De qucestione Jbannis Baptistce et ejus commendatione
De qucestione Jbannis Baptistce et ejus commendatione
The Lord's forerunner asks his disciples to inquire. John the Baptist, however, while held in chains and prison, heard of the works and miracles that Christ was doing. Because his disciples were driven more by envy than by a simple heart, John—more concerned for his disciples' salvation than for his own danger—sent two of his doubting disciples so that, once they returned, others might believe. For it is written that 'in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word stand.' John, I say, spoke to Him—that is, to Christ—through the disciples he sent, as if to say: 'If you do not believe me, who have testified about Christ, then tell Him yourselves: Are You the one who is to come, the Christ and Messiah promised in the Law, who must save Israel, or do we look for another to save us?' John means 'grace.' Therefore, John is in chains when grace is held bound in someone by the chains of the world, the flesh, or sin, so that it cannot progress.1 Alas, how many people today are held by John's chains! For the body is a prison that hinders a person from the contemplation of truth. John himself, however, did not doubt; nor did he ask out of doubt, for he had leaped for joy at Christ's presence while still in his mother's womb, and he had even said to Him when He came for Baptism: 'I ought to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?' He had recognized Him at His Baptism through the descending dove and the Father's voice and testimony, and he had later pointed Him out with his finger. He was the one who, having been placed in prison and prepared to endure death for Christ, for His faith, and for justice, still acted in the manner of one who doubts. He asked this so that, by attending to the doubts of his disciples, he might confirm them through Christ and make them Christ's disciples—for he knew they still doubted regarding Christ—so that by seeing the signs and being corrected by His words, they might believe. They were suffering from scandal because they had heard that Jesus was being preferred and placed above their own master. Hence Augustine says: 'Go, tell Him.' 'Not because I doubt, but so that I may instruct you. What I am accustomed to say, hear from Him yourself. You have heard the herald; now be confirmed by the Judge.' Hence Hilary also says: 'John, therefore, was concerned not for his own ignorance, but for that of his disciples. For so that they might know that no one other than the one he had preached was to be expected, he sent his disciples to look upon His works, so that His works might lend authority to His words, and so that no other Christ would be expected than the one to whom His works had borne witness.' Chrysostom adds: "Knowing in prison that his life was coming to an end, John wanted to attach his disciples to Christ. It was like a wise father who, when dying, entrusts his children to a faithful guardian; he wanted to see his disciples fully faithful and believing in Christ without any doubt while he was still alive." Just as a dying father feels secure and has no more fears for his children if he sees them adorned with good character and perfected in wisdom, John wanted to see his disciples perfected in Christ so that he could die more peacefully. Actually, he didn't commend his disciples to Christ as a father would to a guardian; instead, like a tutor who has taken on someone else's children for a time to teach them, he wanted to return them to Christ, their true Father, once they were educated. That is why he sent his disciples to ask—not so that he himself might hear and learn by receiving an answer from Christ, but so that his disciples might see His works with their own eyes and believe. John sent his disciples to Christ so they might see His miracles, for He performed so many to win the souls of a few; as Chrysostom says, one just person is better before God than a whole world full of sinners. But according to Gregory, John asks through his disciples: "You who came into the world by being born, are You the one who will come to the underworld by dying?" It could be said that he didn't simply doubt the descent to the underworld, but rather the descent to them in both soul and body. Jesus, however, welcomed the disciples' doubt and showed them first by his deeds and later by his words that he was the Christ, according to the saying: Jesus began to do and to teach. In this, he instructed preachers and teachers to teach not only with words, but also with deeds. For in their presence, and in the presence of the many who were there, he healed the blind, the deaf, the lame, and the lepers, and performed other miracles; he preached to the people, whose Gospel the poor received first, because the poor and humble believe the Gospel more than the rich do. By this, he answered the question of John—or rather, of his disciples—showing through miracles, which are possible only by divine power, that he was truly the Christ and the Messiah promised in the Law. These things bore full witness to the fact that he was the Son of God. Even if some people did similar things before the Gospel, they were rare; and they did these things not by their own authority and command, but through ministry and prayer. Hence it is said: And Jesus, answering—that is, in words and deeds—said to them: Go and report to John what you heard from others before you came, and what you have seen happen in person at my command after you arrived, so that you might be convinced of me through them rather than through him; or, what you have heard in preaching and seen in the working of miracles. You see me, acknowledge me; you see my deeds, acknowledge the Doer. I give sight to the blind, I raise the dead, I bring the poor to faith, and I do the other things that the prophets foretold I would do. The very works I do testify on my behalf; that's why it's said: If you don't want to believe me, believe the works. Compare the works you've seen in me with the prophecies you've read, so that you may recognize me as the one they spoke of. The blind see, so that the prophetic word might be fulfilled: Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened. The lame walk, so that this might be fulfilled: Then the lame shall leap like a deer. The lepers are cleansed, so that this might be fulfilled: He himself bore our infirmities, and by his stripes we are healed. The deaf hear, so that this might be fulfilled: And the ears of the deaf shall be opened. The dead rise, so that this might be fulfilled: The dead shall live, my slain ones shall rise again. The poor have the Gospel preached to them, meaning they are instructed, enlightened by the Gospel, and converted to the faith, so that this saying might be fulfilled: "He has sent me to bring good news to the poor." He mentions the poor rather than the rich because the poor are more easily converted. Where Jerome says, "The poor have the Gospel preached to them," understand this as either the poor in spirit or those who are truly poor in possessions, so that there is no distinction in preaching between the noble and the ignoble, or between the rich and the needy. Tell John, therefore, what you have heard in the Prophets that was to be done by the Messiah, and what you have seen fulfilled through me; for Christ was then doing what the Prophets, speaking of the time of the Messiah, had predicted he would do. He answered subtly, implying this reasoning: "Whoever performs works that exceed the capacity of all nature, and which the Prophets predicted concerning Christ, that person is surely Christ; but I perform such works, therefore I am Christ." The Lord usefully answered John's disciples through his works rather than by saying, "I am he," so that his very works might manifest to them that he was the Messiah, rather than just words; for testimony based on facts and works is more credible and powerful than testimony based on words, and the voice of a work is more powerful than that of speech. He didn't want to say in plain words, "I am he," as an example of avoiding arrogance, yet he showed most evidently that he was the one they were asking about. Morally, the six miraculous works of Christ set down here, by which He freed men from physical defects, can be understood as the six evils from which He daily frees souls spiritually. Blindness is ignorance and the error of a choosing reason; lameness is the weakness and crookedness of a moving affection; leprosy is concupiscence and the impurity of carnal desire; deafness is the malice and hardness of an obstinate mind; death is the separation of the soul from God through mortal sin; poverty is a lack of grace and virtues. For the most part, these six evils were inflicted upon us by the sin of the first man. Faith and the preaching of Christ, when received with devotion, take them away. For reason is illuminated, affection is made certain, the heat of concupiscence is extinguished, obstinacy is broken, sin is put to flight, and grace is conferred. Some, for instance, are blind through ignorance; Christ frees them by illuminating their minds toward the knowledge of divine things. Some are lame in the affection of a perverse will, who see clearly what ought to be done. They know how Christ should be followed once the world is left behind, yet they are unwilling, or only partially willing, to follow Him—limping between two sides, partly following the world and partly Christ, that is, divided between God and the world; Christ frees them by disposing their minds toward the fulfillment of the divine will. Some are lepers with the leprosy of lust, which stains both body and soul, or with the contagion of some other sin; Christ frees them by purifying their minds of every kind of sinful defect. Some are deaf because of the hardness of their hearts and a lack of mercy, whether toward the voice of preaching or the cry of the poor; Christ frees them by inclining their minds to listen to the word of God and to the poor. Some are dead through the stubbornness of mortal sin; Christ frees them by bringing their minds and their inner selves back to life and renewing them. Some are poor, stripped and wretched, lacking heavenly graces and virtues; Christ frees them by enriching their minds with grace and clothing them with virtue. These spiritual miracles, however, are greater than physical ones. For according to Augustine, it is a greater thing to justify the wicked than to create heaven and earth; it is a greater thing to justify a soul that will live forever than to raise a body that will die again; it is a greater thing to reform the image of God in the soul than to reform the matter of our clay in the body. Then the Lord adds: "Blessed is the one who is not scandalized in me," meaning, in my weakness and humanity, by doubting my divinity and divine power, or by believing me to be a mere man because he sees me in a body capable of suffering; blessed is the one who sees me suffer and doesn't deny me, whose faith isn't shaken by my cross, death, and burial. This is why the thief was also blessed, because he wasn't scandalized. It's as if he were saying: "Although I work miracles as God, because I am also a man who must be crucified, people must be very careful not to despise the death in me while they venerate the signs." And he said well: "in me," not "by me," because Christ was never the active cause of scandal, though he could in a certain way be the occasion and subject of it. Hence he is also called a rock of scandal: for a rock scandalizes no one, because it simply fulfills the requirements of its nature; but the blind or the careless person is scandalized by the rock and is hurt. In this, therefore, the Lord strikes at the messengers of John who didn't believe him to be