The sincerity of his preaching. His comfort in his afflictions.
That according as so glorious a ministerie requireth, he liueth and preacheth sincerely. 〈◊〉 the vvhich glorie his Aduersaries can not count vaine, considering his persecutions, because persecution is to Gods glorie, and to our humilitie and hope, and meritorious of increase of grace in this life, and of most glorious bodies and soules aftervvard.
1Therefore seeing we have this ministration, according as we have obtained mercy, we faint not.Per la qual cosa avendo noi tal ministero in virtù della misericordia da noi conseguita, non ci perdiamo di cuore:THERFORE hauing this ministration: according as vve haue obteined mercie, vve faile not,Ideo habentes administrationem, juxta quod misericordiam consecuti sumus, non deficimus, 2But we renounce the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness nor adulterating the word of God: but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience, in the sight of God.Ma rinunziamo ai nascondigli della turpitudine, non camminando con astuzia, né corrompendo la parola di Dio, ma commendevoli rendendoci presso là coscienza di tutti gli uomini dinanzi a Dio mediante la manifestazione della verità.but vve renounce the secrete things of dishonestie, not walking in crastines, nor adulterating the vvord of God, but in manifestation of the truth commending our selues to euery conscience of men before God.sed abdicamus occulta dedecoris, non ambulantes in astutia, neque adulterantes verbum Dei, sed in manifestatione veritatis commendantes nosmetipsos ad omnem conscientiam hominum coram Deo. 3And if our gospel be also hid, it is hid to them that are lost,Che se è velato anche il nostro vangelo; per que', che periscono, egli è velato:And if our Gospel be also hidde, in them that perish it is hidde,Quod si etiam opertum est Evangelium nostrum, in iis, qui pereunt, est opertum: 4In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of unbelievers, that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not shine unto them.De' quali infedeli il Dio di questo secolo ha accecate le menti, onde non rifulga per essi la luce del vangelo della gloria di Cristo, il quale è immagine di Dio.in vvhom the God of this vvorld hath blinded the mindes of the infidels, that the illumination of the Gospel of the glorie of Christ vvho is the image of God, might not shine to them.in quibus Deus hujus sæculi excæcavit mentes infidelium, ut non fulgeat illis illuminatio Evangelii gloriæ Christi, qui est imago Dei. 5For we preach not ourselves, but Jesus Christ our Lord: and ourselves your servants through Jesus.Imperocché noi non predichiamo noi stessi, ma Gesù Cristo Signor nostro; noi poi servi vostri per Gesù:For vve preache nor our selues, but IESVS Christ our Lord: and vs, your seruants by IESVS,Non enim nosmetipsos prædicamus, sed Jesum Christum Dominum nostrum: nos autem servos vestros per Jesum: 6For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Christ Jesus.Conciossiachè Dio, il quale disse che dalle tenebre splendesse la luce, egli stesso rifulse ne' nostri cuori, perché chiara si rendesse la cognizione della gloria di Dio nella faccia di Gesù Cristo.because God that commaunded light to shine of darkenes, he hath shined in our hartes to the illumination of the knovvledge of the glorie of God, in the face of Christ IESVS.quoniam Deus, qui dixit de tenebris lucem splendescere, ipse illuxit in cordibus nostris ad illuminationem scientiæ claritatis Dei, in facie Christi Jesu.
7But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency may be of the power of God and not of us.Ma questo tesoro lo abbiamo in vasi di creta: onde la superiorità della virtù sia di Dio, e non da noi.But vve haue this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellencie may be of the povver of God, and not of vs.Habemus autem thesaurum istum in vasis fictilibus: ut sublimitas sit virtutis Dei, et non ex nobis. 8In all things we suffer tribulation: but are not distressed. We are straitened: but are not destitute.Per ogni verso siam tribolati, ma non avviliti d'animo: siamo angustiati, ma non siamo disperati:In al things vve suffer tribulation, but are not in distresse: vve vvant, but are not destitute:In omnibus tribulationem patimur, sed non angustiamur: aporiamur, sed non destituimur: 9We suffer persecution: but are not forsaken. We are cast down: but we perish not.Siamo perseguitati, ma non siamo abbandonati: siamo abbattuti, ma non estinti:vve suffer persecution, but are not forsaken: vve are cast dovvne, but vve perish not:persecutionem patimur, sed non derelinquimur: dejicimur, sed non perimus: 10Always bearing about in our body the mortification of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in our bodies.Portando noi sempre per ogni dove la mortificazione di Gesù Cristo nel corpo nostro, affinchè la vita ancor di Gesù si manifesti ne' corpi nostri.alvvaies bearing about in our body the mortification of IESVS, that the life also of IESVS may be manifested in our bodies.semper mortificationem Jesu in corpore nostro circumferentes, ut et vita Jesu manifestetur in corporibus nostris. 11For we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake: that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in our mortal flesh.Imperocché continuamente noi, che viviamo, siam messi a morte per amor di Gesù: affinchè la vita ancor di Gesù si manifesti nella carne nostra mortale.For vve that liue, are alvvaies deliuered vnto death for IESVS: that the life also of IESVS may be manifested in our mortal flesh.Semper enim nos, qui vivimus, in mortem tradimur propter Jesum: ut et vita Jesu manifestetur in carne nostra mortali. 12So then death worketh in us: but life in you.Trionfa adunque in noi la morte, e in voi la vita.Death then vvorketh in vs, but life in you.Ergo mors in nobis operatur, vita autem in vobis. 13But having the same spirit of faith, as it is written: I believed, for which cause I have spoken; we also believe. For which cause we speak also:Ma avendo lo stesso spirito di fede, conforme sta scritto: credetti, per questo parlai: noi pur crediamo, e per questo anche parliamo:And hauing the same spirit of faith, as it is vvritten, I beleeued, for the vvhich cause I haue spoken, vve also beleeue, for the vvhich cause vve speake also:Habentes autem eumdem spiritum fidei, sicut scriptum est: Credidi, propter quod locutus sum: et nos credimus, propter quod et loquimur:
14Knowing that he who raised up Jesus will raise us up also with Jesus and place us with you.Sapendo noi, come colui, che risuscitò Gesù, noi pure risusciterà con Gesù, e ci darà luogo tra voi.knovving that he vvhich raised vp IESVS, vvil raise vp vs also vvith IESVS and set vs vvith you.scientes quoniam qui suscitavit Jesum, et nos cum Jesu suscitabit, et constituet vobiscum. 15For all things are for your sakes: that the grace, abounding through many, may abound in thanksgiving unto the glory of God.Imperocché tutte le cose sono per voi: affinchè l'abbondante grazia ridondi abbondantemente in gloria di Dio pe' ringraziamenti di molti.For al things are for you: that the grace abounding by many in giuing of thankes, may abound vnto the glorie of God.Omnia enim propter vos: ut gratia abundans, per multos in gratiarum actione, abundet in gloriam Dei. 16For which cause we faint not: but though our outward man is corrupted, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.Per la qual cosa non perdiamo coraggio: ma quantunque quel nostro uomo, che è al di fuori, si corrompa: quello però, che è al di dentro, di giorno in giorno si rinnovella.For vvhich cause vve faile not: but although that our man vvhich is vvithout, corrupte: yet that vvhich is vvithin, is renevved from day to day.Propter quod non deficimus: sed licet is, qui foris est, noster homo corrumpatur, tamen is, qui intus est, renovatur de die in diem. 17For that which is at present momentary and light of our tribulation worketh for us above measure, exceedingly an eternal weight of glory.Imperocché quella, che è di presente momentanea, e leggera tribolazione nostra, un eterno sopra ogni misura smisurato peso di gloria opera in noi.For that our tribulation vvhich presently is momentanie & light, vvorketh aboue measure excedingly an eternal vveight of glorie in vs,Id enim, quod in præsenti est momentaneum et leve tribulationis nostræ, supra modum in sublimitate æternum gloriæ pondus operatur in nobis, 18While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal: but the things which are not seen, are eternal.Non mirando noi a quel, che si vede, ma a quello, che non si vede. Imperocché le cose, che si veggono, sono temporali: quelle poi, che non si veggono, sono eterne.we not cōsidering the things that are seen, but that are not seen. For the things that be seen, are temporal: but those that be not seen, are eternal.non contemplantibus nobis quæ videntur, sed quæ non videntur. Quæ enim videntur, temporalia sunt: quæ autem non videntur, æterna sunt.
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Calmet
The apostle, having in the last chapter shewn the excellence of his ministry above that of the law, proceeds to inform them of his own labours, etc. in order to destroy the credit which the false teachers had acquired amongst the Corinthians, and to caution them against any attempts that these teachers might make to destroy what had caused St. Paul so much trouble to effect. But he still refers all to God. As for these false teachers, what Churches had they founded? what persecutions have they endured? (Calmet)
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Theodoret
The apostle here brings another proof of the sincerity of his preaching, viz. the success with which it is attended: And he says, if there be any who have not yet received it, that is their own fault. For had they been as eager to receive it, as we have been to announce it to them, the whole world had[would have?] long since been converted. (Theodoret)
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Witham
In whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of unbelievers.[Ver. 4. In quibus Deus hujus saeculi excaecavit mentes infidelium, en ois o Theos tou aionos toutou etuphlose ta noemata ton apiston. St. Chrysostom, om. e. p. 594. lin. 11. says, it should be read thus: anagnosteon, oti ton apiston tou aionos toutou, etuphlosen o theos [] oemata.] Thus the words are placed, both in the Latin and Greek text, so that the true God seems to be called the God of this world, as he is elsewhere called the God of heaven, the God of Abraham. God, says St. Chrysostom, blinded, that is, permitted them to be blinded. Others translate, in whom God hat blinded the minds of the infidels of this world; so that this world may be joined with unbelievers, and not with God: and by the God of this world, some understand the devil, called sometimes the prince of this world, that is, of the wicked. (Witham)
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The light to shine out of darkness. He alludes to what is related at the first creation, when God divided the light from darkness. (Genesis 1:4.)
Witham
In the face of Christ Jesus, which may signify in the person of Christ, who was the true light enlightening every man, that comes into this world. (John 1:9.) (Witham)
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Witham
We are straitened.[Ver. 8. Aporiamur, aporoumenoi, from a and poros, transitus. See Mr. Legh.] This, by the Greek, seems the sense of the Latin word, which is taken to signify, one perplexed, and in a doubt. See John 13:22.; Acts 25:20.; Galatians 4:20. (Witham)
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Witham
That the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in our bodies, when we suffer, and undertake voluntary sufferings for his sake. (Witham)
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Witham
Death worketh in us, when we are under persecutions, and dangers of death, and life in you, who live in ease and plenty. (Witham)
Calmet
The preaching of the gospel, which we undertake in such a disinterested manner, and which exposes us to so many dangers, is the cause of death to us, but of life to you. It draws down upon us a thousand dangers and disgraces; but procures you all kinds of advantages. You tranquilly enjoy the fruit of our labour, though we do not envy you this happiness, because we hope one day to enjoy the reward of our labours. (Calmet)
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Witham
etc. For all things, that we suffer, are for your sakes, that many may be brought to give thanks, and to praise God for eternity. This encourages us not to fail, nor faint in the cause of God, under these momentary and light tribulations, which mark in us above measure, an exceeding and eternal weight of glory. See the Greek text. (Witham)
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St. Augustine
Worketh. In the Greek, katergazetai, which the English Bible of the year 1577 falsely renders by prepareth, unwilling to allow, with the apostle, that tribulation worketh eternal glory. The ardour with which the apostle speaks is sufficient to inspire the most timid with courage. A life full of crosses, labours, persecutions, injuries, etc. he calls momentary and light, if compared with the eternal, immense, and incomprehensible glory prepared for us. (St. Augustine)
St. Gregory in Evangel
All earthly substance, compared with the happiness of heaven, is rather a loss than a gain. This life, when put in comparison with that to come, is rather a death than life. (St. Gregory in Evangel.)
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•. Adulterating.] Heretikes corrupters of Gods word: Catholike Doctors, right handlers therof. He giueth often vvarning of false teachers, See Ir••. li. 1. c. 1. whose special and proper studie is to falsifie and adulterate by deceitful constructions, interpretations, and applications, the word of God: hauing no other end but to make their aduantage of the Scriptures, and to gaine glorie and estimation among the sinful and simple, by new deuised expositions. Vvherein the Protestants do excel the auncient Heretikes, none euer more impu•ely handeling the vvord of God then they do. in 2 ad Rom. Origen calleth such Scripturarum fures & adulteros, theeues and adulterers of the Scriptures. S. Cyprian (de vnit. Ec. nu. 7.) calleth them, corrupters of the Gospel, false interpreters, artificers and craftesmasters in corrupting the truth. On the other side, for special reuerence and sinceritie of dealing in those matters, the fathers and al Catholike preachers or Expositors vvere of old called according to S. Paules vvordes to Timothee, •. Tim. 2. Rectè tractantes verbum Dei, right handlers of the vvord of God.
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In the liturgy The Epistle for S. Athanasius. Mai. Io.
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aporiamur. See S. Ambr. Theoph.
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Concordance Ps. 115, 10.
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corrumpitur.
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17. Worketh.] Tribulations meritorious of glorie. The temporal and short tribulations vvhich vve patiently and willingly suffer for Christ, do winne vs euerlasting ioy and glorie. And it is here to be noted against the Heretikes, that tribulations do vvorke or cause the said saluation, which they deny to be giuen for such thinges, Aug. in ps. 93. prope finem. but for or by faith onely. S. Augustine maketh such tribulations for Christ so much the meritorious cause of euerlasting life and rest, that he saith it is salable and bought thereby. And it is written. Sap. 10, God rendreth or repaieth to iust men the hire of their labours.
The English Bible 1577, doth falsely translate, prepareth.
〈Greek〉
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Tertullian † AD 220 On Modesty 15
… Compare, in short, (and see) whether it be his province to say, “Wherefore, having this ministration, in accordance with (the fact) that we have obtained mercy, we faint not; but renounce the secret things of disgrace,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Spirit and the Letter 31
… “Seeing then that we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, let us faint not; but let us renounce the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor adulterating the word of God with deceit.”
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St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 On Virginity 12
… it is the first station as it were for our departure to Christ. Next, we must retire from all anxious toil upon the land, such as man was bound to after his sin. Next we must divest ourselves of those coverings of our nakedness, the coats of skins, namely the wisdom of the flesh; we must renounce all shameful things done in secret
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Second Corinthians 8
Ver. 2 . “But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Second Corinthians 23
“Nay, in every thing we have made it manifest among all men to youward.” For here again he accuses the false Apostles as “walking in craftiness.” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 4.2
… For give ear to “Paul, the servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an Apostle, separated unto the Gospel of God,” both doing and teaching both duties. See how his “light shineth before men, that they may see his good works. We commend ourselves,” saith he, “to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.”
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St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 6.28
… Then Manes answers him: “And what sort of God causes blindness? For it is Paul who saith, In whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not, lest the light of the Gospel should shine unto them .” But Archelaus made a good retort, saying, “Read a little before: But if our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled in them that are perishing
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on First Corinthians 7
… Unbelievers albeit they hear, seem not to hear: but the faithful, having the skill which is by the Spirit, behold the meaning of the things stored therein. For instance, it is this very thing that Paul signified, when he said that even now the word preached is hidden: for “unto them that perish,” he saith, “it is hidden.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Second Corinthians 8
Ver. 3, 4 . “But if our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled in them that are lost; in whom the God of this world hath blinded the eyes of the unbelieving.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Harmony of the Gospels 3.13
… The word of an apostle is to this effect: “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost.”
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St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 3.7
1. As to their affirming that Paul said plainly in the Second [Epistle] to the Corinthians, “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not,”
St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 4.29
… In accordance with this word, therefore, does the apostle say, in the Second [Epistle] to the Corinthians: “In whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ should shine [unto them].”
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.11
… We are quite aware that some passages are open to ambiguity, from the way in which they are read, or else from their punctuation, when there is room for these two causes of ambiguity. The latter method has been adopted by Marcion, by reading the passage which follows, “in whom the God of this world,”
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.17
… even as the prophet makes him say: “I will set my throne above the stars ;… I will go up above the clouds; I will be like the Most High.” This must mean the devil, whom in another passage (since such will they there have the apostle’s meaning to be) we shall recognize in the appellation the god of this world .
Origen † AD 254 Origen De Principiis iv.section24
37. If any one, indeed, venture to ascribe essential corruption to Him who was made after the image and likeness of God, then, in my opinion, this impious charge extends even to the Son of God Himself, for He is called in Scripture the image of God.
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on Matthew 11.14
… Now, to this we will say, that as many as on account of their perverse interpretation of the things in the law were not a plant of His Father in heaven, were blinded in their minds, as not believing the truth, but taking pleasure in unrighteousness, by him who is deified by the sons of this world, and on this account is called by Paul the god of this world.
Archelaus † fl. AD 278 A Fragment of the Same Disputation 2
2. Then Manes made the following reply to him: And what manner of God now is it that blinds one? For it is Paul who uses these words: “In whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the Gospel should shine in them.”
St Basil the Great † AD 379 De Spiritu Sancto 7
… But we do not rest only on the fact that such is the tradition of the Fathers; for they too followed the sense of Scripture, and started from the evidence which, a few sentences back, I deduced from Scripture and laid before you. For “the brightness” is always thought of with “the glory,” “the image” with the archetype,
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 6.28
28. Then Manes answers him: “And what sort of God causes blindness? For it is Paul who saith, In whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not, lest the light of the Gospel should shine unto them
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 6.29
29. “But if some are right in their interpretation, we must say as follows (for it is no unworthy expression)—If indeed He blinded the thoughts of them that believe not he blinded them for a good purpose, that they might look with new sight on what is good. For he said not, He blinded their soul, but, the thoughts of them that believe not
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Second Corinthians 8
… For of the Spirit, he says, “But we all with unveiled face reflecting in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory even as from the Lord the Spirit.” (c. iii. 18 .) And of the Son; “That the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, Who is the Image of God, should not dawn upon them.” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Reply to Faustus the Manichæan 21.1
… I grant that we, too, sometimes call the hostile nature God; not that we believe it to be God, but that this name is already adopted by the worshippers of this nature, who in their error suppose it to be God. Thus the apostle says: "The god of this world has blinded the minds of them that believe not."
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St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 10.17
17. But wouldest thou know that the Apostles knew and preached the name of Christ, or rather had Christ Himself within them? Paul says to his hearers, Or seek ye a proof of Christ that speaketh in me ? Paul proclaims Christ, saying, For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Second Corinthians 8
[3.] Ver. 5 . “For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 22
… If thus thou do service, thou art no slave; if thou do it upon principle, if with good-will, if from the heart, and if for Christ’s sake. For this is the servitude that even Paul, the free man, serves, and exclaims, “For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus, as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Philippians 5
Would you see the flattery of the foolish Jews? listen to them, saying, “We have no king but Cæsar.” ( John xix. 15 .) Would you see humility? listen to Paul again, when he says, “For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Philippians 7
… Why say you not of Paul, that he had the form of God? Why did not Paul give an example of himself, for he wrought a thousand servile works, and did not even refuse to say, “For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Colossians 11
Paul calleth a slave, brother: with reason; seeing that he styleth himself the servant of the faithful. (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on 1 Timothy 17
… For the blessed Paul does not refuse to be their servant: “We preach not ourselves,” he says; “but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Spirit and the Letter 31
… Then, in a passage which follows not long after, the apostle writes thus: “For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 147.12
… Yes, but it is a great thing that it groweth “on the mountains.”…For nothing could be more barren than the hard mountains. “And herb for the service of men.” What “service”? Listen to Paul himself. “And ourselves,” saith he, “your servants for Jesus Christ’s sake.”
Pope St Gregory I the Great † AD 604 The Book of Pastoral Rule 2.6
… for we are your equals in that wherein we know you to stand. He knew not himself as preferred above his brethren, when he said, We became babes in the midst of you ( 1 Thess. ii. 7 ); and again, But ourselves your servants through Christ (
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Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.11
… Now he did not observe how much this clause of the sentence made against him: “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to (give) the light of the knowledge (of His glory) in the face of (Jesus) Christ.”
Tertullian † AD 220 On the Resurrection of the Flesh 44
… For, when he speaks of the “light which God hath commanded to shine in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of the Lord in the person of Jesus Christ,”
Origen † AD 254 Origen Against Celsus 6.5
… “That which was in the Logos was life, and the life was the light of men;” which “true light lighteneth every man that cometh into the world” (i.e., the true world, which is perceived by the understanding ), and maketh him a light of the world:” For this light shone in our hearts, to give the light of the glorious Gospel of God in the face of Christ Jesus.”
St Methodius † AD 311 The Banquet of the Ten Virgins; or Concerning Chastity 10.2
… For all lamp-light increases when nourished by oil. So also the mercies of God entirely dissolve death, and assist the human race, and nourish the light of the heart.
St Basil the Great † AD 379 The Letters 243.3
… So, peradventure—and this is most probable—the common enemy of our souls, is striving to bring it about that the seeds of apostasy, originating in the same quarter, should be distributed throughout the world. For the darkness of impiety plots to come upon the very hearts whereon the “light of the knowledge” of Christ has shone.
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Holy Spirit 3.12
… whereas the Scriptures also express the inexplicable Majesty of the Divine Trinity, as the Apostle says elsewhere: “Since God, Who said that light should shine out of darkness, shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Second Corinthians 8
Ver. 6 . “Seeing it is God that said, Light shall shine out of darkness, who shined in your hearts.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Commentary on Galatians 1
… 1, 4 .) But why does he say, “to reveal His Son in me,” and not “to me?” it is to signify, that he had not only been instructed in the faith by words, but that he was richly endowed with the Spirit;—that the revelation had enlightened his whole soul, and that he had Christ speaking within him.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Letters of St. Augustin 92.3
… The likeness spoken of is therefore in the inner man, “which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him.” And we shall become the more like unto Him, the more we advance in knowledge of Him and in love; because “though our outward man perish, our inward man is renewed day by day,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 4.6
… It will be reckoned then an entire day from its last part, as the third from its first part. For the night up to the dawn, when the resurrection of the Lord was made known, belongs to the third day; because God (who commanded the light to shine out of darkness,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Reply to Faustus the Manichæan 22.8
… For we read, "God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all;" and again, "God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts."
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Grace of Christ, and on Original Sin 1.12
… What means this elation, however, but a being puffed up? And of love it has been indeed most truly said, “Love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.” This love, therefore, was still in process of constant increase in the great apostle, day by day, as long as his “inward man was renewed day by day,”
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Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.11
… Since therefore he said, that the Gentiles were without God, whilst their god was the devil, not the Creator, it is clear that he must be understood to be the lord of this world, whom the Gentiles received as their god—not the Creator, of whom they were in ignorance. But how does it happen, that “the treasure which we have in these earthen vessels of ours”
Tertullian † AD 220 On the Resurrection of the Flesh 44
… For, when he speaks of the “light which God hath commanded to shine in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of the Lord in the person of Jesus Christ,” and says that “we have this treasure in earthen vessels,”
Origen † AD 254 Origen De Principiis iv.1.7
… extends throughout its body, be believed to be non-existent, because the weakness of our understanding is unable to trace out the hidden and secret meaning in each individual word, the treasure of divine wisdom being hid in the vulgar and unpolished vessels of words, as the apostle also points out when he says, “We have this treasure in earthen vessels,”
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John 4
2. The Apostles are not unaware that in some things they give offence, and that in some respects their culture is defective, and they confess themselves accordingly to be rude in speech but not in knowledge; for we must consider that the other Apostles would have said this, too, as well as Paul. As for the text,
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 10.15
… But His forefather David was not ignorant of Him, when he said, I have ordained a lamp for mine Anointed : which lamp some have interpreted to be the brightness of Prophecy , others the flesh which He took upon Him from the Virgin, according to the Apostle’s word, But we have this treasure in earthen vessels
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Duties of the Clergy 2.28
… On the following day he brought the poor together. When asked where the treasures were which he had promised, he pointed to the poor, saying: “These are the treasures of the Church.” And truly they were treasures, in whom Christ lives, in whom there is faith in Him. So, too, the Apostle says: “We have this treasure in earthen vessels.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 5.pref.10
10. Oh that I might safely say of you at that time: “Lord, Thou gavest me five talents, behold I have gained five other talents;” and that I might show the precious talents of your virtues! “For we have a treasure in earthen vessels.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Concerning Widows 5
… setting forth by gold the power of a king, venerating God by the frankincense, and by myrrh acknowledging the resurrection of the body. You too have this treasure if you look into yourself: “For we have this treasure in earthen vessels.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Two Homilies on Eutropius 2.11
… I descend into the water of baptism, and the fashion of my nature is remoulded, and the fire of the Spirit recasts it, and it is turned into a harder ware. And that my words are no empty vaunt hear what Job says, “He hath made us as clay,” and Paul, “but we have this treasure in earthen vessels.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies on the Statues to the People of Antioch 10.7
… And this is not merely my assertion, but that of Paul himself, who says, “For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me.” And again, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Second Corinthians 8
Ver. 7 . “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Second Corinthians 13
… as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things;” ( v. 10 .) and having called those things “armor,” for “as chastened,” saith he, “and not killed:” and having hereby represented God’s abundant care and power, for he saith, “that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not of us;” (c.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on 2 Timothy 10
… not “that thou mayest not be exalted above measure,” but what? “For my strength is made perfect in weakness.” Two ends therefore were answered at once: what was doing was made clearly manifest, and the whole was ascribed to God. For this cause he has said elsewhere, “We carry this treasure in earthen vessels” (
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 11
Dear sisters, man’s envy judges in one way, Christ in another; and the whisper of a corner is not the same as the sentence of His tribunal. Many ways seem right to men which are afterwards found to be wrong. And a treasure is often stowed in earthen vessels.
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 22.4
4. So long as we are held down by this frail body, so long as we have our treasure in earthen vessels;
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 23.1
… behold I should offend against the generation of thy children,” a verse which is differently rendered in our Latin version: —suddenly the news came that our most saintly friend Lea had departed from the body. As was only natural, you turned deadly pale; for there are few persons, if any, who do not burst into tears when the earthen vessel breaks.
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 108.19
19. In her frequent sicknesses and infirmities she used to say, “when I am weak, then am I strong:” “we have our treasure in earthen vessels”
St Jerome † AD 420 Against the Pelagians 3.6
… but our sufficiency is from God; Who also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant; not of the letter but of the spirit; for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.” Do we still dare to pride ourselves on free will, and to abuse the benefits of God to the dishonour of the giver? Whereas the same chosen vessel openly
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Letters of St. Augustin 188.5
… “No one can confer them on you except yourself, and they cannot exist except from you and in you;” but to him who says: “We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Spirit and the Letter 31
… And I beg you to observe how he inculcates this very point: “We have,” says he, “this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on Rebuke and Grace 9
“The apostle says,” say they, “‘For who maketh thee to differ? And what hast thou that thou hast not received? Now also if thou hast received it, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it?’
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 1.1
1. May He, beloved, fulfil your expectation who hath awakened it: for though I feel confident that what I have to say is not my own, but God’s, yet with far more reason do I say, what the Apostle in his humility saith, “We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 78.4
… “The love of God,” saith he, “hath been shed abroad in our hearts.” Whence, thou beggar, hath the love of God been shed abroad in thine heart? How, or wherein hath the love of God been shed abroad in the heart of man? “We have,” saith he, “this treasure in earthen vessels.” Why in earthen vessels? “That the excellency of the power may be of God?”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 68.40
… 35 ). For at that time even most truly and most fully there shall be fulfilled the name Israel itself, which is one “seeing God:” for we shall see Him as He is. “He Himself shall give virtue and strength to His people, blessed be God:” to His people now frail and weak. For “we have this treasure in earthen vessels.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 71.5
… still the body which is corrupt presseth down the soul. Howsoever firm thou be by the grace of God, so long as thou still bearest an earthly vessel, wherein the treasure of God is, something must be dreaded even from that same vessel of clay.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 94.18
… as before he said, “He that fabricated ( finxit ) the eye, shall He not see?” Is that, “fabricated the eye” a falsehood? Nay, it is understood He fashioned the eye, made the eye. And is He not a potter when He makes men frail, weak, earthly? Hear the Apostle: “We have this treasure in earthen vessels.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 104.19
19. “That it may bring forth bread out of the earth.” What bread? Christ. Out of what earth? From Peter, from Paul, from the other stewards of the truth. Hear that it is from the earth: “We have,” saith St. Paul, “this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 Dialogues. The “Eranistes” or “Polymorphus” of the Blessed Theodoretus, Bishop of Cyrus 1
… They bring down the substance of God into stones and into dogs; but many heretics into fouler things than these. But we could never endure even to hear of these things. But what we say is that of a virgin’s womb the Christ took pure flesh, holy and without spot, and made impervious to all sin, and restored the body
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Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.11
… Henceforth, then, the rival god will have no claim to the glory, and consequently none to the power. Rather, dishonour and weakness will accrue to him, because the earthen vessels with which he had nothing to do have received all the excellency! Well, then, if it be in these very earthen vessels that he tells us we have to endure so great sufferings,
Tertullian † AD 220 Scorpiace 13
… “Our condition is such, that we are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; and are in need, but not in utter want; since we are harassed by persecutions, but not forsaken; it is such that we are cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in our body the dying of Christ.”
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Second Corinthians 9
… “For patience,” saith he, “worketh probation, and probation hope.” ( Rom. v. 4 .) For they who had fallen into ten thousand dangers and through the hope they had in God had been recovered , were taught to hold by it more and more in all things.
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St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 5.13.4
… “Always bearing about in our body the dying of Jesus, that also the life of Jesus Christ might be manifested in our body. For if we who live are delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, it is that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our mortal flesh.”
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.11
… so great sufferings, in which we bear about with us the very dying of God, (Marcion’s) god is really ungrateful and unjust, if he does not mean to restore this same substance of ours at the resurrection, wherein so much has been endured in loyalty to him, in which Christ’s very death is borne about, wherein too the excellency of his power is treasured.
Tertullian † AD 220 On the Resurrection of the Flesh 44
… Then, of course, the treasure will perish also; for perishable things are entrusted to things which are themselves perishable, which is like putting new wine into old bottles. When also he adds, “Always bearing about in our body the dying of the Lord Jesus Christ,”
Origen † AD 254 Origen Against Celsus 7.38
… It is certain also that a Christian will not make use of “the language of the flesh,” having learnt as he has “to mortify the deeds of the body” by the spirit, and “to bear about in his body the dying of Jesus;”
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John 1.25
… And this He does not only at the moment at which a man says, “We are buried with Christ through baptism and have risen again with Him,” but much rather when a man, having laid off all about him that belongs to death, walks in the newness of life which belongs to Him, the Son, while here. We always
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John 1.35
… It is not hard to see why he is called “the Living and the Dead,” and after being dead He that is alive for evermore. For since we were not helped by His original life, sunk as we were in sin, He came down into our deadness in order that, He having died to sin, we,
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on Matthew 13.16
But first we may expound it in simple fashion. One, expounding the word of the Saviour here after the simple method, might say that, if any one who is a man mortifies the lusts of manhood, putting to death by the spirit the deeds of the body, and “always bearing about in the body the putting to death of Jesus,”
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Festal and Personal Letters of Athanasius 7
The blessed Paul wrote to the Corinthians
St Basil the Great † AD 379 De Spiritu Sancto 14
… What remission of sins, what renewal of life, is there in the sea? What spiritual gift is there through Moses? What dying
St Basil the Great † AD 379 The Letters 223.2
… always, as though living in a flesh that was not theirs, they shewed in very deed what it is to sojourn for a while in this life, and what to have one’s citizenship and home in heaven. All this moved my admiration. I called these men’s lives blessed, in that they did in deed shew that they “bear about in their body the dying of Jesus.”
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 2.55
55. He glories in his infirmities and distresses. He takes pleasure in the dying of Jesus,
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Second Corinthians 9
Ver. 10 . “Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our body.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Second Corinthians 13
… iv. 7 .) and having recounted his labors, for he saith, “we always bear about His dying;” and that this is a clear demonstration of the Resurrection, for he says, “that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh;” (c.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Philippians 11
Therefore persecutions, and afflictions, and straits, ought not to disturb you, but ought even to make you glad, because through them we are “conformed to His death.” As if he had said, We are molded to His likeness; as he says in another place, where he writeth, “bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on 2 Timothy 5
… But not even a man would act thus, nor, if one had chosen to suffer affliction and death with him, would he refuse to him a share in his rest, if he had attained it. But how are we “dead with Him”? This death he means both of that in the Laver, and that in sufferings. For he says, “Bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus” (
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St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 5.13.5
… For what sensible thing can they say, if they endeavour to interpret otherwise this which he writes: “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal put on immortality;” and, “That the life of Jesus may be made manifest in our mortal flesh;”
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.11
… Then how is it, that in the words which follow he exhorts us not to the things which are seen and are temporal, but to those which are not seen and are eternal —in other words, not to the present, but to the future? But if it be of the future life of Christ that he speaks, intimating that it is to be made manifest in our body,
Tertullian † AD 220 On the Resurrection of the Flesh 44
… “For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that His life may be manifested in our mortal body.”
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 De Decretis. (Defence of the Nicene Definition.) 5
… As to ‘like,’ they said that it is written of us, ‘Man is the image and glory of God :’ ‘always,’ that it was written, ‘For we which live are alway
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Synodal Letter to the Bishops of Africa. (Ad Afros Epistola Synodica.) 5
… a Creature, but the Power and only Wisdom of the Father, and the Eternal Image, in all respects exact, of the Father, and true God, Eusebius and his fellows were observed exchanging nods with one another, as much as to say ‘this applies to us men also, for we too are called “the image and glory of God ,” and of us it is said, “For we which live are alway
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Second Corinthians 9
Ver. 11 . “For we which live are also delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in us in our mortal flesh.”
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 The Ecclesiastical History of Theodoret 1.7
… and that He is very God,’ the Eusebians were noticed making signs to one another to shew that these declarations were equally applicable to us. For it is said, that we are ‘ the image and glory of God ;’ and ‘ for always we who live
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Mathetes † fl. AD 130 Epistle to Diognetus 5
… They love all men, and are persecuted by all. They are unknown and condemned; they are put to death, and restored to life. They are poor, yet make many rich; they are in lack of all things, and yet abound in all; they are dishonoured, and yet in their very dishonour are glorified. They are evil spoken of, and yet are justified; they are reviled, and bless;
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Second Corinthians 9
Ver. 12 . “So then death worketh in us, but life in you.”
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Novatian † AD 258 A Treatise of Novatian Concerning the Trinity 29
… Moreover, the Apostle Paul says, “Having the same Spirit; as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak.”
