Sermo 36
Bound to Speak
The preacher confesses his threefold obligation to speak—vow, love, and reverence for God—and asks prayer that his words may match his life, then announces the topic: two kinds of damnable ignorance.
Here I am, bound to my promise; here I am, bound to your desires; here I am, bound even to God by the service I owe. As you can see, I am compelled to speak for three reasons: the truth of my commitment, brotherly love, and reverence for the Lord. If I stay silent, my own mouth will condemn me. And what if I speak? Honestly, I am afraid of the same judgment — that my mouth will condemn me all over again, for speaking and not acting. Support me with your prayers, so that I may always both say what I ought and put into practice what I say. You are aware that our topic today is a discussion about ignorance — or rather, about ignorances. If you remember, two kinds were proposed: one about ourselves and the other about God. We warned that both need to be avoided, because both are damnable. What remains is for me to lay this out more clearly and explain it more fully.
Not All Ignorance Condemns
Many kinds of ignorance do not hinder salvation, for countless people have pleased God by pure conscience and simple faith rather than by learning.
But first, I think the question needs to be asked: is all ignorance damnable? And to me, at least, it does not seem so; for not all ignorance condemns, but there are many and countless things that may be unknown without any loss of salvation. For example, if you do not know the carpenter's craft, or the joiner's, or the mason's, and whatever trades of this kind are practiced by people for the needs of this present life — does that hinder salvation? Even without all those arts that are called liberal — though they are learned and practiced through more honorable and more useful studies — very many people have been saved, pleasing God by their conduct and deeds. How many does the Apostle count up in his Epistle to the Hebrews as having become beloved, not through knowledge of letters, but through a pure conscience and unfeigned faith? All of them pleased God in their own life — by the merits of that life, not by knowledge. Peter, and Andrew, and the sons of Zebedee, and all the rest of the disciples — they were not chosen from the school of rhetoricians or of philosophers; and yet, nevertheless, the Savior worked salvation through them in the midst of the earth. He did not save them by the wisdom that was in them — a wisdom greater than that in all the living, as a holy man once confessed of himself — but by their faith and gentleness he made them saved, and also saints, and also teachers. In short, they made known to the world the ways of life — not through loftiness of speech or through learned words of human wisdom, but just as it pleased God, through the foolishness of their preaching to make believers saved, because the world, in its own wisdom, did not know him.✦
The Swelling and the Aching of Knowledge
Knowledge is not condemned outright, but it differs: some knowledge puffs up and saddens, and the ache of true knowledge is to be preferred to its swelling.
I may seem excessive in my mockery of knowledge, as if I were condemning the learned and forbidding the pursuit of letters. Far from it! I am not unaware how much the learned have benefited and do benefit the Church, whether to refute those who oppose them or to instruct the simple. In fact, I have read: Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you, so that you may not serve me as a priest; and I have read: Those who are learned will shine like the splendor of the firmament, and those who instruct many to justice, like the stars for endless ages. And I know where I have read this: Knowledge puffs up, and again: Whoever adds knowledge adds pain. You see that there is a difference among kinds of knowledge: at one time it puffs up, at another it saddens. But I would want you to know which of these seems to you more useful or more necessary for salvation: the one that swells up, or the one that aches. But I do not doubt that you would prefer the aching to the swelling, because the pain demands the health that the swelling only pretends to be.
Wisdom for Sobriety's Sake
Since the time is short and salvation is urgent, the wise soul seeks first the knowledge closest to salvation, guided by humility and grace rather than by pride.
But whoever asks for salvation is drawing near to it, since whoever asks, receives. In short, the one who heals the brokenhearted detests the puffed up, as Wisdom says, because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. And the Apostle was saying: 'I say, through the grace given to me, to all of you: do not be wise beyond what it is proper to be wise, but be wise for sobriety's sake.' It does not forbid being wise, only being wise beyond what is proper. But what is being wise for sobriety's sake? To watch most carefully what you ought to know first and foremost. For the time is short. All knowledge in itself is good, as long as it is upheld by truth. But since you are hastening to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, because the time is so short, strive rather to learn the things you have perceived to be closer to salvation.1
Measure and Order in Learning
Just as the body needs measured and ordered food, so the soul needs measured and ordered knowledge, lest even good things become harmful.
