He gives thanks to God for the benefit of our being called to the true faith and to eternal life, into which we are to enter by many tribulations. He exhorts to holiness of life, considering the holiness of God and our redemption by the blood of Christ.
He comforteth them in their persecutions (being novv by Baptisme made the children of God) vvith the hope of their heauenly exh•ritance: 6 shevving hovv meritorious it is for them to be so constant in faith, 10 and confirming them therein vvith the authoritie of the Prophets and of the Holy Ghost 15 Exhorting them to liue also accordingly in al holines. 15 considering the holines of God the vprightnes of his iudgement, the price of their redemption by Christ, 22 and the vertue of the seede in them (which is grace regeneratiue in Baptisme) foretold by the Prophet also.
1Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers dispersed through Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, elect,Pietro Apostolo di Gesù Cristo, agli abitanti in paese straniero, dispersi pel Ponto, pella Galazia, Cappadocia, Asia, e Bitinia, eletti,PETER an Apostle of IESVS Christ, to the electe strangers of the dispersion of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,Petrus Apostolus Jesu Christi, electis advenis dispersionis Ponti, Galatiæ, Cappadociæ, Asiæ, et Bithyniæ, 2According to the foreknowledge of God the Father, unto the sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Grace unto you and peace be multiplied.Secondo la previsione di Dio Padre, alla santificazione dello Spirito, ad ubbidire a Gesù Cristo, e ad essere aspersi col sangue di lui: la grazia, e la pace a voi si moltiplichi.according to the prescience of God the Father, into sanctification of the Spirit, vnto the obedience and sprinkling of the bloud of IESVS Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.secundum præscientiam Dei Patris, in sanctificationem Spiritus, in obedientiam, et aspersionem sanguinis Jesu Christi. Gratia vobis, et pax multiplicetur. 3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy hath regenerated us unto a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead:Benedetto Dio, Padre del Signor nostro Gesù Cristo, il quale per sua misericordia grande ci ha rigenerati ad una viva speranza, mediante il risuscitamento di Gesù Cristo da morte,Blessed be God and the father of our Lord IESVS Christ, vvho according to his great mercie hath regenerated vs vnto a liuely hope, by the resurrection of IESVS Christ from the dead,Benedictus Deus et Pater Domini nostri Jesu Christi, qui secundum misericordiam suam magnam regeneravit nos in spem vivam, per resurrectionem Jesu Christi ex mortuis, 4Unto an inheritance, incorruptible, and undefiled and that cannot fade, reserved in heaven for you,Ad una eredità incorruttibile, e incontaminata, e immarcescibile, riserbata ne' cieli per voi:vnto an inheritance incorruptible, and incontaminate, and that can not fade, conserued in the heauens in you,in hæreditatem incorruptibilem, et incontaminatam, et immarcescibilem, conservatam in cælis in vobis, 5Who, by the power of God, are kept by faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.I quali per virtù di Dio siete custoditi dalla fede per la salute, la quale è preparata per essere manifestata nel tempo estremo.(vvho in the vertue of God are kept by faith vnto saluatiō) ready to be reuealed in the last time.qui in virtute Dei custodimini per fidem in salutem, paratam revelari in tempore novissimo.
6Wherein you shall greatly rejoice, if now you must be for a little time made sorrowful in divers temptations:Quando voi esulterete, se per un poco adesso vi conviene di essere afflitti con varie tentazioni:wherin you shal reioyce, a litle novv if you must be made heauy in diuerse tentations:In quo exsultabis, modicum nunc si oportet contristari in variis tentationibus: 7That the trial of your faith (much more precious than gold which is tried by the fire) may be found unto praise and glory and honour at the appearing of Jesus Christ.Affinchè l'assaggio della vostra fede molto più prezioso dell'oro (il quale col fuoco si assaggia) sia trovato lodevole, e glorioso, ed orrevole, nella manifestazione di Gesù Cristo:that the probation of your faith much more pretious then gold (vvhich is proued by the fire) may be found vnto praise and glorie and honour in the reuelatiō of IESVS Christ:ut probatio vestræ fidei multo pretiosior auro (quod per ignem probatur) inveniatur in laudem, et gloriam, et honorem in revelatione Jesu Christi: 8Whom having not seen, you love: in whom also now though you see him not, you believe and, believing, shall rejoice with joy unspeakable and glorified;Cui voi amate, senza averlo veduto: nel quale anche adesso credete, senza vederlo, e credendo esulterete per un inesplicabile gaudio beato:vvhom hauing not seen, you loue: in vvhom novv also not seing you beleeue: and beleeuing you reioyce vvith ioy vnspeakable and glorified,quem cum non videritis, diligitis: in quem nunc quoque non videntes creditis: credentes autem exsultabitis lætitia inenarrabili, et glorificata: 9Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.Riportando il fine della vostra fede, la salute dell'anime.receiuing the end of your faith, the saluation of your soules.reportantes finem fidei vestræ, salutem animarum. 10Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and diligently searched, who prophesied of the grace to come in you.Della qual salute furono investigatori, e scrutatori i profeti, i quali predisser la grazia, che doveva essere in voi:Of the vvhich saluation the Prophetes inquired & searched, vvhich prophecied of the grace to come in you,De qua salute exquisierunt, atque scrutati sunt prophetæ, qui de futura in vobis gratia prophetaverunt: 11Searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ in them did signify, when it foretold those sufferings that are in Christ and the glories that should follow.Indagando questi il tempo, e la qualità del tempo significato da quello, che era in essi, Spirito di Cristo, predicente i patimenti di Cristo, e le glorie susseguenti:searching vnto vvhich or vvhat maner of time the Spirit of Christ in them did signifie: foretelling those passions that are in Christ and the glories folovving:scrutantes in quod vel quale tempus significaret in eis Spiritus Christi: prænuntians eas quæ in Christo sunt passiones, et posteriores glorias:
12To whom it was revealed that, not to themselves but to you, they ministered those things which are now declared to you by them that have preached the gospel to you: the Holy Ghost being sent down from heaven, on whom the angels desire to look.Ai quali fu rivelato, come eglino non per se, ma per voi erano ministri di quelle cose, le quali adesso sono state a voi annunziate da quegli, i quali hanno, a voi predicato il Vangelo, sendo stato mandato dal cielo lo Spirito santo, nelle quali cose bramano gli Angeli di penetrar collo sguardo.to vvhom it vvas reuealed, that not to thē selues, but to you they ministred those things vvhich novv are told you by them that haue euangelized to you, the holy Ghost being sent from heauen, on vvhom the Angels desire to looke.quibus revelatum est quia non sibimetipsis, vobis autem ministrabant ea quæ nunc nuntiata sunt vobis per eos qui evangelizaverunt vobis, Spiritu Sancto misso de cælo, in quem desiderant angeli prospicere. 13Wherefore, having the loins of your mind girt up, being sober, trust perfectly in the grace which is offered you in the revelation of Jesus Christ.Per la qual cosa cinti i lombi della vostra mente, sobrj sperate interamente in quella grazia, che a voi è offerta nella manifestazione di Gesù Cristo:For the vvhich cause hauing the loines of your minde girded, sober, trust perfectly in that grace vvhich is offered you, in the reuelation of IESVS Christ,Propter quod succincti lumbos mentis vestræ, sobrii, perfecte sperate in eam, quæ offertur vobis, gratiam, in revelationem Jesu Christi: 14As children of obedience, not fashioned according to the former desires of your ignorance,Come figliuoli di ubbidienza, non conformandovi alle precedenti cupidità quando eravate nell'ignoranza:as children of obedience, not configurated to the former desires of your ignorance:quasi filii obedientiæ, non configurati prioribus ignorantiæ vestræ desideriis: 15But according to him that hath called you, who is holy, be you also in all manner of conversation holy:Ma come quegli, che vi ha chiamati, è santo, voi pur siate santi in tutto il vostro operare:but according to him that hath called you, the Holy one, be you also in al conuersation holy:sed secundum eum qui vocavit vos, Sanctum: et ipsi in omni conversatione sancti sitis: 16Because it is written: You shall be holy, for I am holy.Dappoiché sta scritto: santi sarete voi, perché santo son io.because it is vvritten: You shal be holy, because I am holy.quoniam scriptum est: Sancti eritis, quoniam ego sanctus sum. 17And if you invoke as Father him who, without respect of persons, judgeth according to every one’s work: converse in fear during the time of your sojourning here.E se padre chiamate lui, il quale senza accettazione di persone giudica secondo le opere di ciascheduno, in timore vivete nel tempo del vostro pellegrinaggio.And if you inuocate the Father, him vvhich vvithout acception of persons iudgeth according to euery ones vvorke: in feare conuerse ye the time of your peregrination.Et si patrem invocatis eum, qui sine acceptione personarum judicat secundum uniuscujusque opus, in timore incolatus vestri tempore conversamini.
18Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, as gold or silver, from your vain conversation of the tradition of your fathers:Sapendo voi, come non a prezzo di cose corruttibili, di oro, o di argento siete stati riscattati dalla vana vostra maniera di vivere trasmessavi dai padri:Knovving that not vvith corruptible things, gold or siluer, you are redeemed from your vaine conuersation of your fathers tradition:Scientes quod non corruptibilibus, auro vel argento, redempti estis de vana vestra conversatione paternæ traditionis: 19But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb unspotted and undefiled.Ma col sangue prezioso di Cristo come di agnello immacolato, e incontaminato:but vvith the pretious bloud as it vvere of an immaculate and vnspotted lambe, Christ,sed pretioso sanguine quasi agni immaculati Christi, et incontaminati: 20Foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but manifested in the last times for you:E preordinato prima della fondazione del mondo, manifestato poi negli ultimi tempi per voi,foreknovven in deede before the constitution of the vvorld, but manifested in the last times for you,præcogniti quidem ante mundi constitutionem, manifestati autem novissimis temporibus propter vos, 21Who through him are faithful in God who raised him up from the dead and hath given him glory, that your faith and hope might be in God.I quali per mezzo di lui credete in Dio, il quale lo risuscitò da morte, e glorificollo, affinchè voi in Dio credeste, e speraste:vvhich by him are faithful in God vvho raised him from the dead, and hath giuen him glorie, that your faith and hope might be in God.qui per ipsum fideles estis in Deo, qui suscitavit eum a mortuis, et dedit ei gloriam, ut fides vestra et spes esset in Deo: 22Purifying your souls in the obedience of charity, with a brotherly love, from a sincere heart love one another earnestly:Purificando voi le anime vostre con l'ubbidienza di amore, con la schietta dilezione de' fratelli, amatevi di cuore intensamente l'un l'altro:Making your soules chaste in obedience of charitie, in the sincere loue of the fraternitie from the hart loue ye one an other earnestly:animas vestras castificantes in obedientia caritatis, in fraternitatis amore, simplici ex corde invicem diligite attentius: 23Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible, by the word of God who liveth and remaineth for ever.Rigenerati essendo non di seme corruttibile, ma incorruttibile per la parola di Dio vivo, e la quale è in eterno:borne againe not of corruptible seede, but incorruptible by the vvord of God vvho liueth and remaineth for euer.renati non ex semine corruptibili, sed incorruptibili per verbum Dei vivi, et permanentis in æternum:
24For all flesh is as grass and all the glory thereof as the flower of grass. The grass is withered and the flower thereof is fallen away.Conciossiachè tutta la carne è fieno: e tutta la gloria di lei come fiore di fieno: il fieno seccò, e ne cascò il fiore.For al flesh is as grasse: and al the glorie thereof as the floure of grasse. the grasse is vvithered, and the floure thereof is fallen avvay.quia omnis caro ut fœnum: et omnis gloria ejus tamquam flos fœni: exaruit fœnum, et flos ejus decidit. 25But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel hath been preached unto you.Ma la parola del Signore dura in eterno: or questa è la parola, che è stata a voi annunziata.But the vvord of our Lord remaineth for euer, and this is the vvord that is euangelized among you.Verbum autem Domini manet in æternum: hoc est autem verbum, quod evangelizatum est in vos.
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Witham
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers dispersed. Literally, of the dispersion; that is to the Jews or Gentiles now converted, who lived dispersed in those countries, chosen or elected[Ver. 1. Electis, eklektois. It is certain this word does not only signify those who are predestinated to eternal glory, but those who are chosen or called to believe; as John vi. Christ says, that he had elected or chosen his twelve apostles, and yet one of them (Judas) was a devil. The Jews were called the elect people of God, as now are all Christians; nor can we think that all to whom St. Peter wrote, were predestinated to glory. Ibid.[Ver. 1.] Advenis dispersionis; that is dispersis in Ponto, etc.] according to the foreknowledge and eternal decrees of God unto the sanctification of the spirit. (Witham)
Bible de Vence
Asia is taken for one of the four quarters of the globe, or for Asia Minor, or for that province of Asia Minor of which Ephesus is the capital. It is in this latter sense it appears here to be understood, since Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, and Bithynia are also contained in the provinces of Asia Minor. (Bible de Vence)
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Witham
Unto the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ; that is to be saved by the merits of his death and passion. (Witham)
All the three divine Persons conspire in the salvation of the elect. The Father as principle of their election, by his eternal prescience; the Son as victim for their sins, and the source of all merit; the Holy Ghost as the spirit of adoption and love, animating and sanctifying them, and leading them to glory.
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Witham
Reserved in heaven for you. Literally, in you; that is, it is also in you by reason of that lively faith and hope, which is in you, of enjoying Christ. (Witham)
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Witham
At the appearing of Jesus Christ. Literally, in the revelation; that is when he shall be revealed, manifested, and appear at the day of judgment. (Witham)
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Witham
Searching into what time, or manner of time. The ancient prophets with longing and ardent desires, obtained to know of the Holy Ghost, the spirit of Christ, the time and the glory that followed those sufferings, by Christ's resurrection and ascension. All these were revealed to them, and they saw that they ministered things to you, not to themselves; that is, that these things they were ministers of, in prophesying about them, were not to happen in their time, but are not come to pass, as they have been preached to you. (Witham)
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Witham
The Holy Ghost being sent down from heaven, on whom the Angels desire to look.[Ver. 12. In quem desiderant Angeli prospicere. The Greek manuscripts and copies at present have eis a, in quae, which is commonly expounded to agree with the mysteries revealed to the prophets, and which the Angels rejoiced and were delighted to see fulfilled by the coming of Christ. It seems as if the ancient interpreter had read eis o, agreeing with pneuma, spiritum; or perhaps eis on, to agree with theon, understood. These changes of a letter might easily happen. It appears that not only divers Latin interpreters, but also some of the Greek Fathers brought these words to shew the divinity of the Holy Ghost, as St. Athanasius, Epist. i. ad Serap. p. 653. Edit. Ben.] This place is differently expounded. Some refer these words, on whom the Angels desire to look, to Jesus Christ, who was named in the foregoing verse; some to the Holy Ghost, who, being one God with the Father and the Son, the Angels are happy in seeing and loving him. See Estius and the Greek text. (Witham)
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Witham
The loins of your mind girded. It is a metaphor, to signify they must live in such a manner as to be always prepared for heaven, as persons used to gird their garments about them, when about to walk or run, or to undertake any labour. (Witham)
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Witham
As children of obedience; that is as obedient children. (Witham)
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Witham
From your vain conversation of the tradition of your fathers. St. Peter teacheth what St. Paul repeats in many places, that it was in vain for them to hope to be saved by the ceremonies and precepts of the former law, to which their forefathers had added many unnecessary and groundless traditions. They could only hope for salvation by believing in Christ, by the price of whose precious blood they were redeemed from their sins, as they had heard by the word of the gospel preached to them. His doctrine is the same with that of St. Paul, of St. James, of St. John, and of the other apostles, that to be saved it is not enough to have faith or hope in Christ, but it must be a faith joined and working by charity, obeying the law of Christ in the spirit of charity with a sincere and brotherly love of every one, without setting our hearts upon the vanities and corruptible things of this world, remembering that all flesh is as grass, or the flowers of the field, which wither and pass away in a very short time. Thus presently vanish all riches, honours, pleasures, and all the glory of this life, but the word of God and his promises will bring us to happiness which will last for ever. (Witham)
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Bible de Vence
Thus this new birth, common to you all, should form between you an union much more stable and solid than that formed in you by the ties of blood. (Bible de Vence)
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In the liturgy The Epistle In Cathedra S. Petri. Roma. Ian. 10.
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Concordance 2 Cor. 1, 3. Eph. 1, 3.
In the liturgy The Epistle for many martyrs.
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Chastitie not onely of body but also of minde, is required. S. Bede vpon this place.
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Concordance Leu. 11, 19. 20, 7
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Concordance Deu. 10.
God vvil iudge men according to euery ones vvorkes, and not by faith onely.
Concordance Ro. 2.
Concordance Gal. 2.
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Concordance 1 Cor. 6, 20. 7, 23
He meaneth the errours of Gentility. or if he vvrite to the Iewes dispersed, he meaneth the yoke of the Law vvith the fond and heauy additiōs of their later Maisters, called Deuterôses The Heretikes, to make it sound to the simple against the traditions of the Churche, corrupt the text thus, Which you haue receiued by 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉. fathers.
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Concordance Ro. 16, 25. Col. 1, 26. Tit. 1, 2.
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Concordance Esa. 40, 6.
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Tertullian † AD 220 An Answer to the Jews 13
… Me,” He says, “they have quite forsaken, the fount of water of life, and they have digged for themselves worn-out tanks, which will not be able to contain water.” Undoubtedly, by not receiving Christ, the “fount of water of life,” they have begun to have “worn-out tanks,” that is, synagogues for the use of the “dispersions of the Gentiles,”
Eusebius of Caesarea † AD 339 The Church History of Eusebius 3.1
2. Peter appears to have preached in Pontus, Galatia, Bithynia, Cappadocia, and Asia
Eusebius of Caesarea † AD 339 The Church History of Eusebius 3.4.2
2. And in how many provinces Peter preached Christ and taught the doctrine of the new covenant to those of the circumcision is clear from his own words in his epistle already mentioned as undisputed, in which he writes to the Hebrews of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 Dialogues. The “Eranistes” or “Polymorphus” of the Blessed Theodoretus, Bishop of Cyrus 4.3.11
11. The divine Peter in his Catholic Epistle says that Christ suffered in the flesh.
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St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 69.1
… The shepherd carries the whole sheep and not only this or that part of it: all the epistles of the apostle speak continually of the grace of Christ. And, lest a single announcement of this grace might seem a little thing, Peter says: “Grace unto you and peace be multiplied.”
Pope St Leo I the Great † AD 461 Letters 28
… Let him hear also the blessed Apostle Peter, proclaiming that the sanctification of the Spirit takes place through the sprinkling of Christ’s blood
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St Jerome † AD 420 Against Jovinianus 1.39
… And as He who was Himself the first begotten from the dead has raised all that have died in Him: so He who was a virgin, consecrated the first-fruits of His virgins in His own virgin self. Let us also consider what Peter thinks of the calling of the Gentiles:
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins, and on the Baptism of Infants 1.41
… be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to His abundant mercy, who hath regenerated us unto the hope of eternal life, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, to an inheritance immortal, and undefiled, flourishing, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.”
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St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins, and on the Baptism of Infants 1.55
In such circumstances, no man of those who have come to Christ by baptism has ever been regarded, according to sound faith and the true doctrine, as excepted from the grace of forgiveness of sins; nor has eternal life been ever thought possible to any man apart from His kingdom. For this [eternal life] is ready to be revealed at the last time,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 72.7
… But that which hath been said above, “shall judge;” and afterwards, “shall save;” is as it were a sort of exposition in what manner He shall judge. For to this end He shall judge, that He may save, that is, may sever from those that are to be destroyed and condemned, those to whom He giveth “salvation ready to be revealed at the” last time.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 145.17
… When? Hear the Apostle telling thee. “For we are saved in hope: but hope which is seen is not hope: but if what we see not we hope for, then do we with patience wait for it: “the salvation,” that is, which Peter calleth “ready to be revealed in the last time.”
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St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 2.17
… Perhaps indeed there are other reasons also for this, which only God, Who bound them together, and those who are instructed by God in such mysteries, can know, but as far as I, and men like myself can perceive, there are two: one, that it may inherit the glory above by means of a struggle and wrestling with things below, being tried as gold in the fire
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins, and on the Baptism of Infants 1.41
… “May ye be found unto the praise and honour of Jesus Christ: of whom ye were ignorant; but in whom ye believe, though now ye see Him not; and in whom also ye shall rejoice, when ye shall see Him, with joy unspeakable and full of glory: receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”
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St Polycarp † AD 155 Epistle to the Philippians 1
… of your faith, spoken of in days long gone by, endureth even until now, and bringeth forth fruit to our Lord Jesus Christ, who for our sins suffered even unto death, [but] “whom God raised from the dead, having loosed the bands of the grave.” “In whom, though now ye see Him not, ye believe, and believing, rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory;”
St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 4.9.2
… as Esaias says: “And they shall say in that day, Behold our Lord God, in whom we have trusted, and we have rejoiced in our salvation;” and Peter says in his Epistle: “Whom, not seeing, ye love; in whom, though now ye see Him not, ye have believed, ye shall rejoice with joy unspeakable;”
St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 5.7
… “For now,” he says, “we know in part, and we prophesy in part, but then face to face.” And this it is which has been said also by Peter: “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom now also, not seeing, ye believe; and believing, ye shall rejoice with joy unspeakable.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 86.1
… But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.” To a similar purpose it is also said by his fellow-apostle Peter, “In whom, though now seeing Him not, ye believe; and in whom, when ye see Him, ye shall rejoice with a joy unspeakable and glorious: receiving the reward of faith, even the salvation of your souls.”
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Origen † AD 254 Origen De Principiis 2.8.3
3. But perhaps this question is asked, If it be the understanding which prays and sings with the spirit, and if it be the same which receives both perfection and salvation, how is it that Peter says, “Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls?”
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St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 38.27
27. “Depart not from me. Make haste to help me, Lord of my salvation” ( ver. 22 ). This is that very “salvation,” Brethren, concerning which, as the Apostle Peter saith, “Prophets have enquired diligently,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 143.1
… For He Himself foretold Himself in the Prophets: for He is the Word of God. Nor did they say ought of this kind, save when filled with the Word of God. They announced then Christ, being filled with Christ,
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Tertullian † AD 220 On Baptism 11
… Let none think it was with some other, because no other exists, except that of Christ subsequently; which at that time, of course, could not be given by His disciples, inasmuch as the glory of the Lord had not yet been fully attained,
St Ephrem the Syrian † AD 373 Ephraim Syrus: Nineteen Hymns on the Nativity of Christ in the Flesh 1
… He looked for the Son Who makes heirs of life that never ends! Grace itself in hidden mystery was beseeching on their behalf that their Lord might come in their age and fill up their shortcomings. For the Holy Spirit in them, in their stead, besought with meditation: He stirred them up, and in Him did they look on that Redeemer, after whom they longed.
St Basil the Great † AD 379 De Spiritu Sancto 26
… So Paul speaks in Christ, saying “In the sight of God we speak in Christ,” and Christ in Paul, as he himself says “Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me.” So also in the Spirit he speaketh mysteries, and again the Spirit speaks in him.
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 17.4
… But if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His . He is called also the Spirit of the Son of God, as it is said, And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son . He is called also the Spirit of Christ, as it is written, Searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify
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St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 2.17.9
… Admirable sophists, and explorers of the sublimities of the unknown Father, and rehearsers of those super-celestial mysteries “which the angels desire to look into!”
St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 4.34.1
… For He has brought Himself, and has bestowed on men those good things which were announced beforehand, which things the angels desired to look into.
St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 5.36.3
… subsequently bestowing in a paternal manner those things which neither the eye has seen, nor the ear has heard, nor has [thought concerning them] arisen within the heart of man, For there is the one Son, who accomplished His Father’s will; and one human race also in which the mysteries of God are wrought, “which the angels desire to look into;”
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on Matthew 10.13
… While we say this, we are not ignorant that the men who will be saved in Christ surpass some angels—namely, those who have not been entrusted with this office—but not all of them. For we read, “Which things angels desire to look into,”
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Illud Omnia, &c. (On Luke x. 22.) 6
… But why do I say ‘what is on the earth?’ Let them tell us their own nature, if they can discover how to investigate their own nature? Rash they are indeed, and self-willed, not trembling to form opinions of things which angels desire to look into (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 7
… Did not Angels know it? No, nothing of it; for if Principalities knew it not, much less could Angels ever have known it. What then? Did not even Archangels know it? No, nor even they. But whence were they going to know it? Who was to reveal it? When we were taught it, then were they also by us.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 79.1
… and so either approving what he hath taught, or censuring what he hath not taught: especially because under the appearance of one praying, the Prophet is transforming into himself those who should be at the time when these things were to come to pass.
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St Polycarp † AD 155 Epistle to the Philippians 2
… “Judge not, that ye be not judged; forgive, and it shall be forgiven unto you; be merciful, that ye may obtain mercy; with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again;” and once more, “Blessed are the poor, and those that are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of God.”
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Festal and Personal Letters of Athanasius 3
… Let us then, my beloved brethren, celebrate with thanksgiving the holy feast which now draws near to us, ‘girding up the loins of our minds
St Jerome † AD 420 Against Jovinianus 1.39
… revealed in the last time.” Where we read of an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, prepared in heaven and reserved for the last time, and of the hope of eternal life when they will neither marry, nor be given in marriage, there, in other words, the privileges of virginity are described. For he shows as much in what follows:
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise Concerning Man’s Perfection in Righteousness 20
… ‘Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end, for the grace that is offered to you: . . . as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: but as He who hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.’
Pope St Leo I the Great † AD 461 Sermons 3
… When therefore we utter our exhortations in your ears, holy brethren, believe that he is speaking whose representative we are: because it is his warning that we give, nothing else but his teaching that we preach, beseeching you to “gird up the loins of your mind
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Tertullian † AD 220 On Monogamy 3
… Accordingly he says more manifestly: “And every (man) who hath this hope in Him maketh himself chaste, just as Himself withal is chaste.” For elsewhere, again, (we read): “Be ye holy, just as He withal was holy”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Selections from the Letters of St. Ambrose 63.24
… What wonder is it if the faithful possesses the world, who possesses the inheritance of Christ, which is of more value than the world? “Ye were redeemed with the Precious Blood,” was certainly said to all, not to the rich only. But if you will be rich, obey him who says: “Be ye holy in all your conversation.”
Pseudo-Clement The First Epistle of the Blessed Clement, the Disciple of Peter the Apostle 7
… She who is such does not withdraw from our Lord, but in spirit is ever with her Lord: as it is written, “Be ye holy, as I am holy, saith the Lord.”
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St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 7.14
… For it profiteth us nothing to have gained the title of Christians, unless the works also follow; lest to us also it be said, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham . For if we call on Him as Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, let us pass the time of our sojourning here in fear
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Selections from the Letters of St. Ambrose 63.24
… But if you will be rich, obey him who says: “Be ye holy in all your conversation.” He is speaking not to the rich only but to all; for He judges without respect of persons, as the Apostle His faithful witness says. And therefore says he: “Spend the time of your sojourning here,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 1.9
… But in order to intimate the Trinity, some things are separately affirmed, the Persons being also each severally named; and yet are not to be understood as though the other Persons were excluded, on account of the unity of the same Trinity and the One substance and Godhead of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Anonymous A Treatise on Re-Baptism by an Anonymous Writer 13
13. For any one of us will hold it necessary, that whatever is the last thing to be found in a man in this respect, is that whereby he must be judged, all those things which he has previously done being wiped away and obliterated.
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Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on Matthew 12.28
… therefore, could not give anything as an exchange for his own life, but God gave an exchange for the life of us all, “the precious blood of Christ Jesus,” according as “we were bought with a price,” “having been redeemed, not with corruptible things as silver or gold, but with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot,” even of Christ.
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Selections from the Letters of St. Ambrose 63.24
86. Let no man suppose that because he is rich, more deference is to be paid him. In the Church he is rich who is rich in faith, for the faithful has a whole world of riches. What wonder is it if the faithful possesses the world, who possesses the inheritance of Christ, which is of more value than the world? “Ye were redeemed with the Precious Blood,”
St Jerome † AD 420 Against Jovinianus 1.39
… as children of obedience, not fashioning yourselves according to your former lusts in the time of your ignorance; but like as he which called you is holy, be ye yourselves also holy in all manner of living; because it is written, ye shall be holy; for I am holy.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 147.14
… all other men of every nation they used to call sinners. And in truth all nations were given up to sin, to idolatry, to the worship of stones and stocks: but did they continue so? Although the ravens themselves, our fathers, did not, yet we, “the young of the ravens,” do call upon God.
Pope St Leo I the Great † AD 461 Letters 28
… And let him not read cursorily the same Apostle’s words when he says, “Knowing that not with corruptible things, such as silver and gold, have ye been redeemed from your vain manner of life which is part of your fathers’ tradition, but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ as of a lamb without spot and blemish
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Tertullian † AD 220 On Modesty 16
… “And ye are not your own;” immediately opposing (thereto), “for bought ye are with a price”—the blood, to wit, of the Lord:
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on Matthew 12.28
… A man, therefore, could not give anything as an exchange for his own life, but God gave an exchange for the life of us all, “the precious blood of Christ Jesus,”
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 29
… He is stoned, but is not taken. He prays, but He hears prayer. He weeps, but He causes tears to cease. He asks where Lazarus was laid, for He was Man; but He raises Lazarus, for He was God. He is sold, and very cheap, for it is only for thirty pieces of silver; but He redeems the world, and that at a great price, for the Price was His own blood.
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 3.5
… Again, the writer has explained in the sequel in what sense he says that Christ was made Wisdom for us: “But we preach the Wisdom of God in doctrine of mystery, which Wisdom is hidden, foreordained by God before the existence of the world
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Pope St Clement I † AD 99 The Second Epistle of Clement 14
… For it was spiritual, as was also our Jesus, and was made manifest at the end of the days in order to save you.
Tertullian † AD 220 On the Apparel of Women ii.9
… sufficiently have you cut down the fruits of your dowries, before (receiving) the knowledge of saving disciplines. We are they “upon whom the ends of the ages have met, having ended their course.” We have been predestined by God, before the world was, (to arise) in the extreme end of the times.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 13.15
… but that they who belong to the grace of Christ, foreknown, and predestinated, and elected before the foundation of the world
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St Polycarp † AD 155 Epistle to the Philippians 2
“Wherefore, girding up your loins,” “serve the Lord in fear” and truth, as those who have forsaken the vain, empty talk and error of the multitude, and “believed in Him who raised up our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, and gave Him glory,”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 3.9
… In Isaiah, for example, you may read: “A Child is born unto us, and a Son is given unto us;” so here also [in the Proverbs] the prophet sets forth first the creation of the flesh, and joined thereto the declaration of the Godhead, that you might know that Christ is not two, but One, being both begotten of the Father before the worlds, and in the last times
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St Jerome † AD 420 Against Jovinianus 1.39
… but like as he which called you is holy, be ye yourselves also holy in all manner of living; because it is written, ye shall be holy; for I am holy. For we were not redeemed with contemptible things, with silver or gold; but with the precious blood of a lamb without spot, Jesus Christ,
Sulpicius Severus † AD 420 The Doubtful Letters of Sulpitius Severus 2.11
… for it is unlawful even to desire that which it is unlawful to do. Wherefore also blessed Peter issues a precept to this effect: “purify your
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St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 4.11
… and thy decay shall flourish again, and all thy diseases be healed, and thy perishable parts shall be reformed and renovated, and drawn together to thee; nor shall they put thee down where themselves descend, but they shall abide with thee, and continue for ever before God, who abideth and continueth for ever.
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St Hippolytus † AD 235 The Refutation of All Heresies 6.5
… And as regards instruction for those who have been fashioned after the image (of him), that statement is enough which is made (in Scripture), that “all flesh is grass, and all the glory of flesh, as it were, a flower of grass. The grass withereth, and its flower falleth; but the word of the Lord abideth for ever.”
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 On Virginity 4
… that they, now born, now dying, rule that which remains continually. One who reflecting on this holds cheaply all that mankind prizes, whose only love is the divine life, because “all flesh is grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 42
… viii. 28 ,) so this honor compared with that is shame and ridicule. Let us then not pursue it. If they who confer it are of less account than a shadow or a dream, the honor itself much more so. “The glory of man is as the flower of the grass” (
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 60.13
… Ah! hapless plight of mortal men and vanity of all life that is not lived in Christ! Why, O my words, do you shrink back? Why do you shift and turn? I fear to come to the end, as if I could put off his death or make his life longer. “All flesh is as grass and all the glory of man as the flower of grass.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Catechising of the Uninstructed 16
… So, too, with the honors of this world,—what are they but empty pride and vanity, and peril of ruin? For holy Scripture speaks in this wise: ‘All flesh is grass, and the glory of man is as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, the flower thereof falleth away; but the word of the Lord endureth for ever.’
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 32.13
… If any man defile the temple of God, him will God destroy.” “Let no man deceive himself.” But perhaps a man will say, “My soul is the temple of God, not my body,” and will add this testimony also, “All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass.”
