קXIX. Littera COPH
Sermon 19 · Ps 118:145–152 · CSEL 62, pp. 422–444
XIX. LITTERA COF.
1. Incipit littera 'Cof' nona decima, cuius interpretatio est 'conclusio' et, sicut alibi inuenimus, 'aspice'. distat littera, congruit sensus. nam qui concluditur circumspicere se debet et causam periculi non dissimulare, maxime cum letale discrimen sit. concluditur unusquisque tumescentibus uisceribus internisue faucibus, cum intercluso spiritus commeatu spirandi ac respirandi commercia coartantur. concluditur femina, cum fit peridrome matricis, qua pectoris ipsius premitur principale. unde graues oriuntur angustiae et, nisi in locum suum illa recipiendorum seminum aula reuocetur, uitam consueuit excludere. ita etiam, qui animo angitur et quibusdam aduersis inminentibus perurgetur, concludi dicitur non minoribus angustiis mentis quam corporis. maiores enim animae aestus febresque sunt animorum quam corporum.1
2. Conclusus igitur uiscerum tumore medicum quaerit, ut possit propulsare periculum et constricta laxare. ueniens medicus temptat omnia, explorat interna. et tu ergo conclusus animi feruore aspice temet ipsum interiore oculo. morbi uis urget, feruet noxia conscientia, moles peccatorum premit, intercipiunt sensum mentis angustiae: cognosce te ipsum et orationis quaere medicinam. posce ut ueniat medicus ille qui descendit de caelo, qui maxime aegrotos requirit, sicut ipse ait: non opus est sanis medicus, sed his qui male habent.2 habes uulnera? ne differas; non est apud eum ulla conperendinatio sanitatis. habes ulcera? ne timeas; uerbo, non ferro curare consueuit. aspice igitur illis oculis, quibus Dauid auxilium quaesiuit et meruit. 'leuaui', inquit, 'oculos meos ad montes, quaesiui unde mihi ueniret auxilium, non inueni nisi a domino'.3 qui enim mundum condidit, tuetur accolas mundi. aspice ergo et semper aspice, quia iusti oculi semper ad dominum.4
3. Hoc monet te etiam Hieremias in Threnis sub hac ipsa littera dicens ad Hierusalem: surge et expergiscere in nocte in principio uigiliae tuae, effunde sicut aquam cor tuum contra faciem domini. extolle ad dominum manus tuas pro animabus paruulorum tuorum qui deficiunt fame in plateis omnium itinerum.5 nonne et aperte conclusionis ostendit angustias et monet, ut intentione cordis, in quo est oculi melioris obtutus, remedium tibi salutare prouideas? denique etiam infra iterum sub hac littera ait: adpropiauit enim tempus nostrum, repleti sunt dies nostri, aduenit finis noster; leues facti sunt qui persecuti sunt
nos super aquilas caeli, in montibus accensi sunt, in deserto insidiatus est nobis.6
4. Demonstrauit summam conclusionem nec ullum remedium nisi in aduentu domini nostri Iesu Christi, qui solus desperatis possit adferre medicinam. et quasi ostendens eum dicit: spiritus ante faciem nostram christus dominus conprehensus est in interitu nostro; in umbra eius uiuemus inter gentes,7 et infra: bibes, inquit, et inebriaberis adhuc. uisitauit iniquitates tuas, reuelauit super peccata.8 quam breuiter aduentum et passionem eius expressit remissionemque omnium peccatorum, quam aperte congregationem futuram gentium declarauit! hinc illud apostolicum: quia caecitas ex parte Israel contigit, donec plenitudo gentium intraret et sic omnis Israel saluus fieret.9
5. Ueni, domine Iesu, sed iam non in umbra, sed in sole iustitiae.10 si umbra profuit, si passionis tuae umbra protexit, si corporis umbra saluauit, quantum conferre poterit claritas aperta uirtutis! per umbram lepra curata est,11 per umbram quoque illius feminae, quae fimbriam uestis dominicae attigit, sanguis stetit,12 per umbram te uidimus, quando non habebas speciem neque decorem.13 umbra tua caro fuit, quae nostrarum aestus refrigerauit cupiditatum, quae restinxit ignes libidinum, quae auaritiae diuersarumque passionum incendia temperauit. et quid dicam de umbra domini, quando et apostolorum umbra sanabat? ueniente etenim Petro unusquisque offerebat aegros suos, quos transeuntis apostoli umbra reddidit sanitati.14
6. Audi quia caro domini umbra erat: ecce dominus sedet super nubem leuem et ueniet in Aegyptum,15 et Dauid dicit: sub umbra alarum tuarum protege me.16 factus est igitur exinanitus umbra nobis, quos sol iniquitatis exusserat. uidimus ergo in umbra eum, cum adhuc fides prima procederet. sed nunc iam totum inluminat mundum et tamen adhuc eum per sui corporis, quae est ecclesia, umbram uidemus, nondum facie ad faciem;17 neque enim oculi corporis diuinitatis possunt recipere fulgorem. haec quoque umbra totum cotidie protegit orbem terrarum. profuit igitur conclusio; conclusit enim deus omnia in incredulitate, ut omnium misereatur.18 sed iam consideremus, quid in conclusione dicendum est et unde incipiendum.
7. Exclamaui in toto corde meo: exaudi me, domine, iustitias tuas exquiram,19 dicit Dauid. cum inpressiones patimur corporales, exclamare consueuimus, ut alios ad praesidium nobis uocare possimus. premebatur sanctus propheta adpropinquantibus sibi persecutoribus. Saul primo infestus armato eum insequebatur exercitu, postea parricida filius inminebat; non contentus fugientis exilio uitam patris quaerebat eripere. sed ab illis minus pati poterat, quos in praesenti uidebat, quam ab illis, quos non uidebat. est enim conluctatio sanctis non solum aduersus carnem et sanguinem, sed etiam aduersus principatus et potestates istius mundi rectoresque tenebrarum,20 qui latronum modo in istius saeculi nocte humanis insidiantur affectibus. horum igitur sanctus Dauid cum graues aduersum se fieri uideret incursus, exclamauit in toto corde suo. etenim aduersus diabolum non uocis magnitudine, sed magnanimitate cordis utendum est.
8. Est tamen et uox cordis, quia est et uox sanguinis, quae ad deum peruenit; denique deus dicit: uox sanguinis fratris
tui clamat ad me.21 clamat ergo cor nostrum non sono corporis, sed cogitationum sublimitate concentuque uirtutum. grandis fidei clamor; denique in spiritu adoptionis clamamus: abba pater22 et ipse spiritus dei clamat in nobis. magna uox iustitiae, magna est castitatis, per quam et mortui locuntur nec solum locuntur, sed etiam sicut Abel clamant. at uero iniusti anima nec uiuentis clamat, quia deo mortua est. nihil in illa sublime, nihil magnificum est quale eorum, quorum sonus in omnem terram exiuit et uerba in fines orbis terrarum.23 gracili uoce loquebatur Moyses et plus omnibus audiebatur,24 cotidie auditur in ecclesia. ab illis solis, hoc est Iudaeis, non auditur, qui aure audiunt, sed non audiunt.25 prophetae dicitur alteri: exalta uiribus uocem tuam.26
9. Anna tamen non clamabat in corde suo sicut Moyses, sed loquebatur,27 fortasse quia filios postulabat, hoc est bona quidem, sed priuata, non publica; non clamabat, sed quia a domino postulabat, quia domino eum, si quem susciperet, offerebat, loquebatur deo; clamabat autem Moyses, quia non pro se, sed pro omni populo precabatur. unde dictum est ei a domino: quid clamas?28 clamabat affectu pio et sensu profundo et personabat in caelo, miraculis petens digna caelestibus, ut mundi elementa mutaret.
10. Denique et ipsius loci seriem recenseamus. instabat Pharao et innumeris Aegyptiorum stipatus curribus urgebat Hebraeos; hinc circumfusus hostis, inde interfusum mare plebem dei clauserat. nulla in armis fiducia, spes nulla in uiribus. strepebat tantummodo querella miserabilis, quod commodius sibi foret dura in Aegypto seruitutis onera subire quam acerba in deserto morte consumi.29 que-
-rella nihil praesidii ferens, plurimum offensae adferens. stabat ergo Moyses maestus sollicitus anxius populi et periculis et querellis, expectans fidem caelestium promissorum, et tacitus secum ipse uoluebat, qua tandem dominus ope iniuriae inmemor, memor gratiae subueniret. dicit ad eum dominus: quid clamas ad me?30 sonum eius non audio, uocem eius agnosco; silentium eius lego, clamorem eius in operibus deprehendo. clamabat populus et non audiebatur, tacebat Moyses et audiebatur. non populo dictum est: quid clamas ad me? non enim ad deum clamabat populus qui iniusta et uiris indigna clamabat. sed Moysi dictum est: quid clamas ad me?, hoc est: tu solus ad me clamas qui de me speras, tu solus ad me clamas qui uirtutem meam excitas, tu solus ad me clamas qui per uniuersam terram adnuntiari meum nomen expectas.
11. Clamabat ergo Moyses in corde suo, et omnis sapiens in corde suo clamat. denique sapientia cum altissima praedicatione conuocat ad craterem31 dicens: relinquite insipientiam et quaerite sapientiam.32 magnae sublimitatis, magnae uocis haec praedicatio est quae stultis sapientiam pollicetur. et Iesus dominus clamabat: si quis sitit, ueniat ad me et bibat.33 et uere magna clamabat, qui uocabat homines ad regnum caelorum, ad illum uenerabilem potum, quo uitae aeternae fluctus infunditur. et tu cum oras magna ora, id est ora quae aeterna sunt, non caduca, ora quae diuina sunt atque caelestia, ut sis sicut angeli in caelo.34 noli orare pro pecunia, quia aerugo est, noli pro auro, quia metallum est, noli pro possessione, quia terra est; oratio ista ad dominum non peruenit. non audit deus nisi quod dignum suis ducit esse beneficiis, sed audit piam uocem, plenam deuotionis et gratiae.
12. Non solum ergo clamandum in corde, sed etiam in toto corde clamandum est. sicut enim corporaliter tunc bene clamatur, cum toto ore clamatur, ita spiritaliter toto est clamandum corde, si uolumus magna deferre et a domino quae poscimus impetrare. hanc dominus uocem exigebat a populo, quam populus nesciebat, ideoque dixit dominus: populus hic labiis me honorat, cor autem eorum longe est a me.35 qui ergo adpropinquauerit corde, ipse auditur a domino; cor ergo prius clamet, ut sermo possit audiri.
13. Sed non satis est clamare ad dominum, sed etiam iustitias eius exquirere.36 exquirit autem iustitias, qui id, quod in omnibus creaturis et maxime in animantibus rationabilibus iustum est, prouidentiae adscribit diuinae. unde turturi studium pudicitiae, quae compare amisso concubitum indulgere non nouit,37 quod homines seruare non possunt? unde plerisque animantibus tam sobria partus cura seruandi, ut, ubi conceptionis munus agnouerint, coitum non putent esse repetendum, ne receptorum seminum fiat adulterina permixtio? phoenix coitus corporeos ignorat, libidinis nescit inlecebras, sed de suo resurgit rogo, sibi auis superstes, ipsa et sui heres corporis et cineris sui fetus.38 aquila, ne degeneres partus nutriat, diligenti librat examine et adhuc teneros fetus pio ungue suspendit solisque offert radiis, ut, si forte oculos suos ui fulgoris inflexerint, tamquam degeneres laxato in praeceps ungue dimittat, sin uero naturae uigorem constanti aduersum radios solis obtutu potuerint uindicare, dignae subolem indolis onere grato reportet.39
14. Uolatilia caeli omnia non serunt neque metunt et deus pascit illa,40 quia iustitias domini custodiunt nihil sibi proprium
uindicando, sed ligno fructifero, quod domini iudicio communem ad escam datum est,41 famem releuare contenta. ex his igitur nos cognoscimus, quam diuinae subsidia prouidentiae hominibus non deessent, si dei iustitiam seruare uellemus. qui alit aues,42 non aleret homines, quos ad imaginem et similitudinem sui fecit? nonne pluris sumus illis? naturae praerogatiua pluris sumus, sed inferiores deminutione gratiae et praeuaricationis iniustitia.
15. Uersus secundus: clamaui ad te, salua me, et custodiam testimonia tua.43 repetit quod ad deum clamauerit et custodem se promittit caelestium statutorum, quae caelo terraque testibus dominus deus sanxit,44 ut praeuaricatores elementorum testimoniis arguantur. quomodo caelum aspiciant praeuaricationis suae conscium? quomodo fructus de terra expectent, quae nouit ingratos? uide igitur quam non parua promittat propheta. in clamando fidelis et promptus affectus exprimitur, in custodiendo testimonia continentiae uirtus, obsequii sedulitas declaratur.
16. Tertius uersus: anticipaui in maturitate et exclamaui, in uerba tua speraui.45 Graecus ἐν ἀωρίᾳ dixit, quod est ante horam, ante tempus. qui ergo dominum deprecatur, non uelut praescripta praecipue tempora praestoletur, nesciens in obsecrationibus domini tempus esse aliquod, sed semper in ipsis sit. siue manducamus siue bibimus, Christum adnuntiemus, Christum rogemus, Christum cogitemus, Christum loquamur;46 in corde nostro semper, semper in ore sit Christus.