Christ, and corrects them for the scandal of their lack of faith. He did this to draw to himself the disciples of John who were offended by him, because John was shining more brightly in his works. It's as if he were saying to them: "See that you aren't scandalized in me, and don't think less of me in any way." Just as the Forerunner intended to remove his disciples' doubts about Christ, the Savior, in turn, sought to remove the crowds' doubts about the Forerunner. He commended him to the crowds in many ways—crowds that didn't know the secret mystery or the reason for the questioning—so they wouldn't suspect that John had been moved by bad motives and had sent his disciples, and as a result, believe less in John’s past testimonies. Hearing the question John’s disciples put to Christ, people might have thought John was fickle in faith and soft in life. It seemed he had affirmed things about Christ earlier while he was free, but now, in prison—as if broken by adversity—he seemed to be questioning them. Fickleness belongs to a hesitation of reason, and softness to the craving for pleasure; the Lord refutes both in John, and commends him for the opposite qualities and for certain other things. Moreover, he wanted to commend John in the absence of his disciples rather than in their presence, so that his praise wouldn't appear to come from human favor or flattery, but from a love of truth. By doing this, he taught us to avoid the appearance of flattery when commending others, especially great people, in their presence. Hence Chrysostom says: "How well, as the disciples were leaving, he began to praise John!" He wasn't like certain flatterers who willingly praise people to their faces, or when they see their faithful friends or household members whom they believe will report back whatever they've heard. For whoever is foolish rejoices when praised to his face; but a wise man, when praised to his face, is scourged in his heart. For two reasons, therefore, a person should not be praised to his face. First: if you consider him a wise man, he'll take it poorly; so why bother him with your praise? If you consider him a fool, he needs to be corrected; so why feed his foolishness with your praise? These are the words of Chrysostom. Consequently, he praises John for many things, first and foremost for the constancy of his faith and his mind. The Evangelist says: 'When they—that is, John’s disciples—were leaving Christ and returning to John, Jesus began to say to the crowds: What did you go out into the wilderness to see?' He doesn't just mean now, but back then, when John was still in the wilderness; for at this moment, he was in prison. It is as if he were saying: 'What kind of man do you believe he is, whom you went out to see so often before he was in chains?' Hence Chrysostom says: 'It is as if he were saying, why did you leave the cities and come out into the wilderness?' Such a great crowd would not have come into the wilderness with such longing unless they thought they were going to see someone great and wonderful, someone more solid than a rock. 'Why did you go out, I ask, to see?' 'A reed shaken by the wind?' It is as if he were saying: He wasn't fickle like a reed, so as to doubt the Lord in his mind or faith—the same Lord he had previously preached—but he was so constant that he wouldn't turn away from the truth because of fear or favor. John wasn't a reed, but a pillar; he wasn't moved by the wind, nor did he know how to be puffed up by prosperity or bent by adversity; instead, he was commended by Christ. He remained immovable between adversity and prosperity, keeping humility in prosperity and patience in adversity. He wasn't shaken by fear, nor swayed by flattery; no one's favor could make him soft, nor anyone's anger make him harsh; he looked upon those who praised him and those who insulted him with the same steady face. He loved enemies and friends alike, and he rebuked the powerful and the powerless alike; John was not, therefore, a reed shaken by the wind, for no variety of circumstances could bend him from his state of uprightness. Hence Chrysostom says: "A reed is hollow and has no strength, so whatever light wind blows over it bends it here and there; just so, the carnal and worldly person, in whom there is no marrow of faith and in whom the strength of truth is not found, is bent by whatever temptation comes their way." And Gregory adds: "Let us learn, therefore, dearest brothers, not to be a reed shaken by the wind; let us strengthen our spirit, placed as it is among the breezes of people's tongues; let the state of our mind stand inflexible; let no slander provoke us to anger, and let no favor incline us to the remission of useless grace; let not prosperity lift us up, nor adversity disturb us; so that..." "...we who are fixed by the solidity of faith may in no way be moved by the mutability of passing things." So says Gregory. Mystically, he praises John here so that, just as he himself did not desert the form of justice out of fear of death or love of a carnal life, so we too might not abandon useful things for vain ones, or eternal things for transitory ones, and might choose the cross rather than the trinkets of the world. Second, he praises him for the austerity of his life and his penance, because he didn't wear soft clothing or indulge in luxuries. Hence he says: "What did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing?"✦ Meaning, someone pampered by the comforts of the flesh? It is as if to say: No, because, as mentioned earlier, John wore a garment of camel's hair and ate locusts and wild honey, so that by the very testimony of his lifestyle he might reject the world and its goods and luxuries.✦ He stayed in the desert for this very reason, to lead an austere life—not just in food and clothing, but also in his surroundings; for which reason it is added: "Look, those who are dressed in soft clothing and live in luxury are not in the desert, but in the houses of kings," because that is where a luxurious life is led.✦ For this is why many flatter the powerful: so that by living with them they might enjoy luxuries; but people of truth despise such things. Hence Valerius Maximus recounts that someone said to Diogenes while he was washing vegetables: "If you were willing to flatter Dionysius, you wouldn't be eating these." To which he replied: "If you were willing to eat these, you wouldn't want to flatter Dionysius." And it follows: Here is the truthful herald of the truth, who would rather live on vegetables than flatter the powerful. But, alas! today many, even those in religious life, do the opposite; they don't blush to flatter the powerful—or anyone else—for a small price. And it is well said: in the houses of kings, not of bishops. Bishops and all Church prelates, along with their households, ought to be dressed in simple, religious attire rather than soft, expensive garments. This is why we read that blessed Augustine’s clothes were neither overly fancy nor too wretched. Jerome also says: "Ostentation and squalor are to be avoided in equal measure, because the one reeks of luxury, the other of vainglory." How, then, can clergy and those in religious life use soft things and luxuries, just like those who live in the houses of kings? But let them fear and be on their guard, because they serve a worldly king rather than a heavenly one, since they flee from the hardships they should endure for God; instead, they are given over to mere outward things, seeking the comfort and pleasure of this present life. If there were no virtue in wearing simple clothing, the Lord would never have praised John for his rough attire; and if there were no sin in wearing expensive clothing, He would never have introduced the punishment of the rich man by noting that 'he was dressed in purple and fine linen.' How dangerous it is to use soft clothing is clear from Chrysostom, who says: 'Soft clothing dissolves a rigid soul; and if it takes on a rigid and rough body, it makes it delicate and fragile through such softness.' Once the body is made softer, it is necessary for the soul to share in that injury; for, as a rule, a person's actions conform to the state of their body: so says Chrysostom. In a mystical sense, 'soft clothing' can be understood as flattery, which is well represented by such garments. For just as a garment adapts itself to the one who owns it, so flatterers adapt themselves to the wicked, so that those who do not rebuke the vices of sinners out of fear of persecution or love of praise, and who do not fear to conform themselves to them so that they might obtain worldly gain or advantage, are not afraid. But, according to Gregory, John did not wear such soft clothing because he knew how to correct the vices of sinners not by soothing them with flattery, but by chastising them with rebuke. Morally, according to Jerome and Rabanus, we are taught here that preachers of the truth ought to disdain the soft palaces frequented by flatterers in soft clothing—those who stroke and soothe the lives of sinners instead of pricking them. Also, note here that the preaching of the truth goes hand-in-hand with the hardness of food and clothing; those, however, who preach what is false are flatterers who chase after profit, seek wealth, and are led astray by luxuries. And those who wear soft clothing in the houses of kings are—according to Gregory—exiles from the kingdom of heaven, living under the power of the devil, the king of darkness. The desert can also be understood as the religious life, because just as the desert was a middle ground and a path between Egypt and the Promised Land, so the religious life is a middle ground between heaven and the world, and a direct path leading to heaven. By John being in the desert, we understand the religious person, who should not be a reed—that is, an outward hypocrite, like a reed that is green on the outside but empty within. Instead, he should live an honest life outwardly, and inwardly be full through faith and fervent devotion. Also, he shouldn't be fragile like a reed, yielding to every wind; rather, he should be firm, resisting every temptation, and unmoved by either praise or blame. Furthermore, he shouldn't be dressed in soft clothing—that is, he shouldn't be a flatterer—but should be serious regarding vices, showing no favoritism to anyone. The Savior commends John for the excellence of his person and the clarity of his witness, because he was more than a prophet. He was indeed a prophet, because he foresaw and foretold Christ, just as the other prophets did. Hence it was said earlier: 'You, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High.' Furthermore, he was more than a prophet: first, because he was prophesied by God through an angel; second, because he began to prophesy in his mother's womb; third, because he was the son or the end of the prophets; fourth, because he pointed out with his finger the Christ whom he and others had foreseen and foretold, which the others did not do—for, according to Gregory, the office of a prophet is to foretell future events, but not to point them out; fifth, according to Augustine and Ambrose, he is greater than the prophets, because the prophets announced that the Lord would come, whom they longed to see but did not see, whereas to him it was granted to see what they sought; sixth, according to Jerome, because the reward of the prophetic privilege also came to the Baptist, so that he might baptize his and the prophets' Lord; seventh, because he is called an angel, if not by nature, then by office, as will be seen below; eighth, because he was closer to Christ and came almost with Him. Hence Chrysostom says: 'All the prophets were indeed sent before the face of Christ, but John alone was sent before the face of Christ in such a way that he