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Festal and Personal Letters of Athanasius 7
… He is always mindful of God, and forgets Him not, and never does the deeds of death. Now, in order that we may bear in our body the dying of Jesus, he immediately adds the way of such fellowship, saying, ‘we having the same spirit of faith, as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies on the Statues to the People of Antioch 2.18
… and takes with him the ownership of these things when he departs, not being stripped of the possession even in death, but at that time receiving all back again; yea, and much more than these things, at that day of judgment, when he most needs their protection,
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on Paul's Epistle to the Romans pref
With respect to Free-will, he has one or two passages, as in Hom. on the words of St. Paul,
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Second Corinthians 9
[2.] Ver. 13 . “But having the same spirit of faith, according to that which is written, I believed, and therefore did I speak; we also believe, and therefore also we speak; that He which raised up the Lord Jesus, shall raise up us also by Jesus.” ( Ps. cxvi. 10 .)
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 3.11
… And if we cannot discern in what manner He wrought them by ministry of angels, yet we say that they were wrought by angels; but not from our own power of discernment, lest we should seem to any one to be wise beyond our measure, whereas we are wise so as to think soberly, as God hath dealt to us the measure of faith; and we believe, and therefore speak.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Grace of Christ, and on Original Sin 2.29
… “I believed, therefore have I spoken.” For they too were cleansed with the self-same faith with which we ourselves are. Whence the apostle also says: “We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believe, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise Against Two Letters of the Pelagians 1.39
… For their own word is, “I believed, and therefore I spoke.” Whence the Apostle Paul also says, “And we having the same Spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise Against Two Letters of the Pelagians 3.11
… and in both there is the same grace by the Holy Spirit. Whence says the apostle: “We having the same Spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise Against Two Letters of the Pelagians 4.10
… For if men have it not of themselves, but men receive the Spirit of power and of love and of continence, whence that very same teacher of the Gentiles says, “For we have not received the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of continence,” —assuredly also the Spirit of faith is received, of which he says, “Having also the same Spirit of faith.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on Grace and Free Will 28
… Then, again, there is the passage, especially noticeable, in which he says, “We, having the same spirit of faith,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Predestination of the Saints 1.13
… Herein engaged, also, at the same time, is the Spirit of the Father and of the Son; and He, too, teaches, and does not teach separately, since we have learned that the workings of the Trinity are inseparable. And that is certainly the same Holy Spirit of whom the apostle says, “We, however, having the same Spirit of faith.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 45.9
… for to such the apostle pointed when he said, “But we having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak.”
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 Dialogues. The “Eranistes” or “Polymorphus” of the Blessed Theodoretus, Bishop of Cyrus 1
Eran. —Yes, for so have I learnt from the Apostolic Scripture “There are diversities of gifts but the same spirit,” and again “All these things worketh that one and the selfsame spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will,” and again “Having the same Spirit of the Faith.”
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St Polycarp † AD 155 Epistle to the Philippians 2
… To Him all things in heaven and on earth are subject. Him every spirit serves. He comes as the Judge of the living and the dead. His blood will God require of those who do not believe in Him. But He who raised Him up from the dead will raise
Tertullian † AD 220 The Shows, or De Spectaculis 26
… How many other undoubted proofs we have had in the case of persons who, by keeping company with the devil in the shows, have fallen from the Lord! For no one can serve two masters. What fellowship has light with darkness, life with death?
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.11
… But if it be of the future life of Christ that he speaks, intimating that it is to be made manifest in our body, then he has clearly predicted the resurrection of the flesh.
Tertullian † AD 220 On the Resurrection of the Flesh 44
… And if so, how is this possible except in our body after its resurrection? Therefore he adds in the concluding sentence: “Knowing that He which raised up the Lord Jesus, shall raise up us also with Him,”
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Festal and Personal Letters of Athanasius 7
… we also believe, and therefore speak .’ He adds also, speaking of the grace that arises from knowledge; ‘For He that raised up Jesus, will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us before Him with you
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Decease of His Brother Satyrus 2.89
… If I am convinced by reason I reject faith. Abraham believed God, let us also believe Him, that we who are heirs of his race may also be heirs of his faith. David likewise believed, and therefore did he speak; let us also believe that we may be able to speak, knowing that “He Who raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also with Jesus.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Second Corinthians 9
Ver. 14, 15 . “That He which raised up Jesus, shall raise up also, and shall present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that the grace, being multiplied through the many, may cause the thanksgiving to abound unto the glory of God.”
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Second Corinthians 11
… When then He was slain and gone, we succeeded to the embassy; and in His stead and the Father’s we beseech you. So greatly doth He prize mankind that He gave up even the Son, and that knowing He would be slain, and made us Apostles for your sakes; so that he said with reason, “All things are for your sakes.” (
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Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.11
… Now of what life of Christ does he here speak? Of that which we are now living? Then how is it, that in the words which follow he exhorts us not to the things which are seen and are temporal, but to those which are not seen and are eternal
Tertullian † AD 220 On the Resurrection of the Flesh 16
… whereas the flesh, being conceived, formed, and generated along with the soul from its earliest existence in the womb, is mixed up with it likewise in all its operations. For although it is called “a vessel” by the apostle, such as he enjoins to be treated “with honour,” it is yet designated by the same apostle as “the outward man,”
Tertullian † AD 220 On the Resurrection of the Flesh 40
… “Though our outward man decayeth, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on Matthew 10.15
… Perhaps, then, the man who is a householder is Jesus Himself, who brings forth out of His treasury, according to the time of the teaching, things new, things spiritual, which also are always being renewed by Him in the “inner man” of the righteous, who are themselves always being renewed day by day,
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 On Virginity 19
… for that birth did not annul the Virginity, nor did the Virginity impede so great a birth. When the “spirit of salvation ,” as Isaiah names it, is being born, the willings of the flesh are useless. There is also a particular teaching of the Apostle, which harmonizes with this; viz. each man of us is a double man
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 A Treatise to Prove that No One Can Harm the Man Who Does Not Injure Himself 4
… Consider that thou hast not here a fatherland, but that if thou wilt be wise thou art bidden to regard the whole world as a strange country. Or hast thou been given over to a sore disease? quote the apostolic saying “the more our outward man decayeth, so much the more is the inward man renewed day by day.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 75
… let him cast him into dishonor. What this to him who accounts the things present, the flower of the grass? If thou wilt, let him also torture his body, and cast him into prison, what this to him that hath learnt, “Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed;”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Second Corinthians 9
Ver. 16 . “Wherefore we faint not; but though our outward man is decaying, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 108.18
… She recalled to mind also the words of the apostle, “we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope: and hope maketh not ashamed” and “though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day”:
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 124.15
… “God,” he writes, “and His only-begotten Son and the Holy Spirit are conscious of an intellectual and reasonable nature. But so also are the angels, the powers, and the virtues, as well as the inward man who is created in the image and after the likeness of God.
St Jerome † AD 420 Against Jovinianus 2.6
… But our religion does not train boxers, athletes, sailors, soldiers, or ditchers, but followers of wisdom, who devote themselves to the worship of God, and know why they were created and are in the world from which they are impatient to depart. Hence also the Apostle says: “When I am weak, then am I strong.” And
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Letters of St. Augustin 55.5
5. This renewal, therefore, of our life is a kind of transition from death to life which is made first by faith, so that we rejoice in hope and are patient in tribulation, while still “our outward man perisheth, but the inward man is renewed day by day.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Letters of St. Augustin 158.2
… in the consolation yielded by them he found satisfaction. At the last, when dissolution was just coming upon him, he began to make the sign of the cross on his forehead, and in finishing this his hand was moving down to his mouth, which also he wished to mark with the same sign, but the inward man (which had been truly renewed day by day)
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 City of God 13.24
… Will they say that Scripture follows no such usage? On the contrary, it so thoroughly adopts it, that even while a man is alive, and body and soul are united, it calls each of them singly by the name “ man ,” speaking of the soul as the “inward man,” and of the body as the “outward man,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 City of God 14.3
… For “the corruptible body, indeed, weigheth down the soul.” Whence, too, the apostle, speaking of this corruptible body, of which he had shortly before said, “though our outward man perish,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 4.3
… whereby the former becomes foolish, the latter lifeless. For the soul is raised up again by repentance, and the renewing of life is begun in the body still mortal by faith, by which men believe on Him who justi fies the ungodly; and it is increased and strengthened by good habits from day to day, as the inner man is renewed more and more.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 11.1
… For the opinion of the apostle is evident, which declares the inner man to be renewed in the knowledge of God after the image of Him that created him: whereas he says also in another place, “But though our outer man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 14.17
… and then follows, “and healeth all thine infirmities;” and this takes place by daily additions, while this image is being renewed. And the apostle has spoken of this most expressly, saying, “And though our outward man perish, yet the inner man is renewed day by day.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Concerning Faith of Things Not Seen 6
… it was said unto her, “There shall worship Him the daughters of Tyre with gifts.” If the pride also of the rich is not laid aside, and they do not entreat help of the Church, unto whom it was said, “Thy face shall all the rich of the people entreat.” If He acknowledges not the King’s daughter, unto Whom she was bidden to say, “Our Father Who art in Heaven;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Against Lying 40
… “He that is born of God, sinneth not.” For were this nativity by itself alone in us, no man would sin: and when it shall be alone, no man will sin. But now, we as yet drag on that which we were born corruptible: although, according to that which we are new-born, if we walk aright, from day to day we are renewed inwardly.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Of the Work of Monks 40
… For they have heard or read that which is written, “Whosoever of you have been baptized in Christ, have put on Christ: where is no Jew nor Greek; no bond nor free; no male nor female.” And they do not understand that it is in reference to concupiscence of carnal sex
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Morals of the Catholic Church 19
… The whole duty of temperance, then, is to put off the old man, and to be renewed in God,—that is, to scorn all bodily delights, and the popular applause, and to turn the whole love to things divine and unseen. Hence that following passage which is so admirable: "Though our outward man perish, our inward man is renewed day by day."
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Morals of the Catholic Church 35
… The progress, however, to a new life is made in the case of many, if we view the matter without hostility, but attentively. As the apostle says of himself, "Though the outward man perish, the inward man is renewed day by day."
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Baptism, Against the Donatists 4.15
… Wherefore many, progressing after baptism, and especially those who have been baptized in infancy or early youth, in proportion as their intellect becomes clearer and brighter, while "the inward man is renewed day by day,"
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins, and on the Baptism of Infants 2.9
… “Even though our outward man perishes, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins, and on the Baptism of Infants 2.20
… but that he was as yet pressing towards the mark, and, forgetting what was past, was reaching out to the things which are before him. We are sure, then, that what he says elsewhere is true even of himself: “Al though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Spirit and the Letter 56
… For the just man, who lives by faith, hopes undoubtedly for eternal life; and the faith likewise, which hungers and thirsts for righteousness, makes progress therein by the renewal of the inward man day by day,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on Nature and Grace 77
… ability of nature or the free will within us, but “by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” Then, in respect of what the same martyr further says, “A pure mind is a holy temple for God, and a heart clean and without sin is His best altar,” who knows not that the clean heart must be brought to this perfection, whilst “the inward man is renewed day by day,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise Concerning Man’s Perfection in Righteousness 4
… By faith, however, it receives renovation; in other words, it is healed day by day,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise Concerning Man’s Perfection in Righteousness 7
… and no doubt he has the ability. For who is so foolhardy as to hesitate to believe that to be possible, which he has no doubt about God’s wishing?” This is the answer. If God wished not that man should be without sin, He would not have sent His Son without sin, to heal men of their sins. This takes place in believers who are being renewed day by day,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise Concerning Man’s Perfection in Righteousness 10
… Since then it was not man himself, but God, who made man good; so also is it God, and not man himself, who remakes him to be good, while liberating him from the evil which he himself did upon his wishing, believing, and invoking such a deliverance. But all this is effected by the renewal day by day of the inward man,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise Concerning Man’s Perfection in Righteousness 39
… “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” Now it follows from the whole of this, that in so far as we are born of God we abide in Him who appeared to take away sins, that is, in Christ, and sin not,—which is simply that “the inward man is renewed day by day;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Marriage and Concupiscence 1.20
… and on this account our offspring are born as children of the present world; nor do they become sons of God, except they be regenerated. Yet inasmuch as we are children of God, our inner man is renewed from day to day.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Marriage and Concupiscence 1.33
… but I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” This delight with the law of God after the inward man, comes to us from the mighty grace of God; for thereby is our inward man renewed day by day,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 20.3
… The Psalmist saith, “Because of the words of Thy lips I have kept hard ways.” But the things which are hard to those who labour, lose their roughness to those same men when they love. Wherefore it has been so arranged by the dispensation of the Divine goodness, that to “the inner man who is renewed from day to day,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 86.1
… For the felicity springing from both is at this present time, and in the existing state of mortality, a matter rather of hope than of actual possession. But this it concerns us to remember, that our outward man, to wit the body, is still decaying; but the inward, that is, the soul, is being renewed day by day.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 39.9
… For we are not so completely “clothed upon” with Christ, as not to bear about with us anything derived from Adam. Observe that Adam is “waxing old” within us, and Christ is being “renewed” in us. “Though our outward man is perishing, yet is our inward man being renewed day by day.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 102.31
… In what sense? As a garment. What is, as a garment? As to the body. For the body is the garment of the soul; since our Lord called it a garment, when He said, “Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?” How then doth the garment perish? “Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 Counter-statements of Theodoret 1
… We find the blessed Paul dividing the one man into two where he says in one passage, “Though our outward man perish yet the inward man is renewed,”
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 Dialogues. The “Eranistes” or “Polymorphus” of the Blessed Theodoretus, Bishop of Cyrus 2
“God and man are two natures, as soul and body are two; but there are not two sons, nor yet are there here two men although Paul thus speaks of the outward man and the inward man.
Anonymous Martyrdom of the Holy Confessors Shamuna, Guria, and Habib, from Simeon Metaphrastes 1
… for what possible harm couldst thou do to the soul? since, as long as it resides in the body, it proves superior to torture; and, when it takes its departure, the body has no feeling whatever left. For, “the more our outward man is destroyed, the more is our inward man renewed day by day;”
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Tertullian † AD 220 On the Resurrection of the Flesh 40
… “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen,” that is, our sufferings, “but at the things which are not seen,” that is, our rewards: “for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
Origen † AD 254 Origen Against Celsus 6.19
… “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are unseen are eternal.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 An Exhortation to Theodore After His Fall 1
… “For our light affliction,” we read, “which is but for the moment, worketh for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory, while we look not at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies on the Statues to the People of Antioch 16.11
… And this Paul would shew and make plain, when he said, “Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 16
… And this you may learn plainly from those who have done well. Hear, for instance, how of those passions Paul is ashamed, even after his deliverance from them, saying, “For what fruit had ye then in those things, whereof ye are now ashamed?” But virtue, even after his labor, he affirms to be light, calling
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 23
… Wherefore Paul also called their affliction “light”; not from the nature of the events, but because of the mind of the combatants, and the hope of the future. “For our light affliction,” saith he, “worketh an eternal weight of glory, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 38
… for, “Ye shall find,” saith He,” rest unto your souls.” By what He bestows on them; for, “I too will refresh you,” saith He. By rendering it light; “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” So likewise doth Paul, saying, “For the present light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles 44
… for he belonged to that band which “rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for that Name” ( Acts v. 41 ): and again he says, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you” ( Col. i. 24 ): and again, “For our light affliction, which is but for the moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on Paul's Epistle to the Romans 13
… Wherefore all self-indulgence and pleasure he made scorn of, and found his self-indulgence in hunger, and stripes, and prisons, and did not even feel pain in undergoing them. ( 2 Cor. xi .) And it was to show this that he said, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment,” etc. (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on Paul's Epistle to the Romans 14
… For after he had shown that the rewards were greater than the labors, he both exhorts to greater efforts, and yet will not let them be elated, as being still outdone by the crowns given in requital. And in another passage he says, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Second Corinthians 9
Ver. 17, 18 . “For the light affliction,” he saith, “which is for the moment, worketh more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 87
… For the strait way is by its nature laborious, but by our will it is rendered light, from the hope of things to come. “For our present light affliction worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at those which are not seen.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Epistle to the Hebrews 28
… viii. 37 .) And again, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” ( Rom. viii. 18 .) And again, “For the light affliction which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” (
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 108.18
… and “our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh in us an eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Patience 2
… because “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared,” as the Apostle says, “with the future glory that shall be revealed in us.” And again he says, “This our temporal and light tribulation doth in inconceivable manner work for us an eternal weight of glory.”
John Cassian † AD 435 The Conferences of John Cassian 13.13
… “for,” says he, “our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh in us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,”
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St Ignatius of Antioch † AD 108 Epistle to the Romans: Shorter and Longer Versions 3
… and that I may not merely be called a Christian, but really be found to be one. For if I be truly found [a Christian], I may also be called one, and be then deemed faithful, when I shall no longer appear to the world. Nothing visible is eternal. “For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
Theodotus † fl. AD 160 Excerpts of Theodotus 1
… So that they preferred curative treatment here. What is to be dreaded is, then, not external disease, but sins, for which disease comes , and disease of the soul, not of the body: “For all flesh is grass,” and corporeal and external good things are temporary; “but the things which are unseen are eternal.”
Origen † AD 254 Origen De Principiis 2.3.6
… for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are unseen are eternal. For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”
Origen † AD 254 Origen De Principiis 3.6.4
… But of that body it is said, that it is a house not made with hands, but eternal in the heavens. Since, then, those things “which are seen are temporal, but those things which are not seen are eternal,”
Origen † AD 254 Origen Against Celsus 6.59
… If, on the contrary, the system of things which consists of heaven and earth be termed “world,” then those who perished in the deluge are by no means removed out of the so-called “world.” And yet, indeed, if we have regard to the words, “Looking not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen;”
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on Matthew 12.23
… not be unto Thee,” was called a stumbling-block by Jesus, as not minding the things of God in what he said but the things of men, what is to be said about all those who profess to be made disciples of Jesus, but do not mind the things of God, and do not look to things unseen and eternal, but mind the things of man, and look to things seen and temporal,
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on Matthew 13.1
… In this place it does not appear to me that by Elijah the soul is spoken of, lest I should fall into the dogma of transmigration, which is foreign to the church of God, and not handed down by the Apostles, nor anywhere set forth in the Scriptures; for it is also in opposition to the saying that “things seen are temporal,”
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on Matthew 13.20
… And this is clearly indicated also by the words, “And the world hated them, because they are not of the world.” For it hated us from the time when we no longer “look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen,”
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 7.19
… but hear, he says, the conclusion of the whole matter, Fear God. This is his stay in his perplexity, and this is thy only gain from life here below, to be guided through the disorder of the things which are seen
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 1-2.26
… To say that the heavens and the earth and other contents of creation were out of things which are not, or, as the Apostle says, out of “things not seen,
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 10.2
… Why, either that irrational animals are rational, or that the Reason must be confessed to be irrational. Have we any further need of words to confute their accursed and malignant blasphemy? Do such statements even pretend to conceal their intention of denying the Lord? For if the Apostle plainly says that what is not eternal is temporary
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Duties of the Clergy 2.10
… recognize it wisely and think in what land all the nations shall hear the fame of true wisdom and justice, and with what eyes they shall see Him, beholding those things which are not seen. “For the things that are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 To My Lady 1
… Therefore the blessed Paul, desiring to prove the insignificance both of the pleasures and sorrows relating to this life, declared the whole truth in one sentence when he said—“For the things which are seen are temporal.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles 52
… vi. 14 ): I am dead to the world, and the world is dead to me. And again: “It is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me.” (ib. Gal. ii. 20 .) And, to show you that he was as it were in solitude, and so looked upon the things present, hear himself saying, “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Second Corinthians 9
… How then light? “While we look not at the things that are seen, but at the things that are not seen.” So will both this present be light and that future great, if we withdraw ourselves from the things that are seen. “For the things that are seen are temporal.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Second Corinthians 21
… “Shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of meekness?” ( 1 Cor. iv. 21 .) and then again; “Now some are puffed up as though I were not coming to you; but I will come, and will know, not the word of them that are puffed up, but the power.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 45
… Let us picture these things to ourselves every day. If we are ever revolving them, no care for present things will be able to sting us. “For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Epistle to the Hebrews 16
… For, “who” (he says) “shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” ( Rom. viii. 35 .) And again, “while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.” (
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 23.4
… we must not allow scrips filled with money to weigh us down, or lean upon the staff of worldly power. We must not seek to possess both Christ and the world. No; things eternal must take the place of things transitory;
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Of Holy Virginity 24
… certainly it is so called for this end, because it is being gathered together for a future and eternal life. Although, therefore, it have the promise of the present, and of a future life, yet in all its good works it looks not to “the things that are seen, but to what are not seen. For what are seen are temporal; but what are not seen, are eternal.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Morals of the Catholic Church 20
… Thus in the New Testament we are warned against the love of these things in the following words: "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal."
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Two Souls, Against the Manichæans 8
… I should have been inclined to think it easy to you, had I not been moved by the fact, that, since the world from which we are commanded to turn away is visible, and the apostle says: "The things that are seen are temporal, but the things that are unseen are eternal,"
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 55.7
… let it feel the warmth, that it may come to life. Press on, “reach forth unto the things which are before, forget the past. For the things which are seen, are temporal. Not looking back,” says he, “at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 18.25
… but also for the length of perseverance, will the Lord reward Me according to My righteousness. “And according to the cleanness of My hands in the sight of His eyes.” Not as men see, but “in the sight of His eyes.” For “the things that are seen are temporal; but the things that are not seen are eternal:”
John Cassian † AD 435 The Conferences of John Cassian 3.6
… and yet he bears witness that the one, whose house and people he urges should be forgotten, is none the less father of his daughter. And this happens when being dead with Christ to the rudiments of this world, we no longer, as the Apostle says, regard “the things which are seen, but those which are not seen, for the things which are not seen are eternal,”
John Cassian † AD 435 The Conferences of John Cassian 3.10
… as we look, as the Apostle says, “not on those things which are seen, but on those which are not seen: for the things that are seen, are temporal, and the things which are not seen are eternal;”
Pope St Leo I the Great † AD 461 Sermons 27
… for as the Apostle says, “the things which are seen are temporal: but the things which are not seen are eternal
Pope St Leo I the Great † AD 461 Sermons 49
… Thus while those who crave things visible are unnumbered, those who prefer the eternal to the temporal are hardly to be found. And, therefore, seeing that the blessed Apostle Paul says, “the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal
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We faint not. We do not yield, are not daunted by dangers and difficulties, are not wearied, as Erasmus turns it. Ver. 2. But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty. All hidden and disgraceful wickedness. What is vile loves darkness, and those who seek for what is impure have ever in their mouth, "If not chastely, yet cautiously." S. Paul means: I do nothing, not even in secret, with which fault can he found: I am no hypocrite, like many false apostles. S. Ambrose (Offic. lib. ii. c. 3), alluding to the ring of Gyges, which enabled him to see all and be seen by none, and so led him to deflower the queen and slay the king, and get possession of the throne of Lydia, says beautifully. " Give this ring to a wise man, that by its power he way be hid from the eyes of all if he does wrong: he will none the less flee from the stain of sin, though he be seen by none. The wise man's hiding-place is not to be found in fear of punishment, but in hope of keeping innocency. Law is not laid down for the righteous, but for the unrighteous; for the righteous man is a law to himself in the uprightness of his heart, and has his rule of righteousness within." To the same effect is the golden sentence of Seneca: " Even if I were sure that no man would know, and that God would forgive, yet the hatefulness of sin would prevent me from sinning." Add to this that even if we escape the notice of men when we sin, yet we cannot escape from the all-seeing eye of God, who will judge and punish. Therefore let every one renounce with S. Paul the hidden things of dishonesty, and live chastely, and keep his heart pure, just as if he were standing in the presence of God.
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Not walking in craftiness. Professing to be one thing and secretly doing another. The words are aimed at the lust of the false apostles, and their secret evil-living. Cf. Eph 5:12.
Nor handling the word of God deceitfully. As the false apostles do, who mix it up with the law of Moses, or fashion their teaching after the needs of time, place, and persons. These three were excellently performed by Luther. (1.) He falsified Rom 3:28, "We conclude that a man is justified by faith," by adding the word "only" to faith; and also 2 Pet. i. 10: "Give diligence by good works to make your calling and election sure," by omitting the words "by good works." (2.) He wrested the word of God to his own lusts when he tried to persuade a certain woman that it was lawful for her to lie with him whilst her husband was asleep, on the authority of 1Co 7:39: "If her husband sleep, she is at liberty." (3.) To suit different places, times, and persons, he gave different expositions of the words of consecration. Gaspar Querhamer Saxo has published thirty-six contradictory explanations of his on the subject of the Eucharist alone, collected from his writings during his lifetime.
Commending ourselves to every man's conscience. Those who follow their conscience and form their judgments by it see that what I say is true, and if they would say what they think, they cannot deny that preach with sincerity, as in the presence of God, seeing and fearing God everywhere as my witness and judge.
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Ver. 3. But if Our Gospel be hid. So as not to be understood and hence not believed. He alludes to the veil of Moses (iii. 13), and anticipates the objection: "If you, O Paul, manifest, as you say, the word of God in truth, and commend yourself to every man's conscience, how comes it that this word of God of yours is not manifest to all? Why do not all believe it?" He replies that it is plain enough to the good and faithful, but to the wicked and unbelieving it is hidden and unknown, because they are reprobate. He is not speaking of the written Gospel, as heretics suppose, as though that were clear to all the elect, but of the mysteries of the Gospel, or the articles of the faith that are open and obvious to every Christian, such as the birth, Passion, and resurrection of Christ. These truths were preached by Paul and the Apostles before the Gospels were committed to writing; and when this letter was written, all the Gospels were not yet written.
To them that are lost. It is the proof and cause of their reprobation that they have a veil of blindness and unbelief over their heart, which prevents them from seeing and believing Christ and His mysteries, which are so clearly set forth in the Gospel and the New Testament. Ver. 4. In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not. Who is meant by the "god of this world?" (1.) Marcion, according to Chrysostom, inferred that there is a certain god, just but not good, who was the creator of the world. (2.) The Manicheans reply that it is the devil, and that he was the creator of the world and of matter in general. (3) Chrysostom, Anselm, Theodoret, and Theophylact make the sentence run: God, i.e., true God, hath blinded the minds of the unbelievers of this world; or God, the true God, the author and maker of the world, hath blinded the minds of them that believe not. (4.) Œcumenius and S. Thomas say: The God of this world is the devil, who is the god of worldly men, not by having created them, but in the way of wickedness, example, power, and suggestion. This seems the simplest explanation; for S. Paul does not call him God simply, but the God of this world, i.e., of worldly men, who prefer the perishing things of time to the realities of eternity. Cf. Eph 6:12. (5.) S. Thomas also says: "The God of this world is mammon, or the power and pomp that men of the world make their chief good and set up as their god." Cf. Phi 3:19.
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Them which believe not. The construction is a Hebraism. The Gospel is hidden in the case of unbelievers who perish, in whom i.e., of whom, the God of this world hath blinded the minds. Lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ... should shine unto them. The Greek word αυ̉γὴ, from which the verb here is derived, denotes, say Chrysostom and Theophylact, a faint light and foreshine of clear light, i.e., of the brightness of the Divine glory which will be revealed in heaven. As the dawn and the morning star precede the sun, so does faith in this life, like a morning star, go before the brightness of the si ht of the Beatific Vision. Cf. 2Pe 1:19. The Gospel is called the "Gospel of the glory of Christ," or the "glorious Gospel of Christ," because by it Christ is glorified. Who is the image of God. (1.) This is strictly true of the Son, who proceeds from the Father as His image. (2.) The Son is called the image of the Father, because He is begotten by Him in such a way that He is most like to the Father, and most perfectly represents Him. He is the Word of God or the Wisdom of God, in whom the Father beholds His own Wisdom mirrored. "Word," however, stands for a concept of the mind, and is an image of the thought of the mind, and so He is distinguished from the Holy Spirit, who, though He perfectly resembles the Father, yet is not this by the mere fact of His procession; for by that He is merely the bond of union in will and love between the Father and the Son. (3.) The Son is the image of the Father by reason of His Divine Essence, inasmuch as He has received It from the Father. For, since He has received It from the Father, He is in reality diverse in Person, just as an image is diverse from its original. Moreover, since He has received His Essence from the father, He is most like to Him, and in all things represents Him. Observe the depth of the Apostle's statements. The world receives the light of faith from the Apostles, they from Christ, in the same way that Moses received it from an angel representing Christ; Christ from the Father, in the same way that light proceeds from light, and a ray from the sun. Ver. 5. Ourselves your servants for Jesus sake. Supply "we show," or "we preach." Ver. 6. For God... hath shined in our hearts. In the account of the creation of the world given in Genesis, light is said to have been created first of all, because light is a quality most splendid, pleasant, gladdening, useful, efficacious, and powerful. Cf. Dionysius (de Divin. Nomin. c. iv.), who enumerates thirty-four properties of light and of fire wonderfully adapted to set forth God and the things belonging to Him. Cf. note to Gen 1:2. Hugo (de Sacram. pag. i. c. 10) and others point out, by way of allegory, that on the first day, when light was created and divided from darkness, the good angels were established in good and the evil in evil, and were separated each from other. What, therefore, was done in the world of sense was an image of what was being done in the unseen world. Nay, S. Augustine frequently maintains that the literal sense is that which refers to the angels. The Apostle here explains this light tropologically. As God formerly produced light out of darkness, so now has He made unbelievers into believers, and has enlightened them with the light of faith. So, too, S. Augustine (contra Advers. Leg. lib. i. c. 8) lays down that by light and day succeeding the pre-existing darkness, and being again succeeded by darkness, is signified what spiritually takes place in man, viz., grace succeeding sin, and sin again grace. To give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. To illuminate us, that we in turn may illuminate others with that clear and glorious knowledge which shines forth from God in the face of Christ, or else by means of our clear knowledge of Christ and His redemption. It is commonly said that a man is known by his face; hence to know "in the face" signifies to know clearly and openly. Just as at night a lighted torch throws light on the surrounding darkness, and is carried before travellers to show them the way clearly, so does Christ lighten us in the night of this world, so that we know God surely and plainly, and go on our way to see Him in the life of bliss in heaven. Hence the Glossa symbolically explains these words to mean: by Jesus Christ, who is the Face of the Father; for without Him the Father is not known. There is still kept up an allusion to the veil over Moses' face contrasted with the open face of Christ (iii. 15). The word face may be, with the Syriac, translated the person, i.e., we illuminate, others in the name, place, and authority of Christ. S. Cyril (de Fide ad Theodor. Imp.) says. "He hath shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. See how openly and plainly the light of the knowledge of God the Father has shone, forth in the person of Christ." Ver. 7. But we have this treasure. The treasure is the ministry and preaching of the Gospel entrusted to him by God. Cf. ver. 1 and vers. 5 and 6. In earthen vessels. (1.) In a body of dust frail and fragile. Our body is as an earthenware vessel; for as an earthen vessel is nothing but clay baked in the fire, so is our body nothing but earth made solid by the heat of the soul. Take away the soul, and the body returns to the dust whence it came. Cf. Psa 103:14. Or, (2.) in earthen vessels means in ourselves; for though we are Apostles, still we are men, frail and fashioned from the dust, and, like earthen vessels, are worthless, weak, and contemptible, exposed to injuries at the hands of all. This explanation is favoured by the words that follow: "We are troubled on every side," &c. So in 1Co 1:27, it was said that God had chosen the Apostles as the foolish, and weak, and base things of the world; and also in 1Co 2:1, Paul said that he had come to the Corinthians, not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, but in weakness, and fear, and trembling; and again, in 1Co 4:9, he expresses the same idea. Origen (Hom. in Numer.) symbolically interprets this treasure as the grace of the Holy Spirit hidden in earthen vessels, i.e., in the rude, unpolished, and unadorned words of the law and the Gospel. That the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. God wills me to have this treasure in an earthen vessel, in order that the excellency which is in me, and the fruit that I gather in the conversion of the heathen, may not be ascribed to me, but to the power of God and the grace of Christ. Ver. 8. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed. Not made anxious. Physically he was distressed, hemmed in, and pressed down, but in the midst of adversity the Apostle's mind was serene and lofty. So, in Ps. iv. 1, David says. "Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress." We are perplexed, but not in despair. The Latin Version gives "We are in want, but not destitute," or, as Ambrose, Theophylact, Erasmus, and Cajetan explain it: We are pressed with want, but not oppressed. There is a similar play on words in the Greek. Poverty gives sufficiency, nay, plenty, to a soul that is patient, wise, serene, and fixed on God. To say nothing of Christian writers, this was taught by Favorinus, who says. "It is true what wise men have said as the result of their experience, that they who have much want much, and that indigence takes its rise from abundance, and not from want. Much more is desired in order to guard the abundance you already have. Whoever, therefore, has great riches, and wishes to take forethought and guard against need or loss, needs loss, not gain, and should have less, that less may be lost." The Greek may also be rendered: We are without guidance, and are perplexed in the midst of our evils and difficulties; still we are not overcome by them, nor by our anxiety and weariness. We do not despair, but we hope for, and we find counsel, help, and deliverance in God, and so we are conquerors. This explanation is nearer to the Greek α̉πόρια, which denotes, not only bodily distress, but mental, viz., want of counsel, doubt, and perplexity, when the mind, seeing itself surrounded by difficulties, is at a stand-still, and knows not what to do. But God succours the Apostles and their successors in these straits, and points out a way of escape. S. Xavier and Gaspar Barzæus found this true in their work among the Indians, and testified that in every difficulty the Holy Spirit taught them more than all doctors or wise men could have done, Ver. 9. Persecuted, but not forsaken. S. Gregory of Nyssa (de Beatitud.), explaining the last of the Beatitudes, "Blessed are they that suffer persecution," acutely and piously weighs the meaning of the word persecution, which etymologically points to some running, or rather running before. He puts before our eyes a holy man and tribulation, like two runners running side by side. When the saint does not give place to tribulation, he says that he goes before it, as victorious over it, and that tribulation follows hard after him, and is, therefore, called persecution, not consecution, for it follows after but does not reach the holy man. He says that this word points out that the saints, through patience, run with great swiftness for the prize of glory, display their vigour and strength most brightly in the midst of persecutions. He goes on: " Martyrdom shows us the arena, and marks out the course to be run by faith; for 'persecution' denotes an ardent desire for swiftness, nay, it even indicates the winning of the prize; for who can be victor in the race save he who leaves his competitor behind? Since, therefore, he that has an enemy behind, seeking to deprive him of the prize, has one 'persecuting' him and such are they who finish the course of martyrdom on behalf of their holy religion, who are persecuted by their enemies, but not overtaken. Christ seems in these last words to put before us the most glorious crown of bliss, when He says, 'Blessed are they that suffer persecution for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.'" Cast down, but not destroyed. There is here an allusion to the earthen vessels of ver. 7. Though, he seems to say, we are earthen vessels, and cast down, as it were, from the most lofty towers of persecutions, yet are we not shattered. We are so hardened by the fire of charity that we cannot break. Some add, "We are humiliated, but not confounded," but the words are wanting in the Greek and Latin copies. Ver. 10. Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus. The death of Jesus, according to S. Ambrose, but the Greek is rather dying or mortification. The dying meant is the suffering of death like to the suffering of Jesus Christ, which is the road to and the beginning of death, a long and living death. This is the suffering spoken in vers. 8 and 9, suffering inflicted from without, though it may be extended also to any voluntary mortification of mind and body. It is called "the dying of Jesus," (1.) because it is borne by His example; (2.) because it is undergone for His faith; (3.) because we, His servants, bear about in our body, by a kind of representation, the very death and Passion of Christ, just as slaves carry the badge and token of their master. Cf. Gal 6:17. So in Heb 11:26, it is said that Moses bore the reproach of Christ, and preferred it to the riches of Egypt (see note there). " There is no doubt," says Ambrose, " that in His martyrs Christ is slain, and that in them that suffer chains or scourgings for the faith, Christ suffers the same. " Pau1 gives here the cause why, in the midst of trouble and distress, he is not crushed and destroyed, but is instead raised up and quickened. It is because by tribulation he is made like Christ crucified and smitten, and then raised and quickened; and, therefore, he rejoices in tribulation. Salvianus (de Vero Jud. et Provid. Dei, lib. i.) says that no one is miserable who is content in the midst of misery, rather he is happy, because it is of his own devotion that he lives in misery. Toil, fasting, poverty, humility, weakness, persecution are not grievous to those that endure them, but to those that kick at them. Among the heathen, Fabricius, Fabius, Regulus, Camillus found poverty and affliction no burden. " No one, " he says, " is made miserable by other people's opinion but by his own, and therefore false judgment cannot make them miserable whose conscience approves them.... None, I think, are happier than they who act according to their own knowledge and wish. Religious are of low estate, but they wish it so; they are poor, but pleased with poverty; they have no ambition, for they scorn it; they mourn, but they rejoice to mourn; they are weak, but they delight in weakness. 'When I am weak,' says the Apostle, 'then am I strong.' And so, no matter what may happen to those that are religious indeed, they are to be called happy. None are more joyous in the midst of all kinds of adversity than those who are in a state of their own choosing." That the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. This is that future life when we shall rise with Christ to glory (ver. 14); and also the present life, when, after the pattern of the risen body of Christ, our afflicted bodies become more lively through the operation of the Spirit, on account of our hope of the resurrection and through the power of God, which delivers us from so many dangers every day and strengthens us against them. Ver. 11. For we which live are alway delivered unto death. In the midst of a life such as ours, we are exposed to constant danger of death and to every kind of trouble. The thought, then, that in all our tribulation we are made like to Christ in His Passion and resurrection is what animates, comforts, and strengthens us. As in our afflicted and mortified body the death of Christ is visibly set forth, so in its deliverance, salvation, and strengthening do we see the life and resurrection of Christ. When we are thrown to the lions and other wild beasts, to be, as all expect, surely devoured by them, they spare us and fawn upon us; when we are cast into the fire it shrinks from us, nay, with genial warmth refreshes us; when we are thrown into the sea to be drowned, the sea bears us up and preserves us from all hurt; when I was stoned at Lystra and left for dead, I was soon after found to be alive. In all these and similar persecutions and afflictions I have fellowship with, I am made like, and I set forth the suffering, death, and burial of Christ, which by the power of God, were but the glorious prelude to the life of bliss. And for this reason I am strong, nay, I rejoice and glory in all my tribulations; for they give me a sure and certain hope of an eternal life of glory. " Therefore," says Œcumenius, " was Christ permitted by God to be delivered to death, that His resurrection might be made manifest to all. He who daily raises us certainty raised up Himself also, and will in good time raise us up to eternal life." Ver. 12. So then death worketh in us, but life in you. Your spiritual life, your salvation is produced through faith and grace, but ours by the death of our body. The passion and eath of the Apostles has been the life of the Church. "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church," says Tertullian. Chrysostom gives a different explanation: "You live in peace and suffer no such persecutions for the faith as I do; and so you seem to live and I seem to die daily."
