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Chapter 35SermC.1.35

Sermo 35

The Harsh Command to Go Out

The Bridegroom's severe rebuke 'Go out' is directed at the beloved soul only when she fails to know herself, threatening her with exile from the inner life of the spirit into the toil and restlessness of the flesh.

"If you don't know yourself," he says, "go out."✦ It's a harsh and cutting rebuke, what he says: "Go out." This is indeed the word that slaves are used to hearing from masters who are very angry and indignant, or maidservants from their mistresses, when they have gravely offended them: "Get out of here, get away from me, leave my sight and this house."✦ So the bridegroom uses this word — harsh and bitter enough, even excessively rebuking — against his beloved, yet only on the condition that she has been ignorant of herself. For nothing stronger or more effective could have been directed at her to frighten her than to threaten her with being sent out. You can notice this too, if you pay close attention to where she is being ordered to go out from, and to where. For where do you think she is going out from and to, if not from spirit to flesh, from the goods of the mind to worldly desires, from the inner rest of the mind to the world's clamor and the restlessness of outward cares? In all of this there is nothing but toil and pain, and affliction of spirit.✦

The Soul's Fear of Losing Grace

A soul that has once tasted the sweetness of interior devotion fears nothing more than being abandoned by grace and driven back into the desolations of the flesh and the restless curiosity of the senses.

For a soul that has once learned from the Lord and received the grace to enter into itself, to long for God's presence in its deepest parts, and to seek his face always — for God is spirit, and those who seek him must walk in the spirit and not in the flesh, so that they don't live according to the flesh — such a soul, I say, I don't know whether it would consider even hell itself, experienced for a time, more horrible or more painful than, after once tasting the sweetness of this spiritual devotion, going out again to the allurements of the flesh, or rather to its troubles, and returning once more to the insatiable curiosity of the senses, as Ecclesiastes says: "The eye is not filled by seeing, nor the ear by hearing."✦12 Hear someone experienced in what we are speaking about: 'You are good, Lord, to those who hope in you, to the soul that seeks you.'✦3 If anyone tried to turn that holy soul away from this good, I think he would receive no different treatment than if he himself were driven out of paradise and from the very entrance of glory. Hear yet another passage like this one: 'My heart has said to you, my face has sought you; your face, Lord, I will seek.'✦4 Whence he also said: 'For me, it is good to cling to God'; and likewise, speaking to his own soul, he says: 'Return, my soul, to your rest, for the Lord has done good to you.'✦✦5 So I say to you: there is nothing that anyone who has once received this benefit fears so much as being abandoned by grace and forced to go out again to the consolations of the flesh — or rather, the desolations — and once more to endure the tumults of carnal senses.

Go Out and Feed the Goats

The command 'Go out and feed your goats' signifies the soul's fall from heavenly contemplation to the base, wandering senses of the body, which feed not on heavenly pastures but on worldly things beside the shepherds' tents.

That threat is terrifying and deeply frightening: "Go out and feed your kids."✦ Which means: you'll realize you're unworthy of that familiar and sweet contemplation of heavenly, intelligible, and divine things. So go out from my sanctuary, from your heart, where you used to sweetly draw in the hidden and sacred senses of truth and wisdom; and instead, like one of the worldly, entangle yourself with feeding and delighting the senses of your flesh. The kids—which signify sin and are to be placed on the left at the judgment—he calls the wandering and wanton senses of the body, through which sin entered the soul, just as death enters through the windows.✦✦ This also fits well with what follows in Scripture: "Beside the shepherds' tents."✦ For kids aren't fed up above like lambs, but beside the shepherds' tents. The shepherds who are true shepherds indeed have tents from the earth and on the earth—that is, their bodies—during these days in which they now serve; yet they haven't grown accustomed to feeding the Lord's flocks from earthly pastures, but from heavenly ones. For they don't preach their own will to them, but the Lord's. But the kids—which are the senses of the body—don't seek heavenly things; instead, beside the shepherds' tents—that is, in all the sensible goods of this world, which is the region of bodies—they take what they find. And from this, their desires aren't so much satisfied as provoked.

From Heavenly Pilgrimage to Shameful Slavery

The soul that once fed among heavenly mysteries and companied with saints and angels now shamefully enslaves itself to the body, begging consolation from a passing world.

