{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_58783/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_58783","id":"gutenberg_58783","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/58783","summary":null,"tags":["Ambrose, Saint, Bishop of Milan, -397 -- Correspondence","Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches","Category: History - Ancient","Category: Religion/Spirituality"],"text":"Produced by Richard Hulse, Bryan Ness and the Online\nDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This\nbook was produced from scanned images of public domain\nmaterial from the Google Books project.)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \u250c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2510\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Transcriber\u2019s Notes \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Punctuation has been standardized. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 The text frequently shows quotations within quotations, \u2502\n \u2502 all set off by similar quote marks. The inner quotations \u2502\n \u2502 have been changed to alternate quote marks for improved \u2502\n \u2502 readability. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 The errors noted on the ERRATA page have been made in the \u2502\n \u2502 text without additional notation. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Scriptural references in sidenotes have not been corrected \u2502\n \u2502 or changed. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Characters in small caps have been replaced by all caps. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Non-printable characteristics have been given the following \u2502\n \u2502 Italic text: --> _text_ \u2502\n \u2502 emphasized text within \u2502\n \u2502 italics --> |text| \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 This book was written in a period when many words had \u2502\n \u2502 not become standardized in their spelling. Words may have \u2502\n \u2502 multiple spelling variations or inconsistent hyphenation in \u2502\n \u2502 the text. These have been left unchanged unless indicated \u2502\n \u2502 with a Transcriber\u2019s Note. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 The symbol \u2018\u2021\u2019 indicates the description in parenthesis has \u2502\n \u2502 been added to an illustration. This may be needed if there \u2502\n \u2502 is no caption or if the caption does not describe the image \u2502\n \u2502 adequately. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 In the concluding Index, the alphabetical order of entries \u2502\n \u2502 have been corrected, but index references have not been \u2502\n \u2502 checked for accuracy. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Footnotes are identified in the text with a number in \u2502\n \u2502 brackets [2] and have been accumulated in a single section \u2502\n \u2502 at the end of the text. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Transcriber\u2019s Notes are used when making corrections to the \u2502\n \u2502 text or to provide additional information for the modern \u2502\n \u2502 reader. These notes are identified in the text by a \u2666 symbol, \u2502\n \u2502 and are accumulated in a single section at the end of the \u2502\n \u2502 book. \u2502\n \u2514\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2518\n\n\n\n\n A\n LIBRARY OF FATHERS\n OF THE\n HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH,\n\n ANTERIOR TO THE DIVISION OF THE EAST AND WEST:\n\n TRANSLATED BY MEMBERS OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH.\n\n Illustration: ( \u2021 Untitled image.)\n\n YET SHALL NOT THY TEACHERS BE REMOVED INTO A CORNER ANY MORE,\n BUT THINE EYES SHALL SEE THY TEACHERS. _Isaiah_ xxx. 20.\n\n\n OXFORD:\n JAMES PARKER & CO.,\n AND RIVINGTONS,\n LONDON, OXFORD, AND CAMBRIDGE.\n\n\n\n\n TO THE MEMORY\n\n OF THE\n\n MOST REVEREND FATHER IN GOD\n\n WILLIAM\n\n LORD ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY,\n\n PRIMATE OF ALL ENGLAND,\n\n FORMERLY REGIUS PROFESSOR OF DIVINITY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD,\n\n\n THIS LIBRARY\n\n OF\n\n ANCIENT BISHOPS, FATHERS, DOCTORS, MARTYRS, CONFESSORS,\n\n OF CHRIST\u2019S HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH,\n\n UNDERTAKEN AMID HIS ENCOURAGEMENT,\n\n AND\n\n CARRIED ON FOR TWELVE YEARS UNDER HIS SANCTION,\n\n UNTIL HIS DEPARTURE HENCE IN PEACE,\n\n IS\n\n GRATEFULLY AND REVERENTLY\n\n INSCRIBED.\n\n\n\n\n THE\n\n LETTERS\n\n OF\n\n S. AMBROSE,\n\n BISHOP OF MILAN,\n\n\n TRANSLATED,\n\n WITH NOTES AND INDICES.\n\n\n OXFORD,\n JAMES PARKER AND CO.,\n AND RIVINGTONS,\n LONDON, OXFORD, AND CAMBRIDGE.\n 1881.\n\n\n\n\n PRINTED BY THE DEVONPORT SOCIETY OF THE HOLY TRINITY,\n HOLY ROOD, OXFORD. 1881.\n\n\n\n\n NOTICE.\n\n\nThe Translation of S. Ambrose\u2019s Epistles was made in the early days of\nthe Library of the Fathers by a friend, now with God, before the check\nwhich the Series received through various sorrowful losses. It has now\nbeen revised by an accomplished scholar, the Rev. H. Walford, M.A., one\nof the Masters at Hayleybury.\n\nOver-work prevented the writing of some introductory remarks.\n\n E. B. P.\n\n CHRIST CHURCH,\n _Lent, 1881_.\n\n\n\n\n CONTENTS.\n\n\n \u2b58 [Letter of Gratian to AMBROSE.]\n\n \u2b58 LETTER I.\n AMBROSE Bishop to the Blessed Emperor and most Christian\n Prince Gratian.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER II.\n AMBROSE to Constantius.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER III.\n AMBROSE to Felix.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER IV.\n AMBROSE to Felix, health.\n\n \u2b58 LETTERS V. and VI.\n These Letters to Syagrius appear in the original Latin at the\n end of the Book.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER VII.\n AMBROSE to Justus, health.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER VIII.\n AMBROSE to Justus.\n\n \u2b58 [The proceedings of the Council of Aquileia against the heretics\n Palladius and Secundianus.]\n\n \u2b58 LETTER IX.\n The Council which is assembled at Aquileia to our most beloved\n brethren, the Bishops of the Viennese and the first and second\n \u2666Narbonese Provinces in Gaul.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER X.\n The holy Council which is assembled at Aquileia to the most\n gracious Christian Emperors, and most blessed Princes, Gratian,\n Valentinian, and Theodosius.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XI.\n To the most gracious Emperors and Christian Princes, the most\n glorious and most blessed Gratian, Valentinian, and Theodosius,\n the Council which is assembled at Aquileia.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XII.\n To the most gracious and Christian Emperors, the glorious and\n most blessed Princes, Gratian, Valentinian, and Theodosius, the\n holy Council which is assembled at Aquileia.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XIII.\n To the most blessed Emperor and most gracious Prince Theodosius,\n AMBROSE and the other Bishops of Italy.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XIV.\n To the most blessed Emperor and most gracious Prince Theodosius,\n AMBROSE and the other Bishops of Italy.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XV.\n AMBROSE to Anatolius, Numesius, Severus, Philip, Macedonius,\n Ammianus, Theodosius, Eutropius, Clarus, Eusebius, and Timotheus,\n Priests of the Lord, and to all the beloved Clergy and people of\n Thessalonica, health.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XVI.\n Bishop AMBROSE to his brother Anysius.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XVII.\n Bishop AMBROSE to the most blessed Prince and Christian Emperor\n Valentinian.\n\n \u2b58 [The Memorial of Symmachus, prefect of the city.]\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XVIII.\n Bishop AMBROSE to the most blessed Prince and gracious Emperor,\n his Majesty Valentinian.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XIX.\n AMBROSE to Vigilius.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XX.\n To Marcellina.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XXI.\n To the most clement Emperor, his blessed Majesty Valentinian,\n AMBROSE, Bishop, sends greeting.\n\n \u2b58 SERMON.\n Against Auxentius on the giving up the Basilicas.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XXII.\n To the lady his Sister whom he loves more than his life and\n eyes AMBROSE her brother sends greeting.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XXIII.\n To the lords, his brethren most beloved, the Bishops throughout\n the Province of \u00c6milia, AMBROSE, Bishop.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XXIV.\n AMBROSE to the Emperor Valentinian.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XXV.\n AMBROSE to Studius.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XXVI.\n AMBROSE to Iren\u00e6us. [Studius?]\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XXVII.\n AMBROSE to Iren\u00e6us, greeting.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XXVIII.\n AMBROSE to Iren\u00e6us, greeting.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XXIX.\n AMBROSE to Iren\u00e6us, greeting.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XXX.\n AMBROSE to Iren\u00e6us, greeting.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XXXI.\n AMBROSE to Iren\u00e6us, greeting.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XXXII.\n AMBROSE to Iren\u00e6us, greeting.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XXXIII.\n AMBROSE to Iren\u00e6us, greeting.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XXXIV.\n AMBROSE to Horontianus, greeting.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XXXV.\n AMBROSE to Horontianus.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XXXVI.\n AMBROSE to Horontianus.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XXXVII.\n AMBROSE to Simplician, greeting.\n\n \u2b58 [Calanus to Alexander.]\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XXXVIII.\n AMBROSE to Simplician, greeting.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XXXIX.\n AMBROSE to Faustinus, greeting.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XL.\n To the most precious Prince and blessed Emperor his Majesty\n \u2666Theodosius, Bishop AMBROSE sends greeting.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XLI.\n The Brother to his Sister.\n\n \u2b58 [The Letter of Pope Siricius to the Church of Milan.]\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XLII.\n To their lord, their dearly beloved brother, Pope Syricius,\n AMBROSE, Sabinus, Bassianus, and the rest send greeting.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XLIII.\n AMBROSE to Horontianus.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XLIV.\n AMBROSE to Horontianus.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XLV.\n AMBROSE to Sabinus.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XLVI.\n AMBROSE to Sabinus.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XLVII.\n AMBROSE to Sabinus.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XLVIII.\n AMBROSE to Sabinus.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XLIX.\n AMBROSE to Sabinus.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER L.\n AMBROSE to Chromatius.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LI.\n AMBROSE, Bishop, to his Majesty the Emperor Theodosius.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LII.\n AMBROSE to Titianus.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LIII.\n AMBROSE to the Emperor Theodosius.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LIV.\n AMBROSE to Eusebius.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LV.\n AMBROSE to Eusebius.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LVI.\n AMBROSE to Theophilus.\n\n \u2b58 [Letter on the case of Bonosus.]\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LVII.\n To the most gracious Emperor Eugenius, AMBROSE, Bishop, sends\n greeting.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LVIII.\n AMBROSE to Sabinus, Bishop.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LIX.\n AMBROSE to Severus, Bishop.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LX.\n AMBROSE to Paternus.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LXI.\n AMBROSE to the Emperor Theodosius.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LXII.\n AMBROSE to the Emperor Theodosius.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LXIII.\n AMBROSE, servant of Christ, called to be Bishop, to the Church\n of Vercell\u00e6, and to them who called on the Name of the Lord\n Jesus Christ, grace unto you from God the Father and His\n Only-begotten Son be fulfilled in the Holy Spirit.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LXIV.\n AMBROSE to Iren\u00e6us, greeting.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LXV.\n AMBROSE to Simplicianus, greeting.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LXVI.\n AMBROSE to Romulus.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LXVII.\n AMBROSE to Simplicianus, greeting.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LXVIII.\n AMBROSE to Romulus.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LXIX.\n AMBROSE to Iren\u00e6us, greeting.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LXX.\n AMBROSE to Horontianus.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LXXI.\n AMBROSE to Horontianus.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LXXII.\n AMBROSE to Constantius.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LXXIII.\n AMBROSE to Iren\u00e6us.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LXXIV.\n AMBROSE to Iren\u00e6us.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LXXV.\n AMBROSE to Clementianus.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LXXVI.\n AMBROSE to Iren\u00e6us, greeting.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LXXVII.\n AMBROSE to Horontianus.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LXXVIII.\n AMBROSE to Horontianus.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LXXIX.\n AMBROSE to Bellicius, greeting.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LXXX.\n AMBROSE to Bellicius, greeting.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LXXXI.\n AMBROSE to certain of the Clergy.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LXXXII.\n AMBROSE to Marcellus.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LXXXIII.\n AMBROSE to Sisinnius.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LXXXIV.\n AMBROSE to Cynegius.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LXXXV.\n AMBROSE to Siricius.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LXXXVI.\n AMBROSE to Siricius.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LXXXVII.\n AMBROSE to Bishops Sigatinus and Delphinus.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LXXXVIII.\n AMBROSE to \u2666Atticus.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER LXXXIX.\n AMBROSE to Alypius.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XC.\n AMBROSE to Antonius.\n\n \u2b58 LETTER XCI.\n AMBROSE to his brother Candidianus.\n\n \u2b58 INDEX.\n\n\n\n\n ERRATA.\n\n\n p. 20. heading for \u2018_skekel_\u2019 read \u2018_shekel_.\u2019\n\n p. 152. l. 15. for \u2018_Arianism_\u2019 read \u2018_Ariminum_.\u2019\n\n p. 183. l. 8. for \u2018_unrestored_\u2019 read \u2018_unstained_.\u2019\n\n p. 217. At the end of \u00a7 12 add the following sentence. \u2018_A good\n mother of souls in that Jerusalem which is in heaven._\u2019\n\n ib. l. 18. for \u2018_life_\u2019 read \u2018_wife_.\u2019\n\n p. 219. note, for \u2018_a_\u2019 read \u2018_f_,\u2019 and for \u2018_cic._\u2019 read \u2018_Cic._\u2019\n\n p. 258. marg. for \u2018_distonxisti_\u2019 read \u2018_distinxisti_.\u2019\n\n p. 285. last ref. for \u2018_1 Col._\u2019 read \u2018_Col._\u2019\n\n p. 298. l. 29 after \u2018_partly full_,\u2019 add \u2018_fulness in the Gospel,\n half-fulness in the Law_,\u2019 and for \u2018_thus_\u2019 read \u2018_as_.\u2019\n\n p. 368. l. 10. for \u2018_sinless_\u2019 read \u2018_senseless_.\u2019\n\n ib. marg. for \u2018_Ezra viii_,\u2019 read \u2018_Ezra viii. 2_.\u2019\n\n pp. 370, 374 are printed 270, 274.\n\n p. 429. mag. for \u2018_S. John i. 86_,\u2019 read \u2018_S. John i. 29_.\u2019\n\n\n\n\n THE LETTERS\n OF\n S. AMBROSE\n BISHOP OF MILAN.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER OF GRATIAN TO AMBROSE.\n A.D. 379.\n\n\n IT is in answer to this that Letter 1 was written by S. Ambrose.\n It was written by the Emperor Gratian in his 20th year, four\n years after his succession to the Empire in partnership with his\n Uncle Valens and his younger brother Valentinian the 2nd, on the\n death of their father Valentinian the first, 375 A.D. Tillemont\n (Hist. des Emp. vol. v. p. 158.) calls it \u2018une lettre toute\n pleine de pi\u00e9t\u00e9 et d\u2019humilit\u00e9, et d\u2019ailleurs mesme \u00e9crite avec\n beaucoup d\u2019esprit et d\u2019elegance.\u2019\n\n\n THE EMPEROR GRATIAN TO AMBROSE BISHOP OF ALMIGHTY GOD.\n\n1. GREAT is my desire that as I remember you though far away, and in\nspirit am present with you, so I may be with you in bodily presence\nalso. Hasten then, holy Bishop[1] of God; come and teach me, who am\nalready a sincere believer; not that I am eager for controversy, or\nseek to apprehend God in words rather than with my mind, but that the\nrevelation of His Godhead may sink more deeply into an enlightened\nbreast.\n\n Sidenote: creaturam.\n\n2. For He will teach me, He Whom I deny not, but confess to be my God\nand my Lord, not cavilling at that created nature in Him, which I see\nalso in myself. That I can add nothing to Christ I acknowledge, but I\nam desirous by declaring the Son to commend myself to the Father also;\nfor in God I can fear no jealousy; nor will I suppose myself such an\neulogist as that I can exalt His divinity by my words. Weak and frail,\nI proclaim Him according to my power, not according to His Majesty.\n\n3. I beg you to bestow upon me the Treatise[2] you gave me before,\nadding to it an orthodox discussion on the Holy Spirit: prove, I\nbeseech you, both by Scripture and reason, that He is God. God keep you\nfor many years, my father, servant of the eternal God, Whom we worship,\neven Jesus Christ.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER I.\n A.D. 379.\n\n\n IN this letter S. Ambrose replies to the preceding. He\n apologises for not coming at once to Gratian, and, after\n praising his humility and faith, promises to come before long,\n and meanwhile sends him the two books (duos libellos) of the\n Treatise De Fide, which he had before composed at Gratian\u2019s\n request, begging for time to write on the subject of the Holy\n Spirit.\n\n\n AMBROSE BISHOP TO THE BLESSED EMPEROR\n AND MOST CHRISTIAN PRINCE, GRATIAN.\n\n1. IT was not lack of affection, most Christian Prince, (for I can\ngive you no title more true or more illustrious than this,) it was not,\nI repeat, lack of affection, but modesty which put a restraint upon\nthat affection, and hindered my coming to meet your Grace. But if I\ndid not meet you on your return in person, I did so in spirit, and with\nmy prayers, wherein the duties of a priest more especially lie. Meet,\ndid I say? Nay, when was I absent? I who followed you with an entire\naffection, who clung to you in thought and heart; and surely it is by\nour souls that we are present to one other most intimately. I studied\nyour route day by day; transported by my solicitude to your camp by\nnight and day, I shielded it with my watchful prayers, prayers, if not\nof prevailing merit, yet of unremitting affection.\n\n2. And in offering these for your safety we benefited ourselves. This\nI say without flattery, which you require not, and I deem unbefitting\nmy office, but with the greatest regard to the favour you have shewn\nme. Our Judge Himself, Whom you acknowledge and in Whom you devoutly\nbelieve, knoweth that my heart is refreshed by your faith, your safety,\nyour glory, and that not only my public duty but my personal affection\nleads me to offer these prayers. For you have restored to me quiet in\nthe Church, you have stopped the mouths (would that you had stopped\nthe hearts) of the traitors, and this you have done not less by the\nauthority of your faith than of your power.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xxv. 40.\n\n3. What shall I say of your late letter? the whole is written with your\nown hand, so that the very characters tell of your faith and devotion.\nThus Abraham of old, when ministering entertainment to his guests,\nslew a calf with his own hand, and had not, in this sacred service, the\nassistance of others. But he, a private man, ministered to the Lord and\nHis Angels, or to the Lord in His Angels, you, the Emperor, honour with\nyour royal condescension the lowest of Bishops. And yet the Lord is\nserved when His minister is honoured; for He hath said, _Inasmuch as ye\nhave done it unto one of the least of these, ye have done it unto Me_.\n\n4. But is it only this lofty humility which I praise in the Emperor,\nand not rather that faith, which you have rightly expressed with a mind\nconscious of your desert, or which He Whom you deny not hath taught\nyou? For who but He could have taught you not to cavil at that created\nnature in Him which you see in yourself? Nothing could have been said\nmore pious or more accurate; for to call Christ a creature savours of a\ncontemptuous cavil, not of a reverent confession. Again, what could be\nmore unworthy, than to suppose Him to be like as we ourselves are? Thus\nyou have instructed me, from whom you profess your wish to learn, for I\nnever read nor heard anything better.\n\n Sidenote: S. John xiv. 21.\n\n5. Again, how pious, how admirable that expression, that you fear\nno jealousy in God! From the Father you anticipate a recompense for\nyour love of the Son, yet you acknowledge that your praise of the Son\ncan add nothing to Him, only you wish by praising the Son to commend\nyourself to the Father also. This He alone hath taught you, Who hath\nsaid, _He that loveth Me, shall be loved of My Father_.\n\n6. You go on to say that you, weak and frail as you are, do not suppose\nyourself such an eulogist as that you can exalt His divinity by your\nwords, but that you preach Him according to your power, not according\nto His Majesty. This weakness is mighty in Christ, as the Apostle\nhas said, _When I am weak, then I am strong_. This humility excludes\nfrailty.\n\n7. Certainly I will come, and that speedily, as you command, that I may\nbe present with you and hear and read these things, as they are newly\nspoken by you. But I have sent two small volumes, for which, approved\nas they have been by your grace, I shall have no fears; I must plead\nfor time to write on the Spirit, knowing as I do what a judge I shall\nhave of my treatise.\n\n8. Meanwhile however your sentiments and belief concerning our Lord\nand Saviour, transferred from the Son, form an abundant assertion to\nexpress our faith in the everlasting Godhead of the Holy Spirit, in\nthat you cavil not at that created nature in Him which you find in\nyourself, and suppose not that God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,\ncan be jealous of His own Spirit. For that which is separated from\ncommunion with the creature is divine.\n\n9. If the Lord will, I will in this also comply with your Majesty\u2019s\nwishes; that as you have received the grace of the Holy Spirit, so also\nyou may know that He, holding so high a place in the Divine glory, has\nin His own Name a right to our veneration.\n\n10. May Almighty God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, vouchsafe, my\nLord the Emperor, chosen by Divine providence, most glorious Sovereign,\nmay He vouchsafe to keep your majesty in all happiness and prosperity\nto an advanced age, and establish your kingdom in perfect glory and in\nperpetual peace.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER II.\n A.D. 379.\n\n\n WE gather from the letter itself that Constantius, to whom it\n is addressed was a newly appointed Bishop, but of what see does\n not appear. In \u00a7 27 S. Ambrose commends to his care the see of\n Forum Cornelii, which was vacant at the time, as being in his\n neighbourhood. The grounds on which the Benedictine Editors\n fix the date seem rather vague. Its interest however is not\n historical: it is simply hortatory, urging on Constantius\n the fulfilment of the duties of his new office, and setting\n before him the chief subjects to which his preaching should\n be addressed. From S. Ambrose calling him \u2018my son\u2019 (\u00a7 27) it\n would seem that he was either one of his own clergy, or had been\n in some way under his guidance. It is interesting as shewing\n how a great Bishop of that age dwelt upon the relations of the\n Episcopate, not merely to the Clergy under him as their superior,\n but to the laity of his diocese as their chief teacher.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO CONSTANTIUS.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xxiv. 2.\n\n1. YOU have undertaken the office of a Bishop, and now, seated in the\nstern of the Church, you are steering it in the teeth of the waves.\nHold fast the rudder of faith, that you may not be shaken by the heavy\nstorms of this world. The sea indeed is vast and deep, but fear not,\n_for He hath founded it upon the seas, and prepared it upon the floods_.\nRightly then the Church of the Lord, amid all the seas of the world,\nstands immoveable, built as it were, upon the Apostolic rock; and her\nfoundation remains unshaken by all the force of the raging surge. The\nwaves lash but do not shake it; and although this world\u2019s elements\noften break against it with a mighty sound, still it offers a secure\nharbour of safety to receive the distressed.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xciii. 4.\n\n Sidenote: S. John vii. 38.\n\n Sidenote: Isa. lxvi. 12.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xlvi. 4.\n\n2. Yet although it is tossed on the sea, it rides upon the floods; and\nperhaps chiefly on those floods of which it is said, _The floods have\nlift up their voice_. For there are _rivers_, which _shall flow out of\nhis belly_, who has received to drink from Christ, and partaken of the\nSpirit of God. These rivers then, when they overflow with spiritual\ngrace, lift up their voice. There is a river too, which runs down upon\nHis saints like a torrent. And there are _the rivers of the flood_,\nwhich _make glad_ the peaceful and tranquil soul. He that receives,\nas did John the Evangelist, as did Peter and Paul, the fulness of this\nstream, lifts up his voice; and like as the Apostles loudly heralded\nforth to the farthest limits of the globe the Evangelic message, so\nhe also begins to preach the Lord Jesus. Receive to drink therefore\nof Christ, that your sound may also go forth.\n\n Sidenote: Prov. xvi. 24.\n\n3. The Divine Scripture is a sea, containing in it deep meanings,\nand an abyss of prophetic mysteries; and into this sea enter many\nrivers. There are sweet and transparent streams, cool[3] fountains too\nthere are, _springing up into life eternal_, and _pleasant words as an\nhoney-comb_. Agreeable sentences too there are, refreshing the minds\nof the hearers, if I may say so, with spiritual drink, and soothing\nthem with the sweetness of their moral precepts. Various then are the\nstreams of the sacred Scriptures. There is in them a first draught for\nyou, a second, and a last.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxlviii. 5.\n\n Sidenote: Eccles. xi. 3.\n\n Sidenote: Ib.\n\n4. Gather the water of Christ, that which _praises the Lord_. Gather\nfrom many sources that water which the prophetic _clouds pour forth_.\nHe that gathers water from the hills and draws it to himself from the\nfountains, he also drops down dew like the clouds. Fill then the bosom\nof your mind, that your ground may be moistened and watered by domestic\nsprings. He who needs and apprehends much is filled, he who hath been\nfilled waters others, and therefore Scripture saith, _If the clouds be\nfull of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth_.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xii. 11.\n\n Sidenote: Acts ix. 5.\n\n5. Let your discourses then be flowing, let them be clear and lucid;\npour the sweetness of your moral arguments into the ears of the people,\nand sooth them with the charm of your words, that so they may willingly\nfollow your guidance. But if there be any contumacy or transgression\nin the people or individuals, let your sermons be of such a character\nas shall move your audience, and prick the evil conscience, for _the\nwords of the wise are as goads_. The Lord Jesus too pricked Saul, when\nhe was a persecutor. And think how salutary the goad was which from a\npersecutor made him an Apostle, by simply saying, _It is hard for thee\nto kick against the pricks_.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. iii. 2.\n\n6. There are discourses too like milk, such as Paul fed the Corinthians\nwith; for they who cannot digest stronger food, must have their infant\nminds nourished with the juice of milk.\n\n Sidenote: Prov. xv. 7.\n\n7. Let your addresses be full of understanding. As Solomon says,\n_The[4] lips of the wise are the weapons of the understanding_, and\nin another place, _Let your lips be bound up with sense_, that is, let\nyour discourses be clear and bright, let them flash with intelligence\nlike lightning: let not your address or arguments stand in need of\nenforcement from without, but let your discourse defend itself, so to\nspeak, with its own weapons, and let no vain or unmeaning word issue\nout of your mouth. For there is a bandage to bind up the wounds of\nthe soul, and if any one cast it aside, he shews that his recovery\nis desperate. Wherefore to those who are afflicted with a grievous\nulcer administer the oil of your discourse to soften the hardness\nof their heart, apply an emollient, bind on the ligature of salutary\nprecepts; beware lest by any means you suffer men who are unstable and\nvacillating in faith or in the observance of discipline, to perish with\nminds unbraced and vigour relaxed.\n\n Sidenote: Eph. v. 3.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Thess. iv. 4.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. iii. 18.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. lxxxv. 13.\n\n8. Wherefore admonish and entreat the people of God that they abound in\ngood works, that they renounce iniquity, that they kindle not the fires\nof lust, (I say not on the Sabbath only, but never,) lest they set on\nfire their own bodies; that there be no fornication or uncleanness in\nthe servants of God, for we serve the immaculate Son of God. Let every\nman know himself, and possess his own vessel, that, having, so to say,\nbroken up the fallow ground of his body, he may expect fruit in due\nseason, and it may not _bring forth thorns and thistles_, but he too\nmay say, _Our land hath given her increase_; and on this once wild\nthicket of the passions a graft of virtue may flourish.\n\n9. Teach moreover and train the people to do what is good and that\nno one fail to perform works which shall be approved, whether he be\nseen of many, or be without witness, for the conscience is a witness\nabundantly sufficient unto itself.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. iv. 10.\n\n10. And let them avoid shameful deeds, even though they believe they\ncannot be detected. For though a man be shut up within walls, and\ncovered with darkness, without witness and without accomplice, still\nhe has a Judge of his acts, Whom nothing ever deceives, and to Whom all\nthings cry aloud. To Him the voice of _blood cried from the ground_.\nEvery man has in himself and his own conscience a strict judge, an\navenger of his wickedness and of his crimes. Cain wandered about in\nfear and trembling, suffering the punishment of his unnatural deed; so\nthat death was to him a refuge, relieving the wandering outcast from\nthat terror of death which he felt at every moment. Let no man then\neither alone or in company commit any shameful or wicked act. Though\nhe be alone, let him be abashed before himself more than before others,\nfor to himself is his greatest reverence due.\n\n Sidenote: Hab. ii. 9\u201312.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxxii. 3.\n\n Sidenote: Prov. xv. 16.\n\n Sidenote: Isa. xliii. 2.\n\n Sidenote: Prov. vi. 27.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xxii. 1.\n\n11. Nor let him covet many things, for even few things are to him as\nmany; for poverty and wealth are words implying want and sufficiency.\nHe is not rich who needs any thing, nor he poor who needs not. And\nlet no man despise a widow, circumvent a ward, defraud his neighbour.\n_Woe unto him, whose substance has been collected by guile_, and _who\nbuildeth a town_, that is his own soul, _with blood_. For this it\nis, which _is built as a city_; and this city avarice builds not but\ndestroys, lust builds not but sets on fire and consumes. Wouldest thou\nbuild this city well? _Better is little with the fear of the Lord, than\ngreat treasure without that fear._ A man\u2019s riches ought to avail to the\nransom of his soul, not to its destruction. And a treasure is a ransom,\nif a man use it well; on the other hand it is a snare, if a man know\nnot how to use it. What is a man\u2019s money to him but a provision for\nhis journey? Much is a burthen, a little is useful. We are wayfarers\nin this life; many walk, but it is needful that we walk aright, for\nthen is the Lord Jesus with us, as we read, _When thou passest through\nthe waters I will be with thee, and through the rivers, they shall not\noverflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire thou shalt not be\nburned_. But if a man take fire in his bosom, the fire of lust, the\nfire of immoderate desire he _walketh not through_, but burns this\nclothing of his soul. _A good name is rather to be chosen than great\nriches, and loving favour than silver and gold!_ Faith is sufficient\nfor itself, and in its own possession is rich enough. And to the\nwise man nothing is foreign, but what is contrary to virtue; wherever\nhe goes, he finds all things to be his own. All the world is his\npossession, for he uses it all if it were his own.\n\n Sidenote: Prov. vi. 26. (not quoted ad verbum).\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xv. 17.\n\n Sidenote: v. 19.\n\n12. Why then is our brother circumvented, why is our hired servant\ndefrauded? Little it is said, is gained by the wages of an harlot, that\nis to say, of frailty so delusive. This harlot is not an individual,\nbut something general; not one woman, but every idle lust. All perfidy,\nall deceit is this harlot; not she alone who offers her body to\ndefilement; but every soul that barters away its hope, and seeks a\ndishonourable profit, and an unworthy reward. And we are hired servants,\nin that we labour for hire, and look for the reward of this our work\nfrom our Lord and God. If any one would know how we are hired servants,\nlet him listen to the words, _How many hired servants of my father\nhave bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger_, and again,\n_Make me as one of thy hired servants_. All are hired servants, all\nare labourers; and let him, who looks for the reward of his labour,\nremember that if he defraud another of the wages due to him, he also\nwill be defrauded of his own. Such conduct offends Him Who has lent\nto us, and He will repay it hereafter in more abundant measure. He\ntherefore who could not lose what is eternal, let him not deprive\nothers of what is temporal.\n\n Sidenote: Prov. vi. 2.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xxii. 14 Sept.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xiv. 15.\n\n Sidenote: Prov. xi. 1.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xvi. 26.\n\n13. And let no one speak deceitfully with his neighbour. _There is a\nsnare in our mouths_, and not seldom is it that _a man is entangled_\nrather than cleared _by his words_. _The mouth of the evil-minded is a\ndeep pit_: great is the fall of innocence, but greater that of iniquity.\nThe simple, by giving too easy credit, quickly falls, but when fallen\nhe rises again; but the evil-speaker is so cast down by his own acts\nthat he never can recover himself and escape. Therefore let every man\nweigh his words, not with deceit and guile, for _a false balance is\nabomination to the Lord_. I do not mean that balance which weighs\nthe wares of others, (though even in lesser matters deceit often\ncosts dear,) but that balance of words is hateful to the Lord, which\nwears the mask of the weight of sober gravity, and yet practises\nthe artifices of cunning. Great is God\u2019s anger, if a man deceive his\nneighbour by flattering promises, and by treacherous subtlety oppress\nhis debtor, a craft which will not benefit himself. For what is a\nman profited, if he shall gain the riches of the whole world, and yet\ndefraud his own soul of the wages of eternal life?\n\n Sidenote: 1 Tim. v. 24.\n\n14. There is another balance which pious minds ought to consider,\nwherein the actions of individuals are weighed, and wherein for the\nmost part sin inclines the scale towards judgement, or outweighs good\ndeeds with crimes. Woe unto me, if my offences _go before_, and with\na fatal weight incline to the judgement of death! More terrible will\nit be if they _follow after_, though they all be manifest to God, even\nbefore judgement; neither can things good be secret, nor things full\nof scandal be concealed.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. vi. 10.\n\n15. How blessed is he who can extirpate avarice, the root of all evil!\nhe truly need not fear this balance. For avarice is wont to deaden\nman\u2019s senses, and pervert his judgement, so that he counts godliness\na source of gain, and money the reward of prudence. But great is the\nreward of piety, and the gain of sobriety to have enough for use. For\nwhat do superfluous riches profit in this world, when you find in them\nneither a succour in birth nor a defence against death? For without a\ncovering are we born into the world, without provision we depart hence,\nand in the grave we have no inheritance.\n\n Sidenote: Zech. v. 7.\n\n16. The deserts of each one of us are suspended in the balance, which a\nlittle weight either of good works or of degenerate conduct sways this\nway or that; if the evil preponderate, woe is me! if the good, pardon\nis at hand. For no man is free from sin; but where good preponderates,\nthe evil flies up, is overshadowed, and covered. Wherefore in the Day\nof judgement our works will either succour us, or will sink us into\nthe deep, weighed down as with a millstone. For iniquity is heavy,\nsupported as by a _talent of lead_; avarice is intolerable, and all\npride is foul dishonesty. Wherefore exhort the people of God to trust\nrather in the Lord, to abound in the riches of simplicity, wherein they\nmay walk without snare and without hindrance.\n\n17. For the sincerity of a pure speech is good, and rich in the sight\nof God, although it walk among snares; yet, because it is innocent of\nlaying wait or enthralling others, it escapes itself.\n\n Sidenote: Ecclus. xix. 23, 24. Vulg.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. v. 19.\n\n18. A great thing too it is if you can persuade them to know how to be\nabased, to know the true garb and nature of humility. Many possess the\nshew of humility, but not its power; many possess it abroad, but oppose\nit at home; colourably they pretend it, but in truth they renounce\nit, in regard of grace they deny it. For _there is one that humbleth\nhimself wickedly and his inward parts are full of deceit. And there is\none that submitteth himself exceedingly with a great lowliness._ There\nis no true humility then but such as is without colour and pretence.\nSuch humility is that which hath a pious sincerity of mind. Great is\nits virtue. Finally _by one man\u2019s disobedience death entered_, and by\nthe obedience of our Lord Jesus Christ came the redemption of all.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cv. 18.\n\n19. Holy Joseph knew how to be abased, who, when he was sold into\nbondage by his brethren, and purchased by merchants, _whose feet_ as\nthe Scripture saith, \u2018_they hurt in the stocks_,\u2019 learned the virtue\nof humility and laid aside all weakness. For when he was bought by\nthe royal servant, officer of the household, the memory of his noble\ndescent as one of the seed of Abraham did not cause him to disdain\nservile offices or scorn his mean condition. On the contrary he was\ndiligent and faithful in his master\u2019s service, knowing in his prudence\nthat it matters not in what station a man renders himself approved, but\nthat the object of good men is to merit approbation in whatever station\nthey are placed; and the point of importance is that their character\nshould dignify their station rather than their station their character.\nIn proportion as the station is low the merit becomes illustrious. And\nsuch attention did Joseph exhibit that his lord entrusted to him his\nwhole house, and committed to him all that he had.\n\n20. And so his wife cast her eyes upon Joseph, captivated by the beauty\nof his form. Now we are not in fault, if either our age or our beauty\nbecomes an object of desire to wanton eyes; let it be artless, and no\nblame attaches to beauty; if enticement be away, seemliness and grace\nof form is innocent. But this woman, fired with love, addresses the\nyouth, and at the instigation of lust, overpowered by the force of\npassion confesses her crime. But he rejects the crime, saying that to\ndefile another man\u2019s bed was consonant neither with the customs nor\nthe laws of the Hebrews, whose care it was to protect modesty, and\nto provide chaste spouses for chaste virgins, avoiding all unlawful\nintercourse, And that it were an impious deed for him, intoxicated by\nimpure passion, and regardless of his master\u2019s kindness, to inflict a\ndeadly injury on one to whom he owed obedience.\n\n21. Nor did he disdain to call the despised Egyptian his master, and\nto confess himself his servant. And when the woman courted him, urging\nhim by the fear of betrayal, or shedding passionate tears to force his\ncompliance, neither was he moved by compassion to consent to iniquity,\nnor constrained by fear, but he resisted her entreaties and yielded not\nto her threats, preferring a perilous virtue to rewards, and chastity\nto a disgraceful recompense. Again she assailed him with greater\ntemptations, yet she found him inflexible, yea for the second time\nimmoveable; yet her furious and shameless passion gave her strength,\nand she caught the youth by his robe and drew him to her couch,\noffering to embrace him, nay, she would have done so, had not Joseph\nput off his robe; he put it off, that he might not put off the robe of\nhumility, the covering of modesty.\n\n Sidenote: Eph. v. 14.\n\n22. He then knew how to be abased, for he was degraded even to the\ndungeon; and thus unjustly treated, he chose rather to bear a false\naccusation than to bring the true one. He knew how to be abased, I say,\nfor he was abased for virtue\u2019s sake. He was abased as a type of Him\nWho was to abase Himself even to death, the death of the cross, Who was\nto come to raise our life from sleep, and to teach that our human life\nis but a dream: its vicissitudes reel past us as it were, with nothing\nin them firm or stable, but like men in a trance seeing we see not,\nhearing we hear not, eating we are not filled, congratulating we joy\nnot, running we attain not. Vain are men\u2019s hopes in this world, idly\npursuing the things that are not as though they were; and so, as in a\ndream, the empty forms of things come and go, appear and vanish; they\nhover around us, and we seem to grasp yet grasp them not. But when a\nman has heard Him that saith _Awake, thou that sleepest_, and rises up\nfrom the sleep of this world, then he perceives that all these things\nare false; he is now awake, and the dream is fled, and with it is fled\nambition, and the care of wealth, and beauty of form, and the pursuit\nof honours. For these things are dreams which affect not those whose\nhearts wake, but affect only them that slumber.\n\n23. And holy Joseph certifies this my assertion, that the things of\nthis world are not perpetual or lasting, for he, noble by birth and\nwith a rich inheritance, suddenly becomes a despised servant, and (what\nenhances the bitterness of servitude) a slave bought for a price by an\nunworthy master. For to serve the free is esteemed less disgraceful,\nbut to be the servant of servants is a double slavery. Thus from\nbeing nobly born he became a slave, from having a wealthy father he\nbecame poor, from love he fell into hate, from favour into punishment.\nAgain, he is raised from the prison to the court, from the bar to the\njudgement-seat. But he is neither depressed by adversity nor elated by\nprosperity.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxix. 71.\n\n24. The frequently changing condition of holy David also testifies how\nfleeting are the vicissitudes of life. He, overlooked by his father,\nbut precious in the sight of God, exalted by his success, thrust down\nby envy, summoned to the service of the king and chosen to be his\nson-in-law, then again disguised in face and appearance, banished from\nthe kingdom, flying from death at his own son\u2019s hands, weeping for\nhis own offences, atoning for those of others, nobler in winning back\nthe affection of the heir to his throne, than if he had disgraced him.\nHaving thus tried every condition he says well, _It is good for me that\nI have been humbled_.\n\n Sidenote: Phil. ii. 6, 7.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. xv. 28.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xi. 1.\n\n25. This sentence however might well also be referred to Him Who\n_being in the form of God_, and able to bow the heavens, yet came down,\nand _taking upon Him the form of a servant_, bore our infirmities.\nHe, foreseeing that His saints would not think it a prize to claim\nthe honour that belonged to them, but would give place to their equals\nand prefer others to themselves, said, _It is good for me that I have\nbeen humbled_; it is good for me that I have subjected myself, that all\nthings _may be subject unto me, and God may be all in all_. Instil this\nhumility into the minds of all, and shew yourself an example to all\nsaying, _Be ye followers of me, even as I am also of Christ_.\n\n Sidenote: Phil. iii. 8.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke ix. 23.\n\n26. Let them learn to seek the wealth of good wishes, and to be rich\nin holiness; the beauty of wealth consists not in the possession of\nmoney-bags, but in the maintenance of the poor. It is in the sick and\nneedy that riches shine most. Wherefore let the wealthy learn to seek\nnot their own things, but the things of Jesus Christ, that Christ also\nmay seek them, and recompense to them what is their own. He spent for\nthem His blood, He pours forth on them His Spirit, He offers to them\nHis kingdom. What more shall He give, Who gave Himself, or what shall\nnot the Father give, Who delivered up His Only Son to die for our\nsakes? Admonish them therefore to serve the Lord soberly and with grace,\nto lift their eyes with all diligence to heaven, to count nothing gain\nbut what appertains to eternal life; for all this worldly gain is the\nloss of souls. He who desired _to win Christ, suffered the loss of all\nthings_, which saying, marvellous as it is, falls short of what he had\nreceived, for he speaks of external things only, whereas Christ hath\nsaid, _If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself_; let him\nlose himself so that Christ be gained. Fleeting are all things here,\nthey bring loss and not gain; that only is gain, where enjoyment is\nperpetual, where eternal rest is our reward.\n\n27. I commend to your care, my son, the Church which is at Forum\nCornelii[5]; Being nigh thereunto, visit it frequently until a Bishop\nfor it be ordained; I myself, engaged with the approaching season of\nLent, cannot go to such a distance.\n\n28. There you will find certain Illyrians imbued with the false\ndoctrines of Arius; take heed of their tares, let them not come near\nthe faithful, nor scatter their spurious seed. Let them remember what\ntheir perfidy has brought upon them[6], let them be quiet and follow\nthe true faith. Difficult indeed it is for minds imbued with the poison\nof unbelief to rid themselves of this impiety, for it cleaves to them;\nand if the fatal venom has grown inveterate in them, you must not\nreadily give them credence. For the very sinews and strength of wisdom\nlie in not giving credence too readily, especially in the matter of\nfaith, which in men is seldom perfect.\n\n29. Yet if any one, whose frailty is suspected and inclination dubious,\ndesire nevertheless to clear himself of suspicion; suffer him to\nbelieve that he has made satisfaction, show him some indulgence, for\nif a man be cut off from reconciliation his mind is estranged. Thus\nskilful physicians, when they observe what they deem to be well-known\ndiseases, do not apply a remedy, but wait their time, attending upon\nthe sick man, and administering to him such soothing appliance as\nthey can, to the intent that the disease may neither be aggravated by\nneglect or despair, nor may reject the medicine applied too early, for\nif an inexperienced physician touch it prematurely, it will never come\nto a head, just as even an apple, if shaken from the tree while yet\nunripe, soon withers.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xix. 14.\n\n30. Enjoin them too (as I have borrowed a figure from agriculture)\nto preserve inviolate the laws of common boundary, and to guard those\npaternal landmarks which the law protects. The affection of a neighbour\noften exceeds the love of a brother, for the one is often afar off,\nthe other nigh at hand; the witness of your whole life, and judge of\nyour conduct. Allow his cattle to stray at large over the neighbouring\nbounds, and to rest securely on the green herbage.\n\n31. Let the master too temper with moderation his lawful rule over his\nservants, seeing that in soul they are brethren. For he is called the\nfather of the family, that he may govern them as sons; for he himself\nalso is God\u2019s servant, and calls the Lord of heaven, the Source of all\npower, his Father.\n\nFarewell; continue to love me, as I do you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER III.\n A.D. 380.\n\n\n THIS graceful little letter, written in a tone of playful\n affectionateness, is addressed to Felix, who was, as the next\n letter shews, Bishop of Comum. It tells its own story.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO FELIX.\n\n1. I HAVE received your present of mushrooms; they were of an\nextraordinary size, so large as to excite admiration. I did not like\nto keep them hidden, as the saying is, in my bosom, but preferred\nshewing them to others also. Therefore I gave part to my friends, part\nI reserved for myself.\n\n2. An agreeable present, but not of weight enough to repress\nmy just complaint against you for never visiting one who has so\nlong loved you. And take heed lest you hereafter have to bear yet\nheavier fungus-growths[7] of sorrow; for such things have a double\nsignification; sent as gifts they are agreeable, in the body or the\nmind they are irksome. Prevail with yourself to cause me less sorrow\nby your absence, for my longing for you is the cause of my distress:\nmake yourself, if you can, less necessary to me.\n\n3. I have made my statement, proved my case. I am forced to assail\nyou with that expression; no ordinary weapon, but one which will hit\nhome[8]. You certainly shewed alarm; but see now that I am not so much\ngrieved but that I can be playful about it. Hereafter however you must\nnot excuse yourself, though your present excuse is to be a profitable\none to me. Yet it were an ill judgment of you, and of me no better, to\nsuppose that your absence is to be compensated by presents, or that I\nam to be bought off by them. Farewell: love me, as I do you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER IV.\n A.D. 380.\n\n\n FELIX having replied to the preceding letter, S. Ambrose\n responds in the same affectionate style, rejoicing in the\n prospect of their meeting, asking meanwhile the prayers of Felix,\n and promising his own. He ends by praising Felix for \u2018fighting\n the good fight of faith,\u2019 and assures him of help and blessing.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO FELIX, HEALTH.\n\n1. ALTHOUGH not in a good state of bodily health, I derived no little\nalleviation from the perusal of words from a heart so congenial to my\nown, being refreshed by your discourse as by some soothing potion[9];\nand also by your announcement that the day memorable for us both\nwas at hand, that whereon you took on yourself the office of the\nhigh-priesthood of which I was just then speaking with my brother\nBassianus[10]. For having begun to speak of the dedication of the\nChurch which he had built in the name of the Apostles, we were led to\nthe subject, for he said that he earnestly desired the company of your\nHoliness.\n\n2. Wherefore I introduced the mention of your birthday[11], as being on\nthe first of November, and that it was (if I mistook not) close at hand,\nand to be celebrated on the following day, so that after that it would\nyield you no excuse. So I made a promise on your behalf; for you too\nhave liberty to do the same as regards me; I made a promise to him, and\nexacted one for myself: for I feel assured you will be present, because\nyou ought to be. It will not therefore be so much my promise that will\nbind you, as your own purpose, having resolved to do that which you\nought. You see then it was rather my knowledge of you, than any rash\nconfidence which induced me to give this pledge to my brother. Come\nthen, lest you put two bishops to shame; yourself for not coming, me\nfor having promised unadvisedly.\n\n3. But we will remember your birthday in our prayers, and do you not\nforget us in yours. Our spirit shall accompany you; do you also, when\nyou enter the second Tabernacle, which is called the Holy of Holies,\ndo as we do, and carry us also in with you.\n\nWhen in spirit you burn incense on the golden censer, forget us not;\nfor it is the one which is in the second Tabernacle, and from which\nyour prayer, full of wisdom, is directed to heaven as incense.\n\n Sidenote: Heb. ix. 4.\n\n Sidenote: Col. i. 15.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xxv. 22.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. lxxviii. 2.\n\n4. There is the _Ark of the Covenant overlaid round about with gold_;\nthat is, the doctrine of Christ, the doctrine of the Wisdom of God.\nThere is _the golden pot that had manna_, the depository, namely, of\nspiritual nutriment, and the store-place of divine knowledge. There\nis _the rod of Aaron_, the symbol of priestly grace. Before, it had\nwithered, but it _budded_ again in Christ. There are _the Cherubim_\nover the tables of the Covenant, that is, the knowledge of the sacred\nLessons. There is the _Mercy-seat_, over which on high is God the Word,\n_the Image of the invisible God_, Who says to thee, _I will commune\nwith thee from above the Mercy-seat, between the two Cherubim_, for He\nspeaks thus with us, that we may understand His saying, or because He\nspeaks things not earthly but spiritual, as He saith, _I will open My\nmouth in a parable_. For where Christ is, there are all things, there\nis His doctrine, there the remission of sins, there grace, there the\nseparation of the living and the dead.\n\n Sidenote: Numb. xvi. 48.\n\n5. Aaron indeed once stood in the midst, interposing himself to prevent\ndeath passing over to the hosts of the living from the carcases of the\ndead. But He, as the Word, ever stands within each of us, although we\nsee Him not, and separates the faculties of our reason from the carcase\nof our deadly passions and pestilential thoughts. He standeth as He Who\ncame into the world to blunt the sting of death, to stop its devouring\njaws, to give to the living an eternity of grace, to the dead a\nresurrection.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xv. 8.\n\n6. In His service you are warring a good warfare, His deposit you keep,\nHis money you lend out at interest, as it is written, _Thou shalt lend\nunto many nations_; the good interest of spiritual grace, which the\nLord when He comes will exact with usury; and when He finds that you\nhave dispensed it well, He will give you for few things, many things.\nThen shall I reap most delightful fruit, in that my judgment of you\nis approved; the ordination which you received by the imposition of\nmy hands and the benediction in the Name of the Lord Jesus will not be\nblamed. Work therefore a good work, that in that day you may receive\na reward, and we may rest together, I in you and you in me.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke x. 2.\n\n7. _Plenteous is the harvest_ of Christ, _but the labourers few_, and\nhelpers are difficult to be found. So it was of old, but the Lord is\npowerful, Who will _send labourers into His harvest_. Without doubt\namong the ranks of the people of Comum[12] very many have already begun\nto believe by your ministry, and through your teaching have received\nthe word of God. But He Who gave those who believe will also give\nthem that will help: whereby all occasion will be removed for excusing\nyourself for your postponed visit, and thus also the grace of your\npresence will be more frequently shed around me.\n\nFarewell: continue to love us, as you do.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER V.\n\n AMBROSE TO SYAGRIUS.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER VI.\n\n AMBROSE TO SYAGRIUS.\n\n\n[To complete the character of S. Ambrose as shewn in his Letters, these\nwill be printed at the end of the volume, but, on account of their\nsubject, in the original Latin.]\n\n\n\n\n LETTER VII.\n 381 A.D.\n\n\n THE Justus to whom this letter and the following are addressed\n is in all probability S. Justus Bishop of Lyons, who is\n mentioned below as one of the Bishops who took part in the\n Council of Aquileia: that he was a Bishop is implied by\n S. Ambrose addressing him as \u2018brother.\u2019 The letter contains\n a mystical interpretation of the half-shekel of redemption,\n (Exodus xxx. 12. sqq.) and of the didrachma and stater of our\n Lord\u2019s miracle of the piece of money in the fish\u2019s mouth, and\n of the penny of the tribute money. The date given in the margin\n depends on the truth of the hypothesis that Justus is the Bishop\n of Lyons. Of him it is recorded that he did not return to his\n See after the Council of Aquileia, but became a monk in the\n deserts of Egypt. See Newman\u2019s Fleury vol. 1, p. 25.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO JUSTUS, HEALTH.\n\n\u26661. YOUR question, my brother, as to the meaning of that shekel, half\nof which the Hebrew is commanded to offer for the redemption of the\nsoul, is an excellent admonition to us to direct our intercourse by\nletter and our converse while at a distance to the interpretation\nof the heavenly oracles. For what can more unite us than to converse\nconcerning the things of God?\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xv. 8, 9.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. vi. 22.\n\n2. Now the half of the shekel is a _piece of silver_, and the\nredemption of the soul is faith; faith therefore is that _piece of\nsilver_ which the _woman_ in the Gospel, as we read, having _lost,\ndiligently seeks for, lighting a candle and sweeping the house; and\nwhen she finds it, she calls together her friends and neighbours_,\nbidding them _rejoice with her for that she has found the piece of\nsilver which she had lost_. For great is the loss of the soul, if a man\nlose his faith, or that grace which by means of faith he had obtained\nto himself. Do thou therefore _light thy candle. Thy light is thine\neye_; that is, the inward eye of the mind. Do thou light this candle,\nwhich is fed by spiritual oil, and _gives light to thy whole house_.\nSeek that _piece of silver_, the redemption of thy soul, which he that\nloses is troubled, he that finds rejoices.\n\n Sidenote: Prov. xiii. 8.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xxx. 12\u201315.\n\n3. Mercy too is the redemption of the soul; for the redemption of\na man\u2019s soul are his riches, by which he shews mercy, and expending\nthem, relieves the poor. Wherefore faith, grace, and mercy, are the\nredemption of the soul, which is purchased by a piece of silver, that\nis, by the full price of a larger sum. For thus it is written in the\nwords of the Lord to Moses: _When thou takest the sum of the children\nof Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom\nfor his soul unto the Lord, when thou numberest them; that there be no\nplague among them when thou numberest them. This they shall give, every\none that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the\nshekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel\nshall be the offering of the Lord. Every one that passeth among them\nthat are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an\noffering unto the Lord. The rich shall not give more, and the poor\nshall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering\nunto the Lord to make an atonement for your souls. And thou shalt take\nthe atonement money of the children of Israel and thou shalt appoint\nit for the service of the Tabernacle of the congregation, that it may\nbe a memorial unto the children of Israel before the Lord, to make an\natonement for your souls._\n\n4. Did then both the rich man who offered more, and the poor who had\nless, fail so much, if this half shekel consisted in money and had not\nhidden excellencies? Whence we are to understand that this half shekel\nis not material but spiritual, having to be paid by all and rated\nequally.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xvi. 17, 18.\n\n5. Again as to heavenly food (for the food and delight of heavenly\nnutriment is wisdom, whereon they feed in Paradise, the unfailing food\nof the soul, called in the Divine Word manna) the distribution of this\nwas, we read, so made to each soul as to be equally divided. For they\nwho gathered most and they who gathered least, all gathered according\nto the direction of Moses; and they made an omer the measure, and\nit did not exceed to him who gathered much nor fall short to him who\ngathered little. For each man, according to the number of souls who\nwere with him in the tent, gathered for each an omer, that is, being\ninterpreted, a measure of wine.\n\n Sidenote: Eccles. vii. 16.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. xii. 7\u20139.\n\n6. Now this is the measure of wisdom, which if it be above measure is\nhurtful, as it is written, _Make not thyself over-wise_. And Paul has\ntaught that the division of grace is according to measure, saying, _The\nmanifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal,\nto one is given the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge_,\n[to another the faith of wisdom by the spirit of knowledge][13] _by the\nsame Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit_, and that this grace\nis given according to the will of the Spirit. In that He divides, He\nshews His equity, in that He divides as He will, His power. Or He may\nwill to bestow that upon each which He knows will be profitable.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. civ. 15.\n\n Sidenote: Prov. ix. 2.\n\n7. An omer then is a measure, and a measure of wine, _which maketh glad\nthe heart of man_. For what is the joy of the heart but the draughts\nof wisdom? This is that _wine_ which _Wisdom_ hath _mingled_ in a cup,\nand given us to drink, that we may receive to ourselves temperance and\nprudence, that wine which should be so equally transfused through all\nthe senses and thoughts and all the emotions which are within this our\nhouse, that we may know how to abound to all and to be wanting to none.\n\n8. More fully also it may be understood of the Blood of Christ, to\nWhose grace nothing can be added nor taken away. Whether you take\nlittle or drink much, to all the measure of Redemption is perfect.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xii. 4.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. x. 30.\n\n9. The Passover too of the Lord, that is, the lamb, the fathers are\nordered so to eat, that it might be according to the number of their\nsouls, neither more nor less; that more should not be given to some,\nand less to others, but that it should be according to the number of\ntheir souls, lest the stronger should take more and the weaker less.\nFor the grace, the gift, the redemption is distributed equally to all.\nAnd there ought not to be too many, lest any go away defrauded of his\nhope and redemption. Now there are too many, when any are beyond the\nnumber, for the saints are all _numbered, and the hairs of their heads_;\nfor _the Lord knoweth them that are His_. Neither can there be too few,\nlest any be too weak to receive the greatness of the grace.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. vi. 16.\n\n10. Wherefore He hath commanded all to bring an equal faith and\ndevotion to the Pasch of the Lord, that is, to the Passover. For it\nis the Pasch, when the mind lays down its senseless passion, and puts\non good compassion, that it may suffer together with Christ, and take\nHis Passover into itself, so as that He may _dwell in_ it, _and walk\nin_ it, _and may_ become _its God_. Thus grace is equal in all, but\nvirtue is diverse in each. Let each then take that portion which fits\nhis strength, that neither the stronger may lack nor the weaker be\nburthened.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xx. 10.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Tim. iv. 8.\n\n11. This you have in the Gospel; for the same wages are paid to all the\nlabourers in the vineyard; but few attain to the prize, to the reward;\nfew say, _There is laid up for me a crown of righteousness_. For the\ngift of bounty and of grace is one thing; another the wages of virtue,\nthe recompense of labour.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xvii. 27.\n\n Sidenote: S. John i. 29.\n\n Sidenote: Phil. ii. 7.\n\n12. Therefore a shekel is our ransom, nay half a shekel. He has\nredeemed us from death, redeemed from slavery, that we may not be\nsubject to the world, which we have renounced. Whence in the Gospel our\nLord bids Peter _go to the sea, and cast an hook_, and _take the stater\nwhich he will find in the fish\u2019s mouth_, and _give it to them_ who\nrequired of the Lord and of himself a shekel. This then is that shekel\nwhich was exacted by the Law, nevertheless it was not due from the\nKing\u2019s Son, but from strangers. For why should Christ ransom Himself\nfrom this world, when He came _to take away the sin of the world_? Why\nshould He redeem Himself from sin, Who came down that He might remit\nto all their sins? Why should He redeem Himself from servitude, Who\n_emptied Himself_ that He might give liberty to all? Why should He\nredeem Himself from death, Who took flesh, that by His Death He might\nobtain for all a resurrection?\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. iii. 15.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. x. 4.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xii. 6.\n\n13. Truly the Redeemer of all had no need of a redemption; but as He\nreceived circumcision that He might fulfil the Law, and came to be\nbaptized that He _might fulfil righteousness_, so also did He not\nrefuse to pay those who required of Him the shekel, but straightway\ncommanded the stater to be given as the tribute for Himself and Peter.\nFor He chose rather to give beyond the Law than to deny the Law\u2019s due.\nAt the same time He shews that the Jews acted contrary to the Law, in\nexacting a shekel from one person, whereas Moses had ordained that half\na shekel should be required. On this account He commanded as it were\nsingle pieces to be paid both for Himself and for Peter in the stater.\nGood is the tribute of Christ, which is paid by the _stater_, for\njustice is the _balance_[14], and justice is above the Law. Again,\n_Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that\nbelieveth_. This stater is found in the fish\u2019s mouth, of that fish\nwhich the fishers of men take, of that fish who weighs his words that\nthey may be tried by the fire before they are uttered.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xxi. 5.\n\n14. This stater the Jews knew not, giving Him up to the betrayer. But\nthe Law exacts half a shekel for the redemption of a soul, and devotes\nit to God, for she cannot claim the whole. For in the Jew scarcely a\nportion of devotion could be found. But he who is _free indeed_, a true\nHebrew, belongs wholly to God, all that he has savours of liberty. He\nhas nothing in common with him who refuses liberty, saying, _I love my\nmaster, my wife, and my children, I will not go out free!_ Which refers\nnot only to his lord, but to the weakness of that man who shall have\nsubjected himself to the world, in that he loves the world as his own\nsoul, that is, his intelligence, the author of his will. Nor does it\nrefer only to _his wife_, but also to that delight which cares for\nhousehold not eternal things. This man\u2019s ear therefore his lord nails\nto his door or threshold, that he may remember these words whereby he\nchose servitude.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xix. 21.\n\n15. This man therefore, O Christian, imitate not; for thou art not\ncommanded to offer half a shekel, but, _if thou wouldest be perfect_,\nto _sell all thou hast, and give to the poor_. Thou art not to reserve\na part of thy service for the world, but to deny thyself altogether,\nand to _take up thy_ Lord\u2019s _cross and follow Him_.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xxii. 18, 19.\n\n16. Now we have learned that the half-shekel was required by the Law,\nbecause the other half was reserved for the generation of this world,\nthat is, for secular life, and domestic use, and for posterity, to whom\nit was necessary that a portion out of the original inheritance should\nbe transmitted. Wherefore our Lord answered the Pharisees, when they\ntempted Him by the crafty question whether He would advise that tribute\nshould be paid to C\u00e6sar, _Why tempt ye Me, ye hypocrites, shew Me the\ntribute money_. And they brought Him a penny on which was C\u00e6sar\u2019s image.\nHe saith to them, _Render unto C\u00e6sar the things which are C\u00e6sar\u2019s,\nand unto God the things that are God\u2019s_; shewing that they who thought\nthemselves perfect were imperfect in that they paid to C\u00e6sar before\nGod. They with whom the world was their first care would first pay that\nwhich appertained to the world; wherefore He says _Render_, that is,\nrender ye, _the things which are C\u00e6sar\u2019s_\u2015\u2015ye, among whom the image and\nlikeness of C\u00e6sar is found.\n\n Sidenote: Dan. iii. 18. and i. 8.\n\n Sidenote: S. John xiv. 30.\n\n Sidenote: S.John xvii. 11, 14, 18.\n\n17. Wherefore those Hebrew youths, Ananias, Azarias, Misael, and that\nwiser Daniel, who would not worship the image of the king, who received\nit not, nor any thing from the king\u2019s table, were not bound to pay\ntribute. For they possessed nothing that was under the power of an\nearthly king. And so their followers, they whose portion is God, pay\nno tribute. And so the Lord says, _Render_, that is, Do ye render, who\nhave brought forth the image of C\u00e6sar, with whom it is found, but I owe\nnothing to C\u00e6sar, because I have nothing in this world. _The prince of\nthis world cometh, and hath nothing in Me._ Peter owes nothing, nor the\nApostles, because _they are not of this world_ though _they are in this\nworld. I have sent them into this world_, but now _they are not of this\nworld_, because with Me they are above the world.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xvii. 27.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. iv. 4.\n\n18. So that which belongs to the Divine Law, not to C\u00e6sar, is that\nwhich is commanded to be paid. Yet even this He that was perfect, that\nis, the preacher of the Gospel, no longer owed, for He had preached\nmore. The Son of God owed it not, nor did Peter who was by grace an\nadopted son of the Father. _Notwithstanding_, says He, _lest we should\noffend them, go thou to the sea, and cast a hook, and take up the fish\nthat first cometh up, and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt\nfind a piece of money, that take, and give unto them for Me and thee_.\nO great mystery! He gives that half-shekel which the Law commanded,\nHe refuses not what is of the Law, for He was _made of a woman, made\nunder the Law_. \u2018Made,\u2019 I say, as regards His incarnation; \u2018of a woman,\u2019\nas regards the sex; woman is the sex, virgin in the species; the sex\nrelates to her nature, the virgin to her integrity. For wherein He\ncame _under the Law_, therein He was _made of a woman_, that is, in\nthe body. On this account He commands a shekel to be paid for Him and\nPeter, for both were born _under the Law_. He commands it to be paid\nthen according to the Law, that _He might redeem those who are under\nthe Law_.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xxx. 14.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. x. 10.\n\n19. And yet He commands a stater to be paid that they might have their\nmouths closed, and so not commit sin by excess of talking. And He bids\nthat to be given which was found in the mouth of the fish, that they\nmight acknowledge the Word. For why was it that they who exacted what\nwas of the Law, knew not what was the Law? For they ought not to have\nbeen ignorant of the Word of God; for it is written, _The Word is very\nnigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart_. He therefore paid the\nwhole shekel to God, who reserved no part for the world. For it is to\nGod that righteousness, which is the moderation of the mind, is paid;\nto God is paid the keeping of the tongue, which is the moderation in\nspeech. _For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with\nthe mouth confession is made unto salvation._\n\n20. The half-shekel may also be understood of the Old Testament, the\nwhole shekel for the price of both Testaments, for according to the Law\nevery one was redeemed by the Law, but he who is redeemed according to\nthe Gospel, pays the half-shekel according to the Law, he is redeemed\nby the Blood of Christ according to grace, having a double redemption\nboth of devotion and of Blood. For not even faith alone is sufficient\nfor perfection, unless the redeemed also obtain the grace of Baptism,\nand receive the Blood of Christ. Good then is that half-shekel which\nis paid to God.\n\n Sidenote: Rev. i. 8.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. vi. 4.\n\n21. The half-shekel is not a penny[15], but is different. Again, in\nthe penny is the image of C\u00e6sar, in the half-shekel the image of God,\nfor it is of one God, and formed after God Himself. Beginning from One\nit is infinitely diffused, and again, from the Infinite all things come\nback to one, as their end, for God is both the beginning and the end\nof all things. Wherefore arithmeticians have not called \u2018one\u2019 a number,\nbut an element of number. And this we have said because it is written,\n_I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending_; and, _Hear, O\nIsrael: the Lord our God is One Lord_.\n\n22. Be thou then, after the likeness of God, one and the same; not\nsober to-day, drunken to-morrow; to-day pacific, to-morrow quarrelsome;\nto-day frugal, to-morrow immoderate; for each person is changed by\ndiversity of manners and becomes another man, in whom that which he\nwas is not recognized, while he begins to be that which he was not,\ndegenerate from himself. It is a grievous thing to be changed for the\nworse. Be then as the image on the half-shekel, immutable, keeping\ndaily the same deportment. Seeing the half-shekel, observe the image,\nthat is, seeing the Law, observe in the Law Christ the Image of God;\nfor He _is the Image of the invisible_ and incorruptible _God_; let Him\nbe displayed before thee as in the mirror of the Law. Confess Him in\nthe Law, that thou mayest know Him again in the Gospel. If thou hast\nknown Him in His precepts, acknowledge Him in works. Farewell, and if\nyou do not think that this shekel has been committed to me unprofitably,\ndoubt not to commit to me a second time whatever you may have to\ncommunicate.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER VIII.\n A.D. 381.\n\n\n S. AMBROSE in this letter answers the objections raised against\n the Scriptures, that they were not written according to the\n rules of art, and illustrates his argument with various passages.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO JUSTUS.\n\n Sidenote: Acts ii. 4.\n\n1. VERY many deny that the Sacred writers wrote according to the\nrules of art. Nor do we contend for the contrary; for they wrote not\naccording to art, but according to grace, which is above all art; for\nthey wrote that which the Spirit gave them to speak. And yet they who\nwrote on art made use of their writings from which to frame their art,\nand to compose its comments and rules.\n\n Sidenote: \u03b1\u1f34\u03c4\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd, \u1f55\u03bb\u03b7, \u1f00\u03c0\u03bf\u03c4\u03ad\u03bb\u03b5\u03c3\u03bc\u03b1. Gen. xxii. 7.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 8.\n\n2. Again, in art there are principally required, a cause, a subject,\nand an end. When then we read that holy Isaac said to his father,\n_Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt\noffering_, which of these is wanting? For he who asks, doubts, he\nwho answers the query pronounces and solves the doubt. _Behold the\nfire_, that is the cause, _and the wood_, that is \u1f55\u03bb\u03b7, which in Latin\nis \u2018materia,\u2019 what third thing remains but the end, which the son\nasked for, saying, _Where is the lamb for a burnt-offering_, and the\nfather replied, _My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt\noffering_?\n\n Sidenote: Ps. iv. 5.\n\n3. Let us discuss for a little while the mystery. _God shewed a ram\nhanging by his horns._ Now the ram is the Word, full of tranquillity,\nmoderation, and patience; whereby is shewn that Wisdom is a good\nsacrifice, and that He was well skilled in the mode of meritorious\npropitiation. Wherefore the Prophet also says, _Offer the sacrifice of\nrighteousness_. And so it is a sacrifice both of righteousness and of\nwisdom.\n\n4. Here then is a mind fervent and glowing as fire which worketh; here\nis the thing to be understood, that is the subject-matter, where is\nthe third, the understanding? Behold the colour, where is the seeing?\nbehold the object of sense, where is the sense itself? For matter is\nnot seen by all, and therefore God gives the gift of understanding, and\nfeeling, and seeing.\n\n5. The Word of God then is the end or completion; that is, the\ndetermination and completion of the discussion, which is communicated\nto the more prudent, and confirms things doubtful. Well do even they\nwho believed not in the Coming of Christ refute themselves, so that\nthey confess what they think to deny. For they say that the ram is the\nWord of God, and yet believe not the mystery of the Passion, whereas in\nthat mystery is the Word of God, in Whom the Sacrifice was fulfilled.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xvi. 15, 16.\n\n6. Wherefore let us first kindle within us the fire of the mind, that\nit may work within us. Let us seek for the subject-matter, what it is\nthat nourishes the mind, as if we were looking for it in darkness. For\nneither did the Fathers know what manna was: they found manna, it is\nsaid, declaring it to be the Discourse and word of God, from Whom all\ninstruction as from a perennial fountain flows and is derived.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xvi. 4.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 15.\n\n7. This is that heavenly food. And it is signified by the Person of the\nSpeaker, _Behold I will rain bread from heaven for you_. The \u2018cause\u2019\nthen we have in the operation of God, Who waters our minds with the dew\nof wisdom; the \u2018subject-matter\u2019 we have in that the minds which see and\ntaste it are delighted, and inquire whence comes this which is brighter\nthan light, sweeter than honey. They have their answer from the text\nof Scripture: _This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat_;\nand this is the Word of God, Which God appointed and ordained, whereby\nthe minds of the prudent are fed and comforted, which is white and\nsweet, enlightening the minds of the hearers with the splendour of\ntruth, and soothing them with the sweetness of virtue.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. iii. 11\u201314.