We, having the same spirit of faith. As David was hemmed in with dangers, and yet was delivered by God alone from them all, and said. "I believed," i.e., I believe that God will always be true to His promises and deliver me, so too do we believe and hope, and boldly profess that our help and strength, our deliverance and resurrection have been promised by God, and will most surely be wrought out. Ps. 116., alluded to here by S. Paul, is a Eucharistic psalm, in which David gives God thanks for his safe deliverance. Hence it begins with, "I believed." In other words: I, David, in the midst of dangers and adversity, when hunted by Saul and his men, when my life was sought by Achish and the Philistines, when I was so placed that I seemed to be deprived of all human help, and to be in desperate straits, yet put my trust in God, who had promised me safety and moreover the kingdom, by the mouth of Samuel. Wherefore, I said boldly that I believed, without doubting that God would deliver me from all these evils, and would bring me to His promised kingdom, as, in fact, He has delivered me, and has set me on the throne. "Right dear in the sight of the Lord is the death of His Saints." My death is of great account and great price in the sight of the Lord. God, therefore, carefully watches that my death, or that of His other Saints may not be allowed, except for good cause and great gain, and He wonderfully guards us and delivers us. This, I, David, found in the cave and at other times when I was shut in by the bands of Saul and of my other enemies, and therefore with praise and thanksgiving do I exclaim, What return shall I make unto the Lord for all the benefits that He hath done unto me? I will receive the cup of salvation, of my many safe deliverances that cup which is a witness and public profession of God's goodness to me, and of my frequent escapes from danger of God's salvation will I take. Observe here that (1.) the Jews had three kinds of sacrifices, the whole burnt-offering, the sin-offering, and the peace-offering. This last was a sacrifice of salvation, offered for the peace and salvation of any individual or family, or of the whole people, whether already obtained or to be obtained. (2.) In every Sacrifice a libation was made to God, just as if the sacrifice were God's feast. The cup, therefore, of salvation is the cup of wine which was offered to God, poured out and drunk by the offerers. (3.) This cup was a figure of the Eucharistic chalice, which makes us not only mindful of the salvation wrought by Christ, but also partakers of it. Tropologically this "cup" is martyrdom and affliction, and the obstinate resistance that we make to sin, even unto death, says S. Basil, in his comments on Ps. cxvi. For Paul eagerly longed for martyrdom, and hence he speaks not of the cross, but of the cup of salvation, as though he should say: I will readily drink whatever the Lord may have given to me, even though it be the martyr's death; and therefore knowing, says S. Augustine, that martyrdom is not within my own power, but depends on the grace of God, I will call upon that grace, and will publicly preach and celebrate the name of the Lord. Similarly, Christ speaks of His Passion as a cup, and bids His Apostles and martyrs and all His members drink of it (S. Mat 20:22, and Mat 26:42). As, then, every Christian offers to Christ, His Deliverer, the Eucharistic cup and sacrifice as a thanksgiving, so does Paul offer his sufferings, his afflictions, and death to Christ, as a most pleasing cup. So, too, have all the martyrs, by openly professing their faith and dying for it, offered to Christ the cup of their martyrdom.
I believed. I believed, and I still believe. This is a continuous act of belief, and not merely one that is inchoate, especially so since David speaks of the person of Paul and of us all, and puts his own belief forward as one deserving our imitation. Ver. 14. Shall raise up us also... and shall present us with you. Shall present us with you in glory. He says out of modesty, "shall present us with you," not "you with us," because the Corinthians were the cause and object of his preaching, and so also of his glory. Ver. 15. That the abundant grace might redound to the glory of God. I.e., through many giving thanks. The Syriac renders it, "that since grace abounds through many, thanksgiving may be proportionately multiplied to the glory of God." Ver. 16. But though our outward man perish. Though the body be corrupted through persecutions, afflictions, hunger, thirst, cold, nakedness, scourgings, and diseases, yet the spirit within is renewed, and advances in faith, hope, charity, readiness of mind, and, like gold from the fire, comes out stronger and brighter, says Chrysostom. This verse differs from Rom 7:22. There the outward man is concupiscence, or the man governed by concupiscence; the inward man is charity, or the man renewed by the spirit. But here the outward man is the body, the inward is the soul; or, more appositely, the outward man is the man regarded as corporeal, or in so far as through his body he is visible, tangible, passible, and susceptible of injuries from without; the inward man is the same man regarded as possessed of a soul, or in so far as through his soul he is invisible, and bravely and cheerfully bears bodily afflictions. Since man consists of two so dissimilar parts, the body without and the soul within, and since the soul itself seems to have two sides, one which animates the body, and shows itself outwardly in the body by its working and passions, and so seems in a sense outward, animal, and embodied; one self-contained, concerned only with the operations of the mind, and so seems inward and invisible, hence man, consisting of these two parts, is called outward in the first respect, and inward in the second. Hence it is evident, against Illyricus, that original sin and concupiscence are not an evil substance formed from man by the devil, and united to man's substance as its form; for this form would be the inward man, and that so corrupt as to be incapable of renewal, opposed to what the Apostle says here. Tertullian was wrong, says S. Thomas, in gathering from this passage that the soul is corporeal, and has its figure and members like the body, so that the inward man is but a copy of the outward. In the same way John Huart, a physician, in his Examen Ingeniorum, lately published, has maintained that the souls of the lost are tortured by fire, because, he says, they have their members or images of members, they have their senses and sensations, in the same way that Dives said that his tongue was tormented, in S. Luk 16 But this opinion is baseless. As the soul is not corporeal, it has no members strictly speaking; but what is said of its senses and sensations may be true. For the rational soul, being also sensitive, has within itself a root of sense and sensation, e.g., touch, by which it feels heat and fire, and the pain they cause. Although this sensation cannot be exercised naturally apart from the body, yet God can supernaturally produce it in a soul separated from the body; for such a soul has and retains the root of sensation within itself. This is the opinion of many subtle philosophers, and they find it easy in this way to explain how fire affects the soul. Reason, too, is in their favour; for sensation wholly consists in the soul. When, e.g., we see with the eye, or hear with the ear, or touch with the hand, the sight, or bearing, or perception of touch is not in the eye, or ear, or hand, but in the soul. It is not the body but the soul which sees by the eye, hears by the ear, and touches by the hand; why, then, cannot God, by His omnipotence, produce the same sensation in a soul separated from the body? The natural use of the organs of the body, which has been lost at death, may be supernaturally replaced, as He can and does sometimes supply the object of sensation; as, e.g., he may enable a man to see through a wall what is being done in a closed bedroom, or see what is taking place in distant countries. We read of such things in the life of Anselm and other Saints.
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Day by day. As the outward, i.e., the body daily is weakened and aged by affliction, so the inward man, i.e., the mind, is daily renewed and gifted with youth through the hope of resurrection. We read of Abbot Barnabas in Sophronius (Prat. Spir. c. x.), that he drove a thorn into his foot and refused to have it taken out, and so caused his foot to fester; and when some expressed their wonder, he said. "The more the outward man suffers, the more does the inward flourish." In the same work, in chap. viii., we read of Myrogenes, a man afflicted with dropsy, saying: "Pray for me, fathers, that the inward man may not grow dropsical, for my prayer to God is that I may live a long time in this weakness." No doubt these Saints applied this general declaration of the Apostle to their own particular diseases. So that admirable martyr, Clement of Ancyra, when tortured by Agathangelus, under the Emperor Diocletian, with every possible kind of torture, though broken in body, yet became daily stronger, so much so as to long for fresh tortures, and to pray God that his life might be prolonged for them, and obtained his request. He lived for twenty eight years, during which he was constantly tortured. At length Diocletian and the judges, amazed at his constancy, asked him how he could bear such tortures, and he answered in these words of Paul: "Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day." Ver. 17. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment. All our tribulation is light and short-lived when compared with the exceeding weight of eternal glory, and is to it as a single feather is to all the lead in the universe. S. Augustine (Enarr. in Psa 70), when explaining the words of Christ, "For My yoke is easy, and My burden light," says beautifully: " The one burden is oppressive and wearisome, but that of Christ sustains thee. One pulls thee down, the other lends thee wings. If you take away its wings from a bird, you take away, indeed, a weight, but by removing the weight you force it to remain on the ground. Restore the weight, and it will soar aloft. Of this kind is the burden of Christ." S. John Chrysostom had this in his mind when he was being led to Cucusus into exile. And then when, in extreme bodily weakness and fever-stricken, he was forced by his guards to travel from there for seventy days continuously, with the hope that he would succumb to the hardships of the journey, and so rid the Empress Eudoxia of one she hated bitterly (as indeed happened), when oppressed with hunger, thirst, poverty, heat, and attacks by the Isaurians, he cheerfully and bravely overcame them all, and, forgetful of himself, consoled and animated the noble matrons, Olympias and Pentadia, and his other friends, bidding them be ready to bear bravely imprisonment and other sufferings for Christ. It was then that he wrote that Divine treatise on the theme, "No one is injured but by himself," in which he surpasses himself. By solid arguments he showed that the whole cause and matter of real pain arise from ourselves, and not from any one else. "Sin alone," he says, "is the only evil, and the only one to be grieved for, and it cannot find lodgment in the breast by one's own free-will. But all other evils and pains, when compared with sin, are not real, but only painted shadows, being light, short-lived, and of little account; but sin brings in its train an innumerable number of grievous and eternal pains." A far more exceeding. The Greek is, "from excellence to excellence," i.e., says Theophylact, a weight of glory that is above measure wonderfully sublime and great. The Latin version gives, "above measure excellent." The sense, of course, is the weight of future glory is incomparably greater and more sublime than the tribulation we suffer here. Chrysostom and Theodoret remark on the beautiful contrast drawn between the eternal and the momentary, the weight and the lightness, the rest, nay, the glory and the tribulation. So in the next verse we have a contrast drawn between the things which are seen and the things which are not seen, between things temporal and things eternal. So to the Maccabees, to Vincent, Laurence, Stephen, stones, gridirons, and racks, and all tortures, when compared with the glory of heaven, were but as a moment in respect of eternity, as a feather or a bubble in respect of heaven, as a point in respect of the whole world. S. Augustine (Enarr. in Ps. xciv.) says beautifully that " God says 'I have somewhat for sale!' 'What is it, Lord?' 'The Kingdom of heaven.' 'With what price is it bought?' 'Thy kingdom is bought with poverty, joy with grief, rest with toil, glory with shame, life with death.'" For it is written, "Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven; blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted," &c. S. Paul therefore aptly assigns to glory, weight; to tribulation, lightness; a moment's duration to this, eternity to that; to this, present time and place; to that, an exalted permanence; to this, tribulation, that it is ours as a thing we can contain within the hand; to that that it ever works within us, beyond all conception and all measure.
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Eternal weight of glory. The Syriac is "an infinite glory for ever and ever." This is "worked for us," not physically or efficiently, but morally and meritoriously. Hence appears the merit of good works. Calvin, however, denies that this follows, and in this he is followed by Beza; he says that all that is here signified is the order and road by which we attain to glory, viz., through tribulations. But this is too cold an exposition. A road or way is not said to work the end of the journey, unless you understand the road to mean, not the way itself by which you go, but the act of travelling or journeying; this, indeed, is the cause of the end of the journey, and not merely the moral cause, but the physical and efficient cause. But if Calvin assign this to good works and merits in respect of the eternal reward, he assigns more to them than Catholics do. Again, the Greek word κατεργάζεται shows that more than the order of going is meant, for it signifies, "works out," "finishes," "perfects; " i.e., it denotes a cause, not of any kind, but one that is powerful and efficacious. So say Ambrose and also Chrysostom in these words: "God, the just judge, renders bliss to the just, in the same way that He renders hell to the wicked." But to the wicked He assigns hell as the merited punishment of their wickedness, therefore to the just also He assigns bliss as the reward they merit for their good works. S. Bernard (Serm 17 in Ps. xci.) says. " He did not say, 'Shall be rewarded,' but, 'Worketh in us an eternal weight of glory.' Glory, my brethren, lies hidden in our tribulation; in this momentary act eternity is involved, in this imponderable there is an exceeding weight." One is contained in the other, as the harvest is contained in the seed. When the seed puts forth its strength it is already producing the harvest. S. Bernard goes on to say: " Meanwhile let us hasten then to buy for ourselves that field, that treasure hidde in the field; let us count it all joy when we fall into divers Tribulations. Let us learn to say with all our heart, 'It is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting.'" It may be asked, How can these sufferings be called light, when in another place they are said to be not worthy to be compared? I answer that they are not worthy so far as they are sufferings, or natural penal works, because in this sense they have no proportion to so great glory; yet they are "worthy" in so far as they are borne from grace or charity. They then become works of grace, which is the seed whence glory springs. As the seed has a certain worthy proportion to the harvest, so has grace to glory. Again, they are "worthy" in so far as they are sufferings of Christ, springing from His merits and subordinated to them. For Christ merited for us this endurance of sufferings and afflictions, and also merited that we should merit eternal glory by this suffering of ours, as though it were His own, flowing from Him and His merits. S. Bernard (Serm. 1 de Diversis) presses well each word of the Apostle here; he says: " Go on, then; murmur and say, 'It is too long, it is too heavy: I cannot endure sufferings so great and protracted.' The Apostle declares that what He suffered was light and but for a moment. Certainly you have not yet received of the Jews five times forty stripes save one; you have not yet laboured more than all; you have not yet resisted unto blood. Let us see, then, if sufferings are not worthy to be compared with glory. (1.) Why do you uncertainly count up days and hours? The hour flieth by and with it punishment: they do not attach themselves to you, nay, they give place and are succeeded by others. It is not so with glory, it is not so with our reward, with the recompense of our toil. It knows no change, no end; we enjoy it wholly and all at once, and it abides for ever. (2.) Punishment is sipped drop by drop, it is easily swallowed, and soon done with. But in our reward there is a torrent of pleasure, and an overpowering current, an overflowing torrent of joy, a river of glory and of peace. (3.) It is not a glorious robe, or a glorious abode, but glory itself that is promised us. In truth, the expectation of the just is not of something joyful but of joy itself. It is not the honeycomb, but the most pure, liquid honey, that God has laid up for us; it is very joy, life, glory, peace, pleasure, delight, felicity, happiness, and exultation that the Lord our God has treasured up for us; and all these things are one, that Jerusalem may share it equally in all her citizens. And this one Thing is nothing save Himself, according to the words of the Apostle, 'God shall be all in all.' This is our reward, this is our crown and prize. Would God that we may so run that we may obtain." The author (perhaps Huh of S. Victor) of the treatise, de Anima et Spiritu, which is found in the works of S. Augustine (but evidently not his, for it quotes Boethius), graphically describes this weight of glory and these joys of the Blessed (c. lvii. et seq.). (1.) He describes the mutual love of all the Blessed, and their consequent mutual joy; for no one rejoices in his own glory alone, but in that of every one else, and hence he is not once blessed, but a hundred thousand times. (2.) He describes the rapture of the Blessed flowing from the Beatific Vision. (3.) He sets before our eyes their perfect peace and happiness. (4.) He vividly describes (c. lxiv.) the greatness of their wealth, which is God Himself. (5.) He relates the abundant fulness of the beauty, good health, wisdom, melody, honour, riches, and of all good things more than we can taste here, or even conceive of. " In heaven," he says, " is whatever you love, whatever you desire. If you are delighted with beauty, the just shall shine as the sun; if swiftness or strength, they shall be as the angels of God; if a long and healthy life, there is eternal health and a healthy eternity; if it is fulness, they shall be filled when the glory of the Lord shall appear; if it is intoxication, they shall be intoxicated from the richness of the house of God; if it is melody, there the angels endlessly sing sweet strains to God; if any worldly pleasure, the Lord shall give them to drink of the torrent of His Godhead; if wisdom, they shall be all taught of God; if concord, their food will be the will of God; if power, they will enter into the power of God, and they will be all-powerful over their own will, as God is over His. As God can do what He will by Himself, so by Him will they be able to do what they will. If honour and riches, God will set His good and faithful servants over many things; if true security, they will have sure certainty that their good will never fail them, for they will know that of their own accord they will not lose it, and that God, who loves them, will not take it against their will from them that love Him." From all which Gregory (Hom. 32 in Evang.) rightly infers that " no one can come to great rewards but by great labours. Hence that excellent preacher, Paul, said that no one is crowned except he strive lawfully. Let, then, the mind be delighted at the greatness of the prize, but not terrified by the laborious conflict. " The present time, as one of the Saints says, is a time of penitence and toil; the future will be a time of rest and gladness. Ver. 18. The things which are seen are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. S. Augustine (Sentent. No. 270) says well: " There is this difference between things temporal and things eternal, that the former are loved more before they are obtained, but, seem worthless when they arrive. Nothing satisfies the mind but a true and certain eternity of incorruptible joy. But eternal joy is more ardently loved when obtained than when longed for. No one can value it above its true worth, so that when he attains it it seems vile in his eyes through having been too ardently longed for. But so great is the excellency of heaven that charity will obtain far more than faith has believed or hope desired. " See also S. Gregory, Hom. in Evang., where he draws out at length this distinction between carnal and spiritual pleasures.
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Ostensa dignitate ministerii novi testamenti, hic consequenter apostolus determinat de usu ministerii. Et circa hoc duo facit. Primo enim ostendit usum huius ministerii, qui debet esse in agendis bonis; secundo illum, qui debet esse in malis patienter tolerandis, ibi habemus autem thesaurum, et cetera. Circa primum duo facit. Primo ponit huius ministerii usum; secundo obiectionem excludit, ibi quod si, et cetera. Dicit ergo: quia igitur huiusmodi ministerium est tantae dignitatis in se et in ministris, ideo habentes hanc administrationem, idest hanc dignitatem administrandi spiritualia. I Cor. IV, 1: sic nos existimet homo, ut ministros, et cetera. Rom. XI, 13: quamdiu sum gentium apostolus, ministerium, et cetera. Habentes, inquam, non ex nobis, seu ex meritis nostris, sed iuxta quod misericordiam consecuti sumus a Deo, id est ex misericordia Dei, quam in hoc consecuti sumus a Deo. I Tim. I, 13: misericordiam consecutus sum, et cetera. Consequenter cum dicit non deficimus, etc., describit usum huius ministerii, qui debet esse circa bona agenda, et hoc quantum ad duo. Primo quantum ad vitationem malorum; secundo quantum ad operationem bonorum in manifestatione, et cetera. Docet autem vitari mala in usu huius ministerii, et quantum ad vitam, et quantum ad doctrinam. Sed quantum ad vitam dupliciter, scilicet quantum ad operationem, et quantum ad intentionem. Nam si quis vitat mala operari et bona intentione, perfecte vitat mala. In operatione autem vitatur malum, in adversitate patienter mala sustinendo, et ideo dicit non deficimus, per impatientiam. Gal. VI, 9: bonum autem facientes non deficiamus. II Cor. XII, v. 10: cum infirmor, tunc fortior sum et potens.
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Vitatur etiam in prosperitate, temperate utendo eis quae prospere succedunt, et ideo dicit sed abdicamus occulta dedecoris, id est amovemus a nobis quae hominem turpem et dedecorosum faciunt, scilicet immunda et turpia, et etiam occulta, non solum manifesta. Iac. I, 21: abiiciamus omnem immunditiam. Eph. V, 12: quae in occulto ab eis fiunt, turpe, et cetera. In intentione autem vitatur malum vitae, si est intentio recta, et quantum ad hoc dicit non ambulantes in astutia, id est in astutia et simulatione et hypocrisi, quod faciunt pseudo, qui aliud praetendunt exterius, et aliud gerunt interius in corde. Iob XXXVI, 13: simulatores et callidi provocant iram Dei. In doctrina autem vitatur malum quando verbum domini debito modo proponitur, et quantum ad hoc dicit non adulterantes verbum. Quod dupliciter exponitur, ut patet supra. Et primo non permiscentes doctrinae Christi falsam doctrinam, quod faciebant pseudo dicentes legalia debere servari cum Evangelio. Secundo non praedicantes propter lucrum, vel gloriam propriam. Et istorum primus est lupus, secundus mercenarius. Sed qui vera praedicat, et propter gloriam Dei, est pastor. Unde Augustinus: pastor est amandus, lupus vitandus, sed mercenarius ad tempus tolerandus. Sed quia non sufficit ad perfectam iustitiam solum vitare mala, sed requiritur operatio bona, ideo consequenter subiungit de operatione bonorum in ipso usu huius ministerii. Et ponitur triplex bonum, quod facit contra triplex malum. Primum bonum contra malum doctrinae; secundum contra malum operationis; tertium contra malum intentionis. Contra malum doctrinae, quod debet vitari, facit bonum manifestae veritatis. Et quantum ad hoc dicit in manifestatione veritatis, quasi dicat: non deficimus sed, vitantes mala, ambulamus et proficimus in manifestatione veritatis, id est veritatem puram manifestamus. Io. XVIII, 37: ad hoc natus sum, ut testimonium perhibeam veritati. Eccli. XXIV, v. 31: qui elucidant me, vitam aeternam habebunt. Contra malum operationis faciunt bona opera, et quantum ad hoc dicit commendantes nosmetipsos, et cetera. Et hoc non facimus dicendo de nobis bona, quia non de facili creditur ei qui seipsum commendat, sed operando bona, quia talia opera facimus, ut ex ipsis operibus reddamus nosmetipsos commendabiles, ad omnem conscientiam hominum. I Petr. II, 12: conversationem vestram inter gentes, et cetera. Contra malum intentionis facimus bonum reddendo nos commendabiles, non solum ad omnem conscientiam hominum, sed etiam coram Deo, qui intuetur corda. Infra X, 18: non enim qui seipsum commendat, ille probatus est, et cetera. Rom. XII, 17: providentes bona, non solum coram, et cetera. Et, secundum Augustinum in Glossa, apostolus implet in hoc mandatum domini, Matth. V, 16: sic luceat, etc., item c. VI, 1: attendite ne iustitiam, etc., primum in hoc quod dicit commendantes nos, etc.; secundum vero in hoc quod dicit coram Deo, Rom. II, 28: non enim, qui in manifesto, et cetera. Vel potest totum hoc magis secundum continuationem litterae, legi sic, ut dicatur: ideo habentes hanc administrationem, iuxta quod, etc., non deficimus, supple a bene operando, sed abdicamus, etc., et iterum, in manifestatione veritatis; servato tamen eodem modo exponendi, sicut in prima lectura.
Hic consequenter apostolus respondet cuidam tacitae obiectioni. Posset enim dici sibi ab aliquo: tu dicis, quod non deficis in manifestatione veritatis Christi, sed hoc non videtur, quia multi contradicunt tibi. Huic ergo quaestioni respondet. Et circa hoc duo facit. Primo enim respondet quaestioni praedictae; secundo excludit quoddam dubium, quod videtur ex responsione sua sequi, ibi non enim nosmetipsos, et cetera. Circa primum tria facit. Primo ostendit quibus occultatur veritas Christi; secundo occultationis causam assignat, ibi in quibus Deus huius saeculi; tertio ostendit quod hoc non est ex defectu veritatis Evangelii, ut occultetur, ibi ut non fulgeat, et cetera.
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Dicit ergo: dixi quod non deficimus in manifestatione, quod, idest sed, si Evangelium nostrum, quod scilicet nos praedicamus, est opertum, id est occultum, non est opertum omnibus, sed illis tantum, qui pereunt, scilicet praebendo impedimentum ne eis manifestetur. I Cor. I, 18: verbum crucis pereuntibus stultitia est, et cetera. Causa ergo huius occultationis est non ex parte Evangelii, sed propter eorum culpam et malitiam.
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Et hoc est quod subdit in quibus Deus huius saeculi, et cetera. Et hoc potest exponi tribus modis. Primo modo sic: Deus huius saeculi, id est Deus qui est dominus huius saeculi et omnium rerum creatione et natura, iuxta illud Ps. XXIII, 1: domini est terra, et plenitudo eius, orbis terrarum, excaecavit mentes infidelium, non inducendo malitiam, sed merito, imo demerito praecedentium peccatorum subtrahendo gratiam. Is. VI, 10: excaeca cor populi huius, et cetera. Unde et praecedentia peccata insinuat, cum dicit infidelium, quasi infidelitas eorum fuerit causa huius excaecationis. Secundo modo sic: Deus huius saeculi, id est Diabolus, qui dicitur Deus huius saeculi, id est saeculariter viventium, non creatione sed imitatione, qua saeculares eum imitantur. Sap. II, 25: imitantur eum, qui sunt, et cetera. Et hic excaecat suggerendo, trahendo et inclinando ad peccata. Et sic quando iam sunt in peccatis, operiuntur in tenebris peccatorum ne videant. Eph. IV, 18: tenebris obscuratum habentes intellectum, et cetera. Tertio modo sic: Deus habet rationem ultimi finis, et complementum desideriorum totius creaturae. Unde quidquid aliquis sibi pro fine ultimo constituit in quo eius desiderium quiescit, potest dici Deus illius. Unde cum habes pro fine delicias, tunc deliciae dicuntur Deus tuus; similiter etiam si voluptates carnis, vel honores. Et tunc exponitur sic: Deus huius saeculi, id est illud quod homines saeculariter viventes sibi pro fine constituunt, ut puta voluptates, vel divitiae et huiusmodi. Et sic Deus excaecat mentes, inquantum impedit ne homines lumen gratiae hic, et gloriae in futuro, videre possint. Ps. LVII, v. 9: supercecidit ignis, scilicet concupiscentiae, ut non viderent solem. Sic ergo excaecatio infidelium non est ex parte Evangelii, sed ex culpa infidelium. Et ideo subdit ut non fulgeat, et cetera. Ubi sciendum est, quod Deus pater est fons totius luminis. I Io. I, 5: Deus lux est, et tenebrae in eo non sunt, et cetera. Ex hoc autem fontanoso lumine derivatur imago huius luminis, scilicet filius verbum Dei. Hebr. c. I, 3: qui cum sit splendor, et cetera. Hic ergo splendor gloriae, imago fontanosae lucis, carnem nostram accepit et multa gloriosa et divina in hoc mundo opera fecit. Declaratio igitur huius lucis est Evangelium, unde et Evangelium dicitur notitia claritatis Christi, quae quidem notitia virtutem habet illuminativam. Sap. VI, 13: clara est et quae numquam marcescit sapientia, et cetera. Et quidem, quantum est de se, in omnibus refulget et omnes illuminat, sed illi qui praebent impedimentum, non illuminantur. Et hoc est quod dicit: ideo excaecavit mentes infidelium, ut scilicet non effulgeat in eis, scilicet in mentibus infidelium, licet in se effulgens sit, illuminatio Evangelii illuminantis. Quod quidem est illuminans, quia est gloria Christi, id est claritas. Io. I, 14: vidimus gloriam, et cetera. Quae quidem gloria provenit Christo ex eo quod est imago Dei. Col. I, 15: qui est imago invisibilis Dei. Nota, secundum Glossam, quod Christus perfectissima imago Dei est. Nam ad hoc quod aliquid perfecte sit imago alicuius, tria requiruntur, et haec tria perfecte sunt in Christo. Primum est similitudo, secundum est origo, tertium est perfecta aequalitas. Si enim inter imaginem et eum, cuius est imago, esset dissimilitudo, et unum non oriretur ex alio, similiter etiam si non sit aequalitas perfecta, quae est secundum eamdem naturam, non esset ibi perfecta ratio imaginis. Nam similitudo regis in denario, non perfecte dicitur imago regis, quia deest ibi aequalitas secundum eamdem naturam; sed similitudo regis in filio dicitur perfecta imago regis, quia sunt ibi illa tria quae dicta sunt. Cum ergo ista tria sint in Christo filio Dei, quia scilicet est similis patri, oritur a patre, et aequalis est patri, maxime et perfecte dicitur imago Dei. Consequenter cum dicit non enim nosmetipsos, etc., removet apostolus quoddam dubium. Posset enim aliquis, contra praedicta, dicere apostolo: supra dixisti Evangelium vestrum esse opertum, modo dicis Evangelium Christi illuminare; si ergo detur quod Evangelium Christi sit illuminans, non potest hinc sequi quod opertum sit Evangelium vestrum. Et ideo ad hoc removendum, duo facit. Primo, ostendit quod idem est Evangelium suum et Christi; secundo, ostendit unde sit quod Evangelium suum sit illuminativum, ibi quoniam Deus qui dixit, et cetera. Dicit ergo primo: dico quod manifestatio claritatis Christi est Evangelium Christi et nostrum. Nostrum quidem tamquam per nos praedicatum; Christi vero, tamquam in ipso Evangelio praedicati. Et hoc est quod non praedicamus nosmetipsos, id est non commendamus nos, nec ad nos, id est ad laudem, vel lucrum nostrum convertimus praedicationem nostram, sed ad Christum totum referimus et laudem eius. I Cor. c. I, 23: nos autem praedicamus Christum, et cetera. Ps. LXXII, 28: ut annuntiem omnes praedicationes tuas, non meas, in portis, et cetera.
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Sed Iesum dominum nostrum, nos autem servos vestros per Iesum. Quasi dicat: Iesum praedicamus ut dominum, nos autem servos. Et huius ratio est quia principaliter quaerimus laudem Christi et non nostram. Nam servus est, qui est propter utilitatem domini. Et inde est, quod minister Ecclesiae, qui non quaerit honorem Dei et utilitatem subditorum, non dicitur verus rector, sed tyrannus. Nam quicumque bene regit, debet esse sicut servus, quaerens honorem et utilitatem subditorum. Gen. XXV, 23: maior serviet minori. I Cor. IX, 19: cum essem liber, omnium vestrum me servum feci. Consequenter cum dicit quoniam Deus qui dixit, etc., ostendit unde Evangelium suum habet virtutem illuminativam. Ubi nota ordinem procedendi servatum ab apostolo, qui talis est: nos aliquando, scilicet antequam conversi essemus ad Christum, eramus tenebrosi sicut et vos et alii in quibus non fulget claritas gloriae Christi. Nunc vero, postquam Christus vocavit nos per gratiam suam ad se, tenebrae istae remotae sunt a nobis, et iam fulget in nobis virtus gloriae claritatis Christi; et intantum refulget in nobis, quod non solum illuminamur ad hoc quod videre possimus, sed etiam quod alios illuminemus. Ex spirituali ergo gratia et abundanti refulgentia claritatis gloriae Christi in nos, habet Evangelium nostrum virtutem illuminativam. Et hoc est quod dicit: dico quod ideo illuminat Evangelium nostrum, quoniam Deus, qui dixit, id est praecepto solo fecit, lucem splendescere, quod fuit in separatione elementorum, quando chaos tenebrosum illuminavit per lucem quam fecit. Gen. I, 3: dixit, fiat lux. Eccli. XXIV, 6: ego feci, ut in caelis oriretur lux, et cetera.