What a shameful shift in pursuits! The soul that had once been, before her fall, a pilgrim and an exile in sacred meditations, as if to feed on heavenly goods, to seek God's good pleasure and the mysteries of his will, to penetrate the heavens by devotion and circle the heavenly dwelling places in her mind, to greet the fathers and apostles and choirs of prophets, to admire the triumphs of martyrs, and to stand in awe at the most beautiful orders of angels — now, with all these things set aside, she gives herself over to the shameful slavery of the body, to obeying the flesh, to satisfying belly and throat, to begging across the whole earth, so that from this passing world she might somehow console her ever-hungry curiosity. Let the outflow of waters stream down my eyes over a soul like this, which, when she was being nourished among finest things, at last embraces filth. For she fed, in the words of a blessed man's opinion, the barren woman who had no children, and did no good to the widow.✦ And see — it doesn't simply say 'go out,' but 'go out,' it says, 'and go away after the flocks of your companions, and feed your goats.'✦ In this, as it seems to me, it warns us of something great. What is it? Alas!

Made Like the Beasts

An excellent creature drawn from the flock is now thrust down among beasts of burden, having been honored in paradise yet failing to understand its own condition.

Because an excellent creature, once drawn from the flock, is now rushing headlong into something worse — miserably — and isn't even allowed to remain among the flocks, but is then ordered to go away. How so, you say? How you read: Although man was in honor, he didn't understand; he is compared to foolish beasts of burden and has become like them.✦ See how from the flock an excellent creature was made. I think the beasts of burden would say — if it were right for them to speak: "Look, Adam has become like one of us."✦ Although he was in honor, it says. In what honor, you ask? He lived in paradise, and his way of life was in a place of delight.

Paradise Lost and Glory Exchanged

Man once dwelt in paradise, crowned with glory and fellowship with angels, but God changed that glory into the likeness of a calf; the bread of angels became grass in a manger, and all flesh withers because of vice, not nature.

He felt no hardship, no want—surrounded by fragrant apples, upheld by flowers, crowned with glory and honor, and set over the work of the Maker's hands; yet he stood out above all this because of the remarkable mark of the divine likeness, and his portion and fellowship was with the company of angels and with the whole army of the heavenly host. But God turned that glory into the likeness of a calf eating grass. That's why the bread of angels became grass, placed in a manger and set before us like beasts of burden.✦ For the Word became flesh, and as the prophet says: All flesh is grass.✦ But this grass has by no means dried up, nor has its flower fallen, because the Spirit of the Lord rested upon it.✦ For this reason there comes, at times, an end to all flesh, because the life-giving spirit had withdrawn. Indeed it says: My spirit will not remain in humanity forever, because they are flesh.✦ Understand that in this passage the word flesh designates vice, not nature: for nature does not destroy the spirit, but vice does. Therefore, because of vice, all flesh is grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass.✦

The Enduring Bread of the Word

Unlike withered grass, the Word made flesh endures forever; the bread of angels offers eternal life, and Christ's flesh, vivified by the Spirit, cannot see corruption.

The hay, he says, has dried up and the flower has fallen — but not that flower which rose from the rod and root of Jesse, because the Spirit of the Lord rested on him; nor that hay which became the Word, because what follows in the prophet applies: the Word of the Lord endures forever.✦✦ For if the Word is hay, and the Word endures forever, then the hay too must endure forever. Otherwise, how can it offer eternal life if it doesn't itself last forever? For he says: If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.✦ And he reveals which bread he means when he adds: The bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.✦ How then is it not eternal, when one lives eternally by it?

The Holy Hay and the Stable of the Lord

The holy flesh of Christ sprang from an incorrupt womb and draws the angels' wonder; yet man, once lord of paradise, now lies beast-like in a stable, bound to a manger, and is called to recognize and worship his Lord there.

