Exhortations to a virtuous life. The mutual duties of man and wife, by the example of Christ and of the Church.
He continueth his exhortation to good life, 5 assuring them against al deceiuers, that no committer of mortal sinne shal be saued: considering that for such sinnes it is that the Heathen shal be damned: • & that Christians must rather be the light of al others. 22 Them he commeth in particular and exhorteth husbands and vviues to do their duety one tovvardes the other, by the example of Christ and his obedient and beloued spouse the Church.
1Be ye therefore followers of God, as most dear children:Siate adunque imitatori di Dio, come figliuoli benamati:BE ye therfore folovvers of God, as most deere children:Estote ergo imitatores Dei, sicut filii carissimi, 2And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us and hath delivered himself for us, an oblation and a sacrifice to God for an odour of sweetness.E camminate nell'amore, conforme anche Cristo ha amato noi, e ha dato per noi se stesso a Dio oblazione, e ostia di soave odore.and walke in loue, as Christ also loued vs, and deliuered him self for vs an oblation and host to God in an odour of svvetenes.et ambulate in dilectione, sicut et Christus dilexit nos, et tradidit semetipsum pro nobis, oblationem et hostiam Deo in odorem suavitatis. 3But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not so much as be named among you, as becometh saints:E non si senta neppur nominare tra voi fornicazione, o qualsisia impurità, o avarizia, come a' santi si conviene:But fornication and al vncleannes, or auarice, let it not so much as be named among you, as it becommeth sainctes:Fornicatio autem, et omnis immunditia, aut avaritia, nec nominetur in vobis, sicut decet sanctos: 4Or obscenity or foolish talking or scurrility, which is to no purpose: but rather giving of thanks.Né oscenità, né sciocchi discorsi, o buffonerie, che son cose indecenti; ma piuttosto il rendimento di grazie.or filthines, or foolish talke, or scurrilitie, being to no purpose: but rather giuing of thankes.aut turpitudo, aut stultiloquium, aut scurrilitas, quæ ad rem non pertinet: sed magis gratiarum actio. 5For know you this and understand: That no fornicator or unclean or covetous person (which is a serving of idols) hath inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.Imperocché voi siete intesi, come nissun fornicatore, o impudico, o avaro, che vuoi dire idolatra, sarà erede nel regno di Cristo, e di Dio.For vnderstanding knovv you this, that no fornicatour, or vncleane, or couetous person (vvhich is the seruice of Idols) hath inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.Hoc enim scitote intelligentes: quod omnis fornicator, aut immundus, aut avarus, quod est idolorum servitus, non habet hæreditatem in regno Christi et Dei. 6Let no man deceive you with vain words. For because of these things cometh the anger of God upon the children of unbelief.Niuno vi seduca con vane parole: imperocché per tali cose viene l'ira di Dio sopra i figliuoli contumaci.Let no man seduce you vvith vaine vvordes. For, for these things commeth the anger of God vpō the children of diffidence.Nemo vos seducat inanibus verbis: propter hæc enim venit ira Dei in filios diffidentiæ.
7Be ye not therefore partakers with them.Non vogliate adunque aver società con essi.Become not therfore partakers vvith them.Nolite ergo effici participes eorum. 8For you were heretofore darkness, but now light in the Lord. Walk then as children of the light.Conciossiachè una volta eravate tenebre: ma adesso luce nel Signore. Camminate da figliuoli della luce.For you vvere sometime darkenes, but novv light in our Lord. Vvalke as children of the light, (Eratis enim aliquando tenebræ: nunc autem lux in Domino. Ut filii lucis ambulate: 9For the fruit of the light is in all goodness and justice and truth:Or il frutto della luce consiste in ogni specie di bontà, nella giustizia, e nella verità:for the fruite of the light is in al goodnes, and iustice, and veritie)fructus enim lucis est in omni bonitate, et justitia, et veritate: 10Proving what is well pleasing to God.Disaminando voi quello, che sia accetto al Signore:prouing vvhat is vvel pleasing to God:probantes quid sit beneplacitum Deo: 11And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness: but rather reprove them.E non vogliate aver parte alle opere infruttuose delle tenebre, che anzi riprendetele.and communicate not vvith the vnfruitful vvorkes of darkenes, but rather reproue them.et nolite communicare operibus infructuosis tenebrarum, magis autem redarguite. 12For the things that are done by them in secret, it is a shame even to speak of.Imperocché le cose, che da coloro sì fanno di nascosto, sono obbrobriose anche a dirsi.For the things that are done of them in secrete, it is shame euen to speake.Quæ enim in occulto fiunt ab ipsis, turpe est et dicere. 13But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for all that is made manifest is light.Ma tutte le cose, che sono da riprovarsi, son messe in chiaro dalla luce: dappoiché tutto quello che manifesta (le cose), è luce.But al things that are reproued; are manifested by the light. for al that is manifested, is light.Omnia autem, quæ arguuntur, a lumine manifestantur: omne enim, quod manifestatur, lumen est. 14Wherefore he saith: Rise, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead: and Christ shall enlighten thee.Per la qual cosa dice: levati su tu, che dormi, e risuscita da morte, e Cristo ti illuminerà.for the vvhich cause he saith: Rise thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead: and Christ vvil illuminate thee.Propter quod dicit: Surge qui dormis, et exsurge a mortuis, et illuminabit te Christus. 15See therefore, brethren, how you walk circumspectly: not as unwise,Badate adunque, o fratelli, di camminar cautamente: non da stolti.See therfore, brethren, how you vvalke vvarily. not as vnvvise, but as vvise:Videte itaque, fratres, quomodo caute ambuletis: non quasi insipientes, 16But as wise: redeeming the time, because the days are evil.Ma da prudenti: ricomperando il tempo: perché i giorni sono cattivi.redeeming the time, because the daies are euil.sed ut sapientes: redimentes tempus, quoniam dies mali sunt.
17Wherefore, become not unwise: but understanding what is the will of God.Per questo non siate imprudenti: ma intelligenti dei voleri di Dio.Therfore become not vnvvise, but vnderstanding vvhat is the vvil of God.Propterea nolite fieri imprudentes, sed intelligentes quæ sit voluntas Dei. 18And be not drunk with wine, wherein is luxury: but be ye filled with the Holy Spirit,E non vi ubbriacate col vino, nei quale è lussuria: ma siate ripieni di Spirito santo,And be not drunke vvith vvine vvherein is rioteousnes, but be filled vvith the Spirit,Et nolite inebriari vino, in quo est luxuria, sed implemini Spiritu Sancto, 19Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual canticles, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord:Parlando tra di voi con salmi, e inni, e canzoni spirituali, cantando, e salmeggiando co' vostri cuori al Signore,speaking to your selues in psalmes & hymnes, and spiritual canticles, chaūting and singing in your hartes to our Lord:loquentes vobismetipsis in psalmis, et hymnis, et canticis spiritualibus, cantantes et psallentes in cordibus vestris Domino, 20Giving thanks always for all things, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to God and the Father:Rendendo sempre grazie per ogni qualunque cosa a Dio, e Padre nel nome del Signor nostro Gesù Cristo.giuing thankes alvvaies for al things, in the name of our Lord IESVS Christ to God & the Father.gratias agentes semper pro omnibus in nomine Domini nostri Jesu Christi Deo et Patri, 21Being subject one to another, in the fear of Christ.Subordinati gli uni agli altri nei timore di Cristo.Subiect one to an other in the feare of Christ.subjecti invicem in timore Christi. 22Let women be subject to their husbands, as to the Lord:Le donne siano soggette a' loro mariti, come al Signore:Let vvomen be subiect to their husbandes, as to our Lord:Mulieres viris suis subditæ sint, sicut Domino: 23Because the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church. He is the saviour of his body.Conciossiachè l'uomo è capo della donna: come Cristo è capo della Chiesa: ed egli è Salvatore del corpo suo.because the man is the head of the woman: as Christ is the head of the CHVRCH. Him self, the sauiour of his body.quoniam vir caput est mulieris, sicut Christus caput est Ecclesiæ: ipse, salvator corporis ejus. 24Therefore as the church is subject to Christ: so also let the wives be to their husbands in all things.Quindi siccome la Chiesa è soggetta a Cristo, così ancora le donne a' loro mariti in tutto.But as the CHVRCH is subiect to Christ, so also the vvomen to their husbands in al things.Sed sicut Ecclesia subjecta est Christo, ita et mulieres viris suis in omnibus.
25Husbands, love your wives, as Christ also loved the church and delivered himself up for it:Uomini amate le vostre mogli, come anche Cristo amò la Chiesa, e diede per lei se stesso,Husbands, loue your vviues, as Christ also loued the CHVRCH, and deliuered him self for it:Viri, diligite uxores vestras, sicut et Christus dilexit Ecclesiam, et seipsum tradidit pro ea, 26That he might sanctify it, cleansing it by the laver of water in the word of life:Affine di santificarla, mondandola colla lavanda di acqua mediante la parola di vita,that he might sanctifie it, cleansing it by the lauer of vvater in the vvord,ut illam sanctificaret, mundans lavacro aquæ in verbo vitæ, 27That he might present it to himself, a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.Per farsi comparir davanti la Chiesa vestita di gloria, senza macchia, e senza grinza, od altra tal cosa, ma che sia santa, ed immacolata.that he might present to him self a glorious CHVRCH, not hauing spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it may be holy and vnspotted.ut exhiberet ipse sibi gloriosam Ecclesiam, non habentem maculam, aut rugam, aut aliquid hujusmodi, sed ut sit sancta et immaculata. 28So also ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.Così anche i mariti amar debbono le loro mogli, come i corpi proprj: Chi ama la propria moglie ama se stesso.So also men ought to loue their vviues as their ovvne bodies. He that loueth his vvife, loueth him self.Ita et viri debent diligere uxores suas ut corpora sua. Qui suam uxorem diligit, seipsum diligit. 29For no man ever hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, as also Christ doth the church:Conciossiachè nissuno odiò mai la propria carne, ma la nudrisce, e ne tiene conto, come fa pur Cristo della Chiesa:For no man euer hated his ovvne flesh: but he nourisheth & cherisheth it, as also Christ the CHVRCH:Nemo enim umquam carnem suam odio habuit: sed nutrit et fovet eam, sicut et Christus Ecclesiam: 30Because we are members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones.Perché siamo membra del corpo di lui, della carne di lui, e delle ossa di lui.because vve be the members of his body, of his flesh & of his bones.quia membra sumus corporis ejus, de carne ejus et de ossibus ejus. 31For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother: and shall cleave to his wife. And they shall be two in one flesh.Per questo l'uomo abbandonerà il padre, e la madre sua, e starà muto alla sua moglie: e i due saranno una carne.For this cause shal mā leaue his father & mother: and shal cleane to his vvife, and they shal be tvvo in one flesh.Propter hoc relinquet homo patrem et matrem suam, et adhærebit uxori suæ, et erunt duo in carne una.
32This is a great sacrament: but I speak in Christ and in the church.Questo sacramento è grande, io però parlo riguardo a Cristo, ed alla Chiesa.This is a great sacramēt. but I speake in Christ and in the CHVRCHSacramentum hoc magnum est, ego autem dico in Christo et in Ecclesia. 33Nevertheless, let every one of you in particular love his wife as himself: And let the wife fear her husband.Per la qual cosa anche ognun di voi ami la propria moglie, come se stesso: la moglie poi rispetti il marito.Neuertheles you also euery one, let eche loue his vvife as him self: and let the vvife feare her husband.Verumtamen et vos singuli, unusquisque uxorem suam sicut seipsum diligat: uxor autem timeat virum suum.
5:3
Witham
Covetousness.[Ver. 3 and 5. Covetousness, avaritia, pleonexia. See St. Jerome on these verses, who expounds it of an insatiable lust, as to the sins of uncleanness and impurity. (p. 380.) But see also St. Chrysostom who, by pleonexia, (Chap. 4:19.) expounds, an immoderate desire of riches: chrematon om. ig. (p. 829.) And here, hom. xvii. p. 847, o gar auto chrematon eromen, kai somaton. And hom. xviii, on the fifth verse, he expounds the word, pleonektes, os estin eidololatres, qui est idolatra, of him who is, properly speaking, an avaricious man; who adores mammon, or riches, who takes pains to leave an inheritance to others, and deprives himself of it, etc. (p. 853.) chruso douleuontes, 851.] The Latin word is generally taken for a coveting or immoderate desire of money and riches. St. Jerome and others observe, that the Greek word in this and divers other places in the New Testament may signify any unsatiable desire, or the lusts of sensual pleasures; and on this account, St. Jerome thinks that it is here joined with fornication and uncleanness. But St. Chrysostom in the last chapter, (ver. 19. hom. xiii. and Ephesians 5:3.) shews that by the Greek word is understood avarice, or an immoderate desire of riches, when he tells (hom. xviii) that this sin is condemned by those words of Christ, Luke 16:13. You cannot serve God and mammon. (Witham)
5:4
Witham
Nor obscenity.[Ver. 4. Scurrilitas, quae ad rem non pertinet, eutrapelia ta oukanekonta. St. Chrysostom, log. ig. p. 848 and 849, describes the vice of eutrapelia in these words: entha aichrotes, ekei e eutrapelia....e eutrapelia malaken poiei psuchen, etc. ...porro touto christianou, to komodein....ei kalon to pragma, ti tois mimois aphietai; ...parasiton to pragma, mimon, orcheston, gunaikon, pornon, porro psuches eleutheras, porro eugenous....ei tis aichros, outos kai eutrapelos. Where there is filthiness, there is eutrapelia. It is this that makes the mind effeminate....Far be it from a Christian to play the comedian. If this were commendable, why is it left to buffoons? It is the business of flattering hangers-on, or trencher friends, of fools in a play, of debauched women, but far be it from persons of a higher rank, well born, and of good breeding. If any man be void of honour, void of shame, such a one is given to eutrapelia. A man will scarce find it worth his while to consult the Latin translation in Fronto-Ducaeus, which in this and many other places is far from being exact. I know that Aristotle, (lib. iv. de moribus. Ephesians 14, p. 42. Ed. Aurel. Allobrog.) and St. Thomas Aquinas, the doctor of the schools, (lib. ii. Q. 60. a. 5. and 22.; Q. 168. a. 2.) take eutrapelia in a different sense, when it is a facetious innocent way of jesting, containing rather instructive admonitions; and so, St. Thomas Aquinas tells us, it may be reckoned among the moral virtues; but then, even as Aristotle tells us, it must be without all words of immodesty and buffoonery, which is against good manners: otherwise it degenerates into scurrility.] What is here meant by this word, St. Chrysostom tells us at large in the moral exhortation after his 17th homily; to wit, jests with immodest suggestions or a double meaning, and raillery or buffoonery against the rules of good conversation, scarce made use of by any but by men of low condition and of a mean genius, which is not to the purpose of a Christian, who must give an account to God of all his words. (Witham)
5:5
Witham
Nor covetous person, which is a serving of idols. It is clear enough by the Greek that the covetous man is called an idolater, whose idol in mammon; though it may be also said of other sinners, that the vices they are addicted to are their idols. (Witham)
5:6
Estius
The apostle here puts them in mind of the general judgment, when the angel of God will, on account of their crimes of avarice, fornication, etc. fall on the children of unbelief; by which are meant the wicked. He had before assured them that the perpetrators of such crimes would be excluded from the kingdom of heaven; and now he moreover informs them, that the severest punishments will be inflicted on such wicked persons. (Estius)
5:7
Estius
Be ye not, therefore, partakers with them: do not imitate their wickedness, or the wrath of the Almighty will likewise fall on you. (Estius)
5:8
Estius
By darkness is here meant the state of infidelity into which they had been plunged so far as to adore stones as God, and committed without remorse the above-mentioned grievous sins. But delivered by Christ from this darkness, they have become light in the Lord, shining in faith and justice. (Estius)
5:9
Witham
For the fruit of the light. So the Latin and divers Greek copies; not the fruit of the spirit, as we read in many Greek manuscripts; and in this Dr. Wells thought fit to change the Protestant translation. (Witham)
5:10
Estius
With solicitude seek out what things are pleasing to God, and carefully perform them. (Estius)
5:11
Estius
You are light, they are darkness; do you, therefore, shew by the light of your good works how base and detestable their works of darkness are. (Estius)
5:14
Witham
Rise, thou that sleepest. The sense may be taken from Isaias 60:1. St. Jerome thinks they may be cited from some work not canonical. (Witham)
5:23
For the husband is the head of the wife. Though St. Paul here speaks of a man, who is a husband, we may rather translate man than husband, being the same sentence and same words as 1 Corinthians 11:3. where even the Protestant translation has, that the man is head of the woman.
Witham
He (Christ) is the saviour of his mystical body, the Church: though some expound it, that the husband is to save and take care of his wife, who is as it were his body. (Witham)
5:24
Challoner
As the church is subject to Christ. The Church then, according to St. Paul, is ever obedient to Christ: and can never fall from him, but remain faithful to him, unspotted and unchanged to the end of the world. (Challoner)
5:26
Witham
Cleansing it by the laver [Ver. 26. Lavacro aquae in verbo vitae, to loutro tou udatos en remati loutron, be taken for a bath of water, or the water itself. See Titus 3:5. Vitae is now wanting in the Greek. See Estius. St. Chrysostom, by the word, understands the form of baptism in the name of the Father, etc. (Hom. xx.)] of water, in the word of life. By this washing is generally understood the sacrament of baptism; and by the word of life, not the word of the gospel preached, but the words or form used in the administration of baptism, according to Christ's institution: but this is not so certain. (Witham)
5:27
Witham
Not having spot or wrinkle. St. Augustine and others expound it of the glorious Church of Christ, in heaven: others even of the Church of Christ in this world, as to its doctrine, sacraments, and discipline, or practices approved by the Catholic Church. (Witham)
5:28
Witham
He that loveth his wife, loveth himself. St. Paul would have this a love like that which a man hath for himself, or for his own flesh, when they are now joined in wedlock, and are become as it were one flesh and one person, as to a civil life and society. See Matthew 19:5. The wife is to be considered as a part of the husband, as a member of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. The words are to be taken with an allusion to what Adam said, (Genesis 2:23.) This is now bone of my bones, etc. And so, according to the apostle, speaking figuratively, the Church, which is the spouse of Christ, is framed as it were of his bones and of his flesh sacrificed on the cross. (Witham)
5:32
Witham
This....sacrament, (or mystery)....in Christ, and in the Church. This sacrament, in construction, must be referred to what immediately went before, that is to the conjunction of marriage betwixt man and wife; and this is called a great sacrament, or mystery, as representing the union or spiritual nuptials of Christ with his spouse, the Church. (Witham)
5:24
5:1
The epistle vpon the 3 Sū day in Lent.
Concordance Io. 13, 34
5:3
Concordance Col. 3, 5.
5:5
See the heretical corruption of this place in the Annotation Col. 3. v. 5.
5:14
Concordance Es. 9, 60
In the liturgy The Epistle vpon the 20 Sunday after Pentecost.
5:15
Concordance Col. 4, 5.
5:17
Concordance Ro. 12, 2.
5:21
21. Sauiour of his body.] None hath saluation or benefite by Christ, that is not of his body the Church. No ⸢s⸣aluation out of the oath CHVRCH. And vvhat Church that is, S. Augustine expresseth in these vvordes. The Catholike Church onely is the body of Christ, vvhereto she is •ead. out of this body the Holy Ghost quickeneth no man. And a litle after, He that vvil haue the Spirit, let him bevvare he remains not out of the CHVRCH, let him bevvare he enter not into it f•inedly. August. ep. 50 ad Bonifacium comitem in fine.
Concordance Col. 3, 18.
5:22
In the liturgy The Epistle in a votiue masse for mariage.
Concordance Tit. 2, 5.
5:23
Concordance 1 Pe•. 3, 1.
It is much to be noted, that in the first English Bibles, there is not once the name of CHVRCH in al the Bible, but in steede thereof, Congregatiō. vvhich is so notorious a corruption that thē selues in the later bibles correct it for shame, but yet suffer the other to be read and vsed still. See the Bible printed in the yere 1562.
Concordance Ge. 3, 16.
Concordance 1 Cor. 11, 3.
5:24
24. Subiect to Christ.) The CHVRCH is alvvaies subiect to Christ, that is, not onely vnder him, The CHVRCH neuer erreth. but euer obedient to his vvordes and commaundement. Vvhich an euident and inuincible demonstration that she neuer rebelleth against Christ, neuer falleth from him by error, Idolatrie, or false vvorship, as the Heretikes novv, and the Donatistes of old did teach.
5:25
25. Loued the Church.] Christs loue tovvard his Church. Loe Christes singular loue of the CHVRCH, for vvhich onely & the members thereof he effectually suffered his Passion, and for vvhose continual cleansing and purifying in this life, he instituted holy Baptisme and other Sacraments: that at length in the next life it may become vvithout al spot, The Church triumphant vvithout spot and vvrinkle. vvrinkle, or blemish. for, in this vvorld by reason of the manifold infirmities of diuers her members, she can not be vvholy vvithout sinne, but must say alvvaies, Dimitte nobis debita nostra, Forgiue vs our detes. August. li. 2. Retract. c. 18.
5:29
29. At Christ the Church.] It is an vnspeakable dignitie of the CHVRCH, vvhich the Apostle expresseth often els vvhere, The manifold dignitie of the Church but specially in this vvhole passage, to be that creature onely for vvhich Christ effectually suffered, to be vvashed and embrued vvith vvater and bloud issuing out of his holy side, to be nourished vvith his ovvne body (for so doth S. Irenaeus expound li, 5. in principio) to be his members, Aug. li. 8 de Symb. ad Catech. c. 9. to be so ioyned vnto him as the body and members of the same flesh, bone, and substance to the head, to be loued and cherished of him as vvife of husband, yea to be his vvife and most deere spouse, taken and formed (as S. Augustine often saith) out of his ovvne side vpon the Crosse, as Eue our first father Adams spouse vvas made of his tibbe. In Psal. 126. & in Psal. 127. & tract. 9 in Ioan. & tract. 120. In respect of vvhich great dignitie and excellencie, the same holy father affirmeth the CHVRCH to be the principal creature, and therfore named in the Creede next after the Holy Ghost, The Church is the principal creature. and he proueth against the Macedonians, the Holy Ghost to be God, because he is named before the Church in the confession of our faith. Of vvhich Incomparable excellencie of the Church, so beloued of Christ and so inseparatly ioyned in mariage vvith him, if the Heretikes of our time had any sense or consideration, they vvould neither thinke their cōtemptible companie or cōgregation to be the glorious spouse of our Lord, The Church can not erre. nor teach that the Church may erre, that is to say, may be diuorced from her spouse for Idolatrie, superstition, Heresie, or other abominations: Vvherevpon one of these absurdities vvould ensue, that either Christ may sometimes be vvithout a Church & spouse in earth (as he vvas al the vvhile there vvere no Caluinists, Absurdities that folow, if the Church may erre. if their Church be the spouse of Christ) or els if the Catholike Church onely is and hath been his vvife, and the same haue such errors as the Heretikes falsely pretend, that his vvife so deere and so praised here, is notvvithstanding a very vvhoore. Vvhich horrible absurdities proue and conuince to any man of common sense, both that the Catholike Church alvvaies is, and that it teacheth truth alvvaies, and to honour God truely and sincerely alvvaies: vvhatsoeuer the adulterous generation of Heretikes thinke or blaspheme.
••. This is a great Sacrament.] Mariage a great Sacramēt of Christ and his Church prefigured in the first parēts. Adam (saith S. Augustine tract. 15 in Io.) vvho vvas a forme or figure of him that vvas to come, yea rather God in him gaue vs a great token of a Sacrament. For both he deserued sleeping to take a vvise, and of his ribbs his vvife vvas made vnto him: because of Christ sleeping on the Crosse the Church vvas to be made out of his side. In an other place he maketh Matrimonie a Sacramēt of Christ and his Church: in that, that as the maried mā must forsake father & mother and cleaue vnto his vvife, so Christ as it vvere left his father, MATRIMONIA a Sacrament. exi•an••ing him self by his incarnatiō, & left the Synagogue his mother, & ioyned him self to the Church. Li. 12 c. 8. cont. Faustum. In diuers other places he maketh it also a Sacrament, specially in that it is an inseparable bond betvvixt tvvo, and that can neuer be dissolued but by death: signifying Christs perpetual and indissoluble coniunction vvith the Church his one onely spouse. de Gen. ad lit. li. 9 c. 7. Cont Pelag. de pec. orig. li. 2. c. 34. De fid. et ep. c. 7. De bono coniug. c. 7. & 18. And in an other place. The good of Mariage (saith he) among the people of God is in the holines of a Sacrament. De bono cōiugali c. 24.
Vvho vvould haue thought such mysteries and Sacramēts to be in Mariage that the ioyning of man & vvife together should represent so great a myserie, if the Apostle him self & after him this holy father and others, had not noted it? or vvho can maruel that the holy Church taketh this to be a Sacrament, The grace giuen by this Sacrament. and to giue grace of sanctification to the parties maried, that they may liue together in mutual fidelitie, bring vp their children in faith aud feare of God, and possesse their vessel (as the Apostle speaketh) in sanctification and honour, 1 Thes. 4. and not in passion of lust and ignominie, as the Heathen do vvhich knovv not God, and as our brutish nevv Maisters seeme to do that commend mariage aboue al things so farre as it feedeth their concupiscences, The protestāts fleshly estimation of mariage. but for grace, Sacrament, mysterie, or sanctification thereby, they care no more then the Heathen or brute beastes do? And thus vve gather that matrimonie is a Sacrament, and not of the Greeke vvord Mysterie onely, 〈Greek〉 Sacramentum. as Caluin falsely saith, not of the Latin vvord Sacrament, both vvhich vve knovv haue of their nature a more general signification, and that in the Scriptures also: but vvhereas these names are here giuen to Matrimonie by the Apostle, & are not giuen in the Scriptures to Baptisme and the Eucharist, let them tel vs vvhy they also apply these vvordes from their general signification to signifie specially and peculiarly those tvvo Sacramēts neuer so named expresly in Scripture. and do not likevvise folovv the Catholike Church in calling matrimonie by the same name, vvhich is here so called of the Apostle, specially vvhereas the signification in it, is as great as in any other of the Sacraments, and rather greater.
5:30
Concordance Gen. 2, 24.
5:31
Concordance Mat. 19, 5.
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St Ignatius of Antioch † AD 108 Epistle to the Ephesians: Shorter and Longer Versions 1
I have become acquainted with your name, much-beloved in God, which ye have acquired by the habit of righteousness, according to the faith and love in Jesus Christ our Saviour. Being the followers
Origen † AD 254 Origen Against Celsus 6.63
… is “after the image of God” must be understood to be in our “inner man,” which is also renewed, and whose nature it is to be “after the image of Him who created it,” when a man becomes “perfect,” as “our Father in heaven is perfect,” and hears the command, “Be ye holy, for I the Lord your God am holy,” and learning the precept, “Be ye followers of God,”
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 3.25
… And many now too keep the Saviour’s command, being merciful ‘as their Father which is in heaven ,’ and observing the exhortation, ‘Be ye therefore followers of God as dear children, and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on Paul's Epistle to the Romans 19
… v. 44 ), then He brings in this as the reward. For there is nothing that brings us so near to God, and makes us so like Him, as this well-doing. Therefore Paul also, when he says, “Be ye followers of God” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on First Corinthians 13
On the other hand, writing to the Ephesians, he interposes no mention of himself, but leads them all straight to the one point, “Be ye imitators of God,” is his word. (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Letters of St. Augustin 148.5
… He will, I hope, do what he knows to be enjoined on him by Him who, speaking through the apostle, says: “Forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as God in Christ has forgiven you;” “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 7.6
… just as nearness may in a sense be signified in things distant from each other, not in respect of place, but of a sort of imitation. For it is also said, “Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind;” to whom he likewise says, “Be ye therefore imitators of God as dear children.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 64.3
… Is it indeed a proud thing to imitate God? Hear the Apostle, “Be ye imitators of God as dearly beloved children.”
Early Popes (Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals) The Epistle of Pope Anterus 1
… but be filled with the Holy Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of Christ.”
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St Ignatius of Antioch † AD 108 Epistle to the Ephesians: Shorter and Longer Versions 1
… For, on hearing that I came bound from Syria for the common name and hope, trusting through your prayers to be permitted to fight with beasts at Rome, that so by martyrdom I may indeed become the disciple of Him “who gave Himself for us, an offering and sacrifice to God,”
Aphrahat † AD 346 Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations 1.8
… And again that he spoke of love, it was because when He came into the world, He said thus to His disciples:— This is My commandment, that ye love one another . And again He said:— I have called you My friends (lovers). And the blessed Apostle said thus:— God loved as in the love of His Son. Of a truth Christ loved us and gave Himself for us .
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Holy Spirit 1.12
… “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God.” We have heard of the love of the Father. The same love which is the Father’s is also the Son’s. For He Himself said: “He that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him.” And what is the love of the Son, but that He offered Himself for us, and redeemed us with His own blood.
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 1.17
109. Lest, however, men should wrest the Scripture, that “God gave Him up,” the Apostle himself has said in another place, “Peace from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself for our sins;” and again:
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Against Marcionists and Manichæans 2
… For love is of those who are like minded. And how does Paul say again “Love one another even as Christ also loved us and gave Himself for us?”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 10
When the blessed Paul exhorts us to anything of special importance, so truly wise and spiritual as he is, he grounds his exhortation upon things in Heaven: this itself being a lesson he had learned from the Lord. Thus he saith also elsewhere, “Walk in love, even as Christ also hath loved us.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 69
… For if men are masters of themselves, much more the Only-begotten Son. And to show that this is true, hear what Paul saith, “He emptied Himself, and gave Himself for us.” ( Philip. ii. 7 .) But, as I said, a terrible thing is vainglory, very terrible (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 80
… On this account He saith again in a condescending way, “Which Thou gavest Me.” For had He indeed waited to hear and learn, this would have fallen far short of His glory. For that He came to this of His own will, is clear from many passages. As when Paul saith, that “He so loved us, as to give Himself for us” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 99.3
… Far be it from us to believe so in the case of that incorporeal and immutable nature. In it, therefore, hearing and seeing are one and the same thing. In this way smelling also is said to exist in God; as the apostle says, “As Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 112.5
… “If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not His own Son, but gave Him up for us all.” But the originator of this cup is also one with Him who drank it; and hence the same apostle likewise says, “Christ loved us, and gave Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God of a sweet-smelling savor.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 113.1
1. After that His persecutors had, through the treason of Judas, taken and bound the Lord, who loved us, and gave Himself for us,
St Cyril of Alexandria † AD 444 The Anathemas of Cyril in Opposition to Nestorius 1
X. Holy Scripture states that Christ is High Priest and Apostle of our confession, and offered Himself on our behalf for a sweet-smelling savour to God and our Father.
Pope St Leo I the Great † AD 461 Letters 124
What hope then do they, who deny the reality of the human person in our Saviour’s body, leave for themselves in the efficacy of this mystery? Let them say by what sacrifice they have been reconciled, by what blood-shedding brought back. Who is He “who gave Himself for us an offering and a victim to God for a sweet smell
Pope St Leo I the Great † AD 461 Sermons 58
… drink it ?” and seeing that that is certain which the Lord also says, according to John’s Gospel, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that everyone who believes in Him may not perish, but have eternal life ;” as also what the Apostle Paul says, “Christ loved us and gave Himself for us, a victim to God for a sweet-smelling savour
Pope St Leo I the Great † AD 461 Sermons 68
… But what must we feel to be the intercessory power of His life Who died and rose again by His own inherent power. For the blessed Apostle says the Father “spared not His own Son, but gave Him up for us all ;” and again, he says, “For Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify it
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St Ignatius of Antioch † AD 108 Epistle to the Antiochians 11
Let no one addicted to idleness eat, lest he become a wanderer about, and a whoremonger. Let drunkenness, anger, envy, reviling, clamour, and blasphemy “be not so much as named among you.”
Tertullian † AD 220 On Modesty 17
… for he would have added these (admonitions) too, had he been in the habit of extending pardon to such, or at all willed it to be extended—(he) who, not willing pollution to be contracted even by a word, says, “Let no base speech proceed out of your mouth.” Again: “But let fornication and every impurity not be even named among you, as becometh saints,”
St Basil the Great † AD 379 The Letters 160.3
… As the apostle Paul says, “Fornication and all uncleanness…let it not be once named among you as becometh saints,”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Selections from the Letters of St. Ambrose 63.11
… For what have I to do with judging them that are without?” And to the Ephesians: “But fornication, and all uncleanness, and covetousness let it not even be named among you, as becometh saints.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 17
Ver. 3 . “But fornication, and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as becometh saints.”
John Cassian † AD 435 The Conferences of John Cassian 5.11
… “Let fornication and uncleanness be not so much as named among you:” and once more: “But know this that no fornicator or unclean person, or covetous person who is an idolater hath inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.”
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St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 4.28.2
… so is also our walk in life required to be more circumspect, when we are directed not merely to abstain from evil actions, but even from evil thoughts, and from idle words, and empty talk, and scurrilous language:
St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews 3.42
In Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians: “Foolish speaking and scurrility, which are not fitting for the occasion, let them not be even named among you.”
St Theonas of Alexandria † AD 300 The Epistle of Theonas, Bishop of Alexandria, to Lucianus, the Chief Chamberlain 2
… Be it far from you that you should sell the privilege of access to the emperor to any one for money, or that you should by any means place a dishonest account of any affair before your prince, won over either by prayers or by bribes. Let all the lust of avarice be put from you, which serves the cause of idolatry rather than the religion of Christ.
St Basil the Great † AD 379 The Letters 22.1
… The Christian ought not to say anything behind his brother’s back with the object of calumniating him, for this is slander, even if what is said is true. He ought to turn away from the brother who speaks evil against him; he ought not to indulge in jesting;
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 6
… For this cause he also built theatres in the cities, and having trained those buffoons, by their pernicious influence he causes that kind of pestilence to light upon the whole city, persuading men to follow those things which Paul bade us flee, “foolish talking and jesting.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on First Corinthians 7
… For their call was from fornication unto chastity; from love of life unto sundry kinds of death; from drunkenness unto fasting; from laughter unto tears and compunction; from covetousness unto utter indigence; from safety unto dangers: and throughout all they required the strictest circumspection. For, “Filthiness,” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 17
Ver. 4 . “Nor filthiness, nor foolish talking, or jesting, which are not befitting; but rather giving of thanks.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Colossians 12
Now the practices at marriages seem to be a matter of indifference, but they are the causes of great mischiefs. All is full of lawlessness. “Filthiness, and foolish talking, and jesting, let it not proceed,” saith he, “out of your mouth.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Epistle to the Hebrews 15
Everywhere the devil leads the dance, he has entered into all, is master of all. Christ is dishonored, is thrust aside; the Church is made no account of. Do ye not hear Paul saying, Let “filthiness and foolish talking and jesting” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Epistle to the Hebrews 24
… First let us restrain our hands from grasping, and then let us give alms. Let us not simply confound everything, with the same hands both slaying and showing mercy forsooth. After this, let us go to some other virtue, and from that, to another. “Filthiness and foolish talking and jesting, let it not be even named among you.” (
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Tertullian † AD 220 On Modesty 17
… “But let fornication and every impurity not be even named among you, as becometh saints,” —so far is it from being excused,—“knowing this, that every fornicator or impure (person) hath not God’s kingdom. Let none seduce you with empty words: on this account cometh the wrath of God upon the sons of unbelief.”
St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 The Epistles of Cyprian 51.27
… although among them there are both adulterers and fraudulent persons, who are held guilty of the crime of idolatry, according to the saying of the apostle: “For know this with understanding, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, whose guilt is that of idolatry, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.”
St Gregory Thaumaturgus † AD 270 Canonical Epistle 2
… Wherefore it seemed good to excommunicate such persons, lest the wrath (of God) should come upon the whole people, and upon those first of all who are set over them in office, and yet fail to make inquiry. For I am afraid, as the Scripture says, lest the impious work the destruction of the righteous along with his own. “For fornication,” it says,
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 3.12
… “For know this, that no shameless person, none that is impure, or covetous (which meaneth idolatry), hath inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Selections from the Letters of St. Ambrose 63.11
… “But fornication, and all uncleanness, and covetousness let it not even be named among you, as becometh saints.” And immediately he adds: “For this ye know, that no immodest person, nor unclean, nor covetous, which is an idolator, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Epistle to the Hebrews 4
… For if Paul calls “the covetous man an idolater” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Epistle to the Hebrews 15
… for woe to those who say these things, though they say them in jest. For tell me, has not God uttered such a threat as this, saying, “Ye cannot serve two masters”? ( Matt. vi. 24 .) And dost thou set at nought the threat? Does not Paul say that it is Idolatry, and does he not call “the covetous man an Idolater”? (
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 14.5
… Nay, hear the apostle’s view of the matter. “For this ye know,” he writes, “that no whore-monger or unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 130.14
14. I think it unnecessary to warn you against covetousness since it is the way of your family both to have riches and to despise them. The apostle too tells us that covetousness is idolatry,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Baptism, Against the Donatists 4.4
… for they who become the temple of God certainly inherit the kingdom of God. But the apostle says, among many other things, "Neither the covetous, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God." For in another place the same apostle compares covetousness to the worship of idols: "Nor covetous man," he says, "who is an idolater;"
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Baptism, Against the Donatists 4.5
… ‘for know this, and understand, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God;’
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Baptism, Against the Donatists 4.9
… Scripture declares openly, "Neither covetous nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God;" and "He that putteth out his money to usury," and "No whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God."
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Baptism, Against the Donatists 4.12
… Or could anything be said in stronger terms, than that covetousness should be called idolatry, as the same apostle declared?
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Baptism, Against the Donatists 4.18
… Indeed, it speaks to the same effect elsewhere: "For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, which is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words."
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 Letters of the Blessed Theodoret, Bishop of Cyprus 147
… The same teaching is given us in the Apostle’s words to the excellent Titus “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” Here he calls the same both Saviour, and great God, and Jesus Christ. And in another place he writes, “In the kingdom of Christ and of God.”
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St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 4.27.4
… “If any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, with such an one go not to eat.” And again does the apostle say, “Let no man deceive you with vain words; for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the sons of mistrust. Be not ye therefore partakers with them.”
St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 The Epistles of Cyprian 39.6
… from such withdraw thyself.” And again he says, “Let no man deceive you with vain words; for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them.”
St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 The Epistles of Cyprian 63.5
… since it is written, “Let no man deceive you with vain words, for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience; be not ye therefore partakers with them.”
St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 On the Unity of the Church 23
… for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them.”
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 16.18
… For because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Acts or Disputation Against Fortunatus the Manichaean 2
… "Either make the tree good, or make the tree evil." Who is it that can make nature? If therefore we are commanded to make a tree either good or evil, it is ours to choose what we will. Therefore concerning that sin of man and concerning that habit of soul formed with the flesh the apostle says: "Let no one seduce you;"
Anonymous A Treatise Against the Heretic Novatian by an Anonymous Bishop 17
… and every one was judged according to those things that were written in the book, according to their own works.” Moreover, too, the apostle, giving good advice, thus exhorts us, saying, “Let no one deceive you with vain words: for because of these things the wrath of God cometh upon the children of disobedience. Be not partakers with them.”
Pseudo-Clement The First Epistle of the Blessed Clement, the Disciple of Peter the Apostle 3
… The name alone, indeed, without works, does not introduce into the kingdom of heaven; but, if a man be truly a believer, such an one can be saved. For, if a person be only called a believer in name, whilst he is not such in works, he cannot possibly be a believer. “Let no one,” therefore, “lead you astray with the empty words of error.”
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Tertullian † AD 220 On Modesty 18
… because, to wit, withal “a little leaven spoileth the flavour of the whole lump.” Again to Timotheus: “Lay hands on no one hastily, nor communicate with others’ sins.” Again to the Ephesians: “Be not, then, partners with them: for ye were at one time darkness.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 18
Ver. 7, 8 . “Be not ye, therefore, partakers with them. For ye were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord.”
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Tertullian † AD 220 A Treatise on the Soul 21
… nor to make a generation of vipers bring forth fruits of repentance.” And if so, the apostle too was in error when he said in his epistle, “Ye were at one time darkness, (but now are ye light in the Lord:)”
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John 2.14
… But he who is mindful of God, if we consider what it is to be mindful of Him, is not in death, according to the saying, “In death there is no one who remembers Thee.” Are the darkness of men, and death, such as they are by nature? On this point we have another passage,
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Holy Spirit 1.5
71. Or is the Spirit not good, Who of the worst makes good men, does away sin, destroys evil, shuts out crime, pours in good gifts, makes apostles of persecutors, and priests of sinners? “Ye were,” it is said, “sometime darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 20
… And yet for all that, He did not abhor her, nor loathe her for her surpassing deformity. Wouldest thou hear her deformity described? Hear what Paul saith, “For ye were once darkness.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 22
He speaks of certain “principalities, and powers, and world-rulers of this darkness.” What darkness? Is it that of night? No, but of wickedness. “For ye were,” saith he, “once darkness” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on First Thessalonians 11
A thick mist, a darkness and cloud is spread over all the earth. And, showing this, the Apostle said, “For we were once darkness.” (
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 39.3
… and the darkness comprehendeth it not” ). Therefore we should congratulate our dear Blæsilla that she has passed from darkness to light,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 8.10
… They themselves verily are evil when they hold these evil opinions; and they shall become good when they hold the truth, and shall consent unto the truth, that Thy apostle may say unto them, “Ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 9.4
… Oh, if only they were wearied out with their fasting, and said, “Who will show us any good?” And we would answer, and they hear, O Lord. The light of Thy countenance is lifted up upon us. For we are not that Light, which lighteth every man, but we are enlightened by Thee, that we, who were sometimes darkness, may be light in Thee.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 13.2
… But it is good for it always to hold fast unto Thee, lest, in turning from Thee, it lose that light which it hath obtained in turning to Thee, and relapse into a light resembling the darksome deep. For even we ourselves, who in respect of the soul are a spiritual creature, having turned away from Thee, our light, were in that life “sometimes darkness;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 13.10
… it was other than Thou, hath known no other state than that as soon as it was made, it was, without any interval of time, by Thy Gift, which is borne over everything mutable, raised up by that calling whereby Thou saidst, “Let there be light, and there was light.” Whereas in us there is a difference of times, in that we were darkness, and are made light;
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 13.12
… And because our soul was troubled within us, we remembered Thee, O Lord, from the land of Jordan, and that mountain equal unto Thyself, but little for our sakes; and upon our being displeased with our darkness, we turned unto Thee, “and there was light.” And, behold, we were sometimes darkness, but now light in the Lord.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 13.14
… Whence we have in this pilgrimage received “an earnest” that we should now be light, whilst as yet we “are saved by hope,” and are the children of light, and the children of the day,—not the children of the night nor of the darkness, which yet we have been.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 City of God 11.33
… And who will dispute that the rest are justly called “light?” For even we who are yet living by faith, hoping only and not yet enjoying equality with them, are already called “light” by the apostle: “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 4.6
… because God (who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, that through the grace of the New Testament and the partaking of the resurrection of Christ the words might be spoken to us “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Reply to Faustus the Manichæan 22.11
… This is from not understanding how the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not, till by the word of God those who were darkness are made light, and it is said to them, "Ye were once darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord."
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Answer to the Letters of Petilian, the Donatist 3.12
… where men are holy servants of the Lord, and are fighting with holiness for God, not against Petilianus, or any flesh and blood like him, but against principalities and powers, and the rulers of the darkness of this world, such as are all enemies of the truth, to whom I would that we could say, "Ye were sometime darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord,"
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise Concerning Man’s Perfection in Righteousness 30
… “Every man is a liar.” As for the passage also which he has quoted in reference to Wisdom, when it is said, “Men of truth shall be found in her,” we must observe that it is undoubtedly not “ in her ,” but in themselves that men shall be found liars. Just as in another passage: “Ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise Against Two Letters of the Pelagians 2.15
… and there was light, and divided”—that is, made to differ—“between the light and the darkness.” For when there was only darkness, He did not find what He should make to differ; but by making the light, He made to differ; so that it may be said to the justified wicked, “For ye were sometime darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 17.5
… This the Apostle calls darkness. This darkness the devil and his angels are the rulers of. This is not the natural, and unchangeable darkness: this darkness changes, and becomes light; it believes, and by believing is enlightened. When this takes place in it, it will hear the words, “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 26.5
… He was able to do what the Lord was doing, not in himself, but in the Lord. “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 2
… because, if not enlightened, he would have been darkness; but, by enlightenment, he became a light. For unless he had been enlightened he would have been darkness, as all those once impious men, to whom, as believers, the apostle said, “Ye were sometimes darkness.” But now, because they had believed, what?—“but now are ye light,” he says, “in the Lord.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 3
… A blind man in the sunshine has the sun present to him, but is himself absent from the sun. Be ye not then darkness. For this is perhaps the grace regarding which we are about to speak, that now we be no more darkness, and that the apostle may say to us, “We were sometime darkness, but now light in the Lord.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 11.4
… and this perhaps pertains to the matter. Came to the Lord, and came by night; came to the Light, and came in the darkness. But what do they that are born again of water and of the Spirit hear from the apostle? “Ye were once darkness, but now light in the Lord; walk as children of light;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 22
… if thou wilt turn away, thou wilt become cold. In thy sin thou wast dark; thou turnest in order to be enlightened; if thou turnest away, thou wilt become dark. Therefore, because in thyself thou wast darkness, when thou shalt be enlightened, thou wilt be light, though in the light. For saith the apostle, “Ye were once darkness, but now light in the Lord.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 35.8
8. Behold, even lamps bear witness to the day, because of our weakness, for we cannot bear and look at the brightness of the day. In comparison, indeed, with unbelievers, we Christians are even now light; as the apostle says, “For ye were once darkness, but now light in the Lord: walk as children of light:”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 79
… “Of this darkness,” he says, that is, of the lovers of this world: of whom, nevertheless, there were some elected, not from any deserving of their own, but by the grace of God, to whom he says, “Ye were sometimes darkness; but now are ye light in the Lord.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 95.4
… Therefore the prince of this world, that is, the prince of the darkness thereof, or of unbelievers, out of whose hands that world is rescued, to which it is said, “Ye were at one time darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord:”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 110.2
… just as the apostle, after saying, “For ye were at one time darkness, but now are ye light,” that none might attribute the doing of this to themselves, added, “in the Lord.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Ten Homilies on the First Epistle of John 1.10
… But why new? “Because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.” Lo, whence it is new: because the darkness pertains to the old man, but the light to the new man. What saith the Apostle Paul? “Put ye off the old man, and put ye on the new.” And again what saith he? “Ye were sometime darkness, but now light in the Lord.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Ten Homilies on the First Epistle of John 1.11
… mark well: behold he was in darkness, while he was a pagan: now is he made henceforth a Christian; thanks be to God, say all joyfully; the apostle is read, where he saith joyfully, “For ye were sometime darkness, but now light in the Lord.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 60.2
2. What is “to the end” ye know. For “the end of the law is Christ.” Those that are changed ye know. For who but they that do pass from old life into new?…“For ye were sometime darkness, but now light in the Lord.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 62.4
… As though to conquered Jebusites, in order that there may be builded up Jerusalem, is said, “Put ye off the old man, and put on the new.” And now to them builded in Jerusalem, and shining by the light of Grace, is said, “Ye have been sometime darkness, but now light in the Lord.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 66.13
… in death she was, in thyself. Thence it is that ye ought not to have been exalted in yourselves. Therefore in death she was, in thyself: where will it be in life, save in Him that said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life”? Just as to certain believers the Apostle saith, “Ye were sometime darkness, but now light in the Lord.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 74.13
… How do I understand the Ethiopian peoples? How but by these all nations? And properly by black men: for Ethiopians are black. They are themselves called to the faith who were black; the very same indeed, so that there is said to them, “for ye were sometime darkness, but now light in the Lord.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 86.4
… Look thou where thou art and from thy Head assume dignity. For thou wert in darkness, “but now light in the Lord.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 88.11
11. “Shall thy wondrous works be known in the dark, and thy righteousness in the land where all things are forgotten?” ( ver. 12 ), the dark answers to the land of forgetfulness: for the unbelieving are meant by the dark, as the Apostle saith, “For ye were sometimes darkness;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 104.1
… 1 ). Where art Thou magnified? “Confession and beauty Thou hast put on.” Confess ye, that ye may be beautified, that He may put you on. “Clothed with light as a garment” ( ver. 2 ). Clothed with His Church, because she is made “light” in Him, who before was darkness in herself, as the apostle saith: “Ye were sometime darkness, but now light in the Lord.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 112.4
4. “Unto the right-hearted there ariseth up light in the darkness” ( ver. 4 ). Justly do the godly direct their heart unto their God, justly do they walk with their God, preferring His will to themselves; and having no proud presumption in their own. For they remember that they were some time in darkness, but are now light in the Lord.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 132.20
… “As many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ.” “And her saints shall rejoice and sing.” Whence shall they rejoice and sing? Because they have been clothed with salvation: not in themselves. For they have become light, but in the Lord; for they were darkness before.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 140.4
4. “Deliver me, O Lord, from the wicked man” ( ver. 1 ). Not from one only, but from the class; not from the vessels only, but from their prince himself, that is, the devil. Why “from man,” if he meaneth from the devil? Because he too is called a man in a figure. …Now then being made light, not in ourselves, but in the Lord,
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 18
Ver. 9, 10 . “For the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth, proving what is well-pleasing unto the Lord.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 19
He is still cleansing away the root of bitterness, still cutting off the very groundwork of anger.
