etiam scripta ejus coram Caesare recitata sunt et ab omnibus mirabiliter commendata, senatus etiam de illo alta non mediocriter sentiebat.
Quadam vero die dum Paulus circa vesperas in quodam solario praedicaret, quidam juvenis nomine Patroculus, pincerna Neronis et sibi admodum dilectus, ut Paulum propter multitudinem commodius audiret, fenestram adscendit et paululum ibi dormitando decidens exspiravit, Quod audiens Nero plurimum de ejus morte doluit et statim alium in ejus officium ordinavit, Paulus vero per spiritum hoc cognoscens dixit adstantibus, ut illuc irent et Patroclum Caesaris carissimum ad se defunétum afferrent, quem allatum Paulus suscitavit et ad Caesarem cum sociis suis misit. Qui cum de morte ejus lamentaretur, ecce Patroclus vivens adesse prae foribus nuntiatur. Audiens Nero Patroclum vivum, quem paulo ante noverat mortuum, plurimum quidem expavit et eum ad se ingredi recusavit, sed tandem persuasu amicorum introire permisit, Cui Nero ait: Patrocle, vivis? Et ille: Caesar, vivo. Et Nero: quis te fecit vivere? Cui ille: Jesus Christus omnium rex saeculorum. Iratus Nero dixit: ergo ille regnabit in saecula et resolvet omnia regna mundi? Cui Patroclus: etiam Caesar.
Tunc Nero dedit ei alapam dicens: ergo militas illi regi? Et ille: utique milito, quia me a mortuis excitavit. Tunc quinque ministri imperatoris, qui ei jugiter assistebant, dixerunt ei: cur, imperator, percutis juvenem prudentem et veraciter respondentem? nam et nos illi regi invictissimo militamus. Quod audiens Nero eos reclusit in carcerem, ut eos nimium torqueret, quos ante nimis dilexerat, Tunc omnes christianos fecit inquiri et omnes sine interrogatione per tormenta varia puniri. Tunc Paulus vinctus inter caeteros ante Neronem ductus est; cui Nero: o homo, magni regis servus, mihi autem vinctus, cur milites meos mihi subtrahis et tibi recolligis? Cui Paulus: non solum de tuo angulo milites collegi, sed etiam de orbe universo, quibus rex noster dona talia, quae nunquam deficient et quae omnem excludent indigentiam, largietur. Huic si subjectus esse volueris, salvus eris.
Qui tantae exstat potentiae, ut judex omnium veniat et mundi hujus figuram per ignem resolvat. Hoc audiens Nero et ira succensus, quia figuram mundi per ignem Paulus dixerat dissolvendam, omnes milites Christi igne jussit cremari, Paulum vero. tamquam majestatis reum capite truncari. Tanta autem tune christianorum occisa est turba, ut populus Romanus palatium virtute irrumperet et seditionem contra eum exitare moliens proclamaret: pone modum, Caesar, tempera occisionem vel jussionem, nostrates sunt, quos perdis, Romanum tuentur imperium. Timens imperator mutavit edictum, ut nullus christianos tangeret, donec imperator de iis plenius judicaret. Quapropter Paulus iterum est reductus et adspectui Neronis oblatus; quem nt Nero vidit, vehementissime exclamavit: tollite maleficum, decollate impostorem, nec sinite vivere criminatorem, perdite sensuum alienatorem, auferte de superficie terrae mentium immutatorem. Ad quem Paulus ait: Nero, tempore modico patiar, sed vivam aeternaliter domino Jesu Christo. Nero dixit: auferte ab eo caput, ut me rege suo fortiorem intelligat, qui eum devici, et videamus, si semper vivere valeat.
Cui Paulus: ut scias me post mortem corporis aeternaliter vivere, cum mihi caput abscissum fuerit, vivus libi apparebo et tunc cognoscere poteris, quod Christus est Deus vitae, et non mortis. Et his dictis ad locum supplicii ducitur, Qui cum duceretur, dixerunt ei tres milites, qui eum ducebant: die nobis, Paule, quis est ille rex vester, quem tantum diligitis, quod pro eo magis mori quam vivere eligitis, et qualem inde mercedem habebitis? "Tunc Paulus de regno Dei et poenis inferni praedicavit adeo iis, quod eos ad fidem convertit. Qui cnm rogarent enm, ut libere abiret, quo vellet, ait: absit, fratres, ut fugiam, non enim sum profugus, sed miles Christi legitimus; scio enim, qnod per hanc vitam transitoriam ad vitam transibo aeternam, mox autem, nt fuero decollatus, viri fideles rapient corpns meum. Vos autem locum notate et illuc cras mane venite, invenietis enim juxta sepulchrum meum duos viros orantes, scilicet Tytum et Lucam, quibus cum dixeritis, qua de causa vos ad cos misi, ipsi vos baptizabunt et regni coelestis facient consortes et cohaeredes. Quod eum loqueretur, misit Nero duos milites, ut viderent, si adhuc esset occisus, et cum eos vellet convertere, illi dixerunt: cum mortuus fueris et resurrexeris, tunc credemus his, quae dicis; nunc autem cito veni et, quod mernisti, accipe. Cumque ad locum passionis duceretur, in porta Ostiensi cuidam matronae nomine Plantillae, discipulae Pauli, quae secundum Dionysium alio nomine dicebatur Lemobia, quia forte fuit binomia, obviam habuit, quae flens suis orationibus se recommendare coepit. Cui Paulus: vade, Plantilla, aeternae salutis filia, commoda mihi velum, quo caput tuum tegis, et inde oculos meos ligabo et postmodum tibi restituam illud.