But recall with me now the voice of the Son speaking to the Father in the psalm: 'You will not allow your Holy One to see corruption,' he says. There's no doubt he's speaking about the body that lay lifeless in the tomb. For this is the Holy One the announcing angel spoke of to the Virgin, saying: 'And what is born from you, the Holy One, will be called the Son of God.'✦ So how could this holy hay see corruption — hay that sprang from the perpetual greenness of an incorrupt womb, flourishing in ever-verdant pastures, and that can draw even the eager gaze of angels to itself, fixing their insatiable delight? Let the hay lose its greenness indeed, if Mary should lose her virginity. So the food of man changed into the fodder of a beast, with man changed into a beast. Alas, what a sad and tearful change! So the man who was a dweller of paradise, lord of the earth, citizen of heaven, household member of the Lord of hosts, brother of blessed spirits and co-heir of heavenly virtues — by a sudden turning of himself found himself, because of weakness, lying in a stable; because of a beastly likeness, needing hay; and because of untamed ferocity, tied to a manger — as it is written: 'With bit and bridle restrain their jaws, those who do not draw near to you.'✦ But recognize, O ox, your owner; and you, donkey, recognize the manger of your Lord, so that God's prophets may be found faithful, who spoke beforehand of these things, God's wondrous acts. Know, O cattle, the man you did not know; worship in the stable the one you fled in paradise; honor the manger whose authority you scorned; eat the hay that you once disdained as bread, even the bread of angels.

The Root of the Fall: Not Understanding

The great downfall came because man in honor did not understand; this ignorance must be fled at all costs, lest affliction fail to teach understanding and heavier evils overtake us.

But what caused so great a downfall, you ask? In truth, because man, though he was in honor, did not understand. What did he not understand? He does not say: Let us speak. Set in honor, he did not understand that he was mud, delighted by the height of honor; and immediately he experienced in himself what a man of the sons of captivity noticed only after so much time, and wisely, and truly brought forth, saying: Whoever thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, deceives himself. Woe to the wretched one, because there was no one who would even then say to him: Why are you proud, earth and ashes? From this, a noble creature was mingled with the flock; from this, the likeness of God was changed into a bestial likeness; from this, fellowship with beasts of burden was begun in place of the companionship of angels. You see how we must flee this ignorance, from which so many thousands of evils have come upon our whole race? For Scripture says that man was compared to foolish beasts of burden precisely because he did not understand.✦ So ignorance must be avoided at all costs, lest, if we are still found without understanding even after our affliction, far more and heavier evils than before will overtake us, and it will be said of us: 'We cared for Babylon, and she is not healed.'✦ And rightly so, since affliction has not given understanding to the hearing.

Driven Behind the Flocks

The Bridegroom's command to go out behind the flocks of companions reveals a second, worse ignorance: the rational soul, unlike cattle, will be cast alone into outer darkness, left behind even the beasts it once resembled.

And see to it that the bridegroom, even from this, would not — since he deterred his beloved from ignorance with such a thunderbolt of reproof — for that very reason say at least this much: 'Go out with the flocks,' or 'Go out to the flocks,' but rather, 'Go out,' he says, 'behind the flocks of your companions.' Why this? Surely, so that he might show that a second ignorance ought accordingly to be feared and shamed more than the first — because the former had made a human being equal to beasts, and this second one even more so.✦ For human beings who are ignored through their ignorance — that is, rejected — deserve to stand before that terrible judgment and to be handed over to everlasting fire; but not so the cattle.✦ And there is no doubt that it will be worse for those who will be like this than for those who will not exist at all. It would have been better for that one, he says, if that man had never been born.✦ Not that he would never have been born at all, but that he would never have been born a human being — but rather, for instance, cattle, or some other creature, which, since it would have no judgment, would not come to judgment, and because of this, not to punishment either. Let the rational soul therefore know — the soul that blushes on account of its former ignorance — that the cattle have companions in enjoying the good things of the earth, but that it will not likewise have companions in enduring the torments of Gehenna; and then it will even be driven out in disgrace from the very flocks of its companions, the beasts of burden; nor will it any longer go out even with them, but clearly behind them — when they perceive no evil, it will itself be exposed to all evils, from which it will never be set free, since it added a second act of ignorance to the first.✦✦ So a man goes out and walks away alone after the flocks of his companions, when he alone is thrust down into the lower hell. Doesn't the latter seem to you to hold a lower place—the one who, with hands and feet bound, is thrown into the outer darkness?✦ And the final state of that man will certainly be worse than his former one: he who was once ranked with beasts is now even left behind them.

More Beastly Than Beasts

A person who possesses reason yet lives without it is in a way more beastly than the beasts, and is rightly judged to fall behind the herds both by a depraved life now and by the extremity of punishment later.