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St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Synodal Letter to the Bishops of Africa. (Ad Afros Epistola Synodica.) 2
… And so far they have gained nothing by writing, erasing, and using force, not knowing that ‘every plant that the Heavenly Father hath not planted shall be plucked up .’ But the word of the Lord which came through the ecumenical Synod at Nicæa, abides for ever
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1. Peter, Apostle of Jesus Christ. — The Syriac version reads, "Epistle of Peter the Apostle, Simon Cephas," because the Syriac translator rendered from the Greek, in which Cephas is called Peter; hence the name Peter passed to the Syrians and other peoples and languages, because it was most commonly used in the Greek and Latin Churches. Note: Peter was first called Simon Bar Jona, that is, son of Jona; for Peter's father was called John, in Hebrew Joanan, and by crasis Jonan and Jona. Whence Christ said to him in John xxi, 15: "Simon, son of John, lovest thou me more than these?" Then by Christ he was called in Syriac Kepha (in Hebrew Keph), that is, as the Greeks and Latins pronounce it, Cephas, that is, rock, or Peter: for Petros is the same as rock; for if it were different and merely derived from rock, it should be called Petreus, not Petrus, as St. Augustine notes in his Retractations, book xxix, and sermons 16 and 29 On the Saints. Moreover, Christ gave to Simon the name Cephas, that is, Peter, because He destined him to be His Vicar in the Church, and therefore gave him His own name (for Christ is called the rock and the cornerstone of the Church, according to that passage in I Corinthians x, 4: "And the rock was Christ"), and according to the name communicated to him the firmness and constancy of his faith and soul. Whence his type was Joseph, who in Genesis xlix, 24, is called the shepherd and rock of Israel, because, as explained in Ecclesiasticus xlix, 17, "he was the prince of his brethren, the strength of the nation, the ruler of his brethren, and the support of the people." Peter therefore is the same as rock and foundation of the Church. "For he is called rock," says St. Augustine, in his sermon On the Chair of Peter, and St. Ambrose, sermon 47, "because he was the first among the nations to lay the foundations of faith, and as an immovable stone he holds together the structure and mass of all Christian work. Rock therefore is Peter called out of devotion, and rock the Lord is named out of virtue. He rightly deserves a share in the name, who deserves a share in the work." So also St. Hilary, commentary 16 on Matthew: "O," he says, "in the naming of the new name, happy foundation of the Church," he says, "and worthy rock of its building, which would dissolve the laws of hell, and the gates of Tartarus, and all the barriers of death." And St. Chrysostom in Psalm L: "Peter," he says, "is called, who is endowed with rocky faith." St. Leo, epistle 89, chapter 1: "Thou," he says, "art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, so that the eternal building of the temple, by the wonderful gift of God's grace, might consist in the solidity of Peter." St. Gregory, book VI of the Register, epistle 37: "Who does not know," he says, "that the holy Church is established in the solidity of the Prince of the Apostles? because he drew firmness of mind into the name, so that Peter should be called from rock." St. Germanus of Constantinople, in the Theory of the Ancient Church: "The summit," he says, "adorned and crown of twelve stones are the Apostles: but the rock is the most holy Apostle, the first of the Hierarchs of Christ." The same teach Tertullian, Origen, St. Athanasius, St. Basil, St. Epiphanius, St. Gregory of Nazianzus, St. Paulinus and others, whom Bellarmine cites, book I On the Roman Pontiff, chapters x and xi. Hence aptly the Syriac Kepha alludes to and agrees with the Greek kephalē, that is, head, because Peter is the head of the Church. Thus the Hebrew Pascha agrees with the Greek paschein, because in the Passover Christ suffered. And Hebrew Jesus agrees with Greek iasis, that is, healing, health: because Jesus is the physician and healer of all infirmities. Whence Kepha and kephalē are interpreted as the same by St. Anacletus, epistle 3, and Optatus of Milevis, book II Against Parmenian, although this is not its genuine etymology, as is evident. Perhaps Christ, in giving Simon the name Cephas, had regard to a rocky, very high hill near Jerusalem, from which the whole city could be seen, which was called Kepha, and later with varied dialect Kipho, of which Josephus Gorionides speaks, book II of the Jewish War, chapter xxv. For what this hill is to Jerusalem, Peter is to the Church. Apostle, — by way of eminence, because he is the prince of the Apostles; but Peter passes over this in modesty and humility: hence the Roman Pontiff succeeding St. Peter is called Apostolic, and his chair the Apostolic See. Moreover, Apostle is the same as legate of Christ. Hear Clement, book II of the Recognitions: "We," he says, "Apostles of Him who sent us, are sent to expound the words: but we have nothing of our own to say in our commission, but to reveal the truth of His words, as I have said." To the Elect,—supply, he writes this epistle, and praying for all good things says: "Grace to you and peace be multiplied." Understand the Elect as those chosen to faith and grace, not to glory: for St. Peter did not wish to say that all the faithful are efficaciously elected to glory; much less did he wish to make them all certain and secure of this election of theirs, since many have fallen away not only from grace, but also from faith, and have become followers of Simon Magus, Menander, Cerinthus, etc. That this is so is evident from what St. Peter adds: "In the sanctification of the Spirit," as if to say, I write to those elected not immediately to glory, but to holiness and grace; and II Thessalonians ii, 13: "We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved of God, that God hath chosen you firstfruits unto salvation, in sanctification of the Spirit, and in belief of the truth." The counterpart to St. Peter is that passage of Paul, Ephesians i, 4: "As he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and unspotted in his sight in charity." Great is this election, because it is to a great good, namely to faith and grace, which is the seed of glory and eternal happiness. Whence cap. ii, vers. 9: "You," he says, "are a chosen generation, a kingly priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people, that you may declare his virtues, who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light," etc. To the Strangers.—First, Lyra: "strangers," he says, that is, proselytes, who namely had been converted from paganism to Judaism, and thence to Christianity. But in Greek it is not prosēlytois, but parepidēmois. Second, Maldonatus, in cap. vii of St. John, vers. 35, by "strangers" understands Gentiles; for these, because they were scattered throughout the whole world, were called the Dispersion, and the Dispersed, according to that of St. John there: "Will he go unto the dispersion of the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles?" whereas the Jews lived gathered together and united in Judaea. Third, St. Jerome, lib. De Scriptor. Ecclesiast., on Peter; St. Athanasius in the Synopsis; Didymus, Oecumenius, Catharinus, Cajetan and others here by "strangers" understand Jews coming to Christ and converted. Fourth and genuinely, "strangers of the Dispersion of Pontus, Galatia," etc., are called Christian Jews, who at that time, and especially recently on account of the persecution stirred up by the Jews at the death of Stephen, Acts viii, 1, had been scattered from Judaea and fled into Pontus, Galatia, etc., and there accordingly were guests and strangers, not inhabitants and dwellers, although they had fixed their seat and home there. Whence St. James writing to the same says, cap. 1, vers. 1: "To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting." For these are called in Greek parepidēmois, that is, inhabitants who are strangers, and have their dwelling in foreign land: for parepidēmeō is the same as "I go abroad, I arrive, I am a guest." Mystically, St. Peter tacitly admonishes and hints to the faithful that in this world, wherever they may be among the nations, they ought to esteem themselves to be guests and pilgrims, so that they fix their heart on no place or thing; but as strangers pass through to the heavenly homeland, and say with David: "I am a stranger with thee and a sojourner, as all my fathers were," Psalm xxxviii, 13; and let them think on that of Paul: "Brethren, now you are no more strangers and foreigners; but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and the domestics of God," Ephesians ii, 19. Christians therefore are citizens of heaven, guests and strangers of the earth. Truly St. Augustine, Quaest. XCI in Leviticum: "Every man," he says, "is a stranger by being born, because he is compelled to depart by dying." See the same serm. 32 De Verbis Domini. From what has been said it is clear that these strangers were Jews by nation and race, Christians by faith and religion: for they were exiles and fugitives from Judaea; but under these he understands all the faithful of Pontus, even citizens and dwellers converted from paganism to Christ, both because the first who brought the faith of Christ into Pontus, etc., were Jewish strangers: for these converted the Jews and Gentiles dwelling in Pontus. Justly therefore they are reckoned by the name of strangers, as it were of their fathers in Christ, especially because the special care of the Jews was incumbent on St. Peter, as that of the Gentiles on Paul, Galatians ii, 7; and because few citizens of Pontus at that time had been converted to Christ. For this Epistle was written shortly after the door of faith was opened to the Gentiles through Cornelius, in the year of Christ 43. The greater part therefore of the Christians in Pontus were strangers: wherefore St. Peter calls all strangers by synecdoche. To the Strangers of the Dispersion of Pontus.—That is, to the strangers of Pontus from the Dispersion: for proscription brought forth dispersion, dispersion made exiles and strangers of Pontus; or, as if to say, To the strangers scattered throughout Pontus; for the Hebrews often use abstracts for concretes. Pontus. — "Pontus" is a region of Asia Minor adjacent to the Euxine Sea: from which it received its name. Mithridates was king of Pontus. Marcion the heresiarch was a native of Pontus; whence Tertullian, book I Against him, chapter 1, calls him "the Pontic mouse who gnawed the Gospels." Aquila also was a Pontian, an ancient interpreter of the Scriptures. Pontus is placed here in the first position. Whence Tertullian, Cyprian, Jerome, Cassiodorus, citing this Epistle, call it the Epistle to the Pontics, just as they call the first Epistle of St. John the Epistle to the Parthians. Moreover St. Leo, sermon 1 On St. Peter and Paul, asserts that St. Peter filled Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia with the laws of evangelical preaching. Peter therefore preached in Pontus and converted the Pontics to the faith. Note here the efficacy of the Gospel and the preaching of St. Peter, inasmuch as he brought fierce and barbarous men to the law and sanctity of Christian life. How barbarous indeed the Pontics were, Tertullian teaches, book I Against Marcion, chapter 1: "Pontus," he says, "which the Euxine denies by nature, is alluded to by name. But do not estimate the hospitable Pontus from its location: so much has it withdrawn from our more civilized straits, as if from a certain shame of its barbarism; most ferocious peoples inhabit it, if indeed it can be said to be inhabited in a wagon. Uncertain dwelling, crude life, promiscuous and largely naked lust, even when they hide it, with quivers suspended from the yoke as signs, lest anyone pass by rashly: thus they do not even blush at their arms. The corpses of parents, slaughtered with cattle, they devour in banquet. Those who do not die in such a way as to be edible, theirs is an accursed death. Nor are women softened by their sex according to modesty; they expose their breasts, they do their work with axes, they prefer to wage war than to marry. Hardship from heaven too: a day never open; a sun never free; one air, fog; the whole year, winter; everything that blows is the North Wind. Liquids return to fires, all are denied by ice, mountains are heaped up with frost. All things are torpid, all things are stiff; nothing there is hot except savagery, that namely which gave tales to the stage, concerning the sacrifices of Bulls, and the loves of the Colchians, and the crosses of the Caucasians. But nothing so barbarous and gloomy in Pontus as that Marcion was born there, a Scythian more grim, more unstable than the Hamaxobians, more inhuman than the Massagetae, bolder than the Amazons, darker than the clouds, colder than winter, more brittle than ice, more treacherous than the Danube, more abrupt than the Caucasus." Again in Pontus Pluto and Proserpina, the gods of the underworld, were appeased with human victims: there also was the cave of the extracted Cerberus, and the descent of Hercules to the underworld, and the city itself was called Cerberion, and the name of the underworld was given to the Pontic or Bosphorean kingdom. The inhabitants were called the Tauric Cimmerians (whence "Cimmerian darkness"), or Cimbrians, or Cerbereans, Heniochi, Colchians, Cappadocians, Paphlagonians. Was not the Cimmerian region a hell sacred to the gods of the underworld, where were screech-owls, where the marsh of Acheron, where Cerberus? See Suidas, Strabo and other Cosmographers.
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2. According to the foreknowledge of God the Father. — "Foreknowledge" signifies the providence and predestination of God, by which He chose the Pontians to faith and the grace of Christ and Christianity, providing for them preachers and other suitable means, by which He foreknew they would listen and obey, and would freely embrace the offered faith and grace of Christ. Whence this foreknowledge is partly inchoate and conditional, partly perfect and absolute. It is inchoate, inasmuch as by it God foreknows what any man with this or that condition, for example vocation and grace, would do and freely choose. It is perfect, inasmuch as the condition being posited by God's predestination and decree, namely such or such a vocation, God sees absolutely the will of man freely consenting to Him, believing and obeying. The former foreknowledge is called by theologians "of simple intelligence"; the latter, "of vision": hence also the election of the elect according to the former is inchoate only and conditional, according to the latter it is perfect and absolute. The former is signified by "in sanctification" (in sanctificationem), as the Latin texts read; the latter by "in sanctification" (in sanctificatione), as the Greek texts read, concerning which presently. Furthermore, Peter preferred to say "foreknowledge" rather than predestination, because foreknowledge extends more widely and implies more things: namely first, that this predestination of the faithful to faith and grace was made most wisely, as it were from the eternal foreknowledge and providence of God the all-knowing. Second, that it is mysterious and inscrutable, as it were made by the secret counsel and foreknowledge of the divine mind. Third, that it is as sweet as it is efficacious and infallible. Sweet, because it did not coerce free will, but sweetly drew it to faith, providing those means by which He foreknew and foresaw that free will would freely consent and use them for its own salvation; efficacious and infallible, because the providence of God, since it foresees all things and the reasons by which the will of man is to be moved, when it suggests them to him, moves it efficaciously and infallibly, and bends it to freely consenting. This is what the Wise Man says of the eternal Wisdom of God, chapter viii, verse 1: "It reacheth from end to end mightily, and ordereth all things sweetly." Fourth, that it precedes our works and merits, and therefore is liberal and gratuitous, and worthy of all praise and thanksgiving. For this is what "fore-" and "pro-" signify in "foreknowledge" and "providence." Fifth, that this providence of God toward His elect as sons is paternal, supreme and divine: for this is what "of God the Father" signifies. Sixth, that this foreknowledge of God is not merely speculative, but also practical: for it includes God's will, love and decree of giving grace, by which we are led to faith, justice and salvation. Furthermore, St. Cyril, in the book On Right Faith to the Queens, and Oecumenius here, refer "foreknowledge" to Peter and Peter's apostolate, as though he himself was conferred by God's foreknowledge, that is providence; and therefore he is inferior to Jeremiah not in dignity, but in time only, who in chapter 1 heard from God: "Before I formed thee in the womb, I knew thee." Better do others generally refer "foreknowledge" to "the elect," as if to say: I write to the elect, who are chosen and directed to faith by God through His sweet foreknowledge and providence. The counterpart of Peter's statement is that of Paul: "God hath not cast away His people, whom He foreknew," Rom. xi, 2. "Whom He foreknew also and predestinated to be made conformable to the image of His Son," Rom. viii, 29. "O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His judgments, and how unsearchable His ways! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been His counsellor?" Rom. xi, 34. Of God the Father. — "Father" here can be taken both notionally, so as to signify the first person of the Holy Trinity, who begot the Son; and essentially, so as to signify God, who is common to three persons. For He is father with respect to men, angels and all creatures. For sanctification of the Spirit. — Œcumenius refers these things to "the Apostle." Whence he thus connects and explains all these things: "Peter, sent as an Apostle by the foreknowledge of God the Father to set apart for himself in the Spirit, and to render obedient those who have received the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus as an expiation, to you elect sojourners from the dispersion of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, may grace and peace be multiplied." Others better refer it to "elect," that is to say: You are elect by God for sanctification of the Spirit, both active, namely that the Holy Spirit sanctifies you through infused grace; and consequently passive, namely that your soul and spirit are sanctified by God, sending the Holy Spirit into you; "Spirit" therefore signifies first that this sanctification is the proper work of the Holy Spirit, yet in such a way that the other two persons of the Holy Trinity are not excluded, but rather are included in it through divine perichōrēsis, that is circumincession, as Damascus says. Whence St. Peter names here the mystery of the Holy Trinity and its three persons: namely the first, saying "of God the Father"; the second, saying "of Jesus Christ"; the third, saying "Spirit." Again appropriately he attributes to the Father election, foreknowledge and predestination, to the Holy Spirit sanctification, to the Son the sprinkling of blood: for by it he redeemed us and washed us from our sins. Second, "Spirit" signifies that this sanctification is not of the flesh, as was that of the old law, but of the spirit. Third, in sanctification to infuse into us a spirit, namely the habit of grace, charity and the other virtues, by which our mind imbued becomes spiritual, indeed spirit; so that like the spirits of angels, with spiritual and angelic purity and holiness it may please and serve God. Moreover we draw and participate in this spirit from God and the Holy Spirit, and through it we are made like to him, according to that: "He that is joined to the Lord, is one spirit," 1 Cor. ch. vi, v. 17. Note: For "in sanctification" in Greek it is en hagiasmō, that is "in sanctification," or even "unto sanctification": for often ἐν is put for εἰς: both are true, and both fitting for this place. For God chose us inchoately in sanctification, when he destined us from eternity, and in time called us to holiness; but he chose us perfectly in holiness, when already freely believing, baptized and sanctified, he loves us, and chose us for his grace, friendship, filiation and inheritance. Paul says the same thing, Ephes. ch. i, 4, and 1 Thessal. v, 23: "And may the God of peace himself sanctify you in all things, that your whole spirit, and soul, and body, may be preserved blameless in the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." Morally let Christians learn here how much holiness is to be valued, inasmuch as they are chosen by God from eternity for it, for which purpose he sent Christ into the world, namely that "we should serve him in holiness and justice before him all the days of our life," as Zacharias sings, Luke i, 75. "For this is the will of God, your sanctification," says Paul, 1 Thessal. iv, 3. Christians therefore let them think that this is said to them by God and Christ, that which God said through Moses: "You shall be holy to me, because I the Lord am holy, and I have separated you from the other peoples, that you should be mine," Levit. xx, 26; and xxii, 32: "I am the Lord who sanctify you." Let them pray therefore continually with David: "Create a clean heart in me, O God, and renew a right spirit in my bowels. Cast me not away from thy face, and take not thy holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and strengthen me with a principal spirit." Unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. — The preposition "in" can first signify the meritorious cause, so that it is the same as "through," that is to say: We are chosen for holiness through the obedience of Christ unto death, and through his blood poured out on the cross, by which in baptism we are sprinkled and washed. Thus Lyra and Cajetan. For the Hebrew ב, that is "in," is taken for "through," "on account of," "from," and thus signifies every kind of cause, as I showed in the Commentary on St. Paul, ch. 25. Secondly, "in" signifies the final cause, that is to say, the faithful elect are chosen by God for holiness, with this fruit and end, that they obey His commands, and day by day obtain the greater fruit of the effusion of Christ's blood, namely perseverance and eternal life, in heaven: for this is opened to us through the sprinkling of Christ's blood, as Paul says, Hebrews ix, 11. By metonymy therefore and metalepsis, the blood of Christ is put for the opening of heaven and heavenly glory, just as the cause is put for the effect, merit for reward: so that St. Peter assigns three effects of divine predestination, namely election, obedience and eternal life through the merits of Christ's blood, just as St. Paul assigns the same, when he names them vocation, justification and glorification, Romans viii, 30. Thirdly, "in" can signify the material cause, that is to say, the elect are chosen by God who showed themselves obedient to Christ, and embraced through faith the blood of Christ poured out for them, by it sprinkled and purified themselves. Thus St. Cyril, On Faith to the Queens, and Oecumenius. The second sense is profound, but obscure and novel: for nowhere is the sprinkling of blood thus understood. The first therefore is plain and customary; if however anyone prefers to follow the second with many, let him say that the sprinkling of Christ's blood is put metonymically for the fruit of the sprinkling of Christ's blood, in this sense, that is to say, You are called to holiness, with this end that obeying Christ, and following His holy precepts and admonitions, and day by day commemorating His redemption, blood and death, you may perceive His fruit more and more; so that day by day you may grow and advance in every virtue and holiness, until the end of life, and thus obtain the treasures of heavenly glory. Note: St. Peter here proposes Christ's blood to the faithful, as it were a certain most precious bath for sanctification, that is, most efficacious for healing all the diseases of the soul, and for procuring and increasing all virtues (which are nothing other than the health of the soul), which we ought therefore to use frequently and at every day and hour. He alludes to the sprinkling of the blood of victims of the Old Testament, in which all the purification and holiness of that age consisted, as I have shown in Leviticus i; but especially he alludes to the sprinkling of the leper to be cleansed: for on the eighth day he was sprinkled with the blood of a victim, and by it was cleansed from legal uncleanness, which barred him as it were irregular from the temple and the company of men, from which he had hitherto been kept back on account of leprosy, Leviticus xiv. For the leper typified the sinner, who is cleansed from the leprosy of sin through sprinkling, that is, the application of Christ's blood, which is made through baptism and other Sacraments, likewise through faith, contrition and good works. This is what Isaiah foretold, chapter lii, 15: "He shall sprinkle many nations," that is to say, Christ shall wash away many from sins by His blood through the water of baptism, shall justify and sanctify them. This is what David prays, Psalm L: "Thou shalt sprinkle me, O Lord, with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed," that is to say, Just as formerly the leper was typified cleansed through the sprinkling of hyssop dipped in the blood of a victim, so through the sprinkling of Christ's blood, who is truly the bloody hyssop of the immaculate Lamb cleansing sins, wash away and cleanse my guilt of homicide and adultery. Thus St. Ambrose, On the Apology of David, chapter xii. So the Apostle, Hebrews x, 22: "Sprinkled," he says, "our hearts from an evil conscience," that is, in our hearts cleansed and purified from sins by Christ's blood through baptism. Whence explaining further he adds: "And washed our body with clean water" of baptism. The sprinkling therefore of blood is the same as lustration and purification from sins, which is made through the blood of Christ. Moreover, this sprinkling, that is, the application of the blood of Christ, is applied to the soul, first, through baptism and the other Sacraments, especially the Eucharist: for in it we truly eat the body and drink the blood of Christ. Second, through faith and prayer, namely by beseeching God that through the merits of the blood of Christ He remit our sins to us, grant grace, bestow and increase virtues. Thus the Church is accustomed to conclude all prayers and collects by saying: "Through our Lord Jesus Christ," etc. Third, through the remembrance and meditation of the passion of Christ; for by this we show ourselves grateful to Christ, and we celebrate His precious redemption, and through it we hope for, seek and obtain benefits. And for this reason Christ instituted the sacrifice of the Mass and the Eucharist, so that in it we might continually recall such dignity of His passion, and celebrate it with all thanksgiving, according to that: "Do this in remembrance of me." And: "For as often as you shall eat this bread, and drink the chalice, you shall show the death of the Lord, until he come," 1 Cor. xi, 26. Fourth, by uniting our operations and passions to the actions and passions of Christ: for this is most honorable to Christ, most pleasing to the Father, most useful to us. This is what Paul says in Hebrews xii, 24: "You are come, etc., to the mediator of the new testament, and to the sprinkling of blood that speaketh better than Abel," because the blood of Abel cries out for vengeance, that of Christ for mercy. Grace to you and peace be multiplied. — By grace understand both the uncreated grace in God and the created grace in us. The uncreated is the benevolence, love, favor, by which God pursues His own; the created is the grace and gifts which God freely infuses into the soul out of love. The effect and companion of grace is a threefold peace, namely peace with God, with ourselves and with our neighbors. And so St. Peter prays that both peace and grace be increased and perfected in the faithful, following the example of Christ, who, greeting His disciples after the resurrection, said: "Peace be to you," especially because He Himself not only promised it, but also gave it, saying: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you," John cap. xx; whence St. Cyril, lib. XII in John, cap. liii and liv, and lib. X, cap. vii: A certain law, he says, has been handed down to the Church: for in holy assemblies we often say this to one another. For to have peace both with us and with God is the source and origin of all goods. Wherefore Paul also, wishing all good to the faithful, says: "Grace to you and peace." Moreover, Cyril holds that the peace which Christ wished and left to the Apostles is the Holy Spirit, because namely He Himself is the causal peace; for He causes peace. Thus Christ is said to be our peace, Ephes. ii, 14, that is, our peacemaker, who reconciled peace between us and God.
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3. Blessed be God. — He begins with a blessing, giving of thanks and praise to God, because he celebrates the great benefit of the redemption of Christ, and our calling through him to grace and eternal glory. Paul does the same thing throughout the whole chapter 1 to the Ephesians, by which he wonderfully extols, examines and admires this benefit of God. Indeed, even certain Gentiles begin their epistles and books from God. Thus Aratus begins his Phaenomena: "From Jupiter the beginning," etc., as I have noted in Acts xvii, 28. Moreover, this praise and blessing of God is an angelic voice, and the beginning of blessed life. For the blessed in the heavens, absorbed in the sea of divinity, praise and glorify nothing but God, Apoc. iv, 8 and 10. Morally note that the hearts and mouths of the Saints are as it were an altar of incense, which continually exhales the incense of divine praise, and as it were a beehive, indeed honeycombs, which perpetually distil the honey of doxology, so that with St. Job, both in prosperity and in adversity they may say: "Blessed be the name of the Lord"; and with the Psalmist Psalm. xxxiii: "I will bless the Lord at all times"; and with the three youths in the fiery furnace: "All ye works of the Lord, bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all for ever," Daniel. iii; and with Zacharias: "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, because he hath visited and wrought the redemption of his people," Luke cap. i; and with the Blessed Virgin: "My soul doth magnify the Lord." Thus Paul begins almost all his Epistles with giving of thanks, or a blessing of God. Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, — both as to his divinity, by the generation communicated to him from eternity; and more properly as to his humanity, which the Holy Spirit formed for him in time in the womb of the Blessed Virgin, by which reason the whole Holy Trinity is said to be the Father of Christ and of Christians: for the name Jesus is the name of the humanity of Christ, not of his divinity. Indeed, the Apostles everywhere celebrate the mystery of the incarnation of Christ, both because it is new, and because through it our redemption was accomplished: because we are justified and saved only through faith in him and his merits. Who according to his great mercy. — He gives the reason why he blesses God, namely his great mercy shown to us through Christ. He alludes to that Psalm. L, 1: "Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy, and according to the multitude of thy compassions blot out my iniquity." And Psalm. cxliv, 9: "His mercies are over all his works." And Psalm. cvii, 5: "For thy mercy is great above the heavens." St. Peter sings in harmony with Paul, II Cor. i, 3: "Blessed be God, etc., the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort." And Ephes. ii, 4: "But God, who is rich in mercy, by reason of his exceeding charity wherewith he loved us." Moreover, the mercy of God is great, that is, greatest and immense, first, from the efficient cause, because it flows forth from God and His immense love toward us: therefore it is as great as the Godhead, with which it is one and the same. Second, from the object, because namely He gave us His only-begotten Son, so that in Him He appears to have poured out His bowels upon us, according to that of Zacharias: "By the bowels of the mercy of our God, in which the Orient from on high hath visited us," Luke 1. Great therefore is it, because God immense emptied Himself even unto death, and death of the cross, that He might have mercy on man most hostile to Him, and might free him from eternal misery. Third, from the subject, because us men, as most vile worms full of sins and all misery, He called to Himself and raised up to His grace and glory, according to that: The abyss of human misery calls upon the abyss of divine mercy, Psalm xli, 8. Fourth, from the abundance of gifts, because He has bestowed upon us innumerable benefits, graces and gifts, and ceases not to bestow them. Whence St. Augustine, on Psalm lviii: "All, says he, whatsoever I am, O Lord, is of Thy mercy: for what did I do to be? what did I do to be one who could call upon Thee? Because therefore no one is more generous to Thee in mercy, from whom I received that I should be, from him I received that I should be good, my God, my mercy." Fifth, it is great in place and time, because it extends itself to all men of all places, times and ages, according to that Psalm xxxii, 5: "The earth is full of the mercy of the Lord." Again in the Saints it endures forever. Sixth, from the end, because it leads us to His great kingdom, and makes us partakers and sharers of His inheritance and immense glory, according to that of the Psalmist: "I have cried to Thee, O Lord; I said: Thou art my hope, my portion in the land of the living," Psalm cxli, 6. Great therefore is it, first, because it flows forth from a great God; second, because it is given through great Christ; third, because it lifts a great misery; fourth, because it gives great gifts; fifth, because it embraces great peoples, places and times; sixth, because it makes us blessed with great Heaven and God. Hath regenerated us unto a lively hope. — Regeneration is twofold: The first is justification and sanctification, by which we are raised from the death of sin and recalled to the life of grace lost in the fall of Adam; this is called regeneration, that is, a repeated and second generation: because the first generation was in Adam, by which God created Adam, and in him all posterity in grace, and through it made them His sons, and therefore begat them in spirit. The second generation, that is regeneration, is that by which we who have fallen and are dead are recalled through Christ to the pristine life and grace which we had in Adam, before the fall. The second regeneration is resurrection: for through it we are raised from death, and are regenerated, as it were, into a new life, namely heavenly, blessed and eternal; this is called regeneration with respect to the first generation, by which we were begotten of our parents into this natural and mortal life. It can be understood in either way here. According to the first sense therefore the meaning will be, as if to say, God through Christ, and through Christ's baptism and grace regenerated us, that is, justified us, and recalled us to the life of grace, "unto a lively hope," that is, to this end and fruit, namely that through grace we might hope to obtain glory and eternal life. According to the second sense the meaning will be, as if to say, Christ sprinkling us with His blood, purifying, sanctifying and vivifying us regenerated us, that is, raised us up to glory and blessed life, "unto," that is, through a lively hope. "For in hope we are saved"; for this hope on the part of God promising is so living, certain and efficacious, as if He were giving us the thing hoped for, namely blessed life, in very deed, and placing it in our hands. In which sense Paul says: "We have access through faith into this grace, wherein we stand and glory in the hope of the glory of the sons of God," Rom. cap. v, vers. 2; and: "And hath raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places," Ephes. ii, 6, as if to say, Christ by rising and ascending into heaven raised us up with Him and made us sit with Him in heaven: so certain are we, if we cleave to Christ, that we shall sit with Him in heaven, as if we were already sitting with Him: "for where the glory of the Head has gone before, there the hope is called of the body also," says St. Leo. Whence St. Augustine in Meditations xv: "This whole, says he, is my hope, and all my confidence is in Jesus Christ Himself, who is the portion of each of us, flesh and blood. Where therefore my portion reigns, there I believe I reign: where my flesh is glorified, there I recognize myself to be glorious: where my blood rules, there I feel myself to rule." Thirdly, it can be expounded thus, that a living hope is called the regeneration itself, as if to say: He regenerated, that is, generated again and gave life to us, by giving us not a thing, namely glory, but its living hope: for this living hope is as it were the soul and life of the Christian, by which he lives and flourishes in labors and tribulations for Christ, because namely he hopes for eternal life from Him: for He grants that life through hope, so that it may appear that he already possesses it, and lives by it, and therefore through hope he already appears regenerated and raised up. Hence he calls it a "living" hope, because namely it rewards and vivifies the faithful; of which more presently. Where note that the "in" phrase in Hebrew signifies an increase of living hope, as if to say: God regenerates us, and daily makes us more lively and vigorous in Christianity through hope, which He daily increases and makes more living in us, through new aids and strengthens of grace, through continual help, direction and protection, through various consolations, which in the midst of tribulations and desolations He daily suggests and inspires to us more abundantly and copiously. In a living hope. — Hope is called living, first, because it hopes for eternal life. Whence St. Jerome, book I Against Jovinian, reads "in hope of life." Others, in St. Augustine, book I On the Merit of Sins, chapter twenty-seven, read "in hope of eternal life." By metonymy therefore "living hope" is put for the life hoped for, or for the living thing to be obtained through hope. Significantly moreover he says "living," to indicate that present life is mortal and dead, and is more death than life. For, as St. Gregory says, homily 37 in the Gospel: "Temporal life compared to eternal life is rather to be called death than life. For what is the daily defect of corruption other than a certain prolongation of death?" Secondly, because this hope is not false and doubtful, such as is that of worldly men hoping for riches and honors, but true and certain, so that, unless it be through our fault, we shall certainly obtain the glory hoped for, as Bede says. Thirdly, because this hope never dies, nor perishes, but always lives, until it brings us to the thing hoped for. Fourthly, hope is called "living" because it sustains the life of the faithful, so that in the midst of tribulations they live joyfully, in living hope of glory: hope therefore gives them life and courage, and makes them live and flourish in any adversities whatsoever. Whence Philo, in the book That the Worse Plots Against the Better: "For what," he says, "can be more proper to man than hope and expectation of the possession of goods to be received from God alone, the most munificent? What kind of men, if we wish to speak the truth, is properly human; as those who do not hope in God are reckoned outside rational nature." Thus Paul: "And that now I live in the flesh," he says, "I live in the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered himself for me," Galatians ii, 20. For a man despairing languishes like one dead, but one hoping lives and is strong, according to that saying of Tibullus, book II: Credulous hope sustains life, and always says tomorrow will be better. Hope nourishes farmers, hope entrusts seeds to the furrowed fields. Hope also mightily consoles one bound in chains. See St. Bernard, sermon 7 on the Psalm Who Dwells: "In hope," he says, "we live, brothers, and do not fail in tribulation, because we are in expectation of ineffable joys. For neither does this expectation appear to us vain, nor doubtful hope resting on eternal promises of truth. Moreover also from the perception of present gifts, the expectation of future things is firm; and the virtue of present grace testifies most credibly to the happiness of promised glory to follow without doubt. Namely the Lord of virtues Himself is the King of glory, the Lord will give grace and glory. Let piety therefore manfully sustain the struggle in this age, and patiently endure any persecution with equanimity." Fifthly, hope is called "living," that is, vigorous and flourishing. For just as Ezekiel, chapter thirty-seven, 4, represents the despair of the Jews in Babylon concerning their liberation and return to Jerusalem through dry bones, so he stirs up and vivifies their hope through a vision, in which he saw these bones come to life again. Whence St. Gregory, book thirty-one of the Morals, chapter thirty-four or eighteen: "Dry," he says, "are the hearts of men, which planted in the hope of this world that perishes, do not have confidence in eternity: but they flourish, which cling to that inheritance. Since thou, O Lord, hast singularly established me in hope," Psalm iv, 10, and: "In thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let me never be confounded," Psalm xxx, 1. Sixth, just as standing and stagnant waters are said to be dead, but fountains and flowing waters are said to be living, because life, that is, vital operation, consists in action and motion: so living hope is said to be that which stirs a man to living and heroic actions of virtues, by which he may attain the glory he hopes for. Hence St. Paul says: "The saints through faith conquered kingdoms, wrought justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong from weakness, became mighty in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens, women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might find a better resurrection, etc. They were stoned, they were cut asunder, they were tempted, they were put to death by the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, etc." Finally, Clement of Alexandria, book I of the Paedagogus, chapter vi, judges hope to be called "living" because the hope of faith gives life, and is as it were its soul. "The Church," he says, "consists of a body, namely faith, and a soul, namely hope, just as Christ consists of flesh and blood. For truly the blood of faith is hope, in which it is contained, just as faith is from the soul. But when hope has expired, just as if blood had flowed out, the vital faculty of faith is dissolved." By this living hope St. Martin excelled, when to Julian the Apostate reproaching him with fear he replied: "I, protected by the sign of the cross, not by shield or helmet, shall penetrate the ranks of enemies secure"; and when captured by robbers he said he feared nothing whatsoever: "For I know," he said, "that God is present to his own who trust in him all the more in greater dangers." And when dying he said to the devil: "Why do you stand here, bloody beast? you will find nothing deadly in me"; and to his own: "Allow me to look upon heaven rather than earth, so that my spirit, now going on its way to the Lord, may be directed by his journey." I have recounted more in Jeremiah chapter i, 18, and xvii, 8. By the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. — Refer this first to "to a living hope," as if to say: Our hope is living, or hoping for eternal life, because Christ our head preceded us into this by his resurrection, so that he might lead us with him as members into the same. For living hope says: I hope that I shall rise again, because Christ my redeemer rose, not only for himself, but also for me, namely so that he might raise me from death to life and glory. Second, refer it to "regenerated," as if to say: God regenerated us, that is, raised us both from sin to grace and from death to eternal life through the resurrection of Christ: for this was the cause not only exemplary but also efficient of our resurrection, and this first, because Christ by his passion and death, whose end and terminus was resurrection, merited for us both resurrections. Second, because Christ rising conquered death completely, and as its conqueror and triumpher overthrew it not only in himself but also in us. Whence Paul says in Romans iv, 25: "Who was delivered up for our sins, and rose again for our justification." And chapter vi, verse 4: "That as Christ is risen from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also may walk in newness of life: for if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection." Third, because Christ, who rose on the day of judgment, partly by himself, partly by angels, will raise us up, according to that in Philippians iii, 20: "But our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ, who will reform the body of our lowness, made like to the body of his glory." Most excellently St. Jerome to Heliodorus, in the Epitaph of Nepotian: "He," he says, "who once through Hosea threatened you sternly: I will be thy death, O death, I will be thy sting, O hell; by his death, you are dead, by his death, we live: you devoured, and were devoured; and while you were troubled by the allurement of the assumed body, and thought the prey in your greedy jaws, your inmost parts were pierced by a hooked tooth. Thanks to you, Christ our Savior, we your creature give, because so mighty an adversary of ours, while you were slain, you slew." Our hope, therefore, equally as our love and the joy of our heart, is Christ. Hear St. Bernard, sermon 9 on the Psalm, Who dwelleth: "Since thou art, O Lord, my hope. Whatever therefore is to be done, whatever is to be avoided, whatever is to be endured, whatever is to be desired, thou art, O Lord, my hope. This one thing is to me the cause of all promises, this is the whole reason of my expectation. Let another boast of merit, let him glory in bearing the burden of the day and heat, let him say he fasts twice on the sabbath, let him boast that he is not as other men: for me it is good to cleave to God, to place my hope in the Lord. Let others hope in other things: perhaps one in the knowledge of letters, another in the cunning of the world, one in nobility, another in dignity, another in some other vanity: for thy sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I count them but as dung, since thou art, O Lord, my hope. If rewards are promised to me, through thee I shall hope to obtain them. If battles rise up against me, if the world rage, if the malignant one roar, if even the flesh lust against the spirit, in thee will I hope. Brethren, to be wise in this, to live by faith is this; nor can another rightly say: Since thou art, O Lord, my hope, etc. Why therefore, if we are wise in these things, why do we delay to cast away all miserable, vain, useless, seductive hopes, and to cleave with all devotion of mind, with all fervour of spirit, to this one hope so solid, so perfect, so blessed?" From the dead. — From the number, state and place of the dead, namely from the sepulchre and hell.