17. Sed forte dicas: 'quomodo scriptum est: tempus omnibus, et tempus omni rei sub caelo est?'47 sed Iesus dominus supra caelum est, nullo circumscriptus est tempore. claudat os suum Arriana perfidia: tempus, inquit, omni rei sub caelo; quanto magis sub deo tempus, non supra deum! generatio ex patre non habet tempus; neque enim opus ante auctorem, sed auctor supra operis exordium. fortasse obiciant, quia dixit: tempus nondum aduenit48 et iterum dixit: pater, uenit hora;49 sed haec hora hora est passionis. est etiam tempus uirginalis conceptionis: ecce uirgo in utero accipiet,50 quia uirgo sub tempore et ideo praescripta aetate concepit.
18. Qui rogat itaque, semper roget et, si non semper precatur, paratum semper habeat precantis affectum. pernoctabat in oratione dominus Iesus51 non indigens precationis auxilio, sed statuens tibi imitationis exemplum. ille pro te rogans pernoctabat, ut tu disceres quomodo pro te rogares. redde igitur ei quod pro te detulit. audi supra dicentem prophetam: media nocte surgebam ad confitendum tibi.52 et tu surge uel media nocte, si non potes tota semper nocte uigilare, ut, dum oras nocte, ueri solis pectori tuo splendor inradiet, quia omnis anima quae Christum cogitat in lumine semper est, dies lucet, ⟨si⟩ tibi Christus adspirat. sed quia sequens uersiculus de tempore precandi euidenter expressit, in isto uersiculo actuum magis operumque arbitror quam orationis tempus intellegendum.
19. Praecurrit aetatis maturitatem, quisquis in adulescentia positus senilem grauitatem induit et iuuenales annos ueterana
quadam continentia regit feruoremque uirentis corporis incana morum maturitate componit. nam quid potest habere laudis, si effetum corpus uoluptatibus et iam senectutis gelu frigidum ad sera deuotionis officia deposito iam segnior uigore conuertat? non est corona, nisi ubi fuerit difficilioris lucta certaminis, ad quam rari adtingere possunt nec omnes qui ingressi fuerint stadium peruenire. ille laudabilis, cui est in se ipso ante certamen, qui carnem suam reluctantem sibi mentis cohercet imperio, parca frugalitate castigat et seruituti redigit,53 ne effrenata libertate luxuriet atque indomita feruens cupiditate habenas animi regentis abrumpat. in hora est ergo senex, si munia sobriae maturitatis exerceat, ante horam praecurrens iuuenis, si senili pondere incentiua conprimat uoluptatum ac feruentis inlecebras cupiditatis extinguat; bonus est enim dominus sustinentibus,54 Hieremias dicit et: bonum est uiro qui graue portauit iugum a iuuentute, sedebit singulariter et silebit, quia tulit iugum uerbi.55 qui enim a iuuentute iugum portauerit et habenis maturi moderaminis teneriora uolens colla subdiderit, sedebit singulariter remotus a strepitu interpellantium passionum et quietus silebit, cui necesse iam non sit iurgari cum corpore, decertare cum uariis cupiditatibus, quia tulit iugum uerbi anima quae quaerit deum, quae captiuas sibi fecit omnes delicias iuuentutis. unde fortasse et illud dominicum: non clamabit neque contendet neque audiet quisquam in plateis uocem eius56 non solum ad defensionis silentium absolutionisque contem-
ptum et tolerantiam passionis, sed etiam ad conpressiones omnium accipere possumus corporalium uoluptatum. unde et alibi scriptum est, quia peccatum non fecit.57 recte igitur tacebat in mortis periculo constitutus qui mortis aculeum non timebat.
20. In uerba, inquit, tua speraui.58 Graecus ἐπήλπισα dixit, quod est ad sperandum semper crescere et spem spei adiungere. iustus semper sperat et in aduersis positus et frequentibus adflictus aerumnis desperare non nouit, sed quo grauiora tolerauerit magis sperat et sperandi sumit profectum secundum illud oraculum: consolamini consolamini populum meum, dicit dominus, sacerdotes, loquimini iustitiam in cor Hierusalem, consolamini eam, quia repleta est deiectio et solutum est peccatum eius, quia recepit de manu domini duplicia peccata sua.59 quam cito dixit plenitudinem deiectionis solutionem esse peccati et repetiuit causam consolationis, eo maius esse reconciliationis insigne, quo numerosior fuerit poena quam culpa.
21. Iob tot grauatus incommodorum acerbitatibus pio spem cumulabat affectu, discretam a piis causam adserens impiorum, quorum lumen extinguetur;60 lux autem secundum Salomonem semper iustis.61 unde colligitur, quia iustus semper in uerba dei sperat et spem adicit spei, quod euidentius expressit Esaias dicens: tribulationem super tribulationem expecta, spem super spem.62 ad perlactatos et abductos ab uberibus loquebatur, hoc est ad eos qui prima infantiae alimenta transissent cibo iam habiles fortiori.63 exemplo sit, quod ablactatus
Isaac patriarcha tantus euaserit, ut adhuc inter rudimenta primaeuae positus aetatis nequaquam tamen gladium ferituri parentis horruerit. plures filios habuit Abraham, nullum ablactauit alium, sed in hoc solo legitur fecisse epulum magnum.64 et bene 'magnum epulum' scriptura dixit, quia typus erat eius quem semper epulantur corda sanctorum.
22. Sequitur uersus quartus: praeuenerunt oculi mei mane meditari uerba tua.65 supra ait: praeueni ἐν ἀωρίᾳ,66 hoc est 'ante horas, ante tempus', hic ait 'mane', aliud significans tempus orandi atque psallendi domino, ut sit illud prius secundum quod ait: media nocte surgebam,67 hoc autem iuxta illud: 'praeueni orientem solem'. graue est enim, si te otiosum in stratis radius solis orientis inuerecundo pudore conueniat et lux clara feriat oculos somnolentos, adhuc torpore depressos. arguit nos tanti temporis spatium sine ullius deuotionis munere ac sacrificii spiritalis oblatione feriata nocte transmissum. an nescis, o homo, quod primitias tui cordis ac uocis cotidie deo debeas? cotidiana tibi messis, cotidianus est fructus. occurre ergo ad solis ortus, ut te oriens inueniat iam paratum, ne lumina tua madido adhuc sopore marcentia primus diei fulgor exagitet.
23. In cubili meo in noctibus quaesiui quem dilexit anima mea,68 dicit ecclesia. ideo eum meruit inuenire, ideo eius gratiam promereri, quia etiam in cubili suo quaesiuit, quaesiuit in noctibus. propterea copiam eius adepta in posterioribus loquitur ad sponsum: *ueni, frater meus, exeamus in agrum, requiescamus in castellis; diluculo
surgamus in uineas*. aduertis quemadmodum sponsa uerbum inuitet dei, ut ueniat in terras et tollat peccata mundi?69 ager hic erat ante desertus, sentibus nostrorum squalidus delictorum, horridus spinis. castellum erat, in quo relegatus Adam perpetuo suae posteritatis heredes stringebat exilio. illo ergo ducit Christum ecclesia, ut Adam liberet. deinde exulibus absolutis coepit mundi istius ager idoneos habere cultores et, qui erat ante ieiunus, factus est uitis aeternae plantatione fecundus.70 nec sic tamen spiritalibus laeta palmitibus euagatur, sed ad has uineas uocat Christum, ubi psallentes sint et orantes, ubi noctibus ac diebus fructus innoxius perseueret.
24. Ibi, inquit, dabo ubera mea tibi, dederunt mandragorae odorem.71 plerique discernunt quendam inter mandragoras sexum, ut et mares et feminas putent esse, sed feminas grauis odoris.72 significat ergo gentes, quae ante faetebant, cum essent infirmiores euirata quadam inbecillitate perfidiae, boni odoris fructus ferre coepisse, postquam in aduentum domini crediderunt. legimus etiam, quod mandragoras acceperit sancta Rachel a sorore sua Lia, ut concederet ei illa nocte dormire cum sancto Iacob.73 mandragoras Ruben primogenitus adtulerat matri suae Liae, quae lippientibus oculis synagogae figuram accepit, quia Christi gratiam uidere non potuit hebetato debilis mentis obtutu. quo declaratur, quod fructus, quos ante synagoga a primogenito dei filio susceperat, ecclesiae concessit. sed quia illius noctis potita concubitu genuit Lia suae posteritatis heredem, impletur mysterium, quoniam credentibus apostolis reliquiae Iudaeorum per electionem gratiae saluae factae sunt.74
25. Unde ait ecclesia: noua et uetera, frater meus, seruaui tibi, quis dabit te fratrem, lactantem ubera matris meae? inueniens te foris osculabor te, et quidem non spernent me. adsumam te et inducam in domum matris meae et in secretum eius quae concepit me; docebis me.75 habens igitur informationem nouarum et ueterum scripturarum nec despicabilem esse se sentiens non solum orationibus in secreto cordis uerbum tenet, uerum etiam psallentis chori uocibus uelut quibusdam eum gratiae osculis osculatur.76
26. Itaque malorum granatorum, hoc est diuersorum et innumerabilium fructuum et praecipue fidei odoribus grata, sapientiae et gloriae uitaeque aeternae subnixa diuitiis, quae sunt circa sinistram et dexteram sponsi,77 per animas sanctas laudantium congregationum plausibus excitat Christum dicens: adiuraui uos, filiae Hierusalem, quid suscitetis et quid resuscitetis dilectionem usque quo uoluerit.78
27. Unde eam mirantur filiae Hierusalem, sanctae scilicet animae patriarcharum et prophetarum ueterumque iustorum uel caelestes potentiae, dicentes: quae est haec quae ascendit dealbata, innitens super fratrem suum?79 hoc est: talibus sollemnitatibus fulget ecclesia et quae ante per diem fusca erat, iam splendet in noctibus et relucet.
28. Ipse quoque dominus tanto munere psallentium delectatus ait: pone me ut signaculum in cor tuum, ut sigillum in brachium tuum, quia ualida est ut mors
caritas, durus sicut inferi zelus; alae eius alae ignis flammae; aqua multa excludere non poterit caritatem et flumina non inundabunt eam.80 qui audit tantam deuotionem ecclesiae, idoneos putat esse iam populos, qui in corde nostro et brachio signaculum eius portare possimus. ipsum enim pater signauit deus et qui testimonium eius accepit signauit, quia deus uerax est,81 et ideo operantes cibum permanentem in uitam aeternam82 signati sunt ad imaginem et similitudinem Christi, qui est imago inuisibilis dei.83 sicut ergo deus uerax est, et tu signa in tuo sensu et opere ueritatem, ut os tuum non loquatur mendacium, manus tuae non operentur opera hominum quae sunt fallacis istius mundi, sed illa quae dei sunt, ut pauperibus largiantur, debiles subleuent, mortuos honorent tumuli sepultura. his operibus caritas quaeritur, ut nemo possit a Christo uel periculo mortis auelli. unde ille ait: quis nos separabit a Christo? tribulatio an angustia an persecutio?84 et infra: confido enim quia neque mors neque uita neque angeli ⟨neque potestates neque praesentia neque futura separare nos poterunt a caritate dei quae est in Christo Iesu⟩.85
29. Ea specie etiam zelus durus est caritatis et alae eius alae ignis. habet alas sicut columba. sunt enim pennae columbae deargentatae,86 quibus euolat qui diligit, dicens: ecce elongaui fugiens et mansi in solitudine.87 sed alae caritatis alae ignis, quibus dilectionis inflammat ardorem. hoc uapore feruentes fecit dominus angelos suos spiritus et ministros suos ignem urentem,88
sed non exurentem. legimus et alam templi, supra quam diabolus temptans fecit ascendere saluatorem, quae erat in templi culmine.89 sunt ergo fastigia pietatis, sunt culmina caritatis, quae uaporem gratiae pectoribus humanis adolere consuerunt, ut multa aqua extinguere atque excludere non queat caritatem et flumina eam saecularium tempestatum nulla concludant.
30. Cum ergo tanta ecclesiae gratia, tanta nos praemia deuotionis inuitent, praeueniamus orientem solem, occurramus ad eius ortus, antequam dicat: ecce adsum.90 uult se praeueniri sol iustitiae et ut praeueniatur expectat. audi quemadmodum expectet et cupiat praeueniri: dicit angelo Pergami ecclesiae: age paenitentiam, ceterum uenio tibi,91 dicit angelo Laodiciae: aemulare ergo et paenitentiam age. ecce sto ad ianuam et pulso, et siquis audierit uocem meam et aperuerit ianuam, intrabo ad eum.92 poterit intrare; denique nec resurgentem eum cum corpore ulla clausarum ualuarum repagula retinere potuerunt,93 subito se apostolicis penetralibus inprouisus infudit. sed studia deuotionis tuae desiderat experiri, apostolos iam probatos habebat. aut forte in persecutione praeuenit; ubi tranquillitas est, praeueniri cupit. praeueni certe hunc quem uides solem, surge qui dormis et exsurge a mortuis, ut inlucescat tibi Christus.94 si hunc solem praeueneris, antequam iste surgat, accipies Christum inluminantem. ipse prius in tui cordis inlucescet arcano, ipse tibi dicenti: de nocte uigilat ad te spiritus meus matuti-
num lumen temporibus faciet splendere nocturnis,95 si mediteris uerba dei. dum enim meditaris, lux est et uidens lucem non temporis, sed gratiae dices: quia lux praecepta tua. cum autem te meditantem uerba diuina dies inuenerit et tam gratum opus orandi atque psallendi delectauerit tuam mentem, iterum dices ad dominum Iesum: exitus matutinos et uespere delectabis.96
31. An uero Moyse magistro usus populus Iudaeorum cotidie in senioribus suis, qui ad hoc munus electi sunt,97 noctibus ac diebus sine ulla cessatione recenset scripturas diuinas et, si quid aliud seniorem interrogaueris, nescit nisi scripturae diuinae seriem resultare, uacat illic sermo de saeculo, sola illic scriptura contexitur, singulorum sibi per uices ora succedunt, ne quando sacer ille sonus mandatorum caelestium ferietur: et tu, Christiane, dormis, cui magister est Christus, et non uereris, ne de te dicatur: 'populus iste nec labiis me honorat,98 Iudaeus uel labiis, tu uero nec labiis'? si illius qui uel labiis honorat cor longe est a deo, quomodo potest cor tuum prope esse, qui etiam labiis non honoras? quamdiu somnus, quamdiu te saecularia tenent, quamdiu sollicitudines istius uitae, quamdiu terrena!