Quod dum sibi traderet, irridebant ei carnifices dicentes: quid impostori isti et mago tam pretiosum pannum tribuis, ut ipsum amittas? Cum ergo ad locum passionis Paulus venisset, ad orien. tem versus et manibus in coelum extensis diutissime cum lacrymis patria voce oravit et gratias egit. Post hoc valefaciens fratribus oculos sibi de velo Plantillae ligavit et utrumque genu in terra figens collum extendit et sic decollatus est. Mox ejus caput de corpore exsiliens: Jesus Christus, quod sibi in vita tam dulce exstiterat et tam crebro nominaverat, hebraice clara voce insonuit. Dicitur enim ipsum in suis epistolis Christum vel Jesum vel utrumque quingentis vicibus nominasse. De ejas autem vulnere unda lactis usque in vestimenta militis exsilivit et postea sanguis efíluxit, in aére Inx immensa emicuit, de corpore odor suavissimus emanavit. Dionysius autem in epistola ad Timothéum de morte Pauli sic dicit: in hora autem illa tristitiae plena, frater mi dilecte, dicente carnifice Paulo: collum para, tunc beatus apostolus suspexit in coelum, muniens frontem et pectus suum signo crucis et dixit: domine mi, Jesu Christe, in manus tuas commendo spiritum meum ; et tunc absque tristitia et compulsione extendit collum suum et suscepit coronam, percutiente autem carnifice et amputante Pauli caput, tunc beatissimus in ipso ictu explicuit velum et collegit sanguinem proprium in velo et ligavit eum et obvolvit et tradidit illi feminae et reverso militi carnifici dixit Lemobia: ubi dimisisti magistrum meum Paulum?
Respondit miles: cum socio jacet ibi extra urbem in valle pugilum et velo tuo velata est facies ejus. Ipsa autem respondens ait: ecce, intraverunt nunc Petrus ct Paulus induti veste praeclara, et coronas fulgentes luce radiantes habebant in capitibus suis, et protulit velum sanguine cruentatum et monstravit iis: propter quod opus multi crediderunt domino et christiani facti sunt. Haec Dionysius. Audiens Nero, quod contigerat, vehementer extimuit et de his omnibus cum philosophis et amicis loqui coepit. Dum haec invicem loquerentur, venit Paulus januis clausis et ante Caesarem stans ait: Caesar, ecce Paulus regis aeterni et invicti miles, vel nunc crede, quia non sum mor tuus, sed vivus, et tu miser aeterna morte morieris, eo quod sanctos Dei injuste interficis. Et his dictis disparnit. Nero autem ex nimio timore velut amens effectus, quid ageret, ignorabat et suasu et consilio amicorum Patroclum et Barnabam cum aliis solvit et, quo vellent, libere abire permisit. Illi vero milites, Longinus magister militum et Accestus ad sepulchrum Pauli mane venerunt et duos viros, scilicet Tytum et Lucam orantes et in eorum medio Paulum stantem viderunt, quos Tytus et Lucas videntes vehementer territi fugere coeperunt et Paulus disparuit.
Illi autem post eos clamantes dicebant: non, ut putatis, vos persequimur, sed a vobis baptizari volumus, sicut Paulus nobis dixit, quem modo vobiscum orantem vidimus. Hoc illi audientes reversi sunt et cum magno gaudio eos baptizaverunt. Caput autem Pauli in quandam vallem projectum est et prae multitudine aliorum, qui interfecti fuerunt el illuc projecti, inveniri non potuit. Legitur autem in eadem epistola Dionysii, quod cum quadam vice fovea mundaretur, et caput illud Pauli cum aliis purgamentis projectum fuisset, quidam pastor illud in virga sua levavit et juxta caulas ovium fixit. Vidit autem per ires noctes continuas ipse cum domino suo super praedictum caput lucem ineffabilem refalgere; quod cum episcopo et fidelibus nuntiatum faisset, dixerunt: vere hoc est caput Pauli. Egressus igitur episcopus et universa fidelium multitudo caput illud secum detulerunt et. in quadam mensa aurea. illud deponentes id corpori conjungere volebant.