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Tertullian † AD 220 On Idolatry 9
We observe among the arts also some professions liable to the charge of idolatry. Of astrologers there should be no speaking even;
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.18
… “Putting away lying,” (says he,) “speak every man truth with his neighbour;” and again, using the very words in which the Psalm expresses his meaning, (he says,) “Be ye angry, and sin not;” “Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.” “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness;”
Tertullian † AD 220 On Modesty 18
… “Lay hands on no one hastily, nor communicate with others’ sins.” Again to the Ephesians: “Be not, then, partners with them: for ye were at one time darkness.” And yet more earnestly: “Communicate not with the unfruitful works of darkness; nay rather withal convict them. For (the things) which are done by them in secrecy it is disgraceful even to utter.”
Tertullian † AD 220 On Modesty 21
… But I will descend even to this point of contest now, making a separation between the doctrine of apostles and their power . Discipline governs a man, power sets a seal upon him; apart from the fact that power is the Spirit, but the Spirit is God. What, moreover, used (the Spirit) to teach? That there must be no communicating with the works of darkness.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 18
Ver. 11, 12, 13 . “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather even reprove them. For the things which are done by them in secret it is a shame even to speak of. But all things when they are reproved, are made manifest by the light.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 19
He is still cleansing away the root of bitterness, still cutting off the very groundwork of anger.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 38.19
… if thou consent not to him, and if thou reprove him; this is, not to communicate with him, not to consent to him. For there is a communication, when an agreement either of the will or of the approbation is joined to his deed. This the Apostle teaches us, when he says, “Have no communication with the unfruitful works of darkness.”
Socrates Scholasticus † AD 440 The Ecclesiastical History of Socrates Scholasticus 5.19
… My observation to Eudæmon, when he first related the circumstance, was this: ‘Whether, O presbyter, your counsel has been profitable for the Church or otherwise, God knows; but I see that it takes away the means of rebuking one another’s faults, and prevents our acting upon that precept of the apostle,
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Tertullian † AD 220 On Modesty 17
… and that “they who are in the flesh,” that is, in the sense of the flesh, “cannot please God:” and, “If ye live according to flesh,” he says, “it will come to pass that ye die.” But what do we understand “the sense of the flesh” and “the life of the flesh” (to mean), except whatever “it shames (one) to pronounce?”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 5
… Then when we have cleansed the soul from all the passions. For sin is darkness, and a deep darkness; as is clear, because men do it unconsciously and secretly. For, “every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light.” ( c. iii. 20 .) And, “It is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Good of Marriage 8
… for it is worse to violate the marriage of another, than to cleave unto an harlot: and adultery will be a good, because incest is worse; for it is worse to lie with a mother than with the wife of another: and, until we arrive at those things, which, as the Apostle saith, “it is a shame even to speak of,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 96.5
5. As these things are so, beloved, I warn you in the love of Christ to beware of impure seducers and sects of obscene filthiness, whereof the apostle says, “But it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret:”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 71.7
… in Thee to hope, from the time when Thou didst arm me against the Devil, so that in the girding of Thy host being armed with Thy faith, love, hope, and the rest of Thy gifts, I waged conflict against Thine invisible enemies, and heard from the Apostle, “There is not for us a wrestling against flesh and blood, but against principalities, and powers,” etc.
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 The Ecclesiastical History of Theodoret 4.19
… there where the Holy Scriptures had been read might be heard unseemly clapping of hands with unmanly and indecent utterances; there outrages were offered to the Virgins of Christ which the tongue refuses to utter, for “it is a shame even to speak of them.”
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 Dialogues. The “Eranistes” or “Polymorphus” of the Blessed Theodoretus, Bishop of Cyrus 1
… But perhaps mankind seems to them to be of less value than these senseless objects. 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.
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St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 1.8.5
… For Anthropos and Ecclesia spring from Logos and Zoe. Moreover, he styled life (Zoe) the light of men, because they are enlightened by her, that is, formed and made manifest. This also Paul declares in these words: “For whatsoever doth make manifest is light.”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 128.3
… You have some question, you say, to ask concerning the holy scriptures. If so, ask it publicly; let your maids and your attendants hear it. “Everything that is made manifest is light.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount 2.13
46. It is not, therefore, what one does, but the intent with which he does it, that is to be considered. For this is the light in us, because it is a thing manifest to ourselves that we do with a good intent what we are doing; for everything which is made manifest is light.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 95.2
… “For all things,” says the apostle, “that are reproved, are made manifest by the light.”
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St Hippolytus † AD 235 The Refutation of All Heresies 5.2
… And he enchants the eyes of the dead, as he says, and raises up again those that are slumbering, after having been roused from sleep, and after having been suitors. And concerning these, he says, the Scripture speaks: “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise, and Christ will give thee light.”
St Hippolytus † AD 235 Treatise on Christ and Antichrist 65
… for the dew from thee is healing to them.” The Lord says, “Many in that day shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live.” And the prophet says, “Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”
Archelaus † fl. AD 278 The Acts of the Disputation with the Heresiarch Manes 43
… but rather, when he has once found out its use, he will keep it with all the greater carefulness. Precisely in this way, then, the law of Moses served as a sort of guardian to the people, like the lamp, until the true Sun, who is our Saviour, should arise, even as the apostle also says to us: “And Christ shall give thee light.”
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 3.28
… that He might shew that, as man, He knows not; for ignorance is proper to man . If however He is the Word, if it is He who is to come, He to be Judge, He to be the Bridegroom, He knoweth when and in what hour He cometh, and when He is to say, ‘Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Festal and Personal Letters of Athanasius 7
… for which the wicked not caring, are deservedly deprived of the blessedness arising from it. For, ‘let the wicked be taken away, so that he shall not see the glory of the Lord .’ For although, when they shall hear the universal proclamation of the promise, ‘Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 40
… Every time is suitable for your ablution, since any time may be your death. With Paul I shout to you with that loud voice, “Behold now is the accepted time; behold Now is the day of salvation;” and that Now does not point to any one time, but is every present moment. And again “Awake, thou that sleepest, and Christ shall give thee light,”
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 45
… For who shall endure His unrestrained power and light? Do I enquire what there is common to the loins and to truth? What then is the meaning to S. Paul of the expression, “Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth?”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Holy Spirit 3.22
… for as “no man says Lord Jesus, except in the Holy Spirit,” so Christ is seen not by the eye of flesh, but by the grace of the Spirit. Whence, too, the Scripture says: “Rise, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine upon thee.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Decease of His Brother Satyrus 2.93
… Rest is good, but life is better. And so the Apostle rouses him that is resting to life, saying: “Rise, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Concerning Widows 10
66. Peter’s mother-in-law, it is written, rose up and ministered to them. Well is it said, rose up, for the grace of the apostleship was already furnishing a type of the sacrament. It is proper to the ministers of Christ to rise, according to that which is written: “Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 64
… For to this last it is said, “Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall;” and to the other, “Shall not he that falleth arise?” and, “Lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees.” Again, to these He saith, “Watch;” but to those, “Awake, thou that sleepest and arise from the dead.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 18
Ver. 14 . “Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine upon thee.”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 46.3
… So it came to pass that the second Adam, that is the blood of Christ, as it dropped from the cross, washed away the sins of the buried protoplast, the first Adam, and thus the words of the apostle were fulfilled: “Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 60.3
… Before Christ’s coming Abraham is in the lower regions: after Christ’s coming the robber is in paradise. And therefore at His rising again “many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and were seen in the heavenly Jerusalem.” Then was fulfilled the saying: “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 8.5
… but the former course satisfied and vanquished me, the latter pleased me and fettered me. Nor had I aught to answer Thee calling to me, “Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Letters of St. Augustin 164
… For it may be that the apostle intended by the word “dead” to denote unbelievers, as being spiritually dead, like those of whom it was said, “Let the dead bury their dead,” and by the word “living” to denote those who believe in Him, having not heard in vain the call, “Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 City of God 20.10
… risen again to whom he says, “If ye have risen with Christ, mind the things that are above.” The same sense he elsewhere conveyed in other words, saying, “That as Christ has risen from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also may walk in newness of life.” So, too, “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 4.3
… For burial was the fitting disposal of a dead body. But by those who were to bury it He meant those who were dead in soul by the impiety of unbelief, such, namely, as are awakened when it is said, “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on Nature and Grace 25
… For, as I have already remarked, those who are forsaken by the light of righteousness, and are therefore groping in darkness, produce nothing else than those works of darkness which I have enumerated, until such time as it is said to them, and they obey the command: “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 38.3
… Yet doth he call them dead; where, but in the soul within? For as we may often see in a household, itself sound and well, the master of the same house lying dead; so in a sound body do many carry a dead soul within; and these the Apostle arouses thus, “Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 48.2
… their death invisible was neither enquired into nor perceived. He sought them out who had known them to be dead; He Alone knew them to be dead, who was able to make them alive. For if the Lord had not come to raise the dead, the Apostle would not have said, “Rise, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 77.7
… They who were dead in unbelief, are aroused by the Word. Of this hour said the Lord, “The hour shall come, and now is.” For with His Own Word did He raise them that were dead in unbelief; of whom the Apostle says, “Arise thou that sleepest, and rise up from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 23.9
… if it lived foolishly, and becomes wise, it dies for the better. For the Scripture teaches us that there is a death for the worse, and that there is a death for the better. In any case, they had died for the worse, of whom it said, “Let the dead bury their dead;” and, “Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 3.9
… Let the people of God also say, “I slept, and took rest; and rose, for the Lord will take me up;” that they may be joined, and cleave to their Head. For to this people is it said, “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall lay hold on thee.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 46.11
… Why then wouldest thou by land come to Him, who filleth all lands? Lo, He hath already come: watch thou. By growing He waketh even sleepers; if yet there is not in them so deep sleep, as that they be hardened even against the mountain coming; but they hear, “Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 49.2.3
… Doth then he that sleepeth live, and he that riseth live not? Is not he that sleepeth more like death? And who are they that sleep? They whom the Apostle Paul rouseth, if they choose but to awake. For to certain he saith, “Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 63.2
… Whatsoever soul shall have forgotten her God, sleepeth. Therefore the Apostle saith to certain persons that forgot their God, and being as it were in sleep, did act the follies of the worship of idols—the Apostle, I say, saith to certain persons, “Rise, thou that sleepest, and rise up from the dead, and Christ shall enlighten thee.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 71.20
… What dost thou think to be the wonderful works of God? What is more wonderful among God’s wonderful works, than the raising the dead? But am I by any means dead, thou sayest? Unless dead thou hadst been, there would not have been said to thee, “Rise, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall enlighten thee.”
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St Hippolytus † AD 235 A discourse by the most blessed Hippolytus, bishop and martyr, on the end of the world, and on Antichrist, and on the second coming of our lord Jesus Christ 11
Finally, hear Paul as he speaks boldly, and mark how clearly he discovers these: “Beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit. See that ye walk circumspectly, because the days are evil.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 19
Ver. 17, 18 . “Wherefore,” he adds, “be ye not foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is; and be not drunk with wine, wherein is riot.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 24
… iii. 3 .) But again there is need also of another “preparation” after baptism, so that we may do nothing unworthy of “peace.” And then, since the feet are usually a token of the way of life, hence he is constantly exhorting in this language, “Look, therefore, carefully how ye walk.” (
Pseudo-Clement The Second Epistle of the Same Clement 6
If, moreover, it chance that we go to a place in which there are no Christians, and it be im portant for us to stay there a few days, let us be “wise as serpents, and harmless as doves;” and let us “not be as the foolish, but as the wise,”
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Tertullian † AD 220 De Fuga in Persecutione 9
… he does not say, however, that they should be sent into exile. But when he urges us not to give place to evil, he does not offer the suggestion that we should take to our heels, he only teaches that passion should be kept under restraint; and if he says that the time must be redeemed, because the days are evil,
Origen † AD 254 Origen Against Celsus 6.54
… and as one loving to see “good days,” in which the word of righteousness will be the Sun, he will see them, God taking him away from this “present evil world,” and from those evil days concerning which Paul said: “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 8.11
11. Therefore when we have said, “Lead us not into temptation,” there follows, “But deliver us from evil.” Now whoso wishes to be delivered from evil, bears witness that he is in evil. And thus saith the Apostle, “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 34
2. But as concerning these days which we are passing now, the Apostle says, “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 19
Ver. 17, 18 . “Wherefore,” he adds, “be ye not foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is; and be not drunk with wine, wherein is riot.”
5:18
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.18
… touch not the unclean thing; separate yourselves, ye that bear the vessels of the Lord.” (The apostle says further:) “Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess,”
Tertullian † AD 220 On Modesty 17
… not seeing into the fact that its very foundations have been dug out by the apostle, when he puts restraints upon drunkennesses and revellings, as withal here: “And be not inebriated with wine, in which is voluptuousness.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Holy Spirit 1.8
… but He Who is invoked by the priest is given by God, wherein is the gift of God and the ministry of the priest. For if the Apostle Paul judged that he was not able to give the Holy Spirit himself by his own authority, and considered himself so far unequal to this office that he wished us to be filled by God with the Spirit,
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 50
That table at that time was not of silver nor that cup of gold, out of which Christ gave His disciples His own blood; but precious was everything there, and awful, for that they were full of the Spirit.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 19
Ver. 18, 19, 20, 21 . “But be filled with the Spirit; speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God even the Father; subjecting yourselves one to another in the fear of Christ.”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 22.8
… advising rather as a physician than as an apostle (though, indeed, an apostle is a spiritual physician). He evidently feared that Timothy might succumb to weakness, and might prove unequal to the constant moving to and fro involved in preaching the Gospel. Besides, he remembered that he had spoken of “wine wherein is excess,”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 54.9
… Contrariwise they tell us that warm food and old wine are good for the old who suffer from humours and from chilliness. Hence it is that the Saviour says “Take heed to yourselves lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and cares of this life.” So too speaks the apostle: “Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess.”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 79.7
… It is not the number of feet that makes the difference but delicacy of flavour. I know that the apostle has said: “every creature of God is good and nothing to be refused if it be received with thanksgiving.” But the same apostle says: “it is good neither to eat flesh nor to drink wine,” and in another place: “be not drunk with wine wherein is excess.”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 107.8
… Some, I know, hold it a greater virtue to disdain a pleasure which is actually before them, but I think it a safer self-restraint to shun what must needs attract you. Once as a boy at school I met the words: ‘It is ill blaming what you allow to become a habit.’ Let her learn even now not to drink wine “wherein is excess.”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 108.11
… By Zoar I mean that “heifer of three years old” which was formerly called Bela and in Syriac is rendered Zoar that is ‘little.’ She called to mind the cave in which Lot found refuge, and with tears in her eyes warned the virgins her companions to beware of “wine wherein is excess;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 49.14
… Certainly the universal expectation of the bystanders was that Lazarus, one who had been dead four days, would live again; let us hear, and rise again. How many are there in this audience who are crushed down under the weighty mass of some sinful habit! Perhaps some are hearing me to whom it may be said, “Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess;”
5:19
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.18
… “Ye gave wine to my holy ones to drink.” This prohibition from drink was given also to the high priest Aaron and his sons, “when they went into the holy place.” The command, to “sing to the Lord with psalms and hymns,”
Tertullian † AD 220 To His Wife 2.6
… and, wont as she was formerly to minister to the “saints,” will sometimes have to minister to the “unjust.” And will she not hence recognise a prejudgment of her own damnation, in that she tends them whom (formerly) she was expecting to judge ? whose hand will she yearn after? of whose cup will she partake? What will her husband sing
Tertullian † AD 220 To His Wife 2.8
… neither is troublesome to the other. The sick is visited, the indigent relieved, with freedom. Alms (are given) without (danger of ensuing) torment; sacrifices (attended) without scruple; daily diligence (discharged) without impediment: (there is) no stealthy signing, no trembling greeting, no mute benediction. Between the two echo psalms and hymns;
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 19
“Giving thanks always,” he says, “for all things.”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 125.15
… When your turn comes, you will recite the psalms, a task which requires not a well modulated voice but genuine emotion. The apostle says: “I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the understanding also,” and to the Ephesians, “make melody in your hearts to the Lord.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Letters of St. Augustin 48.3
… bearing tribulation, and especially bearing with one another in love (for what can he bear who is not patient with his brother?), or guarding against the craft and wiles of the tempter, and by the shield of faith averting and extinguishing his fiery darts, or “singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts,” or with voices in harmony with your hearts;
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 The Ecclesiastical History of Theodoret 3.14
… She however took the outrage for honour, and returned home, where, as was her wont, she kept up her attack upon him with her spiritual songs,
St John of Damascus † AD 749 An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith 4.15
… For those who worship God will take pleasure in those things whereby God is worshipped, while His shield-bearers will be wrath at those things wherewith God is wroth. In psalms and hymns and spiritual songs
5:20
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 19
… And then shall we be able also to be counted worthy of the lovingkindness which cometh of God, through the grace and mercies of His only-begotten Son, with whom to the Father, together with the Holy Ghost, be glory, might, honor, now and forever and ever. Amen.
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 Letters of the Blessed Theodoret, Bishop of Cyprus 147
… Amen.” And a little before he says, “For this cause I bow my knee unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.” And considerably farther on he says “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
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Pope St Clement I † AD 99 The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians 2
Moreover, ye were all distinguished by humility, and were in no respect puffed up with pride, but yielded obedience rather than extorted it,
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 5.13
158. Or as Paul wrote: “Submitting yourselves mutually to God and the Father in the fear of Christ”?
5:22
Pope St Clement I † AD 99 The Second Epistle of Clement 14
… but if we shall not do the will of the Lord, we shall come under the Scripture which saith, “My house became a den of robbers.” So, then, let us elect to belong to the church of life, that we may be saved. I think not that ye are ignorant that the living church is the body of Christ (for the Scripture, saith, “God created man male and female;”
St Ignatius of Antioch † AD 108 Epistle to the Philadelphians: Shorter and Longer Versions 4
… and one Church which the holy apostles established from one end of the earth to the other by the blood of Christ, and by their own sweat and toil; it behoves you also, therefore, as “a peculiar people, and a holy nation,” to perform all things with harmony in Christ. Wives, be ye subject to your husbands in the fear of God;
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.18
… Now, when I find to what God belong these precepts, whether in their germ or their development, I have no difficulty in knowing to whom the apostle also belongs. But he declares that “wives ought to be in subjection to their husbands:”
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 37
… It is well for the wife to reverence Christ through her husband: and it is well for the husband not to dishonor the Church through his wife. Let the wife, he says, see that she reverence her husband, for so she does Christ; but also he bids the husband cherish his wife, for so Christ does the Church.
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 5.13
156. Or as a woman to a man, as we read: “Let the wives be subject to their husbands;”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 1
Observe that he calls saints, men with wives, and children, and domestics. For that these are they whom he calls by this name is plain from the end of the Epistle, as, when he says, “Wives, be in subjection unto your own husbands.” (
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 127.3
… While they mourn for the husbands they have lost they rejoice at their own deliverance and freedom to choose fresh partners—not, as God wills, to obey these
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Continence 23
… Husband and wife receive command and pattern how they ought to be one with another. The command is, “Let wives be subject unto their own husbands, as unto the Lord; because the husband is the head of the wife;”
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Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.18
… Now, when I find to what God belong these precepts, whether in their germ or their development, I have no difficulty in knowing to whom the apostle also belongs. But he declares that “wives ought to be in subjection to their husbands:” what reason does he give for this? “Because,” says he, “the husband is the head of the wife.”
St Dionysius of Alexandria † AD 265 Exegetical Fragments 1.2
… so the mind of the man who has once been enervated by pleasures is not easily diverted from the tendency thus assumed, because he has not “respect unto all the commandments of the Lord.” Again: “Christ is the head of the Church.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 4.3
32. But the saying, that in respect of the Incarnation God is the Head of Christ, leads on to the principle that Christ, as Incarnate, is the Head of man, as the Apostle has clearly expressed in another passage, where he says: “Since man is the head of woman, even as Christ is the Head of the Church;”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 5.14
… but it is not written that God suffers men to sit on His right hand, but only to sit there in the Person of Christ. For He is the foundation of all, and is the head of the Church,
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on First Corinthians 26
… Are all in like manner ours, as “we are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s?” In no wise, but even to the very simple the difference is evident, although the same expression is used of God, and Christ, and us. And elsewhere also having called the husband “head of the wife,” he added, (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 20
Ver. 23, 24 . Then, he proceeds with arguments and says that “the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the Church, being Himself the Saviour of the body. But as the Church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their husbands in everything.”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 48.9
… That Christ Himself, although in the flesh a virgin, was in the spirit a monogamist, having one wife, even the Church,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Correction of the Donatists 11
… For there is but one bread which is the sacrament of unity, seeing that, as the apostle says, "We, being many, are one bread, and one body." Furthermore, the Catholic Church alone is the body of Christ, of which He is the Head and Saviour of His body.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 1.18
… “Thy father and I have sought Thee sorrowing.” Thy father and I, she saith, “for the husband is the head of the woman.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 82.2
… Women preserve chastity, which men will not preserve; and in that they preserve it not, would wish to appear men: as though he was in sex the stronger, only that the enemy might more easily subdue him. There is a struggle, a war, a combat. The man is stronger than the woman, the “man is the head of the woman.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 40.5
5. If haply any one asks, what person is speaking in this Psalm? I would say briefly, “It is Christ.” But as ye know, brethren, and as we must say frequently, Christ sometimes speaks in His own Person, in the Person of our Head. For He Himself is “the Saviour of the Body.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 89.5
5. Let us see then what God hath sworn. “I have sworn,” He saith, “to David My servant; thy seed will I establish for ever” ( ver. 4 ). But what is the seed of David, but that of Abraham. And what is the seed of Abraham? “And to thy seed,” He saith, “which is Christ.” But perhaps that Christ, the Head of the Church, the Saviour of the body,
Pope St Leo I the Great † AD 461 Letters 12
… For even then in the priests was prefigured the Spiritual marriage of Christ and His Church: so that since “the man is the head of the woman
Ecumenical Councils The XXX Canons of the Holy and Fourth Synods, of Chalcedon 25
The “Steward of the Church” was to “take care of the revenues of the church widowed” by the death of its bishop, who was regarded as representing Him to whom the whole Church was espoused (see
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St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Continence 25
25. But, say they, how is the flesh by a certain likeness compared unto the Church? What! doth the Church lust against Christ? whereas the same Apostle said, “The Church is subject unto Christ.”
5:25
St Ignatius of Antioch † AD 108 Epistle to Polycarp: Shorter and Longer Versions 5
Flee evil arts; but all the more discourse in public regarding them. Speak to my sisters, that they love the Lord, and be satisfied with their husbands both in the flesh and spirit. In like manner also, exhort my brethren, in the name of Jesus Christ, that they love their wives, even as the Lord the Church.
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.18
… This, however, is a comparative trifle; for he actually derives from the same source the condition of his Christ and his Church; for he says: “even as Christ is the head of the Church;” and again, in like manner: “He who loveth his wife, loveth his own flesh, even as Christ loved the Church.”
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on Matthew 14.16
… howbeit, each man hath his own gift from God, one after this manner, and another after that.” And those who are joined together by God both mind and keep the precept, “Husbands love your wives, as Christ also the church.”
St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 The Epistles of Cyprian 73.6
… For it is the Church alone which, conjoined and united with Christ, spiritually bears sons; as the same apostle again says, “Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify it, cleansing it with the washing of water.”
St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 The Epistles of Cyprian 75.2
… Moreover, too, the Apostle Paul, more openly and clearly still manifesting this same thing, writes to the Ephesians, and says, “Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water.”
St Methodius † AD 311 The Banquet of the Ten Virgins; or Concerning Chastity 3.10
… and therefore he, cutting off very sharply these dishonest follies and invented excuses, and having arrived at the subject of instructing them how men should behave to their wives, showing that it should be as Christ did to the Church, “who gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it by the washing of water by the Word,”
St Basil the Great † AD 379 The Hexæmeron 7.5
… What does this mean? However hard, however fierce a husband may be, the wife ought to bear with him, and not wish to find any pretext for breaking the union. He strikes you, but he is your husband. He is a drunkard, but he is united to you by nature. He is brutal and cross, but he is henceforth one of your members, and the most precious of all.
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 18.26
… For this is the peculiar name of this Holy Church, the mother of us all, which is the spouse of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Only-begotten Son of God (for it is written, As Christ also loved the Church and gave Himself for it
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 2.54
54. What of the laboriousness of his teaching? The manifold character of his ministry? His loving kindness? And on the other hand his strictness? And the combination and blending of the two; in such wise that his gentleness should not enervate, nor his severity exasperate? He gives laws for slaves and masters, rulers and ruled, husbands and wives,
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 4.3
… “Since man is the head of woman, even as Christ is the Head of the Church;” whilst in the words following he has added: “Who gave Himself for her.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on Paul's Epistle to the Romans 27
And this he always does. For when he was upon the subject of alms, he brought Him forward and said, “Ye know the grace of the Lord, that though He was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor.” ( 2 Cor. viii. 9 .) And when he was exhorting to charity, it was from Him that he exhorted in the words “As Christ also loved us.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on First Corinthians 19
Elsewhere I grant He gives to the husband abundant precedence, both in the New Testament, and the Old saying, ( ἡ ἀποστρόφή σου , LXX. Gen. iii. 16 .) “Thy turning shall be towards thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” Paul doth so too by making a distinction thus, and writing, (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 20
Ver. 25 . “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the Church.”
St Jerome † AD 420 Against Jovinianus 1.16
… For he has one Church, concerning which the same Apostle says,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 City of God 14.22
… And it is by this original example, which God Himself instituted, that the apostle admonishes all husbands to love their own wives in particular.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Continence 22
… that He might set forth unto Himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it may be holy and unspotted. So,” saith he, “husbands also ought to love their own wives, as their own bodies. Whoso loveth his own wife, loveth himself.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Morals of the Catholic Church 30
… God, when the divine majesty has begun to disclose itself as far as suffices for man while a dweller on the earth, such fervent charity is produced, and such a flame of divine love is kindled, that by the burning out of all vices, and by the purification and sanctification of the man, it becomes plain how divine are these words, "I am a consuming fire,"
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Answer to the Letters of Petilian, the Donatist 3.49
… but He Himself invisibly cleanses, and that He does to the whole Church without exception. Nor, indeed, may we refuse to believe the words of the Apostle Paul who says concerning Him, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word."
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Answer to the Letters of Petilian, the Donatist 3.56
… whereas the baptism which the disciples of Christ administered was never called by the name of any one of them, that it should be understood to be His alone of whom it is said, "Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word."
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Marriage and Concupiscence 1.11
It is certainly not fecundity only, the fruit of which consists of offspring, nor chastity only, whose bond is fidelity, but also a certain sacramental bond in marriage which is recommended to believers in wedlock. Accordingly it is enjoined by the apostle: “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the Church.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Marriage and Concupiscence 1.38
… For in this sense must be understood that which the apostle whom we have so often quoted says elsewhere: “Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it by the washing of water by the word; that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise Against Two Letters of the Pelagians 1.9
… And to the testimony of the law on the occasion mentioned, He added, “What, therefore, God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” The Apostle Paul also applied this witness of the law when he admonished husbands that their wives should be loved by them.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount 2.12
… And this is done by him who does not seek his joy from without, so as to draw his delight in a fleshly way from the praises of men. For the flesh, which ought to be subject, is in no way the head of the whole nature of man. “No man,” indeed, “ever yet hated his own flesh,” as the apostle says, when giving the precept as to loving one’s wife;
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 1.21
… And yet the wife is subject to the husband, because it is fitting that she should be, and so much the more in subjection is she, in proportion to her greater chastity; and the husband for his part loveth his wife truly, as it is written, “In honour and sanctification,” as a coheir of grace: as “Christ,” saith the Apostle, “loved the Church.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 15.4
… Wouldest thou know that it is He that baptizeth, not only with the Spirit, but also with water? Hear the apostle: “Even as Christ,” saith he, “loved the Church, and gave Himself for it, purifying it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 62.4
… expressing not so much the punishment of the traitor as the reward awaiting the Redeemer! For He said, “What thou doest, do quickly,” not as wrathfully looking to the destruction of the trust-betrayer, but in His own haste to accomplish the salvation of the faithful; for He was delivered for our offences, and He loved the Church, and gave Himself for it.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 80.3
… For Christ, who is the vine with us, and the husbandman with the Father, “loved the Church, and gave Himself for it.” And then read the apostle, and see what he adds: “That He might sanctify it, cleansing it with the washing of water by the word.”
John Cassian † AD 435 The Seven Books of John Cassian on the Incarnation of the Lord, Against Nestorius 5.11
… “Husbands, love your wives even as Christ also loved the Church.” And again: “So also ought men to love their wives even as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, as Christ also doth the Church, for we are members of His body.”
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 Letters of the Blessed Theodoret, Bishop of Cyprus 147
… And very properly does the Church cling to this name; for she has heard Paul, escorter of the Bride, exclaiming “I have espoused you to one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ,” and again “Husbands love your wives as Christ also loved the Church,”
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Tertullian † AD 220 On Modesty 18
… For these are the deliberate judgments of Christ, “loving the Church,” who “hath delivered Himself up for her, that He may sanctify her (purifying her utterly by the laver of water) in the word, that He may present the Church to Himself glorious, not having stain or wrinkle”—of course after the laver—“but (that) she may be holy and without reproach;”
Tertullian † AD 220 Five Books in Reply to Marcion 4
Sprinkled, by speaking words of presage, those
St Methodius † AD 311 The Banquet of the Ten Virgins; or Concerning Chastity 3.8
… and it was for this cause that the Word, leaving His Father in heaven, came down to be “joined to His wife;” and slept in the trance of His passion, and willingly suffered death for her, that He might present the Church to Himself glorious and blameless, having cleansed her by the laver,
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 3.5
… and before the whole six days’ formation of the things that were made, the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the water . The water was the beginning of the world, and Jordan the beginning of the Gospel tidings: for Israel deliverance from Pharaoh was through the sea, and for the world deliverance from sins by the washing of water with the word
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 18.33
… in which ye shall again be taught the reasons of every thing which has been done, and shall receive the proofs thereof from the Old and New Testaments,—first, of the things done just before Baptism,—next, how ye were cleansed from your sins by the Lord, by the washing of water with the word
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on Paul's Epistle to the Romans 16
… Thus are we also gendered by the words of God. Since in the pool of water it is the words of God which generate and fashion us. For it is by being baptized into the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost that we are gendered. And this birth is not of nature, but of the promise of God. ( John iii. 3 ;
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 20
Ver. 26 . “And gave Himself up,” he says, “for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 82
That is, “there is no falsehood in it, and all that is said in it must needs come to pass”; and again, it signifieth nothing typical or bodily. As also Paul saith concerning the Church, that He hath sanctified it by the Word. For the Word of God is wont also to cleanse. (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Baptism, Against the Donatists 4.3
5. For neither are they "devoted to the Church" who seem to be within and live contrary to Christ, that is, act against His commandments; nor can they be considered in any way to belong to that Church, which He so purifies by the washing of water, "that He may present to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing."
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise Concerning Man’s Perfection in Righteousness 20
… present yourselves holy and unblameable and unreprovable in His sight.’ In the same strain, he says to the Ephesians: ‘That He might present to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing but that it should be holy and without blemish.’
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise Concerning Man’s Perfection in Righteousness 35
… He cleanses it, therefore, now “by the laver of the water in the word,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise Against Two Letters of the Pelagians 4.2
In the praise of the saints they conceal themselves, saying “that baptism perfectly renews men, inasmuch as the apostle is a witness who testifies that, by the washing of water, the Church is made out of the heathen holy and spotless;
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise Against Two Letters of the Pelagians 4.17
… what does it profit them that—in opposition to the Manicheans, who do away with baptism—they say “that men are perfectly renewed by baptism,” and apply the apostle’s testimony for this,—“who testifies that, by the washing of water, the Church is made holy and spotless from the Gentiles,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 56.5
5. Accordingly the Church, which Christ cleanseth with the washing of water in the word, is without spot and wrinkle,
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Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on Matthew 12.12
But when we have understood how each of the sins through which there is a way to Hades is a gate of Hades, we shall apprehend that the soul, which has “spot or wrinkle or any such thing,”
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 2.21
… For then, because the works were become imperfect and mutilated from the transgression, He is said in respect to the body to be created; that by perfecting them and making them whole, He might present the Church unto the Father, as the Apostle says, ‘not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but holy and without blemish
St Basil the Great † AD 379 The Letters 265.2
… He preaches partial baptisms after the one baptism, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the Church which, through its faith in Christ, has not spot or wrinkle, or any such thing;
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 3.2
… Let my soul rejoice in the Lord: for He hath clothed me with a garment of salvation, and a robe of gladness: He hath crowned me with a garland as a bridegroom , and decked me with ornaments as a bride : that the soul of every one of you may be found not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 2.117
… that we may feed His flock with knowledge, not with the instruments of a foolish shepherd, according to the blessing, and not according to the curse pronounced against the men of former days: may He give strength and power unto his people, and Himself present to Himself
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 On Virginity 1
… And if we must extol with laudations this gift from the great God, the words of His Apostle are sufficient in its praise; they are few, but they throw into the background all extravagant laudations; he only styles as “holy and without blemish
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 On Virginity 15
… What then is the practical lesson from this? The chaste and thoughtful virgin must sever herself from any affection which can in any way impart contagion to her soul; she must keep herself pure for the Husband who has married her, “not having spot or blemish or any such thing
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Treatise Concerning the Christian Priesthood 4
… For the Church of Christ, according to St. Paul, is Christ’s Body, and he who is entrusted with its care ought to train it up to a state of healthiness, and beauty unspeakable, and to look everywhere, lest any spot or wrinkle,
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 3
… Do we not see our own servants, first scouring the table with a sponge, and cleaning the house, and then setting out the entertainment? This is what is done by the prayers, by the cry of the herald. We scour the Church, as it were, with a sponge, that all things may be set out in a pure church, that there may be “neither spot nor wrinkle.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on 2 Timothy 6
… For think not, I pray, that he means it of the Church; for there he would not have any vessels of wood or of earth, but all of gold or silver where is the body of Christ, where is that “pure virgin, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Epistle to the Hebrews 1
[4.] Since then “He hath purged our sins,” let us continue pure; and let us receive no stain, but preserve the beauty which He hath implanted in us, and His comeliness undefiled and pure, “not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Epistle to the Hebrews 14
… therefore we are “near to vanishing away,” and to destruction. Let us scrape off this old age. It is indeed no longer possible to do it by Washing, but by repentance it is possible here [in this life]. If there be in us anything old, let us cast it off; if any “wrinkle,” if any stain, if any “spot,” let us wash it away and become fair (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Epistle to the Hebrews 28
… What should we not perform? What should we not endure? I entreat you, let us conceive some desire for those blessings, let us long for that Bridegroom, let us be virgins as to the true Virginity. For the Lord seeks after the virginity of the soul. With this let us enter into Heaven, “not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing” (
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 90
… And now also do we see the words fulfilled. For the church of Christ “not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 125.20
20. I lay great emphasis on these points that I may deliver a young man who is dear to me from the itching both of the tongue and of the ears: that, since he has been born again in Christ, I may present him without spot or wrinkle
St Jerome † AD 420 Against Jovinianus 1.30
… “I will get me,” he says, “to the mountain of myrrh;” to those, that is, who have mortified their bodies; “and to the hill of frankincense,” to the crowds of pure virgins; “and I will say to my bride, thou art all fair, my love, and there is no spot in thee.” Whence too the Apostle:
Sulpicius Severus † AD 420 The Doubtful Letters of Sulpitius Severus 2.11
… For although it is not allowed to any Christian to commit sin, and it befits all without exception who are purified through the sanctification of the spiritual bath, to lead an unstained life, that they may be thoroughly identified with the Church, which is described as being “without
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 10.1
1. Let me know Thee, O Thou who knowest me; let me know Thee, as I am known. O Thou strength of my soul, enter into it, and prepare it for Thyself, that Thou mayest have and hold it without “spot or wrinkle.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Letters of St. Augustin 93.34
34. Therefore it is the same Church also which within the Lord’s net is swimming along with the bad fishes, but is in heart and in life separated from them, and departs from them, that she may be presented to her Lord a “glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Baptism, Against the Donatists 3.18
… it exists not in the bad, whether they make disturbances abroad, or are endured within the Church with lamenta tions, baptizing and being baptized. But just as those who are tolerated with groanings within the Church, although they do not belong to the same unity of the dove, and to that "glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing,"
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Baptism, Against the Donatists 4.10
17. Now, therefore, the question is, how could men of the party of the devil belong to the Church, which has no spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Baptism, Against the Donatists 5.16
… or that he no longer has lawfully what yet is in accordance with law in his possession. But the birthright rests only in a holy conversation and good life, to which all belong of whom that bride consists as her members which has no spot or wrinkle,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Baptism, Against the Donatists 5.24
35. If therefore heresy is rendered "unable to engender sons to God through Christ, because it is not the bride of Christ," neither can that crowd of evil men established within the Church, since it is also not the bride of Christ; for the bride of Christ is described as being without spot or wrinkle.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Baptism, Against the Donatists 5.27
… For if they both are themselves there, and are themselves the bride of Christ, can she then be as she is described "without spot or wrinkle,"
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Baptism, Against the Donatists 6.3
… while she is one dove, modest and chaste, a bride without spot or wrinkle,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Baptism, Against the Donatists 7.10
… Do even the unrighteous who are not changed in heart in baptism, while "they renounce the world in words and not in deeds" yet belong to the members of the Church? Let them consider whether such a Church is the actual rock, the very dove, the bride herself without spot or wrinkle.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Baptism, Against the Donatists 7.51
Chapter 51.— 99. Taking all these things, therefore, into consideration, I think that I am not rash in saying that there are some in the house of God after such a fashion as not to be themselves the very house of God, which is said to be built upon a rock, which is called the one dove, which is styled the beauteous bride without spot or wrinkle,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Correction of the Donatists 9
… righteousness, as though it were conferred upon him by himself, whereas it is said to him, "For what hast thou that thou didst not receive?" or venture to boast himself as being without sin in this world, as the Donatists themselves declared in our conference that they were members of a Church which has already neither spot nor wrinkle, nor any such thing,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise Concerning Man’s Perfection in Righteousness 35
Then shall the Church realize, fully and perfectly, the condition of “not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise Against Two Letters of the Pelagians 4.17
… Wherefore in baptism all sins are forgiven, and, by that very washing of water in the word, the Church is set forth in Christ without spot or wrinkle;
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Predestination of the Saints 2.8
… For the Pelagians dare to say even this: that the right eous man in this life has no sin at all, and that in such men there is even at the present time a Church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount 2.19
… For we shall see it with the dove’s eyes,—such eyes as are declared to belong to the spouse of Christ, whom God hath chosen for Himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Ten Homilies on the First Epistle of John 4.1
… Whence does this appear? From this: that while many hear, not all are persuaded of that which is said, but only they to whom God speaks within. Now they to whom He speaks within, are those who give place to Him: and those give place to God, who “give not place to the devil.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 9.6
… or whether man say to God, “Thou satest on the throne Who judgest equity,” giving the name of God’s throne to his soul, so that his body may peradventure be the earth, which is called God’s “footstool:” for “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself:” or whether the soul of the Church, perfect now and without spot and wrinkle,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 18.17
17. “He hath sent down from on high, and hath fetched Me ( ver. 16 ): by calling out of the Gentiles for an inheritance “a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 45.20
20. “Out of Thy garments is the smell of myrrh, amber, and cassia” ( ver. 8 ). Out of Thy garments is perceived the smell of fragrant odours. By His garments are meant His Saints, His elect, His whole Church, which he shows forth, as His garment, so to speak; His robe “without spot and wrinkle,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 51.12
… Hear also in this place one humbled, because with hyssop purged: “Thou shalt wash me,” that is, shalt cleanse me: “and above snow I shall be whitened.” “Although,” he saith, “your sins shall have been like scarlet, like snow I will whiten.” Out of such men Christ doth present to Himself a vesture without spot and wrinkle.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 147.24
… but wait, see what followeth. Since He gave them as wool, a garment is made of them. For as the Church is called the Body of Christ, so is the Church also called the garment of Christ: hence cometh that which is said by the Apostle, “that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle.”
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St Methodius † AD 311 The Banquet of the Ten Virgins; or Concerning Chastity 3.1
… for we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the Church.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 20
Ver. 28 . “Even so ought husbands to love their own wives,” saith he, “as their own bodies.”
Rufinus of Aquileia † AD 411 The Apology of Rufinus. Addressed to Apronianus, in Reply to Jerome's Letter to Pammachius 1.23
… And first of all, as to these poor weak women about whom he makes himself merry, because they say that after the resurrection they will not have their frail bodies since they will be like the angels. Let us hear what he has to say about them. In the third book of his Commentaries on the Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians, on the passage in which it is said,
St Jerome † AD 420 Jerome's Apology for Himself Against the Books of Rufinus 1.28
28. The sixth and last point which I am told that he brings against me (that is if my brother has not left anything unreported) is that, in the interpretation of the Apostle’s words,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 City of God 15.7
… and we are to understand that the husband is to rule his wife as the soul rules the flesh. And therefore, says the apostle, “He that loveth his wife, loveth himself; for no man ever yet hated his own flesh.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Reply to Faustus the Manichæan 21.7
7. For the apostle, in speaking of the love which husbands ought to have for their wives gives, as an example, the love of the soul for the body. The words are: "He that loveth his wife, loveth himself: for no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as Christ the Church."
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 2
… “Not of bloods, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man.” The apostle puts flesh for woman; because, when she was made of his rib, Adam said, “This is now bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh.” And the apostle saith, “He that loveth his wife loveth himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 49.1.6
… and so shalt thou avoid his head, and he shall not grasp thy heel. But wherefore said He this to Eve? Because through the flesh man doth slip. Our flesh is an Eve within us. “He that loveth his wife,” he saith, “loveth himself.” What meaneth “himself”? He continueth, and saith, “For no man ever yet hath hated his own flesh.”
Pseudo-Cyprian Of the Discipline and Advantage of Chastity 5
… and both of them are associated by a natural link in mutual concord, lest, by any discord arising from the separation of the members, the compact of the divine covenant should be broken. Yet he adds, and says: “Because he who loves his wife, loves himself. For no one hates his own flesh; but nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ the Church.”
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Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.18
… How much honour is given to the flesh in the name of the church! “No man,” says the apostle, “ever yet hated his own flesh” (except, of course, Marcion alone), “but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord doth the Church.”
St Basil the Great † AD 379 De Spiritu Sancto 8
18. For “through Him” comes every succour to our souls, and it is in accordance with each kind of care that an appropriate title has been devised. So when He presents to Himself the blameless soul, not having spot or wrinkle,
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 20
Ver. 29 . “For no man ever hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 15
Let us not then despise one another, lest we be neglectful of ourselves. “For no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it.” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Christian Doctrine 1.24
24. No man, then, hates himself. On this point, indeed, no question was ever raised by any sect. But neither does any man hate his own body. For the apostle says truly, “No man ever yet hated his own flesh.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Continence 19
… It is not then itself that is our enemy: and when its faults are resisted, itself is loved, because itself is cared for; “For no one ever hated his own flesh,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Continence 21
… as now, in this corruption and mortality, when as yet “the corruptible body weigheth down the soul;” and, what the Apostle saith, “the body is dead by reason of sin;” yet the same himself beareth such witness unto our flesh, that is, to our lowest and earthly part, as to say, what I made mention of a little above, “No one ever hated his own flesh.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Continence 22
… So,” saith he, “husbands also ought to love their own wives, as their own bodies. Whoso loveth his own wife, loveth himself.” Then he added, what we have already made mention of, “For no man ever hated his own flesh, but nourisheth it, and cherisheth it; as also Christ the Church.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Continence 25
… What therefore each one living after Christ doth with his flesh, whereas he both lusts against its evil lust, which he restrains, hereafter to be healed, which he holds, not yet healed; and yet nourisheth and cherisheth its good nature, since “no one ever hated his own flesh,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Patience 7
… Whence the Lord Jesus exhorting his Martyrs to patience, hath promised of the very body a future perfect entireness, without loss, I say not of any limb, but of a single hair. “Verily I say unto you,” saith He, “a hair of your head shall not perish.” That so, because, as the Apostle says, “no man ever hated his own flesh,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Care to Be Had for the Dead 9
9. And yet, by reason of that affection of the human heart, whereby “no man ever hateth his own flesh,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Care to Be Had for the Dead 22
… More diligently however doth each man these things for his own near and dear friends, in order that they may be likewise done unto him by his. But as for the burying of the body, whatever is bestowed on that, is no aid of salvation, but an office of humanity, according to that affection by which “no man ever hateth his own flesh.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Answer to the Letters of Petilian, the Donatist 2.69
… For if we seek unity by war, our war could not be praised in more glorious terms, seeing that it is written, "Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself." And again it is written, "No man ever yet hated his own flesh."
Pope St Leo I the Great † AD 461 Sermons 71
… And hence the same Apostle says in another place, “For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it
Pope St Gregory I the Great † AD 604 Register of the Epistles of St. Gregory the Great 13.1
… And indeed if any one craves to wash for luxury and pleasure, neither on any other day do we allow this to be done. But if it is for bodily need, neither on the Lord’s day do we forbid it. For it is written, No man ever hated his own flesh, but nourisheth it and cherisheth it (
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St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 5.2.3
… flesh is increased and supported, how can they affirm that the flesh is incapable of receiving the gift of God, which is life eternal, which [flesh] is nourished from the body and blood of the Lord, and is a member of Him?—even as the blessed Paul declares in his Epistle to the Ephesians, that “we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 20
Ver. 30 . “Because we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 46
[3.] Those men then at that time reaped no fruit from what was said, but we have enjoyed the benefit in the very realities. Wherefore it is necessary to understand the marvel of the Mysteries, what it is, why it was given, and what is the profit of the action. We become one Body, and “members of His flesh and of His bones.” (
Pope St Leo I the Great † AD 461 Letters 59
… For this cause a man shall leave father and mother and shall cleave to his wife, and there shall be two in one flesh
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Tertullian † AD 220 A Treatise on the Soul 11
… because the apostle also says, that “that is not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural, (or in possession of the natural soul,) and afterward that which is spiritual.” For, inasmuch as Adam straightway predicted that “great mystery of Christ and the church,”
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 3.5
… teaching the Galatians, moreover, that the two narratives of the sons of Abraham had an allegorical meaning in their course; and to the Ephesians giving an intimation that, when it was declared in the beginning that a man should leave his father and mother and become one flesh with his wife, he applied this to Christ and the church.
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.18
… “For this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother, (and shall be joined unto his wife), and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery.”