32. Diuide saltem deo et saeculo tempora tua; uel, quando non potes agere in publico, quae sunt istius mundi, et tenebrae prohibent noctis, deo uacato, indulge orationibus et, ne obdormiscas, psallito, somnum tuum bona fraude fraudato. mane festina ad ecclesiam, defer primitias pii uoti; et postea, si uocat saecularis necessitas, non excluderis dicere: praeuenerunt oculi mei mane meditari uerba tua;99 securus procedes ad tuos actus, quam iucun-
dum inchoare ab hymnis et canticis, a beatitudinibus100 quas in euangelio legis, quam prosperum, ut te Christi sermo benedicat et, dum recantas domini benedictiones, studium alicuius uirtutis adsumas, ut etiam in te benedictionis diuinae meritum recognoscas!
33. Sequitur uersus quintus: uocem meam exaudi secundum misericordiam tuam, domine, secundum iudicium tuum uiuifica me.101 semper homo, etiamsi sanctus et iustus sit, debet orare, ut exaudiat eum dominus secundum misericordiam suam, non secundum merita uirtutis alicuius, quia rara uirtus, multa peccata, et secundum iudicium suum, ut infirmis opem ferat. et maxime hoc debemus orare, cum aliquibus urgemur aduersis. unde non otiose a sancto Dauid praemissa est diuinae misericordiae postulatio.
34. Sequitur enim: adpropinquauerunt persequentes me inique, a lege autem tua elongauerunt.102 Graecus sic posuit: adpropinquauerunt persequentes me iniquitate, hoc est qui cum iniquitate me persequebantur. quanto magis mihi adpropinquauerunt, tanto amplius se a lege tua separauerunt, quoniam qui fratrem suum persequitur a lege secernitur; lex enim dicit: diliges dominum deum tuum, diliges proximum tuum.103 non ergo oderim fratrem, ne dicatur mihi: si fratrem tuum non diligis quem uides, quomodo potes deum diligere quem non uides?104 nescis fratrem tuum mercem esse sanguinis Christi? mercem ergo non diligis Christi, si fratrem non diligis.
35. Ergo persecutor mihi adpropinquat, ut noceat, sed is se a lege disterminat — quae enim portio iustitiae cum iniquitate?105 — qui autem a lege dei se separat, separat se et ab aeterna uita; lex enim uita est. denique ostendens propheta legem dei ait: ecce ista est uita, quoniam qui facit quae legis sunt uiuet in eis,106 quod legi utique conuenit spiritali. et fortasse qui mihi adpropinquat, ut noceat mihi, dum separatur a lege, separatur a Christo, quia Christus est uita. ego autem si adhaeream Christo, nec mihi adpropinquat, quia, etiamsi corporis mei habeat potestatem, animae tamen meae nocere non poterit.107 denique persecutores martyrum quam longe ab eorum meritis separati sunt!
36. Sed forte dicas: 'quomodo sancti adhaerent deo?' et ideo sequitur: prope es, domine, et omnia praecepta tua ueritas.108 prope est dominus omnibus, qui ubique adest, nec fugere eum possumus, si offendimus, nec fallere, si delinquimus, nec amittimus, si colamus. spectat omnia deus, omnia uidet, adsistit singulis dicens: deus adpropinquans ego sum.109 et quomodo potest deesse alicubi deus, cum de spiritu dei legeris: spiritus domini repleuit orbem terrarum?,110 quia ubi domini spiritus ibi dominus deus. caelum et terram ego compleo, dicit dominus.111 ubi igitur deficit qui implet omnia aut quomodo de plenitudine eius omnes accepimus,112 nisi omnibus adpropinquet?
37. Denique Dauid, sciens illum ubique esse et implere caelum et terras et maria, ait: quo ibo a spiritu tuo aut quo113
fugiam a facie tua? si ascendero in caelum tu ibi es, si descendero in infernum ades; si sumpsero pennas meas ante lucem et habitem in nouissimo maris, etenim ibi manus tua deducet me et tenebit me dextera tua. quam cito significauit ubique deum esse et ubicumque est dei spiritus ibi deum esse et ubi est deus ibi spiritum eius esse praesentem. quo loco indiuiduae copula trinitatis expressa est, siquidem haec per os prophetae locutus est dei filius, in persona hominis locutus qui per incarnationem descendit in terras, per resurrectionem ascendit in caelum, per corporis mortem penetrauit infernum, ut solueret alligatos. aut si ad prophetam referas, aduertis expressum quod ubique manus et dextera dei Christus adsistat, ubi pater deus et sanctus dei spiritus.
38. An cum de sole dubitare nequeamus, quod procedens toto orbe radios diffundat suos et omnibus lumen infundat, quem etiam illi qui uidere non possunt sentiunt tamen aeris ipsius fotu esse praesentem — ubi enim deest calor illius? quo radii eius non perueniunt, cum discussis noctis aut nubium tenebris inluminat terras? in caelo fulget, in mari rutilat, feruet in terris —, de sole ergo non dubitas quod ubique resplendeat, de deo dubitas quod ubique fulgeat splendor gloriae eius et imago substantiae?114 quid non penetret uerbum dei, splendor aeternus, qui etiam occulta mentis inluminat quae non potest sol iste penetrare? uerbum enim dei gladius spiritalis est, usque ad diuisiones animae atque artuum medullarumque perueniens,115 de quo dicit iustus ad Mariam: et tuam ipsius animam pertransibit gladius, ut reuelentur multorum cordium cogitationes.116
39. Penetrat ergo animam et quasi candor aeternae lucis inlustrat. sed quamuis diffusae per omnes et in omnes et supra omnes potestatis sit, quia omnibus ortus ex uirgine est, et bonis et malis, sicut et solem suum oriri iubet super bonos et malos,117 illum tamen fouet qui adpropinquat sibi. sicut enim a se fulgorem solis excludit, qui fenestras domus suae clauserit locumque tenebrosum in quo deuersetur elegerit, ita qui se auerterit a sole iustitiae118 non potest splendorem eius aspicere, in tenebris ambulat et in omnium luce ipse sibi causa est caecitatis. aperi igitur fenestras tuas, ut tota domus tua ueri fulgore solis inluceat, aperi oculos tuos, ut uideas orientem tibi solem iustitiae, sed caue ne eos ulla stipulae festuca perturbet. si quid sordis in oculo mentis fuerit tuae, non poteris intueri, si quid aegritudinis, plus grauabit; confusam oculorum aciem lux ferit maioremque dolorem excitat. sit ergo simplex oculus tuus, ne incipiat totum corpus tuum esse tenebrosum119 et uacillet in lumine, sicut sunt caecorum uestigia.
40. Numquid, si quis ostia domus suae claudat, solis est culpa, quod non inluminat domum eius? ergo si quis peccatorum suorum repagulis obserandam mentem propriam iudicauerit et uerbi a se splendorem stultus auertat ac sibi inferat insipientiae caecitatem, causari poterit, quod sol iustitiae noluerit intrare, aut infirmitatem luminis caelestis arguere? pulsat ianuam tuam dei uerbum. si quis mihi aperuerit, inquit, intrabo.120 si quis ergo non aperuerit, numquid non ingredientis et non magis non aperientis est culpa? nihil quidem deo est obseratum, nihil clausum aeterno lumini, sed portas malitiae dedignatur aperire, conclauia non uult penetrare nequitiae.
41. An uero, cum animae nostrae uigor putrem corporis refugiat portionem, quod eius gratiam corrupti artus sentire non possint, deus corruptae animae membra quaedam dignatur habitare? animae tamen uigor per corpus omne diffunditur, siue manus siue pes siue digitus particeps sensus est: dei potest alicubi deesse sapientia, alicubi eius deesse maiestas? sane fugientes non retinet, non cogit inuitos, sed neque fastidit adpropinquantes et illius quidem uirtus, illius uerbum deus omnibus prope est; in ipso enim constant omnia et ipse est caput corporis ecclesiae121 in quo omnis inhabitat plenitudo.122 sed plerosque ab eo peccata secernunt, de quibus dictum est: ecce qui elongant se a te peribunt.123 unde sanctus ait: mihi autem adhaerere deo bonum est,124 et apostolus ait non longe esse deum ab unoquoque nostrum: in ipso, inquit, uiuimus et sumus et mouemur.125 uitalem etenim omnibus gratiam subministrans omnibus praesto est bonitatis suae munere, sed propior est illis qui contrito sunt corde.
42. Quod uetus quoque per aenigmata historia docet. Moyses in montis Sina supercilio erat et erat solus. populus in ualle in imo montis, presbyteri in parte montis supra merita plebis, sed plurimo interuallo a Moysi meritis separati.126 non omnes in uertice neque in imo omnes, sed populus; Moyses solus in uertice Sina montis, qui Latina interpretatione dicitur 'temptatio'. et tu, si supra temptationes ascenderis et contrito corde detuleris precem, deo proximus eris, si mundo corde fueris et tu deum uidebis; beati enim mundo corde, quia ipsi deum uidebunt.127
43. Qui ergo deo proximus est, dicit: prope es, domine, et omnia praecepta tua ueritas.128 Iudaeus hoc non potest dicere, qui non recipit dominum Iesum; separauit enim se nec in ueritate, sed in umbra credit.129 quomodo dicit: praecepta tua ueritas, cum gratia et ueritas per Iesum Christum facta sit, cum eum non agnoscat, qui ueritate et plenitudine circumcisionis suae totum mundum redemit?
44. Octauus uersus est: initio cognoui de testimoniis tuis, quia in aeternum fundasti ea.130 de testimoniis, inquit, tuis ab initio cognitionem et fidem adsumpsi quod in aeternum fundata sunt; testimonium enim fidele est et praestat paruulis sapientiam. si cognouisset Adam et Eua, quod quasi paruulis data essent cautiora praecepta, ne usurparent sibi scientiam boni et mali, quam recto discrimine definire non possent, paradisi incolatum in perpetuum uindicare potuissent. si considerent homines, quia sanguis hominis ad deum clamat,131 manus proprias a nece hominis abstinebunt. si custodiant praecepta quae dedit dominus coram caelo et terra testibus dicens: audi, caelum, et auribus percipe, terra,132 scientes quia, quicquid flagitii commiserint, aduersus legem domini fecisse angelorum et potestatum, sanctorum quoque hominum testimoniis arguantur, supra haec testimonia fundamentum sibi constituent, quia aeterna sunt atque perpetua. et nos ergo opus nostrum aedificemus supra fundamentum testimoniorum caelestium, ut non ardeat sicut lignum aut stipula, sed sicut aurum probetur,133 ut aeterno maneat nixum fundamine.
(Sermon body ends mid-p. 444; no closing subscriptio in any cod. — apparatus p. 444 v. 26: nihil subscript. in codd. Res begins fresh top of p. 445.)