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4. Into an inheritance. — Refer to "regenerated," as if to say: God regenerated us in baptism and made us His sons, so that He might make us partakers and heirs of His inheritance. For this reason indeed parents beget children, so that they might have them as heirs. It could also be referred to "a living hope," as if to say: He regenerated us into a living hope, which by hoping tends toward an inheritance, or which is the hope of an incorruptible inheritance. For the Hebrews often signify by the letter ב bet, that is "in," with the accusative, the government of the genitive. Furthermore, this inheritance, which God will give to His beloved and chosen sons, is the kingdom of heaven, and God Himself in His entirety. For the blessed, seeing and contemplating God, enjoy Him, rejoice and are blessed in Him eternally. Thus St. Augustine, sermon 19 On the Seasons: "We have," he says, "one city with the holy angels; we shall be possessed by the Lord, we shall be His inheritance, and He Himself shall be our inheritance; because even now we say: The Lord is the portion of my inheritance. And of us it was said: Ask of me, and I will give thee the Gentiles for thy inheritance." Incorruptible. — In nature and substance. He opposes this epithet to the inheritance, first, of the Jews, whose inheritance in the promised land flowing with milk and honey, namely in Chanaan, was corruptible, because it was perishable and of short duration. Second, to the inheritance of the Chiliasts, or Millenarians, who said that the Saints would reign for only a thousand years in this life, whose author was Cerinthus, a contemporary and antagonist of St. Peter: concerning whom more is said in Apocalypse chapter xx, verse 4. Third, to the error of Origen, who from Plato taught that after the great year, namely after twelve, or as others say, thirty-six thousand years, all things would revolve and return to their original or primeval state; and therefore the Blessed in heaven would return to the present life. Thus Didymus. Fourth, to earthly inheritance, which parents leave to their corruptible sons as corruptible; for Christian inheritance is immortal, incorruptible, eternal, which is neither changed nor corrupted by death, nor by age, nor by any time whatsoever; because this inheritance is the empyrean heaven, which is incorruptible, indeed it is God Himself immortal, as I said a little before. For an immortal soul an immortal inheritance and happiness ought to be used, and thus is it suited. Truly St. Augustine, in Psalm cxlix: "God," he says, "shall be our inheritance, which is neither diminished by the multitude of possessors, nor made narrower by the number of co-heirs: but it is as great for many as for few; as great for each one as for all" — whereas in created inheritance far otherwise happens. Then likewise this corruptible body shall put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality, as the Apostle says, I Corinthians xv, 53. And undefiled. — He opposes this to the error of the Jews, Chiliasts, Mahomet and the Saracens, because they expect a paradise in which they might enjoy all the pleasures of the flesh, and defile themselves with all luxury and lust. Again to the error of Origen, who said that the souls of the Blessed after the great year would return from the heavens and the fellowship of angels to this wretched and defiled flesh. Against these Peter says that the heavenly inheritance will be, as incorruptible, so likewise always pure and undefiled from not only guilt, but from any filth, vice and blemish. Wherefore in Apocalypse xxi, 27, it is said of it: "There shall not enter into it any thing defiled." And Psalm xxiii, 3: "Who shall ascend into the mountain of the Lord, or who shall stand in His holy place? The innocent in hands and clean of heart, who hath not taken his soul in vain." For "undefiled" in Greek is amianton, that is unpolluted, purified, undefiled, immaculate, pure. Whence the stone amiantus is called, which is born in Cyprus, similar to fissile alum, from which, as it is flexible, cloths are made, which when thrown into fire are indeed kindled and produce flames, but become brighter without any part being lost, as Dioscorides testifies, book V, chapter cxiii, and Pliny, book XXXVI, chapter xix, who says: "Amiantus is similar to alum, it loses nothing to fire." Whence the same author, book XIX, chapter 1, calls it "living linen," but errs, while he thinks it is truly linen, which is born in India, when it is a stone or alum. Wherefore amiantus is an image and symbol of divinity, as being most pure; for which reason the Brahmins made garments for themselves from amiantus, so that they might show forth a specimen of divinity from themselves: from it also the funeral garments of kings were woven, so that the ashes of their bodies thrown on the pyre might be distinguished from the ashes of wood, says Mathiolus in Dioscorides, book I, chapter cxiii, and Pliny, book XIX, chapter 1. Note secondly, "undefiled," that is, incapable of being defiled, as Pagninus and the Zurich Bible translate it; for this is what the Greek word amianton signifies, just as amaranton signifies "unfading," rather than "not fading." For the heavenly inheritance is not only in actuality pure and undefiled, but also in habit and potentiality, because it cannot be defiled, nor can it be stained by any blemish of any thing. Thus in Haggai ii, it is said: "He shall come that is desired," that is, desirable, "of all nations." For the Hebrews often use passive participles for verbal adjectives in -ible, which they lack, as in Zephaniah ii, 1: "A nation not beloved," Hebrew, "not loved." II Kings i: "Saul and Jonathan lovely," Hebrew "loved." Psalm cxxxvi: "Wonderful are thy works," Hebrew "wondered at." The Greeks and Latins imitate the same, as in Galatians ii: "Because he was to be blamed," Greek kategnōsmenos, that is, "he was blamed." Virgil, VII Aeneid: "Rich where the Sun's daughter haunts inaccessible groves," "inaccessible," that is, "inaccessible." Idem, book VIII: "He hangs weeping, unfulfilled," that is, "unfulfillably." Therefore "undefiled" signifies that the heavenly inheritance shall be wholly pure: first, from all sin, even the lightest, nay from all power of sinning; secondly, from all filth and danger of filth; thirdly, from all carnal pleasure, nay from all concupiscence, according to that saying of Christ: "For in the resurrection they shall neither marry, nor be married; but shall be as the angels of God," Matthew xxii, 30. For the inheritance and beatitude of the faithful in heaven shall be spiritual, angelic, divine: which therefore St. John, Apocalypse xxi, 19, saw represented through gold, emerald, beryl, jasper and other most pure gems, equally as most precious. Whence St. Augustine, in his Meditations, describing the heavenly paradise: "This structure," he says, "is woven of gems alone; the way of the city is paved with pure gold as with glass, mud is absent, dung is lacking, no plague is seen." Tropologically, Bede says: "The faithful," he says, "in order to attain the heavenly inheritance, in this life make the inheritance of God 'incorruptible,' lest they be corrupted by any mortal sin; 'undefiled,' lest they be stained by venial sins; 'unfading,' lest they wither from the lightest and daily sins; finally 'reserved in heaven,' because, endowed with this holiness, they shall be joined, without any doubt, if they persevere unto the end, to the company of the Blessed." This undefiled and immortal inheritance was desired by St. Casimir, son of Casimir, King of Poland, who, falling into sickness, when he heard from physicians that he could not be relieved unless he took a wife, and his parents urged him to do so, answered generously: "I know no other life than that heavenly undefiled immortality, for which I choose to die a virgin," like the ermine, which, surrounded by a muddy bank, does not wish to cross it and flee, lest it soil itself with mud, but allows itself to be captured by hunters, and thus tacitly says: "I would rather die than be defiled." A virgin therefore, and a victim of virginity, he died in the twenty-fourth year of his age, in the year of Christ 1484, justly ascribed to heaven and to the mystical choir of heaven's Virgins and Martyrs. Unfading,—amaranton, that is, which cannot fade. Whence St. Augustine, book I On the Merits of Sin, chapter xxvii, reads "flowering." For it is a metaphor from flowers, leaves and fruits, which as soon as plants have flowered and ripened, immediately fade, wither, rot. Whence against these the "amaranth" flower has its name from immortality, because it does not fade: concerning which Pliny, book XXI, chapter viii, says: "By the amaranth," he says, "we are undoubtedly surpassed. It is indeed a purple spike rather than any flower, and itself without odor: and it is wonderful that it rejoices to be plucked, and is reborn more happily. It comes forth in August, lasts into autumn. The Alexandrian palm, which when plucked is preserved. And it is wonderful that after all flowers have failed, when moistened with water it revives, and makes winter crowns." But Clement of Alexandria, book II, chapter VIII, teaches that the full amaranth is found in heaven only: "A beautiful," he says, "amaranth crown is laid up for him who has conducted himself rightly: this flower the earth cannot bear, heaven alone can bear it." According to which the sense of Blessed Peter will be, as if to say: In heaven at last it will be permitted to attain the amaranth crown: for the earth does not produce any unfading flower. The inheritance and crown of the Saints therefore will be amaranthine and unfading, because it will be not only incorruptible as to substance, but also as to quality, appearance and pleasure, it will always remain in the same flower, vigor and beauty. It is otherwise with marbles and gems, which although they are incorruptible, yet are polished only for a time and shine; for with time they lose that splendor and beauty, become darkened and as it were grow old. On the contrary, in heaven the glory and happiness of the Saints will always be fresh, always flourishing, always verdant: hence after hundreds of thousands of years it will be as sweet, as pleasant, and will delight the minds of the Blessed as much as it delighted them on the first day when they perceived it. The reason for this is that this glory and delight is constant in every respect, immutable, always like itself, unfading and infinite, like a certain sea of joys. This is what St. Augustine sings of it in the Meditations: "There the dreadful winter, the scorching summer never rage. Perpetual flower of roses brings perpetual spring. Lilies gleam white, the crocus blushes red, balsam sweats; the meadows are green, the crops flourish, rivers of honey flow, the odor of spices and aromatics breathes forth, fruits hang from flowering groves that shall not fall." It is otherwise with earthly joys, which although all may seem very great, yet with long use they become tedious and cause nausea, indeed the more they are tasted, the less they please: in them therefore to be wise brings folly, as St. Gregory notes, homily 36 in the Gospel. This is what the Wise Man says, Ecclesiasticus XXIV, 29: "They that eat me, shall yet hunger, and they that drink me, shall yet thirst." And St. Peter, chapter I, 12: "Whom the angels desire to behold." The Blessed therefore are so satisfied by the vision of God, that yet they equally always long for it, and desire to gaze upon Him continually. In nothing therefore is their happiness diminished, whether as to the thing possessed, or as to its appearance and beauty, or as to its sense, taste and pleasure; for He affects the Blessed with such sense, taste and pleasure after a thousand years as He affected them on the first day. It is therefore unfading. First, because it does not grow old with age. Second, because it does not wither with time. Third, because it does not become flaccid in appearance. Fourth, because it does not decay in taste. Fifth, because it does not rot with maturity. Sixth, because it does not diminish with wrinkles. Seventh, because it does not become base in esteem. On the contrary, all the pleasure of this life, says Seneca, book On the Happy Life, VI, "then when it most delights, is extinguished, nor does it have much space: and so it quickly fills, and is tedious, and after the first impulse it fades: nor is that ever certain, whose nature is in motion: thus there cannot indeed be any substance of that which comes transiently, most swiftly to perish in its own use: for it reaches the point where it ceases; and while it begins, it looks toward the end." Preserved in heaven for you,—eis hymas, that is, for you, that is, for you. Whence the Syriac, which is prepared for you. St. Jerome, book I Against Jovinian, "which is preserved in heaven for you, that is, for you." Hence Paul says it is "hidden in God," Colossians chapter III, verse 3. Hence also Christ will say to the elect on the day of judgment: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world," Matthew chapter XXV, 34. This inheritance therefore is prepared and preserved for us by God as for sons, so that we ought not to doubt of it, if only we retain His sonship, grace and friendship constantly until death; and the Gloss thinks this is signified by the word preserved, as if it signified our cooperation and our free will. But this is less correct: for in Greek it is tetērēmenēn, that is, preserved. Note: St. Peter explains the heavenly inheritance through four predicaments, of Substance, Quality, When and Where, that is, of time and place. For he says that it is incorruptible in substance, uncontaminated in quality, unfading in time, and heavenly in situation and place: for it is kept for us in the heavens. Moreover among these four there is apt connection and order; for from the first the rest follow in order. Because indeed the inheritance is aphthartos, that is, incorruptible, by its nature, hence it is amiantos in quality, that is, uncontaminated: for those things which are incorruptible by essence are likewise unmixed, uncompounded; and therefore pure, simple and uncontaminated, as God, heaven, angels, and the rational soul; but those things which are corruptible are likewise mixed, compounded, and therefore impure and contaminated, as are all bodies compounded from elements. Again, because this inheritance is amiantos and uncontaminated, therefore it is also amarantos and unfading: for those things which fade have in themselves something of blemish, dregs, filth and impurity, which while they gradually expel and as it were vomit forth, is the cause of fading; but those things which are wholly pure have in themselves nothing which could expel or bubble forth fading. Finally, because it itself is amarantos and unfading, therefore it is also heavenly and free from earth: for earth and earthly things, because they are full of dregs, fade; but heaven, because it is pure and bright, is unfading, and consequently all such things are likewise heavenly. With good reason therefore St. Augustine, in sermon 2 On All Saints: "So great," he says, "is the beauty of justice, so great the joy of eternal light, that is, of unchangeable truth and wisdom, that, even if it were not permitted to remain in it longer than the space of one day, for this reason alone countless years of this life full of delights and abounding in temporal goods would rightly and deservedly be despised." Truly indeed the Psalmist said: "For one day in thy courts is better than a thousand," Psalm LXXXIII, 11. But now we shall remain in it not for one day, but for thousands, nay for infinite ages, and thus forever, and shall enjoy its delights fully. How therefore is it to be desired, and all other things to be despised! How we ought to long for it, and say with our St. Ignatius: "How does the earth seem vile to me, when I behold heaven!"
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5. Who are kept by the power of God (in Greek dynamei, that is power, strength) through faith unto salvation. — The sense is, as if to say, By what means does God the best and greatest preserve that unfading inheritance? For you, whom as sons, like a father not only begat, but also with a robust and mighty hand against all assaults of infidels, demons, the world and the flesh, guards, educates, and leads through faith unto eternal salvation, which is that unfading inheritance. Whence for "are kept" in Greek it is phrouroumenous, which word properly pertains to military watches and the guardianships of citadels and cities: these indeed God provides for his own, as he provided for Hezekiah and Jerusalem besieged by Sennacherib, according to the promise of Isaiah, cap. XXXVIII, vers. 6: "I will deliver thee from the hand of the king of the Assyrians, and this city, and I will protect it." And Zechariah, II, 5: "I will be to it," saith the Lord, "a wall of fire round about, and I will be glory in the midst thereof." And Psalm XXVI, 1: "The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? If armies in camp should rise up against me, my heart shall not fear." And Psalm XXXIII: "The angel of the Lord shall encamp round about them that fear him, and shall deliver them." Shall encamp, namely himself and his protection, his armies and camps, his legions of angels subject to him, his weapons and thunderbolts. Whence in Hebrew it is חונה chone, that is shall encamp; St. Jerome, surrounds; the Chaldean, dwells. Where St. Basil rightly notes that an angel is compared on account of his greatness to an entire army, on account of strength and fortitude to a wall, which guards and protects us round about. Such were the camps of guardian angels of the patriarch Jacob, who therefore called the place where they appeared to him Mahanaim, that is twin camps, Gen. XXXII, 2. Such was "the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha," namely of angels, that they might defend Elisha against the armies of the Syrians, IV Kings VI, 17. Similar watches and guardianships God most benign exhibits to his other faithful and saints, so that with good reason the Psalmist sang of them: "The Lord keepeth all the bones of them, not one of them shall be broken," Psalm XXXIII, 21. Whence also he prays the same for himself: "From them that resist thy right hand," he saith, "keep me as the apple of thy eye," Psalm XVI, 8. God therefore keeps his own both through himself and through his angels. Whence we learn that no one ought to trust in himself and his own guardianship, but ought to attribute it to God. For he himself is the keeper of the Church and of his flock. "For unless the Lord keep the city, he laboureth in vain that keepeth it," Psalm CXXVI, 1. This is what the Lord saith through Isaiah, XLIII, 2: "When thou shalt walk in the water, I will be with thee, and the rivers shall not cover thee; when thou shalt walk in the fire, thou shalt not be burnt, and the flame shall not burn in thee." And Psalm XC: "His truth shall compass thee with a shield, thou shalt not be afraid of the terror of the night, of the arrow that flieth in the day, of the business that walketh about in the dark, of invasion, or of the noonday demon." And soon after: "I am with him in tribulation, I will deliver him, and I will glorify him." By faith. — Faith therefore is the safeguard of the faithful; faith, I say, not naked and dead, but living and animated by grace and charity, as I said on James II, 14. Whence St. Chrysostom and Bede understand by faith the Christian religion, and the grace of Christ, which justifies us. Faith therefore and grace is the instrument, and as it were a military safeguard, by which God guards the faithful, both lest they should relapse into their former paganism and errors; and that they may resist the temptations of the flesh and the devil; and that they may bravely endure persecutions for Christ and the truth; and that they may perform Christian and heroic works of faith and virtues, such as Paul recounts as performed by the ancient heroes of faith, Hebrews XI. For faith, by which one believes that if he serves God, and labors and suffers for Him, he will be rewarded by Him with eternal and greatest rewards, stirs up the faithful to dare and endure all things. The faithful therefore by faith resist the devil, I Peter V, 9; and extinguish his fiery darts with the shield of faith, Ephesians cap. VI, vers. 16. Whence: "This is the victory which overcometh the world, your faith," says St. John, I epistle V, 4. By which he at the same time admonishes the newly faithful to hold constantly the faith and grace of Christ recently received, whole and undefiled, and to persevere in it, if they desire to attain these fruits of faith, the aid of God and salvation, and the heavenly inheritance. Thus Oecumenius; for Christ protects the faithful constant in His faith from heaven, as He prayed for them while living on earth: "Holy Father, keep them in Thy name, whom Thou hast given me, that they may be one as we also are." And soon after: "While I was with them, I kept them in Thy name: those whom Thou gavest me have I kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition," John XVII, 11. Unto salvation. — Salvation is the eternal life and glory of the Blessed; the word unto signifies the end, fruit and reward of faith, as if to say: Faith tends and leads unto salvation, and salvation is the term, fruit and reward of faith. For faith and grace is salvation begun, but glory is salvation consummated. Prepared to be revealed (which is prepared that it may be revealed: thus Pagninus) in the last time. — This salvation of the soul of each faithful one fully expiated is revealed immediately after death, secretly in particular judgment; but in the last time, namely on the day of judgment, it will be revealed publicly before the whole world, not only in the soul, but also in the body of each blessed one: for then the body with the soul will rise to immortal glory. Namely this salvation is an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled and unfading, unto which God from eternity destined and chose the Saints, and prepared and preserves for them in the heavens. Note: To be revealed signifies that salvation and heavenly glory are obscure to us, and are beheld by us through faith as through a shadow and enigma only; but on the day of judgment it will be revealed, when faith shall be turned into sight, hope into reality, promise into gift, expectation into possession. This is what St. John says, epistle I, cap. III, vers. 2: "Now we are the sons of God, and it hath not yet appeared what we shall be: we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like to Him." And from Isaiah St. Paul: "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love Him," I Corinthians II, 9.
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6. In which you shall greatly rejoice. — Some think the pronoun "in which" refers to the last time, which was mentioned just before, as if to say: In the last time, namely on the day of judgment, you shall rejoice, when you shall see yourselves blessed and granted eternal glory for the slight trial which you endure in this life. Whence the Syriac version translates it, "you shall be glad forever." Others more rightly think that "in which" refers to all the preceding things, as if to say: "In which," that is, in what matter, if indeed you consider that God has regenerated you in hope of a living inheritance to be revealed in the last time, surely you shall rejoice in this regeneration and living hope of a heavenly inheritance, even in the midst of trials; because these, being slight and brief, merit that inheritance, and lead you by the right path to it. Thus Œcumenius. The future "you shall rejoice" can also be taken in the Hebrew manner for the imperative "rejoice," or for the indicative "you ought to rejoice," or for the subjunctive "it is fitting that you rejoice." Whence in Greek it is agalliasthe, which is partly of the indicative mood, signifying "you rejoice," as Pagninus and the Zurich Bible translate it; partly of the imperative, signifying "rejoice." Thus Christ "for the joy set before him endured the cross," Hebrews XII, 2. So also St. Agatha and the Martyrs went to fires, racks and torments as if to feasts, weddings and triumphs. It is therefore the part of a Christian to rejoice in every tribulation, trial and sorrow. For although tribulation afflicts the body, the senses and the lower part of the soul, and causes pain and sorrow in it, yet it causes joy, and great joy, in the higher part of the soul, namely in reason, mind and spirit, while it thinks that tribulation will bring it an eternal crown. In hope therefore and in merit of this crown it rejoices, while it is in tribulation and sorrow; and this hope changes sorrow into joy, as Christ at Cana changed water into wine, so that in it, for joy, it leaps and exults, and does not wish to be without it, but rather desires it to last and increase. The Greek agalliasthai, that is to exult, is said as it were agan hallesthai, that is, to leap greatly; as St. John the Baptist, for joy at Christ incarnate, leaped in his mother's womb, Luke I. St. Paul agrees with St. Peter, saying in II Corinthians VII, 4: "I am filled with comfort, I am overflowing with joy in all our tribulation." And St. James, chapter I, verse 1: "Count it all joy, my brethren, when you fall into various trials"; where I have reviewed many causes of this joy. Now for a little while, if it be necessary, you may be made sorrowful. — Pagninus: now for a brief time afflicted, if it be necessary, as if to say: You shall rejoice, now afflicted and made sorrowful for a short time, if it be needful, if namely affliction and sorrow come upon you and rush in, as often happens in this life to all, especially to the faithful. For our life is beset with troubles, persecutions and trials, which necessarily bring forth sorrow, and therefore to be made sorrowful in it is something one must do, as is commonly said, which cannot be avoided; but it must be borne, according to that saying: "Whatever it is, all fortune must be overcome by bearing it." He alludes to what Christ, about to depart, forewarned his own, saying: "A little while, and you shall not see me; and again a little while, and you shall see me. Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made sorrowful: but your sorrow shall be turned into joy," John XVI, 19. For all pains and griefs, as well as joys of this life, are a little while now, that is, something small, both in quantity and in duration, like a point and a moment, according to that of Paul: "That which is at present momentary and light of our tribulation, works for us above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory," II Corinthians IV, 17. Note first: Each word has emphasis and suggests a new reason for endurance and exultation, as if to say: Rejoice in trials. First, because they are slight in respect to the immense glory and crown with which Christ adorns them in heaven, according to that in Wisdom III, 5: "Being afflicted in few things, in many they shall be well rewarded." Second, because they are brief; for they last but a moment, that is a moment. For this "life is a moment on which eternity depends." Third, because they ought and must be endured. Who does not submit to necessity? Who fights against fate? Fourth, he adds "if," saying "if it be necessary," as if to say: Tribulations do not always, nor to all, but sometimes come upon these now, those then: therefore willingly take up your lot, your turn and your portion. Thus Œcumenius. Fifth, because they are trials, that is exercises and tests, by which God exercises and tests your patience and virtue. Note secondly, if can be taken in fourfold manner. First, properly, so that it may denote a condition, as if to say: I do not say absolutely that you ought to be made sorrowful, but conditionally, as if you ought to be made sorrowful, that you may patiently endure the same. Second, causally, so that it is the same as because, as if to say: Because you ought in this life, surrounded by so many hardships, often to be made sorrowful, therefore endure the same, and make virtue out of necessity. Third, concomitantly, so that it is the same as when, as if to say: I do not say you ought always to be made sorrowful, but if, that is, when it ought to be, when namely it comes upon you. Fourth, by concession for be it so, as if to say: You shall exult in the hope of glory, be it so that now you ought to be made sorrowful a little. Morally, this little while of sufferings, to which eternal reward is due, ought to stir us up to render in them all cheerfulness, fortitude and constancy of mind. For, as St. Eucherius says to Valerius: "Nothing is great in reality which is small in time; nor is that extended by long joys which is concluded by a narrow end." St. Basil, in the book On the Laws of the Gentiles, praises Bias saying that he strove for virtue, so that he might possess it as a provision for old age. "But you," he says, "O Christian, for the possession of the future age, which has no end, prepare a provision, namely virtues: for all times compared to that are nothing." St. Augustine in Psalm XXXVI: "For eternal," he says, "rest eternal labour was to be undertaken. About to receive eternal happiness, you ought to endure eternal sufferings: for even if it were a thousand years, weigh a thousand years against eternity, what do you weigh when you compare the finite with the infinite, however great? Ten thousand years, ten times a hundred thousand, and thousands of thousands, which have an end, cannot be compared with eternity. The whole life of man is of a few days: even if happy things were not mixed with hard things, which are certainly more and longer, yet hard things are shorter and fewer, so that we may be able to endure. If therefore throughout his whole life a man were in labours and in hardships, in pains and in torments, in prison and in stripes, in hunger and in thirst, all days, all hours throughout his whole life until old age, the whole life of man is a few days: when this labour is finished, eternal kingdom will come, endless happiness will come, equality with angels will come, the inheritance of Christ will come, Christ himself will come as co-heir: for how much labour, how great a reward do we receive?" And St. Chrysostom, in the homily On Lazarus: "If anyone in a hundred years had seen through one night a sweet dream, and enjoyed many delights through the dream and then were tormented for a hundred years afterwards, would he wish to equate one night which he dreamed with a hundred years? Think thus of the future life. For what one dream is to a hundred years, that is the present life to the future, indeed much less: what an insignificant drop is to an immense sea, that is a thousand years to that future fruition; and as much as there is a difference between dreams and real things, so much is there a difference between the state of this life and that." Thus St. Antony commended to his disciples the consideration of the brevity of sufferings and the eternity of rewards, as it were a sharp goad to progress. Hear him in St. Athanasius: "Let this be the first commandment in common to all, that no one should grow slack in the vigour of the purpose undertaken, but as one beginning ought always to increase what he has begun, especially since the spaces of human life compared to eternity are very brief." And soon after: "The promise of eternal life is purchased at a cheap price. For it is written: The days of our life are seventy years: but if in strength, eighty. When therefore we have laboured eighty or a hundred years in the work of God, we shall not reign for an equal time in the future, but for the aforesaid years all the kingdoms of all ages shall be given to us. We shall not inherit the earth, but heaven; leaving also this corruptible body, we shall receive the same with incorruption. Therefore, little children, let neither weariness weary you, nor the ambition of vain glory delight you." And again: "Why therefore do we not make virtue out of necessity? Why do we not willingly relinquish to gain the heavenly kingdoms what is to be lost at the end of this light?" To be grieved. — Gagneius and Hesselius think the reading should be "grieved": for in Greek it is lypēthentes, that is "afflicted, grieved": but the sense comes to the same thing, and you will translate it more clearly and gently if, with Our interpretation, you unfold and develop the sentence thus: "If it be necessary to be grieved," that is to say, I do not say absolutely, nor do I command you always to be grieved, but if it be necessary for you to be grieved, bear it patiently. Again, that is to say, You shall exult in the hope of glory, if it be necessary for you to be grieved a little now: by which he insinuates that persecution and tribulation ought not to be sought out or desired, but rather to be avoided and fled from by the weak: yet if it should come upon you, it ought to be borne patiently and bravely. "What need is there," says Seneca, Epistle 24, "to seek out evils, and to anticipate sufferings which will come soon enough, and to lose the present time through fear of the future? It is certainly foolish, because although you will be miserable in the future, to be miserable now." In various trials, — peirasmois, that is "in trials and tests," as the Zurich version translates it, that is to say, Various tribulations, by which one is now attacked by sickness, now by poverty, now by slander, now by persecution, now by desire, and is conflicted by these, are trials and tests by which God explores how much virtue and constancy is in us, and stirs it up, sharpens it, strengthens it and hardens it: therefore all ought to be borne generously. "The wise man," says Seneca, "yields himself to fate, as flint yields to the striker. "The hardness of flint," he says himself in On the Happy Life, XXVII, "is known to none more than to those who strike it. I yield myself not otherwise than some rock set in a shallow sea, which the waves do not cease to batter from every direction they are moved, and yet they neither move it from its place, nor wear it away by their frequent assault over so many ages."
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7. That the trial of your faith be found much more precious than gold. — The word that must be explained: for it gives the reason why it is necessary for us to be afflicted and grieved in various trials. For the reason is that our faith and constancy may be proved, strengthened, celebrated and crowned. Whence for trial in Greek is dokimion, that is an assaying, a testing, a proof of faith, that is, faith proved and tested: for this is praised, not the proving of faith itself, which is done by the demon and the tyrant, and often drives many into fall and ruin. Again, this is more precious than gold proved by fire and purged from dross. For just as gold is not only proved by the touch of the Lydian stone, but much more certainly and truly by fire in the furnace, for fire separates pure gold from dross: so the faith of Christians is proved by the fire of tribulation, which separates the faithful and constant from the unfaithful and inconstant; again it tears the faithful away from their blemishes and desires, and presents them pure to God. Moreover, this faith is not alone and naked, as is evident, but formed by charity and armed with constancy: because it loves God and Christ with solid charity, hence it constantly bears trial for love of him, otherwise it would succumb to it. But this faithful and constant charity is far more precious than gold; the Greek texts add apollymenou, that is perishing and being lost; for if gold which perishes and destroys many is proved by fire, much more is faith formed by charity, which will endure for all eternity, and will keep and save the faithful eternally, to be proved and tested by tribulation. What therefore fire is to gold, tribulation is to the just: fire does not destroy gold, but preserves it, and makes it pure and bright; so also tribulation does not destroy the just, but strengthens and illustrates him. Hear Pliny recounting the qualities of gold, book XXXIII, chapter III: "Nor is it preferred to other metals," he says, "by weight or ease of material, since it yields to lead in both respects; but because to this one thing nothing is lost by fire, the material endures safely even in conflagrations and funeral pyres. Indeed, the more often it has been burned, the more it improves in quality. And the test of gold is fire, so that it glows with the same color as fire. And they call this pure gold. The first sign of its goodness is how very difficult it is to ignite. Second: It is remarkable, he says, that what is unconquerable by the most violent heat of coals, straw burns most quickly; and in order to be purified, it is smelted with lead. Third, another cause of its value is greater, that use wears it away very little. Fourth, no other substance expands more loosely, or is divided more abundantly. Fifth, above all things, no rust, no verdigris, nothing from itself that consumes its goodness or diminishes its weight. Sixth, against the juices of salt and vinegar, the conquerors of things, constancy. Seventh, above all it is spun and woven like wool, and without wool." This is easy to apply to the just: for first, by fire, that is by tribulation, no virtue in him perishes, but rather increases. Second, it is wonderful that the just man resists the fire of tribulation, and the chaff of human misery is set ablaze through compassion. Third, nothing of virtue is worn away in him by conversation with worldlings, but he himself exerts his own power and spirit upon them by rubbing against them. Fourth, he dilates the bowels of his charity most widely and minutely toward all. Fifth, no rust of envy or sadness proceeds from him, which would diminish his goodness. Sixth, he constantly resists salt and vinegar, that is, wrath and bitterness. Seventh, he is flexible, and allows himself to be inserted into any things whatsoever, even vile and troublesome, so that he may benefit others and adorn them. Thus St. Job, cap. XXIII, vers. 10: "He knoweth the way that I walk: and hath tried me as gold that passeth through the fire." And King David: "Thou hast proved us, O God, thou hast tried us by fire as silver is tried: thou hast brought us into a net, thou hast laid afflictions upon our backs. We went through fire and water, and thou hast brought us out into a refreshment," Psalm. LXV, 10. Thus St. Lawrence roasted on the gridiron: "Thou hast proved," he says, "my heart, and visited it in the night: thou hast tried me by fire, and iniquity hath not been found in me," namely infidelity, because in the midst of fire I have adhered to thee faithfully and constantly, Psalm. XVI, 3. Thus of the Martyrs and the patient it is said, Wisdom III, 6: "As gold in the furnace he proved them, and as a holocaust victim he accepted them." And Ecclus. XXVII, 6: "The furnace proveth the potter's vessels; and the trial of tribulation proveth just men." Thus the three boys, companions of Daniel, were proved whether they would be faithful to their God, in the fire of the Babylonian furnace, Daniel. III. Thus the Maccabees were fried by Antiochus in a pan and proved their faith in God, II Maccab. VII. Thus the Saints at the end of the world shall be afflicted by the fire of the most bitter persecution by Antichrist, "that they may be tried, and chosen, and made white," Daniel. XII, 36. Hard therefore is this trial, hard examination, hard temptation, but brief and short in respect to the eternal crown, which God adorns for them in heaven. Thus St. Sebastian, having keenly tempted and afflicted SS. Mark and Marcellian, so that they would fall away from the faith of Christ, encouraged them by this reasoning, and confirmed them unto martyrdom: "Torments," he says, "are either light, or grave and severe. If light, they are tolerable; if severe, they do not last, but drive the patient to death, and through death transmit him to immortality. Endure therefore both severe and light torments, because those are brief, these are slight; those will quickly be extinguished, these will be extinguished shortly." That thou mayest become Lawrence, thou must undergo fire; that thou mayest be Vincent, thou must patiently endure the rack with gladness; Job was shaped by every kind of calamity, Tobias was formed by blindness, Joseph by calumny, David by persecution, Daniel by lions, the Maccabees by pans. May be found unto praise and glory and honour, in the revelation of Jesus Christ. — "May be found," namely to have been and to have turned out for you unto praise, etc., because namely your faith proved by so many trials has made you praiseworthy and glorious in heaven and earth. For the angels beheld it, and praised it: men saw and heard it, and celebrated and admired it. Second, "may be found," that is may be, or may turn out, as if to say: That your faith thus proved may be unto you for praise, and may turn out for you unto glory and honour on the day of judgment, when Christ the judge shall declare it to the whole world, shall praise it and shall bestow an eternal crown. For "to be found" is often put by metalepsis for "to be," because what is can be found; what is not cannot be found. Thus of the angels falling from heaven with Lucifer it is said, Apoc. XII, 8: "Neither was their place found any more in heaven," that is, there was no longer any place for them in heaven, but in tartarus. Thus in Ecclus. XXXI, it is said: "Blessed is the man that is found without blemish"; he is found, that is, he was immaculate, so that he could be found such. Whence explaining it adds: "Who hath not gone after gold," etc. Note: Christ on the day of judgment will praise the faith and virtue of the just: which praise indeed will be greatest, both because it will take place before all angels and men, who ever were, are, or will be; and because it will be made by Christ, who is eternal truth and majesty: for He Himself is King of kings and Lord of lords; and because this praise will endure throughout all eternity in the reward and eternal laurel crown, which Christ will give to each according to his merits. "Therefore He will say: Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat, etc. Well done, good and faithful servant, because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord," Matt. XXV, 21. Come, Peter, who didst found the Roman Church by thy labor and blood: receive the crown of thy labor and sweat. Come, Paul, who didst teach all nations: receive the crown of thy teaching and apostolate. Come, Stephen, who didst receive my stones with love, and didst esteem them sweet: receive the crown due to thy martyrdom. Come, Francis, who didst humble thyself exceedingly: receive the highest throne of glory. Come, Thecla, who didst so generously endure so many and such great torments for me. Come, Agnes, who didst contend for chastity beyond thy years and strength. Come, Cecilia; come, Agatha; come, Catherine, who didst each perform and endure these and those things so heroically: receive each the laurel of chastity, the laurel of martyrdom, each her own and suited to her struggle and victory. Then therefore shall come to pass that of Jer. XXX, 19: "There shall go forth praise and the voice of them that play: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be diminished; and I will glorify them, and they shall not be made small." For all angels and Saints shall approve and celebrate the praise of Christ with common voice and acclamation. And that of Isa. LXI, 3: "He will give them a crown instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, a garment of praise instead of a spirit of heaviness: and they shall be called in it the mighty ones of justice, the planting of the Lord to glorify Him." This was represented through the praise of David, because he selected thirty of the mightiest men of his army for himself, praised them and placed them gloriously beside him in the house of the mighty, II Kings XXIII, 8. Similarly therefore Christ will praise and glorify His mighty ones in heaven, which is the city of the mighty. Furthermore, this praise of Christ will not only give to each a reward according to his merits, but also honor, according to that of John XII, 26: "If any man minister to me, my Father will honor him," calling him His faithful servant, friend, son, heir, exalting him from earth to heaven, giving him an honored and sublime seat beside Him, according to what He promised to the Apostles and Apostolic men: "Amen I say to you, that you who have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit on the seat of His majesty, you also shall sit on twelve seats judging the twelve tribes of Israel," Matt. XIX, 28. Again, this praise will give glory not only beatific, which consists in the vision of God, but also that which is situated in the brightness of name and fame, and makes men celebrated and glorious, so that namely all angels and men may proclaim and glorify the glorious deeds of each saint. "Glory," says Quintilian, "is the unanimous praise of the good." And Cicero in the oration for Marcellus: "Glory," he says, "is the illustrious and widely spread fame of great and numerous merits either toward one's fellow citizens, or toward one's country, or toward all mankind." What is greater, what more numerous than angels and the Blessed who will celebrate any saints whatsoever and their virtues. Let us therefore learn here that of Statius, book I: "Thou alone, O Glory, dost burn the soul and mind." And that of Mucius Scaevola burning his hand: "So vile is the body to those who regard glory." Again, this glory will not only be verbal, but also real; because it will consist and endure in the glorious kingdom, which Christ will give to them, according to that of Wisdom v, 16: "They shall receive a kingdom of glory and a crown of beauty from the hand of the Lord." Therefore Christ will honor and glorify the elect, when He will make them kings, and will give them the heavenly and eternal kingdom, according to that of Apoc. v, 10: "Thou hast made us to our God a kingdom and priests, and we shall reign upon the earth." O how glorious is the kingdom, in which all the Saints, here afflicted and abject, reign with Christ! clothed in white robes they follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. In the revelation of Jesus Christ,—namely on the day of judgment: for this is called the day of revelation, both because on it Christ will be revealed, who is now hidden and invisible to us; and because on it the works and merits of each will be revealed, which are here hidden, nay often by the wicked are darkened, obscured and defamed through calumny. For the wicked here slander the pious as hypocrites, as if they simulate piety, and seek its empty shadow and the praise of men. Christ therefore, the just judge, will reveal their piety, virtue, integrity and sincerity, and will lay them bare and celebrate them to the whole world.
