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Sermo 10, aduersus quinque haereses.

8. Contra Arianos.

Vellem adhuc Manichaeum persequi, sed infestum patior Arianum, qui confidit in virtute sua, et gloriatur in potentia sua ¹; et Filius dicat, Pater misit me ². Quantum intelligo, lux ista gentium tam clara est atque perspicua, ut haeretici eam comprehendere non valentes atque perspicere, unde caecati, non in eam possint ambulare, sed potius oberrare. Arianus aliud, Sabellianus aliud. Quale bellum? Quid ad haec Catholicus? Arma, inquit, quae portant, mea sunt: mihi militant; ambo contra se pugnant, sed pro me: utinam ambo deficiant, et non alter ad alterum transeat, sed ad me! Proferam et ego aliquid, unde utrique percutiantur. Tu, Ariane, dieis majorem esse qui mittit, minorem qui mittitur: interrogo te et ego, Quis est major, qui praecedit, an qui praeceditur? Item quis est major, cui praeparatur aliquid venienti, an qui praeparat: cui exhibetur officium, an qui exhibet? Utique si hominum genus [P. 1113] interroges, respondebit illum esse majorem, qui praeceditur, cui praeparatur, vel cui officium exhibetur. Tu inde vis probare minorem Filium, quia missus est: ego ostendo eum qui misit, praecedere illum quem misit; nec alterum eorum dico majorem, quia non audeo dicere vel minorem. Isaias propheta dicit, Haec dicit Dominus Christo meo Domino, cujus apprehendi dexteram, ut subjiciam ante faciem ejus gentes. Ecce jam Filio misso comes est Pater. Adhuc sequere: Et dorsa regum vertam, et aperiam ante eum januas, et portae non claudentur ³. Ecce ille qui miserat, praecursor factus est. Quis enim major aut superior ante minorem januas aperit? vel quomodo id faciat, nisi paululum quoque praecesserit? Audi adhuc, Et portae, inquit, non claudentur. Quomodo? Ego ante te ibo ⁴. Vides quia qui miserat, et comitatur, et praecedit: mittit, et non discedit. Parum est quia non discedit, insuper et praecedit. Jam tu discerne qui sit major, qui potior: ego enim nullam discretionem video, sed potius aequalitatem conspicio. Filius dicit de Patre, Misit me ⁵. Pater Filio dicit, Ego ante te ibo. Recedat de medio discordiosa calamitas: aequalitas hoc exhibet, non disparilitas. Adhuc sequere, ut clarius appareat quis cui dicat: Ego ante te ibo, et gloriosos terrae humiliabo. Hic esto et tu, pagane. Audi quid dicat propheta. Non mihi ego quod volui scripsi: codex, in quo haec scripta leguntur, in armario Judaei habetur. Inimicus meus testis est meus; ab ipso quaere; aperi, lege, et crede. Dorsa, inquit, regum vertam, et gloriosos terrae humiliabo. Nonne reges terrae vides, qui ante persequebantur Christianos, nunc esse christianos? Nonne vides eos qui humiliabant Ecclesiam, humiles intrare in Ecclesiam? Nonne nunc vides ipsos habere defensores, quos ante habebat persecutores? Ego, inquit, ante te ibo, et gloriosos terrae humiliabo. Portas aereas conteram, et vectes ferreos confringam. Et dabo tibi thesauros absconditos, et arcana secretorum, ut scias quia ego sum Deus, qui voco nomen tuum, Deus Israel ⁶. Audiat Sabellianus, Deus dicit, Deo dicit. Ergo duo sunt; qui dicit, et cui dicit. Audiat et Arianus: Ego Deus, et non est alius extra me ⁷. Diu est ex quo contra istas duas haereses certando laboro, et pene sum fatigatus. Veni, Domine meus, Jesu praeliator fortissime, princeps exercitus Domini qui diabolum vicisti et saeculum, Apprehende arma et scutum, et exsurge in adjutorium mihi ⁸. Processurus ad praelium, et victurus in mundo mundum, oravit; non tanquam virtutis impotens, cum esset omnipotens; sed ut nobis, propter quod venerat, humilitatis magisterium exhiberet. Et quid dixit? Pater, clarifica Filium tuum ⁹. Modo Arianus maledictus dicit, Vides quia minor est, et claritatem non haberet, nisi Patrem petisset? Exspecta, homo, quid festinas? Tu hominem vides, in qua forma non solum Patre, sed et angelis minor est ¹⁰: homo paret, Deus latet. Tu mihi ostendis hominem humilem: aperi oculos, et vide Deum sublimem, non angelis minorem, sed Patri aequalem. Pater, inquit, Filium tuum clarifica: ecce minorem. Adhuc sequere, Ut et Filius tuus clarificet te ¹¹: ecce aequalem. Invenimus Filium