Do not physicians of the body define their portion of medicine by choosing, among foods to be taken, what should come first, what should come later, and in what measure each should be taken? For even though it is agreed that the foods God created are good, you, if you do not observe measure and order in taking them, clearly render them not good for yourself. So what I say about foods, think about this also about branches of knowledge.
The Manner of Knowing
True knowledge depends on the manner of knowing: the order that puts salvation first, the zeal that serves love, and the purpose that seeks edification rather than empty glory.
But I would rather send you to the Master. This is not our own judgment, but his — and yet it is ours too, because it comes from Truth itself. Whoever thinks they know something, he says, does not yet know how they ought to know it. You see that someone who knows many things does not prove themselves if they have not learned the proper measure of knowing. You see, I am telling you, how the fruit and benefit of knowledge depend on the manner of knowing. So what does the manner of knowing say? What, except that you should know in what order, with what zeal, and for what purpose each thing ought to be known? In what order — so that you tackle first what most urgently serves your salvation; with what zeal — so that you pursue more ardently what draws you more powerfully toward love; for what purpose — so that it is not for empty glory, or curiosity, or anything like that, but solely for your own growth in faith or your neighbor's.
Why We Want to Know
Some seek knowledge from curiosity, vanity, or profit, but only those who seek it to build up others or to be built up themselves use knowledge rightly in love and prudence.
There are those who want to know for this sole purpose: just to know — and that is a shameful curiosity. And there are those who want to know so that they themselves may be known — and that is a shameful vanity. They certainly will not escape the mocking satirist — the one who taunts a person like this: 'Your knowing is nothing, unless another knows that you know it.'2 (Persius, Satire 1, verse 27.) 27.) And likewise there are those who want to know in order to sell their knowledge — for money, for honors — and that is shameful profit. But there are also those who want to know in order to build up others — and that is love. And likewise those who want to know in order to be built up — and that is prudence.3
Undigested Knowledge as Sin
Knowledge that is known but not done becomes sin, like undigested food that corrupts the body; only knowledge broken down by love and lived in action nourishes the soul.
Of all these, only the last two are free from the misuse of knowledge — those who want to understand in order to do good. In short: understanding benefits everyone who puts it into practice. Let all the rest listen: for the one who knows the good and does not do it, that is sin; and, as if speaking through a comparison, for the one who takes food and does not digest it, it is harmful. Undigested food that is not properly broken down produces bad humors, corrupts the body, and provides no nourishment. So too, much knowledge poured into the stomach of the soul — which is memory — if it has not been broken down by the fire of love, and so passed and digested through certain limbs of the soul, namely its character and actions, in order that the soul itself may become good from the good things it has known, with life and conduct bearing witness — will not that knowledge be reckoned as sin, like food turned into wicked and harmful humors? Is not a bad humor sin? Are not bad humors wicked character? But will not the one who is like this — knowing the good, clearly, and not doing it — endure swellings and torments in conscience?
The Torment of Knowing and Not Doing
The soul that knows the good and does not do it endures the torment of a guilty conscience, and the prophet's doubled lament mourns both those who refuse knowledge and those who know yet live badly.
Will not someone hold within himself an answer worthy of death and damnation every time the word comes to mind that God spoke: that a servant who knows the will of his Lord and does not do what deserves it will be beaten with many blows? And watch out that perhaps in the person of such a soul the prophet would mourn, saying: I grieve in my inward parts, I grieve in my inward parts. Unless the doubling itself seems to hint at a double meaning, so that beyond the one we have mentioned, we should look for another as well. For I think the prophet could have said this in his own person: that filled with knowledge and burning with love, longing to pour it all out, he could not find anyone willing to listen, and so his knowledge was almost like a burden to himself, since he could not share it. So the devout teacher of the Church mourns both those who despise knowing how to live and those who, though they know, nevertheless live badly. And this is because the prophet repeats the same words.