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8. Whom you have not seen you love. — Although some going into Judaea could have seen Christ there, yet many remaining at home had not seen him: these therefore believed in Christ not seen, but heard, and loved him exceedingly. This indeed is the nature of faith and the love consequent upon it. "For what is faith, but to believe what you do not see?" says St. Augustine, tract. 40 in John. "But the work of faith is love," says the same in Psalm XXXI. Œcumenius thinks these things are to be referred to exciting the hope and strength of the faithful in adversities. "For if," he says, "you have not beheld him with the eyes of flesh, yet from hearing alone you love him, consider how much love you will bear when you shall see him, especially when he shall be revealed to you in glory. For if his passion so attracted you, when he shall appear to you in insuperable splendor, in what manner will he affect your soul?" Whence St. Augustine, lib. I De Pecc. merit., XXVII, reads thus: "Whom you knew not, in whom now not seeing you believe, whom when you shall see you will exult with unspeakable joy." Moreover, marvelous was the affection and love of the first faithful toward Christ, so that for him they rejoiced not only to be despoiled of goods, to be afflicted with reproaches, to be beaten and scourged, but even to be condemned to death. Whence that saying of Ignatius, epist. to the Romans: "My love is crucified." And who, thinking of Jesus, that is, God incarnate for himself, suffering, crucified, does not love him with all his heart? Who does not love love? Who does not cherish charity? For Jesus, first, as God, is supreme goodness, supreme wisdom, supreme power, supreme clemency, supreme majesty; therefore supremely lovable, according to that in Matthew XXII: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind." Second, as man he is full of grace, truth and virtue, and so in him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and grace, and from him as head they are derived to us as members. Therefore we ought to love him as our head, and the fountain and parent of all good. Third, through our human nature assumed by him, he has joined us most closely to himself and to God, and has made us his kinsmen and brothers: for descending to our nature, he made the same ascend to the throne of Divinity. Excellently does Blessed Peter Chrysologus, serm. 150: "Christ," he says, "came to take upon himself our infirmities, and to confer his virtues upon us; to seek human things, to bestow divine things; to receive injuries, to render dignities; to bear sorrows, to restore health: because a physician who does not bear infirmities knows not how to cure; and he who has not been infirm with the infirm cannot confer health upon the infirm." Who, being infirm, does not love such and so great a physician? Fourth, he has bound us to himself with the greatest benefits, when as our redeemer, savior, teacher and lawgiver he announced to us the will of God the Father, taught us his faith, confirmed our hope, proved it by miracles, kindled charity by the examples of his most holy life, formed our morals, washed away and expiated our sins by his blood, satisfied the Father for us by his many and most bitter torments, overcame our death by his own death, and finally by his resurrection and ascension into heaven opened to us the entrance to eternal life. Fifth, to these add the particular benefits, graces and gifts which he has bestowed upon each faithful and bestows upon them daily in great abundance. Who, revolving these things in mind, estimating and weighing them, is not inflamed with love of Jesus, does not melt and dissolve? So that with the spouse she may say in the Canticle: "My beloved is to me and I to him, who feedeth among the lilies, until the day break and the shadows retire. A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me: he shall abide between my breasts; all apples, my beloved, new and old I have kept for thee. Stay me up with flowers, compass me about with apples: because I languish with love." Wherefore Clement of Alexandria, lib. IV Strom., cap. VII, teaches that a perfect man is filled with the greatest joy, when he suffers much for his Christ, whom he does not see. In whom now also, not seeing, you believe: but believing, you shall rejoice. — "Believe" is not in the Greek, but is included in "believing," as if to say, "Whom when you do not see, you nevertheless believe." Our Turrianus, tract. II On the Eucharist, XVI and following, and from him Salmeron, take these words literally concerning the Eucharist, as if to say: In the Eucharist, which you receive after baptism, you do not see Christ; you nevertheless believe him to be really present, and therefore eating him you rejoice with unspeakable joy, as in his sacred communion St. Monica rejoiced, saying: "My heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God," and St. Francis, St. Catherine of Siena and other Saints, according to that Psalm 33:9: "Taste and see that the Lord is sweet." Whence also it follows: "Whom the angels desire to behold"; and: "Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind," etc. For by these words he seems to allude to the typical Lamb, which they ate girded up for the journey into the promised land, which was a type of the Eucharist, which is the food and viaticum of those journeying to heaven. St. Thomas adapts these same things to this, opusc. LVIII On the Sacrament of the Altar, cap. XV. But this sense is rather accommodated or mystical than literal. For Peter speaks absolutely of faith in Christ, whom we have not seen with our eyes, but believe by faith to be our Redeemer. For, as St. Gregory says, homil. 26 in the Gospel: "Faith has no merit, to which human reason provides experience." You shall rejoice — not only in the future blessed life, but also in the present, full of troubles and tribulations. Whence the Greek texts have agalliasthe, that is, "you shall exult," according to that of Paul agreeing with Peter: "Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say, rejoice," Philip. 4:4. See what is said there, and James cap. 1, vers. 1. Moreover, Catharinus wrongly infers from this that the Saints are certain they are in the state of grace: for the exultation of the Saints in this life is not clear, but mixed with fear and trembling, Psalm cap. 2, vers. 11. With unspeakable joy, — both on account of the hope of future glory promised to the faithful by Christ, which is unspeakable, according to that Psalm 35:9: "They shall be inebriated with the plenty of thy house, and thou shalt make them drink of the torrent of thy pleasure"; a torrent, not a glass, not a chalice, not a cup; a torrent, by which thou shalt inebriate them, nay, overwhelm and bury them, as it were in an ocean of joys: for such is the divinity, by the vision and enjoyment of which we shall be blessed. Thus St. Ephrem, lib. I On the Resurrection and Judgment, cap. II: "Having," he says, "these ineffable promises, let us exult with unspeakable and glorious exultation." For so great is the joy of the Blessed in heaven, that Christ says of it to his own Matt. 25:23: "Enter into the joy of thy Lord," as if to say: This joy is so great, that it cannot be contained in thy heart, and therefore thou shalt not enter into it, but it into thee, both because through faith and grace we possess Christ, whose sweetness is unspeakable; and because Christ pours into the hearts of his own consolations and ineffable joys, as it were a foretaste of heavenly beatitude, so that with St. Xavier they say: "It is enough, O Lord, it is enough. For the narrowness of the vessel of my heart cannot contain such joys." And with the Psalmist: "I was glad at the things that were said to me: We shall go into the house of the Lord," Psalm 121:1. And with St. Francis: "So great is the glory that awaits me, that every punishment delights me." Again: "In the cross alone is perfect joy." Moreover, he said the same thing to the brothers of his Order: "If the servant of God should strive to preserve spiritual joy always, both inwardly and outwardly, which arises from the purity of the heart and is fostered by the exercises of devotion, nothing shall be able to harm him from demons, nay, they shall say in confusion: Since this man is surrounded by joy both in adversities and in prosperity, we shall not find an entrance to him. But then do demons exult, when they are able to extinguish or hinder this spiritual joy." Again: "Blessed is that religious who draws joy and gladness from no source except the holy words and works of the Lord; and through these very things he provokes others to the love of God with joy and gladness. But woe to the religious who delights in vain and idle words that provoke others to laughter." Finally, this is the "hidden manna, which no one knows except he who receives it. Not learning teaches it, but unction: nor does knowledge comprehend it, but conscience; it is a wisdom whose price man knows not: it is drawn from hidden things, and this sweetness is not found on the earth of those living sweetly. Surely it is the sweetness of the Lord," says St. Bernard, On Conversion to the Clergy, cap. XXI. Glorified,—that is, glorious, both on account of the matter and on account of the hope of heavenly glory. Hence it is said "glorified," as if to say, This joy of yours is clothed and suffused with glory, because on account of the heavenly glory which you hope for, you rejoice, and so this joy is a foretaste of that glory. Whence Cajetan: "glorified," he says, is said both on the part of the matter, because it is concerning the glorified Jesus, whom you love and in whom you believe; and on the part of the form, because it is a certain participation of the glorious joy of the Blessed. Otherwise Hugo: "Glorified," he says, that is, esteemed glorious by Christ, or gloriously given to us by him. And Thomas Anglicus: "Glorified," he says, that is, praised by God, as if to say, The impious mock the joy of the faithful on account of the hope of future glory, but truly God in judgment will praise and glorify it.
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9. Receiving the end (namely the reward) of your faith, the salvation of your souls.—"Receiving," both in the present, and rather in the future, that is, about to receive, when namely you shall exult in heaven, as has been said before: for in the present we receive the salvation of souls begun through grace and justice; in the future we shall receive full salvation, through happiness and glory, as if to say, From the faith by which you believe in Christ whom you do not see, and whom you love supremely, you have partly obtained, and shall partly obtain the end of your faith, which is the salvation of your souls: for you have obtained begun salvation through grace, which has made you sons and heirs of God, and therefore gives you certain hope, indeed a right to beatitude and the heavenly kingdom, and you shall obtain consummated salvation through glory after death in the heavens. Stand therefore in faith, and for it patiently bear whatever adversities, knowing that your faith and patience will not be vain in the Lord, but will lead you to the most desired and most blessed end of eternal happiness. Deservedly therefore St. Augustine, book I of the Confessions, chapter I: "Thou hast made us, O God," he says, "for thyself, and our heart is restless until it rests in thee." And in the Soliloquies, chapter XII: "Every abundance which is not my God is poverty." For, as he himself says, chapter XXX: "There is nothing that can fill the soul except thou, O God, to whose image it was created." And book XIII of the Confessions, chapter VIII: "Thou sufficiently showest what a great rational creature thou hast made, to whom in no way does whatever is less than thee suffice for blessed rest, and through this not itself to itself."
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10. Concerning which salvation they inquired and searched.—Exezētēsan kai exēreunēsan, that is, accurately, diligently, carefully, with great effort and study they inquired and searched. It proves that the faith and grace of Christ and Christianity are not a recent invention of man, but an ancient decree of God revealed to all the Prophets, who diligently investigated it, seriously foretold it, and most eagerly awaited it, as Jacob, Genesis XLIX, 18: "I will look for thy salvation, O Lord"; and soon he calls him "the desire of the everlasting hills." Moses, Exodus IV, 13: "I beseech thee, O Lord, send whom thou wilt send." Isaiah XLV, 8: "Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just." Habakkuk II, 4: "I will stand upon my watch, and fix my foot upon the tower, and I will watch to see what will be said to me." Daniel, throughout chapter IX, etc. Hence Irenaeus, book IV, XIII; Eusebius, book I of the History, chapter IV, and at length St. Augustine, books XII, XIII and XIX Against Faustus, chapters XIII, XVI and XVII, teach that all the Patriarchs, Prophets, and ancient Saints from Adam to Christ were Christians, not in name, but in faith and profession, because they believed in Christ about to come, as we believe in him past, namely already born and crucified, and by this faith justified and saved, and therefore with great hope and love they yearned for him, according to that word of Christ: "Your father Abraham rejoiced that he might see my day: he saw and was glad," John chapter VIII, 56. Where St. Thomas rightly notes that the nearer and closer each of the Saints, whether before or after Christ, was to him, the more he was illuminated by the rays of his faith and grace: hence the Apostles and first faithful are said to have received from Christ the firstfruits of the Spirit, Romans VIII, 23. Thus before Christ the Blessed Virgin, John the Baptist, Zacharias, Anna, Simeon, Joachim and Anna, parents of the Blessed Virgin, etc., excelled others more remote in the faith, grace and sanctity of Christ: for the nearer one is to the sun and to fire, the more is he illuminated and warmed by it. I speak ordinarily and commonly. For it is clear from Genesis, the Psalms and their prophecies that some, such as Abraham, Moses, David and Isaiah, were more abundantly filled with the faith and spirit of Christ than many who were nearer to him.
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11. Searching into what or what kind of time it signified (edēlou, that is, declared, demonstrated this coming grace of Christ and Christianity) in them the Spirit of Christ, — to en autois pneuma Christou, that is, the Spirit of Christ which was in them, both by adhering through grace and by inspiring through prophecy. For "the holy men of God spoke, inspired by the Holy Ghost," says St. Peter, epistle II, cap. I, vers. 21. Thus Daniel, cap. IX, understood in the midst of the 70 weeks, that is, in the year 487, that Christ was to be slain; Jacob, after the scepter was taken from Judah, Gen. XLIX, 10; Malachi, cap. III, vers. 1, soon after the coming and preaching of St. John the Baptist. Foretelling the sufferings that are in Christ. — In Greek ta eis Christon pathēmata, that is, in Christ, or the sufferings and plagues that were to befall and be inflicted upon Christ. Whence certain Latin codices read, which were to be in Christ. For "foretelling" the Greek more significantly is promartyromenon, that is, pretestifying, or testifying before it happened, as if to say God gave to Christ witnesses the Prophets, and lest anyone should say they were suborned by him, he sent them before Christ, so that by their oracles as it were divine testimonies they might pave the way for Christ coming, and secure certain faith. And the glories that followed. — "Followed," that is, which were to follow after the passion as it were the reward and prize of the sufferings, such as were the resurrection, the ascension into heaven, the sending of the Holy Ghost, the conversion of the Gentiles: for Christ "by reason of the suffering of death was crowned with glory and honour," Hebr. II, 9. Peter says this in order to remove the scandal of the cross: for many then laughed, and even now Pagans and Turks laugh at Christians, because they believe in a crucified God. To these Peter responds in two ways: First, these sufferings of the cross were decreed by God as a ransom for our sins, and lest they should be a scandal to anyone, they were foretold long ago through the Prophets. Secondly, these sufferings of Christ have ceased and been compensated by great and eternal glory, both in the heavens with God and the angels, and on earth with all nations, which believed in the crucified Christ, received him and adored him. This is what Christ says to his unbelieving disciples: "Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and so to enter into his glory?" Luke cap. XXIV, vers. 26. This is what Paul says with full voice: "The Jews require signs, and the Greeks seek wisdom: but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews indeed a stumbling block, and unto the Gentiles foolishness: but unto them that are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God," I Corinth. cap. I, vers. 23. St. Cyril beautifully explains this glory of Christ, De Fide ad Reginas: "Humility," he says, "is the merit of exaltation through passion." And St. Augustine, tract. 104 in John: "Humility is the merit of brightness, brightness is the reward of humility." Therefore let the Christian suffer and be humbled with Christ, that he may be glorified and exalted with him. "For if we suffer with him, we shall also be glorified with him," Rom. cap. VIII, 17. Christ "tasted honeycomb after gall," says Tertullian, lib. II De Corona milit., cap. XIV: so also let Christians think that after gall they shall taste honey; but the impious, after a drop of honey, shall drink an ocean of gall in hell.
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12. To whom it was revealed, that not to themselves, but to you they did minister the things. — As if to say, The prophets did not prophesy for themselves, but for posterity: namely not for the Jews, but for Christians; for they foretold the coming of Christ, the calling, the grace and salvation that would come to Christians, not to Jews. Whence the Syrian translator renders it, "our things they foretold to us," that is what Paul says: "Now all these things happened to them in a figure: and they are written for our correction, upon whom the ends of the world are come," I Corinthians X, 11, as if to say, Therefore it is fitting that we embrace these as great benefits of God bestowed upon us long ago, with great thanksgiving and devotion, and that you, O Jews, believe and obey the Apostles, just as you believed and obeyed the Prophets: for both preach of Christ by the same spirit, and what the Apostles announced, the Prophets foretold. Thus Oecumenius. St. Peter foresaw Marcion the heresiarch, who taught that there was one God as author of the Old Testament, another of the New, and he censures him, as if to say, says Bede: "The same spirit of Christ was in the Prophets before, which afterwards was in the Apostles; and therefore both preached the same faith to the peoples, those that Christ was still to come, these that he had already come; and through this one Church, whose part preceded the carnal coming of the Lord, the other part followed." They did minister the things. — Hesselius takes "ministered" neutrally, as if to say, They served you, they supplied to you, they ministered to your benefit the things which the Prophets foretold concerning Christ. But others more rightly take it actively, as if to say, The Prophets supplied to you their oracles. Whence they themselves were then as ministers and deacons both of the Apostles and of Christians: for this is what the Greek diēkonoun signifies; "ministered" therefore is the same as "prophesied": for they ministered their prophecy to us. The Prophets therefore were deacons of Christ and of Christians, but the Apostles themselves are Evangelists of the same, because they evangelized to them the Gospel, that is, the most joyful message concerning the coming of the Messiah, redemption and salvation. See II Corinthians III, where the Apostle calls Moses and the Prophets ministers of death and damnation, because they promulgated the old law, which made the transgressing Jews guilty of death and condemned them; but he calls the Apostles ministers of life, grace and glory: for they brought this through the Gospel of Christ. By them who evangelized, — namely the Apostles, one of whom, indeed the chief, am I. Wherefore some think less correctly that St. Peter here excludes himself, and did not evangelize the Pontians, Galatians, Cappadocians, etc., when rather he modestly joins and includes himself with the others. By the Holy Ghost sent from heaven. — Refer to "evangelized," as if to say, Just as the Prophets through the spirit of Christ foretold Christ to come, so the Apostles evangelized to you the same now present, by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, whom they received at Pentecost in the form of fiery tongues, so that he himself through their burning tongues might send forth discourses, as it were fiery arrows, by which he might kindle the hearts of the hearers with the knowledge and love of God and Christ. Thus Oecumenius. Into which the angels desire to look.—For "which" in Greek it is eis ha, that is "into which things," namely the mysteries of Christ, especially of salvation and beatific glory, do the angels desire to look, so that they may see them perfected and completed. Thus the Syriac, Didymus, Oecumenius, Gagneius, Cajetan, Catharinus, Vatablus here and Irenaeus, book IV, chapter LXVII, and book II, chapter XXIX; St. Ephrem, tract. On Spiritual Armor, chapter I; Cyril, book On the Incarnation of the Only-Begotten, chapter XXVIII. Where note: The pronoun properly refers to the sufferings of Christ, that is his passions, and the subsequent glories which immediately preceded. Whence you may gather that the angels are wonderfully delighted by the vision of the humanity of Christ, and of his wounds and sacred stigmata, and the glory both of his body and of his soul, by which he far transcends all the angels. Whence Sophronius, Patriarch of Constantinople, oration 1 On the Nature of Christ, by "into which things" understands the nativity of Christ, Bethlehem and the manger, into which the angels desire to look. Whence also when Christ was born "out of abundant joy they sang: 'Glory to God in the highest,'" says Oecumenius. In a similar manner the angels are incredibly delighted and eagerly desire to behold the martyrdom, struggles and sufferings of the faithful of any kind, while they endure them generously for the love of Christ, and their crown and glory, so that they may fill the seats from which the demons fell, among the angels. Whence the Apostle: "We are made, he says, a spectacle to the world, and to angels, and to men," I Corinthians IV, 9. And St. Cyprian, epistle to the Tibaritans: "Fighting, he says, and contending in the struggle of faith, God beholds us, the angels behold us, and Christ beholds us. What is the dignity of glory, what the happiness to contend in the presence of God and to be crowned by Christ the judge!" But our Interpreter reads eis ho, namely spirit, that is the Spirit, which immediately precedes; or eis hon, namely Christ, which more remotely preceded. First therefore to the Holy Spirit do St. Thomas refer these things; Isidore; Peter Damian; indeed also St. Basil and Didymus, book On the Holy Spirit, and Athanasius, Epiphanius and Cyril of Alexandria. Second, to Christ do Bede, the Gloss, the Author of the book On the Spirit and Soul, in St. Augustine, volume III, chapter LIX; St. Bernard, sermon 1 and 4 On All Saints, where he calls Christ the delights of the angels; Hugh, Thomas the Englishman, Titelmannus refer these things. For it seems that St. Peter alludes to the Cherubim of Moses, who continually gazed upon the mercy seat, which represented the propitiator Christ, Exodus XXV, 20. Moreover that the angels wonderfully desired to see Christ born, suffering and rising again, is evident from Isaiah LIII, Psalm XXIII, and elsewhere. For Christ, as man, is the head not only of men, but also of angels, Colossians I, 16. Whence some Theologians with Clement of Alexandria, book VII of the Stromata, and Origen, homily 1 and 2 in Leviticus, hold that not only men, but also the angels owe their grace and glory to Christ and to the merits of Christ. Hence St. Bernard, sermon 22 in the Canticles: "He who raised up, he says, fallen man, gave to the standing angel that he might not fall, thus rescuing him from captivity, just as defending him from captivity; and by this reasoning there was redemption for both, freeing the one, and preserving the other." The prior exposition concerning the Holy Spirit seems more probable, both because He immediately preceded, and because it was easy to fall from ho, namely pneuma, into ha, as the Greeks read it in Greek. Moreover, the angels desire to look into the Holy Spirit itself: for in seeing Him, they see equally the Father and the Son, since all have one essence, and by this vision they are blessed. Secondly, into the works and gifts of the Holy Spirit, by which He adorns the faithful and the Church; for the angels carry out, procure, promote and direct these things, as administrators of the Holy Spirit concerning the governance of the Church and the salvation of the faithful. Thus Cyril of Alexandria, in the sermon "that the Word of God became man"; St. Basil and Didymus, in the book On the Holy Spirit; St. Athanasius, in the letter to Serapion; St. Ambrose, in the book On Isaac, chapter V; St. Epiphanius, heresy 74, and others, who from this passage prove against Macedonius the divinity of the Holy Spirit. Hence also the blessedness of angels, equally as of men, consists in the vision of God and the Holy Spirit: for this satisfies and fulfills all their desire. Whence St. Peter, in verse 3, explained the incorruptible inheritance to which we are called through Christ, and asserts that it is situated in the looking upon and vision of the Holy Spirit, that is, of God. St. Peter could have said, Angels desire to look into God, but he preferred to say, into the Holy Spirit, because he had shortly before said that the Holy Spirit had foretold through the Prophets, and announced through the Apostles the sufferings and glories of Christ; and because all this work of the economy of Christ, and of our redemption, calling, sanctification and salvation, which Peter here celebrates, was the work of supreme grace and divine love, which is appropriated to the Holy Spirit. This is what Paul says: "Great indeed is the mystery of godliness, which was manifested in the flesh, was justified in the spirit, appeared to angels, was preached to the Gentiles, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory," 1 Timothy III, 16. Moreover, the angels desire to look into the Holy Spirit, that is, they look upon Him desiringly and eagerly, being satisfied by desiring, and desiring by being satisfied. Hear St. Gregory, XVIII Morals, chapter XXVIII: "God," he says, "the angels see, and desire to see, and thirst to behold, and they behold. But lest there be anxiety in desire, those desiring are satisfied; and lest there be disgust in satisfaction, those satisfied desire. And they desire without labor, because satisfaction accompanies desire; and they are satisfied without disgust, because satisfaction itself is always kindled from desire." And Bede: "The contemplation of the divine presence so beatifies the angels, that by the glory always seen they are satisfied, and they always hunger insatiably for its sweetness as if new." This is signified by the Greek parakypsai, that is, with head bent forward and prone, to look upon and look into studiously and exactly. For the blessed fix all the eyes of the mind, all the keenness, all the mind in contemplating God, and so they go forth as it were outside themselves, so that they wholly pass into God and are transformed. Mystically our Turrianus, tract. 2 On the Eucharist, chapters XVI, XVII and XVIII, and from him Salmeron (indeed they themselves think this is the literal sense): "into whom," namely Christ in the Eucharist, they say. For in it we do not see Christ, but nevertheless we believe Him really present, and in Him there the angels desire to parakyptein, that is, to look into studiously, accurately, carefully, with fixed eyes, both that they might see Him, and that they might see the mode of being (which is angelic, so that the whole body of Christ is whole and entire in any point of the host), and that they might see His condescension and grace, which He bestows abundantly upon those standing by and communicating. To this St. Mark looked in the Liturgy, saying: "After the consecration confer benefits in mind, and grant to those who place their trust in You those things which the angels desire to look into." Wherefore the choirs of angels stand by the priest celebrating, so that they might reverently behold, honor and venerate such great mysteries. "For who of the faithful," says St. Gregory, book IV of the Dialogues, chapter LVIII, "can have doubt that at the very hour of immolation the heavens are opened at the priest's voice, that in that mystery of Jesus Christ the choirs of angels are present, that the highest are joined with the lowest, that earthly things are joined with heavenly, that one thing is made of both visible and invisible?" And St. Ambrose, at the beginning of Luke: "Do not doubt," he says, "that an angel stands by when Christ stands by, when Christ is immolated." Indeed, St. James in the Liturgy: "Let mortals be silent," he says, "and stand with fear and trembling, thinking nothing earthly. For the King of kings, Christ our Lord God, goes forth to be slain, and to be given as food to the faithful, and the choirs of angels precede Him." Wherefore St. Chrysostom exclaims, homily On the Sacred and Divine Table: "O miracle, a table so magnificently prepared, on which the Lamb of God is slain for you, to which the Cherubim stand by, the Seraphim descend, who endowed with six wings lower their faces, where all the angels with the priest perform an embassy for you!"
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13. Wherefore gird up the loins. — This is here the second part of the chapter, namely the ethical part (for the first was dogmatic), by which the morals of the faithful are formed so that they may be worthy of Christ and Christian. The phrase "wherefore" connects this with the preceding and draws from them, as it were from principles, a fitting conclusion, as if to say: Since the inheritance incorruptible and the heavenly goods proclaimed by me and the Apostles are prepared for you through Christ, O Christians, and are so great that not only the Prophets but also the angels desire to see them, what remains but that, trampling upon earthly thoughts, as it were with loins girded of the mind with all the affections of the soul, as with full steps you hasten toward heaven? Let the avaricious pursue earthly riches like moles, let the proud seek the breath of honor like chameleons, let the gluttonous pant after food like swine: but you, citizens, nay rather kings of heaven written and destined by God, seek with far more ardent zeal, and girded, that is equipped, contend for the eternal kingdom, so that, despising all the allurements of the world, riches, threats, hatreds, persecutions, you may hope for and attain grace, that is, this glory to be revealed in the day of judgment. Note first: We gird up the loins for four uses: first, for a journey; second, for work; third, for war; fourth, for service. Whence St. Augustine in Psalm XCII: "To gird," he says, "is to undertake a journey; to bind, to do some work; to gird up, to make war; to bind before, to serve." All these things befit Christians; for first, as pilgrims they make a journey to heaven; second, as laborers they perform the work of God; third, as soldiers of Christ they make war with the world, the flesh and the devil; fourth, as servants they minister to Christ: they ought therefore to have the loins of the mind girded, that is, they ought to have a mind and soul not hindered but ready, free and equipped for the four things already explained. It is first a catachresis: for the girding of the loins makes a man equipped, and therefore signifies him. Second, it is a metaphor, and a twofold one, the former taken from the clothing of the Jews and the ancients: for they used very long garments and tunics; whence, about to do work or undertake a journey, they would gird them. Hence to the faithful about to meet him in death, Christ says in Luke XII: "Let your loins be girded." "For he who is ungirt," says Haymo, "is hindered by his own garments, so that he cannot walk freely; but he who is girded can run in any direction." The latter, in that it attributes loins to the mind, by which it signifies that Christians ought to show the mind, with all hindrances removed, ready, eager and keen for this work and journey. Therefore he girds the loins of the mind who drives from the mind errors, especially wicked practical principles, and harmful thoughts and desires. Thus Oecumenius, Gagneius and Thomas Anglicus, who beautifully says that the inner man, that is the soul, is proportioned in its own way to the outer man. For it is said to have a foot, that is affection; an eye, that is reason; a hand, that is operation; a nose, that is discernment; loins and reins, that is delights. St. Peter therefore by the loins of the mind understands the powers, faculties, affections, loves and desires of the mind, and commands that these be bound and restrained, lest they flow freely and hinder the course proposed toward heaven to God. Second, that equipped for God to evangelize, they may be able to suffer much with him and respond to any other calling: "My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready," Psalm LVI, verse 8. Third, that the mind may command its own loins, that is its powers and affections, and not allow them to wander freely at will, but may govern and direct them both to its own salvation and to the service and glory of God. For the mind commanding itself and its affections is a queen reigning fully and widely, more than a King or Emperor of the world, according to that saying of Horace: "You would reign more widely by mastering the greedy spirit than if you joined Libya to the distant Pillars of Hercules, and both Carthaginians served one master." Note secondly: The girdle is first a symbol and cause of fortitude and constancy: wherefore the Gentiles dedicated the girdle to Mars. And Cicero gives this precept to the orator: "Let him gird his sides with a tighter girdle, so that they may be firmer and stronger for speaking." Thus in Proverbs XXXI, 17, of the strong woman it is said: "She hath girded her loins with strength, and hath strengthened her arm." And God is said to be "girded with power," Psalm LXIV, 7. Whence David says: "Thou hast girded me with strength unto battle," Psalm XVII, 13. Peter therefore signifies to Christians that they ought not to act sluggishly, but that they ought to apply their mind, and to apply themselves to Christ, to Christianity, and to eternal salvation and glory, to which they are called by Christ, strongly and constantly. Thus Œcumenius. Hence among the Greeks euzōnos, that is "well girded," is the same as strong and vigorous. On the contrary, ungirded among the Latins sounds dissolute and unwarlike: because it was considered the greatest disgrace if a commander should order an idle soldier to pass the day ungirded, as Suetonius says in Augustus, cap. XXIV. To this pertains that passage, III Kings cap. XX, verse 11: "Let not him that girdeth on his harness glory as he that putteth it off," that is, he who is about to fight, as much as he who is already resting from battle, having namely obtained victory. Secondly, the girdle is a symbol of chastity, both because it itself restrains the loins, and consequently lust, which has its origin in the loins; and because to guard chastity is an act of great fortitude. Hence that saying of Christ: "Let your loins be girded," many expound thus, as if to say, Mortify lust, strive for chastity. Thus St. Augustine, hom. 23 in the Gospel; St. Basil, in cap. XV of Isaiah; St. Jerome, lib. I Against Jovinian, and others. Thus some also expound the words of St. Peter here. Whence also follows: "Hoping perfectly in sobriety," for sobriety is the companion, nay the mother of chastity. Thus Bede: "He girds," he says, "the loins of the mind, who restrains this from impure thought. And he who in mind and body chaste awaits the coming of the Lord, deservedly when it is revealed, hopes." And St. Gregory, XXXII Moral., cap. II: "To gird," he says, "the loins of the flesh, is to restrain lust from effect; but to gird the loins of the mind, is to restrain this also from thought." And Peter Chrysologus: "Girded," he says, "with the belt of chastity, which is the insignia of Christian warfare, let us cut off the sluggishness of fluxing flesh, etc. The Lord commands our loins to be bound with the belt of chastity, and all that is hanging, fluid, and loose in our flesh to be constrained by the continuous zone of virtue, so that with flesh girded our progress may be rendered free, swift, and unencumbered for meeting the Lord." Thirdly, the girdle is a sign of an honest, modest and composed mind; for as a man is outwardly, namely in his clothing and dress, so also is he inwardly. Whence Sulla was noted because he walked badly girded, as if that were a sign of an uncomposed and intemperate mind. Such a one therefore girds the loins of the mind, because he rules all the affections, loves and fears of the mind, so that he can tighten and loosen them at will, just as a hunter his dog, a falconer his hawk. Thus also concerning Julius Caesar as a boy there was an omen, "the optimates admonishing Sulla to beware of the badly girded boy. For he would be the ruin of the optimates' faction: for Caesar has many Marios in him," as Suetonius says in the Life of Julius Caesar, cap. 1 and XLV. Fourthly, the girdle is a sign of fidelity: for spouses are girded with the conjugal girdle, so that they may be admonished mutually to keep conjugal faith. Fifthly, of continence and mortification of appetites toward worldly and fleeting things. Thus St. Augustine, serm. 39 On the Words of the Lord, and St. Gregory, XXXIV Moral., cap. XXXV. "He girds the loins and breasts," he says, "who restrains all the movements of mutable thoughts through the bonds of love alone," so as to say with the Psalmist: "For what have I in heaven? and besides thee what do I desire upon earth? God of my heart, and the God that is my portion for ever," Psalm LXXII, 25. You ask, with what girdle should the loins of the mind be girded? I answer, with truth. For Paul assigns this girdle of truth, Ephesians VI, 14. See the words there; to which add the exposition of St. Gregory of Nazianzus, oration 42: "I ask," he says, "what the loins have in common with truth, and what Paul's meaning was when he said: Stand therefore with your loins girt about in truth; whether perhaps it is that contemplation restrains concupiscence and does not allow it to be carried elsewhere? For it cannot happen that he who burns with love for something should have equal force toward other pleasures"; that is, as Nicetas explains: "The contemplation of Christ binds and constrains our loins and concupiscence, and does not allow it, wholly transferred and directed to the love of divine things, to be spread abroad and scattered." For Christ is the truth, I John, chapter V, verse 6. Prayer therefore and contemplation of Christ and heavenly things diminishes and breaks all concupiscence which resides in the loins. Wherefore prayer is the mother of mortification, continence, and chastity. And conversely mortification purifies and inflames prayer. The same Nazianzenus, oration 40: "What the loins, what the reins?" he says, "let your loins be girt about, and restricted through continence, as the Israelites of old eating the Passover according to the prescription of the law: for no one departs purely and perfectly from Egypt, nor escapes destruction, unless he has tamed and bridled these. But let the reins feel a praiseworthy change, transferring the whole force of desire to God, so that we may be able to say: Lord, all my desire is before thee; and: I have not desired the day of man. For it is fitting that we be men of spiritual desires. For thus at last shall we have oppressed that dragon, whose greatest strength is situated in the navel and loins, namely by extinguishing and overthrowing that power which it possesses in these parts." The reason is, because the soul in man is one and the same; wherefore since it is of limited power, if it exerts and expends all its forces in the contemplation and love of heavenly things, it has nothing further to expend in the love and contemplation of carnal things. Whence we see men devoted to meditation and prayer scarcely feel the stimuli of the flesh. Thus our Blessed Aloysius Gonzaga was so continually intent upon prayer and meditation, that he felt no wandering of mind or distraction in it, and marveled that man conversing with God in the presence of such great majesty could be distracted or turn his mind elsewhere; and from this he obtained an extraordinary gift of chastity, so that like St. Thomas Aquinas he felt no impure motions of flesh or soul, and seemed insensible to them, as if he were an angel, not by nature, but by virtue. Sober. — First, that is to say, not drunk, nor indulging in wine, gluttony and belly. For "wines prepare minds for lust," and conversely, "without Ceres and Bacchus Venus grows cold." Whence St. Jerome, epistle 83 to Oceanus: "Drunkenness," he says, "belongs to buffoons and revelers, and a belly seething with wine easily foams forth into lust." See the words at Ephesians V, 18, at that passage: "Be not drunk with wine, in which is luxury." For just as drunkenness and a full and satiated belly is unfit for a journey, for work, for battle, for service: so the sober man is prepared for all these things, and sobriety prepares him. Truly Origen, homily 3 on Leviticus: "Sobriety," he says, "is the mother of all virtues, just as conversely drunkenness is the mother of all vices." And soon after: "In the sickness of drunkenness both body and soul are corrupted, the spirit is vitiated together with the flesh, it weakens all members, loosens foot, hand, tongue, darkens the eyes, veils the mind with forgetfulness: so that man does not know himself, nor feel." And St. Basil, homily 14: "The souls of drunkards are submerged in wine." And soon after: "You deprive yourself of the light of mind through drunkenness, you can be numbered among beasts lacking reason." And St. Chrysostom, homily 58 on Matthew: "To the devil," he says, "no one is a greater friend than he who is stained with delights and drunkenness," etc. Second, Oecumenius and the Syrian connect "sober" with "perfectly"; as if St. Peter requires not a half-full sobriety, such as was that of the Jews, but a full and perfect sobriety from Christians, which makes their mind girt about and prepared for the heavenly journey: but full sobriety is abstinence not only of the flesh, but also of the mind, namely continence and moderation of spirit, by which one dominates all desires. Concerning which Seneca, epistle 39: "It is the mark of a great soul," he says, "to despise great things, and to prefer moderate things to excessive ones: for the former are useful and vital, but these, in that they are superfluous, harm. Thus excessive abundance destroys the crop, thus branches are broken by weight, thus excessive fertility does not reach maturity. The same happens also to minds, which excessive happiness breaks." Thirdly, the Greek word nēphontes can be translated as "being watchful," as Vatable and St. Jerome translated it in book I Against Jovinian; whence also the Syriac version translated it, "be ye perfectly awakened." For sobriety is the mother of watchfulness, just as drunkenness is of sleep and sloth. Wherefore St. Peter joins these two as it were inseparable companions in chapter V, verse 8, saying: "Be ye sober and watch." For the life of the faithful is a vigil: they ought indeed to keep watch among so many enemies by which they are surrounded on all sides. Again, the sublime doctrine of Christ, equally with grace and glory, demands a watchful mind, attentive, keen, zealous, and industrious. Hope perfectly in that grace which is offered to you. — St. Peter requires of the faithful not any sort of hope, but perfect hope, and he indicates that it is prepared by sobriety: for abstinence from carnal pleasures makes us hope for heavenly things, and makes the mind apt, keen and eager to receive and taste them. For "is offered" the Greek is pheromenē, which St. Jerome and others translate as "is borne" or "is brought": because namely God not only promises this grace, but also offers it, brings it, and as it were places it in hand and bosom; yet so that He does not compel, but leaves the will free to accept it or reject it, as the Council of Trent defines, session VI, chapter V. For "grace" the Greek has charin, others read charan, that is "joy." Thus the Syriac; for grace here, though it can properly be taken, as if to say, Hope in faith and grace, which will lead you to salvation; yet better you would take "grace" for glory, for this the faithful and just hope for; and this brings full joy, according to that saying of Christ: "Enter into the joy of thy Lord," Matthew XXV, 26. This also is grace, because although it itself is the reward of good works, yet these have their origin from grace. Whence Romans VI, 23, it is said: "The grace of God is life eternal." This full hope impelled and stirred up St. Peter, St. Andrew, Philip and Simon, to mount the cross exultantly, James and Paul to embrace swords and axes, St. Lawrence to tread upon the gridiron, Sebastian to endure arrows, Stephen to bear stones, Ignatius to face the lion, Clement to suffer shipwreck, Polycarp to face fire, Thecla to encounter serpents, bulls, racks, and all manner of torments, bravely and cheerfully overcoming them. Truly Tertullian, in the book On the Resurrection of the Flesh: "The confidence of Christians," he says, "is the resurrection of the dead." In the revelation of Jesus Christ. — Thus the Roman text, as if to say, Hope for this grace, that is glory, even until the day of the revelation of Christ, until namely the day of judgment comes: for then from Christ the judge it will be given to you as it were as the reward of your labors and patience. Or hope in the revelation of Jesus Christ, that is, in Jesus Christ, in that in the revelation of His glory and judicial power, namely on the day of judgment, He will assign to you this grace, that is glory. Or hope in the day of the revelation of Christ, because that day will bring you this grace. The Greek texts have en apokalypsei, that is, "in the revelation," as if to say, Hope in this grace now, when it is revealed to you through my and the Apostles' preaching. Or rather, as if to say, Hope that this grace will be given to you in the revelation of Christ, namely on the day of judgment. "Revelation" signifies that we live this life in faith, that is, in enigma and obscurity, whereby the things believed and hoped for by us do not appear, are not seen, but as it were are secret and hidden with God: for all these and their dignity and majesty will be revealed on the day of judgment, so that then face to face we may contemplate them and enjoy them. Thus Paul says: "You are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ shall appear, your life, then you also shall appear with him in glory," Colossians III, 3.