XIX. LITTERA COPH.
1. The nineteenth letter, Coph, begins, whose interpretation is enclosure, and, as we find elsewhere, behold. The letters differ, the sense agrees: for he who is shut in ought to look about himself and not dissemble the cause of the danger, especially when the peril is mortal. Each man is shut in by swelling viscera or by an inner stricture of the throat, when, the passage of breath being cut off, the alternations of breathing and exhaling are constricted. A woman is shut in when there is a peridrome of the womb, by which the principal seat of the breast itself is pressed; whence grave straits arise, and unless that hall for the receiving of seed be recalled to its proper place, it is wont to shut out life. So too he who is anguished in mind and pressed by certain imminent adversities is said to be shut in, by no smaller straits of mind than of body. For greater are the heats and fevers of the soul than of the body.1
2. Shut in, therefore, by the swelling of the viscera, a man seeks a physician, that he may drive off the danger and loosen what is constricted. The physician, coming, tries everything, explores the inward parts. You also, then, shut in by the heat of the soul, look upon yourself with the inner eye. The force of the disease bears down, the noxious conscience seethes, the mass of sins presses, the straits cut off the sense of the mind: know yourself and seek the medicine of prayer. Ask that there come that physician who descended from heaven, who especially seeks out the sick, as he himself says: They that are in health need not a physician, but they that are ill.2 Have you wounds? Do not delay; with him there is no postponement of healing. Have you sores? Do not fear; he is wont to cure by a word, not by the iron. Look, therefore, with those eyes with which David sought and earned help. I have lifted up, he says, my eyes unto the mountains; I have sought whence help should come to me; I have not found it but from the Lord.3 For he who founded the world watches over the inhabitants of the world. Look, therefore, and look always, since the eyes of the just are ever toward the Lord.4
3. This Jeremiah too admonishes you in the Lamentations, under this very letter, saying to Jerusalem: Arise and be vigilant in the night at the beginning of thy watch; pour out thy heart like water before the face of the Lord. Lift up thy hands to the Lord for the souls of thy little ones, that faint for hunger in the streets of every road.5 Does he not openly show the straits of enclosure, and admonish that, by the intentness of the heart — in which is the gaze of the better eye — you should provide for yourself a saving remedy? Indeed below, again under this same letter, he says: For our time hath drawn near, our days are filled, our end has come; they that have persecuted
us are made swifter than the eagles of heaven; in the mountains they have been kindled, in the desert they have laid wait for us.6
4. He has shown the supreme enclosure, and that there is no remedy save in the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, who alone could bring medicine to those past hope. And, as if pointing him out, he says: The spirit before our face, Christ the Lord, has been taken in our destruction; in his shadow we shall live among the nations7; and below: Thou shalt drink, he says, and yet shalt be drunken still. He has visited thy iniquities, he has revealed beyond thy sins.8 How briefly he expressed his coming and his Passion and the remission of all sins; how openly he declared the future gathering of the gentiles! Hence that apostolic word: That blindness in part has befallen Israel, until the fullness of the gentiles should enter, and so all Israel be saved.9
5. Come, Lord Jesus, but now no longer in shadow, but in the Sun of justice.10 If the shadow profited, if the shadow of thy Passion sheltered, if the shadow of thy body saved, how much shall the open brightness of thy power confer! By a shadow leprosy was healed,11 by a shadow too of that woman who touched the fringe of the Lord's garment, the blood was stayed,12 by a shadow we saw thee, when thou hadst no form nor comeliness.13 Thy shadow was the flesh, which cooled the heats of our desires, which quenched the fires of our lusts, which tempered the burnings of avarice and of various passions. And what shall I say of the Lord's shadow, when even the shadow of the apostles healed? For when Peter came each man brought forth his sick, whom the shadow of the apostle as he passed by restored to health.14
6. Hear that the flesh of the Lord was a shadow: Behold the Lord sitteth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt,15 and David says: Under the shadow of thy wings protect me.16 He was made empty, then, a shadow for us whom the sun of iniquity had scorched. We saw him, therefore, in shadow, when as yet the first faith was going forth. But now he illuminates the whole world, and yet still we see him through the shadow of his body, which is the Church, not yet face to face17; for the eyes of the body cannot receive the brightness of divinity. This shadow too, every day, protects the whole earth. The enclosure, therefore, profited; for God hath shut up all in unbelief, that he may have mercy on all.18 But now let us consider what is to be said in the enclosure, and from where one ought to begin.
7. I cried with my whole heart: hear me, O Lord, I will seek thy justifications,19 says David. When we suffer bodily afflictions, we are wont to cry out, that we may call others to our defense. The holy prophet was being pressed by persecutors drawing near him. Saul first, set against him, pursued him with an armed army; afterwards a parricidal son threatened: not content with the exile of his fleeing father, he sought to take away his life. But he could suffer less from those whom he saw at hand than from those whom he did not see. For to the saints there is conflict not only against flesh and blood, but also against principalities and powers and rulers of this world's darkness,20 who, after the manner of robbers in the night of this world, lie in wait for human affections. When the holy David, therefore, saw grave assaults made against him, he cried out with his whole heart. For against the devil one must use not the magnitude of the voice, but the magnanimity of the heart.
8. Yet there is also a voice of the heart, since there is also a voice of the blood, which reaches God; for God says: The voice of the blood of thy brother
crieth to me.21 Our heart, then, cries out not by the sound of the body, but by the loftiness of thoughts and the harmony of the virtues. Great is the cry of faith; for in the spirit of adoption we cry: Abba, Father22; and the very Spirit of God cries in us. Great is the voice of justice, great is that of chastity, by which even the dead speak — and not only speak but, like Abel, cry out. But the soul of the unjust man cries not even while he lives, since to God he is dead. There is in him nothing lofty, nothing magnificent of that kind that is theirs whose sound went forth into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.23 With a thin voice spoke Moses, and was heard above all,24 and is heard daily in the Church. He is not heard only by those, that is, by the Jews, who hear with the ear, but hear not.25 To another prophet it is said: Lift up thy voice with strength.26
9. Anna nevertheless was not crying in her heart as Moses did, but speaking27 — perhaps because she was asking for sons, that is, for things good indeed but private, not public. She did not cry out; but because she was asking from the Lord, because she was offering to the Lord whomever she might receive, she was speaking to God. But Moses cried, because he was praying not for himself but for all the people. Hence it was said to him by the Lord: Why criest thou?28 He cried with pious affection and deep feeling, and resounded in heaven, asking with his miracles for things worthy of heaven, that he might change the elements of the world.
10. Indeed let us go through the very order of the place itself. Pharaoh was pressing on, and crowded with the countless chariots of the Egyptians was urging the Hebrews; on this side the surrounding enemy, on that the intervening sea had hemmed in the people of God. No confidence in arms, no hope in their strength. There resounded only a wretched complaint, that it would have been more convenient for them to bear the harsh burdens of slavery in Egypt than to be consumed by a bitter death in the desert.29 A com-
-plaint bringing no aid, but bringing very much offense. Moses therefore stood, sad, anxious, beset both by the dangers and the complaints of the people, awaiting the faith of the heavenly promises, and silently was turning over within himself by what aid the Lord, mindful of grace and unmindful of injury, would at length come to their help. The Lord says to him: Why criest thou to me?30 His sound I do not hear; his voice I recognize. His silence I read; his cry I detect in his works. The people was crying and was not heard; Moses was silent and was heard. It was not said to the people: Why criest thou to me? For not to God did the people cry, who were crying things unjust and unworthy of men. But to Moses it was said: Why criest thou to me? — that is: thou alone criest to me who hopest in me; thou alone criest to me who awakenest my power; thou alone criest to me who awaitest that my name be announced through the whole earth.
11. Moses, therefore, was crying in his heart; and every wise man cries in his heart. For Wisdom with high preaching calls to the bowl31 saying: Forsake folly and seek wisdom.32 Of great loftiness, of great voice is this preaching which promises wisdom to fools. And the Lord Jesus cried: If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink.33 And truly he was crying great things, who was calling men to the kingdom of heaven, to that venerable drink wherein the flood of eternal life is poured forth. And you, when you pray, pray for great things — that is, pray for things that are eternal, not transitory; pray for things that are divine and heavenly, that thou mayest be like the angels in heaven.34 Do not pray for money, for it is rust; do not pray for gold, for it is metal; do not pray for possession, for it is earth; that prayer does not reach the Lord. God hears not anything but what he deems worthy of his benefits; but he hears the pious voice, full of devotion and grace.
12. Therefore one must cry not only in the heart, but in the whole heart. For just as bodily one cries well when one cries with the whole mouth, so spiritually one must cry with the whole heart, if we wish to bring great things and to obtain from the Lord what we ask. This was the voice the Lord required of the people, which the people did not know; and therefore the Lord said: This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.35 He, therefore, who has drawn near with the heart, is heard by the Lord; let the heart, then, cry first, that the speech may be heard.
13. But it is not enough to cry to the Lord; one must also seek out his justifications.36 Now he seeks out his justifications who ascribes to divine providence whatever, in all creatures and especially in rational living things, is just. Whence has the turtle-dove its zeal for chastity, who, when its mate is lost, knows not how to indulge in coupling37 — a thing men cannot keep? Whence have many living creatures so sober a care of preserving their offspring, that, when they recognize the gift of conception, they think coupling not to be repeated, lest there be an adulterine commingling of the seeds received? The phoenix knows not bodily couplings, knows not the enticements of lust, but rises again from her own pyre, herself a bird outliving herself, herself both the heir of her own body and the offspring of her own ash.38 The eagle, lest she nourish degenerate offspring, weighs them with diligent test, and her chicks while yet tender she suspends with a gentle talon and offers to the rays of the sun, that, if perchance they bend their eyes from the force of the brightness, she may, as if degenerate, with talon loosened drop them headlong; but if they have been able to vindicate the vigor of nature with steady gaze against the rays of the sun, she carries back the offspring of worthy stock with welcome burden.39
14. All the birds of the air sow not, neither do they reap, and God feeds them,40 because they keep the justifications of the Lord, claiming nothing for themselves as their own,
but content to relieve their hunger with the fruit-bearing tree, which by the Lord's judgment was given as common food.41 From these things, then, we know how the supports of divine providence would not fail men, if we were willing to keep God's justice. He who feeds the birds,42 would he not feed men, whom he made to his own image and likeness? Are we not of more value than they? By the prerogative of nature we are of more value, but inferior by the diminution of grace and the injustice of transgression.
15. The second verse: I cried unto thee, save me, and I will keep thy testimonies.43 He repeats that he cried to God, and promises himself a keeper of the heavenly statutes, which the Lord God ratified with heaven and earth as witnesses,44 that the transgressors of the elements may be convicted by the testimonies of the elements. How shall they look upon a heaven conscious of their transgression? How shall they expect fruits from an earth which knows the ungrateful? See, then, how no small thing the prophet promises. In crying, his faithful and ready affection is expressed; in keeping the testimonies, the virtue of self-restraint and the diligence of obedience are declared.
16. The third verse: I have anticipated in unripe time and cried; in thy words have I hoped.45 The Greek said ἐν ἀωρίᾳ, which is before the hour, before the time. Therefore he who beseeches the Lord, let him not, as it were, await above all certain prescribed times, knowing that in supplications to the Lord there is no fixed time, but let him be always in them. Whether we eat or drink, let us announce Christ, let us pray Christ, let us think of Christ, let us speak Christ;46 let Christ be in our heart always, always on our lips.
17. But perhaps you say: 'How is it written: There is a time for all things, and a time for everything under heaven?'47 But the Lord Jesus is above heaven, circumscribed by no time. Let Arian unbelief shut its mouth: a time, he says, for everything under heaven; how much more under God is time, not above God! The generation from the Father has no time; for the work is not before its author, but the author above the beginning of the work. Perhaps they will object, since he said: My time is not yet come48, and again said: Father, the hour is come49; but this hour is the hour of the Passion. There is also a time of the virginal conception: Behold, a virgin shall conceive in her womb,50 for the virgin conceived under time and therefore at a prescribed age.
18. He, then, who prays, let him pray always, and if he does not pray always, let him always have ready the affection of one praying. The Lord Jesus passed the night in prayer51 — not needing the help of prayer, but setting before you an example for imitation. He, praying for you, passed the night, that you might learn how to pray for yourself. Render to him, therefore, what he bore for you. Hear the prophet saying above: In the middle of the night I rose up to praise thee.52 You also, rise up at midnight if you cannot watch always the whole night through, that, while you pray by night, the splendor of the true Sun may shine into your breast — for every soul that thinks of Christ is always in light, the day shines, ⟨if⟩ Christ breathes upon you. But because the following little verse expressly speaks of the time of praying, in this verse I think the time rather of actions and works to be understood than of prayer.
19. He outruns the maturity of age, whoever, set in adolescence, puts on senile gravity, and rules his youthful years with a kind of veteran self-restraint,
and tempers the heat of his vigorous body with hoary maturity of morals. For what praise can he have, who, his body now spent with pleasures and now cold with the chill of old age, turns himself, with vigor laid down already too sluggishly, to the late offices of devotion? There is no crown, save where there has been the struggle of a more difficult contest, which few are able to attain, nor do all who have entered the stadium come through. He is praiseworthy, in whom the contest is within himself before the contest, who keeps his flesh that struggles against him under the rule of the mind, with thrifty frugality chastises it and brings it into bondage53, lest with unbridled liberty it run riot, and seething with untamed lust break the reins of the mind that governs. He is, then, in the hour an old man, if he exercises the duties of sober maturity; before the hour, an outrunner, a youth, if with senile weight he represses the incentives of pleasures and quenches the enticements of seething desire; for the Lord is good to those that wait,54 Jeremiah says, and: Good is it for a man, who has carried the heavy yoke from his youth; he shall sit alone and shall be silent, because he has borne the yoke of the word.55 For he who has carried the yoke from his youth and has been willing to put his more tender neck under the reins of mature governance shall sit alone, removed from the noise of the importuning passions, and quietly shall be silent, who already has no need to wrangle with the body, to contend with various lusts, because the soul that seeks God has borne the yoke of the word, the soul that has made captive to itself all the delights of youth. Whence perhaps that saying of the Lord: He shall not cry, neither shall he contend, nor shall any one hear his voice in the streets56, we may take not only as the silence of defense and the contempt of acquittal
and the patience of suffering, but also as the suppressions of all bodily pleasures. Whence too elsewhere it is written, that he did no sin.57 Rightly therefore he was silent, set in the peril of death, who feared not the sting of death.
20. In thy words, he says, I have hoped.58 The Greek said ἐπήλπισα, which is to grow always to hoping, and to add hope to hope. The just man always hopes, both placed in adversity and afflicted with frequent troubles he knows not how to despair, but the heavier the trials he has borne, the more he hopes, and gains progress in hoping, according to that oracle: Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith the Lord; ye priests, speak justice to the heart of Jerusalem, comfort her, for her dejection is full and her sin is loosed, since she has received from the Lord's hand double for her sins.59 How quickly he said that the fullness of dejection is the loosing of sin, and repeated the cause of consolation: that the mark of reconciliation is the greater, the more abundant the punishment than the fault.
21. Job, weighed down with so many bitter ills, with pious affection heaped up hope, asserting that the cause of the impious was distinct from the pious, whose light shall be quenched60; but the light according to Solomon is always to the just.61 Whence it is gathered that the just man always hopes in the words of God and adds hope to hope, which Isaiah expressed more clearly, saying: Look for tribulation upon tribulation, hope upon hope.62 He was speaking to those weaned and led from the breasts, that is, to those who had passed beyond the first nourishments of infancy, now fit for stronger food.63 Let it be an example, that the weaned
patriarch Isaac so came forth as that, still placed among the rudiments of his earliest age, he in no way shrank from the sword of the parent about to strike. Abraham had many sons, he weaned no other; but in this one alone is he read to have made a great feast.64 And well did Scripture say a great feast, since it was a type of him on whom the hearts of the saints always feast.
