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Ad Demetrianum [CSEL]
§ 24
Quae tunc erit fidei gloria, quae poena perfidiae, cum ludicii dies uenerit, quae laetitia credentium, quae maestitia perfidorum noluisse istic prius credere et ut credant iam redire non posse. cremabit addictos ardens semper gehenna et uiuacibus flammis uorax poena, nec erit unde habere tormenta uel requiem possint aliquando uel finem. seruabuntur cum corporibus suis animae infinitis cruciatibus ad dolorem. spectabitur illic a nobis semper qui hic nos spectauit ad tempus, et in persecutionibus1 factis oculorum crudelium breuis fructus perpetua uisione pensabitur secundum scripturae sanctae fidem dicentis: uermis eorum non morietur et ignis eorum non extinguetur2, et erunt ad uisionem uniuersae3 carni. etiterum4: tunc stabunt iusti in magna constantia aduersus 56[P. 369] eos qui se angustauerunt et qui abstulerunt labores eorum. uidentes turbabuntur timore horribili et mirabuntur in subitatione insperatae salutis dicentes inter se, paenitentiam habentes et per angustiam spiritus gementes: fhi7 sunt quos habuimus aliquando in risu et in similitudine inproperii. nos insensati uitam illorum aestimabamus insaniam et finem illorum sine honore. quomodo conputati sunt inter filios Dei et inter sanctos sors illorum est? ergo errauimus a uia ueritatis, et iustitiae lumen non luxit nobis et sol non est ortus nobis. lassati sumus iniquitatis uia et perditionis et ambulauimus solitudines difficiles, uiam autem Domini ignorauimus. quid nobis profuit superbia aut quid diuitiarum iactatio contulit nobis? transierunt omnia illa tamquam umbra. erit tunc sine fructu paenitentiae dolor poenae, inanis ploratio et inefficax deprecatio. in aeternam poenam sero credunt qui in uitam aeternam credere noluerunt.
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persooutionibus ↩
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eitinguetur ↩
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nninersae ↩
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Sic! ↩
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Apparatus: 5 Amos 5, 6. 7 Io. 17,3. 22 Es. 66, 24. 25 Sap. 5,1 sq. ↩
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Apparatus: 1 coluntur [^RB] 2 esse hanc [^WR,] hanc esse [^VMI,] hanc [^JtfjB] dei hanc esse [^scripsi,] hanc esse [^B,] ease [^WRV et 8. l. m. 2 M] (hanc iram, dei esse cens. [^uel] esse hanc irae dei censuram v, hanc irae dei esse censuram [^Baluzius,] esse hanc irain dei, dei esse censuram [^coni. Krabinger)] qui [^carr. M] in quia 3 beneficii Ml 4 quia [^ex] qua [^R m. 2,] qui [^W] praemonet [^RB] 6 et om. [^v] 8 et uerum] uerum [^v] 10 credite... dabit [^om. W] 12 inrogauit [^Ml] 15 noluisse se [^M2] iam [^R in ras]. 16 cremauit [^M1] 17 [^super] erit [^M m. 2:] excipit seruantur [^WRB] 19 spectabuntnr [^VM] nos] nobis [^B] 20 spectauerunt [^V,] expectabit [^BM1,] expectauit [^Ma] 21 factis] falsis [^W] brenis [^super] crebres [^M m. 2] recdpensabuntur [^M sed] reco [^8. l. m. 2] 25 inquit iusti [^M; cf. ad totum locum test. III16 p. 128, ad Fortun. c. 12] ↩
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Sic! ↩
Translation
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An Address to Demetrianus
24.
What will then be the glory of faith? what the punishment of faithlessness? When the day of judgment shall come, what joy of believers, what sorrow of unbelievers; that they should have been unwilling to believe here, and now that they should be unable to return that they might believe! An ever-burning Gehenna will burn up the condemned, and a punishment devouring with living flames; nor will there be any source whence at any time they may have either respite or end to their torments. Souls with their bodies will be reserved in infinite tortures for suffering. Thus the man will be for ever seen by us who here gazed upon us for a season; and the short joy of those cruel eyes in the persecutions that they made for us will be compensated by a perpetual spectacle, according to the truth of Holy Scripture, which says, "Their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched; and they shall be for a vision to all flesh." 1 And again: "Then shall the righteous men stand in great constancy before the face of those who have afflicted them, and have taken away their labours. When they see it, they shall be troubled with horrible fear, and shall be amazed at the suddenness of their unexpected salvation; and they, repenting and groaning for anguish of spirit, shall say within themselves, These are they whom we had some time in derision, and a proverb of reproach; we fools counted their life madness, and their end to be without honour. How are they numbered among the children of God, and their lot is among the saints! Therefore have we erred from the way of truth, and the light of righteousness hath not shined upon us, and the sun rose not on us. We wearied ourselves in the way of wickedness and destruction; we have gone through deserts where there lay no way; but we have not known the way of the Lord. What hath pride profited us, or what good hath the boasting of riches done us? All those things are passed away like a shadow." 2 The pain of punishment will then be without the fruit of penitence; weeping will be useless, and prayer ineffectual. Too late they will believe in eternal punishment who would not believe in eternal life.