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14. As children of obedience. — These words depend on the preceding ones, as if to say: Gird up the loins of your mind, that is, be prepared and steadfast, and sober, hope for the future glory, as befits children of obedience, that is, obedient to the precepts of Christ, mine and the Apostles', such as you are. For it is fitting that children obey their parents. St. Peter therefore requires from the faithful obedience, not just any obedience, but filial obedience from filial love and reverence. Again, "children of obedience" are called those devoted and wholly given over to obedience, so that from it as from a mother they seem to be born, and plainly to have drawn and imbibed the nature and character of obedience. Moreover, "children of obedience," as it were devoted and consecrated to obedience; just as Religious are called children of obedience, because they have devoted themselves to it, and have made its vow to God. And such were the first Christians, namely most obedient to Christ and the Apostles, and thus they made a vow or profession of obedience to the Apostles, as I have shown in Acts V, 1. Thus are called children of perdition, of unbelief, of distrust, that is, utterly lost, unbelieving, distrustful. Likewise children of wrath, of death, of hell, that is, given over to vengeance, death and hell. Morally St. Peter signifies that Christians ought to be most obedient as children of obedience, children of Christ and of the first Christians, who were most obedient. For Christ "became obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross," Philippians cap. II, 8. Likewise as brothers of the angels: for the angels are "mighty in virtue, doing his word to hear the voice of his words," Psalm CII, 20. Hence they are painted with wings and fiery, because they execute God's commands most swiftly and most efficaciously, according to that: "Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire," Psalm CIII, 4. Not fashioned according to the former desires of your ignorance. — He shows what kind of obedience he requires from the faithful as children, namely not of faith alone, so that they believe in Christ, as the heretics wish; but also of works, so that they do not follow their former desires and lusts, which they followed in paganism, but strive for holiness, so that in all conversation they may be holy. Whence the Syriac version renders it, "do not communicate any longer in the former lusts, in which you lusted without knowledge." Note "fashioned," that is, conformed; for whoever follows lusts, conforms and fashions himself to them, so that he seems to put on their form and figure. Do you see a drunkard? you see the form, manners and gestures of drunkenness. Do you see a glutton? you see the figure, the gaping and voracity of gluttony and lust. Do you see an ambitious man? you see the figure, the swelling and gestures of ambition. On the other hand, those who conform and fashion themselves to Christ and his virtues, put on his form, manners and acts. For just as paper pressed by a press, and fashioned to the plate in which the image of Christ is carved and sculpted, is fashioned to it, and puts on his image, so as to reflect and express the form and appearance of Christ: so truly whoever applies his mind and will wholly to Christ as to a norm, rule and exemplar, fashions himself to him, and expresses his form, manners and virtues in himself. This is what Paul commands, Ephesians IV, 22: "Put off, according to your former conversation, the old man, who is corrupted according to the desires of error." For which St. Peter says, "ignorance," to signify that they were in paganism in the deep darkness and night of infidelity, gluttony, lust, pride, etc., which the Gentiles thought honest, right and beautiful, and thus gloried in them: but now through Christianity they have been brought to the clear day and light of faith, knowledge of God, sobriety, chastity, and every virtue. St. Paul adds: "Be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and put on the new man, who according to God is created in justice and holiness of truth."
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15. But according to him who called you (to faith, grace and salvation) Holy (God and Christ, who is "Holy of holies and everlasting justice," Daniel IX, 24), do you also be holy in all your conversation. — It was an old saying of one of the seven Sages: "Follow God"; older still was God's through Moses: "You shall be holy, because I am holy," Leviticus XI, 45. More recent, but fuller is Christ's: "Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect," Matthew V, 48; and Paul's, Ephesians V, 1: "Be you therefore imitators of God, as most dear children." Furthermore, he opposes holiness to desires, that is to concupiscences; by which he signifies that holiness consists in purity, which is acquired by fleeing and mortifying carnal and earthly desires, so that just as God is holy, that is, separated from earth and from earth's filth, so likewise the faithful one should be holy. Whence Origen, homily 11 on Leviticus: "Holy," he says, "is called in Greek hagios, which signifies that he is as it were outside the earth; for whoever has consecrated himself to God, deservedly appears to be outside the earth and outside the world." Clearly indeed St. Dionysius, chapter XII On the Divine Names: "Holiness," he says, "is purity free from all wickedness, and perfect and in every respect uncontaminated: which so excels in God that he deservedly is called Holy of holies, and is celebrated by that most famous trisagion hymn by the blessed minds in heaven." And St. Basil, On the Holy Spirit, chapter IX: "The soul," he says, "purged from the shame which malice had contaminated it with, and returned to its native beauty, and as it were rendering the old form by purity like a royal image, can in this one way finally approach the Paraclete. But he, as if the sun having found a pure eye, will show you in himself the image of him who cannot be seen." And soon after: "Shining forth to those who are purged from the tumult of desires, through the communion which they have with him, he makes them spiritual. And just as bodies bright and transparent, touched by a ray of the sun, become themselves exceedingly splendid, and pour forth another brightness from themselves: so also souls breathed upon by the spirit, and illuminated by the spirit become themselves spiritual, and pour forth grace to others." Furthermore, St. Peter requires complete and universal holiness from the faithful; for he says: "Be you holy in all your conversation." For some appear as angels in the temple, but in the home are devils. He requires therefore continuous exercise not of one, but of all virtues, and that they acquire for themselves solid and intense habits of them. For habit gives to virtue not only facility, but also constancy, so that he who is endowed with it stands firm and strong against any temptations whatsoever, and exercises virtue in all his conversation, and does all his deeds from it. The sense therefore is, as if to say: All your conversation, O Christians, in paganism was impure, stained, and often bestial. For many of you were superstitious in the temple, contentious in the court, ambitious in the forum, abusive in the street, fraudulent in the workshop, rapacious in the field, quarrelsome at home; many were wolves at table, foxes in the bedroom, asses in work, peacocks at home, hawks abroad, pigs in bed, tigers in the tribunal, dogs in the circus, lions in the streets. But now in Christianity it is necessary that all your conversation in acting, speaking, walking, eating, studying, disputing, sleeping, working, governing, etc., be pure, Christian, holy, angelic; so that in the temple you be ardent in prayer like the Seraphim; in school and bedroom contemplative like the Cherubim; in judgment mild and equitable like the Thrones; in restraining desires exalted like the Dominations; in governing prudent like the Principalities; in trampling down the temptations of the world generous like the Powers; in struggle with the demon strong like the Virtues; in public office and work faithful like the Archangels; at table, in the street, in the forum, in bed, etc., honest, modest, composed, holy like the Angels. See St. Bernard, tract. On the manner of living well, to his sister, where he shows what her conversation ought to be in the temple, bedroom, table, conversation, reading, sleep, etc. The first Christians accomplished this, and for this reason they were commonly called by their own name Saints, as St. Paul calls them everywhere. Hear St. Justin the philosopher and martyr, a Christian of his age, that is, in the year of Christ 150, graphically depicting the life and customs of Christians, in his epistle to Diognetus, I: "They inhabit their own countries, but as sojourners. They are partakers of all things as citizens; and they suffer all things as strangers. Every foreign region is their country, and every country is foreign to them. They marry as do all others; and they beget children, but they do not cast away their offspring. They set forth a common table, but not a common one for the impure. They are in the flesh; but they do not live according to the flesh. They dwell on earth; but their conversation is in heaven. They obey the holy laws, and by their conversation they surpass the laws. They love all men, and by all men they are hated. They are unknown, and they are condemned. They are put to death, and they are made alive. They are poor, and they enrich many. They lack all things, and in all things they abound. They are covered with shame, and in shame they are glorified. They are blasphemed, and they are justified. They are cursed, and they bless. They are treated with injury, and they show honor. When they do good, they are reckoned as evil. When they are punished, they rejoice, as if made alive. The Jews make war upon them as aliens, and the unbelievers persecute them: nor can those who hate them assign a reason for their hatred." Such were the Essenes, namely the first Christians of Alexandria under St. Mark. Learn how holy the Essenes were in all their conduct from Porphyry, the sworn enemy and detractor of Christ and Christians, marvel at them and imitate them. For thus he himself depicts them in Eusebius, lib. IX of the Preparation for the Gospel, cap. I: "The Essenes are Jews by race: they love one another more than other men; and they reject all pleasure as vicious, holding continence and integrity of mind, free from all disturbance, as the primary virtue. They do not marry; but they adopt foreign boys still young, and apt for all instruction, in place of children, and educate them as their own, and confirm them in their customs. So much do they despise riches, that there is among them an admirable sharing of common things. No one among them possesses more than others; all things are common to them. No one is richer or poorer than another. There is one society among all, as among brothers. They always clothe themselves in white garments; by common vote they elect for themselves stewards and governors, and they have undivided property among all. They do not inhabit one city, but easily migrate from one to another, and they always go to those of the same sect; by whom they are received as if they had always lived together: whence it comes to pass that those departing carry with them no provisions." Then he describes their prayers, works, and meals thus: "They exercise the greatest piety toward God. For before the sun rises, no profane word is spoken among them, but they use an ancestral prayer, by which they pray that the sun may rise; afterwards each one is sent by the overseers to the fields and to works: and when they have labored for five hours, they gather again in one place: and having been washed with cold water, they come into a house, which no one is permitted to enter except of the same sect. Thus they come into the dining hall, as into a temple, where, when they sit in great tranquility, bread is set before all in order, and individual dishes. The first of all the priests, having made a prayer, begins to eat first; nor do they think it at all lawful to taste anything before the prayer. And when they have dined, they pray much more diligently. Thus beginning and ending the praises of God, they sing them diligently." And below he adds: "They use meagerness and fewness of things, so that scarcely more than once in seven days do they need evacuation of the bowels. From this continence they arrive at such patience and strength of mind, that they cannot be moved by the rack, nor by fire, nor by any other kind of torture, either to slander the lawgiver in words, or to eat anything unlawful, as they especially showed in the war which was waged by the Romans against them: for they used no flattery toward their torturers, nor did those who were afflicted with torments shed tears; but laughing joyfully in their pains, and deriding those by whom they were tortured, thus most willingly they expired, as if returning to their own country." Thus far Eusebius. In this mirror behold yourself and your morals, O Christian, and if you find yourself far removed from them, strive to follow and attain to them; lest that saying of Salvian, book IV On Providence, apply to you and your like: "In vain," he says, "do we flatter ourselves with the prerogative and name of Christianity, we who act and live in such a way that this very thing, that we are called a Christian people, seems to be a reproach to Christ." And soon after: "Where is the Catholic law which they believe? Where are the precepts of piety and chastity which they learn? They read the Gospels, and are impure; they hear the Apostles, and are drunk; they follow Christ, and plunder; they lead a wicked life, and say they have the right law, etc. In us Christ suffers insult, in us the law of Christ sustains a curse, while it is said: 'Behold what sort of people are those who worship Christ': it is plainly false what they say, that they learn good things. For if they learned good things, they would be good. Such indeed is the sect as are also its followers: they are without doubt what they are taught: they would become holy from Christians, if Christ had taught holy things. He who is worshipped, therefore, can be judged from his worshippers."
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16. Because it is written: You shall be holy, because I am holy. — This is written in Leviticus xx, 26. The sense, says Didymus, is, as if to say, "As I am the fountain of holiness, existing holy by my substance, so also you whom I love strive to share in holiness, that you may be such as I am." Wherefore the Nazianzen most excellently, in Iambic 15: "What," he says, "is holiness? To grow accustomed to God." Thus Noe and Henoch, walking with God, were made holy, Genesis v, 24, and vi, 9.
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17. And if you invoke as Father him who judges without respect of persons according to each one's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your sojourning. — St. Peter continues to urge the faithful to be holy in all their conduct, and to walk continually in the holy fear of God, by various reasons and incentives. The first is in this verse, namely that the very Holy One who called them is their God, Father and Judge whom they adore and invoke; as if to say, Worship him therefore as God in holiness; obey him in holiness as obedient children obey their father; fear him in holiness as Judge: for he judges without respect of persons, nor does he regard the rich before the poor, the master before the servant, the noble before the humble, but judges each one according to his merits, according to his works. Wherefore while in this life, in this flesh, and on this earth you sojourn as strangers and pilgrims, walk in holy fear, and either fear and reverence him as Father God with filial love, or at least as Judge with servile fear, that you may flee all his offenses and sins, and do all things pleasing to him and commanded by him and sanctioned by his law, and thus escape Gehenna and obtain from him eternal inheritance in the heavens, as servants fearing and obedient children. This is what Malachi cap. 1, vers. 6, says: "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a Father, where is my honor? and if I am a Master, where is my fear? says the Lord of hosts." Note: He calls God "Father," which is common to all three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. For he is Father, that is, Creator, Preserver, Provider, Governor of angels, men and all creatures. Thus Christ in the Lord's Prayer commanded us to pray and begin: "Our Father, who art in heaven," Matthew vi, 9. From which place Calvin and the Calvinists wrongly contend that God should be invoked by us by the name of Father alone, and in no way by the Holy Trinity, saying: "Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us." Whence they themselves have expunged the name of the Holy Trinity from their calendars, prayers, and litanies. Wrongly, I say: for Christ commanded us to baptize invoking the Holy Trinity, saying: "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Hence St. Dionysius invokes the Holy Trinity, On Mystical Theology, cap. 1; St. Augustine, in the last book of On the Trinity, in the last chapter, and others throughout; indeed the whole Church on the Feast of the Holy Trinity, and often elsewhere. See Feuardent, dialogue 1 Against Calvin. Not without reason have wise men charged Calvin with Arianism and Judaism, so that Hunnius wrote a book with this title: Calvin Judaizing. For if it is not permitted to invoke the Son, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Trinity; therefore the Son is not God, nor is the Holy Spirit, nor is the Holy Trinity. Whoever indeed is the true God, him we not only can, but also ought to adore and invoke. Note secondly: The Son alone, as man, will be the personal judge judging all men; the Father however and the Holy Spirit will also be judges, because they will judge through Christ the man, just as a king judges through his prefect. Thus St. Augustine, tract. 21 in John. A great incentive to holy conversation is the fear of God, who sees all things, judges all things, and avenges all things. Whence the Apostles continually inculcated it, and preachers ought often to inculcate it. St. Clement relates that St. Peter was wont to say often: "Who can sin, if he always sets before his eyes the judgment of God?" St. Paul feared this very thing vehemently: "Lest perhaps, he says, when I have preached to others, I myself should become a castaway," I Cor. ix, 27; and: "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling," Philipp. ii, 12; and: "For we must all be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according as he hath done, whether it be good or evil," II Cor. v, 10, etc. "Let us serve, pleasing God with fear and reverence: for our God is a consuming fire," Hebr. xii, 28. See the sayings there, and Joel iii, 2, and Apoc. vi, at the end, and cap. xxii, vers. 12, where Christ says: "Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to render to every one according to his works." Deservedly therefore the royal Prophet: "Serve, he says, the Lord in fear, and rejoice unto him with trembling," Psalm. ii, 11. Who would not tremble before God, before the supreme Judge, before the stern Avenger, who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna, in whose hands are our lots, life and death, heaven and hell, our eternal salvation and damnation? "I feared all my works, knowing that thou wouldst not spare the offender," says St. Job cap. ix, 28. Jerome, epist. 3: "I, he says, defiled with the filth of sins, day and night work with fear to render the last farthing, and lest it be said to me: 'Jerome, come forth.'" And to Eustochium, recounting his tears, fastings, and penances in the desert: "I, he says, on account of fear of Gehenna had condemned myself to such a prison." The same Jerome, inviting Heliodorus to his desert, says he would overcome all delays, "if the love of God and fear of Gehenna occupy his mind." Note thirdly: By "sojourn" he understands the pilgrimage of this life. Whence in Greek it is paroikias chronon, that is, the brief time in which in this life and land we journey as strangers and pilgrims; as if to say: You are strangers in the land, and through it as guests you pass to heaven; do not therefore be taken and cling to earthly enticements, but despising them, proceed to your homeland and pass over. Hence paroeci were called inhabitants, paroecia the neighborhood of inhabitants, or the assembly of the faithful who belong to one and the same temple; and Parochus was called he who presides over them, or ministers to them the Sacraments and the bread of the Eucharist. For Parochus among the Romans was he who supplied bread and other necessities for living to guests, as Cicero testifies, lib. III ad Atticum, epist. 2. Thus David always remembered his sojourn, saying Psalm. cxix, 5: "Woe is me, that my sojourn is prolonged; I have dwelt with the inhabitants of Cedar; my soul hath been long a sojourner!" Thus Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the Patriarchs and Prophets dwelt in the promised land as in a foreign land, "confessing that they are strangers and pilgrims upon the earth," Hebr. xi, 9 and 13. "Daily," says St. Jerome to Heliodorus, "we die, daily we are changed, and yet we believe ourselves to be eternal." Seneca, lib. VI Quaest. natur., cap. xxxii: "Time, he says, passes and abandons those who desire it most; nor is what will be mine, nor what was; I hang upon a point of fleeting time, and it is great to have been for a little while."
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18. Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things. — Here Peter applies another incentive to the faithful, that in all conversation they be holy, namely that they themselves have been bought, redeemed and transferred from vain and impure conversation in paganism by a price beyond estimation, namely by the blood and death of Christ, the only-begotten Son of God. Let them see therefore that they do not remain in it, lest, if they return to their former vices, they trample upon the blood of Christ, provoke his wrath and vengeance, who will most severely punish and avenge this contempt of his blood and the injury inflicted upon him. Thus Bede: "The greater, he says, is the price by which you have been redeemed from the incentive of carnal life's corruption, the more you ought to fear lest, returning to the corruption of vices, you offend your Redeemer's mind." From your vain conversation of paternal tradition. — In Greek patroparadotou, that is, handed down by the fathers, namely from the conversation under the law of Moses, likewise in paganism: for he speaks in the same way to Jews and Gentiles converted to Christ. The tradition and conversation of Judaism was vain, because it placed purification and holiness in victims and bodily lustrations; and because it excluded faith and the grace of Christ, who placed holiness in interior virtue; and because, the law of Christ now being promulgated, it was useless, indeed deadly. Thus Cajetan and Gagnaeus. The tradition of the Gentiles was vain, because they worshipped wooden and stone idols, and from them sought and expected salvation and all good, and because they pursued empty and impure enticements of the flesh and the world.
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19. But with the precious blood of Christ as of a spotless Lamb. — The blood of Christ, being that of God, is of infinite price; we are therefore redeemed by an infinite price. "You are bought with a great price; glorify and bear God in your body," says Paul, I Corinthians, chapter vi, 20. This great price is "Christ himself, wholly given to us, wholly expended for our use," says St. Bernard, sermon 3 On the Circumcision. Moreover, he calls Christ "as a lamb," that is, similar to a lamb in purity, innocence, chastity, meekness, obedience: by which qualities, like a lamb, he was offered for our sins. He alludes to the lamb customarily offered by the Jews at Passover, which was a type of Christ likewise to be offered at Passover. For this lamb ought to be amōmos, that is, irreproachable and spotless, Exodus xii, 5. The wool of this Paschal Lamb signifies example, milk doctrine, flesh the Eucharist, blood redemption, says Thomas the Englishman. St. Paulinus most excellently, in his letter to Florentius: "The same," he says, "Lamb and Shepherd shall rule us forever, who made us sheep from wolves, and now is the Shepherd for guarding those sheep, for which he was the Lamb as a sacrifice." Again he alludes to Isaiah liii, 7: "He shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter, and shall be dumb as a lamb before his shearer, and shall not open his mouth." And Jeremiah xi, 19: "And I as a meek lamb, that is carried to the victim, and knew not." But especially he alludes to the testimony of St. John the Baptist concerning Christ: "Behold the Lamb of God, behold he who taketh away the sin of the world," John i, 29. In this name "Lamb" the other St. John the Apostle delights, and by it calls Christ throughout, Revelation v and following, by which all these things signify that all Christians ought to be lambs of Christ the Lamb, and to imitate the manners of lambs, as St. Agnes did both in deed and in name: for Agnes is said to be as if from agna, a lamb, says St. Augustine, sermon 101 On Various Subjects. Truly St. Ambrose, book VII in Luke, chapter xii: "Well," he says, "is the blood of Christ called precious, because it is the blood of an immaculate body, because it is the blood of the Son of God, which redeemed us not only from the curse of the law, but also from the perpetual impiety of death." Moreover, he redeemed us not only by paying a ransom for sins committed, but also from vices and the state of depraved life, by transferring us to virtues and the state of holy life, by changing our mind and imbuing it with his grace, which moves and impels us to all good. This is what Paul says, Galatians iii, 13: "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us." And I Corinthians i, 30: Christ "is made unto us wisdom from God, and justice, and sanctification, and redemption." Whence elegantly and piously St. Ambrose, book III On Faith, chapter iii, showing how much Christians owe to Christ: "My wisdom," he says, "is the cross of the Lord; my redemption is the death of the Lord: for we are redeemed with precious blood, as Peter the Apostle said; by his blood the Lord redeemed us as man, and as God he forgave sins." Most excellently St. Leo, sermon 3 On the Passion: "Among all," he says, "the works of God's mercy, nothing is more wonderful nor more sublime than Christ crucified for the world." Hence theologians teach that the blood of Christ shed in the passion was not separated from the divinity, as Francis Mayronius held; but remained united with it, equally as with the body, hypostatically conjoined; for the blood of Christ was a just and sufficient price for our sins, by reason of being the blood of a divine Person, namely the Word, which is of infinite dignity. The blood of the Word therefore remained; it therefore remained hypostatically conjoined to the Word. For if it had been separated from him by the shedding, it would have ceased to be a worthy price for our sins: for then it would have been the blood of a mere creature, and thus of limited and scanty dignity, and consequently insufficient to satisfy for sins, which contain an immense offense against the immense God. Here the axiom of theologians from Damascus applies, book III, chapter xxvii: "What God assumed, he never laid aside." Therefore, once the blood was assumed, he did not lay it aside. Morally, St. Ambrose, in the book On Isaac, chapter iii, beautifully teaches how great a servitude we owe to Christ our redeemer and lord: "Do you not know," he says, "that you have been redeemed by Christ, that you have been bought not with gold and not with silver, but with the precious blood of the lamb. Therefore you have been redeemed by the Lord; you were created a servant, you were redeemed a servant; and as you owe servitude to the Lord, so also as you owe it to the Redeemer." For it is not any sort of redemption, but the abundant redemption of Christ, Psalm cxxix, 7. Whence Urban VI, in the Extravagant Unigenitus, treating of the price and treasure of the blood of Christ, from which Indulgences and Jubilees are drawn, thus speaks: "With the precious blood of the immaculate lamb he redeemed us, who, innocent, was immolated on the altar of the cross, not a small drop of blood, which nevertheless on account of its union with the Word would have sufficed for the redemption of the whole human race, but abundantly, as it were a certain river, is known to have poured forth." For the blood of Christ was the blood of a divine Person, namely the Word, sustaining hypostatically this flesh and blood. Therefore we are wholly Christ's and ought to be, not merely by the title of creation, but much more by that of redemption. Thus "we are not our own, but Christ's, who bought us and saved us," says Cyril, book IV on chapter xlv of Isaiah. For he himself "bought us not with bronze, but with blood," says St. Ambrose, book VII on chapter xii of Luke. Just as therefore the Portuguese buy slaves of the Ethiopians, and the Italians of the Turks, and those are wholly the master's, and whatever they do and acquire, all goes to the master: so Christ bought us not with gold, but with his own blood, and therefore we are slaves of Christ, and whatever we have and are able to do, all is his and ought to be expended in his service. "Christ gave himself wholly to you; give yourself wholly to Christ." Christ expended for you all his riches, strength, labors, spirit; expend you the same of yours for him. "Happy is he who with all his fortunes bought Christ," says St. Gregory of Nazianzus in his poem. Thus St. Paul everywhere calls himself a servant of Christ. Thus St. Mary Magdalene devoted herself wholly to Christ. Thus St. Francis dwelt wholly in Christ crucified, and Christ in him. Thus St. Elzear answered his wife seeking him by letter: "In the side of Christ crucified," he says, "I dwell; there you will find me; in vain will you seek me elsewhere." Again, learn here how precious a soul is: for its price is the blood, the soul and life of Christ the Son of God; for with this as a price he bought it: how greatly therefore ought we to labor at the fishing and salvation of souls, as of most precious gems, which Christ valued so highly? since they are those for whom Christ descended from heaven, labored, sweated for 34 years, died and was crucified; for whom he expended his body, his soul, all his labors, and himself wholly. Do you wish to see at what price your soul is worth, and that of any man, even a beggar, an Indian, an Ethiopian? It is worth Christ, it is worth God: for the life of Christ, as a price, weighed and appraised in the balance of divine justice. For neither an Angel, nor an Archangel, nor a Seraph, nor a Cherub, nor the Blessed Virgin herself could satisfy this debt of your soul, but Christ alone; for the blood of Christ alone was sufficient ransom and worthy price to pay our debts and sins. More solidly and wisely St. Chrysostom, homily 11 on II Corinthians: "Since," he says, "we live through the death of Jesus Christ, certainly we ought to live for him for whom we live." And St. Ambrose, On Elijah and Fasting, chapter xx: "Say, if perchance you see the temptations of the devil fighting against you: 'What have I to do with you, Belial? I am a servant of Christ, redeemed by his blood, I have wholly enslaved myself to him. What have I to do with you? I know not your works: I seek nothing of yours, I possess nothing of yours, I desire nothing of yours.'" And St. Bernard, Tract. On Loving God: "If," he says, "I owe myself wholly for myself made, what shall I add now for myself remade, and remade in this way? For he was not remade as easily as made. For he who once and by a single word made me, in remaking certainly both spoke much, and did wonders, and bore hard things, nor hard things alone, but also unworthy things. What shall I render to the Lord for himself? Even if I could repay a thousand times, what am I to God?" Of the immaculate lamb. — It refers to the Paschal lamb, which ought to be without blemish, not of color, but of defect, namely whole and perfect, not lame, not blind, not maimed, not mutilated, so as to signify that Christ in all things is whole and perfect in wisdom and virtue, without any defect of error or stain and blemish of sin: for this is what the Hebrew מום mum signifies: whence the Greek amōmos, that is, immaculate, innocent, inviolate, unaccused, irreproachable, greater than all reproach. And undefiled. — Some think that Christ is called "immaculate" because He was pure from the stain of original sin; "undefiled" because He was pure from every stain of actual sin. But these two seem to be synonymous, which St. Peter accumulates by way of amplification, to show that Christ was altogether and in every way immaculate and pure. If, however, anyone wishes to distinguish them, let him say that Christ was "immaculate" in Himself and in His interior acts; "undefiled" in habit, conversation and exterior garments. For the stain which the Paschal lamb ought to lack consisted in an interior defect of the body, as I have already said; but aspilos, that is, undefiled, properly is a stain of color on a garment from wine or grease. Whence Marcellus, in Dioscorides, lib. I, cap. xxxix: "Spila, he says, are marks which adhering to garments discolor them, in the likeness of which sometimes on the human face and the rest of the body stains arise, varying only the surface of the skin with no or slight defect"; which Pliny seems to call furuncles. Wherefore Christ was far purer than the Paschal lamb: for that was amōmos, but not aspilos; for it could have had stains of white, black or red color; but Christ was equally aspilos and amōmos, that is, altogether pure, lacking every stain both of color and of body; both external and internal; both of morals and of mind; both of actions and of thoughts.
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20. Foreknown indeed before the constitution of the world. — "Foreknown," that is, predestined, as the Syriac and Zurich versions translate it. For the knowledge of God here, as also in St. Paul, is often understood in a practical sense, namely joined with the will, decree and predestination of God. Peter says this both to refute the pride of the Jews who, as St. Cyril says, lib. ii in John, cap. xxviii: "always cling to the law of Moses, and think that the power of our mystery was devised by a recent counsel of the Father"; and to declare the antiquity and greatness of God's love toward men; as if to say, God the Father did not yesterday, nor from the beginning of the world, but before its creation, from all eternity think of us, love us, will to make us blessed, and therefore predestined the incarnation and death of Christ, that through it He might reconcile us to Himself and save us. Some extend these words of Peter to that opinion of Scotus and his followers, which holds that Christ would have been incarnate even if Adam had not sinned, namely so that God through Christ might show to angels and men the riches of His goodness, wisdom and power; but that Christ would then have been impassible: for the cross and death of Christ were decreed by God after the foreseen sin of Adam, as a remedy for it. Their reasoning is, because otherwise, they say, if Christ was predestined and incarnate for us precisely, certainly He ought to give thanks to us, and we would be prior to Christ before God in His mind and predestination, and therefore Christ would be our glory, as a woman is the glory of a man, as St. Cyril argues, lib. III of the Treasury, cap. ii. But these things seem here to be beside the point. For St. Peter only says that Christ was predestined before the constitution of the world, not however before the foresight of Adam's sin, nor before the foresight and predestination of the foundation or creation of the world, because this is false. For God predestined Christ for the adornment of the universe; therefore He did not predestine Christ before the universe, but after, or rather with it with a certain mutual interdependence: for God decreed to create such a world that, when Adam had fallen, Christ would be born who would raise him up, and thus celebrate the glory of God throughout the whole world; so that He would not will to create the world except with Christ and for Christ, and conversely would not will Christ to be incarnate except with the world and in the world. For where would Christ have been incarnate, except in the world? Where would He have shown His glory through Christ, except in the world, to angels and men? St. John supports St. Peter, who in the Apocalypse xiii, 8, calls Christ the lamb "who was slain from the constitution of the world." And St. Paul, who calls this mystery of Christ hidden in eternal times, and predestined before the ages, "which now is made manifest by the Scriptures of the Prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, unto the obedience of faith," Rom. xvi, 26, and to Titus i, 2. But made manifest, — through the incarnation of Christ, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension into heaven, sending of the Holy Spirit, and preaching of the Apostles. In the last times, — namely after about four thousand years had elapsed from the creation of the world. The causes of this delay of Christ were various. The first is the dignity and majesty of Christ, which Abraham, Moses, and all the Patriarchs, Prophets, and ceremonies of the Law ought to precede and prefigure. The second, the more it was delayed, the more eagerly it would be received. The third, so that through so many thousands of years the disease and corruption of human nature might vomit forth all the poison of sins, and thus it might be made clear how great was the necessity of Christ, who would cure all this evil. Whence St. Paul says that Christ came in the fullness of times, that is, when the times ordained by God for His incarnation had been unfolded and fulfilled, Gal. iv, 4. For you, — Christ was predestined and born for all, but first for the primitive believers: for these were the first to be partakers of the fruit and grace of Christ. St. Peter stirs the faithful of his age, so that they might ardently love God and Christ in return, who loves them so much and is so near to them: for out of so many ages, and out of hundreds of thousands of that age, He chose a few believing Jews and Gentiles, upon whom He conferred this new and recent benefit of Christ the Savior, namely grace and salvation. Whence Paul, expressing the delights of his love toward Christ, Gal. cap. ii, 20: "I live, he says, in the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself for me." As if Christ had been delivered up and crucified for Paul alone. For the death of Christ profited Paul as much as it would have profited if Christ had died for him alone. Piously and truly St. Augustine, lib. III Confess., cap. ii: "O thou good, he says, Almighty One, who so carest for each one of us, as if thou caredst for him alone, and so for all as for individuals."
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21. Who through him (the immaculate Lamb Christ, namely through the passion of Christ, his merits, calling, preaching and grace) are faithful in God. — In Greek pisteuontas eis Theon, you believe in God (thus the Syriac), namely in the living and true God, whereas you had previously believed in the false gods of the Gentiles, namely in idols and demons (whence St. Prosper, lib. I On the Calling of the Gentiles, cap. xxiii, reads: "Who through him are faithful in God," that is, by faith you believe in God): he declares what he had said, "on your account," namely Christ was made manifest, because he truly made you faithful and true worshippers of God. Hence it is clear that faith is not from us nor from the powers of our own intellect and nature, but is a work and gift of the grace of Christ: as after the Council of Orange and the Council of Milevis, the Council of Trent defines, sess. VI, can. 3. For Christ is the author and source of the whole economy of grace, which embraces faith as a principle, hope, charity, and other virtues, and all gifts by which we are led to salvation and eternal glory, as to the end and term of the redemption of Christ. Who raised him up from the dead. — That is to say, lest anyone reject Christ as if suspended, slain and crucified for our sins, behold he was immediately raised up by God to glory, and made lord of heaven and earth, of angels and men, indeed through him God will raise all his faithful to the same glory. This is what Paul says: "For which reason (because he humbled himself even unto the death of the cross) God also hath exalted him, and hath given him a name which is above all names, that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth," Philip. II, 9. This is what Christ, about to go to his passion, prayed to the Father, and obtained: "Glorify thou me, Father, with thyself, with the glory which I had, before the world was, with thee," Joan. XVII, 5. That your faith and hope might be in God. — That is to say, God for this fruit and end raised Christ to glory, so that you, seeing and hearing him as your head risen, having overcome death and having gone before his own the way from death to life, might believe with firm faith, and might hope with certain hope that you too, as members of Christ, through him would obtain the same glory, and would rise to it, and therefore through the same grace, gifts, and all means necessary or fitting for glory would obtain them. Truly St. Leo, serm. 8 On the Passion: "Thy cross," he says, "is the source of all blessings, the cause of all graces, through which to believers is given virtue from weakness, glory from reproach, life from death." And with some things interjected: "When therefore the Lord bore the wood of the cross, which he would turn into a scepter of his power, this was indeed a great mockery in the eyes of the impious, but a great mystery was made manifest to the faithful: because the most glorious victor over the devil, and the most powerful conqueror of hostile powers, bore the trophy of his beautiful triumph, and on the shoulders of unconquered patience brought the sign of salvation to be adored by all kingdoms." And serm. 1 On the Resurrection: "From this a beginning of resurrection was made for us in Christ, from which in him who died for all, the form of all our hope went before," especially because Christ by the power of his divinity raised himself: "For the divinity," says the same one there, "which did not depart from either substance of the man assumed, what it divided by power, it joined by power." And St. Athanasius, On the Incarnation of the Word: "He lived again," he says, "through his own life which was in him."