came almost with Christ.' As much as John was closer to Christ in time than the other prophets, by that much was he closer to Christ in righteousness than they were. Many stars indeed go before the dawn, announcing the coming of the light, but none of them deserved to have the name of Lucifer except one, because it proceeds with the light itself; so all the prophets go before the face of Christ, announcing His coming, yet only John is called the Forerunner, because he not only announces His coming but also points Him out with his finger, saying: 'Behold the Lamb of God.' Thus Chrysostom. Fourth, he commends him by the authority of his teaching and the dignity of his office, when it is said: "For this is he of whom it is written in Malachi," and these are the words of the Father to the Son, commending John and saying: "Behold, I send my messenger" (that is, a herald, namely John the Baptist, who also lived an angelic life before your face, that is, before your temporal presence and before the manifestation and knowledge of that same power; who will prepare your way by preaching repentance, by baptizing for the sake of habituation, by announcing and manifesting you, and by making the hearts of his listeners ready to receive you and your preaching). That is, before your revelation to the world. Thus, the office of preachers is to prepare the hearts of their listeners before the coming of the Lord, whether for judgment or for the mind. John is called an Angel for two reasons: first, because of the dignity of his office, since he is a messenger. For it is the office of the Angels to reveal hidden things, and so it is the office of John to preach hidden things. Just as the Angel Gabriel announced the birth of the Savior to a few people—the Virgin and Joseph, the shepherds, and the Magi—so John announced him openly to the whole world. Hence Bede says: "John is called an Angel, not by a sharing of nature, but by the dignity of his office." By this name, that man could rightly be called an Angel, who was sent by God to bear witness to the Light and to announce to the world the Lord coming in the flesh. Priests are also called angels; that is why the Apostle forbids women to pray with their heads uncovered because of the angels of God—that is, the priests. And, according to Gregory, every faithful person who turns their neighbor away from wickedness and encourages them toward what is good, or who warns someone wandering about the eternal kingdom or the punishment to come, is truly an angel—that is, a messenger of the Lord. Secondly, he is called an angel because of the purity of the angelic life he led in the wilderness—that is, his virginity in contemplation. Hence Chrysostom says: “Blessed John, who deserved to have such a praiser.” Listen now and understand his dignity; I think, if it weren't bold to say so, that John is more glorious because he was a human called an angel by the merit of his virtue, than if he had been an angel by name and by nature. For an angel being an angel is not so much a reward for virtue as it is a property of his nature. But this man is wonderful, who in human nature surpassed angelic holiness and obtained through the grace of God what nature did not possess: so says Chrysostom. And so that the Lord might briefly sum up the height of his virtues, he adds: "Truly I tell you, among those born of women, no one greater than John the Baptist has arisen." He pointedly says 'born of women,' not 'born of a virgin,' so that it wouldn't be understood that he was preferred to or equaled with the Blessed Virgin, the Mother of Christ, who is exalted above all the saints and, after Christ, was holier than everyone else. He says 'of women,' however, and not 'of the Virgin,' so that he might not seem to be compared to Christ, because 'woman' there signifies not only the sex but also corruption; in that sense, the Blessed Virgin was not a 'woman,' and if she is sometimes called a woman in the Gospel, the word is used there for her gender and sex. Nor is this John preferred to the other prophets, patriarchs, and all other people; rather, he is made their equal, or at least no one is placed above him. For it doesn't immediately follow that if others aren't better than him, he's therefore greater than the others. Thus, it doesn't deny that someone equal to him may have arisen at some point; whether anyone later was holier than him, or whether someone yet to come might be, is left undiscussed. Hence Chrysostom says: "Scripture does not indeed say that John is greater than the other saints, but that the other saints are not greater than John." For it made him equal to the others, not superior to them. And again: "What he says means this: No woman has given birth to anyone greater than him," and this announcement of Christ is sufficient. If, however, you want to learn from the facts themselves, consider his immense way of life and the depth of his mind. He lived on earth as if he had descended from heaven, taking almost no care for his body, his intellect raised to heaven, joined to God alone, and untroubled by any worldly thing. He lived as if he were already in heaven, and having risen above the needs of nature, he walked a strange path, spending all his time in hymns and prayers, speaking to no human being, but only to God continuously. For he did not see any of his fellow servants, nor was he seen by any of them; he did not use milk, nor a bed, nor a roof, nor the marketplace, nor did he possess any human comforts. His speech was both severe and gentle; for he spoke with the people of the Jews manfully and fervently, with the king boldly, and with his disciples gently; he did nothing in vain or lightly, but did everything appropriately. Because of this he said: "There has not risen among those born of women a greater than John the Baptist"—this is Chrysostom. And because there is much comparison between John and the Son of God, therefore, according to Chrysostom, so that the abundance of praise for John would not give the Jews an occasion to prefer John to Christ, he adds a distinction between the excellence of Christ and the excellence of John, saying: "He who is lesser, namely in age and in the opinion of many, in the kingdom of heaven, that is, in the Church of the Saints militant, is greater than him, namely in dignity and majesty." This is rightly understood of Christ, who is then considered lesser by many in the Church militant, which endures from the first righteous person beginning until the last chosen one. But, according to Chrysostom, don't think he was claiming to be greater than John by way of comparison. For as Ambrose also says, that nature is something else entirely, and not to be compared with human generations; for there can be no comparison between a human being and God. Or, the lowest of the angels serving in the kingdom of heaven—that is, in the Church Triumphant—or the least of the saints already reigning there with God, is greater than he because of their state of fruition. Any blessed one, and any soul who has attained that state, however lowly, is greater in act than any traveler still on the way, even if some traveler might be greater in potential than one who is already blessed. Hence Jerome says: 'But let us understand simply that every saint who is already with God is greater than one who still remains in the battle.' It's one thing to possess the crown of victory, and another to still be fighting on the battlefield; understand this, however, in terms of the security of the reward, not in terms of the magnitude of the merit. Then, as if to declare that he was more than a prophet, he commends him for the convenience of the time in which he came, because he came in a time of grace, which is convenient and useful for the human race. For from the days of John—that is, from the time John began to preach that the kingdom of heaven is attained through repentance—up to the present, the time of grace has been and will continue to be, as long as 'now' can be said, right up to the end of the world. The kingdom of heaven suffers violence from those who repent, and the violent—those who, like tax collectors and sinners, do not seem to have a right to it—seize it, while the children of the kingdom are excluded. It is said by way of comparison, as if a kingdom were given to outsiders, and it seemed as though violence were being done to the kingdom itself. Hence Hilary says: 'The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, because the glory of the God of Israel, owed to the fathers, foretold by the prophets, and offered by Christ, is occupied by the faith of the Gentiles, while through the repentance that John preached, the faithful penetrate to the heavenly homeland as if into a foreign place.' Hence Chrysostom says: 'You see, therefore, that you are great, John, in whose time such grace has been poured out upon the earth; and what was not done in the days of all the prophets has been done in your time, and you yourself have been made the minister of this grace.' So says Chrysostom. LORUM RA. PERE? From the days of John, the kingdom of heaven has been open to those who repent, by whom it suffers violence and is violently seized; for he was the first to preach the repentance by which, as if by a kind of violence, we afflict ourselves and, by making satisfaction for our sins, seize and enter the kingdom of heaven like violent people, not lazy ones. For we acquire through the strength and power of compunction what we had become strangers to through sin; and we seize by labor and violence what is not owed to us by right. To seize it is, in a sense, to take what we have no right to, and to acquire what belongs to the angels. A human born on earth cannot seize heaven unless they do violence to themselves by restraining their appetites from pleasure and subduing their flesh to the spirit. As Jerome says: "It is a great violence for us, born on earth, to seek the seat of heaven and to possess through virtue what we do not hold by nature." And Ambrose adds: "Therefore, let us do violence to the kingdom of heaven." Everyone who uses violence moves with intense zeal and doesn't grow sluggish with a cold heart; so we do violence to our nature so it doesn't sink down to earthly things, but lifts itself up to heavenly ones. Gregory says: "When sinners return to compunction, they enter as if into a foreign land and violently seize the kingdom of heaven." And again: "Let us therefore reflect, dearest brothers, on the evils we have done, and wear ourselves out with constant lamentations: let us seize through compunction the inheritance of the just that we did not hold through our life." Almighty God wants us to endure this kind of violence, for He wants the kingdom of heaven to be taken by our tears, since it isn't owed to us by our own merits. And so Eusebius says: "It cannot be done without violence, that each person should exchange anger for patience, and pride for humility." Let him overcome the love of poverty and the abundance of need, exchange drunkenness for sobriety and lust for chastity, and a person is suddenly transformed into another man; and thus, by such violence, the kingdom of heaven is taken by force. And so, in the conference of Abbot Abraham, it is said: "The kingdom of heaven is not taken by the lazy, the slack, the delicate, or the soft, but by the violent; those who bring a great violence not upon others, but upon their own soul, depriving it of all the pleasure of present things." These violent ones are truly praiseworthy, who do violence to their own destruction. For as it is written, a person labors in sorrow for himself and does violence to his own destruction. Our destruction is the pleasure of the present life and the pursuit of our desires and appetites; if anyone takes these away from his soul and