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Iste, inquam, Deus, illuxit in cordibus, id est in mentibus, nostris, prius tenebrosis per absentiam luminis gratiae et obscuritatem peccati. Lc. I, 79: illuminare his qui in tenebris, et cetera. Illuxit, inquam, non solum ut nos illuminaremur, sed ad illuminationem, id est ut et alios illuminemus. Eph. III, 8: mihi omnium sanctorum minimo data est, et cetera. Matth. V, v. 14: vos estis lux, et cetera. Ad illuminationem dico, scientiae, id est ut faciamus alios scire. Dico, claritatis Dei, id est clarae divinae visionis, in facie Iesu Christi. Glossa: id est per Iesum Christum, qui est facies patris, quia sine ipso non cognoscitur pater. Sed melius dicitur sic: ad illuminationem sanctae claritatis Dei, quae quidem claritas fulget in facie Christi Iesu, id est ut per ipsam gloriam et claritatem, cognoscatur Christus Iesus. Quasi dicat: in summa, ad hoc Deus illuxit nobis ad illuminationem, ut ex hoc Iesus Christus cognoscatur et praedicetur in gentibus.
Supra tractavit de usu ministerii novi testamenti quantum ad bona agenda, hic consequenter tractat de usu eius quantum ad tolerantiam malorum. Et circa hoc duo facit. Primo enim ostendit tolerantiam malorum, quae patiebantur; secundo vero hoc manifestat, ibi semper enim nos, qui vivimus, et cetera. Circa primum tria facit. Primo ponit causam quare tribulationibus exponantur a Deo; secundo ostendit, quod in istis tribulationibus patienter se habeant, ibi in omnibus tribulationem patimur, etc.; tertio vero rationem huius patientiae assignat, ibi semper mortificationem Iesu, et cetera. Dicit ergo, Deus illuxit mentibus nostris ad illuminationem aliorum, quae quidem lux est maximus thesaurus. Sap. VII, 14: infinitus enim thesaurus, et cetera. Is. XXXIII, 6: divitiae salutis sapientia, et cetera. Istum autem maximum thesaurum non habemus in pretioso loco, sed in re vili et fictili: et ratio huius est, ut scilicet Deo efficacia eius tribuatur.
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Et hoc est quod dicit habemus thesaurum istum, id est lucem illam qua alios illuminamus, in vasis fictilibus, id est in corpore fragili et vili. Ps. CII, 14: ipse cognovit figmentum nostrum. Ier. XVIII, 6: sicut lutum in manu figuli, sic et vos in manu, et cetera. Is. LXIV, 8: et nunc, domine, pater noster es tu, nos vero lutum. Ideo habemus in vasis fictilibus, ut sublimitas, istius lucis, sit virtutis Dei, id est Deo attribuatur, et non ex nobis credatur esse. Nam si essemus divites, si potentes, si nobiles secundum carnem, quidquid magnum faceremus, non Deo, sed nobis ipsis attribueretur. Nunc vero, quia pauperes et contemptibiles sumus, huiusmodi sublimitas Deo, et non nobis, attribuitur. Et ideo vult nos Deus contemptui haberi, et tribulationibus exponi. Deut. XXXII, 27: ne dicerent: manus nostra excelsa, et cetera. Et I Cor. I, 29: ut non glorietur omnis caro, et cetera. Sap. XII, 8: misisti antecessores tuos ne dicerent, et cetera.
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Consequenter cum dicit in omnibus tribulationem patimur, etc., ostendit eorum patientiam in iis, quae patiuntur. Et circa hoc duo facit. Primo ostendit mala, quae patiuntur in generali; secundo enumerat ea in speciali, ibi aporiamur, sed non destituimur, et cetera. Dicit ergo. Vere habemus hunc thesaurum in vasis fictilibus, quia in omnibus tribulationem patimur; quasi dicat: nullus modus tribulandi deest nobis. Act. XIV, v. 21: per multas tribulationes, et cetera. Nec mirum, quia, ut dicitur Lc. ult.: oportuit Christum pati, et sic intrare, et cetera. Et licet sic tribulemur, non tamen angustiamur. Et loquitur ad similitudinem viatoris, qui quando non patet ei via, qua exeat de aliquo arcto loco, angustiatur. Quasi dicat: homines, qui solum in mundo confidunt, angustiantur, si undique a mundo tribulantur, quia non patet eis via remedii, cum non sperent nisi de mundo. Sed nos, licet tribulemur in mundo, quia tamen confidimus de Deo et speramus in Christo, patet nobis via evasionis et auxilii a Deo, et ideo non angustiamur. Consequenter cum dicit aporiamur, etc., enumerat tribulationes in speciali. Sunt autem quatuor in quibus homines consueverunt tribulari, et in istis tribulati sunt apostoli, scilicet in rebus exterioribus, in inquietudine status, in laesione famae, et in afflictione proprii corporis. Quantum ergo ad primum dicit aporiamur, id est depauperamur. Aporos enim Graece, Latine dicitur pauper; quasi dicat: adeo pauperes sumus, ut necessaria desint. I Cor. IV, v. 11: usque in hanc horam esurimus, et cetera. Sed non destituimur a Deo, qui est thesaurus noster. Divitiae enim non quaeruntur propter se, sed propter sufficientiam vitae. Unde homines, qui sine Dei auxilio et spe sunt, si careant divitiis, destituuntur; sed qui solum de Deo confidunt et sperant, quantumcumque aporiantur, non destituuntur. Infra VI, 10: tamquam nihil habentes, et omnia possidentes.
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Sed nec sufficit, imo cum hoc inquietamur, persecutionem patimur, scilicet de loco ad locum. Matth. X, 23: persequentur vos. Sed non derelinquimur a Deo, quin praebeat auxilium. Hebr. ult.: non te deseram, et cetera. Ps. IX, 11: sperent in te, qui noverunt te, et cetera. Sed et cum hoc laedimur in fama, quia humiliamur, id est contemnimur et pro nihilo reputamur. Io. XVI, 2: venit hora, ut omnis qui interficit vos, et cetera. Matth. V: beati eritis cum vos oderint, et cetera. Sed quia quando quis contemnitur, et causa contemptus subest, ille qui contemnitur, consuevit confundi; quando vero causa non subest, non confunditur, et istis non suberat causa contemptus, ideo dicit non confundimur. Quasi dicat: quia non subest causa, non curamus. Ps. XXX, 2: in te, domine, speravi, non confundar, et cetera. Sed quasi haec pauca sint, addit ad tribulationis exaggerationem, dicens deiicimur ad mortis pericula, sed non perimus, id est a bono non cessamus, vel non perimus quia Deus sustentat nos. Iob XI, 17: cum te consumptum putaveris, et cetera. I Cor. IV, 13: tamquam purgamenta huius mundi, et cetera. Ps. XLIII, v. 22: aestimati sumus sicut oves, et cetera.
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Consequenter cum dicit semper mortificationem, etc., subdit rationem huius patientiae. Circa quod sciendum est quod in Christo talis fuit processus. Nam a principio suae conceptionis carnem habens passibilem, et passus mortuus fuit, sed tamen interius vivebat spirituali vita. Post resurrectionem vero, illa spiritualis et gloriosa vita usque ad corpus derivata est, et factum est ipsum corpus gloriosum et immortale, quia: Christus resurgens ex mortuis, iam non moritur, et cetera. Unde ex hoc accipitur duplex status in corpore Christi, scilicet mortis et gloriae. Et ideo dicit: quod ideo pericula mortis et passiones patienter sustinemus, ut perveniamus ad gloriosam vitam. Et hoc est quod dicit: ita sustinemus semper, id est in omnibus et ubique, mortificationem Iesu, id est propter Iesum, vel ad similitudinem mortis Iesu, Gal. ult.: stigmata domini Iesu, et cetera. Quia propter veritatem passi sumus, sicut et Iesus. In corpore nostro, non solum in mente, Ps. XLIII, 22: propter te mortificamur tota die. Ut vita Iesu, id est vita gratiae quam Iesus dat; vel vita gloriae ad quam Iesus per passiones pervenit, Lc. XXIV, 26: nonne oportuit Christum pati, et ita intrare in gloriam, id est manifeste appareat etiam inimicis. Dicit ergo in futura, scilicet resurrectione, vel etiam nunc vita gloriae, in corporibus nostris, non solum in animabus, Iudic. VII: fractis lagunculis apparuerunt lucernae. Et idcirco dicit Ambrosius: non timebat mori propter resurrectionem promissam. Circumferentes, id est ubique portantes et sustinentes, quia quocumque eamus patimur et non caedimus. Et hoc ideo ut vita Iesu, quae latet nunc in corde nostro, in corporibus nostris manifestetur, quando scilicet reformabit corpus humilitatis nostrae, etc., Phil. c. III, 21. Col. III, 3: mortui estis, et vita vestra, et cetera. II Tim. II, 11: si commortui sumus, et convivemus.
Posita patientia apostolorum in malis, et causa patientiae ostensa, hic apostolus consequenter manifestat ea; et primo manifestat id quod dixit de spe gloriae; secundo vero id quod dixit de sua patientia, ibi propter quod non deficimus, et cetera. Circa primum duo facit. Primo manifestat spem gloriae quam habet; secundo ostendit unde haec spes sibi proveniat, ibi habentes autem eundem, et cetera. Circa primum tria facit. Primo ostendit quomodo mortificationem Iesu in corpore suo portet; secundo vero manifestat quomodo portet vitam Iesu, ibi ut et vita, etc.; tertio manifestat quid ex hoc sibi et aliis proveniat, ibi ergo mors, et cetera. Dicit ergo primo: dico quod portamus mortificationem in corporibus nostris, non quod moriamur, sed quia nos qui vivimus, corporali vita vel virtutibus, semper tradimur in mortem, vel in pericula mortis.
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Et hoc quidem, propter Iesum. Ps. XLIII, 22: aestimati sumus sicut oves, et cetera. Qualiter autem vitam Iesu portemus in corpore exponit subdens: ita, scilicet ut vita Iesu immortalis et impassibilis, manifestetur in carne nostra nunc mortali, ita ut caro nostra mortalis recipiat immortalitatem in resurrectione. I Cor. XV, 53: oportet autem mortale hoc induere, et cetera. Sed ex hoc quid proveniat, subdit, dicens ergo mors operatur, id est exercet dominium suum in nos, vita autem, scilicet praesens, operatur in vobis, quia estis in prosperitate, iuxta illud I Cor. IV, 10: nos stulti, et cetera. Ut mors operetur in nobis magnum bonum, scilicet consecutionem vitae spiritualis. Ps. CXV, v. 15: pretiosa est in conspectu domini mors sanctorum eius, et cetera. Sed vita terrena quam amatis, operatur in vobis magnum malum, scilicet mortem aeternam. Prov. X, 16: opus iusti ad vitam, et cetera. Io. XII, 25: qui amat animam suam in hoc mundo, et cetera. Vel aliter: duo fuerunt in Christo, mors corporalis et vita spiritualis. Dicit itaque ergo mors, etc., quasi dicat: in nobis non solum vita spiritualis operatur, inquantum imitamur spiritualiter, sed etiam mors operatur, id est propter spem resurrectionis, et propter amorem Christi, vestigia mortis Christi in nobis apparent, inquantum passionibus mortis exponimur, Ps. XLIII, 22: propter te mortificamur tota die; sed in vobis operatur solum vita Christi, per quam vitam fides plantatur in vobis et vita spiritualis. Unde autem proveniat apostolo haec spes certitudinis, subdit, dicens habentes autem, et cetera. Et circa hoc duo facit. Primo ponit causam certitudinis; secundo concludit ipsam certitudinem, ibi scientes quoniam qui, et cetera. Causa autem huius certitudinis est spiritus, infundens fidem in cordibus eorum. Unde primo ponit causam hanc; secundo vero manifestat eam per exemplum, ibi sicut scriptum est, et cetera. Dicit ergo: ex hoc speramus et non deficimus, quia sumus habentes eumdem spiritum fidei, quem antiqui habuerunt, quia, licet tempora mutata sint, spiritus tamen et fides non est mutata, nisi quod illi credebant Christum venturum et passurum, nos autem credimus ipsum venisse et passum fuisse. Et hic spiritus est spiritus sanctus, qui est spiritus fidei. I Cor. XII, 11: haec autem omnia operatur unus atque idem spiritus, et cetera. Et ibidem: alteri fides in eodem spiritu. Hunc ergo spiritum habentes, quem antiqui habuerunt, facimus eadem quae illi, et credimus. Illi autem quid fecerint, dicit Ps. CXV, 10: credidi, scilicet Deo et perfecte. Et hoc omnes antiqui fecerunt. Hebr. XI, 39: hi omnes testimonio fidei, et cetera.
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Propter quod, scilicet credidi, locutus sum, id est confessus sum fidem. Rom. X, 10: corde creditur ad iustitiam, et cetera. Quod etiam nos facimus, quia propter hoc quod credimus, loquimur et confitemur fidem et praedicamus. Act. IV, 20: non enim possumus quae vidimus et audivimus non loqui. Spiritus ergo sanctus est causa huius certitudinis. Ultimo ergo concludit conclusionem intentam, scilicet ipsam certitudinem. Et primo de salute propria; secundo de salute aliorum, ibi et constituet vobiscum, et cetera.
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Dicit ergo scientes, id est certam scientiam habentes, quoniam qui suscitavit Iesum, id est Deus pater, vel tota Trinitas, et nos cum Iesu suscitabit, ut scilicet sumamus eamdem gloriam cum Iesu, quia cum simus membra eius, debemus esse cum capite. Io. XII, 26: volo, pater, ut ubi ego sum, illic sit et minister meus, et cetera. Rom. VIII, v. 11: qui suscitavit dominum Iesum a mortuis, suscitabit, et cetera. Et non solum sum certus de salute nostra, sed etiam de vestra, quia constituet nos vobiscum, id est simul erimus; quia sicut nos sumus membra Christi, ita et vos per nos. I Thess. IV, 16: et sic semper cum domino erimus. Matth. XXIV, 28: ubicumque fuerit corpus, et cetera. Et ideo dicit vobiscum, ut animet eos ad bonum, inquantum ostendit eos non esse inferiores, sed pares. Et bene hoc possum certe dicere, quia omnia sunt propter utilitatem vestram. Nam omnia, quae sustinemus, omnes gratiae quas recipimus a Deo, sunt propter vos, scilicet instruendos nostro exemplo.
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Et hoc ideo ut gratia abundans a nobis, in vos abundet per multos in gloriam Dei, id est multi agant gratias Deo super beneficio tanto. Eph. V, v. 20: gratias agentes Deo et patri, et cetera.
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Posita patientia quam apostoli habebant in tribulationibus, et praemio quod expectabant manifestato, hic consequenter agit de patientiae causa et patientiae modo, seu ratione. Et circa hoc tria facit. Primo enim insinuat sanctorum patientiam; secundo patientiae causam, ibi non contemplantibus nobis, etc.; tertio patientiae remunerationem, ibi id enim, et cetera. Circa primum intendit ostendere, quod sanctorum patientia est invincibilis. Et hoc est quod dicit propter quod, scilicet quia sumus scientes quod qui suscitavit Iesum a mortuis, suscitabit nos et constituet vobiscum, ideo non deficimus, scilicet in tribulationibus, id est non deducimur ad hoc quod non possimus propter Christum amplius ferre et sustinere. Nam deficere idem est quod ferre non posse. Ier. XX, 9: defeci, ferre non sustinui. Causa autem quare non deficimus est quia licet quantum ad aliquid deficiamus, scilicet quantum ad exteriorem hominem, tamen quantum ad aliquid semper renovamur, scilicet quantum ad interiorem hominem. Et hoc est quod dicit sed licet is qui foris est, et cetera. Ubi sciendum est, quod occasione istorum verborum haereticus, Tertullianus nomine, dixit quod anima rationalis, quae est in hominis corpore, habet corpoream figuram et membra corporea, sicut et corpus habet: et hoc dicitur homo interior; corpus vero, cum sensibus suis, dicitur homo exterior. Quod quidem falsum est. Unde, ad intellectum huius verbi, sciendum est quod etiam secundum philosophum in Ethic., et secundum consuetudinem loquendi, unumquodque dicitur esse illud quod est principalius in ipso, puta, quia in civitate principalius est potestas et Concilium, id quod facit potestas et Concilium, dicitur tota civitas facere. Principalius autem in homine potest aliquid iudicari et secundum veritatem et secundum apparentiam. Secundum veritatem quidem principalius in homine est ipsa mens, unde secundum iudicium spiritualium virorum mens dicitur homo interior. Secundum apparentiam vero principalius in homine est corpus exterius cum sensibus suis; unde secundum iudicium illorum, qui tantum corporalia et sensibilia considerant et terrena sapiunt, quorum Deus venter est, corpus cum sensibus dicitur homo exterior. Et ideo, secundum hunc modum, loquitur hic apostolus, dicens licet homo noster, scilicet corpus cum natura sensitiva, corrumpatur, in tribulationibus, ieiuniis et abstinentiis et vigiliis, Rom. VI, 6: vetus homo noster simul, et cetera. Habac. III, 16: ingrediatur putredo, etc., tamen is homo, qui intus est, scilicet mens, seu ratio munita spe futuri praemii et firmata munimine fidei, renovatur. Quod sic intelligendum est: vetustas enim est via ad corruptionem. Hebr. VIII, v. 13: quod antiquatur et senescit, et cetera. Natura autem humana fuit in integritate condita et, si in illa integritate permansisset, semper esset nova: sed per peccatum incepit corrumpi; quo fit, quod quidquid consecutum est, sicut ignorantia, difficultas ad bonum, et pronitas ad malum, poenalitas et alia huiusmodi, totum pertinet ad vetustatem. Cum ergo natura humana huiusmodi peccatum sequentia deponit, tunc dicitur renovari. Quae quidem depositio hic incipit in sanctis, sed perfecte consummabitur in patria. Hic enim deponitur vetustas culpae: nam spiritus deponit vetustatem peccati et subiicitur novitati iustitiae. Hic intellectus deponit errores et assumit novitatem veritatis; et, secundum hoc, is, qui intus est homo, scilicet anima, renovatur. Eph. IV, 23: renovamini spiritu mentis vestrae. Sed in patria tolletur etiam vetustas poenae. Unde ibi erit consummata renovatio. Ps. CII, 5: renovabitur ut aquilae, et cetera. Sed quia sancti quotidie proficiunt in puritate conscientiae et in cognitione divinorum, ideo dicit de die in diem. Ps. LXXXIII, 6: ascensiones in corde suo. Sic ergo patientia est invincibilis, quia renovatur de die in diem. Tertium principale, scilicet huius patientiae causa, est recogitatio praemii, quae est efficacissima, quia, secundum Gregorium, recogitatio praemii, diminuit vim flagelli. Et hoc est quod dicit id enim quod, etc., quasi dicat: nihil sunt tribulationes quas hic patimur, si respiciatur ad gloriam, quam ex eis consequimur. Unde comparat statum sanctorum, qui sunt in vita ista, ad statum eorum, qui sunt in patria, et ponit quinque in utroque statu correspondentia sibi invicem. Nam primo status istius vitae in sanctis est status, quantum in se est, parvus et quasi imperceptibilis. Unde dicit id, id est minimum. Is. LIV, 7: ad punctum, in modico dereliqui te. Item transitorium. Unde dicit in praesenti, id est in vita ista, quae est in afflictionibus et aerumnis. Iob VII, 1: militia est vita hominis, et cetera. Item temporis brevitas. Unde dicit momentaneum. Is. LIV, 8: in momento indignationis abscondi faciem meam parumper a te, et cetera. Nam totum tempus huius vitae comparatum ad aeternitatem, non est nisi momentaneum. Item est levis. Unde dicit leve. Nam licet supra I, 8 dicatur: gravati sumus supra modum, quia scilicet grave est corpori, tamen spiritui charitate ferventi levissimum est. Augustinus: omnia gravia et immania facilia et prope nulla facit amor. Item est poenosus. Et ideo dicit tribulationis. Mich. VII, 9: iram domini portabo, et cetera.
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Sed quantum ad statum beatitudinis ponit quinque, quia contra hoc, quod dicit, id, ponit supra modum, id est supra mensuram. Rom. VIII, 18: existimo quod non sunt condignae passiones, et cetera. Sed contra Matth. XVI, 27: reddet unicuique iuxta opera sua. Non ergo supra mensuram. Respondeo. Dicendum est, quod ly sed, non designat aequalitatem quantitatis, ut scilicet quantum quis meruit, tantum praemietur, sed designat aequalitatem proportionis, ut scilicet qui plus meruit, plus praemii accipiat. Item contra id quod dicit in praesenti, ponit in sublimitate, id est in statu sublimi absque perturbatione. Is. LVIII, 14: sustollam te super altitudinem nubium, et cetera. Contra id quod dicit momentaneum, ponit aeternum, Is. XXXV, 10: laetitia sempiterna super capita eorum, et cetera. Contra id quod dicit leve, ponit pondus. Et dicit pondus, propter duo. Pondus enim inclinat et trahit ad motum suum quae subsunt sibi. Sic gloria aeterna erit tanta, quod totum hominem faciet gloriosum, et in anima et in corpore; nihil erit in homine, quod non sequatur impetum gloriae. Vel dicitur pondus, propter pretiositatem. Nam pretiosa solum ponderari consueverunt. Contra hoc, quod dicit tribulationis, ponit gloriae. Vel hoc quod dicit gloriae, potest esse commune ad alia quatuor, quae de statu patriae dicuntur; hoc vero quod dicit tribulationis, ad quatuor quae de statu praesentis vitae dicta sunt. Operatur supra id, scilicet quod tribulationes patimur, nam haec sunt causa et meritum, quare Deus istam gloriam nobis conferat. Est ergo sanctorum patientia invincibilis, eorum remuneratio ineffabilis, sed, remunerationis eorum recompensatio, recta et delectabilis.
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Unde dicit non contemplantibus nobis, etc., quasi dicat: licet haec, quae speramus, sint futura, et interim corpus nostrum corrumpatur, nihilominus tamen renovamur, quia non attendimus ad ista temporalia, sed ad caelestia. Et hoc est quod dicit: operatur in nobis pondus gloriae, nobis dico, non contemplantibus, id est non attendentibus ad ea quae videntur, id est ad terrena, sed ad ea quae non videntur, scilicet caelestia. Phil. III, 13: quae retro sunt obliviscens, et cetera. I Cor. II, 9: oculus non vidit, et cetera. Et quare caelestia contemplamur? Quia ea quae videntur, id est terrena, sunt temporalia, et transitoria, ea autem quae non videntur, scilicet caelestia, sunt aeterna. Is. LI, v. 8: salus autem mea in sempiternum erit.
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1. Ideo habentes admiaistrationem, juxta quod misericordiam consecuti sumus, non deficimus. Pergit Apostolus exponere ministrorum novae legis officium; ac porro de iis loquitur in prima persona, quod peculiariter suum ministerium Corinthiis, quorum erat Apostolus, commendatum esse vellet, maxime propter adversarios suos et obtrectatores pseudapostolos; ita tamen, ut simul etiam collegas suos, Titum, Silvanum, Timotheum, et alios comprehensos velit, qui cum ipso, sicut de Tito dicit infra cap. 12., eodem Spiritu et iisdem vestigiis ambulabant. Nam ideo scribit haec omnia numero pluraH. In quibusdam codicibus loco vocis administrationem, legitur: hanc administrationem; in pluribus autem antio^nis et probatis: hanc ministrationem 3 quod Graeco textui consonat: ttjv 5iaxoviav tccuty)v. Et ita legit Tertullianus lib. de pudicitia, cap. 15.: propterea habentes ministrationem istam. Juxta quod, Graece xaOcbg, sicut, Ambrosius proui. Cum igitur, inquit, hoc tam excellenti ministerio fungamur, non nostris meritis, sed gratuita Dei benignitate et electione ad illud vocati, non deficimus, id est, non segnescimus, defatigamur, degeneramus, negligentes sumus. His enim modis Graecum verbum sxxaxoojJisv interpretes Latini reddunt. Sane videtur interpres noster optime vertisse: non deficimus, quemadmodum et Tertullianus legit; ut sensus sit: Non succumbimus malis et adversitatibus, quae nobis accidunt hujus ministerii causa; non concidimus animo. Nam et infra versu 16. repetitur idem verbum hac significatione, qua et accipitur in eo, quod dicit Ephes. 3.: Peto, ne deficiatis in tribulationibus.
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2. Sed abdicamus occulta dedecoris. Abdicamus, Graece a7tsi7ta'u.sfra. Quod etsi flexione sit praeteritum, ideoque Erasmus verterit: rejecimus, alii: abdicavimus, usurpatur tamen apud autores ut praesens. Unde et Tertullianus cum interprete nostro consentiens legit: abdicamus, et Ambrosiaster: renuntiamus. Quamquam et praeteriti significatio nihilominus quadrat. Occulta dedecoris, Hebraismus, id est, occulta dedecorosa, quae solent a peccantibus occultari, ne per ea in probrum et infamiam incidant. Hoc igitur est, quod dicit: longe sumus ab omni, etiam occulta, vitae turpitudine. Perstringit autem tacite pseudapostolos, qui philosophorum more, de quibus Rom. 1., foris quidem omnem honestatem et sanctitatem ostendebant, occulte vero turpes et obscoeuas sectabantur voluptates. Quod genus hominum sepulchris dealbatis aptissime Dominus in Evangelio comparat, Matth. 23. Quidam occulta dedecoris generalius interpretantur omne vitium occultatum, quia probrosum, uti praeterea sunt avaritia, fraus et dolus, quod hujusmodi significentur verbis sequentibus: Non ambulantes in astutia, etc. Nam et generaliter a Domino dictum est: Omnis, qui male agit, odit lucem, et non venit ad lucem, ut non arguantur opera ejus, Joann. 3. Verum nihil vetat, Apostolum hac parte voluisse diversum aliquid a sequentibus significare, quodque in hoc genere praecipuum sit. Utrovis autem modo pars haec intelligatur, sentit Apostolus ac dicere vult, actiones suas ministerio sibi credito respondere; ut, quomodo ministerium est claritatis ac veritatis revelatae, sic et actiones sint ejusmodi, quae claramlucem ament, non quae latebras quaerant; quemadmodum ipse statim explicat, dicens: Sed in manifestatione veritatis etc. Nam, ut ait Dominus proxime post verba paulo ante citata, qui facit veritatem, venit ad lucem, ut manifestentur opera ejus.
Non ambulantes in astutia. Graece, sv rcavoopyia, in versutia. Sensus: Non versute et simulate conversantes cum hominibus, aliud loquentes, aliud cogitantes. Hic quoque notatur oblique pseudapostolorum hypocrisis, qui sese transfigurabant in Apostolos Christi et ministros justitiae, et hac specie dominationem exercebant in suos discipulos, et cupiditates suas explebant; ut infra declaratur cap. 11.
Neque adulterantes verbum Dei. Adulterantes, Graece Soaouvtsc vocabulum diversum ab eo, pro quo supra cap. 2. legebatur: adulterantes, sive cauponantes, xaTtTjAsoovTsg. Nam quod hic legitur, a dolo deductum est, unde alii vertunt: dolo tradentes, seu dolo tractantes verbum Dei. Res tamen eadem utrobique significata est. Nam dolum hoc loco, quemadmodum illic cauponationem, opponit Apostolus integritati ac sinceritati, quae requiritur in eo, qui verbum Dei ministret. Igitur adulteiant, id est, dolose tractant Dei verbum, qui non dispensant illud, quale traditum est, integrum, purum ac sincerum; sed permixtione sapientiae saecularis aut Judaicae doctrinae corrumpunt et vitiant; aut certe in eo ministrando non Dei gloriam quaerunt, sed suis commodis obsequuntur; quae dum captant ab hominibus, placere iis volunt, et ut placeant, Dei verbum ad eorum affectus accommodant. Talia pseudapostoli faciebant, quos idcirco subdolos operarios Apostolas appellat infra cap. 11. Ad istum fere modum Graeci commentatores hunc locum exponunt.
Sed in manifestatione veritatis commendantes nosmet ipsos ad omnem conscientiam hominum coram, Deo. In praepositio Graecis abest, et sine ea sensus constat. Nam quod Latini quidam partemillam: sedin manifestatione veritatiSj a sequentibus sejunctam ad superiora referunt, repetito priore participio: sed ambulantes in manifestatione veritatis y ut illa media: neque adulterantes verbum Dei, parenthetica sintj nulla necessitate id faciunt, quum juxta Graecorum omnium, ac veterum Latinorum expositionem aptissime cohaereat ea pars cum iis, quae sequuntur. Porro manifestationem veritatis intelligunt plerique manifestam et conspicuam rei veritatem, quod ad vitae conversationemattinet; ac si dicat Apostolus: Pseudapostoli per hypocrisin se commendant, volentes videri, quod non sunt; nos vero nihil in actionibus nostris simulantes, nuda veritate ac rebus ipsis nosmet ipsos commendamus omnium hominum conscientiae, sive credentium, sive non credentium. Quem sensum pulchre prosequitur Chrysostomus. Alii referunf ad doctrinam hoc modo: Sed aperta sinceraque praedicatione veritatis evangelicae, probamus nos omnium conscientiis veros et idoneos Evangelii ministros ita, ut, si dicere velint homines quod sentiunt, negare non possint, nos Evangelii negotium agere sincere et ex animo, velut coram Deo judice, quem nemo fallere potest. Hic intellectus probe respondet ei, quod proxime praecedit: non adulterantes verbum Dei; quod utique de doctrina praecipue dictum videtur. Verum quia secundum explicationem a nobis allatam complectitur etiam, quod ad mores pertineat, quemadmodum illud prius: non ambulantes in astutia; propterea plenius, ac, ni fallor, rectius hanc partem de veritate vitae simul et doctrinae exponemus, ut opponatur utrique membro praecedenti, sitque sensus: Tam vitae nostrae, quam doctrinae sinceritas omnibus est manifesta, ac se ipsam apud omnes commendat et probat adeo, ut nec ipsum Deum, qui cordium intuetur occulta, judicem refugiat. Colligitur hic sensus e Graecorum commentariis, et aperte traditur a Cajetano.
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3. Quod si etiam opertum est Evangelium nostrum, in iis, qui pereunt, est opertum. In iis, id est, apud eos; nisi malis (quod quidam annotant), in rcapsAxov esse more Hebraeo. Quoniam dicens: inmanifestationeveritatis, significavit, se palam ac manifeste Evangelium omnibus praedicare, ejusque claritatem, de qua superiori capite, omnium oculis offerre conspiciendam: quaerere poterat aliquis, cur igitur ipsum Evangelium non omnibus, quibus illud praedicabat, esset manifestum, sed multis adhuc opertum atque velatum. Quod enim interpres dixit: opertum, Graece est xsxccauuusvov, velatum, a quo verbale nomen xaAoujJia, quod supra velamen transtulit. Respondet Apostolus, non a parte ministrorum novae legis id provenire, quasi lumen Evangelii sua praedicatione non satis ostendant hominibus; quomodo veteris legis minister Moyses sui vultus claritatem velo obtegebat, ne videretur n populo: sed id accidere vitio ipsorum hominum, qui, mente excaecati, manifestam Evansrelii lucem non percipiant. Unde quod dixit capite praecedenti de Judaeis Evangelio non credentibus, velamen esse positum super cor eorum, id nunc universe de reprobis significat. Nec vero sentit Apostolus, Scripturam sacram solis infidelibus ac reprobis obscuram esse, fidelibus autem et electis omnibus manifestam, id est, ad intelligendum facilem ac perviam; quod ex hoc loco sectarii quidam docere conati sunt. Neque enim de Scripturis intelligendis aut interpretandis hic agitur, sed de Evangelio palam praedicato, quod reprobi non recipiunt, sed electi; aut si recipiunt illud reprobi, non ita tamen, ut oportet; quia non ei acquiescunt faciendo, quae lex Evangelii praecipit; aut si sic aliquando recipiunt, non id faciunt perseveranter. Itaque sensus est: Quod si adhuc velatum et occultum est quibusdam Evangelium, quod praedicamus, duntaxat iis, qui pereunt, id est, reprobis, velatum est et occultum, ac si dicat: Non ideo frustratur aut ministerium nostrum, aut intentio nostra; non enim propter reprobos, sed propter electos praedicamus. Omnia namque propter electos, ut ipsi salutem ccnsequantur, ait 2 Tim. 2.