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22. Purifying your souls in the obedience of charity, in the love of brotherhood simple from the heart love one another more earnestly. — By all these words he says nothing other than that with chaste, that is pure, fraternal love love one another mutually and intensely, serve and obey: but he exaggerates and sets forth the purity of this love in many words. I suppose all these things depend on that "wherefore," verse 13: for there the other part of the chapter begins, namely the ethical part, which extends hitherto, indeed to the end of the chapter, in which St. Peter in his manner gives various precepts of virtues, or admonitions, as if to say "Wherefore," or therefore, so that you may obtain the incorruptible inheritance, of which I have discoursed, gird up the loins of your mind, and your souls purifying love one another mutually, etc. First, "purifying," in Greek hēgnikotes, which alludes to the word of the lamb, as if to say Born from Christ the immaculate lamb, be immaculate lambs, and recognize, that is, purify and cleanse your souls. Hence Christ says to St. Peter: "Feed my lambs," John XXI, 15. Moreover this chastity is properly understood by many as the virtue of chastity, which restrains lust. Hence religious women on account of their profession of chastity are called "Castimoniales" by St. Augustine in Psalm LXXIII. Second and genuinely, this purification is a purification of the affections of the soul, especially of love, which is effected through charity, or divine love. Chastity therefore is here called purity of affection, intention and love, as is evident from what follows, as if to say Purify, that is, chastise and purify your love and affection from all impurity, make it so that your love is pure and sincere, not seeking your own things, but the advantages of God and neighbor. This is what John says, first epistle, chapter III, verse 3: "Whosoever hath this hope in him, sanctifieth himself as he also is holy"; where in Greek it is the same verb as here, namely hagnizei. Whence St. Augustine, tract. 5 in the epistle of St. John, translates, "purifieth himself, as he also is pure." Second, "obedience of charity," in Greek alētheias, that is of truth, first, can be understood as faith and obedience by which we believe and obey the Gospel as a law of truth and charity. Whence Vatablus translates, "who have purified your souls by obeying the truth"; and the Syriac, "when you have sanctified your souls through obedience to truth, and shall be full of charity." Thus Paul says, Galatians III, 1: "O senseless Galatians, who hath bewitched you that you should not obey the truth?" Second, "obedience of charity" is filial obedience from love, not servile from fear: "For the one is of necessity, the other of charity, says St. Bernard, tract. On Precept and Dispensation, chapter IX, which not bound by certain limits of vow and profession, is borne with a more generous will into the breadth of charity, and to all that is enjoined with spontaneous vigor of a liberal and eager mind, not considering measure, extends into infinite freedom." The same, sermon On St. Andrew: "Charity alone, he says, is that which makes obedience pleasing, and commends it as acceptable to God." Moreover this obedience purifies the soul, because while the soul through humble obedience subjects itself to God and to law, it merits that in turn the body be subjected to it. Thus St. Augustine in Psalm CXLIII: "Thou to God, he says, the flesh to thee. What is more just? what more beautiful? Thou to the greater, the lesser to thee: serve thou him who made thee, so that what was made for thee may serve thee: but if thou scornest God, shall not the flesh be subjected to thee? He who does not obey the Lord is tormented by a slave." Thirdly, "obedience of charity" more properly and pertinently to the purpose of St. Peter is obedience and subjection by which the faithful in all things subject themselves to the law, dictate and impulse of charity, so that whatever they do, they do it by the word and guidance of charity, and especially in that one through fraternal charity subjects himself to his brother, accommodates himself to him, strives to consult his interests, follows his wishes, seeks his welfare, so that to obey charity is the same as "through charity to serve one another," Galatians V, 13, and: "Subject to one another in the fear of Christ," Ephesians V, 21. Thus St. Peter explains himself, chapter II, verse 13, saying: "Be ye therefore subject to every human creature for God's sake." For to this law of charity, as being the law of Christ, every Christian subjected himself in baptism, when he embraced Christianity: for this is the law and profession of charity. Wherefore if anyone should ask: What is the Christian religion? you would rightly answer: It is the religion and obedience of charity, in which all profess that they strive to study and obey charity. To this therefore the whole meaning of St. Peter tends, namely that he may inculcate fraternal charity to the faithful, by which one may serve another, subject and obey himself to him, so that he may consult his welfare and salvation. Hence it is clear that charity is castration, namely the castification of all loves and appetites, and the true and full chastity of the soul: for charity castrates and cuts off self-love, and the love of flesh and world, namely the love of one's own honor, gain, pleasure, which is the impurity of the soul, because it stains and defiles it with many vices. Again, charity measures all things by the love of God, orders and works all things from the love of God: wherefore all its action is pure, holy, spiritual and deiform, as flowing from the love of God and directed and regulated by it. For this reason the Greeks add dia Pneumatos, that is, through the Spirit, because charity diffused in our hearts through the Holy Spirit makes man spiritual and pure, and all his works spiritual and pure. Some, joining "spirit" to "fraternity," which follows, translate it "through the spirit of fraternity": because the spirit of fraternal love castifies and purifies all our works toward our neighbor, and all our intercourse with him. Deservedly therefore St. Leo, sermon 8 On Lent: "Charity," he says, "is the strength of faith, faith is the fortitude of charity"; for faith strengthens charity, and charity faith. Thirdly, "in the love of fraternity," in Greek en philadelphia, that is, in fraternal charity, because Christians ought to love one another as sons of Christ and brothers among themselves with fraternal love: this philadelphia Christ left to them, John chapter XIII, verse 34. In Greek it is to them philadelphia anhypokriton, that is, in fraternal love not hypocritical, not feigned and simulated, but alien from simulation, simple, true and sincere. The sense is, as if to say: When you have castified, that is purified your souls, by obeying charity through sincere fraternal love. For this sincere love will rub away from the soul all hypocrisy, all simulation, all avarice, all self-love, all cupidity, all ambition, and will purely seek that which is pleasing to God, and useful and salutary to the neighbor. Truly Isidore: "He who," he says, "is separated from fraternal love, is deprived of participation in divine love." And St. Ambrose (or rather St. Maximus), sermon 9: "Greater," he says, "is the fraternity of Christ than that of blood: for the fraternity of blood reflects only the likeness of the body, but the fraternity of Christ demonstrates the unanimity of heart and soul, as it is written: The multitude of believers had but one heart and one soul. Truly therefore he is a brother, who is a brother both in body and in unanimity. Truly, I say, a brother is he whose same spirit and will is in his brother. Therefore the fraternity of Christ is better than the fraternity of blood: because sometimes that is hostile to itself, but the fraternity of Christ is continually peaceful." Here therefore the love of fraternity is the center, basis, pillar of the Church, and as it were the soul of Christianity; but its hatred and envy is the ruin and destruction of both. Fourth, "with simplicity": many refer "simplicity" to the heart, so that it may correspond to the Greek katharas, that is, pure; whence thus they translate, "love one another with a pure heart." Therefore he loves with simple love, first, he who loves without hypocrisy, not feigned, but truly and from the heart. For simple is said of that which lacks composition, division and mixture. A simple heart therefore is one which bears and carries in the heart the love which the tongue professes; for he who shows love in words while fostering hatred in his heart has a complicated and as it were double heart, one in his mouth, another and contrary in his breast. Second, he who does not respect persons; namely, he who does not prefer the rich to the poor, the familiar to the stranger, the noble to the ignoble, but loves all equally, according to the law and order of charity nonetheless. Third, he who seeks not his own, but the advantage of his brother: for simple love tends directly toward the beloved, nor is it reflected or turned back upon itself. For to do this "is trafficking, not friendship," says Seneca, epistle 9. Fourth, he who is candid and open, not painted over, so that if anything in his brother displease him he says it openly, and admonishes him candidly. Fifth, he who loves his brother for good, and in good, not in evil, namely he who does not favor, nor foster his vices, but his virtues; who does not flatter his desires, but reproves them, and resists them, and strenuously procures the salvation and perfection of his neighbor in all things. Sixth, he who exhibits in deeds what he says in words, according to that of St. John, I, chapter III, verse 18: "Little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth." For truth is simple, falsehood is double. Seventh, he who not only lacks envy, but liberally communicates all his things, according to that of Paul: "He that giveth, let him do it with simplicity," Rom. XII, 8; and: "That you may abound in every thing in all simplicity," II Corinth. IX, 11. For, as St. Leo says, sermon 10 On Lent: "They grow rich by their own increase, who rejoice in another's progress." Hear St. Bernard variously defining simplicity, tract. On the Life of Solitude: "Animality turned toward God," he says, "becomes holy simplicity, that is the same will always concerning the same thing, as it was in Job, who is said to be simple and upright, and fearing God. For properly simplicity is a will perfectly turned toward God, seeking one thing from the Lord, requiring this, not desiring to be multiplied in the world. Or simplicity is in conversation, true humility, namely embracing the consciousness of virtue more than fame, since the simple man does not shrink from appearing foolish in the world, that he may be wise in God." Fifth, "love more earnestly"; in Greek ektenōs; Vatable, "earnestly"; Clarius, "intensely"; others, "continently"; others with the Syriac, "vehemently." Turrian, book IV On Dogmatic Character: "extensively," he says, namely so that our love may extend to another age, for instance to souls in Purgatory, that we may help them with our suffrages. Again, so that it may extend itself to any condition and lot of men, and so that he may love his neighbor equally in adverse as in prosperous things; indeed rather then help him, when he has greater need of help. Such therefore is the charity toward brothers which St. Peter demands. Truly St. Leo, sermon 1 On the Fast of the Tenth Month: "He has given us," he says, "greater causes for loving our neighbor by the breadth of Christian grace, which extending through all parts of the whole world despises no one, while it teaches that no one is to be neglected, etc., whether they be enemies or allies, whether free or slaves. For one Creator made us, one Creator animated us, we all use the same sky and air, the same days and nights." The reason is, because a simple and pure heart endowed with Christian charity beholds in the neighbor one God and the image of God, and loves him as if something of God, as if God's work and peculiar possession, as if God's son and heir predestined from eternity to behold his heavenly inheritance with him, and in time called, chosen and adopted. The sense therefore of this whole verse is, as if to say, "Having purified," that is, partly you have purified, that is, you have purified, your souls in baptism, partly you ought to purify them more each day by obeying charity, and its law, dictate and impulse through fraternal love, and that simple, that is, pure and sincere, not simulated and feigned, and thus love one another from a true and inmost heart earnestly, intensely and extensively.
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23. Reborn not of corruptible seed. — He gives the reason why Christians ought to love one another with fraternal love, as I said in the preceding verse, namely because all are brothers, reborn from the same seed of the word of God and the Gospel of Christ, and consequently as it were sons of Christ all hope for his incorruptible inheritance, of which he spoke at the beginning of the chapter, and aspire to it; and in fact they will attain it, if they preserve this filiation and the love of brotherhood, that is to say: Remember, O Christians, that you have been regenerated in the baptism of Christ, and through a new mystical and spiritual nativity have been reborn and made sons of God: therefore live worthily of so great a nativity and divine filiation, and earnestly love one another as brothers in Christ, in faith, in the Church, in grace and in glory. You have been reborn therefore not of human and corruptible seed, "but" of divine and "incorruptible," namely "through the word of the living God." This incorruptible seed therefore is the word of God, namely the Gospel and its preaching; or more precisely, this seed is divine inspiration, or prevenient grace, by which God stirs the mind, while through the ear it hears the word of God, to faith, repentance and new life: for when these acts, as it were dispositions, are placed in the soul, God immediately infuses sanctifying grace, by which we are regenerated and become sons of God, just as when the requisite dispositions are placed in the embryo, God immediately infuses the rational soul, by which man is generated and born. Thus in Matthew, chapter XIII, Christ teaches by many parables that the word of God is seed. Moreover, the word of God is incorruptible, both with respect to the efficient cause, namely the speaker, because God and Christ who utter it are incorruptible; and by reason of the subject, because namely it makes the man whom it regenerates incorruptible, so that as it were a son of God he may attain his incorruptible inheritance, according to that saying of Christ, John, chapter III, verse 5: "That which is born of flesh, is flesh: and that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit." Secondly, some understand by "the word of the living God" the word or form of the sacrament of Baptism: "I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," and of the other Sacraments. For in baptism water is matter as it were a mother, the word is form as it were a father, which regenerate the baptized into a Son of God. Whence baptism is called "the laver of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Ghost," in Titus III, 5; and Ephesians V, 26: "The laver of water in the word of life," that is through the word, namely the form of baptism giving life, and breathing the life of grace to the baptized. This is what Christ says, John III, 5: "Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Whence St. Chrysostom, homily 25 on John: "What the womb is to the embryo," he says, "water is to the believer, inasmuch as in water he is formed and shaped." And homily 6 on Colossians: "In baptism," he says, "man is formed and composed by the Holy Ghost, as Christ in the womb of the Virgin." And most excellently St. Leo, sermon 5 On the Nativity: "Man was made," he says, "of our kind, that we might be made partakers of the divine nature. The origin which he took in the womb of the Virgin, he placed in the font of baptism. He gave to water what he gave to the mother: for the power of the Most High and the overshadowing of the Holy Ghost which caused Mary to bear the Saviour, the same causes the wave to regenerate the believer." But the former sense is more genuine. For the word of God taken absolutely signifies the Gospel; but the word of the laver or of baptism signifies the form of baptism, according to that saying of St. Augustine, tract. 80 on John: "The word comes to the element, and it becomes a sacrament; not because it is said, but because it is believed." Thirdly, some understand by "the word of God" Christ, who is the Word of the Father remaining eternal; for through Christ and through the grace of Christ we are regenerated in baptism into sons of God: but this regeneration is effected by means of preaching and faith. Wherefore this sense is included in the first, and is genuine and sublime, especially because in this regeneration and heavenly adoption not only is the grace of Christ given to us, but Christ himself personally, equally with the Father and the Holy Ghost, so that we may truly be "partakers of the divine nature" through the very divinity itself, which is communicated to us, and dwells in our soul as in a temple, concerning which more in II Peter I, 4. Morally note how great is the dignity of this regeneration by which we are reborn as children of God. Hear Christ, John chapter 1, verse 12: "But as many as received him, he gave them power to be made the sons of God, to them that believe in his name, who are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." Hear St. Chrysostom in chapter 6 to the Galatians: "Our nature, which had grown old in the decay of sin, was suddenly renewed by the washing of baptism, just as if it had been created anew." Hear St. Cyril of Alexandria, book 2 in John, chapter 43: "We say that one born of the Spirit is spirit, not because he is of the Spirit according to nature, but because through it, reformed unto God and marked with his own character, we are transformed in mind to his quality, so to speak." Hear St. Basil, homily On Baptism: "Just as what is born according to the flesh from something is such as that from which it is born: so also we, born of the Spirit, become spirit." Wherefore Christians, now reborn by baptism and made children of God, should consider themselves dead to sins and ought to live unto God according to the spirit like the angels. "Through the operation of baptism," says St. Ambrose in chapter 23 of Numbers, "men die to their old guilt and wicked works, so that transformed into newness of life in the fellowship of the just, they rise again in their manner." And Optatus of Milevis, book 5 Against Parmenian: "Baptism is," he says, "the life of virtues, the death of crimes, an immortal birth, the attainment of the heavenly kingdom, the harbor of innocence, the shipwreck of sins." St. Cyprian, book 2, epistle to Donatus: "After," he says, "the waters with the aid of the generative power washed away the stain of the former age, and poured down light from above into my cleansed and pure breast, after a second birth, drawing the spirit from heaven, restored me to a new man, in a wonderful way straightway doubt began to be confirmed, closed things to open, dark things to shine; to give ability to what before seemed difficult; to be done what was thought impossible." And remaining forever. — That is to say, Just as God is eternal and remains forever, so also the word of God, and from it our regeneration, adoption and filiation is eternal and remains forever. Whence St. Paulinus, on the Nativity of St. Felix, addressing Christ says: "In thee let the anchor of life fixed be firmly set for me." And Nazianzen in Distichs: "That God, bereft of body, like a statue in the midst of thy breast, may be, build for him a temple in thy mind."
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24. Because all flesh is as grass, etc., and the word of the Lord remaineth forever. — He proves what he said, namely that the word of God is incorruptible and remains with God and in God forever, from Isaiah, who in chapter 40, verse 6, says that all flesh and every man withers and dies like grass, but the word of the Lord remains forever. Peter says this in order to turn the faithful away from the love of flesh and the world, and of all earthly things, and thus to lead them to the simple love of God and neighbor. The incentive for this is that earthly things perpetually flow away and thus pass, according to that in Psalm 101, verse 12: "My days have declined like a shadow, and I am withered like grass; but thou, O Lord, remainest forever." Truly St. Augustine, tract. 7 in John, says: "The joy of the world is vanity; it is hoped for with great expectation that it will come, and it cannot be held when it has come. This day which is joyful will certainly not be so tomorrow. All things pass, all things fly away, and like smoke they vanish. Woe to those who love such things! For all flesh is grass, and all the glory of it as the flower of grass. O ye sons of men, why do you love vanity, and seek after a lie?" Pliny the Younger saw this through a shadow, but a thin and obscure one, who in book 2, epistle 1, weeping over the death of Verginius Rufus the consul: "If, however," he says, "it is permitted either to weep or to call death that by which the mortality of so great a man is ended rather than his life. For he lives, and will live forever in the memory of men": would that of God, if he be capable of salvation!
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25. This is the word that hath been evangelized to you, that is, to you. Thus the Syriac, that is to say, This word of Isaiah is the word of the Gospel concerning Christ, and his redemption, calling, faith, grace, salvation and glory which he brought to you. Truly concerning the efficacy of faith in this word believed, St. Leo, sermon 2 On the Ascension: "This faith," he says, "increased by the Ascension of the Lord and strengthened by the gift of the Holy Spirit, was not terrified by chains, nor by prisons, nor by exiles, nor by hunger, nor by fire, nor by the tearing of beasts, nor by the exquisite tortures of persecutors. For this faith throughout the whole world not only men, but also women; and not only boys not yet of age, but also tender virgins, contended even unto the shedding of their blood. This faith cast out demons, drove away diseases, raised the dead."
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
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1. Petrus, Apostolus Jesu Christi. Petrus, Syriace; Cephas, id est, petra seu rupes. Quod nomen ei, cum antea Slmou vocaretur, primo quidem promit?- 8um fuit a Domino, dicente Joan. 1.: Tu vocaberis Cephas; deinde et ab eodem datum atque impositum, vel tunc, quando duodecim sibi Apostolos selegit, Marc. 3.; sic enim ibi dicitur: Et imposuit Simoni nomen Petrus; vel potius, quando ei dixit Matthaei 16.: Tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam etc. Nam verba Marci per anticipationem dicta commode possunt accipi. Quamquam et prius nomen illi mansit deinceps, ut proinde binomius fuerit, quemadmodum constat, cum ex Evangeliis et Actis Apostolorum, tum ex epigrapba posterioris Epistolae. Apostolum, id est legatum, Jeiu Christi se scribit. ut id, quod facit, ex officio se facere significet. Erat enim muneris Apostolici, non solum verbo, verum etiam, ubi videretur opportunum, scripto per Epistolas Evangelii negotium agere et promovere. Illud modestiae est, quod simpliciter Apostolum se vocat, non autem, quod jure poterat, Apostolorum principem. Quo titulo, etiam sectariis fatentibus, veteres Ecclesiae Patres eum honorarunt; non, ut illi volunt, hac ratione, quod caeteris ardentior primas fore in agendo dicendoque apud Dominum in ordine Apoatolorum teneret; sed quia totum ovile Christi (in quo utique erant et Apostoli) uni Petro commissum fuit, iis verbis Joan. 21.: Pasce oves meas.
Electis advenis dispersionis. Subaudi: scribit hanc Epistolam. Electos vocat eos, ad quos scribit, quemadmodum honorabili ac beato titulo, qui tamen non in omnes eos et singulos competat, sed in Ecclesias eorum, quae electae dicuntur, quod electis constent tamquam membris praecipuis. Dicuntur autem electi, quos, aliis derelictis ac reprobatis, elegit Deus ab aeterno ad haereditatem regni coelestis. Estque hoc nomen etiam bonis angelis commune, ut 1 Tira. 5, 21. Advenas quidam interpretati sunt Judaeorum proselytos. Nam Trpoci^XuTOC adventitium significat, quod et interpres noster alias advenam transtulit, ut Act. 6.: Et Nicolaum advenam Antiochenum. Sed nos jam ante eorum improbavimus sententiam, qui ad proselytos scriptam volunt hanc Epistolam. Nec vero Graece est hoc loco: Tzpocr^XuzoiQ, quo nomine in Scripturis significari solent gentiles ad Judaicam religionem traducti; sed KOLp- BTzidriiioiQ, id est advenis, sive incolis. Nam et Act. 2., ubi numerantur variarum gentium ac generum homines, qui Jerosolymis habitabant, diversi ponuntur advenae et proselyti. Porro quibusdam placet, advenas intelligi metaphorice eos, qui, tamquam peregrini in hoc mundo versantes, ad coelestem patriam tendunt: quomodo sancti patriarchae confitebantur, se peregrinos et hospites esse super terram, ut dicitur Hebr. 11. Quod et David de se fatetur Psalm. 38. Sed hic intellectus refellitur ex nomine dispersionis, quod proxime sequitur. Nam advenae dispersionis Hebraeo more dicuntur advenae dispersi, id est, sparsim per diversas provincias habitantes, scilicet in iis locis, quae continuo post exprimuntur. Erant autem ii Judaei, qui quondam, per captivitates et bella patriis sedibus ejecti aut sponte profugi, varias toto orbe regiones incolebant, uti declaratum est ad illud Jac. 1.: Duodecim tribubus, quae sunt in dispersione. Etenim de dispersione eodem sensu loquuntur Jacobus etPetrus.
Ponti, Galatiae, Cappcdociae, Asiae et Bithyniae. Oecumenius conjuncte legit et exponit: Ponti Galatiae, id est ejus regionis, quae vocatur Galatia Ponti, quod sit et alia juxta Celtas Galatia, quae est Gallia Celtica. Hinc Oecumenii interpres ad mentem auctoris vertit: incolentibus Ponti Galatiam. Verum nusquam alibi legitur Galatia Ponti. Neque enim Galatia, quae alio nomine Gallograecia dicta, Ponti regio est, sed a Septentrione Pontum habet adjacentem. Igitur Pontus hic nominatur, sicut et Act. 2., inter eas regiones, quas incolebant Judaei. Ac hujusmodi quinque numerat B. Petrus hoe loco, ex quibus Lucas Act. 2. tres nominat, Cappadociam, Pontum et Asiam. Quum autem constet, Pontum, Galatiam, Cappadociam et Bithyniam fuisse regiones Asiae minoris (nam major Asia intelligi hic non potest): quaeritur, quomodo Petrus, imo et Lucas, Asiam illis annumeret tamquam distinctam. Respondeo, specialem adhuc Asiam fuisse appellatam eam regionem, quae circa Ephesum est; qua, praeter alias, comprehendebantur septem illae civitates, ad quarum Ecclesias scribere jubetur Joannes Apoc. 1. Atque hanc strictiorem significationem Asiae facile est colligere ex reliqua historia Act., praesertim cap. 16., ubi Phrygiam, Galatiam, Mysiam et Bithyniam, quae omnes sunt Asiae minoris regiones, invenies ab Asia distingui, hac utique specialiore. Quo pertinere etiam arbitror illud cap. 19. de Paulo Ephesi per biennium docente: Ita ut omnes, qui habitabant in Asia, audirent verbum Domini, Judaei atgue gentiles. Jam quae causa fuerit Beato Petro proprie ad harum provinciarum fideles scribendi, non liquet. Hieronymus lib. 1. contra Jovin. causam indicat, quod eas provincias Petrus ipse peragrasset, et sua praedicatione Ecclesiae Christi conjunxisset. Epiphanius quoque in haeresi Carpocratitarura: Petrus, inquit, saepe Pontum et Bithyniam visitavit. Et Leo Papa sermone primo, quem habuit in natali Apostolorum Petri et Pauli, Petrum alloquens: Jam, inquit, Pontum, Galatiam, Cappadociam, Asiam atque Bi^ thyniam legibus evangelicae praedica^ tionis impleveras. Sed cum, Asiae et Galatiae populos Pauli praedicatione converyos ad Christum fuisse, sacra Scriptura testetur, eam potiorem causam existimo, quod ob graves persecutiones adversus fideles, maxime Judaeos, in illis partibus excitatas, Petro, velut Apostolo circumcisionis omniumtjue fidelium pastori, visum fuerit, eos necessario per Epistolam exliortandos ad patientiam et in fide confirmandos. Obiter nota, genitivos: Ponti, Galatiae etc, non regi a genitivo dispersionis, sed a dativo advenis. Significat enim fuisse advenas illorum locorum, advenas, inquam, dispersos.
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2. Secundum praesciefttiam Dei Patris. Partem hanc Oecumenius, et ante eum Cyrillus in libro de recta fide, connectunt cum illa: Apostolus Jesu Christi; ut Apostolum Christi se dicat Petrus ex Dei Patris praescientia ct voluntate constitutum; quomodo Paulus in multis Epistolis se vocat Apostolum Jesu Christi per voluntatem Dei. Verum quae hic continuo sequuntur, omnino cogunt, ut referatur ad vocabulum: electis. Quod et Beda facit, et Liranus ac caeteri probant. Sed et Syrus paraphrastes verbum electis hic repetit, dicens: Qui electi fuerunt in praescientia etc.
Praescientiam, sive praecognitionem, Graece: 7:pdyvojotv _, vocat praedilectionem, vel, quod eodem recidit, providentiam sen benignam ordinationem. Erasmus vertit: praefinitionem; Liranus praedestinationem exponit, Augustinum secutus, qui libro de dono persev. cap. 18. docet, praescientiam Dei, quum in bonis ponitur, eandem esse cum praedestinatione. Nihil enim boni praevidet Deus, quod ipse non sit facturus. Ita Petnis infra Christum agnum immaculatum dicit praecognitum, id est, praeordinatum ante mundi constitutionem. Nec secus utitur hac voce Paulus Rom. 8.: Quos praescivit et praedestinavit etc, et cap. 11.: Non repulit Deus plebem suam, quam praescivit. Idque convenienter verbo simplici scire seu cognoscere, quod usitatissime in Scripturis accipitur pro diligere, approbare, tamquam suum agnoscere. Electos ergo dicit secundum praescientiam Dei, id est, electos aeterna Dei praeordinatione et praedilectione; ut omnis cogitatio meritorum qualiumcumque hanc electionem praevenientium, quae ex parte nostra fingi possent, excludatur; utque cum gratiarum actione fideles intelligant, se sola Dei gratia ad salutem esse praedestinatos. Quod idem pluribus docet Paulus Rom. 9. et Eph. 1.
In sanctificationem spiritus. Graece: In sanctificatione spiritus. Et ita vertisse interpretem, verisimile est, quandoquidem et Beda sic legit, et in nonnullis adhuc codicibus Latinis ea Icctio reperitur. Et alibi interpres sic vertit, ut 2 Thess. 2., ubi similiter est Graece: iv aYiaCjUco Tivsu/iaTOC. Potest autem exponi vel de spiritu humano, vel de Spiritu sancto. Priori modo sensus est: Electis, ut spiritus vester sanctificetur. Nam etsi corpus etiam sanctum esse debeat, ejus tamen sanctitas a spiritu tamquam principaliore dependet. Altero modo: Electis per Spiritum sanctum, ut ille vos sanctificet. Ac si dixisset: In spiritu sanctificationis, id est, in spiritu sanctificante. Videtur enim esse hypallage. Nam et alibi legimus spiritum sanctificationis, ut Rom. 1. Et hic sensus melius explicat usum Graecae praepositionis sv, quem ex idiomate Hebraeo passim habet in sacris literis. Unde Erasmus vertit: per sanctificationem spiritus. Attamen conferendus est hic locus cum illo Pauli jam allegato 2 Thess. 2., qui sic habet: Elegit vos Deus primitias in salutem, in sanctificatione spiritus et fide veritatis. Est enim sententia similis. Caeterum utroque sensu declaratur effectus electionis; nam, ut ait Paulus Eph. 1., elegit nos Deus, ut essemus sancti. Posterior sensus, quem fere ' omnes traduci, etiam hac ratione' praeferendus est, quod compleat in B. Petri verbis rajsterium Trinitatis. Nam Deum Patrem in parte praecedenti nominavit, in sequenti Filium. Et quidem accommodatissime Patri nostram electionem ac dilectionem tribuit, Spiritui sancto sanctificationem, Filio redemptionem. Sequitur enim:
In obedientiam, et aspersionem sanguinis Jesu Christi. Haec quoque pars dependet a verbo electis, potestque duobas modis construi: In obedientiam sanguinis Jesu Christi, et aspersionem ejusdem sanguinis; et: In obedientiam Jesu Christi, et aspersionem sanguinis ejusdem Jesu. Quae posterior constructio magis placet. Nam obedientiam sanguinis nusquam legimus. Quaeritur autem, quam vocet obedientiam Ohristi 5 num eam, qua Christus obedivit Patri usque ad mortem crucis: an eam, qua nos Christo obedimus. De priore quidam intelligunt. Sed iis obstat, quod non recte dicimur electi in vel ad obedientiam, qua Christus obedivit Patri; sed potius per eam. At vero recte convenienterque dicimur electi ad obedientiam Christo praestandam. Hujus autem obedientiae meminit Scriptura, quoties commendat obedientiam Evangelii et fidei; interdum et Christi, passivam videlicet, ut grammatice loquamur, Act. 6., Rom. 1, 10. et 16.; item 2 Thess. 1. et Heb. 5. Haec obedientia est, credere et opera fidei consentanea exercere. Ad haec igitur a Deo electos Petrus dicit, quemadmodum etPaulus Eph. 2.: Creati, inquit, in Christo Jesu in operibus honts, quae praeparavit Deus, ut in illis ambulemus. Addit sanctus Petrus aspersionem sanguinis Jesu Christi, id est, expiationem peccatorum sanguine ejus factam, quae est altera pars nostrae justificationis; ut innuat, totam nostram justitiam, quae partim in fide et operatione virtutum, partim in remissione peccatorum consislit, esse divinae electionis effectum. Vocatur autem remissio peccatovum aspersio sanguinis Christi, quia per Christi sanguinem nemo mundatur a peccatis, nisi fuerit eo aspersus, id est, nisi applicatum ei fuerit Christi patientis meritum. Quae quidem aspersio sive applicatio fit per obedientiam fidei, juxta illud Rom. 3.: Quem proposuit Deus propitiationem per fidem in sanguine ipsius. Caeterum manifesta hic est allusio ad aspersiones sanguinis brutorum animtilium, quae factae leguntur in veteri testamento, ut quaofigurae f uerint istius aspersionis, de qua loquitur. Erant autem aspersiones variae, de quibus vide Joannem Hesselium in commentario; sed respicit potissimum B. Petrus ad eam aspersionem, quae describitur Exod. 24. De qua et Paulus agit Heb. 9., referens, Mosen sanguine vitulorum et hircorum, quo dedicabatur vetus testamentum, aspersisse librum legis et populum, et tabernaculum et omnia vasa ejus, ac dixisse: Hic san~ guis testamenti, quod mandavit ad vos Deus. Haec enim typice significabant, novum testamentum dedicandum esse in sanguino Christi, nec eo mundari posse quidquam, cui non fuerit aspersus.
Gratia vobis et pax multiplicetur. Salutatio est, qua fidelibus, gratia Dei jam praeventis, augmentum ac multiplicationem ejusdem gratiae, simul et pacis, imprecatur. Gratiae nomen complectitur omne Dei beneficium, quo provehimur ad salutem; quod totum gratia vocatur, quia gratis datur. Pacem multi interpretantur reconciliationem et amicitiam cum Deo. Alii quietam et securam bonorum in Deo possessionem. Rursus alii salutem in genere. Sunt enim Hebraicae^ salutandi formulae: Pax tibi; Pax vobis. Vide, quae a nobis annotata sunt ad similem ealutationem Epistolae Pauli ad Homanos.
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3. Benedictus Deus et Pater Domini nostri Jesu Christi. Exordium Epistolae sumit a laude Dei et gratiarum actione iisdem verbis, quibus et Paulus exorsus est Epistolam ad Corinthios secundam et Epistolam ad Ephesios. Nam benedictio laudis intelligitur. Unde Erasmas vertit hoc loco: Laudandus est Deus. Sensus est: Deus, idemque Domini nostri Jesu Christi Pater, sit benedictus, id est, laudetur a nobis, propter beneficia in no8 collata; nominatim propter illud, quod sequitur:
Qui secundum misericordiam suam magnam regeneravit nos in spem vi~ vam. Haec quamvis etiam de Deo Filio vera sint, constat tamen ad Deum Patrem referenda esse, de quo dixerat: Benedictus Deus etc. Qal, inquit, cum sit ab aeterno Pater Domini nostri Jesu Christi per naturam, nos in tempore filios habere voluit per adoptionem. Cum enim essemus in peccatis geniti, et per hoc natura filii irae ac mortis aeternae: novam ac secundam nobis in baptismo (quod est lavacrum renovationis ac regenerationis, Tit. 3.) contulit nativitatem, qua nos cibi ipsi genuit filios, utpote per justitiam sibi similes; idque in spem vivam, sive, ut legit Augustinus lib. 1. de peccat. mer. cap. 27., in spem vitae aeternae; qur.si dicat: Facta nobis certissima spe consequendae vitae aeternae, tamquam haereditatis filiis promissae, atque ex promissione debitae. Quod totum immensae est misericordiae. Non hic a negotio salutis simpliciter excluduntur merita, quod vult Calvinus; sed ipsa etiam merita gratiae et misericordiae eligentis Dei accepta feruntur. Non enim electio est ex meritis, sed merita ox electione.
Per resurrectionem Jesu Christi ex mortuis. Potest haec pars referri vel ad verbum: rege^ieravit, vel ad: spem vi~ vam. Si ad prius referas, significabitur, resurrectionem Christi a morte causam esse nostrae regenerationis, qua a morte peccati resurgimus ad vitam justitiae: Resurrexit enim propter justificationem nostram, Rom. 4. Cujus autem generis causa sit, ad eum locum PauU plenius explicatum reperies. Sin autem referas ad spem vivam, tale erit, quod dicit: Spem nobis fecit vitae aeternae et immortalis per resurrectionem Filii sui, quem a morte resuscitavit ad vitam aeternam et immortalem. Quoniam eoim Christus resurrexit, et nos resurgemus, ut, quo caput praecessit, membra sequantur. Hoc enim argumento Paulus quoque resarrectionem mortuorum astruit 1 Cor. 15. et 1 Thess. 4. Itaque sensus iste probabilis est; tametsi prior, qui partem banc refert ad verbum regeneravit, germanior videtur. Sic enim et infra loquitur Beatus Petrus cap. 3., dicens, baptisma nos salvos facere per resurrectionem Jesu Christi. Atque hic sensus etiam apud interpretes magis receptus est.
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4. In haereditatem incorruptibilem, et incontaminatam et immarcef>cibilem. Explicatio est illius partis: regeneravit nos in spem vivam, eidemque cohaeret. Nam sicut generatio, ita et regeneratio filiorum est; filii autem haeredes. Docet ergo, ad quam haereditatem regenerati simus; et sensus est: Regeneravit nos in spem vitae, quae vita est haereditas ad nos ut filios perveutura; haereditas, inquam, incorruptibilis, quia corrumpi, perire, et semel habita auferri non potest; et incoiitaminoAa sive incontaminabilis, quia nullas sordes aut maculas admittit: Non enim intrabit in eam aliquid coinquinatum, Apoc. 21. Vel potius idoo incontaminata, quod ipsa in se sit omni ex parte purissima, nihil habens, quod offendat. Immarcescibilis denique est, quia vigorem suum ac gratiam, instar amaranti floris, semper retinet, ut nullo umquam tempore possessori fastidium taediumve subrepat. His epithetis haereditas illa coelestis discernitur ab haereditatibus terrenis, ad quas suos filios generant patres carnales. Harum enim nullaest, quae nonperire et auferri, nulla, quae non sordescere et contaminari, nulla, quae non tandem vilescere possit et displicere.