22. There follows the fourth verse: My eyes have prevented the morning, that I might meditate on thy words.65 Above he said: I have prevented ἐν ἀωρίᾳ66 — that is, before the hours, before the time; here he says in the morning, signifying another time of praying and of singing psalms to the Lord, so that the former is according to that which he says: In the middle of the night I rose up67; but this according to that: I have prevented the rising sun. For it is grievous, if the ray of the rising sun finds you idle in your bed by a shameless modesty, and the clear light strikes your sleepy eyes, still depressed by sluggishness. So great a stretch of time spent without any service of devotion or oblation of spiritual sacrifice, with the night squandered in idleness, accuses us. Or do you not know, O man, that you owe to God the firstfruits of your heart and voice every day? Yours is a daily harvest, yours a daily fruit. Run forth, therefore, to meet the rising of the sun, that the rising sun may find you already prepared, lest the first brightness of day startle your eyes still drooping with damp slumber.
23. In my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loveth,68 says the Church. Therefore she deserved to find him, therefore to merit his grace, since even in her bed she sought him, sought him by night. Therefore, having attained him in copious measure, she speaks afterwards to the bridegroom: Come, my brother, let us go forth into the field, let us rest in the villages; in the early morning
let us rise to the vines. You see how the bride invites the Word of God, that he may come into the lands and take away the sins of the world?69 This field was once deserted, squalid with the briars of our crimes, bristling with thorns. There was a stronghold, in which Adam, banished, was binding the heirs of his posterity in perpetual exile. Thither, then, the Church leads Christ, that she may free Adam. Then, when the exiles were absolved, the field of this world began to have suitable cultivators, and what before was barren, became fruitful by the planting of the eternal vine.70 Yet not even so, glad in spiritual shoots, does she stray; rather she calls Christ to those vines where there are men chanting psalms and praying, where the harmless fruit perseveres night and day.
24. There, he says, will I give thee my breasts; the mandrakes have given an odor.71 Many distinguish a kind of sex among mandrakes, so that they suppose them both male and female, but the females of heavy odor.72 He signifies, then, the gentiles, who before stank, when they were the weaker, made effeminate by a certain debility of unbelief, who began to bear fruit of good odor after they believed in the coming of the Lord. We read also that the holy Rachel received mandrakes from her sister Leah, that she might grant her to sleep that night with holy Jacob.73 The mandrakes Reuben the firstborn had brought to his mother Leah, who, with bleared eyes, received the figure of the synagogue, since she could not see the grace of Christ, the gaze of her weak mind being dulled. By this it is declared that the fruits which the synagogue had received before from the firstborn Son of God, she yielded up to the Church. But because, having gained the embrace of that night, Leah bore an heir to her posterity, the mystery is fulfilled, because, when the apostles had believed, the remnant of the Jews was saved through the election of grace.74
25. Whence the Church says: New things and old, my brother, I have kept for thee. Who shall give thee to me for a brother, sucking the breasts of my mother? Finding thee without I will kiss thee, and indeed they will not despise me. I will take thee, and I will bring thee into the house of my mother and into the secret chamber of her that conceived me; thou shalt teach me.75 Having, therefore, instruction from new and old scriptures, and feeling herself not to be despised, she holds the Word not only in the orations of the secret of the heart, but even with the voices of the chanting choir, kisses him, as it were, with certain kisses of grace.76
26. Therefore, glad with the odors of pomegranates — that is, of various and innumerable fruits, and especially of faith — supported by the riches of wisdom and glory and eternal life, which are about the left hand and right hand of the bridegroom,77 through the holy souls of the chanting congregations she rouses Christ with their applauses, saying: I have adjured you, daughters of Jerusalem, that you stir not up nor make to awake the love until she please.78
27. Whence the daughters of Jerusalem — namely the holy souls of the patriarchs and prophets and the just men of old, or the heavenly powers — wonder at her, saying: Who is this that cometh up made white, leaning upon her brother?79 That is: with such solemnities the Church shines, and she who before was dark by day, now glitters in the night and shines back.
28. The Lord himself also, delighted by so great a gift of those that chant psalms, says: Set me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thy arm, for love is strong as death,
jealousy is hard as hell; her wings are wings of fire and of flame; many waters cannot exclude love, neither shall the rivers overflow it.80 He who hears so great a devotion of the Church thinks the people now fitted, who can wear his seal in our heart and arm. For the Father, God, sealed him, and he who has received his testimony has set his seal that God is true81; and therefore, working the food which endures unto life eternal82, they were sealed unto the image and likeness of Christ, who is the image of the invisible God.83 As, therefore, God is true, you also seal upon your sense and works the truth, that your mouth speak no lie, that your hands work no works of those men who are the deceitful ones of this world, but those things that are of God: that they may give freely to the poor, lift up the weak, honor the dead with the burial of the tomb. By these works charity is sought, that no one may be torn from Christ even by the peril of death. Whence he says: Who shall separate us from Christ? Tribulation, or distress, or persecution?84 And below: For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, ⟨nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus.⟩85
29. In this manner also the jealousy of charity is hard, and her wings are wings of fire. She has wings as a dove. For there are the wings of the dove silvered86, with which he flies who loves, saying: Behold, I have gone far off flying, and I have abode in the wilderness.87 But the wings of charity are wings of fire, by which he kindles the burning of love. Glowing with this exhalation, the Lord made his angels spirits and his ministers a burning fire88,
but not consuming. We read also of the wing of the temple, on which the devil tempting made the Saviour ascend, which was on the pinnacle of the temple.89 There are, then, summits of piety, summits of charity, which are wont to fan the warmth of grace into human breasts, that much water be unable to extinguish or to exclude charity, and no rivers of secular tempests shut her in.
30. Since, therefore, so great a grace of the Church, so great rewards of devotion invite us, let us prevent the rising sun, let us run forth to meet his risings, before he say: Behold, here I am.90 He wills to be prevented, the Sun of justice, and waits to be prevented. Hear how he waits and longs to be prevented. He says to the angel of the Church of Pergamum: Do penance, otherwise I come to thee91; he says to the angel of Laodicea: Be zealous, therefore, and do penance. Behold I stand at the door and knock; and if any man shall hear my voice, and shall open the door, I will come in to him.92 He could enter; for not even when he was rising again with his body could the bars of any closed valves hold him back93; suddenly, unforeseen, he poured himself into the apostolic inner chambers. But he desires to test the zeal of your devotion; the apostles he had already proved. Or perhaps in persecution he comes ahead; where there is tranquility, he desires to be prevented. Prevent at least this sun whom you see; rise thou that sleepest and arise from the dead, that Christ may enlighten thee.94 If you shall prevent this sun, before it rises, you shall receive Christ illuminating. He himself shall first shine in the secret of your heart; he shall make to shine for you, while you say: In the night my spirit watcheth for thee, the morning
light he shall make to shine in nocturnal times,95 if you meditate on the words of God. For while you meditate, there is light, and seeing the light not of time but of grace you will say: because thy precepts are a light. But when day shall find you meditating on the divine words, and so welcome a work of praying and chanting psalms shall have delighted your mind, you will again say to the Lord Jesus: Thou shalt make the outgoings of the morning and of the evening to be joyful.96
31. But does the Jewish people, having Moses for its master, daily, in its elders who have been chosen for this office97, in the nights and days without any cessation, recite the divine scriptures — and, if you ask any other thing of an elder, he knows nothing but to repeat the order of divine scripture; there speech of the world is wanting; there only Scripture is woven; the lips of each by turns succeed one another, lest at any time that sacred sound of the heavenly commandments be broken — and you, Christian, sleep, you whose master is Christ, and you do not fear lest it be said of you: This people honoureth me not even with their lips98 — the Jew at least with his lips, but you not even with the lips? If of him who at least with his lips honors, the heart is far from God, how can your heart be near, who do not honor even with the lips? How long sleep, how long secular things hold you, how long the cares of this life, how long earthly things!
32. Divide at least your times between God and the world; or, when you cannot do in public the things that are of this world, and the shadows of night forbid, give time to God, indulge in prayers, and, lest you fall asleep, sing psalms, defraud your sleep with a good fraud. In the morning hasten to the church, bring forth the firstfruits of pious vow; and afterwards, if a secular necessity calls, you will not be excluded from saying: My eyes prevented the morning, that I might meditate on thy words99; secure you shall go forth to your business. How pleasant
it is to begin from hymns and canticles, from the beatitudes100 which you read in the Gospel; how prosperous, that the speech of Christ may bless you, and, while you re-sing the Lord's blessings, you may take up the zeal of some virtue, that even in yourself you may recognize the merit of divine blessing!
33. There follows the fifth verse: Hear my voice, O Lord, according to thy mercy; according to thy judgment quicken me.101 Always a man, even if he be holy and just, ought to pray that the Lord hear him according to his mercy, not according to the merits of any virtue, since virtue is rare, sins are many, and according to his judgment, that he may bring help to the weak. And we ought especially to pray for this, when we are pressed by some adversities. Whence not idly is the petition of divine mercy set forth by holy David.
34. For there follows: They that persecuted me iniquitously have drawn near; but from thy law have they removed far.102 The Greek so put it: They that persecuted me have drawn near with iniquity, that is, who with iniquity were persecuting me. By how much the more they have drawn near to me, by so much the further they have separated themselves from thy law, since he who persecutes his brother is cut off from the law; for the law says: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, thou shalt love thy neighbor.103 Let me, therefore, not hate my brother, lest it be said to me: If thou lovest not thy brother whom thou seest, how canst thou love God whom thou seest not?104 Do you not know that your brother is the merchandise of the blood of Christ? You do not love, then, the merchandise of Christ, if you love not your brother.
35. Therefore the persecutor draws near to me, that he may harm me, but he separates himself from the law — for what part has justice with iniquity?105 — and he who separates himself from the law of God separates himself also from eternal life; for the law is life. Indeed, showing the law of God, the prophet says: Behold, this is life, since he who does the things of the law shall live in them106 — which surely befits the spiritual law. And perhaps he who draws near to me to harm me, while he is separated from the law, is separated from Christ, since Christ is life. But I, if I cleave to Christ, neither does he draw near to me, since, even if he have power over my body, yet over my soul he shall not be able to harm me.107 Indeed, how far the persecutors of the martyrs were separated from their merits!
36. But perhaps you say: 'How do the saints cleave to God?' And therefore there follows: Thou art near, O Lord, and all thy precepts are truth.108 The Lord is near to all who is everywhere present, nor can we flee him if we offend, nor deceive him if we sin, nor lose him if we worship him. God beholds all things, sees all things, stands by individuals, saying: I am a God at hand.109 And how can God be absent anywhere, when concerning the Spirit of God you read: The spirit of the Lord has filled the round of the earth110, for where the spirit of the Lord is, there is the Lord God? I fill heaven and earth, saith the Lord.111 Where, then, is he wanting who fills all things, or how have we all received of his fullness112, unless he draws near to all?
37. Indeed David, knowing him to be everywhere and to fill heaven and earth and the seas, says: Whither shall I go from thy spirit, or whither113
shall I flee from thy face? If I ascend into heaven, thou art there; if I descend into hell, thou art present; if I take my wings before the light and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there thy hand shall lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. How quickly he signified that God is everywhere, and wherever the Spirit of God is, there is God, and where God is, there his Spirit is present. In which place the bond of the indivisible Trinity is expressed, since these things were spoken through the mouth of the prophet by the Son of God, speaking in the person of the man, who through the incarnation descended into the lands, through the resurrection ascended into heaven, through the death of the body penetrated hell, that he might loose those bound. Or if you refer it to the prophet, you note it expressed that everywhere the hand and right hand of God, Christ, stands by — where the Father God and the holy Spirit of God are also.
38. Or, since we cannot doubt about the sun, that, advancing, it pours forth its rays through the whole orb and infuses light upon all, whom even those who cannot see, perceive nonetheless to be present by the very warmth of the air — for where is its heat lacking? where do its rays not reach, when, the darknesses of night or of clouds dispelled, it illuminates the lands? In heaven it shines, on the sea it gleams red, on the lands it glows — concerning the sun, then, you do not doubt that it shines back everywhere; concerning God do you doubt that everywhere shines forth the splendor of his glory and the image of his substance?114 What does the Word of God not penetrate, the eternal splendor, who illumines even the hidden things of the mind, which this sun cannot penetrate? For the word of God is a spiritual sword, reaching unto the divisions of the soul and of the joints and of the marrow115, concerning which the just man says to Mary: And thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.116
39. It penetrates the soul, then, and as it were the brightness of the eternal light illumines it. But although diffused through all and into all and above all is its power, since for all the rising is from the Virgin, both for the good and for the evil, as also he commands his sun to rise upon the good and upon the evil117, yet he cherishes him who draws near him. For just as he excludes the brightness of the sun from himself, who has shut the windows of his house and chosen a dark place in which to dwell, so he who has turned himself from the Sun of justice118 cannot behold his splendor; he walks in darkness, and in the light of all things he is to himself the cause of his own blindness. Open, therefore, your windows, that your whole house may be illumined by the brightness of the true sun; open your eyes, that you may see the Sun of justice rising upon you, but beware lest any straw of stubble disturb them. If there be any filth in the eye of your mind, you will not be able to gaze; if any sickness, it will weigh down more; the light strikes the confused acuity of the eyes and stirs up greater pain. Let your eye, therefore, be single, lest your whole body begin to be dark119, and waver in the light, as are the steps of the blind.