Know Yourself First
The soul must know itself first, for self-knowledge humbles rather than puffs up, lays the foundation of humility, and, seen in truth, reveals a wretchedness that cries out to the Lord.
Do you see now how truly the Apostle perceived that knowledge puffs up? I want, then, the soul to know itself first of all — since this is what reason demands, and usefulness, and order.4 Of order, indeed, since what we are is of first importance to us; but of usefulness, because such knowledge does not puff up — it humbles.5 And it is a kind of preparation for building up. For unless it stands on the firm foundation of humility, the spiritual building cannot stand at all. Furthermore, for humbling itself the soul can find nothing more keenly effective or more fitting than if it finds itself in truth: only let it not dissemble, let there be no deceit in its spirit, let it place itself before its own face, and let it not be led away from turning away from itself.6 Will it not, beholding itself in the clear light of truth, find itself in a region of unlikeness — and, sighing in wretchedness, since it can no longer hide the fact that it is truly wretched — will it not cry out to the Lord with the Prophet: In your truth you have humbled me?✦7 For how will it not be truly humbled in this true knowledge of itself, when it perceives itself burdened by sins, weighed down by the mass of this mortal body, entangled in earthly cares, infected by the dregs of carnal desires, blind, crooked, weak, tangled in countless errors, exposed to a thousand dangers, trembling with a thousand fears, anxious with a thousand difficulties, liable to a thousand suspicions, distressed by a thousand necessities, prone to vices, and feeble for virtues?8
From Bitterness to Mercy
Self-knowledge that sees its own wretchedness is turned to sorrow and tears, yet in turning to the Lord it finds consolation, for God is the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation.
So where does this person get such a lifting of the eyes now, where does such a raising of the head come from? Will it not rather turn to sorrow for that person, as long as the thorn remains fixed in place? It will be turned, I tell you, to tears; it will be turned to lamentation and groaning; it will be turned to the Lord, and in humility it will cry out: Heal my soul, for I have sinned against you.✦ Moreover, once turned to the Lord, that soul will receive consolation, because God is the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation.✦
The Path from Self to God
Looking at oneself brings bitterness, but looking up to God's mercy softens that bitterness; thus self-knowledge becomes the way to know God and to be transformed into his image by the Spirit.
As long as I look at myself, my eye stays fixed on bitterness. But if I look up and lift my eyes to the help of God's mercy, the joyful vision of God will quickly soften the bitter sight of myself, and to him I say: My soul is troubled within me, and so I will remember you.✦ And it is no mediocre sight of God to experience him as devout and entreating, just as he is truly kind and merciful, and stands above our malice — whose very nature is goodness, and whose constant way it is to pity and to spare. So it is through this kind of experience, and in this kind of order, that God becomes known for our healing: when a person first comes to know himself as placed in necessity, and will cry out to the Lord, and he will hear him, and will say: I will rescue you, and you will honor me.✦ And in this way, self-knowledge becomes the path to knowing God; and from his image, which is being renewed in you, he himself will be seen — while you, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord with confidence, are transformed into that same image from clarity to clarity, as by the Spirit of the Lord.✦
Both Knowings Necessary
Both self-knowledge and the knowledge of God are necessary for salvation, since without self-knowledge there is no fear of God or humility; yet the preacher pauses, noting the drowsiness of his hearers.
But now, at last, notice how each kind of knowledge is necessary for your salvation, so that you cannot lack either one and still be saved. For if you do not know yourself, you will not have the fear of God within you, or humility either. Or would you really presume to talk about salvation without the fear of God and without humility? You can see for yourself. You did well to grunt and signal that you are not so wise after all — or rather, that you are not so foolish — so we do not linger on what is obvious. But pay attention to what is left. Or rather, should we stop here on account of those who are sleepy? I thought I had fulfilled in one sermon what I promised about a twofold ignorance — and I would have done so, if it had not seemed too long for those who are hard to please. I see some of you yawning, and some actually sleeping.
Charity Grants a Pause
Excusing the weary monks for their long night watches, the preacher charitably sets the discussion aside for now and closes with a doxology to Christ the Bridegroom of the Church.