agnoscentem Patrem, atque orantem, eique conjunctum, non ut putabatur ingratum. Videamus quid de Filio dicat et Pater. Assumpsit Jesus Petrum et Jacobum et Joannem fratrem ejus (Evangelii verba sunt), et duxit illos in montem excelsum seorsum, et transfiguratus est ante eos. Et resplenduit facies ejus sicut sol, vestimenta autem ejus facta sunt alba sicut nix. Et ecce apparuit illis Moyses et Elias cum eo loquentes ¹². Moyses et Elias, Lex et Prophetae; loquebantur cum illo, quia locuti erant de illo; ostendebant quem praedixerant, manifestabant quem prophetaverant. Loquebantur: putas, quid loquebantur? Ut Judaei convincerentur, Pagani converterentur, Manichaei confunderentur, Haeretici comprimerentur, Catholici confirmarentur. Loquebatur lex [P. 1114] et gratia, asperitas et lenitas, terror et mansuetudo, praeceptum et adjutorium, ferramentum et medicus, umbra et lux, praeco et judex, sententia et misericordia. Et quid post haec? Respondens autem Petrus dixit ad Jesum: Domine, bonum est nobis hic esse; si vis faciamus hic tria tabernacula, tibi unum, Moysi unum, et Eliae unum ¹³. Quid dicis, sancte Petre? Mundus parturit, et tu secretum petis? Vides ergo tot gentes in unum convenisse, et tu requiem quaeris? Vides tenebras mundi, et tu lumen abscondis? Nemo accendit lucernam, et ponit eam sub modio, sed super candelabrum, ut luceat omnibus qui in domo sunt ¹⁴. Ista domus totus est mundus: lucernae accensio, Verbi est incarnatio: candelabrum autem, crucis est lignum: lucerna in candelabro lucens, Christus in cruce pendens. Nemo accendit lucernam, et ponit eam sub modio, sed super candelabrum, ut luceat omnibus qui in domo sunt. Vidisti tu, videamus et nos. Tenebrae sunt, non offendamus in Paganis, non erremus in haereticis: luceat nobis lucerna, doceat nos Verbum in carne. Videamus quid dicit Evangelista, videamus si admissum est consilium Petri: Adhuc, inquit, eo loquente, ecce nubes lucida obumbravit eos. Et ecce vox de nube dicens ¹⁵. Omnes audiamus, nemo aures claudat. Audiant Pagani irrisores, audiant Judaei persecutores, audiant Manichaei phantasmatum somniatores, audiant haeretici erronei litigatores; audiant, et maxime audiant etiam Catholici, fideles Dei cultores. Isti audiant ut instruantur, illi ut corrigantur: aut isti audiant ne seducantur, illi ut puniantur. Quid dicit vox de nube? Hic est Filius meus dilectus in quo mihi bene complacui ¹⁶. Ubi estis qui adversamini Filio Dei? Pater dicit, Hic est Filius meus: et tu dicis, Non habet Filium Deus. Tu pagane, quid stas foris et murmuras? Intra huc in scholam Dei, aperi aures cordis tui, audi vocem Domini, et disce Filium Dei. Quid agetis, Judaei, qui occidistis Filium Dei? Quo fugietis, ubi vos abscondetis? Qui montes, quae petrae super vos casurae sunt? Et si in cavernis petrarum vos absconderitis, inde extraham vos, dicit Dominus ¹⁷. Sed et vos venite, intrate, consilium meum audite, desperare nolite: quoniam sunt reliquiae homini pacifico ¹⁸. Saevistis, occidistis, sanguinem Christi fudistis, in periculo estis, Filio Dei increduli fuistis. Quid ergo facere nunc habetis, nisi ut credentes baptizemini, et bibatis sanguinem quem fudistis? Non est quod horreatis: fusus est sanguis medici, et factus est medicamentum phrenetici. Quid dubitatis? Gustate, et videte, quoniam suavis est Dominus ¹⁹. Quid, tu manichaee, quamdiu phantasmata somniabis? Evigila, et vide; nubila tonant. Quid tonant? Hic est Filius meus dilectus ²⁰. Vide in terra hominem verum, audi de coelo Deum verum: vide in terra hominis filium, audi de coelo Dei esse Filium. Utrumque verum esse cognosce, id est, Deum et hominem, Filium Dei et filium hominis unum eumdemque esse Deum et hominem. Agnosce hominem, et placabis Deum. Cave ne offendas in petra, et mortis patiaris ruinam: quia quod tu somnias, vanitas est; quod Deus tonat, veritas est. Audi, tu Sabelliane, audi de coelo Patrem, vide in terra Filium, et noli dicere, Idem est Pater qui Filius. Audi, et tu Ariane, et in Patre et in Filio noli errare, sed sequere unitatem, et vide divinitatem. Domine, audiamus quid dicis de Filio tuo: Hic est, inquit, Filius meus. Vide in terra hominis filium, audi de coelo