Quibus patriarcha respondit: nos Scimus, quod multi fideles occisi sunt et eorum capita sunt dispersa, unde dubito illud caput corpori Pauli conjungere, sed caput hoc ad pedes corporis ponamus et omnipotentem dominum exoremus, ut, si caput suum est, convertatur corpus et capiti conjungatur, Quod cum omnibus placuisset, caput ipsum ad pedes corporis Pauli posuerunt et ecce cunctis orantibus et stupentibus corpus se convertit et in loco suo capiti se junxit, et sic omnes Deum benedixerunt et hoc esse caput Pauli veraciter cognoverunt. Haec Dionysius. Refert Gregorius Turonensis, qui tempore Justini junioris claruit, quod quidam. desperans laqueum sibi parabat, nomen tamen Pauli invocans semper dicebat: adjuva me, sancte Paule. Tunc adfuit quaedam umbra squalida hortans eum ac dicens: eya, bone vir, age quod agis, moram ne feceris. At ille semper parans laqueum dicebat: beatissime Paule, adjuva me. Expedito jam laqueo adfuit umbra alia, tamquam hominis, dicens illi, qui hominem hortabatur: fuge, miserrime, quia Paulus advocatus advenit. Tunc squalida umbra evanuit et homo ad se rediens et laqueum projiciens poenitentiam condignam accepit.
Gregorius in registro: ex catenis beati Pauli multa miracula demonstrantur et dum multi parum quid ex limatura petunt, assistit sacerdos cum lima et aliquibus petentibus ita concite aliquid catenis ipsis excutit, ut nulla mora sit. Quibusdam vero petentibus diu per catenas ipsas lima ducitur et tamen, ut aliquid inde exeat, non obtinetur. In eadem quoque epistola, quae supra dicta est, beatus Dionysius mortem Pauli magistri sui piis verbis deplorat dicens: quis dabit oculis aquas et pupillis nostris fontem lacrymarum, ut ploremus die ac nocte lumen ecclesiarum, quod exstinctum est. Quis non induet fletum et gemitum? aut non vestietur lugubribus et mente attonitus non obstupescet? Ecce etenim Petrus fundamentum ecclesiarum, gloria sanctorum apostolorum a nobis recessit et nos orphanos dereliquit, Paulus quoque gentium familiaris et consolator pauperum defecit nobis et ulterius non invenitur, qui fuit pater patrum, doctor doctorum, pastor pastorum; abyssum sapientiae, fistulam altisonam, praedicatorem veritatis infatigabilem, Paulum dico nobilissimum apostolorum. Hic angelus terrestris et homo coelestis, imago et similitudo deitatis et spiritus deiformis omnes nos dereliquit, nos, inquam, inopes et indignos in hoc mundo contemtibili et maligno. Ingressus est ad Deum suum dominum et amicum : heu, fratermi Timotheus, dilecte animae meae, ubi est patertuus, magister et amator?
Unde te ulterius salutabit? Ecce enim orphanus factus esset remansisti solus, jam nequaquam scribet tibi sua sanctissima manu dicens tibi: fili carissime, veni frater mi Timotheus, quid hic accidit tristitiae et tenebrarum et damni, quia orphani facti sumus? Jam non veniunt ad te epistolae ejus, in quibus scriptum sit: Paulus modicus servus Jesu Christi; jam non scribet de te ulterius civitatibus dicens: suscipite filium meum dilectum. Complica, frater, libros prophetarum et signa super eos, quia neminem habemus interpretem parabolarum et paradigmatum et eloquiorum ipsorum. David propheta plangebat filium suum et dicebat: vaeh mihi fili mi, vaeh mihi. Ego autem: vaeh mihi magister mei, vere vaeh mihi. A modo defecit et cessavit concursus discipulorum tuorum Romam venientium et quaerentium nos. Jam nemo dicturus est: eamus et videamus doctores nostros et interrogemus eos, qualiter nos regere oporteat ecclesias nobis commissas et interpretabuntur nobis eloquia domini nostri Jesu Christi et eloquia prophetarum.
Vere vaeh his filiis, frater mi, quia privati sunt patribus spiritualibus, quibus privatus est grex, et nobis etiam , frater, vaeh, qui privati sumus magistris nostris spiritualibus, qui collegerant intellectum et scientiam veteris ac novae legis et colligaverant in suis epistolis. . Ubi est cursus Pauli et labor sanctorum pedum ejus, ubi est os loquens et lingua consulens et spiritus bene placens Deo suo? Quis non ploret et ululet? Nam qui meruerunt gloriam et honorem apud Deum, tamquam malefactores traduntur in mortem. Vaeh mihi, quoniam in illa hora intuitus sum corpus sanctum sanguine innocenti cruentatum. Heu mihi, pater mi magister et doctor, non quidem reus tali morte exstitisti. Nunc ergo, quo ibo te quaerere, gloria christianorum et laus fidelium, quis conticescere fecit vocem tuam, fistula ecclesiarum et fistula altisona, plectrum psalterii decachordi?