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. i. 19.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. iv. 1.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 10.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 12.\n\n8. The Prophet had learned in himself what was the \u2018cause\u2019 of the thing\nto be completed. For when he was sent to the king of Egypt to deliver\nthe people of God, he says, _Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh_,\nand deliver my people from the king\u2019s power? the Lord answers, _I will\nbe with thee_. Moses asked again, _What shall I say unto them, if they\nask, Who is the Lord that hath sent thee, and what is His Name?_ The\nLord said, _I am that I am, thou shalt say_, I AM _hath sent me unto\nyou_. This is the true Name of God\u2015\u2015Eternity. Wherefore the Apostle\nalso says of Christ, _For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, Who was\npreached among you by us, by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not Yea\nand Nay, but in Him was Yea_. Moses answered, _But behold they will not\nbelieve me, nor hearken unto my voice, for they will say, The Lord hath\nnot appeared unto thee_. Then He gave him power to work miracles, that\nit might be believed that he was sent by God. A third time Moses says,\n_I am not eloquent, but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue; how\nshall Pharaoh hear me?_ the Lord answers, _Go, and I will be with thy\nmouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say_.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. iii. 12.\n\n9. These intermingled questions and answers contain the seeds and\nscience of wisdom. The \u2018end\u2019 or \u2018completion\u2019 too is good, for He says,\n_I will be with thee_! And although He had given him power to work\nmiracles, yet as he was still doubtful, that we might know that signs\nare for them that believe not, but the promise for believers, the\nweakness of his deserts or of his purpose receives this answer, _I will\nbe with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say_! Thus a perfect\n\u2018end\u2019 is preserved.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. vii. 7.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. x. 19, 20.\n\n10. This you have also in the Gospel, _Ask, and it shall be given\nyou, seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto\nyou_. Ask from the \u2018cause,\u2019 that is, from the Author. You have as your\nsubject-matter things spiritual which cause you to seek; _knock, and_\nGod the Word _opens to you_. That which asks is the mind, which works\nlike fire; it is in things spiritual that the glow of the mind works,\nas fire on wood; God the Word opens unto you, this is the \u2018end.\u2019 We\nhave also in another part of the Gospel these words of our Lord, _But\nwhen they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak,\nfor it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it\nis not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in\nyou_.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xxvii. 20.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xxxi. 33.\n\n11. These words too of Isaac you have in Genesis, _How is it that thou\nhast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the Lord thy God\nbrought it to me._ The Lord is the end. He who seeks in the Lord finds.\nAnd thus Laban who sought not in the Lord, for he sought idols, found\nnot.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xxvii. 4.\n\n12. And he has well observed the rules[16] and distinctions as they\nare called. The first is _Go and take me some venison, that I may\neat_. He excites and inflames his mind with the fire, as it were, of\nhis exhortation, that he may labour and seek. The second is, _How is it\nthat thou hast found it so quickly?_ This is in the form of a question;\nthe third is an answer, _Because the Lord thy God brought it to me_.\nThe \u2018end\u2019 is God, Who concludes and perfects all things, of Whom we are\nnot to doubt.\n\n13. And there is a \u2018distinction\u2019 too as to spontaneous things; If you\nsow not, you shall not reap[17]; for although culture calls forth seeds,\nyet nature by a certain spontaneous impulse, worketh in them that they\nspring up.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. iii. 6, 7.\n\n14. Wherefore the Apostle says, _I have planted, Apollos watered, but\nGod gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing,\nneither he that watereth, but God That giveth the increase!_ God gives\nto you in the spirit, and the Lord sows in your heart. Take care then\nthat He breathe life and sow in you, that you may reap; for if you sow\nnot, neither shall you reap. This is a sort of admonition to you to sow.\nIf you sow not you shall not reap, is a proverb. The end agrees with\nthe beginning; the seed is the beginning, the harvest the end.\n\n15. Learn, he says, of me; nature aids the learner, and God is the\nAuthor of nature. It is of God too that we learn well, for it is\na natural gift to learn well; the hard of heart learn not. Nature,\nwhich is preserved by the Divine bounty, gives the increase. The final\nconsummation God giveth, that is, the most excellent and Divine Nature\nand Essence of the Trinity.\n\nFarewell: love us, as you do, for we love you.\n\n\n\n\n COUNCIL OF AQUILEIA\n A.D. 381.\n\n THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE COUNCIL OF AQUILEIA AGAINST\n THE HERETICS PALLADIUS AND SECUNDIANUS.\n\n\n THE official Record of the Proceedings of this Council seems\n to be inserted among S. Ambrose\u2019s Letters, partly because\n S. Ambrose took the leading part in them, and partly because\n they form the subject of the next series of letters, directly\n of the four first, and more indirectly of the two next, all of\n which, though written in the name of the Bishops of Italy, we\n may presume to have been S. Ambrose\u2019s composition. The Council\n was held in the year 381 A.D., the same year in which the\n Second General Council was held at Constantinople. It will be\n remembered that that Council, being summoned by Theodosius, then\n Emperor of the East, consisted of Eastern Bishops only. At this\n time Arianism, though rife in the East, seems not to have been\n prevalent in the West. S. Ambrose says, (Letter xi. 1.) \u2018as\n regards the West, two individuals only have been found to dare\n to oppose the Council with profane and impious words, men who\n had previously disturbed a mere corner of Dacia Ripensis.\u2019 These\n two men were Palladius and Secundianus. Palladius appears to\n have applied to Gratian to call a General Council, on the plea\n that he was falsely accused of Arianism, in 379 A.D. Gratian\n granted his request, but afterwards, as we learn from his letter\n read at the Council, on the representation of S. Ambrose that\n such a question as the soundness or heresy of two Bishops might\n be settled by a Council of the Bishops of the Diocese of Italy,\n he so far altered his original order as to summon only these,\n giving permission for others to attend if they pleased. This\n reconsideration, and perhaps also the troubles that prevailed in\n the Empire at the time, (Tillemont Vie de S. Ambr. ch. xxiii.)\n caused such delay that it was not till towards the end of\n 381 A.D. that the Council assembled under the presidency of S.\n Valerian Bishop of Aquileia. The Bishops of Italy, with deputies\n from Gaul, Africa, and Illyria, to the number of thirty two or\n thirty three (see note[37]) met at Aquileia at the beginning\n of September. The discussion recorded in the \u2018Gesta\u2019 took place\n probably on Septr. 3rd (see note[18]) but S. Ambrose\u2019s words in\n \u00a7 2 imply that previous discussions had been held of which no\n Record had been taken, (diu citra acta tractavimus.)\n\n The proceedings commence by the reading of the Emperor\u2019s Mandate.\n Palladius then raises objections on the ground of the absence\n of the Bishops from the East, and charges S. Ambrose with having\n tricked the Emperor into summoning only a small Council, and\n declines to take part in a Council which is not General. After\n some discussion on this point S. Ambrose proposes that Arius\u2019\n letter from Nicomedia to S. Alexander should be read in detail,\n and Palladius called upon to condemn each heretical proposition.\n Palladius argues upon each, but eventually returns to his\n refusal to answer except in a General Council. In the end all\n the Bishops pronounce their decisions one by one, all agreeing\n that Palladius\u2019 doctrine was heretical and that he should be\n deposed. Secundianus is then more briefly dealt with in the same\n way. It would seem that the Record is incomplete, as the number\n of Bishops who give their decision is only 25, and the account\n of Secundianus\u2019 case ends abruptly without recording any\n decision. It may be from the same cause that the Record itself\n is in one or two places seemingly defective, and the sense\n confused.\n\n Secundianus is not mentioned again in History. Of Palladius\n it is said by Vigilius, Bishop of Thapsus in Africa, who lived\n in the latter part of the 5th Century, that after S. Ambrose\u2019s\n death he wrote a reply to his writings against Arianism, which\n Vigilius himself answered (Tillemont Vie de S. Ambr. xxvi.).\n\n The genuineness of the Gesta has been disputed by P\u00e8re Chifflet,\n who maintained that they were a forgery of the Vigilius\n mentioned above: his arguments however are satisfactorily\n refuted by Tillemont in an elaborate note. (Vol. x. p. 738.\n note 15. on S. Ambr. Life.)\n\n\n1. IN the consulship of the illustrious SYAGRIUS and EUCHERIUS, on the\n3rd day of September[18], the under-mentioned Bishops[19], sitting in\ncouncil in the church at Aquileia, namely, VALERIAN, Bishop of Aquileia,\nAMBROSE, EUSEBIUS, LIMENIUS, ANEMIUS, SABINUS, ABUNDANTIUS, ARTEMIUS,\nCONSTANTIUS, JUSTUS, PHILASTER, CONSTANTIUS, THEODORUS, ALMACHIUS,\nDOMNINUS, AMANTIUS, MAXIMUS, FELIX, BASSIANUS, NUMIDIUS, JANUARIUS,\nPROCULUS, HELIODORUS, JOVINUS, FELIX, EXUPERANTIUS, DIOGENES, MAXIMUS,\nMACEDONIUS, CASSIANUS, MARCELLUS, and EUSTATHIUS, Bishops:\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said;\n\n2. \u2018We have long been dealing with the matter without any Records[20],\nand now, since our ears are assailed with such sacrilegious words on\nthe part of Palladius and Secundianus, that one can scarce believe that\nthey could have so openly blasphemed, and that they may not attempt\nhereafter by any subtlety to deny their own words, though the testimony\nof such eminent Bishops does not admit of doubt, still as it is the\npleasure of all the Bishops, let Records be made, that no one may be\nable to deny his own profession. Do you therefore, holy men, declare\nwhat is your pleasure.\u2019\n\nAll the Bishops said, \u2018It is our pleasure.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said, \u2018Our discussions must be confirmed by the\nEmperor\u2019s Letter, as the subject requires, so that they may be quoted.\u2019\n\n3. The Letter is read by Sabinianus a Deacon;\n\n\u201cDesirous to make our earliest efforts to prevent dissension among\nBishops from uncertainty what doctrines they should reverence, we\nhad ordered the Bishops to come together into the city of Aquileia,\nout of the diocese[21] which has been confided to the merits of your\nExcellency. For controversies of dubious import could not be better\ndisentangled than by our constituting the Bishops themselves expounders\nof the dispute that has arisen, so that the same persons from whom\ncome forth the instructions of doctrine may solve the contradictions\nof discordant teaching.\n\n4. \u201cNor is our present order different from our last: we do not alter\nthe tenour of our command, but we correct the superfluous numbers that\nwould have assembled. For as Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, eminent both for\nthe merits of his life and the favour of God, suggests that there is no\noccasion for numbers in a case in which the truth, though in the hands\nof a few supporters, would not suffer from many antagonists, and that\nhe and the Bishops of the adjoining cities of Italy would be more than\nsufficient to meet the assertions of the opposite party, we have judged\nit right to refrain from troubling venerable men by bringing into\nstrange lands any one who was either loaded with years, or disabled\nwith bodily weakness, or in the slender circumstances of honourable\npoverty;[22] etc.\u201d\n\n5. AMBROSE, Bishop, said; \u2018This is what a Christian Emperor has\nordained. He has not thought fit to do an injury to the Bishops: he\nhas constituted the Bishops themselves Judges. And therefore since we\nsit together in a Council of Bishops, answer to what is proposed to\nyou. Arius\u2019s letter has been read: it shall be recited now again, if\nyou think proper. It contains blasphemies from the beginning; it says\nthat the Father alone is eternal. If you think that the Son of God is\nnot everlasting, support this doctrine in what manner you please: if\nyou think it is a doctrine to be condemned, condemn it. Here is the\nGospel, and the Apostle[23]: all the Scriptures are at hand. Support it\nfrom what quarter you please, if you think that the Son of God is not\neverlasting.\u2019\n\n6. PALLADIUS said; \u2018You have contrived, as appears by the sacred\ndocument[24] which you have brought forward, that this should not be\na full and General Council: in the absence of our Colleagues we cannot\nanswer.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said: \u2018Who are your colleagues?\u2019\n\nPalladius said: \u2018The Eastern Bishops.\u2019\n\n7. AMBROSE, Bishop, said: \u2018Inasmuch as in former times the usage of\nCouncils has been that the Eastern Bishops should be appointed to hold\nthem in the East, and the Western Bishops in the West, we, having our\nplace in the West, are come together to the city of Aquileia according\nto the Emperor\u2019s command. Moreover, the Prefect of Italy has issued\nletters, that if the Eastern Bishops chose to meet, they should be\nallowed to do so; but inasmuch as they know that the custom is that the\nCouncil of the Eastern Bishops should be in the East and of the Western\nin the West, they have therefore thought fit not to come.\u2019\n\n8. PALLADIUS said: \u2018Our Emperor Gratian commanded the Eastern Bishops\nto come: do you deny that he did so? the Emperor himself told us that\nhe had commanded the Eastern Bishops to come.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said: \u2018He certainly commanded them, in that he did not\nforbid them to come hither.\u2019\n\nPalladius said: \u2018But your prayer has prevented their coming: under a\npretence of benevolence you have obtained this, and so put the Council\noff.\u2019\n\n9. AMBROSE, Bishop, said: \u2018There is no occasion to wander any longer\nfrom the subject: answer now. Did Arius say rightly that the Father\nalone is eternal? and did he say this in agreement with the Scriptures\nor not?\u2019\n\nPalladius said: \u2018I do not answer you.\u2019\n\nConstantius, Bishop, said: \u2018Do not you answer when you have so long\nblasphemed?\u2019\n\nEusebius, Bishop, said: \u2018But you are under an obligation to express\nfrankly the faith you claim the right to hold. If a heathen were to ask\nof you in what way you believe in Christ, you would be bound not to be\nashamed to confess.\u2019\n\n10. SABINUS, Bishop, said: \u2018It was your own request that we would\nanswer: we come together this day according to your wish, and upon your\nown solicitation, and we have not waited for our other brethren, who\nmight have come. It is therefore not open to you to wander from the\nsubject. Do you say that Christ was created? or do you say that the\nSon of God is everlasting?\u2019\n\nPalladius said: \u2018I have told you already: we said we would come and\nprove that you have not done well to take advantage of the Emperor.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said: \u2018Let Palladius\u2019s letter be read to shew whether\nhe sent us this message, and it will appear that even now he is\ndeceiving.\u2019\n\nPalladius said: \u2018Let it be read by all means.\u2019\n\nThe Bishops said: \u2018When you saw the Emperor at Sirmium, did you address\nhim, or was it he that pressed you?\u2019 And they added: \u2018What do you\nanswer to this?\u2019\n\nPalladius answered: \u2018He said to me, \u201cGo.\u201d We said: \u201cAre the Eastern\nBishops summoned to attend?\u201d He said, \u201cThey are.\u201d Should we have come\nif the Eastern Bishops had not been summoned?\u2019\n\n11. AMBROSE, Bishop, said: \u2018Let the matter of the Eastern Bishops\nstand over. I enquire at present into your sentiments. Arius\u2019s letter\nhas been read to you: you are in the habit of denying that you are an\nArian. Either condemn Arius now, or defend him.\u2019\n\nPalladius said: \u2018It is not within the compass of your authority to ask\nthis of me.\u2019\n\nEusebius, Bishop, said: \u2018We do not believe that the religious Emperor\nsaid other than he wrote. He has ordered the Bishops to meet: it is\nimpossible that he said to you and no one else contrary to his own\nletter, that the case was not to be discussed without the presence of\nthe Eastern Bishops.\u2019\n\nPalladius said: \u2018He did, if the Italian Bishops alone were ordered to\nassemble.\u2019\n\nEvagrius, Presbyter and deputy, said:[25] [It is plain] \u2018that he\npromised to appear within four and even within two days. What then were\nyou waiting for? was it, as you say, that you considered the opinion\nof your colleagues, the Eastern Bishops was to be waited for? Then you\nought to have said so in your message, and not to have pledged yourself\nto discussion.\u2019\n\nPalladius said: \u2018I had come, believing it to be a General Council, but\nI saw that my colleagues had not assembled. I decided however[26] to\ncome, in accordance with the summons, to bid you to do nothing to the\nprejudice of a future Council.\u2019\n\n12. AMBROSE, Bishop, said: \u2018You yourself required that we should sit\nto-day, moreover, even this very day you have said yourself \u201cwe come\nas Christians to Christians.\u201d You have therefore acknowledged us for\nChristians. You promised that you would engage in discussion: you\npromised that you would either assign your own reasons or accept ours.\nWe therefore willingly accepted your opening, we wished that you should\ncome as a Christian. I offered you the letter of Arius, which that\nArius wrote, from whose name you say that you often suffer wrong. You\nsay that you do not follow Arius. To-day your sentiments must be made\nclear; either condemn him, or support him by whatever passage you will.\u2019\n\nHe went on; \u2018Then according to Arius\u2019s letter Christ the Son of God is\nnot everlasting?\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018We said that we would prove ourselves Christians, but\nin a full Council. We do not answer you at all to the prejudice of a\nfuture Council.\u2019\n\nEusebius, Bishop, said; \u2018You ought to state your profession of faith\nstraightforwardly.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018And what do we reserve for the Council?\u2019\n\n Sidenote: Rom. i. 20.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. i. 8.\n\n13. AMBROSE, Bishop, said; \u2018He has been unanimously condemned who\ndenies the Eternity of the Son of God. Arius denied it, Palladius, who\nwill not condemn Arius, follows him. Consider then, whether his opinion\nis approved of; it is easy to perceive whether he speaks according to\nthe Scriptures, or against the Scriptures. For we read: _God\u2019s eternal\nPower and Godhead_. Christ is the Power of God. If then the Power of\nGod is everlasting, Christ surely is everlasting; for _Christ is the\nPower of God_.\u2019\n\nEusebius, Bishop, said; \u2018This is our faith: this is the Catholic\ndoctrine; who says not this, let him be anathema.\u2019\n\nAll the Bishops said; \u2018Anathema.\u2019\n\n14. EUSEBIUS, Bishop, said; \u2018He says specifically that the Father alone\nis everlasting, and that the Son at some time began to be.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018I have neither seen Arius, nor do I know who he is.\u2019\n\nEusebius, Bishop, said; \u2018The blasphemy of Arius has been produced, in\nwhich he denies that the Son of God is everlasting. Do you condemn this\nwickedness and its author, or do you support it?\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018When there is not the authority of a full Council, I\ndo not speak.\u2019\n\n Sidenote: Acts i. 18.\n\n15. AMBROSE, Bishop, said; \u2018Do you hesitate after the divine judgements\nto condemn Arius, when he has _burst asunder in the midst_?\u2019 and he\nadded; \u2018Let the holy men too, the deputies of the Gauls, speak.\u2019\n\nConstantius, Bishop and deputy of the Gauls, said; \u2018This impiety of\nthat man we always have condemned, and we now condemn not only Arius,\nbut also whoever does not say that the Son of God is everlasting.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018What says also my Lord Justus?\u2019\n\nJustus, Bishop and deputy of the Gauls, said; \u2018He who does not confess\nthat the Son of God is co-eternal with the Father, let him be accounted\nAnathema.\u2019\n\nAll the Bishops said; \u2018Anathema.\u2019\n\n16. AMBROSE, Bishop, said; \u2018Let the deputies of the Africans speak too,\nwho have brought hither the sentiments of all their countrymen.\u2019\n\nFelix, Bishop and deputy, said; \u2018If any man denies that the Son of God\nis everlasting, and that He is co-eternal with the Father, not only do\nI the deputy of the whole province of Africa condemn him, but also the\nwhole priestly company, which sent me to this most holy assembly, has\nitself also already condemned him.\u2019\n\nAnemius, Bishop, said; \u2018There is no capital of Illyricum[27] but\nSirmium: I am its Bishop. The person who does not confess the Son of\nGod to be eternal and co-eternal with the Father, that is, everlasting,\nI call anathema; and I also say anathema to those who do not make the\nsame confession.\u2019\n\n17. AMBROSE, Bishop, said; \u2018Hear what follows.\u2019 Then it was read;\n\u201cAlone eternal, alone without beginning, alone true, Who alone has\nimmortality.\u201d\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018In this also condemn him who denies that the\nSon is very God. For since He Himself is the Truth, how is He not very\nGod?\u2019 And he added; \u2018What say you to this?\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018Who denies that He is very Son?\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018Arius denied it.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018When the Apostle says that Christ is God over all, can\nany one deny that He is the very Son of God?\u2019\n\n18. Ambrose, Bishop, said; \u2018That you may see with how much simplicity\nwe seek the truth, lo, I say as you say: but I have then only half the\ntruth. For by speaking thus, you appear to deny that He is very God; if\nhowever you confess simply that the Son of God is very God, state it in\nthe order in which I propose it to you.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018I speak to you according to the Scriptures: I call the\nLord the very Son of God.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018Do you call the Son of God very Lord?\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018When I call Him very Son, what more is wanted?\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018I do not ask only that you should call Him very\nSon, but that you should call the Son of God very Lord.\u2019\n\n19. EUSEBIUS, Bishop, said; \u2018Is Christ very God, according to the faith\nof all and to the Catholic profession?\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018He is the very Son of God.\u2019\n\nEusebius, Bishop, said; \u2018We also are by adoption sons; He is Son\naccording to the property of His Divine Generation.\u2019 And he added;\n\u2018Do you confess that the very Son of God is very Lord by His Birth\nand essentially?\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018I call Him the very Son of God, only-begotten.\u2019\n\nEusebius, Bishop, said; \u2018Do you then think it is against the Scriptures,\nfor Christ to be called very God?\u2019\n\n20. PALLADIUS being silent, Ambrose, Bishop, said; \u2018He who says only\nthat He is the very Son of God, and will not say that He is very Lord,\nappears to deny it. Let Palladius then, if he does confess it, confess\nit in this order, and let him say whether he calls the Son of God very\nLord.\u2019\n\n Sidenote: S. John xvii. 3.\n\nPalladius said; \u2018When the Son says, _That they might know Thee the only\ntrue God and Jesus Christ Whom Thou hast sent_, is it by way of feeling\nonly, or in truth?\u2019\n\n Sidenote: 1 S. John v. 20.\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018John said in his epistle; _This is the true\nGod_. Deny this.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018When I tell you that He is true Son, I acknowledge\nalso a true Godhead.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018In this also there is evasion; for you art wont\nto speak of one only and true Godhead in such manner as to say that it\nis the divinity of the Father only, and not that of the Son also, which\nis one only and true. If then you wish to speak plainly, as you refer\nme to the Scriptures, say what the Evangelist John said; _This is the\ntrue God_, or deny that he hath said it.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018Besides the Son there is none other that is begotten.\u2019\n\n21. EUSEBIUS, Bishop, said; \u2018Is Christ very God, according to the faith\nof all and to the Catholic profession, or in your opinion is He not\nvery God?\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018He is the Power of our God.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop said; \u2018You do not speak frankly; and so anathema to him\nwho does not confess that the Son of God is very Lord.\u2019\n\nAll the Bishops said; \u2018Let him be accounted anathema, who will not call\nChrist, the Son of God, very Lord.\u2019\n\n22. The reader continued; \u201cAlone true, Who alone hath immortality.\u201d\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018Has the Son of God immortality, or has He it\nnot, in respect of His Godhead?\u2019\n\n Sidenote: 1 Tim. vi. 16.\n\nPalladius said; \u2018Do you accept or no the words of the Apostle, _The\nKing of kings Who alone hath immortality_?\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018What say you of Christ the Son of God?\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018Is Christ a divine Name or a human?\u2019\n\n23. EUSEBIUS, Bishop, said; \u2018He is called Christ indeed according to\nthe mystery of His Incarnation, but He is both God and Man.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018Christ is a name of the flesh: Christ is a man\u2019s name:\ndo you answer me.\u2019\n\nEusebius, Bishop, said; \u2018Why do you dwell upon useless topics? When\nArius\u2019 impious words were read, who says of the Father that He alone\nhath immortality, you cited a testimony in confirmation of Arius\u2019\nimpiety, quoting from the Apostle, _Who only hath immortality, dwelling\nin the light which no man can approach unto_. But if you understand it,\nhe has expressed by the Name of God the dignity of the whole Nature,\ninasmuch as in the Name of God, both Father and Son are signified.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018You also have not chosen to answer what I have asked.\u2019\n\n24. AMBROSE, Bishop, said; \u2018I ask you to give your opinion plainly, has\nthe Son of God immortality according to His divine generation, or has\nHe not?\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018In respect of His divine generation He is\nincorruptible; and by means of His Incarnation He died.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018His divinity died not, but His flesh died.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018Do you answer me first.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018Has the Son of God immortality in respect of\nHis Godhead or has He it not? But have you not even now betrayed your\nfraudulent and insidious meaning according to Arius\u2019 profession?\u2019\nand he added; \u2018He who denies that the Son of God has immortality,\nwhat think you of him?\u2019 All the Bishops said; \u2018Let him be accounted\nanathema.\u2019\n\n25. PALLADIUS said; \u2018A divine offspring is immortal.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018This also have you said evasively, to avoid\nexpressing anything clearly about the Son of God. I say to you, the Son\nhath immortality in respect of His Godhead, or do you deny it and say\nthat He has not.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018Did Christ die or not?\u2019\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. x. 28.\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018In respect of the flesh He did: our soul does\nnot die: for it is written, _Fear not them who kill the body, but are\nnot able to kill the soul_; seeing then that our soul cannot die, do\nyou think Christ died in respect of His Godhead?\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018Why do you shrink from the name of death?\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018Nay, I do not shrink from it, but I confess it\nin respect of my flesh: for there is One by Whom I am released from the\nchains of death.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018Death is caused by separation of the spirit (from the\nflesh), for Christ the Son of God took upon Him flesh, and by means of\nflesh he died.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018It is written that Christ suffered: He\nsuffered then in respect of His flesh: in respect of His Godhead He\nhas immortality. He who denies this, is a devil.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018I know not Arius.\u2019\n\n26. AMBROSE, Bishop, said; \u2018Then Arius said ill, since the Son of God\nalso has immortality in respect of his Godhead.\u2019 And he added, \u2018Did he\nthen say well or ill?\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018I do not agree.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018With whom do not you agree? Anathema to him,\nwho does not frankly unfold his faith.\u2019\n\nAll the Bishops said; \u2018Anathema.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018Say what you please; His Godhead is immortal.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018Whose? the Father\u2019s or the Son\u2019s?\u2019 And he added:\n\u2018Arius heaped together many impieties. But let us pass to other points.\u2019\n\n27. Then was recited; \u201cAlone wise.\u201d\n\nPalladius said; \u2018The Father is wise of himself, but the Son is not\nwise.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018Is then the Son not wise, when He Himself is\nWisdom? For we also say that the Son is begotten of the Father.\u2019\n\nEusebius, Bishop, said; \u2018Is there anything as impious and profane as\nthis which he said, that the Son of God is not wise?\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018He is called Wisdom, who can deny that he is Wisdom?\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018Is He wise or not?\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018He is Wisdom.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018Then He is wise, if He is Wisdom.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018We answer you according to the Scriptures.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018Palladius, as far as I can see, has attempted\nto deny also that the Son of God is wise.\u2019\n\nEusebius, Bishop, said; \u2018He who denies that the Son of God is wise, let\nhim be anathema.\u2019\n\nAll the Bishops said; \u2018Anathema.\u2019\n\n28. EUSEBIUS, Bishop, said; \u2018Let Secundianus also answer to this.\u2019\n\nSecundianus being silent,\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018He who is silent wishes to reserve his\njudgement.\u2019 And he added, \u2018When he says that the Father alone is good,\ndid he confess the Son or deny Him?\u2019\n\n Sidenote: S. John x. 11.\n\nPalladius said; \u2018We read, _I am the good Shepherd_, and do we deny it?\nWho would not say that the Son of God is good?\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018Then is Christ good?\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018He is good.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018Arius then was wrong in asserting it of the\nFather alone, since the Son of God also is a good[28] God.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018He who says that Christ is not good, says ill.\u2019\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xix. 17.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. vi. 45.\n\n29. EUSEBIUS, Bishop, said; \u2018Do you confess that Christ is a good God?\nFor I also am good. He has said to me; _Well done, thou good servant_;\nand, _A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth\nthat which is good_.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018I have already said, I do not answer you until there\nis a full Council.\u2019\n\n Sidenote: S. John vii. 12.\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018The Jews said _He is a good man_; and Arius\ndenies that the Son of God is good.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018Who can deny it?\u2019\n\nEusebius, Bishop, said; \u2018Then the Son of God is a good God.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018The good Father begat a good Son.\u2019\n\n30. AMBROSE, Bishop, said; \u2018We also are begotten of Him and are good,\nbut not in respect of Godhead. Do you call the Son of God a good God?\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018The Son of God is good.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018You see then that you call him a good Christ, a\ngood Son, not a good God; which is what is asked of you.\u2019 And he added;\n\u2018He who does not confess that the Son of God is a good God, Anathema to\nhim.\u2019\n\nAll the Bishops said; \u2018Anathema.\u2019\n\n31. The reader likewise continued; \u201cAlone mighty.\u201d\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018Is the Son of God mighty or not?\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018He Who made all things, is He not mighty? He Who made\nall things, is He deficient in might?\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said: \u2018Then Arius said ill.\u2019 And he added; \u2018Do you\neven in this condemn Arius?\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018How do I know who he is? I answer you for myself.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018Is the Son of God the mighty God?\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018He is mighty.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018Is the Son of God the mighty God?\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018I have already said that the only-begotten Son of God\nis mighty.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018The mighty Lord.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018The mighty Son of God.\u2019\n\n Sidenote: Ps. lii. 1.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. xii. 10.\n\n32. AMBROSE, Bishop, said; \u2018Men also are mighty; for it is written,\n_Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, thou mighty man?_ and in\nanother place, _When I am weak, then am I strong_. I ask you to confess\nthat Christ the Son of God is the mighty Lord; or if you deny it,\nsupport your denial. For I speak of one Power of the Father and of the\nSon, and I call the Son of God mighty in the same way as the Father. Do\nyou hesitate then to confess that the Son of God is the mighty Lord?\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018I have already said, we answer you in discussion as\nwe can; for you wish to be sole judges, and at the same time parties to\nthe case. We do not answer you now, but we will answer you in a General\nand full Council.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018Anathema to him who denies that Christ is the\nmighty Lord.\u2019\n\nAll the Bishops said; \u2018Anathema.\u2019\n\n33. It was likewise recited; \u201cAlone mighty, Judge of all.\u201d\n\nPalladius said; \u2018The Son of God, the Judge of all. There is Who gives,\nthere is who receives.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018Did He give by grace or nature? Men also have\njudgement given them.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018Do you call the Father greater or not?\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018I will answer you afterwards.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018I do not answer you, if you do not answer me.\u2019\n\nEusebius, Bishop, said; \u2018Unless you condemn in order the impiety of\nArius, we will give you no power of asking questions.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018I do not answer you.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018Is the Son of God, as has been read, Judge or\nnot?\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018If you do not answer me, I do not answer you, as being\nan impious person.\u2019\n\n34. AMBROSE, Bishop, said; \u2018You have my profession, whereby I will\nanswer you. In the mean time, let Arius\u2019 letter be read through.\u2019 And\nhe added: \u2018In that letter you will find that sacrilegious argument also\nwhich you are endeavouring at.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018When I ask, do you not answer?\u2019\n\nEusebius, Bishop, said; \u2018We call the Son of God equal God.\u2019\n\nPalladius said: \u2018You are Judge: your note-takers are here.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018Let any of yours write, who please.\u2019\n\n35. PALLADIUS said; \u2018Is the Father greater or not?\u2019\n\n Sidenote: S. John v. 18.\n\nEusebius, Bishop, said; \u2018In respect of His Godhead the Son is equal\nto the Father. You have it in the Gospel that the Jews persecuted Him\n_because He not only broke the sabbath, but also called God His Father,\nmaking Himself equal with God_; what then impious men confessed while\nthey persecuted, we who believe cannot deny.\u2019\n\n Sidenote: Phil. ii. 6\u20138.\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018And in another place you have: _Who being\nin the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but\nemptied himself[29] and took upon him the form of a servant, and was\nmade in the likeness of men; and became obedient unto death_. You see\nthat in the form of God He is equal to God. And _he took_, S. Paul says,\n_the form of a servant_. In what then is He less? In respect surely of\nHis form of a servant, not of the form of God?\u2019\n\nEusebius, Bishop, said; \u2018Just as, being established in the form of a\nservant, He was not less than a servant; so being established in the\nform of God, He could not be less than God.\u2019\n\n36. AMBROSE, Bishop, said; \u2018Or say that in respect of Godhead the Son\nof God is less.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018The Father is greater.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018In respect of the flesh.\u2019\n\n Sidenote: S. John xiv. 28.\n\nPalladius said; \u2018_He who sent me, is greater than I_. Was the flesh\nsent by God or was the Son of God sent?\u2019\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 27, 28.\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018We prove this day that the holy Scriptures are\nfalsely cited by you, for thus it is written: _Peace I leave unto you,\nmy peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let\nnot your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid: If ye loved me,\nye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father, for my Father\nis greater than I._ He did not say, He Who sent me is greater than I.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018The Father is greater.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018Anathema to him, who adds to or takes from the\nholy Scriptures.\u2019\n\nAll the Bishops said; \u2018Anathema.\u2019\n\n37. PALLADIUS said; \u2018The Father is greater than the Son.\u2019\n\n Sidenote: Heb. ii. 7.\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018In respect of the flesh the Son is less than\nthe Father: in respect of Godhead He is equal to the Father: I read\ntherefore that the Son of God is equal to the Father, as also the\ninstances that have been adduced testify. But why should you wonder\nthat He is less in respect of the flesh, when He has called Himself\na servant, a stone, a worm, when He has said that He is less than the\nangels, for it is written: _Thou madest him a little lower than the\nangels_.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018I see that you make impious assertions. We do not\nanswer you without arbiters.\u2019\n\nSabinus, Bishop, said; \u2018Let no one ask for an opinion from him who has\nblasphemed in such countless opinions.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018We do not answer you.\u2019\n\n38. SABINUS, Bishop, said; \u2018Palladius has now been condemned by all.\nThe blasphemies of Arius are much lighter than those of Palladius.\u2019\n\n Sidenote: Ib. vi. 13.\n\n Sidenote: S. John viii. 56.\n\nAnd when Palladius rose, as if he wished to go out, he said; \u2018Palladius\nhas risen, because he sees that he is to be convicted by manifest\ntestimonies of the Scriptures, as indeed he has been already convicted:\nfor thus it has been read, that in respect of Godhead the Son is equal\nto the Father. Let him admit that in respect of His Godhead the Son of\nGod has no greater: it is written: _When God made promise to Abraham,\nbecause He could swear by no greater, he swear by himself_. You see\ntherefore the Scripture, that He could swear by no greater. But it is\nthe Son of Whom this is said, since it was He Who appeared to Abraham,\nwhence also He says, _He saw my day and was glad_.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018The Father is greater.\u2019\n\nEusebius, Bishop, said; \u2018When He spake as God, He had no greater; when\nHe spake as man, He had one greater.\u2019\n\n39. PALLADIUS said; \u2018The Father begat the Son; the Father sent the Son.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018Anathema to him, who denies that in respect of\nHis Godhead the Son is equal to the Father.\u2019\n\nAll the Bishops said; \u2018Anathema.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018The Son is subject to the Father; the Son keeps the\ncommands of the Father.\u2019\n\n Sidenote: S. John vi. 44.\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018He is subject in respect of His Incarnation.\nBut even you yourself remember that you have read; _No man can come\nunto me, except the Father draw him_.\u2019\n\nSabinus, Bishop, said; \u2018Let him say whether the Son is subject to the\nFather in respect of His Godhead, or in respect of His Incarnation.\u2019\n\n40. PALLADIUS said; \u2018Then the Father is greater.\u2019\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. i. 8.\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018In another place also it is written; _God\nis faithful, by Whom ye were called unto the fellowship of His Son_.\nI say that the Father is greater in respect of the assumption of the\nflesh, which the Son of God took upon Him, not in respect of the Son\u2019s\nGodhead.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018What then is the comparison of the Son of God? And can\nflesh say, God is greater than I? Did the flesh speak or the Godhead\nbecause the flesh was there?\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018The flesh does not speak without the soul.\u2019\n\n Sidenote: S. John viii. 40.\n\nEusebius, Bishop, said; \u2018God in the flesh spoke according to the flesh,\nwhen He said, _Why do ye persecute[30] me, a man?_ Who said this?\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018The Son of God.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018Then the Son of God is God in respect of His\nGodhead and is man in respect of His flesh.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018He took flesh upon Him.\u2019\n\nEusebius, Bishop, said; \u2018Accordingly He made use of human words.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018He took man\u2019s flesh upon Him.\u2019\n\n41. AMBROSE, Bishop, said; \u2018Let him say that the Apostle did not call\nHim subject in respect of His Godhead, but in respect of His flesh; for\nit is written, _He humbled himself and became obedient unto death_. In\nwhat then did He taste death?\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018In that He humbled Himself.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018Not His Godhead but His flesh was humbled and\nsubject.\u2019 And he added; \u2018Did Arius well or ill in calling him a perfect\ncreature?\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018I do not answer you, for you have no authority.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018Profess what you please.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018I do not answer you.\u2019\n\n42. SABINUS, Bishop, said; \u2018Do you not answer on behalf of Arius? do\nyou not answer to what has been asked?\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018I have not answered on behalf of Arius.\u2019\n\nSabinus, Bishop, said; \u2018You have answered so far as to deny that the\nSon of God is mighty, to deny that He is true God.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018I do not allow you to be my judge, whom I convict of\nimpiety.\u2019\n\nSabinus, Bishop, said; \u2018You yourself forced us to sit.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018I gave in a request that you might sit, in order that\nI might convict you. Why have you practised upon the Emperor? You have\ngained by intrigue that the Council should not be a plenary one.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018When Arius\u2019 impieties were read, your impiety\nalso, which harmonized with his, was condemned equally. You have\nthought fit while the letter was in the midst of being read, to bring\nforward whatever passages you would: you were told in answer in what\nway the Son has said that the Father is greater, because in respect\nof His taking flesh upon Him, the Father is greater than He. You have\nurged also that the Son of God is subject; and on this head you were\nanswered that the Son of God is subject in respect of His flesh, not\nin respect of His divinity. You have our profession. Now hear the rest.\nSince you have been answered, do you answer to what is read.\u2019\n\n43. PALLADIUS said; \u2018I do not answer you, because what I have said has\nnot been recorded; only your words are recorded. I do not answer you.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018You see that every thing is recorded. Moreover,\nwhat has been written is abundant for the proof of your impiety.\u2019 And\nhe added; \u2018Do you say that Christ is a creature or do you deny it?\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018I do not answer you.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018An hour ago, when it was read that Arius called\nChrist a creature, you denied it: you had an opportunity offered you of\ncondemning his perfidy; you would not. Say now at last whether Christ\nwas begotten of the Father or created.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018If you please, let my reporters come and so let the\nwhole be taken down.\u2019\n\nSabinus, Bishop, said; \u2018Let him send for his reporters.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018We will answer you in a full Council.\u2019\n\n44. AMBROSE, Bishop, said; \u2018Attalus subscribed the formula[31] of the\nCouncil of Nic\u00e6a. Let him deny it, as he has come to our Council. Let\nhim say to-day, whether he subscribed the formula of the Council of\nNic\u00e6a or no?\u2019\n\nAttalus remaining silent,\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018Though the presbyter Attalus is an Arian,\nyet we give him permission to speak: let him frankly state whether\nhe subscribed the formula of the Council of Nic\u00e6a under his Bishop\nAgrippinus, or no.\u2019\n\nAttalus said; \u2018You have already said that I have been several times\ncondemned. I do not answer you.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018Did you subscribe the formula of the Council of\nNic\u00e6a or no?\u2019\n\nAttalus said; \u2018I do not answer you.\u2019\n\n45. PALLADIUS said; \u2018Do you now wish the formula to be regarded as\ngeneral or no?\u2019\n\nChromatius, presbyter, said; \u2018You have not denied that He is a creature,\nyou have denied that He is mighty. You have denied every thing which\nthe Catholic Faith professes.\u2019\n\nSabinus, Bishop, said; \u2018We are witnesses that Attalus subscribed\nthe Council of Nic\u00e6a, and that he now refuses to answer. What is the\nopinion of all?\u2019\n\nAs Attalus did not speak,\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018Let him say whether he subscribed the formula\nof the Council of Nic\u00e6a or no.\u2019\n\n46. PALLADIUS said; \u2018Let your reporter and ours stand forward and write\ndown every thing.\u2019\n\nValerian, Bishop, said; \u2018What you have said and what you have denied is\nalready all written.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018Say what you please.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018Since Palladius who has been already many\ntimes condemned, wishes to be condemned still oftener, I am reading\nthe letter of Arius which he has not chosen to condemn: do you state\nwhether you approve of my doing so.\u2019\n\nAll the Bishops said; \u2018Let it be read.\u2019\n\nThen the words were read. \u201cBut begotten not putatively,\u201d &c.\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018I have answered you on the Father\u2019s being\ngreater: I have answered you also on the Son\u2019s being subject: do you\nyourself answer now.\u2019\n\n47. PALLADIUS said; \u2018I will not answer unless arbiters come after the\nLord\u2019s day.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018You were come with a view to discussion, but\nsince I have charged you with its doctrines, you have seen the letter\nof Arius which you have not chosen to condemn and which you cannot\nsupport: you now therefore shrink back and cavil. I read it to you\nfully point by point. Tell me whether you believe Christ to have been\ncreated; whether there was a time when he was not; or whether the only\nbegotten Son of God has always existed. When you have heard Arius\u2019\nletter, either condemn it or approve of it.\u2019\n\n48. PALLADIUS said; \u2018Since I convict you of impiety, I will not have\nyou for judge. You are a transgressor.\u2019\n\nSabinus, Bishop, said; \u2018Say, what impieties you object to our brother\nand fellow-bishop Ambrose.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018I have already told you, I will answer in a full\nCouncil, and with arbiters present.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018I desire to be confuted and convicted in the\nassembly of my brethren. Say then what I have said impiously; but I\nappear impious to you because I support piety.\u2019\n\nSabinus, Bishop, said; \u2018Does then he seem impious to you, who censures\nthe blasphemies of Arius?\u2019\n\n49. PALLADIUS said; \u2018I have not denied that the Son of God is good.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018Do you say that Christ is a good God?\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018I do not answer you.\u2019\n\nValerian, Bishop, said; \u2018Do not press Palladius so much: he cannot\nconfess our truths with simplicity. For his conscience is confused\nwith a twofold blasphemy: he was ordained by the Photinians and was\ncondemned with them, and now he shall be condemned more fully.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018Prove it.\u2019\n\nSabinus, Bishop, said; \u2018He would not have denied that Christ is true if\nhe were not following his own teachers.\u2019\n\n50. AMBROSE, Bishop, said; \u2018You have objected to me that I am impious:\nprove it.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018We will bring forward our statement, and when we have\nbrought it, then the discussion shall be held.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018Condemn the impiety of Arius.\u2019\n\nPalladius being silent,\n\nEusebius, Bishop, said; \u2018He dwells upon useless subjects. There are so\nmany impieties of Arius, which Palladius has not chosen to condemn, nay\nrather has confessed by supporting. He who does not condemn Arius is\nlike him, and is rightly to be called a heretic.\u2019\n\nAll the Bishops said; \u2018On the part of us all let Palladius be anathema.\u2019\n\n51. AMBROSE, Bishop, said; \u2018Do you consent, Palladius, that the other\nstatements of Arius be read?\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018Give us arbiters: let reporters come on both sides.\nYou cannot be judges unless we have arbitrators and unless persons come\non both sides to arbitrate, we do not answer you.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018What arbitrators do you wish for?\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018There are here many men of high rank.\u2019\n\nSabinus, Bishop, said; \u2018After such a number of blasphemies do you wish\nfor arbitrators?\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018Bishops ought to judge of laymen: not laymen of\nBishops. But tell me what judges you wish for.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018Let arbitrators attend.\u2019\n\nChromatius, the Presbyter, said; \u2018Without prejudice to condemnation\nby the Bishops, let those also who are of Palladius\u2019 party be heard at\nfull length.\u2019\n\n52. PALLADIUS said; \u2018They are not allowed to speak. Let arbitrators\nattend and reporters on both sides, and then they will answer you in\na General Council.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018Though he has been convicted of many impieties,\nyet we should blush that a person who claims the priesthood for himself\nshould seem to have been condemned by laymen, and on this very ground\nand in this very point he deserves condemnation because he looks to\nthe sentence of laymen, when priests ought rather to be the judges of\nlaymen. Looking to what we have this day heard Palladius professing\nand to what he has refused to condemn, I pronounce him unworthy of the\npriesthood, and I judge that he should be deprived[32] thereof in order\nthat a Catholic may be ordained in his place.\u2019\n\nAll the Bishops said; \u2018Anathema to Palladius.\u2019\n\n53. AMBROSE, Bishop, said; \u2018The most gracious and Christian Emperor has\ncommitted the cause to the judgement of the Bishops and has constituted\nthem arbitrators of the dispute[33]. Since therefore the decision\nappears to have been made over to us, so that we are the interpreters\nof the Scriptures, let us condemn Palladius, who has not chosen to\ncondemn the sentiments of the impious Arius, and because he has himself\ndenied the Son of God to be everlasting, and made the other statements\nwhich appear in our proceedings. Let him therefore be accounted\nAnathema.\u2019\n\nAll the Bishops said; \u2018We all condemn him; let him be accounted\nanathema.\u2019\n\n54. AMBROSE, Bishop, said; \u2018Since all who are met here are Christian\nmen, brethren approved of God, and our fellow-bishops, let each\nindividual say, what he thinks.\u2019\n\nValerian, Bishop, said; \u2018My sentence is that he who defends Arius is\nan Arian; that he who does not condemn his blasphemies is himself a\nblasphemer; and therefore I judge that such a man is alien from the\nfellowship of Bishops.\u2019\n\nPalladius said; \u2018You have begun to play; play on. Without an Eastern\nCouncil we answer you not.\u2019\n\n55. ANEMIUS, Bishop of Sirmium, said; \u2018Whoever does not condemn the\nheresies of Arius must of necessity be an Arian. Him therefore I judge\nto be alien from our communion, and to be without place in the assembly\nof Bishops.\u2019\n\nConstantius, Bishop of Orange, said; \u2018As Palladius is a disciple of\nArius, whose impieties have been long since condemned by our Fathers\nin the Council of Nice, but have this day severally, when recited,\nbeen approved of by Palladius, inasmuch as he was not disturbed at his\nacknowledging that the Son of God was not of the same Nature with God\nthe Father, and at his calling Him a creature, and saying that He began\nto be in time, and denying Him to be true Lord, on these grounds, I\njudge that he should be condemned for ever.\u2019\n\n56. JUSTUS, Bishop, said; \u2018Palladius who has refused to condemn the\nblasphemies of Arius, and who seems rather to acknowledge them, can in\nmy judgement no longer be called a Priest or be reckoned among Bishops.\u2019\n\nEventius, Bishop of Ticinum, said; \u2018I think that Palladius who has\nrefused to condemn the impieties of Arius, is removed for ever from the\nfellowship of Bishops.\u2019\n\n57. ABUNDANTIUS, Bishop of Trent, said; \u2018Since Palladius maintains\nevident blasphemies, let him know that he is condemned by the Council\nof Aquileia.\u2019\n\nEusebius, Bishop of Bologna, said; \u2018Inasmuch as Palladius has not only\nrefused to condemn the impieties of Arius, impieties written with the\npen of the devil, and which it is not lawful so much as to listen to,\nbut has also appeared as the maintainer of them by denying that the Son\nof God is true Lord, is good Lord, is wise Lord, is everlasting Lord;\nboth by my sentence, and by the judgement of all Catholics I think that\nhe is rightly condemned and excluded from the assembly of Bishops.\u2019\n\n58. SABINUS, Bishop of Placentia, said; \u2018Since it has been proved to\nall that Palladius supports the Arian perfidy and maintains its impiety\nthat was counter to the Evangelical and apostolical institutions, a\njust sentence of the whole Council has been passed upon him, and humble\nindividual as I am, let him by my judgement be deprived once more of\nthe priesthood and banished justly from this most holy assembly.\u2019\n\nFelix and Numidius, deputies of Africa said; \u2018Anathema to the Sect\nof the Arian heresy to which by the Synod of Aquileia Palladius is\npronounced to belong. But we condemn also those, who contradict the\ntruth of the Nicene Synod.\u2019\n\n59. LIMENIUS, Bishop of Vercell\u00e6, said; \u2018It is manifest that the Arian\ndoctrine has been often condemned: and therefore, inasmuch as Palladius\nhaving been appealed to in this holy Synod of Aquileia has refused\nto correct and amend himself, and has rather proved himself worthy\nof blame and defiled himself with the perfidy which he has publicly\nprofessed himself to hold, I too by my judgement declare that he is\nto be deprived of the fellowship of the Bishops.\u2019\n\nMaximus, Bishop of Emona, said; \u2018That Palladius, who would not condemn,\nbut has rather himself acknowledged, the blasphemies of Arius, is\njustly and deservedly condemned God knows, and the conscience of the\nfaithful has condemned him.\u2019\n\n60. EXUPERANTIUS, Bishop of Dertona, said; \u2018As the rest of my\nColleagues have condemned Palladius who has refused to condemn the sect\nand doctrine of Arius, and on the contrary has defended them, I also\nlikewise condemn him.\u2019\n\nBassianus, Bishop of Lodi, said; \u2018I have heard along with the rest of\nmy Colleagues the impieties of Arius, which Palladius not only has not\ncondemned but has confirmed. Let him be anathema and be deprived of the\npriesthood.\u2019\n\n61. PHILASTER, Bishop of Brescia, said; \u2018The blasphemies and iniquity\nof Palladius, who follows and defends the Arian doctrine I in company\nwith all have condemned.\u2019\n\nConstantius, Bishop of Sciscia, said; \u2018As the rest of my brother\nBishops, I also think that Palladius is to be condemned, who has\nrefused to condemn the blasphemies and impieties of Arius.\u2019\n\nHeliodorus, Bishop of Altinum, said; \u2018The man who maintains the perfidy\nof Arius, and of all the heretics with whom Palladius is partner, whose\nheart is foolish, and who has not confessed the truth, together with\nthe rest of my brother Bishops I condemn.\u2019\n\n62. FELIX, Bishop of Jadera, said; \u2018I also in like manner unite with\nall in condemning Palladius, who speaks blasphemies against the Son of\nGod as Arius did.\u2019\n\nTheodorus, Bishop of Octodorum, said; \u2018We judge Palladius, who has\ndenied Christ to be true God, co-eternal with the Father, to be in no\nwise either a Christian or a priest.\u2019\n\nDomninus, Bishop of Grenoble, said; \u2018As Palladius adheres to the\nperfidy of Arius, I also judge that he is to be condemned for ever,\nas my brethren also have condemned him.\u2019\n\n63. PROCULUS, Bishop of Marseilles, said; \u2018Palladius, who by a kind\nof impious succession to the blasphemies of Arius has defended them\nin that he does not condemn them, as he has been already designated a\nblasphemer by the sentence of many venerable Bishops, and pronounced\nalien from the priesthood, so by my sentence also is marked out in the\nsame manner as condemned for ever.\u2019\n\nDiogenes, Bishop of Genoa, said; \u2018Palladius who while he does not\nconfess has even denied Christ to be true Lord and God, like and equal\nto the Father, I together with the rest of my brethren and fellow\nBishops adjudge to have the lot of condemnation.\u2019\n\n64. AMANTIUS, Bishop of Nice, said; \u2018Palladius, who has refused to\npull down the sect of Arius, according to the judgement of my brother\nBishops, I also condemn.\u2019\n\nJanuarius, Bishop, said; \u2018As all my brother Bishops have condemned\nPalladius so also do I think that he ought to be condemned by a similar\njudgement[34].\u2019\n\n65. SECUNDIANUS having withdrawn for a while, and then returned to the\nCouncil[35],\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018You have heard, Secundianus, what sort of\nsentence the impious Palladius has received, having been condemned by\nthe Council of Bishops: and though we have been displeased that you\nhave not shrunk from his madness, I nevertheless make some special\nenquiries of you. Do you say that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God,\nis or is not very God?\u2019\n\nSecundianus said; \u2018He who denies the Father of our Lord and God Jesus\nChrist to be true God is not a Christian, nor is he who denies that the\nLord is the very Son of God.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018Do you confess that the Son of God is very God?\u2019\n\nSecundianus said; \u2018I say that He is the very Son of God, the very only\nbegotten Son of God.\u2019\n\n66. AMBROSE, Bishop, said; \u2018Do you call Him very Lord?\u2019\n\nSecundianus said; \u2018I call Him the very only-begotten Son of God. Who\ndenies that He is the very Son of God?\u2019\n\nEusebius, Bishop, said; \u2018It is not enough that you confess Him to be\nthe only-begotten Son of God, for all confess this. But what influences\nus is that Arius said that the Father alone is Lord, alone is true, and\ndenied that the Son of God is very Lord. Do you confess simply that the\nSon of God is very God?\u2019\n\n Sidenote: S. John i. 18.\n\nSecundianus said; \u2018Who Arius was, I know not; what he said, I know not.\nYou speak with me, living man with living man. I say what Christ said:\n_The only begotten Son Which is in the bosom of the Father_. Therefore\nHe asserts Himself to be the only-begotten Son of the Father: the\nonly-begotten Son is then the very Son of God.\u2019\n\n Sidenote: Isa. lxv. 16.\n\n67. AMBROSE, Bishop, said; \u201cIs the very Son of God also very God? It\nis written in the divine books: _he that sweareth on the earth, shall\nswear by the true God_, and that this applies to Christ there is no\ndoubt. We therefore profess the true God, and this is our faith and\nprofession, that the only-begotten Son of the Father is very God. Do\nyou then say \u2018of very God,\u2019 and then that the Son is very God.\u201d\n\nSecundianus said; \u2018Of very God.\u2019\n\n68. AMBROSE, Bishop, said; \u2018Is the Son of God very God?\u2019\n\nSecundianus said; \u2018Then would he be a liar.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018In this you practise an evasion to avoid saying\nvery God, but instead thereof, God, very only-begotten, and therefore\nsay simply, The only-begotten Son of God is very God.\u2019\n\nSecundianus said; \u2018I called Him the only-begotten Son of God.\u2019\n\n69. EUSEBIUS, Bishop, said; \u2018This Photinus does not deny, this Sabellus\nconfesses.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018And he who does not confess this is justly\ncondemned, and on this point I appeal to you many times though by\ncavilling you have denied the truth. I do not ask you to call Him\nmerely the very only-begotten Son of God, but to call Him also very\nGod.\u2019\n\nSecundianus said; \u2018I profess myself the servant of truth. What I say is\nnot taken down and what you say is taken down. I say that Christ is the\ntrue Son of God. Who denies that He is the true Son of God?\u2019\n\n70. AMBROSE, Bishop, said; \u2018He who denies that the only-begotten Son of\nGod is very God, let him be anathema.\u2019\n\nSecundianus said; \u2018The only-begotten Son of God, very God! why do you\nstate to me what is not written?\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said: \u2018It is plain sacrilege, that Arius denied Christ\nthe Son of God to be very God.\u2019\n\nSecundianus said; \u2018Forasmuch as Christ is called the Son of God, I call\nthe Son of God very Son[36]; but that He is very God is not written.\u2019\n\n71. AMBROSE, Bishop, said; \u2018Have you not yet recovered your senses?\u2019\nAnd he added; \u2018Lest it should appear that he has been unfairly\ntreated, let him state his opinion. Let him then say that Christ the\nonly-begotten Son of God is very God.\u2019\n\nSecundianus said; \u2018I have already said. What more would you wring from\nme?\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018What have you said? certainly if you had said\nso great truths, what is said gloriously, may well be often repeated.\u2019\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. v. 37.\n\nSecundianus said; \u2018It is written, _Let your conversation be yea, yea,\nnay, nay_.\u2019\n\n72. AMBROSE, Bishop, said; \u2018He who says that the Father Himself is the\nSon, is sacrilegious. This I ask of you that you would say that the Son\nof God is begotten very God of very God.\u2019\n\n Sidenote: Heb. i. 5.\n\nSecundianus said; \u2018I say that the Son is begotten of God, as He says\nHimself _I have begotten Thee_, and that He confesses Himself to be\nbegotten.\u2019\n\n73. AMBROSE, Bishop, said; \u2018Is He very God of very God?\u2019\n\nSecundianus said; \u2018When you add to the Name and call Him very [God], do\nyou understand what the character of your own faith is, and are you a\nChristian?\u2019\n\nEusebius, Bishop, said; \u2018Who has denied that He is very God? Arius and\nPalladius have denied it. If you believe Him to be very God, you should\nsimply express it.\u2019\n\n74. AMBROSE, Bishop, said; \u2018If you will not say that He is very God\nbegotten of very God, you have denied Christ.\u2019\n\nSecundianus said; \u2018When asked about the Son, I answered you: I have\nanswered as to the manner in which I ought to make my profession. We\nhave your statement: we will bring it forward; let it be read.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018You should have brought it forward to-day, but\nyou are attempting a subterfuge. You demand a profession of me and I\ndemand a profession of you. Is the Son of God very God?\u2019\n\nSecundianus said; \u2018The Son of God is God only-begotten. I also ask him:\nIs He only-begotten?\u2019\n\n75. AMBROSE, Bishop, said; \u201cLet reason move us: let us be moved too by\nyour impiety and folly. When you speak of God very only-begotten, you\ndo not apply the \u2018very\u2019 to \u2018God,\u2019 but to \u2018only-begotten.\u2019 And therefore\nto remove this question answer me this: Is He very God of very God?\u201d\n\nSecundianus said; \u2018Did then God not beget God? He Who is very God begat\nWhat He is; He begat one true only-begotten Son.\u2019\n\nAmbrose, Bishop, said; \u2018You do not confess Him very God but you would\ncall Him very only-begotten. I too call Him only-begotten, but also\nvery God.\u2019\n\nSecundianus said; \u2018I say that he was begotten of the Father, I say to\nall that he was very begotten[37].\u2019\n\nThe Names of the Bishops and Presbyters who were present at the Council.\n\nVALERIAN, Bishop of Aquileia[38].\n\nAMBROSE, Bishop of Milan.\n\nEUSEBIUS, Bishop of Bologna.\n\nLIMENIUS, Bishop of Vercell\u00e6.\n\nANEMIUS, Bishop of Sirmium in Illyricum.\n\nSABINUS, Bishop of Placentia.\n\nABUNDANTIUS, Bishop of Brescia.\n\nCONSTANTIUS, Bishop of Orange, Deputy of the Gauls.\n\nTHEODORUS, Bishop of Octodurus.\n\nDOMNINUS, Bishop of Grenoble.\n\nAMANTIUS, Bishop of Nice.\n\nMAXIMUS, Bishop of Emona.\n\nBASSIANUS, Bishop of Lodi.\n\nPROCULUS, Bishop of Marseilles, Deputy of the Gauls.\n\nHELIODORUS, Bishop of Altinum.\n\nFELIX, Bishop of Jadera.\n\nEVENTIUS, Bishop of Ticinum[39].\n\nEXSUPERANTIUS, Bishop of Dertona.\n\nDIOGENES, Bishop of Genoa.\n\nCONSTANTIUS, Bishop of Sciscia.\n\nJUSTUS, Bishop of Lyons, also Deputy of the Gauls.\n\nFELIX, Deputy of Africa.\n\nNUMIDIUS, Deputy of Africa.\n\nEVAGRIUS, Presbyter and Deputy.\n\nARTEMIUS, ALMACHIUS, JANUARIUS, JOVINUS, MACEDONIUS, CASSIANUS,\nMARCELLUS, EUSTATHIUS, MAXIMUS, CHROMATIUS a Presbyter.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER IX.\n A.D. 381.\n\n\n A FORMAL letter from the Italian Bishops assembled at Aquileia,\n thanking the Bishops of the three Provinces for the presence of\n their deputies, and announcing officially the condemnation of\n Palladius and Secundianus.\n\n\n THE COUNCIL WHICH IS ASSEMBLED AT AQUILEIA TO OUR MOST BELOVED\n BRETHREN, THE BISHOPS OF THE VIENNESE AND THE FIRST AND SECOND\n NARBONESE PROVINCES[40] IN GAUL.\n\n1. WE return thanks to your holy unanimity that in the persons of\nour Lords and brethren Constantius and Proculus you have given us the\npresence of you all, and at the same time following the directions of\nformer times, have added not a little weight to our judgement, with\nwhich the profession of your holinesses also is in agreement, Lords\nand brethren most beloved. Therefore, as we received with gladness the\nabove mentioned holy men of your order and ours, so do we also dismiss\nthem with an abundant offering of thanks.\n\n2. But how necessary the meeting was will be plain from the mere facts,\nsince the adversaries and enemies of God, the defenders of the Arian\nsect and heresy, Palladius and Secundianus, the only two who dared\nto come to the meeting of the Council, received in person their due\nsentence, being convicted of impiety. Farewell. May our Almighty God\nkeep you safe and prosperous, Lords and brethren most beloved. Amen.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER X.\n A.D. 381.\n\n\n IN this letter, addressed formally to the three Emperors,\n but really to Gratian, the Council offer their thanks for the\n summoning of the Council, and announce its results, requesting\n that they may be enforced by the imperial authority. They also\n request the removal of Julius Valens from Italy, and that the\n Photinians may be forbidden to hold assemblies, which they were\n doing at Sirmium.\n\n\n THE HOLY COUNCIL WHICH IS ASSEMBLED AT AQUILEIA TO THE MOST\n GRACIOUS AND CHRISTIAN EMPERORS, AND MOST BLESSED PRINCES,\n GRATIAN, VALENTINIAN, AND THEODOSIUS.\n\n1. BLESSED be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has\ngiven you the Roman empire, and blessed be our Lord Jesus Christ,\nthe only-begotten Son of God, Who guards your reign with His\nloving-kindness, before Whom we return you thanks, most gracious\nPrinces, that you have both proved the earnestness of your own faith\nin that you were zealous to assemble the Council of Bishops for the\nremoval of disputes, and that in your condescension you reserved for\nthe Bishops the honourable privilege that no one should be absent who\nwished to attend, and none should be constrained to attend against his\nwill.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xli. 1. C.P.T.\n\n2. Therefore according to the directions of your Graces we have\nmet together without the odium of large numbers and with zeal for\ndiscussion, nor were any of the Bishops found to be heretics, except\nPalladius and Secundianus, names of ancient perfidy, on whose account\npeople from the farthest portions of the Roman world demanded that a\nCouncil should be summoned. None however, loaded with the years of a\nlong life, whose gray hairs alone would be entitled to reverence, was\ncompelled to come from the most distant recesses of the Ocean: and yet\nnothing was lacking to the Council: no one dragging a feeble frame,\nweighed down by his campaigns of fasting, was forced by the hardships\nof his journey to lament the inconvenience of his loss of strength;\nno one finally, being without the means of coming, had to mourn over\na poverty honourable to a Bishop. So that what the divine Scripture\nhas praised was fulfilled in you, most merciful of Princes, Gratian,\n_Blessed is he that considereth the poor and needy_.\n\n3. But what a hardship would it have been that on account of two\nBishops only, who are rotten in perfidy, the Churches over the whole\nworld should be left destitute of their Bishops. But though owing to\nthe distance of the journey they could not come personally, nearly\nall from all the western provinces were present by the sending of\ndeputies, and proved by manifest attestations that they hold what we\nassert and that they agree in the formula of the Council of Nic\u00e6a, as\nthe documents hereto attached declare. Therefore the prayers of the\nnations are now in concert every where on behalf of your Empire, and\nyet assertors of the Faith have not been wanting to your decision. For\nthough the directions of our predecessors, from which it is impious\nand sacrilegious to deviate, were plain enough, still we gave them the\nopportunity of discussion.\n\n4. And in the first instance we examined the very beginning of the\nquestion which had arisen, and we thought fit to hear recited the\nletter of Arius, who is found to be the author of the Arian heresy,\nfrom whom also the heresy received its name, the arrangement being thus\nfar even favourable to them, that since they had been in the habit of\ndenying that they were Arians they might either by censure condemn the\nblasphemies of Arius, or by argument maintain them, or at least not\nrefuse the name of the person, whose impiety and perfidy they followed.\nBut inasmuch as they could not condemn and were unwilling to support\ntheir Founder, after they had themselves, three days before, challenged\nus to a discussion, fixing place and time, and gone forth to it without\nwaiting to be summoned, on a sudden the very individuals, who had said\nthat they would easily prove that they were Christians, (which we heard\nwith pleasure, and hoped that they would prove,) began to shrink from\nthe engagement on the spot and to decline the discussion.\n\n5. Yet had we much discourse with them: the divine Scriptures were set\nforth in the midst; and they had the offer made to them of a patient\ndiscussion from sun-rise to the seventh hour of the day. And would\nthat they had said little, or that we could cancel what we heard. For\nwhen Arius by saying in sacrilegious words that the Father was alone\neternal, alone good, alone true God, alone possessing immortality,\nalone wise and alone powerful, had intended that the Son by an impious\ninference should be understood to be without these attributes, these\nmen have preferred following Arius to confessing that the Son of God\nis everlasting God and very God, and good God and wise and powerful\nand possessing immortality. We spent several hours to no purpose. Their\nimpiety waxed greater and could in no wise be corrected.\n\n6. At last when they saw that they were pressed by the sacrileges of\nArius\u2019 letter, (which we have appended in order that even your Graces\nmight shrink from it) they started away in the middle of the reading\nof the letter, and asked us to answer what they proposed. Though it\nlay not within either order or reason that we should interrupt the\nplan laid down, and though we had already answered that they were\nto condemn the impieties of Arius and then we would answer about\nwhatever proposals of theirs they pleased, preserving order and plan,\nwe notwithstanding acceded to their unreasonable wish: on which,\nfalsifying the scriptures of the Gospel, they stated to us that our\nLord said, _He that sent Me is greater than I_: whereas the course of\nthe Scriptures teaches us that it is written otherwise.\n\n7. They were convicted of the falsehood even to confession: they were\nnot however corrected by reason. For when we said that the Son is\ncalled less than the Father in respect to his taking flesh upon Him,\nbut is proved according to the testimonies of the Scriptures to be like\nand equal to the Father in respect of His Godhead, and that there could\nnot be degrees of any distinction or greatness, when there was unity of\npower; they not only would not correct their error; but began to carry\ntheir madness further, so as even to say that the Son is subject in\nrespect of His divinity, as if there could be any subjection of God in\nrespect of His Divinity and Majesty. In short they refer His death not\nto the mystery of our salvation, but to some infirmity of His Godhead.\n\n8. We shudder, most gracious Princes, at such dire sacrileges, and\nsuch wicked teachers, and that they might not any longer deceive the\npeople of whom they had a hold, we judged that they should be degraded\nfrom the Priesthood, since they agreed with the impieties of the book\nput before them. For it is not reasonable that they should claim to\nthemselves the Priesthood of Him Whom they have denied. We appeal\nto your faith and your glory that you would shew the respect of your\ngovernment to Him Who is the author of it, and judge that the assertors\nof impiety and debauchers of the truth be kept away from the threshold\nof the Church, by an order of your Graces issued to the competent\nauthorities, and that Holy Bishops be put into the place of the\ncondemned ones by deputies of our humble appointment.\n\n9. The Presbyter Attalus[41] too who avows his error and adheres to\nthe sacrilegious doctrines of Palladius is included under a similar\nsentence. For why should we speak of his master Julianus Valens[42]?\nwho although he was close at hand shunned coming to the Council of\nBishops for fear he should be compelled to account to the Bishops for\nthe ruin of his country, and his treason to his countrymen: a man, who,\npolluted with the impiety of the Goths, presumed, as is asserted, to go\nforth in the sight of a Roman army, wearing like a Pagan a collar and\nbracelet: which is unquestionably a sacrilege not only in a Bishop, but\nalso in any Christian whatever: for it is alien to the Roman customs.\nIt may be that the idolatrous priests of the Goths commonly go forth in\nsuch guise.\n\n10. Let your piety be moved by the title of Bishop, which that\nsacrilegious person dishonours, convicted as he is of atrocious crime\neven by the voice of his own people, if indeed any of his own people\ncan still survive. Let him at least return to his own home, and cease\nto contaminate the most flourishing cities of Italy; at present by\nunlawful ordinations he is associating with himself persons like\nhimself, and he endeavours by help of all abandoned individuals to\nleave behind him a seed-plot of his own impiety and perfidy: whereas he\nhas not so much as begun to be a Bishop. For, to begin with, at Petavio\nhe was put in the place of the holy Marcus, a Bishop whose memory is\nhighly esteemed: but, having been disgracefully degraded by the people,\nunable to remain at Petavio, he has been riding in state at Milan,\nafter the overthrow, say rather the betrayal, of his country.\n\n11. Deign then, most pious princes, to deal with all these matters,\nlest we should appear to have met to no purpose, when we obeyed your\nGraces\u2019 injunctions: for care must be taken that not only our decisions\nbut yours also be saved from dishonour. We must request therefore that\nyour Graces would be pleased to listen indulgently to the deputies\nof the Council, Holy men, and bid them to return speedily with\naccomplishment of what we ask for, that you may receive a reward from\nChrist our Lord and God, Whose Church you have cleansed from all stain\nof sacrilegious persons.