mortifies them, he truly does a glorious and useful violence to his own destruction by denying it its most pleasant desires, says Abraham. According to Bernard, some purchase the kingdom of God, such as those who practice works of mercy, almsgiving, and the like. Some steal it, like those who perform secret penances. Some are compelled to enter, like the necessary poor, not the voluntary ones; some take it by force, like the voluntary poor, who are poor in spirit. If you still doubt whether you can attain the kingdom, perhaps because you lack the merit or the help, listen to Augustine telling you: "If you ask how this can happen, by what merits or by what helps, listen: this matter is placed in the power of the one who does it, since the kingdom of heaven suffers violence." The kingdom of heaven, O man, asks for no price other than yourself; give as much as you are, give yourself, and you will have it. Why are you troubled? About the price? Christ gave himself up so that he might acquire you as a kingdom for God the Father; give yourself in the same way, so that you may be his kingdom, so that sin may not reign in your mortal body, but Christ may reign for the acquisition of life. And again: "I have something for sale; what is it, Lord?" The kingdom. With what is it bought? Through poverty, the kingdom; through pain, joy; through labor, rest; through disgrace, glory; through death, life. And so Chrysostom says: "He who gave himself to humanity, how will he not also give the fellowship of his kingdom?" That is what Chrysostom says. Therefore, don't worry about what or how much it costs, or what or how much you might lose in worldly comforts or gains; or what or how much you might endure in worldly hardships or losses, so that you may seize and possess that kingdom about which such glorious things have been said. Next, it adds: "Are all of them prophets?" The Law and the things concerning the Christ who was to come lasted until John—that is, until the time of John and even of Christ—because Christ and John were practically contemporaries; from that point on, the Law and the prophetic writings ceased. Where the time of Christ is revealed, so that John might show that the one they said would come has arrived, it isn't that the Law and the Prophecy were then destroyed, but rather fulfilled, and that imperfection removed, because from that time on, the Gospel perfection began to be preached. Thus, John is the beginning of the Gospel and the end of the Law and the Prophets. The Law and the Prophecy reach their end where that which they had prefigured and prophesied is fulfilled. For up until John, the Law and the Prophets were figuring and promising, but from that time on, the things previously figured and promised succeed them, because in the Law and in the Prophets, the truth about Christ was under figures and riddles, but by John it was clearly shown; for John showed that the one whom the Law and the Prophets had predicted would come, had now arrived, saying: "Behold the Lamb of God." And although there were prophets after John, such as Agabus and the four daughters of Philip, they did not prophesy about Christ coming in the flesh as the earlier ones did, with whom this discussion is solely concerned. Hence Bede says: "The Law and the Prophets lasted until John, because it could not be prophesied any further that he would come, since it was already clear by John's proclamation that he had arrived." Hence also Augustine: "Among all divine authorities, the Gospel deservedly excels." For what the Law and the Prophets foretold would come to pass is shown to have been delivered and fulfilled in the Gospel. We don't observe the sacraments that were prescribed in the Law and the Prophets because they have been changed, so that we might understand what was predicted there. And let's hold fast to what was promised there. Chrysostom also says, "Therefore, John is the end of the promise." If, however, John is the end of the promise, he is also the beginning of blessedness. For whatever was promised to this age was promised only up to John. From that point on, however, future things are no longer promised; rather, those things that had been promised are being fulfilled. Up to him there was hope, but from him on, the reality began to be. His praise and commendation. Regarding the commendation of John, Bernard says this: 'John is greater everywhere, singular in all things, and wonderful above all.' Who was announced so gloriously? Who is read to have been filled with the Holy Spirit so specifically while in his mother's womb? Who is read to have leaped within his mother's womb? Whose birth have you seen the Church celebrate? Who as a boy longed so much for the desert? Who is read to have been preserved in such a way? Who was the first to show repentance and the kingdom of heaven? Who baptized the King of glory, the head of the party? Who baptized Him? To whom did the Trinity first reveal itself so openly? To whom did the Lord Jesus Christ bear such witness? Whom has the Church honored in this way? John is a Patriarch—or rather, the end and the head of the Patriarchs; John is a Prophet—or rather, more than a Prophet, because he points with his finger to the One he announces as coming; John is an Angel, yet one chosen from among the Angels, as the Savior himself testifies when He says, 'Behold, I send my Angel,' and so on; John is an Apostle, yet the first and prince of the Apostles, because he was a man sent by God; John is an Evangelist, yet the first to begin the Gospel, preaching the Gospel of the kingdom; John is a virgin—or rather, the standard of virginity, the title of modesty, the example of chastity; John is a martyr, yet the light of martyrdom, the most constant form of martyrdom between the birth and death of Christ. He is the voice of one crying in the desert, and so on, the Precursor of the Judge, the herald of the Word. He is Elijah, up to whom the Law and the Prophets reach; he is the burning and shining lamp, the friend of the Bridegroom, the preparer of the Bride. I pass over the rest in silence; he is so integrated into the nine orders of Angels that he is even carried up to the summit of the Seraphim: so says Bernard. In what sense was he Elijah? Then the Lord adds: "If you are willing to accept and understand it, he is Elijah"—not in person, but in spirit, because he was like Elijah in three ways. First, in the austerity of his penance, for it is written of Elijah that he was a hairy man, because he wore a rough and coarse garment and was girded with a leather belt about his loins; similarly, it is said of John that he had a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist. Second, in the firmness of his constancy: it is written that Elijah constantly rebuked King Ahab and King Ahaziah, and similarly, John constantly rebuked Herod. Third, in the authority of his teaching: just as Elijah is to come and announce the second coming of Christ through his preaching, so John, as mentioned above, heralded the first. According to Jerome, the Lord’s following words show that the statement "he is Elijah" is mystical and requires insight: "He who has ears of the heart to hear—that is, to understand—let him hear," meaning let him understand. He did not say John was Elijah in person, but in spirit. Or, whoever has ears for the duty of hearing outwardly, let him hear inwardly by applying diligence to what I am saying and have said above. Christ uses such words, proposing something difficult or mystical, either to move the intellect to understand or the heart to consent and act upon it. PRAYER: Lord Jesus Christ, since you are the one who is to come to save us, and we look for no other, grant that, bound by your love and fear, we may leave the reed-bed of vanity and the soft clothing of pleasure for the desert of repentance. Reveal yourself to us through the power of your mercy, for you are the Truth by which the blind in mind see; the love by which the lame in heart walk; the Humility by which the proud lepers are cleansed; the Word by which the deaf hear; the Life by which the dead rise again; and the Power by which the poor have the Gospel preached to them, so that all may be converted to you. Amen.
Read the original Latin
i Pr^ecursor Domini discipulos Rrogent. — Joannes autem Baptista in vinculis et in carcere constitutus, cum per discipuios suos magis invidia, quam simplici corde stimulatos, audisset opera et miracula quae faciebat Christus, plus de discipulorum saiute quam de suo periculo sollicitus, mittens duos de discipulis suis dubitantibus , ut ipsis reversis crederetur ab aiiis; quia in ore duorum vel trium testium stabit omneyerbum, Joannes, inquam, ait illi, scilicet Christo, per discipulos suos missos; quasi diceret : Si mihi non creditis qui testimonium de Christo perhibui, vosipsi dicite ei : Tu es qui venturus es Christus et Messias in Lege promissus, qui debes salvare Israel ; an alium exspectamus, ad salvandum> Joannes interpretatur gratia; Joannes ergo in vinculis est, cum gratia in aliquo vinculis mundi, vel carnis, vel peccati ligata tenetur, ne proficiat. Heu, in multis hodie Joannes tenetur vinculis! Corpus- enim carcer est impediens hominem a contemplatione veritatis. Non autem ipse Joannes dubitavit; nec dubitando quaesivit qui de Christi praesentia in utero matris exsultavit, qui ei etiam ad Baptismum venienti dixerat : Ego a te debeo bapti\ari, et tu venis ad me? Et in Baptismo eum per columbam descendentem, ac per Patris vocem et testimonium agnovit, et postea digito demonstravit, qui etiam pro Christo ac fide ejus, et justitia, positus est in carcere, et paratus mortem sustinere; sed morem dubitantis gerens quaesivit, ut discipulorum dubitationi consulendo, eos per Christum confirmaret, et Christi discipulos faceret, quos de Christo adhuc dubitantes noverat, ut videntes signa et correcti dictis crederent Scandalum enim patiebantur, quia Jesum praeponi et praeferri suo magistro audierant, Unde Augustinus : « Ite, dicite illi. non quia ego dubito; sed ut vos instruam ; quod ego soleo dicere, ab ipso audite; audistis praeconem, confirmamini a Judice. » Unde et Hilarius : « Joannes igitur non suae, sed discipulorum ignorantiae, consuluit : ut enim scirent non alium a se praedicatum, ad opera ejus intuenda discipulos suos misit, ut auctoritatem dictis illius opera conferrent; nec Christus alius exspectaretur quam cui testimonium opera pnestitissent.
» Unde etiam Chrysostomus : « Joannes in carcere sciens se esse jam in exitu constitutum, volebat discipulos suos Christo adjungere, tanquam si providus pater moriens filios suos consignet fideli tutori; desiderabat enim, vivens, plenam fidem videre discipulorum suorum, et eos sine dubitatione aliqua credentes Christo. Sicut pater moriens, si viderit filios suos bonis moribus ornatos , et omni sapientia perfectos, quasi securus moritur, nihil de cetero timens de illis; sic et Joannes volebat discipulos suos perfectos videre in Christo, ut jucundius moreretur. Magis autem, non sicut pater filios suos commendavit Christo quasi tutori; sed quasi paedagogus alienos filios quos ad tempus accepit ut erudiret, eruditos volebat Christo reddere, quasi proprio patri ipsoruin ; ideo interrogabat per discipulos suos, non ut ipse accipiens responsum a Christo audiret et disceret; sed ut missi discipuii oculis suis viderent opera ejus et crederent. Misit Joannes discipulos ad Christum ut miracula ejus viderent, qui tot fecit ut paucorum animas lucraretur, quia melior est apud Deum unus justus, quam totus mundus peccatoribus plenus : » haec Chrysqstomus. Sed, secundum Gregorium, quaerit Joannes per discipulos : Tu qui venisti in mundum nascendo, es tu venturus ad inferos moriendo ? Et potest dici quod non simpliciter dubitavit de descensu ad inferos, sed de descensu in anima et corpore ad eos.