Tertullian † AD 220 On Exhortation to Chastity 5
… If, however, (it take place) a second time, or oftener, immediately (the flesh) ceases to be “one,” and there will not be “two (joined) into one flesh,” but plainly one rib (divided) into more. But when the apostle interprets, “The two shall be (joined) into one flesh”
Origen † AD 254 Origen Against Celsus 4.49
… “For it is written, For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery; but I speak concerning Christ and the Church.”
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on Matthew 14.17
But since the Apostle understands the words, “ And they twain shall be one flesh, ” of Christ and the church,
St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 The Epistles of Cyprian 48.1
… For when the Apostle Paul says, “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery; but I speak concerning Christ and the Church;”
St Methodius † AD 311 The Banquet of the Ten Virgins; or Concerning Chastity 3.8
… Whence it was that the apostle directly referred to Christ the words which had been spoken of Adam. For thus will it be most certainly agreed that the Church is formed out of His bones and flesh; and it was for this cause that the Word, leaving His Father in heaven, came down to be “joined to His wife;”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 20
Ver. 31 . “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and the twain shall become one flesh.”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 22.1
… I have forgotten my father, I am born anew in Christ. What reward do I receive for this?” The context shows—“The king shall desire thy beauty.” This, then, is the great mystery. “For this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be” not as is there said, “of one flesh,”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 123.12
… Thus divided they were subsequently joined together in marriage; in the words of scripture “the twain shall be one flesh,” not two or three. “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife.” Certainly it is not said “to his wives.” Paul in explaining the passage refers it to Christ and the church;
St Jerome † AD 420 Against Jovinianus 1.16
… We are therefore bound to traverse the same course of argument and show that chastity was always preferred to the condition of marriage. And as regards Adam and Eve we must maintain that before the fall they were virgins in Paradise: but after they sinned, and were cast out of Paradise, they were immediately married. Then we have the passage,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Reply to Faustus the Manichæan 12.8
… There is a significance in the words of the apostle when he calls Adam "the figure of Him that was to come;" and when he says, "A man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery; but I speak concerning Christ and the Church."
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Reply to Faustus the Manichæan 22.38
… The holy Church, too is in secret the spouse of the Lord Jesus Christ. For it is secretly, and in the hidden depths of the Spirit, that the soul of man is joined to the word of God, so that they two are one flesh; of which the apostle speaks as a great mystery in marriage, as referring to Christ and the Church.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 41.7
… ‘Now ye are the Body of Christ, and members in particular.’ If then the Body of Christ and His members belong to One, do not thou make two of them. For He left ‘father and mother, and clave to his wife, that two might be one flesh.’
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 79.4
… For Christ is the Head of the Body. The Head is in Heaven, the Body is on earth; the Head is the Lord, the Body His Church. But ye remember it is said, “They shall be two in one flesh.” “This is a great mystery,” says the Apostle, “but I speak in Christ and in the Church.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 11.10
… Who when they are understood amiss, God raineth snares upon sinners; but when they are understood aright, He maketh the hearts of the godly and believing fruitful. As, for instance, the passage, “and they two shall be in one flesh,”
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 Letters of the Blessed Theodoret, Bishop of Cyprus 147
… This is a great mystery; but I speak concerning Christ and the Church.”
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St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 1.8.4
… for, when writing of the conjugal union in this life, he expressed himself thus: “This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the Church.”
Tertullian † AD 220 A Treatise on the Soul 21
… What had he that was spiritual? Is it because he prophetically declared “the great mystery of Christ and the church?”
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.18
… This is a great mystery.” In passing, (I would say that) it is enough for me that the works of the Creator are great mysteries in the estimation of the apostle, although they are so vilely esteemed by the heretics. “But I am speaking,” says he, “of Christ and the Church.”
Tertullian † AD 220 On Fasting 3
Adam had received from God the law of not tasting “of the tree of recognition of good and evil,” with the doom of death to ensue upon tasting. However, even (Adam) himself at that time, reverting to the condition of a Psychic after the spiritual ecstasy in which he had prophetically interpreted that “great sacrament”
St Methodius † AD 311 The Banquet of the Ten Virgins; or Concerning Chastity 3.1
… For there is no one who will find fault with your discourse, however contentious and contradictory he may be. Yet, while everything else seems rightly spoken, one thing, my friend, distresses and troubles me, considering that that wise and most spiritual man—I mean Paul—would not vainly refer to Christ and the Church the union of the first man and woman,
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 37
… and so perhaps you think the Man is honoured; but He is born of a Virgin, and this is on the Woman’s side. They two, He says, shall be one Flesh; so let the one flesh have equal honour. And Paul legislates for chastity by His example. How, and in what way? This Sacrament is great, he says, But I speak concerning Christ and the Church.
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Concerning Widows 15
… For God took a rib from the man, and formed the woman so as to join them one to the other, and said: “They shall be one flesh.” He said this not of a second marriage but of the first, for neither did Eve take a second husband, nor does holy Church recognize a second bridegroom. “For that is a great mystery in Christ and in the Church.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 66
… Therefore also John calls Him a bridegroom, therefore Paul again saith, “For I have espoused you to one husband;” and, “This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the Church.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 20
Ver. 32 . “This is great mystery: but I speak in regard of Christ and of the Church.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Colossians 12
What? is marriage a theater? It is a mystery and a type of a mighty thing; and even if thou reverence not it, reverence that whose type it is. “This mystery,” saith he, “is great, but I speak in regard of Christ and of the Church.” (
St Jerome † AD 420 Against Jovinianus 1.16
… but after they sinned, and were cast out of Paradise, they were immediately married. Then we have the passage, “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and the twain shall become one flesh,” in explanation of which the Apostle straightway adds,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Marriage and Concupiscence 1.23
… “Of me was that word spoken in paradise before the entrance of sin: ‘A man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they two shall become one flesh.’” This the apostle applies to the case of Christ and of the Church, and calls it then “a great sacrament.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Marriage and Concupiscence 2.12
… The very same thing which the apostle says, “This is a great sacrament: but I speak concerning Christ and the Church,” was also spoken by Adam when he said, “For this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they twain shall be one flesh.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 11.10
… but when they are understood aright, He maketh the hearts of the godly and believing fruitful. As, for instance, the passage, “and they two shall be in one flesh,” if one interpret it with an eye to lust, He raineth a snare upon the sinner. But if you understand it, as he who says, “But I speak concerning Christ and the Church,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 55.3
… neither ought we to speak of ourselves as alien from Christ, of whom we are members, nor to count ourselves as if we were any other thing: because “The two shall be in one flesh.” “This is a great Sacrament,” saith the Apostle, “but I speak in regard of Christ and the Church.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 72.17
… For Christ’s coming shall make present to believers the kingdom of God. But how to understand “for Him” is difficult; except that when prayer is made for the Church, for Himself prayer is made, because she is His Body. For concerning Christ and the Church hath been sent before a great Sacrament,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 75.4
… But whether Head speaketh or whether members speak, Christ speaketh: He speaketh in the person of the Head, He speaketh in the person of the Body. But what hath been said? There shall be two in one flesh. “This is a great Sacrament:” “I,” he saith, “speak in Christ and in the Church.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 119.19
… For this also was at the beginning, “They two shall be one flesh:” which great mystery the Apostle Paul expounding, saith, “I speak concerning Christ and the Church.”
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 20
Ver. 33 . “Nevertheless do ye also severally love each one his own wife even as himself; and let the wife see that she fear her husband.”
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1. BE YE THEREFORE IMITATORS OF GOD, AS MOST BELOVED CHILDREN. — The Syrian translates: be ye therefore מתדמין metdammin, that is conformed to God. This sentence depends on the end of the preceding chapter, where he said: "Forgiving one another, as God also in Christ hath forgiven you." To which he immediately subjoins the beginning of this chapter: "Be ye therefore imitators of God;" so that, namely, as God hath forgiven you your offenses, so also you forgive to your neighbors those things in which they have sinned against you; and as God, says Jerome, maketh his sun to rise and raineth upon the good and bad, so also you pour out your goodness upon all men. He subjoins the reason and incentive, saying: "As most beloved children," as if to say: It is the part of children to imitate their parents; otherwise they will be held as degenerate and spurious; but our father, namely God, is most clement and most benign to all, and most easily forgives us our offenses: therefore also we who are his children ought to be most clement, most ready to forgive our offenses, and most beneficent toward our brothers and neighbors; whence explaining further he subjoins:
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2. AND WALK IN CHARITY, AS CHRIST ALSO HATH LOVED US. — It is a great dignity to imitate God; and "this is," says Ambrose, book I On Abraham, chapter II, "what is celebrated among the seven sayings of the wise men as something great: Follow God. Thus Abraham by his deed anticipated the sayings of the wise men, and following God went forth from his land and his kindred." Again, God in power, magnificence and other similar attributes, says Jerome, we cannot imitate: we can, however, follow and imitate Him from afar in humility, meekness and charity. Hence "Christ," says St. Augustine, sermon 10 On the Words of the Lord, "cries out: Take up my yoke upon you, and learn of Me not to fabricate the world, not to create all visible and invisible things, not to work miracles in the world itself, and to raise the dead; but because I am meek and humble of heart." St. Thomas wrote Opuscule 62 On Divine Morals, in which he beautifully teaches which morals of God and how we ought to imitate them, and which we ought not. First, he says, we ought to imitate God's immutability through constancy in adversity and prosperity; His foreknowledge, through providence regarding our last things; His equanimity, so that we be troubled by no sad occurrence; His truthfulness, sincerity, patience, clemency, charity, etc. Secondly, there are other morals of God in which He is not to be imitated, but admired; namely first, that He alone searches the secrets of hearts; secondly, that He alone knows, loves, enjoys and praises Himself perfectly; thirdly, that He alone suffices for Himself, and needs nothing external; fourthly, that from Him alone all good proceeds, and the beatitude of all consists in Him alone; fifthly, that He alone has immortality, and dwells in inaccessible light; sixthly, that He alone made something from nothing, He alone preserves all things in being; seventhly, that He alone forgives sins; eighthly, that He alone knows the day of judgment and the number of the elect. To Him alone be honor and glory forever. Amen. Finally, he says, nothing is more worthy than that man be an imitator of his Creator, and an executor according to the manner of his own capacity. AS CHRIST ALSO HATH LOVED US, AND HATH DELIVERED HIMSELF FOR US, AN OBLATION AND A SACRIFICE TO GOD FOR AN ODOUR OF SWEETNESS. — St. Cyril urges in the Council of Ephesus the "for us" against Nestorius. For citing these words of the Apostle, from them he draws the anathema 10, saying: "If anyone shall say that Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice not only for us, but also for Himself (for He needed no oblation, who knew no sin), let him be anathema." Note also the delights of Christ's love: "He hath loved us," he says, most tenderly and most efficaciously, not in word and tongue, but in deed and in truth: because from this love toward us, freely and most willingly "He delivered," not His riches or garments, not His brothers or kinsmen, not His angels, but "Himself," the whole God and man, as much as He is, so that He retained nothing of Himself, but gave and delivered Himself wholly "for us" sinners and His enemies, "for us," I say, that is, for the ransom and expiation of our sins; "an oblation," not a dry and bloodless one, as was formerly the oblation of fine flour and bread; but a bloody one, as formerly sheep and cattle were slain and offered to God; namely "a sacrifice," that is a victim, both a peace-offering and a sin-offering, and which would be at the same time a holocaust, and wholly immolated on the cross, consumed, and offered to God, as formerly through fire and smoke the whole victim burned was offered up to God, so that God might be appeased by its odor and oblation, and as it were fed, and might accept it "for an odour of sweetness," that is, for an odor most acceptable and most pleasing. From what has been said it is clear that the Apostle alludes to the ancient sacrifices both of victims, which were immolated in the manner of holocausts; and of incense, which was burned to God to appease Him on the altar of incense, which was in the Holy Place, before the Holy of Holies; so that the smoke and fragrance of the incense ascended to the Holy of Holies, and God dwelling in the Holy of Holies upon the mercy seat received that fragrance, and as it were smelled it, and thus was appeased and reconciled. Hence note secondly: "For an odour of sweetness," that is, sweet or most sweet. Leviticus I, 9, and elsewhere in Hebrew it is לריח ניחוח lereach nichoach, that is, for an odor of rest. "Odor of rest" is called a most sweet odor, by which the sense of smell is most sweetly nourished, so that in it it rests most pleasantly and peacefully. Hence the Septuagint and from them Paul translate, εἰς ὀσμὴν εὐωδίας, that is for an odor of fragrance or of good scent, as St. Jerome translated it, preface to Zechariah: for by such it is nourished, and in such most sweetly it rests, is refreshed and reconciled in its sense of smell. Further, note thirdly: God is attributed with the sense of smell in an anthropopathic manner, by which He is nourished, as it were, by the most pleasing odor of sacrifices: because these sacrifices rendered God appeased, and calmed and quieted His wrath, and thus expiated sins through faith in Christ, whom they proclaimed would be the future mediator, and whose sacrifice they foreshadowed in these sacrifices of theirs; and these sacrifices were most pleasing to God not from the work performed as such, as the sacrifice of the new law, but from the work and devotion of the one performing it. For they were acts of obedience and of the most noble worship, by which God was nourished, as it were, by the most fragrant odor. Whence the Chaldean translator renders "oblation in the odor of sweetness, or sweet fragrance" as "that the oblation may be received by God with good pleasure." Thus in Genesis, chapter VIII, 20, it is said of Noah: "He offered holocausts upon the altar, and the Lord smelled a sweet savor, and said: I will no more curse the earth for the sake of man," that is to say, The smoke and odor of this sacrifice of Noah, which ascended with the smoke, in the likeness of a sweet odor, pleased God, as if it removed the stench of the sins of men from the nostrils of God, so that being pleased by it He decreed that on account of the sins of men He would no longer bring a flood upon the earth. Whence Chrysostom thus expounds that passage, "The Lord smelled a sweet savor": Because, he says, the virtue of the just Noah made the smoke and odor of his victim to be to God an odor of fragrance. Thus Plato and Lucian introduce the gods of the Gentiles as if smelling sacrifices sweetly and rejoicing in their scent. This therefore is the meaning and mind of the Apostle, that is to say, Just as Christ loved us, so as to give Himself to be immolated for us on the cross as a victim most pleasing, most sweet and most acceptable to God: so we ought to love one another in turn, and not only forgive mutual injuries, but also expose our goods and life for the salvation of our neighbors; and just as that victim of Christ was most sweet and most pleasing to God: so also this victim of ours, by which we offer and expend ourselves and our goods for the salvation of our neighbors, will be most delightful to God, and will wipe away all the stench of our sins from the nostrils of God. For charity covereth a multitude of sins.
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3. All uncleanness. — Any obscenity and lust of touches and unclean works. "Unless certain Philosophers," says Jerome the Cynic, "who taught that every titillation of the flesh and emission of seed arising from any friction or touch was not to be avoided at certain times, and to whom also certain wise men of the world assented to this foul and obscene heresy, had existed, the holy Apostle, writing to the Ephesians, would never have joined all uncleanness with fornication." OR AVARICE. — In Greek πλεονεξία, excessive desire of having. What that is, I shall say in verse 5. NOR LET IT BE NAMED AMONG YOU (μηδὲ ὀνομαζέσθω, let it not even be named), AS BECOMETH SAINTS, — that is, Christians, who by calling, baptism and profession are, that is, ought to be, holy, that is to say, Christians ought to be so alien from all uncleanness, as being holy and consecrated to God, that not even the name of uncleanness or of any unclean work should be heard among them.
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4. OR FILTHINESS,—that is, as the Syrian [version has it], obscenity, namely of words; and thus it is distinguished from uncleanness, which pertains to deeds. OR BUFFOONERY.—In Greek εὐτραπελία, that is urbanity, which Aristotle, book IV of the Ethics, chapter VIII, and St. Augustine, and from them St. Thomas, II II, Question CLXVIII, article 2, teaches to be a virtue, which moderates and tempers serious matters and the rigour and vigour of the mind (lest namely the mind be too much occupied with serious pursuits, and thus weaken and exhaust itself and the body) through decent jests and games, bringing about namely first, that games and jests be honest; secondly, that they be decent and fitting to the person, place and time: for one kind of jest befits a layman, another a priest and monk; one at table, another in school, another in a bedroom; thirdly, that they be moderate, lest they dissolve the harmony of the mind, as Ambrose says. Whence Aristotle opposes to the virtue of urbanity, or eutrapelia, a vice by excess, βωμολογία, that is buffoonery, when namely the jest is excessive, or untimely, or indecent, namely because it is inept, or biting, or abusive, or foul, or exciting laughter and dissolution, or unbecoming, as when someone abuses the words of Holy Scripture for trifles and jesting: which is the greatest and most serious buffoonery, and has attached to it irreverence toward God and God's word: whence the Council of Trent forbids it in grave terms, session IV. By defect moreover of eutrapelia Aristotle opposes the vice ἀγροικία, that is rusticity. For those who are excessively grave and severe, and admit no jests or games, are either Catos or rustics, excessively gloomy, boorish, morose and melancholic. Against this St. Chrysostom here in the moral sense denies that among Christians eutrapelia, that is urbanity, is a virtue, and teaches in many places that it does not befit a Christian to jest, but rather to mourn and weep; thus also the Apostle here attacks eutrapelia as a vice. But they understand eutrapelia not as the moderate [virtue] already described, but as immoderate, namely βωμολογία, that is buffoonery; which Aristotle admits is also called eutrapelia by the common people addicted to excessive jests and witticisms. That this is the mind of the Apostle, and consequently of Chrysostom, is evident from the words of the Apostle following, when he says: "Which are not to the purpose," in Greek τὰ οὐκ ἀνήκοντα, that is, which are not becoming. Therefore the Apostle forbids here only indecent and unbecoming urbanity, or buffoonery. That such jocularity among Christians, which merely moves the hearers to laughter, is unbecoming, St. Jerome teaches here. "For this," he says, "is to be driven out by our saints, to whom it is more fitting to weep and mourn. In the Hebrew Gospel also we read the Lord speaking to the disciples: And never, he says, be joyful, except when you see your brother in charity." But lest this make anyone scrupulous, understand that such jocularity as aims at nothing but exciting laughter is unbecoming to Christians. For if it be directed further to another end, for example to honest recreation, joy, the stirring of the mind, the preservation of bodily health, so that namely a man becomes more cheerful, more vigorous and more apt for his duties and obedience to God, it is honest and befits Christians. Thus Paul, Anthony, Hilarion and other Hermits had their jests, but Christian ones and seasoned with wit. BUT RATHER GIVING OF THANKS,—supply, let it be named among you, who are Christian and holy, as if to say: At meals, at gatherings, in conversations, in recreations do not nourish and delight yourselves by speaking foul, foolish, buffoonish things: for this is what the Gentiles do, who do not acknowledge God and Christ; but rather speak of Christ, of Christ's grace, of your calling, and of the immense benefits exhibited to you, so that from these you may mutually stir yourselves up to giving of thanks. Hence that word, once familiar to Christians, as now to Religious, in every greeting and meeting, Thanks be to God. "For what is better," says St. Augustine, epistle 77, "both to bear in mind and to utter with the mouth and to express with the pen, than Thanks be to God? This can neither be said more briefly, nor heard more joyfully, nor understood more grandly, nor acted upon more fruitfully. Thanks be to God, who has enriched you with so faithful a heart," etc.
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5. KNOW THIS AND UNDERSTAND, THAT EVERY FORNICATOR, OR UNCLEAN PERSON, OR COVETOUS MAN, WHICH IS THE SERVING OF IDOLS, HATH NO INHERITANCE IN THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST AND OF GOD. — Note: In the Greek our Interpreter reads, ἥ ἐστιν εἰδωλολατρεία, that is, that covetousness, the vice by which the covetous man labors, and which lies hidden and is contained in him, is the serving of idols, or is idolatry. Now in Greek it is read, ὅ ἐστιν εἰδωλολάτρης, that is, he (namely the covetous man) is a servant of idols; or word for word, is an idolater. You will ask, what covetousness is here understood? First, St. Jerome here at verse 3 understands an insatiable desire not of money, but of carnal pleasures, or lusts, by which the insatiable mind runs through all kinds of obscenities, and through all modes of luxury, so that it may satisfy its desire with every lust. And the reason of St. Jerome is, because covetousness is placed here by the Apostle among lusts, as also in the preceding chapter, verse 19. And the Greek πλεονεξία is an immoderate zeal for having, usurping, occupying more than is fitting to oneself, whether in riches, or in honors, or in wives, or in delights. This is the serving of idols, because the fornicator and obscene man serves his mistress and his member, just as the merchant serves his profits, the proud man honors, the glutton his belly, as if to his idol. Adam adds that the most foul obscenities of Simon Magus and his followers are censured here, who referred their lusts to the honor of God, indeed offered them as a sacrifice to the father of all: for thus in truth they worshipped not God, who abhors lusts, but the demon, who delights in them. They worshipped the father of all as one who delights in and is worshipped through lusts, who is none other than a demon, and consequently committed idolatry. For idolatry signifies not only the worship of idols, but also of demons, and thus of any thing which is not truly God. But more plainly secondly, Chrysostom, Theophylactus, Oecumenius, Cyprian, who for "covetous" translated "defrauder," and others, indeed Jerome himself inclines to this in this verse; these, I say, properly take covetousness for the immoderate desire of riches, by which the covetous man accumulates them by fair means and foul. For covetousness is taken here in its completed act, and then it is a mortal sin, and excludes from the kingdom of God, as the Apostle says here. This is evident, because if by covetousness he understood lust, he would have said as much of fornication and uncleanness as of covetousness, that they are the serving of idols. For both the fornicator and the unclean man have their lust as their god, just as the glutton has his belly as his god. Now the Apostle says of covetousness alone, that it is the serving of idols; therefore he distinguishes covetousness from fornication, uncleanness and lust. Secondly, because in Greek πλεονεξία, and in Latin "covetousness," properly and commonly signify this desire for gold and silver, especially when it is separated from the desire for lust and other things, as it is separated here by a disjunctive conjunction. It is otherwise in the preceding chapter, verse 19; for there covetousness is joined with and characterizes uncleanness; for it says: "In the working of all uncleanness, in covetousness," that is, so that they may work all uncleanness covetously and eagerly. Thirdly, because in Colossians III, 5, distinguishing covetousness from lust and evil concupiscence, he says it is "the serving of idols"; therefore he takes covetousness properly: if there, therefore also here. For there he says the same thing in almost the same words as here. You will ask secondly: Why is covetousness before other vices called "the serving of idols," that is idolatry? I answer first, because the covetous place all hope of life and livelihood in their riches; therefore they hold them as it were in place of God. For that is God to each one, from whom he hopes for and expects life and the necessities of life. Secondly, because, just as idolaters worship golden and silver images, so the covetous worship their stamped effigies of gold and silver. Whence Theophylactus beautifully says: "What David said, Psalm CXIII, The idols of the Gentiles are silver and gold; this Paul with great wisdom inverted, saying: Silver and gold are the idols and images of the covetous." Thirdly, because this avarice is insatiable, and whereas other desires are calmed by use itself and are satisfied at least for a time—for example, the desire for gluttony is satisfied by food and drink and passes into disgust; the desire for lust is satisfied by fornication and passes into nausea and a defect of strength and spirits—avarice alone is calmed by no riches, but rather is inflamed. "For the love of money grows as much as money itself grows." And, "the more waters are drunk, the more waters are thirsted for." Whence avarice absorbs and claims for itself the whole heart and mind of a man, so that the avaricious man thinks and dreams night and day of nothing other than occupying and increasing gains, and he sacrifices his body to these and to mammon through constant labors and cares, his soul through frauds, usuries and other crimes. The avaricious man therefore, more than others addicted to gluttony or lust, is said to be an idolater, and to have his riches as his god, because he gives and expends himself entirely to them before all others. For that is god to each one which he always has in mind and turns over in his soul, to which he is wholly intent, which he has as his ultimate end, in which he fixes all his heart and love, to which he refers all his studies, thoughts and actions, to which he expends all his cares, labors and life itself. See Chrysostom here teaching at length in the moral sense that the avaricious are not by hyperbole, but truly, idolaters. "For just as," he says, "idolaters venerate idols and do not dare to touch them out of reverence: so the avaricious man venerates money as an idol and does not dare to touch it, but delights in the mere empty sight of it." The same, homily 64 on Matthew: "Just as a stone idol in temples, so the avaricious enclose gold in chests and bars, preparing a chest as a temple: then they themselves adore what they have enclosed, and prefer their eyes and soul to perish rather than their treasure." Herod the sophist calls these men Aloades, who after they had imprisoned Mars, sacrificed to him. Thus Philostratus in Herod.
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6. LET NO ONE SEDUCE YOU WITH VAIN WORDS,—let not Philosophers, let not wanton Poets seduce you, let not Simon Magus, who requires no good works, but teaches that faith alone suffices for salvation. From which the same dogma of his Luther and Calvin have borrowed. For this vain, frivolous, false and fraudulent dogma seduces men so that they loosen the reins to all lusts and vices, and thus perish and are damned. FOR BECAUSE OF THESE THINGS (namely fornication, uncleanness and avarice) THE WRATH OF GOD COMETH UPON THE CHILDREN OF DISOBEDIENCE.—"Cometh," in Greek ἔρχεται, that is "cometh" in the present tense, not in the past. It is a Hebraism. "Cometh," that is, is wont to come, "wrath," that is vengeance, which is the effect of wrath, "of God upon the children of disobedience," ἀπειθείας, that is disobedience, or "incredulity;" or, as Jerome says, unsusceptibility to persuasion, and, as St. Cyprian says, contumacy, meaning in men disobedient, incredulous, unsusceptible to persuasion, intractable, as I said in chapter II, verse 2, who when they are warned or hear that the turpitudes already mentioned are foul and unlawful, either do not believe or do not obey him who teaches and warns rightly. Whence God justly exercises His vengeance upon them, as often in this life by plague, famine, sword and a thousand afflictions; but after death He always punishes them with eternal death and fire, unless they first repent.
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7. BE YE NOT THEREFORE PARTAKERS WITH THEM.—In Greek συμμέτοχοι, that is co-partakers, meaning do not communicate and participate with their crimes already mentioned.
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8. YOU WERE FORMERLY DARKNESS, — that is, you were dark. This is a metonymy with emphasis. For just as we call a wicked person "wickedness," so here he calls the dark and darkened ones "darkness" in infidelity and ignorance, both of God and of things to be done. For you were ignorant that fornication, uncleanness, and things like these were such great and grave sins. Note: Eusebius, book VI of the Preparation, and Theodoret, On the Cure of Greek Affections, demonstrate at length how great was the blindness and perverted judgment of the Gentiles in paganism, even regarding those things which natural reason and the law of nature dictate. For, they say, the Persians joined their sisters, mothers, and daughters to themselves in unspeakable marriages; the Scythians fed on human flesh and sacrificed their own sons; the Massagetae ate their aged relatives; the Hyrcani exposed their aged to birds, the Caspians to dogs for devouring; the Lacedaemonians praised theft as an ingenious and clever thing; others allowed their wives to be polluted in adultery by guests as a sign of hospitality. How great were the crimes of the Canaanites is evident from Leviticus XVIII and Deuteronomy X and XVI. Consider how wicked are the laws of the divine Plato concerning not helping the sick, concerning lying freely, concerning killing infants, and concerning the sharing of wives. Lycurgus commands by his laws that guests be driven from the borders, that boys be prostituted with impunity, that women be exposed freely. These and more things Theodoret and Eusebius record. Rightly does St. Augustine say in Sentences, sentence 343: "Let us follow," he says, "Christ the true light, and let us not walk in darkness. But darkness to be feared is of morals, not of eyes; and if of eyes, not of external ones, but of internal ones, by which is discerned not white and black, but just and unjust." NOW YOU ARE LIGHT IN THE LORD. — That is, now that you have become Christians you are luminous: because you have been illuminated by the faith, grace and doctrine of Christ, so that you may know both the true God, three and one, and those things which are to be done, so that you may please that true God. Therefore: WALK AS CHILDREN OF LIGHT. — That is, live in such a way as it befits those to live who have obtained such great light, that is, knowledge of God and of the divine will and of things to be done. See to it that this knowledge is not idle, nor lies dormant in the soul, but flows forth into the will and works, so that the works of faith as offspring correspond to their mother. Note, that sins are called darkness: first, because those who sin hate the light and seek darkness: for they are ashamed to do such shameful things openly in the light before men, and to sin; second, because sins blind the judgment of reason. Whence Proverbs XIV, 22, it is said: "They err who work evil." For sin always arises either from error, or from some imprudence, thoughtlessness and inattention of reason and intellect: and again while it is committed, it increases the same and obscures the right dictate of prudence and conscience through the inclination to repeat the same sin, which it engenders in the mind. On the contrary, virtue and good works are called light: first, because they love light, the sight of God and men; second, because they flow from light, that is, from the dictate of faith and prudence; third, because they increase that same light; fourth, because they illuminate others, and as it were shine forth as the light of holy example before others; fifth, because they arise from God, who is the first uncreated light transcending all things, illuminating, warming, nourishing, vivifying, sustaining, and converting to himself as the sun does, as St. Dionysius says, On the Divine Names, chapter IV. See Romans XIII, 12.
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9. THE FRUIT OF LIGHT IS (that is, is situated) IN ALL GOODNESS, AND JUSTICE, AND TRUTH. — The Greeks now read corruptly, καρπὸς τοῦ πνεύματος, that is, the fruit of the spirit. For it should be read, the fruit of τοῦ φωτός, that is, of light, as Our text reads, the Syriac and the ancients in many places. For the discourse was about light, not about spirit; therefore the fruit of light, that is, of faith, prudence and Christian virtue, is situated "in all goodness," ἀγαθωσύνη, that is, benignity and beneficence, of which I spoke in Galatians V, 22: he opposes this to anger, harshness and malice; "and justice:" he opposes this to frauds; "and truth:" he opposes this to lying and hypocrisy. Thus Chrysostom, that is, by the fruits of light you will show yourselves to be children of light, if namely you have shown yourselves not angry, harsh, malicious, but benign and beneficent; not fraudulent, but just; not lying and hypocritical, but sincere and truthful.
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10. PROVING (δοκιμάζοντες, exploring, inquiring) WHAT IS WELL-PLEASING TO GOD. — Namely, this ought to be the first study of Christians, to inquire what God demands of them, in what matter he may be most pleased, how he may know and fulfill his holy will and good pleasure; this is the sum, this is the peak of Christian perfection: so that with St. Paul not only in choosing a state of life, but in any matter whatsoever, he may say: Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And with Christ: Thy will be done concerning me, in me, through me, about me, both in life and in death, both in time and in eternity.
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Vers. 11. BE NOT PARTAKERS OF THE UNFRUITFUL WORKS OF DARKNESS, — have no commerce, or do not mingle yourselves with the works of sinners and those sinning, who, like creatures of darkness, flee from the light. For these works bring forth no fruit except late and useless repentance and remorse of conscience. But rather reprove them. — as if to say: Reprove both by word and by example of pure and holy life their darkness, that is, their shameful lusts and sins.
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Vers. 12. FOR THE THINGS WHICH ARE DONE BY THEM IN SECRET, IT IS A SHAME EVEN TO SPEAK OF. — "By them," namely by the children of disobedience and darkness, of whom he treated in verses 6, 7, 11. Thus Jerome. He notes the obscenity both of the Pagans, and rather of Simon Magus and the Gnostics, concerning whom Epiphanius recounts abominable things, and cites this passage of the Apostle.
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Vers. 13. BUT ALL THINGS THAT ARE REPROVED, ARE MADE MANIFEST BY THE LIGHT. — He refers back to what he said in verse 11: "But rather reprove them," namely the lusts and vices already mentioned in verse 3. That the Apostle refers to this in verse 13 is indicated by the Greek. For they do not have τὰ πάντα καί, but τὰ καὶ πάντα, that is ταῦτα πάντα, that is "all these things," namely fornication, uncleanness, scurrility, which I have already mentioned and reproved; and, as Jerome reads it, the things which are reproved by me, are reproved and made manifest, that is, ought to be reproved and made manifest, by the light, as if to say: When I say you ought to reprove the crimes already mentioned, at the same time I admonish you that in order rightly to reprove these creatures of darkness and the darkness of the crimes already mentioned, you ought to bring forth the light of holy doctrine and life. BUT ALL THINGS THAT ARE REPROVED, ARE MADE MANIFEST BY THE LIGHT. — For light ought to make manifest the dark sins which we reprove. For just as night and the darkness of infidelity or impiety conceal and hide their own sins even from the sinners themselves: so the light of holy doctrine and life brought by the children of light, that is, Christians, exposes, reveals and makes manifest those same sins to them. Whence for what follows: "For all that is made manifest, is light," it can be translated from the Greek with the Syriac, Erasmus, Vatablus, "for all that makes manifest (the darkness of the sins already mentioned), is light"; for the Greek φανερούμενον is of the middle voice and signifies both that which makes manifest and that which is made manifest. Our translator, however, more significantly renders it, "that which is made manifest." For the Apostle proves that what is reproved ought to be made manifest by the light: because, he says, what is reproved, and by being reproved is made manifest, and by being made manifest through repentance is amended (for the word "is made manifest" signifies these things by metonymy), is light, that is, becomes luminous, and casts off the darkness of sins. Hence it rightly follows: Therefore that same thing ought to be made manifest by the light. For nothing becomes luminous and casts off darkness except it be illuminated and made manifest by light, as if to say: See therefore, O Christians, how, as children of light, you ought to walk, what great light you ought to bring, namely such light as not only uncovers the darkness of paganism and impiety, but also illuminates those same things, makes them bright, indeed transforms them into the light of Christianity. Again, lest you think your reproof and illumination will be in vain. "For all that is made manifest, is light." Whatever, namely, shall be made manifest by you children of light, shall be reproved, shall be amended, is light: that is, shall receive the light of faith and holy life, and shall become luminous; and thus you shall make the dark bright, the Pagans Christians, the obscene chaste, when they, seeing your pure and holy life and doctrine, shall abandon their errors and lusts, so that they may imitate you and your faith and holiness. Thus Theophylactus.
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14. WHEREFORE (namely, that he may make manifest and illuminate the darkness and the darknesses already mentioned) HE SAITH — Isaiah, some say, chapter LX, verse 1: "Arise, be enlightened, O Jerusalem, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee." But this saying of Paul, "Arise thou that sleepest," etc., differs greatly from that of Isaiah. Therefore, with St. Jerome, I say: this saying of Paul is not found in the Scriptures; yet it alludes to the place of Isaiah already mentioned. Whence St. Thomas says the Apostle did not take these words from any apocryphal book, nor did he utter them by the prophetic spirit, but rather as having expounded the aforesaid saying of Isaiah with certain additions of his own: "Arise, be enlightened, O Jerusalem," etc. When therefore Paul says, "he saith," that is, he crieth out, supply, the Holy Spirit, and our God, both inwardly in the soul of each sinner through holy inspirations and excitations to penance; and outwardly through me Paul (in this place and elsewhere) and other preachers, compelling each one existing in sin: "he saith," I say, and crieth out what follows: "Arise thou that sleepest," etc. ARISE THOU THAT SLEEPEST, AND ARISE FROM THE DEAD. — Thou, namely, O sinner, who sleepest in sleep, and art dead with the death of sins and vicious habit, awake from thence and arise. Note first, that the sinner, as it were in darkness, as has preceded, and walking in night, sleepeth, and sin is as it were sleep. For the sinner, as Chrysostom and Theophylactus say, is empty and destitute of honest action, nor doth he understand those things which pertain to salvation, even as one sleeping; again, he sees dreams, and imagineth pleasures and riches, which do not subsist, even as one sleeping. "They have slept," saith the Psalmist, "their sleep, and all the men of riches have found nothing in their hands." Secondly, sin is the death of the soul, and the sinner is dead; because he is destitute of all sense and vital motion of grace, and the soul itself spiritual, that is, grace, and he stinketh before God, and is of a virulent odour, saith Theophylactus, even as a dead corpse. Hence thirdly, it is plain that there is need of prevenient and exciting grace, that it may stir man from this sleep and death of the soul. For as one sleeping cannot stir himself from sleep, nor one dead from death: so neither can the sinner stir himself from sin, but must be stirred by God and God's grace. By the type and symbol of this, Christ, about to raise Lazarus the dead (who bore the likeness of a sinner), cried out to him with a mighty voice: Lazarus, come forth. This one voice ought to be that of all preachers equally as of Paul: "Arise thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead;" this one ought to be their study, not that they tickle ears, not that they gain a reputation for learning, not that they hear: How well, how eloquently did he speak! but that, as it were hammers breaking rocks and the hard hearts of men, with vehement spirit and zeal they stir sinners from the sleep and death of sin, and recall them into the light and life of grace. Morally, St. Augustine, on that passage of Psalm CXXXI, "If I shall give sleep to mine eyes": "All," he saith, "these felicities, which appear to be of the world, are dreams of those sleeping. And as he who sees treasures in dreams, sleeping is rich; but he shall awake, and shall be poor: so all these vain things of this world, in which men rejoice, they rejoice in sleep: they shall awake when they will not, if they do not now awake when it is profitable; and they shall find those dreams to have been, and to have passed, as Scripture saith: As the dream of one that awaketh. And in another place: They have slept their sleep, and all the men of riches have found nothing in their hands. He therefore, who wishes to find a place for the Lord, said also: If I shall give sleep to mine eyes. But there are some who do not sleep, but slumber: they withdraw themselves somewhat from the love of temporal things, and again turn back to it, and as it were slumbering bow their head frequently. Awake, shake off sleep, slumbering thou shalt fall. The Psalm will not give sleep to his eyes, nor slumber to his eyelids, to him who wishes to find a place for the Lord." AND CHRIST SHALL ENLIGHTEN THEE. — He alludes to one sleeping in great light: for to such an one the one who awakens him is wont to say: Arise, it is long since day, awake, behold the shining sun. In like manner Paul and any preacher stirs sinners from the sleep of sin, saying: Arise, it is the day of grace, the sun of justice Christ hath already shone forth, and all who, awakening from the sleep of sins, have opened their eyes and risen up, he hath enlightened with the light of his grace and justice: arise, awake thou also, open thine eyes, and he shall likewise enlighten thee. Thus he saith in Romans XIII, 11: "It is now the hour for us to rise from sleep. The night is passed, and the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armour of light." Note: For "illuminabit te" the Greek is ἐπιφαύσει σοι, that is "it shall shine forth, Christ shall arise for thee"; so that, as the sun to the moon, so he himself may communicate to thee his light of grace, by which thou mayest become a mirror of divine light and illuminate others, and bring forth those snatched from the darkness of sins into light, and make them bright. Hieronymus notes that for ἐπιφαύσει some read ἐφάψεταί σου ὁ Χριστός, that is "Christ shall touch thee," and thus Ambrose and Augustine read it in Psalm III. Indeed Chrysostom brings forth both this and the former reading, as if this discourse were addressed to Adam (and consequently to us, the sons of Adam, who were contained in Adam, and died when he sinned) buried on Mount Calvary, whom Christ crucified there, his blood dripping from the cross, touching him redeemed, and brought back to divine light and life. "I know," says Hieronymus, "that I have heard someone disputing about this passage in the Church: who exhibited to the people a theatrical miracle, a form never before seen, so as to please: This testimony, he said, is spoken to Adam buried in the place of Calvary, where the Lord was crucified. Which Calvary was called by that name because the head of the ancient man was buried there. At that time, therefore, when the Lord crucified hung over his tomb, this prophecy was fulfilled saying: Rise, Adam, who sleepest, and arise from the dead: and, not as we read, ἐπιφαύσει σοι ὁ Χριστός, that is Christ shall arise for thee; but ἐφάψεται, that is Christ shall touch thee: because namely by the touch of his blood and of his body hanging down he may be quickened and rise up: and then that type also may be fulfilled by the truth, whereby Elisha raised the dead by touching the dead. Whether these things be true or not, I leave to the judgment of the reader." Where note: Although Hieronymus here and elsewhere seems to censure this opinion about Adam buried on Mount Calvary and there raised by the blood of Christ, nevertheless the Fathers teach and hand down this opinion throughout. Whence St. Augustine, sermon 71 On the Seasons: "And truly, brethren," he says, "it is not unreasonably believed that the physician was raised up there, where the sick man lay, and it was fitting that where human pride had fallen, there divine mercy should bend down; and that precious blood also, even bodily, the dust of the ancient sinner, when it deigns to touch it by dripping, may be believed to have redeemed." So also Tertullian, book II of Poems against Marcion, chapter IV. Here we first received that man was buried. Here Christ suffers, the earth grows wet with pious blood, The dust of Adam so that with the blood of Christ the old, Mixed together, by the virtue of dripping water may be washed. The same teach Origen, Epiphanius, Athanasius, Cyprian, and the Fathers throughout, with one exception, Hieronymus, as I said on Matthew XXVII, 33, and it appears to be the common tradition. For this reason also painters depict beneath the cross of Christ Calvary (Adam's skull), as Albert the Great noted through Molanus, chapter LXVIII On Images. But as regards the present passage, the common and true reading is ἐπιφαύσει, that is "it shall shine forth," not ἐφάψεται, that is "Christ shall touch thee." For thus our text reads, the Syriac, and the Greek manuscripts and Greeks generally. Therefore it is plain that it should be read from what precedes: for up to this point from verse 8, he has spoken of light and illumination, not of contact. Finally it is most fittingly said to one sleeping and dead: Rise who sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall illuminate thee, so that thou mayest behold the sun of justice; but it is less rightly said: And Christ shall touch thee. Add that the Apostle does not speak of Adam, but of any sinners whatsoever; for to each sinner he cries out: "Rise who sleepest," etc.
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Verse 15. 15. SEE THEREFORE, BRETHREN (not now in darkness, but in the clear day and light of the Gospel, when there is faculty of living and seeing, placed), HOW CAREFULLY (ἀκριβῶς, that is diligently, circumspectly, accurately, knowing and thinking that you and all your things are seen and noted by all in such light) YE WALK (conduct yourselves) NOT AS UNWISE. — For they are very unwise who close their eyes to this sun of the Gospel, or do shameful things under it, as if they still lived in the night and darkness of ignorance of God. But especially unwise are they who squander this brief time granted to us to prepare for blessed eternity, nay who abuse it so as to bring eternal misery upon themselves. Whence it follows:
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Verse 16. REDEEMING THE TIME, BECAUSE THE DAYS ARE EVIL. — Anselm explains it thus, as if the Apostle said: Redeem the time and the sins of your past life by weeping and doing penance. So that the Apostle may look back to verse 8: "For you were heretofore darkness, but now light in the Lord;" whence immediately before he set forth: "See therefore, brethren, how you walk carefully, not as unwise," as being now made light in the Lord, "redeeming the time," so that that time once lost in luxury and sins, you may now recover, and spend it with so much greater diligence and fervor, as you once squandered it more carelessly and licentiously, so that you may repair and redeem that loss by this diligence and fervor: for this is properly to redeem. Yet the Apostle would more properly have said thus: Redeeming past time; but now saying only, "Redeeming the time," he seems to understand the present. For it follows: "Because the days are evil;" otherwise he would have said: Because the past days were evil; unless you take the word "are" broadly for "were and are"; for as they were evil, so even now they are evil. This exposition therefore is probable, and equally moral and pious. For it stirs up those who in infidelity, luxury and sins, or in sloth and lukewarmness had lost much time and many years, so that they may recover this loss by new fervor, by striving, and doubling and tripling their acts of abstinence, mortification, charity and other virtues, in the little life that remains to them, so that in the few years that survive until death, they may acquire by their diligence as much merit as others who have served God from childhood, and as much as they themselves would have acquired, if they had spent the earlier years fervently in faith and obedience to God. This according to the Latin version; for the Greek ἐξαγοραζόμενοι signifies not "redeeming," but "buying," and literally "buying out," of which presently. Secondly, others explain it thus: God, they say, often diminishes for sinners the time which according to the course of nature they ought to live, on account of their sins, according to that of Psalm 54:24: "Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days." For which reason, when God had prescribed to men 120 years until the flood, He took away 10 years, Genesis 6. Since therefore God is wont to diminish the time of life on account of sins, he who acts well is rightly said to redeem it, because that span of life which otherwise, if he sinned, would be taken from him by God's judgment, he as it were redeems by good works, and fills up all the days appointed to him by nature for living, and thus dies full of days like Abraham. Thirdly, St. Augustine, sermon 24 On the Words of the Apostle, asserts that he redeems time who takes it from worldly business, so that he may enjoy his quiet and be free for God: "When," he says, "someone brings a lawsuit against you, lose something so that you may be free for God, not for lawsuits: for what you lose is the price of time. For just as you give money and buy bread, so you lose something and gain something: thus lose money, so that you may buy yourself quiet, that is, time for being free for God: for this is to redeem time." Again, the same Augustine wrote on this sentence of the Apostle in homily 10, among 50, volume X, from which take these flowers: "Two things make evil days, wickedness and misery. We who are reborn endure evil days, until the penalty of mortality is ended, and the grace of supreme happiness succeeds. Let no one say: Our parents had good days, we have evil ones. This sentence of the Apostle was also recited to them. From the fact that Adam fell and was cast out of paradise, there have never been days except evil ones. Let us ask these children who are born, why they begin with weeping, they who are also able to laugh. Tears are witnesses of misery." And further down: "To redeem time is this, when someone brings a lawsuit against you, lose something, so that you may redeem the time in which you are free for God: for thus while you buy a garment, you lose money, you gain a garment. It is a Punic proverb: So that you may have quiet time, lose something. Pestilence comes before the door, and seeks a coin: give him two, and let him go. Pestilence is a wicked man, a litigant, a slanderer, a traitor. Such a one is like a bad sore on the body, which when you remove it with some part of the body, lest the poison seize the whole body and reach the soul. In a lawsuit you are overturned in your thoughts, you are irritated against your adversary: behold, you have lost time. How much better would it be to lose money and redeem time? But let not this slanderer rejoice. He who for the sake of avoiding slander has redeemed time from you, he endures evil days: you who feed on slanders, you have both evil days, and after those days you will have worse ones on the day of judgment." Fourth, St. Jerome holds that time, being given by God so that it might serve men in good works, is held as it were captive when it is consumed in evil works; and therefore it must be redeemed by good works, and as it were vindicated from captivity into freedom. "When," he says, "we consume time in good, we buy it, and make it our own, which the malice of men had sold: and thus we turn evil days into good, and make them not of the present age, but of the future." Properly therefore St. Jerome takes "to redeem" as it were to buy again that which had been sold. Thus Nazianzen says, ἐξηγοράσατο κόσμον μεγάλης τιμῆς, that is, he redeemed the world at great price: for Christ redeemed it at the price of his blood from the captivity of sin and the devil. But note: "To redeem" here is the same as "to buy"; thus we call the purchasers of taxes "redeemers of taxes." For in Greek it is ἐξαγοραζόμενοι τὸν καιρόν, that is, buying and purchasing the occasion and opportunity, or this opportune time for acting well, for acquiring heavenly gains, as if to say: Studiously buy the opportunity of making progress in the way of God and virtue, and of accumulating good works and merits: buy it, I say, at the cost of whatever things. Thus Theophylactus, for example, buy time for study, prayer, and doing good at the loss of banquets and recreations. Whence St. Augustine, homily 1 among 50: "What is it," he says, "to redeem time, except, when there is need, even at the loss of temporal comforts, to procure for oneself space of time for seeking and pursuing eternal things?" Do you wish to know how precious this time is, do you wish to know its price? Ask the damned, they know it by experience. Let one rich man, Dives Epulo, come forth from the abyss. Tell us, O Epulo, what would you give for one year, for one day, for one hour of this time? "I would give," he says, "the whole world, I would give a thousand worlds, if I had them; I would give all delights, all riches, all torments. O if there were given even a moment of coming to one's senses, of repenting, of earning pardon: I would earn that at the cost of all labors, penances, afflictions, which men have ever endured, or still endure in Purgatory or hell, even if those lasted a hundred thousand, nay a thousand million years!" Ask the souls in Purgatory. They will say: If we could return to the time of earning merit and making satisfaction, we would buy it not with gold, not with gems of the whole world, but with blood and life, nay with a thousand deaths. Ask the Blessed. They will say: O blessed mortals! O if you knew what merits, what gains of glory you could acquire with each moment of time, you would buy them at all cost and pain. O if it were permitted us to return to the time of earning merit, we would buy one hour at the cost of all racks, fires, beasts, martyrdoms, and we would wish to endure all that the Saints ever suffered until the day of judgment. O if it were permitted to return, we would spend it otherwise than we spent it: we are now among the Angels, we would exert the utmost of our power, that we might deserve to be enrolled among the Seraphim and Cherubim. O precious moment, on which eternity depends! How many moments here you lose in idleness, so many eternities of glory, which you could have acquired by laboring, suffering, converting souls, you lose, and irrevocably lose: so that, if you could repent in heaven, it would be of nothing else than of time lost, or less strenuously spent, that you would repent. Because the days are evil. — That is, because the days of this life are wretched, exposed to many hardships, dangers and temptations, which either take away, or diminish, or expose to danger the occasion of acting well, says Anselm. For thus the Hebrews call "good" what is pleasant; "evil," what is sad and miserable. Thus Christ, Matthew VI, 34, says: Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof, that is, the affliction and misery, of it. Again, days of evil, that is, uncertain, unstable, brief days are equally full of cares, distractions and snares of sin and damnation. For among the other evils, that is, miseries, of the days of this life is the uncertainty, instability and brevity of the same, equally as the trouble, cares and anguish; according to what Jacob says to Pharaoh: "The days of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years, few and evil," Genesis XLVII, 9. To which Paul alludes here, as if to say: Redeem the time for doing good and earning merit, because the days of this life and of this time are uncertain, unstable and brief, equally as troublesome and anxious; you have uncertain, unstable and brief time for procuring eternal salvation: see therefore that you spend well this moment of time, upon which your eternity depends. Thirdly, properly days are evil because they are full of infidelity and sins. "Two things make days evil," says St. Augustine in the place cited, "malice and misery. For since Adam fell and was expelled from paradise, there have never been days except evil ones." Just as when heresy or drunkenness and lust prevail (as happens in bacchanals) preachers say: O Christians, beware yourselves at this time, because the days are evil, as if to say: Redeem this time, and do not allow yourselves to be led away by the common crowd of men to gluttony and lust, lest you lose time along with your soul. So St. John says, epistle I, chapter V, verse 19: "The whole world is seated in evil;" for in Paul's time all things were full of infidelity and crimes, of infidels and criminals. These therefore, as thieves of the most precious time, the Apostle teaches are to be fled and kept away from: just as a Philosopher said with a stern face to a certain friend who wished to waste time with him in fables: "Go hence, thief of time." Let us say the same when someone who is talkative, garrulous, or similar time-waster attacks us and solicits us to his idleness and trifles: for a thief of time is so much worse and more harmful than a thief of money, as the time which he steals is more precious than money. But the Apostle especially censures here the Simonians and Gnostics, impious and impure heretics, of whom I spoke in verse 11: "Be not partakers of the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For the things that are done by them in secret, it is a shame even to speak of," as if to say: In such a calamity and malice of times, when on the one hand infamous and spurious heresies prevail, which persuade one to spend time in the delights of lust and gluttony; and on the other hand infidelity, idolatry, lusts, drunkenness, quarrels, and all crimes dominate and increase: you, O Christians, do not listen to them, and do not squander time along with your soul with them; but rather redeem it, and spend it on God and on the study of wisdom and Christian virtues, and namely at any price and at any loss redeem the time, by devoting yourselves to prayers and the praises of God, and receiving His holy inspirations, by which God inwardly illuminates your mind, strikes it, stirs it, inflames it to greater holiness, so that you may please Him more, and may tend with great strides toward perfection. Whence follows: "Therefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what is the will of God. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is luxury; but be filled with the Holy Ghost, speaking to yourselves in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual canticles, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things." Behold, this is to redeem the time, while what others give and lose in drinking bouts and luxuries, the faithful give to prayer, psalms, hymns, spiritual canticles, etc. Note first: The Greek word ἐξαγοραζόμενοι is a word of merchants, who carefully consider all goods, so that they may buy the better ones for profit, to which alone they attend, and which they prefer to all delights and feasts: with such zeal it behooves us to seek out the opportunity and goods of good works. Secondly, just as these merchants by buying goods make them their own and proper to themselves: so we as it were appropriate time to ourselves, while we take it up and spend it for our own gain of good works and merits. Time is not stable for us, says Oecumenius; for we are strangers. Buy it therefore and make it your own, namely by doing good works in this time, which in the future will glorify you. Third, the present time is called καιρός, that is, occasion and opportunity, namely for trading and increasing our gains, just as at fairs merchants have the occasion of buying and selling their goods. "Our life," says Nazianzenus in his Sentences, "is like a market, whose days when they have passed, there will be no more time for buying what you wish," so that each person should remember that this occasion must be eagerly and diligently seized and embraced by him: for it is bald at the back, having hair in front. When this occasion has passed, when these fairs, this time of your life has flowed away, you will not have even a moment for repenting, acting well, trading, and acquiring heavenly riches. So live in such a way, do such and so many things as you would wish to have done when this time has elapsed; such and so many things as you will wish and desire to have done when you stand in eternity. For what you now do and work will profit you throughout all eternity, and will bring you great wealth and glory: what you now neglect, you neglect and lose irreparably, so that throughout all eternity you cannot recover and redeem this neglect, this neglected time. The Apostle often applies to us this spur of occasion and time, Rom. XIII, 11: "And this," he says, "knowing the time, that it is now the hour for us to rise from sleep." Gal. VI, 10: "While we have time, let us work good towards all." I Cor. VII, 26 and 29, where he calls this time brief, and an urgent necessity. See the words there. The Wise Man applies the same spur, Eccles. IX, 10: "Whatever," he says, "your hand can do, do it earnestly: because neither work, nor reason, nor wisdom, nor knowledge will be in the lower regions, whither you are hastening." O how wise, how prudent is he who thinks these things, who does these things, who lives in such a way that in the hour of death he will wish he had lived so, who already does those things which when established in eternity he will rejoice to have done!