\n\n12. With respect to the Photinians also, whom by a former law you\nforbad forming assemblies, revoking at the same time the law which had\nbeen passed for the assembling of a Council of Bishops[43], we request\nof your Graces, that as we have ascertained that they are attempting\nto hold assemblies in the town of Sirmium, you would by now again\ninterdicting their meetings, cause respect to be paid, in the first\nplace to the Catholic Church, and next to your own laws, that with God\nfor your Patron you may be triumphant, while you provide for the peace\nand tranquillity of the Church.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XI.\n A.D. 381.\n\n\n THIS letter, which, like the previous one, is really\n addressed to Gratian, though in accordance with custom formally\n superscribed with the names of all the three Emperors, urges him\n to support Damasus as the orthodox and duly elected Bishop of\n Rome, and to condemn his rival Ursinus, whose interference with\n their Council, and intrigues with the Arian party they also\n inform him of.\n\n\n TO THE MOST GRACIOUS EMPERORS AND CHRISTIAN PRINCES, THE MOST\n GLORIOUS AND MOST BLESSED, GRATIAN, VALENTINIAN, AND THEODOSIUS,\n THE COUNCIL WHICH IS ASSEMBLED AT AQUILEIA.\n\n1. YOUR enactments have indeed already provided, most gracious Princes,\nthat the perfidy of the Arians may not any further either be concealed\nor diffused: for we do not conceive that the decrees of the Council\nwill be without effect; for as regards the West, two individuals\nonly have been found to dare to oppose the Council with profane and\nimpious words, men who had previously disturbed a mere corner of Dacia\nRipensis[44].\n\n2. There is another subject which distresses us more, which, as we\nwere assembled, it was our business to discuss duly, lest it should\nspread through the whole body of the Church diffused over the whole\nworld, and so trouble all things For though we were generally agreed\nthat Ursinus[45] could not have overreached your piety (though he\nallows nothing to be quiet, and amid the many urgencies of war would\npress upon you with his importunity) still lest your holy tranquillity\nof mind, which delights in having all persons in its care, should be\nswayed by the false adulation of that unreasonable person, we think it\nright, if you condescendingly allow it, to offer you our prayers and\nentreaties, not only to guard against what may be, but shuddering at\npast things also which have been brought about by his temerity. For if\nhe found any vent for his audacity, where would he not spread confusion?\n\n3. But if pity for a single person can sway you, much more let the\nprayer of all the Bishops move you. For which of us will be united\nto him in fellowship and communion when he has attempted to usurp a\nplace not due to him, and one he could not lawfully have arrived at,\nand endeavours to regain in a manner most unreasonable what he was\nmost unreasonable in aiming at? Often as he has been found guilty of\nturbulence, he still goes on, as if his past conduct should inspire\nno horror. He was often, as we ascertained and saw in the present\nCouncil, in union and combination with the Arians at the time when he\nendeavoured in company with Valens[46] to disturb the Church of Milan\nwith their detestable assembly: holding private meetings sometimes\nbefore the doors of the synagogue and sometimes in the houses of the\nArians, and uniting his friends to them; and, as he could not go openly\nhimself to their congregations, teaching and informing them in what\nway the Church\u2019s peace might be disturbed. Their madness gave him fresh\ncourage, so as well to earn the favour of their supporters and allies.\n\n Sidenote: Titus iii. 10.\n\n Sidenote: 2 S. John 10.\n\n4. When therefore it is written; _a man that is an heretic after[47]\none admonition reject_, and when another man who spoke by the Holy\nSpirit has said that beasts such as these should be spurned and not\nreceived with greeting or welcome, how is it possible that we should\nnot judge the person whom we have seen united to their society to be\nalso a maintainer of their perfidy? What even if he were not there? We\nmight still have besought your Graces not to allow the Roman Church,\nthe Head of the whole Roman world, and the sacred faith of the Apostles\nto be disturbed; for from thence flow all the rights of venerable\nCommunion to all persons. And therefore we pray and beseech you that\nyou would condescend to take from him the means of stealing advantage\nfrom you.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Tim. iii. 3\u20137.\n\n5. We know your Graces\u2019 holy modesty: let him not press upon you words\nunbecoming your ears, or give his noisy utterance to what is alien from\nthe office and name of a Bishop, or say to you what is unseemly. When\nhe ought to have _a good report_ even _from those who are without_,\nlet your Graces condescend to recollect what was the testimony with\nwhich the men of his own city have followed him. For it is a shame to\nsay and against modesty to repeat how disgraceful is the rumour, with\nthe reproach of which he is wounded. The shame of this ought to have\nconstrained him to silence, and if he partook in any degree of the\nfeelings and conscience of a Bishop, he would prefer the Church\u2019s peace\nand concord to his own ambition and inclination. But, lost to all shame,\nhe sends letters by Paschasius an excommunicated person, the standard\nbearer of his madness, and so sows confusion, and attempts to excite\neven Gentiles and abandoned characters.\n\n6. We therefore entreat you to restore by the degradation of that most\ntroublesome person the security which has been interrupted both to us\nBishops and to the Roman people, which is at present in uncertainty\nand suspense since the memorial of the Prefect of the city. And\non obtaining this let us in continuous and unbroken course offer\nthanksgivings to God the Almighty Father and to Christ our Lord God.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XII.\n A.D. 381.\n\n\n THIS letter, referring to the settlement of affairs in the\n East, is really addressed to Theodosius, the Emperor of the East.\n After expressing the thanks due to the Emperors for the success\n which has attended their efforts to establish the true faith\n throughout the Empire, the Bishops beg that Theodosius will use\n his influence to settle the questions of disputed succession,\n which were vexing the Churches of Alexandria and Antioch, and\n endangering the maintenance of Communion between the East and\n West. They ask therefore that a general Council may be summoned\n to Alexandria to settle both questions.\n\n\n TO THE MOST GRACIOUS AND CHRISTIAN EMPERORS, THE GLORIOUS AND\n MOST BLESSED PRINCES, GRATIAN, VALENTINIAN, AND THEODOSIUS,\n THE HOLY COUNCIL WHICH IS ASSEMBLED AT AQUILEIA.\n\n1. MOST gracious Emperors and most blessed and most glorious princes,\nGratian, Valentinian, and Theodosius, beloved of God the Father and\nof His Son our Lord Jesus Christ, we are unable to match the benefits\nwhich your piety has conferred upon us, even with the most overflowing\nreturn of thanks. For now that, after many times of trial and various\npersecutions, which the Arians, especially Lucius[48], who marked his\ncourse by the impious murder of monks and virgins, and Demophilus[49]\ntoo, an evil source of perfidy, brought on the Catholics, all the\nChurches of God, in the East especially, have been restored to the\nCatholics; while in the West scarce two heretics have been found to\noppose the decrees of the Holy Council, who can conceive himself able\nto make an adequate acknowledgement of your goodness?\n\n2. But though we cannot give full expression to your favours in words,\nwe still desire to recompense them by the prayers of the Council;\nand though in all the several Churches we celebrate our daily vigils\nfor your Empire before our God, still when assembled in one body,\nthan which service we conceive nothing can be more glorious, we offer\nthanksgivings to our Almighty God both on behalf of the Empire, and of\nyour own peace and safety, because peace and concord have been so shed\nover us through you.\n\n3. In the West indeed only in two corners, on the borders of Dacia\nRipensis and of Moesia did murmurs appear to have been raised against\nthe faith: and these places after the sentence of the Council should,\nwe conceive, be immediately provided for with your Graces\u2019 indulgence.\nBut over all tracts and countries and village departments as far as the\nOcean, the communion of the faithful remains one and unpolluted. And in\nthe East we have had the greatest joy and delight in learning that the\nArians, who had violently invaded the Churches, have been ejected, and\nthat the sacred temples of God are frequented by Catholics alone.\n\n4. But still since the envy of the Devil is never wont to rest, we hear\nthat there are among the Catholics themselves frequent dissensions and\nimplacable discord; and all our feelings are disturbed at ascertaining\nthat many things have been innovated upon, and that persons are\nmolested now who should have been relieved, men who continued always in\nour Communion. In short Timotheus Bishop of the Church of Alexandria,\nand Paulinus Bishop of the Church of Antioch[50], who always maintained\nthe concord of Communion with us inviolate, are said to be distressed\nby the variances of other persons, whose faith in former times was\nscarcely stedfast. These persons, if it be possible, and they are\nrecommended by a sufficient faith, we would wish to have added to our\nfellowship: but without prejudice to the rights of those who share with\nus the ancient Communion. And our care for them is not superfluous,\nfirst of all because the fellowship of Communion should be clear of\nall offence, and secondly, because we have long since received letters\nfrom both parties, and particularly from those who were divided in the\nChurch of Antioch.\n\n5. Indeed if the irruption of the enemy[51] had not hindered, we had\nmade arrangements to send thither some of our own number, to take the\noffice of umpires and referees for diffusing peace again, should it be\npossible. But since our desires could not have accomplishment at that\ntime owing to the troubles of the state, we think it right to offer\nour prayers to your Goodness, asking that by agreement[52] between\nthe factions, on the death of the one, the rights of the Church should\nremain with the survivor, and that no additional consecration should\nbe forcibly attempted. And therefore we request you, most gracious\nand Christian Princes, that you would have a Council of all Catholic\nBishops held at Alexandria, that they may more fully discuss and define\namong themselves to whom Communion is to be imparted and with whom it\nis to be maintained[53].\n\n6. For though we have always supported the disposition and order of\nthe Church of Alexandria, and according to the manner and custom of our\npredecessors we retain Communion with it in indissoluble fellowship to\nthese present times, still lest it should be thought that persons have\nbeen neglected who have sought our Communion according to the agreement,\nwhich we wish should stand, or that the shortest road to that peace and\nfellowship of the faithful has not been taken, we pray you that when\nthey have discussed these matters in a full assembly among themselves,\nthe decrees of the Bishops may be furthered by the assistance\nministered by your Goodness. And allow us to be made acquainted with\nthis, that our minds may not waver in uncertainty, but that, full of\njoy and relieved from anxiety, we may return thanks to your goodness\nbefore Almighty God, not only that heresy is shut out, but also that\nfaith and concord are restored to the Catholics. The prayer which the\nAfrican and Gallic Churches offer you through their deputies is this,\nthat you would make the Bishops over the whole world your debtors,\nthough the debt already due to your excellence is not small.\n\n7. To offer however our entreaties to your clemency and to obtain what\nwe ask for, we have sent as deputies our brethren and fellow-presbyters,\nwhom we pray you that you would condescend graciously to listen to, and\nallow to return speedily.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XIII.\n A.D. 382.\n\n\n IN the year following the Council of Aquileia, a Council of\n the Bishops of the civil Diocese of Italy appears to have been\n held, over which S. Ambrose presided. It appears to have dealt\n principally with the questions at issue between the East and\n West. This letter was written by S. Ambrose in the name of the\n Council, after the end of its session (\u2018in concilio nuper,\u2019 \u00a7 3),\n to Theodosius. The Bishops complain of the election of Flavian\n to succeed Meletius at Antioch, contrary to the compromise which\n they urged in the last letter, and maintain Maximus\u2019 claim to\n the see of Constantinople against Nectarius, urging again the\n necessity of a General Council of both East and West, to settle\n finally all the questions in dispute between them, and suggest\n that it should be held at Rome.\n\n\n TO THE MOST BLESSED EMPEROR AND MOST GRACIOUS PRINCE THEODOSIUS,\n AMBROSE AND THE OTHER BISHOPS OF ITALY.\n\n1. WE knew indeed that your holy mind was devoted to God in pure and\nsincere faith, but your Majesty has loaded us with fresh benefits in\nrestoring the Catholics to the Churches. And I would that you could\nhave restored the Catholics themselves to their ancient reverence,\nthat they would innovate in nothing against the prescription of our\nancestors, and not be hasty either to rescind \u2666what they ought to\nmaintain nor to maintain what they ought to rescind. Therefore we sigh,\nyour Majesty, perhaps with too much grief, but not without sufficient\nreason, that it has proved easier to get the heretics expelled than to\nestablish concord among the Catholics. For the extent of the confusion\nthat has lately taken place is beyond expression.\n\n2. We wrote to you not long ago, that since the city of Antioch\nhad two Bishops, Paulinus and Meletius, both of whom we regarded as\ntrue to the faith, they should either agree with each other in peace\nand concord, preserving Ecclesiastical order, or at least, if one of\nthem died before the other, no one should be put into the place of the\ndeceased while the other lived. But now on the death of Meletius, while\nPaulinus is still alive, whom fellowship derived from our predecessors\nuninterruptedly testifies to have remained in our Communion, another\nperson is said to have been not so much supplied, as super-added, into\nthe place of Meletius, contrary to right and to Ecclesiastical order.\n\n3. And this is alleged to have taken place by the consent and advice\nof Nectarius[54], the regularity of whose ordination we are not clearly\nconvinced of. For in a Council lately, when Maximus the Bishop, having\nread the letter of Peter a man of holy memory, had shewn that the\ncommunion of the Church of Alexandria remained with him, and had proved\nby the clearest testimony, that he was consecrated[55] by three Bishops\nordaining by mandate within his private house, because the Arians were\nat that time in possession of the Basilicas, we had no cause, most\nblessed of Princes, to doubt of his episcopacy, when he testified that\nhe resisted and was forcibly constrained by a majority of the laity and\nclergy.\n\n4. Still that we might not appear to have settled any thing\nover-hastily in the absence of the parties, we thought it fit to inform\nyour Grace by letter, in order that his case might be provided for so\nas best to serve the interests of public peace and concord, because\nin truth we perceived that Gregory claimed to himself the priesthood\nof the Church of Constantinople, by no means in accordance with the\ntradition of the Fathers. We therefore in that Synod, attendance at\nwhich appeared to have been prescribed to the Bishops of the whole\nworld, were of opinion that nothing ought to be decided rashly. So at\nthat particular time the persons who declined a general Council and who\nare said to have had one at Constantinople, where they had ascertained\nthat Maximus had come hither to plead his cause in the Synod (and this,\neven if a Council had not been proclaimed it was competent for him to\ndo lawfully and according to the customs of our predecessors, as also\nAthanasius of holy memory, and since that Peter, brother Bishops of the\nChurch of Alexandria, and several of the Eastern Bishops have done, so\nas to appear to have sought the decision of the Churches of Rome, of\nItaly, and of all the West) when, as we said, they saw that he wished\nto bring the question to a trial with those who denied his episcopate,\nthey were surely bound to wait for our opinion upon it[56]. We do not\nclaim any special privilege of examining such matters, but we ought to\nhave had a share in an united decision.\n\n5. Last of all, it ought to have been decided whether he was to lose\nhis See, before deciding whether another should receive it, especially\nby persons by whom Maximus complained that he was either deserted or\ninjured. Therefore since Maximus the Bishop has been received into\nCommunion by those of our fellowship on the ground that it was certain\nthat he had been ordained by Catholics, we did not see that he ought to\nhave been excluded from his claim to the Bishopric of Constantinople,\nand we thought that his allegation ought to be weighed in the presence\nof the parties.\n\nBut since we have learned recently that Nectarius has been ordained\nat Constantinople, we fear that our communion with the Oriental\nregions is broken, especially since Nectarius is said to have been left\nimmediately without the fellowship of Communion by the very persons by\nwhom he was ordained.\n\n6. There is therefore no slight difficulty here. And it is not any\ncontention about wishes and ambition of our own that makes us anxious,\nbut we are greatly disturbed by the breaking up and interruption of\ncommunion. Nor do we see any way in which concord can be established\nexcept either by restoring to Constantinople the Bishop who was first\nordained, or at least having a Council of ourselves and of the Eastern\nBishops at Rome, to consider the ordination of both of them.\n\n7. Nor does it seem unbecoming, your Majesty, that the persons, who\nthought the judgement of Acholius, a single Bishop, so well worth\nwaiting for, that they called him to Constantinople from the regions of\nthe West, should be obliged to submit to the discussion of the Bishop\nof the Church of Rome, and of the Bishops of the neighbourhood and of\nItaly. If a question was reserved for a single individual, how much\nmore should it be reserved for many?\n\n8. We, however, as it has been suggested to us by the most blessed\nPrince, your Brother[57], that we should write to your Grace\u2019s Majesty,\nrequest that when the communion is one, you would be pleased that the\njudgement should be joint and the consent concurrent.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XIV.\n A.D. 382.\n\n\n THIS letter is a reply to one addressed to the Bishops of\n Italy by Theodosius, in answer to the last. He seems in it to\n have \u201cundeceived them by informing them what Maximus was, and\n how different his ordination was from that of Nectarius. He\n represented to them that these affairs, and that of Flavian,\n ought to be judged in the East, where all the parties were\n present, and that there was no reason to oblige those of the\n East to come unto the West.\u201d (Fleury xviii, 17, vol. 1. p. 41,\n Newman\u2019s Transl.) The Bishops in this reply thank the Emperor\n for his efforts to appease the differences between the East and\n West, and profess the disinterestedness of their desire for a\n general Council, and add, as an additional reason for it, the\n spread of opinions attributed to Apollinaris, which require to\n be examined into in the presence of the parties concerned.\n\n\n TO THE MOST BLESSED EMPEROR AND MOST GRACIOUS PRINCE THEODOSIUS,\n AMBROSE AND THE OTHER BISHOPS OF ITALY.\n\n1. THE knowledge of your faith, which is diffused over the whole world,\nhas soothed the innermost feelings of our minds; and therefore, that\nyour reign might have the additional glory of having restored unity to\nthe Churches both of the West and East, we have thought it right, most\nserene and faithful Emperor, at once to beseech and inform your Grace\non Ecclesiastical subjects by our letter. For we have been grieved\nthat the fellowship of holy Communion between the East and West was\ninterrupted.\n\n2. We say not a word by whose error or by whose fault this was, that\nwe may not be supposed to be spreading fables and idle talk. Nor can\nwe regret having made an attempt, the neglect of which might have\nturned to our blame. For it was often made matter of blame to us that\nwe appeared to disregard the society of the Eastern brethren, and to\nreject their kindness.\n\n3. We thought moreover that we ought to take this trouble on ourselves,\nnot for Italy, which now for this long time has been quiet and free\nfrom anxiety on the part of the Arians, and which is troubled with no\ndisturbance of the heretics; not for ourselves, for we seek not our own\nthings, but the things of all; not for Gaul and Africa which enjoy the\nindividual fellowship of all their Bishops, but that the circumstances\nwhich have disturbed our communion on the side of the East might be\nenquired into in the Synod, and all scruple be removed from among us.\n\n4. For not only with regard to the persons about whom your Grace\ncondescended to write, but with regard to others who are attempting to\nbring into the Church some dogma or other, said to be Apollinaris\u2019[58],\nthere were several things that affected us, to which the knife should\nhave been applied in the presence of the parties, that a person\nconvicted of maintaining a new dogma and proved to be in error should\nnot shelter himself under the general name of the Faith, but at once\nlay down both the office and name of Bishop, which he was not entitled\nto by authority of doctrine, and that no threads or artifices of\ndelusion should remain for persons hereafter wishing to deceive. For\nthe person who is convicted, not in the presence of the parties, as\nyour Grace has truly decided in your august and princely answer, will\nalways lay hold of a handle for reviving the enquiry.\n\n5. This was why we asked for a Council of Bishops, that no one\nshould be permitted to state what was false against a person in his\nabsence, and that the truth might be cleared up by discussion in the\nCouncil. We ought not then to incur any suspicion either of over-zeal\nor over-leniency, seeing that we made all our observations in the\npresence of the parties.\n\n6. In truth we drew up what was quoted, not to decide but to\ngive information, and while we asked for a judgement, we offer no\nprejudgement. Nor ought it to have been regarded as any reproach to\nthem, when Bishops were invited to the Council, who in many cases were\nmore present by their very absence, since it contributed to the common\ngood. For neither did we conceive it to be a reproach to us when a\nPresbyter of the Church of Constantinople, by name Paulus, demanded\nthat there should be a Synod both of Eastern and Western Bishops in\nthe province of Achaia.\n\n7. Your Grace observes that this demand, which was made by the Greeks\nalso, was not unreasonable. But, because there are disturbances in\nIllyricum[59], a neighbourhood near the sea and safer was sought.\nNor have we indeed made any innovation in the way of precedent, but\npreserving the decisions of Athanasius of holy memory, who was as\nit were a pillar of the Faith, and of our holy fathers of old time\nin their Councils, we do not tear up the boundaries that our Fathers\nplaced, or violate the rights of hereditary Communion, but reserving\nthe honour due to your authority, we shew ourselves studious of peace\nand quietness[60].\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XV.\n A.D. 383.\n\n\n THIS letter is addressed to the Bishops of Macedonia, in\n reply to their announcement of the death of Acholius[61],\n Bishop of Thessalonica. S. Ambrose pronounces a warm eulogium\n on the departed Bishop, whom he compares to Elijah, especially\n in leaving in Anysius a successor, like Elisha, endowed with\n a double portion of his spirit. He recounts the pleasure which\n he had felt in his intercourse with Acholius at Rome, when they\n had wept together over the evils of the times, and invokes the\n Blessing of God upon his successor.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO ANATOLIUS, NUMERIUS, SEVERUS, PHILIP, MACEDONIUS,\n AMMIANUS, THEODOSIUS, EUTROPIUS, CLARUS, EUSEBIUS,\n AND TIMOTHEUS, PRIESTS OF THE LORD, AND TO ALL THE\n BELOVED CLERGY AND PEOPLE OF THESSALONICA, HEALTH.\n\n1. WHILE longing to keep ever imprinted on my mind the holy man, and\nwhile I survey all his acts like one set on a watch-tower, my restless\nanxiety caused me to drink only too swiftly these bitter tidings, and\nI learned what I had rather still be ignorant of, that the man whom we\nwere seeking on earth was already at rest in heaven.\n\n2. You will ask who announced this to me, seeing that the letter of\nyour Holinesses had not then arrived. I know not who was the bearer of\nthe tidings: it is, you know, men\u2019s wont not willingly to remember the\nbearer of tidings of sorrow: however, though the sea was then closed,\nand the land blocked by a barbarian invasion, there was no lack of a\nmessenger, though it was impossible for any one to arrive from abroad;\nso that it appears to me the saint himself announced his own death to\nus, for now that he enjoyed the eternal recompense of his labours, and\nfreed from the bands of the body, had been carried by the ministry of\nAngels to the intimate presence of Christ, he was desirous of removing\nthe error of one who loved him, that we might not be asking for him\nlength of mortal life, while he was already receiving eternal rewards.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. lv. 7.\n\n Sidenote: Phil. i. 24.\n\n3. This veteran then of Christ Jesus is not dead, but has departed and\nleft us, he has changed for heaven this earth below, and clapping the\npinions and wings of his spirit he exclaims, _Lo, I have got me away\nfar off!_ For in the spirit of the Apostle he desired long ago to leave\nthe earth, but he was detained by the prayers of all, as we read of\nthe Apostle, because it was needful for the Church that he should abide\nlonger in the flesh. For he lived not for himself but for all, and was\nto the people the minister of eternal life, so that he gained the fruit\nthereof in others, before he experienced it in himself.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xlviii. 7.\n\n Sidenote: Baruch iii. 24, 25.\n\n4. Now therefore he is a citizen of heaven, a possessor of that eternal\ncity Jerusalem, which is in heaven. There he sees the boundless circuit\nof this city, its pure gold, its precious stones, its perpetual light\nthough without the sun. And seeing all these things whereof he before\nhad knowledge, but which are now manifested to him face to face, he\nsays, _Like as we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord\nof hosts, in the city of our God_. Standing there he appeals to the\npeople of God saying, _O Israel, how great is the house of God, and how\nlarge is the place of His possession!_ Great is He, and hath none end.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Kings vi. 18.\n\n5. But what is this? While I consider his merits, and follow as it\nwere in spirit his departure, and mingle with the choirs of saints that\nescort him, not indeed by my desert but by my affection, meanwhile I\nhave almost forgotten myself. Is then this wall of faith and grace and\nsanctity taken from us, that wall which, though frequently assaulted\nby the Goths[62], their barbarian darts could never penetrate, nor the\nwarlike fury of many nations overpower? They who in other places were\nspoilers there prayed for peace, and while they marvelled what was this\nunarmed force which opposed them, the wiser hinted that one like Elisha\ndwelt within, one who was nearly his equal in age, in spirit quite his\nequal, and bade them beware lest after the manner of the Syrian army,\nblindness should fall on them also.\n\n6. However the gifts of Christ to His disciples are various. Elisha\nled captive into Samaria the army of the Syrians, holy Acholius by his\nprayers caused the victors to retreat from Macedonia. Do we not see\nin this a proof of supernatural forces, that though no soldiers were\nat hand, the victors should thus fly without a foe; is not this too\na proof of blindness that they should fly when no man pursued? Though\nin truth holy Acholius pursued and fought them, not with swords but\nprayers, not with weapons but good works.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. vii. 6.\n\n7. Do we not know that the saints fight even when they keep holiday?\nWas not Elisha at rest? Yes, at rest in body, but in spirit he was\nactive, and by his prayers he fought when the noise of horses and the\nnoise of a great host were heard in the camp of the Syrians, so that\nthey thought that the forces of other princes were marching against\nthem, to succour the people of Israel. So they were seized with great\npanic and fled, and four lepers, who had gone out to seek for death,\nspoiled their camp. And did not the Lord work like, or, I might almost\nsay, greater wisdom in Macedonia, by the prayers of Acholius? For it\nwas not by an idle panic nor a vague suspicion, but by a raging plague\nand burning pestilence that the Goths were troubled and alarmed. In\nshort they then fled that they might escape; afterwards they returned\nand sued for peace to save their lives.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Kings ii. 4.\n\n8. Wherefore in the great deeds of this eminent man we have seen\nformer ages revived, and have witnessed those works of the prophet\nwhich we read of. Like Elisha he was all his life in the midst of\narms and battles, and by his good works made wars to cease. And when\ntranquillity was restored to his countrymen, he breathed out his holy\nsoul, a misfortune heavier than war itself. Like Elijah he was carried\nup to heaven, not in a chariot of fire, nor by horses of fire, (unless\nhaply it was but that we saw them not) nor in any whirlwind in the sky,\nbut by the will and in the calm of our God, and with the jubilation of\nthe holy Angels who rejoiced that such a man had come among them.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xxv. 21.\n\n9. Surely we cannot doubt this, when all other particulars agree so\nwell. For at the very moment when he was being taken up, he let fall so\nto speak the vestment which he wore, and invested with it holy Anysius\nhis disciple, and clothed him with the robes of his own priesthood.\nHis merits and graces I do not now hear for the first time, nor have I\nfirst learnt them from your letters, but I recognised them in what you\nwrote. For as if foreknowing that he would be his successor, Acholius\ndesignated him as such by tokens, though in open speech he concealed\nit; saying that he had been aided by his care, labour, and ministry,\nthus seeming to declare him his coadjutor, one who would not come as a\nnovice to the chief office of the priesthood, but as a tried performer\nof its duties. Well does that saying in the Gospel befit him, _Well\ndone, thou good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a\nfew things, I will make thee ruler over many things_.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Kings x. 24.\n\n10. So far both you and I participate in holy Acholius, but there is\nthis special bond between him and me, that the man of blessed memory\nsuffered me to become his friend. For on his arrival in Italy, when\nI was prevented by illness from going to meet him, he himself came\nand visited me. With what ardour, with what affection did we embrace\neach other! With what groans did we lament the evil of the times, and\nall that was happening here! Our garments were bedewed with a flood of\ntears, while in the enjoyment of our meeting long and mutually desired,\nwe remained locked in each others embrace. Thus what I had long yearned\nfor he bestowed, the opportunity of seeing him. For although it is in\nthe spirit, the seat of love, that the greater portion and more perfect\nknowledge lies, yet we desire to behold our friends in bodily form also.\nThus formerly the kings of the earth sought to behold the face of\nSolomon, and to hear his wisdom.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xxxiii. 8.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 9.\n\n Sidenote: Ecclus. xliv. 15.\n\n11. He is gone then from us, and has left us tossed on this sea; what\nis a benefit to him is to the many a heavier calamity than even the\nrage of the barbarians; for this he repelled, and now who shall bring\nback his presence to us? Nay, the Lord brings it back, and he himself\ngives himself back in his disciple. Your judgements give him back,\nby which you say, _Give to Levi his manifest one, and his truths to\nThy holy one_. You have given _his manifest one_ inasmuch as he is\nestablished by his appointment; you have given a follower of that\nman, _who said unto his father and to his mother I have not seen thee;\nneither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children. He\nobserved the word of the Lord, and kept His covenant. The people will\ntell of his wisdom._\n\n12. Such was the man\u2019s life, such his heritage, such his conversation,\nsuch his succession. While yet a boy he entered a monastery, and\nthough shut up in a narrow cell in Achaia, yet by grace he traversed\nthe spaces of many countries. The people of Macedonia besought that\nhe might be their Bishop, the priesthood elected him to that office,\nthat where the faith had before been maimed[63] by the Bishop, there\nafterwards the solid foundations of the faith might be established by\nthe Bishop.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xxxiii. 9.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xxxiii. 16.\n\n13. None other did his disciple imitate, who also himself _said unto\nhis father and to his mother I have not seen thee_. He saw them not\nwith affection, he saw them not with desire, and he knew not his\nbrethren, because he desired to know the Lord. He observed also the\nword of the Lord and kept His covenant, and will ever offer sacrifice\nupon His altar. Bless, O Lord, his faith, his holiness, his assiduity.\nLet Thy blessing descend upon his head and upon his neck. Let him be\nhonourable among his brethren, let him be as the leader of the herd.\nLet him sift the hearts of his enemies, let him soothe the minds of the\nsaints, and let the judgement of Thy priests flourish in him as a lily.\nBrethren, farewell, and love me, as I love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XVI.\n A.D. 383.\n\n\n THIS letter is addressed to Anysius, immediately on his election\n as successor to Acholius, in answer apparently to one from\n Anysius, which accompanied that from the Bishops of Macedonia,\n and announced his appointment. He speaks of the responsibility\n of succeeding so zealous a Bishop as Acholius, whom he praises\n in enthusiastic terms, and prays that God may make him a worthy\n successor in every way.\n\n\n BISHOP AMBROSE TO HIS BROTHER ANYSIUS.\n\n1. I HAVE been for some time sure of what I now read for the first\ntime, and I know well by his merits him whom my eyes have not seen.\nI grieve that the one event should have happened, I rejoice that the\nother has ensued; I should have wished that the one had not happened\nin my lifetime, but it was my hope that after the death of that holy\nman this alone would ensue, as it ought. So now we have you, once\nthe disciple, now the successor of Acholius of blessed memory, the\ninheritor alike of his rank and of his grace. This is a great merit,\nmy brother. I congratulate you that there was not a moment\u2019s doubt who\nshould be the successor of so great a man. It is a great task too, my\nbrother, to have taken upon you the burden of so great a name, a name\nof such weight, of such a scale. In you we look for Acholius, and as he\nwas in your affections, so in your ministry is required a copy of his\nvirtue, of his holy life, his vigorous mind in that decrepit body.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. xii. 2.\n\n2. I have seen him, I confess: my seeing him is due to his merits:\nI saw him in such sort in the body as to believe him to be out of the\nbody: I saw the image of him who, knowing not whether it was in the\nbody or out of the body, saw himself transported to Paradise. With\nsuch rapid speed had he traversed every region, Constantinople, Achaia,\nEpirus, and Italy, that younger men could not keep pace with him. Men\nof stronger bodies yielded to him, knowing that he was free from the\nshackles of the body, so that he used it more as a covering than as\nan instrument, at all events that it was his slave not his helpmate,\nfor he had so trained his body that he crucified the world in it, and\nhimself to the world.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xii. 48.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Chron. ix. 21.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. lxviii. 14.\n\n3. Blessed is the Lord, and blessed was His youth which He passed in\nthe tabernacle of the God of Jacob, abiding in a monastery, in which,\nwhen sought after by His parents and relations He said, _Who is My\nmother, and who are My brethren?_ I know not father, nor mother, nor\nbrethren, save those _who hear the Word of God, and do it_. Blessed\nalso were his maturer years, wherein he was elected to the chief\npriesthood, having given proof of his virtue by a long service. He\ncame like David to restore peace to the people. He came like that ship\nbringing with him spiritual treasure, and cedar wood, and precious\nstones, and those _silver wings of a dove_, with which, lying _in the\nmidst of the lots_, she slept the sleep of tranquillity and peace.\n\n Sidenote: Cant. v. 2.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xxviii. 13.\n\n4. For even the sleep of the saints is operative, as it is written,\n_I sleep, but my heart waketh_, and as holy Jacob saw in sleep divine\nmysteries, which waking he saw not, even a passage opened for the\nsaints between earth and heaven, and the Lord regarding him and\npromising to him the possession of that land. Thus by a brief sleep\nhe attained that which his successors afterwards won by great toil.\nThe sleep of the saints is free from all bodily pleasures, from all\nperturbation of mind, it brings tranquillity to the mind and peace to\nthe soul, so that, freed from the fetters of the body, it raises itself\naloft, and is united to Christ.\n\n Sidenote: Wisd. iv. 9.\n\n5. This sleep is the life of the saints, the life which holy Acholius\nlived, whose old age was also blest. That old age is truly venerable\nwhich is hoary not with gray hairs but in good deeds; for those hoar\nhairs are reverent which belong to the soul, whose works and thoughts\nare, as it were, white and shining. For what is true old age, but that\nunspotted life, which lasts not for days or months but for ages, whose\ncontinuance is without end, whose length of years is without weakness?\nFor the longer it lives the stronger it waxes; the longer its life\nlasts the more vigorously does it grow unto a perfect man.\n\n Sidenote: Isa. lx. 8.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Chron. ix. 21.\n\n6. May God then approve you his successor not only in honor but also in\nconversation, and may He deign to establish you in His highest grace,\nthat the people may flock to you also, and you may say often, _Who\nare these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves with their young?_ Let\nthem come also as the ships of Tarshish, and take in corn which the\ntrue Solomon gives, even twenty measures of wheat. Let them receive the\noil and wisdom of Solomon, and let there be peace between thee and thy\npeople, and keep thou the covenant of peace. Brother, farewell: love me,\nfor I too love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XVII.\n A.D. 384.\n\n\n THIS letter was addressed to the Emperor Valentinian the 2nd\n at the time when a deputation from the Senate at Rome, headed\n by Symmachus, were seeking to obtain from him the restoration\n of the statue and altar of Victory. The facts relating to\n this statue form so important a page in the history of the\n gradual suppression of paganism in the Empire, that it may be\n well to give a brief outline of them, especially as this and\n the following letter, and the \u2018Memorial of Symmachus\u2019 which\n accompanies them, contain several allusions to them. Constantius\n 2nd, son of Constantine, when at Rome in 356 A.D., ordered the\n statue of Victory which stood in the senate-house, \u2018a majestic\n female standing on a globe, with flowing garments, expanded\n wings, and a crown of laurel in her outstretched hand\u2019 (Gibbon,\n ch. xxviii.) and the altar which stood before it, at which\n the senators were sworn, to be removed, as an offence to the\n Christians. The altar was restored by Julian, along with the\n other disused symbols and rites of paganism. It was tolerated\n by Valentinian 1st, who probably did not venture at once to\n overthrow Julian\u2019s work, (see Memorial of Symmachus \u00a7 7, 8)\n though S. Ambrose (Lett. xvii. \u00a7 16) rhetorically represents him\n as pleading that he was not aware of its being there, and that\n no one had complained to him of its presence. It was once more\n removed by Gratian, (see Lett. xvii. \u00a7 16.) The pagan party in\n the Senate then made great efforts to procure its restoration.\n Gibbon (ch. xxviii. note 13.) enumerates four successive\n deputations sent by them with this object, \u2018the first, A.D. 382,\n to Gratian, who refused them audience, the second, A.D. 384,\n to Valentinian, the third, A.D. 388, to Theodosius, the fourth,\n A.D. 392, to Valentinian.\u2019 The two letters of S. Ambrose and the\n Memorial of Symmachus refer to the second of these deputations.\n In this first one he presses on the Emperor his duty and\n responsibility as a Christian Emperor, urges that the heathens\n have deprived themselves of any equitable claim by their\n persecution of the Christians in former times; asserts that the\n petition is only that of a minority of the Senate, just as had\n been the case years before, when they applied to Gratian. He\n then asks for a copy of the Memorial, in order to answer it in\n full, and warns Valentinian that he will find no Bishop to admit\n him to any share in Christian worship if he inflicts this insult\n on their faith, and reminds him of his brother and father, who\n would rise from the grave to reproach him.\n\n Though called Letters, these two documents are rather\n state-papers. S. Ambrose himself in the latter speaks of the\n former as a \u2018libellus,\u2019 the term usually applied to petitions\n or memorials.\n\n\n BISHOP AMBROSE TO THE MOST BLESSED PRINCE AND\n CHRISTIAN EMPEROR VALENTINIAN.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xcvi. 5.\n\n1. AS all who are under the dominion of Rome are enlisted to serve you,\nthe emperors and kings of the earth, so you yourselves are enlisted to\nserve Almighty God and our holy Faith. For safety cannot be unperilled,\nsave when every man is a sincere worshipper of the true God, the God\nof the Christians, who governs all things; for He is the only true God,\nand is to be worshipped by the inmost spirit. _As for all the gods of\nthe heathen, they are but idols_, as the Scripture saith.\n\n2. Now he that is the soldier of this, the true God, and worships Him\nin his inmost spirit, offers to Him no insincere or lukewarm service,\nbut a zealous faith and devotion. At any rate no one ought to give\nhis consent to the worship of idols and the observance of profane\nceremonies. For no man can deceive God, before Whom all the secrets of\nthe heart are manifest.\n\n3. Seeing then, most Christian Emperor, that not only faith, but the\nvery zeal and care and devotion of faith, is due from you to God, I\nwonder how some men can have conceived the thought that it was your\nduty to command the restoration of altars to the gods of the Gentiles,\nand to bestow money for the purposes of profane sacrifices. For if you\ngive what has long been appropriated to the emperor\u2019s privy purse or\nthe city treasury[64], you will seem to be giving out of what is your\nown rather than refunding to others what belongs to them.\n\n4. The men who now complain of their losses are those who never spared\nour blood, and have even laid in ruins the very structures of our\nChurches. The men who ask for privileges are they who denied to us by\nthe late law of Julian[65] the common right of speaking and teaching,\nprivileges too whereby even Christians have often been deceived, for by\nthese means they sought to entrap some persons, either unawares or else\nby the desire to avoid the burthen of public duties. And since all men\nhave not courage, many even under Christian Emperors have lapsed.\n\n5. Even had these things never been repeated, I could have proved\nthat your authority ought to have abolished them, but now that they\nhave been severally forbidden by many previous Emperors and abolished\nat Rome in the interests of the true Faith by your Majesty\u2019s brother\nGratian of illustrious memory, and abolished by a formal rescript,\ndo not, I beseech you, pluck up again these Christian ordinances,\nnor rescind your brother\u2019s injunctions. In civil matters, if ought\nis decreed, no man considers that it should be overthrown, and shall\na religious precept be trampled on?\n\n6. Let no man beguile your youth; if he be a heathen who asks this of\nyou, let him not ensnare your mind in the bonds of his own superstition,\nrather his very zeal ought to admonish you with what ardour you ought\nto defend the true Faith, when he with all the warmth of truth defends\nfalsehood. I myself urge you to shew deference to the merits of\nillustrious men; but it is certain that God ought to be obeyed above\nall.\n\n7. When we have to consult on military matters we should look for\nthe opinion of one who is versed in war, and follow his counsel; when\nwe treat of religion God is to be considered. No man is injured by\nAlmighty God being preferred before him. He may keep his own opinion,\nyou do not constrain any man to worship against his will, and your\nMajesty ought to have the same liberty, and every one should be content\nto be unable to extort from the Emperor, what it would be a hardship\nfor the Emperor to desire to extort from him. The very heathen are wont\nto be displeased by a double-minded man, for every man ought boldly to\ndefend the faith of his own heart, and to maintain his purpose.\n\n8. But if any who call themselves Christians conceive that you\nshould make such a decree, let not bare words affect your mind, let\nnot idle names deceive you. Whoever persuades to this, or decrees\nit, offers sacrifice to the gods. Yet it is more tolerable that one\nshould sacrifice than that all should fall. Here the whole Senate of\nChristians is in danger.\n\n9. If at the present day, (which God forbid) an heathen Emperor were\nto erect an altar to false gods, and compel the Christians to assemble\nthere, in order for them to be present at the sacrifice, so that the\nbreath and mouth of the faithful might be tainted with ashes from\nthe altar, with sparks from the sacrilege, with smoke from the pile,\nand should force them to vote in a house in which the members were\nsworn at the altar of an idol, (for on this account it is that they\nmaintain that an altar should be set up, namely, that every one should\nconsult for the public weal, under the obligation of what they consider\nits sanctity, although the majority of the Senate now consists of\nChristians,) if this, I say, were the case, Christians would consider\nthemselves persecuted, if they were compelled by such an alternative to\ncome to the assembly, and indeed it is often by violence that they are\ncompelled to come: shall Christians then in _your_ reign be compelled\nto swear on the altar? What is an oath, but an acknowledgement of the\ndivine power of him whom you call upon to attest your truthfulness? Is\nit in _your_ reign that the request and demand is made, that you bid an\naltar to be erected, and money expended on profane sacrifices?\n\n10. But this cannot be decreed without sacrilege, and so I beg you not\nto decree or order it, nor to subscribe any such decree. I appeal to\nyour faith as a minister of Christ; all the Bishops would have appealed\nwith me, had not this report which has reached men\u2019s ears that such a\nthing was either propounded in your Council or petitioned for by the\nSenate, been so sudden and incredible. But let it not be said that the\nSenate have petitioned for this; a few heathen have usurped the name of\nall. For nearly two years ago on an attempt of this kind, holy Damasus\nthe Bishop of the Roman Church, chosen by the judgment of God, sent me\na document which the Christian senators in large numbers had presented,\ndeclaring that they gave no commission of the sort, that they did not\nagree or consent to such petitions of the heathen, and they threatened\nthat they would not come either publicly or privately to the Senate\nif such a decree was made. Is it worthy of your reign, that is of a\nChristian reign, that Christian senators should be deprived of their\ndignity, that the profane wishes of the heathen may be carried into\neffect? This document I sent to your Majesty\u2019s brother[66], and it\nproves that the Senate gave no commission to the deputies about the\nexpenses of superstition.\n\n11. But perhaps it may be said, Why then were they not present in\nthe Senate, when these things were brought forward? They say plainly\nenough what they wish, by not being present; they have said enough in\naddressing your Majesty. And yet we need not wonder if they who will\nnot concede to your Majesty the liberty of refusing to command that\nwhich you do not approve, or of maintaining your own opinion, should\ndeprive private men at Rome of the right of resistance.\n\n12. Remembering then the commission so lately laid upon me, I again\nappeal your own faith, I appeal to your own sentiments, not to give\nyour answer in accordance with this heathen petition, or sign your name\nto such an answer, for it would be sacrilegious. Consult him who is\nyour Excellency\u2019s father, the Emperor Theodosius, to whom you have been\nwont to refer in all causes of importance; and nothing can be graver\nthan religion, more exalted than faith.\n\n13. Were this a civil matter, the right of reply would be reserved\nfor the opposing party: it is a matter of religion, and I, as Bishop,\nappeal to you, I request to be furnished with a copy of the Memorial\nwhich has been sent, that I may answer more at large; and so let\nyour Majesty\u2019s father be consulted on the whole matter and vouchsafe\na gracious answer. Assuredly should the decree be different, we as\nBishops cannot quietly permit and connive at it; it will indeed be in\nyour power to come to the Church, but there you will either not find a\npriest, or you will find one purposed to resist.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xvi. 13.\n\n14. What answer will you give to the priest when he says to you,\n\u2018the Church seeks not your gifts, because you have adorned the heathen\ntemples with gifts; the Altar of Christ rejects your gifts, because\nyou have erected altars to idols, for it was your word, your hand, your\nsignature, your act: the Lord Jesus refuses and repels your service,\nbecause you have served idols, for He has said to you, _Ye cannot serve\ntwo masters_? The Virgins dedicated to God enjoy no privileges from you,\nand do the vestal Virgins claim them? What do you want of the priests\nof God, when you have preferred to them the profane petitions of the\nheathen? We cannot enter into fellowship with the errors of others.\u2019\n\n15. What will you answer to this charge? That it is a boyish error?\nEvery age is perfect in Christ, and fulfilled with God. No childhood in\nfaith can be admitted; for children confronted with their persecutors\nhave boldly confessed Christ.\n\n16. What answer will you make to your brother? Will he not say to\nyou, \u2018I would not believe myself conquered, for I left you Emperor,\nI regretted not to die, because you were my successor, I grieved not\nthat I was withdrawn from power, because I believed that my edicts,\nspecially those concerning religion, would continue for ever. These\nwere the memorials of piety and virtue which I had erected, these\ntrophies of victory over the world, these the spoils of the devil,\nof the adversary of all, which I had offered up, and in which lies\neternal victory. What more could an enemy have deprived me of? You have\nabrogated my decrees; an act which even he who took up arms against\nme[67] has not yet committed. Now am I pierced with a more deadly\nweapon, in that my brother has annulled my ordinances. Your acts tend\nto the injury of my better part, for while the one destroys my body\nthe other destroys my good name. Now are my laws repealed, repealed too\n(which makes it more painful) by your adherents and by mine; that very\nthing which even my enemies had praised in me is repealed. If you have\nwillingly acquiesced, you have condemned the Faith which I held, if you\nhave yielded reluctantly, you have betrayed your own. And so, what is a\nstill heavier calamity, I incur danger in your person also.\u2019\n\n17. What answer will you make to your father[68], who with still\ngreater grief will address you, saying: \u2018You have judged very wrongly\nof me, my son, in supposing that I could have winked at the heathen.\nNo man ever informed me that there was an altar in the Roman Senate\nhouse[69]; never could I have believed such a crime as that heathen\nsacrifices should be performed in that common council of Christians\nand heathens, that is to say, that the heathen should triumph in the\npresence of Christians, and Christians should be compelled against\ntheir wills to be present at sacrifices. Many and various were the\ncrimes committed during my reign, those that were discovered I punished,\nand if any man escaped unnoticed, is it just to say that I approved\nthat which no one informed me of? You have judged most wrongly of\nme, if you suppose that a foreign superstition and not my own faith\npreserved to me the empire.\u2019\n\n18. Wherefore, your Majesty, seeing that if you make any such decree,\nyou will injure, first God, and next your father and brother, I beseech\nyou to do that which you know will be profitable to your salvation in\nthe sight of God.\n\n\n\n\n THE MEMORIAL OF SYMMACHUS, PREFECT OF THE CITY.\n\n\n THE occasion on which this Memorial was presented is stated in\n the introduction to the last letter. It is addressed formally\n to the three Emperors Valentinian, Theodosius, and Arcadius, but\n really to Valentinian only, who was at that time sole Emperor\n of the West. Symmachus was the leading orator and scholar of\n his day, and his plea is composed with much skill and vigour.\n Gibbon (ch. xxviii.) expresses hearty admiration of the caution\n with which he \u2018avoids every topic which might appear to reflect\n on the religion of his sovereign, and artfully draws his\n arguments from the schools of rhetoric rather than from those\n of philosophy,\u2019 and gives a summary of its contents in a tone of\n keen appreciation, as might be expected. We may allow, with Cave\n (Life of S. Ambrose 3, 3.) that \u2018it was the best plea the cause\n would bear.\u2019\n\n\n1. AS soon as the honourable Senate, ever faithful to your Majesty,\nlearnt that offences were made amenable to law, and that the character\nof past times was being redeemed by pious governors, it hastened to\nfollow the precedent of better times, and give utterance to its long\nrepressed grief, and commissioned me once more to be the spokesman of\nits complaints, for I was before refused access to the deceased Emperor\nby evil men, because otherwise justice could never have failed me, most\nnoble Emperors Valentinian, Theodosius and Arcadius, victorious and\ntriumphant, ever illustrious.\n\n2. Filling then a twofold office, as your Prefect I report the\nproceedings of the Senate[70], as the envoy of the citizens I offer to\nyour favourable notice their requests. Here is no opposition of wills.\nMen have ceased to believe that disagreement proves their superiority\nin courtly zeal. To be loved, to be the object of respect and affection\nis more than sovereignty. Who could suffer private contests to injure\nthe commonwealth? Justly does the Senate assail those who prefer their\nown power to the honour of the prince.\n\n3. It is our duty to be watchful for your Majesties. The very glory of\nthis present time makes it the more fitting that we should maintain the\ncustoms of our ancestors, the laws and destinies of our country; for\nit conduces to this glory that you should know it is not in your power\nto do anything contrary to the practice of your parents. We ask the\nrestoration of that state of religion under which the Republic has so\nlong prospered. Let the Emperors of either sect and either opinion be\ncounted up; a late Emperor observed the rites of his ancestors, his\nsuccessor did not abolish them. If the religion of older times is no\nprecedent, let the connivance of the last Emperors[71] be so.\n\n4. Who is so friendly with the barbarians as not to require an altar\nof Victory? Hereafter we must be cautious, and avoid a display of\nsuch things. But let at least that honour be paid to the name which\nis denied to the Divinity[72]. Your fame owes much, and will owe still\nmore, to Victory. Let those detest this power, who were never aided by\nit, but do you not desert a patronage which favours your triumphs. Vows\nare due to this power from every man, let no one deny that a power is\nto be venerated which he owns is to be desired.\n\n5. But even if it were wrong to avoid this omen, at least the ornaments\nof the Senate-house ought to have been spared. Permit us, I beseech you,\nto transmit in our old age to our posterity what we ourselves received\nwhen boys. Great is the love of custom. And deservedly was the act\nof the deified Constantius of short duration. You ought to avoid all\nprecedents which you know to have thus been reversed. We are solicitous\nfor the endurance of your name and glory, and that a future age may\nfind nothing to amend.\n\n6. Where shall we swear to observe your laws and statutes? by what\nsanction shall the deceitful mind be deterred from bearing false\nwitness? All places indeed are full of God, nor is there any spot where\nthe perjured can be safe, but it is of great efficacy in restraining\ncrime to feel that we are in the presence of sacred things. That altar\nbinds together the concord of all, that altar appeals to the faith\nof each man, nor does any thing give more weight to our decrees than\nthat all our decisions are sanctioned, so to speak, by an oath. A door\nwill thus be opened to perjury, and this is to be approved of by the\nillustrious Emperors, allegiance to whom is guarded by a public oath!\n\n7. But Constantius, of sacred memory, is said to have done the same\nthing. Be it so, let us then imitate his other actions, feeling\nsure that had any one committed this error before his time, he would\nnever have fallen into it. For the fall of one is a warning to his\nsuccessor, and the censure of a previous example causes amendment. It\nwas allowable for this predecessor of your Majesties to incur offence\nin a novel matter, but how can the same excuse avail us, if we imitate\nthat which we know was disapproved?\n\n8. Will your Majesties listen to other acts of this same Emperor more\nworthy of your imitation? He left uncurtailed the privileges of the\nsacred virgins, he filled the priestly office with men of noble birth,\nhe allowed the cost of the Roman ceremonies, and following the joyful\nSenate through all the streets of the eternal city, he beheld with\nserene countenance the temples, reading the names of the gods inscribed\non their pediments, he enquired after the origin of the sacred edifices,\nand admired their founders. Although he himself professed another\nreligion he maintained the ancient one for the Empire; for every man\nhas his own customs, his own rites. The Divine mind has distributed\nto cities various guardians and various ceremonies. As each man that\nis born receives a soul, so do nations receive a genius who guards\ntheir destiny. Here the proof from utility comes in, which is our best\nvoucher with regard to the Deity. For since our reason is in the dark,\nwhat better knowledge of the gods can we have than from the record\nand evidence of prosperity? And if a long course of years give their\nsanction to a religion, we ought to keep faith with so many centuries,\nand to follow our parents, as they followed with success those who\nfounded them.\n\n9. Let us suppose Rome herself to approach, and address you in these\nterms: \u2018Excellent Emperors, Fathers of your country, respect these\nyears to which pious rites have conducted me. Let me use the ancient\nceremonies, for I do not repent of them. Let me live in my own way,\nfor I am free. This worship reduced the world under my laws; these\nsacred rites repulsed Hannibal from the walls, and the Gauls from the\nCapitol. Am I reserved for this, to be censured in my old age? I am not\nunwilling to consider the proposed decree, and yet late and ignominious\nis the reformation of old age.\u2019\n\n10. We pray therefore for a respite for the gods of our fathers and\nour native gods[73]. That which all venerate should in fairness be\naccounted as one. We look on the same stars, the heaven is common to\nus all, the same world surrounds us. What matters it by what arts each\nof us seeks for truth? We cannot arrive by one and the same path at so\ngreat a secret; but this discussion belongs rather to persons at their\nease, it is prayers not arguments which we now offer.\n\n11. What advantage accrues to your treasury from the abolition of the\nprivilege of the Vestal virgins? Shall that be denied under princes the\nmost munificent which the most parsimonious have granted? Their sole\nhonour consists in their wages, so to speak, of chastity. As their\nfillets adorn their heads, so is it esteemed by them an honour to be\nfree to devote themselves to the ministry of sacrifices. It is but the\nbare name of exemption which they ask, for their poverty exonerates\nthem from any payment. So that he who reduces their means, contributes\nto their praise, for virginity dedicated to the public welfare is\nmeritorious in proportion as it is without reward.\n\n12. Far be such gains from the purity of your treasury. The exchequer\nof good princes should be replenished by the spoils of enemies, not by\nthe losses of ministers of religion. And is the gain any compensation\nfor the odium? Those whose ancient resources are cut off only feel it\nthe more acutely in that you are free from the charge of avarice. For\nunder Emperors who keep their hands from other men\u2019s goods and check\ndesire what does not excite the cupidity of the spoiler must be taken\nsolely with a view of injuring the person robbed.\n\n13. The Imperial Exchequer retains also lands bequeathed by the will\nof dying persons to the sacred virgins and priests. I implore you, as\nPriests of justice, to restore to the sacred functionaries of your city\nthe right of inheritance. Let men dictate their wills in peace, knowing\nthat under equitable princes their bequests will be undisturbed.\nMen are wont to take pleasure in this security, and I would have you\nsympathise with them, for the precedent lately set has begun to harass\nthem on their death-beds. Shall it be said that the religion of Rome\nappertains not to Roman laws? What name shall we give to the taking\naway of legacies which no law no casualty has made void? Freedmen may\ntake legacies, slaves are allowed[74] a due latitude of bequeathing by\nwill, only the noble virgins and ministers of sacred rites are excluded\nfrom inheriting lands devised to them. What advantage is it to dedicate\none\u2019s virginity to the public safety, and to support the immortality of\nthe empire with heavenly protection, to conciliate friendly powers to\nyour arms and eagles, to take upon oneself vows salutary for all, and\nto refrain from commerce with mankind in general? Slavery then is a\nhappier condition, whose service is given to men. It is the state which\nis wronged, whose interest it never is to be ungrateful.\n\n14. Let me not be supposed to be defending the cause of the ancient\nreligions only; from acts of this kind all the calamities of the Roman\nnation have arisen. The laws of our ancestors provided for the Vestal\nvirgins and the ministers of the gods a moderate maintenance and just\nprivileges. This gift was preserved inviolate till the time of the\ndegenerate moneychangers, who diverted the maintenance of sacred\nchastity into a fund for the payment of base porters. A public famine\nensued on this act, and a bad harvest disappointed the hopes of all the\nprovinces. The soil was not here in fault, we ascribe no influence to\nthe stars, no mildew blighted the crops, nor did tares choke the corn,\nit was sacrilege which rendered the year barren, for it was necessary\nthat all should lose that which they had denied to religion.\n\n15. By all means, if there is any instance of such an evil, let us\nattribute this famine to the effect of the seasons. An unhealthy wind\nhas caused this blight, and so life is supported by means of shrubs and\nleaves, and the peasants in their want have had resource once more to\nthe oaks of Dodona[75]. When did the provinces suffer such a calamity,\nso long as the ministers of religion were supported by the public\nbounty? When were oaks shaken for the food of man, when were roots dug\nup, when were opposite regions of the earth cursed with sterility, so\nlong as provisions were furnished in common to the people and to the\nsacred virgins? The produce of the earth was blessed by its support of\nthe priests, and thus the gift was rather in the nature of a safeguard\nthan of a largess. Can it be doubted that the gift was for the common\nbenefit, now that a general scarcity has attended its dis continuance?\n\n16. But it may be said that public aid is rightly refused to the\ncost of an alien religion. Far be it from good rulers to suppose that\nwhat has been bestowed from the common stock on certain individuals is\nwithin the disposal of the Imperial treasury. For as the commonwealth\nconsists of individuals, so that which comes from it becomes again the\nproperty of individuals. You govern all, but you preserve for each his\nown, and justice has more power with you than arbitrary will. Consult\nyour own generous feelings, whether that ought still to be deemed\npublic property which has been conferred on others. Gifts once devoted\nto the honour of the city are placed out of the power of the donors,\nand that which originally was a free-gift becomes by usage and\nlength of time a debt. Vain therefore is the fear which they would\nimpress upon your minds who assert that unless you incur the odium of\nwithdrawing the gift you share the responsibility of the donors of it.\n\n17. May the unseen patrons of all sects be propitious to your Majesties,\nand may those in particular who of old assisted your ancestors, aid\nyou and be worshipped by us. We ask for that religious condition which\npreserved the empire to your Majesties\u2019 father[76], and blessed him\nwith lawful heirs. That venerable sire beholds from his starry seat the\ntears of the priests, and feels himself censured by the infraction of\nthat custom which he readily observed.\n\n18. I beg you also to amend for your departed brother what he did by\nthe advice of others, to cover the act by which he unknowingly offended\nthe Senate. For it is certain that the reason why the embassage was\nrefused admittance was, to prevent the decision of the state from\nreaching him. It is due to the credit of past times to abolish without\nhesitation that which has been found not to have been the doing of the\nEmperor.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XVIII.\n A.D. 384.\n\n\n THIS is S. Ambrose\u2019s answer to the Memorial of Symmachus which\n precedes it. In it he replies in detail to the arguments which\n Symmachus had advanced, and meets him on his own ground. It is\n to be remembered in forming an estimate of it, that it is simply\n a state paper, adopting both the style and method natural to\n such a document. That it is over rhetorical for our taste may at\n once be allowed, for that is the character of the literature of\n the time generally; that it is not so perfect a specimen of the\n style, regarded merely as a piece of argument, as the document\n to which it replies, may be granted without disparagement to S.\n Ambrose, for Symmachus \u201cstood foremost among his contemporaries\n as a scholar, a statesman, and an orator.\u201d (Dict. of Biog. sub\n voc.) But he fairly meets and refutes Symmachus\u2019 arguments, and\n his retort of his adversary\u2019s personification of Rome is happy\n and telling. The earlier portion is more vigorous than the\n latter, which is overwrought, especially in the argument against\n maintaining things as they were. The abundance of allusions to,\n and quotations of, Virgil are characteristic of the age, and\n evidences of S. Ambrose\u2019s early training in the education of a\n Roman of high birth and rank.\n\n\n BISHOP AMBROSE TO THE MOST BLESSED PRINCE AND GRACIOUS EMPEROR,\n HIS MAJESTY VALENTINIAN.\n\n\u26661. THE honourable[77] Symmachus, Prefect of the city, having\nmemorialised your Majesty that the altar, which had been removed from\nthe Senate-house at Rome, ought to be restored to its place, and your\nMajesty, whose years of nonage and inexperience are yet unfulfilled,\nthough a veteran in the power of faith, not having sanctioned the\nprayer of the heathen, I also as soon as I heard of it presented a\npetition, in which, though it embraced all that seemed necessary to be\nsaid, I requested that a copy of the Memorial might be furnished to me.\n\n2. Now therefore, not as doubting your faith, but as providing for\nthe future, and assured of a righteous judgement, I will reply to\nthe allegations of the Memorial, making this one request, that you\nwill not look for elegance of phrases but force of facts. For as Holy\nScripture teaches us, the tongue of learned and wise men is golden, and\nendowed with highly-decked words, and glittering with splendid elegance\nas with the brightness of some rich colour, and so captivates and\ndazzles the eyes of the mind with a shew of beauty. But this gold, if\nclosely handled, may pass current outwardly, but within is base metal.\nConsider well, I beseech you, and sift the sect of the Heathens; their\nprofessions are grand and lofty, but what they espouse is degenerate\nand effete, they talk of God but worship idols.\n\n3. The propositions of the honourable Prefect of the city, to which\nhe attaches weight, are these, that Rome (as he asserts) seeks the\nrestoration of her ancient rites, and that stipends are to be assigned\nto her priests and Vestal virgins, and that it was owing to these being\nwithheld that a general famine has ensued.\n\n4. According to his first proposition, Rome utters a mournful complaint,\nwanting back (as he asserts) her ancient ceremonies. These sacred rites,\nhe says, repelled Hannibal from the walls, the Gauls from the Capitol.\nBut even here, in blazoning the efficacy of these rites, he betrays\ntheir weakness. According to this, Hannibal long insulted the Roman\nreligion, and pushed his conquest to the very walls of the city, though\nthe gods fought against him. Why did they for whom their gods fought,\nallow themselves to be besieged?\n\n5. For why speak of the Gauls, whom the remnant of the Romans could not\nhave prevented from entering the sanctuary of the Capitol, if the timid\ncackling of a goose had not betrayed them. These are the guardians of\nthe Roman temples! Where was Jupiter then? Did he speak in a goose?\n\n6. But why should I deny that their sacred rites fought for the Romans?\nYet Hannibal also worshipped the same gods. Let them choose therefore\nwhich they will. If these rites conquered in the Romans, they were\nvanquished in the Carthaginians, but if they were thus overcome in the\ncase of the Carthaginians, neither did they profit the Romans.\n\n Sidenote: Wisd. iv. 9.\n\n7. Away then with this invidious complaint of the Roman people; Rome\nnever dictated it. It is with other words that she addresses them: \u2018Why\ndo you daily deluge me with the useless gore of the innocent flocks?\nThe trophies of victory depend not on the limbs of cattle, but on the\nstrength of warriors. It was by other powers that I subdued the world.\nCamillus was my soldier, who recovered the standards which had been\ntaken from the Capitol, and slew those who had captured the Tarpeian\nrock; valour overthrew those against whom religion had not prevailed.\nWhy should I name Regulus, who gave me even the services of his death?\nAfricanus gained his triumph not among the altars of the Capitol,\nbut among Hannibal\u2019s ranks. Why do you produce to me the rites of\nour ancestors? I abhor the rites of the Neros. What shall I say of\nthe two-month Emperors[78], and the ends of princes knit on to their\naccession? Or is it a thing unheard of, that the barbarians should\ncross their frontiers? Were those men Christians, in whose miserable\nand unprecedented fate, in the one case a captive Emperor, in the other\na captive world[79] proved the falsehood of the rites which promised\nvictory? Was there then no altar of Victory? I am ashamed of my\ndownfall, the pale cheeks of age gather redness from that disgraceful\nbloodshed. I do not blush to be converted in my old age along with the\nwhole world. It is surely true that no age is too late to learn. Let\nthat old age blush which cannot improve itself. It is not the hoary\nhead of years but of virtue which is venerable. It is no disgrace to\npass to better things. This alone had I in common with the barbarians\nthat of old I knew not God. Your sacrifice is a rite of sprinkling\nyourselves with the blood of beasts. Why do you look for the voice of\nGod in dead beasts? Come and learn here on earth a heavenly warfare;\nwe live here, but our warfare is above. Let God Himself, the Creator,\nteach me the mystery of heaven, not man who knew not himself. Whom\nshould I believe about God, sooner than God Himself? How can I believe\nyou, who confess that you know not what you worship?\u2019\n\n8. By a single path, he says, we cannot arrive at so great a secret.\nWhat you are ignorant of, that we have learnt by the voice of God; what\nyou seek after by faint surmises, that we are assured of by the very\nWisdom and Truth of God. Our customs therefore and yours do not agree.\nYou ask the Emperors to grant peace to your gods, we pray for peace for\nthe Emperors themselves from Christ. You worship the works of your own\nhands, we think it sacrilege that any thing which can be made should be\ncalled God. God wills not to be worshipped under the form of stones.\nNay, your very philosophers have ridiculed this.\n\n9. But if you are led to deny that Christ is God, because you cannot\nbelieve that He died, (for you are ignorant how that this was the death\nnot of His Godhead but of His flesh, whereby it comes to pass that none\nof the faithful shall die,) how inconsistent are you, who insult by way\nof worship, and disparage by way of honour. You consider your god to be\na block of wood; what an insulting kind of reverence! You believe not\nthat Christ could die; what a respectful kind of unbelief!\n\n Sidenote: Prov. xxi. 1.\n\n10. But, he says, the ancient altars and images ought to be restored,\nand the temples adorned as of old. This request ought to be made to one\nwho shares the superstition; a Christian Emperor has learned to honour\nthe altar of Christ alone. Why do they compel pious hands and faithful\nlips to minister to their sacrilege? Let the voice of our Emperor speak\nof Christ alone, let him declare Him only Whom in heart he believes,\nfor _the king\u2019s heart is in the Hand of God_. Did ever heathen Emperor\nraise an altar to God? In demanding a restoration of ancient things\nthey remind us what reverence Christian Emperors ought to pay to the\nReligion which they profess, since heathen ones paid the utmost to\ntheir own superstitions.\n\n11. Long since was our beginning, and now they follow us whom they\nshut out. _We_ glory in shedding our blood, a trifling expense disturbs\n_them_. We consider such things a victory, they esteem them an injury.\nNever did they confer a greater favour on us than when they commanded\nChristians to be scourged, and proscribed and slain. Religion made\ninto a reward what unbelief intended for a punishment. Behold their\nmagnanimity! _We_ have grown by wrongs, by want, by punishment; _they_\nfind that without money their ceremonies cannot be maintained.\n\n12. Let the Vestal virgins, he says, enjoy their privileges. It is for\nthose to say this, who cannot believe in gratuitous virginity, it is\nfor them to allure by profit who distrust virtue. But how many virgins\nhave their promised rewards obtained them? They have barely seven\nVestals. Such is the whole number whom the veiled and filleted head,\nthe dye of the purple vest, the pompous litter surrounded by attendants,\nhigh privileges, great gains, and a prescribed period of virginity,\nhave collected.\n\n13. Let them turn their mental and bodily eye to us, let them behold\na people of chastity, an undefiled multitude, a virgin assembly. No\nfillets to adorn their heads, but a veil of common use though dignified\nby chastity; the blandishments of beauty not curiously sought out, but\ncast aside; no purple trappings, no luxurious delicacies, but frequent\nfastings; no privileges, no gains; all things in short so ordered as\nto repress any affection in the very exercise of their functions. But\nin fact by this very exercise their affection to it is conciliated.\nChastity is perfected by its own sacrifices. That is not virginity\nwhich is bought for money, not preserved for love of holiness; that is\nnot integrity which is bid for at an auction by a pecuniary equivalent,\nto last but for a time. The first triumph of chastity is to overcome\nthe desire of wealth, for this desire is a temptation to modesty.\nBut let us suppose that virginity ought to be supported by pecuniary\nbounty. In this case, what an abundance of gifts will overflow upon\nthe Christians; what treasury will contain riches so great? Or do\nthey consider that it ought to be bestowed exclusively on the Vestal\nvirgins? Do not they, who claimed the whole under heathen Emperors,\nfeel some shame in denying that under Christian Princes we ought to\nparticipate in the bounty?\n\n14. They complain also that public support is not given to their\npriests and ministers. What a storm of words is here! To us on the\nother hand the privileges of inheriting private property[80] is denied\nby recent laws, and no one complains; we do not feel it to be an injury,\nfor we grieve not at the loss. If a priest would claim the privilege\nof being exempt from the municipal[81] burthens, he must relinquish his\npaternal estate and all other property. How would the heathens press\nthis ground of complaint, if they had it, that a priest must purchase\nthe liberty of performing his functions by the loss of his whole\npatrimony, and at the expense of all his private advantages must buy\nthe right of ministering to the public, and while he claims to hold\nvigils for the public safety must console himself with the wages of\ndomestic poverty; for he does not sell service but purchase a favour.\n\n15. Compare[82] the two cases. You wish to exempt a Decurio, when the\nChurch may not exempt a priest. Wills are made in favour of ministers\nof temples; not even profane persons, even of the lowest rank, nor of\nabandoned character, are excepted; the clergy alone are excluded from\nthe common privilege, by whom alone the general prayer for all men\nis offered, and the common office performed; no legacy, even of grave\nwidows, no donation is allowed. When no blame can attach to character,\na fine is imposed on the office. The legacy which a Christian widow\nbequeaths to the minister of a temple is valid, that which she\nbequeaths to the ministers of God is invalid. This I have stated not\nby way of complaint, but that they may know how much I abstain from\ncomplaining of, for I would rather we were losers in money than in\ngrace.\n\n16. But they report that gifts or legacies to the Church have not been\ntaken away. Let them state who has snatched gifts from the temples,\na loss which Christians have[83] suffered. Had this been done to the\nGentiles, it would rather have been the requital than the infliction\nof a wrong. Is it now only that they make a plea of justice, put in a\nclaim for equity? Where was this sentiment, when, having despoiled all\nChristians of their goods, they grudged them the very breath of life,\nand debarred them from that last burial-rite which was never before\ndenied to any of the dead? Those whom the heathen flung into it, the\nsea restored. This is a victory of faith, that they themselves impugn\nthe acts of their ancestors, in that they condemn their proceedings.