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4. In quibus Deus hujus saeculi excaecavit mentes infidelium. Mentes, Graece voVjjiaxa, quod capite superiori vers. 14. sensus transtulit, quemadmodum Ambrosiaster legit etiam hoc loco tametsi res eadem significatur. Nam sensus intelliguntur mentis, non corporis. Abusi sunt olim hoc loco Marcionitae et Manichaei ad statuendum duo rerum principia seu duos deos, quorum alterum bonum dicebant, alterum malum, sive, ut Marcion, justum, sed non bonum. Et hunc quidem hujus saeculi, alterum vero alterius ac melioris saeculi Deum seu principem faciebant; denique hunc esse veteris, illum novi testamenti Deum. Quam haeresim semper ut impiam merito detestata fuit Ecclesia. Multi, quo praesentem locum ab hujusmodi sensu vindicent, ad hyperbaton confugiunt, ordinantes sententiam hoc modo: In quibus Deus excaecavit mentes infidelium hujus saeculi; ut Deus intelligatur verus ac bonus, qui excaecare dicatur iEfidelium mentes, non malitiam impertiendo, sed gratiam non largiendo, qua praedicato sibi Evangelio credant. Ita distinguit et exponit. Chrysostomus, quem caeteri commentatores Graeci sequuntur. Exstat eadem distinctio apud Latinos, Ambrosiastrum, Primasium, Sedulium, et alios posteriores; imo et apud antiquissimos illos, quibus adversus Marcionem disputatio fuit, Irenaeum, inquam, «oiL Eatii Comm. Tom. II. lib. 3. contra Gnosticorum haereses, cap. 7., ac rursum lib. 4., cap. 48., et Tertullianum lib. 5. contra Marc. cap. 11. Sed et Augustinus libro 21. contra Faustum Manich. cap. 2. testatur, plerosque catholicorum uti memorata distinctione, quam et ipse recipit tam eo loco, quam altero, qui est contra advers. leg. et proph. lib. 2., cap. 7. et 8., ostendens ex aliis Scripturis, quomodo recte dicatur ac sane intelligatur, Deum excaecare mentes quorundam; id enim facere, non malitia, sed justitia; videlicet ob merita praecedentium peccatorum. § Veiuntamen aliis affectata, nec parum violenta videtur haec constructio, cum praesertim ratio non esset, quare cum adjunctione diceret Apostolus: infidelium hujus saeculi; quandoquidem, ut ipse Chrysostomus fatetur, futurum saeculum infideles minime habiturum est, sed hoc solum, quod nunc fluit. Alii proinde, sequentes ordinem verborum Apostoli, Deum hujus saeculi interpretantur Deum verum, utpote rerum omnium, tam visibilium, quam invisibilium conditorem, et utriusque saeculi, tam praesentis, quam futuri principem; quem hoc loco Deum hujus saeculi Paulus appellare voluerit, ut innueret, ex rebus saltem corporeis et visibilibus Deum ab omnibus cognosci debuisse. Referunt hanc expositionem, nec improbant Chrysostomus, Theophylactus et Oecumenius, quamvis eam non praeferunt superiori. Sed quia Scriptura nusquam alibi Deum verum vocat Deum hujus saeculi, magis autem uti solet appellatione hujus saeculi in malam partem; sive ad significandam creaturam vanitati subjectam, Rom. 8.; sive ad hujus saeculi vel cupiditates, vel amatores designandos, velut Roman. 12.: Nolite conformari huic saeculo, et 2 Tim. 4.: Demas me reliquit, dilinens hoc saeculum, et addito epitheto, Galat. 1.: ut eriperet nos de praesenti saeculo nequam; propter hoc alii Deum quoque hujus saeculi in malum interpretantur, arbitrantes, non alium eo nomine significatum esse, quam illum, quem Dominus apud Joann. cap. vocat, id est, diabolum. Quod mirum non est, quando et angeli ejus, id est, daemones, a Paulo 1 Cor. 2. principes hujus saeculi, et Eph. 6. xoauoxpaTopsc, mundi rectores, seu principes appeliautur. Quibus et deorum nomen in Psalmis passim adscribitur. Unde est illud Psalm. 95. secundum LXX.: Omnes dii gentium daemonia. Vocatur autem diabolus a Paulo hujus saeculi Deus eadem prorsus ratione, qua Christus, apud Joann. locis jam citatis, eum vocat hujus mundi principem; quia nimirum (uti fere exponunt) iis principatur, qui terrena ac peritura bona coelestibus atque aeternis anteponunt; quales in hoc mundo plurimi sunt. Hunc commentarium, qui diabolum interpretatur hujus saeculi Deum, adeo non rejicit Augustinus, ut eodem adversus Faustum libro, cap. 9., necnon lib. 2. contra legis advers. cap. 7., doceat, etiam aliis Scripturis esse consentaaeum. Exponit autem Deum hujus saeculi, id est, hominum impiorum, non nisi in hoc saeculo florere volentium. Meminit quoque Tertullianus hujus interpretationis, utique tamquam simplicioris, loco prius citato. Videtur et Primasius hunc sensum probare; licet propter calumniantes, ut ait, ita pronuntiandum sit, ut dicamus, Deum mentes infidelium hujus saeculi excaecasse. Referuntautem hunc ccmmentarium una cum prioribus etiam alii Latini, nominatim Lombardus et S. Thomas; imo hic et solum adfert tamquam germaniorem in Summa, p. 1. qu. 65. artic. 1. Quin et inter Graecos Cyrillus sub initium disputationis adversus Julianum apostatam, idemque ab Oecumenio citatus, Satanam hoc loco vult intelligi, quem idcirco Deum hujus saeculi vocatum ab Apostolo putat, quod tails a gentilibus existimatus et creditus fuerit. Quamquam nobis prior ratio ab aliis allata magis placet, quam et ipse Cyrillus adfert 1. 8. super Joann. cap. 16., docens, ideo diabolum hujus mundi principem a Christo nuncupari, quia mundo sive saeculo dominatur, id est, pravis hominibus, qui saecularia sectantur desideria. Potest autem et haec ratio videri, cur hujus mundi princeps et hujus saeculi Deus vocetur, quia mundum hunc inferiorem, in quo nos versamur, sibi quodammodo subjectum habet: quatenus scilicet in poenam peccati, quod in hunc mundum invexit, et per quod hominem sibi subegit, data est ei potestas (restricta tamen arbitrio voluntatis divinae) tam spiritualiter, quam corporaliter hominibus nocendi per elementa ac res caeter'as humanis usibus subservientes. Propter quam causam et cibus, quem sumimus, sanctificatur per verbum Dei et orationem, 1 Tim. 4.; vide ejus loci commentarium nostrum, et quae diximus ad illud Rom. 8.: Vanitati creatura subjecta est, et ad illud 1 Corinth. 2.: Quam nemo principum hujus saeculi cognovit; item quae dicturi sumus ad illum locum Eph. 2., ubi diabolum Paulus appellat principem potestatis aeris hujus, ac praecipue ad illa verba cap. 6. ejusdem epistolae: Adversus mundi rectores tenebrarum harum, contra spiritualia nequitiae, in coelestibus. Sensum quendam ab omnibus superioribus diversum huc adducit Cajetanus. Censet enim, Deum hujus saeculi ab Apostolo vocari, dilectum quemque finem ab hominibus, qui affecti sunt his transitoriis; sive ille finis sit delectatio carnis, sive gloria, sive quodcumque aliud transitorium. Et talis finis, inquit, Deus hujus saeculi vocatur, sicut venter Deus deditorum gulae, Philipp. 3. Cujus commentarii glossator quoque meminit, et post eum alii nonnulli. Sed cum varii sint fines hominum diligentium hoc saeculum, non diceret Apostolus Deum, sed Deos hujus saeculi excaecasse mentes eorum, si hunc sensum voluisset. Porro quod ait: In quibus, etmox: infidelium, eodem referendum est, ut verborum ejus hic ordo sit et sensus: Obvelatum est Evangelium nostrum iis, qui pereunt, hoc est, iis infidelibus, quorum mentes hujus saeculi deus, id est, diabolus excaecavit, dum pravis suggestionibus et suasionibus eos avertit a fide Evangelii ipsis annuntiati; quemadmodum id Augustinus exponit lib. 21. contra Faustum, cap. 9. Significatur autem his verbis velum oppositum mentibus infidelium; ipsa nimirum caecitas inducta a diabolo. Utnonfulgeatillis illuminatio Evangelii gloriae Christi. Codices, in quibus illis vel eis non additur, defectivi sunt. In Graeco et Syriaco legitur, ut et in Latinis vetustis ac probatis, quorum alia eis habent, alia illis. Atque hinc conjici potest occasio pronominis a scribis praetermissi, quod nempe duae continuae dictiones illis et illuminatio litteras easdem haberent initiales. Ut pardcula vel consecutive capitur, si videlicet in parte praecedenti Deum verum intelligas; vel potius id, cujus gratia denotat; est enim Graece: etg xo fjirj auyaaai, alii «Siauyaaat autoTc, id est, ad hoc, ne fulgeat, vel transfulgeat eis, et caetera. Ex quo rursus argumentum sumitur, Deum hujus saeculi diabolum intelligi, cujus studium est impedire, ne lumen Evangelicum affulgeat infidelium mentibus. Textus Ambrosianus sensum magis, quam verba reddit: Ut non pervideant lumen Evangelii majestatis Christi. Caeterum persistit Apostolus in allegoria luminis, gloriae seu claritatis, et veli. Dicit itaque, diabolum velo quodam excaecationis obtegere mentes infidelium, reproborum, ut eas suis radiis non attingat lumen Evangelii, cujus praedicatione gloria Christi per Apostolos, ipsius ministros, ejusque lumine perfusos, ad aliorum illuminationem toto mundo diffunditur.
Qui est imago Dei. Quod in quibusdam Graecis additur tou aopa^TOU, invisibilis, non est hujus loci, sed huc temere transscriptum ex simili loco, qui est Coloss. 1, 15. Nam hic quidem nullus illud interpretum agnoscit, et absque eo citat hanc Pauli sententiam Tertullianus lib. 5. adversus Marcion. cap. 11. Hic observa profunditatem sensus apostolici, quo tandem universum hoc lumen, de quo locutus est; ad Deum reiert, ut fontem totius luminis. Nam mundus ab Apostolis illuminatur; Apostoli a claritate Christi lumen recip'unt, velut Moyses a claritate angeli sibi apparentis, qui procul dubio Christipersonam gerebat. Christus autem, cum sit imago Dei, non qualiscumque, sicut homo, ad imaginem et similitudinem Dei factus, Genes. 1., sed omnibus, ut ita dicam, numeris absoluta atque perfecta, non quidem illuminatur a Deo, quia lumen non accipit participative; sed a Deo Patre emanat tamquam lumen de lumine. Loquitur enim Apostolus de Christo secundum naturam increatam, secundum quam imago Dei dicitur et hoc loco, et Coloss. 1., quia natus ex Deo, perfectissime Patrem Deum repraesentat, adeo ut, rogatus ostendere Patrem, responderit: Qui videt me, videt et Patrem, Joann. 14. Qua ratione etiam Hebr. 1. vocatur splendor gloriae Dei, et figura substantiae ejus, et Sapient. 7. candor lucis aeternae, et speculum sine macula Dei majestatis, et imago bonitatis illius. Ex quibus et illud intelligitur, Apostolum dicentem de Christo, quod sit imago Dei, non solum attendere in eo nomine relationem ad exemplar, id est, ad Patrem, cujus est imago; verum etiam ad eos, qui imaginem intueri possunt, id est, rationalem creaturam, quae in Christo tamquam imagine Patrem cognoscat; ac si dicat Paulus, Christum nobis esse imaginem Dei, primum quidem Apostolis, qui propius eum intuiti sunt, deinde et caeteris per Apostolos ad eandem imaginem intuendam adductis. Sic enim, qui vident Christum, vident et Patrem, ut, qualem quantumque ex operum et doctrinae consideratione cognoscunt Filium, talem ac tantum cognoscant et Patrem. Ita Pa'er, qui per se ipsum invisibilis est, visibilem quodammodo sese exhibet in imagine sua, id est, in Filio. Porro quaenam in universum ad imaginis perfectae rationem requirantur, et utrum etiam Spiritus sanctus imago Dei dici possit aut debeat, explicatum est a nobis ad dist. 27. lib. 1. sent.
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5. Non enim nosmet ipsos praedicamus, sed Jesum Christum Dominum nostrum. Graece: sed Christum Jesum Dominum } absque pronomine nostrum, quod et omittunt vetusta quaedam latina, Primasii quoque textu suffragante. Significat Apostolus, cur addiderit: gloriae Christi, simulque verum officium ministri evangelici pergit declarare. Non enim, inquit, nosmet ipsos praedicamus, hoc est, in Evangelio praedicando non nostram spectamus gloriam, nec nostrae studemus utilitati, quemadmodum faciunt pseudapostoli; sed praedicamus Jesum Christum Dominum, id est, omnis praedicatio nostra ad eum refertur, ut Dominum nostrum, vel absolute,- ut Dominum totius creaturae, etiam secundum huma nam naturam. Omnia namque subjecta suntei, 1 Cor. 15., et ipsum Deus constituit haeredem, ac proinde Dominum universorum, Heb. 1.
Nos autem servos vestros per Jesum. Nos, Graece saoxouc;, nos ipsos, ut prius. Non dicit autem, servos Jesu, quod consequenter videbatur dicendum, quia Jesum dixerat Dominum; sed id dicit, quod est longe inferius atque humilius: servos vestros. Attamen, ne nimis abjecte de suo ministerio loqui aut sentire videatur, addit: Per Jesum, vel ut habent Graeca et Syriaca: propter Jesum; quemadmodum etiam legunt atque exponunt Ambrosiaster et Sedulius. Videtur autem in hac parte non repetendum verbum, quod praecessit: praedicamus (non enim in eo versabatur Apostolorum praedioatio, ut annuntiarent, se esse servos hominum): sed aliud quippiam supplendum, velut: exhibemus, fatemur aut profitemur, aut quid simile; ut sensus sit: Nosmet ipsos autem vobis exhibemus ut servos: palam fatemur, nos non aliud esse, quam servos vestros propter Jesum Dominum, a quo ministerium hoc nobis injunctum est; servos, inquam, vestros, quia more servorum nos totos impendimus utilitati et saluti vestrae procurandae. Quo item sensu de se ait 1 Cor. 9.: Cum liber essem ex omnibus, omnium me servum feci. Si cui videatur in hoc membro repetendum verbum praedicamus, id fiet per syllepsin quandam; cum idem verbum, plura concipiens, minus proprie refertur ad id, quod est remotius; veluti verbum laxat in carmine Virgiliano 2. Aeneid.: Inclusos utero Danaos, et pinea furtim Laxat claustra Sinon. Sic ergo praedicare, respectu hujus membri, erit profiteri.
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6. Quoniam Deus, qui dixit de tenebris lucem splendescere, ipse illuxit in cordibus nostris. Ipse multis in codicibus non legitur; ut nec in Graeco est, nec apud Tertullianum, nec apud commentatores Ambrosium et Primasium; sed ejus loco Graeca et Syra cum nonnullis Latinis mss., annuente etiam Primasio, repetunt relativum qui. Ne autem pendeat imperfecta oratio, verbum est, quod Hebraeo more tacetur, intelligi debet ad initium sententiae, supplendae ad hunc modum: Quoniam Deus est, qui dixit, de tenebris lucem splendescere, qui illuxit in cordibus nostris. Pro splendescere et illuxit, quae in Graeco sunt ejusdem thematis verba, Xafx^ai et sXaji- ^sv, Augustinus lib. 22. contra Faustum, cap. 8., et alibi legit: splendescere et splenduit, potius, quam ut Erasmus vertit: illucescere et illuxit. Porro rationem hic reddit Apostolus, quare dixerit: Non nosmet ipsos praedicamus, sed Jesum Christum Dominum. Et sensus est: Quia Deus est, qui dixit, id est, jussit, suae voluntatis imperio fecit de tenebris, vel, ut in Graeco, e tenebris, scilicet illis, quae prius erant super faciem abyssi, lucem splendescere, dicendo: Fiat lux; ut habetur Genes. 1. Et idem est, qui resplenduit in cordibus nostris, id est, lumen fidei et cognitionis mysteriorum Christi mentibus nostris, id est, Apostolorum, infudit ac superfudit. Nam quod apud Chrysostomum, eumque solum, pro nostris, t)|iu>v_, legitur: vestris, Gjjlojv, Apostoli scopo non est accommodum. Patet ex sensu, quem dedimus, illud e tenebris non materiam sttbjectam, sed terminum, a quo procedat mutatio, denotare; nec eum, qui solo naturae seu rationis ordine lucem praecesserit, ut vult Cajetanus juxta suam illam opinionem, qua scribens super Genesim docuit, omnia simul in principio creata fuisse; sed qui praecesserit ordine temporis ac realis exsistentiae; quippe cum perspicue tradat Scriptura, tenebras exstitisse, priusquam lux fieret. Simul autem indicat Apostolus, allegoriam eubesse memoratae historiae Genesis, qua nimirum doceamur, Deum, sicut verbo fecit e tenebris lucem splendescere, itidem verbo, hoc est imperio et emcacia suae voluntatis, ex infidelibus facere fideles. Nam infideles tenebrarum, et fideles lucis nomine significari, ipse docet alibi, ita fideles alloquens: Eratis aliquando tenebrae, nunc autem lux in Domino, Eph. 5.
Ad illuminationem scientiae claritatis Dei. Sive ex Graeco: Ad illuminationem cognitionis gloriae Dei, quemadmodum et Tertullianus legit libro de resurr. carn. cap. 44. Potest autem istud duobus modis accipi; vel de Apostolis illuminatis, Loc sensu: Deus infulsit cordibus nostris, illuminans nos notitia gloriae suae, id est, notitia mysteriorum, in quibus ipse glorificatur; qui Graecorum commentarius est. Vel melius de Apostolis illuminantibus, ut sit sensus: Deus illuxit nobis, ut nos illuminaremus alios, refuso videlicet a nobis in illos eodem lumine cognitionis gloriae ejus. Qui sensus optime respondet superioribus, et ministerium evangelicum explicat. Estque locus similis Ephes. 3., ubi, de eodem suo ministerio agens, dicit, sibi datam esse gratiam hanc, illuminare omnes, quae sit dispensatio sacramenti absconditi a saeculis in Deo. Sensum hunc posteriorem traduntLatini, Ambrosius, Primasius, Hervaeus, S. Thomas ac caeteri; tametsi quidam, ut Lombardus et Carthusianus, adferant etiam priorem. Non debet autem alienum videri, si dicantur Apostoli mundum illuminasse; quamvis id Christo proprium sit, de quo Joann. 1.: Erat lux vera, quae illuminat omnem hominem. Qui et de se ipso testatur: Ego sum lux mundi, Joann. 8. Siquidem et Apostolis suis honorem illius nominis communicatum voluit, dicens eis: Vos estislux mundi, Matth. 5. Quapropter et Ecclesia non immerito suis hymnis eos salutat vera mundi lumina. Verum aliter Christus, aliter illi lux mundi sunt. Christus enim lux est principaliter illuminans mundum, videlicet sua lege, suaque doctrina et gratia; Apostoli vero, Christi legem, doctrinam et gratiam praedicando, mundum illuminare dicuntur; utique tamquam illius ministri et vicarii, idque juxta veriorem intelligentiam ejus, quod sequitur:
In facie Christi Jesu. Graece Iv 7rpoc;u)7tu) 3Iy]O0l> XpiaxoD, in facie, vel persona Jesu Christi. Nam 7tpo<;oj7tov, ut faciem, ita et personam significat, quod ex facie soleat persona cognosci. Jacobus Faber transtulit: in persona; sicque etiam ex Syriaco reddidit Fabricius. Nec secus legit Tertullianus lib. 5. contra Marc. cap. 11. et de resurr. carn. cap. 44. Si faciem intelligas, poterit hic esse sensus: Claritatis seu gloriae Dei, quae refulget in facie Christi, id est, in Christo, qui est imago Dei; ut rursus allusio sit ad Moysem, cujus in vultu gloria Dei refulsit. Hoc enim fere modo partem hanc exponunt, qui faciem legunt..Si vero personam interpreteris, bifariam id exponi potest. Nam secundum Cajetanum (cui etiam placet haec lectio) significatur gloiia Dei, id est, ipsa Deitas esse in persona Christi, quia Christus est verus Deus. Ad cujus mysterii notitiam aliis communicandam Apostoli divinitus erant illuminati. Verum quia gloria seu claritas Dei nusquam in praecedentibus accipitur pro Deitate, sed generatim pro gloria mysteriorum Dei, seu pro mysteriis ipsis gloriosis; idcirco rectius et faciliori commentario sic exponitur hic locus de persona intellectus: Quod officium illuminationis exsequimur et exercemus in persona Jesu Christi, id est, nomine, vice et autoritate Christi, cujus nos hac iu parte legati sumus et ministri. Sic enim supra cap. 2. dixit, se donasse in persona Christi. Et hunc sensum aliis verbis exprimit infra, capite proximo, dicens: Pro Christo legatione fungimur, et iterum: Observamus pro Christo. Proinde eadem Paulo sunt in persona Christi, et pro Christo. Congruit hic sensus cum eo, quod dixit: Non nosmet ipsos praedicamus, sed Jesum Christum Dominum; nos autem servos vestros propter Jesum, cujus scilicet legati sumus. Imo convenit cum universo Apostoli scopo, qui est commendare ministerium evangelicum a dignitate Domini, cujus in eo ministerio persona geritur. Exstat hic sensus apud veteres Latinos, Pelagium, Primasium et Sedulium, quamvis usos textu, qui haberet: in facie Jesu, hoc est vice Jesu, ut pro quo legatione fungimur. Pelagius cum dixisset: Quae claritas est in facie Christi major quam Moysi, ita subjungit: vel in persona Christi nos (Apostoli) homines scientia illuminamus. Primasius quidem loco glossematis tantum scribit: in persona Christi, sed eodem sensu cum glossa Pelagii, ex quo solitus etiam verbatim multa decerpere. Caeterum inter recentiores sensum hunc bene explicaf Faber, tam in commentario, quam in examinatione litterae. Similiter Gaignaeus et Guilliaudus, tametsi nec priorem, qui a Graecis traditur, praetermittant. Valla quoque in suis annotationibus personam intelligi mavult, argumento simiKs loci, quem diximus cap. 2. Nam quod ajunt, qui faciem malunt, Apostolum alludere ad faciem Moysi, in qua refulsit claritas Dei; quasi dicat, eam in facie Christi refulsisse majorem, quod et Pelagii prior habebat expositio: falli in eo videntur. Non enim Paulus in superioribus Moysem contulit cum Christo, sed cum ejus Apostolis, Evangelii ministris. Cur autem Graeci de persona nihil meminerint, ea ratio est, quod illuminationem intellexerint passive de Apostolis illuminatis. Cui sensui non congruit 7ip6cu>TTOV interpretari personam. Neque enim illuminati, sed illuminantes Christi personam gerunt. Jam quod ex neotericis quidam in facie Christi interpretantur in conspectu Christi, seu coram Christo, cur id textui Graeco non videatur accommodatum, satis ostendisse me puto ad illud cap. 2.: In persona Christi. Certe Graecorum nullus hunc locum sic interpretatus est.
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7. Habemus autem thesaurum istum in vasis fictilibus. Gr&ece: ev oaTpaxtvoic axeoeaiv, in testaceis vasis, quomodo legit Tertullianus lib. de resurr. cap. 7. et 44. Prosequens Apostolus institutum suum, removet objectionem, quaemoveri poterat ex supra dictis. Dixerat enim, ministerium novae legis multo magis esse in gloria, quam ministerium veteris. At id plane falsum apparebat; quandoquidem Apostoli, novae legis ministri, essent homines inglorii, mundo contemptibiles, et multis obnoxii pressuris, aerumnis ac periculis. Primum itaque docet, in eo ipso Deum glorificari, quod per tales homines Evangelium suum mundo publicet; dum eos inter tot mala, quibus Evangelii causa premuntur, incolumes conservat. Deinde vero ostendit, gloriam ministrorum Evangelii, de qua locutus est, non in hac vita manifestandam, sed in futura. Porro thesaurum, tamquam rem valde pretiosam, vocat munus sibi creditum a Deo, hoc est, ipsum ministerium Evangelii. Hunc enim thesaurum intelligi, superiora declarant; illud maxime, quod hujus capitis initio dicitur: Habentes hanc ministrationem. Neque tamen aberrant, qui thesaurum intelligunt illuminationis, de qua versu praecedenti; vel ut B. Thomas et alii, idque suffragante Tertulliano, qui thesaurum interpretatur de lumine. Nam ministerium evangelicae praedicationis ministerium est illuminationis, ut sane videatur Apostolus, post illuminationis unam et alteram mentionem vasa fictilia nominans, alludere velle ad lumina, quae portantur in vasculis, olim plerumque fictilibus. Simul autem per hoc significatur, istum thesaurum ab Apostolis non occultari, sed palam mundo exhiberi, more lucernae evangelicae, positae super candelabrum, ut luceat omnibus, qui in domo sunt, Matthaei 5. Porro thesaurum hunc habere sive gestare dicuntur Apostoli in vasis fictilibus, non solum quia corpore mortales erant, quod omnibus est hominibus commune; sed etiam quia viles hominum aestimatione, ut qui rades essent scientiarum saecularium, iidemque ignobiles et inopes, eoque propensius propter Evangelium, quod praedicabant, omnium injuriis expositi; quemadmodum de iis memorat Paulus in priore epist. cap. 4., necnoa in conoequentibus hujus loci. Igitur in vasis fictilibus seu testaceis utrum^ue Paulus considerat, et quod fragilia sint, et quod vilia, nimirum ex luto facta. Per 5a vero significat vel corpora, vel ipsos homines luteorum vasculorum instar fragiles, et contemptibiles propter ea, quae in corporibus patiuntur; ut sensus sit, Apo.*tolos gestare pretiosum ac lucentem evaigelici ministerii thesaurum in se ipsis tancquam vasis fictilibus. Sensum enim huic sequentia videntur exigere, quae peisonis magis, quam corporibus attribuunt ea, quae ad contemptum pertinent; uti sunt: pressuras, anxietates et persecutbnes pati.
Ut suUimitas sit virtutis Dei, et non ex nobis. Graece prior pars sic habet: ut excessus (67rspPoX7j) virtutis sit Dei. Hieronjmus lib. 3. dialogi contra Pelagianos, tap. 3., citat hoc modo: Ut abundantia fortitudinis nostrae sit ex Deo. Sed rectius habet, quod alii veteres legunt: Ut eminentia virtutis sit Dei. Ita textus.\mbrosianus, necnon Augustinus epist. 143., serm. 15. de verbis Apost. cap. 1!. et alibi, et ante eos Tertullianus advers Marcion. lib. 5., cap. 11. Nisi quod h verbo sit collocando variant trifariam: sit virtutis Dei, virtutis sit Dei, virtuts Dti sit. Porro virtutis, Graece £ovaji£tt)£_, id est, potentiae; quam Hieronymus dixit fortitudinem. Quod ad syntaxim et sensum hujus partis attinet, Theophylactus ordinem verborum, qui est in Graeco, secutus, virtutem, cum sublimitate construit, non cum Deo. Ut, inquit, magnitudo et excellentia virtutis, quae in nobis apparet, Dei sit, hoc est, tota Deo tribuatur, uti declarat sequentibus verbis. Id ipsum prorsus voluit Hieronymus, quando de suo addidit: nostrae, et pro Dei dixit: ex Deo. Sic enim et Syrus interpres transtulit: ut magnitudo virtutis ex Deo sit. Eandem constructionem sequitur Cajetanus, quae et Laurentio probatur, et Erasmo placuit usque adeo, ut ejus commonstrandae causa vocabulum virtutis longius a Dei removerit, vertens ad hunc modum: ut virtutis eminentia sit Dei. At vero Latini plerique enarratores, cum quibii6 facit Tertullianus, ordinem verborum, qui est in vulgata versione, secuti, virtutem Deo jungunt; idque profecto melius, ac pro consuetudine Pauli, qui libenter meminit virtutis seu potentiae Dei, sicubi de fructu et profectu Evangelii loquitur. Unde Rom. 1. Evangelium vocat Dei virtutem, et 1 Cor. 2. sic ait: Ut fides vestra non sit in sapientia hominum, sed in virtute Dei, et hujus epistolae cap. 6.: In verbo veritatis, in virtute Dei, et 2 Tim. 1.: Collabora Evangelio secundum virtutem Dei. Nec quidquam obstat ordo verborum in Graeco, cum nemo nesciat, ordinem grammaticae constructionis a verborum ordine saepenumero discrepare. Quocirca Chrysostomus quoque et, praeter Theophylactum, caeteri Graeci cum Latinis sentiunt, plane ac perspicue virtutem ad Deum referentes; atque eo Chrysostomum adducit illud, quod Dominus ad Paulum ait: Vjrtus mea in infirmitate perficitur, infra cap. 12. Sensus igitur Paulinus est hujusmodi: Quod pretiosum hunc thesaurum evangelici ministerii portamus in vasis fictilibus, id propterea voluit Deus, ut omne bonum, ex illo thesauro proveniens, attribueretur potentiae Dei, et non ex nobis esse crederetur; id est, ut tam incolumitas nostra inter tot adversitates et pericula, quam fructus evangelicae praedicationis, qui secuturus erat maximus et amplissimus, non hominum evangelizantium viribus, aut industriae, aut sapientiae adscriberetur, sed virtuti divinae. Quamvis enim omnia bona Deo sint auton tribuenda, etiam tunc, quando vel maxime humana adhibetur industria, snpientia et potentia; non tamen ita declaratur et apparet Dei virtus, illis adhibitis, sicut conspicitur et agnoscitur sine illis. Nam etsi fatendum sit, exempli gratia, victoriam omnem esse a Deo, sive quis vincat in multis, sive in paucis; magis tamen apparet, Deum dare victoriam, quando pauci multos superant.
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8. In omnibus tribulationem patimur, sed non angustiamur. Ostendit Dei virtutem in eo, quod vasa fictilia, quae thesaurum portant, inter tot cadendi et frangendi pericula conservet. In omnibus, Graece: iv itavrt, in omni, quod fere vertunt: in omnibus. Quamquam hoc loco non incommode verti potuit: varie, multifariam. Nam eo facilius etiam ad sequentia membra referetur. Vide, quae diximus ad illud 1 Corinth. 1.: In omnibus divites facti estis. Pro verbis, quae hic in sequentibus habentur, in Graeco participia sunt passiva praesentis temporis; quae quia Latine cum eodem tempore reddi non possunt, consulto noster interpres ea mutavit in verba. Quod et Erasmus imitatus est, ita vertens: Dum in omnibus premimur, at non anxii reddimur, etc, ubi melius dixisset: at non coarctamur, ut habetalia quaedam versio. Textus Ambrosianus participia retinet: In omnibus pressuram passi, sed non coangustati, etc. Similiter Hilarius super Psalm. 118.: In omnibus tribulati, sed non angustiati. Sensus est; Quamvis undique premamur rebus adversis, non tamen ita redigimur in angustum, ut comprimamur et conteramur; sed Dei ope servamur in mediis pressuris. Hunc sensum exigunt Graeca: &Atpou,evot, otsvoxtopoujASvot. Quidam hic angustiam interpretantur animi anxietatem; quod expressitErasmus verbis memoratis suae versionis. Atqui Pauli institutum hoc loco non est declarare virtutem Dei in eo, quod Apostoli in mediis malis, quae propter Evangelium patiebantur, animo non deficerent, quod erat fortitudinis et constantiae; sed quod inter tot moriendi pericula servarentur in vita; velut si vasa fictilia atque fragilia vehementer agitata non frangantur. Id Paulum velle, patebit amplius ex versibus 10. et 11. Quae res observata juvat etiam ad trium sequentium pericoparum veram intelligentiam. Et tamen haes non ita sunt accipienda, quasi Deus suos Apostolos perpetuo servet, ne tandem malis opprimantur et occambant (sic enim martyrii gloriam numquam adipiscerentur); sed tamen eo usque, dum tempus advenerit ab ipso constitutum, quo, pro ministerio fideliter ac sufficienter espleto, velit eos evocatos ex hac vita corcnare.
Aporiamur, sed non destituimur. In Graeco jucunda est allusio verbortim simplicis et compositi, auopoufxsvot, e$X7iopo6jjievot; quasi dicas: aporiati, ied non exaporiati; quorum simplex Graecis significat in re difficili inoperc consilii, ideoque haerentem ac nescientem, quid facto opus sit; compositum vero tum, qui, evadendi consilio ac spe destitutis, obruitur periculo, nec evadit. Itaque Latinum verbum aporiamur a Graeco fictitium est, ac Latine verti poterat: haeremus, inopes consilii sumus. Textus quidem Ambrosianus sic habet: Inopiam passi, sed non destituti, quod commeitator ad inopiam rerum necessariarum rettlit, dum sic exponit: Id est, in inopia positis adfuit Pastor Deus. Eadem sgnificatione Graecum verbum accepit Tleophylactus, item Faber et Erasmus, tam in versione, quam in paraphrasi; quos et Cajetanus sequitur: Imo Latinorun haec fere communis est interpretatio, quorum vetustissimus Tertullianus in Sccrpiaco cap. 13. Graecarumvocumparononasiam ita Latine reddidit: indigemus, sei non perindigemus. Verum prior verbi significatio, quam dedimus, magis apud Graecos in usu est, eamque spectarunt in suis scholiis Theodoretus et Oecumenius. Nec secus accepisse videtur Basilius in reg. brev. resp. ad interrog. 270., si bene transtulit ejus interpres: Aporiamur, id est, summis circumvenimur difficultatibus. Eidem sensui congruit, quod habet Syra translatio: Conquassamur. Posterius verbum i^aTiopsTa&ct etiam supra legimus cap. 1., ubi nostra versio habet: ita ut taederet nos etiam vivere, et alii verterunt: ita ut etiam de vita desperaremus. Neque tamen secum pugnat Apostolus, hoc loco de se suisque collegis id negans, quod illic affirmare videtur. Nam illic eo verbo significare voluit, non modo consilii inopem in periculo se fuisse; sed omnino putasse, quod non esset evasurus, tamquam mortis in semet ipso responsum habens, ut ibi loquitur. Hic vero sentit, Apostolos, etiam in tanta desperatione vitae positos, divina tamen ope non destitui. Cujus rei praeter alia fidem faciunt ea, quae Lucas narrat de Apostolis Petro, Paulo et aliis, vel e carcere mirabiliter eductis, vel aliter ab instanti periculo toties liberatis, ut Actorum 5. 12. 14. 16. 19. et 27. Quo pertinent et ea Pauli pericula multa et magna, quae in hac eadem epist. cap. 11. enumerat, e quibus omnibus suum Apostolum Dominus eripuit.
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9. Persecutionem patimur, sed non derelinquimur. In persecutionibus, inquit, quas causa ministerii nostri patimur et quibus agitamur, non deserimur a Deo; non permittit nos Deus a persecutoribus occidi, quamvis permittat comprehendi et male mulctari; vult enim nos servare ad majorem Evangelii fructificationem. Sequitur hoc loco in multis libris: Humiliamur, sed non confundimur. Quod et Lombardus, et alii posteriores exponunt, glossam ordinariam secuti. Exponunt autem hoc modo: Affligimur et contemnimur, nec tamen erubescimus, quia causa non sulest erubescendi; quippe qui inculpate versemur in sancto ministerio. At sciendum, hanc partem nec in Graeco legi, nec in Syriaco, nec in Latinis mss. probatioribus; sed nec apud veteres scriptores, uno dempto Sedulio, vel expositam, vel citatam reperiri. Tertullianus in Scorpiaco et Augustinus in Speculo, totum hunc Pauli locum referentes, istam pericopem non agnoscunt. Hervaeus quoque, tametsi recentior, non attingit; ubi imperite quispiam ad marginem annotavit: Hic videtur aliquid deesse. Quapropter recte castigatores Romani partem hanc ut adscititiam e textu submoverunt. Nam et revera non convenit instituto praesentis loci. Non enim hic agitur, quomodo fuerint affecti in afflictionibus et contumeliis Apostoli, sed quod divinitus inter tot et tanta pericula conservati.
Dejicimur, sed nonperimus. Dejectio significare videtur periculi magnitudinem, ut cum quis in pugna ab adversario dejicitur in terram, et prostratus tenetur, jamjam, nisi quis opem ferat, occidendus. Quamvis, inquit, in tam gravia pericula saepe incidamus, ut videamur illico perituri, tamen, Deo opitulante, custodimur, ne pereamus. Idem aliis verbis repetit infra cap. 6.: Quasi morientes, et ecce vivimus. Jam ex hac quatuor pericoparum explicatione, quarum quaeque bimembris est, intelligitur, erga vasa fictilia, thesaurum evangelici ministerii portantia, quid agat hominum malitia, quid bonitas et virtusDei. Nam priora membra declarant hominum conatum, ut frangantur et pereant; posteriora Dei protectionem, ne fransrantur, sed ut salva maneant. Observanda denique hic est amplificatio rhetorica, qua res fere eadem, aliis et aliis verbis repetita, pulchro orationis schemate extenditur, ut ne quis exactum quaerat inter pericopas discrimen.