Ecce introiisti ad dominum Deum tuum, quem desiderasti et toto affectu concupisti. Jerusalem et Roma prava amicitia aequales factae sunt in malo, Jerusalem crucifixit dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, Roma vero apostolos ejus interemit, Jerusalem autem servit, quem crucifixit, Roma autem sollemnisando glorificat, quos interemit. Et nunc, frater mi Timotheus, quos dilexisti et toto corde desiderabas, Saul dico regem et Jonathan, in vita sua non sunt separati nec in morte, et ego non sum separatus a domino magistro meo, nisi cum separaverunt nos homines pessimi et iniqui, et separatio hujus horae non erit semper, anima ejus cognoscit dilectos, etiam sine hoc, quod ei loquantur, qui nunc ab eo elongati sunt, in die autem resurrectionis magna jactura esset separari ab iis. Haec Dionysius. Ideo Chrysostomus in libro de laudibus Panli hunc gloriosum apostolum multipliciter commendat sic dicens: nihil prorsus erravit, qui pratum insigne virtutum ac paradisum spiritualem Pauli animam nuncupavit. Quae autem lingua landibus ejus inveniatur aequalis, cum omnia, quae sunt in omnibus bona, anima sua una possideat et ea cuncta plene accumulet non solum hominum, sed etiam, quod est amplius, angelorum. Nec tamen idcirco reticebimus, quin potius pauca dicemus, Est enim hoc maximum laudis genus, cum orationis eopiam virtus superat et magnitudo laudati, sicque vinci multo est nobis gloriosius quam saepe vicisse; unde igitur opportunius laudum ejus sumemus exordium, nisi ab hoc ipso? primum, nt ostendamus eum bona omnium possidentem.
Abel obtulit sacrificium et inde laudatur, sed si Pauli hostiam adducamus in medinm, quantum coelum a terra superior apparebit, Siquidem semet ipsum per diés singulos immolabat, quam tamen hostiam dupliciter offerebat, tum in corde tum in corpore mortificationem circumferens, non enim oves offerebat ant boves, sed se ipsum dupliciter immolabat, neque his contentus fuit, sed etiam orbem universum studuit offerre, quia terram ac mare, Graeciam atque barbariem omnemque sub sole regionem quasi volitans circumivit ex hominibus angelos faciens, quin immo ipsos homines quasi ex daemonibus in angelos pervehens. Quid huic hostiae reperietur aequale, quam Paulus gladio spiritus sancti immolavit et in illo altari, quod super coelum locatum est, obtulit? Sed Abel dolo germani percussus occubuit, Paulus vero ab iis interfectus est, quos ab innumeris malis cupiebat eruere. Vis autem ejus innumeras tibi ostendam mortes, tot utique quot etiam dies vixit? Noe se tantum in archa legitur servasse cum liberis, hic autem multo saeviore inundante diluvio non archam coaptando compaginibus tabularum, sed epistolas componendo pro tabulis universum orbem periclitantem ex mediis fluctibus liberavit, Haec autem archa non uno loco circumfertur, quae 25 orbis terminos comprehendit, nec bitumine ac pice, sed spiritu sancto ejus tabulae sunt pernnctae. Haec suscipiens paene irrationabilibus animalibus stultiores imitatores fecit angelorum. Hinc quoque illam vicit archam, quia illa corvum recipiens corvum rursum emisit et includens lupum feritatem ejus mutare non potuit, hic vero accipitres milvosque suscipiens fecit columbas et excludens omnem feritatem mansuetudinem spiritus introduxit. Abraham mirantur omnes, quia ad Dei praeceptum patriam atque cognatos reliquit, sed quomodo Paulo possit aequari, quia non tantummodo patriam vel cognatos, sed ipsum quoque mundum reliquit, immo etiam coelum et coelum coeli et haec omnia Christum suscipiendo despexit, unum pro cunctis istud solum, id est Christi caritatem requirens, neque praesentia, inquit, neque futura neque altitudo etc.
Sed et Abraham in periculum se tradens hostibus filium fra tris eripuit, at Paulus, universum orbem ut de ipsa dyaboli extraheret manu, innumerabilia pericula sustinuit propriisque mortibus maximam securitatem aliis comparavit; filium quoque Abraham voluit immolare, Paulus vero semetipsum millies immolavit; in Ysaao patientiam aliqui admirantur, qui modo puteos a se factos obstrui patiebatur, at Paulus vero puteos cernens lapidibus obrutos scilicet proprium corpus non solum, sicut ille, cedebat, sed eos etiam, à quibus patiebatur, in coelum studebat evehere. Quanto enim amplius obruebatur iste fons, tanto magis erumpebat ac pluries a se effundendo fluvios manabat. De longanimitate atque patientia Jacob scriptura miratur et quaenam illa est tam adamantina anima, quae Pauli patientiam possit imitari? neque enim septem annorum, sed totius vitae servitium pro sponsa pertulit Christi, Non adustus solum aestu diei et noctis gelu, sed tentationes mille perpetiens et nunc quidem verberibus, nunc vero lapidibus scissus atque collisus et inter certamina ubique prosiliens captas oves ex dyaboli faucibus abstrahebat. Sed et Joseph pudicitiae virtute decoratus est, et ego vereor, ne. jam ridiculum sit hinc etiam Paulum laudare, qui semetipsum crucifirens non solum humanorum corporum pulchritudines, sed omnia etiam, quae videntur rebus clara ac decora, cernebat, quemadmodum nos favillam cineremque conspicimus , qui quasi mortuus prorsus ad mortuum immobilis permanebat. Stupent Job omnes homines, est enim athleta mirabilis, at Paulus non mensibus tantum, sed annis pluribus in agone perdurans tam clarus emicuit non testae gleba saniem carnis radens, sed in ipsius intelligibile os leonis frequenter incurrens et pugnans adversus tentationes inmumeras omni erat lapide tolerantior. Qui non a tribus et quatuor amicis , sed a cunctis infidelibus, a fratribus etiam opprobria sustinebat, consputatus ab omnibus atque maledictus: et illius erat magna hospitalifas et cura pauperum, sed quam ille curam impendebat carne debilibus, hanc iste animis morbidis exhibebat, illius omni advenienti aperiebantur domus, hujus vero anima universo patebat orbi, et ille quidem cum oves et boves haberet innumeros, erat in pauperes liberalis, hie vero nihil amplius corpore suo possidens de hoc sufficienter indigentibus ministrabat, quod alicubi commeniorans, necessitatibus, inquit, meis et his, qui mecum erant, ministraverunt manus istae.