And it is no surprise — the devotional watches of the night before (they were extremely long, after all) are their excuse. But what should I say to those who both slept then and are sleeping still now? But I will not press their modesty any further now — a brief touch is enough. I think they will keep better watch from now on, when they experience the branding iron of our scrutiny. In this hope we grant them this turn as a custom; and what reason demanded be continued, we share with them in their charity — even while the discussion remains unresolved — bringing it to a close where there was no closing. They themselves, over the indulgence shown to them, will join us in glorifying the Bridegroom of the Church, Jesus Christ our Lord, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.
Read the original Latin
En ego meae promissioni; en ego desideriis vestris; en ego etiam Deo pro debito famulatu. Triplici, ut videtis, ratione urgeor ad loquendum; pacti veritate, charitate fraterna, timore Domini. Si tacuero, os meum condemnabit me. Quid, si loquar? Profecto vereor idem iudicium, ne loquentem videlicet, et non facientem, identidem os meum condemnet me. Iuvate me orationibus vestris, ut semper possim et loqui quae oportet, et opere implere quae loquor. Non ignoratis hodiernum nobis propositum esse sermonem de ignorantia, vel potius de ignorantiis; quoniam duae, si meministis, propositae sunt, nostri una, et altera Dei: quas et monuimus ambas esse cavendas, quod ambae damnabiles sint. Superest ut clarius hoc ipsum faciam, edisseram plenius.
Sed prius quaerendum existimo, sitne ignorantia omnis damnabilis: Et mihi quidem videtur non esse: neque enim omnis ignorantia damnat; sed multa et innumera esse, quae nescire liceat absque diminutione salutis. Verbi gratia, si ignoras fabrilem artem, seu carpentariam, aut caementariam, et quaecunque istiusmodi sunt artes, quae ad usus vitae huius praesentis ab hominibus exercentur, nunquid impedit ad salutem? Etiam absque omnibus illis artibus, quae liberales dicuntur (quamvis honestioribus utilioribusque studiis et discantur et exerceantur), quamplurimi hominum salvi facti sunt, placentes moribus atque operibus: quantos enumerat Apostolus in Epistola ad Hebraeos, factos dilectos, non in scientia litterarum, sed in conscientia pura et fide non ficta. Omnes placuerunt Deo in vita sua, vitae meritis, non scientiae. Petrus, et Andreas, et filii Zebedaei, caeterique condiscipuli omnes, non de schola rhetorum aut philosophorum assumpti sunt; et nihilominus tamen Salvator per ipsos operatus est salutem in medio terrae. Non in sapientia, quae in ipsis esset plus quam in cunctis viventibus (quemadmodum sanctus aliquis de semetipso confessus est), sed in fide et lenitate ipsorum salvos fecit illos, etiam et sanctos, etiam et magistros. Denique notas mundo fecerunt vias vitae, et non in sublimitate sermonis, aut in doctis humanae sapientiae verbis, sed sicut placuit Deo per stultitiam praedicationis eorum salvos facere credentes, quia mundus eum in sua sapientia non cognovit.
Videar forsitan nimius in suggillatione scientiae, et quasi reprehendere doctos, ac prohibere studia litterarum. Absit! Non ignoro quantum Ecclesiae profuerint et prosint litterati sui, sive ad refellendos eos qui ex adverso sunt, sive ad simplices instruendos. Denique legi: Quia tu repulisti scientiam, repellam et ego te, ut non fungaris mihi sacerdotio : legi: Qui docti fuerint, fulgebunt quasi splendor firmamenti; et qui ad iustitiam erudiunt multos, quasi stellae in perpetuas aeternitates. Sed et scio ubi legerim: Scientia inflat : et rursum: Qui apponit scientiam, apponit et dolorem. Vides quia differentia est scientiarum, quando alia inflans, alia contristans est. Tibi vero velim scire quaenam harum videatur utilior seu magis necessaria ad salutem, illane quae tumet an quae dolet. Sed non dubito quin dolentem tumenti praeferas, quia sanitatem, quam tumor simulat, dolor postulat.