40. Surely, if a man should shut the doors of his house, is it the sun's fault that it does not illumine his house? So if a man should judge his own mind to be barred up by the bolts of his own sins, and turn away the splendor of the Word from himself foolishly, and bring upon himself the blindness of folly, can he allege that the Sun of justice was unwilling to enter, or charge weakness in the heavenly light? The Word of God knocks at your door. If anyone shall open to me, he says, I will come in.120 If, therefore, anyone shall not open, is not the fault his who does not open, rather than his who would enter? Nothing is barred to God, nothing closed to the eternal light; but he disdains to open the gates of malice, he wills not to penetrate the inner closets of wickedness.
41. Or, since the vigor of our soul shrinks back from a putrid portion of the body, because corrupted limbs cannot feel its grace, does God deign to inhabit certain members of a corrupted soul? Yet the vigor of the soul is diffused through the whole body — whether the hand or the foot or the finger is partaker of feeling: can the wisdom of God be lacking anywhere, can his majesty be lacking anywhere? Surely those who flee he does not retain, nor compels the unwilling, but neither does he disdain those who draw near. And his strength indeed, his Word, God, is near to all; for in him all things consist, and he is the head of the body, the Church121, in whom all the fullness dwelleth.122 But many sins separate from him, of whom it is said: Behold, they who remove themselves from thee shall perish.123 Whence the holy man says: But for me to cleave to God is good124; and the apostle says that God is not far from each one of us: In him, he says, we live and are and move.125 For supplying to all the grace of life, he is at hand to all by the gift of his goodness; but he is nearer to those who are of contrite heart.
42. Which the old history also teaches through enigmas. Moses was on the brow of Mount Sinai, and he was alone. The people in the valley at the foot of the mountain; the elders on a part of the mountain above the merits of the people, but separated by a long interval from the merits of Moses.126 Not all on the summit nor all at the foot, but the people; Moses alone on the summit of Mount Sinai, which in Latin interpretation is called temptation. And you, if you ascend above temptations and bring prayer with a contrite heart, you shall be near to God; if you be of pure heart, you also shall see God; for blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.127
43. He, therefore, who is near to God, says: Thou art near, O Lord, and all thy precepts are truth.128 The Jew cannot say this, who does not receive the Lord Jesus; for he separated himself, and believes not in truth but in shadow.129 How does he say Thy precepts are truth, when grace and truth came by Jesus Christ, when he does not acknowledge him who, by the truth and the fullness of his circumcision, redeemed the whole world?
44. The eighth verse is: From the beginning I have known of thy testimonies, that thou hast founded them for ever.130 Of thy testimonies, he says, from the beginning I have taken knowledge and faith, that they have been founded for ever; for the testimony is faithful, and giveth wisdom to little ones. If Adam and Eve had known that, as it were to little ones, more cautious precepts had been given them, lest they should usurp to themselves the knowledge of good and evil, which they could not define by right discrimination, they could have claimed to themselves the dwelling in paradise for ever. If men should consider, that the blood of man cries to God131, they will keep their own hands from the slaughter of man. If they should keep the precepts which the Lord gave with heaven and earth as witnesses, saying: Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O earth132, knowing that whatever wickedness they shall have committed, they have done against the law of the Lord, they shall be convicted by the testimonies of angels and powers and also of holy men, upon these testimonies they shall set for themselves a foundation, since they are eternal and perpetual. And let us also build our work upon the foundation of the heavenly testimonies, that it may not burn as wood or stubble, but be tested as gold133, that it may abide founded upon an eternal foundation.
(Sermon body ends mid-p. 444; no closing subscriptio in any cod.)
- Var. line 11 nihil subscript. in codd. (no closing subscriptio for Sade in any cod.); line 14 Incipit—decima ] Koph a; cof XVIIII (XVIII MO) AGMOR; octaua decima (XVIII N) cof NP; decima nona Koph v; line 15 congruet Rml; line 16 debit Rml; line 18 internis uel facibus O; line 19 spiritu A; commeatus A, cummeatus P; ac respirandi om. N; line 20 conmertia a; peridrome ] periculum a; line 24 aduersus ARml; perurguetur P; line 25 corpus P; line 26 feruoresque GOPm2v.
- Scr. Matth. 9, 12.Matthew 9, 12. Var. line 1 tumor Am2; line 4 -met om. av; in interiori N; line 4 moribus M; uirus MT (ex uires); urguet P; line 5 intercipit—angustia O; line 7 de ] e MNPa; egros O; line 8 est opus P; line 9 iis Gv; line 10 aput NPml; retardatio O; conferendi dilatio a.
- Scr. Ps. 120, 1.Psalm 120, 1. Var. line 12 leuauit Pml; inquid M, om. O.
- Scr. cf. Ps. 24, 15.cf. Psalm 24, 15.
- Scr. Thren. 2, 19.Lamentations 2, 19. Var. line 17 haec NPmla; te om. NPml; sub om. b; line 18 et om. a; expergescere GPml; line 20 contra ] ante MNPRv; coram facie a; line 21 populorum O; line 22 quia Mml; fame ] a me AGPRa; animae MN; line 23 et om. O; aparte P, add. et O.
- Scr. Thren. 4, 19.Lamentations 4, 19. Var. line 26 adpropinquauit MNOPmlav; line 28 leues Oav, leuis Mml, leuiores Pm2, leuius cet.; (p. 424) line 1 ascensi GMN; line 2 insidiati sunt a.
- Scr. Thren. 4, 20.Lamentations 4, 20. Var. line 5 spiritus ] add. eius O.
- Scr. Thren. 4, 21–22.Lamentations 4, 21–22. Var. line 8 bibes ] bilis A, bibis PmlRml; line 9 de adhuc cf. tractat. 21, 4; uisitabit MNPRav; line 10 reuelabit ANPav; line 11 eius et passionem O.
- Scr. Rom. 11, 25–26.Romans 11, 25–26. Var. line 12 futurarum codd. praeter AO,a; lines 13, 15 israhel R; contigit in israel O; line 14 contingit M.
- Scr. cf. Mal. 4, 2.cf. Malachi 4, 2. Var. line 16 sed—17 alt. umbra om. N; line 18 claritatis R; aperte N; uirtus Rm2.
- Scr. cf. Matth. 8, 3.cf. Matthew 8, 3.
- Scr. cf. Luc. 8, 44.cf. Luke 8, 44.
- Scr. cf. Esai. 53, 2.cf. Isaiah 53, 2. Var. line 22 cupiditatum refrigerauit O; quae ] add. compescuit insolentiam uitiorum, quae Tm2a; line 23 restrinxit MOPmlRav; ignis AmlMmlPmlRml.
- Scr. cf. Act. 5, 15.cf. Acts 5, 15. Var. line 26 offerabat M; aegrotos Rm2; transeuntes Rml.
- Scr. Esai. 19, 1.Isaiah 19, 1. Var. line 1 sedit ANPmlRml; line 5 eum in umbra eius a; line 6 procederit PmlR; line 8 facie ] faciem A; line 9 cottidie GM; line 11 in om. APmlR; line 12 est ] sit Na.
- Scr. Ps. 16, 8.Psalm 16, 8.
- Scr. cf. I Cor. 13, 12.cf. 1 Corinthians 13, 12.
- Scr. Rom. 11, 32.Romans 11, 32.
- Scr. Ps. 118, 145.Psalm 118, 145. Var. line 14 praemittunt I ANPR; Dauid om. av; inpassiones Pml; line 15 iustificationes NR; requiram Pa; dicit Dauid om. av; line 17 possemus GPRml; more Pm2; line 21 alt. illis ] aliis Na; line 23 alt. et om. O; line 24 huius a; line 26 aduersus O; uideret fieri Pav.
- Scr. cf. Eph. 6, 12.cf. Ephesians 6, 12.
- Scr. Gen. 4, 10.Genesis 4, 10. Var. line 30 dominum AmlO; (p. 426) line 1 tui ] add. de terra Ov.
- Scr. Rom. 8, 15.Romans 8, 15. Var. line 2 cognitionum A; contentuque O; line 3 caritas O; castitas R; loquuntur (bis) AOav; nec ] et non M; line 6 uiuens MNTa, add. non O.
- Scr. cf. Ps. 18, 5.cf. Psalm 18, 5. Var. line 8 omnem om. O; exiuit ] add. sonus eorum R, sed exp.; line 9 Moyses loquebatur v; line 10 et cotidie O; cottidie GPm2; est ] add. a Mm2PRa.
- Scr. cf. Ex. 4, 10.cf. Exodus 4, 10. Var. line 11 alt. audiunt ] add. corde Tm2a; exaudiunt v.
- Scr. cf. Hier. 5, 21.cf. Jeremiah 5, 21.
- Scr. Esai. 58, 1.Isaiah 58, 1. Var. line 12 exalta ] add. in Rm2.
- Scr. cf. I Reg. 1, 13.cf. 1 Samuel 1, 13. Var. line 15 pribata Pml; alt. non om. codd. praeter O,a; clamat NT; quia ] quae a.
- Scr. Ex. 14, 15.Exodus 14, 15. Var. line 20 potens Rml; line 21 et ] ut Oav; farao APRml; faraho Rm2.
- Scr. cf. Ex. 14, 12.cf. Exodus 14, 12. Var. line 22 urguebat MN; line 23 hostes Pml; ostis ex ostes Rm2; line 24 stirepebat A; sterpebat Rml; lines 24, 26 querela codd. praeter Pml,av.
- Scr. Ex. 14, 15.Exodus 14, 15. Var. line 1 ferens ] offerens MOv, om. N; line 2 pr. et om. N; querelas AGRml; querellas Pml; querelis cet. av; line 5 deus OP; line 8 tacebat—audiebatur om. codd. praeter O; line 10 uiris ] ueteris AR, iuris Oa, ueris Pml, nimis Pm2; line 13 annuntiare P.
- Scr. cf. Prou. 9, 3.cf. Proverbs 9, 3. Var. line 16 cum exp. R; line 17 crateram GMNOv.
- Scr. Prou. 9, 6.Proverbs 9, 6. Var. line 18 pr. magna AR; sublimitas Rm2; line 19 quae om. P; dominus iesus OR tr.; line 20 exclamabat Rv.
- Scr. Ioh. 7, 37.John 7, 37. Var. line 21 et uere ] et uoce uere a; line 22 totum A; fructus APR; impenditur O; line 23 id est ] add. ea a; non ] add. quae Ov; line 26 terrena NPmlT; ista oratio MNPav; non peruenit ad deum M; deum a; line 27 beneficiis esse O; line 28 sed ] sed ad ARml.
- Scr. cf. Matth. 22, 30.cf. Matthew 22, 30.
- Scr. Esai. 29, 13.Isaiah 29, 13. Var. line 2 tunc corporaliter O; line 3 ore ] corde Mml; clamando PmlRml; line 4 diferre APmlR; deseruire O; referre v; line 5 uocem dominus AR; line 7 ergo ] autem O; line 8 ut ] et Aml.
- Scr. cf. Ps. 118, 145.cf. Psalm 118, 145. Var. line 10 iustificationes O; line 12 rationalibus AMNRv, add. uel etiam irrationabilibus ORav.
- Scr. cf. Ambros. Hex. V 19, 62.cf. Ambrose, Hexaemeron V 19, 62 (turtle-dove chastity topos — first of three explicit Hexaemeron self-citations clustered in §13, the corpus's densest cross-reference to Ambrose's own Hexaemeron). Var. line 14 concubitu MNPmla; concubitui Pm2v.
- Scr. cf. Ambros. Hex. V 23, 79; Mela III 83.cf. Ambrose, Hexaemeron V 23, 79; Pomponius Mela, De chorographia III 83 (phoenix-pyre topos — second of the §13 Hexaemeron-self-citation triplet, paired with a classical naturalist's geography for the rare phoenix-rogus locus classicus of Ambrose's natural theology). Var. line 16 agnouerit AGMmlPRml, add. ibi Mp; line 18 foenix AGMNR; fenix O; faenix P; coitum Rm2; corporeum (ex —eus) Rm2; line 19 surgit a; line 20 foetus AR; degeneris Mml.
- Scr. cf. Ambros. Hex. V 18, 60.cf. Ambrose, Hexaemeron V 18, 60 (eagle's solar offspring-test — third of the §13 Hexaemeron-self-citation triplet; only sermon in Expos. to triple-stack Hex. V parallels, signaling Coph's distinctive reuse of Ambrose's own natural-theology exempla to underwrite the iustitia diuinae prouidentiae argument). Petschenig conjecture subolem indolis scripsi against codd. indolem subolis (ARm2) / indolem sobolis cet. av — word-order inversion preserving Ambrosian rhythm; first of Coph's five editorial conjectures. Var. line 21 foetus AM; line 22 influxerint R; line 23 im O; line 24 uigore MNa; obtutum MNa; line 25 subolem indolis scripsi; indolem subolis ARm2; indolem sobolis cet. av; honore M.
- Scr. cf. Matth. 6, 26.cf. Matthew 6, 26.
- Scr. cf. Gen. 1, 29–30.cf. Genesis 1, 29–30. Var. line 1 indicio R; commune O; line 2 eleuare AGP; \*eleuare R; leuare MNO; line 4 iusticias—uellent O; line 5 plures GOPmlRml; line 6 illis sumus O; plures OR; line 7 de(di-)minutionis APm2R; diuisionis GM; deuotionis OPm2 in mg. v; gratia AGMORv.
- Scr. cf. Matth. 6, 26.cf. Matthew 6, 26.