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18. AND BE NOT DRUNK WITH WINE, IN WHICH (namely in wine, or in which, namely to be drunk, that is to say in drunkenness) IS LUXURY. — Note: For "luxury" in Greek is ἀσωτία, that is, luxury, wantonness, such as belongs to those who drink continually and feast, so that they are almost always intoxicated. For these wallow in all ἀσωτία, that is gluttony, filthiness, impurity and sordidness. "I would not wish," says Cicero, in book II of On Ends, "to imagine for myself asotoi who vomit on the table, and are carried away from banquets, and afterwards gorge themselves again while still undigested." Thus in Latin "luxury," as our translator renders it, signifies not only the venereal act, but also this luxury, says Erasmus. Second, however, ἀσωτία, with Theophylactus and others, can be taken for luxury and lust. For the belly seething with wine foams over into lust, as it were into ἀσωτία. In this sense Martial thus plays in Sota, book IV, epigram 9: Sota, the wife of the abandoned Clinician, you follow Clitus the adulterer. And you give gifts, and you love, ἥκις ἀσωτία. For Sota means "frugal": yet Labulla was asota, that is prodigal, lost, lustful, abandoning her husband and following an adulterer. Clement of Alexandria, book II of the Paedagogus, chapter 1 and 11, wishes ἀσώτους to be said as if ἀσώστους, that is deprived of salvation, because they lose and squander both riches and the health of body and soul. Truly St. Jerome in chapter I to Titus, verse 7: "Wherever," he says, "there is satiety and drunkenness, there lust rules: look at the belly, and the genitals, what is the order of the members, such also is the order of vices. I will never consider a drunkard chaste, who even if he has fallen asleep stupefied by wine, could still have sinned through wine. Let anyone say what he wishes, I speak my conscience. I know that abstinence has both harmed me when neglected, and benefited me when resumed." The same Jerome, epistle 83 to Oceanus: "Violence," he says, "belongs to buffoons and feasters, and the belly seething with wine quickly foams over into lusts." And below: "Noah by a single hour of drunkenness bares his thighs, which he had covered by sobriety for six hundred years. Lot through intoxication unknowingly mixes incest in lust, and he whom Sodom did not conquer, wines conquered." Hence Plato, book II of the Laws, near the end, thus ordains concerning wine: "In a city neither slave nor maidservant should ever taste wine, nor even the magistrates themselves in that year in which they hold office: neither governors nor judges, while they exercise their office, should taste wine in any way." Certainly that saying of Heraclitus is most true: "A dry soul is wisest." Which Galen beautifully explains and demonstrates in the book entitled: That the Temperament of the Body Corresponds to the Character of the Soul. And Clement of Alexandria, book II of the Paedagogus: "Brightness is," he says, "a dry soul, wisest and clear-sighted, nor is it moistened by the breath of wine thickening like a mist." The same in book VII of the Stromata: "Wine," he says, "and the fattening of meats, indeed bring strength to the body, but render the soul languid." For, as St. Ephrem says, in the tract On the Fear of God, at the beginning of volume III: "He who delicately nourishes the flesh of his body, feeds evil desires." BUT BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY GHOST, — that is to say, strive not to be filled with wine, but to be filled with the grace of the Holy Ghost. He adds the manner and way, saying:
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Verse 19. SPEAKING TO YOURSELVES (namely when you come together, either in the temple for prayer and the agape, or in a house for table and food) IN PSALMS, AND HYMNS, AND SPIRITUAL CANTICLES, SINGING AND MAKING MELODY IN YOUR HEARTS TO THE LORD. — St. Jerome thus distinguishes hymns from psalms and canticles: "Hymns," he says, "are those which proclaim the strength and majesty of God, and always marvel at either His benefits or His deeds: which all psalms contain, to which Alleluia is either prefixed or appended. But psalms properly pertain to the ethical place, so that through the instrument of the body we may know what is to be done and what is to be avoided. But he who disputes concerning higher things, and as a subtle disputer has set forth the harmony of the world and the order and concord of all creatures, he sings a spiritual canticle." Again, in the Ecclesiastical office it is easy now to distinguish hymns from psalms and canticles. Note first: The Apostle teaches here what the agape, table and banquets of Christians ought to be, namely not such that they overwhelm the body and mind with meats and wine; but that they delight, nourish and fill one another with spirit and spiritual and holy conversations and hymns, especially concerning Christ and the benefits of Christ, and thus they strive for inebriation, not of the body, but of the spirit. Again, that they refresh themselves with songs not wanton but pious and sacred, and praise God. For the mind is wont to be stirred up in banquets, to become cheerful, and to dissolve into jests and songs. Hence Zeno, when asked why, although by nature he was a slave and by sect a Stoic, he nevertheless became cheerful at a banquet, answered: Even lupine, although by its own nature bitter, nevertheless becomes sweet when soaked in water: thus it is natural that when the body is moistened with food and drink, sadness is dispelled. Laertius is witness, book VII, chapter I. Whence note secondly, that the ancient Hebrews were accustomed to employ music in banquets for common recreation. "Wine," says Ecclesiasticus, chapter XL, verse 20, "and music (behold he joins music with wine, namely in banquets and symposia) gladden the heart, and above both is the love of wisdom." And chapter XLIX, verse 2: "In every mouth his (Josiah's) memory shall be sweet as honey, and as music in the banquet of wine." The same thing more beautifully, chapter XXXII, verse 7: "A carbuncle gem in the ornament of gold, and the comparison (that is the composition and harmony: for this is the Greek σύγκριμα) of musicians in the banquet of wine. As in the working of gold the sign is an emerald, so the number (that is the melodious number of musicians) in pleasant and moderate wine," as if to say: As a golden ring is adorned with a stone and carbuncle, or a sign, in Greek σφραγίς, that is a seal, from emerald: so a banquet is adorned with music. David testifies the same, Psalm LXVIII, verse 13: "They that sat in the gate spoke against me (that is the judges and elders of the people, who were wont to sit in the gates for the sake of exercising public judgments), and they that drank wine made me their song," as if to say: Throughout their symposia they assailed me with their insulting songs. But Isaiah teaches it more clearly, chapter V, verse 12: "The harp and the lyre, and the timbrel, and the pipe, and wine in your banquets." Following this custom of his people, Christ after the last paschal supper, proceeding to his passion on the Mount of Olives, sang a hymn with the Apostles to God, Mark chapter XIV, verse 26. Hence thirdly, the Apostles, imitating Christ, as is evident from this passage of Paul, and the first Christians in their love-feasts and banquets employed music and songs, not wanton or profane, but sacred, namely hymns in praise of God. Witness is Cyprian, in his epistle to Donatus: "And since, he says, now there is leisure and free time, whatever remains of the day as the sun is already inclining toward evening, let us spend this day joyfully, nor let even the hour of the banquet be without heavenly grace: let the banquet resound with sober psalms, as your tenacious memory serves you, your hoarse voice, undertake this duty according to custom; rather he exhorts even farmers, craftsmen, sailors, weavers and weaving women to sing psalms and other pious songs. 'Since, he says, this kind of pleasure is very much akin and familiar to our soul, lest demons introducing wanton and harlot songs overturn all things; God constructed psalms, so that from the very thing both pleasure and utility might be obtained.' And after much concerning the utility of singing he adds: 'I say this, not only that you may praise, but that you may teach your sons and wives to sing such songs, not only while weaving or doing other work, but especially at table. For when the devil most often lies in wait for banquets, using the aid of drunkenness and gluttony, immoderate laughter and relaxed spirit, then especially it is fitting, both before and at table, to fortify oneself with the protection of psalms, and rising together with wife and children from the banquet to sing sacred hymns to God.' SINGING AND MAKING MELODY IN YOUR HEARTS TO THE LORD,—that is to say, let these spiritual songs, these psalms proceed not from the lips alone, but from the depths of the heart. The Apostle therefore exhorts Christians to spiritual joy and exultation, so that always joyful and exulting in their vocation and Christianity they may rejoice, give thanks to God, and serve Him in joy and love, and stir others to the same joy, love and thanksgiving. For these are the marks of the Holy Spirit dwelling in the heart, whom He breathes into with His joys. Blessed are those who enjoy Him, and who stir up and increase Him. To them nothing is difficult, nothing sad befalls, but with joyful spirit, cheerful and great, they overcome and transcend all difficult and sad things. St. Augustine expressed these words of the Apostle with elegant verse through antitheses, when he says: Not voice, but vow; not musical string, but heart; Not singing, but loving, sings in the ear of God. 'Let those hear, says St. Jerome, to whom the office of singing in church belongs, that they must sing to God not with voice, but with heart; nor in the manner of tragedians must the throat and jaws be anointed with sweet unguent, so that theatrical modulations and songs are heard in church, but in fear, in work, in knowledge of the Scriptures.'"
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20. GIVING THANKS ALWAYS FOR ALL THINGS, — for the graces, gifts and benefits received from God. "Whatever wisdom, whatever virtue you trust yourself to have, ascribe to the virtue of God and the wisdom of God in Christ," says St. Bernard, sermon 13 in the Canticles. See what I said concerning the giving of thanks in 1 Thessalonians v, 17. Also most beautifully St. Jerome here: "It is the proper virtue of Christians," he says, "even in those things which they think adverse, to give thanks to the Creator: for in the benefits of God which happen to us, to rejoice, this both the Gentile and the Jew do. But according to the Apostle this virtue is greatest, that in the very dangers and miseries themselves thanks should be given to God, and we should always say Blessed be God; I know not how to bear lesser things than I deserve; these are small compared to my sins, nothing worthy is rendered to me. This is the mind of a Christian, this is he who takes up his cross and follows the Saviour, whom neither bereavement nor losses weaken, whom, as Flaccus says: If the broken world should fall upon him, the ruins will strike him unafraid." IN THE NAME OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, — through the name of Jesus Christ, that is, through Christ, who promises and obtained these gifts, graces and benefits for us. It is a metonymy. For "name" is put for the thing signified by the name. Thus often elsewhere we are commanded to invoke the name of the Lord, that is, the Lord signified by His name. TO GOD AND THE FATHER. — It refers to "giving thanks." For He commands that we give thanks "to God and the Father," that is, as the Syriac has it, to God the Father. Yet He says "to God and the Father," so that He might indicate two titles by which we are bound to the giving of thanks to God. The first is, that He is our God, from whom we have received body, soul, grace and all good things. The second, that He is Father, who with paternal affection feeds and inebriates us as it were His own sons with all His goods. Hence it is that the royal Psalmist so often invites all to the praise and thanksgiving of God: hence so often he sings and resings Alleluia, that is, praise God. For this is the heavenly song and jubilation of the Blessed. Thus St. John, Apocalypse chapter xix, verses 1, 3, 4, 6, heard the twenty-four elders and all the Saints in heaven repeatedly resounding Alleluia. Hence the Church at Paschal time continually jubilates Alleluia. Once also, as St. Jerome testifies, virgins and monks were called by this voice Alleluia at night to prayers and to the praise of God in the temple. Francis Alvarez in the Ethiopian Legation, chapter xli, relates concerning the territory of Torreta a monastery of Religious men visited, called Alleluia from this event. An ascetic had lived in the vicinity, constantly occupied with vigils, fastings and prayers: he had often heard from blessed minds in heaven the word Alleluia repeated in the sweetest harmony: and when that voice was reported to the prefect of the monastery, it became the reason for him to name the monastery then being begun with this name, so that Alleluia should be said. This voice Alleluia, as it were breathed from heaven, once animated the athletes of Christ to martyrdoms and the most bitter torments to be endured with joy. Read the acts of the Saints Felix, Fortunatus and Achilleus, martyrs, April 23. Finally in the public and most grievous plague which happened at Rome in the year 591, when St. Gregory the Pontiff instituted a public supplication to allay it, and carried about the image of the Blessed Virgin with a litany, an angel from heaven singing to her, Queen of heaven, rejoice, Alleluia, the plague was entirely stopped: and another angel was seen with a drawn sword vibrating against men, putting it back into its sheath: he was seen, I say, in the mole of Hadrian, which from then on was called the castle of St. Angel, as Sigonius relates, book I On the Kingdom of Italy; St. Antoninus, IV part., vol. XV, chapter xxiv, § 2; Peter Canisius, book V Marialis, chapter xxii.
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21. Subject to one another in the fear of Christ. — This is a new ethical doctrine. For the Apostle, as I have said elsewhere, delivers precepts concerning morals and Christian life through sentences in the manner of the ancients, not connected but separate. Note: This sentence, being indefinite, must be understood as accommodated to individual persons, namely, that those who are subject are not those who are superior, but those who are inferior, whose duty it is to obey. In like manner the word "one another" must be understood; for he does not wish that each be reciprocally subject to another: for thus parents would be subject to children, and kings to the people reciprocally. But "one another," that is, as the Syriac translator renders it, one to another; one, namely the inferior, is subject to another, namely the Superior. For, as Jerome teaches, the Apostle here sets forth a general principle of Christian polity, namely obedience, that is, that they be subject and obedient to each of their Superiors; and he explains this in what follows through species and parts, when he commands that women be subject to men, children to parents, servants to masters. Note: What he adds, "in the fear of Christ," signifies that we ought to be subject to our Superiors, not from fear of punishment or of men, but from fear of Christ: because namely we revere Christ and fear to offend him, as if to say, From filial fear, that is from love of Christ, obey your Superiors, who are vicars of Christ: so that, when you obey them, you may fix your eyes upon Christ, and think that you are obeying Christ; when you hear them, see them, think that you are hearing, seeing Christ; and thus do the commanded work, not because this man commanded it, but because Christ through this man as his vicar speaking and commanding commanded it. Thus it will come to pass that you exhibit reverence and obedience not so much to the man who is Superior as to Christ in the man who is Superior.
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22. WIVES BE SUBJECT TO THEIR HUSBANDS AS TO THE LORD, — that is, as some expound it, wives obey their husbands as their masters. For thus Sarah calls her husband Abraham "lord," Genesis xviii, 12: "My lord," she says, "(my husband Abraham) is old." But it should have been said thus: As to lords; but now the Apostle says: "As to the Lord." Add that in the Greek there is the demonstrative article τῷ Κυρίῳ, as if to show the common Lord of all of us, as the Syriac translator renders it. "As to the Lord" therefore, that is, as to Christ. Thus the Greeks. For he explains what he said in the preceding verse: "Subject to one another in the fear of Christ." Namely, that on account of Christ and from fear and reverence and love of Christ, wives be subject to their husbands, as to Christ himself, whose place and person the husbands represent. Thus also Aristotle, in book I of the Economics, chapter iv, and in book II, chapters i, ii and iii, gives these precepts to the wife and matron of the household. First, "A woman ought entirely to put aside her own will, so as to obey her husband; and let the husband be to her in place of heart, eyes and tongue: let her smile at the smiling, sympathize with the sad, not in the manner of a flatterer or chameleon, but as a companion and half of his body, and one spirit with him." Second, "A woman should never be idle from work, nor her fingers from the distaff, or spinning or weaving; nor should she allow an idle company of maidservants and daughters; for this pertains to increasing the household property, and draws the mind away from adulteries and venereal matters; which easily insinuate themselves into the idle." Third, "She should permit no one to enter the house without the husband's permission. She should not disclose the secrets of the house." Fourth, "She should instruct sons and daughters, nor permit them to wander, or to go far from her side: she should forbid all immodest words and songs to others, nor should she sing them." Fifth, "She should not meddle in the affairs of the state." Sixth, "She should not be loud-mouthed with servants or neighbors; not curious, not slanderous, not stubborn toward her husband; not given to wine or gluttony, not slovenly, not excessively adorned: for then she is a fine spectacle to others, but a misery to her husband." A wife therefore should not be clamorous to her husband, but subject and harmonious like Echo, so that this riddle may adorn her: "A maiden most modest, I well keep the law of modesty. I am not forward of speech, nor rash of tongue; I do not wish to speak of my own accord, but I give answers to the one who speaks."
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23. HE HIMSELF (Christ) THE SAVIOR OF HIS BODY. — Note "his," that is, his own. This is a Hebraism: for the Hebrews have the same absolute and reciprocal pronoun. The Greek and Syriac do not have "his," but only "of the body." For the body of Christ, that is the Church, is called "body" by antonomasia, as if to say, Christ gives salvation to his body, that is to the Church, just as the head, which contains all the senses, gives salvation to the body, flowing into it and directing it through sight, imagination and reason. Thus Theophylactus.
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25 and 26. CHRIST LOVED THE CHURCH, AND DELIVERED HIMSELF UP FOR IT, THAT HE MIGHT SANCTIFY IT, CLEANSING (it) BY THE WASHING OF WATER (by the sacrament of Baptism, by which the body is washed by water, the soul by the grace of the Holy Spirit) IN THE WORD OF LIFE, — that is, through the sacred and life-giving form of the words of baptism, not deprecatory or hortatory, but consecrating and sacramental; namely this: "I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," which, as an instrument of God, sanctifies and vivifies the soul. Thus Chrysostom, Theodoret, Ambrose, Anselm, and St. Thomas. Wherefore Beza, Vatablus, and the Novatians wrongly understand the word of the Gospel, which promises free justification and spiritual life through Christ, and, if you believe in it, they say, it will confer that upon you by this very fact. For the Apostle here attributes to the washing of water and the word of life, that is, to the matter and form of baptism, that which sanctifies and cleanses the Church, that is, makes it clean and holy from being unclean and sinful: but the washing of water and the very ablution of baptism does not sanctify or cleanse the Church by preaching to it and promising holiness and cleanliness in its sermon, but by actually conferring holiness and cleanliness to the Church from the work worked: therefore neither does the word of life, or the form of baptism, sanctify and cleanse by preaching, but by actually conferring holiness and cleanliness from the work worked. For the Apostle attributes this sanctification to the word of life and to the washing of water equally and in the same manner. Secondly, according to the Novatians, faith alone is that which justifies; baptism, however, works nothing of justice, but is only a sign of justice accepted through faith, and seals it as with a seal; but if before baptism through faith the Church is sanctified and justified: therefore it is false that baptism sanctifies and cleanses it; which nevertheless the Apostle says here. Thirdly, "the word of life," or the form of baptism, is no other (as is evident both from Matt. xxviii, 19, and from the tradition and practice of the whole Church) than this: "I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost;" but these words are not hortatory: for thus it would have to be said: I exhort thee that thou shouldst wish to be baptized, that thou shouldst wish to believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; but they are practical and operative: for they signify, I baptize thee in thy body with water, and through this in thy soul and wash thee from sins: if this is what they signify, therefore they also do and accomplish the same thing; otherwise these words would be false, and the form of baptism would be a lie. Fourthly, in infants this is most clear. For they are justified not by the word of the Gospel and preaching, inasmuch as they do not understand it, but by the consecrating form of baptism. You will say: St. Jerome here understands by "word" the "word of doctrine." I answer that this sense is tropological, as Jerome himself admits. You will say secondly: St. Augustine, tract. 80 in John: "The word, he says, comes to the element, and the Sacrament is made: whence comes this great power of water, that it touches the body and washes the heart, unless the word makes it, not because it is said, but because it is believed?" therefore he understands that in the Sacraments there is a hortatory word which stirs up faith, and is believed by faith. I answer: This passage is in our favor. For Augustine does not say: The word comes to the element, and a sermon is made; but, "the Sacrament is made," that is, a sacred sign, signifying and effecting that which it signifies, for example, the washing of the soul in baptism. For those words clearly signify this: "Whence comes this great power of water, that it touches the body and washes the heart, unless the word makes it?" For it is not the hortatory word, but the sacramental word, that makes the water of baptism wash the heart, that is, the soul. What therefore Augustine adds: "Not because it is said, but because it is believed," amounts to the same as if he said: The word coming to the element, that is, the Sacrament, for example, of baptism, works and washes the soul, "not because it is said," that is, not because it is pronounced, not on account of the external sound of words, as magical incantations do and work; "but because it is believed," that is, on account of the sense and energetic, efficacious and operative signification of the words, which is not perceived by the eyes, but is believed and comprehended by faith by the Church and Christians. Note: "In the word of life," that is, in the vital, life-giving word, which confers life, that is, spirit and grace, upon the soul. The Greek texts and the Greeks do not have the phrase "word of life," nor Jerome, nor Ambrose.
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Vers. 27. THAT HE MIGHT PRESENT (in Greek παραστήσῃ, that is, as the Syriac [version has it], he might set up, raise up, place, and by placing might as it were join and unite as a bride) TO HIMSELF (not only clean and pure, but also) GLORIOUS (in Greek ἔνδοξον, illustrious with much beauty and glory) the Church, not having a spot (of sin), OR A WRINKLE (of old age), OR ANYTHING OF THIS KIND, BUT THAT IT MIGHT BE HOLY AND IMMACULATE, — that is to say, Christ renewed, sanctified, and illustrated the Church, that is the faithful, by His spirit and grace, and took away from them the spots of sins and the wrinkles of old age. You will say: If in the Church there is no spot nor wrinkle, but the whole Church is holy, therefore only the holy and just are in the Church; the unjust, however, although they are faithful and believe in Christ, are excluded from it. I answer, the Church is said to be "holy," without spot and wrinkle, not because all who are in it are such; but because the principal part of the Church, which adheres most closely to Christ, namely the Saints, who are endowed not only with faith, but also with the grace and charity of Christ, are such. Therefore the whole Church is said to be "holy," first, because the head of the Church, namely Christ, and its principal members are holy. Hence sometimes only the Saints are called the body of Christ (which is the Church), understand the most perfect and principal [part], as I said in the preceding chapter, verse 16. Just as therefore the whole man is said to reason, to see, to hear, namely through the head, because not the foot or hand, but only the head properly reasons, sees, hears: so the whole Church is said to be holy through its head and neck, that is through Christ and the Saints, who adhere to it as the neck to its head. Thus it is said of Antwerp, that it is rich, namely on account of the merchants who are rich in it, although otherwise many others in it are poor. Thus the learned University of Louvain is said to be learned, because it has Doctors who are eminently learned, even if many others in it are not so learned. Secondly, the Church is said to be "holy," because it has holy Sacraments, holy laws, the holy blood of Christ; and Christ, as far as it depends on His part, has plainly sanctified it, because He gave it all the means of sanctity. Note: By "spot and wrinkle" he alludes to husbands, who take care to marry such women, or to make their wives, so that they lack every spot and wrinkle: but by spot and wrinkle the Apostle here understands sins, not light and venial ones (for these are in the Church and in the Saints in this life), but mortal ones. Add, just as the Church, so also the purity and sanctity of the Church is begun in this life, but will be perfected in heaven. Whence St. Augustine, in book II of the Retractations, chapter xviii, teaches that the Church is without every spot and wrinkle, not because it is such in this life, but because it will be such in heaven. Note secondly: The Apostle compares the husband to Christ, the wife to the Church, and teaches that the love and other things which Christ has bestowed on the Church ought to be bestowed by the husband on his wife; and consequently, just as Christ has cleansed and sanctified the Church, so husbands ought by their holy conversation to cleanse their wives from all levity, talkativeness, pride and other vices of women, so that they may become wholly holy, not having a spot and wrinkle. Whence the Apostle adds: "Thus (namely as Christ has loved the Church, as I have already said) husbands also ought to love their wives."
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28. HUSBANDS OUGHT TO LOVE THEIR WIVES AS THEIR OWN BODIES. — The second reason by which he stirs up husbands to love their wives. No one, he says, hates, but loves, nourishes and cherishes his own body and flesh, and thus himself; but a woman is as it were the flesh and body of her husband; for it is written in Genesis ii, 24: "They shall be two in one flesh," that is two, namely husband and wife, shall be one flesh, that is one man, and one civil person, as I said in I Corinthians vi. Therefore a husband ought to love, nourish and cherish his wife, "as Christ" loves, nourishes and cherishes by His grace and Sacraments, especially the Eucharist, "His Church," as it were his flesh and body.
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29. For no one ever hated his own flesh. — A wife is the flesh of her husband, just as the Church is the flesh and body of Christ. For it is written: "They shall be two in one flesh." St. Bernard prudently [says] in [his commentary on] Psalm "Who dwelleth," sermon 10: "Moreover, let the soul love the flesh in such a way that it does not think that it itself has passed into flesh, and let it be said to it by the Lord: My spirit shall not remain in man, because he is flesh. Let the soul love its own flesh, but much more let it preserve its own soul: let Adam love his Eve, but not so love her that he obey her voice more than the divine. Finally, it is not even expedient for them themselves to be loved in such a way that, namely, while you guard them from the scourge of paternal correction, you treasure up for them the wrath of eternal damnation."
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30. BECAUSE WE ARE MEMBERS OF HIS BODY, OF HIS FLESH, AND OF HIS BONES. — Here he proves that the Church, that is, we the faithful, are the body, or of the body of Christ, and in like manner the wife is the body, or of the body of the husband: because just as a woman, namely Eve, was formed from the flesh and bones of Adam, so the Church was formed from the flesh and bones of Christ; and consequently is as it were the flesh, bones and members of Christ. Whence he infers: Just as Christ loves His Church, as it were His own bones, flesh and members, so husbands ought to love and cherish their wives as their own bones, flesh and members. Note: The Apostle alludes to, indeed cites those words of Adam concerning Eve formed from his side and rib, Genesis cap. ii: "This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman," in Hebrew אישה issa from איש is, that is to say, Woman, as the ancient Latins once said, according to the testimony of Festus Pompeius: woman, I say, from man, as the Greek Symmachus translated it ἀνδρὶς ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀνδρός, because she was taken from man. Which words in an allegorical sense the Apostle here explains concerning Christ and the Church, as if Christ concerning the Church formed from himself had said: "This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh." It is asked here first, concerning the literal sense how those things which are narrated in Genesis ii concerning this formation of Eve from Adam are to be understood, by these words: "The Lord, it says, cast a deep sleep upon Adam, and when he was fast asleep, he took one of his ribs, and filled up flesh for it; and the Lord God built the rib which he took from Adam into a woman, and brought her to Adam, and Adam said: This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh," etc. I answer first, that these things are not said parabolically or metaphorically, as Origen and Cajetan wish, but are to be taken properly, as the words sound. Thus the Fathers and Interpreters everywhere. You will say, therefore Adam was monstrous before the rib was taken away, or certainly after it was taken away he remained maimed, and mutilated by one rib. Catharinus responds that God restored another rib to Adam along with flesh. Second, and better, St. Thomas, I part., Question xcii, art. 3, responds that that rib was in the manner of seed which is superfluous to an individual, but is necessary for the generation of offspring. So also this rib of Adam as a private person was superfluous; yet it was necessary to him, inasmuch as he himself was the head of nature, and the seed-bed of all men, from whom both Eve and the other men were to be produced. I say second: God appears to have taken away with the rib also the flesh adhering to the rib from Adam: for he says here verse 23: "This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh." Therefore Eve was formed not only from the bone and rib, but also from the flesh of Adam adhering to the rib. I say third: From this fleshy rib, as it were a foundation, by mixing another matter with it, either by creation, as St. Thomas above wishes, or rather from the surrounding air (because after the first true creation God produced no part of matter anew) by a wonderful artifice he formed the woman. I say fourth: From verse 22, cap. ii of Genesis, it appears that God took this rib to another place somewhat separated from the sleeping Adam, and there built Eve from it, and filled her with knowledge and grace, just as he had filled Adam, and there spoke with Eve. Then, Adam being awakened, he brought Eve to him as it were to a spouse, so that he might join them, that is, one and one, in an indissoluble marriage. Whence Adam, marveling, as if he had seen the rib taken from him and Eve formed from it, says: "This now is bone of my bones," etc., that is, this Eve has been made from one of my bones. Finally, why Eve was made from the rib and side of Adam, St. Thomas above, art. 2 and 3, gives beautiful reasons. Note: This formation of Eve from Adam signified allegorically the formation of the Church from Christ, as the Apostle here sufficiently indicates. Whence it is asked second, how it is true that the Church, that is, we the faithful, have been formed from the flesh and bones of Christ? St. Jerome and Irenaeus, lib. V, cap. ii, answer first, that this is true because we are of the same nature with Christ, because we have similar human flesh and bones with Christ. This sense does not fully satisfy. For thus in like manner we could say that we have been formed from the flesh and bones of Moses, Jeremiah, Pharaoh and any other man, because we have the same human flesh and bones with him, which however no one would grant. Second, others thus expound it, that is to say, "from flesh," that is from the infirmity and sufferings; "from bones," that is from the divinity of Christ through the communication of grace we participate. But this is mystical. I say thirdly, with Cajetan and others: Just as Eve was formed from the side and rib of Adam sleeping, so the Church was formed from the flesh and bones of Christ immolated and sleeping on the cross, that is, dying. Understand this with Cyril and Chrysostom symbolically and meritoriously, namely because through the price and merit of the flesh, blood and bones of Christ immolated on the cross the Church was instituted and sanctified. Whence in symbol and signification of this matter, blood and water flowed from the side of the dead Christ: so that water might signify baptism, which is the beginning of the Church and the Sacraments, flowing from Christ's blood and death, and drawing its efficacy from it; blood signified the Eucharist, which is the completion and end of all sacraments, likewise flowing from Christ's blood and death. Under these two all the other sacraments are comprehended: for all the others are referred to these two, and are concluded by these two as it were by beginning and end. Hence St. Augustine, tract. 120 in John, says that all sacraments flowed forth from the side of Christ: which I understand not of merit (for Christ was already dead, who could do or merit nothing), but of mystery, symbol and signification, as I said. Hence fourthly, Irenaeus, lib. V, cap. ii; Cyril, lib. X, in cap. xxiii of John; Chrysostom, Theophylactus and Nyssenus expound concerning the Eucharist, through which we are truly joined to Christ's flesh and bones, and as it were incorporated, so that we become of the flesh and bones of Christ, and members of Christ. Note here the words of Nyssenus in his treatise on those words, "Blood and water came forth": "A few drops," he says, "of Christ's blood restoring the whole world, become to men as it were a curdling of milk, forcing and joining them into one." Because namely through the merit of Christ's blood we are forced and joined into one Church, which is the body of Christ, just as milk through rennet is curdled and joined into one cheese. Secondly and rather, because through the Eucharist we are all truly joined in the very body of Christ which we eat. This sense is symbolic: for the Eucharist properly is the food of the Church, not the mother; whence it does not form or generate the Church and the faithful, but feeds and nourishes them. The third sense therefore is the literal and genuine sense.
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31. FOR THIS CAUSE SHALL A MAN LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER, AND SHALL CLEAVE TO HIS WIFE; AND THEY SHALL BE TWO IN ONE FLESH. — The Apostle continues to cite the words of Adam concerning Eve, Gen. ii, but in the literal sense. For from the allegorical sense of the preceding sentence, "This now is bone of my bones," etc., as I said there, he returns here and springs back to the literal sense, to prove that men ought to love their wives, as Christ loved the Church: Because, he says, a wife is as it were bone, flesh and member of the man, inasmuch as she was formed from him. Whence he adds: "For this cause," namely because the woman was flesh of the flesh of the man, and bone produced and created from his bones, so that she might be joined to him by the bond of matrimony, "shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave (in Greek προσκολληθήσεται, that is, shall be glued) to his wife, and they shall be two in one flesh." By which words he clearly signifies that among human relationships the bond of matrimony is the most close and inviolable: and therefore God made Eve from Adam's rib, to signify that husband and wife are not so much two as one man (for this is what "They shall be two in one flesh" means, as I said in I Cor. vi), and consequently they ought to be one in love and will, and therefore, if need be, the spouse ought to forsake father and mother for the sake of the spouse, so that he may cleave to his wife. Morally see Chrysostom, who here in his moral homily 20, prescribes beautiful laws to the married, to bridegroom and bride. Allegorically: "The first prophet Adam," says Jerome, "prophesied this concerning Christ, namely that Christ left his father God, and his mother the heavenly Jerusalem, and came to the earth for his body (the Church), and fashioned her from his side, and for her the Word was made flesh."
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32. THIS SACRAMENT IS A GREAT ONE, BUT I SAY IN CHRIST AND IN THE CHURCH. — You will ask what this Sacrament is, or what the pronoun "this" demonstrates. First, Luther, Calvin, Erasmus and Beza wish to demonstrate the marriage and union not of Adam and Eve, but of Christ and the Church, as if to say: The union of Christ and the Church is "a great Sacrament," that is a great and sacred mystery, and, as it is in Greek, mysterium. But this exposition is entirely opposed by the pronoun "this," which demonstrates that which preceded, namely the marriage of Adam and Eve explained by those words of Genesis: "For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they shall be two in one flesh," that is to say, This which the man cleaves to his wife, and husband and wife are two in one flesh, this, I say, is a great Sacrament. Thus Chrysostom, Jerome, Theophylactus, Oecumenius, and the Fathers throughout, who take "Sacrament" here not for the sacred thing itself signified, but for the sign of a sacred thing, which namely signifies the union of Christ and the Church; for this is what the Apostle adds: "But I say in Christ and in the Church," that is to say, This Sacrament is great, not in itself, as it is a Sacrament and sign; but in that which it signifies, namely Christ and the Church: inasmuch as it signifies that great and admirable union of Christ and the Church, to that extent is it a great Sacrament, great, I say, by its signification and representation of a great thing. Second, the Master of the Sentences in IV, dist. xxvi, and there Dominicus Soto, and many others throughout (and D. Thomas and Ambrose favor it, indeed the Council of Florence in the Instruction to the Armenians) teach that the pronoun "this" demonstrates the marriage of which preceded, not of Adam, or of any particular one, but in general any kind, provided it be of the new law. For the Apostle speaks to the Ephesians who are Christians, and through them to all spouses of the new law, that is to say, Marriage now in the Church of Christ is a great Sacrament, because it most perfectly signifies the union of Christ and the Church now made, and therefore is one of the seven Sacraments of the Church properly so called. Whence that phrase, "in Christ and in the Church," can be taken thus, that is to say, In Christianity and in the Christian Church the Sacrament of marriage is great. But this exposition seems to be opposed by that same thing which I said opposes the former opinion. For the pronoun "this" refers to and demonstrates that which immediately preceded, namely: "A man shall leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife;" which are the words of Adam, Gen. ii. But Adam spoke not of marriage to come after so many ages in the new law; but of the marriage which then was, and which he himself then contracted with Eve. The pronoun therefore "this" demonstrates that union of Adam and Eve, or the first institution of marriage, not however the Sacrament of marriage in the new law. I say therefore third: The pronoun "this" first and properly demonstrates the marriage of Adam and Eve, or rather the institution of marriage in the marriage of Adam and Eve; and the sense is, that is to say, This first institution of marriage in Adam and Eve, and every marriage thereafter, is a great Sacrament, that is, as in Greek, mysterium (and, as in Syriac, arcanum), an allegory, a type of a sacred thing, namely the union of Christ and the Church, who as it were left God the Father and the Synagogue as mother, that he might cleave to his Bride the Church; and vice versa the Church. Erasmus objects that in the Greek there is not "Sacrament," but "mystery"; therefore the Apostle cannot be understood to speak of a properly so-called Sacrament. I answer, I deny the consequence: for the Greeks call Sacraments mysteries, just as they call the mysteries of the body of Christ the Sacrament of the Eucharist. He objects secondly that St. Augustine, tract. 9 in John, and lib. On Marriage and Concupiscence, cap. xxii, says that the greatness of this Sacrament is not in individual men nor is it to be regarded in them: for thus this Sacrament is minimal; but in Christ and the Church. I answer: Augustine wishes to say that the greatness of this Sacrament is not so much to be regarded in the very nature of the Sacrament as it is a sign, as in the very signification of the Sacrament, or in the very thing signified and signified, that is to say, Not so great is the Sacrament that two faithful spouses are joined in one flesh by the Sacrament of matrimony, as great is it that Christ and the Church are joined in wedlock, which the spouses represent by that their marriage. For two spouses in respect to Christ and the Church are minimal, and as it were nothing. Indeed the Novations wish the pronoun "this" to demonstrate the marriage not of Adam, but of Christ. They will therefore concede to us that the pronoun "this" demonstrates rather the marriage of Christians than of Adam. For of this marriage of Christians it is most truly said: "This Sacrament is great, but I say in Christ and in the Church." Finally the Apostle writes these things to the Christians at Ephesus, and incites Christian spouses to mutual love through this, that their marriage is a Sacrament of Christ and the Church: therefore he designates and demonstrates not only Adam's marriage, but also their own. For from this he concludes that Christian spouses ought to love one another in the manner in which Christ loved the Church: because namely they represent this love of Christ and the Church in their marriage analogically. From all which things I conclude that the fullest sense would be if both, that is both the second and the third, are joined together, that is to say, the Apostle: The marriage of Adam and of others before Christ was a Sacrament, that is a type of the future union of Christ and the Church; but the marriage of the faithful of the new law after Christ, who dying on the cross formed the Church his bride from himself, is a Sacrament, that is the most perfect sign of that same union now made, and therefore properly so-called by Christ in the Church a Sacrament is instituted, conferring on the spouses grace and this mutual love, and that so this love true and perfect may be a type of the love of Christ and the Church. Whence I Paul exhort you Ephesians and other faithful spouses, that you stir up and foster this love, lest this Sacrament in you be false and deceptive, and lest you falsely represent this love and harmony of Christ and the Church, so that, when Christ with the Church is in the best and most loving harmony, you with your wives may quarrel, wrangle, be at discord. That this is the sense is indicated by the Council of Trent, sess. xxiv, at the beginning, the Council of Florence, in the place cited, Augustine soon to be cited, and throughout by Catholic Doctors. That Augustine wishes nothing else is evident. For cap. x, lib. On Marriage and Concupiscence, he teaches that the Sacrament of the nuptials of faithful spouses is commended by the Apostle in the epistle to the Ephesians, namely in this place. In the very nuptials and marriage of the faithful he recognizes this great Sacrament to be, which the Apostle here commends. BUT I SAY, IN CHRIST AND IN THE CHURCH. — Supply, to be signified and represented through marriage, that is to say, The Sacrament of marriage is great, not insofar as it is a joining of two married persons; but insofar as it signifies and represents Christ and the Church as spouses, and their spiritual marriage. Whence by Hebraism more briefly secondly, thus explain, "in Christ and in the Church," that is of Christ and of the Church. For "Bet," that is "in," among the Hebrews is often taken in place of government, that is of the genitive, "in Christ," that is of Christ; "in the Church," that is of the Church, that is to say, This Sacrament of marriage is great, not as it is of two spouses, but as it is a Sacrament of Christ and the Church, that is a sacred sign. I say fourth: Since the pronoun "this" demonstrates the institution of matrimony, or matrimony in general, hence secondarily and consequently it demonstrates the matrimony of the new law: for Christ recalled this to the first institution of matrimony in Genesis, and abolished polygamy and divorce permitted by the old law; so that in the new law matrimony is, as it were, the same as that which was between Adam and Eve. Add secondly, the matrimony of the new law far better and more perfectly than the matrimony of Adam signifies the conjunction of Christ and the Church. Indeed, Christ left the Father, namely the synagogue (or rather the congregation of the unfaithful) whom He had in paganism, namely the devil, and the mother, namely the assembly of the unfaithful, so that the Church might adhere to Christ her spouse. Thus Jerome, Chrysostom, Theodoret, Theophylactus, Anselm, St. Thomas here, and Augustine in Psalm cxxxviii. Thirdly, it can be clearly translated with the Syriac, This sacrament is great, but I say concerning Christ and the Church (for the Hebrews, "beth," that is "in," is sometimes put for "min," that is "of"); or, as it is in Greek, εἰς Χριστόν καὶ εἰς τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν, into Christ and into the Church, that is, inasmuch as this sacrament of matrimony is referred to Christ and the Church, and represents them, to that extent is it a great sacrament. Our Interpreter, however, also rightly translated, "in Christ and in the Church," because the Greek εἰς is often taken for ἐν. Which can be understood in two ways: First, "in Christ and in the Church," namely to be signified, as I have already explained. Second, "in Christ and in the Church," that is in the Church of Christ (so that it be a hendiadys); or "in Christ," that is in Christianity (according to Canon 37), "and in the Church," namely of Christ and Christian, this sacrament of matrimony is great and properly so called. Note: Since the Apostle here speaks and inculcates the union of Christ with the Church, he speaks and understands primarily the proper and real union, which was made through the Incarnation, by which Christ, that is the divine Word, united and married to Himself human nature, and consequently men and the Church of men. For this is the closest union and the origin of the others, and the matrimony of Adam with Eve signified this. Secondarily, however, he speaks and understands the mystical union, by which Christ is joined to the Church through grace and charity. For to this union in the preceding passages he exhorts Christian spouses by the example of Christ. Note hence secondly, St. Jerome, and with him Augustine, St. Leo, and other Fathers, that Adam was the first prophet who prophesied concerning Christ, and His cross, and the Church to be formed from the side of Christ crucified, and that Adam knew all these things in sleep, or as the Septuagint translates, in ecstasy (in which God formed Eve from the side of Adam). Yet from this it does not follow that the cause of all these things, namely his fall and sin, ought to have been revealed to Adam while still innocent and holy to God, or that it was revealed.