I think that even in this present life, if you look carefully, you'll judge a person to be going to a place lower than the flocks. Doesn't it seem to you that a person is, in a certain way, more beastly than the beasts themselves — thriving by reason, yet not living by reason? For livestock, if it doesn't govern itself by reason, has an excuse from nature, by which this gift was utterly denied to it; but a person has no such excuse, to whom reason was given as a special prerogative. Rightly, then, by that very fact a person is judged to go out and fall in behind the living herds — because this alone is the animal that, degenerating in its way of life, transgressing the laws of nature, possessing reason, yet lacking reason, imitates the manners and passions of those without reason. A person is therefore convicted of going after the flocks — now by a depraved nature, but afterward also by the extremity of punishment.

The Two Ignorances and a Prayer for Help

Whoever is ignorant of God or of himself will be ignored; both kinds of ignorance are damnable, and the sermon closes with a prayer that the Bridegroom guard preacher and listeners from receiving the bread of the soul without desire.

See how the person is cursed who is found to be ignorant of God. Of God, or of himself — which should I say? Both, without a doubt: either kind of ignorance is damnable, and either one on its own is enough to bring about your ruin. Do you want to know that this is so? But you don't doubt God at all, at least if it's settled in your mind that there is no other eternal life than this: that you may know the Father, the true God, and the one he sent, Jesus Christ. Therefore hear the Bridegroom, openly and clearly condemning ignorance of the soul right within your soul. For what does he say? Not 'If you are ignorant of God,' but: 'If you are ignorant of yourself,' and so on. So it's clear that whoever is ignorant will be ignored — whether the person ignores himself or whether he ignores God. A discussion about each of these kinds of ignorance will be very useful for us, if God is the one who applies his hand. But not only that — otherwise, worn down and with no prayer first offered as usual, I might pursue a necessary subject less carefully, or you might listen to things that should only be taken up with the greatest desire less attentively. For just as bodily food, when you take it without appetite and already full, not only does no good but actually does great harm — much more so, bread of the soul taken with distaste brings not the nourishment of knowledge but rather a torment to your conscience. May the bridegroom of the Church, Jesus Christ our Lord, who is God above all, blessed forever, turn this away from us. Amen.

Read the original Latin

Si te, inquit, ignoras, egredere. Dura et aspera increpatio, quod dicit, egredere. Hoc quippe verbum servi audire solent a valde irascentibus et indignantibus dominis, vel ancillae a dominabus suis, cum graviter illas offenderint: Exi hinc, exi a me, egredere a conspectu meo et a domo ista. Hoc ergo verbo aspero et amaro satis, nimiumque increpatorio utitur modo sponsus contra dilectam, sub conditione tamen, si se ipsam ignoraverit. Nil quippe validius efficaciusve ad terrendum potuit in eam intendere, quam ut egredi minaretur. Quod et tu advertere potes, si bene attendas unde quo egredi iubeatur. Unde enim, quo putas, nisi de spiritu ad carnem, de bonis animi ad saecularia desideria, de interna requie mentis ad mundi strepitum, et inquietudinem curarum exteriorum? In quibus omnibus non est nisi labor et dolor, atque afflictio spiritus.

Quae enim anima semel a Domino didicit et accepit intrare ad se ipsam, et in intimis suis Dei praesentiam suspirare, et quaerere faciem eius semper: spiritus est enim Deus; et qui quaerunt eum, oportet eos in spiritu ambulare, et non in carne, ut secundum carnem vivant: talis, inquam, anima nescio an vel ipsam gehennam ad tempus experiri horribilius poenaliusve ducat, quam post spiritualis studii huius gustatam semel suavitatem exire denuo ad illecebras, vel potius ad molestias carnis, sensuumque inexplebilem repetere curiositatem, dicente Ecclesiaste: Oculus non impletur visu, nec auris auditu. Audi enim hominem expertum quae loquimur: Bonus es, inquit, Domine, sperantibus in te, animae quaerenti te. Ab hoc bono si quis avertere sanctam illam animam conaretur, puto haud secus accepisset, quam si se de paradiso, et ab ipso introitu gloriae conspiceret deturbari. Audi adhuc et alium similem huic: Tibi dixit cor meum, ait, exquisivit te facies mea; faciem tuam, Domine, requiram. Unde et dicebat: Mihi autem adhaerere Deo bonum est; et item loquens ad animam suam dicit: Convertere, anima mea, in requiem tuam, quia Dominus beneficit tibi. Dico ergo vobis: Nihil est quod in tantum formidet, quisquis hoc beneficium semel accepit, quam ne gratia derelictus, necesse habeat denuo egredi ad carnis consolationes, imo desolationes; rursumque carnalium sensuum sustinere tumultus.