\nBut what consistency is there in condemning the acts of those whose\ngifts they solicit?\n\n17. Yet no man has forbidden gifts to the temples, or legacies to the\nsoothsayers; their lands alone are taken away, because they did not use\nthat religiously which they claimed on the plea of religion. If they\navail themselves of our example why did they not copy our practice?\nThe Church possesses nothing but her faith. There are her rents, her\nrevenues. The wealth of the Church is the support of the poor. Let them\ncount up how many prisoners the temples have ransomed, what support\nthey have afforded to the poor, to how many exiles they have ministered\nthe means of life. Hence it is that they have been deprived of their\nlands, but not of their rights.\n\n18. This is what has been done, and a public famine, as they assert,\nhas avenged this grave impiety, that the private emoluments of the\npriests have been converted to the public service. For this cause they\nsay it was that men stripped branches of their bark, and moistened\ntheir fainting life with this wretched juice. For this cause they\nwere obliged to substitute for corn the Chaonian acorn, and thrust\nback again to this wretched fare, the food of beasts, they shook the\noaks and thus appeased their sore hunger in the woods. As if forsooth\nthese were new prodigies on earth, which never occurred so long as\nheathen superstition prevailed over the world! But in truth how often\nbefore this were the hopes of the greedy husbandmen frustrated by\nempty oat-stalks, while the blade of corn sought for in the furrows\ndisappointed the race of peasants.\n\n19. Why did the Greeks attribute oracles to their oaks, but that they\nfancied their sylvan fare was the gift of their heavenly religion?\nSuch are the gifts which they suppose to come from their gods. Who but\nheathen ever worshipped the trees of Dodona, bestowing honour on the\nsorry sustenance of the sacred grove[84]? It is not probable that their\ngods in their anger gave them for a punishment what they were wont when\nappeased to confer as a gift.\n\n20. But what equity were it, that because they are annoyed at the\nrefusal of sustenance to a few priests they should themselves refuse it\nto every one? in that case their vengeance is more severe than was the\nfault. But in truth the cause they assign is not adequate to produce so\ngreat infirmity of a failing world, as that, when the crops were green,\nthe full grown hopes of the season should all at once perish.\n\n21. Certain it is that many years ago the rights of the temples were\nabolished throughout the world, is it only now that it has occurred to\nthe gods of the Gentiles to avenge their injuries? Can it be said that\nthe Nile failed to overflow his banks as usual, to avenge the losses\nof the priests of the City, when he did not do so to avenge his own\npriests?\n\n22. But supposing that in the past year it was the wrongs of their\ngods that were avenged, why are the same wrongs neglected in the\npresent year? Now the country people do not pluck up and eat the roots\nof herbs, nor seek solace from the sylvan berry, nor gather their food\nfrom thorns; but rejoicing in their successful labours they wonder at\ntheir own harvest, and their hopes fulfilled compensate for their fast,\nthe earth having yielded us her produce with interest.\n\n23. Who then is so inexperienced on human affairs as to be amazed at\nthe vicissitudes of the seasons? And yet even last year we know that\nmost provinces had an abundant harvest. What shall I say of Gaul which\nwas more fertile than usual? The Pannonias[85] sold corn which they\nhad not sown, and the second[86] Rhaetia learnt the danger of her own\nfertility, for being used to security from her sterility, she drew\ndown an enemy on herself by her abundance. Liguria and Venice are\nreplenished by the fruits of autumn. So then the former year was not\nwithered by sacrilege, while the present has overflowed with the fruits\nof faith. Nor can they deny that the vineyards produced an overflowing\ncrop. Thus our harvest yielded its produce with interest, and we\nenjoyed the benefits of a more abundant vintage.\n\n24. The last and most weighty topic remains; as to whether your\nMajesties should restore those aids which have been profitable to\nyourselves, for he says, \u2018Let them defend you, and be worshipped by\nus.\u2019 This, most faithful Princes, we cannot endure; that they should\nmake it a taunt to us that they supplicate their gods in your name,\nand without your command commit an atrocious sacrilege, taking your\nconnivance as consent. Let them keep their guardians to themselves,\nlet these guardians, if they can, protect their own. But if they cannot\nprotect those who worship them, how can they protect you who worship\nthem not?\n\n25. Our ancestral rites, he says, should be preserved. But what if\nall things have become better? The world itself, which at first was\ncompacted by the gathering together of the elemental seeds through\nthe vast void, an unconsolidated sphere, or was obscured by the thick\ndarkness of the yet unordered work, was it not afterwards endowed\nwith the forms of things which constitute its beauty, and were not the\nheaven sea and earth distinguished from each other? The earth rescued\nfrom dripping darkness was amazed at its new sun. In the beginning too\nthe day shines not, but as time goes on it is bright and warm with the\nincrease of light and heat.\n\n26. The moon herself, which in the prophetic oracles represents the\nChurch, when first she rises again, and repairs her monthly wanings,\nis hidden from us by darkness, but gradually she fills her horns, or\ncompletes them as she comes opposite to the sun, and gleams with a\nbright and glorious splendour.\n\n27. In former days, the earth knew not how to be wrought into\nfruitfulness; but afterwards when the careful husbandman began to till\nthe fields, and to clothe the bare soil with vineyards, it was softened\nby this domestic culture, and put off its rugged nature.\n\n28. So too the first season of the year itself, which has imparted a\nlike habit to ourselves, is bare of produce, then, as time goes on, it\nblossoms out in flowers soon to fade, and in the end finds its maturity\nin fruits[87].\n\n29. So we, while young in age, experience an infancy of understanding,\nbut as we grow in years lay aside the rudeness of our faculties.\n\n30. Let them say then that all things ought to have continued as at\nfirst; that the world once covered with darkness is now displeasing\nbecause it shines with the beams of the sun. And how much better is\nit to have dispelled the darkness of the mind than that of the body,\nand that the beam of faith has shone forth than that of the sun. So\nthen the early stages of the world as of all else have been unsettled,\nthat the venerable age of hoary faith might follow. Let those who are\naffected by this find fault with the harvest too, because it ripens\nlate; or with the vintage, because it is in the fall of the year; or\nwith the olive, because it is the latest of fruits.\n\n31. So then our harvest too is the faith of the soul; the grace of the\nChurch is the vintage of good works, which from the beginning of the\nworld flourished in the saints, but in these last days is spread over\nthe people; to the intent that all might perceive that it is not into\nrude minds that the faith of Christ has insinuated itself, but these\nopinions which before prevailed being shaken off (for without a contest\nthere is no crown of victory) the truth was preferred according as is\njust.\n\n32. If the old rites pleased, why did Rome adopt alien ones? I pass\nover the covering of the ground with costly buildings, and shepherds\u2019\nhuts glittering with the gold of a degenerate age[88]. Why, to speak\nof the very subject of their complaint, have they admitted in their\nrivalry the images of captured cities, and of conquered gods, and the\nforeign rites of an alien superstition? Whence do they derive their\nprecedent for Cybele washing her chariot in a stream to counterfeit the\nAlmo[89]? Whence came the Phrygian seers, and the deities of faithless\nCarthage ever hateful to Rome, her for instance, whom the Africans\nworship as C\u00e6lestis[90], and the Persians as Mitra, the greater part of\nthe world as Venus, the same deity under different names. So also they\nhave believed Victory to be a goddess, which is in truth a gift not a\npower, is bestowed and does not rule, comes by the aid of legions not\nby the power of religion. Great forsooth is the goddess whom the number\nof soldiers claims, or the issue of the battle confers!\n\n33. And her altar they now ask to have set up in the Senate-house\nat Rome, that is to say, where a majority[91] of Christians assemble.\nThere are altars in all temples, an altar also in the temple of\nvictories. Being pleased with numbers, they celebrate their sacrifices\nevery where. But to insist on a sacrifice on this one altar, what is\nit but to insult over the Faith? Is it to be borne that while a Gentile\nsacrifices Christians must attend? Let their eyes, he says, drink in\nthe smoke whether they will or no; their ears the music; their mouth\nthe ashes; their nostrils the incense; and though they loathe it, let\nthe embers of our hearths besprinkle their faces. Is it not enough for\nhim that the baths, the colonnades, the streets are filled with images?\nEven in that general assembly, are we not to meet upon equal terms?\nThe believing portion of the Senate will be bound by the voices of\nthem that call the gods to witness, by the oaths of them that swear by\nthem. If they refuse, they will seem to prove their falsehood, if they\nacquiesce, to acquiesce in a sacrilege.\n\n34. Where, he asks, shall we swear allegiance to your Majesties\u2019\nlaws and commands? Your minds then, of which your laws are the\noutward expression, gather support and secure fidelity by heathen\nrites. Moreover your Majesties\u2019 faith is assailed not only when you\nare present, but also, which is more, when you are absent, for you\nconstrain when you command. Constantius, of illustrious memory, though\nnot yet initiated into the sacred Mysteries, thought himself polluted\nby the sight of that altar; he commanded it to be removed, he did not\ncommand it to be replaced. His order bears all the authority of an Act,\nhis silence does not bear the authority of a precept.\n\n35. And let no one rest satisfied because he is absent. He is more to\nbe considered present who unites himself to the minds of others than he\nwho gives the testimony of his visible presence. It is a greater matter\nto be united in mind than to be joined in body. The Senate regards you\nas its presidents who summon its meetings; at your bidding it assembles;\nto you, not to the gods of the heathen, does she resign her conscience;\nyou she prefers to her children though not to her faith. This is the\naffection worth seeking, an affection more powerful than dominion, if\nfaith, which preserves dominion, be secured.\n\n36. But perhaps some one may be influenced by the thought that if so,\na most orthodox Emperor[92] has been left without his reward; as if\nthe reward of good actions was to be estimated by the frail tenure of\nthings present. And what wise man is there who knows not that human\naffairs move in a certain cycle and order, and meet not always with the\nsame success, but their state is subject to vicissitudes?\n\n37. Who more fortunate than Cneius Pompeius was ever sent forth by\nthe temples of Rome? But he, after compassing the circuit of the globe\nin three triumphs, vanquished in battle, and driven into exile beyond\nthe bounds of the empire he had saved, perished by the hand of an\nEunuch[93] of Canopus.\n\n38. What nobler king than Cyrus king of the Persians has the whole\nEastern world produced? He too, after he had conquered the most\npowerful princes in battle, and detained them as his prisoners,\nwas worsted and slain by the arms of a woman[94]. That king who had\nconferred on the vanquished the honour of sitting at meat with him, had\nhis head cut off and enclosed in a vessel full of blood, and so was bid\nto satiate himself, exposed to the mockery of a woman. So in the course\nof his life like is not matched with like, but things most unlike.\n\n39. Again who was more assiduous in sacrificing than Hamilcar[95]\ngeneral of the Carthaginians? During the whole time of the battle he\ntook his station between the ranks of the combatants, and there offered\nsacrifice: then, when he found himself vanquished, he threw himself\nupon the fire on which he was burning his victims, that he might\nextinguish even with his own body those flames which he had learnt\navailed him nothing.\n\n40. And what shall I say of Julian? who blindly believing the answers\nof the diviners, deprived himself of the means of retreat[96]. Thus\neven when the circumstances are common there is not a common cause of\noffence, for our promises have deluded no one.\n\n41. I have replied to those who harass me as though I had not been\nharassed: for my object has been to refute their Memorial, not to\nexpose their superstitions. But let this very Memorial make your\nMajesty more cautious. For by pointing out that of a series of former\nEmperors, those who reigned first followed the rites of their ancestors,\nand their successors did not remove them, and by observing upon this,\nthat if the religion of older ones was not an example, the connivance\nof the more recent ones was, they have plainly shewn that you owe it\nto the faith which you profess not to follow the precedent of heathen\nrites, and to brotherly love not to violate your brothers\u2019 ordinances.\nFor if they for the sake of their own cause have praised the connivance\nof those Emperors, who being Christians, have not abrogated heathen\ndecrees, how much more are you bound to shew deference to brotherly\naffection, and, whereas you would be bound to wink at what perhaps you\ndid not approve, for fear of detracting from your brothers\u2019 decrees,\nnow to maintain what you judge to be in accordance both with your own\nfaith and the tie of brotherhood.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XIX.\n A.D. 385.\n\n\n VIGILIUS, to whom this letter is addressed, is supposed by\n the Benedictine Editors to have been the Bishop of Trent,\n (Tridentum,) who is commemorated in the Roman Martyrology. He\n had written to S. Ambrose, on his consecration as Bishop, to\n ask his guidance and instruction, and S. Ambrose replies, first\n with brief general directions, somewhat resembling those of\n Letter 11, and then dwells at length on the duty of preventing\n intermarriage between Christians and heathens, and recounts at\n full length, in support of this, the history of Samson. At the\n time when heathenism was rapidly dying out, it is clear how\n important a point this would seem, and we do not wonder at the\n stress which S. Ambrose lays on it.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO VIGILIUS.\n\n1. BEING newly consecrated to the sacred office, you have requested\nme to furnish you with the outlines of your teaching. Having built up\nyourself as was fitting, seeing you have been thought worthy of so high\nan office, you have now to be informed how to build up others also.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xxviii. 1, 2.\n\n2. And in the first place remember that it is the Church of God that\nis committed to you, and be therefore always on your guard against\nthe intrusion of any scandal, lest the body thereof become as it\nwere common by any admixture of heathen. It is on this account that\nScripture says to you _Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of\nCanaan, but go to Mesopotamia, to the house of Bethuel_ (that is the\nhouse of Wisdom) _and take thee a wife from thence_. Mesopotamia is\na country in the East, surrounded by the two greatest rivers in those\nparts, the Tigris and Euphrates, which take their rise in Armenia,\nfalling, each by a different channel, into the Red sea; and so the\nChurch is signified under the name of Mesopotamia, for she fertilizes\nthe minds of the faithful by the mighty streams of wisdom and justice,\npouring into them the grace of Baptism, the type of which was foreshewn\nin the Red sea, and washing away sin. Wherefore you must instruct the\npeople that they should contract marriage not with strange-born but\nwith Christian families.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xxiv. 14.\n\n3. Let no man defraud his hired servant of his due wages, for we too\nare the servants of our God, and look for the reward of our labour from\nHim. You then, (you must say) O merchant, whoever you be, refuse your\nservant his wages of money, that is, of what is vile and worthless, but\nto you will be denied the reward of heavenly promises: therefore _thou\nshalt not defraud thy hired servant of his reward_, as the Law saith.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xv. 1. 6.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xvii. 13.\n\n4. Thou shalt not give thy money upon usury, for it is written that _he\nwho hath not given his money upon usury shall dwell in the tabernacle\nof God_, for he is _cast down_, who seeks for usurious gains. Therefore\nlet the Christian, if he have it, give money as though he were not\nto receive it again, or at all events only the principal which he has\ngiven. By so doing he receives no small increase of grace. Otherwise\nto lend would be to deceive not to succour. For what can be more cruel\nthan to give money to one that hath not, and then to exact double? He\nthat can not pay the simple sum how can he pay double the amount?\n\n Sidenote: Tobit iv. 21.\n\n5. Let Tobit be an example to us, who never required again the money he\nhad lent, till the end of his life; and that rather that he might not\ndefraud his heir, than in order to levy and recover the money he had\nlent out. Nations have often been ruined by usury, and this has been\nthe cause of public destruction. Wherefore it must be the principal\ncare of us Bishops, to extirpate those vices which we find to prevail\nmost extensively.\n\n Sidenote: Prov. xv. 17.\n\n Sidenote: Judges xx. 44.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xxxiv. 25.\n\n6. Teach them that they ought to exercise hospitality willingly rather\nthan of necessity, so that in shewing this favour they may not betray\na churlish disposition of mind, and thus in the very reception of their\nguest the kindness be spoilt by wrong, but rather let it be fostered\nby the practice of social duties, and by the offices of kindness. It is\nnot rich gifts that are required of thee, but willing services, full of\npeace and accordant harmony. _Better is a dinner of herbs_ with grace\nand friendship than that the banquet should be adorned with exquisite\nviands, while the sentiment of kindness is lacking. We read of a people\nperishing by a grievous destruction on account of the violation of the\nlaws of hospitality. Through lust also fierce wars have been kindled.\n\n Sidenote: Num. xxv. 8.\n\n7. But there is scarce any thing more pernicious than marriage with\na foreigner; already the passions both of lust and disorder, and the\nevils of sacrilege are inflamed. For seeing that the marriage ceremony\nitself ought to be sanctified by the priestly veil and benediction,\nhow can that be called a marriage when there is not agreement in faith?\nSince their prayers ought to be in common, how can there be the love\nof a common wedlock between those whose religion \u2666is different. Often\nhave men ensnared by the love of women betrayed their faith, as did the\nJews at Baal-phegor. For which cause Phineas took a sword, and slew the\nHebrew and the Midianitish woman, and appeased the Divine vengeance,\nthat the whole people might not be destroyed.\n\n8. And why should I bring forward more examples? I will produce one out\nof many, from the mention of which will appear what an evil thing it is\nto marry a strange woman. Who ever was mightier or more richly endowed\nfrom his very cradle with God\u2019s Spirit than Samson the Nazarite? Yet\nwas he betrayed by a woman, and by her means failed to retain God\u2019s\nfavour. We will now narrate his birth and the course of his whole life\narranged in the style of history, following the contents of the sacred\nBook, which in substance not in form is as follows.\n\n9. The Philistines for many years kept the Hebrew people in subjection;\nfor they had lost the prerogative of faith, whereby their fathers had\ngained victories. Yet had not their Maker wholly blotted out the mark\nof their election nor the lot of their inheritance; but as they were\noften puffed up by success, He for the most part delivered them into\nthe hand of their enemies, that thus, after the manner of men, they\nmight be led to seek for themselves the remedy of their evils from\nheaven. For it is when any adversity oppresses us, that we submit\nourselves to God; good fortune is wont to puff up the mind. This is\nproved by experience, as in other instances, so particularly in that\nchange of fortune whereby success returned again from the Philistines\nto the Hebrews.\n\n10. After the spirit of the Hebrews had been so subdued by the\npressure of a long subjection that no one dared with a manly spirit to\nrouse them to liberty, Samson, fore-ordained by the Divine oracle, was\nraised up to them. A great man he was, not one of the multitude, but\nfirst among the few, and beyond controversy far excelling all in bodily\nstrength. And he is to be regarded by us with great admiration from\nthe beginning, not because in his early abstinence from vice he gave\nsignal proofs of temperance and sobriety, nor on account of his long\npreserving as a Nazarite his locks unshorn, but because from his very\nyouth, which in others is an age of softness, he achieved illustrious\ndeeds of virtue, perfect beyond the measure of human nature. By these\nhe gained credence to the Divine prophecy, that it was not for nothing\nthat such grace had gone before upon him, that an Angel came down by\nwhom his birth beyond their hopes was announced to his parents, to be\nthe leader and protector of his countrymen, now for a length of years\nharassed by the tyranny of the Philistines.\n\n Sidenote: Judges xiii. 8.\n\n11. His father was of the tribe of Dan, a man fearing God, born of no\nmean rank, and eminent above others, his mother was barren of body,\nbut in virtues of the mind not unfruitful; seeing that in the sanctuary\nof her soul she was counted worthy to receive the visit of an Angel,\nobeyed his command and fulfilled his prophecy. Not enduring however\nto know the secrets even of God apart from her husband she mentioned\nto him that she had seen a man of God, of beautiful form, bringing her\nthe Divine promise of future offspring, and that she, confiding in this\npromise, was led to share with her husband her faith in the heavenly\npromises. But he, informed of this, devoutly offered his prayers to God,\nthat the grace of this vision might be conferred on him also, saying,\n_To me, Lord, let Thine Angel come_.\n\n12. I am of opinion therefore that it was not from jealousy of his\nwife, because she was remarkable for her beauty that he acted thus,\nas one writer[97] has supposed, but rather that he was filled with\ndesire of the Divine grace, and sought to participate in the benefit\nof the heavenly vision. For one whose mind was depraved could not have\nfound such favour with the Lord, as that an Angel should return to his\nhouse, who, having given those monitions which the Divine announcement\nmade requisite, was suddenly carried away in the form of a smoking\nflame. This sight, which terrified the man, the woman interpreted more\nauspiciously, and so removed his solicitude, in that to see God is a\nsign of good not evil.\n\n13. Now Samson, approved by such signal tokens from above, turned his\nthoughts as soon as he grew up, to marriage; whether this was that he\nabhorred those vague and licentious desires in which young men are wont\nto indulge, or that he was seeking an occasion of releasing the necks\nof his countrymen from the power of the hard yoke of the Philistines.\nWherefore going down to Timnath, (this is the name of a city situated\nin those parts where the Philistines then dwelt,) he beheld a maiden of\na pleasing form and beautiful countenance, and he besought his parents,\nby whose company he was supported in his journey, to ask her for him\nin marriage. But they, not knowing that his intention, either, if the\nPhilistine refused her to him, to be more fierce against them, or, if\nthey assented, to remove their disposition to injure their subjects;\nand since from such a connexion a certain equality and kindliness of\nintercourse would naturally grow, or, on the other hand, if any offence\nwere given, this desire of revenge would be more vehement, deemed that\nthis maiden ought to be avoided as a foreigner. But after they had\nvainly attempted to change the purpose of their son by urging upon him\nthese lawful objections, they of their own accord acquiesced in his\ndesire.\n\n14. This request was granted; and Samson on his return to visit his\npromised bride, turned a little way out of the road, and straightway\nthere met him a lion from the wood, fierce in its savage freedom.\nSamson had no companion, nor any weapon in his hand; but he felt\nashamed to fly, and conscious power gave him courage. He caught the\nlion as it rushed upon him in his arms, and strangled it by the\ntightness of his embrace, leaving it near the wayside lying upon the\nunderwood, for the spot was clothed with luxuriant herbage, and planted\nwith vineyards. The skin of the beast he thought would be little\nesteemed by his beloved bride, for seasons such as these derive their\ngrace not from savage trophies, but rather from gentle joys and festal\ngarlands. On his returning by the same road he found an honeycomb in\nthe belly of the lion, and carried it off as a gift to the maiden and\nher parents; for such gifts befit a bride. And having first tasted the\nhoney, he gave them the comb to eat, but was silent as to whence it\ncame.\n\n Sidenote: Judg. xiv. 14.\n\n15. But it happened on a certain day that a nuptial feast was held,\nand that the young men inspirited by the banquet provoked each other\nto sport by question and answer, and as they assailed each other with\nwanton jests, as is the wont on such occasions, the contest of pleasure\nwaxed hot. And then Samson put forth this riddle to his comrades,\n_Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth\nsweetness_, promising them as a reward of their sagacity if they\nguessed it, thirty sheets and as many changes of garments according to\nthe number of the company, while they on their part, if they could not\nsolve the riddle, were to pay a like penalty.\n\n Sidenote: Judg. xiv. 16.\n\n16. But they, unable to untie the knot and to expound the riddle,\ninduced his wife, partly by intimidation, partly by importunate\nentreaties, to require from her husband the solution of the riddle\nto be a token of conjugal affection in return for her love. And\nshe, either terrified, and won over as women are wont to be, as if\ncomplaining tenderly of her husband\u2019s aversion, began to profess grief\nthat she, the consort and intimate of his whole life, had not learnt\nthis, but that she was treated like the others as one to whom her\nown husband\u2019s secret should not be confided. _Thou dost but hate me_,\nshe said, _and lovest me not, thou hast put forth a riddle unto the\nchildren of my people and hast not told it me_.\n\n Sidenote: ib. 18.\n\n17. Samson\u2019s mind, otherwise inflexible, was softened by these and\nthe like blandishments of his wife, and discovered to her his riddle,\nand she told it to her countrymen. And they, having thus but just\nlearned it on the seventh day, which was the term prescribed for its\nsolution, answered after this manner, _What is sweeter than honey, or\nwhat is stronger than a lion?_ To which he replied, Nor is ought more\ntreacherous than a woman; _If ye had not ploughed with my heifer, ye\nhad not found out my riddle_, and he straightway went down to Ascalon,\nand slew thirty men, and taking their spoils, bestowed on the men who\nhad expounded the riddle their promised reward.\n\n18. But the perfidy of the maiden being thus discovered, he abstained\nfrom intercourse with her, and returned to his father\u2019s house. The\ndamsel, disturbed in mind, and justly dreading that the wrath of this\nmighty man would be kindled into fury by this wrong, gave her hand to\nanother man, one whom Samson, relying on his fidelity, had brought with\nhim as his bridesman to his marriage. But neither by this expedient of\na marriage did she avoid offence. For when the affair was disclosed,\nand he was forbidden to return to his wife, and her father said that\nshe was married to another man, but that he might, if he chose, marry\nher sister, he was exasperated by the affront, and determined to take a\npublic revenge for his domestic injury. Wherefore he took three hundred\nfoxes, and in the heat of summer, when the corn was now ripe in the\nfields, he tied them together two and two by the tails, and fastened\na burning firebrand between them, binding it with a firm knot, and by\nway of avenging his wrong turned them loose among the sheaves which the\nPhilistines had cut. But the foxes, terrified by the fire, scattered\nflames whichever way they turned, and burnt the harvest. And the\nPhilistines, incensed by the loss of all their corn in that region,\ntold it to the princes of their land. And they sent men to Timnath, and\nburnt in the fire the woman who had been faithless to her husband, and\nher parents and all her house; saying that she had been the cause of\nthis injury and devastation, and ought not to have provoked a man who\ncould avenge himself by a public calamity.\n\n19. But Samson did not forgive the Philistines their wrong, nor rest\ncontent with this measure of vengeance, but he slew them with a great\nslaughter, and many of them fell by the sword. And he retired to Etam,\na torrent in the wilderness, where was a rock, a stronghold of the\ntribe of Judah. Now the Philistines, not daring to attack him, nor\nscale the steep heights on which this fortress stood, began to assail\nwith threats of war the tribe of Judah: but when they saw that the plea\nof the men of Judah was a good one, that it was neither just nor fair\nnor expedient for them to destroy their own subjects and tributaries,\nespecially for another man\u2019s fault, they took counsel, and required\nthat the author of the outrage should be delivered up to them, in order\nthat his countrymen might be exonerated from the consequences of it.\n\n20. These terms being imposed upon them, the men of Judah gathered\ntogether three thousand of their tribe and went up to him, and\npremising that they were subject to the Philistines, and obliged to\nobey them, not willingly but by terror, they thus sought to turn away\nfrom themselves the odium of their act, throwing it upon those by whom\nthey were constrained. Wherefore he thus replied, What kind of Justice\nis it, O children of Abraham, that the satisfaction I have taken for\nmy bride first over-reached and then torn from me should be injurious\nto me, and that I may not safely avenge this private injury? Have ye\nso turned your minds to the low offices of slaves, as to become the\nministers of the insolence of others, and to turn your arms against\nyourselves? If I must perish, because I gave free vent to my grief,\nI had rather perish by the hand of the Philistines. My home has been\nattempted, my wife tampered with, if I have not been allowed to live\nwithout harm from them, at least let my own countrymen be free from\nthe guilt of my death. I did but requite the injury I had received,\nI did not inflict one. Judge ye whether it was an equal return. They\ncomplain of the loss of their home, I of the loss of my wife; compare\nthe sheaves of corn, with a companion of the marriage bed. They have\nsanctioned my grief by avenging my injuries. Consider to what an office\nthey have appointed you. They desire you to put to death that man, whom\nthey themselves have judged worthy to be avenged on those who wronged\nhim, and to whose vengeance they ministered. But if your necks are\nthus bowed down to these proud men, deliver me into the hand of the\nenemy, slay me not yourselves; I refuse not to die, but I shrink\nfrom implicating you in my death. If from fear ye comply with their\ninsolence, bind my hands with chains: though unarmed they will break\ntheir bonds and find a weapon for themselves. They will assuredly\nconsider that you have satisfied the imposed condition, if you deliver\nme alive into their hands.\n\n21. When they heard this, though three thousand men had come up, they\nswore to him that they would make no attempt on his life, only he must\nsubmit to be bound, in order that they might formally surrender him,\nand so keep clear of the crime of which they were accused.\n\n22. Their word being pledged he came out of the cave, and left his\nfastness on the rock, and was bound with two ropes. When he saw the\nmighty men of the Philistines drawing near to seize him, his spirit\nrose within him, and he brake all his bands, and taking up a jaw bone\nof an ass that lay near he slew a thousand men, and put to flight the\nrest by this exploit of valour, whole hosts of armed soldiers giving\nway to one unarmed man. Thus those who ventured to close with him hand\nto hand he slew without effort; the others saved themselves by flight.\nWherefore to this day the place is called Agon[98], because there\nSamson by his great valour achieved a glorious contest.\n\n Sidenote: Judges xv. 16.\n\n23. And I would that his moderation in victory had been equal to his\ncourage against the enemy. But as is frequently the case, with mind\nunused to prosperity, he ascribed to himself the issue of the battle,\nwhich was due to the Divine favour and protection, saying, _With the\njaw bone of an ass have I slain a thousand men_. Nor did he build an\naltar to God, nor offer a victim, but neglecting sacrifice and assuming\nto himself the glory, to immortalize his triumph by a memorial name he\ncalled the place, The slaying of the jaw bone.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 18.\n\n24. And now he began to burn with thirst, and there was no water, and\nyet he had great need of it. Wherefore perceiving that there is nothing\nso easy for human strength, as not to be rendered difficult by the\nabsence of Divine aid, he besought God not to lay to his charge that he\nhad ascribed ought to himself, giving Him all the glory of the victory,\nby the words, _Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of\nThy servant_, and now help me, for lo, _I die of thirst_, and thirst\ngives me over into the hand of those over whom Thou hast given me so\ngreat a triumph. Wherefore God in His mercy clave a hollow place in\nthe jaw bone which Samson had cast aside, and a stream of water flowed\nfrom it, and Samson drank, and his spirit revived, and he called the\nplace \u2018the invoking of the spring,\u2019 because by his suppliant prayers\nhe made amends for his boast of victory, and thus two judgements were\nopportunely declared, the one that arrogance soon incurs offence, the\nother that without any offence humility gains reconciliation.\n\n25. Having, in the course of events closed his war with the Philistines,\nand shunning the sloth of his countrymen, Samson now betook himself\nto Gaza, which was in the region of the Philistines, and lodged there.\nWhen the men of Gaza knew this they did not dissemble or pass it over,\nbut beset his lodging in haste, and guarded all the doors of the house\nthat he might not escape by night. But Samson knowing their design, in\nthe middle of the night forestalling the snare which had been laid for\nhim, took the pillars of the house in his arms, and carried the whole\nstructure and the weight of the roof on his back, up to a high hill\nabove Hebron, a city inhabited by the Hebrews.\n\n26. But now his licence transgressed the limits not only of his\npaternal territory, but of good morals, such as ancient discipline\nhad prescribed, and this brought upon him destruction in the end. For\nalthough he had experienced in his first marriage the treachery of a\nforeign wife, and ought to have avoided it in future, he did not shun\nconnecting himself with the harlot Delilah, and by his passionate love\nof her opened a way for the craft of his enemies to assail him. For\nthe Philistines came up to her, and promised each of them to give her\neleven hundred pieces of silver if she would disclose to them wherein\nhis assurance of strength lay, that by means of this knowledge they\nmight entrap and take him.\n\n27. But she having once prostituted herself for money, began during\nthe banquet and the blandishments of love, cunningly and craftily to\ninquire of him in what respect his strength excelled that of others,\nand at the same time, as if solicitous and fearful for his safety, to\nentreat him to confide to his beloved by what means he could be bound\nand subdued into the power of others. But he, still self-possessed and\nunshaken, opposed craft to the allurements of the harlot, and told her\nthat if he were bound with withs yet green and not dried, his strength\nwould be like that of other men. When the Philistines learnt this from\nDelilah, they bound him while asleep with green withs, and then awoke\nhim as though on a sudden, but found that he had not fallen off from\nhis accustomed fortitude, but bursting its bonds his freed strength was\nable to resist and drive back a host of assailants.\n\n28. This having failed, Delilah, as if she had been mocked began with\ncomplaints to renew her arts and to require a pledge of his love.\nSamson, still firm of purpose, intimated to her that, if he were bound\nby seven ropes which had never been used, he would fall into the hands\nof the enemy, but this also was in vain. The third time he disclosed\npart of the secret, and now drawing nearer to his fall, told her that,\nif the seven locks of his head were unfastened and woven[99] to about\na cubit\u2019s length, his strength would depart from him. But herein also\nhe deluded those who were plotting against his life.\n\n29. But last of all the wanton woman complaining that she had been so\noften deceived, and grieving that her lover deemed her unworthy to be\nentrusted with his secret, and that under her pretext of succour her\ntreacherous purpose was suspected, won his confidence by her tears. By\nthis means, and because also it was ordained that this man of hitherto\nunshaken fortitude should fall into calamity, Samson was touched and\nopened to her his heart. He told her that he possessed within him\nthe power of God, that he was sanctified to the Lord, and that by His\ncommand he let his hair grow, and that if it were shorn, he would cease\nto be a Nazarite, and lose the use of his strength. The Philistines\nhaving \u2666discovered through her means the man\u2019s weakness, bring her the\nreward of her perfidy, thus binding her to the commission of the crime.\n\n Sidenote: Judges xvi. 20.\n\n30. And she, having wearied him by the wanton blandishments of love,\nthrew him into slumber, and then caused the seven locks of his hair to\nbe cut by a razor, whereupon by his transgression of the commandment\nhis strength was immediately lost. When he woke out of sleep, he\nsaid, _I will go out as at other times, and shake myself_ against mine\nadversaries, but he was no longer sensible of activity and strength,\nhis vigour was gone, his grace was departed. Wherefore, considering\nwithin himself that he had incautiously trusted to women, and that,\nconvicted of infirmity, it would be sheer folly for him to contend any\nlonger, he gave up his eyes to blindness, and his hands to the fetters,\nand being bound with chains he entered the confinement from which he\nhad been for a long season free.\n\n Sidenote: Judges xvi. 28.\n\n31. But in process of time his hair began to grow again; and on\nthe occasion of a great feast Samson is brought out of prison to\nthe assembly of the Philistines, and set in sight of the people.\nThere were nearly three thousand in number, men and women; and they\ninsulted him with bitter reproaches, and carried him about in mockery,\na trial harder to be borne than the very reality of captivity by a\nman conscious of innate power. For to live and die is natural, to be\na laughing stock is counted a disgrace. Desirous therefore either of\nconsoling himself by avenging so great an indignity, or of forestalling\nit for the future by death, he pretended that from the weakness of\nhis limbs and the weight of his fetters he could not support himself,\nand desired the boy who guided his steps to bring him to the nearest\npillars by which the whole house was supported. Being brought near,\nhe grasped with both hands the props of the building, and while the\nPhilistines were intent on the sacrificial feast which they were\noffering to Dagon their god, by whose help they deemed their adversary\nhad been delivered into their power, reckoning a woman\u2019s perfidy as\na gift from above, he called unto the Lord, and said, \u2018_O Lord God,\nremember me I pray Thee this once, that I may be avenged of the heathen\nfor my two eyes_, and that they give not glory to their gods as if by\ntheir help they had gotten me into their power. Let me die with the\nPhilistines, that they may find my weakness to have been no less fatal\nto them than my strength.\u2019\n\n32. Then he shook the columns with great force, and broke them in\npieces, whereon followed the downfall of the upper roof, crushing\nSamson himself and casting down all those who were looking on from\nabove. Thus were a great number of men and women slain together, and\nby an end not unworthy or disgraceful, but excelling all his former\nvictories, the dying Samson obtained a triumph. For although to that\npoint and thenceforward he was invincible, and incomparable during life\namong men versed in war, yet in death he conquered himself, and shewed\nan unconquerable soul, so as to despise and count for nothing that end\nof life which all men fear.\n\n33. Thus it was through his valour that the last day of his life was\nalso the sum of his victories, and that he met not a captive but a\ntriumphant end. But to have been entrapped by a woman is to be ascribed\nto nature rather than to the man, because it was by the condition of\nhis humanity more than through his own fault that he fell; for this\nis wont to be overcome, and yield to the allurements of wickedness.\nWherefore, since Scripture bears witness that he slew more in his\ndeath than while in the light of life, it would seem that his captivity\nhappened rather for the destruction of his adversaries than for his own\nfall and humiliation. For he whose burial was more efficacious than his\nliving strength cannot be said to have found himself inferior. Lastly,\nhe was overwhelmed and buried not by the weapons but by the bodies of\nhis enemies, and thus, covered by his own triumph, he left a glorious\nmemorial to posterity. For he judged his countrymen, whom he found\nenslaved, twenty years, and buried in his native soil, left them\ninheritors of liberty.\n\n34. By this example then it is plain that alliances with strangers\nshould be avoided, lest through love for our wife the snares of\ntreachery should be successful.\n\nFarewell and love us, as we love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XX.\n A.D. 385.\n\n\n AFTER the death of Gratian the empire of the West was nominally\n in the hands of Valentinian the 2nd, but, as he was a mere boy,\n the real power was exercised by his mother Justina, who was an\n Arian. S. Ambrose had already resisted her successfully in the\n question of the election of a Bishop at Sirmium (see Footnote\n 27), and although he had performed a difficult and dangerous\n service for them two years before this, in going on an embassy\n to Maximus after the death of Gratian, Justina and Valentinian\n were bitterly hostile to him, and supported the Arian faction\n against him. In March, A.D. 385, S. Ambrose was summoned to\n the Palace, as he himself relates in the Sermon of which he\n gives an account in this letter (\u00a7 15 sqq.) and called upon to\n give up one of the Churches, the Portian Basilica, outside the\n walls, for the use of the Arians. This he refused, and was so\n energetically supported by the people of Milan, that the demand\n was for the time withdrawn. Various other efforts were then\n made either to induce him to yield or to get him out of the way,\n (one of the latter is recounted in a note on the Sermon against\n Auxentius \u00a7 15) but they all failed. At last on the Friday\n before Palm Sunday a fresh demand is made, not for the Portian\n Basilica, as a promise had been given that no further claim\n should be made upon it, but for the New Basilica which was\n within the walls. It is at this point that the narrative which\n S. Ambrose gives in this letter to his sister Marcellina begins.\n It recounts the occurrences from the Friday to the Wednesday in\n Holy Week, when the persecution was again for the time abandoned.\n\n\n TO MARCELLINA.\n\n1. IN nearly all your letters you inquire anxiously about the Church;\nhear then what is going on. The day after I received the letter in\nwhich you told me how you had been troubled in your dreams, a heavy\nweight of troubles began to assail me. It was not now the Portian\nBasilica, that is the one without the walls, which was demanded, but\nthe new Basilica, that is, one within the walls, which is larger in\nsize.\n\n2. In the first place some chief men[100], counsellors of state,\nappealed to me to give up the Basilica, and restrain the people from\nraising any commotion. I replied as a matter of course, that a Bishop\ncould not give up God\u2019s house.\n\n3. On the following day the people expressed their approval in the\nChurch, and the Pr\u00e6fect[101] also came thither, and began to urge us\nto yield up at least the Portian Basilica. The people were clamorous\nagainst this, whereupon he departed, saying, that he would report\nmatters to the Emperor.\n\n4. On the following day, which was the Lord\u2019s day, having dismissed\nthe catechumens after the lessons and sermon, I was explaining the\nCreed to some candidates for Baptism in the Baptistery of the Church.\nThere the news was reported to me that, on learning that officials[102]\nhad been sent from the palace to the Portian Basilica, and were putting\nup the Imperial hangings[103], many of the people were proceeding\nthither. I however continued my ministrations, and began to celebrate\nthe Eucharist[104].\n\n5. While I was offering, tidings were brought me that the populace had\nseized upon one Castulus, whom the Arians called a priest. While making\nthe oblation I began to weep bitterly and to beseech God\u2019s aid that no\nblood might be shed in the Church\u2019s quarrel; or if so, that it might\nbe my own, and that not for my people only, but even for the ungodly\nthemselves. But, to be brief, I sent some presbyters and deacons, and\nrescued the man.\n\n6. The severest penalties were immediately decreed; first upon the\nwhole body of merchants. And thus, during the sacred period of the last\nWeek, wherein the debtor was wont to be loosed from his bonds, chains\nare placed on innocent men\u2019s necks, and two hundred pounds\u2019 weight of\ngold is demanded within three days. They reply they will willingly give\nas much, or twice as much again, so that they may not violate their\nfaith. The prisons too were filled with tradesmen.\n\n7. All the Officials of the palace, the Recorders, the Proctors, the\nApparitors of the several Courts, on the pretext of its being unlawful\nfor them to be present at seditious assemblies, were commanded to keep\nat home, severe threats were held out against men of high rank in case\nthe Basilica was not delivered up. The persecution raged, and had an\nopening been afforded, they seemed likely to break out into every kind\nof outrage.\n\n8. I myself had an interview with the Counts and Tribunes, who urged me\nto give up the Basilica without delay, declaring that the Emperor was\nacting on his rights, inasmuch as he had supreme power over all things.\nI replied that if he required of me what was my own, my estate, my\nmoney, or the like, I would not refuse it, although all my property\nreally belonged to the poor, but that sacred things were not subject to\nthe power of the Emperor. \u2018If my patrimony be required,\u2019 I said, \u2018take\nit; if my person, here it is. Will you drag me away to prison, or to\ndeath? I will go with pleasure. I will not entrench myself by gathering\na multitude round me, I will not lay hold of the Altar and beg for my\nlife; rather will I offer myself to death for the Altar.\u2019\n\n9. In fact my mind was shaken with fear when I found that armed men\nhad been sent to occupy the Basilica, I was seized with dread lest in\nprotecting the Church, blood might be shed which would tend to bring\ndestruction on the whole city. I prayed that if so great a city or\neven all Italy were to perish I might not survive. I shrank from the\nodium of shedding blood, and I offered my own throat to the knife. Some\nofficers of the Goths[105] were present; I addressed them, saying, \u2018Is\nit for this that you have become citizens of Rome, to shew yourselves\ndisturbers of the public peace? Whither will you go, if everything here\nis destroyed?\u2019\n\n10. I was called upon to calm the people. I replied that it was in\nmy power not to excite them, that it was in God\u2019s Hand to pacify them.\nThat if I was considered the instigator, I ought to be punished, that\nI ought to be banished into whatever desert places of the earth they\nchose. Having said this, they departed, and I spent the whole day in\nthe old Church. Thence I returned home to sleep; that if any man wished\nto arrest me, he might find me prepared.\n\n11. When, before dawn, I passed out over the threshold, I found the\nBasilica surrounded and occupied by soldiers. And it was said that they\nhad intimated to the Emperor that he was at liberty to go to Church if\nhe wished it, that they would be ready to attend him if he were going\nto the assembly of the Catholics; otherwise that they would go to the\nassembly which Ambrose had convened.\n\n12. Not a single Arian dared come out, for there were none among the\ncitizens, only a few of the royal household, and some of the Goths,\nwho, as of old they made their waggon their home, so now make the\nChurch their waggon. Wherever that woman goes, she carries with her all\nthose of her own communion.\n\n\u266613. The groans of the people gave me notice that the Basilica was\nsurrounded; but while the lessons are being read word is brought me\nthat the New Basilica also is full of people, that the crowd seemed\ngreater than when all were at liberty, that they were calling for a\nReader. To be brief, the soldiers themselves, who were found to have\noccupied the Basilica, being informed of my directions that the people\nshould abstain from communion with them, began to come to our assembly.\nAt the sight of them the minds of the women are agitated, one of them\nrushes forth. But the soldiers themselves exclaimed that they had come\nto pray not to fight. The people raised a cry. In the most modest, most\nresolute, most faithful manner they entreated that I would go to that\nBasilica. In that Basilica also the people were reported to desire my\npresence.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xvii. 7.\n\n14. Then I began the following discourse: Ye have heard, my sons, the\nlesson from the book of Job, which according to the usual service of\nthe season, is now in course. By use the devil knew that this book was\nto be declared, already all the power of his temptations is laid open\nand betrayed, and therefore he exerted himself to-day with greater\nviolence. But thanks be to our God Who hath so confirmed you in faith\nand patience. I went up into the pulpit to admire Job, I found I had\nall of you to admire as Jobs. Job lives again in each of you, in each\nthe patience and virtue of that saint is reflected. For what more\nopportune could be said by Christian men than that which the Holy\nSpirit hath spoken in you this day? \u2018We petition your Majesty, we\nuse no force, we feel no fear, but we petition.\u2019 This is what becomes\nChristians, to desire peace and quiet fear, and still not to let the\nsteadfastness of faith and truth be shaken even by peril of death. For\nthe Lord is our Guide, _Who will save those who hope in Him_.\n\n15. But let us come to the lessons set before us. Ye see that power\nof temptation is given to the devil to prove the good. The wicked one\nenvies our progress in good, he tempts us in various ways. He tempted\nholy Job in his patrimony, he tempted him in his sons, he tempted him\nby bodily pains. The stronger is tempted in his own person, the weaker\nin that of others. Me too he would fain have despoiled of the riches\nwhich I possess in you, and he desired to waste this patrimony of\nyour tranquillity. Yourselves also he desired to snatch from me, my\ngood children for whom I daily offer sacrifice; you he endeavoured\nto involve in the ruins of the public confusion. Already then I have\nincurred two kinds of temptation. And perhaps the Lord, knowing my\nweakness, hath not yet given him power over my body: though I myself\ndesire it, though I offer it, He perhaps still judges me unequal to\nthis contest, and exercises me by diverse labours. Even Job himself did\nnot begin with this contest, but was perfected by it.\n\n Sidenote: Job ii. 9.\n\n16. But Job was tempted by the accumulated tidings of evil, he was\ntempted by his wife who said, _Curse God, and die_. Ye behold how many\nthings are suddenly stirred up against us, the Goths, the troops, the\nheathen, the fine of the tradesmen, the punishment of the saints. Ye\nobserve what is commanded, when it is said \u2018Deliver up the Basilica;\u2019\n_Curse God, and die_. But here it is not only \u2018Speak against God,\u2019 but\nalso \u2018Act against God.\u2019 The command is, \u2018Betray the altars of God.\u2019\n\n Sidenote: ib. 10.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. iii. 9.\n\n17. So then we are pressed by the Imperial mandates, but we are\nstrengthened by the words of Scripture, which answered, _Thou speakest\nas one of the foolish women speaketh_. Not slight therefore is that\ntemptation, for temptations which come through the agency of women\nwe know to be more severe. Lastly, Adam also was betrayed by Eve,\nand thereby it came to pass that he betrayed the Divine commandments.\nBecoming aware of this error, and his guilty conscience accusing him,\nhe desired to hide himself, but could not; wherefore God says to him,\n_Adam where art thou?_ that is, what wert thou before? where hast thou\nnow begun to be? where did I place thee? whither hast thou fallen? thou\nownest thyself naked, because thou hast lost the garments of a good\nfaith. The things wherewith thou desirest to clothe thyself are leaves.\nThou hast cast aside the fruit, thou desirest to lie hid under the\nleaves of the tree, but thou art betrayed. For one woman\u2019s sake thou\nhast chosen to depart from thy God, therefore thou fliest from Him when\nthou soughtest to see. Thou hast chosen to hide thyself with one woman,\nto leave the mirror of the world, the abode of Paradise, the Grace of\nChrist.\n\n18. Why need I add that Elijah also was cruelly persecuted by Jezebel?\nthat Herodias caused John the Baptist to be put to death? Each man\nseems to suffer from this or that woman; for me, in proportion as\nmy merits are less, my trials are heavier. My strength is weaker,\nbut I have more danger. Women succeed each other, their hatreds are\ninterchanged, their falsehoods are varied, the elders are gathered\ntogether, the plea of wrong to the Emperor is put forward. What\nexplanation is there then of such grievous temptation to such a worm\nas I am, but that it is not me but the Church that they persecute.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xxii. 21.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xiv. 4.\n\n19. At length came the command, \u2018Deliver up the Basilica;\u2019 I reply, \u2018It\nis not lawful for us to deliver it up, nor for your Majesty to receive\nit. By no law can you violate the house of a private man, and do you\nthink that the house of God may be taken away? It is asserted that\nall things are lawful to the Emperor, that all things are his. But do\nnot burden your conscience with the thought that you have any right as\nEmperor over sacred things. Exalt not yourself, but if you would reign\nthe longer, be subject to God. It is written, _God\u2019s to God and C\u00e6sar\u2019s\nto C\u00e6sar_. The palace is the Emperor\u2019s, the Churches are the Bishop\u2019s.\nTo you is committed jurisdiction over public not over sacred buildings.\u2019\nAgain the Emperor is said to have issued his command, \u2018I also ought\nto have one Basilica;\u2019 I answered \u2018_It is not lawful for thee to have\nher_. What hast thou to do with an adultress who is not bound with\nChrist in lawful wedlock?\u2019\n\n Sidenote: Ps. lxxix. 1.\n\n20. While I was engaged with this subject, it was reported to me that\nthe Imperial hangings were taken down, the Church filled with people,\nand that my presence was required; straightway I turned my discourse to\nthis, saying, How deep and profound are the oracles of the Holy Spirit!\nRemember, brethren, what was read at matins and how we responded with\ndeep grief of mind, _O God the heathen are come into Thine inheritance_.\nAnd truly the heathen came, nay, even more than the heathen, for the\nGoths came and men of divers nations, they came armed with weapons,\nand surrounded and seized the Basilica. Ignorant of Thy Greatness we\ngrieved for this, but our ignorance was mistaken.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. lxxvi. 2, 3.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xxx. 9.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xxx. 11, 12.\n\n21. The heathen came, but truly _into Thine inheritance_ they came, for\nthey who came as heathen were made Christians. They who came to invade\nThine inheritance, were made coheirs of God; those whom I accounted\nenemies are become my defenders; I have as comrades those whom I\nesteemed adversaries. Thus has that been fulfilled which the prophet\nDavid spake of the Lord Jesus, that _His Dwelling is in peace[106],\nthere brake He the horns of the bow, the shield, the sword, and the\nbattle_. For whose office, whose work is this but Thine, Lord Jesus?\nThou sawest armed men coming to Thy temple, on the one hand the people\ngroaning and collecting in a crowd that they might not seem to give up\nthe Basilica, on the other hand the soldiers commanded to use force.\nDeath was before my eyes, lest in the midst of all this madness should\nbreak out into licence. But Thou, O Lord plantedst Thyself in the midst,\nand madest the twain one. Thou restrainedst the soldiers, saying, If\nye run to arms, if they who are within My temple are disturbed, _What\nprofit is there in My blood?_ All thanks therefore be to Thee, O Christ.\nIt was not an enemy, not a messenger but _Thou O Lord hast delivered\nThy people, Thou hast put off my sackcloth and girded me with gladness_.\n\n22. Thus I spoke, wondering that the Emperor\u2019s mind could be softened\nby the zeal of the soldiers, by the entreaties of the Counts, by the\nprayers of the people. Meanwhile I am informed that a Secretary was\ncome with the mandate. I retired a little, and he notified to me the\nmandate. \u2018What has been your design,\u2019 says he, \u2018in acting against the\nEmperor\u2019s orders?\u2019 I replied, \u2018What has been ordered I know not, nor am\nI aware what is alleged to have been wrongly done.\u2019 He says, \u2018Why have\nyou sent presbyters to the Basilica? If you are a tyrant I would fain\nknow it, that I may know how to arm myself against you.\u2019 I replied by\nsaying that I had done nothing which assumed too much for the Church,\nbut when I heard it was filled with soldiers, I only uttered deeper\ngroans, and though many exhorted me to proceed thither, I replied,\n\u2018I cannot give up the Basilica, yet I must not fight.\u2019 That afterwards,\nwhen I was told that the Imperial hangings were removed, and that the\npeople required me to go thither, I had directed the presbyters to do\nso, but that I was unwilling to go myself, saying, \u2018I trust in Christ\nthat the Emperor himself will espouse our cause.\u2019\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. xii. 10.\n\n23. If this seems like domineering, I grant indeed that I have arms,\nbut only in the name of Christ; I have the power of offering up my\nbody. Why, I asked, did he delay to strike if he considered my power\nunlawful? By ancient right Priests have conferred sovereignty, never\nassumed it, and it is a common saying that Emperors have coveted the\nPriesthood more often than Priests sovereignty. Christ fled that He\nmight not be made a king. We have a power of our own. The power of\na Priest is his weakness; _When I am weak_, it is said, _then am\nI strong_. But let him against whom God has raised up no adversary\nbeware lest he raise up a tyrant for himself. Maximus did not say that\nI domineered over Valentinian, though he complains that my embassage\nprevented his passing over into Italy. I added, that priests were never\nusurpers, but that they had often suffered from usurpers.\n\n24. The whole of that day was past in this affliction; meanwhile the\nboys tore in derision the Imperial hangings. I could not return home,\nbecause the Church was surrounded by a guard of soldiers. We recited\nthe Psalms with our brethren in the little Basilica belonging to the\nChurch.\n\n Sidenote: Jonah iv. 9.\n\n25. On the following day, the book of Jonah was read in due course,\nafter which, I began this discourse; We have read a book, my brethren,\nwherein it is foretold that sinners shall return again to repentance.\nThey are accepted on this footing, that their present state is\nconsidered an earnest of the future. I added that this just man was\neven willing to incur blame, rather than behold or denounce destruction\non the city; and, since that prophecy was mournful, that he was also\ngrieved because the gourd had withered; that God had said to the\nprophet, _Art thou greatly angry for the gourd?_ and Jonah had answered,\n_I am greatly angry_. Then the Lord said, if the withering of the gourd\nwas a grief to him, how much more ought he to care for the salvation\nof so many souls; and therefore that He had suspended the destruction\nwhich had been prepared for the whole city.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 7.\n\n26. Immediate tidings are brought to me that the Emperor had commanded\nthe soldiers to retire from the Church; and that the fine which had\nbeen imposed on the merchants on their condemnation should be restored.\nWhat joy then prevailed among the whole people, what applause, what\ncongratulations! Now it was the day whereon the Lord delivered Himself\nup for us, the day whereon there is a relaxation of penance in the\nChurch. The soldiers eagerly brought the tidings, running in to the\naltars, and giving the kiss, the emblem of peace. Then I perceived that\nGod had smitten _the worm which came when the morning rose_, that the\nwhole city might be preserved.\n\n27. These are the past events, and would that they were terminated, but\nthe excited words of the Emperor show that heavier trials are awaiting\nus. I am called a tyrant, and even more than tyrant. For when the\nCounts besought the Emperor to go to the Church, and said that they did\nso at the request of the soldiers, he replied, \u2018You would deliver me\nup to chains, if Ambrose bade you.\u2019 I leave you to judge what awaits us\nafter these words; all shuddered at hearing them, but there are those\nabout him who exasperate him.\n\n28. Lastly Calligonus the Grand Chamberlain[107] ventured to address\nhimself specially to me. \u2018Do you, while I live, despise Valentinian?\nI will have your head.\u2019 I replied, \u2018May God grant you to fulfil your\nthreat: I shall suffer as becomes a Bishop, you will act as befits an\n\u2666eunuch.\u2019 May God indeed turn them aside from the Church; may all their\nweapons be directed against me, may they satiate their thirst in my\nblood!\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XXI.\n A.D. 386.\n\n\n S. AMBROSE ends his letter to his sister with forebodings of\n more troubles. Nor was he wrong. One of the next steps taken\n was a challenge to dispute publicly before the Emperor with\n Auxentius the Arian (so-called) Bishop, with regular umpires\n (judices) appointed on both sides. This letter is his reply to\n the Emperor, setting forth his ground for refusing, as he had\n before done at the time of the Council of Aquileia, to allow\n laymen to be judges of questions of Faith. (See above, Council\n of Aquil. \u00a7 51, 52, 53.)\n\n\n TO THE MOST CLEMENT EMPEROR, HIS BLESSED MAJESTY VALENTINIAN,\n AMBROSE, BISHOP, SENDS GREETING.\n\n1. DALMATIUS the tribune and notary cited me at your Clemency\u2019s bidding,\nas he alleged, requiring that I also should choose umpires as Auxentius\nhad done. He did not mention the names of those who had been called\nfor, but he added that the trial would take place in the Consistory,\nand that your pious judgment would decide between us.\n\n2. To this I make, as I consider, a sufficient answer. No one ought\nto deem me contumacious for asserting what your father of illustrious\nmemory not only declared by word of mouth[108] but sanctioned by his\nlaws; that in a matter of the Faith or of any ecclesiastical ordinance,\nthe judges ought to be qualified for it, both competent by office and\nqualified by profession: (these are the words of the Rescript), that is\nto say, he would have Bishops judge Bishops. Moreover if a bishop were\naccused elsewhere also, and a charge of a moral nature to be examined,\nthis too he willed should be referred to the judgment of Bishops.\n\n3. Who then is it who makes a contumacious answer to your Clemency?\nHe who would have you like your Father, or he who would have you\nunlike? Unless perhaps some persons count cheaply the opinion of that\ngreat Emperor, whose faith has been approved by the constancy of his\nconfession[109], and his wisdom proclaimed by the improved condition\nof the State.\n\n4. When have you ever heard, most gracious Emperor, that laymen\nhad judged a Bishop in a matter pertaining to the Faith? Does\ntheir flattery make us cringe so low as to forget the rights of the\npriesthood, and suppose that what God has committed to me I should\nentrust to others? If a layman may teach a Bishop, what will follow?\na layman will dispute, and a Bishop listen, a Bishop learn of a layman.\nAssuredly, if we revert to the volume of Holy Scripture or to the\ntime of old, who is there who will deny that in a cause of the Faith,\nin a cause, I say, of the Faith, Bishops are wont to judge Christian\nEmperors, not Emperors to judge Bishops.\n\n5. Hereafter, you will, by God\u2019s favour, reach a more mature age, and\nthen you will judge what kind of Bishop he must be who submits the\nrights of the priesthood to laymen. Your father, who by God\u2019s favour\nattained a riper age, used to say: \u2018It is not for me to judge between\nBishops:\u2019 your Majesty now says, \u2018I ought to judge.\u2019 He, although\nbaptized into Christ, considered himself unequal to the weight of\nso important a judgment; does your Majesty, who have yet to earn for\nyourself the Sacrament of Baptism, claim to decide concerning the Faith,\nalthough still ignorant of the Sacrament of this Faith?\n\n6. But what sort of judges he will have selected we may leave to be\nguessed, seeing that he fears to disclose their names. Let them come\nopenly, if indeed there be any, to the Church; let them attend together\nwith the people, not to sit as judges, but for every one to prove his\nown feelings and choose whom he will follow. The cause is concerning\nthe Bishop of that Church; if the people hear him and suppose he has\nthe better of the argument, let them follow his Faith; I shall not be\njealous.\n\n7. I forbear to mention that the people themselves have already\ndecided; I do not urge that the Bishop[110] whom they have they\ndemanded from your Majesty\u2019s father; I urge not that your father\npromised tranquillity for the future if he, having been elected, took\nupon him the Bishopric. It was in reliance on these promises that I\nacted.\n\n8. But if he prides himself on the support of any foreigners let him\nbe Bishop in the place whence those come who hold that he should be\ninvested with the name of a Bishop. For I neither acknowledge him as\nBishop, nor know whence he comes.\n\n9. How, your Majesty, can we be said to settle a matter in which you\nhave already declared your judgment; nay, have yourself published laws\nprecluding others from deciding otherwise. And when you laid down this\nrule for others you laid it down also for yourself; for the laws which\nthe Emperor makes he ought to be the first to keep. Would you then have\nme make trial whether those who are chosen judges will meet, contrary\nto your decree, or whether they will allege that they have not been\nable to contravene so rigid and peremptory a command of the Emperor?\n\n10. But this is the part of a contumacious not of a respectful Bishop.\nSee, your Majesty, how you yourself partially rescind your own law; but\nI would that you would do so not partially but universally, for I would\nnot wish your law to be above the law of God. The law of God has taught\nus what we should follow, human laws cannot teach us this. They can\ncompel a change in the timid, but they cannot inspire faith.\n\n11. Who therefore when he learns that in one moment it has been\npublished through so many provinces that whoever shall resist the\nEmperor shall be put to death, whoever shall not give up the temple of\nGod shall immediately be slain; who is there, I say, who either alone\nor with a few others can say to the Emperor; \u2018I do not approve your\nlaw?\u2019 The priesthood are not allowed to say this; are then the laity\nallowed? And shall he judge concerning the faith, who either hopes for\nfavour or fears giving offence?\n\n12. Lastly, shall I venture to nominate laymen for umpires, who if they\nkeep true to their Faith must be proscribed or put to death, as that\nlaw passed concerning the Faith prescribes. Shall I then expose them to\nthe hazard either of prevarication or of punishment?\n\n13. Ambrose is not of such importance as to degrade the priesthood on\nhis account. One man\u2019s life is not of as much value as the dignity of\nthe whole priesthood, by whose advice I gave my direction when they\nsuggested that there might be some heathen or Jew, chosen by Auxentius,\nto whom we might give a triumph over Christ if we committed to him\njudgment concerning Christ. What else pleases them but to hear of wrong\ndone to Christ? What else can please them but the denial (which God\nforbid) of the Divinity of Christ? Clearly they agree entirely with\nthe Arian, who calls Christ a creature, which heathens and Jews too\nare willing enough to confess.\n\n14. This was decreed at the synod of Ariminum, and with good reason\ndo I abhor that Council; following as I do the doctrine of the Nicene\nCouncil, from which neither death nor the sword can ever separate me.\nThis Faith your Majesty\u2019s father, the blessed Emperor Theodosius, both\nfollowed and approved. This Faith the provinces of Gaul and of Spain\nhold, and this they keep with the pious confession of the Divine Spirit.\n\n15. If I have to preach, I have learnt to preach in the Church, as\nmy predecessors did. If a conference is to be held on a matter of\nFaith, it ought to be a conference of Bishops, as was the case under\nConstantine of august memory, who laid down no laws beforehand, but\nleft to the Bishops the liberty of judging. The same was the case also\nunder Constantius of illustrious memory, who inherited his father\u2019s\ndignity, but what began well ended badly. For the Bishops had at first\nsubscribed an orthodox confession, but, through the wish of certain\npersons to judge of the Faith in agreement with the palace, the result\nwas that these judgments of the Bishops were fraudulently changed; they\nhowever immediately recalled this perverted decision. And there is no\ndoubt that the majority at Ariminum approved the creed of the Nicene\nCouncil[111] and condemned the Arian decrees.\n\n16. If Auxentius appeals to a Synod to discuss questions concerning the\nFaith, though it would be needless to disturb so many Bishops on one\nperson\u2019s account, who, were he an Angel from heaven, ought not to be\npreferred to the Church\u2019s peace, I too will not be absent when I hear\nthat the Synod is assembled. Let the law then be repealed, if you would\nhave the contest entered upon.\n\n17. I would have come to your Majesty\u2019s Consistory, to offer this plea\nin your presence, could I have obtained leave from the Bishops or the\npeople; but they said that an argument concerning the Faith ought to be\nheld in the Church in the presence of the people.\n\n18. I could have wished that your Majesty had not declared that I might\ngo into exile, whither I chose. I went abroad daily, no man guarded me.\nYou should then have sent me wherever you thought fit, for I was ready\nto submit to any thing; now the Bishops say to me, \u2018There is little\ndifference between voluntarily leaving Christ\u2019s altar and betraying it,\nfor if you leave you will betray it.\u2019\n\n19. And I would I were certain that the Church would not be given up to\nthe Arians, I would then willingly surrender myself to your Majesty\u2019s\ndisposal. But if it is I only who am an intruder, why has the command\nbeen given to invade all other Churches also? I would it were certain,\nthat no one would disturb the Churches, I would gladly then have any\nsentence which seems good passed concerning myself.\n\n20. Let your Majesty then be pleased graciously to accept my reasons\nfor not coming to the Church. I have not learned how to stand up in the\nConsistory except in your behalf[112]; and within the palace I cannot\ncontend, for I neither seek after nor know the secrets of the palace.\n\n21. I, Bishop Ambrose, offer this remonstrance to the most clement\nEmperor, his blessed Majesty Valentinian.\n\n\n\n\n SERMON\n A.D. 386.\n\n\n AGAINST AUXENTIUS ON THE GIVING UP THE BASILICAS.\n\n THE persecution against S. Ambrose still continued. The Court\n party endeavoured to induce him to leave Milan, in order, they\n said, to prevent more serious troubles. This he refused to do,\n and at last he remained for several days and nights continuously\n within the Basilica[113], attended by a crowded congregation,\n all determined to protect him from the violence of the court,\n while a guard of soldiers was at the same time blockading the\n Church, and preventing any from leaving it. It was during this\n time that this Sermon was preached. In it S. Ambrose first calms\n the fears of the people lest he should be induced to leave them,\n assuring them that he will only yield to force; and proceeds\n to apply the Lessons of the day, the story of Naboth and the\n Entry into Jerusalem, to the circumstances of the time, giving\n incidentally several interesting details of the contest between\n himself and the Court, and alluding to the hymns which he then\n taught the people to sing.\n\n1. I SEE that you are in an unusual state of excitement, and that your\neyes are fixed upon me. I am at a loss to know the cause of this. Is\nit that you saw or heard that an Imperial message has been brought to\nme by the Tribunes, commanding me to depart hence whither I would, and\nthat all who would were permitted to follow me. Were you then alarmed\nlest I should desert the Church, and in fear for my own life abandon\nyou? But you heard my answer. I said that the thought of deserting the\nChurch could not for an instant enter my mind, for I feared the Lord\nof the Universe more than the Ruler of the Empire; that if I were to be\nforcibly removed from the Church, it would be my body not my mind which\nwould be driven by violence from thence, that if the Emperor were to\nact as royal power is wont, I was prepared for that which is the part\nof a priest to suffer.\n\n2. Why then are you thus disturbed? I will never desert you of my own\nwill, but I may not repel force by force. I shall still be able to\nmourn, to weep, and to groan; when weapons, soldiers, Goths assail me,\nmy tears are my weapons, for these are the defence of a priest. By any\nother means I neither can nor ought to resist; but to fly and desert\nthe Church is not my wont, lest any one should impute it to fear of\nheavier punishment. You yourselves know that I am wont to pay deference\nto our Rulers, but not to give way to them, and willingly to offer\nmyself to punishment, not fearing what is prepared for me.\n\n3. Would that I could be satisfied that the Church would not be\ndelivered to heretics! I would willingly go to the Emperor\u2019s palace,\nwere this accordant with the priest\u2019s office, so as to hold our\ncontest rather in the palace than in the Church. But in the Consistory\nChrist is not wont to be the accused, but the Judge. Who will deny\nthat a matter of faith should be pleaded in the Church? If any one has\nconfidence in his cause let him come hither; let him not look for the\njudgment of the Emperor, which already shews its leaning, which has\ndeclared plainly by the law he has enacted that he is adverse to the\nFaith, nor for the expected support of certain intriguers. I will not\ngive occasion to any one to barter for gain a wrong to Christ.\n\n Sidenote: 1 S. Pet. v. 8\n\n4. The guard of soldiers and the din of the arms which beset the Church,\nalarm not my faith, but they make me fear that in keeping me here you\nmay incur danger to yourselves. For I have learned ere this not to fear\nfor myself, but I begin now to fear more for you. Permit, I beg, your\nBishop to enter the lists; we have an adversary who challenges us; for\nour _adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom\nhe may devour_, as the Apostle saith. Doubtless he has obtained, he has\nobtained (not to deceive us, but to warn us, is it recorded) this power\nof temptation, lest haply I should be removed from the stedfastness of\nmy faith by the wounds of my body. You also have read that the devil\nthus tempted holy Job in many ways; and last of all he begged and\nobtained the power of afflicting his body which he covered with sores.\n\n5. When it was proposed to me to give up at once the Church plate,\nI made this reply; That if my own property was required of me, farm\nor house, gold or silver, anything that lies in my power, I would\nwillingly give it; but that I would withdraw nothing from God\u2019s temple,\nnor surrender what had been committed to me to keep, not to surrender.\nAnd further, that I was studying also for the Emperor\u2019s good, for it\nwas expedient neither for me to surrender nor for him to receive these\nthings; let him then listen to the words of an independent Bishop: if\nhe regard his own interest, let him abstain from doing wrong to Christ.\n\n Sidenote: Eph. vi. 12.\n\n6. These are words full of humility, and, I believe, of that affection\nwhich a Bishop owes to his Emperor. But since _our contest is not only\nagainst flesh and blood, but_ also (which is more trouble) _against\nspiritual wickedness in high places_, that tempter, the Devil, sharpens\nthe contest by his ministers, and deems that by the wounds of my body\nthe trial must be made. I know, brethren, that these wounds which we\nreceive for Christ, are no wounds: life is not lost by them, but its\nseed propagated. Permit, I beseech you, the contest to take place, it\nis for you to be spectators only. Consider that if there is in a city\nan athlete or one skilled in some other science, it wishes to present\nhim for the combat. Why do ye reject in greater things what ye are wont\nto wish for even in smaller ones? He fears neither arms nor barbarians,\nwho dreads not death, who is entangled in no fleshly pleasure.\n\n7. Without doubt if the Lord hath appointed me to this combat, it is in\nvain that you have kept sleepless watch and ward through so many nights\nand days; the will of Christ will be performed. For our Lord Jesus\nChrist is Almighty, this is our Faith; and therefore what He bids to\nbe done will be fulfilled, nor does it become us to run counter to the\nDivine Will.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xix. 35.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xi. 28. etc.\n\n Sidenote: Phil. i. 23.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. x. 39.