Jesus autem amavit dubitationem discipulorum, et ostendit eis primo factis et postmodum verbis , quia ipse esset Christus, secundum illud : ccepit Jesus facere et docere. In quo praedicatores et doctores instruxit, ut non solum verbis, sed etiam factis, doceant. In eorum enim praesentia et multorum, qui ibi aderant, caecos, surdps, claudos, et leprosos curavit, et alia miracula fecit; populo praedicavit, cujus Evangelium primo pauperes receperunt, quia pauperes et humiles magis credunt Evangelio, quam divites. Et per hoc respondit quaestioni Joannis, vel magis discipulorum ejus, ostendens per miracula, soli divinae virtuti possibilia, quod ipse esset vere Christus et Messias in Lege promissus. Haec enim plenum perhibebant ei testimonium quod esset Dei Filius. Nam et si ante Evangelium aliqui similia egerunt , rari tamen fuerunt ; et non sua auctoritate et jussione, sed ministerio et oratione haec fecerunt. Unde dicitur : Et respondens Jesus , scilicet verbis et factis, ait illis : Ite et renwitiate Joanni quce audistis, ab aliis antequam veniretis ; et vidistis prsesentialiter ad praeceptum meum fieri, postquam venistis, et vos de me certificemini per eum potius quam ipse : vel quce audistis, in praedicatione, et vidistis, in miraculorum operatione. Videtis me, agnoscite me; videtis facta, agnoscite factorem.
Caecos illumino, mortuos suscito, pauperes ad fidem converto, et cetera facio quae me facturum Prophetaa nuntiaverunt. Ipsa opera quce ego facio testimonium perhibent de me; unde : Si mihi non vultis credere, operibus credite. Conierte opera quae in me vidistis cum Prophetarum oraculis quae iegistis, ot et me illum de quo dixerunt esse cognoscatis. Cceci vident, ut impleatur illud propheticum : Tunc aperientur oculi carcorum. — Claudi ambulant, ut impleatur illud : Tunc saliet sicut cervus, claudus. — Leprosi mundantur, ut impleatur illud : Languores nostros ipse tulit, et livore ejus sanati sumus. — Surdi audiunt, ut impleatur illud : Et aures surdorum patebunt. — Mortui resurgunt, ut impleatur iliud : Vivent mortui, interfecti mei resurgent.
— Pauperes evangcli\antur, id est per Evangelium instruuntur et illuminantur , et ad fidem convertuntur, ut impleatur iHud : Evangelizare, vel ad amtunUandum pauperibus misit me. Fit autem potius mentio de pauperibus, quam de divitibus, quia pauperes convertuntur facilius. Ubi Hieronymus : a Pauperes autem evangeUfantur intellige, vel pauperes spiritu, vel certe opibus pauperes, ut nulla inter nobiles et ignobiles, inter divites et egenos, in praedicatione distantia sit. » Narrate ergo Joanni , quae quidem audistis in Prophetis per Messiam fienda, vidistis modo per me impleta : ea enim tunc agebat Christus, quae Prophetae loquentes de tempore Messiae praedixerant eum facturum. Subtiliter ergo respondit, innuens talem rationem : Qui operatur opera omnem naturas facultatem excedentia, et quae Prophetae praedixerant de Christo , ille profecto Christus est; sed ego talia operor , ergo ego sum Christus. Utiliter ergo ad Joannis discipulos respondrt Dominus , potius per opera, quam si dixisset : Ego sum, ut ipsa opera ejus manifestarent eis quod ipse esset Messias, potius quam verba; quia testimonium quod est de rebus et operibus, credibilius et validius est testimonto quod est a verbis; et validior est vox operis, quam sermonis. Noluit etiam aperti3 verbis dicere : Ego sum, propter arrogantiae vitandae exemplum ; sed tamen evidentissime ostendit se esse illum de quo quaerebant eum.
Moraliter per sex opera Christi mirabilia hic posita, quibus liberavit homines a corporalibus defectibus, possunt accipi sex mala a quibus quotidie spiritualiter liberat animas. Caecitas est ignorantia et error rationis eligentis; claudicatk) est infirmitas et curvitas affectionis moventis; lepra est concupiscentia et immunditia concupiscentiae carnalis; surditas est malitia et duritia obstinatae mentis; mors est separatio animae a Deo per mortale peccatum; paupertas est defectus gratiae et virtutum. Haec sex mala, pro magna parte nobis cx peccato primi hominis inflicta,. tollit fides et praedicatio Christi devote accepta. Nam ratio illuminatur, affectus certificatur, concupiscentiae ardor exstinguitur, obstinatio frangitur, peccatum fugatur, et gratia confertur. Quidam enim sunt caeci per ignorantiarn : quos liberat Christus, illustrando mentem ad divinorum cognitionem. Quidam sunt claudi in affectu pravae voluntatis, qui bene vident quid agendum sit,. et quomodo, derelicto mundo, Christus sequendus esset; sed nolunt, vel partim volunt sequi mundum, partim Christum , claudicantes in duas partes, id est versus Deum et mundum : quos liberat Ghristus disponendo mentem ad divinae voluntatis expletionem.
Quidam sunt leprosi lepra luxuriae, quae corpus et animam maculat, vel alterius peccati contagione : quos liberat Christus depurando mentem omnimodoa culpabilibus defectibus quibuscunque. Quidam sunt surdi per cordis duritiam et immisericordiam, sive ad praedicationis vocem, sive ad pauperum clamorem : quos liberat Christus inclinando mentem ad verbi Dei et pauperum obauditionem. Quidam sunt mortui per peccati mortalis obstinationem : quos liberat Christus vivificando et' renovando mentem et hominem interiorem. Quidam sunt pauperes a coelestibus gratiis et virtutibus nudi et miseri : quos Christus liberat ditando mentem gratiis et eam vestiendo virtutibus. Ista autem miracula spiritualia sunt majora quam corporalia. Magis enim est, secundum Augustinum, justificare impium, quam creare coelum et terram; pius est justificare animam in aeternum victurani, quam suscitare carncm iterum morituram; pius est in anima reformare imaginem Dei, quam in corpore reformare matsriam nostri limi.
Deinde Dominus subjungit : Et beatus est qui non fuerit scandali^atus in me, scilicet in infirmitate et humanitate mea, dubitando de deitate et divina potentia, credens me purum hominem esse, quia me videt in passibili carne; beatus qui me pati viderit et non me negabit, cujus fidei nihil tentamenti afFerunt crux, mors et sepultura. Unde et latro fuit beatus, quia non fuit scandaiizatus. Quasi diceret : Licet operer ut Deus mirabilia, quia tamen, ut homo sum crucifigendus, cavendum est valde hominibus, ne in me mortem despiciant, qui signa venerantur. Et bene dixit : in me, non a me, quia Christus nunquam fuit causa scandali active, sed potuit tesse quodam modo materia scandali et occasio. Unde et dicitur petra scandali : petra enim nulium scandalizat, quia naturae suae debitum facit; sed de petra caecus, vel incautus scandalizatur qui laeditur. In hoc ergo Dominus internuntios Joannis qui eum Christum non credebant percutit, et a serfidiae scandalo castigat. Hoc enim induxit ut Joannis discipulos ad se traheret qui de eo offendebantur, quia Joannes in operibus major clarebat. Quasi eis diceret : Videte ne scandalizemini in me, et ne in aliquo de me minus sentiatis.
Sicut autem Praecursor intendebat amovere a discipulis dubitationem de Christo , sic Salvator vice versa a turbis de Praecursore, commendans eum multipliciter turbis, quae nesciebant mysterium secretum, seu causam interrogationis, ne turbae suspicarentur Joannem male motum fuisse, et ideo discipulos misisse, ac per hoc minus crederent praeteritis testimoniis Joannis. Audientes enim quaestionem a discipulis Joannis Christo propositam, putare poterant Joannem levem in fide, et mollem in vita, quia videbatur prius dum erat liber de Christo affirmasse, quae modo in carcere, quasi adversitate fractus, videtur quaerere. Levitas, ad haesitationem rationis, mollities, ad concupiscentiam voluptatis pertinet ; et utraque Dominus a Joanne concludit; et eum de contrariis, et quibusdam aliis commendat. Magis autem voiuit commendare Joannem in absentia discipulorum ejus, quam in praesentia, ut ejus commendatio non ex favore humano , vel ex adulatione , sed amore veritatis procedere videretur; et per hoc docuit nos fugere notam adulationis in commendatione aliorum, et maxime magnorum, in praesentia eorum. Unde Chrysostomus : « Quam bene, recedentibus discipulis, ccepit laudare Joannem! Non sicut quidam homines blanditores, qui libenter homines in facie laudant, aut quando vident amicos ejus fideles, aut domesticos ejus quos credunt nuntiaturos iili quidquid audierint. Nam qui insipiens est, gaudet laudatus in facie; vir autem sapiens, quando laudatur in facie, flagellatur in corde. Propter duas ergo causas homo in facie laudari non debet.
Primum : si sapientem illum putas, graviter suscepturus est; et quare i 111 laudibus tuis molestiam facis? Si insipientem illum existimas, extollendus est; et quare insipientiam ejus laudibus tuis nutris? » haec Chrysostomus.