- Scr. Ps. 118, 146.Psalm 118, 146. Var. line 8 Uersus secundus ] Sequitur N, om. Amla; Sequitur II P; Uersus secundus sequitur Rm2; Sequitur uersus secundus Ov; et ] ut O; line 9 mandata v; dominum MNORv; line 10 promittet APmlRml.
- Scr. cf. Deut. 4, 26.cf. Deuteronomy 4, 26. Var. line 12 aspiciat AGNPa; praeuaricationes Mml; line 13 suae ] incipit prius fragm. Ambrosianum (— F); expectet ANRm2a; expectat Rml; line 15 promtus FM; line 16 testimonia ] add. tua a; sedulitate MPTa; sedulite N.
- Scr. Ps. 118, 147.Psalm 118, 147. Greek lemma ἐν ἀωρίᾳ — before the hour, before the time; the third Graece-lemma in the corpus (after Samech §21 παράνομος, §33 apostata) and the first half of Coph's dual-Graece pattern (cf. fn 58 ἐπήλπισα, §20). MS forms preserved in the Petschenig apparatus across F/v/a/codd. Var. line 17 Tertius uersus ] III M, om. Amla, add. est s.l. R; Sequitur III NP; Sequitur uersus tertius v, cf. p. 383, 12; line 18 clamaui Na; line 20 praescribta F; praecipua av, om. O; praestolatur GMmlN; prestolentur O; line 21 sed om. AR.
- Scr. cf. I Cor. 10, 31.cf. 1 Corinthians 10, 31. Var. line 24 ore ] add. nostro O.
- Scr. Eccle. 3, 1.Ecclesiastes 3, 1. Var. line 1 fortasse Na; scribtum F; line 2 rei ] add. quae O; dominus Iesus Aav.
- Scr. Ioh. 7, 6.John 7, 6. Var. line 3 circumscribtus F; circumscriptum Mml; line 4 inquid APmlRml; caelo ] add. est Mm2N; line 7 tempus ] add. meum MNTav.
- Scr. Ioh. 17, 1.John 17, 1. Var. line 9 ora ora F; ora AR; hora cet.; line 10 in om. Rml; concipiet O; concipit APmlRml.
- Scr. Esai. 7, 14.Isaiah 7, 14. Var. line 11 et om. O; ide ARml; praescribta F.
- Scr. cf. Luc. 6, 12.cf. Luke 6, 12. Var. line 15 pernoctabat ] add. in oratione Mm2N; line 16 \*\tulit P*.
- Scr. Ps. 118, 62.Psalm 118, 62. Petschenig conjecture ⟨si⟩ addidi — supplied conjunction at ⟨si⟩ tibi Christus adspirat (p. 430 v. 21) where codd. omit; second of Coph's five editorial conjectures, syntactically required by the conditional clause. Var. line 18 confitendum ] desinit F; tibi ] add. semper R; line 21 dices R; diei lucem O ed. Rom. b; ⟨si⟩ addidi; Christus ] add. et Rm2; line 22 euidenter om. MN; line 23 orationis om. M.
- Scr. cf. I Cor. 9, 27.cf. 1 Corinthians 9, 27. Var. line 1 inscena APmlR; line 2 effectum AGMmlNRml; line 3 corporis GMml; fragilitate Pml; line 5 difficilis O; line 6 adtingere om. GMml; nec ] non PmlRml; possint AR; line 8 cohercit A; coercit GMmlPml; coherce R; coercet cet. av; line 9 seruitute M; luxoriet APmlRml; line 10 animum regentes O; line 11 sobria A; sobriae-et PRml; sobrietatis et Rm2; line 12 incentiuam R; uoluptatem A; line 13 feruentes Pa.
- Scr. Thren. 3, 25.Lamentations 3, 25. Var. line 14 uero Rml; portauerit GMNv.
- Scr. Thren. 3, 27–28.Lamentations 3, 27–28. Var. line 15 iuuentute ] add. sua Ov; horam om. O; praecurrit O; line 16 quia OPm2Rm2av, qui cet.; line 18 teneriora ARml; interiora O; line 19 ab O.
- Scr. Matth. 12, 19.Matthew 12, 19. Var. line 20 silebit ] incipit F; necesse ] add. est Na; sit om. a; iurgare OR; line 21 uanis M; line 22 deum ] eum F; quae ] qui AGMNPmlR, uel 'quae' siue 'quia' Pm2; fecit sibi MO; line 23 clamauit codd. praeter ORm2; contendit codd. praeter ORm2; line 25 contemptum Fm2.
- Scr. cf. I Petr. 2, 22 (addere debuit uersum 23).cf. 1 Peter 2, 22 (addere debuit uersum 23). Var. line 1 tolerantiam MN; tolerantium Rml; conprehensiones AR; compressionis MmlN; line 2 accepere Mml; scribtum F.
- Scr. Ps. 118, 147.Psalm 118, 147. Greek lemma ἐπήλπισα — to grow always to hoping, and to add hope to hope; the fourth Graece-lemma in the corpus and the second half of Coph's dual-Graece pattern (with §16 fn 45 ἐν ἀωρίᾳ). Coph is the first sermon with double-Graece, confirming the doubling-Graece pattern flagged in Samech notes. The MS witnesses split: F preserves Ἐπήλπισα, a reads the unrelated ἐνελπίσας, v (Vienna ed.) prints ἐπήλπισα. Cross-ref to Samech §11 (Esai. 28, 10) at p. 342, 16 for spes super spem parallel. Var. line 5 inquid Pml; Ἐπήλπισα F; ἐνελπίσας a; ἐπήλπισα v; line 6 est post semper tr. M; line 7 pr. et om. O; adflictus om. T; line 8 aerumnis—sed euan. F; quod Pml; tolerauit Oa.
- Scr. Esai. 40, 1–2.Isaiah 40, 1–2. Var. line 9 illut Pml; line 10 populus meus Fm2; line 12 corde Rml; line 13 solum A; line 14 recipit Pml.
- Scr. cf. Hiob 18, 5.cf. Job 18, 5. Var. line 18 aceruitatibus Fm2AGMN; line 20 extinguitur FANPRa.
- Scr. Prou. 13, 9.Proverbs 13, 9. Var. line 21 pr. semper ] add. est FOPm2v; in uerba dei semper AR; uerbis O; line 22 adiecit M.
- Scr. Esai. 28, 10 (cf. p. 342, 16 — Samech).Isaiah 28, 10 (cf. p. 342, 16 — Samech). Var. line 23 expectat O; line 24 pr. spem ] semper M; ablactatos Pm2; euiden— ] desinit F.
- Scr. cf. Hebr. 5, 12.14.cf. Hebrews 5, 12.14. Var. line 25 primam A; line 26 fit AGNa.
- Scr. Gen. 21, 8.Genesis 21, 8. Var. line 2 aetates Pml; perituri AR; line 4 solum NPa; legitur om. NPml; fecisse legitur OPm2Rav; alt. epulum magnum O.
- Scr. Ps. 118, 148.Psalm 118, 148. Var. line 7 Sequitur—quartus om. a; uersus om. NP; IIII AGNOPR, III M; line 8 meditare APR; hic ] IN AGMOPR.
- Scr. Ps. 118, 147 (back-reference to §16, p. 429 line 18).Psalm 118, 147 (back-reference to §16, p. 429 line 18). Petschenig conjecture marcentia scripsi against codd. mergentia (av) — Petschenig restores lumina ... marcentia ... primus diei fulgor exagitet ("eyes drooping with damp slumber") against the codd.'s mergentia (sinking); third of Coph's five editorial conjectures, the philological choice resting on the Latin idiom marcere somno. Var. lines 10, 12 illut Pml; line 14 somnulentos ARml; somnolento v; line 15 illius A; ac ] a APR, ad T; line 16 oblationem T; feriate erat Pm2; feriatam T; nocte om. MNTa; transmissam A; transmissa est (est s.l.) R; line 17 cottidie et; line 18 cottidianus M; messes ARml; est ] tibi est O; solem Mml; line 20 marcentia scripsi, mergentia codd. av.
- Scr. Ps. 118, 62.Psalm 118, 62.
- Scr. Cant. 3, 1.Song of Songs 3, 1. Var. line 21 cubilo N; cubiculo RmlTa; line 22 meruit eum av; line 23 cubiculo NT; eius est copiam AR; line 24 suo om. AMNav; copia a.
- Scr. cf. Ioh. 1, 29.cf. John 1, 29. Var. line 1 uineis OPm1.
- Scr. cf. Ioh. 15, 1 sqq.cf. John 15, 1 sqq. Var. line 4 spinis ] add. uitiorum Pm2; castellus A; religatus MmlORTa; perpetuae M; line 5 exilio ] ex illo R; ecclesia Christum av; line 7 idoneus M; quia Pm2; ante om. O; line 8 sit GMml; tamen sic Pav; line 10 diebus et noctibus O.
- Scr. Cant. 7, 12–13.Song of Songs 7, 12–13.
- Scr. cf. Dioscorides IV 75.cf. Dioscorides, De materia medica IV 75 (mandrake male/female sex-distinction lore — natural-philosophy substrate underwriting Ambrose's §24 mandragoras allegory of gentile boni odoris fructus superseding synagogal grauis odor). Var. line 11 tibi ] ibi AGMNTa, tibi ibi O; line 12 decernunt Rml; line 13 mandragora O; putent esse et feminas NPav; line 14 odor Mm2NT; odori Pml; faetebant sic Pa; line 15 euersata AMNPmlRT; eiurata O; line 16 fructum Ov.
- Scr. cf. Gen. 30, 14.16.cf. Genesis 30, 14.16. Var. line 18 lilia Rml; line 19 adulterat Rml; matris M; line 21 optutu AP.
- Scr. cf. Rom. 11, 5.cf. Romans 11, 5. Var. line 23 concubitu ] add. concepit et a; line 24 impleuit MNv; line 25 quod O; electionem ] incipit alt. fragm. F.
- Scr. Cant. 7, 13(14)–8, 2.Song of Songs 7, 13(14)–8, 2. Var. line 2 seruauit ARml; frater b lactentem MNOPm2ap; line 4 spernes O; line 5 domo GMNPmlR; secreto O; line 6 pr. me ] add. ibi AMm2ap; line 7 ueterarum O; scribturarum Fm2; displicabilem G; dispicabilem MRml; line 8 se esse AR; se om. GMNOPa.
- Scr. cf. Cant. 8, 2.cf. Song of Songs 8, 2. Var. line 9 psallentibus AORp; uelud M; cum Rml; line 10 osculis def. A; gratiae NPap.
- Scr. cf. Cant. 8, 3.cf. Song of Songs 8, 3. Var. line 12 fructuum—p. 438, 23 necessitas non desunt in A; gratiae FOap; line 14 et—animas euan. in F; dextram Om2; per ] et GR.
- Scr. Cant. 8, 4.Song of Songs 8, 4. Var. line 15 adiuro Mm2NPmlT; line 16 pr. quid ] quin GMN, ne ORm2v, ut non Ta; suscetis G; alt. quid F, om. cet. av.
- Scr. Cant. 8, 5.Song of Songs 8, 5. Var. line 17 uoluerit ] add. quae est haec R; line 18 scilicet F, om. cet. av; line 19 utrorumque ex uterumque Rm2; line 20 caelestis GMR; haec FOav, om. cet.
- Scr. Cant. 8, 6–7.Song of Songs 8, 6–7. Var. line 22 ante ] arite G; rite FR, om. O; line 24 psallentium om. O.
- Scr. cf. Rom. 3, 4 + Ioh. 6, 27.cf. Romans 3, 4 + Ioh. 6, 27. Var. line 1 zelus ] add. tuus a; line 2 ignis ] add. et Rm2β; line 3 inundabunt FPm2Rm2v, desinit F; undabunt cet. a; quia audit M; quia uidit OPmlav; line 4 idoneus R; putat esse ] putasse PmlRml, fortasse Pm2Rm2; line 5 et ] add. in Oav; possumus a; line 6 ipse a; significauit MRml; accipit Pm2.
- Scr. cf. Ioh. 6, 28.cf. John 6, 28. Var. line 7 quia (ueras O); deus ] add. est R.
- Scr. Col. 1, 15.Colossians 1, 15. Var. line 11 tui Pml; tua Ov; operetur Ov; line 12 sunt dei O; line 13 largiatur ORv; subleuentur Gml; subleuet MORv; honorentur Gml; honoret MOPm2Rv; honorentumulis GMNPmlRTa; sepulturae GMNPmlRm2Ta.
- Scr. Rom. 8, 35.Romans 8, 35. Var. line 15 qui M; separauit Rml; superabit a caritate christi O; line 16 angustiae MR.
- Scr. Rom. 8, 38(–39).Romans 8, 38(–39). Petschenig text-restoration — Petschenig SUPPLIES the second half of Rom. 8, 38–39 (neque potestates neque praesentia neque futura separare nos poterunt a caritate dei quae est in Christo Iesu) from Tractatus 8 cap. 36 extr. (= Heth §36) because Coph's text breaks off mid-quote; Phase-B Tier-2 to confirm whether Zelzer 1999 ratifies the supplement. First explicit Petschenig text-restoration in Coph based on internal Ambrosian parallel. Var. line 18 neque—20 Iesu suppleui ex tractat. 8, cap. 36 extr.; cf. tractat. 3, 43; line 21 e aspice M.
- Scr. cf. Ps. 67, 14.cf. Psalm 67, 14. Var. line 23 et uolat R; elongaui ] uolaui O.
- Scr. Ps. 54, 8.Psalm 54, 8. Var. line 25 auctorem M; feruentis Mml.