\n\n8. Ye have heard what has been read to-day: the Saviour commanded an\nass\u2019s colt to be brought to Him by the Apostles and commanded that if\nany one sought to hinder them they should say, _The Lord hath need of\nhim_. What if now also He hath commanded this ass\u2019s colt, that is the\ncolt of that animal which is wont to bear a heavy burthen, such as is\nthe condition of man, to whom it is said, _Come unto Me all ye that\nlabour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest: take My yoke upon\nyou, for My yoke is easy_: what, I say, if He hath now commanded this\ncolt to be brought to Him, sending forth those Apostles who now having\nput off the body, wear, invisibly to our eyes, the guise of Angels?\nWill they not say, should any one seek to hinder them, _The Lord hath\nneed of him_, if either the desire of this life, or flesh and blood,\nor the conversation of the world, for perhaps we are acceptable to some\npersons, should seek to hinder them? But he who loves me here, cannot\ngive a better testimony of his affection than by suffering me to become\na sacrifice for Christ; because _to be dissolved and to be with Christ\nis much better; howbeit, to remain in the flesh is more needful for\nyour sakes_. Ye have therefore, my beloved brethren, no cause for fear,\nfor I know that whatever I shall suffer, I shall suffer for Christ. And\nI have read that I ought not to fear those who can kill the flesh, and\nI have heard One say, _He who loses his life for My sake, shall find\nit_.\n\n9. Wherefore, if the Lord wills it, I am sure that no resistance will\nbe made. But if He still delay our contest, why should we fear? It\nis not bodily protection but the Lord\u2019s providence which is wont to\nprotect the servant of Christ.\n\n10. You are disturbed at finding some folding doors unclosed which a\nblind man in returning home is said to have opened. Acknowledge then\nthat human guards are no support. Lo! one who had lost the gift of\nsight has broken through all your barriers and baffled your guards: but\nthe Lord hath not lost[114] the guard of His mercy. Do you not remember\nthat two days ago there was found open an entrance on the left side of\nthe Basilica which you thought to be closed and guarded? The Basilica\nwas surrounded by armed men who inspected every entrance, but their\neyes were blinded so that they could not discover the one which was\nopen; and so it remained open, as you know, for many nights. Cease then\nall anxiety, for what Christ commands, and what is expedient, shall\ncome to pass.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Kings vi. 16. (the sense, not the words.)\n\n11. In the next place I will produce to you instances from the Old\nTestament. Elisha was sought after by the king of Syria, an army was\nsent to take him, he was surrounded on every side, his servant began\nto fear, because he was a servant, that is, his mind was not free, nor\nhad he freedom of action. The holy prophet prayed that his eyes might\nbe opened, and said, _Look and see how many more are on our side than\nagainst us_. And he looked up and saw thousands of Angels. You see then\nthat the servants of Christ are protected rather by invisible than by\nvisible beings. But when they keep guard around you, they have been\ncalled to do so by your prayers; for you have read that those very men\nwho sought for Elisha on entering Samaria came upon the very man whom\nthey wished to capture, yet they were not able to injure him, but were\nsaved by the intercession of the very man against whom they came.\n\n12. Take the Apostle Peter too as an example of both these things. When\nHerod sought after and took him, he was put in prison; for the servant\nof God had not fled but stood firm and without fear. The Church prayed\nfor him, but the Apostle was asleep in the prison, a proof that he\nfeared not. An Angel was sent to rouse him from his sleep, and by him\nPeter was brought out of prison and for the time escaped death.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. vi. 10.\n\n13. The same Peter, afterwards, after overcoming Simon, by spreading\nthe precepts of God among the people and preaching chastity, stirred up\nthe minds of the heathen against him: and when they sought to put him\nto death the Christians besought him to retire for a little while. And\nalthough he was desirous of suffering, yet he was moved by the sight\nof the people praying, for they besought him to reserve himself for\nthe instruction and confirmation of the people. To be brief: as he\nset out from the walls by night, he saw Christ meeting him in the gate\nand entering the city, whereupon he said, \u2018Lord, whither goest Thou?\u2019\nChrist answered, \u2018I am coming to be crucified again.\u2019 This Divine\nresponse Peter understood to refer to his own cross, for Christ, Who\nhad put off the flesh by undergoing the suffering of death could not\nagain be crucified, _For in that He died, He died unto sin once, but in\nthat He liveth, He liveth unto God_. Wherefore Peter understood that\nChrist was again to be crucified in His servant; and so he turned back\nof his own accord, and when the Christians asked him why, he told them\nwhat he had seen, and was immediately seized, and honoured the Lord\nJesus by his cross.\n\n Sidenote: S. John xxi. 22.\n\n14. Ye see then that Christ wills to suffer in His servants. What if He\nsaith to this servant also, _I will that he tarry, but follow thou Me_?\nwhat if He wills to taste of the fruit from this tree? For if it was\nHis meat to do His Father\u2019s Will, it is His meat also to feed upon the\nsufferings of His servants. To take an example from our Lord Himself,\ndid He not suffer when He willed, and was He not found when they sought\nfor Him? But when the hour of His passion had not arrived, He passed\nthrough the midst of them who sought for Him, and they who saw Him\ncould not detain Him. Wh ich evidently shews that when the Lord wills,\neach man is found and taken, while he whose time is not come although\nhe meet the eyes, is not captured.\n\n15. And did I not go out daily to make visits, or go to the tomb of\nthe Martyrs? Did I not in going and returning pass close by the Royal\npalace? And yet no man arrested me, though they wished to drive me from\nthe city, as they shewed afterwards by saying, \u2018Leave this city, and\ngo where thou wilt.\u2019 I expected, I confess, something great, to be\nburned or slain with the sword for the name of Christ, but they offered\nme delights in the place of sufferings; and yet the soldiers of Christ\nseeks not for delights but for sufferings. Wherefore let no man trouble\nyou by the intelligence that they have prepared a carriage[115], or\nthat Auxentius, who calls himself Bishop, has uttered what he thinks\nterrible words.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. xi. 14.\n\n16. Many said that executioners had been sent, that the punishment of\ndeath had been decreed; I fear them not, nor will I desert my post.\nFor whither should I go to find a place that is not full of nothing\nbut tears and groans? For in every Church the Catholic clergy are\nordered to be cast forth; if they resist, to be put to death; all the\nsenators[116] who do not obey this mandate, to be proscribed. And it\nis a Bishop who writes these orders with his own hand and dictates them\nwith his own mouth, who to prove his learning omitted not an ancient\nprecedent; for we read in the prophet that he saw a flying sickle[117],\nand in imitation of this Auxentius sent a winged sword through all the\ncities. And thus _Satan transforms himself into an Angel of light_, and\nimitates his power for evil purposes.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. l. 16.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. vi. 15.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Kings xxi. 3.\n\n17. Thou, Lord Jesus, hast in one moment redeemed the world; shall\nAuxentius in one moment, so far as in him lies, slay so many people,\nsome with the sword, others by sacrilege[118]? My Basilica he sought\nwith a mouth and hands of blood, and to him our present Lesson may be\nwell applied, _Unto the ungodly, saith God, why dost thou preach my\nlaws?_ that is, There is no concord between peace and wrath, _between\nChrist and Belial_. You remember also how in the Lesson of to-day that\nholy man Naboth, the owner of a vineyard, was requested by the king to\nsurrender it to him, that he might root up the vines and plant it with\ncommon herbs, and that he answered, _God forbid that I should give thee\nthe inheritance of my fathers_; and that king was grieved that what\nbelonged of right to another was refused him when he claimed it as\nhis right, and only gained by the deceit of a woman\u2019s artifice. Naboth\nthen defended his vineyard even with his own blood; if he would not\nsurrender his vineyard, shall we surrender the Church of Christ?\n\n18. How then did I reply contumaciously? When summoned, I said, \u2018God\nforbid that I should surrender Christ\u2019s heritage. If Naboth would not\nsurrender the heritage of his fathers, shall I surrender Christ\u2019s\nheritage?\u2019 I added moreover, \u2018God forbid that I should surrender the\nheritage of my fathers, the heritage of Dionysius, who died in exile\nfor the Faith, of the Confessor Eustorgius, of Myrocles, and of all\nthe faithful Bishops of old time.\u2019 I answered as becomes a Bishop, let\nthe Emperor act as becomes an Emperor. He shall deprive me of my life\nsooner than my Faith.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xix. 40.\n\n19. But to whom am I to surrender it? The Lesson just read from the\nGospel ought to teach us what it is that is demanded, and by whom.\nYe heard it read that, when Christ was sitting on the ass\u2019s colt, the\nchildren cried out, and the Jews were indignant, appealing to the Lord\nJesus, and saying that He should bid them hold their peace, but He\nreplied, _If these were to hold their peace, the very stones would\ncry out_. Then He entered the Temple, and cast out the moneychangers,\nand their tables, and those that sold doves in the Temple of God. This\nLesson was read by no direction of ours, but by chance; but it suits\nwell with the present time. For the praises of Christ are always as\nit were scourges to misbelievers. And now when Christ is praised the\nheretics say that we are exciting sedition, the heretics say that they\nwere thereby threatened with death; and truly the praises of Christ\nare death to them. For how can they bear His praises Whose weakness\nthey are proclaiming! Wherefore to this day the praises of Christ are\na scourge to the madness of the Arians.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. viii. 2.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxviii. 22.\n\n20. The Gerasenes could not bear the presence of Christ, these men,\nworse than the Gerasenes, cannot even bear the praises of Christ. They\nsee children singing the glory of Christ; for it is written, _Out of\nthe mouth of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise_. They\nderide their tender years so full of faith, and ask, Why do they cry\nout? But Christ answers them, _If these should hold their peace the\nvery stones would cry out_, that is, the stranger will cry out, the\nyoung men too will cry out, the more mature will cry out, the old men\nalso: stones built into that Stone of Whom it is written, _The stone\nwhich the builders disallowed is become the head-stone of the corner_.\n\n21. Christ then, invited by these praises, enters His Temple, and takes\nHis \u2666scourge and drives out the moneychangers. For He will not permit\nthose who are slaves of money to be in His Temple, He will not suffer\nthose to be there who sell seats. What are _seats_, but honours? What\nare _doves_, but simple minds, or souls which embrace a sincere and\npure faith? Shall I then introduce into the Temple him whom Christ\nexcludes? For he is commanded to go forth who sells dignities and\nhonours, he is commanded to go forth who would sell the simple minds\nof the faithful.\n\n22. Wherefore Auxentius is cast forth, Mercurianus is excluded. This\nis one portent under two names. That it might not be known who he was,\nhe changed his name, and, as there had been here Auxentius the Arian\nBishop, so he, to deceive the people whom the other had influenced,\ncalled himself Auxentius. Thus he changed his name, but his perfidy he\ncould not change; he put off wolf, and yet put on wolf. It avails him\nnot to have changed his name, what he really is is known. He was known\nby one name in the regions of Scythia, he is called by another here, he\nhas names differing according to his country. Now therefore he has two\nnames, and if from hence he goes elsewhere he will have a third also.\nFor how will he endure to keep a name which betrays the greatness of\nhis crime? In Scythia he did less wickedly, and yet he was so ashamed\nas to change his name; here he has dared to do more heinous things, and\nwill he be willing wherever he goes to be betrayed by his name? After\nwriting with his own hand the death warrant of so many people, will he\nbe able to retain his senses unshaken?\n\n Sidenote: Jer. xvii. 1.\n\n23. The Lord Jesus drove out a few from His temple, Auxentius left no\none. Jesus casts men out of His temple with a scourge, Auxentius with a\nsword; Jesus with a rod, Mercurianus with an axe. Our holy Lord drives\nout the sacrilegious with a scourge, this wicked man persecutes the\ngodly with the sword. Of him ye have to-day said well; \u2018let him carry\nhis laws away with him.\u2019 He shall carry them though he desire it not,\nhe shall carry with him his conscience, though he carry not the writing,\nhe shall carry his own soul inscribed in blood, although he carry not a\nletter inscribed with ink. _Thy sin, O Judah, is written with a pen of\niron and with the point of a diamond_, and _it is graven in thy heart_,\ngraven that is in the place from whence it came forth.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. ii. 19.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. iii. 11.\n\n24. Does he moreover, stained as he is with blood and slaughter, dare\nto mention discussion to me? Those whom he fails to deceive by his\narguments he sentences to be smitten with the sword, and he dictates\nbloody laws with his mouth, writing them with his hand, and thinking\nthat the law can impose a Creed on men. He has never heard what was\nread to-day, _A man is not justified by the works of the law_, or, _I\nby the law am dead to the law that I might live to God_, that is, by\nthe spiritual law he is dead to the carnal interpretation of the law.\nLet us too by the law of our Lord Jesus Christ die to this law which\nsanctions the decrees of perfidy. It is not the law which has gathered\ntogether the Church, but the faith of Christ. For the law is not of\nfaith: _But the just shall live by faith_. It is faith then, not the\nlaw, which makes a man just, because righteousness is not by the law,\nbut by the faith of Christ. But he who rejects faith, and takes law for\nhis rule, bears witness to his own unrighteousness, for _the just shall\nlive by faith_.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. iv. 4.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. iii. 13.\n\n Sidenote: Ib.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. v. 21.\n\n25. Shall any then follow this law confirming the Council of Ariminum\nwherein Christ is called a creature? But they say, _God sent His Son,\nmade of a woman, made under the Law_. So then He is _made_ they say,\nthat is, created. Will they not consider this very text which they\nhave produced; that Christ is said to be made, but _made of a woman_,\nthat is, He according to His birth from the Virgin was _made_, Who was\naccording to His Divine generation born of the Father? They read too\nto-day that Christ _redeemed us from the curse of the Law, being made\na curse for us_. Was Christ a curse according to His Divinity? But why\nHe should be called a curse the Apostle teaches thee, alleging the text,\n_Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree_, that is, He Who in His\nflesh took upon Him our flesh, in His body carried our griefs and our\ncurses that He might crucify them, for He is cursed, not in Himself,\nbut in thee. Lastly, you have in another place, _Who knew no sin, but\nwas made sin for us_, for He took upon Him our sins, to do away with\nthem by the Sacrament of His Passion.\n\n26. These points, my brethren, I would have discussed more fully with\nyou in his presence, but he, being aware that you were not ignorant\nof the Faith, fled from your scrutiny, and chose as his advocates,\nif indeed he chose any, four or five heathens, whom I would willingly\nhave now present in our general assembly, not for them to judge of\nChrist, but that they might hear the majesty of Christ. They however\nhave already pronounced concerning Auxentius, for when he daily\nargued before them they gave him no credit. What can be a greater\ncondemnation of him than that he was defeated without an adversary\nbefore his own judges? Thus we now have their own sentence against\nAuxentius.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. vi. 1, 2.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. vi. 5.\n\n27. And justly is he to be condemned for choosing heathen judges, for\nhe disregarded the Apostle\u2019s precept who says _Dare any of you, having\na matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before\nthe saints? Do you not know that the saints shall judge the world?_ And\nbelow he says, _Is it so that there is not a wise man among you, no not\none that shall be able to judge between his brethren? but brother goeth\nto law with brother, and that before the unbelievers?_ Ye see that what\nhe offered is contrary to the Apostle\u2019s authority. Choose whether we\nshould follow Auxentius or Paul as our master?\n\n Sidenote: Isa. li. 7.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. iii. 3.\n\n28. But why should I speak of the Apostle, when our Lord Himself cries\nby the Prophet, _hearken unto Me My people, ye that know righteousness,\nin whose heart is My law_. God says, _hearken unto Me My people, ye\nthat know righteousness_. Auxentius says, Ye know not righteousness.\nDo ye not see that he now, who rejects the declaration of the heavenly\noracles, despises God in you? _Hearken unto Me My people_; saith the\nLord. He says not, Hearken ye Gentiles; He says not, Hearken ye Jews.\nFor now they that were the people of God are become the people of error,\nand they who were the people of error have become the people of God,\nbecause they have believed in Christ. Wherefore that people are judges,\nin whose heart is the Divine, not human, law; the law _written not with\nink, but with the Spirit of the living God_; not inscribed on paper but\nstampt upon the heart; the law of grace not of blood. Who is it then\nwho wrongs you, he who refuses or he who chooses to be heard by you?\n\n29. Hemmed in on all sides, he has recourse to the wiles of his fathers.\nHe wishes to excite odium against me in regard to the Emperor, saying,\nthat a youth yet a catechumen and ignorant of the sacred Scriptures,\nought to judge, and to judge in the Consistory. As if last year, when\nI was summoned to the palace, when in the presence of the nobles the\nmatter was argued before the Consistory, when the Emperor wished to\ntake away the Basilica, I was then cowed by the sight of the Imperial\ncourt, and had not maintained the constancy of a priest, or had\nsuffered our rights to be infringed there. Do they not remember that\nwhen the people knew I had gone to the palace they rushed in with an\nonset that nothing could withstand; and when a Military Count came\nforth with some light troops to disperse the multitude they all offered\nthemselves to death for the Faith of Christ? Was I not then requested\nto make a long speech to soothe the people? Did I not pledge my faith\nthat no one should invade the Church\u2019s Basilica? And although my good\noffices were requested as a kindness, yet the coming of the populace to\nthe palace was made a ground of charge against me; into the same odium\nthen they wish me again to fall.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xxii. 17.\n\n30. I recalled the people, and yet I did not escape odium, and this\nodium ought, I conceive, to be controuled rather than feared. For\nwhat should we fear for the name of Christ? Unless perhaps this which\nthey say ought to move me; \u2018And ought not the Emperor then to have one\nBasilica to go to; and does Ambrose desire to be more powerful than the\nEmperor, so as to exclude him from the liberty of attending Church?\u2019\nWhen they say this, they wish to lay hold of my words, like the Jews\nwho tempted Christ with empty words, saying, _Master, is it lawful\nto give tribute to C\u00e6sar or not?_ Must the servants of God always be\nexposed to odium on C\u00e6sar\u2019s account? And does impiety, with a view to\ncalumny, seek to use the Imperial name as a cloak? And can they protest\nthat they do not partake of the sacrilege of these men, whose guidance\nthey follow?\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 18. sqq.\n\n31. Yet see how much worse the Arians are than the Jews. The latter\nenquired of Christ whether He thought that the right of tribute should\nbe rendered to C\u00e6sar; the former are willing to surrender to the\nEmperor the rights of the Church. But like traitors, they follow their\nmaster, and so let us answer what our Lord and Master hath taught us.\nFor Jesus perceiving the treachery of the Jews, said unto them, _Why\ntempt ye Me, shew Me a penny. And when they gave it to Him, He said,\nWhose image and whose superscription is this? They answered, C\u00e6sar\u2019s.\nJesus replied, Render therefore unto C\u00e6sar the things that are C\u00e6sar\u2019s,\nand unto God the things that are God\u2019s._ Thus I also say to them who\nfind fault with me, _Shew Me a penny_. Jesus saw the penny was C\u00e6sar\u2019s,\nand said, _Render unto C\u00e6sar \u2666the things that are C\u00e6sar\u2019s, and unto God\nthe things that are God\u2019s_. Can they from the seizure of the Basilicas\nof the Church offer the penny of C\u00e6sar?\n\n Sidenote: Gen. i. 26.\n\n Sidenote: Heb. i. 3.\n\n Sidenote: S. John xiv. 9.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. x. 30.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xvi. 15.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 16.\n\n32. But in the Church I know one image, that is, the image of the\ninvisible God, of which God said, _Let us make man in Our image, after\nOur likeness_, that image of which it is written, that Christ is _the\nbrightness of His glory, the express image of His substance_. In this\nimage I behold the Father, as the Lord Jesus Himself said, _He that\nhath seen Me hath seen the Father also_. For this Image is not divided\nfrom the Father, for He hath taught me the unity of the Trinity, saying,\n_I and the Father are One_, and below, _All things that the Father hath\nare Mine_. And of the Holy Spirit, saying, that He is the Spirit of\nChrist, and hath received from Christ, as it is written, _He shall take\nof Mine, and shall declare it unto you_.\n\n Sidenote: Prov. xix. 17.\n\n33. In what respect then have we not answered with humility? If he\nask for tribute we deny it not. The Church lands pay tribute; if the\nEmperor desire to possess these lands he has the power to claim them;\nnone of us will interfere. The contributions of the people will more\nthan suffice for the poor; let them excite no ill-will on account of\nthe lands, let them take them if it please the Emperor; I give them\nnot, but I do not refuse them. They ask for gold, but I can say, Silver\nand gold I seek not. But this disbursement of gold they make a cause\nof offence: this offence I dread not. I have stipendiaries, it is true:\nmy stipendiaries[119] are the poor of Christ, this is a treasure which\nI am well used to collect. May this offence of bestowing gold on the\npoor ever be charged upon me! And if they accuse me of defending myself\nby their means, I deny not, nay I even court the charge; a defence I\nhave, but it is in the prayers of the poor. Blind they are \u2666and lame,\nweak and old, yet are they stronger than the stoutest warriors. Lastly,\ngifts to the poor make God our debtor, for it is written, _He that\ngiveth to the poor, lendeth to the Lord_. The guards of warriors often\ngain not Divine grace.\n\n34. Moreover they assert that the people have been beguiled by the\nstrains of my hymns[120]. I deny not this either. It is a lofty strain,\nthan which nothing is more powerful. For what can be more powerful than\nthe confession of the Trinity, which is daily celebrated by the mouth\nof the whole people? All zealously desire to make profession of their\nfaith, they know how to confess in verse the Father and the Son and the\nHoly Spirit. Thus all are become teachers who were scarcely able to be\ndisciples.\n\n Sidenote: Phil. iii. 7.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. v. 19.\n\n35. But what can be more lowly than for us to follow the example of\nChrist, Who _being found in fashion as a man humbled himself being made\nobedient unto death_. And again, by obedience He delivered all: _For\nas by the disobedience of one man many were made sinners, so by the\nobedience of one Man shall many be made righteous_. If then He was\nobedient let them learn from Him the lesson of obedience, to which we\nadhere, saying to them who raise odium against us, on the Emperor\u2019s\naccount, _We render to C\u00e6sar the things that are C\u00e6sar\u2019s, and to God\nthe things that are God\u2019s_. To C\u00e6sar tribute is due, we deny it not;\nthe Church is God\u2019s, and must not be given up to C\u00e6sar, because the\nTemple of God cannot by right be C\u00e6sar\u2019s.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. lxiv. 7. vulg.\n\n36. That this is said with due honour to the Emperor no one can deny.\nFor what can be more honourable for the Emperor than to be styled a\nson of the Church? In saying this we are loyal to him without sinning\nagainst God. For the Emperor is _within_ the Church, not _over_ the\nChurch; a good Emperor seeks the aid of the Church, he does not reject\nit, we say this humbly, but we assert it firmly. Some men threaten\nus with fire, sword and banishment. We, the servants of Christ, have\nlearned not to fear. To them that fear not nothing is a cause of alarm.\nAnd it is thus written, _arrows of infants are their blows become_.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xx. 4.\n\n Sidenote: Is. ix. 6.\n\n Sidenote: Eph. iv. 5.\n\n37. It would seem now that we have made a sufficient answer to what was\nproposed to us. Now I ask them the same question as did the Saviour,\n_The baptism of John was it from heaven or of men?_ And the Jews could\nnot answer Him. If the Jews did not annul the baptism of John, shall\nAuxentius annul the Baptism of Christ? For that Baptism is not from\nmen but from Christ which the _Angel of mighty Counsel_ brought down to\nus, that we might be justified before God. Why then does Auxentius hold\nthat the faithful, those baptized in the name of the Trinity are to be\nre-baptized, when the Apostle says, _One faith, one baptism_; why does\nhe say that he is the adversary of men, not of Christ, seeing that he\nspurns the counsel of God, and contemns that Baptism which Christ gave\nus for the redemption of our sins.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XXII.\n A.D. 386.\n\n\n S. AMBROSE here recounts to his sister the discovery of the\n relics of S. S. Gervasius and Protasius, which occurred during\n the time of trial referred to in the last letter, and seems, by\n the pitch of excitement to which it raised the people of Milan,\n to have alarmed the court-party, and so to have caused the\n persecution to be dropped. The simple narrative needs no further\n introduction. It is strikingly told, and the question of the\n miracles discussed, in the \u2018Church of the Fathers\u2019 ch. iii. S.\n Augustine gives a brief account of the event in his Confessions,\n (ix. 7.) fully corroborating S. Ambrose\u2019s statements, and also\n speaks of it in De Civ. Dei xxii. 8, 2, and in Serm. de Divers.\n cclxxvi. 5.\n\n\n TO THE LADY HIS SISTER WHOM HE LOVES MORE THAN HIS LIFE\n AND EYES AMBROSE HER BROTHER SENDS GREETING.\n\n\u26661. AS I am wont to keep your holiness informed of all that goes on\nhere in your absence, I would have you know that we have found the\nbodies of some holy martyrs. After the consecration of a Church[121],\nmany began to interrupt me crying with one voice; Consecrate this as\nyou did the Roman Basilica. \u2018I will do so,\u2019 I replied, \u2018if I find any\nrelics of Martyrs:\u2019 and immediately my heart burned within me as if\nprophetically.\n\n2. In short the Lord lent us aid[122], though even the very clergy\nwere alarmed. I caused the ground to be opened before the rails of the\nChurch of S.S. Felix and Nabor. I found the suitable tokens; and when\nsome persons were brought for us to lay our hands upon, the power of\nthe holy martyrs became so manifest that before I began to speak, one\nof them, a woman[123], was \u2666seized[124] by an evil spirit and thrown\ndown upon the ground in the place where the martyrs lay. We found two\nmen of stupendous size, such as belonged to ancient days. All their\nbones were entire, and there was much blood. The people flocked thither\nin crowds throughout the whole of those two days. We arranged all the\nbones in order, and carried them when evening set in, to the Basilica\nof Fausta[125]; where we kept vigils throughout the night, and some\npossessed persons received imposition of hands. The following day we\ntransferred them to the Basilica which they call Ambrosian. During\ntheir transportation a blind man was healed[126]. My discourse to\nthe people was as follows. When I considered in what overflowing and\nunprecedented numbers you were met together, and thought on the gifts\nof Divine Grace which shone forth in the holy Martyrs, I felt myself,\nI confess, unequal to this task, and thought it impossible that I could\nfind language to express that which we can hardly conceive in mind\nor endure with our eyes. But when the reading of the regular Lessons\nof Holy Scripture began, the Holy Spirit, Who spoke by the Prophets,\ngranted us grace to speak somewhat worthy of this great and expectant\nconcourse, and of the merits of the holy Martyrs.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xix. 1.\n\n\u26664. _The heavens_, the Psalmist says, _declare the glory of God_.\nOn reading this Psalm the thought arises that it is not so much the\nmaterial elements as the heavenly merits that seem to offer praise\nworthy of God. But by the coincidence of the Lesson being read to-day\nit is made plain what are the _heavens_ which _tell of the glory of\nGod_. Behold on my right hand and on my left the holy relics, behold\nmen of heavenly conversation, behold the trophies of a lofty mind.\nThese are the _heavens_ which _declare the glory of God_; these are\n_the works of His hands_ which _are told by the firmament_. For it\nwas not worldly snares, but the favour of the Divine operation, which\nraised them to the firmament of the most sacred Passion, and long\nbeforehand by the evidence of their conversation and virtues bore this\ntestimony of them, that they remained stedfast against the slippery\nwiles of this world.\n\n Sidenote: Phil. iii. 20.\n\n Sidenote: S. Mark iii. 17.\n\n Sidenote: S. John i. 1.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 18.\n\n Sidenote: Job xxxiii. 4.\n\n5. Paul was an heaven, when he says, _Our conversation is in heaven_.\nJames and John were heavens; they are called _sons of thunder_; and\ntherefore being as it were, an heaven, John saw _the Word with God_.\nThe Lord Jesus Christ Himself was an heaven of perpetual light, when He\ntold forth the glory of God, that glory which no man had before beheld.\nAnd therefore He said, _No man hath seen God at any time, but the\nOnly-Begotten Son, Who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared\nHim_. Moreover, if you look for the handiwork of God, hear what Job\nsays, _The Spirit of God hath made me_. And so, strengthened against\nthe temptations of the devil, he preserved his steps stedfast and\nwithout stumbling. But let us proceed to what follows.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xix. 2.\n\n6. _Day unto day_, the Psalm says, _uttereth speech_. These are the\ntrue _days_, which no shades of night obscure; these are the true\n_days_, full of light and eternal radiance, who have _uttered the word_\nof God not by any mere transient utterance but from their inmost heart,\ncontinuing constant in their confession, persevering in their testimony.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxiii. 5, 6.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxiii. 7, 8.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 9.\n\n7. Another Psalm we read saith, _Who is like unto the Lord our God,\nthat hath His dwelling so high, and yet regardeth the lowly things\nthat are in heaven and earth_. Truly God hath _regarded the lowly_, Who\nhath discovered the relics of the martyrs of His Church as they lay hid\nunder the unnoted sod, of those whose souls are in heaven, while their\nbodies are in the earth, _taking up the simple out of the dust and\nlifting the poor out of the mire_, even those whom ye see, _to set them\nwith the princes of His people_. For whom but the holy martyrs shall\nwe deem to be _princes of the people_? In their number Protasius and\nGervasius heretofore long unknown are enrolled, they who have caused\nthe Church of Milan, once _barren_ of martyrs, but now _the mother of\nmany children_, to exult both in the honors and examples of her own\nsufferings?\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. xv. 41.\n\n8. Nor let this be considered alien from the true Faith: _Day unto\nday uttereth speech_, soul to soul, life to life, resurrection to\nresurrection. _And night unto night uttereth knowledge_, that is, flesh\nto flesh, the flesh whose sufferings have declared to all the true\nknowledge of faith. Bright and fair nights, full of stars: _For one\nstar differeth from another star in glory, so also is the resurrection\nof the dead_.\n\n9. But many not improperly call this the resurrection of the martyrs;\nwhether they have risen for themselves is another question, for us\nbeyond a doubt they are risen. Ye have heard, nay, yourselves have seen,\nmany cleansed from evil spirits; many also, after touching with their\nhands the garments of the saints, delivered from the infirmities under\nwhich they suffered: ye have seen the miracles of old time renewed,\nwhen through the coming of the Lord Jesus, a fuller Grace descended\nupon the earth; ye see many healed by the shadow, as it were, of the\nholy bodies. How many napkins are passed to and fro? How many garments\nplaced on these holy relics, and endowed by the mere contact with the\npower of healing are reclaimed by their owners. All think themselves\nhappy in touching even the outer-most thread, and whoever touches them\nwill be made whole.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xx. 7.\n\n10. Thanks be to Thee, Lord Jesus, that at this time, when Thy Church\nrequires greater guardianship, Thou hast raised up for us the spirits\nof the holy martyrs. Let all be well aware what kind of champions I\ndesire, such as are wont to be protectors not assailants. Such are\nthey, O holy people, whom I have obtained for you, a benefit to all,\nand a hurt to none. These are the defenders whom I desire, these are\nmy soldiers, not the world\u2019s soldiers, but Christ\u2019s. I fear no odium on\naccount of these; their patronage is safe in proportion to its power.\nNay, I desire their protection for the very men who grudge them to\nme. Let them come then and see my body-guard: I deny not that I am\nsurrounded by such weapons as these; _Some put their trust in chariots\nand some in horses, but we will magnify ourselves in the Name of the\nLord our God_.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Kings vi. 16 sqq.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. iii. 18.\n\n11. The Lesson from Holy Scripture relates how Elisha, when surrounded\nby the army of the Syrians, told his trembling servant not to fear,\n_for they_, said he, _that are for us are more than they which are\nagainst us_; and in order to convince Gehazi of this, he prayed that\nhis eyes might be opened, and when this was done he saw a countless\nhost of Angels present with the prophet. And we, though we see them\nnot, yet are conscious of their presence. Our eyes were held, as long\nas the bodies of the saints lay hid in their graves. Now God has opened\nour eyes, and we have seen the aids which had so often succoured us.\nBefore, we saw them not, although we possessed them. And so, as though\nthe Lord said to our trembling hearts, \u2018Behold what great martyrs I\nhave given you;\u2019 even so _with opened eyes we behold the glory of the\nLord_, which as to the passion of the martyrs is past, as to their\noperation is present. We have escaped, my brethren, no light load of\nshame; we had patrons and we knew it not. This one thing we have found,\nwherein we seem to excel our ancestors; they lost the knowledge of the\nholy martyrs, and we have gained it.\n\n12. These noble relics are dug out of an ignoble sepulchre; these\ntrophies are displayed in the face of day. The tomb is moist with blood,\nthe tokens of a triumphant death are displayed, the uninjured relics\nare found in their proper place and order, the head separated from the\nbody. Old men now relate that they have formerly heard the names of\nthese martyrs, and read their titles. The city which had seized on the\nmartyrs of other places had lost her own. This is the gift of God, and\nyet the favour which the Lord Jesus has conferred in the time of my\nepiscopate I cannot deny, and since I myself am not counted worthy to\nbe a martyr, I have gained these martyrs for you.\n\n13. Bring these victorious victims to the spot where Christ is the\nsacrifice. But He, Who suffered for all, upon the Altar, they, who have\nbeen redeemed by His passion, under the Altar. This spot I had destined\nfor myself, for it is fitting that the priest should rest where he hath\nbeen wont to offer, but I give up the right side to the sacred victims:\nthat spot was due to the martyrs. Wherefore let us bury the hallowed\nrelics, placing them in a worthy home, and let us employ the whole day\nin faithful devotion.\n\n14. The people loudly requested that the deposition of the martyrs\nshould be deferred until the Lord\u2019s Day; but at length I prevailed that\nit should take place on the following day. On that day I delivered a\nsecond sermon to the people to the following effect.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xix. 2.\n\n15. Yesterday I discoursed upon the verse, _Day unto day uttereth\nspeech_, speaking according to my capacity: to-day Holy Scripture\nseems to me to have prophecied, not only before, but now. For seeing\nthat this your devout celebration has continued night and day, the\noracles of prophetic song have declared that these, even yesterday\nand to-day, are the days of which it is most opportunely said _day\nunto day uttereth speech_, and these the nights to which the saying is\nappropriate that _night unto night uttereth knowledge_. For what else\nhave ye done during these two days but utter the word of God with deep\nemotion, and prove yourselves to have the knowledge of faith?\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. viii. 29.\n\n16. This your celebration some, as is their wont, are envious of. And\nsince their envious minds cannot endure it, they also hate its cause,\nand proceed to such a pitch of folly as to deny the merits of the\nmartyrs, whose power the very devils confess. But this is not strange;\nfor such is the faithlessness of unbelievers that the confession of the\ndevil himself is often less intolerable. For the devil said, _Jesus,\nThou Son of the living God, art Thou come to torment us before the\ntime?_ And yet when the Jews heard this they even then denied the Son\nof God. And now ye have heard the devils crying out, and owning to the\nmartyrs that they cannot bear their tortures, and saying \u2018Why are ye\ncome to torment us so grievously?\u2019 And the Arians say, \u2018These are not\nmartyrs, nor can they torment the devil nor dispossess any one:\u2019 while\nyet their own words are evidence of the torments of the evil spirits,\nand the benefits of the martyrs are shewn by the recovery of the healed,\nand the manifest proof of those that were dispossessed.\n\n17. They deny that the blind man received his sight, but he denies\nnot his own cure. He says, \u2018I who was blind now see.\u2019 He says, \u2018My\nblindness has left me;\u2019 he evidences it by the fact. They deny the\nbenefit, though they cannot deny the fact. The man is well known:\nwhen in health he was employed in public trade, his name is Severus,\na butcher by business. When his affliction befell him he laid down his\nemployment. He calls as his witnesses those men by whose charities he\nwas supported; he summons as witnesses of his present visitation the\nvery men who bore testimony to his blindness. He declares that when he\ntouched the border of the garment with which the martyrs\u2019 bodies were\nclothed, his sight was restored to him.\n\n Sidenote: S. John ix. 25.\n\n18. Is not this like what we read in the Gospel? For the power which\nwe admire proceeds from one and the same Author; nor does it signify\nwhether it is a work or a gift, seeing that He confers gifts in His\nworks and works by His gifts. For what He has enabled some themselves\nto perform, this in the work of others His Name effects. Thus we read\nin the Gospel that the Jews, when they saw that the blind man had\nreceived his sight, required the testimony of his parents. They asked,\n\u2018How has your son received his sight?\u2019 That blind man said, _Whereas I\nwas blind now I see_, and so too our blind man says, \u2018I was blind, and\nnow I see.\u2019 Enquire of others, if ye believe me not; question strangers,\nif you suspect his parents of being in collusion with me. The obstinacy\nof these men is more detestable than that of the Jews, for the latter\ninquired of the man\u2019s parents to solve their doubts; they secretly\ninquire but openly deny, no longer refusing credit to the miracle but\nto its Author.\n\n Sidenote: S. John xiv. 12.\n\n19 and 20. But I would fain ask, what it is they will not believe;\nis it that any one can be relieved by the martyrs? But this is not to\nbelieve in Christ, for He hath said, _And greater things than these\nshall ye do_. Or only by those martyrs, whose merits have long been\nefficacious, and whose bodies have long been discovered? Here I ask\nwhether it is of myself or of the holy martyrs that they are jealous?\nIf of me, have I wrought any miracles by my own means, in my own name?\nWhy then do they envy me that which is not mine? But if of the martyrs\n(for if not of me it must be of them they are envious) they show that\ntheir Creed is different from that of the martyrs. For they would not\nenvy their works unless they deemed the faith which was in them to be\nthat which they themselves have not. This is that Faith sealed by the\ntradition of our ancestors, which the devils themselves cannot deny,\nthough the Arians do.\n\n21. We have heard to-day those on whom hands were laid, profess\nthat no man can be saved who does not believe in the Father, Son,\nand Holy Ghost: that he was dead and buried who denied the Holy Ghost,\nwho believed not the Almighty power of the Trinity. This the devil\nconfesses, but the Arians will not own it. The devil says, Let him who\ndenies the divinity of the Holy Spirit be tormented as he himself was\ntormented by the Martyrs.\n\n Sidenote: S. Mark i. 24.\n\n Sidenote: S. John ix. 29.\n\n22. What I accept from the devil is not his testimony, but his\nconfession. He spoke unwillingly, compelled and tortured. That which\nwickedness suppressed, force extorted. The devil yields to blows,\nbut as yet the Arians have not learned to yield. How much have they\nsuffered, and like \u2666Pharaoh, they are hardened by their calamities! The\ndevil said, as we find it written, _I know Thee Who Thou art, the Son\nof the Living God_. The Jews said, _We know not who He is_. Yesterday,\nand the preceding night and day the devils said, \u2018We know that ye are\nmartyrs,\u2019 while the Arians said, \u2018We know not, we will not understand\nnor believe.\u2019 The devils say to the martyrs, \u2018Ye are come to destroy\nus,\u2019 the Arians say, \u2018These torments of the devil are not true torments\nbut pretended and counterfeit.\u2019 I have heard of many counterfeits, but\nno man could ever feign himself a devil. Again, what is the meaning of\nthe agony we see in them, when the hand is laid on them? What room is\nhere for fraud and what suspicion of imposture?\n\n Sidenote: Gen. iv. 10.\n\n23. But I will not call the words of devils as a testimony to the\nmartyrs: let the sacred sufferings of the martyrs be established\nby their own supernatural acts; judges indeed they have, namely,\nthose that have been cleansed, witnesses, namely those that have\nbeen dispossessed. Better than that of devils is their voice who came\ndiseased and are now healed, better is that voice which the martyrs\nblood sends forth, for blood has a loud voice which reaches from earth\nto heaven. Ye have read those words of God, _Thy brother\u2019s blood crieth\nunto Me!_ This blood cries by its purple stains, it cries by its signal\nefficacy, it cries by its triumphant suffering.\n\nWe have granted your request and have put off till to-day the burial of\nthe relics which should have taken place yesterday.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XXIII.\n A.D. 386.\n\n\n THIS letter is addressed to the Bishops of the province of\n \u00c6milia, which, as forming part of the political diocese of Italy,\n was under the ecclesiastical superintendence of the Bishop of\n Milan, who exercised the powers, if he had not the title, of\n Exarch. (See Bingham Antiq. ix. 1, \u00a7 6, 8.) The Bishops apply to\n him for his decision as to the proper day for observing Easter\n in the following year, A.D. 387, in which the first day of\n the week fell on the fourteenth day of the moon, or, as it is\n called here, the \u2018fourteenth moon.\u2019 This was a question which\n for long troubled the Church, and divided the East and West,\n and much importance was attached to it. The whole question is\n fully discussed in Dict. of Christ. Antiq. under \u2018Easter,\u2019 in a\n learned article by the Rev. L. Hensley. Some interesting remarks\n on it, in connection with disputes in England, may be seen in\n Prof. Bright\u2019s Early English Ch. Hist. pp. 76\u201379, and 193\u2013200.\n\n Mr. Hensley has kindly drawn up the following table, which\n exhibits at a glance the points on which S. Ambrose enters in\n this letter.\n\n TABLE OF EASTER FROM A.D. 373 TO A.D. 387.\n\n GOLDEN SUNDAY\n A.D. NUMBER. LETTER. EASTER TERM. EASTER DAY.\n *373 13 F March 24 F March 31\n 374 14 E April 12 D April 13\n 375 15 D April 1 G April 5\n 376 16 CB April 21 C April 27\n *377 17 A April 9 A April 16\n 378 18 G March 29 D April 1\n 379 19 F April 17 B April 21\n *380 1 ED April 5 D April 12\n 381 2 C March 25 G March 28\n 382 3 B April 13 E April 17\n *383 4 A April 2 A April 9\n 384 5 GF March 22 D March 24\n 385 6 E April 10 B April 13\n 386 7 D March 30 E April 5\n *387 8 C April 18 G April 25\n\n * The asterisks mark the year in which the full moon falls\n on the Sunday, and which are referred to in the Letter.\n\n\n TO THE LORDS, HIS BRETHREN MOST BELOVED, THE BISHOPS ESTABLISHED\n THROUGHOUT THE PROVINCE OF \u00c6MILIA, AMBROSE, BISHOP.\n\n1. THAT to settle the day of the celebration of the Passover requires\nmore than ordinary wisdom, we are taught both by the Holy Scripture\nand by the tradition of the Fathers, who, when assembled at the Nicene\nSynod, in addition to their true and admirable decrees concerning\nthe Faith, formed also for the above-mentioned celebration a plan\nfor nineteen years with the aid of the most skilful calculators,\nand constituted a sort of cycle to serve as a pattern for subsequent\nyears. This cycle they called the nineteen years\u2019 cycle[127], their aim\nbeing that we should not waver in uncertain and ungrounded opinions on\nsuch a celebration, but ascertain the true method and so ensure such\nconcurrence of the affections of all, that the sacrifice for the Lord\u2019s\nResurrection should be offered every where on the same night.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xxii. 7\u201312.\n\n2. My Lords and brethren most beloved, we ought not so far to deviate\nfrom truth, or to be of such varying and wandering minds, as to the\nobligation of this celebration having been imposed upon all Christians:\nsince our Lord Himself selected the day to celebrate it upon, which\nagreed with the method of the true observance. For it is written: _Then\ncame the day when the Passover must be killed. And He sent Peter and\nJohn, saying, Go and prepare us the Passover that we may eat. And they\nsaid unto Him, Where wilt Thou that we prepare? And He said unto them,\nBehold when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you,\nbearing a pitcher of water: follow him into the house where he entereth\nin. And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, the Master saith\nunto thee, Where is the guest-chamber, where I shall eat the Passover\nwith My disciples? And he shall shew you a large upper room, there make\nready._\n\n Sidenote: Gal. iv. 10, 11.\n\n3. We observe then that we ought not to go down to places in the earth,\nbut to seek _a large upper room furnished_, for us to celebrate the\nLord\u2019s Passover. For we ought to wash our senses, so to speak, with the\nspiritual water of the everlasting fountain, and maintain the rule of\nthe devout celebration, and not follow common notions and go in quest\nof days according to the moon, whereas the Apostle says, _Ye observe\ndays, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have\nbestowed upon you labour in vain_. For it is sure to be injurious[128].\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxviii. 24.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. lxxxix. 36, 37.\n\n4. But it is one thing to observe them after the heathen fashion,\nso as to decide on what day of the moon you are to attempt anything,\nfor instance, that you should avoid the fifth[129] and begin no work\nupon it, and to recommend different points in the moon\u2019s course for\ncommencing employments, or to avoid certain days, as many are in the\nhabit of avoiding days called \u2018following\u2019[130] or the Egyptian days: it\nis another thing to turn the observance of a religious mind to the day\nof which it is written, _This is the day which the Lord hath made_. For\nalthough it is written that the Lord\u2019s Passover ought to be celebrated\non the fourteenth day of the first month, and we ought to look for what\nis truly the fourteenth moon[131] for celebrating the course of our\nLord\u2019s Passion, still we can understand from this that to fix such a\nsolemnity there is required either the perfection of the Church, or the\nfulness of clear faith, as the Prophet said when he spoke of the Son of\nGod, that _his throne is as the sun before me, and as the perfect moon,\nit shall remain for ever_.\n\n Sidenote: S. John xvii. 1.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xiii. 32.\n\n5. Hence it is that our Lord Himself also, when He had performed His\nwonderful works upon the earth, as if the faith of human minds were\nnow established, observed that it was the time of His Passion, saying,\n_Father, the hour is come, glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may\nglorify Thee_. For He teaches elsewhere that He sought this glory of\ncelebrating His Passion, where He says, _Go ye, and tell that fox,\nBehold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to-day and to-morrow, and the\nthird day I am perfected_. In them indeed is Jesus perfected, who begin\nto be perfect, that with their faith they may believe on the fulness of\nHis Divinity and His Redemption.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxix. 126.\n\n Sidenote: Eccl. iii. 1.\n\n Sidenote: Jerem. viii. 7.\n\n Sidenote: Isaiah i. 3.\n\n6. Therefore we seek out both the day and the hour, as the Scripture\nteaches us. The prophet David also says, _It is time for thee, Lord,\nto work_, when he sought understanding to know the testimonies of the\nLord. The Preacher also saith, _To every thing there is a season_;\nJeremy exclaims, _The turtle and the swallow and the sparrows of the\nground observe the time of their coming_. But what can appear more\nevident than that it is of the Passion of our Lord that it is said,\n_The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master\u2019s crib_? Let us then\nacknowledge this _crib of our Master_, wherein we are nourished, fed,\nand refreshed.\n\n Sidenote: Isa. xlix. 8.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. vi. 2.\n\n7. We ought therefore especially to know this time, at which over\nthe universal world the accordant prayers of the sacred night are to\nbe poured forth; for prayers are commended by season also, as it is\nwritten, _In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of\nsalvation have I helped thee_. This is the time of which the Apostle\nsaid, _Behold, now is the accepted time, behold, now is the day of\nsalvation_.\n\n8. Accordingly, since, even after the calculations of the Egyptians,\nand the definitions of the church of Alexandria, and also of the Bishop\nof the church of Rome, several persons are still waiting my judgement\nby letter, it is needful that I should write what my opinion is about\nthe day of the Passover. For though the question which has arisen is\nabout the approaching Paschal day, yet we state what we think should\nbe maintained for all subsequent time, in case any question of the kind\nshould come up.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xiii. 4.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xii. 2.\n\n Sidenote: Lev. xxiii. 5.\n\n9. But there are two things to be observed in the solemnity of the\npassover, the fourteenth moon, and the first month, which is called\n_the month of the new fruits_[132]. Therefore that we may not appear\nto be departing from the Old Testament, let us recite the words of the\nsection concerning the day of celebrating the Passover. Moses warns\nthe people, saying that they must keep the month of the new fruits,\nproclaiming that it is the first month, for he says, _This month shall\nbe unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the\nyear to you_, and _thou shalt offer the Passover of the Lord thy God on\nthe fourteenth day of the first month_.\n\n Sidenote: S. John i. 17.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. v. 17.\n\n10. _The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus\nChrist._ He therefore, Who spake the law, afterwards coming by the\nVirgin in the last times, accomplished the fulness of the Law, for He\ncame _not to destroy the Law but to fulfil it_, and He celebrated the\nPassover in the week in which the fourteenth moon was the fifth day of\nthe week, and then on that very day, as what is said before teaches us,\nHe ate the Passover with his disciples: but on the following day, on\nthe sixth day of the week, He was crucified on the fifteenth moon. But\nthe sixteenth moon was the _Sabbath which was an high day_, and so on\nthe seventeenth moon He rose again from the dead.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxviii. 24.\n\n11. We must then keep this law of Easter, not to keep the fourteenth\nday as the day of the Resurrection, but rather as the day of the\nPassion, or at least one of the next preceding days, because the\nfeast of the Resurrection is kept on the Lord\u2019s day; and on the Lord\u2019s\nday we cannot fast; for we rightly condemn the Manich\u00e6ans for their\nfast upon this day. For it is unbelief in Christ\u2019s Resurrection, to\nappoint a rule of fasting for the day of the Resurrection, since the\nLaw says that the Passion is to be eaten with bitterness[133], that\nis, with grief, because the Author of Salvation was slain by so great a\nsacrilege on the part of men; but on the Lord\u2019s day the Prophet teaches\nus that we should rejoice, saying, _This is the day which the Lord hath\nmade: let us rejoice and be glad in it_.\n\n12. Therefore it is fit that not only the day of the Passion, but also\nthat of the Resurrection be observed by us, that we may have a day both\nof bitterness and of joy; fast on the one, on the other be refreshed.\nConsequently, if the fourteenth moon of the first month fall, as will\nbe the case next time, on the Lord\u2019s day, inasmuch as we ought neither\nto fast on the Lord\u2019s day, nor on the thirteenth moon which falls on\nthe Sabbath-day to break the fast, which must especially be observed\non the day of the Passion, the celebration of Easter must be postponed\nto the next week. For the fifteenth day of the month follows, on\nwhich Christ suffered, and it will be the second day of the week. The\nthird day of the week will be the sixteenth moon, on which our Lord\u2019s\nFlesh rested in the tomb; and the fourth day of the week will be the\nseventeenth moon on which our Lord rose again.\n\n Sidenote: S. John ii. 19.\n\n13. When therefore these three sacred days run as they do next time\ninto the further week, within which three days He both suffered and\nrested and rose again, of which three days He says, _Destroy this\ntemple, and in three days I will raise it up_, what can bring us\ntrouble or doubt? For if it raises a scruple that we do not on the\nfourteenth moon celebrate the particular day either of His Passion or\nResurrection, we may remember that our Lord Himself did not suffer on\nthe fourteenth moon, but on the fifteenth, and on the seventeenth He\nrose again. But if any are troubled at our passing over the fourteenth\nmoon, which falls upon the Lord\u2019s day, that is the 18th of April, and\nrecommending its celebration on the following Lord\u2019s day, there is this\nauthority for doing so.\n\n14. In times lately past, when the fourteenth moon of the first\nmonth fell on the Lord\u2019s day, the solemnity was celebrated on the\nLord\u2019s day next ensuing. But in the eighty-ninth year of the Era of\nDiocletian[134], when the fourteenth moon was on the 24th of March,\nEaster was kept by us on the last day of March. The Alexandrians and\nEgyptians also, as they wrote themselves, when the fourteenth day of\nthe moon fell on the 28th day of the month Phamenoth, kept Easter on\nthe fifth day of the month Pharmuthi, which is the last day of March,\nand so agreed with us. Again in the ninety-third year of the Era of\nDiocletian, when the fourteenth moon fell on the fourteenth day of\nthe month Pharmuthi, which is the 9th of April, and was the Lord\u2019s\nday, Easter was kept on the Lord\u2019s day, the 21st day of Pharmuthi,\nor according to us on the 16th of April. Wherefore since we have both\nreason and precedent, nothing should disturb us upon this head.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xvi. 1.\n\n15. There is yet this further point that seems to require explanation,\nthat several persons think that we shall be keeping Easter in the\nsecond month, whereas it is written, _Keep the first month, the month\nof new fruits_. The case however cannot occur that any should keep\nEaster out of the month of the new fruits, except those who keep the\nfourteenth moon so strictly to the letter, that they will not celebrate\ntheir Easter on any day but that. Moreover the Jews are going to\ncelebrate the approaching Passover in the twelfth and not in the first\nmonth, viz. on the 20th of March according to us, but according to the\nEgyptians on the twenty-fourth day of the month Phamenoth, which is not\nthe first month but the twelfth, for the first month of the Egyptians\nis called Pharmuthi, and begins on the 27th of March and ends on the\n25th of April. Therefore according to the Egyptians we shall keep\nEaster Sunday in the first month, that is, on the 25th of April, which\nis the thirtieth day of the month Pharmuthi.\n\n16. Nor do I consider it unreasonable to borrow a precedent for\nobserving the month from the country in which the first Passover was\ncelebrated. For which reason also our predecessors in the ordinance of\nthe Nicene Council thought fit to decide that their cycle of nineteen\nyears should belong to the same month, if one observes it diligently;\nand they rightly kept the very month of the new fruits, for in Egypt it\nis in this the first month that the new corn is cut: and this month is\nthe first in respect of the crops of the Egyptians and first according\nto the Law, but the eighth according to our custom, for the indiction\nbegins in the month of September. The first of April therefore is in\nthe eighth month. But the month begins not according to vulgar usage,\nbut according to the custom of learned men, from the day of the equinox,\nwhich is the 21st of March, and ends on the 21st of April. Therefore\nthe days of Easter have been generally kept as much as possible within\nthese thirty-one[135] days.\n\n17. But after keeping Easter Sunday six years ago[136] on the 21st\nof April, that is on the thirtieth day of the month according to our\nreckoning, we have no reason to be distressed if this next time also\nwe are to keep it on the thirtieth day of the month Pharmuthi. If any\none think that it is the second month, because Easter Sunday will be on\nthe third day from the completion of the month (but this appears to be\ncompleted on the 21st of April) he should consider that the fourteenth\nmoon, which is our object, will fall on the 18th of April and thus\nwithin the regular counting of the month. But what the law requires is\nthat the day of the Passion should be kept within the first month, the\nmonth of new fruits.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. v. 7.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xii. 18.\n Lev. xxiii. 5.\n Num. xxviii. 16.\n\n18. The method then is satisfactory as far as the complete course of\nthe moon is concerned, inasmuch as three more days remain to complete\nthe month. Easter then does not pass on into another month, since\nit will be kept within the same month, that is, the first. But that\nit is not fit that we should be tied to the letter, not only does\nthe customary method of keeping Easter of itself instruct us, but\nthe Apostle too teaches us, when he says, _Christ our Passover is\nsacrificed_. The passage also which has been cited teaches us that\nwe are not to follow the letter, for thus it runs: _And thou shalt\nsacrifice the Passover to the Lord thy God on the fourteenth day of\nthe first month_[137]. He uses the word \u2018day\u2019 in the place of \u2018moon;\u2019\nand so the most skilful according to the law calculate the month by\nthe moon\u2019s course, and since the moon\u2019s course, that is the first day,\nmay begin with more than one of the nones, you perceive that the nones\nof May do still admit of being reckoned in the first month of the new\nfruits. Therefore even according to the judgement of the law this is\nthe first \u2666month. To conclude, the Greeks call the moon \u03bc\u03ae\u03bd\u03b7, owing to\nwhich they call the months in Greek \u03bc\u1fc6\u03bd\u03b5\u03c2, and the ordinary usage of\nforeign nation employs moon in the sense of day.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xii. 5\u20138.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xii. 11\u201314.\n\n19. But even the Lessons of the Old Testament shew that different days\nare to be observed for the Passion and Resurrection: for there it runs,\n_Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall\ntake it out from the sheep or from the goats; and ye shall keep it up\nuntil the fourteenth day of the same month, and the whole assembly of\nthe congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall\ntake of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts, and on the\nupper door post of the house wherein they shall eat it. And they shall\neat the flesh in that night, roast with fire_, and further on, _And\nye shall eat it with anxiety[138]: it is the Lord\u2019s Passover. For I\nwill pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all\nthe first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and in all\nthe land of Egypt[139] will I execute vengeance: I am the Lord. And\nthe blood shall be to you for a token in the houses where ye are;\nand I will see the blood and I will protect you and the plague of\nextermination shall not be on you. And I will smite the land of Egypt,\nAnd this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a\nfeast to the Lord throughout your generations: ye shall keep it a feast\nby an ordinance for ever._\n\n Sidenote: 1 S. John ii. 18.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xii. 29.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 31.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 33.\n\n20. We observe that the day of the Passion is marked out as a fast, for\nthe lamb is to be slain at the evening: though we might understand by\nevening the last time, according to John who says, _Children, it is the\nlast time_. But even according to the mystery, it is plain that it was\nkilled in the evening, when darkness immediately took place, and true\nfasting is to be observed on that day, for _thus shall ye eat it with\nanxiety_: but anxiety belongs to those who fast. But on the day of the\nResurrection there is the exultation of refreshment and joy, on which\nday the people appears to have gone out of Egypt, when the first-born\nof the Egyptians had been killed. And this is shewn more evidently\nby what follows, wherein the Scripture says, that after the Jews kept\nthe Passover as Moses ordered, _It came to pass that at midnight the\nLord smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt from the first-born\nof Pharaoh. And Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron by night, and\nsaid, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and\nthe children of Israel, and go serve the Lord. And the Egyptians were\nurgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in\nhaste._ Eventually the Israelites went in such manner, that they had\nnot opportunity to leaven their dough, for the Egyptians thrust them\nout, and would not wait for them to take the preparation they had made\nfor themselves for the way.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. x. 2.\n\n21. We have made it clear then that the day of the Resurrection ought\nto be observed after the day of the Passion, and that this day of the\nResurrection ought not to be on the fourteenth moon, but later, as\nthe Old Testament says, because the day of the Resurrection is that\non which the people going out of Egypt, after being _baptized_, as the\nApostle says, _in the sea and in the cloud_, overcame death, receiving\nspiritual bread, and drinking spiritual drink from the rock: and\nfurther that the Lord\u2019s Passion cannot be celebrated on the Lord\u2019s\nday, and that if the fourteenth moon should fall upon the Lord\u2019s day,\nthat another week ought to be added, as was done in the seventy sixth\nyear[140] of the era of Diocletian. For then without any doubt or\nhesitation on the part of our fathers we celebrated Easter Sunday on\nthe twenty-eighth day of the month Pharmuthi, which is the 23rd of\nApril. And both the course of the moon and the reason of the case\nconcur in recommending this, for next Easter is to be kept on the\ntwenty first moon, for to that day its range has commonly extended.\n\n Sidenote: Col. iv. 3.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxli. 3.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. v. 8.\n\n22. Since therefore so many indications of truth are combined, let us\nafter the example of our fathers celebrate the festival of our general\nSalvation with joy and exultation, colouring our side posts, between\nwhich is the door of the word which the Apostle wishes to be opened\nunto him, with faith in the Lord\u2019s Passion. Of this door David also\nsays, _Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my\nlips_, that we may speak of nothing but the Blood of Christ, whereby\nwe have conquered death, whereby we are redeemed. Let the sweet odour\nof Christ burn in us. To Him let us listen, on Him let us turn the eyes\nboth of mind and body, admiring His works, proclaiming His blessings;\nover the threshold of our door let the confession of holy Redemption\nshine resplendent. Let us with fervent spirit keep the holy Feast,\n_in the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth_, and singing in pious\n\u2666doctrine with one accord the Glory of the Father and of the Son and\nthe undivided Majesty of the Holy Spirit.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XXIV.\n A.D. 387.\n\n\n S. AMBROSE here reports the result of his second mission to\n Maximus in behalf of Justina and her son Valentinian the 2nd.\n He had before gone, as he mentions in this letter, immediately\n after the murder of Gratian, A.D. 383, and had then, at much\n risk to himself, done them good service, and been mainly\n instrumental in securing peace, and inducing Maximus to abstain\n from invading Italy, and to leave Valentinian in possession\n of a share of the Empire. Now it seemed certain that Maximus\n was preparing to cross the Alps and deprive Valentinian of his\n dominions and probably of his life, and once more Justina and\n her son seek the aid of the great Bishop, whom they had so\n cruelly persecuted during the peace he had procured for them.\n It is very striking to see the persecutors thus reduced to\n be suppliants of their victim, and the good Bishop at once\n rendering them the service which they sought. He writes this\n report while on his way back, and sends it before him, that\n Valentinian and his mother might learn the truth at once, and\n lose no time in making preparation to meet their danger. He was\n commissioned to induce Maximus to maintain peace, and to restore\n the body of Gratian for burial at Milan. S. Ambrose was less\n successful in this embassy than in the former one, and Justina\n and Valentinian had to escape to the East and put themselves\n under the protection of Theodosius, who took up arms in their\n behalf, and marched to the West, defeated and captured Maximus\n at Aquileia, and had him put to death, and so restored\n Valentinian to the Empire of all the West, A.D. 388.\n\n S. Ambrose cannot have started on his mission till after Easter,\n as this was the year in which he baptized S. Augustine.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO THE EMPEROR VALENTINIAN.\n\n1. OF my fidelity in my former mission you were so well assured\nas to require from me no account of it. Indeed the very fact that\nI was detained some days in Gaul sufficiently proved that I had made\nno promises acceptable to Maximus, nor agreed to any measures which\ninclined to what was pleasing to him rather than to the establishment\nof peace. And again, had you not approved of my first mission you would\nnot have committed to me a second. But since as I was on the point\nof retiring he laid upon me the necessity of a discussion with him,\nI have thought it best to address to you in this letter an account of\nmy mission, for fear any one should give you an account which mingled\ntruth with falsehood, before my return could declare to you the truth\nin its perfect and sincere characters.\n\n2. The day after I reached Tr\u00e8ves I presented myself at the palace;\na Gaul came out to receive me, who was the Emperor\u2019s Chamberlain, and\none of the royal eunuchs. I requested an audience; he enquired whether\nI had your Majesty\u2019s commission: I replied that I had. He said that\nI could only be heard in the Consistory. I answered that this was not\nusual for Bishops, and at all events that there were matters whereon I\nrequired serious conference with his master. To be brief; he consulted\nhis master, and brought back the same answer, so that it was plain that\nthe former had originated with his will. I said that such a course was\ninconsistent with the office I bore, but that I would not shrink from\nthe duty I had undertaken, and that more especially in your service,\nand as it really was to support your brotherly affection, I was glad\nto humble myself.\n\n3. As soon as he had taken his seat in the Consistory I entered; he\nrose to give me the kiss of peace. I stood among the members of the\nConsistory; some of them urged me to go up the steps, and he himself\ninvited me. I replied, \u2018Why do you offer a kiss to one whom you do not\nacknowledge[141]? for had you acknowledged me you would not have seen\nme here.\u2019 \u2018You are excited, Bishop,\u2019 said he. \u2018It is not anger,\u2019 I said,\n\u2018that I feel, but shame at appearing in a place unsuited to me.\u2019 \u2018Yet\non your first mission,\u2019 he said, \u2018you entered the Consistory.\u2019 \u2018True,\u2019\nI replied, \u2018but the blame rests on him who summoned, not on me who\nentered.\u2019 \u2018Why,\u2019 said he, \u2018did you then enter?\u2019 \u2018Because,\u2019 I replied,\n\u2018I was then suing for peace on behalf of one who was inferior to you,\nbut I now appear for your equal.\u2019 \u2018By whose favour,\u2019 said he, \u2018is he my\nequal?\u2019 \u2018By that of Almighty God, who has maintained Valentinian in the\nempire He bestowed on him.\u2019\n\n4. At length he broke out, \u2018It is you who have cajoled me, you and\nthe wretch Bauto, who wished by setting up a boy to acquire sovereignty\nfor himself, who also brought barbarians upon me; as if I also had\nnot those whom I could bring, seeing I have so many barbarians in\nmy service and pay. But had I not been withheld at the time of your\narrival, who could have resisted me and my power?\u2019\n\n Sidenote: Isa. i. 17.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. lxviii. 5.\n\n5. I answered mildly, \u2018You need not be excited, for there is no\noccasion for excitement; listen rather with patience to the reply which\nI have to make. My reason for coming is, that you have declared that on\nmy first mission you trusted me and were deceived by me. It is a glory\nto me to have done this for the safety of an orphan Emperor, for whom\nrather than orphans ought we bishops to protect? For it is written,\n_Relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow_;\nand in another place, _father of the fatherless, and a judge of the\nwidows_.\u2019\n\n6. But I will not make a boast of my services to Valentinian. To speak\nthe truth, when did I oppose your legions, and resist your descent upon\nItaly? By what works, by what armies, with what forces? Did I block up\nagainst you the passes of the Alps with my body? Would that this were\nin my power, then I should not fear this allegation, nor your charges.\nBy what promises did I beguile you into a consent to peace? Did not\nCount Victor, whom you had sent to request peace, meet me within the\nfrontier of the provinces of Gaul, near the city of Mayence? Wherein\nthen did Valentinian deceive you, whom you asked to grant you peace\nbefore he himself asked for it? Wherein did Bauto deceive you, who\nshewed fidelity to his Emperor? Did he do so by not betraying his own\nmaster?\n\n7. Wherein have I circumvented you? Was it when, on my first arrival,\non your saying that Valentinian ought to have come to you as a son\nto a father, I answered that it was not reasonable for a boy with his\nwidowed mother to cross the Alps in severe winter weather, or without\nhis mother be exposed under critical circumstances to such a journey?\nMy business was to bring a message concerning peace, not to make any\npromise of his coming: it is certain that I have given no pledge of\nthat, concerning which I had received no commands, and that I did not\nmake any promise whatever, for you said, \u2018Let us wait to see what\nanswer Victor will bring back.\u2019 But it is well known that he arrived\nat Milan while I was detained here, and that his request was refused.\nIt was only about peace that we felt a common zeal, not about the\nEmperor\u2019s arrival; whose coming ought not to have been required. I\nwas present when Victor returned. How then did I meet Valentinian? The\nemissaries who were sent a second time into Gaul to say that he would\nnot come, found me at Valence in Gaul. The soldiers of either party,\nsent to guard the mountain passes, I met on my return. What armies of\nyours did I then recall? what eagles did I turn back from Italy? what\nbarbarians did Count Bauto send against you?\n\n8. And what wonder if Bauto, whose native country lies beyond the Rhine,\nhad done so, when you yourself threaten the Roman Empire with barbarian\nallies, and with troops from beyond the military frontier, whose\ncommissariat was supplied by the taxes of the provinces? But consider\nwhat a difference there is between your threats and the mildness of\nthe young Emperor Valentinian. You insisted on making an incursion into\nItaly accompanied by armies of barbarians, Valentinian turned back the\nHuns and Alans on their approach to Italy through the territory of the\nGermans. What need for displeasure is there if Bauto set the barbarians\nat variance with each other? While you were employing the Roman forces,\nwhile he was presenting himself to oppose you on both sides, the\nJuthungi[142] in the very heart of the Roman Empire were laying Rh\u00e6tia\nwaste, and so the Huns were called in against the Juthungi. And yet\nwhen he was attacking the country of the Alemanni on your frontier, and\nwas already threatening the provinces of Gaul with the near approach of\ndanger, he was obliged to relinquish his triumphs, lest you should be\nalarmed. Compare the acts of the two; you caused the invasion of Rh\u00e6tia,\nValentinian by his gold has regained peace for you.\n\n9. Look too at the man[143] who now stands at your right hand, whom\nValentinian, when he had the opportunity of avenging his grief, sent\nback to you loaded with honours. He had him in his own territory,\nand yet restrained his hand: even when he received the tidings of his\nbrother\u2019s death, he restrained his natural feelings, and abstained from\nretaliation, where the relationship was the same, though the rank was\nnot. Compare therefore, yourself being judge, the two actions. He sent\nback your brother alive; do you restore to him his brother at least now\nthat he is dead. Why do you refuse to him his relation\u2019s remains, when\nhe refused not to you those who would assist you against him?\n\n10. But you allege that you are alarmed lest the grief of the troops\nshould be renewed by the return of these remains. Will they then defend\nafter death one whom they deserted in life? Why do you fear him now\nhe is dead, whom, when you might have saved him, you slew? \u2018It was my\nenemy\u2019 you say, \u2018that I have slain.\u2019 It was not he that was your enemy,\nbut you that were his. He is no longer conscious of my advocacy, do you\nconsider the case yourself[144]. If any one were to think of setting\nup a claim to the empire in these parts against you, I ask whether you\nwould deem yourself to be his enemy, or him to be yours? If I mistake\nnot, it is the part of an usurper to excite war, of an Emperor to\ndefend his rights. Will you then withhold even the body of him whom\nyou ought not to have slain? Let Valentinian have at least the remains\nof his brother as a pledge of your peaceful intentions. How moreover\nwill[145] you assert that you did not command him to be slain, when you\nforbid him to be buried? Will it be believed that you did not grudge\nhim life, when you even grudge him burial?\n\n11. But to return to myself. I find that you complain of the followers\nof Valentinian betaking themselves to the Emperor Theodosius rather\nthan to yourself. But what could you expect, when you called for\npunishment on the fugitives, and put to death those who were taken,\nTheodosius on the other hand loaded them with gifts and honours. \u2018Whom,\u2019\nsaid he, \u2018have I slain?\u2019 \u2018Vallio,\u2019 I replied. \u2018And what a man, what\na soldier! Was it then a just cause of death, that he maintained his\nfidelity to his Emperor?\u2019 \u2018I gave no orders,\u2019 said he, \u2018for his death.\u2019\n\u2018We have heard,\u2019 I replied, \u2018that the order was given for him to be put\nto death.\u2019 \u2018Nay,\u2019 said he, \u2018had he not laid violent hands on himself\nI had ordered him to be taken to Cabillonum[146] and there burnt alive.\u2019\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 I replied, \u2018and that was why it was believed that you had put\nhim to death. And who could suppose that he would himself be spared,\nwhen a valiant warrior, a faithful soldier, a valuable comrade was thus\nslain?\u2019 At that time, on taking my leave, he said he was willing to\ntreat.\n\n12. But afterwards on finding that I would not communicate with the\nBishops who communicated with him, or who sought the death of any one,\neven though they were heretics[147], he grew angry and bade me depart\nwithout delay. And I, although many thought I should be waylaid, set\nforth gladly, grieving only that the aged Bishop Hyginus, now almost\nat his last gasp, was being carried into exile. And when I appealed to\nhis guards against their suffering the old man to be driven out without\na curtain or a pillow to rest upon, I was driven forth myself.