Terribilis proinde et nimis formidolosa comminatio: Egredere, et pasce haedos tuos. Quod est: Indignam te noveris illa tua familiari et suavi rerum contemplatione coelestium, intelligibilium, divinarum. Quamobrem egredere de sanctuario meo, corde tuo, ubi secretos sacrosque veritatis ac sapientiae sensus dulciter haurire solebas; et magis tanquam una de saecularibus, pascendis et oblectandis tuae carnis sensibus intricare. Haedos quippe (qui peccatum significant, et in iudicio collocandi sunt a sinistris) dicit vagos et petulantes corporis sensus, per quos peccatum, tanquam mors per fenestras, intravit ad animam. Cui et bene congruit quod sequitur in Scriptura: Iuxta tabernacula pastorum. Non enim supra, sicut agni, sed iuxta tabernacula pastorum haedi pascuntur. Pastores siquidem, qui veri pastores sunt, licet tabernacula habeant de terra et in terra, corpora videlicet sua, in diebus quibus nunc militant; non tamen de terra, sed de coelestibus pascuis greges Dominicos pascere consueverunt: neque enim suam eis, sed Domini praedicant voluntatem. At haedi, qui sunt corporis sensus, coelestia non requirunt; sed iuxta tabernacula pastorum, in omnibus videlicet bonis sensibilibus huius mundi, quae est regio corporum, sumunt, unde sua desideria non tam satient quam irritent.

Turpis mutatio studiorum! ut cui ante studii fuerat, peregrinantem et exsulem animam suam sacris meditationibus, tanquam coelestibus pascere bonis, Dei beneplacitum et mysteria voluntatis eius inquirere, penetrare devotione coelos, et mente supernas circuire mansiones, salutare patres atque apostolos et choros prophetarum, martyrumque admirari triumphos, ac stupere pulcherrimos ordines angelorum: nunc omnibus his omissis, turpi se mancipet corporis servituti ad obediendum carni, ad satisfaciendum ventri et gulae, ad mendicandum in universa terra, unde ex ea quae praeterit mundi huius figura, suam semper famelicam curiositatem aliquatenus consoletur. Exitus aquarum deducant oculi mei super huiusmodi animam, quae cum nutriretur in croceis, demum amplexatur stercora. Pavit enim, iuxta beati viri sententiam, sterilem quae non habebat filios, et viduae non benefecit. Et vide, quia non simpliciter, egredere; sed, egredere, inquit, et abi post greges sodalium tuorum, et pasce haedos tuos. In quo, ut mihi videtur, magnae cuiusdam rei nos admonet. Quid istud? Heu!

quod egregia creatura, iam olim facta de grege, et nunc in peius miserabiliter proruens, non saltem inter greges remanere permittitur, sed post abire iubetur. Quomodo, inquis? Quomodo legis: Homo cum in honore esset, non intellexit; comparatus est iumentis insipientibus, et similis factus est illis. Ecce quomodo de grege facta est egregia creatura. Puto, dicerent iumenta, si loqui fas esset: Ecce Adam factus est quasi unus ex nobis. Cum in honore esset, inquit. In quo honore, quaeris? Habitabat in paradiso, et in loco voluptatis conversatio eius.

Nihil molestiae, nihil indigentiae sentiebat, odoriferis stipatus malis, fulcitus floribus, gloria et honore coronatus, et constitutus super opera manuum Plasmatoris; magis autem ob insigne divinae similitudinis praecellebat; et erat illi sors et societas cum plebe angelorum, et cum omni militia coelestis exercitus.

Sed mutavit istam gloriam Dei in similitudinem vituli comedentis fenum. Inde est quod panis angelorum factus est fenum positum in praesepio, appositum nobis tanquam iumentis. Verbum quippe caro factum est, et iuxta prophetam: Omnis caro fenum. At fenum istud minime desiccatum est, nec ex eo cecidit flos, quia requievit super ipsum Spiritus Domini. Propter hoc namque aliquando finis venit universae carnis, quia spiritus recesserat vitae. Denique ait: Non permanebit spiritus meus in homine in aeternum, quia caro est. Carnis nomine hoc loco vitium designari intellige, non naturam: nec enim spiritum natura expungit, sed vitium. Propter vitium ergo omnis caro fenum, et omnis gloria eius tanquam flos feni.