Sed etiam vermes atque vulnera saevos sancto Jobi iüferebant dolores, sed si Pauli verbera, famem catenasque seu pericula consideres, quae a domesticis, ab extraneis, a caetero patiebatur orbe, sollicitudinem, quam ipse pro ecclesiis, ustionem, quam pro scandalizatis singulis perferebat, videbis, quod omni erat saxo dürior anima illa et ferrum atque adamantem firmitate superabat. Quae enim ille corpore, haec mente Paulus sustinuit, quem omni moerore molestior de singulis quibuscunque labentibus moestitia consumebat, unde et juges ex eo fontes lacrymarum non diebus solum, sed etiam noctibus effluebant, omnique muliere parturiente vehementius affligebatur in singulis, propter quod etiam dicebat: filioli mei, quos iterum parturio. Moyses pro Judaeorum salute deleri elegit de libro, Moyses itaque se cum caeteris obtulit perire, Paulus pro caeteris; non enim cum pereuntibus perire voluit, sed ut alii salvarentur, ipse de gloriae aeternitate decidere. Et quidem ille Pharaoni, hic dyabolo quotidie repugnabat, ille pro una gente, iste pro universo orbe certavit, non sudore, sed sanguine. Johannes in cibum locustas et mel silvestre sumebat, sed Paulus ita in medio mundi strepitu, quemadmodum ille in eremo quiete versatus est, non quidem pastus locustis ant melle silvestri. Multo autem victu viliore his contentus est ac necessario quidem ibi indulgens cibo, ferventi stndio praedicaidi. Verum illius adversus Herodiadem apparuit magna constantia, et ille non unum aut duos aut tres, sed innumeros et simili positos potestate corripuit, immo longe illis saeviores tyrannos. Restat, ut Paulum angelis comparemus, in quibus magnificum praedicamus, quia cum omni cura Deo obedivit.
Quod David admirando dicebat: potentes virtute facientes verbum ejus etc. Quid vero aliud propheta in angelis miratur? qui facit, inquit, angelos suos spiritus et ministros suos ignem urentem. Sed hoc in Paulo possumus invenire, qui velut ignis ac spiritus totum terrarumpurgavit orbem, sed nondum coelum iste sortitus est, et hoc est omnino mirabile, quia talis versabatur in terris etiam mortali adhuc carne circumdatus. (Quanta ergo nos condemnatione digni sumus, cum uno homine bona in se omnia congregante nec minimam quidem partem eorum studemus imitari. Non enim aliam est ille sortitus naturam nec dissimilem nactus animam nec alterum habitans mundum, sed in eadem terra eademque regione, sub iisdem etiam legibus nutritus et moribus cunctos, qui nunc homines sunt vel fuerunt, animi virtute transscendit. Nec vero in illo hoc solum mirabile est, quod prae abundantia devotionis quoi nmodo non sensit -dolores pro virtute susceptos, sed quod virtutem ipsam pro mercede pensavit, Nam nos quidempropter eam proposita mercede certamus, quam ille complectens etiam sine praemio diligebat, cuncta illa, quae asperitate sui viülentur impedire virtutem, cum omni mansuetudine perpetiens quotidie celsior, quotidie assurgebat ardentior et intentatis sibi periculis nova semper claritate pugnabat. Qui cum sibi mortem jam imminentem videret, ad communionem delectationemque gaudii alios provocabat dicens: gaudete et congratulamini mihi.