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10. Semper mortificationem Jesu in corpore nostro circumferentes. Graece: Domini Jesu; nec additur nostro; tametsi in utroque textus Syriacus nostrae consentiat lectioni. Mortificationem Domini Jesu vocat Apostolus, vel ipsam Christi passionem et mortem, quam pro nobis sustinuit; quo respicit Ambrosiana versio, quae sic habet: Semper mortem Domini Jesu in corpore circumferentes; vel mortificationem, quam patiebantur ipsi Apostoli, tum exemplo Christi passi, tum pro nominis ejus confessione. Quae duae expositiones etsi tandem eodem recidant, priorem tamen esse germaniorem, sequentia probant, ubi vita Jesu, morti ejus opposita, non alia convenienter intelligi posse videtur, quam ea, qua Jesus ipse vivit. Igitur sensus est: Quotidianis periculis, et, ut ita dicam, mortibus expositi sumus; et per hoc passionem et mortem Domini Jesu nos, illius ministri atque vicarii, repraesentatione quadam gestamus et circumferimus in nostris corporibus.
Ut et vita Jesu manifestetur in corporibus nostris. Graece et Syriace, et apud Ambrosiastrum: in corpore nostro, hoc est, uti statim exponit Apostolus, in carne nostra mortali. In qua quidem carne vita Jesu, qua vivit immortalis post resurrectionem, manifestatur, quia (quemadmodum bene mentem Apostoli Graecanica scholia declarant), dum corpora nostra mortalia inter tot pericula mortesque quotidianas occulta quadam virtute conservantur in vita, manifestum ex eo fit, Dominum Jesum, pro quo nos, resurrectionem et vitam ejus praedicantes, talia patimur, resurrexisse et vivere. Nam, ut ait Cajetanus, afflictiones et tormenta evangelizantium, tam potenter non solum tolerata, sed superata, sunt testimonia Jesu Christi viventis, et servantis et vincentis; propter quod et martyria sunt appellata. Quamquam Apostolus, ut in superioribus admonui, non tam de toleratis patienter afflictionibus ac tormentis loquitur, quam de vita ministrorum Evangelii inter afflictiones et persecutiones paene continuas singulari ac mirabili Dei prcvidentia ad fundandam et propagandam Ecclesiam diu conservata. Quod ut in multis aliis, ita specialiter ostendere voluit Deus in principibus Apostolis Petro et Paulo, qui senes mortem obierunt. Ejusdem rei insigne est exemplum in B. Athanasio inter continuas Arianorum persecutiones usque custodito, ut Ecclesiae suae praefuerit annis ferme quinquaginta. Quapropter et hunc Apostoli locum in die ejus solemni ad sacrificium missae recitat Ecclesia Romana. Sensum memoratum exigunt et illustrant verba sequentia:
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11. Semper enim nos, qui vivimus, in mortem tradimur propter Jesum. Qui vivimus, in Graeco participium est: ot C&VT6Q, viventes, hoc est, in vita manentes, vita salva, sic ut vitam non amittamus. Sensus enim est: Quotidie propter Evangelium Jesu, pro nobis mortui, nos ejus ministri in mortis pericula tradimur, nec tamen morimur, sed, Dei virtute nos protegente, permanemus in vita.
Ut et vita Jesu manifestetur in carne nostra mortali. Id est, ut in corporibus nostris mortalibus, toties in mortem traditis, et tamen adhuc viventibus, manifesto appareat, etiam Jesum, quem praedicamus, vivere.
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12. Ergo mors in nobis operatur, vita autem in vobis. Graece: 6j(;t6 6 u,ev ftavaTOt;, itaque mors quidem, ut habet textus Ambrosianus. Pro verbo: operatur, Erasmus: agit, vertendum putavit, ut et alii nonnulli. Quod secuti commentatores quidam, hic subesse volunt prosopopoeiam in morte et vita; quemadmodum alibi interdumapud hunc Apostolum, ut Rom. 5. 6. 7. et 1 Cor. 15. Verum, ut alias annotavi, Graecum verbum Ivepyeltoci, quamvis medium sit, passive tantum ab autoribus Graecis usurpatur. Lege, quae supra diximus ad caput 1, 6.: Quae Passiones peccatorum operabantur in membris nostris. Proinde verbum Latinum operatur passive exponendum est; quomodo diserte exponunt operatur, id est efficitur, glossa ordinaria et Lombardus, licet etiam activam expositionem adferant priore loco. Sensus autem germanus est: Igitur in nobis Apostolis, qui praedicamus vobis Evangelium salutis, mors agitar et exercetur; nam (ut in superioribus dictum mortificationem Jesu in corpore nostro circumferentes; semperque tradimur propter Jesum; ut vicissim in vobis vita agitur et exercetur, id est, per nostra pericula nostramque quotidianam mortem vobis gignitur, augetur, perficitur vita spiritualis. Nam Apostolorum et martyrum mors vita est Ecclesiae. Vult enim significare Paulus, alterum esse causam alterius; ac si dicat: Ex Evangelio, per assidua moriendi pericula a nobis praedicato, provenit vobis fructus ^ itae ct salutis aeternae. Chrysostomus alium huc sensum adducit. Censet enim, ironicam esse exprobrationem in Corinthios; tamquam dicere velit Apostolus: Interim, dum nos quotidianis objicimur periculis, vos securi vitam agitis, et animos relaxatis periculorum expertes. Meminerunt hujus expositionis etiam Latini, sed quae tamen ex contextu vix ullam habeat probabilitatem. Unde nec caeteri Graeci hunc Chrysostomi commentarium sequuntur. Par ratio de eo, quod Primasius dicit, Apostolum increpative loqui et cum interrcgatione; quasi sentiat, iniquum esse et indignum, quod mors operetur in Apostolis, et vita in Corinthiis. Caeterum nostrae expositioni, qua sine figura partem hanc interpretamur, optime congruit illud, quod paulo post sequitur: Omnia propter vos.
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13. Habentes autem eundem Spiritum fidei. Adhuc dicere quis poterat: Quamvis novae legis ministri inter pericula diu conserventur in vita, multis tamen pressuris et persecutionibus per vitam obnoxii sunt; ac certe tandem eis moriendum est. Ubi ergo illorum gloria major, quam Moysi, de qua capite superiori? Plenius itaque nunc respondens Apostolus, docet, gloriam ministrorum Evangelii non hujus esse saeculi, sed per fidem exspectari in futuro. Spiritum fidei dicit autorem, donatorem; vel metonymice Spiritum fidei, id est, fidem a Spiritu donatam; quomodo legimus alibi Spiritum mansuetudinis, pietatis, fortitudinis, dilectionis, sobrietatis, pro ipsis hujusmodi donis Spiritus sancti, Igitur eundem Spiritum fidei recte intelligimus eandem fidem ab eodem Spiritu profectam; quasi dicat Apostolus: Cum ad eadem credenda ab uno Spiritu sancto moveamur. Sed cum quibus eadem? Plerique eadem intelligunt cum iis, quae David credidit, cujus mox testimonium subjicitur; aut in genere cum iis, quae crediderunt Sancti Patres et Prophetae veteris testamenti, quorum unus fuit David. Juxta quem intellectum, ut ab interpretibus, tam Graecis, quam Latinis, annotatum est, ostendit hic locus contra Manichaeos, eundem esse Spiritum, et consequenter eundem Deum ac Dominum utrique testamenti; item ostendit, eandem fuisse fidem Patrum, qui Christi praecesserunt adventum, cum fide nostra. De qua re disputant ex professo Theologi ad dist. 23. lib. 3. sent. Alii vero putant, eadem intelHgi cum iis, quae credebant Corinthii, ad quos scribit; ac si dicat: Quamvis mors in nobis operetur, et vita in vobis, quia tamen nos eandem vobiscum fidem habemus, idcirco ad eadem promissa tendimus, et eandem vobiscum in futuro saeculo vitam et immortalitatem exspectamus. Hoc enim est, quod postea sequitur: Quoniam, qui suscitavit Jesum, et nos cum Jesu suscitabit et constituet vobiscum. Ex quo certe sensus iste non parum accipit firmamenti.
Sicut scriptum est, Graece, xata xo YSYpauuivov, juxta illud, quod scriptum est. Ambrosius: Secundum quod scriptum est. Potest autem hoc bifariam exponi; vel ut comparationem indicet cum eo, quod praecessit; vel ut cum eo, quod statim sequitur: et nos credimus, etc. Ad partem praecedentem referunt, qui in ea fidem intelligunt eandem cum patribus antiquis, ut sit sensus: Nos habentes eundem Spiritum fidei cum illis, quorum unus divini Spiritus afflatu dixit: Credidi etc. Qui vero fidem illic eandem intelligunt cum Corinthiis, iidem hanc comparationem ad sequentia referunt. Quod sane probabilius est, si series orationis spectetur.
Credidi, propter quod locutus sum. Initium est Psalmi 115. juxta versionem LXX. Nam in Hebraeo continuus est psalmus cum praecedente. Siquidem in Hebraeo legitur: Credidi, quia loquar; sed LXX. sensum benereddiderunt. Nam frequenfer apud Hebraeos tam praeteritum, quam futurum servit indefinito tempori significando; et Hebraeum ^ (chi), id est, quia, causalis conjunctio, ponitur interdum pro rationali seu redditiva sua: ideo, propterea, propter quod, Graece dib • ut causa significetur non in eo, quod sequitur conjunctionem, sed in eo, quod praecedit. Exemplum promptum est in principio psalmi praecedentis: Dilexi, quoniam exaudiet Dominus. Sed ea de re jam diximus supra ad illud cap. 1.: Fidelis Deus, quia sermo noster, etc. Minus placet, quod Cajetanus, super hunc utrumque psalmum scribens, vult particulam quia construendam esse a fronte totius orationis, hoc modo: Quia dilexi, exaudiet Dominus; uuia credidi, locutus sum. Haec enim constructio coactior est; nec ad omnes alios locos similes potest accommodari, quamquam alioqui res eadem dicitur. Quod ad sensum attinet, his psalmi verbis ad litteram agit David de fide, qua firmiter credidit divinis promissis sibi per Samuelem de regno Israelitico nuntiatis. Ex qua fide palam ac libere apud homines de divina erga se bonitate loqui se, eamque depraedicare, testatur. Caeterum de sensu mystico hujus versus ac totius psalmi, eoque duplici, consule Jansenium, breviter utrumque tradentem in argumentopsalmi. Theodoretus exponit illuu: Credidi, de fide resurrectionis. Cum enim, inquit, David in praecedente psalmo dixisset: Placebo Domino in regione vivorum, non videbatur autem ipsa regio, incipiens psalmum, qui sequitur, dixit: Credidi, propter quod locutus sum. Haec ille. Nobis, quod prius diximus, videtur esse magis litterale. Neque enim necesse est, Davidem dicentem: Credidi, etPaulum subjicientem: Et nos credimus, de eadem re credita interpretari. Quin potius, ut Cajetanus ad hunc locum annotat, fiduciam posteris praebuit Paulus utendi sacra Scriptura transsumptive ad spirituales materias, ex hoc ipso, quod ipse utitur psalmo transsumptive.
Et nos credimus, propter quod et loquimur. Respondet haec pars illi: Sicut scriptum est: Credidi, etc, unde quidam supplent adverbium similituiinis: Ita et nos credimus. Quod non est necesse, si illic legamus, ut habent Graeca: Secundum quod scriptum est. Nam contextus est: Secundum quod Propheta dicit, se credidisse, et propterea locutum esse, etiam nos credimus, propter quod et loquimur. Quamvis autem non de eadem re credita agat Apostolus, de qua cecinit Psalmographus, aptissime tamen illius verba citat; ac si dicat: Quemadmodum David inter persecutiones et pericula credidit, se perventurum ad regnum sibi a Deo promissum, et propterea de eo confidenter apud homines locutus est: ita nos quoque, ministri novae legis, licet persecutionibus pressi et periculis expositi, tandemque morituri, certissime tamen credimus, nos ad gloriam promissam perventuros; propter quod et confidenter vobis de ea loquimur. Accedit ad convenientiam testimonii citati, quod in Davide praecessit expressa quaedam figura Christi et membrorum ejus, praesertim Evangelii ministrorum, quicumque per labores et afflictiones Christi nomine toleratas tendunt ad consortium gloriae ejus.
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14. Scientes, quoniam, qui suscitavit Jesum, et nos cum Jesu suscitabit. Graeca priore loco Dominum Jesum legunt; posteriore per Jesum, pro eo, quod nos habemus: cum Jesu. Graecis in utroque suffragatur textus Ambrosii. Sed et Syra priore loco legunt: Dominum nostrum Jesum, et posteriore: per manum Jesu, id est, per Jesum. At vero Tertullianus lib. de resurr. carnis, cap. 44., in utroque nostram vulgatam praeit versionem, nisi quod cum ipso legit, ubi nos: cum Jesu. Exponit autem cum ipso, id est, sicut ipsum. Neque enim significatur idem tempus resurgendi, sed ipsa resurrectio capiti membrisque communis. Itaque sensus est: Scientes, id est, certissima fide persuasi, quod Deus Pater, qui Dominum Jesum crucifixum et mortuum resuscitavit a morte ad vitam immortalem et gloriosam, nos quoque ministros ejus ad similem gloriam, per ipsius meritum, suscitaturus est. Unde Christus, de sua claritate loquens Joann. 12.: Ubi ego sum, inquit, illic et minister meus erit, et cap. 17.: Pater, quos dedisti mihi, volo, ut, ubi sum ego, et illi sint mecum. Et de eadem re Paulus Rom. 8.: Qui suscitavit Jesum Christum a mortuis, vivificabit et mortalia corpora vestra propter inhabitantem Spiritum ejus in vobis. Unus codex Graecus apud Robertum Stephanum habet: auv Itjool>, cum Jesu, potuitque hujus piaepositionis in 5ta mutandae occasio fuisse, quod non intelligeretur, quomodo Paulus se et alios fideles cum Jesu suscitandos dicat, qui jam olim suscitatus fuit. Propter quod et Tertullianus expositionem praepositionis statim adjecit.
Et constituet vobiscum. Constituet, rcapaoTTJasi, exhibebit. Non nos solos, inquit, qui ministri sumus Evangelii, provehet Deus ad consortium resurrectionis cum Christo; sed et vos, qui, nobis ministrantibus, Evangelio credidistis, a morte suscitatos nobis adjunget sibi exhibendos. Hoc sentit Apostolus; alioqui modestiae ejus est, quod non dixit: Et constituet vos nobiscum; sed e converso: nos constitutt vobiscum; ne sibi plus aliquid in illa gloria resurrectionis praesumere videretur prae aliis fidelibus, quibus Evangelium ministrarat; sed ut magis appareat, ipsum alios sibi praeposuisse. Consideravit enim illos ut causam finalem sui ministerii. Id enim est, quod pro ratione subjicit:
4:15
15. Omnia enim propter vos. Bene dixi, inquit, quod Deus nos constituet vobiscum; nam omnia nostra sunt, aut fiunt, propter vos; id est, universum ministerium nostrum ordinatur ad utilitatem et salutem vestram; ideoque nos aequum est fieri consortes salutis et gloriae vestrae. Sic alibi generaliori sententia dicit, omnia se sustinere propter electos. 2 Tim. 2.
Vt gratia abundans per multos in gratiarum actione abundet in gloriam Dei. In Graeco diversa sunt verba: TtAsovaaaaa et TCSpiaasua^ quae interpres eodem verbo Latino reddidit: abundans, et abundet. Graeca sic fere transferuntur: Ut gratia abundans propter plurium gratiarum actionem exuberet in gloriam Dei. Ambiosiaster ita legit: Ut donum abundans per multorum gratiarum actionem abundet ad gloriam Dei. Primasii textus cum nostro convenit, excepta praepositione in, quam omittit, ut et textus ordinariae glossae, et ipsa glossa, et exemplaria quaedam mss. Valla textum vulgatae versionis refert ad hunc modum: Ut gratia abundans per multas gratiarum actiones abundet, etc. At sensus omnium fere idem est: Ex eo, inquit, quod Deus vos ejusdem nobiscum gloriae facturus est participes, consequitur hic fructus, ut gratia, seu beneficium illud in multos sparsum, iisdem multis pro eo gratias Deo agentibus, redundet atque exuberet ad gloriam Dei. Nullo enim opere nostro magis, quam gratiarum actione, glorificatur Deus. In eundem sensum convenit interpretatio Syriaca, quae sic habet: Ut, abundante gratia per manum multorum (id est, per nrultos), augeatur gratiarum actio in gloriam Dei. Veruntamen notandum est (quod ab Erasmo non inepte suggeritur), Graecam vocem rcspiaasua^ quam interpretes vertunt: abundet, exuberet, verbis absolutis, posse transitive sumi pro eo, quod est: abundare, exuberare faciat, adhaerente ei quarto casu suxapiaxiav, id est, gratiarum actionem; ac tum ex Graeco sic reddetur oratio: Ut gratia abundans per plures gratiarum actionem abundare faciat in gloriam Dei. Hoc est, ut in multos effusa gratia per multas itidem personas gratiarum actionem pariat atque diffundat, qua Deus glorificetur. Hanc Graeci verbi transitivam acceptionem, ne cui videatur insolens, habemus in hac eadem epist. cap. 9., ubi sic legitar, etiam secundum nostrum interpretem: Potens est Deus, omnem gratiam abundare facere in vobis; habemus et alibi apudPaulum, utEphes. 1, 8. et 1 Thessal. 3, d2. Quae loca multum probabilitatis adferunt huic expositioni, quae non soli Erasmo placuit. Conferendus est etiam hic locus cum altero simili, qui est hujus epist. cap. 1.: Ut ex multis personis ejus, quae in nobis est, donationis per multos gratiae agantur pro nobis.
4:16
16. Propter quod non deficimus. Refertur haec illatio ad illud, quod dixit: Scientes, quoniam, qui suscitavit Jesum, et nos cum Jesu suscitabit. Propter spem, inquit, illius gloriae, quam ex resurrectione exspectamus, non succumbimus malis, quae nobis Evangelii ministris plurima superveniunt. Est enim idem in Graeco verbum,- quod initio capitis, ixxaxouji.sv.
Sed licet is, qui foris est, noster homo corrumpatur, tamen is, qui intus est, renovatur de die in diem. Is, qui foris est, 6 esco, externus, sive exterior. Item: is, qui intus est, 6 £OU){)£V_, internus, interior. Exteriorem et interiorem legit Tertullianus in Scorp. cap. 13., de resurr. carnis, cap. 40. et 43., et contra Marcion. lib. 5., cap. 11. Item Augustinus lib. 2. de baptism. parv. cap. 7. et 13., commentator Ambrosii et Sedulius. Nec Graece est: de die in diem, sed yjuipa xal 7Juipa, die et die, quemadmodum et legit Tertullianus in Scorpiaco, et in lib. de resurr. carn., nisi quod posteriore loco additur praepositio: de die et die, sed quam suspicor additam a scribis ex vulgata lectione. Est autem Hebraea phrasis: die et die, non dissimilis illi, quae est Psalm. 86.: Homo et homo natus est in ea, id est, multi homines, alii post alios. Legitur autem in Hebraeo sine conjunctione: die, die, Psalm. 60., ubi nos habemus: Ut reddam vota mea de die in diem, et Psalm. 67., ubi nos: Benedictus Dominus die quotidie; quemadmodum et Ezech. 14.: Homo, homo, seu vir, vir de domo- Israel, id est, quilibet homo, seu vir. Dicit itaque Paulus: die et die, pro eo, quod Latine dicimus: quotidie, in dies, vel, ut Erasmus vertit: in dies singulos; nec male noster interpres: de die in diem. Voluit autem Apostolus significare quotidianum incrementum et profectum renovationis in homine interiore, sicut est in exteriore quotidianus ad corruptionem accessus. Non est hoc loco dissimulandus insignis lapsus Cajetani, viri alioquin egregie docti, qui ex annotatione Erasmi male intellecta pro illa parte: de die in diem, credit, Apostolum scripsisse adverbium: nove, eandemque vocem exponit, ac subtiliter in ea philosophatur; quum Erasmus non aliud dicat, quam nove scriptum a Paulo ^p,£pa xal rjuipu, die et die, pro xafr3 ^uipav _, in dies. Id admonendum duxi, ne quis fallatur, tum ut intelligat lector, quam facile aberret in Scripturis interpretandis, qui linguae originalis ignarus, tantum ex aliis autoribus venatur, quid Graeca, quid Hebraea habebant. Hominem exteriorem phrasi quadam sua ac peculiari vocat Apostolus hominis corpus, vel uti plenius explicat Aquinas, corpus hominis cum natura sensitiva. Huminem vero interiorem appellat spiritum, mentem, rationem, id est, animam rationalem cum potentiis ei propriis. Ad quem modum et alii, tam Graeci, quam Latini commentatores, utrumque hominem interpretantur, et ante eos Tertullianus libro de resurr. carn. At paulo aliter Cajetanus, qui interiorem et exteriorem hominem censet unum eundemque hominem esse secundum diversas conditiones. Quilibet enim homo, inquit, secundum conditiones animi vocatur internus homo; secundum conditiones corporis externus. Id ipsum ante Cajetanum docuit Hugo Victorinus quaest. 12. hujus epist. Verum S. Thomae et aliorum explicationem magis esse ex mente Pauli, satis arguit locus huic similis iu epistola ad Rom. 8.: Si Christus in vobis est, corpus quidem mortuum est propter peccatum; spiritus vero vivit propter justificationem. Vide etiam, quae de utroque homine diximus ad illud Rom. 7.: Condelector enim legi Dei secundum interiorem hominem. Est autem haec hominis in exteriorem et interiorem hominem distinctio (quemadmodum et Hugo observat in quaeslione memorata) diversa ab ea, qua secundum eundem Apostolum homo distinguitur in veterem et novum, ut Rom. 6, 6. Eph. prior distinctio locum habet in omni ho mine, etiam Christo Dcmino jam immortali; posterior autem non nisi in homine lapso, et quadantenus reparato. De qua posteriori distinctione suis locis agendum est. Has vero duas hominis differentias, ab Apostolo traditas, confudisse videtur 5. Ambrosius, dum in epist. 77. locum hunc ita refert: Qui foris est noster homo, corrumpitur secundum desideria erroris, videlicet errante memoria conjungens id, quod de veteri homine dicitur Ephes. 4., cum homine exteriori, cujus hic fit mentio. Sensus itaque loci praesentis est: Non deficimus animo, quin potius, etsi corpus hoc nostrum sensitivum ac vegetabile, quod est hcmo noster exterior, paulatim deficiat, et, sive per afflictiones et plagas frequentes, quas pro Christo patimur, sive etiam ex se ipso propter mortalitatem peccato contractam quotidie magis ad interitum vergat; animus tamen, seu spiritus, qui est homo noster interior per hanc ipsam corporis corruptionem patienter toleratam, in dies magis magisque renovatur. Renovatur autem, ut bene S. Thomas exponit, a vetustate ignorantiae et peccati ad novitatem veritatis et justitiae. Quamquam in hac vita novitatem perfectam non assequitur, sed demum in futura. Caeterum imperite, quemadmodum idem Doctor annotat, ex horum verborum occasione, quibus in uno homine duplex homo distinguitur, interior et exterior, docuit Tertullianus, animam rationalem habere figuram, sive, ut loquitur, effigiem et membra corporea, videlicet ad modum sui corporis; ut interior homo respondeat exteriori. Locus apud Tertullianum est iu lib. de anim. cap. 9., ubi inter alia sententiam hanc suam comprobat revelatione divina, quam sorori cuidam, id est, Christianae mulieri, per ecstasin inter Dominica solemnia factam fuisse, commemorat; addens, illi visam fuisse animam aerii lucidique coloris. Sed hunc tam stupidum errorem, recitatis etiam Tertulliani verbis, docte refellit Augustinus lib. 10. de Genesi ad lit. cap. 25. et 26. Qua de re praeterea consule Jacobi Pamelii ad dictum Tertulliani librum annotationes, et quae scripsit ad paradoxum 7. ejusdem autoris, scilicet de anima corporea. Quibus locis recte eam revelationem, utique falsam, adscribit furoiibiis Montanisticae familiae.
4:17
17. Id eninij quod in praesenti est momentaneum et leve tribulationis nostrae. Graeca sic habent: to yap 7tapauxtxa sAacppov ttjc; ^Xi^ctog 7)ix(i)v. Id est: Quod enim in praesenti leve afflictionis nostrae. Aut brevius et clarius: Praesens enim levitas afflictionis nostrae. Nam adjectivum neutmm loco substantivi posuit Apostolus, ut et alibi, more Graecis atque etiam Latinis usitato. Significat autem to 7i:apaoTi'xa, quod ita praesens est, ut cito transeat. Unde r) Tcapao- Tixa 7J6ovtj apud Demosthenem, id est, praesens ac momentanea voluptas. Itaque putant quidam, illa duo versionis nostrae: in praesenti et momentaneum, respondere uni voci ^apauTrxa^ sive ab eodem interprete scripta, sive a diversis. Aliis autem videtur, haec duo: momentaneum et leve, respondere eidem vocabulo IXacppov, in quo dum alii significationem aestimant ex etymo (dicitur enim aizb too eAacpou, a cervo, notae celeritatis animali), verterunt: momentaneum, quod quasi momento transit. Alii, magis usum ejus attendentes, verterunt: leve, videlicet gravi oppositum. Sic enim Matth. 11. sumitur, ubi Latine: Et onus meum leve, et hujus epistolae cap. 1.: Numquid levitate usus sum? Nam et hic antithesis postulat, significari levitatem, ut cui pondus opponatur. Tertullianus tam in Scorp., quam in lib. de resurr. carnis, hanc partem ita legit: Nam quod ad praesens est temporale et leve pressurae nostrae. Augustinus in enarr. Psalm. 93. ad hunc modum: Etenim quod est ad praesens temporale et leve tribulationis nostrae. Porro textus Pelagii sine conjunctione legit: momentaneum leve.
Supra modum in sublimitate. Primasius legit: in sublimitatem. Quod vicinius est Graecae lectioni, quae sic habet: xa&' OTtepgoXrjv efc orceppoATjv, id est, secundum excessum in excessum, vel quomodo vertit Theophylacti interpres: per excessum ad excessum. Augustinus legrt ac repetit: juxta incredibilem modum, et in incredibilem modum} in expositione Psalmi 93. Tertullianus: per supergressum insuper, in Scorpiaco. Quidam vertit: praeter modum, supra modum. Est autem ejusdem vocis excessum significantis geminatio, qua utuntur interdum Hebraei ad significandam vel copiam, vel excellentiam quandam immensam, ut Gen. 17.: Multiplicabo te plurimum plurimum, ubi Hieronymus: Multiplicabo te vehementer nimis; et cap. 30.: Crevit vir valde valde, pro quo Hieronymus: ditatus est homo ultra modum. Tantum illud hic peculiare, quod praepositionem Paulus variat, nihil tamen diversum significans; quod et alias facit, ut capite praecedenti: per gloriam, et in gloria. Potest igitur hoc, quod dicit, ita reddi Latine: excellenter supra modum, vel, ut Erasmus: mire supra modum. Significare enim voluit Apostolus aliquid incomparabiliter majus et excellentius; quod declarat verbis sequentibus:
Aeternum gloriae pondus operatur in nobis. Graece et Syriace: operatur nobiSj sine praepositione, ut et veteres habent concordantiae, et exemplaria quaedam mss. Sic o-tiam citant Tertullianus utroque loco prius indicato, et Augustinus in enanatione Psalmi 93., ubi et diserte exponit: operatur nobis. Est autem operatur, Graece xaTepyaCexai, verbum diversum ab eo, quod supra versu 12. passive exponebamvs. Hoc enim activae significationis est, ac si dicatur: efficit, parit, procreat nobis. Tertullianus: perficit nobis. Porro totus hic versus: Id enim, quod in praesenti, etc, rationem continet ejus, quod dixerat: Non deficimus, et contentionis rhetoricae speciem habet, antithetis hinc inde positis. Sumpta est enim ratio a praemio collato cum labore; et afflictio corporis, quam Evangelii causa patimur, adfert ac parit nobis in futurum gloriam sui comparatione inaestimabilem, utpote gloriae pondus aeternum. Igitur antitheta sunt momentaneum et aeternum, quae ad tempus referuntur, ac rursum levitas et pondus, quae ad magnitudinem. Unde satis intelligitur, ponderis nomine significatam esse perfectionis 6rcep|3oX>)v, non autem extensionis seu durationis, uti vult Erasmus in annotationibus. Monstrat hic locus, opera bona patientiae, qua toleramus afflictiones, tametsi momentaneas ac leves, esse merita, quibus aeterna ac praecellens gloria futuri saeculi pro mercede retribuenda sit. Illud enim operatur causam efficientem denotat, ad quod genus reducitur causa meritoria; tamquam Apostolus dicat: Opus patientiae nostrae procreat ex se fructum aeternae et immensae gloriae; nimirum merendo, et meriti ratione tandem assequendo. Nam licet inter hoc opus et illam mercedem nulla sit comparatio, quantum ad diuturnitatem et magnitudinem attinet (propter qucd alibi negat idem Apostolus, esse condignas hujus saeculi passiones ad futuram gloriam, Rom. 8.), est tamen in valore comparatio et aequalitas quaedam; non ex natura quidem hujusmodi passionum, sed ex Dei voluntate, qui tantam mercedem bonis justorum operibus constituit, ac redditurum se promisit; quemadmodum ad memoratum locum epistolae ad Romanos id a nobis explicatum est.
4:18
18. Non contemplantibus nobis, quae videntur, sed quae non videntur. In Graeco genitivi sunt absoluti oxoito6vTU>v tjjiojv; ne quis ablativos Latinos existimet regi ab in praecedente, vel dativos esse putet, referendos ad verbum operatur. Est autem oxorcsiv proprie, non contemplari, sed spectare ac velut in scopum intueri (Tertullianus intuentibus legit); quomodo, qui operatur, respicit ad praemium, ut sensus sit: Dum non spectamus ad haec praesentia bona, quae videmus, ut sunt opes, honores, dignitates, et omnis gloria hujus saeculi; sed ad bona, futura, quae non videmus, sed credimus. Hinc liquet, intuitu mercedis ac praemii coelestis operantem Christianum non modo non peccare, quod dicunt haeretici (quos Synodus Tridentina condemnat sess. 6. can. 11. et can. 31.); sed Apostolorum exemplo recte et laudabiliter agere. Loquitur enim adhuc Paulus ex persona ministrorum Evangelii.
Quae enim videntur, temporalia sunt. Potius temporaria, ad tempus durantia, hoc est, quae brevissimi sunt temporis. Id enim significat Graecum vocabulum TCpocxoctpoc, quod idem legitur Matth. 13. et Marc. 4. de iis, quos comparat Dominus semini germinanti statimque exarescenti. Legimus et Heb. 11, 25.: rcposxatpov arcoAaooiv, temporariam jucunditatem.
Quae autem non videntur, aeterna sunt. Quae, inquit, non videntur, sed creduntur a nobis, in aeternum duratura sunt; ideoque merito haec prae illis spectanda nobis sunt et speranda. Nam de praemiis sermo est, uti bene locum hunc explicat S. Thomas 1. qu. 65. art. 1. ad 1.