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Verse 33. VERUMTAMEN. — πλήν, which Erasmus translated badly as "quanquam": for it properly signifies "verumtamen," "enimvero," that is to say, Therefore you also, O Christian spouses, in whom this Sacrament of matrimony is most perfect, and who most perfectly represent in your matrimony the union of Christ and the Church already accomplished, see to it that the Sacrament which you represent and bear, you actually provide and express in deed, namely that each husband love his wife as his own flesh, indeed as himself, just as Christ loves the Church, and each wife fear, that is, reverence, says Jerome, her husband, just as the Church reveres and worships Christ. For this is the conclusion, as even Beza admits, of all the duties of husband and wife, in which the Apostle concludes in one word and teaches what the husband owes to the wife and what the wife owes to the husband, and he draws this both from the other things said before and from this great Sacrament of matrimony, which he had just inculcated. Note: To the husband as head belongs love; to the wife as subject befits fear and reverence. From this passage wives are taught not to speak back to their husbands impudently and shamelessly, but to reverence them and to address them with reverence: just as disciples reverently address their teachers, just as Sara revered her husband Abraham; and let them learn with Sara to have husbands and to call them their lords, Gen. xviii, verse 12. A notable example of this marital love and reverence, says Plutarch, was given by the wife of Phocion, who called her husband, her wealth, her world and her treasure. More notable was the wife of Tigranes, king of Armenia, who, as Xenophon relates, when she had returned from the court of Cyrus, king of the Persians, to her husband, being asked by him what she thought of Cyrus and Cyrus's beauty, replied: I call the gods to witness, O my husband, that I have never turned my eyes away from you, and therefore I am entirely ignorant of what the form of Cyrus is like. Most notable was St. Monica, of whom St. Augustine, book IX of the Confessions, chapter IX: "Brought up," he says, "modestly and soberly, and rather subject by you to her parents than by her parents to you, O Lord (for he addresses God), when she came of age to be married, given to a husband (Patricius the unbeliever) she served him as a lord, and strove to gain him for you, speaking you to him by her character, by which you made her beautiful, and reverently lovable and admirable to her husband." Beautifully the Wise Man concerning the love of spouses thus ordains in Proverbs v, 19: "Let thy wife be as the loving hind, and graceful doe." Where note that the love of spouses is aptly compared to the love of a stag and doe: for, as Aristotle, Aelianus, Pliny and Oppianus teach, first, the love of stag and doe is singular; second, the doe is lovable and delightful to man; third, the stag and doe lack gall: in the same way in marriages of old, those sacrificing to Juno the pronuba removed and cast away the gall, to designate the charity of spouses, says Plutarch; fourth, the stag and doe mate chastely, and only in secret; fifth, they are most swift in helping one another; sixth, the love of stags for does is as ardent as it is strong. Whence Seneca sings of them: "If they fear for their union, The timid stags seek battles. And by bellowing give signs Of conceived fury." Seventh, does are faithful to their mate, until he is overcome and falls by another stag in combat, whence Nemesianus: "The doe follows her mate." Eighth, the stag soon after mating hides himself in a pit, as if ashamed of lust, until washed by rain, and as if purified returns to pasture. Ninth, the stag and doe after conception abstain from mating, that is to say, the Wise Man: Let such be to you, O man, matrimony, such a wife, such as I have already described the doe, namely unique, lovable, sincere, gentle, chaste, collaborating, ardent, strong, faithful, modest. Thus the Venerable Bede in Proverbs v. But what if the wife is of bad character, stern and quarrelsome? Let the husband bear with her by his prudence, gravity, and patience, or convert her; let him do what the Apostle says: "Bear ye one another's burdens." Thus Christ bore the burdens and sins of the Church, his spouse, and expiated her by his blood. Socrates also had a quarrelsome wife named Xanthippe, who always stirred up quarrels, so that while he was studying, she would overturn the table. Sometimes after prolonged quarrels, moved by anger because he remained silent, she poured a pitcher of water over his head. "I was not unaware," said Socrates, "that after thunder, rain would follow." To him Alcibiades, a noble at home, said: "How do you bear with this quarrelsome wife and do not cast her out of the house?" To whom Socrates replied: "Whoever wishes to eat eggs should not be offended by the cackling of hens. Indeed, I thus learn patience at home, so that I may exercise it better abroad." Thus Laertius in his Life, and A. Gellius, book I, chapter xvii. It is fitting, therefore, for each one to tolerate inconveniences and to rejoice in the Lord, by which means they will be made lighter. For, as Virgil says, "Each one bears his own fate." Varro also in his Menippean satire, which he wrote concerning the duty of a husband, says: "The vice of a wife must either be removed or borne. He who removes the vice makes his wife more suitable; he who bears it makes himself better." Whoever, therefore, has chosen a wife and finds her quarrelsome, think of "a woman," think of Xanthippe: be yourself Socrates, or rather be Christ; think that you have a domestic exercise of patience, so that you may learn to bear and overcome all other things more easily. Many seek crosses abroad; you have one at home, it will teach you patience: but patience has a perfect work, as St. James says.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
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Posita exhortatione ad benignitatem et misericordiam, quae sunt effectus charitatis, hic ostendit eis exemplum. Circa quod duo facit. Primo inducit eos ad imitationem exemplaris, scilicet Dei; secundo ostendit in quo debent ipsum imitari, ibi et ambulate, et cetera. Dicit ergo: dixi quod debetis donare invicem, sicut et Deus in Christo donavit vobis, ergo estote imitatores Dei, quia hoc necessarium est, licet difficile sit. Eccle. II, v. 12: quid est, inquam, homo, ut possit sequi regem factorem suum? Numquam tamen perficietur natura humana, nisi in coniunctione ad Deum. Unde Iob XXIII, 11: vestigia eius secutus est pes meus. Ergo imitandus est, taliter quomodo habemus possibilitatem, quia ad filium pertinet patrem imitari. Et ideo subdit sicut filii, patrem scilicet per creationem. Deut. XXXII, 6: nonne ipse est pater tuus qui possedit, et fecit, et creavit te? Et addit charissimi, quos scilicet elegit ad participationem sui ipsius. Sequitur et ambulate, et cetera. Ubi primo ponit imitandi modum, quia in charitate; secundo ostendit immensae charitatis signum, ibi et tradidit, et cetera. Quod ergo simus filii charissimi, hoc facit charitas Dei. Rom. VIII, 15: non enim accepistis spiritum servitutis iterum in timore, sed accepistis spiritum adoptionis filiorum, in quo clamamus: abba, pater. Ipse enim spiritus testimonium reddit spiritui nostro, quod sumus filii Dei. Debemus ergo ipsum in dilectione imitari. Et dicit ambulate, id est semper proficite. Gen. XV: ambula coram me, et esto perfectus. Et hoc in dilectione, quia dilectio est tale bonum in quo debet homo proficere, et tale debitum quod debet homo semper solvere. Rom. XIII, 8: nemini quidquam debeatis, nisi ut invicem diligatis. Vel in dilectione, quae est via sequendi Deum magis de propinquo. I Cor. XII, 31: adhuc excellentiorem viam vobis demonstro. I Cor. XIII, v. 1: si linguis hominum loquar et Angelorum, et cetera. Col. III, 4: super omnia haec charitatem habentes, et cetera. Et hoc exemplo Christi.
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Unde subdit sicut et Christus dilexit nos. Io. XIII, 1: cum dilexisset suos, qui erant in mundo, in finem dilexit eos. Et quia, secundum Gregorium, probatio dilectionis, exhibitio est operis, ideo subdit et tradidit semetipsum pro nobis. Apoc. I, 5: dilexit nos, et lavit nos a peccatis nostris. Gal. II, 20: in fide vivo filii Dei, qui dilexit me et tradidit in mortem seipsum pro me. Is. LIII, 12: tradidit in mortem animam suam, et cetera. Haec autem mors fuit nobis utilis et necessaria, ideo subdit oblationem et hostiam, et cetera. Loquitur autem hic apostolus more veteris legis, in qua, ut dicitur Lev. IV, 25 ss., quando quis peccaverat, offerri debebat pro eo hostia et oblatio, quae dicitur pro peccato. Item, quando quis agebat gratias Deo, vel aliquid consequi volebat, oportebat offerri hostiam pacificam, ut dicitur Lev. III, 9, quae quidem erat in oblationem suavissimi odoris domino, ut dicitur ibidem. Haec autem facta sunt per Christum, quia, ut a peccatis mundaremur et gloriam consequeremur, tradidit semetipsum pro nobis in oblationem per ea quae in vita gessit. Is. LIII, 7: oblatus est, quia ipse voluit, et cetera. Et hostiam Deo pro peccato. Et hoc in odorem suavitatis. Alludit autem hic, quod dicitur Lev. III, 5 s. Sed certe ille odor non erat tunc Deo acceptus secundum se, sed secundum suam significationem, inquantum significabat oblationem odoriferam corporis Christi filii Dei. Gen. II: ecce odor filii mei, sicut odor agri pleni. Cant. I, 3: trahe me post te, curremus in odorem unguentorum tuorum. Sic autem debemus nos sacrificare Deo spiritualiter. Ps. l, v. 19: sacrificium Deo spiritus, et cetera.
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Supra, posita monitione, apostolus docuit ut deposita vetustate Ephesii novitatem assumerent prohibendo vitia spiritualia, hic prohibet eisdem vitia etiam carnalia. Dividitur autem in duas. Primo enim prohibet vetustatem vitiorum carnalium; secundo inducit ad novitatem, ibi videte itaque, fratres, et cetera. Prima iterum dividitur in tres. Primo excludit vetustatem vitiorum; secundo proponit poenam eorum, ibi hoc autem scitote, etc.; tertio excludit fallaciam, ibi nemo vos seducat, et cetera. Prima iterum in duas. Primo excludit quaedam vitia principalia; secundo excludit quaedam adiuncta, ibi aut turpitudo, et cetera. Excludit autem tria vitia, scilicet luxuriam naturalem, quae est cum non sua, unde dicit fornicatio. Os. IV, 12: spiritus enim fornicationum decepit eos. I Cor. VI, v. 18: fugite fornicationem. Sic faciebat Iob c. XXXI, 1: pepigi foedus cum oculis meis, ut nec cogitarem de virgine. Dicitur autem fornicatio a fornice, id est arcu triumphali, iuxta quem erant lupanaria. Prov. XX: intravit super eos fornicatio, et cetera. Et omnis immunditia, id est omnis pollutio contra naturam, scilicet quae non ordinatur ad generationem. Gal. V, 12: manifesta sunt opera carnis, quae sunt fornicatio, immunditia, luxuria, et cetera. Tertio excludit avaritiam, dicendo aut avaritia. Sed quare hoc? Numquid est idem cum peccatis carnalibus? Respondeo. Dicendum est quod non, nec totaliter est divisa, sed medium inter spiritualia et carnalia peccata: quod patet sic. In peccato sunt duo, scilicet obiectum peccati, et delectatio in obiecto. Quaedam ergo sunt peccata quorum obiectum et delectatio est spiritualis, sicut ira. Nam vindicta, quae est obiectum irae, et delectatio eius, est quid spirituale, et similiter inanis gloria. Quaedam vero sunt omnino carnalia et obiectum et delectatio; sicut gula et luxuria. Sed avaritia tenet medium, quia eius obiectum est carnale, scilicet pecunia, sed delectatio est spiritualis, quia animo quiescit quis in pecunia. Et ideo connumeratur avaritia cum peccatis carnalibus ratione obiecti, cum spiritualibus vero ratione delectationis. Hebr. ult.: sint mores sine avaritia. Vel dicendum est, quod avaritia opponitur iustitiae, unde ponitur pro specie luxuriae, quae est adulterium, quod est iniustus usus mulieris alterius: sicut avaritia iniustus usus pecuniae. Sed supra dixit: qui furabatur, etc., hic autem dicit quod nec nominetur, etc., quia in pugna spirituali vitia carnalia primo occurrunt vincenda: quia frustra pugnat quis contra intrinseca, nisi primo vincat extrinseca, scilicet carnalia, contra quae semper remanet bellum. Et ideo dicit nec nominetur in vobis, sicut decet sanctos, scilicet abstinere a factis, a cogitationibus, et a dictis. Is. XIV: perdam Babylonis nomen, et reliquias, et progeniem et germen. Eccli. c. XLI, 15: curam habe de bono nomine, quia hoc decet sanctos. II Cor. VI, 4: in omnibus exhibeamus nosmetipsos sicut Dei ministros, et cetera. Sequitur aut turpitudo, et cetera. Ubi ponit quaedam vitia adiuncta. Circa quod duo facit. Primo adiuncta vitia excludit; secundo ad contraria eorum inducit, ibi sed magis gratiarum actio, et cetera. Tria ergo vitia excludit, scilicet turpitudinem, quae est in tactibus turpibus et amplexibus et osculis libidinosis. Prov. VI, 32: qui autem adulter est, propter cordis inopiam, perdet animam suam, et turpitudinem, et ignominiam congregat sibi. Item, stultiloquium, id est verba provocantia ad malum. Eccli. IX, 11: colloquium illius quasi ignis exardescit, scilicet malae mulieris. Et scurrilitatem, id est verbum ioculatorium, per quod aliqui volunt inde placere aliis. Matth. XII, v. 36: de omni verbo otioso quod locuti fuerint homines, reddent rationem de eo in die iudicii. Et haec omnia sunt mortalia, inquantum ad mortalia peccata ordinantur, quia aliquid etiam si bonum sit ex genere, inquantum ad mortale ordinatur, est mortale. Deinde inducit ad contraria, scilicet gratiarum actiones.
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Unde dicit sed magis gratiarum actio. Is. LI, 3: gaudium, et laetitia invenietur in ea, gratiarum actio, et vox laudis.
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Supra prohibuit apostolus peccata carnalia, hic comminatur poenam damnationis, quae peccatoribus infligitur. Circa quod duo facit. Primo enim de hoc eos certificat; secundo sigillatim peccata recitat, ibi quod omnis fornicator, et cetera. Dicit ergo hoc scitote intelligentes, id est actualiter, non solum habitualiter, pro certo habete. I Io. III: haec scripsi vobis, ut sciatis, et cetera. Et quid? Quod omnis fornicator, aut immundus, aut avarus, quod est idolorum servitus, non habet haereditatem in regno Christi et Dei. Nota quod vocat hic avaritiam idololatriam, quoniam idololatria est, quando honor soli Deo debitus, impenditur creaturae. Nunc autem Deo dupliciter honor debetur, scilicet ut in eo finem nostrum constituamus, et ut in eo fiduciam nostram finaliter ponamus; ergo qui hoc in creaturis ponit, reus est idololatriae. Hoc autem facit avarus, qui finem suum in re creata ponit, et etiam totam suam fiduciam. Os. VIII, 4: argentum suum et aurum suum fecerunt sibi idola, ut interirent. Et hoc, quia, ut dicitur Prov. XI, 28: qui confidit in divitiis suis, corruet. Sed cum in aliis peccatis ponat homo finem suum in creatura, cui amore inhaeret, quare etiam in illis non dicitur peccator idololatra? Respondeo. Idololatrare est aliquid exterius indebite colere. Nunc autem in aliis peccatis ponitur finis in interioribus quasi in propria exaltatione. Sed qui ponit finem in divitiis, ponit in eis finem ut in re exteriori, sicut idololatra. Sed numquid avari honorem Deo debitum exhibentes creaturae, realiter sunt idololatrae, et per se? Dico quod non, quia in moralibus actus seu opera iudicantur ex fine. Ille ergo per se est idololatra, qui intendit per se cultum exhibere creaturae. Hoc autem non intendit avarus per se, sed per accidens hoc facit, inquantum superflue et inordinate diligit. Et quid de tali? Non habebit haereditatem, quippe quia filii et haeredes, ut dicitur Rom. VIII, 17. Nunc autem tales non sunt filii, qui sic carnales sunt; ergo haereditatem non habent, quia, ut dicitur I Cor. c. XV, 50: caro et sanguis regnum Dei non possidebunt, id est Deum, qui dicit Ez. XLIV, v. 28: ego haereditas eorum. Sed posset quaeri: si haereditas ista est ipse Deus, cum sit indivisibilis et impartibilis, quare dicit in regno Christi et Dei divisive, ac si haereditas ista sit divisibilis? Respondeo. Haereditas nostra consistit in fruitione Dei, nunc autem Deus aliter se fruitur, et nos eo; quia Deus seipso perfecte fruitur, quia seipsum perfecte cognoscit et totaliter diligit quantum cognoscibilis et diligibilis est. Non autem sic nos, quia licet ipsum perfecte cognoscamus in patria, et per consequens diligamus, quia qui aliquid simplex attingit, ipsum totum cognoscit, etsi non totaliter, sicut lux solis si esset punctalis, humanus oculus ipsam totam apprehenderet, non totaliter, oculus vero aquilae ipsam totaliter comprehenderet. Sic et si Deum perfecte cognoscimus in patria et perfecte diligimus, sed ipsum totaliter non comprehendimus, ideo videtur ibi esse quaedam imperfectio et particularitas. Et ideo dicit Christi et Dei coniunctim, quasi partem cum parte ponendo, id est quia per Christum et non per alium habetur haereditas. Deinde cum dicit nemo vos seducat, hic excludit fallaciam seductorum. Et circa hoc duo facit. Primo enim ponit admonitionem; secundo subiungit ipsius rationem, ibi eratis enim aliquando tenebrae, et cetera. Prima iterum in duas, quia primo monet eos, ut non seducantur verbis, eis credendo; secundo ut non communicent eis mala faciendo, ibi nolite ergo effici, et cetera. Prima adhuc in duas, quia primo removet seductiones; secundo ostendit seductionis signum, ibi propter hoc enim venit ira, et cetera. Notandum est ergo quod in vitiis carnalibus solum docuit cavere seductionem, quia a principio, ut homines possent libere frui concupiscentiis, cogitaverunt invenire rationes, quod fornicationes et huiusmodi venerea non essent peccata. Et ideo dicit inanibus verbis, quia sine ratione sunt talia verba, quae dicunt quod huiusmodi non sint peccata, nec excludant a regno Dei et Christi. Col. II, 8: videte ne quis vos seducat per prophetiam et inanem fallaciam. Et quod tales sint seductores et talia verba seducentia, ostendit, quia nisi peccata carnalia essent peccata, non punirentur a Deo, quia cum Deus sit iustus, non infligit poenam sine culpa. Nunc autem talia puniuntur a Deo, ergo peccata sunt.
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Minorem probat, cum dicit propter haec enim venit ira Dei, scilicet propter peccata carnalia, in filios diffidentiae, ut patuit in diluvio; item in Sodomitis; item tribus Beniamin fere tota consumpta fuit propter haec. Dicit autem filios diffidentiae, quia sic peccantes diffidunt de vita aeterna; quia si sic faciens speraret vitam aeternam, magis esset praesumptio, quam spes, quae est certa expectatio futurae beatitudinis ex meritis, et cetera. Unde supra IV, 19: qui desperantes semetipsos tradiderunt impudicitiae in operationem immunditiae omnis, in avaritiam. Sap. VII: nullum pratum sit quod non pertranseat luxuria nostra, et cetera. Et sequitur in fine capitis: quia tales non speraverunt mercedem iustitiae, et cetera. Dicit ergo, quod in filios diffidentiae, id est qui non confidunt de gaudiis aeternis, venit ira Dei, scilicet propter peccata. Vel diffidentiae, id est de quibus non est confidendum, quantum est ex parte meritorum.
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Et ideo concludit nolite ergo effici participes eorum, communicando scilicet eis in talibus operibus. II Cor. VI, 14 s.: quae enim participatio iustitiae cum iniquitate, aut quae societas lucis ad tenebras, aut quae communicatio Christi ad Belial, aut quae pars fidelis cum infideli?
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Supra prohibuit apostolus peccata carnalia, comminando poenam et removendo fallaciam, hic assignat rationem sumptam ex eorum conditione, et duo facit. Proponit enim primo eorum conditionem; secundo ex eis duas conclusiones inducit, ibi ut filii lucis sitis, et cetera. Ponit autem duas conditiones: primo praeteritam, secundo conditionem praesentem, ibi nunc autem lux, et cetera. Dicit ergo eratis aliquando tenebrae, id est excaecati ignorantia et errore. Supra IV, 18: tenebris obscuratum habentes intellectum. Ps. LXXXI, 5: nescierunt, neque intellexerunt, in tenebris ambulant. Item, tenebrosi per peccatum. Prov. IV, 12: via impiorum tenebrosa, nesciunt ubi corruant. Sed notandum est, quod indeterminate non dicit tenebrosi, sed tenebrae, quia sicut quilibet videtur esse quod principaliter est in eo, sicut tota civitas videtur esse rex et quod rex facit, civitas dicitur facere: ita quando peccatum regnat in homine, tunc totus homo dicitur peccatum et tenebrae. Sequitur nunc autem lux, et cetera. Ubi ponit conditionem praesentem; quasi dicat: nunc autem habetis lucem fidei. Phil. II, 15: inter quos lucetis sicut luminaria in mundo. Matth. V, 14: vos estis lux mundi. Sed contra dicitur de Ioanne Baptista: non erat ille lux; quomodo ergo fideles alii lux dicuntur? Respondeo. Non dicuntur lux per essentiam, sed per participationem. Deinde cum dicit ut filii lucis ambulate, etc., concludit duas conclusiones. Dixerat enim, quod tenebrae fuerunt et quod nunc sunt lux. Et ideo primo concludit, ut se conforment ei, quod nunc sunt; secundo ut vitent ea quae prius fuerunt, ibi et nolite communicare. Prima in duas. Primo ponit admonitionem; secundo eam exponit, ibi fructus enim lucis, et cetera. Dicit ergo: quia nunc lux estis, faciatis opera lucis, ergo ut filii lucis ambulate. Io. XII, 35: ambulate dum lucem habetis, et cetera. Hoc autem exponit, cum dicit fructus enim, et cetera. Ambulat autem quis ut filius lucis dupliciter. Primo quantum ad substantiam, vel genus operis; secundo quantum ad modum, vel intentionem facientis. Primo ergo ponit opera, quae oportet facere; secundo qua debent fieri intentione, ibi probantes, et cetera. Dicit ergo: dixi ut ambuletis ut filii lucis, fructus autem lucis sunt opera fructifera et clara. Eccli. XXIV, 23: flores mei fructus honoris, et cetera. Et hoc in omni bonitate, et cetera. Ubi advertendum est, quod omnis actus virtutis ad tria reducitur. Nam oportet, quod agens ordinetur in se, ad proximum, et ad Deum.
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In se, ut sit bonus in seipso et propter hoc dicit in omni bonitate. Ps. CXVIII, 66: bonitatem et disciplinam et scientiam doce me, et cetera. Item, ad proximum per iustitiam. Ideo dicit in iustitia. Ps. CXVIII, 121: feci iudicium et iustitiam, et cetera. Ad Deum per cognitionem et confessionem veritatis. Et ideo dicit et veritate. Zach. VIII, 19: veritatem enim et pacem diligite. Vel aliter, ut bonitas referatur ad cor, iustitia ad opus, veritas ad os. Supra IV, 25 et Zach. VIII, 16: loquimini veritatem unusquisque cum proximo suo. Deinde cum dicit probantes, etc., ostendit qua intentione debeant operari, quia non ex abrupto, sed probantes, id est, ratione discernentes. Opus suum probet unusquisque, ut dicitur Gal. VI, 4. Et hoc quid sit beneplacitum Deo, id est ut intendatis facere, quod placet Deo. Rom. XV: probetis quae sit voluntas Dei bona, et beneplacens et perfecta. Deinde cum dicit et nolite communicare, etc., hortatur eos ne redeant ad statum quem reliquerunt, quia, ut dicitur Gal. c. II, 18: si enim, quae destruxi, haec iterum reaedifico, praevaricatorem me constituo; II Petr. II, 22: canis reversus ad suum vomitum, et sus lota in volutabro luti. Dividitur autem ista pars in duas. Primo ponit monitionem; secundo assignat rationem, ibi quae autem in occulto, et cetera. Prima iterum in duas. Primo monet eos ne malefaciant; secundo ut mala reprehendant, ibi magis autem redarguite, et cetera.
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Dicit ergo probantes quid sit beneplacitum Deo, et nolite communicare operibus infructuosis tenebrarum, id est operibus carnalibus ducentibus ad tenebras perpetuas: quae quidem sunt infructuosa, quia non habent nisi momentaneam delectationem citissime transeuntem. Rom. VI, 21: quem ergo fructum habuistis tunc in illis, in quibus nunc erubescitis? Iud. I, 12: arbores autumnales infructuosae, bis mortuae, eradicatae, fluctus feri maris, despumantes suas confusiones, et cetera. Item, tenebrosa loca quaerunt propter turpitudinem, quia communicant in eis cum brutis. Iob XXIV, 15: oculus adulteri observat caliginem, dicens: non me videbit oculus, et operiet vultum suum, perfodit in tenebris domos, et cetera. Istis ergo nolite communicare, imitando, coadiuvando, consentiendo. Eccli. XIII, 22: quae communicatio homini sancto ad canem? Sed certe hoc non sufficit, nisi etiam eos reprehendatis, quia, ut dicit Augustinus, aliquando Deus punit communicantes insontes, quia aliqui boni non reprehendunt malos. Eccli. XVII, 12: mandavit autem unicuique de proximo suo. Et ideo dicit magis autem autem redarguite. II Tim. IV, 2: argue, obsecra, increpa, et cetera. Sed numquid semper peccamus si non reprehendimus? Respondet Augustinus: quod enim non reprehendis ex timore charitatis, ne scilicet peior efficiatur et scandalizatus affligat bonos, non peccas. Si autem ex timore cupiditatis, ne scilicet indignetur et perdas beneficia tua, sic peccas.
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Supra posuit apostolus monitiones, hic assignat rationes earum. Duas autem monitiones posuit. Prima ut non communicarent operibus tenebrarum; secunda ut redarguerent peccatores. Secundum hoc ergo duo facit. Primo ponit rationem primae monitionis; secundo rationem secundae, ibi omnia enim quae arguuntur, et cetera. Dicit ergo: bene dixi: nolite communicare, immo debetis et tales increpare et redarguere. Quare?
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Quia quae in occulto fiunt ab ipsis, turpe est dicere. Hoc autem est de vitiis carnalibus in quibus est turpitudo magna, quia minimum est ibi de bonis rationis, cum huiusmodi actus communes sint nobis et brutis. Sequitur omnia quae arguuntur, et cetera. Hic ponit apostolus rationem secundae monitionis, et facit duo. Primo enim ponit rationem; secundo assignat confirmationem, ibi propter quod dicit, et cetera. Quantum ergo ad primum, vult probare quod eos deceat delinquentes arguere, et hoc probat sic: quidquid ostenditur malum esse redarguitur, omnis enim redargutio manifestatio quaedam est; sed omnis manifestatio fit per lumen, vos autem estis lux; ergo decet vos arguere et eos manifestare. Ponit autem huius rationis maiorem, ibi omnia autem quae arguuntur, et cetera. Minorem autem ponit, ibi omne quod, et cetera. Quasi dicat: ideo decet eos arguere, quia, ut dicitur I Cor. II, 15: spiritualis iudicat omnia, et ipse a nemine iudicatur.
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Unde Glossa sic exponit: omnia, scilicet peccata quae arguuntur a lumine, id est, a bonis et sanctis hominibus, qui sunt filii lucis, manifestantur, scilicet per confessionem. Prov. XXVIII, 13: qui autem confessus fuerit et reliquerit ea, misericordiam consequetur. Omne autem, scilicet malum, quod manifestatur per confessionem, lumen est, id est in lumine vertitur.
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Deinde confirmat hoc per auctoritatem, dicens propter quod dicit: surge, et cetera. Glossa sic exponit: propter hoc quod sit lumen, dicit, scilicet spiritus sanctus: o tu qui dormis, surge, et cetera. Sed haec non est consuetudo Pauli. Et ideo dicendum est, quod apostolus introducit figuram positam Is. LX, 1: surge, illuminare, Ierusalem, etc., dicens propter quod dicit, scilicet Scriptura, surge a negligentia boni operis, tu scilicet qui dormis. Prov. VI, 9: usquequo, piger, dormies? Ps. XL, 9: numquid qui dormit, non adiiciet, ut resurgat? Et exurge a mortuis, id est, ab operibus mortuis, seu mortificantibus. Hebr. IX, 14: emundabit conscientiam nostram ab operibus mortuis, et cetera. Is. XXVI, 19: vivent mortui tui, interfecti mei resurgent. Exurge ergo, et illuminabit te Christus. Ps. XXVI, 1: dominus illuminatio mea, et cetera. Idem XII, 4: illumina oculos meos, ne unquam obdormiam in morte. Sed numquid possumus per nos resurgere a peccato, quia dicit: surge, et illuminabit te Christus? Respondeo. Dicendum est, quod ad iustificationem impii duo requiruntur, scilicet liberum arbitrium cooperans ad resurgendum et ipsa gratia. Et certe hoc ipsum habet liberum arbitrium a gratia praeveniente, et postea meritorie operari a gratia subsequente. Unde dicitur Thren. ult.: converte nos, Deus, et convertemur.
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Supra prohibuit fallaciarum carnalium vetustatem, hic hortatur ad contrariam novitatem. Et primo hortatur ad novitatem contrariam fallaciae; secundo ad novitatem contrariam luxuriae, ibi et nolite inebriari, et cetera. Prima in tres. Primo inducit ad cautelam contrariam fallaciae; secundo ostendit novitatem cautelae, ibi redimentes tempus, etc.; tertio docet modum cautelae, ibi propterea nolite fieri, et cetera. Dicit ergo itaque, scilicet ex praemissis, videte quomodo caute ambuletis. Cautio est quaedam conditio prudentiae, per quam aliquis vitat impedimenta agendorum, et hanc cautelam debent omnes habere. Prov. c. IV, 23: oculi tui videant recta, et palpebrae tuae praecedant gressus tuos. Hoc autem pertinet ad sapientes, et ideo dicit non quasi insipientes, qui scilicet nesciunt vitare impedimenta. Ps. LXXV, 6: turbati sunt omnes insipientes corde. Sed ut sapientes. Eccle. II, 14: sapientis oculi in capite eius: stultus in tenebris ambulat. Quidam dicunt: si non caste, tamen caute. Sed sic non accipit apostolus, sed dicit caute, ac si diceret: cavete ab hominibus contrariis castitati.
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Necessitatem autem huius cautelae ostendit, cum dicit redimentes tempus, etc.; quod potest exponi dupliciter. Redimit enim aliquis quandoque rem suam, dando enxenia vel aliquid pro ea, sicut dicitur aliquis redimere vexationem suam dando enxenia, vel pecuniam, vel quando dimittit de iure suo. Dicit ergo: totum tempus hoc est tempus calumniae, et ideo sitis redimentes tempus, quoniam dies mali sunt. Ex quo peccavit Adam, ex tunc semper paratae sunt insidiae impellentes ad peccatum. Non sic autem in statu innocentiae, in quo non oportebat hominem ab aliquo licito abstinere, quia in eius voluntate non erat impellens aliquid ad peccatum. Modo autem oportet nos tempus redimere, quoniam dies mali sunt, id est debemus malitiam dierum vitare, diem malum praecavere, ut dicitur Eccle. VII, 15, et etiam a quibusdam licitis abstinere. I Cor. c. X, 23: omnia mihi licent, sed non omnia aedificant. In hunc autem modum dicitur aliquis vexationem suam redimere, quia dimittit aliquid de iure suo perire. Vel aliter: redimentes tempus, et cetera. Contingit quandoque quod aliquis per magnum tempus vitae vivit in peccato, et hoc est tempus perditum. Sed quomodo redimet, cum homo non sufficiat ad debita persolvenda? Respondeo. Dicendum est quod tanto magis debet vacare operibus bonis, quanto prius instetit malis. I Petr. I: sufficit enim praeteritum tempus ad voluntatem gentium consumendam his, qui ambulaverunt in luxuriis, vinolentiis, desideriis, et cetera. Sed prima expositio est melior. Deinde cum dicit propterea nolite fieri, etc., docet modum cautelae, dicens: propterea, scilicet ut possitis tempus redimere, nolite fieri imprudentes. Nota quod differentia est inter sapientiam et prudentiam. Prudentia enim est quaedam sapientia, sed non universalis sapientia. Prov. c. X, 23: sapientia autem est viro prudentia. Sapiens enim simpliciter dicitur, qui habet de omnibus ordinare: sapiens autem secundum quid dicitur, qui habet ordinare de his de quibus est sapiens. I Cor. III, 10: ut sapiens architectus fundamentum posui. Quia sapientis est ordinare, ut dicitur I methaphysicae. Omnis autem ordinator respicit finem; ille ergo simpliciter est sapiens, qui cognoscit finem, vel qui agit propter finem universalem, scilicet Deum. Deut. IV, 6: haec est enim sapientia vestra, et cetera. Sapientia enim est divinarum rerum cognitio, ut dicit Augustinus, IV de Trinitate. Prudentia vero est particularis rei providentia, quando scilicet quis ordinat facta sua. Et ideo sapientia est viro prudentia.
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Propter hoc ergo dicit: nolite fieri imprudentes, sed intelligentes, et cetera. Sicut ratio speculativa ordinat de agendis et iudicat: oportet autem conclusiones habere et iudicare per principia, et similiter in operabilibus. Istud autem primum principium, per quod debemus iudicare omnia et regulare, est voluntas Dei; et ideo intellectus in moralibus et divinis debet habere pro principio voluntatem Dei, quia, si hanc habeat pro principio, fit prudens intellectus. Deut. c. XXXII, 29: utinam saperent et intelligerent, et cetera. Hoc autem docuit dominus, Matth. c. XXVI, 42: fiat voluntas tua.
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Supra induxit ad novitatem contra vetustatem fallaciae, hic hoc idem facit contra vetustatem vitiorum carnalium. Vel dicamus quod prius reprehenderit peccata carnalia quantum ad luxuriam, hic autem quantum ad gulam. Duo autem facit. Primo enim prohibet vetustatem; secundo inducit statum ad novitatem, ibi sed impleamini, et cetera. Dicit ergo: dixi quod fornicatio et omnis immunditia non nominetur in vobis; sed ad hoc cavendum debetis a vino superfluo abstinere, quia cibus et potus superfluus est causa luxuriae, et praecipue vinum, quod calefacit et movet. Prov. XX, 1: luxuriosa res vinum, et tumultuosa ebrietas. Esth. c. I, 10: cum esset rex hilarior, et post nimiam potationem incaluisset mero, et cetera. Os. c. IV, 11: fornicatio, et vinum, et ebrietas auferunt cor. Unde Hieronymus: quem Sodoma non vicit, vina vicerunt Lot. Nolite ergo, et cetera. Sed impleamini spiritu sancto. Inter omnia quae multos spiritus generant est vinum, unde generat animositatem et facit homines per talenta loqui, ut dicitur III Esd. III, 21. Et ideo convenienter docet eos contra hoc repleri spiritu sancto, qui generat fervorem devotionis. Rom. XII, 11: spiritu ferventes. Item, etiam generat gaudium et laetitiam spiritualem. Rom. XIV, 17: iustitia, et pax, et gaudium in spiritu sancto. Item, facit audacter loqui. Act. II, 4: repleti sunt omnes spiritu sancto, et coeperunt loqui, etc., et ideo qui eos loquentes audiebant, credebant eos ebrios. Sed numquid habemus spiritum sanctum in nostra potestate? Respondeo et dico quod habere spiritum sanctum est dupliciter: vel receptive, et sic non est in nostra potestate eum recipere, sed ex dono Dei eum recipimus. Rom. V, 5: charitas Dei diffusa est in cordibus nostris, et cetera. Vel dispositive, et sic adhuc non sumus sufficientes eum recipere, id est nos disponere sine gratia Dei. II Cor. III, 5: non sumus sufficientes cogitare aliquid a nobis quasi ex nobis, sed sufficientia nostra ex Deo est. Vel aliquis dicitur recipere spiritum sanctum, non tamen plenus esse spiritu sancto, quando scilicet habet gratiam spiritus sancti quantum ad aliquam et non quantum ad omnem hominis operationem. Tunc autem dicitur plenus spiritu sancto, quando eo utitur generaliter. Modus autem repletionis est in dilectione Dei et proximi. Et ideo cum dicit loquentes, etc., primo tangit modum repletionis ex parte Dei; secundo ex parte proximi, ibi subiecti invicem, et cetera. Circa primum tria facit. Primo ponitur spiritualis meditatio; secundo spiritualis exultatio, ibi cantantes, etc.; tertio gratiarum actio, ibi gratias agentes, et cetera. Prima in duas, quia primo ponit modum meditationis, secundo materiam eius, ibi in Psalmis, et cetera. Dicit ergo loquentes vobis, et cetera. Est autem duplex locutio. Una exterior, hominis ad homines; alia interior, hominis ad seipsum. Talis autem debet esse compunctiva. Iob X, 1: loquar in amaritudine animae meae. Item, debet fieri in secreto. Matth. VI, v. 6: tu autem cum oraveris, intra in cubiculum tuum, et clauso ostio, ora patrem tuum. Et Sap. VIII, 16: intrans in domum meam, conquiescam cum illa. Materiam vero meditationis tangit, cum dicit in Psalmis, et cetera. Psallere est uti Psalterio. Et sic in Psalmis, id est bonis operationibus. Ps. LXXX, 3: sumite Psalmum, et date tympanum, Psalterium iucundum, et cetera. Et hymnis, id est laudibus divinis. Ps. CXLVIII, 14: hymnus omnibus sanctis eius, et cetera. Et canticis spiritualibus, scilicet de spe aeternorum. Rom. XII, 12: spe gaudentes. Ps. XCI, 4: in decachordo Psalterio cum cantico in cithara. Ps. XCVII, 1: cantate domino canticum novum, et cetera. Meditemur ergo de recta operatione quid faciendum, de divina laudatione quid imitandum, de caelesti iucundatione quid et quomodo serviendum. Sic ergo effectus spiritus sancti primus est sacra meditatio, secundus spiritualis exultatio, quia ex frequenti meditatione ignis charitatis in corde accenditur. Ps. XXXVIII, 4: concaluit cor meum intra me, et in meditatione mea exardescet ignis, et cetera. Et hinc generatur laetitia spiritualis in corde.
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Et ideo dicit cantantes et psallentes, id est ut affectus nostri afficiantur gaudio spirituali ad operanda bona. I Cor. XIV, 15: psallam spiritu, psallam et mente. Col. III, 16: in omni sapientia docentes et commonentes vosmetipsos in Psalmis et hymnis et canticis spiritualibus, in gratia cantantes et psallentes in cordibus vestris domino. Ex hoc error haereticorum confunditur dicentium quod vanum est cantare domino cantica vocalia sed spiritualia tantum. Nam in laudibus Ecclesiae est aliquid per se considerandum, et hoc est quod apostolus dicit in cordibus. Aliquid vero propter duo, scilicet propter nos, ut mens nostra incitetur ad devotionem interiorem; sed si ex hoc aliquis commoveatur ad dissolutionem, vel in gloriam inanem, hoc est contra intentionem Ecclesiae. Item, propter alios, quia per hoc rudes efficiuntur devotiores. IV Reg. III, 15: cumque caneret psaltes, facta est super eum manus domini. Tertius effectus est gratiarum actio: quia ex hoc quod aliquis sic affectus est ad Deum, recognoscit se omnia habere a Deo. Quanto enim aliquis magis afficitur ad Deum, et ipsum cognoscit, tanto videt eum maiorem et se minorem; imo prope nihil, in comparatione ad Deum. Iob XLII, 5: oculus meus videt te, idcirco me reprehendo, et cetera.
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Et ideo dicit gratias agentes semper pro omnibus, scilicet donis, vel prosperis, vel adversis. Ps. XXXIII, 1: benedicam dominum in omni tempore, et cetera. Quia haec etiam sunt nobis dona in via. Iac. I, 2: omne gaudium existimate, etc., Act. V, 41: ibant apostoli gaudentes, et cetera. I Thess. V, 18: in omnibus gratias agite. Sed hoc in nomine domini nostri Iesu Christi, quia omnia bona proveniunt per eum. Rom. V, 1: pacem habemus ad Deum per dominum nostrum Iesum Christum, per quem accessum, et cetera. Sed addit Deo, inquantum actor noster est per creationem, et patri, inquantum misit nobis Christum, per quem regeneravit nos. Et sic gratias Deo, quantum ad bona naturae; patri, quantum ad bona gratiae.
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Sed quantum ad proximum, ponit modum repletionis, dicens subiecti invicem in timore Christi, id est non propter timorem humanum, sed Christi.
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Supra apostolus posuit praecepta generalia ad omnes, hic ponit ea quae pertinent ad speciales quasdam personas et status. Et quia secundum philosophum in politicis domus habet tres connexiones, sine quibus non est perfecta, scilicet viri et mulieris, patris et filii, domini et servi; ideo, haec tria prosequens, instruit: primo mulierem et virum; secundo patrem et filium, cap. VI, ibi filii, obedite, etc.; tertio servos et dominos, ibi servi, obedite, et cetera. Prima in duas. Primo enim monet mulieres de subiectione; secundo viros de dilectione, ibi viri, diligite, et cetera. Prima in duas. Primo ponit admonitionem; secundo eius rationem, ibi quoniam vir caput est, et cetera. Dicit ergo mulieres viris suis subditae sint, quia certe mulier, si primatum habeat, contraria est viro suo, ut dicitur Eccli. c. XXV, 30. Et ideo specialiter monet eas de subiectione. Et hoc sicut domino, quia proportio viri ad uxorem quodammodo est sicut servi ad dominum, quantum debet regi mandato domini; sed differentia est in hoc, quod dominus utitur servis suis quo ad id quod est sibi utile: sed vir utitur uxore et liberis ad utilitatem communem. Et ideo dicit sicut domino; non quod vere sit dominus, sed sicut dominus. I Petr. III, 1: mulieres subditae sint viris suis, et cetera. Deinde subdit rationem suam. Circa quod tria facit. Primo eam proponit; secundo exemplum inducit, ibi sicut Christus, etc.; tertio ex exemplo intentum concludit, ibi sed sicut, et cetera. Ratio autem haec est, quoniam vir est caput mulieris, in capite autem viget sensus visus, Eccle. II, 14: sapientis oculi in capite eius, et ideo vir debet gubernare mulierem ut caput eius. I Cor. XI, 3: caput quidem mulieris vir.
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Deinde ponit exemplum, cum dicit sicut Christus caput est Ecclesiae. Supra I, 22 s.: ipsum dedit caput supra omnem Ecclesiam, quae est corpus ipsius, et hoc non ad utilitatem suam, sed Ecclesiae, quia ipse est salvator corporis eius. Act. IV, 12: non est enim aliud nomen sub caelo datum hominibus, in quo oporteat nos salvos fieri. Is. c. XII, 2: ecce Deus salvator meus, et cetera. Ex hoc autem concludit intentionem, cum dicit sed sicut, et cetera.
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Quasi dicat: non est conveniens, quod membrum repugnet ipsi capiti in aliquo; nunc autem, sicut Christus caput est Ecclesiae, suo modo, ita vir est caput mulieris: non debet ergo mulier inobediens esse viro, sed sicut Ecclesia subiecta est Christo, Ps. LXI, 2: nonne Deo subiecta erit anima mea, etc., ita et mulieres viris suis. Gen. III, v. 16: sub viri potestate eris. Et hoc in omnibus, scilicet quae non sunt contra Deum; quia dicitur Act. V, 29: obedire oportet Deo magis, quam hominibus. Deinde cum dicit viri, diligite uxores vestras, etc., monet viros ad dilectionem uxorum. Et primo facit hoc, secundo assignat rationem huius, ibi sicut Christus, et cetera. Dicit ergo viri, diligite uxores vestras, quia certe ex amore, quem habet vir ad uxorem, magis caste vivit et pacifice uterque se habet. Si autem vir aliam magis diligit, quam suam, se et suam discrimini exponit. Col. III, 19: viri, diligite uxores vestras, et nolite amari esse ad illas. Tangit autem rationem huius triplicem. Primam sumit ex exemplo Christi, cum dicit sicut et Christus, etc.; secundam ex parte viri, ibi qui suam uxorem diligit, etc.; tertiam ex parte mandati divini, ibi propter hoc relinquet, et cetera. Circa primum tria facit. Primo proponit exemplum dilectionis Christi; secundo signum, ibi et tradidit, etc.; tertio concludit intentum ita et viri, et cetera.
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Dicit ergo: sicut et Christus dilexit Ecclesiam. Supra eodem: estote imitatores Dei sicut filii charissimi, et cetera. Signum autem dilectionis Christi ad Ecclesiam ostenditur, quia tradidit semetipsum pro ea. Gal. II, 20: dilexit me, et tradidit semetipsum pro me, et cetera. Is. LIII, 12: tradidit in mortem animam suam, et cetera. Sed ad quid? Ut illam sanctificaret. Hebr. c. ult.: Iesus ut sanctificaret per suum sanguinem populum, et cetera. Io. XVII, 17: sanctifica eos in veritate. Iste est effectus mortis Christi. Effectus autem sanctificationis est mundatio eius a maculis peccatorum.
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Ideo subdit dicens mundans eam lavacro aquae. Quod quidem lavacrum habet virtutem a passione Christi. Rom. VI, 3: quicumque baptizati sumus in Christo Iesu, in morte ipsius baptizati sumus, consepulti enim sumus cum illo per Baptismum in mortem. Ez. XXXIX: effundam super vos aquam mundam, et cetera. Zac. XIII, 1: erit fons patens domui David, et cetera. Et hoc in verbo vitae, quod adveniens aquae dat ei virtutem abluendi. Matth. c. ult.: euntes ergo docete omnes gentes, baptizantes eos in nomine patris, et filii, et spiritus sancti. Finis autem sanctificationis est puritas Ecclesiae.
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Ideo dicit ut exhiberet sibi gloriosam Ecclesiam; quasi dicat apostolus: indecens est quod immaculatus sponsus sponsam duceret maculatam. Et ideo sibi exhibet eam immaculatam: hic per gratiam sed in futuro per gloriam. Unde dicit gloriosam, scilicet per claritatem animae et corporis. Phil. III, v. 21: reformabit corpus humilitatis nostrae, et cetera. Et ideo addit non habentem maculam. Ps. c, 6: ambulans in via immaculata, et cetera. Ps. CXVIII, 1: beati immaculati in via, et cetera. Neque rugam, id est, sine defectu passibilitatis; quia, ut dicitur Apoc. VII, 16: non esurient, neque sitient amplius. Aut aliquid huiusmodi, sed ut sit sancta, per confirmationem gratiae, et immaculata ab omni immunditia. Et haec omnia intelligi possunt de exhibitione, quae erit in futuro per gloriam. Si autem de exhibitione per fidem, tunc diceretur: ut exhiberet sibi, scilicet per fidem, Ecclesiam gloriosam, quia gloria magna est sequi dominum, ut dicitur Eccli. XXIII, 38, non habentem maculam, scilicet criminis mortalis. Maculata es in iniquitate tua, Ier. II, v. 22. Neque rugam, id est duplicitatem intentionis, quam non habent qui recte coniuncti sunt Christo et Ecclesiae. Iob XVI, 9: rugae meae testimonium dicunt contra me, et cetera. Sed magis sanctam per intentionem, et immaculatam per omnimodam puritatem.
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Ex hoc tertio concludit intentum, dicens ita et viri debent diligere uxores suas, ut corpora sua.