Itaque ad confusiones et injurias, quas ob praedicandi studium sustinebat, magis quam ad bonorum oblectamenta properabat, mortis potius quam vitae desiderium appetens, paupertatis, quam opulentiae, et multo amplius labores, quam alii requiem post laborem, ac moerorem magis eligens, quam alii voluptatem, studiosius pro inimicis et frnctuosius orans, quam alii adversus inimicos. Unum illi formidandum erat atque metuendum, offensa nimirum Dei, nec desiderabile aliud erat, misi placere domino semper. Non autem dico, quod nihil praesentium desiderabat, sed nec futurorum. Non enim mihi dicas mercedem et gentes, exercitus, pecunias, provincias, potestates: haec enim nec quasi aranearum fila reputavit, sed ea, quae promittuntür in coelis, et tunc ejus ardentem in Christo amorem videbis. Hic siquidem pro ejus amore non angelorum, non archangelorum dignitatem, nec quidquam horum simile concupivit, quod enim erat majus omnibus, Christi amore fruebatur, cum hoc beatiorem cunctis se putabat, sine hoc autem neque dominantium neque principatuum socius esse i cupiebat, sed cum hac dilectione magis esse vel extremus, immo etiam ex numero punitorum, quam sine hoc inter summos honores et sublimes, Hoc enim erat illi maximum ae singulare tormentum ab . hac caritate discedere, hoc illi erat gehenna , hoc sola poena, hoc infinita et intoleranda supplicia, sed perfrui caritate Christi, hoc illi vita, hoc mundus, hoc regnum, hoc promissio, haec bona videbantur innumera. Sie despiciebat universa, quae timemus, ut solet herba jam putrefacta contemni. Tyrannos vero ac.
populos spirantes furore velut quosdam esse culices aestimabat, mortem vero atque cruciatus et mille supplicia quasi ludum putabat esse puerorum, dummodo pro Christo aliquid sustineret, decorabatur enim vinctus catena magis quam dyademate coronatus, etenim coartatus carcere habitabat in coelo ac libentius verbera recipiebat et vulnera, quam alii bravia diripiant, et dolores non minus quam, praemia diligebat. Cum ipsos utique dolores duceret loco praemiorum, propterea ipsos etiam gratiam nominabat, quoniam, quae nobis sunt causa tristitiae, haec illi maximam pariebant voluptatem. Moerore quoque maximo urebatur, propter quod et dicebat: quis scandalizatur et ego non uror? Etiamsi in moerore dicat quis inesse aliquam voluptatem , multi enim, qui filiorum mortibus vulnerantur, aliquid consolationis accipiunt, cum suis fletibus relinquuntur magisque dolent, cum dolere prohibentur. Sic et Paulus nocte ac die consolationem accipiebat ex lacrymis, nullus quippe tanto affectu mala propria, quanto ille deflebat aliena. Quemadmodum enim illum opinaris afflictum ,'cum perditionem defleret peccatorum, qui, ut illi salvi fierent, a coelorum gloria cupiebat excludi, nam non salvari illos multo acerbius aestimabat, quam semet ipsum perire. Hunc ergo cuinam rerum poterit quis comparare, cui ferro, cui adamanti? Quidnam aliquis illam appellet animam auream vel magis adamantinam, nam et omni erat adamante fortior, auro gemmisque pretiosior et alteram quidem materiam firmitate, alteram superabat pretiositate.
Cui igitur rei hujus ab aliquo anima comparetur? Earam quidem, quae sunt omnino, nulli.
Quodsi velut auro adamantis fortitudo, vel adamanti honor daretur auri, tunc forte aliquo modo comparatio ejus Pauli posset animae convenire. Sed quid ego adamantem et aurum ad similitudinem adduco Pauli, mundum si ex diverso appendas omnem, et tunc videbis aperte Pauli ingens pondus examinis: mundo igitur. et omnibus, quae in mundo sunt, Paulum dicimus digniorem. Si igilur mundus eo dignior non est, sed forte vel coelum? sed istnd quoque invenitur inferius. Si enim non solum coelum, sed etiam, quae habentur in coelis, Dei postposuit caritati, quomodo non magis dominus, qui tanto est benignior Paulo, quanto malitiam bonitas antecellit, innumeris coelis eum judicat digniorem? Non enim nos tantum diligit Deus, quantam a nobis ipse diligitur, sed tanto effusius, quanto nec sermo sufficit explicare. In paradisum quoque hunc Deus rapuit et in coelum tertium sublevavit, nec immerito, siquidem Paulus in terra gradiens sic se gerebat in cunctis, quasi angelorum societate frueretur.