4:2
2. sed abdicamus (rectius : abdicavimus &mevedpe0n) occulta dedecoris, non ambulantes in astutia, neque adulterantes verbum Dei; sed (in) manifestatione veritatis commendantes nosmetipsos ad omnem conscientiam hominum coram Deo. Evidens est, eum verborum non esse sensum, ut Paulus ipse antea observaverit occulta dedecoris, sed id unum docent, haec cum munere quo nunc fungitur ita pugnare, ut de his sermo esse iam non possit , in adversariis vero, quorum calumniam refutat, ea reperiri (cfr 2,17 ; 11,3). Sed « quid sibi volunt occulta dedecoris? Non, inquit, magna profitemur ac pollicemur et alia rebus ipsis ostendimus, quemadmodum illi (pseudapostoli); verum tales omnino sumus, quales cernimur, non fictum animum gerentes nec ea dicentes agentesque, quae prae pudore ac rubore occultari debent » (CArys.). Genetivum (dedecoris Tii; aicyóvnc) esse pro adiectivo , quo substantivum (occulta 4& xovxz&) determinatur, non satis attendentes haud pauci interpretes rem invertentes expressionem de actionibus turpibus, quae in occulto committantur, perperam intelligunt (cfr Theoph. etc., Pel. Prim. etc. , Herv. Thom. etc., Est. Lap. eic.); at non tam in turpitudine, quam in occultatione est vis argumentationis, uti ex opposito membro (vii qxvegócet vf dAxÜría;) elucet, neque ullo modo requiritur, ut aicgóv; hic de pudore ex. turpi actione exorto intelligatur, ita ut Vulgatae versio (dedecoris) minus accurata esse videatur. Paulus, quem Evangelii non puduit (Rom. 1,16 ox ixatcy óvop. at 0 eoo yeXov), pseudapostolos respicit, quos integrum et nudum Evangelium annuntiare puduit quique ideo malis artibus illud ex parte occultabant, ut auditorum gratiam sibi conciliarent. Hac enim ratione ipse expressionem (*& zcv«- 7X 44 &ieyóvzc) explicat, quum genuinos operarios describit non ambulantes in astutia neque adulterantes (SoXoovzt;) verbum Dei ; eos enim, quia ministerio lucis et veritatis funguntur, simplices esse ac sinceros praeprimis decet (cfr ad 1,12); simplicitati autem astutia (1«vougy) et sinceritati fraus ac dolus (8920) opponuntur. Paulus igitur sociique eius neque astute simulantes aliud cogitant et aliud loquuntur, neque verbum Dei aut additis carnalis sapientiae sententiis aut praetermissis necessariis doctrinis corrumpunt, ut auditorum auribus blandiantur eosque ad suas partes attrahant (cfr 1,13; 2,17). Puram potius integramque veritatem aperte annuntiantes sese omnibus genuinos Apostolos probant, ?n manifestatione veritatis commendantes semet 1psos ad omnem conscientiam hominum coram Deo. Praepositio 2n non legitur in graeco neque satis recte (uti alibi interdum : Rom. 12,2 in novitate sensus etc.) ablativo instrumentali est praefixa. Quemadmodum in huius partis principio ad adversarios suos alludens se commendatitiis literis indigere negavit, quia virtute et efficacia praedicationis suae omnibus hominibus sufficienter commendetur (3,1 sqq.), ita etiam in fine huius partis se malis adversariorum artibus ad suam commendationem uti negat, quia aperta et manifesta integrae veritatis praedicatione omnibus commendetur. Pulchre autem in oppositione ad pseudapostolos, qui sese pravis auditorum passionibus sua astutia veritatisque corruptione commendabant, sese commendari dicit ad omnem conscientiam hominum (i. e. ad omnium hominum conscientiam cfr Hom. 2,9 in omnem animam hominis) sive fidelium sive infidelium, quorum iudex internus, nisi peccato est occaecatus, apertam Apostoli rationem agendi approbare debet. Neque minus pulchre addit, coram Deo, velut testem eorum, quae dixit, illum citans, qui nec fallere nec falli potest. At interrogari potuit, undenam factum esset, ut Evangelium tam clarum et tam aperte praedicatum non ubique ab omnibus reciperetur. Cui interrogationi respondet :
4:3
3. quod si etiam opertum est evangelium nostrum, in iis qui pereunt est opertum. Forma hypothetica : e OE xai Eoi xexaopui£vov, praesertim. quum verbum £cvw cum emphasi sit praemissum, non est dubitantis, sed rem concedentis : verum est, Evangelium nostrum, quamvis manifeste sit annuntiatum, esse opertum ; vocabulo opertum (xtxaXvuu£vov) deinde allegoriam de velo mosaico , quo filii Israel gloriam legislatoris sui intueri prohibebantur (3,13), in memoriam revocat. Concedit igitur, Evangelii a se praedicati intelligentiam velamine quodam impediri ; at non omnes hoc velamen impedit, sed solos eos qui pereunt, i. e. eos qui in via interitus ambulant (cfr ad 1 Cor. 1,18), quia sibi ipsi illud velamen imposuerunt; neque enim ex parte Evangelii neque ex parte praedicationis, sed ex sola auditorum parte est causa huius occultationis. Quae ut clarius doceat, Apostolus addit :
4:4
&. in quibus (sc. pereuntibus) deus luus saeculi ezcaecavit mentes infidelium , ut non f"lgeat (ei «à 3 about) dllis illuminatio evangelii gloriae Christi, qui est imago Dei. In sententiae constructione difficultatem quandam genetivus znfidelium («&v &xíczev) creat; qua enim ratione ad relativum pronomen in. quibus (sc. pereuntibus, iv ois ZzoXugtvou;) sese habeat, controvertitur. Moderni nonnulli adiectivum proleptice de effectu adhibitum putant : « in quibus pereuntibus satanas excaecavit mentes, ut fierent infideles » (cfr ad 1 Cor. 1,8); at haec constructio, quae per se aptum parit sensum , scriptum supponit v voáp.zta &r:67 (mentes infideles), siquidem in adiectivis vice substantivorum adhibitis locum non habet; finis quoque et effectus excaecationis altero sententiae membro (eis 59 uà aov xao x71. ut non fulgeat etc.) indicantur. Alii anacoluthicam constructionem ita admittunt, ut 4o)4 dmoXXugévou; et. obe míc10u; (pereuntes et infideles) easdem personas esse censeant atque genetivum «àv &xicvov ceu appositionem dativo relativo addunt (£v oic, Sc. Totg Gmico:;, in quibus infidelibus satanas excaecavit mentes). Haec quoque constructio aptum praebet sensum , si cum 7/om. appositione hac infidelitas velut causa excaecationis insinuari dicitur : in quibus utpote infidelibus, i. e. credere renuentibus, satanas etc.!; nescio tamen, num hoc definito sensu vocabulum 11670; a Paulo usquam adhibeatur?, atque durior quoque est constructio. Itaque non eosdem esse arbitramur, qui pereuntes et qui infideles dicuntur ; sed infideles fiunt pereuntes, si a satana sese excaecari sinunt, vel ut habet 5. Aug. (c. Faust. XXI. 9), si « malis daemonis suasionibus consentientes iustitiae lumen amittunt Deo retribuente quod iustum est ». Omnium quidem infidelium, sive Ethnicorum sive ludaeorum , quum omnes ad eius regnum pertineant, deus huius saeculi mentes excaecare studet, at finem suum in omnibus non attingit; alii enim Evanzelii, quod eis praedicatur, lumen vident et salvantur, alii a daemoue seducti lumen videre nolunt et pereunt. Sensum igitur cum S. Aug. recte indicat Est. : « obvelatum est Evangelium nostrum iis qui pereunt, i. e. zs infidelibus, quorum mentes diabolus excaecavit, dum pravis suggestionibus eos avertit a fide Evangelii ipsis annuntiati ». In constructione autem erravit, siquidem genetivum 16v &nícrov ad praecedens membrum £v «oi; émoXAupévotg per anacoluthum trahere videtur. Genetivus enim omnino ad substantivum 7X voc.- parra pertinet atque rationem indicat, propter quam diabolus tantam potestatem in mentes illas exercere potuerit. Concinnius quidem Paulus scribere potuit : *& voíg.ara. 7 &mioTa, at genetivum àv &níctov elegit, ut ambitum regni, in quo deus huius saeculi potestatem suam exercere posset, accuratius definiret; voüg wto7sÓovtae sc. (credentes seu fideles) excaecare nequit, quia ad eius regnum non pertinent. Porro in mentibus infidelium excaecandis is satanae est finis, ut non (ne) /ulgeat (tliis) illuminatio Evangelii gloriae Christi, qui est imago Dei (sis 1o uà aoyáom [abroic] cóv quttagóv ToO ebay yeMov xv). Quoniam pronomen ejroi; (2s) a gravibus testibus praetermittitur (cfr VV. LL.), moderni aliqui verbo aby&Lav hic sensum videndi (quem aliquoties apud poetas graecos habet) attribuendum censent (ne videant illuminationem etc.). At omnes antiquae versiones graecique com- ' mentatores sensum splendend: vel fulgendi expresserunt, qui melius retinetur, quia pronominis dativus «)toi«, si forte genuinus non sit, haud difficilius quam accusativus ajroX;, quem altera explicatio postulat, mente suppletur. Significatio quoque vocabuli qgvrtu; in controversia versatur. Iuxta etymologiam suam, utpote nomen actionis verbi qotCo, significat zl/luminationem et hoc sensu statim v. 6. usurpatur, saepius vero in Novo Test. non reperitur; ab Alexandrinis tamen ad hebr. six (/uz) reddendum adhibetur (Ps. 27,1; 53,4; 17,15 etc., ubi Vulg. : i/luminatio; Io6 3,9 etc., ubi Vulg. : (uz), quae significatio in nostrum locum melius videtur quadrare. At nihil obstat, quominus Paulum non tam ipsam Evangelii lucem, quam claritatem luce evangelicae praedicationis quoquoversus propagatam significare voluisse dicamus, aut etiam eum subostendisse, Evangelium suam habere lucem ab argumento. Re enim vera tantam lucem spargit, quia gloriam Christi annuntiat (Evangelium gloriae Christi i. q. de gloria Christi); quanta vero sit gloria Christi, ultimum membrum docet : q«i est imago Dei (sv «o5 Oto efr Col. 1,15). Quae in verba Patrum sententias! quasi complectens Thom. : « Nota secundum G/., quod Christus perfectissima imago Dei est; nam ad hoc, quod aliquid perfecta sit imago, tria requiruntur et haec tria perfecte sunt in Christo : similitudo, origo, perfecta aequalitas. Si enim inter imaginem et eum, cuius est imago, esset dissimilitudo et unum non oriretur ex alio, similiter etiam si non esset aequalitas perfecta, quae est secundum eandem naturam , non esset ibi perfecta ratio imaginis. Nam similitudo regis in denario non perfecte dicitur imago regis, quia deest ibi aequalitas secundum eandem naturam ; sed similitudo regis in filio diciiur perfecta imago regis, quia ibi sunt illa tria, quae dicta sunt. Quum ergo ista tria sint in Christo Filio Dei, quia scilicet est similis Patri, oritur a Patre, aequalis est Patri, maxime et perfecte dicitur imago Dei ». Verbum aeternum, Patris imago, quia est Deus de Deo et lumen de lumine, suam in se ipso habet gloriam (3c£av), quam manifestavit, quando caro factum tamquam lux in mundum venit, ne credentes in tenebris manerent (loan. 12,46). Quae gloria Christi, quum sit ipsius Dei gloria, non tantum in se splendidissima est, sed etiam tam efficax, ut omnes, qui eam revelata facie in Evangelii speculo contemplantur, in suam ipsius imaginem transformet (3,18). Apostoli praedicatione sua in omnem mundum eam spargere iussi sunt, at eis reluctatur deus huius saeculi; qui suum tenebrarum regnum retinere studens, quum gloriam Christi in apostolica praedicatione refulgentem exstinguere nequeat , infidelium quos sibi adhuc subiectos tenet mentes excaecare conatur finemque suum in nonnullis attingit. lta fit, ut Evangelium, quamvis in se clarum sit et clare manifesteque annuntietur, iis, qui in via ad interitum sunt, opertum maneat. Neque enim ex ipsa praedicatione evangelica obscuritas, quam adversarii obiiciunt, explicari potest :
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5. non enim nosmetipsos praedicamus , sed Iesum Christum Dominum (nostrum), nos autem servos vestros per Iesum (lege: propter Iesum 9i "Incow). Haud pauci interpretes ev. 3. 4 parenthesin esse nostroque versu sententiam superiorem (r. 2), quomodo Paulus sociique eius manifestatione veritatis omnibus hominibus sese commendaverint, explicari censent (Oec. Theoph. etc., Iust. Pic. etc. , M Ev. Bisp. etc.). Quae non plane recte statuuntur; procul quidem dubio v. 5. superiori sententiae (v. 9) est parallelus eamque quodammodo continuat; proxime tamen cum immediate praecedente connexus accusationem obscuritatis in praedicationis evangelicae argumento non habere fundamentum confirmat; id enim oppositio, quam inter tv. *. et 6. adesse videbimus, satis clare ostendit, neque minus clare ex hoc ipso v. 5. elucet. Namque si Apostoli sese ipsos praedicarent, i. e. eum in finem, ut gloriam, honorem aliaque commoda sibi ipsi conquirerent, doctrinas à se aut inventas aut dolo corruptas (cfr v. 2) traderent, praedicatio eorum recte accusari posset velut occaecationis causa; sed integrum quod annuntiant argumentum est Jesus Christus tamquam Dominus, ita ut totum eorum Evangelium sit Evangelium gloriae Christi, qui est imago Dei (v. 4). Probe enim animadvertatur oportet, pronomen nostrum, quod Vulg. Clem. cum iunioribus codd. latinis inserit (cfr VV. LL.), esse glossam parum aptam, siquidem Christus absolute ceu universorum Dominus ac verus Deus ab Apostolis annuntiatur; quapropter eorum praedicatio claritate argumenti sui fulgens caecitatis eorum, qui pereunt, causa esse nequit. Tantum porro abest, ut se ipsos praedicent sibique quidquam ab auditoribus suis quaerant, ut in toto suo munere sese dumtaxat servos exhibeant fidelium , quippe quorum utilitatem salutemque promovere studeant. Clarum est, in secundo sententiae membro ex priore verbum praedicamus non ita posse suppleri, ut Apostolorum ad fideles relatio velut secundum praedicationis argumentum a priore distinguatur; sed fideles ad fidem in Christum universorum Dominum adducentes ipso praedicationis facto sese in eorum utilitatem tanquam servos laborare manifestant. Fidelium autem, qui per eos crediderunt (1 Cor. 3,5) servi sunt, quia sunt ministri Cbristi (1 Cor. 4,1), quo iubente et dirigente funguntur munere suo : servi vestri per (propter) Christum. « Non ad gloriam nostram praedicamus Evangelium , sed ad claritatem Christi, cui obedimus, dum vobis in ministerio verbi servimus non propter vestrum meritum, sed propter Domini praeceptum » (Herv. cfr: A''*" etc.). Quum plena sua libertate gauderent, propter Iesum sese omnium servos fecerunt, ut plures Domino lucrifacerent (cfr 1 Cor. 9,19). Ultima demum ratio, cur Apostoli tamquam fidelium servi Iesum Christum universorum Dominum praedicent, est ipsius Dei voluntas; idem enim Deus, qui in omnium rerum initio luce creata tenebras discussit materiales, annuntiatione gloriae Christi spirituales ignorantiae et errorum tenebras ex mentibus hominum expelli voluit, ideoque prius Apostolos illuminavit, ut eorum ministerio omnes homines illuminaret; deo huius saeculi igitur subditos suos, ne illis fulgeat gloria Christi, obtenebranti (v. &) pulchre verus Deus opponitur omnes omnino tenebras ex mundo a se creato expellens :
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6. quoniam. Deus, qui dixit de tenebris lucem splendescere, ipse illuxit in cordibus nostris (vel iuxta meliores codd. graecos : quoniam Deus, qui dixit : Ex tenebris lux luceat, [ille est] qui illuxit in cordibus nostris) ad illumznationem scientiae claritatis (s5; 992r; gloriae) Dei in facie. Christi. Haud sine ratione Apostolus primum actum, a quo creator opus distinctionis inchoavit ( Gen. 1,3), neophytis in memoriam revocat : ctenim Deus, Pater luminum (/ac. 1,17), qui lucem inaccessibilem inhabitans (1 Tim. 6,16) ipse lux sine ulla umbra est (t Joan. 1,5), quum statim in creationis initio tenebras materiales regnare nollet, permittere profecto non potuit, ut spirituales tenebrae totum mundum occuparent. Eadem igitur ratione, qua ipso dicente Fiat lur tenebrae, quae supra faciem abyssi erant, subito discussae et abactae sunt, eo iubente et gratiam suam largiente tenebris ignorantiae et errorum expulsis lux fidei subito in cordibus Apostolorum exorta est. Hoc Paulusipse in itinere damasceno expertus est, quando Deus « eum per gratiam suam vocavit, ut revelaret Filium suum in eo » (cfr ad Gal. 1,15); at eodem tempore etiam didicit, Apostolos hanc lucem in cordibus ipsorum illucescentem non sibi solis accepisse, siquidem ideo in Pauli corde revelatus est Filius Dei, « ut evangelizaret eum in gentibus » (Gal. 1,16). Disertis enim verbis Iesus illa in apparitione ei dixerat : « «d Aoc apparui tibi, ut constituam te ministrum et testem eorum, quae vidisti, et eorum, quibus apparebo tibi, eripiens te de populo et gentibus, in quas nunc ego mitto te, aperire oculos eorum , ut convertantur a tenebris ad lucem et de potestate satanae ad Deum... per fidem quae est in me » (nícta tí; 6c ££. Act. 26,16 sqq.). Itaque in. cordibus Apostolorum Deus fide in Christum universorum Dominum infusa illuxit ad Zlumznatzonem (xpo; quTwpóv) scientiae gloriae Dei, i. e. eum in finem, ut lucem acceptam in alios transfunderent cosque vera cognitione gloriae Dei propagata illuminarent. Bene 7Àom. , licet non satis clare finem, propter quem lux prius data sit Apostolis, significet sed ad gradum lucis magis attendat : « Nos (Apostoli) aliquando, antequam conversi essemus ad Christum, eramus tenebrosi, sicut et vos; nunc vero, postquam Christus vocavit nos per gratiam suam ad se, tenebrae istae remotae sunt a nobis et iam fulget in nobis virtus gloriae claritatis (lege : scientiae gloriae) Dci, et in tantum refulget in nobis, quod non solum illuminamur, ut ipsi videre possimus, sed ut etiam alios illuminemus. Ex spirituali igitur gratia et abundanti refulgentia gloriae Dei in nos habet Evauszelium nostrum. virtutem illuminativam ». At gloria Dei in se ipsa ab hominibus in hac terra degentibus conspici nequit, sese autem revelavit et manifestavit in Christo, qui est imago Dei (v. &), ut zn facie Christi fulgeret. Quae ultima verba Vulg. Clem. haud apte interpunctione sua ab immediate praecedentibus seiunxit, quum appositio quaedam sint ad genetivum gloriae Dei (7220321 703 Oso2 [325] iv «2900 '1,592 XgwtoU). Egregie Chrys. : « quemadmodum «quum dixisset. Ecengelii gloriae. Christi, Paulus subiecit ; quz est mago Dei, his verbis indicans eos (sc. pereuntes) Patris quoque gloria orbatos esse : ita. quum dixisset : sczentiae Dei (rectius : scientiae gloriae Dei) adiecit : ?n facie Christi, ut ostenderet nos per Christum ad Patris cognitionem (gloriam) pertingere »; atque Theod. : « illud in facze Christi hunc habet sensum : quoniam divina natura sub aspectum non cadit, per assumptam humanitatem divina luce resplendentem et fulgura emittentem conspicitur, uti est » (cfr Oec. Theoph. Ater, Pel!. Gl. ord. Lomb. Thom. etc., Iust. Lap. etc., Mai. Bisp. L R. Hamb. etc. — acath. plerique). Moyses gloriam , quae in eius facie ex consortio sermonis Domini relucebat, velo imposito occultabat (cfr 3,7 sqq.); at multo maior gloria, quae in facie Christi, imaginis Dei, fulgebat, ab Apostolis manifestata mundum illuminavit. In explicandis verbis ad illuminationem scientiae (robs owrtaubv viis yvó3tex) secuti sumus Latinos, qui omnes vocabulo illuminationis activum sensum ita attribuunt, ut genetivus scientiae sit obiectivus (rpg rb ouz(Cetv 77,» 1vGotw, ut splendescere faciamus scientiam i. e. cum' aliis communicemus) neque immerito velut parallelum allegant illud eiusdem Apostoli : « Mihi omnium sanctorum minimo data est gratia haec : in gentibus evangelizare investigabiles divitias Christi et illuminare omnes, quae sit dispensatio sacramenti absconditi a saeculis in Deo » (Eph. 3,8 sq.). A qua explicatione dissentiunt Graeci, qui verbum qw:ftey intransitive (cfr Num. 8,2 etc.) sumi arbitrantur, ita ut genetivus ypoote; sit subiectivus (ut nobis luceat scientia) : « Qui olim, inquit Theod., lucís naturam verbo produxit et dixit Fíat luz, is nunc non illa sed sua ipsius luce mentes nostras illustravit, ut ipsius gloriam per Christum conspiceremus » (cír Chrys. Cyr. Oec. etc.). At totum contextum consideranti dubium non erit, quin haec Graecorum explicatio minus sit apta; nequo ullo modo pronomen primae pers. plur., quod in ev. 5. et 7. solos Apostolos complectitur, in r. 6. omnes Christianos, uti Graeci volunt, designare potest. Ultima verba in facie Christi (lv zpoodrxp Xpuavo3) cum immediate praecedentibus (gloriae Dei 1x; Gótz xo9 coU) coniunximus consentientibus praeter Graecos omnes etiam plerisque Latinis; pauci tamen Latini graeco zgóswrov sensum personae attribuentes verba cum primo substantivo ad illuminationem connectunt, ut sensus sit : « ut in persona Christi (i. e. vice Christi) splendescere faciamus scientiam » ctc. (Salm. Est. Nat. M Ev. Dr. etc.). Attamen vocabulo zgóswrzov significationem personae competere, demonstrari nequit (cfr ad 1,11 et 2,10); constructío quoque durissima est , nec satis apparet, quomodo grammatice defendi possit. Quamobrem etíam modernorum nonnullorum acath. (Fritzsch. Mey. lleinr.) sententia reiicienda est, qui cadem verba, licet antiquam interpretationem in facic Christi retineant, ad substantivum z£ós oottauóv trahere volunt. S 3. De ratione, qua Apostoli munere apostolico funguntur. (&,1-6,10). In tota sua apologia hucusque Paulus, ut levitatis et superbiae calumnias refutaret, ministerii sibi commissi excellentiam sublimitatemque primo in loco collocavit (cfr 1,18 sqq.; 2,1& sqq.; 3,7 sqq.; &,5 sqq.), de ratione vero, qua illo functus est, dumtaxat pauca inseruit. Qui defensionis modus non minus erat efficax, quam prudens. Namque Corinthii, quum quanti Apostolus munus suum faceret viderent, eum cum summo animi candore plenaque sincerilate eo functum esse, concludere cogebantur; quin etiam apostolatus ipsius praestantiam et excelsitatem clarius perspicientes Deum singulari auxilio operarios evangelicos adiuvare intelligebant, ut lux illis ad fidelium utilitatem salutemque concessa ad hos pura et sincera perveniret. Attamen id quoque hac via Paulus obtinuit, ut neophytorum animos plane sibi conciliaret eosque ad illa recipienda disponeret, quae ad ampliorem calumniarum refutationem de apostolica sua agendi ratione disserere voluit. Ad quam uovam apologiae partem, qua duae priores non parum confirmantur, iam transiens in munere suo exercendo sese id unum intendere et quaerere ostendit , ut Christo placeat, a quo laborum suorum praemium se accepturum esse confidit (4,7-5,10), atque causam, qua in munere suo exercendo impellatur et dirigatur, caritatem Christi esse docet pro omnibus morientis omnesque ut ipsi soli vivant excitantis (5,11-6,10). 1. De fine, quem in munere suo exercendo prosequuntur. (&,'1-5,10). À contradictione, quae inter excelsum, quo fungitur, munus interque duram abiectamque, quam agit, vitam adesse videbatur, explicanda exorsus (5,7-12) Apostolus omnia se ferre asserit ob. gloriosae resurrectionis spem (*,13-18), quam uberius confirmans se id unice prae oculis habere asserit, ut Christo supremo iudici placeat (5,1-10). 1.) Cur excelso suo. munere non obstante. Apostoli lum. duram abieclumque vilam agant. (4,1-12). à | 4i. "Ejyouis 91 vh Ürnsxozu. ceUT04 iy bulationem. patimur, sed mon aw justids 1 iv zavii ÜLiEóusvot 332 o at:voy voosiusvot, Í tur in carne nostra mortali. 12. Ergo mors | zii vix; oapxi uv. 12. (ozs 6 Üdvatog iv in nobis operatur, víta autem. in. vobis. | piv evepetxon, fj 2 tu) iy opiy!. Excelsissimum esse Novi Test. ministerium Paulus praeclare demonstravit; at quomodo huic muneris excellentiae misera et abiecta Apostolorum vita respondebat, quam in priore iam epistola ad superbos factionum duces confundendos tam graphice descripserat (1 Cor. 4,8-13)? Coniicere licet, eius adversarios descriptione ista exacerbatos continuis, quibus se ipse premi fatebatur, calamitatibus abusos esse, ut eum esse virum a Deo derelictum et reiectum simplicibus neophytis persuadere conarentur. Quibus ut occurreret, « quoniam magna erant, quae de Novi Test. praedicatoribus dixerat, hi autem gravissimas "tribulationes perpeti conspiciebantur, istas quoque Dei virtutem commendare, docere debuit » (Theod.). Itaque' antequam finem, quem in munere suo exercendo unice prosequitur, accuratius explanet, illis ipsis in tribulationibus omnimodis singularem Dei potentiam sese manifestare ostendit. Nemque ideo Deus debilia sibi elegit instrumenta, ut divina, qua confortantur, virtus clarius appareret (v. 7); quod assertum ut demonstret, multis et gravibus calamitatibus Apostolos affici quidem, sed nec deiici nec vinci monet (8. 9), verum illos hac ratione Christo reddi simillimos, quum eum morientem et resurgentem simul repraesentantes (10.11) vitam eius in fideles transfundant (v. 12). tatem a Deo, ut gratiae illius divinam virtutem efficaciamque manifestaret, volitam esse asserit :
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7. habemus autem thesaurum tstum in vasis fictilibus, wt sublimitas sit. virtutis (lege : ut. sublimitas virtutis sit, iva d vmegUoX t7; Ouvíusec 1) Dei et non ex nobis. Si ad proxime praecedentem sententiam attendimus, thesaurum hunc (ov Üa5«upóv 1oUvov) lucem, quam ad alios illuminandos Apostoli divinitus acceperunt, intelligendam esse patet. A qua explicatione solo fere loquendi modo recedunt nonnulli, qui cum Es. ad v. 1. respicientes ministerium ipsum apostolicum vocari thesaurum volunt; siquidem Evangelii luce ad aliorum illuminationem divinitus accepta munus apostolicum constituitur. Longius quidem recedunt, qui de luce ad solam accipientium utilitatem data Apostolum egisse atque pronomine no« omnes fideles designari cum CArys. tenent; at illos non recte sentire et de solis apostolicis operariis agi iam ostendimus. In vasis fictilibus (iv óc vpaxívots axsósew, in testaceis vasis. Tert. de resur. carn. 7. 44) Paulus hunc thesaurum haberi dicens « corpus fragile et vile » (Thom.) insinuat, « significatque humanae naturae infirmitatem carnisque nostrae manifestam imbecillitatem; nihilo melius enim, quam testa, sese habet caro, quum adeo caduca sit ac morte, morbis, coeli intemperiis aliisque malis innumeris dissolvatur » (C/»ys.). De communi corporis mortalis fragilitate hic esse sermonem, Graecorum Latinorumque communior est et vera sententia (cfr v. 10); quamvis enim lux illa in animo recipiatur, corpus tamen, in quo hominis imbecillitas maxime apparet, uti animi ipsius (cfr 5,1 sqq.), ita gratiae istius receptaculum recte dicitur. Quod vero pauci iuniores et moderni arbitrantur, ipsas Apostolorum personas utpote « viles hominum aestimatione, rudes scientiarum saecularium, irznobiles et inopes ideoque contemptibiles » designari (Est. Pic ?. M Ev. Dr. — Rück. Billr. Heinr.), id nec ipsis verbis consonat, quibus non tam vilitas et contemptibilitas, quam fragilitas et imbecillitas innuitur, nec contextui congruit, qui de tribulationibus periculisque, «quibus corpora proxime affliguntur et thesaurus amitti perdique potest, integer agit. Etenim thesauri, ne perdantur aut diripiantur, in locis munitis arcisque aeratis conservari solent; verum cadem ratione pretiosissimus apostolici muneris (vel potius evangelicae lucis ad aliorum utilitatem acceptae) thesaurus non custoditur, nequidquam eminentis suae virtutis receptaculo suo ipsi debere videatur. Eo enim fine Deus illum in vasis fictilibus fragilibusque posuit, wt sublimitas virtutis, 1. e. extraordinaria eius et eminens virtus et efficacia, si/ i. e. esse cognoscatur Dei et non ez nobis. Bene Theoph. : « ut magnitudo et excellentia virtutis, quae in nobis apparet, Dei esse credatur neve nos ex nobismet ipsis ita agere existimemur », quam eandem explicationem S. Hier. (c. Pelag. III. 9) sua versione insinuavit : « ut abundantia fortitudinis nostrae sit ex Deo et non ex nobis ». Haec iuniorum quoque cet modernorum cath. communior est interpretatio, qui fere omnes genetivum tirtutis a nominativo sublimitas dependere, genetivum Dei autem cum verbo est connectendum esse recte tenent (cfr Cai. Nat. Pic. Calm. etc., M Ev. Bisp. Mai. LR. etc.), quamvis haec constructio collocationi verborum, quam Fulg. exhibet (ut sublimitas sit virtutis Dei) vix consonet; at simili modo, quo S. Hier., etiam Afer sententiam intellexit ac S. Aug. quoque (serm. 169,12) transposito verbo (sit) legit : « ut eminentia virtutis sit Dei et non ex nobis ». Tuxta Yulg. tamen exponamus oportet : « ut sublimitas attribuatur virtuti Dei neve ex nobis esse credatur » (cfr Prim. Sed. etc., Herv. Thom. Dion. etc., Est. Lap. Pic. etc., Dr. Ramb.). Sensu quidem generali haec explicatio a priore haud multum discrepat et textui graeco quoque satis congruit, siquidem Chrys. et Theod. eam iam exprimunt ; nihilominus approbari nequit, quia subiectum (f oxep6oXij, sublimitas vel excellentia, eminentia) indeterminatum relinquit, ut de cuius rei sublimitate vel eminentia agatur non appareat; pro arbitrio enim ab aliis suppletur magnitudo donorum (Chrys.), ab aliis sublimitas lucis (Thom.), aut perfectio in vita, in signis, in documentis (Dion.) aut omne bonum, quod ex thesauro provenit (Est.), aut excellentia quae in Paulo fuit et fructus quos in conversione gentium fecit (Lap.), aut ministerium apostolicum (Píc.) etc. Quare prior sententia est retinenda. : Quomodo virtutis divinae eminentia in fragilibus vasis sese manifestet, Paulus calamitatum, quibus apostolici viri premuntur quidem sed a Deo adiuti non vincuntur, enumeratione brevi docet :
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8. ànomnibus tribulationem patimur, sed non angustiamur ; aporiamur, sed non destituimur,
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9. persecutionem patimur, sed non derelinquimur; deücimur, sed non perimus. Pro verbis finitis primigenius textus participia praes. pass., quibus lingua latina caret, adhibens sententiam v. 7. inchoatam continuat : £/ovev 9i z2v 0zcaupóv volcov. . . v xavvt Du dquevot OA 0) ev:voy o252U.evot X3.; quam constructionem participiis perf. pass. antiqua versio imitari conata est : « tribulati sed non angustiati, inopiam passi sed non destituti , persecutionem passi sed non derelicti, deiecti sed non pereuntes » (cfr S. HZ. in Ps. 118. Jit. 6. n. 9., A'*" etc). Quibus antithesibus vicissitudines vitae apostolicae pulchre delineantur : summa corum afflictio et infirmitas, qua interitui semper vicini esse videntur, una ex parte (vasa fictilia), et ex altera auxilium divinum semper praesens, quo eorum clades impeditur, ut mediis in calamitatibus incolumes serventur (sublimitas virtutis ex Deo). In hac descriptione moderni nonnulli (cfr Maz. — Heinr.) Paulo athletarum luctatorumque in agone concertantium militumque pugnantium imaginem, quam tantopere amat ( cfrad 1 Cor. 9,93 sqq.), obversatam esse recte, opinor, coniecerunt; verba enim, quibus utitur, a profanis scriptoribus istum in sensum interdum trahuntur. Quidquid hac de opinione est, pnimum membrum universale esse tribusque sequentibus illustrari merito dicitur; omnes enim omnis generis afflictiones oppressionesque complectitur, quas omni tempore omnique in loco Apostoli perferunt numquam victi; siquidem ratio nulla adest, cur illud iv zavrí (in omnibus) aut de solis calamitatum generibus cum Chrys. (« in hostibus, in amicis, in necessitatibus, in indigentiis, apud alienigenas, apud domesticos ») intelligamus aut ad solam temporum vellocorum rationem cum TAeophA. restringamus. Revera sicuti subst. 6Acp, ita. verbum 86s ad unum tribulationum genus non coarctatur, sed omnia complectitur!; evevoyopttv, quod proxime est in angustias redigere (infr. in angusto versari), tantum istarum afflictionum gradum exprimit, ut felix ex eis exitus iam non inveniatur. Sunt quidem, qui alterum hoc verbum de animi anxietate explicent (« angustiis non concludimur Deo cordibus nostris latum consolationis campum patefaciente » TAeopA. cfr TÀom. Lap. Pic. etc.); at de animi constantia, qua calamitates perferuntur, hoc iu loco non agitur, sed de felici exitu, quem Apostoli calamitatibus non oppressi Deo adiuvante invenerunt : « in tribulationibus versantes, sed non succumbentes ». In secundo membro (&opoóuevos 4XX ox jemopojuevot) Vulg. primum verbum graecum retinuit (aporiamur efr Is. 59,16); xxopeictat (in inviis versari) autem is dicitur, qui quid dicat vel faciat nesciens anxius haesitat (cfr Ioan. 13,22; Act. 95,20; Luc. 9,&; Gal. 4,90). Quae significatio in verbo composito sZaxopttcf, quod & Vulg. redditur latino destitut , ita augetur, ut desperationem ex consilii inopia exortam designet : « haesitantes sed non desperantes ». Tantis in periculis Apostoli saepius versabantur, ut quod consilium esset capiendum, ne opprimerentur, non viderent; at animum non despondebant ac Deus eis qua ratione evaderent ostendebat : « in inviis vias salutis invenimus » Deo iuvante (iv àx92ots nguoi mócouz tigisxouev cot.- £5. Theod.). Supra quidem Apostolus de periculo quodam ephesio loquens se de vita ipsa desperasse (iZ2Togolzva xai 702 Pv 1,8) dixit; at clarum est, eum ibi verbum iZzxojtclx: sensu latiore de magno dubio, quod habuit, num illud discrimen effugere posset, sumsissc, sed hic eum verbo integram vim et potestatem relinquere. Quoniam &ropía, uti de consilii inopia, ita etiam de rerum ad vitam necessariarum indigentia usurpatur, cum 7Aeoph. nonnulli quoque Latini versione antiqua, quam Tert. (Scorp. 13. « indigemus sed non perindigemus ») exhibet, seducti verba haec de Apostolorum egestate interpretati sunt (A'er, Haym. Herv. Thom. etc., Cai. Lap. etc.), alii consilii inopiam rerumque penuriam simul indicari arbitrati sunt (Salm. Pic. etc.); arctior tamen videtur explicatio nec contextui satis consonat. Omnino enim in tribus his ultimis membris Paulum Apostolos ceu athletas in agone concertantes aut ceu milites acie dimicantes describere censeo : omnibus ex partibus ab hostibus cinguntur et urgentur, ut quo se vertant non amplius videant , sed animum non despondentesDeo monstrante detegunt viam evadendi (Zxoposjssvot 322? ox. iamopoópuevot); fugam igitur arripiunt, verum nein fuga quidem, nisi Deus eos adiuvaret , securi essent, siquidem hostes eos persequuntur, sed & Deo solis suis viribus non relinguuntur (Swoxóuevo XX 00 xava).evnópatvot); hostes eos quidem consequuntur, ut novum iam certamen inire debeant, in quo iterum inferiores esse videntur, siquidem in terram deticiuntur, sed a Deo iterum corroborati non pereunt (xxsa6aX)6uevot «XX ox &moXXMÓprvot) : quidquid agunt adversarii, vasa fictilia non confringuntur, quia in illis Deus eminentem suam virtutem manifestare vult. Multis igitur magnisque tribulationibus omnis generis viri apostolici ita affliguntur, ut morti semper vicini esse videantur; suo autem tempore semper adest Deus, qui ab interitu eos servat : quae omnia novo membro Paulus comprehendit, quo ostendit, quem in finem Deus hac ratione virtutem suam in infirmis Apostolis manifestet :
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10. semper mortificattonem Iesu. in. corpore (nostro) circumferentes, ut. et vita Iesu manifestetur in corporibus nostris (lege : in corpore nostro cfr VV. LL.). « Quid est mortificatio Iesu, quam circumferebant? Mortes quotidianae, quibus resurrectionis specimen edebatur. Nam si quis est, qui Chrisli mortem obiisse et resurrexisse non credit, in nos intueatur, qui singulis diebus morimur et in vitam revocamur, ac tunc resurrectioni fidem habebit » (CArys.). Substantivum véxpoct; bis tantum in Novo Test. 'adhibetur; Zo». 4,19 sine ullo dubio idem est quod 76 vevexeogévov sivo: (32 mortuum esse) et a Vulg. recte ita redditur (vv véxpeotv 17; wázoxs EXija: emortuam vulvam Sarae); at dubium quoque non est, quin hoc in loco sit i. q. o vexpobotiat (16 occidi), atque hunc sensum V7. substantivo mortificationis exprimere voluit; continuis tribulationibus, quibus semper morti vicini sunt, Apostoli Iesum, qui occiditur, repraesentant, atque signa, quae perpetuae eorum calamitates cum mortis periculo coniunctae in eorum corporibus reliquerunt (Gal. 6,17 stigmata Christi), conspicua circumferentes ipsam Iesu occisionem quasi circumferunt. Attamen Deus in tribulationibus illis permittendis eum habet finem, ut Apostoli non tantum Iesum morientem sed etiam Iesum resuscitatum et gloriose viventem in corpore suo repraesentent; etenim « afflictiones et tormenta evangelizantium tam potenter non solum tolerata sed superata sunt testimonia Iesu Christi viventis et servantis et vincentis » (Cai.). Profecto quicumque pericula, quibus Paulus a conversione sua usque ad tempus, quo epistolam hanc scripsit, i. e. viginti quatuor vel quinque annorum spatio, expositus fuit (11,23-98), perpenderit, vitam Iesu in eo manifestatam esse fateri cogetur (cfr CArys. Cyr. Oec. etc., Cai. Ist. Est. etc., Bisp. L R. Ramb. etc. — Kl Br. Mey. Heinr. etc.); cum Paulo autem et reliqui Apostoli gloriari potuerunt : « ut morientes, et ecce vivimus; ut castigati et ad mortem non adducti » (6,9). Attamen altera quoque horum verborum expositio a CÁrys. affertur, iuxta quam non de superatis Apostolorum tribulationibus, quibus vita Iesu iam nunc in eis manifestetur, sermo est, sed de sperata resurrectione futura : « hac de causa, inquit 7/Aeod., mortis periculo pro Domino libenter adimus, ut et vitae eius fiamus participes et caducam vitam dantes immortalitatem corporis adipiscamur »; et TÀom. : « ideo pericula mortis et passiones patienter sustinemus, ut perveniamus ad gloriosam vitam ». Quae explicatio, quam solam cum Theod. antiquiores Latini tradunt (cfr Tert. de res. carn. &4; A't", Pel. Prim. etc., Herv. Lomb. Thom. Lyr. etc.) nonnullique iuniores et moderni tenent (Calm. Nat. Pic. etc., M Ev. Mai. etc. — Olsh. etc.), perse quidem apta est iisque quae infra exponuntur (v. 1*5 sqq.) congruit,approbari tamen nequit, si non tantum ad praecedentia membra, quae de hac sola vita agunt, scd etiam ad sequentem sententiam attenditur. Etenim recte CAys. iam monet, eum morem esse Apostolo, ut si quid obscurius dixit id clarius exponat, eundemque morem ab eo hic teneri, quum sua ipsius verba ita repetat, ut ea non tam confirmet quam apertius declaret :
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11. semper enim nos qui vivimus in mortem tradimur propter Iesum , ut et vita Iesu manifestetur in carne nostra mortali. Quam accurate duo huius sententiae membra duobus immediate praecedentibus respondeant, in aperto est; at etiam se mutuo explicant et complent. Semper (7vrore) viri apostolici mortificationem Iesu in corpore suo circumferunt, quia semper (26i) vivi in mortem traduntur propter Iesum, i. e. in suo apostolico ministerio propter Iesum suscepto continuis mortis periculis ita sunt expositi , ut vita eorum sit mors quaedam continua. Haud sine emphasi illud £pi ol Càvvec (nos qui vivimus) inseritur, ut praecedens in corpore nostro quasi explicetur; neque enim haec expressio significat : dum vivimus, in mortem tradimur (siquidem scriptum non est : 4st; Zàvzec), neque ad vitam gratiae trahenda est (siquidem superiori 2x corpore nostro respondet), sed oppositionem, quae inter continuam vitam et continuam mortem Apostolorum adest, ob oculos ponit : media in vita et vivo corpore ita in mortem semper tradimur, ut simul semper et vivi et mortui esse videamur. Duo alia membra, quibus continuae mortis finis significatur, etiam verbis consonant in eo solo dissentientia , quod pro praecedente £n corporibus nostris (vel iuxta meliorem lectionem : £n corpore nostro), quae locutio etiam de glorificato corpore intelligi potest, hic ponatur in carne nostra mortal? , quae expressio de glorificato corpore explicari nequit; nam corruptio incorruptionem non possidebit et corruptibile hoc induere debet incorruptionem et mortale hoc immortalitatem (1 Cor. 15,50. 53). In resuscitatis ergo , vita Iesu non manifestabitur in carne mortali, ac proin Apostolus nondum de futura vita corporis glorificati loquitur, sed de ea vitae Jesu manifestatione, quae in conservatione vitae Apostolorum apparet. Apostoli propter Iesum continuo morientes et tamen semper viventes in sua carne mortali manifestant et repraesentant Dominum propter delicta nostra in mortem traditum et propter iustificationem nostram resuscitatum vitamque aeternam viventem (/tom. 5,95). Hinc Paulus ex effectibus ad causam concludens colligit :
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12. ergo mors in nobis operatur, vita autem ?n vobis. Mortem et vitam velut personas inducit, quae operantur efficaciamque suam manifestam reddunt. lamvero mortem in Apostolis operari suamque vim exserere (cfr 1,8), continua pericula omnibus perspicua docent, in quae mors eos coniicit, ut eis vitam eripiat ; at vitam quoque in eis operari, facile apparet, siquidem continuis tribulationibus ct calamitatibus a morte excitatis nec vincuntur nec quominus ministerium suum apostolicum inter fideles exerceant impediuntur. Mors ultra Apostolos operationem suam proxime non extendit, ut soli varias ct continuas afflictiones propter Evangelii praedicationem perferentes mortem Christi quasi gustent; ideo in priore membro de eis solis, quippe qui mortificationem Iesu in corpore suo circumferant el propter Iesum in mortem tradantur, sermo fit : mors ? nobis operatur. Verum vita tam potens et efficax est, ut ad eos solos operationem suam non restringat ; nam eos non tantum mediis in mortis periculis vivos conservat, sed aptos quoque idoneosque reddit, qui fidelibus propter Iesum servientes praedicatione sua in illos vitam Domini transfundant; quia autem in altero hoc effectu operatio vitae clarius conspicitur, ad eum solum Paulus in altero membro attendit : vita autem in vobis. Apertius quoque ita apparet, quanta sit Apostolis cum Christo moriente et vivente similitudo et quanta sit virtus Dei in vasis fictilibus : in se solum Christus, ut genus humanum redimeret, passionem et mortem suscepit , et Apostoli soli, ut Evangelium propagent, in corporibus suis mortificationem Iesu circumferunt; vitam vero, quam Christus glorificatus nunc degit, in fidelibus suis manifestat , quibuscum passionis mortisque suae fructus communicat, et similiter Apostoli non tantum in suo corpore mortali vitam Iesu manifestant, sed praedicatione sua etiam efficiunt, ut in fidelibus vita Iesu sese manifestet, quatenus eos ad fidem adducunt: « imitati sunt Dominum suum doctores mundi; suas enim animas posuerunt, ut nos qui olim aberravimus vitam ex fide in Christum lueraremur.» (Cyr A. cfr Theod. Oec. Theoph.; A'*, Sed. Haym. Thom ?. etc., Salm. Iust. ec., M Ev. L R. etc. — Goeb. Heinr.). Quamvis igitur fictilia sint vasa, thesaurus in illis conservatus non perit; immo vero quia per fragilia instrumenta non obstantibus difficultatibus quibuscumque Evangelium gloriae Christi, qui est imago Dei, propagatur mundusque tenebris ignorantiae et erroris hucusque obrutus luce evangelica illuminatur, sublimitas virtutis, quae ex solo Deo esse potest, maiore claritate fulget. vos rebus secundis fruimini » (Bisp. Mai. Dr. — Mey. etc.); nam clarius Paulus loqui solet, si ironia vel sarcasmo utitur (cfr 4 Cor. 4,8 sqq. etc.). Multo minus autem antiquorum nonnullorum sententia nobis probatur, qui haec « increpative » dicta esse putarunt : « mors, qua quotidie pro Salvatore morimur, operatur in nobis vitam aeternae felicitatis; sed e contrario vita, qua delectamini in terrenis, operatur in vobis mortem aeternam » (Herv. cfr Lomb*. Thom. etc.); vel iuxta Prim. :« mors in nobis operatur propter fidem; in vobis vero operatur vita, quia adulatione et desidia vestra odium non excitatis »; nam haec omnia verbis non minus quam conlextu reprobantur. 9.) Omnes calamilates. Apostoli ob gloriosae resurreclionis spem perferunt. (4,18-18).