\n\n13. Such is the account of my mission. Farewell, your Majesty, and be\nwell on your guard against a man who conceals war under the cloak of\npeace.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XXV.\n\n\n THAT this and the following letter were addressed to the\n same person is clear from their contents, especially from the\n commencement of Letter xxvi. Whether Studius and Iren\u00e6us were\n two names of the same person, as the Benedictines suggest,\n or whether there is any error in either title, cannot be\n ascertained for certain. Is it not most probable that the name\n of Iren\u00e6us, to whom a long series of letters follows, has been\n affixed to one immediately preceding them by mistake, and that\n we should put \u2018Studio\u2019 for \u2018Iren\u00e6o\u2019 at the head of xxvi?\n\n The letter deals briefly with the question which Studius, a\n layman apparently and a judge, puts to S. Ambrose, whether he\n did violence to his duty as a Christian in sentencing criminals\n to death. S. Ambrose replies that it is lawful, but recommends\n merciful dealing wherever possible, in hope of amendment of life.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO STUDIUS.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. xiii. 4.\n\nI RECOGNIZE in your application to me a pure intention of mind, zeal\nfor the faith, and fear of our Lord Jesus Christ. And indeed I should\nfear to reply to it, being checked on the one hand by the obligation of\nthe trust committed to you for the maintenance of the laws, and on the\nother by claims of mercy and clemency, had you not in this matter the\nApostle\u2019s authority that he who judgeth _beareth not the sword in vain,\nfor he is the avenger of God, upon him that doeth evil_.\n\n2. But although you knew this, it was not without reason that you have\nthought fit to make the enquiry. For some there are, although out of\nthe pale of the Church[148], who will not admit to the divine Mysteries\nthose who have deemed it right to pass sentence of death on any man.\nMany too abstain of their own accord, and are commended, nor can we\nourselves but praise them, although we so far observe the Apostle\u2019s\nrule as not to dare to refuse them Communion.\n\n3. You see therefore both what power your commission gives you, and\nalso whither mercy would lead you; you will be excused if you do it,\nand praised if you do it not. Should you feel unable to do it, and\nare unwilling to afflict the criminal by the horrors of a dungeon,\nI shall, as a priest, the more commend you. For it may well be that\nwhen the cause is heard, the criminal may be reserved for judgment,\nwho afterwards may ask for pardon for himself, or at any rate may\nsuffer what is called mild confinement in prison. Even heathen are,\nI know, wont to boast that they have borne back their axes from their\nprovincial government unstained by blood. And if heathen do this what\nought Christians to do?\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. v. 27.\n\n Sidenote: Jer. xxii. 29, 30.\n\n4. But in all these matters let our Saviour\u2019s answer suffice for you.\nThe Jews apprehended an adultress and brought her to the Saviour, with\nthe insidious intent that if He were to acquit her He might seem to\ndestroy the law, though He had said, _I am not come to destroy, but\nto fulfil the law_, and on the other hand, were He to condemn her, He\nmight seem to be acting against the purpose of His coming. Wherefore\nthe Lord Jesus, foreseeing this, stooped down and wrote upon the earth.\nAnd what did He write but that word of the prophet, _O Earth, Earth,\nWrite these men deposed_[149], which is spoken of Jeconiah in the\nprophet Jeremiah.\n\n Sidenote: S. John viii. 8.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 9.\n\n5. When the Jews interrupt Him, their names are written in the earth,\nwhen the Christians draw near, the names of the faithful are written\nnot on the earth but in heaven. For they who tempt their Father, and\nheap insult on the Author of salvation, are written on the earth as\ncast off[150] by their Father. When the Jews interrupt Him, Jesus\nstoops His head, but not having where to lay His head, He raises it\nagain, is about to give sentence, and says, _Let him that is without\nsin cast the first stone at her. And again He stooped down and wrote\non the ground._\n\n6. When they heard this they began to go out one by one beginning at\nthe eldest, and this either because they who had lived longest had\ncommitted most sins, or because, as being most sagacious, they were the\nfirst to comprehend the force of His sentence, and though they had come\nas the accusers of another\u2019s sins, began rather to lament their own.\n\n Sidenote: S. John viii. 10, 11.\n\n7. So when they departed Jesus was left alone, and lifting up His head,\nHe said to the woman, _Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no\nman condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her,\nNeither do I condemn thee, go, and sin no more._ Being the Redemption,\nHe refuses to condemn her, being the Life He restores her, being the\nFountain He washes her. And since Jesus, when He stoops down stoops\nthat He may raise up the fallen, He says, as the Absolver of sins,\n_Neither do I condemn thee_.\n\n8. Here is an example for you to follow, for it may be that there is\nhope of amendment for this guilty person; if he be yet unbaptized, that\nhe may receive remission, if baptized that he may do penance[151], and\noffer up his body for Christ. See how many roads there are to salvation!\n\n9. This is why our ancestors thought it better to be indulgent towards\nJudges; that by the terror of their sword the madness of crime should\nbe repressed, and no encouragement given to it. For if Communion were\ndenied to Judges, it would seem like a retribution on their punishment\nof the wicked. Our ancestors wished then that their clemency should\nproceed from their own free-will and forbearance, rather than from any\nlegal necessity. Farewell, and love us, as we on our part love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XXVI.\n\n\n THAT this letter is addressed to the same person as the\n preceding, in spite of the discrepancy in the address, is clear\n from the first sentence (See Introd. to xxv.). It resumes the\n subject, and dwells in detail on the example of our Lord\u2019s\n dealing with the woman taken in adultery.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO IREN\u00c6US. [STUDIUS?]\n\n1. ALTHOUGH in my previous letter I have resolved the question which\nyou proposed to me, I will not refuse your request, my son, that I\nwould somewhat more fully state and express my meaning.\n\n2. Much agitated has ever been the question, and very famous this\nacquittal of that woman who in the Gospel according to John was brought\nto Christ accused of adultery. The stratagem which the equivocating\nJews devised was this, that in case of the Lord Jesus acquitting\nher contrary to the Law, His sentence might be convicted of being at\nvariance with the Law, but if she were to be condemned according to\nthe Law, the Grace of Christ might seem to be made void.\n\n3. And still more warm has the discussion become, since the time that\nbishops[152] have begun to accuse those guilty of the most heinous\ncrimes before the public tribunals, and some even to urge them to the\nuse of the sword and of capital punishment, while others again approve\nof such kind of accusations and of blood-stained triumphs of the\npriesthood. For those men say just the same as did the Jews, that the\nguilty ought to be punished by the public laws, and therefore that they\nought also to be accused by the priests before the public tribunals,\nwho, they assert, ought to be punished according to the laws. The case\nis the same, though the number is less, that is to say, the question\nas to judgment is similar, the odium of the punishment is dissimilar.\nChrist would not permit one woman to be punished according to the Law;\nthey assert that too small a number has been punished.\n\n Sidenote: S. John x. 30.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. vii. 16.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. viii. 20.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xxi. 2.\n\n4. But in what place does Christ give this decision? For He generally\nvouchsafed to adapt His discourses to the character of the place\nwherein He was teaching His disciples[153]. For instance while walking\nin the porch of Solomon, that is, of the Wise man, He said, _I and\nMy Father are One_; and in God\u2019s Temple He said, _My doctrine is not\nMine, but His that sent Me_. It was in the Temple also that He gave the\nsentence of which we now speak, for in the verse following it is thus\nwritten, _These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as He taught in the\nTemple, and no man laid hands on Him_. What is the Treasury? It is the\nplace of offering for the faithful, the bank of the poor, the refuge of\nthe needy, near which Christ sat, when, according to Luke, He declared\nthat the widow\u2019s two mites were to be preferred to the gifts of the\nrich, thus bearing Divine testimony to a zealous and cordial charity as\npreferable to the offerings of an affluent munificence.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. x. 35.\n\n5. Now let us consider what He Who passed such a judgment as this\ncontributed when sitting near the Treasury, for not without a purpose\ndid He prefer the woman who threw in two mites. Precious was her\npoverty, and rich in the mystery of faith. These are the same two\npieces of money which the Samaritan in the Gospel left with the host\nin order to cure the wounds of the man who had fallen among thieves.\nSo too this woman, outwardly a widow, but mystically representing the\nChurch, thought it right to cast into the sacred Treasury this gift\nwhereby the wounds of the poor might be healed and the hunger of the\nstrangers satisfied.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xi. 7.\n\n6. Now then it behoves you spiritually to consider what Christ bestows;\nfor He distributed among the people silver tried by the fire of the\nheavenly oracles, and to the desires of the people He told out money\nstamped with the Royal image. No one could give more than He Who gave\nall. He satisfied the hungry, He replenished the needy, He enlightened\nthe blind, He redeemed the captives, He raised the palsied, He restored\nthe dead, nay, what is more, He gave absolution to the guilty and\nforgave their sins. These are the two pence which the Church cast in,\nafter having received them from Christ. And what are the two pence but\nthe price of the New and Old Testament? The price of the Scripture is\nour faith, for it is according to the intelligence and will of each\nthat what we read therein is valued. So then the remission of sins is\nthe price of both Testaments, and is announced in type by the Lamb, and\naccomplished in verity by Christ.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xii. 3.\n Lev. xii. 2.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xxiv. 7.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. iii. 11.\n\n7. You understand therefore that the purification of seven days brought\nwith it also the purification of three days. The purification of\nseven days is according to the Law, which, under the semblance of the\nsabbath that now is, announced a spiritual sabbath; the purification\nof three days is according to Grace, and is sealed by the witness of\nthe Gospel, for the Lord rose on the third day. Where a penalty for\nsin is prescribed there also must penitence be, where remission of sins\nis accorded there follows Grace. Penitence precedes, Grace follows. So\nthat there can neither be penitence without Grace, nor Grace without\npenitence, for penitence must first condemn sin, that Grace may abolish\nit. Wherefore John, fulfilling the type of the Law, baptized unto\nrepentance, Christ unto Grace.\n\n Sidenote: Eccles. xi. 2.\n\n Sidenote: Hosea i. 2.\n\n8. Now the seventh day denotes the mystery of the Law, the eighth that\nof the Resurrection, as you have in Ecclesiastes, _Give a portion to\nseven and also to eight_. In the prophet Hosea also you have read that\nit was said to him, _Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms for fifteen\npieces of silver_, seeing that by the double price of the Old and New\nTestament, that is, by the full price of faith, that woman is hired who\nwas attended by a vagrant and licentious train of \u2666sojourners.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. iii. 2.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. v. 17.\n\n9. _And I bought her to me_, saith the prophet, _for fifteen pieces of\nsilver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley and a\nmeasure[154] of wine[155]_. By barley is signified that the imperfect\nare called to the Faith that they may be made perfect, by the homer is\nunderstood a full measure, by the half homer a half measure. The full\nmeasure is the Gospel, the half measure is the Law, the fulfilment of\nwhich is the New Testament. Thus the Lord Himself saith, _I am not come\nto destroy the Law, but to fulfil_.\n\n Sidenote: Isa. xxxviii. 8.\n\n Sidenote: Mal. iv. 2.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. i. 18.\n\n10. Nor is it without meaning that we read in the Psalms of David\nof fifteen degrees, and that the sun had risen fifteen degrees, when\nHezekiah the righteous king received a new supply of life. Hereby\nwas signified the coming of the Sun of Righteousness, Who was about\nto enlighten by His presence these fifteen steps of the Old and New\nTestament whereby our faith mounts up to life eternal. And this leads\nme to believe that what was read this day from the Apostle of his\nremaining fifteen days with Peter has a mystical meaning; for it\nappears that while the holy Apostles held various discourses among\nthemselves upon the interpretation of the Divine Scriptures a full and\nbright light fell upon them, and the shades of ignorance were dispersed.\nBut now let us come to the absolution of the woman taken in adultery.\n\n Sidenote: S. John viii. 15.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 4, 5.\n Lev. xx. 8.\n\n11. A woman accused of adultery was brought by the Scribes and\nPharisees to the Lord Jesus with the malicious intent, that, if He\nwas to acquit her, He might seem to annul the Law, if He condemned\nher, that He might seem to have changed the purpose of His coming,\nsince He came to remit the sins of all men. To the same purport He\nsaid above[156], _I judge no man_. So when they brought her they said,\n_This woman was taken in adultery, in the very act; now Moses in the\nLaw commanded us that such should be stoned, but what sayest Thou?_\n\n Sidenote: v. 7.\n\n12. While they were saying this, Jesus stooped down and wrote with His\nfinger on the ground. And as they waited for His answer, He lifted up\nHis head and said, _He that is without sin among you, let him first\ncast a stone at her_. What can be more Divine than this sentence, that\nhe should punish sins who is himself free from sin? For how can we\nendure one who takes vengeance on guilt in another and excuses it in\nhimself? When a man \u2666condemns in another what he commits himself, does\nhe not rather pronounce his own condemnation?\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. vii. 3.\n\n13. Thus He spake, and wrote upon the ground. What then did He write?\nThis, _Thou beholdest the mote that is in thy brother\u2019s eye, but\nconsiderest not the beam that is in thine own eye_. For lust is like a\nmote, it is quickly kindled, quickly consumed; the sacrilegious perfidy\nwhich led the Jews to deny the Author of their salvation declared the\nmagnitude of their crime.\n\n Sidenote: Jer. xvii. 13.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke x. 20.\n\n14. He wrote upon the ground with the finger with which He had written\nthe Law. Sinners\u2019 names are written in the earth, those of the just in\nheaven, as He said to His disciples, _Rejoice, because your names are\nwritten in heaven_. And He wrote a second time, that you may know that\nthe Jews were condemned by both Testaments.\n\n15. When they heard these words they went out one after another,\nbeginning at the eldest, and sat down thinking upon themselves. _And\nJesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst._ It is well\nsaid that they went out who chose not to be with Christ. Without is\nthe letter, within are the mysteries. For in the Divine lessons they\nsought, as it were, after the leaves of trees, and not after the fruit;\nthey lived in the shadow of the Law, and could not discern the Sun of\nRighteousness.\n\n Sidenote: S. John xvi. 32.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. i. 29.\n\n16. Finally, when they departed Jesus was left alone, and the woman\nstanding in the midst. Jesus about to remit sin remains alone, as He\nsays Himself, _Behold the hour cometh, yea is now come, that ye shall\nbe scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave Me alone_; for\nit was no messenger, no herald, but the Lord Himself Who saved His\npeople. He remains alone, because in the remission of sins no man can\nparticipate with Christ. This is the gift of Christ alone, Who _took\naway the sins of the world_. The woman too was counted worthy to be\nabsolved, seeing that, on the departure of the Jews, she remained alone\nwith Jesus.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. viii. 10.\n\n17. Then Jesus lifted up His head, and said to the woman, _Where are\nthose thine accusers, hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man,\nLord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee, go, and\nsin no more._ See, O reader, these Divine mysteries, and the mercy of\nChrist. When the woman is accused, Christ stoops His head, but when the\naccusers retire He lifts it up again; thus we see that He would have no\nman condemned, but all absolved.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xx. 23.\n\n18. By the words, _Hath no man condemned thee?_ He briefly overthrows\nall the quibbles of heretics, who say that Christ knows not the day\nof judgment. He Who says, _But to sit on My right hand and on My left\nis not Mine to give_, says also in this place, _Hath no man condemned\nthee?_ How is it that He asks concerning that which He saw? It is for\nour sakes that He asks, that we might know the woman was not condemned.\nAnd such is the wont of the human mind, often to enquire concerning\nthat which we know. The woman too answered, _No man, Lord_, that is to\nsay, Who can condemn when Thou dost not condemn? Who can punish another\nunder such a condition as Thou hast attached to his sentence?\n\n19. The Lord answered her, _Neither do I condemn thee_. Observe how\nHe has modified His own sentence; that the Jews might have no ground\nof allegation against Him for the absolution of the woman, but by\ncomplaining only draw down a charge upon themselves; for the woman\nis dismissed not absolved; and this because there was no accuser, not\nbecause her innocence was established. How then could they complain,\nwho were the first to abandon the prosecution of the crime, and the\nexecution of the punishment?\n\n20. Then He said to her who had gone astray, _Go, and sin no more_. He\nreformed the criminal, He did not absolve the sin. Faults are condemned\nby a severer sentence, whenever a man hates his own sin, and begins the\ncondemnation of it in himself. When the criminal is put to death, it is\nthe person rather than the \u2666transgression which is punished, but when\nthe transgression is forsaken, the absolution of the person becomes\nthe punishment of the sin. What is the meaning then of, _Go, and sin\nno more_? It is this; Since Christ hath redeemed thee, suffer thyself\nto be corrected by Grace; punishment would not reform but only afflict\nthee. Farewell, my son, and love me as a son, for I on my part love you\nas a parent.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XXVII.\n A.D. 387.\n\n\n WHO Iren\u00e6us was to whom the series of letters from xxvii. to\n xxxiii. are addressed is not ascertained. From the affectionate\n and parental way in which S. Ambrose addresses him, and from\n Iren\u00e6us\u2019 applying to him for elucidation of his difficulties\n in the study of Holy Scripture, it is probable that he was one\n who had been trained, perhaps converted by him. The Benedictine\n Editors think that he must have been one of his Milan Clergy.\n All the letters are occupied in expounding passages of the Old\n Testament, or in solving questions connected with it; they are\n specimens of his method of mystical interpretation, in which he\n took great delight.\n\n In this Letter he begins a reply to a question on Exodus viii.\n 26. and then goes off into a mystical interpretation of Rachel\n and Leah, making them an allegory, as S. Paul does Hagar and\n Sarah.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO IREN\u00c6US, GREETING.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. viii. 26.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xlvi. 34.\n\n1. YOU tell me that you have felt a difficulty in the text _We shall\nsacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God_. But\nyou had the means of solving it, for it is written in the book of\nGenesis, that _a shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians_, and\nthis not on account of the shepherd himself, but of his flocks. For\nthe Egyptians were tillers of the ground, but Abraham and Jacob,\nand afterwards Moses and David, were shepherds, and in this function\nexercised a certain kingly discipline.\n\n2. The Egyptians then hated sacrifices which were duly offered;\nthe pursuit of virtue, that is, which is perfect and replete with\ndiscipline. But that which these evil men hated is in the sight of the\ngood sincere and pious. The licentious man hates the works of virtue,\nthe glutton shrinks from them. And so the Egyptian\u2019s body, loving the\ncharms of pleasure, has an aversion to the virtues of the soul, hates\nits rule, and shrinks from the discipline of virtue, and all such like\nworks.\n\n3. But what the Egyptian shrinks from\u2015\u2015he who is an Egyptian rather\nthan a man,\u2015\u2015that do thou, who hast the knowledge of what befits man,\nembrace and follow: and shun those things which they pursue and choose;\nfor these two things cannot agree together, wisdom and folly. Thus\nas wisdom and continence remove themselves from those who are, as it\nwere, in the ranks of unwisdom and intemperance, so no foolish and\n\u2666incontinent man has any part in what belongs to the goods and heritage\nof the wise and continent man.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xxxi. 14, 15.\n\n4. Again, those women who were sanctified by their marriage, Leah and\nRachel, (the one meaning \u2018wearied,\u2019 the other \u2018strong breath\u2019[157])\nfrom aversion not to the ties of kindred but to their differing\nmanners, and informed by the much tried Jacob, that he desired to\ndepart in order to shun the envy and sloth of Laban and his sons, made\nanswer thus: _Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our\nfather\u2019s house? Are we not counted of him strangers? for he hath sold\nus, and hath quite devoured also all our money?_ Observe first that\nthe slothful and envious man alienates from himself one who labours\nand keeps strict discipline; he flies from her and seeks to separate\nhimself. Finding that they will be burthensome to him he thinks he has\ngained by their removal, and esteems this to be his reward, and this\nthe point of his pleasure.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. v. 16.\n\n5. Now let us hear how what virtue has, sloth has not: for they say,\n_For all the riches which God hath taken from our father, that is ours,\nand our children\u2019s_. Rightly do they say that they were taken away by\nGod\u2019s appointment, for it is He Who created the good, for whose sake\nthe slothful are despoiled; for weak and evil men cannot apprehend\nthe beauty of the Divine inheritance; and thus the resolute, and he\nwho hath in him the spirit of a brave man, succeeds to it. But who is\nstrong but God alone Who regulates and governs all things?\n\n Sidenote: Isa. liv. 17.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxix. 57.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 111.\n\n6. To these therefore the heritage of God is justly due. Wherefore\nIsaiah also says, _There is an heritage for them that believe in the\nLord_. Well saith he, _There is an heritage_, for this is the sole\nheritage, there is no other. For neither is blind treasure an heritage,\nnor have any transitory things the advantage of an heritage; that\nalone is an heritage wherein God is the portion. Wherefore the Saint\nof the Lord saith, _Thou art my portion, O Lord_, and again, _Thy\ntestimonies have I claimed as mine heritage for ever_. You see what\nare the possessions of the just, the commandments of God, His oracles,\nHis precepts, hereby he is enriched, hereby he is fed, hereby he is\ndelighted as by all manner of riches.\n\n7. Now Leah and Rachel, possessing these, required not their father\u2019s\nriches, for therein there was base coin, a senseless outward show,\ndestitute of spiritual vigour. Again, being rich and liberal themselves\nthey accounted their father rather indigent than rich. For no one who\nparticipates in good and liberal discipline deems any foolish man to\nbe rich, but poor and needy, and even abject; and this although he\noverflow with royal riches, and in the pride of his gold boasts of his\nown power.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xviii. 26.\n\n8. The society of such we must shun then, even though they be united\nto us by the ties of kindred: the conversation of the foolish is to be\navoided, for it infects and discolors the mind, for as _with the clean\nthou shalt be clean_, so _with the froward thou shalt be froward_.\nFor it frequently happens that one who listens to an intemperate man\nagainst his own resolution, much as he himself desires to maintain\nthe rule of continence, is yet stained by the hue of folly, and thus\ndiscipline and insolence truly prove themselves contrary and repugnant\nto each other.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xxxi. 14.\n\n9. Hence when much-tried Jacob inquired their opinion, they utter the\nwords of virtue now proved by long exercise, _Is there yet any portion\nor inheritance for us in our father\u2019s house?_ that is, \u2018Do you ask us\nwhether we wish to depart from him? As if you knew not that we have no\ndesire of his society, nor are we possessed with that thirst for riches\nand delight in luxury which is so sweet to most worldlings. These are\nthe things which we deem miserable and alien to our feelings, these are\nthe things which we deem to be full of poverty and want.\u2019\n\n10. They add also the cause of their departure, that Laban had lost\nthe true glory and those stores of good treasure in which we are born.\nVigour of mind has been given us, and the good coinage of God\u2019s image\nand likeness, which is a spiritual coinage. He lost these because he\npreferred the splendour of this world to things true and profitable\nfor his true life; for the beauty of these things escapes one who is\nignorant of the good things of God, while in his judgment of what is\nbeautiful he deludes and deceives himself. Hear then his words and\njudge.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xxxi. 27.\n\n11. He pursued holy Jacob and his daughters, thinking haply to find\nupon them some of his own vices, and thus to have a plea for reclaiming\nthem to himself, censuring the righteous, whereas he himself was\nrefuted by reason, and could give no answer or reply why he had any\nright to detain him. _Wherefore_, says he, _didst thou not tell me,\nthat I might have sent thee away?_ Wherein he discloses what it was\nthe just man feared, namely, such attendance, such a convoy, lest he\nshould go forth escorted by such a company: in the first place because\nit behoved him not to submit himself to the service of many masters,\nso as to be dismissed by Laban as a servant: and next because this man,\nintent upon good discipline and desirous of following the true path\nof virtue, sought no man to guide him but the heavenly oracles. These,\nsaid he, have commanded me to depart from hence and now accompany me on\nmy journey.\n\n12. But how wouldst thou have dismissed me, he would say? Would it\nhave been with such joy as thine which is full of sadness, with cymbals\nnamely and instruments of ill-modulated harmony, and with the sweet\nnotes of flutes sounding forth unpleasing strains, dissonant sounds,\ndiscordant noises, mute voices, cymbals jarring upon the sense? Didst\nthou believe that I could be delighted, that I be recalled by such\nthings? It is from them that I fled, nor do I fear thy reproachful\nwords. I fled that such things might not follow me, that I might\nreceive no present from thee on my departure.\n\n13. It is not by such guides as these that we arrive at the Church of\nChrist, to which Jacob was bending his steps, to carry down thither\nthe wealth of the nations and the riches of the Gentiles, that he might\ntransplant thither his posterity, flying from the shadows of empty\nthings, preferring to senseless images of virtues their breathing\nbeauty, and serious things to outward show. You see how the Gentiles\ndeck out their banquets, and proclaim their feasts; but such things\nare hateful to pious minds, for by their means many are deceived, they\nare captivated by pleasant food, by the bands of dancers, while they\nfly from our fasts, deeming them irksome to them, and noxious and\ntroublesome to the body.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xii. 7.\n\n14. Or didst thou think that I should desire thy gold? But thou hast\nnot _gold tried by_ that _fire_ wherein the just are proved. Or was it\nsilver that I desired? But thou hast not silver, for thou possessest\nnot the brightness of the heavenly words. But perhaps I hoped that thou\nwouldst give me some of thy slaves to serve me? Nay, I seek for free\nmen, and not the slaves of sin. But perhaps companions of my journey\nand guides of my path were necessary? Would that they had power to\nfollow me! for I would have shewn them the ways of the Lord. But ye who\nknow not God, how can ye know His ways? The elect of the Lord walk in\nHis ways, not every one who enters them, and yet no man is excluded.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xxx. 32.\n\n15. Let him who is prepared follow, let him enter upon the way which\nleads to Mesopotamia; so that he who seeks that country may pass\nthrough the waters, the waters of Tigris and Euphrates, the waters of\ncourage and righteousness, through the tears of penitence, the baptism\nof grace. Here is the path of the army of God, for all who are in\nthe Church are God\u2019s soldiers. There is that flock marked with divers\nvirtues, which Jacob chose for himself; for every soul which is not so\nmarked is unlearned and uninstructed, ignorant of discipline: but that\nwhich is marked is rich in works and fertile in grace.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xxxiv. 25. sqq.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xxxii. 24.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. xiii. 4.\n\n16. Let him who comes to it first be reconciled to his angry brother.\nLet him who comes to it inhabit Shechem, that precious and active\nlaboratory of virtue, where injured chastity is so deeply avenged.\nLet him who comes to it wrestle with God, that he may inure himself\nto imitate Him, that he may come in contact with the humility of Christ\nand His sufferings. Let him take up his cross and follow Christ. Lastly,\na good combatant _envieth not, is not puffed up_, nay, he even blesses\nhis antagonist with a like gift.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. v. 3, 4, 5.\n\n17. Let us then follow holy Jacob and his ways, that we may reach\nthese sufferings, these combats, that we may reach the shoulder[158],\nthat we may attain to patience, the mother of the faithful, and to\ntheir father Isaac, that is, one capable of delight[159], abounding in\njoy. For where patience is, there also is joy, for after tribulation\ncomes patience, and _patience worketh experience_, wherein is _hope,\nwhereby we are not ashamed_, for whoso is not ashamed the cross of\nChrist, neither will Christ be ashamed of him.\n\nFarewell, my son; blush not to ask questions of your father, as you\nblush not to glory in the sufferings of Christ.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XXVIII.\n A.D. 387.\n\n\n S. AMBROSE in this Letter maintains that Pythagoras derived much\n of his wisdom from a knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures, and\n dwells on his maxim, \u2018not to follow the beaten track,\u2019 as one\n specially addressed to the priesthood.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO IREN\u00c6US, GREETING.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. iii. 5.\n\n Sidenote: Josh. v. 15.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xxiv. 13, 14.\n\n1. IN the writings of certain authors we find a precept of Pythagoras\nforbidding his disciples to enter upon the common path trodden by the\npeople. Now the source from whence he drew this is not unknown. For as\nhe derived (according to the general opinion) his descent from the Jews,\nfrom their learning he derived also the precepts of his school. This\nrendered him highly esteemed among philosophers, so that he hardly met,\nit is said, with his equal. Now he had read in the book of Exodus that\nby the Divine command Moses was bid _put off his shoes from off his\nfeet_. This command was also given to Joshua the son of Nun, namely\nthat they, when desired to walk along the Lord\u2019s path, should shake off\nthe dust of the beaten and vulgar tracks. He had also read the command\nto Moses to go up to the mount with the priests, while the people stood\napart. So God separated the priests from the people, and subsequently\ncommanded Moses himself to enter into the cloud.\n\n2. You see then the separation. Nothing vulgar, nothing popular,\nnothing in common with the desires and usages and manners of the rude\nmultitude is looked for in priests. The dignity of the priesthood\nclaims for itself a sober and unruffled calmness, a serious life,\nan especial gravity. How can he be respected by the people, who is in\nnothing distinct from the people, or different from the multitude? And\nwhat can a man look up to in you who recognizes himself in you, who\nsees nothing in you which is beyond himself, and who finds in you, to\nwhom he deems respect to be due, the things which he blushes at in\nhimself?\n\n Sidenote: Job ix. 25.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. vi. 19\u201321.\n\n3. Wherefore let us pass over the opinions of the people, and the\nresorts of the common herd, and the line of the beaten track, the\nground also of that common path along which he runs, whose _days\nare swifter than a post_, of whom it is said, _they flee away, they\nsee no good_. But let us find for ourselves a path secluded from the\nconversation of the proud, inaccessible to the works of the unlearned,\ntrodden by no polluted person, polluted that is by the stains of his\nown sloth, and smeared by the smoke of iniquity, his soul darkened\nand ruinous, one who has never tasted the sweetness of virtue, or at\nany rate has thought that she should be looked upon askance rather\nthan met with direct regard and with open arms, who moreover (as is the\nwont of many who seem to themselves witty and polite, and transform the\nbeauty of wisdom into dishonourable guile,) regards not true Grace, but\nshrouded as it were in darkness, gives no credence to those who live\nin the light of day, being of the number of the men of Tema and Sheba,\nwho fall off and turn away from the truth; of whom Job says, _Behold\nye the ways of them of Tema, the paths of the Sab\u00e6ans, for they shall\nbe confounded who put their hopes in cities and in riches. So ye also\nhave risen against me without pity, therefore when ye see my wound, be\nafraid._\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xxviii. 14.\n\n4. Let us then abandon these devious paths of them that turn aside,\nand this dust of those who fail, who through their lust fall oftentimes\nin the desert, and let us be converted and follow the way of wisdom,\nthat way which the children of those who boast and glorify themselves\nhave not trodden, that way which destruction knows not, and death is\nignorant of; for God hath marked it out; _the depth saith, It is not in\nme, and the sea saith, It is not with me_. But if you seek for the way\nof wisdom and discipline, to worship God, and to be subject to Him is\nwisdom, and to abstain from sin is discipline.\n\n5. What then have we to do with the way of this world, wherein is\ntemptation; yea the life itself of men is temptation, and more empty\neven than vain fables, living in houses of clay, spending nights and\ndays in quest of gain, with their thoughts ever upon it, seeking like\nhired servants their daily wages, and as they say grasshoppers do[160],\nfeeding on the empty breath of desires. Truly, like grasshoppers,\nliving from day to day, they burst with their own complainings[161].\nFor what is the semblance of men without gravity or discipline, but\nthat of grasshoppers, born to a daily death, chirping rather than\nspeaking? These beneath the heat of burning desires soothe themselves\nwith a song hurtful to themselves, and quickly die bearing no fruit,\nand possessed of no grace. Noxious and crooked are their ways as\nthose of serpents, whose bodies are drawn along in poisoned folds, who\ngather themselves up into a coil of wickedness[162], and cannot raise\nthemselves to heavenly things.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxviii. 19.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. vii. 14.\n\n6. But let us enter the gates of the Lord, _the gates of righteousness_,\nwhich the righteous entereth and _giveth praise unto the Lord_. But\nfew enter in here, wherefore the Lord saith, _Straight is the gate and\nnarrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find\nit_. But the wide gate and broad way, wherein the many walk, leads to\ndeath, and carries thither them that travel on it.\n\n Sidenote: Prov. ii. 13.\n\n7. Let our way then be narrow, our virtue abundant, our steps more\ncareful, our faith more lofty, our path narrow, our energy of mind\noverflowing, our paths straight, for the steps of virtue cannot\nbe turned aside; wherefore Solomon saith, _Who leave the paths of\nuprightness_.\n\n Sidenote: Is. xxxi. 1.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. vii. 1.\n\n8. Let our steps tend upward, for it is better to ascend. Lastly, as\nwe read to-day, _Woe to them that go down to Egypt!_ Not that to pass\nover into Egypt is blameable, but to pass into their habits, to pass\ninto their cruel perfidy and hideous lusts. He that passes over thither\ndescends, he that descends falls. Wherefore let us avoid the Egyptian,\nwho is man, not God. For the king of Egypt himself was given over to\nthe dominion of his vices, and compared with him Moses was accounted\na god, ruling over kingdoms and subjecting to himself powers. Hence\nwe read that he was addressed thus, _See I have made thee a god to\n\u2666Pharaoh_. Farewell, and love me, as indeed you do, with the affection\nof a son.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XXIX.\n A.D. 389.\n\n\n THIS letter is in fact a meditation on Christ as the true Chief\n good of man, the true Source of happiness, and Food of the soul,\n and Fountain of life, to be sought therefore with eagerness, and\n clung to with all the affection of the soul, which must\n therefore scorn all meaner delights.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO IREN\u00c6US, GREETING.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xlv. 3.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. x. 15.\n Is. lii. 7.\n\n1. WHILE engaged in reading, after resting my mind for a while and\ndesisting from study, I began to meditate on that versicle which in the\nevening we had sung at Vigils, _Thou art fairer than the children of\nmen_, and, _How beautiful are the feet of them that bring good tidings_\nof Him. And truly nothing is more beautiful than that chief good, the\nvery preaching of which is beyond measure lovely, and specially the\nprogress of continuous discourse, and the foot-steps, so to speak, of\nApostolic preaching. But who is equal to these things? They to whom God\ngave not only to preach Christ, but also to suffer for Him.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. lxiii. 6.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xxii. 29.\n\n2. Let us, as far as we can, direct our minds to that which is\nbeautiful seemly and good, let us be occupied therein, let us keep it\nin mind, that by its illumination and brightness our souls may become\nbeautiful and our minds transparent. For if our eyes, when obscured by\ndimness, are refreshed by the verdure of the fields and are able by the\nbeauty of a grove or grassy hill to remedy every defect of the failing\nvision, while the very pupils and balls of the eye seem to be coloured\nwith the hue of health: how much more does this eye of the mind,\nbeholding that chief good, and dwelling and feeding thereupon, brighten\nand shine forth, so as to fulfil that which is written, _My soul shall\nbe satisfied even as it were with marrow and fatness_. Moreover, he\nwho has a skilful knowledge of the souls of his flock, pays attention\nto wild grasses, that he may obtain much pasturage: for by the sweeter\nkind of herbage lambs are made fatter, and the milky juice more\nhealthful. On these pastures those _fat ones_ have fed, who _have eaten\nand worshipped_, for good indeed are those pastures wherein is placed\nthe saint of God.\n\n Sidenote: Prov. xxvii. 25.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xxxii. 2.\n\n Sidenote: 2 S. Pet. i. 4.\n\n3. There is grass also, whereby the flocks of sheep are nourished, for\nwhence come the fleeces of wisdom, and the clothing of prudence. And\nperchance this is the _grass of the mountain_, upon which the words\nof the prophet distil _as the showers upon the grass_, and which the\nwise man carefully gathers, that he may have a fleece for a covering,\nthat is, for a spiritual garment. And thus proper food and clothing are\nprovided for that soul which cleaves to the chief Good, that Good Which\nis Divine, and which the Apostle Peter exhorts us to seek for, that\nby the acquisition of such knowledge we may become _partakers of the\nDivine nature_.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xxviii. 11, 12.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xxxii. 2.\n\n4. The knowledge hereof the good God opens to His saints, and grants\nit out of His good treasury, even as the sacred Law testifies, saying,\n_The Lord sware unto thy fathers to give thee and open unto thee His\ngood treasure_. From this heavenly treasure He gives rain to His lands,\nto bless all the works of thy hands. By this rain is signified the\nutterance of the Law, which moistens the soul fruitful and fertile in\ngood works, that it may receive the dew of Grace.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xxvii. 4.\n\n Sidenote: v. 13.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. lxv. 4.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxxviii. 5.\n\n5. The knowledge of this good David sought; as he himself declares,\nsaying, _One thing have I desired of the Lord, which I will require,\neven that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life\nto behold the fair beauty of the Lord, and to visit His temple_. And\nthat this is the chief Good he straightway added in the same Psalm,\n_I believe verily to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the\nliving_. He must be sought after, there He will be clearly seen face to\nface. This good is in the house of God, in His secret and hidden place.\nWherefore he says again, _He shall be satisfied with the pleasures of\nthy house_. In another place too he has shown this to be the highest\nblessing, saying, _The Lord shall bless thee out of Sion, and thou\nshalt see the good of Jerusalem_. Wherefore blessed is he who dwells\nthen in the vestibule of faith and in the spiritual abode, the dwelling\nplace of devotion and the life of virtue.\n\n Sidenote: Isa. lii. 7.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. i. 1.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. vii. 17.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxliii. 10.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xx. 15.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. iv. 6.\n\n Sidenote: Heb. i. 3.\n\n6. In Him therefore let us be and in Him abide, of Whom Isaiah says,\n_How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of Him that bringeth\ngood tidings, that publisheth peace_. Who are they that preach but\nPeter, Paul, and all the Apostles? What do they preach to us but the\nLord Jesus? He is our Peace, He is our chief Good, for He is Good from\nGood, and from a good tree is gathered good fruit. And good also is\nHis Spirit, Who takes of Him and _leads_ His servants _forth into the\nland of righteousness_. For who that hath the Spirit of God within him\nwill deny that He is good, since He says Himself, _Is thine eye evil\nbecause I am good?_ May this Good which the merciful God gives to them\nthat seek Him come into our soul, and into our inmost heart. He is our\nTreasure, He is our Way, He is our Wisdom, He is our Righteousness, our\nShepherd, the good Shepherd, He is our Life. Thou seest how many goods\nare in this one Good! These goods the Evangelists preach to us. David\nseeking for these goods saith, _Who will shew us any good?_ And he\nshews that the Lord Himself is our Good by adding, _Lord, lift Thou\nup the light of Thy Countenance upon us_. But Who is the Light of the\nFather\u2019s Countenance, but _the Brightness of His Glory_, and the Image\nof the invisible God, in Whom the Father is both seen and glorified, as\nHe also glorifies His Son?\n\n Sidenote: 1 Tim. iii. 16.\n\n Sidenote: Heb. i. 3.\n\n Sidenote: S. John xi. 35.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. i. 29.\n\n\u26668. Wherefore the Lord Jesus Himself is that chief Good which was\nannounced to us by Prophets, declared by Angels, promised by the\nFather, preached by Apostles. He hath come to us as ripeness; nor as\nripeness only, but as ripeness in the mountains; to the intent that in\nour counsels there should be nothing sour, or unripe, nothing harsh or\nbitter in our actions or manners, the first Preacher of good tidings\nhath come among us. Wherefore also He saith, I, Who spoke, am present\nwith[163] you, that is, I Who spoke in the Prophets, am present in that\nBody which I took of the Virgin; I am present as the inward Likeness\nof God, and the _express Image of His person_, I am present too as Man.\nBut who knows Me? For they saw the Man, but His Works made them believe\nHe was above man. Was He not as man when weeping over Lazarus? again,\nwas He not above man, when He raised him to life? Was He not as man\nwhen scourged? and again, above man when _He took away the sin of the\nworld_?\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. iv. 17.\n\n Sidenote: Amos v. 14.\n\n Sidenote: Col. ii. 9.\n\n Sidenote: S. John i. 16.\n\n9. To Him therefore let us hasten in Whom is the chief Good: for He\nis the bounty and patience of Israel, Who calls thee to repentance,\nthat thou come not into condemnation but mayest receive the remission\nof thy sins. He saith, Repent. This is He of Whom the Prophet Amos\ncries, _Seek good_. He is the chief Good, Who is in need of nothing,\nbut abounds in all things. And well may He abound, _in Whom dwelleth\nall the fulness of the Godhead bodily_; of _Whose fulness we have all\nreceived_, and _in Whom we are filled_, as saith the Evangelist.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxix. 68.\n\n Sidenote: Cant. i. 3.\n\n10. If then the mind with its capacities of desire and pleasure hath\ntasted the chief Good, and by means of these two affections hath drank\nIt in, unalloyed by sorrow and fear, it is wonderfully inflamed. For\nhaving embraced the Word of God, she knows no measure and yet feels no\nsatiety, as it is written, _Thou art good and gracious, O teach me Thy\nstatutes_: having embraced the Word of God, she desires Him above all\nbeauty, she loves Him above all joy, she is delighted with Him above\nall perfumes, she desires often to see, often to look upon Him, often\nto be drawn to Him that she may follow. _Thy Name_, it is said, _is\nas ointment poured forth; therefore we maidens love Thee_, therefore\nwe strive but cannot attain to Thee. _Draw us_ that we may _run after\nThee_, that by the _fragrance of Thy ointments_ we may gain power to\nfollow Thee.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxix. 103.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xxxiv. 28.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Kings xix. 4.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xvii. 4.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Pet. i. 12.\n\n11. And the mind presses forward to the sight of internal mysteries, to\nthe place of rest of the Word, to the very dwelling of that chief Good,\nHis light and brightness. In that haven and home-retreat she hastens\nto hear His words, and having heard, finds them sweeter than all other\nthings. Learn of the Prophet who had tasted and saith, _O how sweet are\nThy words unto my throat, yea sweeter than honey unto my mouth_. For\nwhat can that soul desire which hath once tasted the sweetness of the\nWord, and seen His brightness? When Moses received the Law he remained\nforty days on the mount and required no bodily food; Elijah, hastening\nto this rest, prayed that his life might be taken away; Peter, himself\nalso beholding on the Mount the glory of the Lord\u2019s Resurrection, would\nfain not have come down, saying, _It is good for us to be here_. How\ngreat then is the glory of the Divine Essence and the graces of the\nWord, _which things the Angels desire to look into_.\n\n Sidenote: Acts vii. 55.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. xii. 2.\n\n12. The soul then which beholds this chief Good, requires not the body,\nand understands that it ought to have as little connexion with it as\npossible; it renounces the world, withdraws itself from the chains\nof the flesh, and extricates itself from all the bonds of earthly\npleasures. Thus Stephen beheld Jesus, and feared not being stoned,\nnay, while he was being stoned, prayed not for himself but for his\nmurderers. Paul also, when _caught up to the third heaven_, knew not\n_whether he was in the body or out of the body: caught up_, I say,\n_into Paradise_, he became invisible to the presence of his own body,\nand having heard the words of God he blushed to descend again to the\ninfirmities of the body.\n\n Sidenote: Col. ii. 20\u201322.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. v. 8.\n\n13. Thus, knowing what he had seen and heard in Paradise, he cried\nsaying, _Why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to\nordinances? Touch not, taste not, handle not, which all are to perish\nwith the using._ For he would have us of this world in figure and\nsemblance, not in use or possession, _using as though we used it\nnot_, as our place of sojourn, not of rest, walking through it as in\na vision, not with desire, so as to pass as lightly as possible over\nthe mere shadow of this world. In this way S. Paul, who walked by faith\nnot by sight, was _absent from the body and present with the Lord_, and\nalthough upon earth conversed not with earthly but with heavenly things.\n\n Sidenote: S. John i. 1.\n\n Sidenote: Acts xvii. 28.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. i. 19.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. iii. 14.\n\n14. Wherefore let our soul, wishing to draw near to God, raise herself\nfrom the body, and ever adhere to that chief End which is divine, Which\nis everlasting, _Which was from the beginning_, and _Which was with\nGod_, that is, the Word of God. This is that Divine Being, _in Whom\nwe live and move and have our being_. This is _That which was in the\nbeginning_, the true _I AM_. _For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, was not\nyea nor nay but in Him was yea._ He bid Moses say, _I AM hath sent me_.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxix. 109.\n\n15. With this Good therefore let our soul be, and if possible, be\ncontinually, that each of us may say, _My soul is continually in my\nhand_. And such will be the case, if it be not in the flesh, but in\nthe spirit, and does not entangle itself in earthly things. For when\nit turns back to carnal things, then the allurements of the body creep\nover it, then it swells with rage and anger, then it is pierced with\nsorrow, then it is lifted up with arrogance, then it is bowed down with\ngrief.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. v. 44, 45.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 48.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. xiii. 10.\n\n16. These are the heavy griefs of the soul by which it is often\nbrought down to death, while its eyes are blinded so that they see\nnot the light of true glory, and the riches of its eternal heritage.\nBut by keeping them always fixed on God, it will receive from Christ\nthe brightness of wisdom, so as to have its vision enlightened by the\nknowledge of God, and to behold that hope of our calling, and see that\nwhich is good and well-pleasing and perfect. For that which is good is\nwell-pleasing to the Father, and that which is well-pleasing is perfect,\nas it is written in the Gospel, _Love your enemies, that ye may be\nthe children of your Father Which is in heaven, for, He sendeth rain\non the just and on the unjust_, which is surely a proof of goodness.\nAfterwards He concludes by saying, _Be ye therefore perfect, even as\nyour Father Which is in heaven is perfect_. For charity is perfect;\nin short it is _the fulfilling of the Law_; for what can be so good as\n_charity_ which _thinketh no evil_?\n\n Sidenote: Isa. xl. 31.\n\n Sidenote: Wisd. ix. 15.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. xi. 36.\n\n17. Fly then those regions where dwell envy, ambition, and contention.\nTherefore let thy mind open itself to receive this Good, that it may\nmount above the clouds, that it may be _renewed as the eagle_, and like\nthe eagle spread abroad its wings, that with new vigour in its pinions\nit may fearlessly soar aloft and leave its earthly dwelling-place\nbehind it, _for the earthly habitation weigheth down the mind_. Let\nit put off old things, let it cast off wandering desires, let it purge\nits eyes that it may see that Fountain of true wisdom, that Source of\neternal life Which flows and abounds with all things and is in want of\nnothing. For who hath given to Him, seeing that _of Him and through Him\nand to Him are all things_?\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xvi. 2.\n\n18. The Fountain of life then is that chief Good from Which the\nmeans of life are dispensed to all, but It hath life abiding in Itself.\nIt receiveth from none as though It were in need, It confers good on\nothers rather than borrows from others for Itself, for It hath no need\nof us. Thus in the person of man it is said, _my goods are nothing\nunto Thee_. What then can be more lovely than to approach to Him, to\ncleave to Him; what pleasure can be greater? He who has seen and tasted\nfreely of the Fountain of living water, what else can he desire? what\nkingdoms? what powers? what riches? perceiving how miserable even in\nthis world is the condition of kings, how mutable the state of empires,\nhow short the space of this life, in what bondage sovereigns themselves\nmust live, seeing that their life is according to the will of others,\nnot their own.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xix. 26.\n\n19. But what rich man passes to eternal life unless he be supported\nby the riches of virtue, that gift which is the portion of all, and\ndeclared to be impossible for the rich alone? Happiness then does not\nconsist in using these things but in perceiving that whereby you may\ndespise them, may regard them as void of truth[164], may judge them\nto be empty and fruitless, and may love the true beauty of naked truth\nwhich confesses the cheating vanities of this world.\n\n Sidenote: Cant. iv. 9.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. vii. 8.\n\n Sidenote: Rev. xxi. 23.\n\n Sidenote: S. John viii. 12.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xxiv. 32.\n\n20. Lift up therefore your eyes, O my soul; those eyes of which the\nWord of God saith, _Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse,\nthou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes. Go up then to the\npalm tree_, overcome the world, that thou mayest reach the height of\nthe Word. Leave out of doors the vain shows of this world, leave its\nmalice, but bring in with you that goodness of mind which has grace\nin the tree of life, that is, if she wash her robes and enter into the\ncity which is the true grace of the saints, wherein is the Tabernacle\nof God, around which the scribes of the Lord encamp, where neither\nday nor sun nor moon afford light, but _the Lord Himself is the light\nthereof_, and enlightens all that city. For He is the _Light of the\nworld_, not indeed the visible light, but the intellectual brightness\nof the souls which are in this world, upon which He pours the bright\nbeams of reason and of prudence, and in the Gospel is said to inspire\nwith the breath of His spiritual influences the inmost soul, and the\nrecesses of the mind.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xix. 30.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 17.\n\n21. If then any man hath begun to be an inhabitant of that heavenly\ncity, an inhabitant, that is, by his life and manners, let him not\ndepart from it, let him not go out again, or retrace his steps, the\nsteps, that is, not of his body but of his mind; let him not turn\nback. Behind is luxury, behind is impurity. When Lot went up into the\nmountain he left behind him the crimes of Sodom, but she who looked\nback, could not reach the higher ground. It is not your feet but your\nmanners which are never to turn back. Let not your hands hang down,\nor the knees of your faith and devotion become feeble. Let not the\nweakness of your will be backsliding, let there be no recurrence of\ncrime. Thou hast entered in, remain therefore; thou hast arrived, stay\nstill; _escape for thy life_.\n\n Sidenote: Joel iii. 13.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xvii. 31.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. civ. 2.\n\n22. In your ascent your steps must tend directly upwards, no man can\nsafely turn back. Here is the way, there, downfall; here ascent, there\na precipice. In ascending there is labour, in descending danger; but\nthe Lord is mighty, Who, when thou art founded there will guard and\nhedge thee round with prophetic walls and apostolic bulwarks. Therefore\nthe Lord says to thee, _Come, get you down, for the press is full_. Let\nus be found within, not out of doors. In the Gospel too the Son of God\nsaith, _He which shall be upon the house-top let him not come down to\ntake away his vessels_. And this He says not of this house-top, but of\nthat of which it is said, _He spreadeth out the heavens like a vault_.\n\n Sidenote: Joel iii. 9.\n\n Sidenote: Phil. iv. 13.\n\n23. Remain within therefore, within Jerusalem, within thine own soul,\npeaceful, meek, and tranquil. Leave her not, nor descend in order to\nraise up this vessel of thine, either with honour, or wealth, or pride.\nRemain within, that aliens may not pass through thee, that sins may not\npass through thy mind, vain acts, and idle thoughts: and they will not\npass, if thou wilt wage a holy war in the cause of faith and devotion,\nfor the love of truth against the snares of passion, and wilt take up\nthe arms of God against spiritual wickedness and the craft of the devil,\nwho tempts our senses by fraud and stratagem, but who is easily crushed\nby the gentle warrior, who sees no strife, but, as becomes the servant\nof God, teaches the faith with modesty, and convinces those who oppose\nthemselves. Of him the Scripture says, _Let the warrior who is gentle\narise_[165], and let him that is weak say, _I can do all things through\nChrist which strengtheneth me_.\n\n Sidenote: Joel iii. 18.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. iii. 2.\n\n Sidenote: S. John iv. 14.\n\n24. Supported by this faith, even he who is weak shall prevail, and his\nsoul will be holy, and the prophetic or apostolic mountains shall _drop\ndown new wine_ for him, and _the hills shall flow with milk_, like that\nhill which gave milk to the Corinthians to drink, and water shall flow\nfor him from their vessels, and from their well-heads. _From his belly\nshall flow living water_, that spiritual water which the Holy Spirit\nsupplies to His faithful; may He vouchsafe to water thy soul also, that\nin thee may be _a fountain springing up into life eternal_. Farewell:\nlove me as a son, for I love you as a father.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XXX.\n A.D. 389.\n\n\n S. AMBROSE here continues the subject of the last Letter,\n dwelling especially on the duty of rising above the level of\n earthly things, and bringing together various passages of the\n Old Testament which he interprets spiritually as setting forth\n this Lesson. The true follower of Christ will build Him a Temple\n in his heart, which his Lord will fill with the adornment of\n spiritual graces.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO IREN\u00c6US, GREETING.\n\n Sidenote: Hag. i. 4.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 2.\n\n Sidenote: Ecclus. xxiii. 18.\n\n1. AFTER I had finished my last letter and directed it to be conveyed\nto you, the words which the Lord spake by the prophet Haggai came into\nmy mind, _Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses?_\nWhat is the meaning of this but that we ought to dwell on high, not\nin low and subterranean abodes? For they who dwell beneath the earth,\ncannot build the temple of God, but say, _The time is not come, the\ntime that the Lord\u2019s house should be built_, because it is the mark\nof sensual persons to seek underground dwellings, courting the cool\nof summer, being enervated by indulgence and requiring shady retreats\nto enable them to bear the heat, or because the slothful live at ease\nbeneath the earth, or lastly because dark and shady places suit them\nbest, concealing, (as they believe,) their crimes. _I am compassed\nabout with darkness, the walls cover me, what need I to fear?_ But in\nvain do they hope for this, when God beholds the hidden depths of the\nabyss, and discovers all things before they take place.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Kings xvii. 19.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Kings iv. 8, 10.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 16 et seq.\n\n Sidenote: Acts x. 9.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Sam. xviii. 17, 18.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Kings xx. 23.\n\n2. But neither Elijah nor Elisha dwelt in underground dwellings.\nMoreover the former carried the dead son of the widow up into the\nloft where he abode, and there raised him to life; and for the latter,\nthat _great woman_, the Shunamite, prepared a _chamber on the wall_,\nand there she obtained the privilege of conceiving a son, for she was\nbarren, and there also she saw the miracle of his restoration to life.\nAnd what shall I say of Peter who at the sixth hour went up upon the\nhouse-top, and there learnt the mystery of the baptism of the Gentiles.\nBut the homicide Absalom had reared for himself a pillar in the King\u2019s\ndale, and then, after his death, he was cast into a great pit. So\nthen the saints ascend unto the Lord, the wicked descend to crime;\nthe saints are on the mountains, the wicked in the valleys; _For God\nis the God of the hills, not of the plains_.\n\n3. Those therefore who dwelt in the plain, where God dwells not, could\nnot have the house of God in themselves; for this is the house which\nGod required of them, that they should build up themselves, and should\nerect within them the temple of God with the living stones of faith.\nFor it was not the erection of earthly walls nor of wooden roofs that\nHe required, for these, had they existed, would have been destroyed by\nthe enemies\u2019 hand; but He sought for that temple which should be raised\nin men\u2019s minds, to whom it might be said, _Ye are the Temple of God_,\nwherein the Lord Jesus was to dwell, and from whence He was to proceed\nfor the redemption of the world. Thus in the womb of a Virgin a sacred\nchamber was to be prepared, wherein the King of heaven might dwell, and\nthe human Body might become the temple of God, Which also when It was\ndestroyed, was to be raised again in three days.\n\n Sidenote: Hag. i. 4.\n\n Sidenote: Jer. xxii. 13.\n\n4. But such a house as this sensual persons, _they who dwell in cieled\nhouses_ and delight in chased silver, do not build. For as they despise\npure silver, so also they despise simple dwellings. They enlarge the\nsite of their houses, they add more and more, joining house to house\nand farm to farm, they dig up the ground; so that the very earth itself\ngives way to their habitations, and like sons of the earth they are\nlaid up within her womb, and hidden in her bowels. They surely are\nthose of whom Jeremiah says, _Woe unto him that buildeth his house in\nunrighteousness_. For he who builds in righteousness, builds not on\nearth but in heaven.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 14.\n\n Sidenote: Cant. iv. 3.\n\n5. _Thou hast built_, saith the Prophet, _a house, measure the upper\nchambers of it, even airy chambers, furnished with windows, cieled\nwith cedar, and painted with vermilion_. Now he _measureth the upper\nchambers_, who, having contemplated the judgment of God, judgeth the\njudgment of the humble and the judgment of the poor. But he who seeks\nafter gain and the blood of the innocent builds not his chambers with\njudgment, nor keeps the due measure, because he has not Christ, nor\nlooks for the breath of Divine grace upon him, nor does he desire the\nbrightness of full light, nor has he chambers painted with vermilion,\nfor it cannot be said to him, _Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet_.\n\n Sidenote: Jer. xxii. 19. He shall be buried with the burial of\n an ass. Engl. Vers.\n\n6. _A man of this sort_, it is said, _shall not be buried_, for he\nwho has burrowed in the earth, and buried himself alive, so to speak,\nin a tomb, has deprived himself when dead of the rest of burial. And\nthus, laid in the pit of carnal pleasures, he has found no grave from\nwhence to rise. Such a man therefore builds no temple to God, because\nhe hath not known the time of his correction. How then can such men\nbuild a temple, who like wild beasts betake themselves to dens and\nhiding places, who like serpents bury themselves in ditches, and burrow\nin the earth like crafty foxes?\n\n Sidenote: 1 Tim. v. 6.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xlii. 5.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. vii. 7.\n\n7. Neither does he build a sepulchre for himself who dies before the\ntime, for _he is dead while he liveth_; and he hears not the voice of\nHaggai, that is being interpreted, of the Feaster, for he enters not\nthe Tabernacle of God, _in the voice of praise and thanksgiving, the\nsound of one feasting_. For how can he hear His voice, who sees not\nHis works? If he saw them, he would have heard the Word which has been\nput in His Hand, rejoicing in His acts, whereby _He knocked and it\nwas opened to Him_, and He descended into his soul that He might feed\ntherein upon the food of sincerity and truth.\n\n Sidenote: Hag. i. 8.\n\n8. Now because he has not heard, the word of Haggai comes again to hand,\nand says, Rise up from your _cieled houses_ that are weighed down by\nwickedness, and _go up to the mountain_ of the heavenly Scriptures, and\n_hew wood_, the wood of wisdom, the wood of life, the wood of knowledge;\nand make straight your ways, direct your acts that they may keep their\ndue order which is useful and necessary for building the house of God.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 10.\n\n9. For if ye do it not, the _heaven over you shall be stayed of her\ndew_, that is, the heavenly Word, Which descends _as the dew upon the\ngrass_, shall not temper the fevered motions of your bodily passions,\nnor extinguish the fiery darts of your various desires; and _the earth_,\nthat is, your soul, _shall be stayed from her fruit_, so that it shall\nbe dried up, unless fully watered by the Word of God, and sprinkled\nwith heavenly dew, even the fulness of spiritual Grace.\n\n Sidenote: Hag. i. 14.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxxvii. 1.\n\n Sidenote: Col. i. 16, 17.\n\n Sidenote: S. John vii. 37.\n\n10. And as He knew how slothful they are who dwelt beneath the earth,\nand in the dark abodes of pleasure, _I will stir up_, it is said, _the\nspirit of Jerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, Governor of Judah_, and _the\nspirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest_, that they may\nbe stirred up to build the Divine house. For _except the Lord build\nthe house, their labour is lost that build it_. Now Zerubbabel means,\n\u2018constant overflowing,\u2019 like the Fountain of life, and the Word of God,\n_by Whom and from Whom are all things and in Whom all things consist_.\nThus saith the overflowing Fountain, _If any man thirst, let him come\nunto Me, and drink_; drink, that is, from the stream of the unfailing\nflood. We read also of Zabulon, a nocturnal flood, that is to say\nprophetic, but it also is now brightened by the intermixture of this\nstream, whereby was swallowed up that flood of vanity typified by\nJezabel, which was opposed to truth and to the utterances of prophets,\nand was so torn in pieces by dogs that not a trace of it remained,\nbut all its frame with every mark of its posterity was destroyed.\nZerubbabel therefore of the tribe of Judah, and Jesus the High Priest,\nthus designated both by tribe and name seem to represent two persons,\nthough one only is meant; for He Who as Almighty is born from the\nAlmighty, as Redeemer is born of the Virgin, being the Same in the\ndiversity of His two divisible natures, hath fulfilled as the Giant\nof salvation[166] the verity of the one Son of God.\n\n Sidenote: Hag. ii. 6.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xiii. 21.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xiv. 22.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xxiii. 44.\n\n11. Now being about to raise from the dead holy Zerubbabel He says,\n_Yet once, it is a little while, I will shake the heavens, and the\nearth, and the sea, and the dry land_. Once before he had shaken these\nthings when He delivered his people from Egypt, when there was in\nheaven a pillar of fire, dry land among the waves, a wall in the sea, a\npath in the waters, when in the desert a daily supply of heavenly food\nwas produced, and the rock was melted into streams of water. But He\nshook them also afterwards in the Passion of the Lord Jesus, when the\nheaven was covered with darkness, the sun withdrew his light, the rocks\nwere rent, the tombs opened, the dead raised, the Dragon, vanquished\non his own waves, saw the fishers of men not only sailing, but even\nwalking on the sea without danger.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xix. 4.\n\n Sidenote: Is. liv. 1.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xxxv. 1.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. xi. 5.\n\n12. The _dry land was also shaken_ when the barren Gentile nations\nbegan to ripen with the harvest of devotion and faith, and the desert\nand the Gentiles were so much shaken, that the preaching of the\nApostles, whom He sent to call the Gentiles, was so loud and vehement,\nthat _their sound went out into all lands, and their words unto the\nends of the world_. So greatly, indeed, was the desert shaken that\n_more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married\nwife_, and _the desert blossomed as a rose_, the elect of the Gentiles\nentered in to the remnant of the people, that the _remnant might be\nsaved according to the election of grace_.\n\n Sidenote: Hag. ii. 7, 8.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xii. 7.\n\n13. _And I will fill_, it is said, _this house with My silver and gold_,\nwith the heavenly oracles, which are as _silver tried in the fire_, and\nin the brightness of the true light, glistening like spiritual gold in\nthe secret hearts of the saints. These riches He confers on His Church,\nriches whereby spiritual treasures are increased, and the glory of the\nhouse is exalted above the former glory which the elect people enjoyed.\n\n Sidenote: Phil. iv. 7.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xxiv. 35.\n\n Sidenote: Heb. iv. 12.\n\n Sidenote: Zech. ix. 10.\n\n14. For peace and tranquillity of the soul is above all glory of\nany house; for _peace passeth all understanding_. This is that peace\nabove all peace which shall be granted after the third shaking of the\nheaven, the sea, the earth and the dry land, when He shall destroy all\nPrincipalities and Powers. For _heaven and earth shall pass away_, and\nall the fashion of this world; and every man shall rise up against his\nbrother with the sword, that is, with the word _piercing the marrow\nof the soul_, that whatever opposes itself, the _chariot from Ephraim_\nand _the horse from Jerusalem may be cut off_, as Zechariah says. And\nthus there will be peace over all, the passions of the body offering no\nresistance, and the unbelieving mind no obstacle, that _Christ may be\nall in all_, offering in subjection to the Father the hearts of all men.\n\n Sidenote: Hagg. ii. 23.\n\n Sidenote: Cant. vi. 13.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. xv. 48.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 49.\n\n15. Wherefore to Him alone is it mystically said, _I will take thee,\nO Zerubbabel, and will make thee as a signet, for I have chosen thee_.\nWhen our mind shall have become peaceful so that it may be said to her,\n_Return, return, o Shulamite_, which signifies \u2018peaceful,\u2019 or, to use\nyour own name, Irenice, then shall she receive Christ like a signet on\nherself, that is, the Image of God, that she may be according to that\nImage, for _as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly_.\nAnd it behoves us _to bear the image of the heavenly_, that is, peace.\n\n Sidenote: Cant. viii. 6.\n\n16. And that we may know the truth of this, it is said in the Canticles\nto the soul now fully perfect, that which may the Lord Jesus say to you\nalso, _Set me as a seal upon thine arm_; that peace may shine in your\nheart and Christ in your works, and that wisdom and righteousness and\nredemption may be formed in you. Farewell, my son: love me for I love\nyou.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XXXI.\n\n\n IREN\u00c6US had asked S. Ambrose whether God had greater love for\n those who had believed from their early years than for those\n who had been converted later in life. In answering this question,\n S. Ambrose enters into the history of the Jewish and Christian\n Churches, which he considers as set forth under the figures of\n David\u2019s two wives.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO IREN\u00c6US, GREETING.\n\n Sidenote: Joel i. 8.\n\n Sidenote: Hosea ii. 19.\n\n1. YOU have wisely thought it a subject of inquiry, whether there be\nany difference in God\u2019s love towards those who have believed from their\nchildhood, and those who have believed in the course of their youth\nor more advanced age; for this also has not been past over nor left\nunnoticed in the sacred Scriptures. For it is not without meaning that\nthe Lord our God says to the Prophet Joel, _Lament to me for the spouse\ngirded with sackcloth and for the husband of her youth_, expressing\nhis grief for the Synagogue, who, before, in her virginity, had been\nespoused to the Word of God, or, it may be, for a soul which had\nfallen from her good deeds, that by the heinousness of her sins she had\nincurred hatred, and through the defilement of impiety and the stains\nof unbelief had become miserable and despised, and far removed from the\ngrace of that Spouse which had before been counted worthy to be told,\n_I will betroth thee unto Me in righteousness and in judgment and in\nlovingkindness and in mercies_.\n\n Sidenote: Mal. iv. 2.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. ix. 15.\n\n2. Not without reason is she considered miserable, who has lost gifts\nof so great a price, and suffered so grievous a loss of her dowry of\nvirtues as to be deprived of the Spouse of her virginity. For according\nto our merits the Word of God either lives or dies in us; for if our\ndesires and works are good, the Word of God lives and acts in us: if\nour thoughts and actions are darksome, the Sun of righteousness sets\nwithin us. And therefore He bids lamentation to be made for such a soul.\nFor as they have cause of congratulation and feasting with whom the\nBridegroom dwells, so that soul is to be mourned for, from whom the\nSpouse has been taken, as it is written of the Apostles in the Gospel;\nfor _when the Bridegroom shall be taken away from them, then shall they\nfast in those days_.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. civ. 15.\n\n3. Thus too this soul, in former times when she possessed the Virgin\nWord, had joy and gladness. And therefore she fasted not, because it\nwas the season of feasting and refreshment; the Bridegroom was present\nbestowing by His presence the riches of plenty, stores of heavenly food,\nand dropping _wine, whereby the hearts of men are made glad_. But after\nshe lost the Bridegroom by her acts, she is commanded to do penance in\nsackcloth for her sins, and to bewail herself, because Christ, Who is\nthe Virgin Word, died and was crucified for her.\n\n Sidenote: Ecclus. xv. 2.\n\n4. If this soul was espoused from early age, and never bore any other\nyoke, but from the beginning dedicated the maiden flower of her faith\nto Christ and as a virgin was united to Him in early days in the\nmysteries of piety, received a training in holiness as a heifer does\nthe yoke; she is the very soul of the ancient Jewish stock from the\nfamily of the patriarchs, who, had she kept her course of faith without\nstumbling, would have been counted worthy of great things, the Spouse\nof the Virginal Word, as she who lays hold of Wisdom, _and as a mother\nshall she meet him, and receive him as a wife married of a virgin_.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Sam. xxv. 39.\n\n5. The other likewise is procured from the Gentiles, and both are the\nSpouse of the One Word, which is a great mystery. And this is set forth\nto you in the book of Kings; since David had two wives, Ahinoam the\nJezreelitess and Abigail whom he obtained afterwards; the first more\nsevere, the latter full of mercy and grace, an hospitable and liberal\nsoul, who saw the Father with open face, having beheld His glory; she\nwho received the divine dew of paternal Grace, as the interpretation\nof the name signifies. Now what is the dew of the Father, but the Word\nof God, Who has filled the hearts of all with the moisture of faith and\njustice?\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 32.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 35.\n\n Sidenote: Cant. ii. 14.\n\n6. Well therefore does the true David say to this soul what was said to\nAbigail, _Blessed is the Lord God of Israel which sent thee this day to\nmeet me_. And again he says to her, _Go up in peace to thine house; see,\nI have hearkened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person_. Lastly in\nthe Song of Solomon these are the words of the Bridegroom to the Bride,\n_Let me see thy countenance; let me hear thy voice_.\n\n7. And at the time she was dismissed, for she had another husband who\nin Hebrew was called Nabal, which in Latin means foolish, a man harsh,\ninhospitable, uncourteous, ungrateful, who knew not how to repay good\noffices; but after his death, she was _set free from the law of her\nhusband_, and the prophet David took her to wife. By this marriage the\nmystery of the Church which was to be called from among the Gentiles\nis signified, for she, having lost the husband to whom she had been\nmarried, became converted to Christ, bringing with her a dowry of piety,\nof humility and faith, enriched also with the patrimony of mercy.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xliv. 15.