Nam visibili adhuc corpori colligatus illorum perfectione gaudebat, tantis fragilitatibus corporis subditus in nullo inferior supernis virtutibus apparere certabat. Nam et tamquam pennatus totum docendo pervolavit orbem et velut in corpore labores periculaque contemsit et quasi jam coelum possidens cuncta prorsus terrena despexit et tamquam cum ipsis jam incorporeis virtutibus degens jugi mentis intentione vigilavit Et angelis quidem saepe diversarum gentium cura commissa est, sed nullus eorum ita creditum sibi populum gubernavit, ut Paulus universum orbem. Sicut autem aliquis indulgentissimus pater afficitur erga filium phreifesi comprehensum, eujus quanto magis conviciis ictibusque pulsatur, tanto ejus potius miseretur et deflet, ita Paulus istis, a quibus affljgebatur, majora adhibebat fomenta pietatis. Namque saepe pro illis, qui eum quinquies verberaverant et ejus sanguinem sitiebant, laerymabatur et vehementer dolebat et pro iis orabat: fratres, inquit, voluntas quidem cordis mei etc. Et vehementer quoque mordebatur ac penitus dissecabatur, eum eos pereuntes videret. Ut enim missum in ignem ferrum totum profecto ignis efficitur, sic Paulus caritate suspensus effectus est totus caritas. Qui quasi communis totius mundi esset pater, ita in amore vel actione hominum et ipsos eorum imitabatur parentes, immo cunctos non carnales, verum etiam spirituales patres sollicitudine ac pietate superabat. Omnem enim prorsus hominem Deo exhibere cu-piebat, quasi enim universum mundum ipse genuisset, et sic omnes iu Dei regno festinabat inducere, corpus et animam pro his, quos diligebat, impendens.
Homo iste ignobilis et circumferarius, qui artem exercebat in pellibus, tanta virtute progressus est, ut vix XXX annorum spatio et Romanos et Persas et Parthos et Medos, Indos et Scythas, Aethiopes et Saramatas atque Saracenos et omne prorsus hominum genus sub jugo mitteret veritalis, et sicul in stipulas aut foenum ignis immissus, sic omnia daemonum opera consumsit. Paulo enim insonante lingua et omni igne vehementius irruente cedebant omnia atque fugiebant et daemonum cultus et tyrannorum . minae et domesticorum insidiae. Magis autem sicut radiis solis orientibus et tenebrae fugantur et adulteri ac fures foveis conduntur et latrones recedunt, homicidae ad antra fugiunt omniaque lucida efüciuntur et clara desuper illustrantibus radiis, sic ubique evangelium disseminante Paulo fugabatur error et veritas remeabat, adulteria et alia dictu foeda defecerunt atque consumta sunt isto ignis vapore palearum vice pereuntes. Clara vero inter haec veritatis fama ceu flamma surgebat resplendens et usque ad coeli sublimitatem conscendens ab his potissimum sublevata, quae eam opprimere videbantur, nec pericula aut impetus processum ejus impedire potuerunt. Erroris vero talis est conditio, quae nullo sibi obsistente consenescit ac defluit vel desinit, Talis autem e diverso veritatis status, quod multis impugnantibus suscitatur et crescit. Quoniam igitur ita genus nostrum nobilitavit Deus, ut ei similes studeamus inveniri neque impossibile istud putemus, quoniam tale illi, quale nobis corpus fuit, talis anima, tales cibi, idem illum teque formavit et quemadmodum illius, ita est Deus tuus. Vis Dei dona in Paulo cognoscere, vestimenta ejus terror daemonibus erant.
Haec vero amplius admiranda, quia Paulus, nec cum in pericnla irrueret, temeritatis argui poterat nec, cum pericula surgerent, timiditatis. Amabat enim praesentem vitam ob lucrum docendi et rursus eam valde despiciebat ob philosophiam, ad quam illum mundi contemtus evexerat. Denique cum videris Paulum pericula fugientem, non minus illum admireris , quám cum se periculis gaudet opponere. Ut enim hoc fortitudinis, ita illud est sapientiae: et cum videris illum de se ipso aliqua sonantem, similiter admireris ac si videris illum semetipsum despicere. Ut enim illud humilitatis est, ita istud magnanimitatis. Magis enim merebatur loquendo de se quam tacendo laudare, quoniam nisi fecisset istud, culpabilior illis esset, qui se ipsos importune laudare didicerunt. Nisi enim gloriatus fuisset, creditos sibi omnes. perdidisset, quia, dum se humiliasset, eos extulisset.
Amplius tunc Paulus placuit gloriando , quam alter laudes proprias occultando, Nec tantum quisquam profuit, cum sua merita celaret, quantum iste, cum proderet. Est autem grande malum de se ipso grande aliquid dicere atque mirabile extremaeque dementiae est, nulla imminente necessitate rerum violenta prorsus laudibus velle decorari. Non hoc secundum Deum loqui indicium est, sed potius insaniac est. Hoc enim omnem mercedem evacuat laboribus sudoribusque quaesitam: etenim altius de se efferre sermonem gloriosi est et insolentis seseque jactantis, dicere autem illa, quae praesenti causae tantummodo necessaria sunt, fructum amantis et multorum remedia cogitantis, sicut et fecit Paulus, qui dum a pseudo caperetur, in laudes suas ire compulsus est; maxime quae dignitatem suam ostenderént, plura autem et majora celavit. Veniam, inquit, ad visiones et revelationem de parco etc. Tanta Paulus tamque crebra cum Deo habens eloquia, quanta nec prophetarum nec apostolorum ullus habuit, per ea ipse humilior reddebatur. Visus est plagas metuere, ut disceres, quia secundum naturam unus erat ex pluribus, per voluntatem non solum super multos homines, verum etiam unus ex angelis erat neque vero metuere plagas reprehensione dignum, sed plagarum metu aliquid indignum pietate committere. Hoc ipso enim, quo plagas timet, qui in certamine non vincitur, admirabilior ostenditur, quam ille, qui non timet.