Supra induxit viros ad dilectionem uxorum, ex parte Christi, vel exemplo dilectionis quam habet Christus ad Ecclesiam, hic ostendit idem ex parte ipsiusmet viri. Et facit duo: primo ponit rationem; secundo confirmat eam per exemplum, ibi sicut et Christus, et cetera. Ratio est talis: vir et mulier sunt quodammodo unum; unde sicut caro subditur animae, ita mulier viro; sed nullus unquam habuit carnem suam odio: ergo nec uxorem. Dicit ergo qui suam uxorem diligit, seipsum diligit. Matth. XIX, 6: itaque non sunt duo, sed una caro. Et ideo sicut peccaret contra naturam qui seipsum odio haberet, ita qui uxorem. Eccli. XXV, 1 s.: in tribus beneplacitum est spiritui meo, quae sunt probata coram Deo et hominibus: concordia fratrum, amor proximorum, et vir et mulier bene sibi consentientes. Quod autem sic debeant se diligere, probat dicens nemo enim carnem suam unquam odio habuit; quod patet per effectum, quia probatio dilectionis exhibitio est operis. Nam id quod pro viribus conservamus, diligimus. Sed quilibet nutrit et fovet carnem suam propter conservationem. I Tim. ult.: habentes autem alimenta et quibus tegamur, et cetera. Sed contra Lc. XIV, 26: qui non odit uxorem, etc., non potest esse meus discipulus. Respondeo. Dicendum est quod, ut apostolus dicit, sic homo uxorem debet diligere sicut se; se autem debet homo diligere infra Deum; sic ergo uxorem debet diligere, scilicet infra Deum. Dicit autem qui non odit uxorem, non quia praecipiat eam odire, quod esset peccatum mortale praecipere, sed praecipit eam ita ut se diligere; nunc autem minor dilectio est quasi quoddam odium respectu eius quod summe et plus diligitur, scilicet respectu Dei; ita nemo carnem suam odit, et cetera. Sed contra: qui diligit aliquem, non vult, nec appetit ab eo separari; sed sancti volunt a carne separari. Rom. VII, 24: infelix ego homo, quis me liberabit de corpore mortis huius? Phil. I, 23: desiderium habens dissolvi, et cetera. Praeterea, nullus affligit quod diligit, sed sancti affligunt carnem suam in hoc mundo. I Cor. IX, 27: castigo corpus meum, et cetera. Praeterea, quidam occidunt se, sicut auditum est frequenter. Item de Iuda. Respondeo. Caro potest considerari in se: et sic non habetur odio, sed naturaliter quilibet appetit eam esse et fovet eam ut sit. Vel potest considerari caro inquantum est alicuius impeditiva quod volumus, et sic odio quodammodo habetur per accidens. Nam omne quod volumus, aut est bonum, aut malum: si bonum, vel est ut finis ultimus, scilicet vita aeterna, a qua impedimur per carnem. II Cor. V, 6: quamdiu sumus in hoc corpore, peregrinamur a domino. Et quia naturaliter appetimus finem nostrum et bene esse, nec hoc possumus quamdiu in hac carne sumus, ideo vellemus eam abiicere; non sicut malum odio habitum sed sicut bonum minus dilectum, impediens maius bonum. Et sic exponendae sunt auctoritates supra inductae: infelix, et cetera. Item: desiderium habens, etc.; vel consimiles. Vel illud quod volumus est bonum non ut finis sed disponens ad finem, sicut sunt habitus virtutum; hoc autem bonum impeditur per carnis lasciviam. Et ideo sancti affligunt et macerant carnem suam, ut subdatur spiritui ad repressionem concupiscentiarum, quia caro concupiscit impediens acquisitionem virtutum nos disponentium ad bonum ultimum. Et ideo qui sic affligit carnem suam, ut subdatur spiritui, non odit eam, sed procurat bonum eius, quia bonum eius est quod subiiciatur spiritui, sicut bonum hominis est quod subiiciatur Deo. Ps. LXXII, 28: mihi autem adhaerere Deo bonum est. Et sic intelligitur: castigo corpus meum, etc., et consimiles. Unde hoc non oportebat fieri in statu innocentiae, quamdiu homo subditus fuit Deo, et caro totaliter subdita fuit spiritui, in qua quidem mutua subiectione consistebat donum originalis iustitiae. Sed aliquando illud quod volumus est malum, et ideo, sicut boni carnem affligunt vel deponere volunt, inquantum impeditiva est boni quod appetunt, ita mali, inquantum caro est impeditiva mali quod appetunt, eam occidunt et se suspendunt, sicut Iudas. Deinde ostendit quod virum oportet uxorem diligere, et hoc per exemplum.
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Unde dicit sicut et Christus Ecclesiam, scilicet dilexit, sicut aliquid sui, quia membra sumus corporis. Supra IV, 25: sumus enim invicem membra. Dicit autem de carne eius propter eamdem participationem naturae. Lc. ult.: spiritus autem carnem et ossa non habet, et cetera. Vel dicit de carne, mystice, quantum ad debiles qui sunt carnei, et de ossibus eius, quantum ad fortes qui sunt ossei.
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Supra exhortatus est apostolus Ephesios ad amorem uxorum dupliciter, scilicet exemplo dilectionis Christi ad Ecclesiam, item ex amore hominis ad seipsum, hic tertio hortatur eos per auctoritatem Scripturae. Et circa hoc tria facit: primo auctoritatem inducit; secundo eam mystice exponit, ibi sacramentum hoc, etc.; tertio adaptat eam secundum litteralem sensum ad propositum suum, ibi verumtamen et vos, et cetera. Auctoritas haec dicitur Gen. II, 24 dicta est ab Adam vidente uxorem, scilicet de costa sua formatam. Sed contra dicitur Matth. XIX, 4 s. quod Deus hoc dixit. Respondeo: Adam ut a Deo inspiratus hoc dixit; Deus autem ut Adam inspirans et docens. Nos autem hoc idem dicimus et multa alia, quae dixit dominus, spiritu Dei docente; unde dicitur Matth. X, 20: non enim vos estis qui loquimini, et cetera. Notandum hic est quod in praedicta auctoritate triplex coniunctio viri ad mulierem designatur. Prima per affectum dilectionis, quia est tantus affectus utriusque ut patres relinquant. II Esdr. IV, 25: diligit homo uxorem suam magis quam patrem, et multi dementes facti sunt propter uxores suas, et cetera. Ibi multa. Hoc autem naturale est, quia appetitus naturalis est concors debitae actioni. Constat autem, quod omnibus agentibus superioribus inest appetitus ut propinent et communicent inferioribus, et ideo amor naturalis inest eis versus inferiora. Et quia homo respectu patris et matris est inferior, non superior, ideo ad uxorem, cuius est superior, et ad filios naturaliter plus afficitur quam ad parentes, et etiam quia uxor sibi coniungitur ad actum generationis. Secunda coniunctio est per conversationem. Unde dicit: et adhaerebit uxori suae, et cetera. Eccli. XXV, 1: in tribus beneplacitum est spiritui meo, et cetera. Tertia est per carnalem coniunctionem, ibi: et erunt duo in carne una, id est in carnali opere. In qualibet enim generatione est virtus activa et passiva; sed in plantis utraque est in eodem, in perfectis autem animalibus distinguuntur. Et ideo in actu generationis ita se habent masculus et foemina in animalibus sicut in plantis solo eodem uno corpore fit.
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Consequenter exponit eam mystice, et dicit sacramentum hoc magnum est, idest sacrae rei signum, scilicet coniunctionis Christi et Ecclesiae. Sap. VI, 24: non abscondam a vobis sacramentum Dei. Notandum est hic, quod quatuor sacramenta dicuntur magna, scilicet Baptismus ratione effectus, quia delet culpam et aperit ianuam Paradisi; confirmatio ratione ministri, quia solum a pontificibus et non ab aliis confertur; Eucharistia ratione continentiae, quia totum Christum continet; item matrimonium ratione significationis, quia significat coniunctionem Christi et Ecclesiae. Et ideo si mystice exponatur, debet sic exponi littera praecedens: propter hoc relinquet homo, scilicet Christus, patrem et matrem. Reliquit, inquam, patrem, inquantum est missus in mundum et incarnatus. Io. XVI, v. 28: exivi a patre, et veni in mundum, et cetera. Et matrem, scilicet synagogam. Ier. XII, 7: reliqui domum meam, et dimisi haereditatem meam, et cetera. Et adhaerebit uxori suae, Ecclesiae. Matth. ult.: ecce vobiscum sum omnibus diebus, et cetera. Consequenter argumentatur secundum sensum litteralem exponendo praedictum exemplum. Quaedam enim sunt in sacra Scriptura veteris testamenti, quae tantum dicuntur de Christo, sicut illud Ps. XXI, 17: foderunt manus meas, etc.; et illud Is. VII, 14: ecce virgo concipiet, et cetera. Quaedam vero de Christo et aliis exponi possunt, sed de Christo principaliter, de aliis vero in figura Christi, sicut praedictum exemplum. Et ideo primo exponendum est de Christo et postea de aliis.
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Et ideo dicit verumtamen et vos singuli, unusquisque uxorem suam diligat, quasi dicat: de Christo dicitur principaliter et si non singulariter, quia exponendum et implendum est in aliis in figura Christi. Dicit autem sicut semetipsum, quia sicut unusquisque se diligit in ordine ad Deum, ita debet uxorem diligere, non inquantum trahit ad peccatum. Lc. XIV, 26: si quis venit ad me, et non odit patrem et matrem, et uxorem suam, etc., sequitur: non potest meus esse discipulus. Sed quid de uxore? Uxor autem virum suum timeat, scilicet timore reverentiae et subiectionis, quia debet ei esse subiecta.
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1. Estote ergo imitatores Dei, sicut filii charissimi. Graece, dilecti. Quod ait ergo, respicit ad capitis praecedentis illud postremum: Sicut et Deus in Christo donavit vobis, quasi dicat: Cum accepta remissione peccatorum facti sitis Dei filii, Deoque dilecti, debetis Deum patrem vestrum imitari; ut sicut ille vobis in Christo peccata condonavit, ita et vos invicem offensas condonetis.
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2. Et ambulate in dilectione. Id est, sicut estis a Deo dilecti, sic et vos exercete opera mutuae dilectionis. Confirm&t eandem exhortationem exemplo Christi, dum subjicit: Sicut et Christus dilexit nos; non tantum ut Deus, dilectione communi cum Patre, sed etiam ut homo, charitate creata et infusa; cujus magnitudinem declarat, quod sequitur:
Et tradidit semetipsum pro nobis oblationem et hostiam Deo, in odorem suavitatis. Non omnis oblatio etiam hostia est; ideo non satis habuit dicere oblationem, sed addidit et hostiam. Qua voce sacrificium significatur, nec qualecunque, sed animalis oblati. Phrasis illa metaphovica: Jn odorem suavitatis, vel ut Graeca vox sonat, bonae fragrantiae (sic enim et Hieronymus legit in praefatione commentarii iu Zachariam) sumpta est ex veteri testamento, ubi de legalibus ac fumosis sacrificiis saepissime dicitur, ea acceptari a Deo in odorem suavitatis, id est, instar rei suaviter olentis. Igitur sensus est: Dilexit nes, adeo ut sponte semetipsum tradiderit pro redemptione nostri, seque obtulerit hostiam Deo acceptisjimam, quando in cruce mortem pro nobis subiit. Non exprimit Apostolus, sed cogitandum relinquit, nos etiam, ubi res postulat, debere Christi exemplo tradere nosmetipsos in mortem pro fratribus. Quod quidem expressit Joannes 1. Epist. 3. dicens: Quoniam ille animam suam pro nobis posuit: et nos debemus pro fratribus animas ponere.
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3. Fornicatio autem et omnis immunditia, aut avaritia, nec nominetur in vobis. Redit ad praecepta sanctitatis. Fornicatio complectituc omnem sexuum commixtionem extra conjugium. Immunditia ad caeteras pertinet libidines seu pollutiones, quae contra naturam sunt, et ad generationem ordinari non possunt, ut bene S. Thora. exponit. De quo genere Hieronymum contra Cynicos philosophos aliosque nonnullos saeculi sapientes graviter et christiane scribentem in comment. videat lector castimoniae studiosus. Avaritiae nomen quid Paulo significet, ubi eam anrmmerat immunditiae peccatis, jam ad cap. 4, 19. dictum est ex Hieronymo. Qui et hoc loco repetit, Apostolum non de ea loqui avaritia, quae studet coacervandae pecuniae, sed qua quis insatiabilis et inexpletus per omnia turpitudinum genera lasciviaeque discurrit. Si quis autem, inquit, arbitratur avaritiam non hoc sensu accipiendam, reddat causam, cur Apostolus inter impudicitiae peccata mediam avaritiam extraordinarie posuerit. Porro S. Thomas, cum prius vulgatam expositionem adiuxisset, qua per avaritiam immoderatus amor pecuniae intelligitur, postea subjungit, intelligi posse eam luxuriae speciem, quae justitiae opponitur, id est, adulterium; quod est injustus usus uxoris alienae: sicut avaritia est iDJustus usus pecuniae. Verum hic sensus ad locum superioris capitis minus potest accommodari. Sed et hoc loco sub generali nomine fornicationis adulterium, sicut alibi, facile comprehenditur. Jam quod dicit Apostolus: nec nominetur in vobis, sive inter vos, ita intellige: Tam alienos esse vos volo ab his vitiis, ut si fieri potest, ne quidem audiantur aliquando nominari ex ore vestro, ne forte (quod proclive est in hujusmodi peccatis) ex ipso auditu concepta cogitatio carnem commoveat ad concupiscendum. Tale est, quod alibi praecipit: Fugite fornicationem, 1 Cor. 6. Et hinc quoque sumitur argumentum, ad idem genus peccatorum avaritiam, quam dixit, pertinere, quemadmodum et ex eo, quod sequitur:
Sicut decet sanctos. Sancti professione sunt omnes Christiani, sancti (inquam) vera sanctitate, quae est munditia Deo oblata: qua generaliter quidem apeccatis, per eorum remissionem, specialiter autem a sordibus carnalium peccatorum puri 6unt et mundi.
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4. Aut turpitudo, aut stultiloquium, aut scurrilitas. Subaudi ex parte praecedenti, nec nominetur inter vos, longe absit a vobis. Turpitudo, sive obscoenitas secundum S. Thomam consistit in tactibus, amplexibus et osculis libidinosis. Potest famen hoc loco ad verba pertinere turpitudo, ut ad Col. 3. turpiloquium. Stultiloquium teste Hieronymo pertinet ad fatuas et ineptas fabulas, praesertim eas, in quibus sit aliquid obscoenitatis. Pro scurrilitate Graecis est euTparceAia, quae vox proprie urbanitatem seu comitatem significat, quam Philosophus 4. Eth. 8. in bonam partem accipit, et virtutem facit mediam inter duo vitia, scurrilitatem et rusticitatem. Non est autem putandum, Apostolum hanc euTpaiceXtav damnare voluisse, licet ita sentire Chysostomus videatur in parte morali sui commentarii: cum juxta ipsum Chrysostomum urbanitate usus sit Paulus, quando dixit: Utinam et abscindantur, qui V08 conturbant, Gal. 6. Sed eam vocem pro scurrilitate Apostolus posuit, quod plerumque, qui urbanitatem affectant, a medio virtutis aberrantes, ad scurrilitatem declinent. Qua in significatione etiam Pindarus Poeta Graecam vocem usurpasse legitur. Itaque recte noster interpres scurrilitatem vertit, quam nos, inquit Hieronymus, jocularitatem alio verbo possumus appellare. Ea est, quum in jocis et facetiis modas excaditur, praesertim admiscendo turpia. Et haec omnia S. Thomas affirmat esse mortalia peccata, in quantum ad mortalia ordinantur; ut saepe contingit in hujusmodi. Confer Cajetanum in 2. sec. q. 148. ad fin.
Quae ad rem non pertinet. Rectius in nonnullis codicibus plurali numero, pertinent: suffragantibus Hieronymo et Ambrosiano. Graece et Syriace, quae non conveniunt, id est, quae omnia dedecent Christianos, et sanctum eorum nomen dehonestant. Refertur enim ad tria praedicta, turpitudinem, stultiloquium et scurrilitatem.
Sed magis gratiarum actio. Scilicet nominetur, audiatur, sonet ex ore vestro. Id est, loco facetiarum et scurrilium jocorum, quibus homines carnales in congressibus et conviviis suis oblectare se solent, vo6, semper memores beneficiorum Dei, potius ea loquimini, quae sonant gratiarum actionem, et talibus colloquiis vos oblectate. Sic enim et infra monet, ut canentes et psallentes Domino, gratias agant semper pro omnibus. Hieronymus existimat Graeco nomine eu/aptaTia, propter consequentiam Apostolici contextus, hoc loco convenientius intelligi eam virtutem, qua grati, hoc est gratiosi apud homines appellantur. Nam ut stultiloquum et scurram non decet esse Christianum; ita decet sermonem ejus sale esse conditum, ut gratiam apud audientes habeat. Confirmat hunc sensum ex eo, quod apud Hebraeos gratiosus et gratias agens uno vocabulo dicatur, id quod ex materna lingua putat imitatum Apostolum etiam in Graeco sermone, ut Eucharistiam, quae proprie gratiarum actionem significat, pro gratiositate posuerft. Quae Hieronymi conjectura non est prorsus improbanda: quandoquidem et Graeci auctores su;(a'piaTOV vocact eum, qui jucundus, gratiosus et amabilis est. Atque ejus rei exemplum secundum LXX. profert idem Hieronymus ex Proverb. 11. cap., ubi nos legimus: Mulier gratiosa inveniet gloriam. Contendit enim, et aliorum interpretum collatione probat, legendum in Graeco s6)(apiaxoe;, pro eo, quod in exemplaribus legitur su^pr^axog. Sed haec non ita commemoramus, ut propterea priorem sensum, qui et pius et percommodus est, ac primum obvius, putemus posthabendum esse: licet hic posterior etiam Cajetano et Stapulensi magis arrideat. Certe vocabulum hoc so/apiOTia nec apu 1 Apostolum nec usquam alibi iu tota Scriptura reperitur in alia significatione quam gratiarum actionis.
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5. Hoc enim scitote intelligentes. Graece est: Hoc enim estis, vel estote cognoscentes. Ac magis placet modus praeceptivus, verba enim sunt denuntiantismalum, quod cavere debeant: sicut 1 Cor. 6., ubi similiter denuntiaas ait: Nolite errare, neque fornicari etc. Et Gal. 5. Quae praedico vobis, sicut praedixi. Jam vero idem est: Estote intelligenteSj et: scitote; quod solum legit Hieronymus. Unde conjicere licet, remoto verbo: Estote } duas diversas interpretationes conflatas in unam. Scitote, intelligentes. Tametsi non rejicio, quod Erasmus annotat, quosdam codices non sots, sed ioxe legere; id est, scitote; quemadmodum et apud Oecumenium legisse videtur interpres ejus, dum vertit: Scitote scitote Graece siriptum est iots. Sed quia hoc in sacris codicibus rarissimum est, ac fere semper pro scitote Graeca habent yivcuoxsts: idcirco verisimilius arbitror, quod prius dixi.
Quod omnis fornicator, aut immundus, aut avarus, quod est idolorum servitus. Graece et Syriace: Qui est idololatra, id est, idolorum cultor ac cervus. Hieronymus legit: quod est idolis serviens. Videri potest in Latinis jam olim mutatam fuisse lectionem occasione loci Col. 3., ubi de avaritia dicitur: Quae est simulacrorum servitus. Quanquam nostra lectio facile sic accipitur, ut relativum quod non ad avarum, sed ad vitium eo nomine significatum, id est, avaritiam, referatur. Illud majoris quaestionis est, quem hic avarum dicat Apostolus: et quo sensu avarum, idololatram: et avaritiam, ilololatriam nominet. Eadem quaestio est de loco jam citato ad Col. 3. Et quidem plerique omnes avarum intelligunt usitato more eum, qui per fas et nefas studet opibus acquirendis; et hunc idololatram dici, quia unam eaudemque rem colunt avarus et idololatra: scilicet aurum et argentum, alter in simulacris, alter in nummis. Unde Theophylactus opinatur, Paulum ad Davidem alludere. Quod enim ille dicit Psalm. 113. Simulacra gentium argentum et aurum; hcc Paulus ad avaros transferens invertit, tanquam diceret: argentum et aurum sunt avarorum eimulacra, idola, Dii. Quod tamen non ita intelligendum, quasi avarus proprie sit idololatra. Non enim aurum ant pecuniam proprie colit pro Deo suo, sed talis recte dicitur quadam similitudine: quia sicut paganus idolum veneratur ut Deum, ita avarus nummos quasi rem sacram ac divinam diligenter asservat, reverenter habet, forma delectatur, usu consumere non audet, iisque, secundum poetam, tanquam parcere sacro cogitur, aut pictis tanquam gaudere tabellis. Unde et Joannes Cassianus lib. 7. inst. mon. cap. 7. de avaritia: Cernis, inquit, ad quantam labem rabies haec per gradus singulos crescat, ut etiam idolorum vel simulacrorum servitus Apostoli voce pronuntietur: eo quod figura Dei et imagine praetermissa, quam devote serviens Deo immaculatam in semetipso debuit custodire, hominum figuras impressas auro diligere pro Deo maluit et tueri. Quanquam fortasse rectius cum S. Thoma dixerimus, idcirco avaritiam vocari cultum idolorum: quia sicut paganus in idolo, sic avarus in idoli materia, quae est aurum et argentum, suam fiduciam collocat ejusque gratia omnia facit. Qua ratione et Dominus in Evangelio Matth. 6. homines avaros dicit servire mammonae, id est, divitiis. At vero S. Hieronymus, licet hanc etiam expositionem, quam vulgatam esse fatetur, adferat: ipse tamen, sibi constans, eandem hic avaritiam significari putat, de qua jam semel et iterum superius Apostolum exposuit. Nec arbitratur sibi obstare, quod avarus hic appelletur idolorum servus. Nam sicut passim apud Prophetas idololatria fornicatio vocatur; ita vicissim, inquit, fornicatio per idololatriam potest intelligi. Rationem hujus appellationis explicant alii, ut Sasboldus in comment. et Galenus noster catechesi 82., nempe quodSimoniani (quos ab Apostolo notatos existimant) infandas libidines ita exercebant, ut eas referrent in Dei honorem, et tanquam sacrificium acceptissimum offerrent Patri universorum. Talia namque de Gnosticis, e schola Simonis exortis, scribit Epiphanius haeresi 26. Vide etiam Theodoretum lib. 1. haeret. fabul. cap. 2. Hunc igitur execrabilem cultum existimant ab Apostolo vocari idololatriam.
Non habet haereditatem in regno Christi et Dei. Habet, pro habebit. Nam alibi loquitur in futuro: Non haereditabunt regnum Dei, 1 Cor. 6. et Gal. 5., vel certe, in praesenti, non habet haereditatem, id est, jus haereditatis aliquando percipiendae: quod jus habetur in hac vita per gratiam adoptionis. Unde intelligitur, vitia jam dicta gratiam, qua quis haeres est regni coelestis, excludere, proindeque gehennae obnoxium facere. Sed quaeritur, au hoc extendendum sit ad caetera paulo ante memorata, turpitudinem, stultiloquium et scurrilitatem. S. Thomas extendere videtur; facit enim ea mortalia, ut supra indicavimus. At Hieronymus eodem suo comment. sic extenuat, ut in iis locum non habeat ista Apostoli denunciatio. Probabile est, quod dicit Cajetanus, Apostolum haec tua non repetivisse, eo quod secundum genus suum non sint peccata mortalia. Quod sequitur, in regno Christi et Dei: non ita dictum quasi Christus non sit Deus, aut aliud sit regnum Christi, aliud Dei; sed unum idemque regnum coeleste significavit; quod Dei est, ut regis naturalis; Christi autem hominis, ut regis a Deo constituti Psalm. 2. et hac ratione Deo subjecti, juxta doctrinam Apostoli 1 Cor. 15.
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6. Nemo nos seducat inanibus verbis. Id est, ne sinite vos decipi quorumdam vanis et fallacibus sermonibus, quasi hoc, quod dixi, non ita se habeat. Inania verba vocat, quibus veritas non subest, id est, falsa. Unde mendaces, vani vocantur.
Propter haec enim venit ira Dei in filios diffidentiae. Particula propter haec non est referenda ad illud postremuo, inanibus vernis; nam genus non convenit in Graeco, sed ad vitia pnus enumerata, fornicationem, immunditiam et avaritiam. Idque clarum est ex simili loco Col. 3. Propter quae venit ira Dei etc, cum proxime recensuisset membra mortificanda, fornicationem, immunditiam etc. Verbum venit tam hic quam ad Col. praesentis temporis est, -pxsxai. Unde Erasmu3, nimia licentia usus, utrobique vertit, venire solet. Neque enim sensum Apostoli assecutus est: nam verbum illud Graecum non significat veniendi consuetudinem; sed praesentem veniendi actum cum quadam adsignificatione futuri, ut 1 Joan. 2. Antichristus venit. Hinc illud aliquoties in Evangelio 6 sp^ousvoc, qui venturus est. Respicit igitur Apostolus ad futurum Dei judicium in impios, ut sit sensus, propter haec et hujusmodi peccat?. superventuram esse iram, id est, vindictam Dei, in eos qui talia committunt, sicut dicit 2 Thess. 1. In flamma ignis dantis vindictam iis, qui non noverunt Deum, et qui non obediunt Evangelio Christi; qui poenas dabunt in interitu aeternas etc. Estque notandum, Apostolum adversus vaniloquos et seductores munire volentem Ephesios, gravem illam denuntiationem hic repetere, cum exaggeratione poenao, quasi dicat: Qui talia facit, non solum excludetur ab haereditate regni coelestis, verum etiam incurret in pcenas gravissimas, qu?.e pro talibus peccatis ab irato Deo exspectandae sunt. Porro quod interpres hoc loco transtulit, in filios diffidentiae, id ad Coloss. 3., ubi eadem verba ab Apostolo repetuntur, vertit, super filios incredulitatis; cum m Graeco utrobique sit aitSL&ciac. Qua voce significatur vitium contumacis ac praefracti animi, non admittentis suasionein rationabilem. Hieronymus vocat insuasibilitatem; Cypr. epist. 64., quae ad Epictetum, legit: In filios contumaciae; alii hic vertunt, in filios inobedientes. Sunt enim iidem illi, de quibus ad Thess. Qui non obediunt Evangelio. Vocantur autem filii insuasibilitatis aut incredulitatis Hebraea phrasi, id est, homines impersuasibiles et increduli. Sic alibi filius iniquitatis, et hoc capite paulo infra filius lucis.
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7. Nolite ergo effici participes eorum. Scilicet tiliorum diffidentiae. Hieronymus comparticipes legit, ut est in Graeco. Sensus est: Proinde cavete, ne sitis consortes et socii eorum in peccatis supra dictis: id est, nolite similia facere, ne vos una cum illis involvat ira Dei.
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8. Eratis enim aliquando tenebrae: nunc autem lux in Domino. Tenebras fuisse eos dicit propter ignorantiam Dei et rerum agendarum, quae tanta, in eis fuerat, ut lapidem pro Deo colerent, et illa paulo ante enumerata non putarent esse peccata. De talibus capite superiori: Tenebris obscuratum habentes intellectum; et quae sequuntur. Nunc autem lucem in Domino ecsdem esse affirmat, quia per Christum ab illis tenebris purgati, fide et justitia lucebant. Notandus est hic locus adversus imputatores, pro justitia inhaerente. Nam quomodo lux, in quibus verum justitiae lumen non inest? Id vero tale esset, ac si quis aerem tenebrosum imputatione vocet lucidum.
Ut filii lucis ambulate. Sensus exhortationis est: Eecolite, q uid fueritis, et quid nunc sitis; fuistis aliquando tenebrae, perinde ut illi diffidentiae filii: nunc autem estis lux in Domino. Igitur ostendite moribus et conversatione vos esse filios lucis, id est, vos ad lucem pertinere. Quae lux est gratiae, in fide et sanctitate consisrens, et bonis operibus declaratur, juxta quod sequitur:
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9. Fructus enim lucis est in omni bonitate, et justitia, et veritate. Hoc est, fructus, quem profert lux gratiae, situs est in omni genere virtutum ac bonorum operum; sive pertineant ad beneficentiam proximis impendendam, sive ad justitiam erga proximos servandam. Veritas ad utrumque praecedens videtur referendum, id est, ad bonitatem et justitiam; quod utriusque generis opera oporteat esse vera, recta, sincera, quaeque Dei judicio probentur. Nam sensu non dissimili cap. 4. nominavit justitiam et sanctitatem veritatis. Graeci codices habent: Fructus enim spiritus etc., sed refrag-antibus omnibus Latinis. At nec Hieronymus, Graecae lectionis meminit; nec dubium, quin Latina contextui magis quadret, quia de luce sermo erat, non de spiritu; fierique potest ut Graecis ansam mutandi textum dederit alius locus similis, qui e^t Gal. 5. Fructus autem spiritus est charitas etc.
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10. Probantes quid sii beneplacitum Deo. Graece Domino. Pars haec ordinanda cum illa superiore, ut filii lucis ambulate; nam quod sequitui, fructus enim lucis etc. parenthesi claudendum. Probantes, inquit, hoc est in morem prudentissimi trapezitae, qui sculptum numisma, Hieronymi verba sunt, non solum oculo, sed et pondere et tinnitu probat, solicite explorantes, quae sint opera Deo placita; ut ea sola faciatis. Sic Rom. 12. ut probetis, quae sit voluntas Dei bona, et beneplacens, et perfecta.
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11. Et nolite communicare operibus infructuosis tenebrarum. Fructui lucis opponit opera tenebrarum, sicut ad Gal. 5. fructui spiritus, opera carnis. Et quo manifostior sit antithesis, addit, infructuosis. Opera tenebrarum appellat, quae ex ignorantia Dei et verae justitiae procedunt: cujusmodiquaedamsuperius enumeravit. Eadem infructuosa vocat, non solum, quod fructum vitae non pariant operantibus, sed quia fructus illorum mors est Rom. 6., minus enim dicens, plus vult intelligi. Communicat autem hujusmodi operibus, qui ea facientibus consortem se praebet, similia faciendo.
Magis aute?n redarguite. Graece, mcgis autem et arguite, quemadmodum et Hieronymus habet. Sed et noster interpres paulo post vertit, arguuntur, verbo simplici, Caeterum Ambrosianus legit, et objurgate; et infra, objurgantur. Conjunctionem et habent etiam manuscripta quaedam Latina. Verbum, argu ite, dupliciter accipi potest. Arguit enim et qui reprehendit ac revincit: et qui prodit ac manifestat. Aut igitur sensus est: Nec vobis satis sit similia non facere, nisi et, dum ab aliis fiunt, reprehendatis ac doceatis non esse facienda: quem commentarium postulant verba nostri textus et Ambrosiani: redarguite, objurgate. Aut hic sensus est: Quin potius vos, quia lux estis, illa tenebrarum opera lumine operam vestrorum prodite, detegite, manifestate: ut omnibus appareat illorum turpitudo. Nam contraria juxta se posita magis elucescunt. Utrumque sensum adfert Oecumenius: sed hunc posteriorem magis exigit metaphora lucis, in qua hactenus versatur Apostolus: quam et mox explicat.
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12. Quae enim in occulto fiunt ab ipsis, turpe est et dicere. Hoc quamvis ad filios diffidentiae, de quibus ante locutus fuerat, id est, ad infideles, referri possit, de quibus et capite superiori tale quid dixerat: alii tamen probabilius existimant hic notari familiam Simonis Magi, quae erat infandarum libidinum magistra. Ac sane eo refert hunc locum Epiphanius, de Simonis et sectactorum ejus haeresibus disserens. Possunt autem et illi sub filiis diffidentiae seu contumaciae comprehendi.
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13. Omnia autem, quae arguuntur, a lumine manifestantur. Lux et lumen ep.dein est vox in Graeco, ne quis frustra in discernendo laboret. Illud a lumine, medium inter duo verba, potest cum utrolibet construi: sed convenientius cum sequentij ut sensus sit: Dixi, vos, qui estis filii lucis, arguere debere opera tenebrarum. Sic enim habet rei natura, ut quaecunque tenebrosa arguuntur, id est, produntur, ea manifestentur a lumine. Nam argui, seu prodi, non aliud est, quam in lucem proferri.
Omne enim quod manifestatur, lumen est. Graecum participium cpavspoujisvov, cum sit medium, potest etiam active exponi: Omne quod manifestat; aut ut Syrus interpres transtulit, omne quod revelat, lux est. Nam certe passiva acceptio obscuritatem habet et lumine indiget. Eam plerique quidem sic exponunt, omne quod manifestatur, id est, peccatum, dum a lumine proditur ac redarguitur, fit lux, id est, in justitiam convertitur per poenitentiam: et proinde debetis omoi studio opera tenebrarum arguere, ut qui ea faciunt, relictis tenebris ad lucem veniant, et lux fiant. Quem sensum in paraphrasi diligenter prosequitur Erasmus. Sed ut taceam, quam absurde sonet peccatum, quod manifesta tur, esse lucem, quaero, quomodo secuadum hunc sensum umversaliter dicat Apostolus: Omne quod manifestatur, lumen est? cum plurimi hoc modo manifestati maneant in tenebris; et lumen, quo manifestantur, oderint, dicente Evangelista: Lux in tenebris lucet, et tenebrae eam non comprehenderunt, Joan. 1. Et ipso Domino attestante: Lux venit in mundum, et dilexerunt homines magis tenebras quam lucem. Erant enim eorum mala opera. Otnnis enim, qui male agit, odit lucem, et non venit ad lucem, ut non arguantur opera ejus, Joan. 3. Quocirca multo probabilior est activa participii acceptio, quam et Cajetanus amplectitur, quamque consequentia textus Apostolici prorsus exigere videtur. Praeceperat enim Ephesiis, ut tanquam filii lucis ambularent, et opera tenebrarum arguerent; quandoquidem, inquit, omnia quae arguuntur, a lumine manifestantur. Et hoc probat, quia omne manifestans lumen est, id est, nulla res potest manifestare et in apertum proferre aliquid obscurum, nisi sit lux, aut lucis particeps. Quod quidem veritatem habet universalem, tam de luco spirituali, quam corporali. Ad quem intellectum potest et nostri interpretis versio aptari, si sic intelligatur: omne id, quod per se ac primo manifestatur, lux est; ut proinde nihil aliud queat manifestari nisi beneficio lucis. Porro verisimile est Apostolum, euphoniae gratia, potius ^avspoousvov, quam cpavspouv dicere voluisse. Ac forte minus in usu est hoc participium neutrum,,eo quod coincidat cum infinitivo.
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14. Propter quod dicit: Surge qui dormis. Graece, expergiscere qui dormis. Et exsurge a mortuis, etilluminabit te Christus. Codex Laudensis pro te habet tibi. Graece: Et illucescet tibi Christus, quemadmodum et S. Ambrosius legit lib. 3. de Spiritu sancto cap. ult. Pro quo Hieronymus in commentario vertit: Orietur tibi. Commentator autem Ambrosiaster legit: Et continget te Christus. Sic et Augustinus in enarr. Psalm. 3. Cujus lectionis etiam Hieronymus meminit. Sed quisquis ita vertit, non legit in Graeco S7ii?a'jasi, ut nunc omnes codices habent, et quomodo Graeci commentatores legerunt, sed I^a^STat, ut observat idem Hieronymus. Quod autem ab eo narratur de quodam, qui testiroonium hoc exposuerit tanquam dictum a Christo pendente in cruce, ad Adam sub ea sepultum, qui sanguine redemptoris contactus vitam receperit: id nec ipse Hieronymus probat, et alibi velut fabulosum rejicit ac refellit, ut in comment. super Matth. 27. Quanquam idem Hieronymus epist. 17. admittit, Adamum illic fuisse sepultum, ubi Christus fuit postea crucinxus, quod idem a multis voteribus traditum est, quos refert Barun. anno Christi 34. sect. 112. Quaeritur, ubi scriptum sit hos testimonium a Paulo citatum. Existimat Hieronymus, nusquam in sacris literis exstare, sed vel sumptum ex apOcrypho quopiam, sicut alibi etiam ex Poetis ethnicis versiculos usurpat Apostolus; vel ipsum Spiritu sancto plenum, more prophetarum dicentium: Haec dicit Dominus, repente in verba, quae Christus in se loquebatur, erupisse, quasidicat: Haec Christus, siveSpiritus sanctus per me loquitur: Surge qui dormis etc. Verum haec, inquit S. Thomas, non est consuetudo Pauli. Quo?irca putat referendum esse ad locum Jcs. 60., ubi Propheta mysticam Jerusalem, id est, Ecclesiam, sic alloquitur: Surge, illuminare, quia venit lumen tuum, et gloria Domini super ie orta est. {Juia ecce tenebrae operient terram et caligo populos: super te autetn orietur Dominus. Hanc S. Thomae sententiam pluribus verbis probabilem reddit Cajetanus, eamque multi alii sequuntur, ac merito. Videtur enim Apostolus, agens de tenebris peccatorum et lumine gratiae, verba "prophetae generaliter ad Jerusalem dicta, in quibus luminis ac tenebrarum fit mentio, mutatis et additis quibusdam per accommouationem assumere pro exhortatione peccatoris, ut e somno ac morte, quae tenebrarum sunt, exurgens, a Christo illuminari mereatur. Ut sensus sit: Huc facit illud, quod scriptura dicit: Tu qui detinens somno peccatorum, expergiscere, et qui mortuus es in peccatis, resurge a mr>rte: et Christus, qui est verum lumen, per gratiam suam super te orietur, teque illuminabit. Quibus verbis excitatur quidem liberum arbitrium peccatoris, ut a peccatis resurgat: verum certe, ait S. Thomas, hoc ipsum habet liberum arbitrium a gratia praeveniente; sicut et postea meritorie operari, a gratia subsequente. Vel ut idem Doctor ait. 1. 2. quaest. 109- art. 7. ad 1. hanc scripturam explicans: Cum homo per liberum arbitrium a Deo motura surgere ccnatur a peccato, recipit lumen gratiae justificantis. Igitur haec illuminatio, quae peccatori surgenti a peccatis promittitur, ad gratiam pertinet, vel justificantem, vel 6ubsequentem.
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15. Videte itaque fratres, quomodo caute ambuletis. Fratres, non est in Graeco, et pro caute, Graece est, diligenter, accurate, quod in re praesenti ferme idem est, quod caute et circum* specie. Vos, inquit, qui estis filii lucis, ideoque errare, quasi in tenebris, non debetis; videte, id est, utimini luce vestra ad videndum, quomodo bene et cir cumspecte conversemini, maxime cum iis, qui foris sunt, id est, infidelibus; hoc enim expressit Col. 4. Non quasi insipientes, sed ut sapientes. Explicatio est ejus, quod dixit, caute. Nam insipientes incaute et imprudenter ambulant, sapientes, caute et prudenter.
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16. Redimentes tempus, quoniam dies mali sunt. Tempus, Graece xaipov, quod proprie temporis occasionem, sive opportunitatem significat. Et ita verterunt Erasmus et Theophylacti interpres. Sed sciendum, Apostolo plerumque idem esse xaipov, quod %p6\)Q\, ut recte Sasboldus annotavit. Atque isto modo tam Graeci, quam Latini interpretes, tempus intelligunt hoc loco, sensum hujusmodi reddentes: Quoniam dies mali sunt, id est, quia tempus hujus vitae plenum est tentationibus et laqueis peccatorum, juxta illud: Tentdtio est vita hominis super terram, Job. 7. secundum LXX., idcirco vos adhortor, ut redimatis tempus, id est, ut quovis pretio tempus hoc salutare faciatis vobis liberum ad serviendum Deo. Potius patimini bonorum temporalium dispendia, quam ut ea cum aliquo salutis aut Evangelii dispendio velitis retinere. Potest etiam sic recte accipi: Dies mali sunt, hoc est, viget adversum Christianos persecutio: ideo tempus redimite, id est, potius aliquod rerum vestrarum dispendium patimini, quam ut adversariis relinquatur occasio persequendi fidem Christi. Confer cum loco Col. 4, 5. Parent huic Apostoli praecepto non solum, qui relictis omnibus Christum sequuntur; verum etiam, qui cum res postulat, amittere aliquid de suo malunt, quam jus suum prosequendo temporis et tranquillitatis, quam in Deo habent, jacturam facere. Alibi tempus redimere dicuntur, qui moras trahunt ad evadendum, ut Dan. 2. rege dicente ad Chaldaeos: Certe novi, quod tempus redimitis. Gregorius quoque lib. 5, Mor. cap. 38. tempus redimere nos dicit, quando anteactam vitam, quam lasciviendo perdidimus, flendo reparamus. Sed hae significationes non conveniunt praesenti loco, ut nec alteri illi, qui est Col. 4., ubi idem hoc praeceptum repetitur. Porro dies malos vocat Apostolus non a temporis vitio, sed hominum, qui in tempore vivunt. Interdum vero mali dicuntur dies, propter afiiictionem et miseriam, quae hominibus in tempore accidit. Sic enim Jacob patriarcha Gen. 47. dies vitae suae malos appellavit.
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17. Propterea nolite fieri imprudentes. Alii vertunt: Ne sitis imprudentes. Utrumque recipiunt Graeca. Sed intelligentes, quae sit voluntas Dei. Graece: Sed intelligentes voluntatem Domini. Sensus Apostoli est: Cum dies mali sint, et omnia peccandi periculis plena; ne sitis imprudentes et incauti in conversatione vestra, ne tempus bene agendi vobis efiiuat; sed date operam, ut. intelligatis, quid Deus a vobis velit fieri; et sicut supra dictum est, probate diligenter, quid sit beneplacitum Deo.
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18. Et nolite inebriari vino, in quo est luxuria. Hic qaoque Apostolus, ut aliquoties supra, ad scripturam respicit; partim Prov. 23., ubi proeo, quod nos ex Hebraeo legimus: Ne intuearis vinum • LXX. verterunt, sicut hic in Graeco habetur: Ne inebriemini vino, partim Prov. 20., ubi secundum eosdem LXX. potius quam secundum Hebraicam voritatem legitur: Luxuriosa res vinum. Quam vero Apostolus ebrietatem, et quos ebriosos intelligat, alibi diximus. Neque enim hoc vitium restringit usque ad deliquium rationis. Illud in quo vel ad vinum referri potest, ut conveniat cum memorata sententia Sapientis, vel ad totum istud, inebriari vino. Quo quidem posteriori modo dictum Apostoli non habet ambiguitatem. Sed etsi, quod magis apparet, ad vinum referatur, nulla continetur hic injuria creaturae Dei. Non enim in vino luxuiia esse dicitur, ut in causa ejus vitii proprie effectiva, sed agente dumtaxat per modum occasionis; quae tantum improprie, et, ut ita dicam, abusive, causa vocari potest: ut in vino luxuria esse dicatur, eo quod ex vino largiter hausto corpus ita solet affici, ut tentante concupiscentia facile provocetur ad luxuriam. Nec dissimilis locutio Dan. 13. Species decepit te. Qucd tamen ne male intelligeretur, continuo additum est: Et concupiscentia subveriit cor tuum. Sic Ecclesiastici 19. Vinum et mulieres apostatare faciunt sapientes. Simile et illud, quod Ecclesia canit in festo sanctae crucis, fructus arloris seduxit nos. Ita et medici sine reprehensione loquuntur: Haec herba bilem provocat, illa Venerem ciet. Vide etiam, quae diximus ad Jllud 1 Cor. 8. Scientia inflat.
Luxuria, Graece aauma, non ad sola peccata libidinis pertinet; sed ad universum genus intemperantiae, lasciviae et prodigalit.itis extenditur: quemadmodum et axoAaatov, qua voce usi sunt LXX. in Proverbiis, generaliter dicitur de prodigo, lascivo et intemperante. Hoc generali modo luxuriam hic accipiunt Hieronymus et Graeci: tanquam sensus sit, ex vino immoderate sumpto homines velut impelli ad quodvis genus intemperantiae ac temeritatis. Alii vero non male putant ab Apostolo peculiariter significatam esse luxuriam, quae in libidine venerea consistit. Ad hanc enim incitari homines vino potos, experientia testis est. Unde illud verissime ab Hieronymo dictum: Venter mero aestuans facile despumat in libidinem. Facit quoque sensus hic ad taxandos Simonianos, qui, ut inter alia refert Epiphanius, solent peregrinis fratribus convivia extruere, et mero calefactis, praetextu fraternae charitatis, uxores suas communes facere.
Sed implemini Spiritu. Opponit hoc ei, quod dixit, inebriari vino, quasi dicat: Nolite repleri vino, unde ebrietas e.t luxuria: sed potius implemini Sniritu sancto, id est, gratia et laetitia spirituali, atque in universum bonis spiritualibus. Quaerit hic S. Thomas post Chrysostomum, an Spiritus sanctus sit in nostra potestate. Ad quod breviter respondetur, non esse, nisi quatenus per Dei gratiam libere exercemus opera bona, quae sunt Spiritus sancti dona, et per quae Spiritu sancto magis magisque replemur: ut explicat Chrysostomus. Nam ipsum secundum se Spiritum sanctum, qui Deus est et Dominus omnium, in nostra potestate esse, nullo modo fatendum est.
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19. Loquentes vobismetipsis in psalmis et hymnis, et canticis spiritualibus. In praepositio non additur in Graeco; quemadmodum nec Col. 3., ubi haec fere eadem repetuntur. Psalmus et hymnus Graeca vocabula sunt. Quamvis apud auctores profanos psalmus in genere cantionem significet, praesertim eam, quae fit citharae pulsu; hymnus veroDeorum laudibus accommodari soleat: in sacris tamen literis utriusque non nisi sacrum argumentum est; ut Psalmi sint sacrae cantiones in genere, quales omnes Ps.ilmi Davidici: Hymni vero, qui proprie Dei laudes continent. Cantici nomen prorsus generale est, ideoque addidit spiritualibus. Hoc enim ad solum proximum vocabulum referendum est, non ad duo priora: quia, ut dictum est, Psalmus et Hymnus consuetudine scripturae tantum in sacris et spiritualibus intelliguntur. Jam quod ait: Loquentes vobismetipsis, quidam sic exponunt, meditantes interna ac tacita locutione. Sed illi Graecam phrasim non considerarunt, qua significatur allocutio mutua; quemadmodum annotavimus ad illud capitis praecedentis, donantes invicem. Praecipit igitur Ephesiis Paulus, ut impleantur Spiritu S., idque futurum docet, si pro lascivis et amatoriis cantionibus, quas in suis symposiis cantare solent ebriosi., recitent et canant inter se mutuo psalmos et hymnos et cantica spiritualia. Videtur autem significari modus alternatim cantandi, qui usque hodie per universam Ecclesiam frequentatur. Simul observa veterem Christianorum morem, quo Psalmos et hymnos cantabant, non solum in conventibus Ecclesiae, verum etiam in domibus privatis, aliisque in locis. Sic Paulus et Silas in carcere constituti Deum hymnis laudabant, ita ut ab aliis captivis audirentur, Act. 16.
Cantantes et psallentes in cordibus vestris Domino. Graece, in corde vestro; quemadmodum et Coloss. 3., per quod expressius insinuatur cantantium unitas et consensus, juxta illud Act. 4. Multitudinis credentium erat cor unum et anima una. Sentit autem Apostolus, non summis labiis tantum, aut ad mulcendas aures cantandum et psallendum esse Deo, si Spiritu sancto repleri volumuo; sed ex intimo cordis affectu. Audiant haec, inquit Hieronymus, illi quibus psallendi in Ecclesia officium est, Deo non voce, sed corde cantandum. Et iterum: Sic cantet servus Christi, ut non vox canentis, sed verba placeant, quae leguntur; ut spiritus malus, qui erat in Saule, ejiciatur ex his, qui similiter ab eo possidentur. Addo, quod intendit Apostolus: et ut ipsi qui cantant, sancto Spiritu repleantur.
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20. Gratias agentes semper pro omnibus, in nomine Domini nostri Jesu Christi, Deo et Patri. Semper, idem quod alibi dicit, sine intermissione, id est, quam frequentissime, et quavis occasione, quemadmodum et semper orandum esse Christus docet Luc. 18. Quod ait, pro omnibus, dubium, rebus an hominibus. Cajetanus ad homines refert: Theophylactus de utrisque exponit. Verum multo rectius alii plerique ad res, non ad personas referunt. Non enim vult Apostolus, ut Deo gratias agamus pro omnibus hominibus, sunt enim quamplurimi adhuc infideles, et nondum gratiae Christi participes, pro quibus Ecclesia orare didicit, non gratias agere. Dicitur quidem 1 Tim. 2. pro omnibus hominibus, sed hoc refertur magis ad orationes, quam ad gratiarum actiones: ut patet ex verbis sequentibus: Ut quietam et tranquillam etc. Nam gratiarum actiones pro fidelibus proprie fiebant. Jubemur autem gratias agere pro omnibus rebus, utique bonis, quaecunque nobis accidunt, aut quaecunque a nobis habentur, seu prosperae sint, sive adversae: maxime vero pro bonis ad pietatem et salutem nostram pertinentibus. Quanquam electis omnia Deus in salutem facit provenire. Sic alibi de rebus aeque generali sententia praecipit: In omnibus gratias agite, 1 Thess. 5. Quod si pro omnibus bonis agendae sunt Deo gratiae: certa consequentia est, omne bonum nostrum, quod sumus, quod habemus, quod agimus, quod patimur, esse a Deo. Nam et adversa, per quae Deus electis suis cooperatur in bonum, hic comprehendi, diserte monent interpretes Graeci et Latini: nominatim Hieronymus, cujus inter alia lectu digna, quae scribit, haec sunt verba: Christianorum virtus est, etiam in his, quae adversa putantur, gratias referre creatori. Et infra: Sed juxta Apostolum haec virtus est maxima, ut in ipsis periculis atque miseriis Deo gratiae referantur, et semper dicamus: Benedictus Deus: minora me scio sustinere, quam mereor. Haec ad mea peccata, parva sunt. Nihil mihi dignum redditur, Hic animus Christiani est etc. Porro Chrysostomus ad ipsam etiam gehennam extendit, quatenus gehennae metu velut fraeno retrahuntur homines a peccatis. Quod sequitur: In nomine Domini nostri Jesu Christi, significat gratias pro omnibus bonis agendas Deo per Christum, utpote cujus nomine, respectu ac merito nobis omnia proveniunt: idque vel absolute, ut est omne bonum pietatis; vel in quantum ordinantur ad nostram salutem, etsi secundum se indifferentia; inter quae sunt adversitates et miseriae, et mors ipsa. Quo sensu verissimum est, quod Oecumenitis adscribit pro ratione hujus particulae; nam per Christi nomen omnia nobis contingunt. Pulchre vero Theophylactus ex hac generali sententia Apostoli colligit ac docet, ipsam quoque nostram gratiarum actionem inter ea bona, quae per Christum habemus, et pro quibus agendae sunt Deo gratiae, numerandam esse. Ex quibus liquet, graviter falli quosdam, qui nomen suum ponunt inter Theologos, qui fidem aut aliud quodcunque bonum nostrum salutare subtrahunt merito Christi. Jam quod dicit Apostolus: Deo et Patri, sic accipiendum, quomodo dixit 2 Cor. 1. Benedictus Deus et Pater Domini nostri Jesu Christi. Ut vocabulum Patris, non ad filios adoptivos referatur, sed ad Filium naturalem, quem proxime nominaverat. Ideo autem solum Patris expressit personam, quia Pater omnium bonorum est auctor sine auctore, et principium sine principio.