Qui autem postulat, propinquat saluti; quoniam qui petit accipit. Denique qui sanat contritos corde, exsecratur inflatos, dicente Sapientia, quia Deus superbis resistit, humilibus autem dat gratiam. Et Apostolus aiebat: Dico autem per gratiam quae data est mihi, omnibus qui sunt inter vos, non plus sapere quam oportet sapere, sed sapere ad sobrietatem. Non prohibet sapere, sed plus sapere quam oportet. Quid est autem sapere ad sobrietatem? Vigilantissime observare quid scire magis priusve oporteat. Tempus enim breve est. Est autem, quod in se est, omnis scientia bona, quae tamen veritate subnixa sit: sed tu qui cum timore et tremore tuam ipsius operari salutem pro temporis brevitate festinas, ea scire potius ampliusque curato quae senseris viciniora saluti.
Nonne medici corporum medicinae portionem definiunt eligere in sumendis cibis, quid prius, quid posterius, et ad quem modum quidque sumi oporteat? Nam, etsi bonos constat esse cibos, quos Deus creavit, tu tamen ipsos tibi, si in sumendo modum et ordinem non observes, reddis plane non bonos. Ergo quod dico de cibis, hoc sentite et de scientiis.
Sed melius mitto vos ad Magistrum. Non est enim nostra ista sententia, sed illius; imo et nostra, quoniam Veritatis. Qui se, inquit, putat aliquid scire, nondum scit quomodo oporteat eum scire. Vides quoniam non probat multa scientem, si sciendi modum nescierit. Vides, inquam, quomodo fructum et utilitatem scientiae in modo sciendi constituit? Quid ergo dicit modum sciendi? Quid, nisi ut scias quo ordine, quo studio, quo fine quaeque nosse oporteat? Quo ordine, ut id prius, quod maturius ad salutem: quo studio, ut id ardentius, quod vehementius ad amorem: quo fine, ut non ad inanem gloriam, aut curiositatem, aut aliquid simile, sed tantum ad aedificationem tuam vel proximi.
Sunt namque qui scire volunt eo fine tantum, ut sciant; et turpis curiositas est. Et sunt qui scire volunt, ut sciantur ipsi; et turpis vanitas est. Qui profecto non evadent subsannantem satyricum, et ei qui eiusmodi est decantantem: Scire tuum nihil est, nisi te scire hoc sciat alter. (PERSIUS, satyra 1, vers. 27.) Et sunt item qui scire volunt ut scientiam suam vendant; verbi causa, pro pecunia, pro honoribus: et turpis quaestus est. Sed sunt quoque qui scire volunt, ut aedificent; et charitas est. Et item qui scire volunt, ut aedificenfur: et prudentia est.
Horum omnium soli ultimi duo non inveniuntur in abusione scientiae, quippe qui ad hoc volunt intelligere ut bene faciant. Denique: Intellectus bonus omnibus facientibus eum. Reliqui omnes audiant: Scienti bonum et non facienti, peccatum est ei; ac si per similitudinem dicat: Sumenti cibum et non digerenti, perniciosum est ei. Cibus siquidem indigestus, et qui bonam non habet decoctionem malos generat humores, et corrumpit corpus, et non nutrit. Ita et multa scientia ingesta stomacho animae, quae est memoria, si decocta igne charitatis non fuerit, et sic per quosdam artus animae, mores scilicet atque actus, transfusa atque digesta, quatenus ipsa de bonis quae noverit, vita attestante et moribus, bona efficiatur; nonne illa scientia reputabitur in peccatum, tanquam cibus conversus in pravos noxiosque humores? An non malus humor peccatum? an non mali humores pravi mores? At non inflationes et tortiones in conscientia sustinebit qui huiusmodi est, sciens videlicet bonum et non faciens?