Dei esse Filium. Meus dilectus in quo mihi bene complacui. Et quid? Ipsum audite. Deo gratias. Intonuit praeceptum Dei, et remotum est consilium Petri. Gratias tibi, Deus Virtus; gratias tibi, [P. 1115] Deus Pater, qui et Filium tuum ostendisti, et mihi doctorem dedisti. Recedat Sabellianus, recedat Arianus, recedant caeterae pestes, recedat omnis iniqua doctrina. Doceat Deus, non Arius: doceat Dei Filius, non Filii adversarius. Dic, Domine meus Jesu, doce, discam quod doceam. Sabellianus dicit, Ipse est Pater qui Filius. Arianus dicit, Alius est Pater, alius Filius; Pater major, Filius minor. Adversatur, clamat, litigat, pugnat, turbas congregat, contra Christum dimicat. Ille sanguinem fudit, ut redimat; iste pecuniam spargit, ut perimat. Speluncam fabricat, illic catholicum praefocat, christianum vocat paganum, baptizato ingerit Baptismum, contra id quod scriptum est, Qui semel lotus est, non indiget denuo lavari ²¹. Clamat homo, Christianus sum: quid me dicis esse quod non sum? Clamat, Fidelis sum: et ille dicit, Accipe a me pecuniam. Clamat, Redemptus sum: et ille dicit, Accipe a me aurum. Quid das, aut quid aufers? Das pecuniam, ut auferas gratiam: das pecuniam, ut auferas vitam: das pretium, ut auferas quod emptus sum. Quid emis ab empto? Pretium meum, non aurum, sed sanguis Christi est: non me seducis, non me decipis; quantumcumque mihi conferas, non mihi tollis pretium meum. Pecunia tua tecum sit in perditionem ²²: nam pretium meum non habet pretium. Clamat homo: Fidelis sum, et tu exsufflas. Clamat, In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus sancti baptizatus sum, et exsufflas. Quid ergo Christiano reservas, in quo Patrem et Filium et Spiritum sanctum exsufflas? An forte novam fidem, novum baptisma, novum deum de transmarinis partibus advexisti? Dic, meus doctor sancte Paule, doce, divini juris perite, sponsi amice: homo iste modo venit, mundum subvertit, et fidei unitatem scindit, Trinitatem dividit, non sibi consentientem rebaptizare contendit; quid facio? In ipso Jesu per Evangelium tu me genuisti ²³, in Christo baptizatus sum. An forte est aliud baptisma aut alia [P. 1116] fides? Absit, inquis: Una fides, unum Baptisma, unus Deus et Pater omnium ²⁴. Si ergo una fides est, imo quia et una est fides, unum Baptisma, unus Deus et Pater omnium: jam credidi, jam baptizatus sum, jam Deum habeo Patrem: quare homicidam patior Arianum? Subveni, Domine meus Jesu, et accingere gladium tuum circa femur, potentissime ²⁵. Omnium potentissime, egredere, occide eos in se, ut vivant in te, desinant persequi me. Sabelliani te subtrahunt, Ariani te minuunt: tu quid dicis de te? Pater dixit ut te audiamus: cum te audimus, ipsum audimus: uno ictu utrosque percute adversarios. Pereant, inquit, vaniloqui, et mentis seductores, Arianus et Sabellianus: nam Ego et Pater unum sumus ²⁶. Non dixit, Ego et Pater unum sum; sed, Ego et Pater unum sumus. Quod dico, unum, audiat Arianus: quod dico, sumus, audiat Sabellianus. Non dividat Arianus, unum: non deleat Sabellianus, sumus: sed ambo veniant, et sint etiam ipsi in nobis unum, sicuti ego et Pater unum sumus ²⁷. Ergo si Pater et Filius unum sunt, imo quia indubitanter unum sunt, non duo dii, sed unus Deus: non mimicum aliquid propheta scripsit, sed verum dixit, Domino dicente, Ante me non est formatus Deus, et post me non erit ²⁸. Docuit veritas veritatem, et gladio bis acuto omnem peremit errorem. Si adhuc haeretici reluctantur, audiant Catholici definitivam sententiam, quam sequantur.

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Against Five Heresies

8. Against the Arians.