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21. Subjecti invicem in timore Christi. Divertit ad informationem disciplinae domesticae; quam et prosequitur ferme usque ad medium sequentis capitis. Pendet vero sententia adhuc ab illo verbo, implemini spiritu. Non est autem sensus, omnes omnibussubjectos esse debere, quomodo Cajetanus videtur intellexisse, sed alios aliis, hoc enim significat Graeca vox aXXTjAoiq, id est, inferiores superioribus; quemadwodum patet ex praeceptis particularibus, qaae subjungit. Monet igitur, ut subditi obedientiam, quam debent, praestent superioribus; idque in timore Christi, hoc est, cum timore, qui convenit Christianis, quorum est non ad oculum obedire, sed ex animo et propter Deum, sicut infra praecipitur servis. Plerique Graeci codices legunt: Intimore Dei, id est, ut Theophylactus exponit, Dei timorem prae oculis habentes, et non solum spectantes temporale commodum. Oecumenii commentarius nostrae favet lectioni; quae eadem est apud omnes Latinos et in Graecis Complutensibus.
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22. Mulieres viris suis subditae sint, sicut Domino. Graece, propriis subditae estote, tametsi Hieronymus negat, in Graecis codicibus omnino verbum haberi hoc loco, utpote ex praecedenti parte repetendum, ubi dictum est, subjecti invicem. Quod addit, sicut Domino, non hunc habet sensum, tanquam dominis, non enim viri jus habent dominorum in uxores velut ancillas; licet Sara virum suum Abraham, honoris causa, dominum vocasse legatur Gen. 28., sed, sicut Domino, Christo, id est, in viris suis considerantes Christum Dominum, qui est caput et sponsus Ecclesiae. Qui sensus explicatur in sequentibus.
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23. Quoniam vir caput est mulieris, sicut Christus caput est Ecclesiae. Similitudo est in generali ratione capitis analogici, id est, superioris ac praefecti. Sicut enim Christus praeest Ecclesiae suae, eamque gubernat ac protegit, ad ipsius Ecclesiae utilitatem; ita maritus uxori suae praeesse debet eamque regere ad bonum ejus ac totius familiae. Unde sequitur:
Ipse salvator corporis ejus. Graece: Et ipse est, salvator corporis. Nam pronomen tjus additum non habet non solum Graecus textus, sed nec Syriacus. Hieronymus quoque et multa manuscripta Latina non agnoscunt. Graeci de marito sententiam exponunt, hoc modo: Idemque vir salutem dat corpori, hoc est, cujus ipse est caput; nam capitis est, salutem totius corporis procurare. Ideo justum est, ut sicut corpus capiti subjectum est, ita et uxor viro. Sed hoc multo magis in Christum competit, de quo Latini interpretantur. Christus enim, qui caput est Ecclesiae, idem et salvator ejus est, tanquam corporis sui; quia derivans in eam omne genus bonorum spiritualium, certissime et efficacissime eam ad salutem aeternam perducit. Per hoc autem insinuatur, extra Ecclesiam frustra sperari salutem: quemadmodum olim extra arcam. Est enim cum exclusione intelligendum, quod dicitur Christus salvator sui corporis. Non enim caput facit influere vitam et salutem in corpus alienum, sed tantum in suum, cujus est caput. De vocabulo salvatoris, pro quo neoterici quidam servatorem malunt, dicemus aliquid, cum exponenda nobis erunt illa verba Phil. 3. Unde etiam salvatorem exspectamus.
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24. Sed sicut Ecclesia subjecta est Christo, ita et mulieres viris suis in omnibus. Subaudi, subjectae sint. Vocula sed vim habet subsumptionis; quasi diceret: Atqui Ecclesia subjecta est Christo, velut corpus capiti: sic igitur et mulieres viris suis subjectae esse debent. Quod addit, in omnibus, ad utrumque membrum videtur referendum. Nam Ecclesia quidem Christo subjecta est in omnibus sine exceptione: malieres autem viris suis subditae esse debent in omnibus, ad quae viri potestas, sive superioritas sese extendit. Ea autem sunt quaecunque ad gubernationem domesticam pertinent. Sed dicet aliquis: Multi in Ecclesia mali sunt, non Christi, sed diaboli voluntatem facientes; quomodo igitur absolute dicitur, Ecclesiam Christo subjectam esse in omnibus? Respondeo id absolute de Ecclesia verificari, quod ei competit secundum partes praecipuas magisque proprias, id est, eas, quae eundem cum capite spiritum participant. Hujusmodi autem sunt soli boni. Qua ratione etiam sancta vocatur Ecclesia in symbolo tidei.
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25. Viri diligite uxores vestras, sicut et Christus dilexit Ecclesiam. Vicissim viros admonet officii erga uxores; scilicet ut benignos erga eas sese exhibeant, amorem ostendant, studeantque earum saluti, nec ullis immunditiis eas polluant, aut pollui sinant. Huc enim spectare videtur comparatio subjuncta de Christo, Ecclesiam suam sanctificante. Sic etiam Thessalonicenses admonet, ut vasa sua possideant in sanctificatione et honore 1. Epist. 4. Jam quod ait: Sicut et Christus dilexit etc,, non aequalitatem dilectionis exigit, sed imitationem. Respicere enim viri debent in Christum Ecclesiae sponsum, tanquam exemplar, quod in amandis uxoribus imitentur.
Et seipsum tradidit pro ea. Id est, adeo dilexit eam, ut semetipsum p/o ea daret in mortem; ad hoc nimirum, quod sequitur:
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26. XJt illam sanctificaret. Id est, mundam Deo redderet ab omni impuritate peccati. Cujus sanctificationis etiam modum subjungit: Mundans lavacro aquae in verbo vitae. Quod in multis codicibus addebatur eam, mundans eam, merito Romani correctores omittendum censuerunt. Jam enim expressum erat, ut illam, ccutyjv; eam nec Graeca hic agnoscunt. Porro genitivus vitae nec in Graecis est, nec apud Latinos veteres, nec in antiquioribus Manuscriptis apud nos repertis. Catechismus quoque Romanus hunc locum citans, ubi de baptismi fructibus agit, non addit vitae. Cum autem per lavacrum aquae omnes uno consensu baptismi sacramentum intelligant: quaeritur, de quo verbo loquatur Apostolus. Et quidem Chrisostomus ac caeteri Graeci, Latinique posteriores referunt ad verba mystica baptizantis: In nomine Patris, et Filii et Spiritus sancti; Augustinus autem tract. 80. in Joan. potius videtur intelligere verbum doctrinae evangelicae, quatenus fide suscipitur. De hoc enim verbo, non autem, ut quidam volunt, de verbo sacramenti, Augustinum loqui, apparet tum ex Evangelii loco, quem tractat: Jam vos mundi estis propter verbum, quod locutus sum vobis; tum ex aliis, quae citat, testimoniis, uno Pauli Rom. 10. Hoc est verbum fidei, quod praedicamus: quoniam si confessus fueris etc, ac duobus Petri, altero Act. 15. Fide purificans corda eorum, et altero 1. Epist. 3. Salvos facit baptisma, non carnis depositio sordium, sed conscientiae bonae interrogatio in Deum. Quae omnia de verbo fidei ejusve confessione loquuntur. Haec denique verbi acceptio valde consentanea est consuetudini Scripturae: quae formulam verborum sacramenti nusquam legitur verbum appellasse; sed passim eo nomine, etiam solitarie posito, sicut hic ponitur, Evangelii doctrinam significat: ut patet ex Actis et Epist. apostolicis. Ioo et eflectum baptismi, scilicet regenerationem, inuudaticnein, salutem, perinde ut Paulus hoc loco, etiam alii Apostoli tribuunt verbo fidei: ut Petrus in verbis jam citatis, et ejusdem Epistolae cap. 1., cum ait: Renati non ex semine corruptibili, sed incorruptibili, per verbum Dei vivi et permanentis in aeternum. Quod mox exponens subjungit: Hoc est autem verbum, quod evangelizatum est in vobis. Et Jacobus cap. 1. Genuit nos, inquit, verbo veritatis, ut simus initium aliquod creaturae ejus. His adde, quod si Paulus verbum sacramentale voluisset intelligi, potius hoc modo dixisset: Mundatis eam lavacro aquae et verbo, id est, per aquam et verba simul cum lotione prolata. Cum Augustino sentiunt Hieronymus, Primasius et Sedulius in commentariis; et inter neotericos Catharinus aliique nonnulli. Est autem observandum, quod, cum Scriptura alibi diversis locis nunc sacramento, nunc fidei tribuat mundationem et regenerationem nostram; hoc loco utrique simul eam adscribit, lavacro et verbo, id est, sacramento simul et fidei. Quod nota contra haereticos, qui ita fidem extollunt, ut sacramenta deprimant: solam signi ac sigilli rationem eis concedentes. Sensus igitur Apostoli est: Tradidit semetipsum Christus pro Ecclesia, ut eam ex immunda mundam sanctamque redderet: dum videlicet aquae baptismo per verbum Evangelii creditum ac fide susceptum mundat eam a peccatis. Juxta hunc sensum plenior est Apostoli sermo, quam si verbum sacramenti intelligeretur. Quod utique in lavacro aquae, quatenus est Christi sacramentum, comprehenditur. Si quaeras, quomodo Christus Ecclesiam mundet lavacro aquae, brevittr respondeo, velut instrumento virtutis divinae, id est, signo etficaci ex ipsius Christi institutione et promissione. Qua de re accuratior est aisputatio in 4. Sent. dist. 1.
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27. Ut exhiberet ipse sibi gloriosam Ecclesiam, non habentem maculam, aut rugam, aut aliquid hujusmodi: sed ut sit sancta et immaculata. Ipse, Graece, ipsam, quomodo et in Latinis nonnullis legitur. Secundum quam lectionem ita distinguitur sententia, ut post gloriosam hypostygme ponatur hoc modo: Ut exhiberet eam sibi gloriosam; nempe Ecclesiam non habentem maculam etc. Quo etiam facit articulus dictioni Ecclesiam praefixus in Graeco. Quanquam et Latinorum lectio simili modo distinguenda videtur. Quaeritur autem quando Christus Ecclesiam sibi talem exhibeat, qualis hic describitur, scilicet gloriosam et macula rugaque carentem, denique sanctam et immaculatam, sive, ut m Graeco est, irreprehensibilem. Graecorum commentarii totum hoc referunt ad tempus vitae praesentis, in quo Christus Ecclesiam suam ab nmnibus peccatorum maculis baptismi sacramento mundatam, sibi exhibet pulchram et omni genere virtutum exornatam. Eodem referunt glossa tam ordinaria, quam interlinealis. Item Liranus et Cajetanus, et ante hos Ambrosianus lib. 1. in Luc. ad illud cap. 1. Erant autem justi ambo ante Deum. Et lib. 4. iu caput Luc. 4., ubi dicit, Ecclesiam per baptismum esse virginem immaculatam et sine ruga; nec secus hunc locum intellexisse videtur Gregorius lib. 2. Mer. cap. 29. Quo pertinet et illud Nicolai Pap. I. ad consulta Bulg. cap. ult. Sancta Romana Ecclesia semper sine macula fuit, et sine ruga. Pro hoc intellectu potest adferri, quod Apcstolus per lavacrum aquae testatur Ecclesiam mundari: utique in hoc saeculo; quodque credimus Ecclesiam non modo triumphantem, verum etiam hanc militantem, esse sanctam. Sciendum est autem, ex hoc loco Pelagianos quaesivisse patrocinium sui dogmatis, quo docebant, hominem posse vivere sine peccatis, idque a multis etiam praestari. Contra quos disputans Augustinus ita eis respondet, ut doceat, Apostoli verba non ad Ecclesiam, qualis nunc est, sed qualis in consummatione saeculi ac beata resurrectione futura est, pertinere. Tunc enim et gloriosa erit, et prorsus omnique ex parte sancta et immaculata. Agit id ex professo toto fere libro de perfect. justit. Alia ejusdem loca sunt lib. 1. Retr. cap. 7., lib. 1. de nupt. et conc. cap. 34., lib. 4. contr. 2. epist. Pelag. cap. 7. et lib. de pecc. origin. cap. 40. Eadem expositio est apud Hieronymum lib. 3. dialogi contra Pelagian., nec non apud Primasium et Thomam in commentariis: licet hic etiam priorem sensum adducat. Augustini sententiam probabilem reddit alius Apostoli locus 2. Corinth. 11. Despondi vos, inquit, uni viro virginem castam exhibere Christo. Ubi manifeste tempus virginis desponsatae, nt praeteritum, distinguit a tempore ejusdem Christo exhibendae, tanquam adhuc futuro. Sic enim et hoc loco tempora distinguere videtur, quasi dicat: Nunc mundat, ut aliquando gloriosam et immaculatam exhibeat. Nam et utrobique idem in Graeco verbum est exhibere. Igitur in hoc saeculo mundatur et sanctificatur Ecclesia per baptismum et fidem; sed non perficitur haec ejus mundatio et sanctificatio, ut gloriosa, perfecte sancta et prorsus immaculata dici possit, donec finiatur hoc saeculum. Quo finitio, Christus Ecclesiam spbnsam suam, haec enim est constructio verborum Apostoli, totam macula, ruga et omni deformitate carentem, adeo ut sit omni ex parte sancta et irreprehensibilis, ipse sibi exhibebit, adducet, sistet gloriosam, id est, pulchritudine et gloria refulgentem, tam in corpore quam iu anima; copulaturus eam sibi vinculo ac foedere nuptiaium insolubili. De quibus futuri saeculi nuptiis, inter Christum et Ecclesiam celebrandis loquitur ipse Christus in parabola decem virginum Matth. 25. Loquitur et Joannes in Apoc. 19. dicens: Quia venerunt nuptiae agni: et uxor ejus praeparavit se. Qui et de gloria sponsae subjungit: Et datum est illi, ut cooperiat se byssino splendenti et candido etc. Haec omnia sententiam Augustini plurimum confirmant: et per haec liquide evanescit objectio Pelagianorum. Tametsi nec prior commentarius illis favet. Dicitur enim Ecclesia praesentis saeculi non solum sancta, verum etiam immaculata, non quod omni prorsus macula careat, sed quod in praestantioribus suis membris nullam habeat ejusmodi maculam, a qua simpliciter quis appellari possit maculatus. Tales enim solae sunt maculae mortalium peccatorum. Et idem judicium de ruga, et si quid hujusmodi. Ut autem in verbis Apostoli macula et ruga distinguantur: potest in macula intelligi deformitas operis, et in ruga duplicitas intentionis. Sic enim Anselmus et S. Thomas post Augustinum distinguunt. In eo autem, quod additur, aut aliquid hujusmodi, possunt intelligi reliquiae peccatorum; ut pravae inclinationes, et motus involuntarii et multiplices ignorantiae: quae omnia cessabunt in Ecclesia glorificata. Dicuntur autem haec a similitudine muiierum, quae propter maculas et rugas displicere solent viris suis: ideoque, ut ait Hieronymus, omni studio agunt, ut quod foedare videtur, abstergant, et exhibeant maritis corporum venustatem.
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28. Ita et viri debent diligere uxores suas ut corpora sua. Digressus nonnihil Apostolus ad mysterium, nunc ad institutum revertitur. Nec est in Graeco conjunctio et, sed absolute legitar: Sic debent viri diligere suas uxores, ut sua corpora: ut illud sic referatur ad sequentem particulam, ut sua corpora. Juxta nostram vero lectionem, quam habent etiam veteres Latini, sermo refertur ad praecedentia, quasi dicat: Quemadmodum igitur Christus Ecclesiam suam ut corpus suum dilexit: ita et viri debent uxores suas deligere, tanquam corpora sua: hoc est, exemplo Chiisti ea, quae salutaria sunt, illis providere, sicut caput providet corpori. Vel novo argumento hic utitur Apostolus ad suum propositum, nempe quod quia prima mulier ex primo viro est: uxor est quodammodo pars mariti. Et hic sensus non male quadrat sequentibus.
Qui suam uxorem diligit, seipsum diligit. Efficax hortatio est ad diligendam uxorem, a sui ipsius dilectione. Qui enim diligit uxorem suam, corpus suum diligit, et proinde seipsum: inquantum caput et corpus unum quid constituunt. Exhortationem confirmat sequentibus verbis:
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29. Nemo enim unquam carnem suam odio habuit, sed nutrit et fovet eam. Sententia absolute vera. Sicut enim nemo potest seipsum simpliciter odio habere: ita nec corpus aut carDem suam, quae aliquid est sui. At sicut seipsum quis odisse potest secundum quid, scilicet, ut peccatorem, miserum, imbecillem; ita et carnem suam multi oderunt, ut vitiosam, morbidam, spiritui rebellem. Quidam etiam occidunt, non odio carnis, nec odio sui, sed odio miseriarum, quas sic se putant effugere. Quomodo mater interdum occidit £lium, non odio filii, quanquam id etiam fieri potest, sed ut se ab onere egestatis vel ab ignominia liberet: aut ut ejus morte se ulciscatur de eo, quem odit: ut olim Progne et Medea: aut ut ipsum filium morti acerbiori eripiat, sicut illae de quibus Jeremias Tbrenorum 4. Manus mulierum misericordium coxerunt filios suos. Potest et sic intelligi: nemo sanae mentis carnem suam odio habet, neque extinguere eam vult: sed nutrit et fovet quoad usque potest Hoc enim nobis omnibus dictat lex naturae; contra quam obnitebantur insani Manichaei, docentes corpus odio habendum, quod ortum haberet a malo principio. Secundum priorem sensum late et docte partem hanc explicat 3. Thomas in comment. Caetemm recte unusquisque nutrit et fovet carnem suam, si carnis curam non faciat in desideriis: quod vetat Apostolus Rom. 13., sed curam impendat sustentationi ejus necessariam, quatenus serviat spiritui. Atque hoc modo viri uxores suas diligere debent.
Sicut et Christus Ecclesiam. Scilicet ut carnem suam nutrit ac fovet, omnia suppeditando, quae ad ejus salutem pertineant. Quomodo autem Ecclesia sit caro Christi, consequenter ostendit.
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30. Quia membra sumus corporis ejus, de carne ejus et de ossibus ejus. Graeca habent praepositionem ix, sed eadem significatio est. Unde Hieronymus in sua versione Gen. 2. (ad quem locum respicit Apostolus) utramque praepositionem scripsit: Hoc nunc os ex ossibus meis, et caro de carne mea. Quomodo nos simus membra corporis Christi, manifestum est, quia quotquot fideles sumus, membra sumus Ecclesiae, quae est corpus Christi mysticum. Sed quomodo simus de carne ejus et de ossibus ejus, non perinde liquet, potius enim e contrario dicendum videbatur, Christum esse de carne nostra et de ossibus nostris, quia nostram assumpsit naturam, et sicut dicitur Hebr. 2. ideo quia pueri communicaverunt carni et sanguini, etiam ipse communicavit eisdem, ac semen Abrahae apprehendit. Propter hanc difficultatem quidam, inter quos Ambrosianus, totum hoc spiritualiter, ut ille loquitur, intelligunt, quasi non aliud significetur, quam habitudo capitis analogici ad membra, et vicissim membrorum ad caput. Quae quidem membra secundum eandem analogiam esse dicantur ex carne et ossibus sui capitis: quia ex eo dependent. Cajetanus refert Apostoli verba ad formationem Ecclesiae ex carne Christi et ossibus ejus in cruce, in qua nimirum Christus secundum humanam naturam, carne et ossibus constantem, patiens ac moriens Ecclesiam vivificavit. Porro secundum alios probat Apostolus, Ecclesiam esse carnem Christi, quia Christus est caput Ecclesiae tanquam corporis sui; cujus nos membra sumus, non quomodocumque secundum analogiam, sed ita, ut simus de carne ejus, scilicet Christi, et de ossibus ejus, inquantum sumus ejusdem cum illo naturae humanae participes: nec tamen ille potius de carne et ossibus nostris, propter assumptam ex nostro genere naturam 26 * humanam, sed nos de carne et ossibus ejus, quia in hac natura ipse caput est, nos membra. Hic sensus planus est et perspicuus, eumque tradunt Hieronymus et Aquinas; et bis vetustior Irenaeus, qui lib. 5. contra Haereses, citatis hujus loci verbis: Non (inquit) de spirituali alioqui ct invisibili hominb dixit haec Apostolus: Spiritus enim neque ossa, neque carnes habet: sed de ea dispositione, quae est secundum hominem, qui ex carnibus et nervis et ossibus consistit, qui de calice, qui est sanguis Christi, nutritur, et pane, qui est corpus ejus, augetur. Haec ille aliquanto post initium libri 5.
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31. Propter hoc relinquet homo patrem et matrem suam, et adhaerebit uxori suae, et erunt duo in carne una. Graece quidem est, avxi tgutou, sed Hieronymus in comment. monet, hoc dictum esse ab Apostolo pro evsxsv toutgo, quod apud LXX. legitur Gen. 2. Prosequitur Apostolus id, quod versu 28. ex Genesi indicaverat, secundum posteriorem illius expositionem, deinde verbatim recitaverat versu praeced., quae ibi cap. 2. huc pertinentia leguntur: pauculis, quae media sunt, omissis. Et quia de Christo et Ecclesia loqui coeperat, insinuare vult, etiam haec verba, quae dicta sunt ad literam de viro et uxore, ad Christum et Ecclesiam 'mystice pertinere. Plerique putant, esse verba Adae, cujus erant praecedentia: Hoc nunc os etc. Alii, Scriptoris, id est, Mosis verba esse volunt ex eo, quod Adam dixerat, inferentis, insolubilem esse nexum matrimonii inter virum et foeminam, idque significasse videtur Dominus apud Matth. 19. referens ista ad Deum, sive quod idem est, ad Scripturam. Sic enim habet: Qui fecit ab initio, masculum et feminam fecit eos, et dixit: propter hoc etc. Sed sensum dicamus. Propter hoc, inquit, id est, quia mulier formata est ex ossibus et carne viri: relinquet vir patrem suum et matrem quoad cohabitationem et conversationem domesticam: tt adhaerebit uxori suae, Graece agglutinabitur ad uxorem suam, id est, firmissimo vinculo uxori suae conjungetur: eruntque duo in carne una, vel ut Graece et Hebraice, in carnem unam; hoc est, duo erunt velut una caro, unum corpus, unus homo: carnis enim nomine totum hominem Moses significasse videtur ex usu linguae Hebraicae, tametsi cum respectu ad copulam carnalem, qua conjuges quodammodo fiunt una caro. Nam de commixtione carnali sententiam hanc intellexerunt summi Pontifices Benedictus et Gregorius apud Gratianum 27. quaest. 2. cap. Lex, et cap. sunt. Itera Alexander III. cap. Verum, de conversione conjugatorum. Et Innocentius III. cap. Ad apostolicam ibidem. Nec secus commentatores hujus loci. Ut autem et hoc obiter admoneamus, in Hebraeo quidem non exprimitur numeralis vocula duo, tantum enim ibi legitur: Et erunt in catnem unam (quod nonr.ulli male retulerunt ad coiruptelas Hebraici textus): sed ex circumstantiis manifestum est satis intelligi. Qua de re egit vir eruditus Franciscus Lucas in suo Tract. de usu paraphraseos Chaldaicae. Porro quod verba jam recitata etiam ad Christum et Ecclesiam pertineant, docet Apostolus, dum proxime ait:
5:32
32. Sacramentum hoc magnum est; ego autem dico in Christo et in Ecclesia. Graece: Tn Christum et in Ecclesiam. Quomodo et veteres quidam Latini legunt, nominatim Tertullianus lib. de anima cap. 11. et 21. et lib. 5. contra Marcionem cap. 18. Et Augustinus in Psalm. 138., Beda etiam citante in commentario. Pro sacramentum Graece mysterium est; atque ita legit Ambrosianus. Itaque sensus Apostoli est: Sacramentum seu mysterium praecedentibus verbis significatum, raagnura est. Arctissima illa conjunctio viri et mulieris, de qua dictum est: Relinquet homo patrem et matrem etc., magnae alicujus sacrae et arcanae rei signum est. Ego autem dico, id est, mysterium hoc explico, et intelligendum doceo de Christo et Ecclesia. Per hoc enim, quod homo relictis parentibus adhaeret uxori, et cum ea una caro efficitur: mystice significatur filium Dei e sinu patris, et quasi patre relicto, matre etiam, id est, synagoga (vel coelesti Jerusalem) derelicta, in terras descendisse: et per assumptam carnem humanam Eccle^tae, quae ex hominibus constat, conjunctum esse, unumque cum ea corpus effectum, et per hoc indissolubili amoris vinculo conglutinatum. Matrem synagogam interpretatur Prosper sententia 328. ex Augustino; Hieronymus autem in comment. coelestem Jerusalem. Quam quidem, sicut et Patrem, Christus reliquisse dicitur, non quod absens ab illis essu coepit, sed figurato sermone et quadam similitudine nostri: quia apud nos, quae alibi esse incipiunt, priorem locum relinquunt. Ex hac Apostoli sententia manifestum est, conjugium non solum duorum primorum hominum, sed etiam, ac pleniori ratione, posterorum (nam primi homines non habuere parentes, quos relinquerent) esse sacramentum, id est, signum magnae cujusdam rei eacrae. Sed neque dubitandum est, quin juxta Catholicae Ecclesiae definitionem, matrimonium sit unum ex sacramentis novae legis, quae signa sunt ejus gratiae, quam significant, efficacia. An autem hoc ipsum ex praesenti loco Apostoli doceri possit, quaeritur. Certe Cajetano non videtur. At neque veteres hanc efficaciam probant ex isto loco, sed magis eam solent statuere ex facto Christi, qui nuptiis in Cana Galilaeae benedixit, utique benedictione spirituali. Quod etsi Scriptura non expresserit, in Concilio tamen Ephesino, tanquam traditione acceptum, et apud mrltos Patres legitur. Atque haec sententia nobis etiam probatur: et quam revera probabilis bit, late ostendimus scripto in 4. dist. 26. Quod enim ad hunc locum attinet, sententia Apostoli, qua dicit: Sacramentum hoc magnum est, veritatem habuit ab initio, quo dictum est, propter hoc relinquet homo etc. Nec tamen ab eo tempore coepit matrimonium esse sacramentum efficax gratiae, sed tale demum est a Christo novae lesris auctore institutum.
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33. Verumtamen et vossinguli, unusquiscjue uxorem suam sicut seipsum diligat. Graece, sic diligat, sicut seipsum. Sensus ^st: Quod de Christo secundum mysterium dico, id secundum literam ad vos conjugatos pertinet. Itaque sicut Christus Ecclesiam diligit, ut corpus suum: ita et vos singuli quisque suam uxorem sic diligat tanquam seipsum, id est, velut eam, cum qua est una caro et unrs homo. Non jubetur aequalitas dilectionis erga se et uxorem: quia nec Christus aequaliter ae et Ecclesiam diligit: sed hoc repetit Apostolus, quod supra dixit, viros debere uxores suas diligere tanquam corpora sua, quodque is, qui suam uxorem diligit, seipsum diligit. Vide S. Thom. 2. sec. quaest. 26. art. 11. ad 2. et 4. TJxor autem timeat virum suum. Graece: Vxor autem ut timeat virum. Sic quoque multa Manuscripta Latina, suffragante etiam Hieronymo. Praeceptum hoc non excludit amorem uxoris erga virum, sed timorem amori vult esse conjunctum, quas? dicat: Praecipio, ut uxor non tantum diligat virum suum, verum etiam timeat et revereatur ut superiorem et caput suum, cui debet subjectionem, caveatque, ne eum offendat. Nam ut mulieres viros suos ament, alibi praecipit Tit. 2. CAP0TSEXT0M.
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v. 2 ambulate in dilectione, ubi caritas est, non erit clamor, non ira (Chrys. Thph. Oec.); et eius dilectionis exemplar summum proponitur : sicut et Christus dilexit nos, tesübus veteribus N' AB innixi legunt critici óp3c, vos, id quod admonitioni (ambulate) eliam magis congruit tam proxime scil. appositum, dum in altero iam niagis remoto ab admonitione et allocutione bene fertur et praefertur zip huv. De dilect;jone Christi vide Ioan. 13,1.34; 15,9 sicut dilexit me Pater, et ego dilexi vos; Gal. 3,20; eamque exhibuit dando vitam pro nostra salute (cf. 55059503» notione generali xi0vc/av notione sacrificali speciali. Apud LXX 9osíx frequentissime legitur pro hebr n35, pro sacrificio cruento. Christi igitur sacrificium, in morte eius pro nobis oblatum explicite asseritur. Hoc. maximo dilectionis. documento exhibito monet apostolus, dilectionem opere esse praestandam, etsi iactura commodorum, pecuniae nobis quandoque subeunda sit ; ne igitur facile difficultasalute proximi. Valet enim illud : ille animam suam pro nobis posuit, et nos debemus pro fratribus animas ponere (4 Ioan. 3,16). Atque hoc Christi sacrificium pro nostra expiatione et redemptione oblatum (Rom. 3,25; 4 Cor. 1,23; 2 Cor. 3,14 etc.) esse Deo acceptissimum, ostenditur vertit Her. praefatione in Zach., Lap.), quibus vocibus in vetere testa- Hpt. Ew.) expiationem a Christo sacrificio suo factam nostro loco non efferri. Explicite eam expiationem non efferri verum est. Attamen nègari non potest expiationem clare contineri, uti generatim catholici interpretes sua 'explicatione ostendunt. Nam enuntiatur dictione Ónip bpv (pav) in nostrum emolumentum, commodum, beneficium (cf. Gal. 2,20). Porro notio expiationis ipso sacrificio, kaiean ti suggerilur et étiam explicite asseritur Ley. 4,4 etc. Num. 28,92; Ez. 45,45 et cf. Lev. 17,11. Et bene dicit Dam. vocari mortem Christi «e652o5i», quia quos mors tenebat captivos, ad vitam duxit, et esse suavissimi odoris munus $6gov pro universo mundo. Duo vitia praecipua gentilium apostolus iam paucis reprobavit 4,19. Nihilominus denuo ea attingit, ut fideles contra eiusmodi peccata mu-- niat, quorum pericula mediis intergentes viventibus deesse non poterant (cf. 4 Cor. 5,9-11); imo inter ipsos fideles non omnes se immaculatos servasse constat (1 Cor. 6,12-20; 2 Cor.-12,20). Unde
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v. 3 fornicatio auiem et omnis immunditia, quaelibet impuritas, aut avaritia nee nomine- «non hanc intelligi qua pecuniam cupimus congregare, sed illam, qua scil. insatiabilis et inexpletus = omnia turpitadinum genera lasciviaeque discurrat ». At, uti supra 4,19 ita hic quoque, vera vocis notio relinenda est. Utrobique amorem intervenire graeci monent; Thph. «à yàg «TQ xal onudrov épOey xal copXvov, sim. n. et Euth. dicit de avaptaka Epos vào xa Qt); ei xal ygnudcovy. Harum rerum ne nomen quidem -esse proferendum, non polest esse mens apostoli; nam si accidunt, turpitudo suo nomine est reprobanda, et insuper ipse apostolus eodem momento nomina profert. Sensus itaque erit, ne sermones quasi ad animos recreandos de rebus turpibus inler eos misceantur ; nam sermones, - oi yàọ Àóyot, viam ad opera parant (ThpA.); praeterea eiusmodi seradconcupiscentiam. Alii explicant, ita puri estote, ut ne rumor quidem. seu fama eiusmodi sceleris inter vos patrati audiatur (Ew.). Parallelismus verbalis habetar los. 23,7 LXX xal tà òvópata xv 0c0v aücOv oux Ovop.uc0f oecat év piv. Talis enim puritas cogitationum et sermonum exigitur a fidelibus, sicul-decet sanctos ylos, qui erepti a pravitate mundi Deo sunt sacri, consecrati. Alia de quibus non sit sermo miscendus, vel qualia inter se. habere colloquia minime deceat, enumerantur vocibus
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v. 4 aut turpi- | tudo, qua laeditur pudor nativus, «icypórņs deformitas, foeditas aut stultilequium, sermones fatui, stolidi, ineptae fabulae, aut scurrilitas cùtparehia, haec vox perse non caret bono sensu de comitate, urbanitate, at iam ab Aristotele declaratur nsrabeupévy fons (Rhet. 242; Hpt.), sales intempestive liberi, iurgia petulantia (cf. Wetst. ad h. 1.); nugae, facetiae insulsae ; quae ad rem non pertinet, 3 o)x &vixey (vel ut alia lectio habet «à oóx &výxovta) !, eiusmodi res non decent, non conveniunt, sanctum nomen «à» &y/ov, Deo consecratorum dehonestant. Quid eos deceat, indicatur sed magis gratiarum actio scil. nominetur in vobis ; vestra colloquia sint de variis beneficiis a Deo acceptis, de providentia et gubernatione Dei, de spe vocationis vestrae; omnia scil. hominem fidelem provocant ad gratiarum actionem et haec Dei opera inter vos expendite ; séu talia de vobis nota fiant. — s Explicat Origenes hoc loco eùyapıotiav, non de actione gratiarum, sed xa8'iv eJyaplovous xat yaplevtaçs xw&e expév (cat. Cram. p. 190); et censet fortasse apostolum usum esse lectione alia c5 éx'&AXov xeévn Aéfet, legitur quidem in catena iterum mendo aperto còypapıotia, sed ex subsequentibus elucet eoyapicía esse ponendum; nam statim affert yov; süyápiotog àvil voU coydouog ovi. Origenem sequitur, ut saepius, Hier. in hac epistola : « forsitan igitur gratiarum actio in hocloco non ista est nominata, iuxta quam gratias agimus Deo, sed iuxta quam grati, sive gratiosi et salsi apud homines appellamur », et cum Origene provocat ad versiones Aquilae, Theodotionis, Symmachi, qui, ubi nos legimus 1993 e9y ápaxoc, posuerunt yov) y&pttos, gratiosa; (cf. Prov. 11,16 mulier gratiosa, hebr. 1m); insuper asserit Hier. : « maxime cum apud Hebraeos gratiosus et gratias agens, uno, ut aiunt, sermone dicatur »; at in lexicis nostris sub Tn, yn solum sermo est de gratia, favore, misericordia. Cum Hier: sentit Cai. intelligi hoc loco. gratiosum sermonem, « et vere quadrat materiae ». Magno cum ictu monet apostolus, ut sciant et bene intelligant, eiusmodi sceleribus amitti hereditatem regni Dei
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v. 5 hoc enim scitote? intelligentes, taxe xtvocxovzsc, Cf. LXX yvóvteçs qv66eo0s, est fere locutio hebraizans,qua notio verbi augetur, uti 4 Reg. 20,3 1wócxov oibev ó xacíjo coo (LXX), unde apparet opus non esse, uti in hebraeo solet, repetitione eiusdem verbi (Ew.) ; quare non est interpretandum : hoc enim scitis, intelligentes ; quod minime aptum estad antecedentia. Verum apostolus serio ac severe mandat; «o9co refertur ad sequentia, scil. intima persuasione animis insculpant quod omnis fornicator, aut immundus, aut avarus quod est idolorum servitus, 6 &cztv. ei&oXoMsens, avarus, id est, idololatra; refertur ad avarum. Cum avaritia per se non videatur eiüsdem esse foeditatis atque fornicatio, immunditia, apostolus explicite effert avarum quoque reum fieri posse perfectae apostasiae a Deo. Nam ut voracium deus venter est (Phil. 4,19), ita cupidorum quoque iustissime 1. Potest aliquod statui discrimen; & obx &. refertur ad A E TX oUX AVÝXOVTĚ notione generali : quaecumque demum non decent; patet latius talis dictió. 2. Indicativum scilis vult Abbott; at immerito; in NT.'enim tote generatim est ie EPH. 5,5-6. 145 deus dici potest pecunia, maxime cum in alio loco apostolus concupiscentiam idololatriam vocet ( Hier.) ; id innuit Christus quoque : non potestis Deo servire et mammonae (Matth. 6,24); avaritia enim totum cor et mentem absorbet et ita sibi vindicat totum hominem, ut die ac nocte de una pecunia sollicitus eius servandae et augendae gratia ad omnem iniustitiam paratus sit. Admonitionem etiam contra peccata carnis non fuisse supervacaneam, ex moribus lascivis eorum inter quos vitam agere debebant fideles, satis intelligitur; insuper ex opinionibus gentilium liberrimis aliquid potuisse haerere etiam apud fideles, sufficienter nos docet apostolus (1 Cor. 6,19 seq.). Unde graviter affirmat omnis, xxc, quilibet, quivis, non habet hereditatem in regno Christi et Dei; huius hereditatis excellentiam exposuit 4,12-14, eius divitias gloriae commemoravit 1,18; 2, 5-7. Quanta itaque foret iactura, si exciderent ex tali hereditate, ex tanta parle et gloriae quae ipsis reponitur non in regno terreno, sed in regno aeterno, in participatione bonorum eorum quae sunt bona, Christi el bona Dei, quia fideles sunt heredes Dei et coheredes Christi (Rom. 8,17) '. Adnotat Hier. ex sex vitiis modo recensilis v. 3.4 tria hic solum poni, quae excludant a essent a regno Dei quomodo tres quos specialiter separavit, videretur sententia esse crudelis, non ignoscere imbecillitati fragilitatis humanae, cum etiam per iocum dicta nos damnarent »; scurrilitatem. explicat ipse iocularitatem ; nihilominus addit, etsi iste non. excludatura regno, tamen « non tenebit eum locum, quem possessurus erat, si haec vitia non haberet. » Pro gravibus illis omnino non est locus neque pars ulla in regno Dei. | ; Et simul monet ne frivolis rationibus et captionibus sophisticis hominum lascivorum se sinant in errorem induci
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v. 6. nemo vos seducat dnatátw decipiat inanibus verbis xevoiz Mot; vacuis sermonibus quibus nihil veri subest; talia verba vana, falsa, sed ad deceptionem apta, apud Corinthios iactata esse, docemur 1 Cor. 6,12 : omnia mihi licent; esca ventri et venter escis, corpus fornicationi. Contra eiusmodi fallacias apostolus suam confirmat asserlionem : propter haec enim, propter talia vitia venit ira Dei in filios dif identiae, judicium, poena, vindicta Dei irrumpit in contumaces, inobedientes ; 4x«/0::x explicatur ab Hier. insuasibilitas ; designantur itaque homines animo obstinato, pervicaces. In ea scelera ostensa est Hs Dei in diluvio, contra Sodoma et Gomorrha M 6:197. 1. Cum O«o3 careat articulo, per se potest intelligi utraque dictione unum designari Christum i. e. in regno eius qui est Christus (Messias) et Deus. At G«óc saepe ponitur sine articulo nec apparet ratio, cur hic emphatice Christi divinitas sit e(ferenda, utid, v. g. effertur Rom. 9,5. i / ticipes (Hier.) talium peccatorum : fornicationis, immunditiae, avaritiae, cf. 3,6: ne sitis socii in peccatis illis (et in ira). Quantopere teneantur longissime abesse ab eiusmodi sceleribus et -talium hominum societate, declarat apta metaphora
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v. 8 eratis enim aliquando tenebrae, cf. 4,18, nunc autem luv in Domino; miseria anteacta et dignitas praesens breviter sed efficaciter pingitur; quae societas luci ad tenebras (2 Cor. 6,14)? En, qualis intercapedo, quale discrimen inter vestram conditionem praesentem et illa peccata! quod pro vobis transiit, est tempus anteactum, tenebrae, conditio et status peccatorum et dam- - nationis ; nune luz, nunc conditio et status salulis et illustrationis divinae quae in Domino vobis praebetur et in unione cum Christo habetur. Secundum indolem et naturam acceptam nunc degere oportet : ut flit lucis (cf. v. 6; 2,3) ambulate, ut tales qui indolem et naturam lucis acceptam nus, salubres effectus producit v. 9 fructus autem lucis situs est in omni bonitate et iustitia et veritate, Ària haec nomina universam morum amplitudinem designunt; ġyxðwsúóvņ est probitas, qua quis constanter id exsequitur in omnibus quod ut rectum. ac bonum cognoscit; iustitia norma est lege divina et lege positiva proposita (uti illa.subiecliva, ita haec obiectiva); veritas in eo consistit, ut quaelibet actio, quaelibet resita sit, prout esse oportet; unde ortae sunt locutiones: vera virtus, vera pietas, -verus amor etc. Lux itaque in Domino (v. 8), lux quam Christus attulit, et illustratio eius ac gratia semen est frugiferum, ex quo ille fructus vitae christianae exoritur; et ex tali fructu cognoscuntur filii lucis. Quantopere aliena sint a fructu lucis vitia enumerata v. 3- 5, non eget explicatione. et amarulentos, iustitiam adversus avaros, veritatem adversus falsam voluptatem ; similiter Thph. Lap.; de beneficentia in proximos impendenda, de iustitia erga proximos servanda, explicat. Est., veritatem ad utrumque praecedens refert, « quod utriusque generis opera oporteat esse vera, recta, sincera, quaeque Dei iudicio probentur »; ita fere Nat. quoque; inter alia Tust: proponit : nisi malueris bonitatem referre ad animum, iustum ad actiones externas, veritatem ~ ad verba et orationem. Alii intelligunt benignitatem, probitatem ommis generis seu vitam normae divinae consonam, veritatem fidei animo impressam, quae sit radix et fundamentum ayalwsóvns et iustitiae (ita Bels. Henle). Opponi haec tria tribus illis xoxío (4,31), &9wía, pedos (4,25) existimat Abbott. s Quasi per parenthesim adiunxit apostolus declarationem qui sit fruc- . tuslucis v. 9; nam quod sequitur v. 10. adnectitur ad v. 8 ut filii lucis ambulate, v. 10 probantes õoxıudtuvtes explorantes, exquirentes (ut bene FES EPH. D,10-13. / 141 ap. graecum exponit) singulis in rebus et casibus (Rom. 12,9), quid sit beneplacitum Deo sùdpectov tò Kogío, recle notat Hier. : « omnia facienda cum consilio, ut-cauti atque solliciti ea tantum quae scimus Deo placere ` faciamus; in morem prudentissimi trapezitae qui sculptum numisma non solum oculo, sed pondere et tinnitu probat ». Norma, qua explorent, data est v. 9; ex ea immediate sequitur, quod oportet vitari
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v. 44. et nolite communicare operibus infructuosis tenebrarum; cf. v. 8; insuper eliam merito dicuntur opera tenebrarum, quia ex
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v. 12 in occulto fiunt ; dicuntur £xxozx in oppositione ad fructum adeo praeclarum lucis; ergo lumentum non afferunt, sed maxima inferunt damna;)vana sunt in se Thom. notat, qui etiam bene allegat : quem ergo fructum-habuistis tunc. in illis, in quibus nunc erubescitis (Rom. 6,21)? Infructuosa sunt, quiaprorsus nihil habent de fructu spiritus (Gal. 5,22; ita in cat. Cr. p. 193). At minime satis est similia non facere; magis autem redarguite, aXXov. òè xol &Aéyyeve, polius autem etiam obiurgate; vult apostolus, ut etiam reprehendant eiusmodi vitia, eorum foeditatem clare evincant, et ita EXérysw erit, uti Thph. vocem explicat, «aiàedetv tob; tà cotuUca. NEÉTTOVTAG, instruere, docere, erudire. Et quanta sit necessitas eiusmodi reprehensionis et obiurgalionis!, quam fideles opportuno tempore et loco ostendere ac profiteri. debeant, indicatur ex permagna morum corruptione v. 12 quae enim in occulto fiunt ab ipsis, Lurpe est et dicere; solum nomen iam est foedum, et ea nominari iam est offensio auribus honestis ; nihilominus bonus quidam effectus et emendatio sperari potest. Ipsi quidem qui talia agunt fortasse non sibi conscii sunt tolius istius ignominiae; nam tenebris obscuratum habentes intellectum, alienati a vita Dei sunt per ignorantiam propter caecitatem cordis (4,18). In oppositione ad talem ignorantiam asserit apostolus
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v. 13 omnia autem quaearguuntur, a lumine manifestantur, omnia peccata si clare vituperantur et reprehenduntur ét turpitudinis convincuntur, ipsa hac reprehensione quasilumine collustrata manifestantur, aperta fiuntet in sua foeditate' cognoscuntur. Nam, ut-Est. notat, argui seu prodi non aliud est quam in lucem proferri. Filii igitur lucis admonentur, ut lucem suam quam acceperunt turpitudine peccatorum illorum, lucere faciant reprehensionibus suis et bona doctrina in regione tenebrosa, ut in medio nationis pravae ac perversae luceant sicut luminaria in mundo (Phil. 2,15). Cum vos sitis lux, ad vos spectat redarguere tenebrarum opera (Cai.), vel ut Dam, dicit : cari, quia agitur de emendatione peccatoris; cf. v. 14. j 148 EPH. 5,13-14 silumen sumus et tenebras possumus manifestare appositione lucis, optima haec reprehensio fuerit: QuxvepoUv TÒ OXÓTOG T7 TOU QOTOS &yviÜEcet, Eey yos oUtoc ó xXXAtatoc. Et quantum commodum iam contineatur in ista reprehensione, qua turpia et foeda tamquam talia prodüntur et patefiunt, declaratur sententia generali: omne enim quod manifestatur, lumen est, oc &eziv, e : tenebris et ignoralione, qua antea iacebat et latebat, manifestatione prolatum est in lucem, in cognitionem. Ipsa manifestatione lux quasi facta est; nam peccatum agnitum tamquam peccatum et malum iam transfertur in regionem lucis Dei; fit collustratum lege et norma divina aliquo vero sensu lux, cum lux huius cognitionis mentibus peccatorum infunditur. Nam, ut Ambrst. dicit : « tunc. videntur peccata, cum obiurgantur, quia qui peccat, quamdiu non corripitur, minime sibi videtur peccare » ; peccata itaque quae videntur sunt lux, quatenus in lucem proferuntur: itaque obiurgatione illuminatur malum (Victor). Et qualis utilitas pro infidelibus ex tali obiurgalione exsistat, indicatur
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v. 44 propter quod dicit t surge quidormis et exsurge a mortuis et clluminabit tè Christus, est admonitio fidelium ad eos directa qui sopore peccatorum sopili sunt et sua peccata non sentiunt, ut ex tali sopore evigilent, Eyetoe expergiscere; peccatores mortui sunt coram Deo; ex tali mortis conditione surgere debent, suscitantur autem obiurgatione; tunc etiam iis lux vera orietur : et. clluminabit te Christus, $xvgabos: cot. affalgebil tibi, seu illucescet tibi Christus, vera illa lux quae illuminat omnem hominem (Ioan. 1,9; 8,12) ; orietur tibi Christus, uti Hier. etiam habet et aliam lectionem affert &xupeóse: continget te Christus (al. £xvpaócetcvoU. Xorotoù, conlinges Christum). Videtur Aéye. sumi posse in notione (on dit; es heisst) dicitur; simili modo capi potest 4,8 et Rom. 15,10 et Gal. 3,16. Unde verba illa deprompta sint, pluribus inquirit Hier. et varias affert opiniones : qui simplici responsione contentus est, dicet ex apocryphis deprompta esse, sicutin aliis quoque locis eum fecisse maniféstum est; « alius vero quasi TPOSWTOTOLÉAY Spiritus sancti apostolus figuraverit, ad exhor ialionem poenitentiae haec dicta memorabit. Ego certe secundum paupertatulam meam omnes editiones veterum Scripturarum, ipsaque Hebraeorum volumina diligenter eventilans, nunquam hoc scriptum reperi ». Dein opinatur apostolum uti olim prophetae loquebantur : haec dicit Dominus, repente in haec verba erupisse. Similia apud Origenem (cat. p. 197) leguntur; Severianus (similiter Dam.) monet exstitisse tunc temporis charisma orationis et psalmorum, donum Spiritus sancti, uti legitur : unusquisque vestrum psalmum habet, zposevyhy Eye, quid ergo est? orabo spiritu, orabo et mente, psallam spiritu, psallam et mente (1 Cor. 14,15.26); manifestum est ergo hoc quod ibi commemoratur positum esse in unoaliquo psalmorum spiritualium vel orationum. — Alii frustra provocant ad Is. 60,1 vel9,2et 26,19vel 52,1 ; textum mutandum esse non improbabile ' censet Ew. : Aéyexat — dicitur, sed ubi ? a quo? unde melius DEOR òro Me, alii censent verba haec induci tamquam exemplum exhortationis et redargutionis ' christianae (Henle, Bels.). Certe quod Severianus monuit, optime videtur nodum solvere, esse verba ex aliquo hymno christiano, uti similia ab apostolo recitantur 1 Tim. 3,16; et similiter Theod. Aliqui. magnam quandam difficultatem et obscuritatem deprehendunt in v.12.13 et in particulis adhibitis; ita Ew. quiimo ad mutationem textus inclinat. Atres non videtur esse adeo implicata. Nam quod ipse praeprimis exspectandum esse dicit: omne quod arguitur a luce, emendatur, hoc revera in textu apostoli continetur forma utique diversa ; apostolo enim iuremerito ipsa iam manifestatio, ipsum iam ọxv:poðta: v. 13, patefactio peccatorum ut peccatorum est gressus primus et necessarius ad emendationem. Haec patefactio fit redargutione, et in ista manifestatione, quae peccatoribus per reprehensionem et institutionem seu doctrinam affertur, iam bene intellexit CArys. exhiberi seu praeparari emendationem, illud gavepoüca explicans : si enim qui fecit fueritin medium productus, si admonitus; si ductus poenitentia, si remissionem fuerit consecutus, annon expurgasti eius tenebras ? et postea sibi ipsi quasi obicit: at non corrigitur (meaadmonitione.et reprehensione), respondet : fac tu quod tuum est et apud Deum es excusatus. Et TAdM. ait ipsam manifestalionem adiuvare posse; omnis enim super suum delictum confusionem patietur tunc quando delictum fuerit manifestatum. k Quaeri potest in v. 13 quomodo iungendum sit $zó toŭ qocó; ; aliqui iungunt cum antecedente : quae arguuntur a ames manifestantur ; ita Chrys. Thph. : lux arguit quae fiunt in tenebris ; et Hier. : haec enim à luce arguta manifestantur, et Tust. censet parum referre, utrum iungas cum antecedenti vel cum sequenti; eundem semper esse sensum. At bene ddvartit Est. ;« sed convenientius construitur cum sequenti, ut sensus sit: dixi vos arguere debere opera tenebrarum; sic enim habet rei natura, ut quaecumque tenebrosa arguuntur, est, quam in lucem proferri » et ita iungunt Cai. Nat. Lap. et recentiores (excepto Ew.). Redargui est manifestari a luce, inquit Cai. textus apostolici; etiam-recentiores quidam coniecerunt eavepoüy esse legendum (apud Ew.). Praeceperat enim apostolus, ut opera tenebrarum arguerent, quia -omnia quae arguuntur, a lumine manifestantur. Et hoc probat, quia omne manifestans lumen est, id est, nulla res potest manifestare et in apertum proferre aliquid obscurum, nisi sit lux, aut lucis particeps; quod quidém veritatem habet universalem, tam de luce spirituali quam corporali. Praeterea Est. censet apostolum euphoniae gratia posuisse gzvepojpevov, ac forte minus in usu esse hoc participium eavegoóv eo quod coincidat cum infinitivo. Sic ille. At lectio communis optime contextui consonat. Nam omnino verum est: omne quod est absconditum, sed est notum, est in luce, est revera suo modo lux, quatenus sua manifestatione facta aliis innotescit.