An non responsum mortis et damnationis toties in semetipso habebit, quoties in mentem venerit sermo quem dixit Deus, quia servus sciens voluntatem Domini sui, et non faciens digna, plagis vapulabit multis. Et vide ne forte in persona talis animae propheta plangeret, dicens: Ventrem meum doleo, ventrem meum doleo. Nisi quod ipsa ingeminatio geminum videtur innuere sensum, ut praeter hunc quem diximus, etiam alium requiramus. Puto enim quod in sua persona potuit hoc dixisse Propheta, quod videlicet scientia plenus, et aestuans charitate, et omnino effundere cupiens, non inveniret qui curaret audire; et sic quasi oneri sua sibi scientia erat, quam communicare non poterat. Plangit itaque pius Ecclesiae doctor tam illos qui scire contemnunt quomodo sit vivendum, quam illos qui scientes, male nihilominus vivunt. Et hoc pro eo quod eumdem sermonem Propheta repetit.
Advertisne iam quam verum sensit Apostolus, quia scientia inflat? Volo proinde animam primo omnium scire se ipsam, quod id postulet ratio et utilitatis et ordinis. Et ordinis quidem, quoniam quod nos sumus primum est nobis; utilitatis vero, quia talis scientia non inflat, sed humiliat. et est quaedam praeparatio ad aedificandum. Nisi enim super humilitatis stabile fundamentum, spirituale aedificium stare minime potest. Porro ad se humiliandum nihil anima invenire vivacius seu accommodatius potest, quam si se in veritate invenerit: tantum non dissimulet, non sit in spiritu eius dolus, statuat se ante faciem suam, nec se a se avertere abducatur. Nonne se ita intuens clara luce veritatis, inveniet se in regione dissimilitudinis: et suspirans misera, quam iam latere non poterit quod vere misera sit, nonne cum Propheta clamabit ad Dominum: In veritate tua humiliasti me? Nam quomodo non vere humiliabitur in hac vera cognitione sui, cum se perceperit oneratam peccatis, mole huius mortalis corporis aggravatam, terrenis intricatam curis, carnalium desideriorum faece infectam, caecam, curvam, infirmam, implicitam multis erroribus, expositam mille periculis, mille timoribus trepidam, mille difficultatibus anxiam, mille suspicionibus obnoxiam, mille necessitatibus aerumnosam, proclivem ad vitia, invalidam ad virtutes?
Unde huic iam extollentia oculorum, unde levare caput? Nonne magis convertetur in aerumna sua, dum configitur spina. Convertetur, inquam, ad lacrymas, convertetur ad planctus et gemitus, convertetur ad Dominum, et in humilitate clamabit: Sana animum meam, quia peccavi tibi. Porro conversa ad Dominum recipiet consolationem, quia Pater est misericordiarum, et Deus totius consolationis.
Ego quandiu in me respicio, in amaritudine moratur oculus meus. Si autem suspexero et levavero oculos ad divinae miserationis auxilium; temperabit mox amaram visionem mei visio laeta Dei, cui et dico: Ad me ipsum anima mea conturbata est, propterea memor ero tui. Nec mediocris Dei visio, pium et deprecabilem experiri, sicut revera benignus et misericors est, et praestabilis super malitia, quippe cuius natura bonitas, et cui proprium est misereri semper et parcere. Tali itaque experimento et tali ordine salubriter innotescit Deus, cum prius se homo noverit in necessitate positum, et clamabit ad Dominum, et exaudiet eum, et dicet: Eruam te, et honorificabis me. Atque hoc modo erit gradus ad notitiam Dei cognitio tui; et ex imagine sua, quae in te renovatur, ipse videbitur, dum tu quidem revelata facie gloriam Domini cum fiducia speculando, in eamdem imaginem transformaris de claritate in claritatem, tanquam a Domini Spiritu.
Sed iam demum adverte quomodo utraque cognitio sit tibi necessaria ad salutem, ita ut neutra carere valeas cum salute. Nam, si ignoras te, non habebis timorem Dei in te, non humilitatem. An vero sine timore Dei et sine humilitate de salute praesumas, tu videris. Bene fecistis grunniendo significare quod minime ita sapiatis, imo quod non ita desipiatis, ne in eo quod planum est immoremur. Sed attendite caetera. An potius pausandum est nobis propter somnolentos? Putabam me uno sermone implere quod promisi de duplici ignorantia; et fecissem, nisi fastidiosis longior videretur. Quosdam siquidem oscitantes, quosdam et dormitantes intueor.