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4,13. Habentes autem. eundem spiritum 13. fov Ob x0 ab:ó mwÜua c5 Scopo, quem Deus in Apostolorum tribulationibus permittendis habet, exposito Paulus de eo fine agere incipit, quem Apostoli ipsiin duro arduoque suo ministerio exercendo persequuntur. Difficultatibus nimirum mortisque periculis non obstantibus, quum eodem, quo olim Psalmista, spiritu fidei sint animati, Evangelium annuntiare non cessant (v. 13); suam ipsorum enim fideliumque, propter quos ad maiorem Dei gloriam omnia sustinent, gloriosam resurrectionem certo futuram exspectant (15. 15). Quamvis igitur multa graviaque perpetiantur, animum non despondent (v. 16), quia transitoriis calamitatibus aeternam gloriam respondere sciunt (1*7. 18). Intime novam hanc sectionem praecedenti adnectens Paulus, quomodo virtus Dei in Apostolis sese manifestet, accuratius explicat : mors quidem , inquit, in nobis operatur, 13. habentes autem eundem spiritum fidei , sicut scriptum est : Credidi propter quod locutus sum, el nos credimus, propter quod et loquimur. Fides igitur, qua animati sunt, eos tacere non patitur, sed mediis in persecutionibus loquuntur Evangeliumque annuntiant, atque ita fit, ut eodem tempore, quo in illis mors operatur, in neophytüis vita Christi sese manifestet. Utrum nomine spiritus fidei cum plerisque antiquioribus Spiritum S. intelligamus, qui nobis datus fidei nostrae est auctor et donator, an cum aliis antiquioribus meton ymice fidem ipsam a Spiritu S. nobis datam significari dicamus ( cfr 1 Cor. 5,91 spzritus mansuetudinis etc.), parum interest; utraque enim explicatio est apta, nec ulla est ratio, cur seeundam cum paucis modernis (Mai. — Mey. Heinr. etc.) velut erroneam respuamus. Fides deinde, de qua agitur, si ad verba Psalmistae allegata attendimus, fidelitatem iustitiamque Dei promissiones suas implentis servosque suos continuo adiuvantis proxime respicit, ita ut certam spem fiduciamque quasi includat. Ewndem porro spiritum fidei Paulus dicit Apostolos habere non inter se (Ca?.) nec cum Corinthiis (A'tr, Est.), sed « eundem quem habuerunt et illi qui scripserunt : eredidi propter quod locutus sum » (S. Aug. serm. 19,3; cfr CArys. Theod. Lyr. ekc., Prim. Sed. Herv. Lomb. Thom. etc., Salm. Iust. Nat. Pic. etc., moderni omnes); itaque « his verbis ostenditur, miram esse inter Novum et Vetus Test. concordiam eundemque Spiritum in utroque vim suam exserere » (CArys.). Quia igitur eundem spiritum fidei, . quo animatus erat Psalmista, habent , ideo iuxta illud quod scriptum est (xa7& «ó veypaupévov) : Credidi propter quod locutus sum , Apostoli , quoque credunt et ideo loquuntur continuata Evangelii praedicatione Deo gratias agentes. periculo constitutus ab hominibusque derelictus poeta sacer animum non desponderat, sed divinis promissionibus credens a Deo auxilium efllagitaverat servatusque erat. Qua de re gratias acturus exorditur : « Credidi, ideo locutus sum, i. e. quia propter fidem meam auxilium inveni, hanc gratiarum actionem dixi (vel : dico). Valde eram afflictus et quum inter homines nullum invenirem, qui me iuvaret, omnes dixi fallaces. At Deus me non dereliquit; quid igitur Domino pro omnibus, quae in me complevit, rependam? » etc. Iam simili modo Apostoli quoque, quamvis in continuis mortis periculis degant et apud homines auxilium non inveniant, minime desperant, sed Dei verbis promissionibusque credunt illoque confidunt ; ideo etiam in eis vita Iesu, qua conservantur, sese manifestat et gratiarum suam actionem ob beneficium acceptum non carmine quidem, sicut sacer poeta, sed continuata Evangelii praedicatione exprimunt. Tribulationibus igitur nec fracti nec absterriti, sed spiritu fidei omnia perferentes Apostoli ab Evangelii praedicatione non cessant,
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15. scientes, quoniam qui suscitavit (Dominum) Iesum , et nos cum Jesu suscitabit et constituet vobiscum. Paulum velut praecipuum fidei obiectum hoc in loco prae oculis habere Deum iustissimum remuneratorem, qui iuxta promissiones suas fidelibus suis servis gloriosam vitam daturus sit, evidens est (cfr CArys. Theod. etc.). Certitudinem autem futurae istius remunerationis ipsis verbis significat, quum Deum vocans resuscitatorem Iesu insinuet , de futurae nostrae resurrectionis possibilitate iam dubitare non licere, atque addens nos resuscitatum iri cum Iesu simul indicet, fieri non posse, ut gloriosa vita privemur; egregie Thom : « et nos cum Iesu suscitabit, ut sumamus eandem gloriam cum Iesu, quia quum simus membra eius debemus esse cum capite ». Quam expressionis vim, ut videtur, non intelligentes multi librarii, qui eam de resurrectionis tempore erronee interpretabantur, pro cv 'Izco) scribere maluerunt 9ix 'Inso? (per Iesum cfr VV. LL.). Ceteroquin contra eos, qui Paulum Domini ad iudicium adventum vicinum credidisse asserunt (cfr ad 1 Cor. 7,26 etc.), id quoque adnotasse iuvabit, Apostolum hic eadem ratione, qua alibi (1 Cor. 6.15; 10,11 etc.), ex numero eorum, quos Dominus adveniens vivos sit reperturus, se sociosque suos excludere. At non suam tantum resurrectionem vitamque gloriosam Apostoli in ministerio suo exercendo prae oculis habent, sed in eadem se neophytos esse habituros socios exspectant, id quod magna cum humilitate Paulus ita exprimit, ut neophytis quasi primum locum attribuat : et constituet nos vobiscum. Quae verba ust. aliique pauci inepte de spe intelligunt, quam Paulus habuerit, sese mox salvum Corinthum esse reversurum ; de societate enim in vita gloriosa agi, totus contextus elamat, ita ut supplendum sit aut : constituet nos vobiscum ante tribunal suum (Theod.), aut cum plerisque rectius : constituet nos vobiscum vivos (cfr Act. 1,3 vajéovaczv tavróv ovta , 9,41 mapforaatv abTiv Locxv). Clarius iam humilitatem suam manifestat sententia sequente, qua verba voóiscum explicans et confirmaris ultimum finem, quem Apostoli sibi proponunt, exprimit :
4:15
15. Omnia enim propter vos, ut gratia abundans per multos in gratiarum actione abundet in gloriam Det. Omnia ergo, quaecumque agunt et perferunt, agunt et sustinent propter fideles; neque enim suum commodum quaerunt, sed bonum fidelium promovere student, quare aequum quoque est, ut fidelium in resurrectione et vita gloriosa socii fiant. Attatnen ultimus finis, propter quem ministerium suum totum ad fidelium utilitatem promovendam dirigunt, est maior Dei gloria, quippe quae singularem in modum crescat, quando gratia in multos effusa et hoc modo aucta efficit, ut abundantiore gratiarum actione Deus celebretur (efr ad 1, 11). anhelantes suam ipsorum quoque salutem adipiscentur; interea autem certitudine futurae suae beatitudinis, quam hac via sint obtenturi, in tribulationibus calamitatibusque suis corroborantur. Etenim ad v. 14., quo certam gloriosae resurrectionis spem expressit, respiciens Paulus pergit :
4:16
16. propter quod non deficimus (&pxaxoüpev ve] Gxxoxoout*, animum non despondemus cfr ad v. 1.); sed licet is, qui foris est, noster homo corrumpatur, tamen i, qui intus est, renovatur de die in diem. luxta plerosque in his verbis caro mortalis, s. corpus cum sensibus suis, velut exterior homo ab anima rationali cum eius potentiis propriis velut homine interiore distinguitur !. « Ad intellectum huius verbi, inquit 7Aom ., sciendum est, quod secundum Philosophum et secundum usum loquendi unumquodque dicitur esse illud, quod est principalius in eo... Principalius autem in homine potest aliquid iudicari et secundum veritatem et secundum apparentiam. Secundum veritatem quidem principalius est in homine ipsa mens; unde secundum iudicium spiritualium mens dicitur homo (interior). Secundum apparentiam vero principalius in homine est corpus exterius cum sensibus suis; unde secundum eorum , qui tantum corporalia et sensibilia considerant et terrena sapiunt, corpus cum sensibus suis dicitur homo (exterior) ». Recte porro nonnulli monent, hominem exteriorem et interiorem a Paulo eadem ratione non distingui, qua alibi hominem veterem a novo distinguit, neque hoc in loco de hominis natura per peccatum corrupta agi, quatenus restauratae per Christum naturae opponatur (cfr /I Vict. qu. 12.; Tol. in Rom. 7,12; Salm. Est. Lap. ete.); etenim « totus ille homo, inquit S. Aug. (c. Faust XXIV. 2), i. e. et interiore et exteriore sui parte, inveteravit propter peccatum et poenae mortalitatis addictus est : renovatur autem nunc secundum interiorem hominem, ubi secundum sui Creatoris imaginem reformatur exuens se iniustitiam, i. e. veterem hominem, et induens iustitiam, i. e. novum hominem; tune autem, quum resurget corpus spirituale, quod seminatur animale, etiam exterior homo percipiet coelestis habitudinis dignitatem : ut totum , quod creatum est, recreetur, et totum, quod factum est, reficiatur, illo recreante qui creavit et reficiente qui fecit ». Quae quasi explicans 7Aom. : « Natura bumana fuit in integritate condita; in qua si permansisset , semper esset nova; sed per peccatum coepit corrumpi; quo fit, ut quidquid peccatum consecutum est, nempe ignorantia, difficultas ad bonum, pronitas ad malum, poenalitas et alia huiusmodi, totum pertineat ad vetustatem. Quum ergo natura humana huiusmodi peccatum sequentia deponit, tunc dicitur renovari. Quae quidem depositio hic incipit in sanctis, sed perfecte consummabitur in patria. Hic enim deponitur vetustas culpae, nam spiritus deponit vetustatem peccati et subiicitur novitati iustitiae, et intellectus deponit errores et assumit novitatem veritatis : et secundum hoc is, qui intus est homo, sc. anima, reno- ' vatur. Sed in patria tolletur etiam vetustas poenae; unde ibi erit consummata renovatio » etiam secundum exteriorem hominem. Interea autem exterior homo, i. e. corpus mortale, quamvis in eo quoque vita Iesu sese manifestet (v. 11), continuis tribulationibus atteritur et paullatim ad mortem adducitur; dum anima iisdem tribulationibus ad deponendam peccati vetustatem confortatur et de die in diem (Appz xai hyéQa Tert. : die et die, ai at i. q. «a0 zip£ozv) renovatur novas quotidie acquirens vires, quum ad mercedem, quae tribulationibus obtineatur, prospiciat. De hac enim proxime renovatione supranaturali, quae hic quidem inchoatur sed nonnisi in altera vita consummabitur, Apostolum loqui, docet sententia sequens, qua admirandum in modum merita describit, quae tribulationibus acquiruntur :
4:17
17. id enim quod in praesenti est momentaneum et leve tribulationis nostrae, supra modum in sublimi- /ate aeternum gloriae pondus operatur (in) nobis. Simili modo, quo Rom. 8,18 ( « non sunt condignae passiones huius temporis ad futuram gloriam, quae revelabitur in nobis »), Paulus tribulationibus praesentibus futuram mercedem comparat, sed singulorum membrorum opposilione , quantopere merces labores sit superatura, simul ostendit : « praesentia, inquit CArys. , cum futuris componit; momentaneum cum aeícerno, leve cum gravi, afflictionem cum gloria ». Iuxta communiorem quidem codd. graecorum lectionem (tó yap mapxvrix £Aagpoy 7f, ÜXcleoc viov, praesens levitas calamitatis nostrae) in primo membro solum hoc tempus (quod in praesenti est) futuro opponi videtur; at si ad oppositum membrum (ziówov, aeternum) attenderis, cum plerisque asserere non dubitabis, adverbio «zoxvrixx calamitatem non tam velut praesentem, quam velut transitoriam significari (Theod. ix uv 108 zapausiza Züevze v0 [pay ve xai soóoxatpov) , atque adiectivum mgócxatpov (temporarium, momentaneum), quod codd. graecolatini cum It. Vulg. Syr. inserunt (5o 1o «agxvr(za z066zu1pov xal dagpóv i; ÜXtpenc pv, id enim quod in praesenti est »iomentaneum et leve tribulationis nostrae), si genuinum non sit, bonam tamen esse glossam dices. Sive igitur duratio (»0mentaneum , aeternum), sive gravitas et magnitudo (/eve, pondus) considerantur, calamitas a gloria superatur. Immo vero infinite superatur; ad quam infinitam distantiam exprimendam Paulus novam sibi formavit locutionem : xat? jzep6oXáv tigomepboX?v, unam quasi hyperbolen alteri addens et superlativum superlativo augens; melius quam Vw/g. ( supra modum in sublimitate) et prima versio latina (Tert. Scorp. 13. : per supergressum in supergressum), I. eam imitata est : « iuxta incredibilem modum et in incredibilem modum » (S. Aug. in Ps. 93 n. 23). Qua infinita distantia non obstante tribulatio transitoria haec et levis iuxta Paulum operatur. (xaveoydl,czax efficit et producit) aeternam illam et infinitam gloriam, i. e. illam vere ex condigno meretur; quamvis enim in se considerata ad cam operandam plane impar sit nec ullo modo ei respondeat, ex Dei tamen promissione tantus eius est valor, ut ei respondeat, tantaque ei inest virtus, ut eam operari i. e. mereri possit. Egregie 777d., postquam nos vere mereri posse ostendit, decreto suo baec addidit verba : « Neque vero illud omittendum est, quod licet bonis operibus in sacris literis usque adeo tribuatur, ut etiam qui uni ex minimis suis potum aquae frigidae dederit, promittat Christus eum non esse sua mercede carituram, et Apostolus testetur, id quod in praesenti est momentaneum ct leve tribulationis nostrae, supra modum in sublimitate aeternum gloriae pondus operari in nobis : absit tamen , ut christianus homo in se ipso vel confidat vel glorietur, et non in Domino, cuius tanta est erza omnes homines bonitas, «t eorum velit esse merita, quae sunt ipsius dona » (Sess. Vl. De iustific. cp. 16). Cur vero tantam mercedem Paulus sibi (pro zn nobis cum graecis codd. , Patribus latinis |ert. Scorp. 13. de resur. carn. 40; S. Aug. in Ps. 93 n. 23 etc.| bonisque codd. Vulg. [4n. etc.] lege : nobis) Sperare possit, indicare non omittit :
4:18
18. »on contemplantibus nobis , quae videntur, sed quae non videntur; quae. enim videntur, temporalia sunt; quae autem non videntur, aeterna sunt. Ablativum hunc absolutum (qui graeco genit. abs. v7 czoxzosvzov 120v respondet) alii lemporalem esse putant (dum non spectamus etc. Est. etc.), alii 136 conditionalem (s non spectamus etc. CArys. etc.), alii rectius causalem (guia non spectamus etc. Lomó. Thom. Lyr. etc. , Cai. Salm. etc., M Ev. Bisp. Mai. etc. — Mey. Heinr. etc.). Porro verbum contemplari vim graeci cxozsv non attingit; rectius Tert. (1l. cc.) latinum iniweri adhibuit, siquidem « ad rem aliquam velut ad scopum et finem prospicere » significat. Quia igitur Paulus sociique res visibiles (honores, divitias aliaque id genus), utpote temporales et transitorias, sibi pro fine et scopo non ponunt neque ad eas attendunt easve curant, sed solam invisibilem , utpote aeternam , gloriam in omnibus suis tribulationibus prae oculis habent eamque solam prosequuntur, ideo in omnibus suis calamitatibus iuxta interiorem hominem de die in diem ita renovantur, ut aeternam mercedem, quae tribulationibus obtinetur, iure sibi sperent. Pauli igitur sociorumque eius exemplo, qui ad futuram suam mercedem prospicientes sese in tribulationibus suis confortabant, erroris convincuntur ii, « qui statuunt, in omnibus - operibus iustos peccare , si in illis suam ipsorum socordiam excitando et sese ad currendum in stadio cohortando, cum hoc, ut in primis glorificetur Deus, mercedem quoque intuentur aeternam » (cfr Trid. sess. VI. de iustif. cp. 11.). tribunal Christi, ut referat unusquisque | Zpzpooütv o9 GXuazo; z09 Xpio0, iva propria corporis, prout gessit, sive bonum, | xoyularza: £xagzos X à:x zo augazoc, x20 8 sive malum. Ezgaz:v, cvs dyaDos dis wxxóv!. Fontem fiduciae fortitudinisque , qua omnes ministerii sui molestias et tribulationes perferant, certam eximiae mercedis spem operariis apostolicis esse, Paulus in superiore pericope docuit. (uae ne temere dicta esse videantur, certitudinem futurae resurrectionis gloriosae, quam iterum asserit (v. 1), certitudine gloriosae transmutationis eorum, quos Christus adveniens vivos sit inventurus, confirmat (2-5), atque iis quoque, qui ante Domini adventum morituri sint, felicitatem non defuturam docet, quum statim ad Christum sint perventuri (6-8). Hinc in suo munere exercendo Paulus sociique id unum sibi proponunt, ut placeant Christo supremo iudici, qui suum cuique praemium sit distributurus (9.10). Iuxta contextum Apostolus de solis quidem operariis apostolicis proxime loquitur, sed argumentationem eius esse universalem patet; quare ea, quae de gloriae certitudine tradit de omnibus iustis valent. Itaque quamquam exteriorem hominem continuae tribulationes corrumpunt conteruntque, de incredibili tamen, quam iustis ad aeterna sola anhelantibus afferunt , mercede dubitare non licet ;
4:4
… Sin holds them beneath itself as slaves (Rom. 6:17, 20; John 8:34; 2 Pet. 2:19); they are subject to the devil as subjects to their head (John 12:31; 14:30). The devil is the god (θεός) "of this world" (2 Cor. 4:4; 1 Cor. 2:6; Gal. 2:15).
… truth and justice are replaced by sin (Rom. 1:25-27; Jas. 5:19). The Christian must "resist the d." (Jas. 4:7; 1 Pt. 5:8) with "the whole armor" (Eph. 6:11), for the d. is "the prince of this world" (Jn. 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), he is "the god of this age" (2 Cor. 4:4).
… verbum mentis), a concept that is, as it were, its image, so God the Father, knowing himself perfectly, and in himself all things, intellectually begets, ab aeterno, his interior Logos, the Only-Begotten God (John 1:18), who is its most perfect image (cf. II Cor. 4:4; Col. 1:15). In man thought is a transient accident; in God, by contrast, it is a Person, subsisting eternally in the one divine nature, common to the Father and the Son. Just as in …
… But the teaching of Jesus Christ did not consist only in words: his every gesture, his every interior sentiment, known outwardly, was an objective manifestation of the thought and love of God. The first and great revelation of God is the very Person of the Incarnate Word (cf. II Cor. 4:4-6). In the light of the teaching of Jesus Christ and under the illumination of the Holy Spirit promised by him (Jn. 14:26; 15:26; 16:12-15), the Apostles understood ever more completely …
… translation of hafāṭān, also called "the evil one" (Mt. 13:19, 38; II Thess. 3:3; perhaps Mt. 6:13 b), "the ancient serpent" (Apoc. 12:9; 20:2), "the enemy" (Mt. 13:39), "the prince of this world" (Io. 12:31; 14:30; cf. Lc. 4:6), "the god of this age" (II Cor. 4:4), "the prince of the power of the air (thus is Beliar called in Test. …
… Satan, head (ὁ ἄρχων) of this world (Jn. 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), shows himself as such already when he tempts Jesus (Mt. 4:8-10; Lk. 4:6-13) in the vain attempt to subject even him, the only one in whom he "has nothing" (Jn. 14:30; 17:16). He is even "the god of this world" (II Cor. 4:4), a world withdrawn from the true God its creator, become the prey of corruption and death. …
4:6
… Only the small band of obscure heroes who follow Jesus to complete victory over the world savors, in silent love and torment, perfect joy (Mt. 11:25-30; Lc. 10:21; 12:32; Io. 16:20-22, 32-33; II Cor. 4:6-18; 5:14-18; 6:2-10 and cf. 7:4-6: Paul experiences in himself the divine paradox, which is not one of words, of the Beatitudes).
… the risen J. J., rising again, manifests himself as Son of God and the C.: to this miracle he had appealed as to the supreme proof (Mt. 12, 39 sign of Jonah; Jn. 2, 19 the rebuilt Temple) and now he manifests the glory of the Father in his face (II Cor. 4, 6). He manifests himself as such with miracles (the catch of fish, Jn. 21, 1-14 provokes faith: it is the Lord, ibid. 7, 12) with foretelling the future (ibid. 18) with knowing …
4:7
… resurrection after death gives him courage (I Cor. 15:30-32); in continuous danger of death, he hopes only "in the God who raises the dead" (II Cor. 1:8 ff.), and he glories in this life of his, of risk and of infirmity: entire chapters insist on this theme (II Cor. 4:7-17; 11:23-33; 12:5-10). St. Paul teaches that all will be judged according to what they did "through the body," that is, before dying; he expresses the desire to leave the body since …
4:10
… The principle of every Christian ascesis is that of the mortificatio Christi "which we carry always about in our body" (II Cor. 4:10). To compare "holiness" and "ascesis" with martyrdom is therefore not arbitrary. …
… an interior holiness, similar to that of God (Mt. 5:48). This perfection is a true participation in the divine nature (II Pt. 1:3-11), it is like a new nature superimposed on the old man (Rom. 6:6); the very life of Jesus engraved in our mortal flesh (II Cor. 4:10-11). It is opposed to the natural life as light to darkness (Eph. 5:8-9), as a living stone to a dead stone (I Pt. 2:4-5); it is a life blossomed from the word of truth (Jas. 1:16-18), …
4:11
… Christian education has as its proper and immediate end to cooperate with divine Grace in forming the true and perfect Christian, for whom life is Christ (Col. 3, 4) and all activities are manifestations of Christ in him (II Cor. 4, 11), and therefore it embraces the whole range of human life,
4:14
He affirms this in 51 in I Thess. 5:10; in 57-58 in I Cor. 6:14; II Cor. 4:14, and after 64 in II Tim. 4:6-7; in 61 (W. Michaelis, Die Datierung des Philipperbriefes, Gütersloh 1933, dates Phil. between 53 and 56) in Phil. 1:21-23 he declares that the true life, …
4:16
… The Christian is a new being but is also a being who is continually renewed (II Cor. 4:16). The life received invades ever more completely the activity of man, develops and grows every day, until it reaches adulthood, until it is a "mature" man in the Christian life, as …
… At times it offers itself as the sweetness of God (1 Pt. 2:2-3), an experience of His Goodness that relieves moral weariness (Mt. 11:28), pacifies the heart, renews the inner man (2 Cor. 4:16); at other times it arises as a sudden flame of divine love, which at the moment no longer permits one to love anything other than God (Ps. 72:23-28), or a vivid light of faith (Eph. …
… itself indifferent for justification and salvation (I Cor. 6:12-13), while the second, the seat of thoughts and feelings (καρδία, νοῦς), is fundamental and decisive before God. "The outer man" tends toward corruption, "the inner man" toward eternity (II Cor. 4:16-18); being "flesh and blood," the outer man is excluded from the Kingdom of God (Mt. 16:17; I Cor. 15:50).
4:17
2. Eternal. - A truth defined in the Creeds (Denz-U, 6, 9, 14, 16, 40), by the Fourth Lateran Council (ibid., 429), by Benedict XII (ibid., 530), by the Council of Trent (ibid., 809), asserted in numerous biblical texts (Mt. 25, 46; Jn. 16, 22; I Cor. 9, 25; II Cor. 4, 17; I Pt. 5, 4) and by all of tradition (cf. St. Augustine, De Trinitate, XIII, 8: «Nullo modo esse poterit vita veraciter beata, nisi fuerit sempiterna»). …
… The apodosis presents, besides an indirect clarification of the subjects proclaimed blessed, the recompense (it is not properly a question of a reward) of joy and glory, based on the double law of retaliation or "contrapasso" for the pleasures enjoyed and for the sorrows suffered: cf. Lk. 16:25 and 2 Cor. 4:17. Some (F. Prat, pp. 270 and 273) distinguish the beatitudes into two series: the first 4 would embrace the Kingdom as present and future, the last 4 only as future. …
… summed up in the antithesis death-life, in the succession of two aeons: the tribulation of this time and the glory to come; and the only passage between the two is the one already traversed by the Redeemer: death and resurrection (Rom. 8:11-17 ff. 23; II Cor. 4:17). A positive man of perfect balance, who never denied obvious experience and common sense, St. Paul never doubted that he had to die, in order then to rise again, he and his disciples.
4:41
… the seed of the divine word from man's heart, to replace it with spurious grain, zizania (Mc. 4:15; Mt. 13:19, 39); his intent is to "blind the minds of those who do not believe, so that they cannot be enlightened by the gospel of the glory of Christ" (II Cor. 4:41), by means of the captious "wisdom of this world" (I Cor. 2:6) and the "depths of S." (Apoc. 2:24). "The tempter" (ὁ παρᾶς ἄννε: I Thess. 3:5; I Cor. 7:5; cf. Mt. 4:1-3) induces men …
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.