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caule ambuletis, non quasi insipientes, | uh Óc &cogot, &XX' c cogot, 16. é£ayopa- 46. sed^ut sapientes, redimentes tempus, | (óusvot tv xarpdv, ótt ai fjuéomt movnpat quoniam dies mali sunt. AT. Propterea | eigw. 47, òà x00cop3; yivecle &ogovee, à2X& 23. quoniam vir caput est mulieris, sicut t6) Àoutpé coU Ü0aroc tv puat, 27. iva napastion avtos taut £yOoEov thy exxAnatav, yy -. Nos , y ca 7 uh £yougav onihov 7| putida Ñ vt Tõv Torovv, AA’ iva 7, yla xo &uwaos. 98. oco Toy, AAA” iva Tj &yla. xal duwag. 28. 6 3 H ~ Y - 0ge(Aoucty xal oi &vDpse &yanüy TAs £autOYy quvaixag Gg T% tavtüvy coaca. ó &anóy thv iauroü yuvaixa avtov dyamG. 29. oobrlc ydg mote thv tauto oápxa épíonsev, AA% , I y , m , M xn XS ixvpéget xal Ü&Anxet aoti(v, xalws xai ó Xpta- T Y , , e 1*3 3 ` E tòs thv éxxXnctay, 30. Oct péAw écpitv coU céparog ajvoU. 34. dyti TojroU xacaAeljet " Y I i Y [or Y &yÜpmog Tv natépa xat thy pntépa xai RpocxohAnijoetar vij vuvauxf, xal Écovtat ot 820 elg odpxa uíav. 32. TÒ uvctüptov TOĞTO I $: /. 3 M ~ Aé H M PN » péya. Eaciy, éyo 5B Aéqo ets Rprotòy xai els ch» ExxXnolay. 33. ZANY xat peis oi xal’ Eva Exaotos thy tgutoð yuvaixa oŬTws AYATATW [4 £ t £ te M e ~ t v Óç &xutOv, f Ot yovi tva poptat 10v AvOpa. tuosis tenebrarum, verum etiam mandavit fidelibus : magis autem redarguite (v. 11). Unde quam maxime opus est, ut nunc moneat! : videte itaque àxo:&àc accurate, diligenter considerate, quomodo debeatis vos ipsi:ambulare, conversari, vitam agere, scil. non quasi insipientes cf. 418; 5,6; 4,17 in vanitate sensus; sed ut sapientes i. e. in oppositione ad insipientes, caute et prudenter, maxima circumspectione quasi in via EPH. 5,15-17. — 191 sidiis utitur ad propositum assequendum. Alia quoque fertur lectio quam vulg. exhibet, ut &xpigoc referatur ad ambuletis, scil. ut omnis vitae et agendi ralio accurate et diligenter ad normam rectam disponatur, curandum esl; axerfoc in ista collocalione declaratur sequentibus verbis : non quasi, etc. Alque sapientem esse in adhibendis subsidiis et in rebus tractandis quam maxime in eo consistit, ut quis ex opportunitate sibi oblata summam quam potest utilitatem capiat, i. e. redimentes tempus; redimitur tempus, si quodvis temporis momentum bene adhibetur ad ea agenda vel lucranda quae sua cuiusque conditione, munere, officio exiguntur. | Quando in bono opere, ait Zier., tempus consumimus, emimus illud et proprium facimus. Idem spectat apostolus scribens Galatis : ergo domesticos fidei (Gal. 6, 10). Aliqui latini interpretes tempus antea in peccatis perditum nunc maiore studio bonorum operum esse redimendum explicant. Sensus quidem est pius; at iam Lap. monet apostolum non loqui de tempore praeterito, sed de tempore praesenti, neque dicere dies praeteritos malos fuisse. Neque in latino redimere quasi iterum emere insistendum est. Nam 2£zyogátety est tempus lucrari, sibi comparare, in suam convertere utilitatem ; ita dicit Nabuchodonosor magis qui nescientes responsum tempus lucrari volunt : in veritate video ego xt xatoby busis tkayopatere (Dan. 2,8 LXX, Theodotio) ; quoniam dies mali sunt, posili estis in medio nalionis pravae el perversae (Phil. 2,15), eo magis opus est sedulitate et studio ad opera bona facienda, ad Christi causam promovendam. Uti Severianus (cat. p: 199) rem considerat, tempus praesens est positum in servitute, servit malis, 2ouAeóst voi movnpois, redimite illud, ££zy0245250« quasi ex servitute illa emite, exemite illud, ut adhibeatis illud ad pietatem. Dies malos alii intelligunt de periculis et tentationibus vitae, de persecutionibus el variis insidiis, quibus salus nostra in discrimen vocari possit. Ceterum cf. Col. 4,5; « accelera cum sapientia uli tempore convenienter » (Thd. M. Swete, p. 181). Varia itaque impedimenta et pericula opponuntur fidelibus, si causam Christi apud se ipsos et apud alios tueri et promovere satagunt ; illa impedimenta et pericula sunt dies mali, tempora prava; unde pergit
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v. 47 propterea nolite fieri imprudentes, &ocovsc, quibus deest necessaria consideratio rerum et. circumspectlio, sed intelligentes, à)à covíexe, sed intelligite (Zier.) in quavis re et in quavis conditione sedulo inquirite et discite quae sit voluntas Dei, quae sit voluntas Christi, toč Kopíov, quid Christus eiusque causa a vobis exigat, quid ei probetur. Vera itaque sapientia habetur, quando norma a Deo proposita cognoscitur et opere et vila exprimitur. Admonitio ul est generalis, ferein memoriam revocat idem quod 4,1 dictum esSb üt? digne ambuletis vocatione qua vocati estis. Hanc aulem vocationem, quatenus vita spectatur praesens, habent ad hane voluntatem Christi pro vita iis exhibendam apostolus praecepta quaedam et monita specialia tradit. Discrimen hominis veteris et novi apostolus in v. 18. et 19 ob oculos adhuc habuisse videtur. Homo vetus hilaritatem suam quaesivit et invenit in ebrietate vini. Novo vero homini praecipitur
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v. 18 et nolite inebriari vino, verba recitat apostolus ex Prov. 23,31 LXX ph j.s00oxecüs £y olvoic (A otvo, uli hic), in quo est luxuria, cf. Prov. 20,1 luxuriosa res, vinum, &cozíz, vide Luc. 15,13 vivendo à dodo, id quod v. 30 explicari videtur : dissipavit subslantiam suam cum meretricibus. Et qualis vita dissoluta ebrietate efficiatur, ad. oculum exhibetur Prov. 23,29 sq. Una voce plura significari opinatur Mier. : « qui vino impletur habet insipientiam, furorem, procacitatem, libidinem; hoc quippe aestimo uno verbo significare luxuriam ». Aliter vocem explicant Chrys. TAph. &yecgos Zes, immoderatus usus, non enim servat (cóte:) sed perdit, non corpus solum, sed et animam ; aliam 'TAph. affert explicationem xz: tùy tõy iB.ovov cuvfÜsixv, Iuxta vulgi consuetudinem, «7,» &xoAacía» (impunitatem, libidinem). Recte notat Est. &cocíxv non ad sola peccata libidinis pertinere, sed ad universum genus intemperantiae, lascivitatis et prodigalitalis extendi (cf. Prov. 28,7). Homo autem novus gaudium suum et animum hilarem haurit ex gratia et laetitia, cuius auctor est Spiritus sanctus, sed inplemini Spiritu (sancto), èy mvsópom (sicut dicitur ue00oxec0ut ży Prov. 23,31); cf. 1,13.14 ; 2,22; acceperunt enim Spiritum sanctum ; eius ductu et impulsu regantur. Quando itaque fideles in unum conveniunt, sive ad agapen', sive in domum ad mensam et cibum, non profanis cantionibus utantur, sed inter se sacris carminibus laeliliam explieént
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v. 19 loquentes vobismetipsis &xoxotc, explica 20c(3o16; cf. 4,39. Col. 3,13.10. 4 Gor. 6,7. Luc. 23,12), in hoc enim loco sermo est de frequentia et celebritate fidelium inter se (non de charismate, uti 4 Cor. 14,26 unusquisque vestrum psalmum habet). Pias in suis conventibus usurpent cantiones; "vix inter varia illa nomina erit quaerendum magnum discrimen; hymnos quidem ait Hier. esse, qui fortitudinem ac maiestatem Dei praedicant et eiusdem beneficia vel facta mirantur; spirituali cantico concentum mundi omniumque creaturarum ordinem atque concordiam celebrari ; psalmos EPH. 25,19-21. 153 ad ethicum locüm pertinere, ut quid faciendum, quid vitandum sit, noverimus. Exemplum habetur Act. 4,94-30; 106,95. Utu fideles inter se in suis N laetitiam suam cantibus prodant, ita quoque in conventu sacro cantantes et psallentes in cordibus adhibentes; nam qui animum non ádhibent, temere canunt verba loquentes corde alibi vagante (CArys.); qui attendit, ille corde psallit ( Thph.). Notum est quod scribit Plinius (Ep. 10,97).de priscis fidelibus, ante lucem convenire carmenque Christo quasi Deo dicere secum invicem. Prae aliis commendat apostolus
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v. 20 gratias agentes semper pro omnibus bzio mivtov de omnibus quae eveniunt; fidelibus hane graüarum actionem praecipit, ut memores sint, quanta acceperint beneficia vocatione ad fidem et ad regnum Dei (cf. 1,3 seq. 9,11 seq. 3,18; similiter 4 Thess. 5,18 in omnibus gratias agite; nam diligentibus Deum omnia cooperantur in bonum (Rom. 8,28); et Hier. affert exemplum Job (1,21); « et iuxta apostolum haec virtus est maxima, ut in ipsis periculis et miseriis Deo gratiae referantur et semper dicamus : bendictus Deus ; minora me scio sustinere quam mereor; haec ad mea peccata parva sunt » ( Hier.). Gratiae agendae sunt in nomine Domint nostri Jesu Christi, nomen-saepe pro ipsa persona ponitur, unde in nomine Domini potest idem esse ac in Domino, in unione cum Christo (cf. Ioan. 14,13.14); ita orare in nomine Christi est orare in coniunctione cum Christo et ad eius opus promovendum; gratias agimus in nomine eius, conscii scil. nobis propler eum, eius merito et respectu beneficia praestari et nos in hac gratiarum actione cum eo coniunctos ea beneficia nobis conferenda, Patri scil. omnium bonorum auctori sine designat Patris personam, ad quem aecessum habemus acceptum in Christo. (3,12), unde in nomine quoque Christi, eius personam et eius opus et merita professi et quasi Patri obtendentes gralias agimus. Quod sequitur : subiecti invicem in timore Christi, secundum formam grammaticam videtur pertinere. ad anlecedentia et adnecli ad quattuor haberi quintum videtur participium, quo alius effectus describitur connon ob timorem humanum, sed Christi ( Thom.) : ita iungunt cum antecedentibus Chrys. Thom. Cai. Est. Bels. alii. Fructus Spiritus assignatur -inter alia pax et vouürys, mansuetudo, modestia (Gal. 5,23); unde ad Spiritus impulsum omnino referri potest, ut debita subiectione rectus ordo servetur et illa subiectio exhibeatur ratione habita Christi eiusque mandati. Quare haec explicatio per se non videtur esse aliena a contextu. Quod obstat, est v. 22, quia graece sine proprio verbo legitur; id qued etiam Z/ier. monet : « hoc quod in latinis exemplaribus additum est subditae sint, in graecis codicibus non habetur, si quidem ad superiora refertur et subauditur : subiecti invicem in timore Christi, ut à? magis in graeco intelligitur quam in latino ». Ergo in v. 21 potius nova series admonitionum inducitur. Id sensit etiam Lap. scribens : 4 est more velerum non connexas, sed disparatas, tradit praecepta de moribus». Aliis placuit óxozzocóp.svot &AAńňors quasi nominativum absolutum ! praemitli (et sensum accedere ad Rom, 12,10) : dum inter vos honore praevenitis et alii aliis sunt subiecti,
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v. 22 mulieres viris suis (sint. subditae) sicut Domino, ita explicant Henle, Ew. Participium pro indicativo et imperativo usuveniebat in lingua vulgari: cfr. Moulton, Grammar. of N.T. Greek, I p. 222-3. Uti Thom. adnotat, praeceptis generalibus adiungit portis ea « quae pertinent ad speciales quasdam personas et status; et quia domus habet tres connexiones, sine quibus non est perfecta, sc. viri et mulieris, patris et filii, domini et servi, ideo haec tria prosequens instruit », v. 5,22-6,9. Sicut apostolus ex una parte affirmat aequalitatem omnium coram Christo : non est Iudaeus neque graecus, non est servus neque liber, non est masculus neque femina; omnes enim vos unum (eic unus) estis in Christo (Gal. 3,98), ita tamen in ordine sociali et in muneribus prospicit et mandat, ut in sua quisque conditione retineatur. Igitur praecipit, ut mulieres «ois idiots ày8odatv propriis viris sint subiectae, sicut Domino, sicut Christo, in viris suis considerantes Christum, ut obedienbita; «utpote quae sciatis, quod Domino servitis; quando cedis marito» ut Domino serviens te obsequi pula; nam si is qui his externis civilibus potestatibus resistit, Dei resistit ordinationi (Rom. 13,2), multo magis quae marito non subiicitur; sie Deus voluit ab initio » (CArys.). Praestatur itaque subiectio propter Christum, qui talem ordinem ac subiectionem praecipit. Quare vero sensu in tali subiectione. sese potissimum Christo submittunt. . - Mulieres pronas fuisse ad maiorem quandam libertatem appetendam, (4 Cor. 11,3-16; 14,34-36). Ouare apostolus etiam rationem affert
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v. 23 quoniam vir caput est mulieris, iam respicit societatem matrimonialem quasi imaginem quandam regni Chrisli, sicut Christus caput est ecclesiae, qua comparatione etiam illustratur, cur praeceperit, ut mulieres viris obediantsicut Domino (v. 22). In generali ratione capitis insistitur ; sicut Christus praeest ecclesiae, eam gubernat ac protegit, ita maritus uxori - praeesse debet eamque regere ad bonum eius et familiae (Est.). Magnum quidem, imo maximum intercedit discrimen et intervallum inter Christum et maritum; nam Christus ipse salvator corporis (sui), salvator est ecclesiae, id quod de marito dici nequit ratione mulieris ; sed tali discrimine non obstante tamen sicut ecclesia subiecta est Christo, ita et mulieres viris suis in omnibus, èv xavzf, in quavis re, scil. ad quam viri polesta$seu superioritas se extendit; ea aulem sunt, quaecumque ad gubernationem domesticam pertinent ( Est.). Apposite notat Hier.: « si enim ita uxor subiicienda viro est, ut Christo ecclesia, inter virum et uxorem erit sancta coniunctio, et nunquam corporis servient passionibus. » Quid Christus praestiterit ecclesiae, satis declaratur voce salvatoris. Etiam virum debere uxori succurrere et aliquo modo Christum imitari, explicat apostolus
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v. 25 viri, diligite uxores vestras, en, exemplum dilectionis Christi, seipsum tradidit pro ea in mortem, tradidit se oblationem et hostiam Deo in odorem suavitatis (5,2), v. 25 uti Christus dilexit ecclesiam, ita viri diligant uxores etc. Unde arcta illa adhaesio relictis parentibus habet pari modo suum exemplar et prototypum in indissolubili unione Christi cum ecclesia. Est itaque naturalis illa viri ad uxorem quasi agglutinatio (mpocxóň\nņo:s) imago quaedam et representatio rei sacrae, figura altioris mysterii quod tandem patefactum est in unione Christi cum ecclesia. Inde elucet praeclara dignitas matrimonii. Qua consideratione ab apostolo facta etiam innuitur indoles et natura sacramentalis matrimonii christiani. Aperte enim describitur tamquam signum unionis Christi cum ecclesia; haec autem unio exhibetur sanclificans ecclesiam (v. 25.26) ; secundum exemplar huius sanctificationis
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v. 26 ut illam sanctificaret, ut illam consecraret in obsequium ae servitium Dei mundans xa0zo/5z; dum eam mundavit lavacro aquae in verbo (vitae), sacro scil. baptismo, quod lavacrum aquae administratur simul cum verbo et verbo (formula baptismi) efficit emundalionem ; adhibetur ¿v ad conditionem concomitantem designandam (ubi germanice dicitur mit, unter, bei). Declaratur itaque, qua re fiat haec mundatio: £v buo: ; sunt qui explicent de verbo: praedicationis, de evangelio (praeter novatores eliam Zsft.); verum ea notione legitur quidem Aóyo;, nunquam autem ñua, quare recentiores eam explicationem noh admittunt (cf. Hpt. Ew. Abb.); & bhuat: per se.—— solum dicit adiungi ád;lotionem aliquod verbum notione indeterminata ;.. ergo non sola lotione haberi effectum, sed ad effectum consequendum debere accedere verbum ; quale sit hoc verbum, ex coniunctione cum. lavacro aquae colligi oportet; unde formula quaedam baptismi infertur. Illud vitae nec graece nec apud Hier. Ambr., etc. habetur, quare ad explicationem i» buzz: non potest provocari ad locos Joan. 15,3; Rom. 10,8; 4 Petr. 1,293.95 ; Iac.1,18, in quibus omnibus legitur determinatio certa voci adiuncta : hoc est verbum fidei quod. praedicamus; hoc est ; verbum quod evangelizatum est in vos; vel non adhibetur $4/uz, sed Joc. o XE d - Atque Christus non solum semel baptismo consecrat et mundat ecclesiam, verum eius dilectio et oblatio sui ipsius pro ea etiam in id tendit et extenditur, ut non solum conservetur in munditie accepta, sed ut ad maiorem ornatüm decoremque provehatur. Quomodo v. 27 concipi oporteat, hisce iam declaratur; cum sine ulla particula coniunctionis pergatur
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v. 27 ut exhiberet, iva nxoacvíc),lam salis ostenditur, prius illud iva v, 26 non simpliciter continuari, verum alterum tv v. 27 referri ad y. 23 et 26, et ad hanc sententiam ex utroque membro complexam ulteriorem Christi intentionem adiungi : ut exhiberet ipse aòtóçs cum ictu effertur, cum iam eius actio continua per cursum saeculorum designanda sit, sibi gloriosam ecclesiam žvčoķov, splendidam; haec gloria vel hic splendor explicatur prius absentia omnis deformitatis : non habentem maculam exikov aut rugam aut aliquid huiusmodi; nam praeter simplicem munditiem et pulchritudinem requiritur olor quidam splendidus, cui nulla insit macula; potest quis esse perfecte mundus et tamen habere rugas quae venustali quidem maxime, munditiei nullatenus repugnant; splendor explicatur secundo directe et per se, sed ut sit -sancta &yíz consecrata, Deo plane devota et immaculata ab omni defectu immunis; a quavis macula scil. qua splendor ille pulchritudinis, £vàoboc, imminui posset. Notat Mier. : pulchre quoque maculam et rugam, quia de coniugio loquebatur, de exemplo mulierum ad decorem traxit ecclesiae (similiter Est. Lap. Tust). j Dicit Dominus : qui lotus est, non indiget nisi ut pedes lavet, sed est mundus totus (Ioan. 13,10); qui e balneo domum revertitur, per viamaliquid pulveris pedibus aspergit, quos si domi laverit, mundus est lotus. Christus ecclesiam suam, singulos electos lavacro baptismalis | mundat; iam post tale lavacrum incedendum est per viam vilae variis oedi obsitam. Christus in suis puritatem baptismalem non solum conservare vult, sed eam continuo augere, a quovis pulvisculo per viam coùtracto purgare et animi pulchritudinem in dies reddere magis splendentem desiderat. Ita declarat apostolus dilectionem qua Christus diligit ecclesiam : tradidit se pro ea, et baptismo mundatam continuo protegit, promovet, exornat. Hoc exemplum Christi: proponitur maritis
5:28
v. 28 ita, (et) viri debent diligere uxores suas, oüxoc ad Christi exemplum ; ergo eliam viris incumbit labores subire pro uxoribus, suis quandoque com- : modis renuntiare, sese impendere pro iis, eas protegere, adiuvare, earum infirmitatibus compati, infirmiori scil. Nieto impartire honorem (cf. 1 Petr. 3,7). Apte monet Chrys. : « ne quaeras ab uxore quae non | sunt eius. Vides quod a Domino omnia habuerit ecclesia ; ab ipso facta est gloriosa, ab ipso facta est sine macula. Quaere puléhritudinem animae ; imitare Sponsum ecclesiae ». ' Ad quam dilectionem commendandam alianí addit apostolus ralionem : t corpor Q sud Oç TA EXUTÕYV COLATO quippe quaesint sua ipsorum corpora; sicut Christus ecclesiam ut corpus suum diligit, ita vir uxorem, nam vir quoque est duh mulieris ; et alia consideratione adducta : sunt duo in carne una. lam modus dilectionis exhibetur ea cura et sollicitudine qua quis corpori suo prospicit eique commoda providet. Cum itaque duo sint in carne una, valet : qui suam uxorem diligit seipsum diligit, quae sententia quasi per parenthesin inseritur. Nam in v. 29 affertur declaratio quaedam ad verba illa ut corpora sua; v. 98 ita viri debent diligere uxores suas; id quod quam perfectissime fit, si ipsi contractui matrimoniali adnexa est gratia sanclificans, i. e si num : « gratiam quae naturalem illum amorem perficeret et indissolubilem unitatem confirmaret coniugesque sanctificaret ipse Christus, venepromeruit. Quod Paulus apostolus innuit dicens: viri diligite uxores vestras, sicut Christus, etc. » (Sess. 24). Attende quoque quod Tust. monet : « qui igitur ex hoc loco probari necessario putant fidelium matrimonium esse vere ac. proprie sacramentum, non salis, ut ego arbitror, firmo argumento rem verissimam probant ». Concedit Just. quidem coniugium fidelium signum esse rei plane sacrae, imo etiam sanctificanüis, non lamen quae sacramento includatur vel eius vi atque efficientia perficiatur; i. e. ex solo textu seu ex voce mysterii rationem sacramentalem X i oai Veteres quidam et recentiores vérba apostoli sacramentum hoc magnum, etc. ita intelligunt, ut apostolus verba illa Gen. 2,24 voluerit mystice seu prophetice explicari de Christo etecclesia. Ita scribit Hier. : « primus homo et primus vates Adam hoc de Christo et de ecclesia prophetavit, quod reliquerit Dominus noster Patrem suum Deum et matrem suam, coelestem Ierusalem et venerit ad terras propter suum corpus ecclesiam »; alii matrem intelligunt synagogam quam Christus 'reliquerit (August. "Thom.). Intelligi Christi coniunctionem cum ecclesia (mysterium Incarnationis) CArys. Theod. Thph. etc.. verbis illis existimant. Recentioribus acatholicis visum est haec verba referri ad secundum Christi-adventum, quo tempore Christus relicturus sit Patrem, ut se uniat cum ecclesid (vide apud Hpt. qui eam acceptionem pluribus refutat). Sed nulla re indicatur apostolum verba illa velle alio. sensu proponere quam quo ex contextu accipienda sint. Neque cis Xetexov xa! thy éxxXmoíay statim ostendit, ea verba immediate transferenda.esse ad vaticinium quoddam Gen. 2,24 enuntiatum ; insuper attende quam coacte verba illa ad Christum applicentur : relinquere patrem, quae est eius mater? et quomodo dicitur &v0poxoc ante coniunctionem cum natura humana? Alii videntur ex futuro relinquet xazaAstter arguere ; at non omne futurum est propheticum ; dicitur etiam de iis quae communiter, semper fiunt, quae tamquam conclusiones legitimae inferuntur, etc. Insuper attende, quod iam monui, verba haee non induci formula citationis. Ex ipso textu Gen. 2,24 nimime elucet, ea ab Adamo esse dicta ; multo magis obvium esse videtur, talia ab auctore sacro esse addita ad explicationem naturalis illius In v. 32 uno conspectu et sententia generali tolam matrimonii dignilatem proposuit; particula z?*» revertitur ad applicationem particula- / rem (này jedoch, indessen; cf. Blass & 11,13)
5:29
v. 29 nemo enim unquam carnem suam odio habuit, sed nutrit et fovet eam, Ya re ipsa dilectionem exhibens, sieut et Christus ecclesiam nutrit et fovet, quaevis bona ei subministrando in gratiis, doctrina, sacramentis. Ecclesia est Christi ita Christus refertur ad ecclesiam, quia membra sumus corporis eius; dum Christus nobis bona confert, ecclesiam suam fovet, quia nos membra sumus ecclesiae. Qua sententia effertur cura quam Christus suis ' continuo impendit et declaratur re idem quod in v. 27 proponitur. Quod in vulg. additur de carne eius et de ossibus eius in melioribus codicibus (N*AB) non habetur, legitur quidem in aliis compluribus, in versione syra, apud Irenaeum, Hier. Chrys. etc., at sane melius haec verba hoc loco omittuntur cum editionibus criticis. Nam quid sibi velint verba haec in Gen. 2,23 bene intelligitur; at quid hoc loco? membra sumus corporis Christi; hoc iam habet explicationem spiritualem ; sed qualem habebit : sumus nos de carne et de ossibus Christi? estne tacita comparatio cum origine Evae ex Adam? uti Eva ex Adam habuit corporalem comment. lerem cp. 3t (M. 24,887), quam explicationem etiam sequitur Primasius in commentario. (M. 68,623); eam priore loco proponit Thom., secundo loco de conditione praesenti, scil. de exhibitione per fidem intelligi posse dicit. Agi in v. 27 etiam, uti in v. 26, de praesenti tempore certum est; ita longe plerique accipiunt verba; neque obstat quod non omnia membra ecclesiae sancta sunt; sufficit quod praecipua ecclesiae pars, sancti scil. Christo proxime coniuncti et eius gratia praediti ad eam innocentiae ac puritatis formam aspirant (cf. Lajp.), sufficit quod ecclesia in suis praestantioribus membris nullam habet eiusmodi maculam, a qua simpliciter quis appellari possit maculatus; tales enim solae sunt maculae mortalium peccatorum (Esf.) Exprimitur in v. 27 studium et movendi etlevissimos quosdam naevos paulatim delendi. Atque revera per saecula Christus semper exhibuit in ecclesia homines eximie sanctos; inde apparet quam vere dicatur post baptismum v. 27. Cf. Is. 61,10. 2 Cor. 11,2. Interpretes graeci etiam ex v. 27 varia colligunt consectaria pro marito ;. ita Theod. « sicut Christus animae pulchritudinem ecclesiae acquisivit, ita tu quoque de hac curam habe, non de ornatu corporis; si enim animae pulchritudinem inquiras a coniuge, celeriter eam ei efficies, componensipsam et exhibens eam glóriosam secundum spiritum tibi ipsi et Deo ». Monent Chrys. Oec. Euth. : non improperavit Christus ecclesiae, quod talis fuerit, neque tu averseris uxorem ob deformitatem quandam; uti Christus est auctor bonorum pro ecclesia, ita ettú bona uxori procurare debes. Qui suam uxorem diligit, seipsum diligit, et v. 29 uxor est quasi propria viri caro, quam fovet, sicut Christus ecclesiam (insuper vir debet uxorem diligere, sicut Christus dilexit ecclesiam v. 25). Iam si haec est ratio habitudinis viri et uxoris, ut vir se ipsum, carnem suam diligat, ut debeat diligere exemplo Christi, tunc per se sequilur, ut vir relictis sensu ab ëvexev voóvou (LXX Gen. 2,24), 490'6» 2 Thess. 2,10 eo quod (Luc. 12,3; 19,44 quoniam, eo quod) relinquet homo patrem. et matrem suam et adhaerebit (agglutinabitur) uxori suae et erunt duo in carne una elc coxa piav, erunt duo una caro. Utitur apostolus ad suam enuntian-. dam sententiam verbis ex Gen. 2,24 vel potius ipsis verbis s. Seripturae maluit rem propenere, quibus clarissime ostenditur inter humanas necessitudines arctissimum et inviolabile esse vinculum matrimonii (Lap.). Apostolus etiam alias quandoque utitur verbis s. Scripturae ad suam sententiam proponendum, ita ut minime indicet ea esse Scripturae verba ; ita Rom. 10,13. Hanc viri ad uxorum adhaesionem relictis parentibus praedicat apostolus Y. 32 sacramentum. hoc «b posthpiov! «oUro magnum est, idque naturali iam consideratione pluribus effert Chrys. « eo qui procreavit, EPH. 5,32. 159 genuit, educavit, et ea quae concepit, cum dolore peperit, lis qui tot et tantis atecerani beneficiis, quibuscum diuturnus fuit usus, relictis, ei adhaeret quae ne visa quidem fuit et secum nihil habuit commune eamque omnibus praefert! Et parentes, cum haec fiunt, non aegre ferunt, sed potius aegre ferunt, si non fiunt ». Sed potius dicendum est : arctissima illa coniunctio viri et mulieris magnae alicuius sacrae el arcanae rei signum-ae symbolum est. Mysterium itaque est illud ipsum sublime quod in matrimonio quasi in imagine repraesentatur. Et altius hoc indicat apostolus : ego autem dico in Christo et in ecclesia, cio Xprotov xal cv ēxxinoiav i. e. ego aulem censeo in arcta illa adhaesione viri ad uxorem nobis exhiberi mysterium magnum, habitudinem Christi ad eeclesiam. Et revera apostolus in tota hac de matrimonio disputatione consideravit habitudinem Christi ad ecclesiam tamquam exemplar, secundum quod matrimonium debeat constitui; ita v. 22 mulieres obediant, sicut Christo, v. 23 uti Christus caput ecclesiae, ita vir caput mulieris, v. 24 uti ecclesia Christo subiecta, ita mulier viro,
5:33
v. 33. verumtamen et vos singuli, unusquisque uxorem suam sicut seipsum diligat, oŭros ita-diligàt óc tavtóv, est norma pro vita communi obvia et facilis; nam quisque optime scit quid sibi velit fieri; ergo omnia quaecumque vultis ut faciant vobis homines et vos facite illis (Matth, 7,12) ; cf. v. 28. Cum vir sit caput, dominus, ei praeprimis dilectio commendariida est, ne abutatur sua protestate; uxor autem timeat virum (suum), revereatur; timeat timore reverentiae et subiectionis ( Thom.); cf. v. 22.24; neque enim, ut Chrys. ait, mulier exigat aequalitatem dono d M agnoscere virum superiorem.
5:1
Many Fathers, especially St. Gregory of Nyssa (PG 44, 1200), present Christian perfection under the aspect of "imitation of God." Since God is indeed the exemplary cause of every perfection, Sacred Scripture also presents it as the supreme norm: "Be imitators of God as most beloved children" (Eph. 5:1). Such imitation evidently cannot be other than analogical and moral. …
… what St. Paul wrote on each virtue (for example, ch. 7 De Caritate is composed thus: Rom. 5:5; 8:28, 35-39; 13:8-10; 12:9-11; I Cor. 6:17; 8:3, 11; 10:24; 12:31; 13:1-8, 13; 14:1; 16:14, 20, 22, 24; II Cor. 6:11-13; 8:24; 11:2; Gal. 5:13-14; Eph. 5:1; Col. 3:14; I Thess. 4:9-10; I Tim. 1:5-6; Hebr. 10:24-25; Phil. 2:4).
5:2
… This brings to mind the words of St. Paul: "We are the good odor of Christ" (Eph. 5, 2). Medieval liturgists saw other equivalent meanings. …
… He is the Redemption (ἀπολύτρωσις), the ransom (ἀντίλυτρον), the propitiation (ἱλαστήριον), offering and victim (προσφορὰ καὶ θυσία) offered to the Father for our reconciliation (Rom. 3:24; I Tim. 2:6; Rom. 3:25; Eph. 5:2). The work of Christ our mediator and redeemer could not have been described more vividly. …
5:5
… St. Paul several times enumerates the sins that exclude from the kingdom of God (Rom. 2, 7-9; I Cor. 6, 9-10; Gal. 5, 19-21; Eph. 5, 5) and recalls to the Thessalonians' minds the otherworldly justice, by which the persecuted will find consolation and the persecutors "paenas dabunt in interitu aeternas" (II Thess. …
5:6
… In the New Testament there recurs insistently the warning to be vigilant against the snares set for the faith by the enemies of truth (Rom. 16, 17; II Cor. 11, 3; Eph. 5, 6-11; Col. 2, 6-8; I Tim. 1, 3 ff.; Hebr. 13, 9; II Pt. 3, 17; II Io. 7-11). The Church, in strict adherence to natural law and to the spirit of the apostolic norms, has provided for the …
Satan extends his dominion not only over "his angels" (Mt. 25:41; Apoc. 12:7), but over all men infested by evil, "sons of rebellion" (Eph. 2:2; 5:6), "all enclosed in unfaithfulness, under sin" (Rom. 11:32; Gal. 3:22); "all are under sin," "the whole world is debtor of punishment to God" (Rom. 3:9, 19). In this "kingdom" of his …
5:8
… Such fullness would ideally entail the absence of every sin and a conduct entirely conformed to the condition of a son of God (Eph. 5:8; I Cor. 6:19), something that cannot be realized without a special privilege. …
… and persecutes them (Jn. 15:18-25); despite the infinite love of God who has sent his Only-begotten to it, the world remains a son of Satan (Jn. 3:16-18; 8:44, 48) who is darkness and death, while God is light and life (Is. 9:2; Lk. 1:79; Jn. 1:4-10; Eph. 5:8, 14).
… 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), which is identified with the truth (I Jn. 3:19). All this entails in …
5:10
… A codex of 97 leaves, mutilated at the beginning and at the end, it now contains from I Cor. 6:13-18 to Eph. 5:10-13. It is an example of the two-column catena, which follows the procedure inaugurated by Procopius of Gaza (6th cent.). …
5:14
… Against this assertion St. Jerome rightly reacted, ibid., [saying] that the form "as it is written" always refers to inspired Scripture, and here there is a reference to Is. 64, 3; 65, 16. St. Epiphanius (Havr. 42) was the only one to hold that Eph. 5, 14 referred to the Apocalypse of E. It cannot be said whether some Coptic fragments of the 5th century, discovered at Alpinim and published in 1835, belong to it; and a fragment in Latin …
… himself, who must offer God a "rationabile obsequium" (Rom. 12:1), that is, a "spiritual," intelligent and free worship (cf. Sum. Theol., 1ᵃ-2ᵃᵒ, q. 113, a. 3; De Veritate, q. 28, a. 3-4). Scripture is explicit: God invites man to awake, to rise up (Eph. 5:14), to repent, to be converted (Is. 45:28), to believe (Mk. 1:15), without which there is no justification but death (Lk. 13:3-5; Jn. 8:24; 20:31). It is the sinner himself who must …
… such (Cicero, Divin., I, 18); despite the approval of the hagiographer, a wide margin remains for poetic hyperbole and for exceptions. Tit. 3, 5-8 perhaps cites a baptismal liturgical hymn (analogous to that of I Tim. 3, 16; cf. I Cor. 14, 26; Eph. 5, 14, 19). Some similarity has also been noted with I Pt., written around the time when Paul was in Rome for the first time.
5:18
… permits one to love anything other than God (Ps. 72:23-28), or a vivid light of faith (Eph. 1:17-19), a jubilation of the heart that accelerates holy activity (Ps. 118:32), or a kind of spiritual intoxication that pours itself out in divine praises (Eph. 5:18-19), such as the Magnificat.
5:19
117). The use of psalms, hymns, canticles, and among these there may also be the biblical Psalms, is recommended by St. Paul (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16).
… Writing to the Ephesians (Eph. 5:19) he says: « Loquentes vobismetipsis in psalmis et hymnis et canticis spiritualibus, cantantes et psallentes in cordibus vestris Domino ». He has a similar expression also in the letter …
5:22
This elevation, foreshadowed in Christ's manner of acting (cf. Leo XIII, encyclical Arcanum divinae sapientiae, 10 Feb. 1880), is more clearly suggested by St. Paul, in the celebrated text of Eph. 5:22-28, where, after saying that a man must love his spouse as Christ loved the Church, he adds: "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the …
This duty of obedience is recalled several times by St. Paul, sometimes explicitly (Eph. 5:24; Col. 3:18), sometimes implicitly (1 Cor. 11:3, 9; Eph. 5:22-23; cf. also 1 Pet. 3:1).
5:23
In the mind of the first Christian generation, the title ὁ Χριστός expressed, beyond the traditional concept of "King of Israel," that of universal "Savior," as appears in St. Paul, in whose major epistles σωτήρ does not occur (but only in Eph. 5:23; Phil. 3:20, and 10 times in the Pastorals). …
… unity of origin and of species might be established (Mt. 19:4; Acts 17:26; cf. Gen. 3:20; 5:1-2); 2) that the dignity and authority of man might be evident (1 Cor. 11:7-9; 1 Tim. 2:13-14); 3) that the union of Christ and the Church might be prefigured (Eph. 5:23-32; Jn. 19:34).
… The latter was formed within the bosom of Catholic tradition, outside the heretical movements, through an exaggerated interpretation of the unitas carnis and of the symbolism of marriage as a figure of the union of Christ with the Church, preached by St. Paul (Eph. 5:23-32).
… of particular or local Churches, forming part of the same Church (for example: Rom. 16:16: "all the Churches of Christ salute you"); therefore when he speaks in the singular, the Apostle indicates the Church as one: "Christ is the head of the Church" (Eph. 5:23), which is, according to the same apostle, "his body," "and he is the savior of his body" (ibid. v. 23); he immediately adds: "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ also loved the Church, …
5:24
This duty of obedience is recalled several times by St. Paul, sometimes explicitly (Eph. 5:24; Col. 3:18), sometimes implicitly (1 Cor. 11:3, 9; Eph. 5:22-23; cf. also 1 Pet. 3:1).
5:25
Indissolubility of Marriage and Divorce
… one flesh (Eph. 5:31). Jesus Christ has only one spouse, which is the Church, and the Church has only one spouse, who is its head and Savior, Jesus Christ: therefore this bond, like that between Christ and the Church, is not only holy but perpetual (Eph. 5:25, 27, 28, 29, 32). The content of these scriptural pages is well summed up in the word of Christ himself: "What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder" (Mt. 19:6).
… The image of this love is contemplated in the Most Holy Trinity and in so moving a manner in the human nature of the Son of God. And St. Paul (Eph. 5:25-33) compares the love of spouses to the love of Christ for his bride, the Church. …
b) Ex oneribus. - Christian spouses, in their mutual relations, must be inspired by the relations that prevail between Christ and the Church: on the one hand, respectful submission even to the point of sacrifice (Eph. 5:22-24), on the other, love and devotion even to death (ibid., 25-29). The gravity of these supernatural obligations (cf. Mt. 19:10) implies a corresponding source of graces and divine aids. …
… est Sanguis meus Novi Testamenti, qui pro multis effunditur in remissionem peccatorum": Mt. 26:28), since in biblical style these two expressions, even taken separately (for the traditio corporis cf. Is. 53:12; Mt. 20:28; Rom. 8:32; Gal. 1:4; 2:20; Eph. 5:25; I Tim. 2:6; Tit. 2:14; Hebr. 10:10; for the effusio sanguinis cf. Rom. 3:25; 5:9; Eph. 1:7; I Cor. 14:20; Hebr. 9:7; I Pt. 1:19; I Io. 1:7) always indicate a sacrificial immolation. …
a) the duty of mutual love (cf. Eph. 5, 25, 28; Col. 3, 19; I Tim. 2, 15); a grave duty, which imposes the obligation to love one's spouse more than one's parents and children;
5:26
… The term "B." in Sacred Scripture is not reserved exclusively to the Sacrament instituted by Jesus Christ (cf. Mt. 3:7; Mk. 7:4, 8; Lk. 3:3), nor is it even the only word chosen to designate it (Eph. 5:26; Tit. 3:5; F. Prat, I, p. 551; Oepke, pp. 527-28, 543).
… truth» (Jn. 17:17); «Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ» (ibid. 5:17). From Jesus Christ there springs, through the hierarchy and the priestly ministry, the «perfecting of the saints» (Eph. 4:12). Christ the Head sanctifies the Church his Body (ibid. 5:26; Heb. 2:11). The Church is a «holy nation» (1 Pt. 2:9). This constant flow of graces takes place through the Holy Spirit, the soul of the Church, who distributes the treasures of the …
… sacramental effect is to be introduced. b) The S. are instruments in the hands of God to produce Grace: the Heavenly Father has saved us "per lavacrum regenerationis et renovationis" (Tit. 3, 5); Christ purified his Church "lavacro aquae in verbo" (Eph. 5, 26); the Holy Spirit regenerates by means of water "ex aqua" (Io. 5, 3). It is God who saves, purifies, regenerates by means of Baptism as by an instrument of sanctification. …
5:27
The apostle Paul greets the Church as ἁγία and ἄμωμος, espoused to Christ as a chaste virgin (Eph. 5:27). Christ is the spouse of the Church, writes Irenaeus (Fragm. 30 in H. Jordan, Armenische Irrenäusfragmente, Leipzig 1913). The Church is the virgin mother, we read in the letter of …
5:29
… For it is written: 'No one hates his own flesh, but nourishes and cares for it'" (Eph. 5, 29); (Epist. …
5:31
Indissolubility of Marriage and Divorce
… that is divorced committeth adultery" (ibid. 19:6; cf. Mk. 10:11-12; Lk. 16:18). The apostle Paul inculcates the same truth, almost in the same words (I Cor. 7:10-11, 39). Only death can break the bond (Rom. 7:2-3) of the two who have become one flesh (Eph. 5:31). Jesus Christ has only one spouse, which is the Church, and the Church has only one spouse, who is its head and Savior, Jesus Christ: therefore this bond, like that between Christ …
… The bride, being in herself one physical person, is joined to the bridegroom, another physical person, by bonds that are first of all moral; but, furthermore, "the two shall be one flesh" (Matt. 19:5; Gen. 2:24; Eph. 5:31). The body, on the other hand, distinguished by its head, forms, together with it, a unity that is more than moral, that is, organic and physical. …
5:32
… were only images and figures futurorum bonorum; in the New Testament, on the contrary, they have received from God, through the merits of the Redeemer, a supernatural virtue, with which they penetrate the conscience, sanctifying it (cf. Heb. 9-10). In Eph. 5:32 there is question of a sacred sign, which had its origin in creation and which endures in the Redemption (St. Paul in fact speaks to Christians and extols the moral greatness of their …
… There it sometimes takes on the sense of a reality having symbolic religious value (Eph. 5:32), or of a reality operating in a mysterious way (II Thess. 2:7). More often, however, it indicates a truth known to God alone and graciously manifested by him to men (e.g., Mk. 4:11 and parallels). …
… speaks of Holy Orders, pointing out its capacity to confer Grace (Act. 20, 28; I Tim. 4, 14; II Tim. 1, 6). Finally he insists on noting the symbolic character of Christian Marriage, which represents the intimate union between Christ and his Church (cf. Eph. 5, 32); and he descends to practical cases to regulate the use of Marriage, declaring its lawfulness but subordinating it to the more esteemed state of virginity (I Cor. 7, 2-40).
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.