Nec mirum: praecedentis noctis vigiliae (longissimae quippe fuerunt) excusant eos. Verum illis quid dicam, qui et tunc dormierunt, et modo nihilominus dormiunt? Sed non pergo nunc ulterius exagitare verecundiam eorum: sufficit tetigisse. Puto quod melius deinceps vigilabunt, nostrae observationis cauterium verituri. In hac spe gerimus eis hac vice morem; et quod continuandum ratio exigebat, eorum charitate, pendente licet disputatione, partimur, facientes finem, ubi non erat finis. Ipsi vero super sibi facta indulgentia nobiscum glorificent Sponsum Ecclesiae, Iesum Christum Dominum nostrum, qui est super omnia Deus benedictus in saecula. Amen.
Scripture echoes
- ↩1Cor.1.21 — For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through its wisdom, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of the proclaimed message.
- ↩Ps.119.75 — I know, O LORD, that your judgments are right, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.
- ↩Ps.41.4 — The LORD sustains him on his bed of illness; you turn all his lying down in his sickness.
- ↩2Cor.1.3 — Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
- ↩Ps.41.5;Ps.43.4 — I said, "Lord, be gracious to me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against you." Ps.43.4 — Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God.
- ↩Ps.50.15;Ps.50.15 — Call on me in the day of trouble; I will rescue you, and you will honor me. Ps.50.15 — Call on me in the day of trouble; I will rescue you, and you will honor me.
- ↩2Cor.3.18 — And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
Notes
- 1 ↩The Latin 'tuam ipsius operari salutem' echoes Philippians 2:12 ('work out your own salvation with fear and trembling'); the clause 'cum timore et tremore' is drawn from that same verse.
- 2 ↩The Latin quotes Persius (Satire 1.27): 'Scire tuum nihil est, nisi te scire hoc sciat alter.' The satirist figure personifies the exposure of vain learning.
- 3 ↩The surface form 'aedificenfur' is unclear or corrupt; likely intended as 'aedificentur' (passive: 'may be built up') or 'aedificent' (active: 'may build up'). The translation follows the passive reading, which fits the pattern of the series (the knowledge serves one's own growth in prudence).
- 4 ↩quod id postulet: the subjunctive in the relative clause of characteristic ('what reason demands by its nature') is rendered as a straightforward causal claim; the connective force of quod is absorbed into the explanatory structure.
- 5 ↩The quidem...vero correlative pair is rendered as 'indeed...but' to preserve the contrastive structure: order is acknowledged, but usefulness is the stronger point.
- 6 ↩nec se a se avertere abducatur: the double reflexive and the jussive subjunctive create a dense phrase. The sense is that the soul should not allow itself to be drawn away from honest self-confrontation. Rendered as 'let it not be led away from turning itself away from itself' — preserving the reflexive force while making the jussive clear.
- 7 ↩The quoted phrase 'In veritate tua humiliasti me' echoes Psalm 118:75 (Vulgate) / Psalm 119:75 (KJV): 'In thy truth thou hast humbled me.' This is a candidate scripture allusion; final resolution belongs to a later stage.
- 8 ↩The long series of ablative absolutes and participles (oneratam, aggravatam, intricatam, infectam, etc.) is rendered as a series of past-participial phrases ('burdened by... weighed down by... entangled in...') to preserve the cumulative rhetorical force in natural English. The repeated mille ('a thousand') is preserved throughout for rhetorical effect.
Sermones super Cantica Canticorum (Sermons on the Song of Songs) companion
Practice Bernard's method every morning
The free course teaches the method; the Chosen Portion app gives you a fresh historic portion to practice it on each day.
Bernard built his monks' devotion around a short daily portion of one text taken slowly; Chosen Portion serves the same daily-portion practice on your phone.
- Learn Bernard's one-verse meditation method in 7 daily emails, about 5 minutes each
- Get 7 curated excerpts from the actual sermons, in readable modern English
- Finish with a repeatable 10-minute daily meditation routine you can run in the free app