Conservatam in coelis in vobis. Addit: conservatam in coelis, ut hujus haereditatis excellentiam simul et certitudinem declaret: excellentiam, quia coelestis est; certitudinem, quia in coelo conservatur, non in terra. Tamquam si dicat: Haereditas vestra in tuto est; nam apud Deum custoditur, e cujus manu nemo potest eripere. Quod et Dominus in Evangelio significavitj ita praecipiens Matth. 6.: Thesaurizate vobis thesauros in coelo, ubi neque aerugo, neque tinea demolitur, et ubi fures non effodiunty nec furantur. Usus est autem Apostolus participio praeteriti temporis: T£Tyjp'/]|x£vYjV, id est conservatam, asservatam, non autem praesentis temporis: TTjpou- /Jilv/jv^ quae conservaturj ut innuat, non novam esse hanc Dei curam pro suis electis; sed eum jam olim ab origine mundi, ex quo coelos fecit, hanc futuris suis filiis haereditatem in coelis repositam conservasse. Qaa in re significatio est singularis providentiae divinae circa suos electos. Particula sequens: in vobis, pro qua Erasmus: erga vos, Henteniiis: ad vos (nam Graece est sig u^ac), ita videtur accipienda, ac si dixisset: in vos, quomodo legit Hieronymus lib. 1. contra Jovinian. cap. 24.; aut si dixisset tertio casu absque praepositione (quomodo citat Augustinus): servatam vobis in coelis. Ab hoc loco B. Petrus personam mutat, primam in secundam. Dixerat enim: regeneravit nos; nunc autem dicit: in vos. Quam personam deinceps longe continuat, eo quod serviat cxhortationi. Quamquam nonnulli Graeci codices etiam hic legunt: £iC yw^oiz, in nos. Sed illi ipsi quoque statim vers. 6. secundam habent personam.
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5. Qui in virtute Dei custodimini per fidem. Commendatio est gratiae Dei, qui, quos regeneravit, eosdem custodit; idque potenti virtute gratiae suae, qua facit eos perseverare. Nam donum perseverantiae significatur. Rursum, sicut regeneravit per fidem, teste Jacobo capite primo: Voluntarie genuit nos verbo veritatis: ita et per fidem custodit, quia justus, quamdiu vivit in hoc saeculo, semper ex fide vivit. Utitur Apostolus peculiari verbo: (ppoupou|x£vouc, id e.9t, qui custodiminiy non quomodocumque, sed vigilantissima cura; qualis est militum, qui in excubiis collocantur ea parte, qua rcetuitur hostilis irruptio. Nam cppoupoc militare praesidium significat. Hanc Dei pro nobis vigilantiam et curam ostendit illud Psalm. 1 20.: Ecce non dormitabit, neque dormiet, qui custodit Israel. Observanda quoque relatio hujus partis ad praecedentem. Nam ne dicant: Quid juvat, haereditatem nostram conservari in coelo, si nos quotidie periclitamur in terra? docet, utrumque Deo esse curae, adeoque alterum ex altero impleri. Per hoc enim haereditas in coelo nobis conservatur, quod in terra Dei virtute custodimur. Haec porro ad electos portinent, non ad unumquemque fidelium. Singulis enim dicitur: Tu fide stas; noli altum sapere, sed time, Rom. 11. Quare locus hic et similes alii nihil faciunt pro fide speciali, id est, perniciosa securitate salutis, quam sectarii passim inculcant.
In salutem paratam revelari in tempore novissimo. Hanc partem alii alio referunt. Quidam ad verbum regeneravity ut per appositionem jungatur cum eo, quod dixit: in haereditatem etc, videlicet hoc sensu: Regeneravit nos ad haereditatem incorruptibilem, hoc est, ad salutem in ultimo tempore revelandam. Alii construunt cum verbo custodimini. Custodit enim nos Deus per fidem ad salutem aeternam. Sunt autem, qui referant ad fidem, ut sensus sit: Per fidem, qua creditis salutem seu vitam aeternam venturam, Deus vos custodit. Sicut dicitur Actorum 14.: Videns, quia haberet fidem, ut salvus fieret. Omnes hae expositiones probabiles sunt; sed secunda prae caeteris obvia et expedita. Quod ait: paratam revelari in tempore novissimo, significat, hanc salutem et haereditatem ita nobis esse repositam in ccelo, ut jam parata sit, exhibenda tamen suo tempore, videlicet in tempore novissimo, id est in fine saeculi. Loquitur enim de haereditate coelesti, tamquam de thesauro reposito, qui non adhuc comparandus sit, sed jamdudum partus et paratus, ut tempore constituto tradatur ei, cui servabatur. Dicit autem revelari, quia nunc latet illa salus, quae in fine saeculi patefiet. Novissimum tempus alibi vocatur ultima mundi aetas, quae protenditur ab adventu Christi usque ad diem judicii, ut 1 Joan. 2.: JPilioli, novissima hora est. Hic vero significat illius aetatis extremum, id est, ipsum judicii diem. Tunc enim demum salus illa revelabitur, omnibusque palam innotescet; non ipsis solum electis, sed toti mundo. Nunc quidem interim animae justorum regnant cum Christo; sed regnum hoc non est universale, nec hominum, sed (ut dixi) animarum; nec adhuc manifestum, imo a multis non creditum.
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6. In quo exsultabitis. Graece: ayaX- Xiao^E, exsuUatis; atque ita legisse Oecumenium, constat. Sic et multi Latini codices manuscripti; ut vix dubium sit, quin Latinus interpres ita scripserit. Sed futurum tempus loco praeseatis irrepsit, quod sensus ita postulare videretur. Unde et Oecumenius praesens pro futuro dicit accipi. Quod et alii quidam sequuntur. Idque non male, si istud: in quo j referret, tempus novissimum, ut illi volunt. Nam in tempore novissimo non exsultamus, sed exsultabimus. Movebat etiam antilogiae species in verbis Apostoli alioqui futura. Sequitur enim: Nunc contristati. Quomodo ergo eis diceret, verbo praesentis temporis: Exsultatis; ac non potius in futuro: Exsultabitis? Quomodo Salvator ait: Beati, qui nunc fietis, quia ridebitis, Luc. 6. Atqui dicendum est, particulam: in quOf non referre tempus novissimumf sed totum complexum, quod praecessit de spe nostra conservata in coelis deque salute parata revelari in novissimo tempore. Haec enim sunt, quae maximam nobis, etiam in hoc praesenti tempore, exsultandi materiam praebent. Ita, ut dixi, illud: in quo, expcnunt Beda et alii. Nec ulla repugnantia est, eos, qui tristes sunt, exsultare; dum attenduntur rationes diversae. Tristantur enim propter afflictiones praesentes; exsultant autem in spe retributionis futurae, secundum illud Pauli Rom. 12.: Spe gaudentes. Ut etiam hic locum habeat, quod idem Apostolus scribit in persona ministorum Evangelii 2 Cor. 6.: Quasi tristes, semper autem gaudentes. Ita Dominus Matth. 5., cum dixisset: Beati, qui lugent, iisdem postea dicit: Gaudete et exsultate, quoniam merces vestra copiosa est in coelis. Igitur B. Petrus haec scribit fidelibus electis, congratulans eorum felicitati; tamquam diceret: Eorum, quae dixi, consideratione merito gaudetis et exsultatis. Sunt enim maxima bona, quorum certa spes ingens gaudium excitat in animis credentium, etiam inter medias afflictiones. Confirmatur hic commentarius ex eo, quod paulo post sequitur eodem sensu: Credentes autem exsultatis laetitia inenarrabili etc. Non ignoro, posse etiam verti modo praeceptivo: In quo exsultate. Quae versio quibusdam placet; nobis non item. Nondum enim venit ad praecepta; sed adhuc in exordio versatur, quo benevolentiam excitat. Modicum nutic, si oportet, contristati in variis tentationibus. Legendum arbitror: contristati, non contristari; tametsi etiam Bedam hoc pacto legisse, commentarius ejus arguit. At Graece est: XuTiTj^evTSc:^ non Xu7:oDo-&at. Ubi nec tanta est similitudo vocum, quanta in Latino, ut alteram pro altera quis facile scribat aut legat. Sed et sensus commodior est, modo memineris eam partem'. si oportet, commate, seu mavis clausula parenthetica separandam a sequenti dictione: contristati. Missale Romanum in quibusdam impressionibus, etiam Antverpiensibus, habuit contristati; velut anni 1577. Interpretes alii, quo sermo dilucidior sit, fere eam partem: si oportet, rejiciunt in finem, hocmodo: Modicum nunc contristati in variis tentationibus, si opus sit. Adverbium modicum, Graece oXiyov, secundum quosdam magnitudinem diminuit: secundum alios durationem. Quod est probabilius. Sentit enim Apostolus, tentationes, id est afflictiones hujus temporis, etsi multas et alias aliis graviores, non diu duraturas, sed brevi finiendas. Sic infra cap. 5.: Modicum passos ipse perficiet. Hinc alii, vitantes ambiguitatem, verterunt: paulisper, parumper, ad breve tempus. Tentationwn nomine significantur afflictiones, quod per eas Deus tentare seu probare soleat homines, ut plenius expositura est ad illud Jacobi 1.: Omne gaudium existimate, cum in tentationes varias incideritis. Igitur contristati in variis tentationibus idem est, quod dolore seu moerore afiPecti ob varias et multiplices afflictiones. Addit autem: si oportet, quia, quamvis pie viventibus tribulationes numquam desint, imo per multas tribulationes oporteat nos intrare in regnum Dei, Act. 14., non tamen semper, nec omnibus aeque graves incumbunt. Tamen quoties eae occurrunt, aequo animo ferendus est dolor. Hoc est, quod ait: Si oportet, si opus sit, si ita res ferat. Pro quo dicit infra cap. 3.: Si voluntas Dei velit.
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7. Ut probatio vestrae fidei multo pretiosior auro, quod per ignem probatur. Tentatis et contristatis ponit ob oculos fructum tentationum. Greeca plus aliquid habent: multo pretiosior auro, quod perit, per ignem autem probatur. Id est quod, etsi pereat neu corruptibile sit, tamen tanti fit ab hominibus, ut velint igne probari, quo suum apud ipsos pretium obtineat. Similiter infra corruptibilia vocat aurum et argentum. Probatio fidei locutione transitiva dicitur pro fides probata, explorata, nempe variis tentationibus, Eam auro per ignem probato dicit esse muJto pretiosiorem, non quod comparabile sit aurum cum fide; sed ad declarandum hoc schemate comparationis excclleQtiam fidei; quomodo David, judicia Domini praedicans, ea dicit esse desiderabilia super aurum et lapidem pretiosum multum, et dulciora super mel et favum, Psalm. 18. Subest igitur in his verbis argumentum a minore: Si auram, quod corruptibile est elementum, probatione per ignem redditur hominibus pretiosum et carum: cur non Deus fidei probationem exigat per afflictiones, ut ea coram ipso resplendeat, gratiorque fiat?
Inveniatur in laudem et gloriam, et honorem. Id est inveniatur digna laude, gloria et honore, scilicet in judicio Dei. Laude quidem, quia tunc laus erit urUcuique a Deo, 1 Cor. 4.; tunc enim audient, qui bona egerunt, has voces judicis: Euge, serve bone et fidelis etc. Venite, benedicti Patris mei etc, Matth. 25. Gloria et honore, quia, quicumque honorificaverit me, glorificabo eum, ait Dominus 1 Reg. 2. Et quia gloria et honor omni operanti bonum, Rom. 2. Est autem ad aurum, de quo locutus est, allusio. Nam ut auro non ante suus habetur honos, quam purgatum et probatumfuerit, ita significat, fidem, posteaquam rite fuerit examinata et probata, gloria et honore coronandam a Deo, id est ipsum hominem merito fidei coronandum; sicut dicit B. Jacobus cap. 1.: Beatus vir, qui suffert tentationem, quoniam, cum probatus fuerit, accipiet coronam vitae.
In revelatione Jesu Christi. Id est in die judicii, quum apparuerit, qui nunc latet, Jesus Christus veniens in gloria. Potest tota oratio construi et breviter explicari ad hunc modum: Ut fides vestra tentationibus probata reperiatur in adventu Christi judicis longe pretiosior auro per ignem probato, proindeque laudem et gloriam et honorem apud eum consecutura. Saggerit hunc ordinem Cajetanus. Dicitur autem fides inveniri in die judicii secundum eftectum laudis et gloriae, ut jam declaratum est.
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8. Quem cum non videritis, diligitis. Videritis, vertendum esset: noveritis; est enim in Graeco participium siSoxsc; sed notitiam hic accipiunt interpretes, quae per sensum fit principalem, id est visum, quod verisimile sit, Petrum respicere ad dictura Salvatoris: Beati, qui non viderunt et crediderunt, Joan. 20. Sed cum vox illa Graeca cuntrahi non soleat a(J sensum videndi, sed magis ad mentem referatur; neque apud Joannem in sententia citata legatur: siSoxec, sed: tSovTsg, quod ad visum proprie pertiaet: poterit pars ista sic exponi: Quem, cum ante nequidem cognoveritis, annuntiatum tamen diligitis. Porro si omnino non, cognoverant, sequitur, ut nec viderint. Nam qui videt, aliquo modo cognoscit. Itaque complectitur hic intellectus priorem. Sane vetus quaedam translatio, juxta quam citat hunc locum Augustinus lib. 1. de pecc. mer. cap. 27. pro: non videritis, habet: ignoratis, id est non cognoscebatis. Igitur Petrus hac parte fideles electos coUaudat, quod Christum antea nec visum, nec cognitum, ita fide receperint, ut etiam dilexerint, utique ea dilectione, quam fides exigit, quaque convenit eum diligi, qui Deus et homo est, idemque hominum Salvator. Ex hoc loco nonnulli conjecturam sumunt, hanc Epistolam scriptam esse ad gentiles. Quorum fides in hoc specialiter commendatur, quod in eum crediderunt, qjiem non viderunt. Nam Judaei Christum habuerunt praesentem. Sed parum firma est conjectura. Scribit enim Petrus ad Judaeob non in Judaea commorantes, ubi Dominus in carne fuit conversatus; sed ad eos, qui erant in dispersione, quorum plurimi Judaeam non viderant. Unde ad illos etiam merito pertinet laus illa: Quem cum non videritis, diligitis.
In quem nunc quoque non videntes creditis. Creditis, non est in Graeco, nec in Syriaco. Tantum enim legitur: In quem nunc non videntes. Graece est: opoivTSc:, diversum vocabulum a superiore. Pendet autem adhuc sententia.
Credentes autem exsultabitis laetitia inenarrabili et glorificata. Legendum: exsultatis, ut supra, quemadmodum habent Graeca et Syra, consentientibus exemplaribus Latinis paene omnibus, quae apud nos sunt, tam scriptis, quam impressis. Repetit enim Apostolus et declarat fructum fidei superius indicatum ubi dixit: In quo exsultatis, ostendens, quanta sit ea exsultatio, praesertim in cordibus eorum, qui fidem suam frequenti meditatione exercent. Est igitur sensus: At cum ne nunc quidem eum videatis, credentes tamen in eum, exsultatis ob spem promissae felicitatis gaudio inefiabili et glorificato. If^/sffabili quidem, quia de bonis est ineffabilibus, et quae superant omnem sensum. Glorificato autem, id est glorioso (nam Hebraismus est, participium pro nomine), magnifico, stabili item ac solido. Est enim hoc gaudium de gloria coelesti et aeterna ab eo promissa, quae fallere non potest. Porro sciendum, hic quoque verti posse: exsultate, pro: exsultatis, scilicet modo praeceptivo, quomodo citat Augustinus lib. 2. de symb. ad Catech. cap. 7.: Gaudete inenarrabili gaudio. Sed melius vertitur enuntiative. Cujus ratio superius reddita est. Causam tanti gaudii deinceps exponit.
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9. Reportantes finem fidei vestrae, salutem animarum. Plerique de salute futura interpretantur, quia post mortem corporum salutem exspectamus animarum, ac novissime totius hominis. Verum quia non dicit: reportaturi, sed reportantes, Graece xojitCo^svot: potius accipiendum videtur de salute in genere, cujus initium in hac vita; quomodo Paulus loquitur ad Eph. 2.: Gratia estis salvati per fidem, et ad Tit. 3.: Secundum suam misericordiam salvos nos fecit, et Jacobus in fine suae Epistolae: Salvabit animam ejus a morte. Salvamur enim, dum justificamur: sed ea salus primum imper fecta, deinde paulatim augetur, ut in futuro saeculo perficiatur. Dicit autem: animarum, quia sahis haec in praesenti vita ad solas animas pertinet, non ad corpora. Nam hac vita durante, is, qui foris est, noster homo corrumpitur; sed is, qui intus est, renovatur de die in diem y 2 Cor. 4. Item nominans salutem animarum, Judaeos, ad quos scribit, revocat a sensu carnali; ne salutem per Christum promissam imaginentur talem, qualis erat felicitas in veteri testamento per Mosen promissa. Porro finem vocat fructum, qui idem causae finalis habet rationem, etsi non ultimae. Fructus enim et finis fidei nostrae est animarum nostrarum salus, quae hic inchoatur et in futuro perficitur; tametsi Paulus de fructu et fine distincte loquitur, Rom. 6.: Servij inquit, facti Deo, habetis fructum vestrum in sanctificationem, finem vero vitam aeternam. Nam finem ibi intelligit ultimum, post quem nihil aliud exspectetur.
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10. De qua salute exquisierunt atque scrutati sunt prophetae. Salutis, de qua loquitur, magnitudinem amplificat a studio veterum prophetarum, qui, divino spiritu moti, de ea diligenter inquisierunt. Horum autem meminit, quemadmodum et in 2. Epist. cap. 1., quodad Judaeos scriberet, quorum fides ex prophetis erat confirmanda. Studium hoc ac desiderium prophetarum significavit Christus Dominus Matth. 13., cumait: Multi prophetae et justi cupierunt videre, quae videtis, et audire, quae auditis. Tale fuit desiderium Jesaiae clamantis: Rorate coeli desuper y et nubes pluant justum ^ aperiatur terra et germinet Salvatorem. Utinam dirumperes coelos, et descenderes, Jes. 45. et 64. Intelligit autem B. Pfctrus, prophetas ea, de quibus scrutati sunt, scripto consignasse, ut Judaeis in manibus essent. Nam ad scripturas prophetieas respicit, sicut et in secunda Epistola. Idque satis declarant ea quae hic seqauntnr:
Qui de futura in vobis gratia prophetaverunt. Graece: zlq, u^lac^ in vos. Nec additur: futura-, sed sapplementum est interpretis. Erasmus et Hentenius ita reddideiunt: Qui de ventura in vos gratia vaticinati sunt. Alius ita supplet: Qui de effusa in vos gratia etc. Potest etiam nude sic verti: Qui de graiia, quae erga vos est, prophetaverunt, id est de gratia, quae nunc vobis impensa atque exhibita est, et mundo palam manifestata. Est autem expositio salutis, quam dixerat. Eam quippe gratiam vocat, ut intelligant, esse beneficium plane gratuitum.
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11. Scrutantes, in quod vel quale tempus significaret in eis Spiritus Christi. In eis, Graece: t6 Iv auTolg, qui in eis, subaudi: erat ut recte ab aliis versum. Tempus, Graece: xaipov, quo proprie significatur tempus aptum rei gerendae vel exsequendae. Supplendum autem: salutem (sive gratiam) venturam. Et sensus est, prophetas attentos et auscultantes ad revelationem Spiritus sancti, quo praediti erant, pio studio inquisivisse, quo tempore, post quot annos, quo mundi aut rerum Judicarum statu venturam salutem, gratiam, regnum Christi, Spiritus ejus significaret. Videtur potissimum respicere Petrus ad locum Dan. 9., ubi legimus, Danielem cupidum cognoscendi temporis, quo veniret salus (qui propter hoc vir desideriorum ab angelo appellatus est) oratione, jejunio, sacco et cinere se praeparasse ad visionem, qua ei revelatum fuit, post quot annorum hebdomadas venturus et passurus esset Christus, Sanctus sanctorum, per quem deleto peccato adducenda esset justitia sempiterna. Revelatum, inquam, verbis adeo claris et perspicuis, ut inter vulgares etiam Judaeos, sub illud tempus, quo Christus venit, celeber fuerit sermo deMessia, velut exorto, aut jamjam adfuturo. Quare et a multis creditum fuit, Joannem Baptistam, in quo magna vitae eanctitas relucebat, esse Messiam. Unde nec leguntur Judaei Jesum propterea repulisse, quod Messiae tempus a prophetis praedictum nondum venisset (erat enim etiam vulgo persuasum, tempus illud jam impletum esse), sed quia hicem veritatis ab eo praedicatae ferre non poterant, Joan. 3. Porro alii prophetae alia attulere signa temporis adventus Christi, ut Jes. cap. 2. pacem generalem, Jacob Gen. 49. septrum a Juda ablatum. Dicit autem: Spiritus Christi, ut Christi Domini innuat divinitatem, qui ipse jam olim suo Spiritu prophetas afflaverit et impleverit ad ea praenuntianda, quae ad ipsum pertinerent. Ex quo etiam contra Graecos ostenditur, Spiritum sanctum a Filio procedere. Nec illud improbabile, quod apud quendam legi, Petrum hic alludere ad apparitiones angelicas, tempore veteris testamenti in persona Christi fiictas. De quibus egimus ad illud 1 Cor. 10.: Neque tentemus Christum, sicut quidam eorum tentaverunt:
Praenuntians eas, quae in Christo sunt, passiones et posteriores glorias. Graece ad verbum: Praetestificans eas, quae in Christum passiones, et quae post eas (scilicet passiones) glorias. Sen- 8U8 autem planus est, Spiritum Christi per prophetas testatum fuisse, priusquam acciderent, id est praedixisse, venturas in Christum passiones eive afflictiones; nec non gloriam passionibus successuram. Dicit autem glorias plurali numero, quia gloria Christi, passionem et crucem cousccuta, multiplex est; ut gloria resurrectionis, ascensionis, sessionis ad dexteram Patris, gloria nominis exaltati, potestatis judiciariae. Has autem Christi passiones et subsequentes glorias a prophetis fuisse praedictas, ipse Christus testatur semel et iterum, Luc. ult. Ubi notandus ordo a Deo constitutus, ut passiones praecedant, gloria sequatur. Nonne haeCj inquit, oportuit pati Christum, et ita intrare in gloriam suam? Haec vero ccmraemorat beatus Petrus, ut fideles sciant exemplo Christi capitis 8ui, se ad gloriam non perventuros, nisi per afflictiones et cruces. Continet igitur haec pars tacitam consolationem fidelium, qui propter Christum varie affligebantur. Porro quod apud Didymum lib. 2. de Spirita sancto, citantem hunc Apostoli locum, ex versione S. Hieronymi legitur: decreta, pro: glorias (sic enim habet: Et ea, quae post erant secutura decreenim do^a Graecis etiam decretum interdum significet, huic tamen loco ea significatio non quadrat.
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12. Quibus [revelatum est, quia non sibimet ipsis, vobis autem ministrabant ea, quae nunc nuntiata sunt vobis. Vobis autem, Latinius: sed vobis; tametsi quidam Graeci codices priori loco non G^Tv, sed "^fxTv legunt, id est nobis. Et ita apud Didymum Latinum legitur. Sed textui magis convenit aliorum codicum lectio, quae etiam Oecumenii esse videtur, estque omnium Latinorum, ut persona non mutetur. Erasmus in annot. particulam: quibus, exponi posse docet C[uadrifariam. Yerum nobis unus sensus, nnfl. Esfli Comm. Tom. III. apud eum ordine tertius, quem et ipse sequitur in sua versione et paraphrasi, retinendus est, utpote clarus et per se obvius, et a Syro paraphraste expressus; ut ad prophetas ea particula referatur hoc modo: Quibus quidem prophetis revelationes de his, quae dixi, factae sunt, non tam ipsorum causa, quam vestri, qui eratis eorum libros lecturi. Non enim sibimet ipsis, sed vobis ministraverunt, annuntiantes ea futura, quae nunc vobis annuntiata sunt esse completa; scilicet ut ex comparatione et consensu eorum, quae praedicta sunt a prophetis, cum istis, quae nos vobis annuntiavimus, fides vestra confirmetur. Nonmilli istam particulam: Ea, quae nunc nuntiata sunt vobis, faciunt suppositum verbi: ministrabant; sed sensu minus commodo. Nec eam constructionem admittit pronomen reciprocum lauxoTc, sibi ipsis, quod non de aliis, quam de prophetis accipi potest. Sub quibus tamen ct caeteri ejusdem temporis homines intelliguntur. Porro non sentit Apostolus Petrus, ea, quae praedicta sunt a prophetis, nihil ad ipsos pertinuisse; cum idem ipse dicat universe de patribus Act. 15.: Per gratiam Domini nostri Jesu Christi crtdimus salvari, quemadmodum et illi; sed usum significat revelationum propheticarum. Non enim prophetis factae sunt propter ipsos, quibus utique sua fides, aut obscura, aut aperta, sicut aliis justis illorum temporum sufficere poterat; sed propter eos, quorum tempore implenda erant, quae illi praedixerant; ut videntes, ea, quae fiebant et facta nuntiabantur, olim a prophetis fuisse praedicta, crederent in eum, de quo praedicta erant; aut si jam credidissent, amplius in ea fide roborarentur. Ita Christus suos discipulos ex prophetis ad fidem instruxit Lucae ultimo, et illi caeteros, ut in Actis frequenter.
Per eos, qui evangelizaverunt vobis, Id est per nos Apostolos, aliosve Evangelii ministros. Non enim (ut quidam suspicantur) indicat, se non fuisse eorum, ad quos scribit, Evangelistam; sed non fuisse Bolum. Alioqui nec, quod sequilur, ad Petrum pertineret.
SpirUu sancto misso de coelo. Graece: In Spiritu sancto, id est per Spiritum sanctum e coelo missum. Refertur autem ad verbum evangelizandi. Nam postquam Apostoli per Spiritum sanctum, quem acceperunt in die Pentecostes, ut scribitur Act 2., plenissime fuerunt edocti de his, quae alios docere debebant, mox ejusdem Spiritus virtute primum ipse Petrus, deinde et caeteri coeperunt evangelizare Christum, et redemptionis ejus mysteria. Hoc autem dicit, ut ostendat, eodem Spiritu nuntiari Evangerium per Apostolos, quo fuerat praenuntiatum per prophetas, ideoque jSde dignissimum esse.
In quem desiderant angeli prospicere. Ita fere Latini codices. Et quidem Beda illud: In quem, dupliciter exponit: vel ut ad Christum referatur (quamquam hoc longius praecessit), in quem, etiam ut hominem, praesertim nunc glorificatum, angeli prospicere gaudent, quia per Chrietum instaurantur omnia, quae in coelis et quae in terra sunt, Eph. 1.; vel ut ad Spiritum. sanclum, quem cum Patre ct Filio unum Deum angeli summa cum voluptate intuentur, desiderio videndi numquam cessaturo. Gregorius hom. 8. super Ezech. absolute de Deo interpretatur. At vero Graeca constanter habent: £ic ^, in quae. Quod et in Latinis nonnullis legitur. Annuit et Syra versio. Sic et Ambrosius legisse videtur lib. 4. de Sacram. cap. 2., licet pro Petro nominet Paulum memoriae lapsu. Verba sunt: Audi ergo Apostolum Paulum dicentem, ea nobis esse collata, quae concupiscunt et angeli videre. Et de Christi Sacramentis accipit hunc locum etiam Beatus Isidorus Pelusiota lib. 1. Epist. 119. Sensus hujus lectionis, quam veram arbitror, iste est: In quae, quae nunc nuntiata sunt vobis, hoc est, in mysteria saluti«? ac redemptionis humanae a prophetis praedicta et ab Apostolis annuntiata, etiam angeli penitius introspicere desiderant. Quamvis enim ea non ignorent, ut quorum ministerio ipsis etiam prophetis revelata fuerint: tamen cognitis adeo delectantur, ut plenius etiam atque perfectius ea nosse vehementer cupiant. Quod mystice significabant duo Cherubim expassis alis operientes propitiatorium, et in illud, versis ad se mutuo vultibus, respicientes, Exod. 25. Nam in propitiatorio typus erat nostrae per Christum redemptionis. Porro voluptatis hujus ac desiderii sanctorum angelorum causa est, tum quod illic agnoscant admirabilem Dei sapientiam, in ordine ac modo redemptionis nostrae declaiatam; tum quia de electione et salute hominum, quos ex cpritate diligunt, ineffabiliter gaudent. Unde et in principio redemptionis ipsi primi de ea laudem Domino cecinerunt, dicentes: Gloria in excehis Deo, Luc. 2. Convenit hic sensus cum iis, quae a Paulo dicuntur Eph. 3.: Ul innotescat principatibus et pofestatibus in coelestibus per Ecclesiam multiformis sapientia Dei; et 1 Tim. 3.: Manifeste magnum est pietatis Sacramentum, quod apparuit Angelis, praedicatum est gentibus etc. Atque in hunc sensum reducitur etiam prior expositio Venerabilis Bedae, illa videlicet de Christo homine. Est autem haec magna Evangelii dignitas, quod ejus sacramenta cognita etiam angelos laetificant, et ad amplius cognoscendum excitant. Sicut ergo prius a prophetarum studio, ita nunc ab angelorum coguosceadi desiderio Evangelium commendat. De Graeca voce TcapaxuTiTetv, pro qua noster hic dat verbum prospi" cere, quam vlm habeat, vide commentarium nostrum ad illud Jac. 1.: Qui autem perspexerit in legem perfectam libertatis etc. Bactenus exordium Epistolae; idque sane tanto Apostolo dignum, utpote grave et illustre, constans rerum amplitudine cum majestate verborum; ut non immerito scripserit quidam, exordium hoc facile certare posse cum quovis Epistolarum Pauli exordio. Sequitur nunc propositio principalis, velut summam in se continens totius exhortationis, quam instituit facere hac Epistola.
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13. Propter quod succincti lumbos mentis vestrae, sobrii perfecte sperate in eam, quae offertur vobis, gratiam. Perfecte, Graece: TsXstcoQ, pro quo vitiose legitur in quibusdam Latinis: per" fecti. Offertur, melius ex Graeco: fertur^ adfertur. Est enim participium simplex: 9£po|i£vr]V. Erasmus vertit: In eam, quae ad vos defertur, gratiam. Hieronymus lib. 1. contra Jovin. cap. 24. ita legit: in eam, quae deferenda est vobis, gratiam. Utitur autem Apostolus statim initio metaphora valde ad rem apposita, qua et Christus usus est, cum ait Luc. 12.: Sint lumbi vestri praecincti ', desumpta nimirum ab iis, qui vel iter facturi, vel operis aliquid agressuri, quo ad illud expeditiores sint, lumbos succingunt. Declarat vero metaphoram, quum addit: mentis. Itaque lumbos mentis succingere est mentem refrenare ac restringere ab omni cupiditate, qua impeditur atque implicata tenetur, ne expedite et libere Deo serviat. Non enim hic (ut quidam putant) gbla castitas praecipitur, sed omnium carnalium cupiditatum repressio. Quemadmodum et sequenti dictione: sobrii, non sola prohibetur intemperantia cibi et potus, sed omnis immoderatus rerum delectabilium usus. Nam Graece est participium: VT^cpovTSC, id est vigilantes, ut legit Hifcronymus contra Jovin. Quod Syrus vertit: excitamini. Passim vero usurpatur de iis, qui casti et sobrii sunt. Itaque vidatur e^rjyTjTixuic: additum ad explicandam metaphoram. Notandum quoque, Oecumenium et Syrum interpretem conjungere haec duo: sobrii perfecte, vel excitamini perfecte, quae alii omnes distinguunt, ut adverbium perfecte ad verbum sperate pertineat, quod est probabilius; ut haec sit adhortatio: Quum igitur vocati sitis ad tantam gratiam, ne sitis desides, sed mentem ac sensus vestros ab omni noxia cupiditate continentes, sobrii etcasti, spe perfecta et perseverante apprehendite, amplectimini ac retinete eam gratiam, quae per Evangelii praedicationem hoc tempore ad vos defertur*, imo jam delata est. Gratiam vocat gratuitum illud beneficium salutis, de quo superius locutus est, et cujus semper aliquid etiam in hac vita restat sperandum. Interpres Syrus in Graeco pro X^P^^ ^^git y^cnp^v, id est gaudium. Sic enim vertit: Sperate in gaudium, quod obventurum est vobis etc. Verum nec Oecumenius hujua lectionis meminit, nec in ullo Graeco codice reperitur. Repugnat etiam participium cpspopievTrjv, praesens tempus indicans, non futurum, iu quod Syrus illud convertit, propter hoc, quod sequitur:
In revelationem Jesu Christi. Phires ac meliores codices legunt: In revela' tione. Et ita citat Hieronymus lib. 1. contra Jovinianum. Nam et Graece est: Iv aTTOxaXuiJ^si, nec aliter in Syriaco legitur; tametsi non novum est Apostolis, praepositionem iv pro stg accipere, ut verti possit: m revelationem. Etenim duobus modis exponi potest haec pars juxta diversam syntaxim. Nam si referas ad verbum offertur, vel affertur, sensus erit, gratiam ad illos, quibus scribit, deferri in revelatione Christi, id est, dum Christus eis per Evangelium reveJatur ac manifestatur. Quod vult Erasmi et Hententii translatio: Dum vobis patefit (seu manifestatur) Jesus Christus. Verum alii referunt ad verbum sperate, ut sit sensus: In hanc gratiam nunc vobis oblatam perfecte, constanter et perseveranter sperate usque in revelationem Christi, id est usque in diem, quo Christus revelabitur, ac palam omnibus apparebit veniens ad judicium. Hujus enim revelationis Christi jam supra meminit, ac rursum infra cap. 4. Nec aliam Paulus intellexit Christi revelaticnem, 1 Cor. 1. et 3. et 2 Thess. 1. Itaque sensus hic probdbilior est. Excitat enim Apostolus fideles ad perseverantiam spei, proposita gloria, cujus cum Christo participes sint futuri. Sic et Paulus ad Colossenses 3.: Cum Christus apparuerit, vita vestra, tunc et vos cum ipso apparebitis in gloria. Et Joannes primae Epistolae 3.: Scimus, quoniam, cum apparuerit, similes ei erimus.
1:14
14. Quasi filii obedientiae. Hebraismu8, id est filii obedientes, ut alii vertunt. Et hoc reterendum ad verbum sperate. Nam spes haereditatis paternae competit filiis; filios autem ostendit obedientia, qua et haereditatem promerentur. Igitur obedientiam intelligit Deo, ut Patri, debitam in omnibus, quae praecipit.
Non configurati prioribus ignorantiae vestrae desideriis. Configurati participium est praesentis temporis, in Graeco: ouox7]jiaTiCo|Ji£VOt. Necest: ignorantiae vestrae j sed: iv ttq ayvoia u/idiv^ in ignorantia vestra. Quare sententia reddi potest hoc pacto: Non conformantes vos, id est non accommodantes vos, non obsequentes, pristinis cupiditatibus, quibus eratis subjecti, dum adhuc versaremini in tenebris infidelitatis et ignorantiae vestrae; priusquam vobis affulsisset lux Evangelii. Nam infidelitas et ignorantia fons est omnium peccatorum. Admonet igitur eos, ne repetant vitia vitae prioris, neque conformentur veteri horoini, quem semel exuerunt. Dicit autem: vestrae, quia ignorantia proprie nostra est, et in ea omnes nati sumus.
1:15
15. Sed secundum eum, qui vocavit vos 3 Sanctum, et ipsi in omni conversatione sancti sitis. Clarius ex Graeco: Sed quemadmodum ille, qui vos vocavit, sanctus est, ita et ipsi sancti in omni conversatione efficiamini. Graece: YSVigOrjTS, Erasmus: reddamini. Hortatur ad imitationem ejus, a quo vocati erant. Quomodo Deus, inquit, qui vos vocavit et adduxit ad gratiam euam (efficax enim vocatio intelligitur) totus sanctus est, et ab omni coinquinatione purus: sic et vos in omni vestra conversatione sanctitatem, id est munditiam, sectamini, et operam date, ut semper in ea proficiatis. Hinc apparet, Apostolum fuisse locutum de cupiditatibus peccatorum carnalium; his enim proprie sanctitas opponitur. Unde et Paulus 1 Thess. 4.: Non vocavit nos Deus in immunditiam, sed in sanctificationem. Quamquam et alia cujuscumque generis peccata suo modo coinquinant hominem et immundum reddunt, ut diserte testatur Dominus Matth. 15. Nam uti res unaquaeque sordida fit et impura naturaliter ex admixtione rei deterioris, velut argentum, si ei stannum aut plumbum admisceatur: ita moraliter anima sordescit et immunda redditur, quoties peccati commixtionem per consensum admittit.