\n\n Sidenote: Mic. iv. 4.\n\n8. But in this place it is not this wife, but that Ahinoam, who was\nevilly disposed towards her brother, wherefore her brother was made a\ntrouble to her, and in their person it is said, _thou makest us to be\na bye-word among the heathen, and that the people shake their heads\nat us_. The devil, finding her off her guard, fell upon her as a lion,\nand deprived her of her charms, rooted up _her vine and fig-tree_ under\nwhich she used to repose, and caused her fruit to wither.\n\n Sidenote: Joel i. 8.\n\n Sidenote: Hosea iv. 6.\n\n9. But now God, having compassion on them, thus dried up and withered\nby drought, saith to the prophet, _Lament to Me for virgin girded\nwith sackcloth and for the husband of her youth_, that is to say,\nover the dead husband of this soul or of the Synagogue. And with her\nHe expostulates in another place, forasmuch as she had forgotten her\nresolution, forgotten His grace, had wandered from discipline, and had\nlost her former affections as a wife. Lastly therefore He reproves her\nwith His words, calling to mind and repeating her tenderness and her\nexpressions of affection: \u2018Didst Thou not call me one of Thy household,\nthe parent and guide of Thy virginity.\u2019\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. xi. 14.\n\n Sidenote: Eph. iv. 13.\n\n10. Wherefore for this soul, to whom through her infidelity the Word of\nGod is dead, and this Virgin Word is dead also, He appoints grief and\nbrings in an Intercessor, that so she may be called to penitence, and\nmay thereby earn compassion. But she who is of prudent understanding\nand very beautiful to look upon, was gained for him, like Abigail,\nin battle; her adversaries were conquered, and her husband, he who,\nsurrounded by spiritual wickedness, struggled and fought not to lose\nhis beautiful wife, being dead. On her, her victorious and loving\nSpouse confers sweetness and grace, cleansing her from all that\nmight obscure her beauty, and taking off from her the garments of her\ncaptivity, that so, laying aside all the hairs of her head, that is,\nthe curls of sins, which seem to be superfluous parts of our person\n(for _if a man have long hair it is a shame unto him_), she may strive\nto come _in the unity of the faith, unto a perfect man, unto the\nmeasure of the stature of the fulness of Christ_, that she may lay\naside all trouble of mind, and founded in love may grow up in the Lord\nJesus, and make increase of the whole body.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xxi. 12.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 12.\n\n Sidenote: Eccles. ii. 14.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xxi. 13.\n\n Sidenote: Jer. xvii. 12. Vulg.\n\n11. This is that soul whom the Law shews to thee under the figure of\na beautiful woman, and _if thou seest her among the captives, and hast\na desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife_, it says\nto thee, _thou shalt bring her home to thine house_, that thou mayest\ncommit to her the whole interior of thy house, the possession of all\nthy secrets, that thou mayest take away her superfluities, and cut\noff her transgressions; and with a razor not too sharp, lest it come\nto evil, may cut off the slough of thy passions, and thy idle senses.\nWherefore it is said, _she shall shave her head_, that so the _wise\nman\u2019s eyes_ that _are in his head_ may meet with no hindrance. And _she\nshall remain_, it is said, _in thine house a full month_, bewailing\nthe sins of her nativity, and the lies of her wicked father the devil,\nwho would fain _gather what he hath not laid_, that so, cleansed by the\npurification of this mystic number, she may obtain the keys of marriage.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xxi. 13.\n\n Sidenote: Wisd. viii. 19.\n\n Sidenote: Cant. iii. 4.\n\n12. And it is well said, _After that thou shalt go in unto her_,\nbidding thee to enter wholly into thy soul, and collect thyself within\nher, and so dwell in her that thou mayest be not in the flesh but in\nthe spirit, and purpose to associate her to thyself in the commerce of\nlife, knowing that she will communicate to thee of her goods, and that\nfilled with her grace thou mayest say, _I was a witty child, and had\na good spirit_; and she may answer thee, _I will take thee, and bring\nthee into my mother\u2019s house, and unto the chamber of her that conceived\nme. A good mother of souls in that Jerusalem which is in heaven._\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xxi. 14.\n\n13. She then shall be thy life, she shall find thee and kiss thee. _And\nit shall be, if thou hast no delight in her_, because she chastiseth\nher body, and bringeth it into slavery, thou shalt not suffer her to\nbe a slave, that is, to the lusts of the body, nor subject her to the\nflesh, but suffer her to remain free; thou shalt not alienate her,\nfor this were to sell her, nor shalt thou despise her, but shalt allow\nher to serve God in the chastity of faith and sobriety of good works.\nFarewell: love me, for I love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XXXII.\n A.D. 387.\n\n\n S. AMBROSE in this Letter applies the words of Jeremiah about\n the partridge (Jer. xvii. 11.) to Satan, and from it sets forth\n the way in which Jesus Christ has overcome him, and rescued man\n from his power.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO IREN\u00c6US, GREETING.\n\n Sidenote: Jer. xvii. 11.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Kings iv. 33.\n\n1. _THE partridge hath cried, she hath gathered what she hath not\nhatched[167]._ From the conclusion of my last letter I may borrow the\nopening of the ensuing. The question has been much mooted: with a view\ntherefore of solving it, let us consider what natural history tells us\nof the nature of this bird. For it is the part of no little sagacity to\nconsider even this, for Solomon knew the nature _of beasts and of fowl,\nand of creeping things and of fishes_!\n\n2. Now this bird is said to be full of craft, fraud, and guile, skilled\nin the ways of deceiving the fowler, and experienced in the arts of\nturning him aside from her young ones; omitting no artful stratagem\nwhich may draw off the pursuer from her nest and lurking place. And\nwe know that on observing his approach, she beguiles him until she has\ngiven her offspring the signal and opportunity for flight. As soon as\nshe perceives they have escaped, she also withdraws herself, leaving\nher enemy deluded by her treacherous wiles.\n\n3. It is said also to be a bird which copulates indiscriminately,\nand that the male bird rushes eagerly on the female, and burns with\nunrestrained desires. Wherefore it has been thought suitable to compare\nthis impure malicious and deceitful creature with the adversary and\ncircumventor of the human race, with him who is the arch-deceiver and\nauthor of impurity.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. iii. 4, 5.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. v. 2.\n\n Sidenote: Num. xvi. 2.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xxxii. 1.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xxvii. 23\u201325.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Sam. viii. 5.\n\n4. _The partridge then cried_, he that is, who derives his name from\ndestroying[168]: even Satan, which in Latin means the adversary[169].\nHe cried first in Eve, he cried in Cain, he cried in \u2666Pharaoh, in\nDathan, Abiram, \u2666Korah. He cried in the Jews, when they demanded gods\nto be made for them, while the law was being given to Moses. He cried\nagain, when they said of the Saviour, _Let Him be crucified, let Him\nbe crucified_, and, _His blood be on us and on our children_. He cried,\nwhen they required that a king should be given them, that they might\nrevolt from the Lord God their King. He cried in every one who was vain\nand faithless.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. i. 27.\n\n Sidenote: Jer. xvii. 11.\n\n Sidenote: Isa. lxiii. 1.\n\n5. And by these cries he gathered to himself a people whom he had\nnot created; for God made man after His own likeness and image, and\nthe Devil drew man to himself by the allurements of his voice: He\ngathered to himself the nations of the Gentiles, _getting riches not\nby right_[170]. Wherefore it is a common saying concerning the rich\nand covetous man, that he is a partridge gathering riches not by right.\nBut my Jesus, as a good Judge, does all things with righteousness[171],\nfor He came saying, as it is written, _I speak righteousness and\njudgement[172] of salvation_.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. iv. 10.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xiv. 15.\n\n Sidenote: Josh. i. 1.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxix. 146.\n\n Sidenote: Isa. xl. 6.\n\n Sidenote: Prov. ix. 5.\n\n Sidenote: Hab. ii. 11.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xxvii. 46.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xxiii. 43.\n\n Sidenote: Jer. xvii. 11.\n\n6. By that grace then He despoiled that partridge the Devil, took\nfrom him the ill-gotten riches, even the multitude that followed Him,\nrecalled from error the souls of the Gentiles, and the minds of the\nnations that wandered from the way. And since He knew that they were\nbeguiled by the voice of the Devil, and in order that He might Himself\nloose the bonds and chains of ancient error, He cried first in Abel,\nthe voice of whose blood cried out. He cried in Moses, to whom He said,\n_Wherefore criest thou unto Me?_ He cried in Joshua, He cried in David,\nwho says, _Unto Thee do I call, help me_. He cried too in all the\nProphets. Wherefore He says also to Isaiah, _Cry_, and Isaiah answers,\n_What shall I cry?_ He cried in Solomon, calling to all with a very\nloud voice in the power \u2666of Wisdom, _Come eat of my bread, and drink\nof the wine which I have mingled_. He cried also in His Body, as the\n_Beam out of the timber_. He cried that He might deceive and circumvent\nthe lurking Enemy, saying, _My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me_.\nHe cried that He might spoil him of his prey, replying to the thief,\n_Verily I say unto thee, this day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise_.\nWherefore when Jesus cried, straightway that partridge was left by\nthose whom he had gathered _in the midst of his days_.\n\n7. Wherefore some have thought that this also agrees with the nature of\nthe partridge, forasmuch as it steals the eggs of others, and hatches\nthem with its own body, seeking by this treachery to gain for itself\nthe offspring of others. But when she whose eggs have been stolen,\nor nest invaded, or her young have been tempted by a fraudulent\nresemblance, and deceived by the appearance of beauty, when she, I say,\nperceives this, she \u2018picks out the crow\u2019s eyes[173]\u2019 as the saying is,\nand, being inferior in strength, puts on and arms herself with cunning.\nAnd when all the labour she has bestowed on their nurture has exhausted\nher store of food, and her young ones have begun to grow up, she utters\nher cries, and calls to her offspring with the trumpet (as it were)\nof affection. And they, roused by this natural sound, recognise their\nmother, and desert their pretended parent. And thus, seeking to gather\nwhat he has not hatched, he loses those whom he thought to bring up.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. vi. 8.\n\n8. Not without need therefore was it that Jesus also cried; it was in\norder that the whole universe which had been deceived by the voice, the\nallurements, the art, the specious beauty of the partridge, and enticed\nby his treacherous wiles, and had wandered from the true Author of\ntheir being, might be recalled by the voice of her true Parent, might\nabandon this deceiver, and desert him _in the midst of his days_, that\nis, before the end of this world. From him the Lord Jesus has rescued\nus, and called us to eternal life. Wherefore now, _being dead to the\nworld we live to God_.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. i. 27.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. iii. 18.\n\n9. When then this partridge shall have been completely forsaken by his\nfalse children, then that foolish one whom God has chosen and who has\nconfounded the wise man, will be saved. Wherefore _if any man seemeth\nto be wise in this world let him become a fool, that he may be wise_.\n\nFarewell my son, and love me, as indeed you do, for I love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XXXIII.\n\n\n S. AMBROSE in this Letter explains more fully the text of Deut.\n (xxi. 15 &c.) which he had alluded to in Letter xxi. and makes\n the _two wives_ represent qualities.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO IREN\u00c6US, GREETING.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xxi. 15.\n\n1. IN a previous letter I said that the soul ought to be delivered\nfrom its adversaries, and a bond of life which shall be inseparable\nentered into with it. And inasmuch as my discourse took as a proof of\nits assertion that passage in the Book of Deuteronomy which speaks of\nthe man who had two wives, one beloved and the other hated, you seem to\nhave felt much concern lest any one should suppose this man had taken\nto himself two souls, which is impossible.\n\n2. But you yourself know that sometimes, when Scripture uses allegory,\nit refers some things to the figure of the Synagogue, some to that\nof the Church; some things to the soul, others to the mystery of the\nWord, others to souls of different kinds and qualities, which he who\nhas spiritual discernment can distinguish. And so I conceive that it\nis not two souls, but different qualities of the same soul, which are\ntreated of in the following chapter of the Law. For there is an amiable\nkind of soul, which desires pleasure, which shuns labour, shrinks\nfrom compunction, slights the judgments of God. It is amiable because\nit seems gentle and sweet for the time, and one that soothes rather\nthan distresses the mind. But there is another severer kind, which is\nconsumed with zeal for God, which, like a strict wife, will not permit\nor suffer her consort to commit whoredoms, allows no indulgence to the\nbody, gives no licence to delight or pleasure, renounces the hidden\ndeeds of shame, devotes herself to arduous labours and to severe perils.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 16.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xiii. 2.\n S. Luke ii. 23.\n\n3. If therefore both have borne children, _he may not_, it is said,\n_when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he hath, make the son\nof the beloved first[174] before the son of the hated, which is indeed\nthe first_. The meaning of which I conceive not to be so much a simple\npreference as between two first ones, but rather a declaration that\nthe son of the hated wife alone has the prerogative of being first. Now\nthe word \u2018primitivus\u2019 means as first-born[175], and the first-born are\nholy, for _every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the\nLord_. Nevertheless all first-born are not holy, for Esau who was the\nfirst-born was not holy.\n\n Sidenote: Numb. iii. 12, 13.\n\n Sidenote: Heb. xii. 22.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xxix. 34.\n\n4. But the holy are the first-born, for it is written in Numbers;\n_Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel\ninstead of all the first-born that openeth the matrix among the\nchildren of Israel. For on the day that I smote all the first-born in\nthe land of Egypt, I hallowed unto Me all the first-born in Israel._\nWherefore He took the Levites for the first-born, as being holy,\nfor we know that the holy are first-born from the Epistle to the\nHebrews, where it is written, _But ye are come to Mount Sion, and\nunto the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of Angels\nand to the Church of the first-born_. Wherefore as the first-born of\nthe Church are holy, so also are the Levites, for they also are the\nfirst-born. For it is not by the order of their birth but by the gift\nof sanctification that they are holy; Levi being the third son of Leah\nand not the first.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. lviii. 3.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. i. 15.\n\n Sidenote: S. John i. 26.\n\n5. But he who is sanctified himself opens the womb. What womb? Hear\nthe words, _As soon as they are born they go astray_. As you have\nunderstood the first-born who opens the womb, so understand here the\nwomb of the good mother, from which it is not saints, but sinners who\ngo astray. But the Levites are taken away from the midst of Israel,\nbecause they have nothing in common with the people, whose earthly\nfirst-born are destroyed. The first-born of the world are of another\nmother, from whose womb Paul was separated when he was called to the\ngrace of God. He received the Word Who is in the midst of our hearts.\nWhence it is said also, _There standeth One among you, Whom ye know\nnot_.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xxi. 16.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xlv. 22.\n\n6. This digression then of ours from one part of the Law to the other,\nfor the purpose of shewing that the first-born is not the son of the\nbeloved, that is of the more remiss and voluptuous wife, has not been\nneedless, although the words of the chapter before us express the same\ntruth: _He may not make the son of the beloved first-born before the\nson of the hated, which is indeed the first-born_. He is indeed the\nfirst-born who is the holy son of a holy mother; just as she is indeed\nthe mother, from whose womb not her true sons but sinners go astray.\nWherefore the former is not the son of the true mother, nor the true\nfirst-born, but as though he were so, subsistence is indeed provided\nfor him that he may not want, but he is not honoured, that he may\nbecome rich. But the other has received double from all, that he may\nabound; just as in Genesis each of the patriarchs had two changes of\nraiment given to them by their brother Joseph, when they were sent back\nto their father to tell him that he whom he had believed to be dead was\nfound.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xxi. 17.\n\n Sidenote: Rev. i. 8.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xxi. 10.\n\n7. Thus the first-born has received the prerogative of inheritance,\nas the Scripture says, _He is the beginning of his strength, the right\nof the first-born is his_. Thus from the first-born Son of God the\nfirst-born are holy, and from that beginning, (for He is the Beginning\nand the Ending,) the beginning is called holy, the beginning is the\nson to whom the prerogative of the first-fruits is due, according to\nthat which was said to Abraham, _Cast out this bondwoman and her son,\nfor the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with\nIsaac_.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xxi. 12.\n\n8. Now the Divine Oracle teaches us that this relates to the\ninheritance of virtues rather than that of mercy, for the Lord says,\n_In all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for\nin Isaac shall thy seed be called_. What other inheritance was there\nin Isaac which could ennoble his father, but that of sanctity? The\nson of the handmaid indeed he set over the Gentiles, as bestowing upon\nhim a simple portion of his patrimony, but to the son of Sarah he gave\na double portion, for on him he bestowed not only temporal but also\nheavenly and eternal things.\n\nFarewell: love me, for I love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XXXIV.\n\n\n HORONTIANUS asks whether the soul is from heaven. S. Ambrose\n first refers him to the Book of Esdras, and then dwells upon\n S. Paul\u2019s statement in Rom. viii.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO HORONTIANUS[176], GREETING.\n\n1. YOU have enquired of me whether the soul is formed of a heavenly\nsubstance; for you are too well instructed to suppose that the soul\nis made of blood or fire or any harmony of nerves, as the common\nherd of philosophers believe, nor as that patrician sect of them, the\ndescendants of Plato assert, does that which moves of itself and is\nnot moved by others appear to you to be the soul, nor indeed have you\napproved that fifth kind of element which the keen genius of Aristotle\nhas introduced, namely a kind of[177] perfection of which the essence\nof the soul might be (as it were) framed and compounded.\n\n2. On this subject I advise you to read the book of Esdras, who\ndespised these trifles of the philosophers, and with a deeper wisdom\nwhich he had gathered from Revelation, pointed out that the soul is of\na nobler substance.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. viii. 20, 21.\n\n Sidenote: Acts xvii. 28.\n\n3. The Apostle also, though he has not said it in so many words, has\nyet given us to understand, like a good master and spiritual husbandman\ncalling forth the faculties of his disciples by the hidden seeds of\ndoctrine, that our souls are of a better creation and a more excellent\nnature. For when he says that _the creature was made subject to vanity,\nnot willingly but by reason of Him Who hath subjected the same in hope,\nbecause the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage\nof corruption into the glorious liberty of the sons of God_, he shews\nthat the grace of souls is not small, seeing that by their strength\nand excellence mankind rises to the adoption of the sons of God, having\nwithin itself that which is given to it to make it in the likeness\nand image of God. For souls are not perceived by truth, nor are they\nseen by the bodily eye, wherefore they bear upon them the likeness of\nthis incorporeal and invisible nature, and excel in their substance\ncorporeal and sensible qualities. _For the things that are seen are\ntemporal_, they represent and are united to things that are temporal,\nbut the things that are not seen are united to the Eternal and Chief\nGood, _in Him they live and move and have their being_, and suffer not\nthemselves, if they are wise, to be separated or divided from Him.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. v. 4.\n\n Sidenote: Wisd. ix. 15.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. v. 7, 8.\n\n4. Every soul therefore, seeing herself shut up in the prison-house\nof the body, if it be not debased by her connexion with this earthly\nhabitation, groans under the burthen of the body to which she is\njoined; _for the corruptible body presseth down the soul, and the\nearthy tabernacle weigheth down the mind that museth upon many things_,\nknowing also that she walks _by faith not by sight_, she is willing\n_to be absent from the body to be present with the Lord_.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 10.\n\n5. Let us consider then how _the creature hath been made subject to\nvanity, not_ indeed _willingly_, but by the Divine ordinance, which\nhas appointed that our souls should be united to our bodies on account\nof their hopes, in order that, hoping for good, they should make\nthemselves worthy of a heavenly recompense. _For we must all appear\nbefore the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the\nthings belonging to the body[178]._ Every man\u2019s soul must therefore\nconsider that she will be rewarded according to deserts of life. And he\nsays well _the things belonging to the body_, that is to say, the body\nwhich was assigned to her to govern, that if she have governed it well\nshe may receive the reward for the sake of which she was subjected in\nhope, but if ill, she may be punished, forasmuch as she did not trust\nin God, nor aspire to that adoption of sons, and to the liberty of true\nglory.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. v. 4.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxliv. 4.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xxxix. 6.\n\n6. So then the Apostle has taught that man is a creature subject to\nvanity. For what is so truly the man as his soul? of its companions he\nsays, _For we that are in this tabernacle do groan being burthened_.\nDavid also says, _Man is like a thing of nought_, and, _Every man\nliving is altogether vanity_. Wherefore the life of man in this world\nis vanity, to which vanity the soul is subject. And when a holy man\ndoeth the things of the body, he doeth them not willingly but _by\nreason of Him Who hath subjected the same in hope_, he does them for\nobedience sake. From this example of the soul then let us proceed to\nthe other creatures.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. civ. 19.\n\n7. Consider the sun the moon and the stars; these heavenly\nluminaries, although they shine with an excellent brightness, are yet\nbut creatures, and rise and set in performance of their daily task,\nobeying the ordinance of the eternal Creator, dispensing the radiance\nwherewith they are clothed, and giving light by night and by day.\nAs often as the sun is obscured by clouds, as often as is it hidden\nby the interposition of the earth, or when the rays of its light are\nintercepted, eclipses occur, and, as the Scripture saith, _The moon\nknoweth her going down[179]._ She knows when she shines with a full,\nand when with a diminished orb. The stars also are overclouded and\ndisappear, while going through the service of this earthly ministry,\nnot willingly indeed but in hope; for they hope for the reward of this\ntheir toil from Him Who subjected them. Wherefore they go through it\nfor His sake, that is, to do His will.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. xi. 25, 26.\n\n Sidenote: S. John xix. 6.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xxvii. 25.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. viii. 20.\n\n8. Nor is it surprising that they bear it with patience, knowing that\ntheir Lord, the Creator of all things in heaven and in earth, took\nupon Him our frail body and our servile state. Should not they then\npatiently bear the bondage of their corruption, seeing that the Lord\nof all humbled Himself even to death for the whole world, took upon Him\nthe form of a servant, and was made the sin of the world, nay even a\ncurse for us? Wherefore the heavenly bodies although they groan in that\nthey are subject to the vanity of this world, yet follow the example\nof His goodness, and console themselves with the expectation of being\n_delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of glory_,\nwhen the adoption of the sons of God, that is, the redemption of all\nmen, shall have arrived. For when _the fulness of the Gentiles shall be\ncome in_, then _all Israel shall be saved_. For what people will He not\npardon when He even pardons that persecuting people, who said, _Crucify\nHim, crucify Him_, and, _His blood be on us and on our children_. But\nsince even the heavenly creation is subject to vanity, albeit in hope,\nwill not He Who is truly Mercy itself and the Redeemer of the world,\nsuffer even the perfidy and insolence into which these men through the\nvanity of the world have fallen to obtain pardon?\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xxiv. 35.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. xv. 28.\n\n9. To conclude then, both this great and glorious sun, and this moon\nwhich is not obscured by the shades of night, and these stars which\nare the garniture of the heaven, all these now suffer _the bondage of\ncorruption_, for all creatures are corruptible, and the heavens shall\nperish and _the heaven and earth pass away_. But hereafter the sun and\nmoon and the stars of heaven shall rest in the glory of the sons of God,\nwhen God shall be _all in all_, He Who now in His immensity and mercy\nis in thee and in us.\n\n Sidenote: Rev. iii. 1 &c.\n\n10. And shall we not believe that the Angels themselves, who in the\ntoils of this world fulfil divers \u2666ministries, as we read in the\nRevelation of S. John, do not also groan when made the ministers of\nvengeance and destruction? Seeing that their life is blessed, would\nthey not rather pass it in their ancient state of tranquillity than\nbe interrupted by the infliction of vengeance on our sins? They who\nrejoice in the salvation of one sinner must surely groan over the\nmiseries of so grievous sins.\n\n11. If therefore the creatures and powers of heaven suffer the bondage\nof corruption, but still in hope, that hereafter they may rejoice on\nour behalf and together with us, let us also alleviate the sufferings\nof this present time by the hope and expectation of future glory.\nFarewell, my son; love me, for I love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XXXV.\n\n\n IN this Letter S. Ambrose continues his comment on the passage of\n S. Paul, especially on the \u2018groans of creation.\u2019\n\n\n AMBROSE TO HORONTIANUS.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. viii. 22.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 20.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 21.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 22.\n\n1. MY former Letter was a reply to your inquiry; this is a part of my\nanswer, supplemental not contradictory to the former. In reviewing the\nlatter part of the passage I was struck, I confess, with his adding,\n_we know that every creature groaneth_, seeing that previously he had\nsaid without any addition, _The creature was made subject to vanity_.\nFor he said not every creature, but, _the creature was made subject_.\nAnd again he says, _Because the creature itself also shall be delivered\nfrom the bondage of corruption_. But in the third place he adds that\n_every creature groaneth together_.\n\n2. Now what does this addition mean? It means haply that every creature\nis not _subject to vanity_, and therefore every creature will not be\n_delivered from the bondage of corruption_. For why should that be\ndelivered which is free and secure from the subjection of vanity and\nthe bondage of that corruption? But they all groan together not in\ntheir own but in our pangs, and haply are in travail together of the\nSpirit of Salvation, the Spirit of sweetness, waiting for the adoption\nof the sons of God, that in the redemption of the human race they may\nattain to a common joy and gladness. So then either because of their\ncharity they all groan for our labour, or for us as a member of their\nbody, whose head is Christ. But you may understand this as you please,\neither as we have said, or simply that every creature groans and\ntravails together.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. viii. 23.\n\n3. And now let us consider what follows. _And not only they, but\nourselves also, which have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we\nourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit the\nredemption of the body._ We are taught in the previous passage what\nthe adoption of sons is; therefore, in order to explain its meaning,\nto that passage we must recur.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 13.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 16.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. iv. 6.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. viii. 17.\n\n4. _He who through the Spirit_, says S. Paul, _mortifies the deeds of\nthe body shall live_. Nor is it surprising that he should live, since\nhe who has the Spirit of God, becomes the son of God. Wherefore he is\nthe son of God that he may receive not the spirit of bondage, but the\nspirit of adoption of sons; to the intent that the Holy _Spirit may\nbear witness with our spirit that we are the children of God_. But this\nis the testimony of the Holy Spirit, that He it is Who cries in our\nhearts, _Abba Father_, as it is written to the Galatians. There is also\nthe great testimony that we are the sons of God; namely that we are\n_heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ_. Now he is joint heir with\nHim, who is glorified together with Him, and he is glorified together\nwith Him who by suffering for Him suffers together with Him.\n\n5. And in order to encourage us to suffer, he adds that all things\nwhich we suffer fall far below and are not worthy to be compared with\nthe recompense of our labours, the reward of future good, which shall\nbe revealed in us, when we shall be formed anew after the Image of God,\nand shall be worthy to behold His Glory face to face.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. viii. 21.\n\n6. And to exalt the greatness of this future revelation, he adds that\nthe creation also waits for this revelation of the sons of God, which\nnow is made subject to vanity, not willingly, but in hope, because it\nhopes for the reward of its ministry from Christ, or else because it\nalso will be _delivered from the bondage of corruption_, and received\ninto _the glorious liberty of the sons of God_, that there may be one\nliberty of the creation and of the sons of God, when their glory shall\nhave been revealed. But now, so long as this revelation is delayed, the\nwhole creation groans together, looking for the glory of our adoption\nand redemption, already travailing with that Spirit of salvation, and\nwilling to be delivered from the servitude of vanity.\n\n7. And to this the Apostle has conjoined the groans of the saints, who\nhave the first-fruits of the Spirit, for they groan also. Of their own\nmerits they are indeed secure, but since the redemption of the whole\nbody of the Church is still future, they suffer together with it. For\nseeing that the members of this our body still suffer, shall not the\nother members, although higher, sympathize with the suffering members\nof one and the same body?\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. xv. 28.\n\n Sidenote: Ib.\n\n8. And this, I suppose, is why the Apostle has said that the _Son\nHimself shall be subject unto Him that put all things under Him_, for\nthey who still labour are not yet subject, and in these perhaps Christ\nstill thirsts, in these is still hungry, in these is still naked, in\nthat they do not fulfil the word of God, nor put on Christ, Who is the\nGarment of believers, and the Robe of the faithful. They also in whom\nHe is sick still need medicine, and therefore are not yet subdued, for\nthis subjection is of strength not of weakness: again, in those who\nare strong and obey the commands of God, the Son of God is subject.\nBut now His travail is greater in those who do not succour those who\nare toiling, than in those who still require aid themselves. And this\nis the pious and true meaning of the subjection of the Lord Jesus, Who\nwill subject Himself, to the intent _that God might be all in all_.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. viii. 23.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xxii. 29.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xxxiv. 26.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. iv. 4.\n\n9. We have received the Apostle\u2019s meaning, let us now consider who\nare they that _have the first-fruits of the Spirit_. With this view\nlet us inquire what is intended under the name of first-fruits or of\nbeginning, _Thou shalt not delay_, it is said, _to offer the first of\nthy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors_; further on, _The first of the\nfirst-fruits of thy lands thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord\nthy God_. First-fruits and tenths are different, first-fruits are of\ngreater merit, an act of pious consecration. And on this account Abel\npleased God, for he delayed not to offer his gift, but offered of\nthe first-fruits of his flock. Although some suppose that there is a\ndifference between first-fruits[180] and first-born[181], in that on\ngathering in the crops, the beginning, so to speak, of all kinds in the\nthreshing floor are offered, while the first reaping of the harvest is\noffered to the Lord; but of this we will speak in another place. But\nby the offering of the first-fruits, the whole harvest appears to be\nsanctified, but the first-fruits themselves are the most holy.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. xii. 28.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke ii. 28.\n\n Sidenote: S. John i. 47.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xxiii. 53.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. iii. 9.\n\n10. In like manner the saints are the first-fruits of the Lord, and the\nchief are the Apostles, _for God hath set in the Church first Apostles_,\nwho have prophesied many things and preached the Lord Jesus, for they\nfirst received Him. Simeon too received Him, and the prophet Zacharias,\nJohn his son, Nathanael, _in whom there was no guile_, who rested under\nthe fig tree, Joseph also who was called just, who buried Him. These\nare the first-fruits of our faith, nevertheless the nature of other\nseeds is the same as that of the first-fruits, although in some there\nis less grace, for _God is able of these stones to raise up children to\nAbraham_.\n\n Sidenote: Col. i. 18.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. xv. 23. Vulg.\n\n Sidenote: Col. i. 15.\n\n Sidenote: Heb. i. 3.\n\n11. You have an example in the Lord Jesus Himself. In the resurrection\nof the dead He is called _the first-born from the dead_. The Apostle\nalso has called Him the first-fruits; _In Christ shall all be made\nalive, but every man in his own order, Christ the first-fruits,\nafterward they that are Christ\u2019s, who have believed in His coming_.\nHis body is as truly a body as our own, nevertheless He is called\nthe first-born from the dead, because He rose first; and He is called\nthe first-fruits because He is holier than all the other fruits, and\nthey by union with Him are hallowed also. He also as _the Image of\nthe invisible God_ is the Head of those found after that Image; in\nHim according to His Divinity there is nothing corporeal, nothing\ntemporary; for _He is the brightness of His Father\u2019s glory, and the\nexpress Image of His Person_. But in our desire to explain the meaning\nof first-fruits we have greatly extended the length of our letter.\n\n Sidenote: S. John xiv. 12.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. xi. 29.\n\n12. Now the Apostles are our first-fruits, chosen from all the\nfirst-fruits of that time; to them it is said, _And greater things\nthan these shall ye do_, for the Grace of God hath poured itself into\nthem. These, I say, groaned, waiting for the redemption of the whole\nbody, and they still groan, because many are still toiling, who are\nyet tossing on the sea. Just as, if a man is reaching the higher shore,\nbut the waves still dash up to his middle, he groans and is in travail\nuntil he be wholly out of danger. Verily he groans, who still says to\nus, _Who is weak, and I am not weak?_\n\n Sidenote: Rom. viii. 23.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. iv. 6.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. viii. 24.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xviii. 42.\n\n13. We need not then to be perplexed by the words, _We, which have\nthe first-fruits of the Spirit, groan within ourselves, waiting\nfor the adoption, to wit the redemption of our body_, for the sense\nis plain, forasmuch as they, having the first-fruits of the Spirit,\ngroan, waiting for the adoption of sons. This adoption of sons is the\nredemption of the whole body, when he who is to be the son of God by\nadoption shall see face to face that Divine and Eternal Good; for there\nis the adoption of sons in the Church of God, when the Spirit cries,\n_Abba, Father_, as it is written to the Galatians. But this will be\nperfected when all shall rise again in incorruption power and glory who\nare counted worthy to see the Face of God, for then the human race will\njudge itself to be truly redeemed. And so the Apostle boasts, saying,\n_For we are saved by hope_. For hope saves, as also faith, whereof it\nis said, _Thy faith hath saved thee_.\n\n Sidenote: Phil. i. 24.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. viii. 24.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. ii. 9.\n\n14. Therefore the creature which _is made subject to vanity not\nwillingly but in hope_, is saved by hope; just as Paul too, knowing\nthat _to die was gain_ to him, that he might be freed from the body and\nbe with Christ, remained in the flesh for their sakes whom he wished to\nwin to Christ. Now what is hope but the expectation of things future?\nWherefore he says, _But the hope that is seen is not hope_. For it is\nnot what is seen but what is unseen that is eternal, _for what a man\nseeth, why doth he yet hope for?_ The things that we see we seem to\npossess, how then can we hope for that which we already possess? Thus\nnone of those things which we hope for can we see; _eye hath not seen,\nnor ear heard, the things that God hath prepared for them that love\nHim_.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xl. 1.\n\n Sidenote: Lament. iii. 25.\n\n15. Wherefore, if that which is seen cannot be hoped for, it is not\nwell to read as some do, \u2018for[182] because any one sees a thing he also\nhopes for it;\u2019 unless it may be understood thus, \u2018for that which any\none sees, why does he also hope for or expect it?\u2019 For most true it\nis that we hope for that which we see not, and therefore, although it\nseem to be absent from us, we still look for it in patience; _I waited\npatiently for the Lord, and He inclined unto me_. And we wait patiently,\nbecause _the Lord is good unto them that wait for Him_. And it seems to\nagree with this, that through patience He has given it back to us. We\nwait for the things which we hope for, but see not. For he does much\nwho hopes and looks for those things which are not seen, and endures\nbecause he directs his mind to that which is.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. viii. 24.\n\n Sidenote: S. John i. 26.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. ii. 9.\n\n16. Now it is well said that _hope that is seen is not hope_, referring\nto the power and honour and riches of this world. You may see a man\ndistinguished by his retinue and equipages, but he has not hope in his\nequipages which are seen. Nor is hope in the firmament of heaven, but\nin the Lord of heaven. The Chald\u00e6an has not hope in the stars which he\nwatches; nor the rich man in his possessions or the avaricious man in\nusury; but he hath hope who places his hope in Him Whom he sees not,\nthat is, in the Lord Jesus, Who stands in the midst of us, yet is not\nseen. Finally, _eye hath not seen, nor ear heard the things which God\nhath prepared for them that love Him_.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XXXVI.\n\n\n S. AMBROSE continues, in reply to a question of Horontianus, his\n discussion of the passage of S. Paul, and explains what are his\n \u2018groanings unutterable.\u2019\n\n\n AMBROSE TO HORONTIANUS.\n\n1. OUR letters are so linked together that we seem to be holding actual\nconversation with one another, so well do you with your question and I\nwith my explanations supply subject matter for our correspondence.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. viii. 26.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xxvii. 9.\n\n2. You have intimated your doubt of what spirit it is said that he\n_maketh intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered_. Let\nus then refer to what has gone before, that the passage may make plain\nwhat we are seeking. _Likewise_, it is said, _the Spirit helpeth our\ninfirmities_. Does it not seem to you that this is the Holy Spirit, for\nHe is our Helper, as He to Whom it is said, _Thou hast been my succour,\nleave me not neither forsake me, O God of my salvation_?\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xi. 1.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. xiv. 15.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxliii. 10.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. xii. 7.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. vi. 33.\n\n3. For what other Spirit could teach Paul how to pray? The Spirit of\nChrist, like Christ Himself, teaches His disciples to pray, for who\ncould teach us, after Christ, but His Spirit, Whom He sent to teach\nus, and to direct our prayers, _for we pray with the Spirit and we pray\nwith the understanding also_. That the understanding may pray well,\nthe Spirit goes before and _leads it forth into the right way_, so\nas to prevent carnal things, or what either falls below or exceeds\nits strength, from secretly stealing over it. _For the manifestation\nof the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal._ It is written\nalso, Seek great things, and small things shall be added unto you; seek\nheavenly things, and earthly things shall be added unto you.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. xii. 11.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xxvi. 41.\n\n4. Wherefore He wishes us to seek greater things, not to linger upon\nearth. And He knows what to bestow upon us, _dividing unto every man\nseverally as He will_. Sometimes, knowing our capacity, which we are\nignorant of, He says to us, _Ye cannot receive it now_. I ask for\nmyself the sufferings of martyrdom, _the_ Holy _Spirit is willing_,\nbut sees the weakness of my flesh, and lest, while I seek for greater\nthings I should lose what is less, says to me, \u2018Thou canst not bear\nthis.\u2019 What opportunities have I not had and yet when near the goal\nI have been held back[183]. The good \u2666physician knows what food is\nsuitable to each disease, and to each season, for the benefit of health.\nSometimes food seasonably taken restores health; but if a man eat food\nunseasonably or of an improper kind, it is dangerous to him.\n\n Sidenote: Jer. iv. 19.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xxxviii. 9.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Chron. xxi. 17.\n\n5. Therefore since we know not what to pray for, nor how to pray, the\nHoly Spirit prays for us; for He is the Spirit of Jesus our Advocate,\nand He prays with groans unutterable, for Christ also mourns for us.\nAnd God the Father says, _My bowels, My bowels, I am pained at the very\nheart_. We often read too of Him as being indignant and grieved. He\ngroans to take away our sins, and to teach us to do penance. For there\nare pious groans, and of prevailing power with God, whereof the Prophet\nspeaks, _And my groaning is not hid from Thee_. For he did not hide\nhimself, like Adam, but said, Behold I am the shepherd, _but these\nsheep, what have they done? it is I that have sinned, let Thine hand\nbe on me_.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. xii. 4.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. viii. 27.\n\n Sidenote: Ib.\n\n6. Hence then cometh the groaning of the Spirit of God, and those\ngroans of the Prophet[184], truly unutterable because they are divine.\nSo those words which Paul heard in heaven are _unspeakable, which it\nis not lawful for a man to utter_, but what is hidden from man is known\nto God. Now He Who is the Searcher of hearts knows all things, but the\nthings which He searches are those which the Spirit hath cleansed. God\ntherefore knoweth what the Spirit prays for, and what is the wisdom of\nthe Spirit Which intercedes for the saints, as it is written, _For the\nSpirit maketh intercession for us_. For those for whom Christ suffered,\nand whom He cleansed by His Blood, for them the Spirit also intercedes.\n\nFarewell: love me as a Son, for I too love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XXXVII.\n A.D. 387.\n\n\n SIMPLICIAN, to whom this and the following Letters, and several\n later ones, are addressed, seems, from what little we know of\n him, to have been a very learned and yet simple-minded man.\n He was older than S. Ambrose, who speaks in this Letter of his\n \u2018fatherly love\u2019 towards himself, and was probably his adviser\n in the early days of his episcopate, and possibly, as the\n Benedictine Editors, (note on Letter lxv,) suggest, his \u2018father\n in the faith,\u2019 as having prepared him for his ordination,\n or even taught him as a catechumen at Rome in earlier days.\n Paulinus tells us that when S. Ambrose was on his death-bed he\n overheard some of his Clergy discussing the probabilities as\n to his successor, and when they mentioned Simplician\u2019s name,\n he said \u201cas if he were taking part in the convention, \u2018Trahitur\n autem sapientia de occultis.\u2019\u201d Certainly Simplician was\n unanimously chosen his successor.\n\n In this Letter he dwells in detail upon the theme that goodness\n is true freedom and sin slavery, which he illustrates at great\n length and with much rarity of argument. It is one of the most\n interesting of his expository Letters.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO SIMPLICIAN, GREETING\n\n1. WHEN we were lately conversing together, in the intimacy of an\nold-standing affection, you let me see that you were much pleased by\nmy taking a passage from the writings of the Apostle Paul to preach\nupon to the people. You said further that this was the case, because\nthe depth of his counsels is difficult to grasp, while the loftiness\nof his sentiment rouses the audience, and stimulates the preacher;\nand also because his discourses are so fully, for the most part, the\ninterpreters of his meaning, that the expounder of them finds nothing\nto add of his own, and, if he would say ought, fills the part of a\ncritic rather than of a preacher.\n\n2. However since I recognize herein the feelings of long friendship,\nand what is still more precious, the tenderness of your paternal regard,\n(for in length of attachment many may participate, but in paternal\nlove they cannot;) since moreover you consider that I have already done\nwhat you ask satisfactorily, I will comply with what you desire, and\nthat the more, as I am admonished and stimulated by my own example, an\nexample not difficult for me to follow, since I shall imitate no great\none, but myself only, thus returning to my own humble customs.\n\n3. As to the plan pursued in my discourse, seeing that the image and\ncharacter of the blessed life is delineated therein, I think I have so\narranged the argument of it that it will not be disapproved by others,\ncertainly not by yourself who are so partial to me, although it is more\ndifficult to satisfy your judgment than theirs, only your affection\nsoftens its severity and renders it more indulgent to me.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. vii. 23.\n\n4. Now this Letter, written as it is in your absence, has for its\nsubject the sentence of the Apostle Paul, who calls us from slavery\ninto liberty, saying, _Ye are bought with a price, be not ye the\nservants of men_, shewing that our liberty lies in the knowledge of\nwisdom. This opinion has been bandied to and fro by philosophers in\nenergetic discussions, while they assert that every wise man is free\nand every fool a slave.\n\n Sidenote: Ecclus. xxvii. 11.\n\n Sidenote: Eph. iv. 14.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xiii. 43.\n\n5. But this was said long before by the son of David, _The fool\nchangeth as the moon_. The wise man on the other hand is not dispirited\nby fear, nor changed by power, nor exalted by prosperity, nor cast\ndown by sadness; for where wisdom is, there also is strength of mind,\nconstancy, and fortitude. Now the wise man remains the same in mind,\nneither depressed nor exalted by the vicissitudes of things, he is\nnot _tossed to and fro as a child, and carried about with every wind\nof doctrine_, but continues perfect in Christ, grounded in charity,\nrooted in faith. Hence he is not conscious of failure, he knows not the\nvarious losses which befal the soul, but _shall shine forth as the Sun\nof righteousness Who shines in the kingdom of His Father_.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. ix. 25.\n\n6. But let us now consider from what source Philosophy more fully\nderived this, from what discipline and wisdom of the Patriarchs. Did it\nnot come first from Noah who, perceiving that his son Ham had foolishly\nderided the nakedness of his father, cursed him in these words, _Cursed\nbe Ham[185], a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren_, and\nset his brethren as lords over him, seeing that they had wisely deemed\ntheir fathers old age worthy of honour?\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xxvii. 29.\n\n7. Did not also that source of all good discipline, Jacob, who on\naccount of his wisdom was preferred to his elder brother, instil into\nthe breasts of all the riches of this copious subject? So also the\npious father, whose paternal affection was equally strong towards his\ntwo sons, although his judgment varied, (for while the ties of blood\nsway the affections, our judgments are formed according to desert,)\nand who therefore dispensed to the one grace, to the other mercy,\nto the wise grace, to the foolish mercy, seeing that Esau could not\nraise himself to virtue by his own proper strength nor make progress\nspontaneously, blessed him in rendering him the subject and servant of\nhis brother, shewing thereby that folly was so much worse than slavery\nthat slavery itself is a remedy for it; because a fool cannot govern\nhimself, and unless he has some director he falls by his own will.\n\n8. His father therefore, loving him and careful for his welfare, made\nhim the servant of his brother that he might be ruled by his counsels.\nAnd thus wise rulers are given to an indiscreet nation, that by their\nvigour they may guide the weakness of the people, ruling them by a show\nof power, and by this weight of authority constraining them against\ntheir wills to obey those wiser than themselves, and to submit to the\nlaws. On the foolish son therefore he laid a yoke as on one untamed,\nand to him who had said he would live by his sword he denied even\nfreedom; that he might not fall away through presumption he set his\nbrother over him, that being subdued by his authority and governance\nhe might make progress towards conversion. And since there are two\nkinds of service, (for that which proceeds from necessity is weaker,\nthat from free will stronger, for that good is more transcendent which\nproceeds not from necessity but from free will,) he therefore first\nlaid upon him the yoke of necessity, and afterwards imparted to him the\nblessing of voluntary subjection.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cv. 18.\n\n9. It is not then nature which makes a person a slave, but folly; not\nmanumission which sets free, but discipline. Esau was born free, and\nwas made a servant, Joseph was sold into slavery, and then elected\nto power, to rule over those who bought him. He disdained not to be\nsedulous and obedient, but he maintained the height of virtue, he\npreserved the liberty of innocence, the dignity of integrity. The\nPsalmist therefore says well, _Joseph was sold to be a bond-servant;\nthey humbled his feet in fetters_. _He was sold_, it is said, _to be\na bond-servant_, but they could not make him a bond-servant; _they\nhumbled his feet_, not his soul.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 19.\n\n Sidenote: Eph. vi. 16.\n\n10. For how was that soul humbled of which it is said: _His soul\npierced the iron_? For while sin pierces the souls of others, (for\n_the iron_ means sin, which has a penetrating power,) the soul of holy\nJoseph was so far from being vulnerable by sin that it pierced through\nsin itself. The blandishments of his mistress\u2019 charms moved him not,\nand with reason was he insensible to the flames of lust, seeing that he\nwas consumed by the brighter fire of Divine grace. It is therefore well\nsaid of him also, _The word of the Lord inflamed him_; for thereby _he\nquenched the fiery darts of the Devil_.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xli. 48.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xlvii. 20.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 22.\n\n11. How was he a bond-servant who directed the princes of the people\nto store up the corn, that thus they might forestall and provide for\nfuture dearth? Or how was he a bond-servant, who gained the whole land,\nand reduced all the Egyptians to bondage? And this, not in order to\nimpose upon them the condition of an ignoble bondage, but that he might\nestablish a tribute from all but the lands of the priesthood, which he\npreserved free from tribute, that among the Egyptians also respect for\nthe priesthood might be held inviolable.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Esdr. iv. 29, 30, 31.\n\n12. His being sold then did not make him a slave; for though of a truth\nhe was sold to merchants, yet, if you regard price merely, you will\nfind many who have bought for themselves maidens of an elegant form,\nand then, captivated by love, have basely enslaved themselves to them.\n_Apame the concubine of King Darius was once seen sitting at his right\nhand, taking his diadem off his head, and placing it on her own, and\nwith the palm of her left hand striking his face, while the King gazed\nupon her with open mouth, glad if she would only smile upon him, and\nthinking himself miserable and afflicted if she scorned him, laying\naside his authority, and seeking to soothe and persuade her to be\nreconciled to him._\n\n Sidenote: Prov. xvii. 2. \u2666LXX.\n\n13. But why should I quote this at so great a length? Do we not often\nsee parents who have been made slaves by pirates or cruel barbarians\nransomed by their children? Are then the laws of mercy more powerful\nthan the laws of nature? Is natural affection produced in slavery?\nPeople often buy lions and yet have no mastery over them, nay are\nso much their slaves that if they see them becoming enraged and\nshaking out their manes on their brawny necks, they run away and hide\nthemselves. Money then determines nothing, for it often buys masters\nover itself, nor do catalogues of auctions, for by them the purchaser\nhimself is often sold and allotted to another. A contract of sale does\nnot change a man\u2019s nature, nor deprive wisdom of her liberty. Many free\nmen, as it is written, serve a wise servant, and _there is a wise slave,\nwho governs foolish masters_.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xv. 6.\n\n14. Whom then do you consider as more truly free? Wisdom alone is\nfree, she sets the poor over the rich, and makes the servants lend\nat usury to their to their own masters; lend, that is, not money but\nunderstanding, lend the talent of that Divine and eternal Treasure\nwhich is never wasted, the mere loan of which is precious: to lend\nthat mystical money of the heavenly oracles of which the Law says,\n_Thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow_. This\nthe Jew lent to the Gentiles, for he received not instruction from them\nbut imparted it; to him the Lord opened His treasures, that He might\nmoisten the Gentiles with the dew of His Word, and might become the\nHead of the nations, while He Himself had no head over Him.\n\n Sidenote: Is. lv. 1.\n\n15. He then who is wise is free, bought with the price of the heavenly\noracles, with that gold, that silver of the Divine Word; bought with\nthe price of blood (for it is no small thing to acknowledge one\u2019s\nRedeemer;) bought with the price of Grace: he who heard and understood\nthe words, _Ho every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he\nthat hath no money, come ye, buy and drink and eat_.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xxi. 11.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xxi. 14.\n\n Sidenote: Job xxviii. 18, 19.\n\n16. He is free who going forth to war, if he have seen a beautiful\nwoman, and when he spoils his enemies\u2019 goods has found her among them\nand _has a desire unto her, takes her to wife_, having first _shaved\nher head and pared her nails, and taken off from her the raiment\nof her captivity_, taking her no longer as a slave but free, for he\nunderstands that prudence and discipline are not liable to a state of\nbondage. And therefore the Law says, _Thou shalt not sell her at all\nfor money_, for truly she is above all price. And Job says, _Take[186]\nwisdom into thine \u2666inmost parts. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal\nit_, for it is more precious than gold and silver.\n\n17. Freedom therefore is not his alone who has never had the auctioneer\nfor his master, nor seen him raising his finger, but he is more truly\nfree, who is free within himself, who is free by the laws of nature,\nknowing that this law has a moral not merely an arbitrary sanction, and\nthat the measure of its obligations is in accordance not with the will\nof man but with the discipline of nature. Does such a person therefore\nseem to you free merely? Does he not rather appear to you in the light\nof a censor and director of morals? Hence the Scripture says truly that\n_the poor shall be set over the rich, and private men over those who\nadminister the state_[187].\n\n Sidenote: 1 Tim. i. 9.\n\n Sidenote: Prov. v. 15.\n\n18. Think you that he is free who buys votes with money, who courts\nthe applause of the people more than the approbation of the wise? Is\nhe free who is swayed by the popular breath, who dreads the hisses of\nthe populace? That is not liberty which he who is manumitted receives,\nwhich he obtains as a gift from the blow of the lictor\u2019s palm. For\nit is not munificence but virtue that I hold to constitute liberty;\nliberty, which is not bestowed by the suffrages of others, but is\nwon and possessed by a man\u2019s own greatness of mind. For a wise man is\nalways free, always honoured, always one who presides over the laws\n_For the law is not made for the righteous but for the unrighteous_,\nfor the just man is a law unto himself, having no need to fetch for\nhimself from a distance the form of virtue, seeing that he bears it\nwithin his heart, having _the works of the law written on the tablets\nof his heart_, to whom it is said, _Drink waters out of thine own\ncistern, and running waters out of thine own well_. For what is so near\nto us as the Word of God? This word is in our hearts, and in our mouth;\nwe see it not, and yet possess it.\n\n19. The wise man therefore is free, for he who does that which he\nwills is free. But it is not every will that is good, but it is the\npart of a wise man to will all things which are good, for he hates what\nis evil, having chosen that which is good. If therefore he has chosen\nwhat is good, he whose choice is free and who has chosen what he will\ndo is free, for he does what he wills to do: the wise man therefore\nis free. All that the wise man does he does well. But he that does\nall things well does all things rightly, and he that does all things\nrightly does them all without offence or reproach, without causing\ndisturbance or loss to himself. Whoever then has this power of doing\nall things without offence or reproach, without loss or disturbance to\nhimself, does nothing foolishly but does all things wisely. For he who\nacts wisely has nothing to fear, for fear is in sin. But where no fear\nis, there is liberty, and where liberty is, there is the power of doing\nwhat one wishes: the wise man therefore alone is free.\n\n20. He who can neither be compelled nor forbidden is no slave; now\nit belongs to the wise man to be neither compelled nor forbidden; the\nwise man, therefore, is not a slave. Now he is forbidden who does not\nexecute what he desires, but what does the wise man desire but the\nthings which belong to virtue and discipline, without which he cannot\nexist? For they subsist in him, and cannot be separated from him. But\nif they are separated from him he is no longer wise, seeing that he\nis without the use and discipline of virtue, of which he would deprive\nhimself if he were not the voluntary interpreter of virtue. But if he\nbe constrained, it is manifest that he acts unwillingly. Now in all\nactions there are either corrections proceeding from virtue, or falls\nproceeding from malice, or things between the two and indifferent.\nThe wise man follows virtue not compulsorily but voluntarily, for all\nthings that are pleasing he does, as flying from malice, and admits\nnot so much as a dream of it. So far is he from being moved by things\nindifferent, that no forces have the power to move him hither and\nthither as they do the herd of men, but his mind hangs as in a balance\nin equal scales, so that it neither inclines to pleasure, nor in any\nrespect directs its desires however slightly to things which ought to\nbe avoided, but remains unmoved in its affections. Whence it appears\nthat the wise man does nothing unwillingly or by compulsion, because\nwere he a slave he would be so compelled; the wise man therefore is\nfree.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. ix. 1.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. ii. 4.\n\n21. The Apostle likewise gives this definition, saying, _Am I not an\nApostle, am I not free?_ Truly he was so free that when certain persons\nhad _come in privily to spy out his liberty_, he _gave place_, as he\nhimself says, _by subjection, no not for an hour, that the truth of\nthe Gospel might be preached_. He therefore who yielded not preached\nvoluntarily. Where free will is, there is the reward of free will;\nwhere obligation is, there is the service of obligation. Free will\ntherefore is better than obligation; to will is the part of the wise\nman, to obey and to serve is the part of the fool.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. ix. 17.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. v. 13.\n\n22. This is also the Apostle\u2019s definition, who says, _For if I do this\nthing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will a dispensation\nis committed to me_. On the wise man therefore a reward is conferred,\nbut the wise man acts willingly, according to the Apostle therefore\nthe wise man is free. Wherefore he also exclaims, _Ye have been called\nunto liberty, only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh_. He\nseparates the Christian from the Law, that he may not seem to yield to\nthe Law against his will; he calls him to the Gospel, which the willing\nboth preach and practise. The Jew is under the Law, the Christian\nis by the Gospel; in the Law is bondage, in the Gospel, where is the\nknowledge of wisdom, is liberty. Every one therefore who receives\nChrist is wise, and he who is wise is free, every Christian therefore\nis both wise and free.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. ix. 19.\n\n Sidenote: S. John xv. 15.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. v. 13.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. lxxxi. 6. LXX.\n\n Sidenote: Phil. ii. 6.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. ix. 24, 27.\n\n23. But the Apostle has taught me something even beyond freedom itself,\nnamely that to serve is real freedom, _Though I be free from all_, he\nsays, _yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the\nmore_. What is that which surpasses liberty but to have the Spirit of\ngrace, to have charity? Liberty renders us free to men, but charity\nrenders us beloved by God. Wherefore Christ also says, _But I have\ncalled you friends_. Good indeed is charity; whereof it is said,\n_By love of the Spirit[188] serve one another_. Christ also became a\nservant that He might make all free. _His hands served in the baskets_:\nHe Who _thought it not robbery to be equal with God, took upon Him the\nform of a servant_, and was made all things to all men, that He might\nbring salvation to all. Following this example, Paul was both, as it\nwere, under the Law, and lived without the Law, for the benefit of\nthose whom he desired to gain: to the weak he voluntarily became weak\nthat he might strengthen them; _he ran so as to obtain, he kept under\nhis body that he might be victorious over heavenly powers in Christ_.\n\n24. To the wise man therefore even bondage is freedom; whence we may\ngather that even to be in power is bondage to the fool, and what is\nworse, while he rules over a few, he serves more and severer masters.\nFor he serves his own passions, his own lusts, their tyranny he can\nescape neither by night nor day, for he carries these masters within\nhis own breast, and suffers within himself an intolerable bondage.\nFor there is a double bondage, one of the body, another of the soul;\nnow the lords of the body are men, but the lords of the soul are evil\ndispositions and passions, from which liberty of the mind alone frees\nthe wise man and enables him to depart from his bondage.\n\n Sidenote: Job xiii. 19\u201321.\n\n25. Let us seek therefore that truly wise man, that truly free man, who\nalthough he live under the dominion of many, says freely, _Who is he\nthat will plead with me? from Whose sight I shall not be able to hide\nmyself, only do Thou withdraw Thy hand far from me, and let not Thy\ndread make me afraid_.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. li. 6.\n\n26. And King David, who followed him, said, _Against Thee only have\nI sinned_. For being supported by the royal dignity, and being, so to\nspeak, master of the laws, he was not subject to them but was liable to\nGod alone, Who is the Lord of hosts.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. iv. 3, 4.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. ii. 15.\n\n Sidenote: Job xxvii. 2.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xxv. 5.\n\n27. Hear another free man; _But with me it is a very small thing that\nI should be judged of you, or of man\u2019s judgment: yea, I judge not\nmine own self_, for I know nothing _against_ myself, ... _but He that\njudgeth me is the Lord_. The freedom of the spiritual man is a true\nfreedom, because _he judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged\nof no man_, because he knows himself to be subject to nothing which\nhas any participation in the creature, but to God alone, Who only is\nwithout sin, of Whom Job also says, _God liveth Who hath taken away my\njudgment_, for the just man can only be judged by Him _in Whose sight\nthe heavens are not clean, nor the light of the stars pure and clean_.\n\n28. Will any one bring forward those verses of Sophocles which say\n\u2018Jupiter, and no mortal man is ruler over me?\u2019 How much more ancient is\nJob, how much older is David? Let them acknowledge then that they have\nborrowed from us the more excellent of their sayings.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xlv. 8.\n\n29. Who then is wise but he who has arrived at the very mysteries of\nthe Godhead, and has known the hidden things of wisdom to be manifested\nto him. He then alone is wise who has taken God as his guide, to\nconduct him to the secret resting-place of truth, and although but a\nmortal man has become by grace the heir and successor of the eternal\nGod, and partaker, as it were, of His sweetness, as it is written,\n_Wherefore God, even thy God hath anointed thee with the oil of\ngladness above thy fellows_.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. vii. 5.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. viii. 37.\n\n30. Now if any man will examine more closely these matters, he will\nperceive what great assistance the wise man finds and what great\nobstacles the foolish, in the very same things; that to the one freedom\nis an aid, to the other bondage is an impediment. For the wise man\nrises as a conqueror, having vanquished and triumphed over lust, fear,\nsloth, sadness and other vices. This he does until he casts them out\nfrom the possession of his mind, driving and excluding them from all\nits bounds and limits, for as a cautious general he knows how to guard\nagainst the incursions of robbers, and those hostile stratagems which\nthe wicked enemies of our soul are frequently attempting with their\nfiery darts; for we have both wars in peace and peace in war. Whence\nalso he says, _Without were fightings, within were fears_. But _in all\nthese things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us_. He\nsays this because he was terrified neither by straits nor persecutions,\nnor hunger, nor danger, nor death.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. iv. 14.\n\n31. But he who fears these things, who dreads death, how is he not\na slave? Truly he is a slave, and that in a miserable bondage; for\nnothing so subjects the mind to all kind of bondage as the fear of\ndeath. For how can the abject and vile and ignoble sense raise itself\nup, when it is deeply sunk in the pit of corruption, through the lusts\nof this life. Behold, how much he is a slave: _I shall be hid_, he says,\n_and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth, and it shall\ncome to pass that every one that findeth me shall slay me_. Therefore\nas a slave he received a sign, but even thus he could not escape death.\nThus the sinner is a slave to fear, to cupidity, to avarice, to lust,\nto malice, to anger, nay, he is a greater slave than if he were set\nunder tyrants.\n\n32. But they are free who live by the laws. Now true law is right\nreason, true law not sculptured on tablets, nor engraved in brass, but\nimpressed on the mind, and fixed in the senses; for the wise man is not\nunder the law, but is a law unto himself, bearing the work of the Law\nin his heart, inscribed and formed therein by a kind of pen natural to\nhimself. Are we then so blind as not to see the manifest characters of\nthings, and the images of virtues? And how unworthy is it that whole\nnations should obey human laws, that they may become thereby partakers\nof liberty: but that wise men should neglect and abandon the true\nlaw of nature formed according to the image of God, and true reason,\nthe sign-bearer of liberty; since there is so much liberty therein,\nthat when children we are unconscious of any bondage to vice, being\nremoved from anger, free from avarice, ignorant of lust. How miserable\ntherefore, that we who are born in liberty should die in bondage!\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xvii. 12.\n\n Sidenote: Eccles. iv. 5\n\n Sidenote: Susanna 43.\n\n Sidenote: Judges xi. 36.\n\n33. But this arises from the levity of our mind and the infirmity of\nour character; because we are occupied by idle cares, and superfluous\nactions: but the heart of the wise man, his works and deeds, ought to\nbe stedfast and immoveable. Moses taught us this, when his hands became\nheavy, so that Joshua the son of Nun could scarcely hold them up. And\ntherefore the people were victorious when works not of a perfunctory\nkind, but full of gravity and virtue were being carried on, not the\nworks of a mind unsteady, and staggering to and fro in its affections,\nbut of one firmly rooted and established. The wise man therefore\nstretches out his hands, but the fool draws them together, as it is\nwritten, _The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own\nflesh_, meditating on carnal more than spiritual things. But not so did\nthat daughter of Juda, who stretched forth her hands and cried to the\nLord _Thou knowest that they have borne false witness against me_. She\nthought it better not to sin and to incur the calumnies of her accusers,\nthan to commit sin under the veil of impunity. And by the contempt\nof death she preserved her innocence. Not so, either, the daughter\nof Jepthah, who by her own consent confirmed and even encouraged her\nfather\u2019s vow concerning her own immolation.\n\n34. For I will not produce the books of philosophers on the contempt\nof death, or the gymnosophists of the Indians, of whom the answer\nof Calanus[189] to Alexander, when he commanded him to follow him,\nis especially commended. \u2018To what praise\u2019 said he \u2018do you consider\nme entitled, that you require me to travel to Greece, if I can be\ncompelled to do that to which my will consents not?\u2019 A reply truly full\nof dignity, and yet his mind was more full of liberty. He wrote this\nletter also.\n\n CALANUS TO ALEXANDER.\n\n 35. \u201cYour friends persuade you to lay hands and even constraint\n on the Indian philosophers, not even in their dreams beholding\n our works. Our bodies you may remove from place to place, our\n souls you cannot compel to do what they do not will, no more\n than wood or stone to utter sounds. A great fire burns pain into\n living bodies and begets corruption; on this fire we are, for\n we are burning alive. There is neither king nor prince who can\n compel us to do what we have not determined to do. Nor are we\n like the philosophers of Greece, who have conceived words rather\n than realities, in order to give celebrity to their opinions;\n in our case realities are associated with words and words with\n realities; our acts are swift and our discourses short, we enjoy\n a delightful freedom in the exercise of virtue.\u201d\n\n36 and 37. Excellent words, but still words; excellent constancy, but\nthat of a man; excellent letter, but that of a philosopher. But amongst\nus, even maidens through desire of death have mounted even up to heaven\nby the lofty steps of virtue. Why should I mention Thecla, Agnes,\nor Pelagia, who sprouting forth as noble tendrils[190] have hastened\nto death as if to immortality? The virgin exulted among lions, and\ndauntlessly beheld the roaring beasts. And to compare our history with\nthat of the Indian philosophers, what Calanus boasted in words holy\nLaurence proved by his acts, for he was burnt alive, and surviving\nthe flames said, \u2018Turn me and eat me.\u2019 Nor did the youths of the race\nof Abraham[191] or the sons of the Maccabees strive less boldly; the\nformer sung while in the midst of the flames, and the latter, during\ntheir punishment, asked not to be spared, but reproached their\npersecutor in order to enrage him more. The wise man therefore is free.\n\n38. But what can be more sublime than holy Pelagia, who was surrounded\nby persecutors, but before she came into their presence said; \u2018I die\nwillingly, no man shall touch me, no one with wanton look shall defile\nmy chastity, I will carry away with me my modesty, my honour untainted;\nthese ruffians shall reap no profit from their insolence. Pelagia\nwill follow Christ, no man shall deprive her of her liberty, no man\nshall see her free faith made captive, her illustrious chastity, her\ninheritance of wisdom. What is enslaved shall remain here, not amenable\nto any duty.\u2019 Great therefore is the freedom of that pious virgin, who\nencircled by her persecutors gave way not the least in the midst of\nthese great dangers to her integrity and her life.\n\n Sidenote: Prov. xxix. 22. stirreth up strife. E.V.\n\n Sidenote: S. John viii. 34.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. vi. 12, 13.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. x. 29.\n\n39. But he is not free over whom anger reigns, for he is subject to\nthe yoke of sin; for _an angry man diggeth out sin_, and, _Whosoever\ncommitteth sin, is the servant of sin_. Neither is he free who is\nenslaved to avarice, for he cannot possess his vessel. Neither is he\nfree who seeing his desires and pleasures, fluctuates in his devious\ncourse. He is not free who is bowed down by ambition, for he obeys the\nrule of another. But he is free who is able to say, _All things are\nlawful unto me, but all things are not expedient, all things are lawful\nfor me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. Meats for the\nbelly, and the belly for meats._ He is free who says, _For why is my\nliberty judged of another man\u2019s conscience?_\n\n Sidenote: Prov. xxvi. 8.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 9.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. vii. 23.\n\n40. Liberty therefore belongs to the wise man not to the fool; for _he\nwho binds a stone in a sling is like him who giveth honour to a fool_,\nfor he wounds himself, and while brandishing his dart chiefly endangers\nhis own body. Certainly as he is stung by the sling, and by the falling\nof the stone the evil is increased, so the fall of a fool when he is\nset at liberty is more rapid. Wherefore the power of a fool is rather\nto be retrenched than any new liberty added, for slavery is suitable\nfor him. And therefore it is added, _As a thorn goeth up into the\nhand of a drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools_. For as\nhe is wounded by his cups, so is the fool by his deeds. The one by\ndrinking involves himself in sin, the other by acting subjects himself\nto censure, and by his deeds is drawn into bondage. Paul saw himself\n_brought into captivity by the law of sin_, and therefore, in order to\nbe freed, he fled to the grace of liberty.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xxxii. 10.\n\n Sidenote: Prov. xiii. 24.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xxxviii. 4, 5.\n\n41. Fools then are not free, for it is said to them, _Be ye not like\nto horse and mule, which have no understanding, whose mouths must be\nheld with bit and bridle lest they fall upon thee. Great plagues remain\nfor the ungodly_; for they have need of these, in order that their\nfolly may be restrained. It is good discipline which requires this,\nnot severity. Further, _he that spareth his rod hateth his son_: for a\nman\u2019s own sins scourge him still more severely. For heavy is the weight\nof crime, heavy the scourges of sin; they are heavy as a sore burthen,\nthey inflict wounds upon the soul, and make the ulcers of the mind to\nstink.