I would still pursue the Manichaean, but I suffer the hostile Arian, who trusts in his own strength and boasts in his power ¹; and the Son says, The Father sent me ². As far as I understand, this light of the nations is so bright and clear that heretics, unable to comprehend and perceive it, are blinded and cannot walk in it, but rather wander. The Arian says one thing, the Sabellian another. What kind of war is this? What does the Catholic say to these things? He says, the weapons they carry are mine: they fight for me; both fight against each other, but for me: would that both would fail, and neither would turn to the other, but to me! I will also bring forth something from which both may be struck. You, Arian, say that the one who sends is greater, the one who is sent is lesser: I ask you, who is greater, the one who precedes, or the one who is preceded? Likewise, who is greater, the one for whom something is prepared when coming, or the one who prepares it: the one to whom service is rendered, or the one who renders it? Surely if you ask the human race [P. 1113], they will answer that the one who is preceded, for whom something is prepared, or to whom service is rendered, is greater. You wish to prove from this that the Son is lesser because he was sent: I show that the one who sent precedes the one he sent; nor do I say that either of them is greater, because I do not dare to say that either is lesser. The prophet Isaiah says, Thus says the Lord to my Christ, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him. Behold, now the Father accompanies the sent Son. Follow further: And I will turn the backs of kings, and open doors before him, and gates will not be closed ³. Behold, the one who sent has become a forerunner. For who is greater or superior who opens doors before the lesser? Or how does he do it, unless he has also preceded a little? Listen further, And the gates, he says, will not be closed. How? I will go before you ⁴. You see that the one who sent also accompanies and precedes: he sends, and does not depart. It is not enough that he does not depart, he even precedes. Now you discern who is greater, who is more powerful: for I see no distinction, but rather equality. The Son says of the Father, He sent me ⁵. The Father says to the Son, I will go before you. Let the discordant calamity depart: equality shows this, not disparity. Follow further, so that it may appear more clearly who says to whom: I will go before you, and humble the glorious of the earth. Be here also, pagan. Hear what the prophet says. I did not write what I wanted: the codex in which these writings are read is kept in the Jew's library. My enemy is my witness; ask him; open, read, and believe. I will turn the backs of kings, and humble the glorious of the earth. Do you not see the kings of the earth, who once persecuted Christians, now being Christians? Do you not see those who humbled the Church, humbly entering the Church? Do you not now see them as defenders, whom once they had as persecutors? I will go before you, and humble the glorious of the earth. I will break the bronze gates, and shatter the iron bars. And I will give you hidden treasures and the secrets of secrets, so that you may know that I am God, who calls your name, the God of Israel ⁶. Let the Sabellian hear, God says, to God he says. Therefore, there are two; the one who speaks, and the one to whom he speaks. Let the Arian also hear: I am God, and there is no other besides me ⁷. I have long labored in fighting against these two heresies, and I am almost exhausted. Come, my Lord Jesus, mightiest warrior, prince of the Lord's army who conquered the devil and the world, Take hold of shield and buckler, and rise up to help me ⁸. About to go into battle, and about to conquer the world, he prayed; not as one lacking power, since he was omnipotent; but to show us, for which he came, the teaching of humility. And what did he say? Father, glorify your Son ⁹. Now the accursed Arian says, See, he is lesser, and would not have glory unless he asked the Father? Wait, man, why are you in such a hurry? You see a man, in whose form he is lesser not only than the Father, but also than the angels ¹⁰: the man appears, God is hidden. You show me a humble man: open your eyes, and see the sublime God, not lesser than the angels, but equal to the Father. Father, he says, glorify your Son: behold the lesser. Follow further, That your Son may also glorify you ¹¹: behold the equal. We find the Son acknowledging the Father, and praying, and being united to him, not as was thought ungrateful. Let us see what the Father says about the Son. Jesus took Peter and James and John his brother (these are the words of the Gospel), and led them up a high mountain by themselves, and he was transfigured before them. And his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as snow. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him ¹². Moses and Elijah, the Law and the Prophets; they spoke with him, because they had spoken of him; they showed whom they had foretold, they manifested whom they had prophesied. They spoke: do you think, what did they speak? So that the Jews would be convinced, the Pagans converted, the Manichaeans confounded, the Heretics suppressed, the Catholics confirmed. The law spoke [P. 1114] and grace, harshness and gentleness, terror and meekness, command and assistance, the tool and the physician, shadow and light, the herald and the judge, the sentence and mercy. And what after these things? Peter answered and said to Jesus: Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, let us make three tabernacles here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah ¹³. What do you say, holy Peter? The world is in labor, and you seek secrecy? Do you see so many nations gathered together, and you seek rest? Do you see the darkness of the world, and you hide the light? No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house ¹⁴. This house is the whole world: the lighting of the lamp is the incarnation of the Word: the lampstand, however, is the wood of the cross: the lamp shining on the lampstand is Christ hanging on the cross. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. You have seen, let us also see. There is darkness, let us not stumble among the Pagans, let us not err among the heretics: let the lamp shine for us, let the Word in the flesh teach us. Let us see what the Evangelist says, let us see if Peter's counsel was admitted: While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. And behold, a voice from the cloud said ¹⁵. Let us all hear, let no one close their ears. Let the mocking Pagans hear, let the persecuting Jews hear, let the Manichaean dreamers of phantasms hear, let the errant litigating heretics hear; let them hear, and especially let the Catholics, the faithful worshipers of God, hear. Let these hear to be instructed, those to be corrected: or let these hear not to be seduced, those to be punished. What does the voice from the cloud say? This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased ¹⁶. Where are you who oppose the Son of God? The Father says, This is my Son: and you say, God has no Son. You pagan, why do you stand outside and murmur? Enter here into the school of God, open the ears of your heart, hear the voice of the Lord, and learn the Son of God. What will you do, Jews, who killed the Son of God? Where will you flee, where will you hide? What mountains, what rocks will fall upon you? And if you hide in the caves of the rocks, I will draw you out from there, says the Lord ¹⁷. But you too come, enter, hear my counsel, do not despair: for there is a remnant for the peaceful man ¹⁸. You have raged, you have killed, you have shed the blood of Christ, you are in danger, you have been unbelieving to the Son of God. What then do you have to do now, except to believe, be baptized, and drink the blood you shed? There is nothing to fear: the blood of the physician was shed, and it became the medicine for the frenzied. Why do you hesitate? Taste and see that the Lord is good ¹⁹. What about you, Manichaean, how long will you dream of phantasms? Wake up, and see; the clouds thunder. What do they thunder? This is my beloved Son ²⁰. See on earth a true man, hear from heaven a true God: see on earth the son of man, hear from heaven that he is the Son of God. Recognize that both are true, that is, God and man, the Son of God and the son of man are one and the same God and man. Acknowledge the man, and you will appease God. Beware lest you stumble on the rock, and suffer the ruin of death: for what you dream is vanity; what God thunders is truth. Hear, you Sabellian, hear from heaven the Father, see on earth the Son, and do not say, The Father is the same as the Son. Hear, and you Arian, and do not err in