Sicut nec moerere culpabile est, sed per moerorem dicere aut facere aliquid eorum, quae Deo displicent, Hinc qualis fuerit Paulus, ostenditur, quia in tali natura vivens potuit quodammodo supra naturam, quod si mortem timuit, nec ipsam quidem recusabat. Non enim naturam habere infirmitatibus subditam , sed servire infirmitatibus criminosum est, ut merito ille admirabilis habeatur, qui imbecillitatem naturae voluntatis virtute superavit, quam si Johannem, qui dicebatur Marcus, a consortio separavit. Hoc itaque rectissime per praedicationis officium effecit, cum siquidem, qui istud suscepit officium , "non oportet esse mollem aut resolutum, sed fortem et per cuncta robustum. Neque enim aliquis debet attingere praeclari hujus muneris functionem, nisi paratus sit animam millies tradere in mortem atque discrimina. Qui enim non tali animo est, multos alios suo perdet exemplo, magisque utile est, si quiescat sibique tantum vacet. Non ita gubernatorem, non ad bestias dimicantem, non ludo gladiatorio destinatum, non quempiam omnino sic ad discrimina atque mortes paratam atque dispositam animam oportet habere, ut eum, qui officium suscepit praedicandi. Nam et pericula profecto majora et adversarii saeviores nec usquam prorsus simili conditione certatur. Coelum namque in praemio, in supplicio gehenna proponitur.
Si vero aliqua inter eos commotio facta est, noli hoc delictum putare: non enim commoveri malum est, sed irrationabiliter nulloque justo flagitante negotio commoveri malum est. Hunc enim affectum providus nobis creator insernit, ut dormientes animas atque resolutas ab inertia atque desidia suscitaret. Quasi enim gladio aciem , ita menti nostrae irae acumen imposuit, ut, cum oportet, utamur. Benignitas autem semper bona est, sed cum illam tempus efflagitat, quando vero id non adest, etiam illa vitiosa est. Ita et Paulus saepe hoc usus est affectu et immodeste loquentibus melior erat iratus. Hoc autem in eo erat mirabile, quia cum vinculis, werberibus atque vulneribus longe splendidior erat : dyademate purpuraque fulgentibus cumque vinctus per tam vastum pelagus ducebatur, ita gaudebat, tamquam in maximum jmperium duceretur. Postquam vero Romam ingressus est, nec ibi stare contentus est, sed in Hispaniam percurrit nec unum quidem diem in otio passus est et quiete transire, sed in praedicandi ardore ipso igne ardentior nec pericula timuit nec irrisiones erubuit, Hoc vero majori admiratione dignum est, quam cum tam audax esset ac velut ad pugnam semper accinctus et ignem quendam belli aspirans rursus placabilem atque flexibilem se praebebat. Nam saevienti vel potius ferventi praeceperunt, ut iret Tarsum, non recusavit, dixerunt per murum eum oportere deponi et passus est, Hujus rei gratia ista faciebat, ut praedicationi diutius insisteret et cum multis hinc credentibus iret ad Christum.
Metuebat profecto, ne forte pauper hinc atque inops salutis multorum abscederet. Ceterum cumque hi, qui sub uno pugnant magistro, viderint in eo infixa ) vulnera,- fluentem sanguinem et nec sic ipsum hostibus aliquando cedentem, sed stantem fortiter hastamque vibrantem et crebris ictibus adversarios corruere facientem nec omnino dolori parcentem, majori absque dubio tanto duci alacritate subduntur. Hoc ita factum est in Paulo. Videntes enim illum ligatum catenis nihilominus in carcere praedicantem, videntes etiam vulneratum et tamen verberantes ipsos sermone capientem , majorem profecto fiduciam colligebant. Id quod significans ait, ita ut plures e fratribus confidentes in vinculis meis abundanter auderent, sine timore verbum Dei loqui. Tunc certiorem alacritatem ipse capiebat et vehementius in adversarios ferebatur. Sicut enim ignis in diversas plerumque materias incidens augetur magis et incrementa sortitur, sic etiam lingua Pauli quibuscunque fuisset admota, ad se eos continuo transferebat. Impugnatores quoque ejus pabulum spirituale efficiebantur igni, quia per ipsos evangelii lamma magis crescebat.
Haec Chrysostomus.
The Golden Legend (Legenda Aurea) companion
Continue through all 240 chapters, one saint a day
Chosen Portion serves the Golden Legend as a daily portion on iOS, free, alongside the full Sub Rosa archive
The Legenda Aurea was organized for day-by-day use across the liturgical year, and Chosen Portion restores that original one-feast-per-day reading rhythm
- A complete saint's life or feast reading most days in 5-10 minutes
- 240 chapters - enough daily readings to cover a full liturgical year and beyond
- Daily reminders so the plan survives busy weeks