- Scr. cf. Ps. 103, 4.cf. Psalm 103, 4. Var. line 26 facit Mm2; dominus fecit O.
- Scr. cf. Matth. 4, 5.cf. Matthew 4, 5. Var. line 1 et om. Pml; line 2 qui MN; line 3 pietatis ] pinnae Gv; pignae O; piae R; sunt piae tr. R; line 4 consueuerunt Ov; line 5 ecclesia est Rml.
- Scr. Esai. 58, 9.Isaiah 58, 9. Var. line 7 alt. tanta ] incipit F; multis locis auulsis deuotionis praemia O; line 8 denique ] add. quia a; line 9 nos sol O; line 10 quemammodum Fm2N; expectat P; line 11 iam ] etiam a.
- Scr. Apoc. 2, 12.16.Revelation 2, 12.16. Var. line 12 ueniam v; tibi ] add. cito v; dicit ] add. et O.
- Scr. Apoc. 3, 14.19.20.Revelation 3, 14.19.20. Var. line 13 laodiceae FG (γ); line 14 ut ] et NPml; line 15 mihi ianuam O; line 16 pr. eum ] ea Rml; illum a; poterita poterat codd. v.
- Scr. cf. Ioh. 20, 19.cf. John 20, 19. Var. line 17 repacula MN; line 18 effudit O; line 19 apostolus R.
- Scr. Eph. 5, 14.Ephesians 5, 14. Petschenig conjecture inlucescet scripsi (future, "shall illumine") against codd. inlucescit (present), with cod. T reading the simple lucescit; fourth of Coph's five editorial conjectures, the future tense aligning with the eschatological frame of praeueneris ... accipies Christum inluminantem. Var. line 20 ... sequutione F; line 21 praeueniri PR; line 22 exurge FOPa; line 23 praeueniris P; aspicies av; aspiciens FO; line 24 inlucescet scripsi; lucescit T; inlucescit cet. av; archano GMNOPR; sibi Fm2.
- Scr. Esai. 26, 9.Isaiah 26, 9 (anchor for Coph's §30 sustained Apocalypse exegesis — paired with Apoc. 2, 12.16 + 3, 14.19–20 + Eph. 5, 14 — the *only sustained Apocalypse exegesis in Expos.* before Tau). Var.* line 1 splendere nocturnis faciet O; line 2 dum—meditaris ] deum enim meditari b; mediteris Op; line 3 te om. FO; meditantem te N; line 4 tam ] cum Pm2; adque F*.
- Scr. Ps. 64, 9.Psalm 64, 9. Var. line 6 matutini O; delectaberis O; line 7 at NTa; usus ] add. est a; cottidie M.
- Scr. cf. Ex. 18, 14 sqq.cf. Exodus 18, 14 sqq. Var. line 8 sermonibus GMNPmlRTa; suis ] sequitur in Tm2a: a mane usque ad uesperam iudicium dei operiendo. quod uidens cognatus eius esse intolerabile consilium dedit negotii consummandi partito cum aliis onere; line 9 recenseto a; in uoce scribturas desinit F; line 10 resuscitare Mml; relustrare N; line 12 succendunt M.
- Scr. cf. Esai. 29, 13.cf. Isaiah 29, 13. Var. line 14 nec om. O; line 15 si om. O; line 16 pr. cor ] add. autem O; line 17 pr. quamdiu ] add. te av; sonus O; line 18 sollicitudo a; line 19 domino R; sua MN.
- Scr. Ps. 118, 148.Psalm 118, 148. Var. line 21 obdormescas Rml; psalleto PmlRml; line 22 manifesta Mml, add. et ORv; line 23 excluderis ] pergit A; line 25 tua ] add. et sic a; procedis GPRa; iocundum codd. a.
- Scr. cf. Matth. 5, 3–10.cf. Matthew 5, 3–10. Var. line 1 ymnis GMNPR; et canticis om. O; beatitudinis ARml.
- Scr. Ps. 118, 149.Psalm 118, 149. Var. line 2 Christi Ov; line 3 dei O; adsumos A; adsummas P; adsumis Rml; line 4 diuinae benedictionis O; line 5 Sequitur—quintus om. a; uersus om. AGMNOP; V AGMP, om. NO; line 6 domine ] add. et v; line 7 etiam (si om.) AO; debet ante etiam tr. O; line 8 sit om. O.
- Scr. Ps. 118, 150.Psalm 118, 150. Var. line 9 secunda A; secundo Rml; line 10 suum ] add. uiuificet a; line 14 Sequitur enim om. Na, add. VI AGMPR; uersus add. Rm2; line 15 tuam P; line 16 me ] add. septimum casum AR; line 17 pr. iniquitati MO; qui om. MNa; line 18 se ] add. est Mml.
- Scr. Lev. 19, 18 (also Deut. 6, 5).Leviticus 19, 18 (also Deut. 6, 5). Var. lines 20, 21 diligis ARml; line 20 tuum om. M; line 22 diliges APmlRml.
- Scr. I Ioh. 4, 20.1 John 4, 20. Var. line 25 fratrem ] add. tuum P.
- Scr. II Cor. 6, 14.2 Corinthians 6, 14 (opens Coph's 17-loci omnipresence treatise (§§35–43) — the most sustained scriptural argument for divine omnipresence in Expos.: II Cor. 6, 14 + Lev. 18, 5 → Ps. 118, 151 + Sap. 1, 7 + Hier. 23, 23–24 → Ps. 138, 7–10 → Hebr. 1, 3 + Hebr. 4, 12 + Luc. 2, 35 → Matth. 5, 45 + Mal. 4, 2 + Matth. 6, 22 + Apoc. 3, 20 → Col. 1, 17–18 + Col. 2, 9 + Ps. 72, 27.28 + Act. 17, 28; sealed at §42 by the Sinai-allegory of differential divine nearness through contritio cordis. Structurally parallel to Heth's seven-light catena; rivals Heth and Phe for the densest scriptural-argument density in the corpus). Var. line 1 persequutor P; adpropinquant Rml; his M, om. O; se ] et codd. a, del. P; line 2 disterminat—3 lege OPm2av, om. cet.; quae ] quem O; iustitiae Oav, om. P.
- Scr. Lev. 18, 5 (cf. Ezech. 20, 11).Leviticus 18, 5 (cf. Ezech. 20, 11). Var. line 3 pr. se om. GM; pr. separarat R; separat se Pm2av; separat O, om. cet.; et om. Ov; line 5 facit ] add. ea a; line 6 uiuit AGMNRml; legis AN; conuenit utique NPav; et—7 noceat mihi om. AGNPmlR.
- Scr. cf. Matth. 10, 28.cf. Matthew 10, 28. Var. line 8 quia—9 Christo OPm2av, om. cet.; christo adhaeream P; line 9 Christo ] deo O; qui MN; habet N; line 10 persequutores Aml.
- Scr. Ps. 118, 151.Psalm 118, 151. Var. line 12 fortasse O; line 13 sequitur ] add. VII AGPR, add. uersus Rm2; es ] esto O; es tu v.
- Scr. Hier. 23, 23.Jeremiah 23, 23. Var. line 15 refugere a; derelinquimus O; line 16 adsistet PmlRml.
- Scr. Sap. 1, 7.Wisdom 1, 7. Var. line 18 deus dominus O.
- Scr. Hier. 23, 24.Jeremiah 23, 24. Var. line 20 deus dominus O; line 21 defecit PR.
- Scr. Ioh. 1, 16.John 1, 16. Var. line 22 eius ] add. nos MOv; accipimus AN.
- Scr. Ps. 138, 7–10.Psalm 138, 7–10. Var. line 25 terram NOPav; aut ] et MOav.
- Scr. Hebr. 1, 3.Hebrews 1, 3. Var. line 1 fugiam post tua tr. Oav; caelo Pml; line 4 me ] te Gml; line 6 et ubicumque—7 praesentem ] et ubi est deus, ibi spiritum eius esse praesentem, et ubicumque est dei spiritus, ibi deum esse Oe; pr. et—spiritus eras. P; ubicumque ] ubique N, ubi Ta; pr. est om. Mml; dei ] deus G; ibi—7 deus om. P; est deus ] esse deum AR; line 7 spiritus G; eius ] dei a; indiuidua NPTa; line 8 hos ARml; line 9 locutus del. O; qui eras. P; line 11 mortes Rml; aut ] ad M.
- Scr. Hebr. 4, 12 (cf. Eph. 6, 17).Hebrews 4, 12 (cf. Eph. 6, 17). Var. line 14 quo Rm2; procedente AGOPm2Rm2v; procendente Rml, add. die OPm2v; line 16 fotum AP; fortu M; line 18 tenebras AGPRml; terram a; line 19 fulgit APml; line 20 alt. quod ] add. non Pa; line 21 quid ] quod AGOPR; penetrat MO; line 23 iste sol Oav; line 24 adque ARml.
- Scr. Luc. 2, 35.Luke 2, 35. Var. line 25 dicit ] add. symeon O Simeon v.
- Scr. Matth. 5, 45.Matthew 5, 45. Petschenig editorial conjecture diffuse cet. av, correxi — Petschenig prints diffusae per omnes et in omnes et supra omnes potestatis sit against the majority codd. reading diffuse (with Rm2 diffusa); fifth and final of Coph's five editorial conjectures (cf. fnn. 39, 52, 66, 94). Coph is the densest editorial-conjecture sermon in the corpus to date — five substantive scripsi/correxi/addidi/suppleui interventions across §§13, 18, 22, 30, 39 (cf. Sade's two, Mem's three, Nun's eight including several quia/quo lemmata; but Coph's five are all body-weight conjectures within twenty-three pages). Var. line 1 ergo ] enim O; anima APmlR; line 2 diffusa Rm2; diffuse cet. av, correxi; line 3 potestatis Mm2O; potestas APmlR; potestate a; potestates cet.; line 4 suum oriri GMNORm2av.
- Scr. cf. Mal. 4, 2.cf. Malachi 4, 2. Var. line 7 diuersetur v; line 8 aspicere ] add. quia Rm2; alt. in om. R; line 9 esse A; tuas igitur illi aperi fenestras Ov; line 11 fuerit mentis NPav; poteris ] add. eum a.
- Scr. cf. Matth. 6, 22.cf. Matthew 6, 22. Var. line 12 oculis Pm2; line 13 grauabat Rml; ferit M, om. O; concitabit O; line 14 cumfusam NTml; cum confusam Tm2a; line 15 suam O.
- Scr. Apoc. 3, 20.Revelation 3, 20. Var. line 17 hostia NR; line 18 illuminet Ov; line 19 obserendam ORml; line 20 auerterit Pm2Rm2; line 21 uoluerit PmlR; line 23 inquit aperuerit AR; inquid M; line 24 apperuit M; numquit P; line 26 dedignatus Pml.
- Scr. Col. 1, 17–18.Colossians 1, 17–18. Var. line 1 cum om. O; putrem ] cum putrem GMOPR; cum patrem N; line 2 sentire om. O; line 3 correptae Rml; line 6 deesse eius O; line 7 illius ] illa A, illi GNR; solus erat av; line 8 illius O.
- Scr. cf. Col. 2, 9.cf. Colossians 2, 9. Var. line 9 capud ORml; line 10 plenitudo ] add. diuinitatis a.
- Scr. Ps. 72, 27.Psalm 72, 27.
- Scr. Ps. 72, 28.Psalm 72, 28. Var. line 12 sanctus ] idem O, add. propheta Ov; line 13 ait ] ostendens Ov; esse longe MOav.
- Scr. Act. 17, 28.Acts 17, 28. Var. line 14 ipso ] add. quoque Ta; mouemur et sumus NPTav; line 16 bonitas ex bonitatem O; munere bonitatis suae av; proprior PRml; contriti OmlT.
- Scr. cf. Ex. 19, 20 sqq.cf. Exodus 19, 20 sqq. Var. line 19 monte A; montes Rml; sinae NPRml; Sinai Ov; syna a; line 20 presbiteri AOR; line 21 a om. O; moyse G; line 22 syna Ra.
- Scr. Matth. 5, 8.Matthew 5, 8. Var. line 25 fueris ] feras O; enim om. a; line 26 quoniam O.
- Scr. Ps. 118, 151.Psalm 118, 151. Var. line 2 omnes uiae tuae O; line 3 recipit AORav; recepit cet., cf. p. 416, 23; line 4 ueritatem Ov; alt. in om. G; umbram Ov; line 6 eum ] enim GNPR; line 7 redimet Rml.
- Scr. cf. Hebr. 10, 1.cf. Hebrews 10, 1.
- Scr. Ps. 118, 152.Psalm 118, 152. Var. line 8 Octauus—est ] Sequitur VIII P, om. Na, add. VIII G; line 9 tuis om. A; line 10 inquid M; adsumpsi ] add. et O; line 11 fundati O; line 12 cognouissent ARv; line 13 essent ] add. eis a; line 14 paradysi MR; line 15 uendicare MOa, add. non O.
- Scr. cf. Gen. 4, 10.cf. Genesis 4, 10. Var. line 17 homines Aml.
- Scr. Esai. 1, 2.Isaiah 1, 2. Var. line 19 terram Pml; quia om. GNPRT (nona); line 20 fecisse ] add. quod Tm2a; line 22 constituant quae M; line 23 adque Rml.
- Scr. cf. I Cor. 3, 12–13.cf. 1 Corinthians 3, 12–13. Var. line 25 stipulam AN; maneant nixa APR; line 26 nihil subscript. in codd. (no closing subscriptio in any cod. — same pattern as Sade closure).