Consequenter ergo commendat Joannem a multis, et primo a constantia fidei et mentis. Dicit ergo Evangelista : Illis autem, sciiicet discipulis Joannis, abeuntibus, scilicet a Christo, et revertentibus ad Joannem, coepit Jesus dicere ad turbas : Quid, id est qualem, existis in desertum videre, non modo, sed olim, cum adhuc Joannes esset in deserto; nunc enim erat in carcere. Quasi diceret : Qualis creditis quod sit ille, quem jam dudum ante vincula, frequenter existis videre? Unde Chrysostomus : « Ac si diceret, propter quid civitates dimittentes, convenistis in desertum? Non plebs tanta cum tanto desiderio in eremum venisset, nisi magnum quemdam et mirabilem, et petra solidiorem se videre aestimans. » Quin existis, inquam, videre? Arundinem vento agitatam ? Quasi dicat : Non fuit mobilis sicut arundo, ut levitate mentis et fidei de Domino ambigeret, quem antea praedicaverat ; sed ita constans, quod nec timore, nec favore a veritate declinabat.
Non fuit arundo Joannes, sed columna; non movebatur vento; nec prosperis erigi, nec adversis inclinari noverat; sed A CHRISTO COMMENDATI. 5 1 1 inter adversa et prospera immobilis permanebat, servans in prosperis humilitatem et in adversis patientiam. Non quatiebatur timore, nec flectebatur adulatione ; nec eum blandum gratia , nec asperum ira cujuslibet faciebat; uno eodemque vultu respiciebat illos qui eum laudabant, et illos qui eum vituperabant. Sic inimicos et amicos diligebat, sic potentes et impotentes arguebat; arundo igitur vento agitata Joannes non erat, quem a statu susB rectitudinis nulla rerum varietas inflectebat. Unde idem Chrysostomus : « Calamus est vacuus, et nullam habens virtutem , et ideo qualisvis ventus levis flaverit super eum, huc et illuc flectit eum; sic et homo carnalis et secularis in quo fidei nulla est medulla, et virtus veritatis non invenitur in eo, qualiscunque tentatio venerit super eum, curvat eum. » Unde et Gregorius : « Discamus ergo , fratres carissimi, arundo vento agitata non esse; solidemus animum, inter auras linguarum positum; stet inflexibiiis status nostrae mentis; nulla nos detractio ad iram provocet, atque ad remissionem inutilis gratiae nullus favor inclinet; non nos prospera elevent, non adversa perturbent; ut. qui soliditate fidei figimur, nequaquam rerum transeuntium mutabilitate moveamur : » haec Gregorius. Mystice hic Joannem laudat , ut sic ipse nec mortis timore, nec carnalis vitae amore formam justitiae deseruit; sic nec nos utilia relinquamus pro vanis, vel aeterna pro transitoriis, et crucem, potius quam phaleras mundi, eligamus.
SeCUndo commendat eum ab austeritate vitae et poenitentiae , quia non fuit mollibus vestitus, nec deiiciis usus. Unde dicit : Sed quid existis videre hominem mollibus vestitwn ? scilicet per carnis curam deliciosum ? Quasi dicat : Non, qtiia, ut dictum est supra, Joannes habebat vestimentum de pilis camelorum, et esca ejus erat locusta et mel silvestre, ut ipso conversationis suae testimonio contemneret mundum cum bonis et deliciis suis. Ad hoc etiam manebat in deserto, ut austeram vitam duceret, non solum victu et vestitu, sed etiam ex loco ; propter quod subditur : Ecce qui mollibus vestiuntur et deliciis utuntur , non in deserto, sed vi domibus regum sunt, quia ibi vita deliciosa agitur. Ad hoc enim multi magnatibus adulantur, ut cum ipsis commorantes deliciis utantur; sed homines veritatis talia aspernantur. Unde narrat Valerius Majcimus 1 , quod quidam dixit Diogeni olera lavanti : Si tu Dionysio adulari velles, ista non ederes. Cui respondit : Si tu ista edere velles, Dionysio adulari nolles.
Et sequitur : Hic veridicus veritatis annuntiator , malens oleribus sustentari quam magnatibus adulari. Sed, heu ! hodie multi, etiam religiosi, contrarium faciunt, et pro modico majoribus et etiam aliis adulari non erubescunt. Et bene dicit : in domibus regum, non pontificum. Debent enim pontifices et omnes praelati Ecclesiae et etiam eorum familia indui veste simpHci et religiosa, non moili et pretiosa. Unde legitur de beato Augustino quod vestimenta ejus erant nec nitida plurimum, nec abjecta nimis. Unde et Hieronymus : « Ornatus et sordes pari modo fugiendi sunt, quia' akerum deli<ias, alterum gloriam redolet. » Quomodo ergo clerici et religiosi seque mollibus et deliciis utuntur, sicut et hi qui in domibus regum sunt?
Sed timeant et caveant sibi , quia non ccelesti, sed terreno regi militant, qui pro Deo perpeti aspera fugiunt ; sed solis exterioribus dediti, praesentis vitse mollitiem et delectationem quserunt. Si ergo vilibus vestimentis indui virtus non esset, nequaquam Dominus Joannem de vestimenti sui asperitate laudasset; et si pretiosis indui vestimentis peccatut» non esset, nequaquam de pcena di— yitis locuturus, praemisisset : qui induebatur purpura et bysso. Quam vero periculosum sit uti mollibus vestibus, patet per Chrysostomum, qui dicit : « Mollis vestis dissolvit rigidam animam; et si rigidum corpus assumat et asperum , facite per hujusmodi moHitiem delicatum reddit et fra^ile. Facto autem corpore molliori, necesse est et animam participare laesionem ; nam ut plurimum operationes ipsius consonaot dispositionibus corporis : » haec Chrysostomus. Mystice, per vesthos mollibus possunt intelligi adulato— res , quod bene significatur per indumentum. Sicut enim indumentum adaptat se illi cu jus est, sic adulatores adaptant se maiis, ut qui timore persecutionis, vei amore laudis, peocantium vitia non redarguunt, et ut temporalia lucra vel commoda con— sequi possint, illis se conformare non metuunt. Sed, secundum Gre— gorium, Joannes sic moilibus vestitus non erat , quia peccantium vitwt non blandiendo fovere, sed incre— pando castigare noverat. Moralker, secundum Hieronymum et Rabanum, docemur hic quod praedicato— res veritatis decKnare debent moi-~ lkim paiatia, q\m moilibus induti adulatores frequentant, qui vitam peccantium palpant, ungunt et non pungunt.
Item, notatur hic, quod praedicatio veritatis convenit cum duritia cibi et veskis ; qui autemv falsa praedicant, adulatores sum r iucra sectantur, divitias quaerunt r deitciis amuunt. Et tales sic moJH-» bus vestiti in domibus regum suni r id est, secundum Gregorium, extorres regni coslestis sub pure diaboli sunt, qui sunt reges tcnebrarum. Per desertum quoque potest intelligi religio, quia sicut desertum fuit medium et quaedam via inter ^Egyptum et Terram sanctam promissionis, sic religio est quoddam medium inter coelum et mundum, et quasi quaedam via directa qua itur ad coclum. Per Joannem existentem in deserto intelligitur religiosus, qui non debet esse arundo, id est hypocrita exterius, sicut arundo virens et interius vacuus; sed exterius debet vivere per honestam conversationem, et interius debet esse plenus per fidem et ferventem devotionem. Item, non debet esse fragilis, sicut arundo, et omni vento cedere ; sed debet esse firmus et omni tentationi reststere , et nec benedictione, nec maledictione raoveri. Item, non debet esse mollibus vestitus, id est adulator, sed seriosus ad vitia, et nullius in hoc personae acceptor.
Tertk) commendat Salvator Joannem ab excellentia personae et claritate notitiae, quia plus quam Propheta fuit. Propheta quidem fuit, quia Christum praevidit et praedixit , quod et alii Prophetae fecerunt. Unde supra dictum est : Tu, puer , Propheta Altissimi vocaberis. Item, plus quam Propheta fuit : primo , quia a Deo per Angelum prophetatus fuit ; secundo, quia in utero matris prophetare coepit; tertio, quia filius vel finis Prophetarum fuit; quarto, quia Christum a se et ab aliis praevisum et praedictum digito demonstravit, quod alii non fecerunt; nam, secundum Gregoriwn, Prophetae officium est ventura praedicere, sed non etiam demoastrare ; quinto, secundum Augustmum et Ambrosium, est major Prophetis , quia Prophetae Dominum venturum praenuntiavenmt, quem videre desideraverunt et non viderunt; huic autem praestitum est quod illi quaesierunt; sexto, secundum Hieronymum, quia ad privilegium prophetale etiam Baptistae accessit praemium , ut suum et Prophetarum baptizaret Dominum ; septimo, quia Angelus, et si non natura, tamen, ut infra videbitur, officio, dictus est; octavo, quia proximior Christo fuit et pene cum ipso venit. Unde Chrysostomus : « Omnes quidem Prophetae ante faciem Christi transmissi sunt, solus autem Joannes sic missus est ante faciem Christi, ut pene cum Christo veniret. Quantum prae ceteris Prophetis Joannes in tempore juxta Christum , tantum juslitia prae illis proximior erat Christo. Multae quidem stellae ante lucem praecedunt, nuntiantes iucis adventum , nulla earum Luciferi nomen habere^meruit, nisi una, quia cum ipsa luce procedit; sic omnes Prophetae ante faciem Christi praecedunt nuntiantes adventum ejus, soius tamen Joannes Praecursor est appellatus ; quia non solum adventum ejus annuntiat, sed etiam illumdigito ostendit, dicens: Ecce Agnus Dei : » haec Chrysostomus.