1:16
16. Quoniam scriptum est. Graece: ^tOTi, propterea quod scriptum est:
Sancti eritis, quoniam ego sanctus sum. Eritis praeceptive accipiendum. Nam Graece est ytvco^s, estote, vel efficimini, sicut in parte praecedenti. Scriptum est hoc Levit. 11., ct repetitur cap. 19. 20. et 21. Quibus quidem locis partim sermo est de sanctitate, id est munditia legali, in cibis, ut cap. 11. et 20., partim de munditia caeremoniali, quae in sacerdote requiritur, ut cap. 21., partim vero de munditia apeccatis, ut cap. 19. et iterum 20. Quae postrema sanctitas hujus est loci, et per sanctitatem legalem ac caeremonialem fuitadumbrata. Ratio, quam adjicit: quoniam ego sanctus sum, ita est explicanda: Quoniam et popuhis Deo, quem colit, et sacerdotes Deo, cui ministrant, et filii patri, a quo creati sunt, et per quem r3generati, vitae conversatione debent assimilari. Qua ratione et Christus praecipit Matth. 5.: Estote perfecti, sicut et Pater vester coeJestis perfectus est. Non autem aequalitas praecipitur (est enim Deus per essentiam sanctus), sed similitudo et participatio sanctitatis, quanta per imitationem haberi potest. Hinc vero colligo, sanctitatem nostram atque justitiam non in sola consistere peccatorum remissione, quod volunt sectarii; sed etiam, ac praecipue in omatu et operatione virtutum. Id enim est, quod praecessit: In omni conversatione sancti sitis.
1:17
17. Et si patrem invocatis Eum, qui sine acceptione personarum judicat secundum uniuscujusque opus. Hortatus est ad innocentiam et sanctitatem vitae; nunc modum sanctae conversationis adjungit, utscilicot in timore conversentur, mamque salutem operentur j ne vana securitate se ipsos fallant. Particula si non dubitantis est, sed supponentis rem notam. Est enim omnium renatorum communis oratio: Pater noster, qui es in coelis. Dicitur Deus judicare sine personarum acceptione, tum hoc loco, tum alibi, ut Deuter. 10., Rom. 2., Gal. 2., quia in exercendo judicio solum respicit ad merita causao, non ad personae qualitates a causa alienas. Atque hoc est, quod exponondo addit: secundum uniuscujusque opus, id est pro cujusque merito. Ut etiam hinc merifa bonorum operum, quemadmodum maloium, recte statuantur. Illud totum: sine acceptione personarum, Graece eleganter exprimitur uno adverbio tricomposito: aTcpo^tonoXriTZToyQ. Interim vide, quae de hac phrasi: accipere personas, cujus ab Hebraeis origo est, annotavimus Rom. 2. Porro sensus hujus loci est: Si tamquam filii in oratione quotidiana Patrem invocatis, et invocando nominatis (Graece eTitxaXsloOe) Eum, qui citra personarum respectum judicat unumquemque secundum opera, id est qui non tantum Pater, sed etiam judex est, idemque justissimus: igitur cum timore ei servire debetis. Hoc est, quod sequitur:
In timore incolatus vestri tempore conversamini. Incolatus, Graece Tiapotxiaq. Est autem Tiapotxia vicinia multorum inquilinorum. Proprie vero significat commemorationem advenarum, eorum scilicet, qui alibi nati sunt. Unde, qui pro incolatu vertunt: commorationem, vim Graecae vocis, adeoque mentem Apostoli non satis explicant. Significat enim Apostolus, nos tamquam peregrinos versari in mundo, ut qui non simus de hoc mundo, Joan. 15. et 17., proindeque ab iis, quae mundi sunt, amorem et appetitum avertere debere, totos in patriam coelestem intentos. Unde et sequenti capite: tamquam advenas et peregrinos obsecrat abftinere a carnolibus desideriis. Summa admonitionis est, ut per oiiiue tempus sui incolatus, quod longum esse non potest, conversentur cum timore Dei, velut judicis, quem noverint ubique praesentem, et omnia, quae agunt, intuentem; necnon redditurum cuique, quod meretur, sine uUo personae cujusquam respectu.
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18. Scientes, quod non corruptibilibus auro vel argento redempti eUis. Graece et Syriace: argento vel auro. Nam conveniebat, in exaggeratione pretii prius nominari, quod minus est, deinde, quod majus. Exhortationem superiorem nova ratione confirmat, desumpta a magnitudine pretii, quo redempti sumus; ac si dicat, exponente Venerabili Beda: Quanto majus est pretium, quo redempti estis a corruptione vitae carnalis, tanto ampHus timere debetis, ne forte ad corruptelam vitiorum revertendo animum vestri redemptoris offendatis. Haec ille. Neque enim ultionem Dei effugiet, qui sanguinem testamenti pollutum duxerit, in quo sanctificatus est, Hebr. 10. Porro verba Apostoli sic explaua: Praesertim quum sciatis, vos non rebus corruptibilibus aut caducis, tametsi judicio mortalium valde pretiosis, ut argento vel auro, fuisse redemptos.
De vana vestra conversatione paternae traditionis. Graece: TiaTpOTcapaSo- TOU. Quasi dicat: conversatione a patri" bus tradita. Sic enim legunt Hieronymus in comm. Jesaiae, et Augustinus in exposit. Psalm. 146. Erasmus ita vertit: Quam ex patrum acceperatis traditione. Significat Apostolus, vanam conversationem paternae traditionis fuiese servitutem quandam, a qua fuerint redempti. Sed quam vocet conversationem paternae traditionis, haud liq net. Qui hanc Epistolam scriptam volunt ad gentiles, significari putant vitam carnalem, ut audivimus verbis Bedae, id est positam in operibus carnis, de quibus Gal. 5. Et hanc dici paternae troditionis, quod a majoribus longa serie fuisset observata, filiisque tamquam bona et honesta per manus tradita. Nihil enim gentilitas in actionibus suis, nisi carnem sapiebat. Est hic sensus etiam apud Augustinum loco jam citato. Qui vero censent, ad Judaeos scriptam Epistolam, non uno modo hanc partem exponunt. Cajetanus quidem interpretatur de conversatione legali, id est, observatione legis Mosaicae. Quam conversationem vanam esse docet ad finem vitae aeternae. Siquidem opera legalia, tam moralia, quam judicialia et caeremonialia, secundum se non justificabant animas. Alii conversationem intelligunt, qua studiose retinebant et observabant traditiones a suis majoribus institutas, easque partim vanas, partim noxias; de quibus Judaeos reprehendit Dominus Matth. 15. et Marc. 7., ubi et traditiones seniorum vocantur. Sub quibus comprehendi potest, quidquid errorum et superstitionum sensim ac longi temporis ductu in illum populum irrepserat. Primus sensus, qui de gentilibus, non admodum congruit. Nam vita carnalis gentilium non solet significari nomine paternae traditioniSy sed potius vocabulis ignorantiae, caecitatis, infidelitatis. Nec tam sequebantur gentiles in vita sua carnali instituta majorum, quam inclinationem naturae corruptae, ad quam non opus erat paterna traditione. Cajetani quoque ezpositio non multum habet probabilitatis. Non enim Petrus, ad Judaeos, quamvis fideles, scribens, observationem legis Mosaicae vocaret vanam conversationem; maxime quando adhuc erant eorum plurimi zelatores legis, nec eam prohibebantur observare. Quippe necdum tempus maturuerat, quo lex cessare deberet; quemadmodumsatis patet ex Actis Apostolorum. Tantum docendi interim erant, ne spem salutis in lege ponerent. Restat igitur tertius sensus, caeteris probabilior. Nam traditiones illas Judaicas, quas vocabant traditiones seniorum, passim insectatur et damnat Scriptura. Recteque.Petrus harum observationem appellat vanam, conversationem, quia non solum ad justitiam nihil proderat (ut et lex Mosi sine Christo, quae tamen erat paedagogus ad Christum, Gal. 3.), verum simpliciter inutilis erat, et in multis noxia, legique divinae contraria. Quod ex Evangelio clarum est. Recte etiam redemptos dicit ab hac conversatione, tamquam videlicet a servitute quadam. Nam si lex Mosaica jugum erat importabile, eodem Petro teste Act. 15., quanto magis illa sarcina paternarum innumerabilium atque inutilium traditionum, velut jugum quoddam importabile, Judaeorum cervices premebat?
1:19
19. Sed pretioso sanguine, quasi agni immaculati Christi et incontaminati. Ordo commodior in Graeco: Velut agni immaculati et incontaminati, ChristL Constructio tamen est: pretioso sanguine Christi j velut agni immaculati et incontaminati. Manifesta allusio est ad typum veteris testamenti, eumque diversum ab eo, ad quem supra respexit, nO' minans aspersionem sanguinis Jesu Christi. Nam illic respicitur ad sanguinem vitulorum et hircorum, quo populus aspergebatur; hic ad sanguinem agni paschalis, quo non aspergebantur homines, sed postes ostiorum liniebantur. Historia est Exod. 12. Docet ergo Petrus, eos, ad quos scribit, ita redemptos esse Christi sanguine a servitute vanae suae conversationis, quomodo quondam patres eorum a servitute Aegyptia liberati fuerant et redempti illius agni sanguine, quo Christus praefigurabatur. Hujus sanguinem pretiosum vocat, quia sanguis est Filii Dei, cui nullum aliud pretium comparari potest. Porro Christus agno comparatur, propter innocentiam simul et patientiam; illam exhibitam in vita, istam in morte. Est enim agnus animal innocentissimum, idemque tantae mansuetudinis, ut etiam, dum mactationi admovetur, taceat. Addit autem: immaculati et incontaminati, ad significandam summam puritatem hujus agni, qui est Christus. Nam et agnum illum legalem absqueraacula esseoportebat. Dicitur autem Christus immaculatu^ et incontaminatus, quia deSpiritusancto conceptus, et ex virgine natus, nec maculam contraxitoriginalispeccati,necullopeccato actuali fuitattaminatus \ denique ita purus, ut peccatam in illam personam nullum omnino cadere posset. Nec vero, nisi purus ab omni labe peccati, placabilis hostia pro peccatis nostris esse potuisset. Talis enim decebat, ut nobis esset pontifex, idemque hostia, sanctus, innocens, impollutus, segregatus a peccatoribus. Quamvis autem et alias saepe per agnum Christus in lege fuorit adumbratus, ut per eum, qui offerebatur in purificatione puerperae, Lev. 12., et qui in mundaticne leprosi, Lev. 14., et qui mane et vespere quotidie, singuli; plures autem in festis solennioribus, Num. 28.: proprie tamen ad agnum paschalem respicit B. Petrus, iu quo admodum aperte praefigurata fuit Christi passio, ejusque e£fectus, ac praecipuum Sacramentum. Nec dubium, quin eodem praecipue respexerint etiam alii, tam Prophetae, quam Apostoli, quoties de Christo Salvatore ac redemptore sub nomine agni loquuntur, ut Jesaias cap. 53. (quem locum etiam Philippus de Christo exponit, Act. 8., Jeremias cap. 11., Joannes Baptista Joan. 1., Paulus 1 Cor. 5. et Joannes Apostolus ia Apocalypsi frequentissime.
1:20
20. Praecogniti quidem ante mundi constitutionem. Praecogniti, id est, praeordinati, quemadmodum alii recte vertunt. Significatur enim praescientia Dei practica, qua nimirum ita quippiam praecognoscit, ut id ipsum suo tempore velit exsequi. Nec de quavis praeordinatione dicitur, sed de benigna ac salutari; quemadmodum supra: secundum praescientiam Dei Patris. Unde Ambrosius lib. 1. de fide, cap. 7., praedestinatum legit. Ante mundi constitutionem, id est, antequam mundus esset conditus, ante jacta mundi fundamenta. Hoc enim significat vox Graeca xoLza^oXy], de qua vide commentarium Eph. 1. Hac autem phrasi notari solet aeternitas. Nam creationem nihil praecedit, nisi quod aeternum est. Significat ergo, Christum aeterno Dei consilio praeordinatum ad tantum nostrum bonum, scilicet, ut effuso sanguine suo nos redimeret. Neque enim ulla temporaria sunt in Deo consilia; sed quidquid faciendum statuit, ab aeterno statuit. Hoc autem quorsum dicat, ex eo, quod sequitur, intelligemus.
Manifestati autem novissimis tem' porihus. Quamvis, inquit, Christus ante mundum conditum et ab aeterno fuerit ad opus redemptionis a Deo praeordinatus, non tamen ab initio mundi missus est ad hoc opus; sed demum his ultimis temporibus exhibitus est, et redemptionis opere peracto, per Evangelii praedicationem mundo manifestatus. Non defuit quidem uUi temporum aetati salus, quae per Christum redemptorem est (extenditur enim ejus redemptio ad omnia saecula); sed postquam ipse venit et opus redemptionis exsecutus est, moxquepraedicantibus Apostolis mundo declaratus, multo copiosior redemptionis ejus fructus ad homines pervenit. Novissima tempora vocat totum hoc tempus, quod ab adventu Domini tendit usque ad finem saeculi. Quod ideo novissimum tempus, et a Joanne 1 Epist. 2. novissima hora vocatur, quia, quantumcunque longum sit, tale est, ut post illud usque ad mundi finem non restet aliud tempus, cui priora Prophetarum tempora subserviant. Est enim universum hoc tempus gratiae manifestatae. Theologi postremam mundi aetatem appellant, sumpta metaphora ab aetatibus humanae vitae, quarum ultima est senectus, sola morte finienda, etiamsi in annos quamplurimos producatur. Vide, quae de hac phrasi annotavimus ad illud Heb. 9.: Nunc autem semel in consummatione saeculorum etc.
1:21
21. Propfer vos, qui per ipsum fidelis estis in Deo. Graece: qui per ipsum creditis in Deum; tametsi in nonnullis exemplaribus legiturpraeteritum: niOTeuoavTcg_, qui credidistis. Dicit: propter vos, iii quibusdam videtur, quia quisque fidelis sic debet affectus esse erga beneficium redemptionis, ut, quamvis illud, aut omnibus, aut multis sit commune, sibi tamen proprie praestitum agnoscat, et pro eo, tamquam sibi soli impensum esset, Deo gratias agat. Quo affectu dictum est a Paulo Gal. 2.: Qui dilexit me, et tradidit semet ipsum pro me. Nam et revera sic curat unamc[nem<][ue nostrum Deus, tamquam solum curet, et sic omnes, tamquam singulos; ut scribit Augustinus lib. 3. confess. cap. 2. Alii, propter vos, inquiunt, id est propter electos, penes quos, ut ait Prosper ad primam respondens objectionem Vincent., redemptionis est proprietas. Verum nec hi, nec illi docent, cur diclum sit: manifestati propter vos; id enim erat explicandum; sed ita commentantur, ac si dixisset Petrus: traditi in mortem propter vos. Igitur meminisse rursus oportet, haec ad Judaeos scribi, quibus factae fuerant promissiones de Christo; quemadmodum docet Paulus Rom. 15. Unde et ipse Christus profitetur, dicens: I^^on sum missus, nisi ad oves, quae perierunt domus Israel. Et Paulus ad Judaeos, Act. 13.: Vobis opor^ tebat primum loqui verbum Dei. Venit ergo principaliter ad Judaeos Christus, et propter eos in dispersione positos mundo fuit manifestatus; scilicet ut credentes in eum salvi fierent. Hoc igitur eet, quod ait: propter vos. Nam quod addidit: novissimis temporibus, signifi cat, eis phis praestitum, quam patribus eorum, quibus Christi redemptoris mysterium adhuc obscurum erat, imo plerisque incognitum. Porro quod dicit: Qui per ipsum fide' les estis, indicat manifestationem Christi non omnibus eis prodesse, sed solum credentibus in Deum, auctorem tanti beneficii. Addit autem: per ipsum, id est Christum, ut sciamus, et ipsam fidem, qua in Deum credimus ut auctorem salutis nostrae, quae in Christo est, non nisi per Christi merita haberi posse. Quod notandum ccntra quosdam imperitos catholicos, id revocantes in dubium; quos bene refellit in hujus loci commentario Joannes Hesselius.
Qui suscitavit eum a mortuis, et de~ dit ei gloriam. Initium glorificationis Christi fuit in ejus resurrectione; progressuB et augmentum in adsccnsione ejus in coelum et missione Spiritus sancti; deinde in Evangelii per orbem praedicatione. Per haec enim mundo manifestatum est, Christum esse Dei Filium ac verum Deum, ipsumque, ut hurainera, exaltatum esse super oranera creaturam usque ad dexteram Dei. De hac sua gloria sic ait, Joan. 5.: Ut omnes honorificent Filiujn, sicut honorificant Patrem, et cap. 12.: Venit hora, ut clarificetur Fi' hus hominis. Pro qua rursus orat Patrem, cap. 17.: Clarifica me clarifate, quam habui, priusquam mundus esset.
Vt fides vestra et spes esset in Deo. Graece et Sjriace: in Deum. Quem ca- 6um nonnulla etiam exhibent LatinaMSS. Erasmus ita vertit: Ut vos fidem ac spem haberetis erga Deum. Ratio est ejus, quod proxime praecedit. Quae quidem exponi potest duobus modis. Unus sen- 6US est: Deus Pater gloriam divinitatis dedit Christo, id est, mundo declaravit, Christum esse Filium suum, verumque Deum; ut, dum creditis et speratis in Christum, non sit ea fides et spes vestra in puro homine, sed in Deo. Nam nisi Christus esset vere Deus, maledicti essent, juxta prophetam Jeremiam, cap. 17., quotquot in eo confidunt et sperant. Alter sensus: Deus idcirco Christum a morte suscitavit et ad gloriam provexit, ut vos, in ipsum velut exemplar resurrectionis ac gloriae aspicientes, crederetis Dei promissis, atque ab eo speraretis, vos etiam, ut illius capitis membra, beatae resurrectionis et gloriae participationem adepturos. Hic sensus, meo judicio, potior est. Nam ex resurrectione et gloria Christi potissimum Apostoli suam de Christo Salvdtore praedicationem confirmabant. Unde ait B. Petrus in prima sua concione Act. 2.: Hunc Jesum resuscitavit Deus, cujus omnes nos testes sumus, ad hoc scilicet, ut in eum credatis. Et idem Apostolus cap. 5.: Hunc principem et Salvatorem Deus exaltavit dextera sua, ad dandam poenitentiam Israeli, et remissionem peccatorum. Propter hoc ergo virtute magna reddebant Apostoli testi" monium resurrectionis Jesu Christi, Act. 4. Quo pertinet et illud Joan. 7.: Nondum erat Spiritus datus, quia Je~ sus nondum erat glorificatus. Deinde consonat hic sensus cum eo, quod superius dixit: Deum regenerasse 7ios in spem vivam per resurrectionem Jesu Christi ex mortuis.
1:22
22. Animas vestras castificantes in obedientia caritatis. Graece et Syriace: in obedientia veritatis, quemadmodum et Hieronymus legit lib. 1. contra Jovin. Addunt Graeci: dioi Tivsu^aTog, per spiritum. Quod nec Syri codices habent, nec Latini, nec additur ab Hieronymo. Notandum etiam, pro castificantes in Graeco esse participium praeteriti temporis i^yvtxoTSQ, id est qui purificastis, vel cum purificaveritis. Unde vertit quidam: Animabus vestris purificatis. Itidem ex Syro vertit Latinus interpres: Quum sanctificaveritis animas vestras. Jam ut textus fiat clarior, observandum est, B. Petrum hic redire ad exhortationem nuper inchoatam, ut ab eo loco: Bcientes, quod non corruptibilibus, usque ad hanc partem sit parenthesis quaedam verborum, quibus ad explicandum et commendandum redemptionis nostrae beneficium paululum digressus est. Itaque potest haec pars attexi illis verbis superioribus: In timore incolatus vestri tempore conversamini, purificatis animis etc. Potest etiam initium esse novae pericopes, cujus verbum sit: diligitef quod statim sequitur. Sensus est: Quum per fidem, qua obeditis et acquiescitis veritati, purificaveritis animas vestras, utique secundum hoc, quod idem Apostolus dicit Act. 15.: Fide purificans corda eorum; nisi quod hic activam illam purificationem attribuit hominibus, illic Deo. Qua in re nulla est repugnantia; sed cooperatio significatur humanae voluntatis cura Deo ct sub Deo. Non enim credere quisquam posset, aut aniraara suam credendo purificare, nisi Deo ad haec agenda efficaciter eum movente, quod vult additio Graecorum codicum: per Spiritum, videlicet sanctum, qui Deus est Porro dicitur quis animam suam castificare seu purificare per fidem, dum credens in Ohristum, et secundum ejus legem vivere paratus, impetrat a Deo peccatorum suorum purgationem, veramque justitiam, vel ejus augmentum. Nam et justificati quotidiana adhuc indigent per fidem purificatione. Quis enim est in hac vita sic mundus, ut non sit magis magisque mundandus? ait Augustinus tract. 80. iu Joan. Eandem hanc fidem statim post commendat sub nomine Verbi Dei. Sunt autem Scripturae similes: Jam vos mundi estis propter sermonem, quem locutus sum vobis, Joan. 15. Mundans eam lavacro aquae in verbo, Eph. 5.
In fraternitatis amore simpUci, ex corde invicem diligite attentius. Graeca sic habent: In fratrum amorem non simulatum, ex puro corde alius alium diligite impense sive continue, non interrupte. Quod Graece est: sxTSvdic;. His respondet Syriaca paraphrasis. Noster in terpres pro: non simulato, vertit: simplici. Nam Graece est dvu7:6xpiTOV, quod alias aliter reddit, ut Rom. 12.: dilectio sine simulatione, 1 Tim. 1.: ex fide non ficta. Liquet igitur, epithetum simplici cum amore jungendum esse, non cum corde, cujus adjectivum est puro, quod interpres omisit, forte ratus, id satis intelligi in dictione simplici. Nam quae simplicia, pura sunt. Pro fraternitatis amore, Graece est (ptXaSsX^ia, qua voce, ex amore et fratre composita, significare solent Apostoli mutuum Christianorum inter ipsos amorem. Nam legitur etiam Rom. 12., 1 Thess. 4. et Heb. 13. Petrus autem in utraque Epistola identidem inculcat. Addit autem: simplici, non simulato, ut significet eam dilectionem, de qua Joannes 1 Epist. 3.: Non diligamus verbo, neque lingua, sed cpere et veritate. Rursus cum dicit: ex puro corde, excludit amorem impurum et carnalem, ac simul omnem eura, quo proximus noster non propter Deum diligitur. Caeterum quia Graece non est: ev cpt- AaSsXcpta, in amore fraterno, sed etc: cptXaSsXcptav, in vel ad amorem frater^ numy videtur hic sensus esse: Diligite vos invicem ex puro corde in fraternam societatem, ac si diceret: In unum corpus (aut collegium) fraternae caritatis. Id enim intelligi potest nomine ^iXaSscptac. Et haec interpretatio parum differt ab Oecumenii commentario, qui praepositionem etc pro dia positam putat, quasi dixisset: propter caritatem fraternam. Porro summa totius exhortationis est: Sicut purificati estis fide, sic etiam puram deinceps exhibete caritatem in vestra conversatione, ut actione respondeant generationi, tamquam vita secunda vitae primae, de qua sequitur:
1:23
23. Renati non ex semine corruptibili, sed incorruptibili. Quoniam fraternitatis meminerat, ostendit, ex qua nativitate nos fratres dixerit, scilicet ex secunda, non autem ex prima. Nam prima quidem nostra nativitas est ex semine corruptibili, cui etiam foeditas et immundities attribuitur, ut Num. 15. et Job 14. Secunda nativitas, quam Paulus ad Tit. 3. TtaXiyysvEaiav, id est regenerationem vocat, ex semine est incorruptibili. Hoc autem semen ipse Petrus interpretatur, e^Tjyr^Tixoig ita subjungens:
Per verbum Dei vivi et permanentis in aeternum. Graece: per verbum vi' ventis Dei et manentis in aeternum, Quod etiam sic verti posset: Per verbum vivens Dei et manens in aeternum. Nam manere in aeternum post paululum ipsi verbo tribuitur. Sed tamen haec Graecae orationis structura coactior est. Docet Apostolus, semen incorruptibiley ex quo renati s^umus, esse verbum Dei. Quid autem per Dei verbum Petrus intelligat, ipse rursum paulo post exponet; hic vero congrua, pro loci circumstantia, Deo epitheta adscribit: viventis et manentis in aeternum. Nam de verbo Dei agit, in aeternum mansuro, ut mox dicetur. Similis huic locus est Joan. 1.: Qui non ex sanguinibuSf neque ex voluntate carnis y neque ex voluntate viri, sed ex Deo nati sunt.
1:24
24. Quia omnis caro ut foenum, et Qmnis gloria ejus tamquam flos foeni; exaruit foenumj et flos ejus decidit. Verba sumpta sunt ex Jes. 40. juxta versionem LXX. Quae quidem ab Hebraeo non distant, nisi quod pro: flore foeni seu graminiSy Graece: '/oozoij, in Hebraeo est: flos agri. Quod in sensu nihil mutat. Adducitur autem Prophelae locus ad declarationem utriusque seminis, corruptibilis et incorruptibilis. Nam verba jam recitata docent, hominem carnaliter natum (qui proinde carnis nomine significatur), quamvis ad tempus floreat, caducum et mortalem esse, instar herbae crescentis in agro, quae pulchritudinem suam cito amittit. Quod si homo corruptibilis est et mortalis, igitur et semen ejus corruptibile est, et consequenter id, quod ex eo nas^itur, esse corruptibile et mortale, nobis intelligendum reliquit Apostolus.
1:25
25. Verbum autem Domini manet in aeternum. Probat ejusdem Prophetae verbis alterum membrum; nempe semen, ex quo renati sumus, esse incorruptibile. Nam semen illud est verbum Dei, quod Jesaias testatur in aeternum manere. Et sane, si Deus vivit et manet in aeternum, ut jam dixit, consequens est, ut et verbum ejus semper maneat. Notandum, esse quidem in Graeco diversa vocabula, Xoyov xal p^.ua^ quorum illud superius, istud hoc loco positum est; et quosdam interpretes, ut ea distinguant, illic sermonem interpreUri, hic verbumj sed hoc non esse necessarium. Constat enim, B. Petrum haec duo pro eodem usurpare. Sed quaeres: Quod est hoc verbum? Sequitur:
Hoc est autem verbum, quod evangelizatum est in vos. Male quidam codices: in vobis. Nam Graece est: £ic u/jtaCj id est in voSj vel ad vos. Et sensus est, quem expressit Erasmiana versio: Hoc autem est verbum, quod per Evangelium delatum est ad vos. Cajetanus et alii nonnulli verbum hoc evangelizatum interpretantur ipsum Jesum Christum, Deum et hominem, qui est Verbum Dei Patris, manens cum eo in aeternum; quem etiam esse dicunt semen incorruptibile, ex quo renati sumus. At rectius alii verbum intelligunt Evrangelicae praedicationis, de quo et Paulus ad Rom. 10.: Hoc est verbum fidei, quod praedicamus. Nam et Christus, quando dixit: Semen est verbum Dei, non se ipsum dicere voluit, sed verbum Evangelii. Quod vocatur verbum Dei, quia Deus illud nobis loquitur per suos Apostolos, tamquam praecones. Docet igitur Petrus, hominem renasci, velut ex semine, verbo praedicationis Evangelicae, quod idem est verbum fidei, quatenus fide suscipitur. Quare nun aliud hujusmodi sententiis significatur, quam renasci, mundari, justificari, salvari hominem per fidem, qua credit Evangelio sibi annuntiato. Sic Paulus Ephes. 5. de Ecclesia: Mundans eam lavacro aquae in verbo. Et Jacobus cap. 1.: Voluntarie genuit nos verbo veritatis. Explicat hunc sensum Paulus ad Romanos dicto cap. 10. Ubi cum dixisset: Hoc est verbum fidei, quod praedicamus, subjecit: Quia, si confitearis in ore tuo Dominum Jesum, et in corde tuo credideris, quod Deus illum suscitavit a mortuis, salvus eris. Eundem sensum declarat Augustinus tract. 80. in Joan. Manet autem hoc verbum in aeternum, quia Evangelium, id est, praedicatio Christi pro nostra salute crucifixi, et a morte resuscitati, fide percepta, ex certa, firma et immutabili Dei promissione efficax est, ut credentibus tribuat aeternitatem, id est vitam aeternam. Hoc igitur est, quod ex dictis colligendum B. Petrus relinquit, eos, qui renati sunt ex semine incorruptibili, id est ex verbo Dei, incorruptibiles et immortales futuros. Ita Joannes 1 Epist. 2.: Qui facit voluntatem Dei, manet in aeternum.
1:1
In the New Testament A. (Acts 2:9; 4:9; 16:6; 19:10, 22, 26; 20:4, 16, 18; 21:27; 24:19; 27:2; Rom. 16:5; I Cor. 16:9; II Cor. 1:8; II Tim. 1:15; I Pt. 1:1; Apoc. 1-3) denotes the Roman province of A. (constituted in 129 B.C.), which occupied part of Asia Minor. …
… It is mentioned in 1 Pt. 1:1, among the recipients of the epistle: which leads one to suppose that it was evangelized by the apostle Peter himself. …
… B]; Ps. 146:2; Jud. 5:19 [Vulg. 23]; II Macc. 1:27; John 7:35; James 1:1; I Pet. 1:1), and except for the last text cited, which seems to allude to the whole body of Christians (the "new Israel") dispersed among the pagan nations, it indicates, as in the usage of Hellenistic …
… For from him and through him and to him are all things, to him be glory forever, amen" (Rom. 11:33, cf. I Thess. 5:9; II Thess. 2:13; I Pt. 1:1-2).
Following the example of Abraham (Gen. 21:23; 23:4), of Moses (Ex. 2:22; Acts 7:29), of Israel drawn by God away from the pagan world (Wis. 18:3; Hab. 3:16: παρενία is a synonym of x.), every Christian is and must feel himself a "stranger" (ξένος) and a "foreigner" (παρενός): 1 Pt. 1:1; 2:11; Heb. 11:13; 13:14); his homeland is the city of God and of the saints (Eph. 2:19; Phil. 3:20). Many ascetics of antiquity practiced voluntary x., wandering ceaselessly. …
1:3
… St. Paul (1 Cor. 1:9; Phil. 3:10); with the meaning of communion, divine participation, which is linked to the idea of adoptive filiation (v. ADOPTION, SUPERNATURAL) by virtue of a regeneration of man reborn from God; an idea not unknown to St. Peter (1 Pt. 1:3 and 23), frequent in the other two Apostles (Jn. 1:12-13; 1 Jn. 3:1; Rom. 8:14-15; Gal. 4:4 ff.; Eph. 1:5 ff.). …
… 42-51; 25, 13; Mk. 13, 33; Lk. 12, 35-40), since after the "night" no one can work any longer (cf. Jn. 9, 4). The same thought and the same exhortations are found in the Apostles (cf. Gal. 6, 9-10; I Cor. 9, 24 ff.; II Cor. 5, 1-10; I Thess. 5, 2-3; I Pt. 1, 3-8; II Pt. 3, 10; Jas. 4, 13-15; Apoc. 11, 10-11; 16, 15). Especially St. Paul teaches clearly (I Cor. 15, 24-28) that with the judgment the economy of salvation is closed for all, without …
1:4
… This life of Grace is a participation in the divine nature: "We are made partakers of the divine nature" (1 Pt. 1:4); "He has given us the power to become children of God" (Jn. 1:12). Divine sonship, fellowship in the divine nature, are gifts that surpass every human concept or desire and every …
1:5
Luke 1:32 f.). This is the conception of the entire New Testament: the messianic time is called: καιρός ἔσχατος (1 Pet. 1:5, 20; Jude 18; 1 Tim. 4:1; 1 John 2:18); πλήρωμα τοῦ χρόνου (Gal. 4:4); τῶν καιρῶν (Eph. 1:10); τὰ τέλη τῶν αἰώνων (1 Cor. 10:11); συντέλεια τῶν αἰώνων (Heb. 9:26; cf. F. Spadafora, Ezechiele, …
1:7
… 3 times in 1 Pt.; ἀποκάλυψις: 26 times in the New Testament) means "revelation" of a hidden reality (mystery) and often has an eschatological sense; here it means: "manifestation of Jesus Christ as sovereign and judge" (cf. 1 Cor. 1:7; 2 Thess. 1:7; 1 Pt. 1:7-13; the verb has the same sense: Lk. 17:30).
… Equivalent to it are the terms: "day [of the Lord or Christ]" (17 times in St. Paul: Acts 2:20; I Pt. 3:10, 12; Apoc. 16:14), "manifestation" (ἐπιφάνεια: 5 times in the pastoral epistles), "revelation" (ἀποκάλυψις: I Cor. 1:7; II Thess. 1:7; I Pt. 1:7, 13; 4:13). It is also called "visitation" (ἐπισκοπή: Lk. 19:44; cf. 1:68, 78; 7:16; I Pt. 2:12 [cf. 5:6]) according to the prophetic expression (pēquddāh: Is. 10:3; Hos. 9:7; …
… Dei, I, 8). St. Francis de Sales affirmed that "Our Lord often does us a greater good through toils and afflictions than through happiness and consolations" (Letter 814). Indeed through the trial of suffering virtue is affirmed and refined (1 Pt. 1:7), which acquires firmness like the clay vessel in the fire (St. Augustine, in Ps., 75, v. 16). Therefore already St. Paul congratulated the Philippians that God had granted them the …
1:10
Both give the number of those saved with Noah (1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 2:5), speak of the flood as a type (1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 2:5), bring the prophets close to the announcers of the Gospel (1 Pet. 1:12; 2 Pet. 1:16, 21; 3:2), and consider Christianity as the fulfillment of ancient prophecies (1 Pet. 1:10-12; 2 Pet. 1:19-21). Many verbal concordances between the two epistles are pointed out by the Anglican J. B. Mayor himself (v. bibl.), p. LIX. On this subject see also U. Holzmeister, …
1:12
Both give the number of those saved with Noah (1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 2:5), speak of the flood as a type (1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 2:5), bring the prophets close to the announcers of the Gospel (1 Pet. 1:12; 2 Pet. 1:16, 21; 3:2), and consider Christianity as the fulfillment of ancient prophecies (1 Pet. 1:10-12; 2 Pet. 1:19-21). Many verbal concordances between the two epistles are pointed …
1:15
All the faithful are called to holiness, at least in a general way. This truth is established by Sacred Scripture (Mt. 5:48; Lk. 14:25; Phil. 4:8; I Cor. 7:29-31; Eph. 1:4; II Tim. 3:10; I Pt. 1:15; I Io. 2:15; Apoc. 22:11), by the holy Fathers (St. Augustine, Sermo 96, 7; PL. 38, 588; St. Basil, Sermo de renunciatione saeculi; PG 31, 628), by constant tradition (cf. Pius XI: …
1:18
St. Peter also gathers the soteriological doctrine in these incisive expressions (I Pt. 1:18): "Knowing that you were redeemed not with corruptible gold or silver... but with the precious blood of Christ, an unblemished and undefiled lamb."
1:19
… The lamb had to be, moreover, for the holocaust, tāmīm "perfect" or without blemish (Septuagint ἀμωμος, Vulg. immaculatus): Lev. 1, 3; 3, 6; Num. 28-29: 15 times; cf. Lev. 4, 3-32; 5, 15. 18). This appellation tāmīm ("immaculate": cf. 1 Pt. 1, 19) is also found at Ugarit (mtum tm; Syria 10 [1929], pl. 61, no. 1).
… two expressions, even taken separately (for the traditio corporis cf. Is. 53:12; Mt. 20:28; Rom. 8:32; Gal. 1:4; 2:20; Eph. 5:25; I Tim. 2:6; Tit. 2:14; Hebr. 10:10; for the effusio sanguinis cf. Rom. 3:25; 5:9; Eph. 1:7; I Cor. 14:20; Hebr. 9:7; I Pt. 1:19; I Io. 1:7) always indicate a sacrificial immolation. …
1:23
Other elements recur in I Pt. 1:23: "You were regenerated, not from corruptible seed, but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides." The word (L.) of God that regenerates, of which St. Peter speaks, …
1:24
… Aridity, compared to the absence of rain, is therefore a superficial phenomenon in the spiritual life: it chiefly affects beginners, still "carnal," that is, susceptible to being moved by sensible impressions, whom Scripture compares to grass (1 Pt. 1:24). Advanced souls, "spiritual," rooted in depth, no longer depend on the sensible and drink of a devotion that comes from within, through a secret, permanent, inexhaustible infusion. …
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Rheims 1582), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.