Übersetzung ausblenden
The City of God

Chapter 13.--Whether the Truth of This Promised Peace Can Be Ascribed to Those Times Passed Away Under Solomon.

Whoever hopes for this so great good in this world, and in this earth, his wisdom is but folly. Can any one think it was fulfilled in the peace of Solomon's reign? Scripture certainly commends that peace with excellent praise as a shadow of that which is to come. But this opinion is to be vigilantly opposed, since after it is said, "And the son of iniquity shall not humble him any more," it is immediately added, "as from the beginning, from the days in which I appointed judges over my people Israel." ¹ For the judges were appointed over that people from the time when they received the land of promise, before kings had begun to be there. And certainly the son of iniquity, that is, the foreign enemy, humbled him through periods of time in which we read that peace alternated with wars; and in that period longer times of peace are found than Solomon had, who reigned forty years. For under that judge who is called Ehud there were eighty years of peace. ² Be it far from us, therefore, that we should believe the times of Solomon are predicted in this promise, much less indeed those of any other king whatever. For none other of them reigned in such great peace as he; nor did that nation ever at all hold that kingdom so as to have no anxiety lest it should be subdued by enemies: for in the very great mutability of human affairs such great security is never given to any people, that it should not dread invasions hostile to this life. Therefore the place of this promised peaceful and secure habitation is eternal, and of right belongs eternally to Jerusalem the free mother, where the genuine people of Israel shall be: for this name is interpreted "Seeing God;" in the desire of which reward a pious life is to be led through faith in this miserable pilgrimage. ³

Edition ausblenden
De civitate Dei (CCSL)

Caput XIII: An promissae pacis veritas illis temporibus possit adscribi, quae sub Salomone fluxerunt.

Hoc tam magnum bonum quisquis in hoc saeculo et in hac terra sperat, insipienter sapit. An quispiam putabit in pace regni Salomonis id esse completum? Pacem quippe illam scriptura in umbra futuri excellenti praedicatione commendat. Sed huic suspicioni uigilanter occursum est, cum, postea quam dictum est: Et non apponet filius iniquitatis humiliare eum, continuo subiunctum est: Sicut ab initio a diebus, quibus constitui iudices super populum meum Israel. Iudices namque, priusquam reges ibi esse coepissent, super illum populum fuerant constituti, ex quo terram promissionis accepit. Et utique humiliabat eum filius iniquitatis, hoc est hostis alienigena, per interualla temporum, quibus leguntur paces alternasse cum bellis; et inueniuntur illic pacis tempora prolixiora quam Salomon habuit, qui quadraginta regnauit annos; nam sub eo iudice, qui est appellatus Aod, octoginta anni pacis fuerunt. Ab sit ergo ut Salomonis tempora in hac promissione praedicta esse credantur; multo minus itaque cuiuslibet regis alterius. Non enim quisquam eorum in tanta, quanta ille, pace regnauit; nec umquam omnino gens illa ita regnum tenuit, ut sollicita non fuerit ne hostibus subderetur; quia in tanta mutabilitate rerum humanarum nulli aliquando populo concessa est tanta securitas, ut huic uitae hostiles non formidaret incursus. Locus ergo iste, qui promittitur tam pacatae ac securae habitationis, aeternus est aeternisque debetur in matre Hierusalem libera, ubi erit ueraciter populus Israel; hoc enim nomen interpretatur "uidens Deum"; cuius praemii desiderio pia per fidem uita in hac aerumnosa peregrinatione ducenda est.