QuartO commendat eum ab auctoritate doctrinae et officii dignitate, cum dicitur : Hic est enim de quo scriptum est in Malachia, et sunt verba Patris ad Filium, Joannem commendantis et dicentis : Ecce ego mitto Angelum meum, [id est nuntium, scilicet Joannem Baptistam, qui etiam vitam duxit angelicam ante faciem tuam, id est ante praesentiam tuam temporalem et ante ejusdem potentiae manifestationem etcognitionem ; qui pr¶bit viam tuam praedicando poenitentiam , baptizando ad assuefacttonem, te annuntiando ac manifestando, ac corda auditorum ad recipiendum te et tuam praedicationem pervia reddendo ; ante te, PRIMjE partis caput lvi. id est ante ostensionem tuam ad mundum. Sic officium praedicatorum est praeparare corda auditorum ante adventum Domini ad judicium vel in mentem. Dictus est autem Joannes Angelus propter duo : primo, propter officii dignitatem, quia nuntius. Officium enim Angelorum est arcana reveiare, sic officium Joannis arcana praedicere. Nam, sicut Angelus Gabriei nativitatem Salvatoris paucis annuntiavit personis, scilicetVirgini et Joseph, pastoribus et Magis ; ita Joannes palam illum toti mundo nuntiavit. Unde Beda : « Angelus vocatur Joannes, non naturae societate, sed officii dignitate. Quo nomine, recte appellari potuit homo ille, qui fuit missus a Deo ut testimonium perhiberet de lumine, et venientem in carne Dominum mundo nuntiaret.
Et sacerdotes Angeli nuncupantur; unde Apostolus prohibet ne mulieres detecto capite orent, propter Angelos Dei, id est sacerdotes. » Et, secundum Gregorium, unusquisque fidelis, si a pravitate proximum revocat et ad bonum exhortatur, si aeternum regnum vel supplicium erranti denuntiat , profecto Angelus, id est nuntius Domini, est. — Secundo dictus est Angelus propter vitae angelicae puritatem quam duxit in solitudine, id est virginitatem in contemplatione. Unde ait Chrysostomus : « Beatus Joannes, qui talem meruit habere laudatorem. Audi nunc et intellige dignitatem ; puto, si non esset audaciae dicere, quod gloriosior est Joannes, quia homo fuit et propter meritum virtutis Angeius est vocatus, quam si nomine Angelus et natura fuisset. Angelus enim hoc ipsum quod Angelus est , non tantum est virtutis praemium, quantum naturae proprietas. Iste autem mirabilis est, qui in natura humana angelicam transgressus est sanctitatem, et hoc obtinuit per gratiam Dei, quod non habuit natura : » haec Chrysostomus.
Et ut summam virtutum commendationis ejus Dominus breviter comprehendat , subdit : Amen dico vobis, inter natos mulierum,non surrexit major Joanne Baptista. Signanter dicit natos, non natas , ne Beatae Virgini matri Christi praeferri vel aequari quoad sanctitatem intelligatur, quae praelata' est omnibus Sanctis, et post Christum sanctior fuit universis. Dicit autem mulierum, non Virginis, ne Christo comparari videatur , quia mulier ibi non solum sexum , sed etiam corruptionem significat; secundum quem modum beata Virgo mulier non fuit; et si mulier aliquando in Evangelio nuncupatur, ibi mulier pro femina et sexu ponitur. Nec ceteris Prophetis et Patriarchis cunctisque hominibus praefertur hic Joannes/ sed aequatur, vel nullus ei anteponitur. Non enim statim sequilur, si alii eo meliores non sunt, ilie major aliis sit. Unde non negat, quin aequalis sibi aliquando surrexit ; utrum vero postea sanctior eo aliquis fuerit, vel adhuc futurus sit, indiscussum relinquitur. Unde Chrysostomus : « Scriptura quidem non dicit Joannem majorem esse ceteris Sanctis, sed ceteros Sanctos non esse majores Joanne. Coaequavit enim eum ceteris, non praeposuit.
» Et iterum : « Quod autem dicit tale est : Non peperit mulier isto majorem, et sufficit quidem haec annuntiatio Christi. Si autem vis a rebus ipsis discere, hic excogita ejus immensam conversationem et mentis altitudinem. Velut enim qui ccelitus descendisset degebat in terra, fere nullam gerens curam de corpore, intellectualiter erectus in coelum, et soli Deo conjunctus, de nullo mundanorum sollicitus; sicut enim in ccslo ita conversabatur, et naturae necessitatibus superior effectus, extraneam quamdam ambulabat viam, in bymnis et orationibus omne pertransiens tempus, hominum quidem nulli, Deo autem continue soli colloquens. Neque enim vidit aliquem conservorum, neque visus est alicui horum ; non lacte usus est , non lectulo, non tecto, non foro, non aliquo quoque potitus est humanorum. Sermo severus et lenis ; nam cum populo Judaeorum viriliter et ferventer, cum rege audacter, cum discipulis leniter conferebat; nihil frustra, vel leviter, sed omnia convenienter agebat. Propter hoc dixit s Non surrexit inter natos mulierum major Joanne Baptista : » haec Chrysostomus. Et quia multa est Joannis cum Filio Dei collatio, ideo, secundum Chrysostomum , ut copia laudum Joannis Judaeis occasionem non daret praeferendi Joannem Christo, subdit distinguendo excellentiam Christi ab excellentia Joannis, dicens : Qui autem minor est, scilicet aetate et multorum opinione, in regno coelorum, id est in Ecclesia Sanctorum militante, major est illo, scilicet dignitate et majestate. Quod de Christo recte accipitur, qui tunc in Ecclesia militante, quae a primo justo incipiens usque ad ultimum electum perdurat , mtnor a multis reputatur.
Sed, secundum Chrysostomum, non putes quod comparative se dixerit majorem Joanne. Ut enim etiam dicit Ambrosius, alia est ista natura, nec cum humanis generationibus comparanda , non enim potest homini cum Deo ulla esse collatio. Vel , novissimus Angelorum, qui in regno coelorum, id est in Ecclesia triumphante ministrat, seu minimus Sanctorum, qui jam ibi cum Deo regnat, major est illo propter statum fruitionis : quia quilibet beatus, et comprehensor quantumcunque minimus, major est actu, quam quilibet^viator purus; licet aliquis viator sit major in potentia, aliquo jam beato. Unde Hieronymus : o Nos autem simpliciter intelligamus , quod omnis Sanctus qui jam cum Deo est, major sit illo qut adhuc consistit in praelio. Aliud est enim coronam victoriae possidere, aliud adhuc in acie dimicare; intellige tamen quantum ad praemii securitatem, non quantum ad meriti magnitudinem.
Deinde quasi declarando quod erat plus quam Propheta, commendat eum a temporis commoditate in quo venit, quia in tempore gratiae, commodo et utili humano generi. A diebus enim Joannis, id est postquam coepit Joannes praedicare consecutionem regni coelestis per poenitentiam, usque nunc inclusive, quia tempus gratiae, a tempore praedicationis Joannis inchoatum , semper erit, quandiu nunc dici potest, et usque ad finem mundi durabit; regnum coelorum vim patitur a poenitentibus, et violenti, illi scilicet qui non videntur habere jus, sicut publicani et peccatores, rapiunt illud, exclusis scilicet filiis regni. A simili dictum est, sicut si aliquod regnum datum esse extraneis , quasi violentia videretur inferri ipsi regno. Unde Hilarius : « Regnum coelorum vim patitur, quia gloria Dei Israel patribus debita, a Prophetis praenuntiata , a Christo oblata, fide Gentium occupatur, dum per poenitentiam quam Joannes praedicavit, fideles ad coelestem patriam, quasi in locum alienum penetrantes. » Unde Chrysostomus : « Vides ergo quia magnus es Joannes, in cujus tempore tanta gratia effusa est super terram; et quod in diebus omnium Prophetarum factum non est, in illius tempore factum est, et ipse factus est gratiae hujus minister : » haec Chrysostomus. LORUM RA. PERE ? A diebuS €TgO Joannis regnum coslorum patuit poenitentibus , a quibus vim patiiur et vioienter rapitur : quia primus poenitentiam praedicavit, qua velut quadam violentia nos aflligenda, et pro peccatis aatisfaciendo , regnum coelorum, quasi violenti, non pigri, rapimus et intramus.
A quo enim per peccatum alieni facti sumus, vi et virtute poenitentiae acquirimus ; et id quod nobis de jure non debetur, labore et vioientia rapimus. Quasi rapere quidem est ubi nuilum jus habemus, et quod Angelorum est possessio acquirere. Non potest enim homo natus in terra rapere coelum, nisi sibi faciat violentiam, coercendo a delectatiouibus proprium appetitum et subjugando spiritui carnem suam. Unde Hieronymus : a Grandis est violentia nos in terra genitos esse, et ccelorum sedem quaerere; possidexe per virtutem quod non tenemus per naturam. » Unde et Ambrosius : « Et ideo faciamus vim regno coelorum. Omnis enim qui vim facit, vehementi studio properat, non torpenti lentescit affectu, et ideo vim facimus naturae, ut non ad terrena demergat, sed ad superna se subrigat. » Unde Gregorius : « Cum peccatores ad pcenitentiam redeunt, quasi in locum ajienum intrant, et violenter regnum ccelorum rapiunt. » Et iterum : « Recogitemus ergo, fratres carissimi, mala quae fecimus, et nosmetipsos assiduis lamentis atteramus : hereditatem justorum quam non tenuimus per vitam, rapiamus per poenitentiam.