Exsiccatum est, inquit, fenum, et cecidit flos; sed non ille flos qui de virga et radice Iesse ascendit, eo quod requievit super eum Spiritus Domini; nec illud fenum quod Verbum factum est, pro eo quod sequitur in propheta, Verbum autem Domini manet in aeternum. Si enim fenum Verbum, et Verbum in aeternum manet, fenum quoque necesse est maneat in aeternum. Alioquin quomodo vitam praebet aeternam, si ipsum minime manet in aeternum? Ait enim: Si quis manducaverit ex hoc pane, vivet in aeternum. Et quem panem dicat, aperit cum subiungit: Et panis quem ego dabo, caro mea est pro mundi vita. Quomodo ergo aeternum non est, quo aeternaliter vivitur?

Sed recole nunc mecum vocem Filii ad Patrem loquentis in psalmo: Non dabis, inquit, Sanctum tuum videre corruptionem. Haud dubium quin de corpore dicat, quod in sepulcro iacebat exanime. Hoc enim sanctum et angelus qui nuntiavit Virgini, locutus est dicens: Et quod nascetur ex te Sanctum, vocabitur Filius Dei. Quo ergo pacto sanctum fenum poterat videre corruptionem, quod de incorrupti uteri perpetuo virore vernantibus pascuis ortum, etiam avidos angelorum in se figere possit obtutus, insatiabiliter oblectandos? Perdat sane fenum viriditatem, si Maria virginitatem amiserit. Ergo cibus hominis mutavit se in pabulum pecoris, homine mutato in pecus. Heu tristis et lacrymosa mutatio! ut homo paradisi accola, terrae dominus, coeli civis, domesticus Domini sabaoth, frater beatorum spirituum, et coelestium cohaeres virtutum, repentina se conversione invenerit et propter infirmitatem iacentem in stabulo, et propter similitudinem pecorinam indigentem feno, et propter indomitam feritatem alligatum praesepio, sicut scriptum est: In camo et freno maxillas eorum constringe, qui non approximant ad te.

Agnosce tamen, o bos, possessorem tuum; et tu, asine, praesepe domini tui; ut prophetae Dei fideles inveniantur, qui ista sunt Dei mirabilia praelocuti. Cognosce, pecus, quem non cognovisti homo; adora in stabulo quem fugiebas in paradiso; honora praesepium cuius contempsisti imperium; comede fenum, quem panem, et panem angelicum fastidisti.

Sed quaenam causa, inquis, tantae deiectionis? Profecto quod homo cum in honore esset, non intellexit. Quid non intellexit? Non dicit: Nos dicamus. Positus in honore non intellexit quod limus esset, honoris fastigio delectatus; et continuo in se expertus est, quod tanto post tempore homo de filiis captivitatis et prudenter advertit, et veraciter protulit, dicens: Qui se putat aliquid esse, cum nihil sit, ipse se seducit. Vae misero, quod non fuit qui iam tunc diceret ei: Quid superbis, terra et cinis? Hinc egregia creatura gregi admista est, hinc bestiali similitudine Dei similitudo mutata est, hinc societas cum iumentis pro consortio angelorum inita est. Vides quam sit fugienda nobis haec ignorantia, de qua tot millia malorum universo nostro generi provenerunt?

Ait enim propterea hominem iumentis insipientibus comparatum, quia non intellexit. Cavenda proinde omnimodis ignorantia, ne forte, si adhuc sine intellectu, et post vexationem, inventi fuerimus, multo plura et graviora prioribus mala inveniant nos, dicaturque de nobis: Curavimus Babylonem, et non est sanata. Merito quidem, quod nec vexatio dederit intellectum auditui.