the Father and the Son, but follow the unity, and see the divinity. Lord, let us hear what you say about your Son: This is, he says, my Son. See on earth the son of man, hear from heaven that he is the Son of God. My beloved in whom I am well pleased. And what? Listen to him. Thanks be to God. The command of God thundered, and Peter's counsel was removed. Thank you, God of Power; thank you, [P. 1115] God the Father, who showed your Son and gave me a teacher. Let the Sabellian depart, let the Arian depart, let all other plagues depart, let all wicked doctrine depart. Let God teach, not Arius: let the Son of God teach, not the adversary of the Son. Speak, my Lord Jesus, teach, let me learn what to teach. The Sabellian says, The Father is the same as the Son. The Arian says, The Father is one, the Son is another; the Father is greater, the Son is lesser. He opposes, cries out, argues, fights, gathers crowds, fights against Christ. He shed blood to redeem; this one scatters money to destroy. He builds a cave, there he strangles the Catholic, calls the Christian a pagan, imposes Baptism on the baptized, contrary to what is written, He who is washed once does not need to be washed again ²¹. The man cries out, I am a Christian: why do you say I am what I am not? He cries out, I am faithful: and he says, Take money from me. He cries out, I am redeemed: and he says, Take gold from me. What do you give, or what do you take away? You give money to take away grace: you give money to take away life: you give a price to take away what I was bought with. What do you buy from the bought? My price is not gold, but the blood of Christ: you do not seduce me, you do not deceive me; however much you confer on me, you do not take away my price. May your money perish with you ²²: for my price has no price. The man cries out: I am faithful, and you blow upon me. He cries out, I was baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and you blow upon me. What then do you reserve for the Christian, in whom you blow upon the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit? Or perhaps you have brought a new faith, a new baptism, a new god from overseas? Speak, my holy teacher Paul, teach, skilled in divine law, friend of the bridegroom: this man has just come, he subverts the world, and divides the unity of faith, divides the Trinity, insists on rebaptizing those who do not agree with him; what do I do? In Jesus himself through the Gospel you have begotten me ²³, I was baptized in Christ. Or is there another baptism or another [P. 1116] faith? God forbid, you say: One faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all ²⁴. If therefore there is one faith, indeed because there is one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all: I have already believed, I have already been baptized, I already have God as Father: why do I suffer the murderous Arian? Help, my Lord Jesus, and gird your sword upon your thigh, most mighty ²⁵. Most mighty of all, go forth, kill them in themselves, so that they may live in you, cease to persecute me. The Sabellians take you away, the Arians diminish you: what do you say about yourself? The Father said to listen to you: when we listen to you, we listen to him: strike both adversaries with one blow. Let them perish, he says, the vain talkers, and the seducers of minds, Arian and Sabellian: for I and the Father are one ²⁶. He did not say, I and the Father are one; but, I and the Father are one. What I say, one, let the Arian hear: what I say, we are, let the Sabellian hear. Let the Arian not divide, one: let the Sabellian not erase, we are: but let both come, and let them also be in us one, just as I and the Father are one ²⁷. Therefore if the Father and the Son are one, indeed because they are undoubtedly one, not two gods, but one God: the prophet did not write something mimical, but spoke the truth, the Lord saying, Before me no god was formed, and after me there will be none ²⁸. Truth taught truth, and with a double-edged sword destroyed all error. If the heretics still resist, let the Catholics hear the definitive sentence, which they should follow.