Vult a nobis omnipotens Deus talem violentiam perpeti, nam regnum coelorum rapi vult nostris fletibus, quod nostris meritis non debetur. » Unde et Eusebius : « Non sine violentia fieri potest^ ut unusquisque iracundiam patientia , superbiam humilitite commutet ,. amora paupertatis et indigentiar affiuentiam superet , vinolentiam sobrietate, luxuriam castitate commutet, et homo subito in virum alterum transmuteter ; et sic a talibus per violentiam regnum ccelorum diripitur. » Unde etiam in collatione abbatis Abraham sic dicitur : <i Regnum etenim ccelorum non desides, non remissi , non delicati, non teneri, sed violenti diripiunt ; qui non aliis, sed animae suae praeclaram inferunt violentiam, omni eam prassentium rerum voluptate fraudentes. Istis profecto sunt laudabiles violenti , qui vim faciunt perditioni suae. Homo enim , ut scriptum est, in doloribus laborat sibi, et vim facit perditioni suae» Perditio nostra est oblectatio praesentis vitae et executio desideriorum voluptatumque nostrarum, quas si quis ah anima sua subtraxerit ac mortificaverit^ gloriosam profecto et utilem perditioni suae vim facit, abnegans dumtaxat ei jucundissimas voluntates : » haec Abraham* Secundum Bemardum , quidam regnum Dei mercantur , ut qui exercent opera misericordiae , eleemosynam et hujusmodi. Quidam furantur, ut qui faciunt occultaspoenitentias. Quidam compelluntur intrare, ut pauperes necessarii, no» volunUrii, Quidam rapiunt , ut pauperes voluntarii, qui pauperes spiritu sunt.
Si autem adhuc dubitas regnum consequi, forte propter defectum meriti, vel auxilii, audi Au~ gustinum dicentem tibi : « Si quaeris» quomodo istud potes fieri, quibus meritis quibusve auxiliis , audi t Res ista est posita in potestate facientis» quoniam regnum ccelorum vim patitur. Regnum ocelorum, ohomo, aliud non quaerit pretium , nisi teip&um; tantumvakt, quantum es; te da, et habebis illud :. quid turbaris. de pretio? Christus, semetipsum tradidit, ut te acquireret regnum Deo Patri : ita temetipsum da, ut sis regnum ejus, ut non regnet peccatum in tuo mortali corpore, sed Chnstus in acquisitionem vitae. » Et iterum : « Venale habeo, quid, Domine ? Regnum. Quo emitur ?
Paupertate regnum , dolore gaudium, labore requies , ignominta gloria, morte vita. » Unde et Chrysostomus : « Qui seipsum donavit hominibus, quomodo regni sui societatem non dabit? » haec Owysostomus. Igitur non cures quid vei quantummodo constet, et quid vel quantum de commodis seu lucris temporalibus perdas; aut quid vel quantum de incommodis 9eu damnis temporalibus sustineas, ut regnum ilrod, de quo tam glorhsa dicta sunt, rapias et possideas.
Deinde subditur , omnes enbn Propheta? et Lex, quae erant de Christo venturo, duraverunt nsque ad Joarmem, id est ttsque ad tempua Joannis et etiam Christi : quia Christus et Joannes fuerunt quasi contemporanei, ex tunc enim cessaverunt legaBa et prophetica. Ubi Christi tempus ostendituT , ut qoem fBi venturum esse dixenmt , Joannes venisse ostenderet'; non quod tunc Lex et Prophetia fuerint annihilata, imo impleta, et imperfectio illaTum amota : quia ex tunc praedicari coepit perfectio Evangelica. Ita Joannes initium est Evangelii et terminus Legis et Prophetarum. Lex «aim et Prophetia itri finiimt, ubi id quod praefiguraverant et prophetaverant, adimpietur. N«m usque ad Joannem Lex «t Prophette figurant et promittunt, sed ex tunc m antea figurata et proaassa succe<iunt : quia in Lege et m Prophetis veritas de Christo erat sub figuris et «nigmatibus, sed a Joanne est manifeste ostensa ; quem enim Lex et Prophetae venturum praedixerant, Joannes venisse ostendit, dicens : Ecce Agnus Dei. Et quamvis post Joannem fuerunt Prophetae, ut Agabus, et quatuor filiae Philippi, non tamen de Christo in carne venturo sunt vatidnati , ut praecedentes de quibus tantum est hk sermo. Unde Beda : « Lex et Prophetce usque ad Joannem, quia non potuit ultra venturum prophetari, quod Joannis praeconio jam venisse clarebaL » Unde et Augustinus : a Inter omnes divinas auctoritates , Evangelium merito excellit.
Quod enim Lex et Prophetse futurum praenuntiaverunt, hoc redditum atque completum in Evangelio demonstratur. Non observamus sacramenta, quae in Lege et Prophetis piaecepta sunt, quia mutata sunt, quia intelligamus quae ibi prsedictm sunt. et teneamus quae ibi promrssa sunt. » Unde etiam Chrysostomas : « Ergo finis promissionis, Joannes est. Si autem finis promissionis Joannes est, et initrum beatitudinis ipse est. Quaecunque enim promissa sunt seculo isti , usque ad Joannem promissa sunt. Ex iflo autem jam non promittuntur futura, sed ea quae promissa fuerant adimplentur. Usque ad eum fuit spes, ex illo autem ccepit esse res.
» 14 Ejds laus et pjleconia. — De co mmendatione etiam Joannis, sic dicit Bernardus : « Joannes ubique major, in omnibus singularis, mirabilis super omnes. Quis sic gloriose annuntiatus est ? Quis sic speciaiiter in matris utero, Spiritu Sancto legitur fuisse repletus i Quem legiati intra matris utemm exsuhxsse? Cujus nativitatem vidisti Ecciesiam celebrare? Quts sic puer eremum concupivit ? Quis ita subdimiter legitur ccaservatus* Quis pcenitentiam tt regnum coelorum primus ostendit? Quis Regem gloriae baPRIMjE partis caput lvi.
ptizavit? Cui se primum Trinitas sic aperte revelavit? Cui tale testimonium perhibuit Dominus Jesus Christus ? Quem sic honoravit Ecclesia? Joannes Patriarcha, imo Patriarcharum finis et caput; Joannes Propheta, imo plus quam Propheta, quia quem venientem nuntiat, digito demonstrat; Joannes Angelus , sed et inter Angelos electus, Salvatore hoc attestante, cum dicit ; Ecce mitto Angelum meum, etc; Joannes Apostolus, sed et Apostolorum primus et princeps , quia fuit homo missus a Deo; Joannes Evangelista, sed et Evangelii primus inceptor, praedicans Evangelium regni; Joannes virgo, imo virginitatis norma , pudicitiae titulus, castitatis exemplum ; Joannes martyr, sed et martyrii lumen , inter nativitatem siquidem mortemque Christi constantissima forma martyrii. Ipse vox in deserto clamantis, etc, Praecursor Judicis, praeco Verbi. Ipse est Elias, usque ad quem Lex et Prophetae, Lucerna ardens et lucens, amicus sponsi, sponsae praeparator. Silentio transeo cetera ; sic novem ordinibus Angelorum insertus est, ut etiam ad Seraphim apicem transferatur : » haec Bernardus.
1 5 Quo sensu fuerit Elias. — Deinde Dominus subdit : Et si vultis recipere et intelligere , ipse est Elias, non in persona, sed in spiritu; quia fuit similis Eliae, et hoc in tribus. Primo, in austeritate poenitentiae, quia de Elia scribitur quod erat vir pilosus, quia habebat vestem hirsutam et asperam, et zona pellicea accinctus renibus; similiter de Joanne dicitur quod habebat vestimentum de pilis camelorum et zonam pelliceam circa lumbos. — Secundo, in soliditate constantiae : de Elia enim scribitur, quod ipse constanter arguebat regem Achab et regem Ochoziam ; et similiter Joannes constanter arguebat Herodem. — Tertio, in auctoritate doctrinae, quia sicut Elias venturus est , per praedicationem suam denuntians Christi adventum secundum; ita Joannes, ut supra dictum est, praevenit primum. Et, secundum Hieronymum , hoc dictum ipse est Elias mysticum esse, et egere intelligentia sequens Domini sermo demonstrat, dicens : Qui habet aures cordis audiendi, id est intelligendi , audiat, id est intelligat, scilicet quia non dixit Joannem esse Eliam in persona, sed in spiritu. Vel, qui habet aures ad officium audiendi exterius, audiat interius, adhibendo diligentiam circa ea quae dico et dixi superius. Utitur autem Christus talibus verbis, proponendo aliquod arduum vel mysticum, et hoc vel ut moveat intellectum ad intelligendum, vel»affectum a4 acquiescendum et exsequendum.
ORATIO Domine Jesu Christe, quoniam tu es qui venturus es ad salvandum nos, et alium non exspectamus : da nobis ut vincti tuo amore et timore exeamus de arundineto vanitatis et de molli vestitu voluptatis , in desertum poenitentiae. Renuntia nobis per effectum misericordiae tuae, quia tu es veritas , qua mente caeci vident : caritas , qua affectu claudi ambulant ; humilitas, qua superbi leprosi mundantur : verbum, quo surdi audiunt : vita, qua mortui resurgunt, et virtus, qua pauperes evangelizantur ; ut omnes ad te convertantur. Amen.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Matt.11.8 — But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Look, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.
- ↩Matt.3.4 — Now John himself had his clothing made of camel's hair, and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.
- ↩Matt.11.8 — But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Look, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.
Notes
- 1 ↩The Latin text contains a likely typo 'omneyerbum' which is rendered here as the scriptural 'every word'.
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