Et vide ne forte etiam hinc sponsus, cum dilectam ab ignorantia tanto increpationis tonitruo deterreret, propterea minime dixerit: Egredere cum gregibus; aut: Egredere ad greges; sed: Egredere, ait, post greges sodalium tuorum. Utquid hoc? Sane ut secundam proinde ignorantiam priore magis pavendam pudendamque ostenderet, quod illa hominem bestiis parem fecisset, ista et posteriorem. Nam homines quidem merito ignorantiae ignorati, id est reprobati, et ad tremendum illud iudicium stare, et igni perpetuo tradi habent, non autem et pecudes. Nec dubium fore deterius his qui sic erunt, quam his qui omnino non erunt. Melius ei fuerat, inquit, si natus non fuisset homo ille. Non utique si natus non fuisset omnino, sed si natus non fuisset homo; sed, verbi gratia, aut pecus, aut alia quaepiam creatura: quae quoniam iudicium non haberet, ad iudicium non veniret, ac per hoc nec ad supplicium. Sciat ergo anima rationalis, quae se ob priorem ignorantiam erubescit, pecudes habere sodales in perfruendis utique bonis terrae; non etiam similiter socias habituram in perferendis tormentis gehennae; et tum demum etiam ab ipsis gregibus suorum sodalium iumentorum cum dedecore exturbandum; nec iam vel cum ipsis ituram, sed plane post, quando illis nihil mali sentientibus, ipsa malis omnibus exponetur: a quibus non liberabitur in aeternum, siquidem secundo ignorare adiecerit.

Egreditur itaque homo, et solitarius abit post greges sodalium suorum, cum solus in inferno inferiori retruditur. Annon tibi posteriorem videtur tenere locum, qui ligatis manibus et pedibus proiicitur in tenebras exteriores? Et erunt profecto novissima hominis illius peiora prioribus, quando qui prius bestiis aequabatur, nunc et postponitur.

Puto quod et in praesenti vita, si bene advertas, posteriorem ire pecoribus hominem iudicabis. An non siquidem tibi videtur ipsis bestiis quodam modo bestialior esse homo ratione vigens, et ratione non vivens? Nam pecus quidem si se ratione non regat, excusationem habet a natura, a qua hoc ei penitus munus negatum est; non habet homo, cui ab ipsa speciali praerogativa donatum est. Merito proinde eo ipso censetur homo egredi, et post ire gregalibus animantibus, quod solum hoc animal conversatione degeneri iura naturae transgrediens, rationis compos rationis expertia moribus et affectibus imitatur. Convincitur ergo ire post greges homo, et nunc quidem depravatione naturae, postmodum autem et extremitate poenae.

Ecce sic maledicetur homo qui ignorantiam Dei habere inventus fuerit. Dei dicam, an sui? Utrumque sine dubio: utraque ignorantia damnabilis est, utralibet sufficit ad perditionem. Vis scire quia ita est? Sed de Dei minime dubitas, si tamen constat tibi non aliam vitam esse aeternam, quam ut Patrem cognoscas Deum verum, et quem misit Iesum Christum. Audi ergo sponsum liquido et aperte in anima etiam animae ignorantiam condemnantem. Quid enim dicit? Non utique si Deum, sed: Si ignoras te, inquit, etc.

Patet ergo quia ignorans ignorabitur, sive se, sive Deum ignorare contingat. De qua utraque ignorantia erit nobis, si tamen Deus manum apponit, utilis admodum disputatio. Non modo tamen; ne fatigati, et non praemissa ex more oratione, aut ego minus diligenter rem necessariam prosequar, aut vos minus attente, quae nonnisi magno suscipienda sunt desiderio, audiatis. Etenim si corporis cibus, cum absque appetitu et satiatus illum sumis, non modo non prodest, sed et nocet plurimum; multo magis panis animae cum fastidio sumptus, non scientiae nutrimentum, sed magis tormentum conscientiae importabit. Quod a nobis avertat sponsus Ecclesiae Iesus Christus Dominus noster, qui est super omnia Deus benedictus in saecula. Amen.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Song.8.5 — Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? Under the apple tree I awakened you; there your mother was in labor with you; there she who bore you was in labor.
  2. ↩Matt.25.41 — Then he will also say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'
  3. ↩Gen.3.17 — And to Adam he said, "Because you listened to the voice of your wife and ate from the tree of which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat from it,' cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life.
  4. ↩Eccl.1.8 — All things are wearisome; no one is able to speak of them. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor is the ear filled with hearing.
  5. ↩Ps.25.3;Isa.30.18 — Indeed, all who wait for you shall not be put to shame; those who are treacherous shall be put to shame, empty-handed. Isa.30.18 — Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you; therefore he rises to show you mercy, for the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him.
  6. ↩Ps.27.8 — My heart says of you, 'Seek my face.' Your face, LORD, I will seek.
  7. ↩Ps.73.28 — But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may proclaim all your works.
  8. ↩Ps.116.7 — Return, my soul, to your rest, for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.
  9. ↩Song.1.8 — If you do not know, O most beautiful among women, go out by the tracks of the flock, and pasture your young goats near the shepherds' tents.
  10. ↩Matt.25.33 — And he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at his left.
  11. ↩Jer.9.21 — Speak thus — declares the LORD — and the corpse of man shall fall like dung upon the face of the field, and like sheaves after the reaper, and there is none to gather.
  12. ↩Song.1.8 — If you do not know, O most beautiful among women, go out by the tracks of the flock, and pasture your young goats near the shepherds' tents.
  13. ↩Ps.113.9 — He who makes the barren woman dwell at home as a joyful mother of children — praise the LORD.
  14. ↩Song.1.7 — Tell me, whom my soul loves, where you pasture your flock, where you make it lie down at noon; for why should I be like one who wanders beside the flocks of your companions?
  15. ↩Ps.49.12 — Their inward thought is that their houses are forever, their dwelling places for generation after generation; they have called out over the lands by their own names.
  16. ↩Gen.3.22 — And the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Now then, lest he reach out his hand and also take from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever—"
  17. ↩Ps.78.25 — Man ate the bread of the mighty; provisions he sent them to the full.
  18. ↩Isa.40.6 — A voice says, "Cry out!" And I said, "What shall I cry?" All flesh is grass, and all its faithfulness is like the flower of the field.
  19. ↩Isa.11.2 — And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
  20. ↩Gen.6.3 — Then the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred twenty years."
  21. ↩Isa.40.6-Isa.40.7 — A voice says, "Cry out!" And I said, "What shall I cry?" All flesh is grass, and all its faithfulness is like the flower of the field. Isa.40.7 — The grass withers, the flower fades, for the breath of the LORD blows upon it; truly, the grass is the people.
  22. ↩Isa.40.6-Isa.40.8 — A voice says, "Cry out!" And I said, "What shall I cry?" All flesh is grass, and all its faithfulness is like the flower of the field. Isa.40.7 — The grass withers, the flower fades, for the breath of the LORD blows upon it; truly, the grass is the people. Isa.40.8 — The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.
  23. ↩Isa.11.1 — A shoot will come forth from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
  24. ↩John.6.51 — I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.
  25. ↩John.6.51 — I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.
  26. ↩Luke.1.35 — And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore also the one to be born will be called Son of God."
  27. ↩Ps.31.9 — But you have not shut me up in the hand of the enemy; you have set my feet in a broad place.
  28. ↩Ps.48.13 — Walk around Zion, go around her, count her towers.
  29. ↩Jer.51.9 — We would heal Babylon, but she is not healed. Forsake her, and let each one go to his own land, for her judgment reaches to the heavens and rises up to the skies.
  30. ↩Ps.48.13 — Walk around Zion, go around her, count her towers.
  31. ↩Matt.25.41;Matt.25.46 — Then he will also say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.' Matt.25.46 — And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
  32. ↩Mark.14.21;Matt.26.24 — For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born. Matt.26.24 — The Son of Man goes as it has been written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.
  33. ↩Matt.8.12;Matt.13.42 — But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matt.13.42 — and they will throw them into the furnace of fire; there will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.
  34. ↩Matt.25.30 — And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
  35. ↩Matt.22.13 — Then the king said to his servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

Notes

  1. 1 ↩poenaliusve: uncertain morphological segmentation; rendered as 'more painful' in parallel with 'more horrible'.
  2. 2 ↩Ecclesiastes quote: Oculus non impletur visu, nec auris auditu — candidate biblical source pending Moses resolution.
  3. 3 ↩Quote attributed to the Lord; candidate biblical source pending Moses resolution.
  4. 4 ↩Tibi dixit cor meum... faciem tuam, Domine, requiram — candidate biblical source pending Moses resolution.
  5. 5 ↩Two candidate biblical sources: 'Mihi autem adhaerere Deo bonum est' and 'Convertere, anima mea, in requiem tuam' — pending Moses resolution.

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