\n\n Sidenote: Prov. xxiv. 30.\n\n42. Wherefore let us lay aside this grievous burthen of slavery, let\nus renounce sensuality, and the evil delights which bind us with the\nbonds, as it were, of lusts, and fetter us with chains. For these\ndelights profit not the fool, and whoever has given himself to them\nfrom his boyhood will abide in bondage; living he will be as dead. Let\nsensuality then be cut down, let evil delights be pruned away, and let\nhim who has been wanton bid farewell to his former courses. For the\nvine which has been cut down bears fruit, that which has been partly\npruned puts forth leaves, that which has been neglected grows too\nluxuriantly. Therefore it is written, _Like a field is the foolish man,\nand like a vineyard the man void of understanding_; if you leave him\nalone, he will become desolate. Let us then tend this body of ours, let\nus chasten it, let us reduce it to subjection, let us not neglect it.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. vi. 13.\n\n Sidenote: Ib.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xiv. 6.\n\n43. For our members are _instruments of righteousness_, they are also\n_instruments of sin_. If they are raised upwards, they are instruments\nof righteousness, that sin should not reign in them: if our body has\ndied to sin, transgression will not reign therein, and our members will\nbe free from sin. Let us not therefore obey its lusts, nor _yield our\nmembers instruments of unrighteousness unto sin_. If you have looked\nupon a woman to lust after her, your members are the instruments of\nsin. If you have spoken and solicited her, your tongue and your mouth\nare instruments of sin. If you have removed the landmarks which your\nfathers set up, your members are instruments of sin. If you have hasted\n_with swift feet to shed the blood_ of the innocent, your members are\ninstruments of sin.\n\n Sidenote: Prov. xiv. 7.\n\n Sidenote: Job xxix. 15.\n\n44. On the other hand, if you have seen a poor man, and taken him\ninto your house, your members are instruments of righteousness. If you\nhave rescued one who was suffering wrong, or one who was being led to\nexecution; if you have cancelled the bond of the debtor, your members\nare instruments of righteousness. If you have confessed Christ (for\n_the lips of knowledge are the instruments of understanding_,) your\nlips are the members of righteousness. He who can say, _I was eyes to\nthe blind, and feet was I to the lame, I was a father to the poor_, his\nmembers are members of righteousness.\n\n Sidenote: Job xxxi. 33.\n\n Sidenote: Prov. xviii. 17.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xxxii. 6.\n\n45. Being therefore set free from sin, and redeemed, as it were, at the\nprice of the Blood of Christ, let us not be made subject to the bondage\nof men or of passion. Let us not blush to confess our sins. Behold how\nfree he was who could say, _I feared not the multitude of the people;\nthat I should not confess my sin in the sight of all_. For he that\nconfesses his sin is released from servitude, and _the just accuses\nhimself in the beginning of his speech_. Not the free but the just man\nalso; but justice is in liberty and liberty in confession, for as soon\nas a man shall confess he is absolved. Lastly, _I said I will confess\nmy sins unto the Lord, and so Thou forgavest the wickedness of my sin_.\nThe delay of absolution depends on confessing, the remission of sins\nfollows closely on confession. He therefore is wise who confesses; he\nis free whose sin is remitted, for he contracts now no debt of guilt.\nFarewell: love me as indeed you do, for I also love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XXXVIII.\n A.D. 387.\n\n\n IN this letter S. Ambrose continues the subject, maintaining\n that the truly wise man is not only free but rich also,\n illustrating his statements with instances from the Old\n Testament.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO SIMPLICIAN, GREETING.\n\n Sidenote: 1 S. Pet. iii. 3, 4.\n\n1. WHEN we lately pointed out, taking our theme from the epistle of\nthe Apostle Paul, that every wise man is free, we seemed to have fallen\ninto philosophical discussion. But afterwards, in reading the epistle\nof the Apostle Peter, I perceived that every wise man is also rich:\nand this he says without distinction of sex, for he writes that all\na woman\u2019s ornaments consist in a virtuous life, not in costly jewels,\n_Whose adorning_, he says, _is not that outward adorning of plaiting\nthe hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel, but the\nhidden man of the heart_.\n\n2. Here then are two things, both that there is a man within the man,\nand that he is rich who seeks not for himself the enjoyment of any\nriches. And he has well said, _the man of the heart_, in that the whole\nman of wisdom is hidden, as is wisdom itself, which is not seen but\nunderstood. No one before Peter used such an expression as, _the man\nof the heart_; for the outward man consists of many members, but the\ninward man of the heart is entirely full of wisdom, full of grace, full\nof beauty.\n\n Sidenote: 1 S. Pet. iii. 4.\n\n3. _In that_, he says, _which is not corruptible, even the ornament of\na meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price_.\nAnd he is truly rich, who can appear rich in the sight of God, in whose\nsight the earth is small, the world itself is narrow, but God considers\nhim only to be rich who is rich for eternity, who lays up the fruit\nnot of riches, but of virtues. And who is rich before God but that meek\nand quiet spirit which is never corrupted? Does not he appear to you to\nbe rich, who possesses peace of mind and the tranquillity of rest? who\ndesires nothing, is not tossed by the storms of lust, despises not old\nthings, seeks not new, so as by his constant desire to become poor in\nthe midst of riches?\n\n Sidenote: Phil. iv. 7.\n\n Sidenote: Prov. xxviii. 10.\n\n4. That peace is truly rich, which _passeth all understanding_. Peace\nis rich, modesty is rich, faith is rich, for _to the faithful the whole\nworld is a possession_. Simplicity is rich, for there are also the\nriches of simplicity; for she scrutinizes nothing, has no mean, no\nsuspicious, no deceitful thoughts, but pours herself forth with pure\naffection.\n\n Sidenote: Job v. 17\u201324.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xxvii. 37.\n\n Sidenote: Job v. 26.\n\n5. Goodness too is rich, and if a man preserve it he is fed by the\nriches of the heavenly inheritance. To quote also the more ancient\nexamples of Scripture, _Happy_, it is said, _is the man whom God\ncorrecteth_. Therefore _despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty\n... in famine He shall redeem thee from death, and in war from the\npower of the sword. Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue;\n... the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee, and thou shalt\nknow that thy tabernacle shall be in peace._ For the vices of this\nflesh being subdued, and those passions which are wont to war against\nthe soul, your tabernacle shall be undisturbed, your house without\noffence, your seed shall not fail, your posterity shall be as the smell\nof a fruitful field, your burial as the harvest. For while others are\nlooking for theirs to fail, the heap of your corn will be carried ripe\ninto the heavenly garners.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xxxvii. 26.\n\n6. Fit it is that the righteous ever lendeth, while the wicked man\nis in want. He lendeth justice, he lendeth the commandments of God\nto the poor and needy; but the fool does not possess even that which\nhe believes himself to possess. Do you suppose that he can be said\nto possess, who brooding over his treasure night and day, is troubled\nby covetous and wretched anxiety? Such a one truly wants; although to\nothers he appears rich, to himself he is poor, because he who is still\ngrasping after more and desiring more uses not that which he possesses.\nFor where there are no bounds to desire, what profit can there be in\nriches? No man is rich who cannot carry away with him that which he\nhas, for that which is left behind, is not our own but another\u2019s.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. v. 24.\n\n Sidenote: Wisd. iv. 11.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Kings ii. 11.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Kings xvii. 9.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Kings i. 14.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. ii. 8.\n\n7. Enoch was rich who carried away with him that which he had, and laid\nup all the riches of his goodness in the heavenly treasure-house; he\nwas _taken away lest that wickedness should alter his understanding_.\nElias was rich, who riding in a chariot of fire carried the treasures\nof his virtues up to the heavenly mansions. Not small were the riches\nhe left to his heir, and yet he himself did not lose them. Who would\nhave called him poor even then, when being himself in need of the\nsustenance of daily food, he was sent to the widow that he might be\nnourished by her, when at his voice the heaven was shut and opened,\nwhen at his word the barrel of meal and the cruse of oil failed not for\nthree years, but overflowed; when it was replenished not diminished by\nuse? Who would call him poor at whose word there came fire down from\nheaven, whom the river impassible by others could not retard, retiring\nback to its source that the prophet might pass over dry-shod?\n\n Sidenote: Job xx. 15.\n\n Sidenote: Prov. xii. 12.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xcii. 11.\n\n8. Ancient history tells us of two neighbours, king Ahab and the poor\nNaboth; which of these do we believe to be the richer, which the\npoorer? The one, endowed with the royal support of riches, insatiable\nand not to be replenished with wealth, coveted the little vineyard of\nthe poor man; the other, despising in his mind the golden fortunes of\nkings, and imperial treasures, was content with his own vines. Does not\nhe appear richer and more kingly, who was sufficient to himself, and\ncontrolled his own desires, coveting nothing that belonged to another?\nDoes not he, on the other hand, appear most needy, in whose eyes his\nown gold was accounted vile, and another man\u2019s vine precious. But learn\nfor what reason he was most needy: because _riches unjustly gotten are\nvomited up again_, but _the root of the righteous yieldeth fruit, and\nflourishes like a palm-tree_.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xxxvii. 35, 36.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xxxiv. 10. LXX, Vulg.\n\n9. Is not he more needy than the poor man, who passeth away like a\nshadow? To-day the ungodly is in great power, to-morrow he is not, and\nhis place can no more be found. But what is it to be rich, unless it\nbe to abound? But who abounds whose mind is contracted, and therefore\nstraightened, and what abundance can there be in straits? He therefore\nis not rich who does not abound. Wherefore David says well, _The rich\nlack and suffer hunger_; for although they possessed the treasures\nof the Divine Scriptures, they still lacked in that they did not\nunderstand, and hungered in that they tasted not the food of spiritual\ngrace.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. v. 3.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. xi. 33.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxix. 14.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xxxiii. 23.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 23.\n\n10. Nothing can therefore be richer than the temper of the wise man,\nnothing poorer than that of the fool. For since the kingdom of God\nbelongs to the poor, what can be richer? And therefore the Apostle\nsays well, _O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge\nof God_! Well also David, who _had as great delight in the way of\nthe heavenly testimonies as in all manner of riches_. And Moses says\nexpressly, _Naphtali, satisfied with favour_. Now Naphtali means when\ntranslated, \u2018abundance\u2019 or \u2018increase.\u2019 So that to be satisfied and\nto abound go together, but where there is the hunger of desire and\ninsatiable lust, there truly is poverty. But since scarcely any desire\nof money or of this world can be satisfied, it is added, _full with\nblessing_.\n\n Sidenote: 1 S. Pet. iii. 3.\n\n11. It is in accordance with these principles that the Apostle Peter\nhas declared that the ornament of women consists not in gold and silver\nand apparel, but in the secret and hidden man of the heart. Wherefore\nlet no woman put off the dress of piety, the ornament of grace, the\ninheritance of eternal life.\n\nFarewell: love me, for I love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XXXIX.\n A.D. 387.\n\n\n S. AMBROSE in this Letter seeks to rouse Faustinus from\n excessive grief for his sister\u2019s death, first on the ground of\n duty towards the children left to his care and protection, and\n then on the higher ground of submission to the Divine will, and\n realization of Christian hopes.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO FAUSTINUS, GREETING.\n\n1. I WAS well aware that you would grieve with bitter grief for the\ndeath of your sister: still you should not go into banishment, but\nrather give yourself back to us, for although mourners are little\ninclined to receive consolation, it is sometimes necessary for them.\nBut you have fled to the recesses of the mountains, and made your\ndwelling in the caves of wild beasts, laying aside all customary human\nconverse and, what is worse, the use of your own reason.\n\n2. Is it in accordance with your esteem for your sister, that human\nnature, which ought to be much regarded by you for producing a woman\nso excellent, should on her account be of less value in your eyes? In\nquitting this life it doubtless was a consolation to her to believe\nthat she left you behind her as a parent to your nephews, a guardian of\ntheir tender years, a succour to their destitution; but you so utterly\nwithhold yourself both from your nephews and from us, that we do not\nreap any benefit from what she thus found a ground of consolation.\nThese dear pledges invite you not to grieve, but to comfort them, that\nin seeing you they may believe their mother to be still alive. In you\nthen let them recognize her; in you let them enjoy her presence, in you\nthink that she still survives to them.\n\n3. But you grieve that she has been lately cut off in the flower of\nher age. This however is the common fate not only of men, but of states\nand countries themselves. Coming from Bononia[192] you left behind you\nClaterna, Bononia itself, Matina, Rhegium; Brixillum was on your right,\nin front of you Placentia, by its very name still recalling its ancient\nlustre, on the left you saw with pity the wastes of the Apennines,\nyou surveyed the fortresses of these once flourishing tribes, and\nremembered them with sorrowful affection. Do not then the carcases of\nso many half-ruined cities, and states stretched on their bier beneath\nyour eyes, do not these remind you that the decease of one woman, holy\nand excellent as she was, is much less deplorable especially as these\nare for ever laid prostrate and destroyed, but she though removed from\nus for a while is passing a more blessed life elsewhere?\n\n4. Wherefore I deem that you ought not so much to deplore her, as\nto offer for her your prayers; make her not sorrowful by your tears,\nrather commend her soul to God by oblations.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. v. 16.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. ii. 20.\n\n5. Perhaps however you will declare yourself to be secure of her merits\nand faith, you cannot endure the feeling of regret at seeing her no\nlonger after the flesh, which is to you a better grief. And does not\nthe Apostolic saying move you that _henceforth we know no man after\nthe flesh; yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now\nhenceforth know we Him no more_. For our flesh cannot be perpetual and\nlasting, it must needs die that it may rise again, it must be dissolved\nthat it may rest, and sin come to an end. We too have known many\naccording to the flesh, but now we know them no more. _We have known\nthe Lord Jesus_, says the Apostle, _after the flesh, yet now henceforth\nknow we Him no more_. For now He has put off the coil of the body, and\nis not seen in fashion as a Man, but has died for all and all are dead\nin Him, to the intent that being renewed by Him and quickened in the\nSpirit they may no longer live to themselves but to Christ. Wherefore\nthe same Apostle also says elsewhere, _I live, yet not I, but Christ\nliveth in me_.\n\n Sidenote: Acts ix. 1. &c.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. v. 17.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. vi. 3.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. v. 17.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xiii. 52.\n\n Sidenote: Cant. vii. 13.\n\n6. And well indeed was it that he who had before known Christ after the\nflesh, who had before persecuted and oppressed with bitter hatred the\ndisciples of the Man, and the attendants on His bodily presence, but\nwho now recognized His invisible workings, discerning not His bodily\npresence but His power,\u2015\u2015well indeed was it that he became the teacher\nof the Gentiles, and began to instruct and prepare the worshippers of\nHis Divinity to become preachers of the Gospel. Wherefore he added,\n_if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature_, that is, he that is\nperfect in Christ is a new creature, for all flesh is imperfect. And\nthe Lord saith, _My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that\nhe also is flesh_. No carnal man then is in Christ, but _if any man be\nin Christ he is a new creature_, formed by newness not of nature but of\ngrace. These _old things_ which are according to the flesh _have past\naway, all things are made new_. And what are they but the things which\n_the scribe instructed unto the kingdom of heaven_ knows, _like unto\nthat householder, who brings forth out of his treasure things new and\nold_; neither old things without new, nor new things without old? Thus\ntoo the Church saith, _things new and old have I laid up for Thee_. For\nold things, that is, the hidden mysteries of the Law are passed away,\nall things are made new in Christ.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. v. 6.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. ciii. 5.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. v. 19, 20.\n\n Sidenote: S. John i. 29.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. v. 21.\n\n7. This is the new creature of which the Apostle writing to the\nGalatians saith, _For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any\nthing nor uncircumcision, but a new creature_, already our flesh now\nrenewed flourishes, and having before borne the thorns of inveterate\nsin hath now found the fruit of grace. Why then need we grieve, if we\ncan now say to the soul, _thy youth is renewed like the eagles_? And\nwhy should we bewail the dead, now that by our Lord Jesus _the world\nhas been reconciled to the Father_? Since then we hold the benefits\nwhich Christ hath given, we are to you as well as to all ambassadors in\nChrist\u2019s stead, that you may know His Gift to be irrevocable, that you\nmay believe what you always have believed, and not bring your opinion\ninto discredit by too much sorrow. For the Lord Jesus was made sin that\nHe might _take away the sin of the world_, and we all might be _made\nthe righteousness of God in Him_; now no longer subject to the penalty\nof sin, but sure of the reward of righteousness.\n\nFarewell; love me, for I love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XL.\n A.D. 388.\n\n\n IN the year 388 A.D. the synagogue of the Jews at Callinicum in\n Mesopotamia was burnt by the Christians, at the instance, it was\n asserted, of the Bishop. Some monks also in the same district,\n having been insulted by some Valentinian heretics, while singing\n Psalms in procession on the Festival of the Maccabees, (Aug.\n 1st.) had burnt their conventicle. Theodosius had ordered that\n the Bishop should re-build the synagogue at his own cost, and\n that the monks should be punished, and the whole matter carefully\n sifted, and justice done. This Letter is written by S. Ambrose\n to remonstrate. He urges his plea with the boldest importunity,\n and, as he tells his sister in the following letter, Theodosius\n eventually yielded.\n\n\n TO THE MOST GRACIOUS PRINCE AND BLESSED EMPEROR HIS\n MAJESTY THEODOSIUS, BISHOP AMBROSE SENDS GREETING.\n\n1. NEARLY incessant are the cares which harass me, most excellent\nEmperor, but never was I in such trouble as at present; for I see I\nmust be on my guard against the danger even of a charge of sacrilege.\nWherefore I beseech you patiently to hear my address. For if I am\nunworthy to be heard by you, I am unworthy to offer for you, or to have\nyour vows and prayers intrusted to me. Will you not hear him whom you\nwish to be heard in your behalf? Will you not hear him pleading for\nhimself whom you have heard when pleading for others? Will you not\ndread the consequences of your own judgment; and fear to render him\nunworthy to be heard in your behalf, by treating him as unworthy of\na hearing from you.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxix. 46.\n\n Sidenote: Ezek. iii. 17.\n\n Sidenote: Ezek. iii. 20, 21.\n\n2. But it is neither the part of an Emperor to deny liberty of speech,\nnor of a Bishop not to utter what he thinks. There is no quality more\namiable and popular in an Emperor than to cherish freedom even in those\nwho owe him military allegiance. For there is this difference between\ngood and bad rulers, that the good love freedom, the bad slavery.\nAnd there is nothing in a Bishop so offensive in God\u2019s sight, or so\nbase before men, as not freely to declare his opinions. For it is\nwritten, _I spake of Thy testimonies also even before kings, and was\nnot ashamed_, and in another place, _Son of man, I have made thee\na watchman unto the house of Israel; with the intent_, it proceeds,\n_that if the righteous man doth turn from his righteousness and commit\niniquity, because thou hast not given him warning_[193] that is, hast\nnot told him what to beware of, _his righteousness which he hath done\nshall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.\nNevertheless, if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin\nnot, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned;\nalso thou shalt deliver thy soul._\n\n Sidenote: 2 Tim. iv. 2.\n\n3. I prefer then, to have fellowship with your Majesty in good rather\nthan in evil; and therefore the silence of a Bishop ought to be\ndispleasing to your Clemency, and his freedom pleasing. For you will be\nimplicated in the danger of my silence, you will share in the benefits\nof my outspokenness. I am not then an officious meddler in matters\nbeyond my province, an intruder in the concerns of others, but I comply\nwith my duty, I obey the commandment of our God. This I do chiefly from\nlove and regard to you, and from a wish to preserve your well-being.\nBut if I am not believed, or am forbidden to act on this motive, then\nin truth I speak from fear of offending God. For if my own danger\ncould deliver you, I would consent to be offered for you, though not\nwillingly, for I would rather that without danger to myself you should\nbe accepted and glorified by God. But if I am to suffer under the\ncharge of silence and dissimulation without effecting your exculpation\nI had rather you should deem me too importunate than useless or\nmercenary. For it is written, in the words of the holy Apostle Paul,\nwhose teaching you cannot gainsay, _Be instant in season, out of season:\nreprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine_.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. x. 19, 20.\n\n4. We then also have One Whom it is even more dangerous to displease;\nespecially as even Emperors themselves are not offended with any man\nfor fulfilling his function, but you patiently give ear to every one\nspeaking concerning his own department, nay you reprove him for not\nacting in accordance with his line of duty. Can that then which you\nreadily accept from your soldiers, seem to you offensive in a Bishop;\nseeing that we speak not according to our own wills, but as we are\ncommanded? For you know that it is written, _when ye shall be brought\nbefore governors and kings take no thought how or what ye shall speak,\nfor it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For\nit is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father Which speaketh\nin you._ Were it in civil causes that I had to speak, my not obtaining\nan audience would not give me such apprehension, although even then\njustice ought to be observed, but in God\u2019s cause whom will you hear,\nif you hear not the Bishop, at whose great peril it is that sin is\ncommitted? Who will dare to tell you the truth, if a Bishop does not?\n\n Sidenote: Rom. x. 2.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xviii. 15\u201317.\n\n5. I know that you are pious, merciful, meek and gentle, having at\nheart the faith and fear of the Lord; but some failings oftentimes\nescape our notice. Some men _have a zeal of God, but not according to\nknowledge_, and we ought, I think, to beware lest this steal even over\nfaithful souls. I know your piety towards God, your lenity towards men;\nI am myself indebted to your courtesy for many benefits. Wherefore I\nfeel greater fear, and deeper solicitude lest even your own judgment\nshould hereafter condemn me for having failed, through cowardice or\nflattery, in saving you from a fall. If I had seen you sin against\nmyself, I ought not to have kept silence, for it is written, _If thy\nbrother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault; then\nrebuke him before two or three witnesses, and if he shall neglect to\nhear them, tell it unto the Church_. Shall I then be silent in the\ncause of God? Now then let us consider what it is I have to apprehend.\n\n6. The military Count of the East[194] reported that a synagogue had\nbeen burnt, and that this had been done at the instigation of the\nBishop. You decided that the others should be punished, and that the\nsynagogue should be rebuilt by the Bishop himself. I will not insist\non the propriety of calling for the Bishop\u2019s own statement; for the\nclergy are wont to check disturbances and desirous of peace, save when\nthey are themselves moved by some offence against God or insult to the\nChurch. But suppose this Bishop to have been too eager in setting fire\nto this synagogue, and now to grow timid before the judgment-seat, has\nyour Majesty no fear, lest he should acquiesce in your sentence, no\napprehension of his becoming apostate?\n\n7. Do you not fear, what will certainly be the case, that he will meet\nyour officer with a refusal; and so he will be obliged to make him\neither an apostate or a martyr, and both of these are adverse to your\ninterests and savour of persecution, that he should be forced either\nto become an apostate or undergo martyrdom. You see then whereunto this\nmatter tends; if you think the Bishop firm, avoid driving his firmness\nto martyrdom; if you think him frail, shun exposing his frailty to a\nfall. For a heavy responsibility lies on him who has caused one who is\nweak to fall.\n\n8. Under these circumstances I suppose that the Bishop will say that\nhe himself kindled the fire, gathered the crowd, collected the people;\nso as not to lose an opportunity of martyrdom, and in place of the weak\nto offer up a bolder victim. O happy falsehood; obtaining for others\nacquittal, for himself Grace. This is my request also to your Majesty,\nthat you would turn your vengeance upon me, and, if you consider this a\ncrime, impute it to me. Why do you order the absent to be punished? you\nhave the guilty person before you, you hear his confession, I openly\naffirm that I myself set the synagogue on fire, or at least, that I\nordered others to do so; that there might be no place in which Christ\nis denied. And if it be objected, why did I not set it on fire in this\nvery city? It began to be burnt, I reply, by the Divine judgment, my\nwork was superseded. And to speak the truth, I was the less zealous\nbecause I expected no punishment. Why should I do that which being\nunavenged would also be unrewarded? These words are a shock to modesty,\nbut they also bring back grace; they provide against the commission of\nthat which may offend Almighty God.\n\n9. But suppose that no one will cite the Bishop to do this; for this\nis what I have begged of your Clemency, and though I have not yet read\nthat the edict is revoked, I will nevertheless assume it to be so.\nBut what if other more timid persons, from a fear of death offer to\nrebuild the synagogue from their own funds, or the Count, finding this\npreviously ordained, should himself command it to be restored at the\nexpense of the Christians? Your Majesty will then have an apostate\nCount, and you will entrust your victorious banner, your labarum, which\nis consecrated by the name of Christ, to one who is the restorer of\nthe synagogue which knows not Christ. Command the labarum to be carried\ninto the synagogue, and let us see if they do not resist.\n\n10. Shall then a building be raised for perfidious Jews out of the\nspoils of the Church, and shall that patrimony, which by Christ\u2019s mercy\nhas been assigned to Christians, be transferred to the temples of the\nunbelieving? We read that temples were in former days erected from the\nspoils of the Cimbri and other enemies of Rome. Shall the Jews inscribe\nthis title on the front of their synagogue: \u2018The temples of impiety\nbuilt from the spoils of Christians?\u2019\n\n11. But the maintenance of discipline is perhaps what influences your\nMajesty. Is the show of discipline then weightier than the cause of\nreligion? Police should give place to religion.\n\n12. Has your Majesty never heard that when Julian commanded the temple\nat Jerusalem to be restored, they who cleared away the rubbish were\ndestroyed by fire from heaven? Are you not afraid lest this should now\nhappen? Surely you ought not to have commanded what Julian commanded.\n\n13. But why are you thus moved? Is it generally because a public\nbuilding has been burnt, or because it is a synagogue? If you are moved\nby the conflagration of the meanest edifice, (and what else could there\nhave been in so obscure a town,) does not your Majesty remember how\nmany prefects\u2019 houses have been burnt at Rome, and yet no man enacted\nvengeance for them? Nay, if any Emperor had desired to punish such an\nact severely, he would rather have injured the cause of those who had\nsuffered so great a loss. Which then is the more fitting, that the\npartial burning of some houses at Callinicum[195], or the burning of\nthe city of Rome should be punished, if indeed either of them ought to\nhave been so. At Constantinople, a while ago, the Bishop\u2019s[196] house\nwas burnt, and your Majesty\u2019s son interceded with you, that you would\nnot avenge the wrong done to him, the youthful Emperor, nor the burning\nof the Bishop\u2019s palace. Your Majesty should consider, that, if you\nshould in like manner command this act to be punished, he may again\nintercede to prevent it. The former boon however was happily obtained\nfrom the father by the son, for it was only fitting that he should\nfirst remit the injury to himself. A good distribution of favour and\nwell allotted it is, that the son should be petitioned for his own loss,\nand the father for the offence against his son. In this case there is\nnothing which you need keep back on your son\u2019s account, beware also\nlest you derogate ought from God.\n\n Sidenote: Jer. vii. 14\u201317.\n\n14. There is then no adequate reason for any such commotion, that the\npeople should be so severely punished for the burning of any building;\nmuch less seeing that it is a synagogue that has been burnt, a place\nof unbelief, a house of impiety, a receptacle of madness, which God\nHimself hath condemned. For thus we read what the Lord our God spake by\nthe mouth of Jeremiah, _Therefore will I do unto this house, which is\ncalled by My Name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to\nyou, and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. And I will cast you\nout of My sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole\nseed of Ephraim. Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift\nup cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to Me, for I will\nnot hear thee. Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah?_\nGod forbids him to intercede for those whom you think worthy of being\navenged.\n\n15. Were I pleading according to the law of nations, I should assuredly\nrecount how many Churches the Jews burnt in the time of Julian\u2019s reign:\ntwo at Damascus, one of which is but just repaired, and that at the\nexpense, not of the synagogue, but of the Church, while the other is\nstill a mass of shapeless ruins. Churches were likewise burnt at Gaza,\nAscalon, Berytus, and nearly every town in that region, and yet no man\nasked for vengeance. At Alexandria too the most beautiful Church of\nall was burnt down by the Gentiles and Jews. The Church has not been\navenged, shall then the synagogue be?\n\n16. And shall the burning of the temple of the Valentinians likewise be\npunished? For what but a temple is the place where Gentiles assemble?\nThe Gentiles indeed reckon twelve gods, the Valentinians worship thirty\ntwo \u00c6ons[197], whom they call gods. Concerning these I am informed that\nthey have called for punishment upon some monks. For the Valentinians\nhaving endeavoured to stop them as they were going in procession\naccording to ancient custom, chanting psalms, to celebrate the festival\nof the Maccabees, the monks exasperated by this affront, set fire to\none of their rudely constructed temples in some country village.\n\n17. How many have to offer themselves to this choice, remembering\nthat in Julian\u2019s time he who threw down the altar and disturbed the\nsacrifice was condemned by the judge, and suffered martyrdom. And\naccordingly the judge who tried him was never considered other than\na persecutor, no man would associate with him, no man deemed him\nworthy of a kiss of greeting. Were he not now dead, I should fear your\nMajesty\u2019s taking vengeance upon him. Nevertheless he escaped not the\nDivine vengeance, but saw his son die before him.\n\n18. But it is reported that the judge was ordered to take cognizance\nof the matter, and was informed that he ought not to have reported upon\nit, but to have punished it, that the offerings which had been taken\naway were to be demanded back. Other particulars I will omit; but when\nthe Jews burnt our Churches, nothing was restored, nothing demanded,\nnothing sought for. But what could the synagogue possess in that\ndistant place, when everything in it was but of little value, nothing\nprecious or abundant. In short of what could a fire deprive the\ntreacherous Jews? These are devices of the Jews who wish to accuse us\nfalsely, that through their representations an extraordinary military\ntribunal may be appointed, and an officer sent, who perhaps will say\nwhat one said here before your accession, \u2018How shall Christ help us,\nwhen we fight for the Jews against Christ? when we are sent to take\nvengeance on their behalf? They have lost their own armies, and they\nwish to destroy ours.\u2019\n\n19. Nay, what are the calumnies into which they will not rush, who by\nfalse witnesses have slandered Christ Himself? who are false even in\nmatters relating to God? Whom will they not charge with the guilt of\nthis sedition? whom will they not thirst after, even though they know\nthem not? They desire to see rank after rank of Christians in chains,\nto see the necks of the faithful placed under the yoke, the servants of\nGod hidden in darkness, smitten with the axe, delivered to the fire, or\nsent to the mines, that their pains may be slow and lingering.\n\n20. Will your Majesty give this triumph to the Jews over the Church\nof God? this victory over the people of Christ, this joy to the\nunbelievers, this felicity to the Synagogue, this grief to the Church?\nThey will place this solemnity among their feast-days; numbering it\namong those wherein they triumphed over the Ammonites, or Canaanites,\nor over Pharaoh king of Egypt, or which delivered them from the hands\nof Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. This festival they will add in\nmemory of the triumph they have gained over Christ\u2019s people.\n\n21. Although they refuse to be bound by Roman laws, deeming them even\ncriminal, they now pretend to claim vengeance according to those laws.\nWhere were those laws, when they burnt the roofs of the consecrated\nBasilicas? If Julian avenged not the Church because he was an Apostate,\nwill your Majesty, being a Christian, avenge the injury done to the\nSynagogue?\n\n Sidenote: 2 Sam. vii. 8.\n\n22. And what will Christ hereafter say to you? Do you not remember\nwhat he said to holy David by the prophet Nathan? \u2018I have chosen thee\nthe youngest of thy brethren, and from private life have made thee\nEmperor. I have placed thy offspring upon the Imperial throne. I have\nput barbarous nations under thy feet, I have given thee peace, I have\ndelivered thine enemy captive into thy hands. Thou hadst no corn to\nsupport thy army, I opened to thee the enemies\u2019 gates, the enemies\u2019\ngranaries, by their own hand; they gave thee the very stores which they\nhad provided for themselves. I confounded the counsels of thy enemy,\nso that he laid bare his own plans. The very usurper of thy empire\nI so bound, and so fettered his mind, that although he had the means\nof flying from you he shut himself in with all his followers, as if\nfearing lest any should escape you. His lieutenant[198] and his forces\non the other element, whom I had before dispersed to prevent their\ncombining to make war on thee, I now called together again to render\nthy victory complete. Thy army, an assemblage of many fierce nations,\nI caused to keep faith and peace and concord, as if they had been one\nnation. And when there was imminent danger lest the perfidious plots\nof the barbarians should penetrate the Alps, I gave thee victory within\nthe very barrier of the Alps, that thy victory might be without loss.\nThus I made thee to triumph over thy enemy, and thou art giving my\nenemies a triumph over my people.\u2019\n\n23. Was it not the very reason why Maximus was abandoned, that before\nhe set out on his expedition, hearing that a synagogue had been burnt\nat Rome, he sent an edict thither, acting as if he were the guardian of\npublic order. Wherefore the Christians said, No good awaits this man.\nThat king is become a Jew, and we have heard of him as a protector of\norder, but Christ, who died for sinners, shortly after put him to the\nproof[199]. And if this was said of words only, what will be said of\nactual punishment? So he was soon defeated by the Franks and by the\nSaxons, in Sicily, at Siscia[200], at Petavio, and in every quarter\nof the globe. What has a devout man in common with an unbeliever? The\nprecedents of his impiety ought to be obliterated together with the\nimpious man himself. That which injured the vanquished, that at which\nhe stumbled, the victor ought to condemn, not to imitate.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke vii. 43.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 47.\n\n24. Now I have recounted these things to you not as though you were\nungrateful; rather I have spoken of them as being rightly bestowed,\nthat reminded thereby you may love much, as being one on whom much\nhas been bestowed. To Simon\u2019s answer our Lord thus replied, _Thou hast\nrightly judged_; and then, turning straightway to the woman who had\nanointed His feet with ointment, and was the type of the Church, He\nsaid to Simon, _Wherefore I say unto thee, her sins, which are many,\nare forgiven, for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the\nsame loveth little_. This is that woman who entered the house of the\nPharisee, and cast out the Jew, but gained Christ. For the Church shut\nout the Synagogue, and why is it now attempted, that, with the servant\nof Christ, that is, from the breast of faith, and abode of Christ, the\nSynagogue should shut out the Church.\n\n25. It is from affection and regard for your Majesty, that I have\nintroduced these things into my pleading. The beneficence which has led\nyou, at my request, to liberate many persons from exile, from prison,\nfrom the extreme penalties of death, obliges me to incur the danger\nof offending you for the sake of your own good, rather than lose in\none moment that privilege of every Bishop which I have for so long\npossessed. For no man can feel greater confidence than he who zealously\nloves, no man certainly ought to injure him who is careful for his\nwell-being. And yet it is not the loss of favour I deprecate, but the\ndanger to salvation.\n\n26. Yet how important it is that your Majesty should not think of\nenquiry or punishment in a matter with regard to which no one up\nto this time has ever held enquiry or inflicted punishment! It is a\ngrievous thing to hazard your faith for the sake of Jews. When Gideon\nkilled the consecrated calf, the Gentiles[201] said, Let the gods\nthemselves avenge this affront towards them. Who is to avenge the\nSynagogue? Christ Whom they slew, Whom they denied? Or will God the\nFather avenge them, seeing that by rejecting the Son they have rejected\nthe Father also. Who is to avenge the heresy of the Valentinians? how\nwill your Piety be able to avenge them, seeing that you have commanded\nthem to be shut out, and forbidden them to meet together? And should\nI bring forward to you the example of King Josiah as approved of God,\nwill you condemn in this case that for which he is praised?\n\n27. But if you do not place sufficient confidence in me, let your\nMajesty command the presence of those bishops whom you do approve,\nand let the question be discussed, what ought to be done so as not\nto injure the Faith. If in financial matters you consult your Courts,\nhow much more fitting is it that in the cause of religion you should\nconsult the Bishops of the Lord?\n\n28. Let your Clemency consider what dangerous spies and liers in wait\nthe Church has against her, if they find ever so small an opening they\nwill plant a dart therein. I speak after the manner of men; but God is\nfeared more than men, and is rightly preferred to Emperors themselves.\nIf any man thinks obedience should be paid to a friend, a parent, or\na neighbour, am I wrong in deeming that God should be obeyed, and that\nin preference to all others. Let your Majesty consult for your own\nwell-being, or suffer me to consult for mine.\n\n29. What shall I hereafter answer, if it shall appear that by an edict\nissued from hence Christians have been slain by the sword, or beaten to\ndeath with clubs or thongs loaded with lead? How shall I justify such\nan act, how shall I excuse it to those Bishops who having discharged\nthe office of the priesthood for thirty years, nay for many more, have\nnow bitterly to bewail, being deprived of their sacred functions and\ncalled to undertake municipal offices. If[202] those who fight for you\nare set free after a certain period of service, how much more ought you\nto consider those who fight for God! How I repeat, shall I defend this\nto the Bishops who complain in behalf of the clergy, and write word\nthat the Churches are overborne by violent oppression.\n\n30. This however I desired should be made known to your Majesty; about\nthis you will deign to deliberate and direct according to your will;\nbut as to that which distresses and rightly distresses myself, exclude\nand reject it from your consideration. You do yourself whatsoever you\nhave commanded to be done; even if he[203] do it not, I would rather\nthat you should be merciful than that he should refuse to do what he\nhas been commanded.\n\n31. Here are persons in dealing with whom you ought still to invite and\nearn the Clemency of God towards the Roman empire; here are persons for\nwhom rather than for yourself you have to hope; let their grace, their\nwell-being, appeal to you in what I now say. I fear your entrusting\nyour cause to the judgement of others. As yet you are committed to\nnothing. Herein I will pledge myself for you to our God, fear not your\noath. That change cannot be displeasing to God which is made for His\nhonour. You have no need to alter your former letter whether it be yet\ndispatched or not, but command another to be written which shall be\nreplete with faith and piety. It is open to you to change, it is not\nopen to me to keep back the truth.\n\n32. You have forgiven the people of Antioch[204] their offence against\nyou, you have recalled the daughters of your enemy[205], you have\ncommitted them to be nurtured by their relative, you have bestowed\nmoney from your treasury on the mother of your enemy. This great piety,\nthis great faith towards God will be obscured by your present act.\nHaving thus spared your armed foes, and preserved your enemies, do not,\nI beseech you, so eagerly seek for vengeance upon Christians.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Macc. ii. 7.\n\n33. And now I entreat your Majesty not to disdain to listen to my fears\nboth for yourself and myself; for it is the saying of an holy man, _Woe\nis me, wherefore was I born to see this misery of my people?_ is it\nthat I should incur the risk of offending God? Assuredly I have done\nwhat is most respectful to you: I have sought that you should listen to\nme in the palace, that you might not have to listen to me in the Church.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XLI.\n A.D. 388.\n\n\n IN this Letter to his sister S. Ambrose relates the sequel of\n the affair referred to in the preceding one. That Letter failed\n to produce the effect which he had hoped for, and so he was\n driven to fulfil the threat with which he had ended it, and\n \u2018make the Emperor listen to him in the Church.\u2019 He gives his\n sister a full account of the sermon which he preached before the\n Emperor, and how he insisted on a promise that the matter should\n be quashed altogether, before he would celebrate the Eucharist,\n and how the Emperor at last gave way, and so all ended as he had\n wished.\n\n\n THE BROTHER TO HIS SISTER.\n\n1. YOU have kindly written me word, holy sister, that you are still\nanxious about me, because I told you of my own anxiety; this makes\nme wonder that you have not received the letter, in which I told you\nthat tranquillity had been restored to me. Complaints had been made\nthat a synagogue of the Jews had been burnt by the Christians, at the\ninstigation of their Bishop, and also a conventicle of the Valentinians;\nand while I was at Aquileia a decree was issued that the synagogue\nshould be rebuilt by the Bishop, and that the monks who had set fire to\nthis building of the Valentinians should be punished. Wherefore, when\nI found that my personal endeavours were of little avail, I wrote and\ndespatched a letter to the Emperor, and on his going to the Church, I\ndelivered this discourse.\n\n Sidenote: Jer. i. 11.\n\n Sidenote: Num. xvii. 8.\n\n2. In the book of the Prophet it is written, _Take to thyself the rod\nof an almond tree_; and with what intent the Lord said this to the\nprophet we ought to consider, for it was not written without a purpose,\nand we also read in the Pentateuch that the rod of Aaron the priest,\nbudded after being long laid up. Now the rod seems to signify that\nprophetic or sacerdotal authority ought to be unswerving, and to exhort\nrather to what is useful than to what is pleasing.\n\n3. And the reason why the prophet is bidden to take the rod of an\nalmond is this, that the fruit of this tree has a bitter rind and hard\nshell, while its inside is juicy, and so in like manner the prophet\nshould hold out what is hard and bitter, and not shrink from declaring\npainful things. So too with the priest: his teaching may seem bitter\nfor a time to some, and, like Aaron\u2019s rod, may for a long while be laid\nup in the ears of dissemblers, yet afterwards, when it is thought to\nhave withered, it puts forth buds.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. iv. 21.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. ii. 10.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Tim. iv. 2.\n\n4. Hence the Apostle says, _What will ye, shall I come unto you with a\nrod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness_. First he speaks of _a\nrod_, and as with _the rod of an almond tree_ had smitten the wanderers,\nthat he might afterwards comfort them with the spirit of meekness. Just\nso did meekness restore the man whom the rod had driven from the Divine\nsacraments. To his disciple too he gave the same injunctions, _Reprove,\nbeseech, rebuke_. Here are two harsh terms and one gentle; but they are\nonly harsh, that they may themselves be softened. For like as bitter\nfood or drink becomes sweet to these bodies which are laden with excess\nof gall, and on the other hand sweet repasts are bitter to them, so\nalso when the mind is wounded it languishes under the flattering touch\nof pleasure, but is healed again by the bitterness of correction.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke vii. 36\u201338.\n\n Sidenote: Is. ix. 6.\n\n5. Thus much let it suffice to have gathered from the lesson from the\nProphets, let us next consider what that from the Gospel would teach\nus: _And one of the Pharisees desired the Lord Jesus that He would eat\nwith him; and He went into the Pharisee\u2019s house and sat down to meat.\nAnd behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew\nthat Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee\u2019s house brought an alabaster box\nof ointment, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping._ And then the\npassage was recited as far as the words, _Thy faith hath saved thee,\ngo in peace_. How simple, I added, are the words of this Gospel lesson,\nhow profound its counsels! Wherefore, seeing that it is spoken by the\n_great Counsellor_, let us consider its depth.\n\n6. Our Lord Jesus Christ believed that kindness has a greater power of\nconstraining and inciting men to do what is right than fear; and that\nlove avails more for correction than terror. And so, when He came on\nearth by the Virgin\u2019s womb, He first sent His free grace, forgiving\nour sins in baptism to make us more grateful to Him. Then if we will\nrepay Him with such services as befit grateful men, He has declared by\nthis example that He will give fresh gifts of grace to every man. Had\nHe only remitted to us our first debt, He would have seemed cautious\nrather than merciful, more heedful of our amendment than munificent in\nHis rewards. To allure is merely the cunning of a narrow mind, but it\nis befitting to God that those whom He has invited by grace He should\nlead forward by the increase of that grace. And so He first bestows\non us His gifts in baptism, and afterwards if we serve him faithfully\ngives more abundantly. And so the benefits of Christ are both the\nincentives and the rewards of virtue.\n\n7. Let no man be alarmed at the word _creditor_. We were indeed under\nan unforgiving creditor, who could not be satisfied by anything less\nthan the death of his debtor; then the Lord Jesus came and found us\nburthened with a heavy debt. This debt no man could satisfy by his\nnatural innocence; I had nothing of my own wherewith to purchase my\nfreedom, and therefore He bestowed on me a new kind of acquittance; He\nmade me debtor to Himself, seeing I had no means of discharging my debt.\nNow we became debtors not by nature but by our own fault; by our sins\nwe contracted heavy debts, so that we who were free came under a bond;\nfor he is a debtor who has received of his creditor\u2019s money. Now sin\nis from the devil, this is the money which belongs to the wicked one\nas his patrimony; for as virtues are the treasure of Christ, so crimes\nare the riches of the devil. He had brought the human race under the\nperpetual slavery of an inherited liability by that heavy debt which\nour improvident ancestor transmitted by inheritance to his posterity.\nBut then the Lord Jesus came, He gave His life for the life of all, and\nshed His blood for the blood of all.\n\n Sidenote: Is. xlix. 9.\n\n Sidenote: Col. ii. 13, 14.\n\n8. Thus we have changed our creditor, not discharged our debt, nay we\nmay even say we have discharged it, for although it remains, our bond\nis cancelled, the Lord Jesus having _said to the prisoners, Go forth;\nto them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves_; your sins therefore\nare forgiven. Thus He has forgiven all, nor is there any one to whom\nHe has not shewn mercy. For so it is written, that He has _forgiven\nall trespasses; blotting out the hand-writing of the ordinances that\nwas against us_. Why then do we hold the bonds of others? why would\nwe exact our claims from others when we have obtained remission of our\nown? He Who has shewn mercy to all requires of each of us that what he\nremembers to have been remitted to himself he should himself remit to\nothers.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xviii. 23. et seq.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 35.\n\n9. Beware lest you begin to incur heavier blame as a creditor than you\ndid as a debtor; as that servant in the Gospel to whom his Lord forgave\nall his debt began to exact from his fellow servant what he himself had\nnot paid; wherefore his Lord was wroth, and exacted from him with the\ngreatest severity what he had before remitted to him. Let us beware\ntherefore lest the same evil befal us, lest by not remitting our debts\nwe also be called on to pay what had been forgiven us, for so it is\nwritten in the words of the Lord Jesus, _So likewise shall My heavenly\nFather do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one\nhis brother their trespasses _. Let us then forgive small things to\nwhom great have been forgiven, and understand that the more we forgive\nthe more acceptable we shall be to God, for we are so much the more\nacceptable to God the more we have been forgiven.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke vii. 42.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 43.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. iv. 7.\n\n10. Further, when the Pharisee was asked by our Lord, _Which of them\nloved him most_, he answered, _I suppose that he to whom he forgave\nmost_. Whereupon the Lord said, _Thou hast rightly judged_. The\nPharisees judgment is praised, but his affection is blamed. Of others\nhe judges correctly, but what he believes of others, he does not\nbelieve in his own case. Thus you hear the Jew praising the discipline\nof the Church, praising its true graces, honouring its priests; but\nwhen you exhort him to believe he refuses to do so, and thus follows\nnot himself what he praises in us. His eulogy then is not complete,\nthough Christ has said to him, _Thou hast rightly judged_, for Cain\nalso offered rightly, but did not divide rightly, wherefore God said\nunto him, _If thou offer rightly, but divide not rightly, thou hast\nsinned; be still_. And so this man offered rightly, because he judges\nthat Christ, having forgiven Christians many sins, ought to be more\nearnestly loved by them; but he has not divided rightly, because\nhe believes that He Who remitted the sins of men could possibly be\nignorant of them.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke vii. 44.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xlix. 12.\n\n11. And therefore He says to Simon, _Seest thou this woman? I entered\ninto thine house, thou gavest Me no water for My feet, but she hath\nwashed My feet with tears._ We are all one body of Christ, the Head is\nGod, and we are the members: some perhaps as the Prophets, may be the\neyes; others the teeth, as the Apostles, who have filled our hearts\nwith the food of the Evangelical preaching, and of whom it is written,\n_His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk_. They\nare His hands who perform good works: His belly are they who bestow the\nstrength of nourishment on the poor: Some too are His feet also, and\nwould that I might be counted worthy to be even His heel. He then who\npardons the very lowest their sins, pours water on the feet of Christ,\nand while he frees only the mean, yet washes the feet of Christ Himself.\n\n12. He also pours water on the feet of Christ who cleanses his\nconscience from the pollution of sin; for Christ walks in the breast\nof each of us. Beware then lest your conscience be defiled, or you thus\nbegin to stain the feet of Christ. Beware lest He encounter the thorn\nof wickedness within you, whereby His heel as He walks in you may be\nwounded. The reason why the Pharisee did not pour water on the feet of\nChrist was because his soul was not clean from the stain of wickedness.\nHow could he cleanse his conscience, who had not received that water\nwhich Christ gives? But the Church has that water, and the Church\nhas tears, the waters of Baptism and the tears of penitence. For\nfaith, which mourns for former sins, is also wont to avoid fresh ones,\nwherefore Simon the Pharisee as he had no water so neither had he tears.\nFor how could he have them, who did no penance? but as he believed\nnot in Christ so neither had he tears. Had he had them, he would have\nwashed his eyes that he might see Christ, Whom as yet, when he first\nsat down, he saw not. For had he seen Him, he would not have doubted\nof His power.\n\n13. Nor had the Pharisee hair, in that he knew not the Nazarite;\nbut the Church had hair, and she sought for the Nazarite. Hairs are\nconsidered a superfluous part of the body, but if they are anointed\nthey send forth a good smell, and are an ornament to the head, but if\nnot anointed with oil they grow heavy. So likewise riches are a burthen,\nif you know not how to use them, if you sprinkle them not with the\nodours of Christ. But if you feed the poor, if you wash and cleanse\ntheir filth, their wounds, you have truly wiped the feet of Christ.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke vii. 45.\n\n Sidenote: S. John xiv. 27.\n\n Sidenote: Cant. i. 2.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. li. 17.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. cxvi. 10.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. lxxi. 8.\n\n14. _Thou gavest Me no kiss, but this woman, since the time I came in,\nhath not ceased to kiss My feet._ A kiss is the sign of love. But how\ncould the Jew possess this, who knew not peace, who received not peace\nfrom Christ when He said, _Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto\nyou_? This kiss belongs then not to the Synagogue but to the Church,\nto her who looked for Him, who loved Him, who said, _Let Him kiss\nme with the kisses of His mouth_. For the ardour of that lingering\ndesire, which had grown with waiting for the Lord\u2019s coming, she sought\nslowly to quench by His kiss, and to satisfy her thirst by this gift.\nWherefore the holy Prophet says, _Thou shalt open my lips, and my mouth\nshall shew Thy praise_. He then who praises the Lord Jesus kisses Him;\nand he who praises surely believes in Him. Thus David Himself says, _I\nbelieved, and therefore have I spoken_; and before, _Let my mouth be\nfilled with Thy praise, and let me sing of Thy glory_.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. cxix. 131.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. x. 10.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xxiv. 15.\n\n15. Concerning the gift of special grace the same Scripture also\nteaches thee that he who receives the Spirit kisses Christ, for the\nholy Prophet says, _I opened my mouth, and drew in the spirit_[206].\nHe then kisses Christ, who confesses Him; _For with the heart man\nbelieveth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made\nunto salvation_. He kisses the feet of Christ, who, reading the Gospel,\nrecognizes the acts of the Lord Jesus, and admires them with pious\naffection; thus religiously kissing, as it were, the Lord\u2019s steps as He\nwalks. We kiss Christ then with the kiss of Communion; _Whoso readeth\nlet him understand_.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xxii. 48.\n\n16. But how can the Jew have this kiss? For as he believed not in His\nAdvent, so neither did he believe in His Passion, for how can that\nman believe that He suffered, who believes not that He came? Hence the\nPharisee had no kiss save haply that of the traitor Judas. But neither\nhad Judas this kiss, and therefore when he would have shewn to the Jews\nthat kiss which was the concerted sign of his betrayal, the Lord says\nto him: _Judas, betrayest |thou| the Son of man with a kiss?_ that\nis, \u2018Thou offerest a kiss, though thou hast not the love that the kiss\nshould express, thou offerest a kiss who art ignorant of the mystical\nmeaning[207] of the kiss.\u2019 What is required is not the kiss of the lips,\nbut of the heart and mind.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xv. 8.\n\n17. But you will say that he kissed the Lord. True it is he kissed Him\nwith his lips, and this kiss the Jewish people has, wherefore it is\nsaid, _This people honoureth Me with their lips, but their heart is far\nfrom Me_. Wherefore he has not the kiss who has not faith and charity;\nfor by a kiss is conveyed the force of love. Where love is not, nor\nfaith, nor charity, how can there be any sweetness in kisses?\n\n Sidenote: Cant. i. 1.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke ii. 51.\n\n\u266618. Now the Church ceases not to kiss the feet of Christ, and\ntherefore in the Song of songs she asks not for one but many kisses;\nlike holy Mary she is attentive to all His discourses, she receives all\nHis words, when the Gospel is read, or the Prophets; she _keeps all His\nsayings in her heart_. The Church, alone, then, as being the spouse,\nhas kisses, for a kiss is, as it were, the pledge of marriage and the\nprivilege of wedlock. How can the Jew have kisses who believes not in\nthe Spouse, who knows not that He is already come?\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xxxiv. 9.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke x. 31, 32.\n\n Sidenote: Is. i. 6.\n\n19. Nor is it kisses alone that he lacks, but oil also, wherewith to\nanoint the feet of Christ, for if he had had oil he would before now\nhave bowed down his neck. For Moses says, _It is a stiff-necked people_;\nand the Lord says that the priest and levite passed by on the other\nside, nor did either of these pour oil and wine into the wounds of him\nwho had been wounded by robbers; had they possessed this oil they would\nhave poured it into their own wounds. But Isaiah says, _They cannot\napply ointment nor oil nor bandage_.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xxxiii. 24.\n\n20. But the Church has oil wherewith she dresses the wounds of her\nchildren, that the hardness of the wound may not sink inwards; she has\noil, which she has received secretly. With this oil Asher has washed\nhis feet, as it is written, _A blessed son is Asher; and he shall\nbe acceptable to his brethren, dip his foot in oil_. With this oil\ntherefore the Church anoints the necks of her children, that they may\nreceive the yoke of Christ; with this oil she has anointed the martyrs\nto purify them from the dust of this world; with this oil she has\nanointed confessors, that so they might not yield to labour, or sink\ndown through weariness, or be overwhelmed by the waves of this world;\nit is for the purpose of refreshing them with spiritual oil that she\nhas thus anointed them.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. viii. 11.\n\n Sidenote: S. John i. 32.\n\n21. The Synagogue possesses not this oil, for she hath not the olive,\nshe did not recognize that dove which brought back the olive branch\nafter the deluge. This same dove afterwards descended, when Christ was\nbeing baptized, and abode upon Him, as John testifies in the Gospel,\nsaying, _I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it\nabode upon Him_. But how could he see the dove, who saw Him not upon\nwhom the Spirit descended as a dove?\n\n22. So then the Church both washes the feet of Christ, and wipes them\nwith her hair, and anoints them with oil, and pours ointment upon them,\nin that she not only tends the wounded and comforts the weary, but also\nsprinkles over them the sweet odours of grace. Nor is it upon the rich\nand powerful only that she sheds this grace, but on men of low birth\nalso, she weighs all in an equal balance, she receives all in the same\nbosom, and cherishes them in the same lap.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xxv. 40.\n\n23. Christ died once, and was buried once, nevertheless He daily\ndesires that ointment should be poured upon His feet. Now what are\nthese feet of Christ whereon we pour ointment? The feet of Christ are\nthey of whom He saith Himself, _Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one\nof the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me_. These feet\nthat woman in the Gospel tends[208], and washes with her tears, when\nthe lowest have their sins remitted, their faults washed away, their\npardon granted. These feet he kisses who loves even the lowest of the\nholy congregation. These feet he anoints with ointment, who imparts\neven to the weaker brethren the graces of His meekness. In these\nthe martyrs, in these the Apostles, in these the Lord Jesus Himself\ndeclares that He is honoured.\n\n Sidenote: Micah vi. 3, 4.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 5. and\n Num. xxiii. 2.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xiv. 29.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xvi. 4.\n\n Sidenote: Num. xiii. 24.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xxi. 24.\n\n Sidenote: Joshua viii. 23.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 29.\n\n Sidenote: Josh. x. 26.\n\n Sidenote: Micah vi. 8.\n\n24. Thou seest what instruction the Lord imparts, how by His example\nHe stimulates thee to devotion; for He instructs by His censure. And\nHe thus accuses the Jews, _O My people, what have I done unto thee,\nand wherein have I wearied thee? testify against Me. For I brought\nthee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house\nof servants_; adding, _and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.\nRemember what Balak_ devised against thee, he, that is, who sought the\naid of enchantments, but I suffered him not to hurt thee. Truly thou\nwert oppressed while sojourning in foreign lands, thou wert laden with\nheavy burthens: I sent Moses Aaron and Miriam before thy face, and he\nwho had spoiled the strangers was himself despoiled. Thou, who hadst\nlost thine own goods gainedst others, thou wert delivered from the\nenemies that surrounded thee, and in the midst of the waters thou\nsawest in safety the death of thine enemies, for the same wave which\nhad separated and carried thee forward flowed back again and drowned\nthe Egyptians. When thou wert in want of food while journeying through\nthe wilderness, did I not _rain bread from heaven_ for thee, and\nscatter food around thee, whereon thou wentest? Did I not subdue all\nthy enemies and bring thee into the region of the cluster of grapes?\nDid I not deliver up to thee Sihon (which means \u2018proud\u2019) king of the\nAmorites (that is, chief of them that provoked thee); did I not also\ndeliver to thee alive the king of Ai, whom, subject to the sentence of\nthe ancient curse, thou nailedst to the wood and hangedst upon a tree?\nWhat shall I say of the slaughter of the hosts of the five kings, who\nstrove to exclude thee from the promised land? _And what doth the Lord\nrequire of thee, o man_, for all these things, _but to do justly and to\nlove mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?_\n\n Sidenote: 2 Sam. xii. 7.\n\n25. And to king David himself, that meek and holy man, what was His\nexpostulation by the prophet Nathan? I chose thee, He says, the\nyoungest among thy brethren; I filled thee with the spirit of meekness;\nby the hand of Samuel, in whom was My Spirit and My Name, I anointed\nthee king. And from an exile I made thee a conqueror, taking out of the\nway that former king whom an evil spirit instigated to persecute the\npriests of the Lord. Upon thy throne I set one of thy seed not so much\nas an heir as a colleague. I made even strangers subject to thee, that\nthey who resisted might serve thee, and wilt thou deliver My servants\ninto the hands of My enemies, wilt thou take away that which was\nMy servant\u2019s, whereby both thou wilt be branded with sin, and My\nadversaries will have whereof to glory?\n\n Sidenote: Deut. ix. 4.\n\n Sidenote: S. John xii. 5.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xv. 10.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. xii. 21.\n\n26. Seeing therefore, O Emperor, (for I will now not only discourse of\nyou but address myself to you) how severe the Lord\u2019s censures are wont\nto be, you must take care, in proportion as you become more illustrious,\nto submit so much the more humbly to your Maker. For it is written:\nWhen the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into a foreign land, and\nthou shalt eat the fruits of others, say not, \u2018By my own strength and\nrighteousness I obtained these things,\u2019 but, \u2018The Lord God gave them to\nme, Christ in His mercy conferred them on me,\u2019 and therefore by loving\nHis body, that is, the Church, pour water on His feet and kiss His feet;\nthus shalt thou not only absolve those who have been taken in sin, but\nin giving to them peace you will bring them into concord and restore\nto them rest. Pour ointment on His feet, that the whole house wherein\nChrist sits at meat may be filled with the odour of thy ointment, and\nlet all who sit at meat with Him rejoice in thy fragrance; that is\nto say, pay such regard even to the lowest, that in their absolution\nthe Angels may rejoice, as they do over one sinner that repenteth,\nthe Apostles may be glad, the Prophets may exult. For _the eye cannot\nsay unto the hand, I have no need of thee, nor the head to the feet, I\nhave no need of you_. Since therefore each member is necessary, do thou\nprotect the whole body of the Lord Jesus, that He also of His divine\nmercy may protect thy kingdom.\n\n27. On my coming down he says to me, \u2018You have been preaching at me\nto-day.\u2019 I replied that in my discourse I had his benefit in view. He\nthen said, \u2018It is true, I did make too harsh a decree concerning the\nreparation of the synagogue by the Bishop, but this has been rectified.\nAs for the monks, they commit many crimes.\u2019 Then Timasius, one of the\nGenerals-in-chief[209], began to be very vehement against the monks. I\nreplied to him, \u2018With the Emperor I deal as is fitting, because I know\nthat he fears God, but with you, who speak so rudely, I shall deal\ndifferently.\u2019\n\n28. After standing for some time, I said to the Emperor, \u2018Enable me to\noffer for you with a safe conscience, set my mind at rest.\u2019 The Emperor\nsat still, and nodded, but did not promise in plain words; then, seeing\nthat I still remained standing, he said that he would amend the order.\nI said at once that he must quash the whole enquiry, for fear the\nCount[210] should make it an opportunity for inflicting wrong on the\nChristians. He promised that it should be done. I said to him, \u2018I act\non your promise,\u2019 and repeated the words again. \u2018Do so\u2019 said he. Then\nI went to the altar; but I would not have gone, if he had not given me\nhis distinct promise. And indeed so great was the grace attending the\noblation, that I myself was sensible that this favour he had granted\nwas very acceptable to our God, and that the divine Presence had not\nbeen withheld. Then all was done as I wished.\n\n\n\n\n THE LETTER OF POPE SIRICIUS TO THE CHURCH OF MILAN.\n A.D. 389.\n\n\n THE Letter of Siricius was addressed to the Church of Milan to\n inform them of the sentence of excommunication passed against\n Jovinian and his followers. Jovinian had been a monk, but\n had abandoned the ascetic life and rushed into extremes of\n self-indulgence: there is a good description of him in Tillemont,\n (Vie de S. Ambr. 63, 64,) who calls him \u2018cet Epicure des\n Chr\u00e9tiens.\u2019 The false doctrines with which he \u2018barked at the\n true doctrines of the Church\u2019 are stated in this Letter and\n in the reply of the Synod of the Church of Milan which follows.\n Jovinian was answered by S. Jerome, who writes against him with\n much vehemence.\n\n\n SIRICIUS TO THE CHURCH OF MILAN.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. xv. 32.\n\n 1. I WOULD fain always, beloved brethren, send you tidings of\n joys, sincere as you are in love and peace, so that by means\n of the mutual interchange of letters we might be pleased by the\n tidings of your welfare[211]. Our ancient Adversary however[212]\n does not suffer us to be free from his attacks, he who is a\n liar from the beginning, the enemy of truth, envious of man, in\n order to deceive whom he first deceived himself, the adversary\n of chastity, the teacher of sensuality, who is fed by cruelty,\n punished by abstinence, who hates fasts, asserting, as his\n followers also give out, that they are superfluous, having no\n hope of things to come, obnoxious to the censure of the Apostle,\n _Let us eat and drink for to-morrow we die_.\n\n 2. O miserable boldness, O craft of a desperate mind! Already\n was this unknown language of heresy spreading through the Church\n like a cancer, seeking to fill the breast, and plunge the whole\n man in destruction: and unless the Lord of Sabaoth had broken\n through the snare which they had laid, the public exhibition\n of so much evil and hypocrisy would have led to ruin the hearts\n of many simple ones, for the human mind is easily drawn aside\n towards evil, choosing rather to fly through open space, than to\n travel with pain along the narrow way.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. vii. 15, 16.\n\n 3. Wherefore it was very necessary, most dearly beloved, to\n commend what has been done here to your notice and consideration,\n lest through the ignorance of any priest, the Church might\n be infected by the contagion of these most wicked men who are\n breaking in upon it under a religious pretext, as it is written\n and the Lord has said, _Many come to you in sheeps\u2019 clothing,\n but inwardly they are ravening wolves; ye shall know them by\n their fruits_.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xi. 2.\n\n These are they who under a mean garb boast themselves as\n Christians, that walking under the semblance of piety they\n may enter the house of prayer and utter the words of wily\n disputation, _that they may privily shoot at them which are\n true of heart_, and, seducing them from Catholic truth, may draw\n them over, after the example of Satan, to the madness of their\n own doctrines, beguiling the simplicity of the flock.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xxii. 12.\n\n 4. And indeed from the times of the Apostles up to now we have\n heard and known by experience of many malignant heresies, but\n the sacred truth of the Church has never been assailed by the\n barking of such dogs as those who have now suddenly broken\n in upon us, with the doctrines of unbelief fully sprouted,\n enemies of the faith; who by the fruit of their works have\n betrayed whose disciples they are. For while other heretics\n misunderstanding single points have proposed to bear away and\n abstract from the Divine system of teaching, these men, _not\n having on a wedding garment_, wound the Catholics, perverting,\n as I have said, the continuity of the New and Old Testament, and\n interpreting it in a diabolical spirit, have by their alluring\n and false arguments already begun to ruin some Christians, and\n to make them associates of their madness, not keeping within\n themselves the poison of their iniquity: but some of their\n chosen ones have betrayed their blasphemies by writing rash\n discourse, which the rage of a desperate mind has led them\n openly to publish, favouring, as it does, the cause of the\n Heathens.\n\n 5. But of their madness I suddenly received intelligence by\n means of a shocking writing which certain faithful Christians,\n men of high rank, and signal piety, caused to be conveyed to\n me, unworthy as I am, in order that the opposition of these\n men to the Divine Law might be detected by the discernment of\n the Clergy and repressed by a spiritual sentence. Assuredly\n we receive without scorn the vows of those marriages which we\n assist at with the veil[213], but virgins, for whose existence\n marriage is necessary, as being devoted to God, we honour more\n highly.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. i. 8.\n\n 6. Having therefore held an assembly of my clergy it became\n clear that their sentiments were contrary to our doctrine, that\n is, to the Christian law. Therefore, following the Apostolic\n precept, we, seeing that they were _preaching another Gospel\n than that which we received_, have excommunicated them. Know\n therefore that it was the unanimous sentence of us all, as\n well of the presbyters and deacons as of the other clergy, that\n Jovinian, Auxentius, Genialis, Germinator, Felix, Prontinus[214],\n Martianus, Januarius, and Ingeniosus, who were discovered to\n be the promoters of the new heresy and blasphemy, should be\n condemned by the Divine sentence and our judgment, and remain\n in perpetual exclusion from the Church.\n\n 7. Nothing doubting that your Holiness will observe the\n aforesaid decree, I have sent you this Epistle by my brethren\n and fellow-priests, Crescens, Leopardus and Alexander, that\n they, with a fervent spirit, may perform a religious and faithful\n service.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XLII.\n A.D. 389.\n\n\n IN this, their reply to Siricius, drawn up in all probability by\n S. Ambrose himself, the Council of Milan thank him for his care,\n and announce that they have followed his example and condemned\n Jovinian and his followers in the same way. They dwell upon his\n errors, particularly on his disparagement of virginity, on his\n denial of the virginity of our Lord\u2019s Mother, on his contempt\n of widowhood, and of fasting, and condemn him as a follower of\n Manes. They argue in especial detail against his argument with\n regard to the Virgin Mary, which differs from that of Helvidius\n and other assailants of the \u1f00\u03b5\u1f76 \u03c0\u03ac\u03c1\u03b8\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2.\n\n\n TO THEIR LORD, THEIR DEARLY BELOVED BROTHER, POPE SIRICIUS,\n AMBROSE, SABINUS, BASSANIUS, AND THE REST SEND GREETING.\n\n\u26661. IN your Holiness\u2019 Letter we recognized the vigilance of a good\nshepherd, for you faithfully guard the door which has been entrusted\nto you, and with pious solicitude watch over the fold of Christ, being\nworthy to be heard and followed by the sheep of the Lord. Knowing\ntherefore the lambs of Christ, you will easily discover the wolves,\nand meet them as a wary shepherd, so as to keep them from scattering\nthe Lord\u2019s flock by their unbelieving life and dismal barking.\n\n2. We praise you for this, our Lord and brother dearly beloved,\nand join in cordial commendations of it. Nor are we surprised that\nthe Lord\u2019s flock was terrified at the rage of wolves in whom they\nrecognized not the voice of Christ. For it is a savage barking to shew\nno reverence to virginity, observe no rule of chastity, to seek to\nplace every thing on a level, to abolish the different degrees of merit,\nand to introduce a certain meagreness in heavenly rewards, as if Christ\nhad only one palm to bestow, and there was no copious diversity in His\nrewards.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xix. 5.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. vii. 38.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 34.\n\n3. They pretend that they are giving honour to marriage. But what\npraise can rightly be given to marriage if no distinction is paid to\nvirginity? We do not deny that marriage was hallowed by Christ, for the\nDivine words say, _And they twain shall be one flesh_, and one spirit,\nbut our birth precedes our calling, and the mystery of the Divine\noperation is much more excellent than the remedy of human frailty. A\ngood wife is deservedly praised, but a pious virgin is more properly\npreferred, for the Apostle says, _He that giveth his virgin in marriage\ndoeth well, but he that giveth her not in marriage doeth better; for\nthe one careth for the things of the Lord, the other for the things\nof the world_. The one is bound by the chains of marriage, the other\nis free from chains; the one is under the Law, the other under Grace.\nMarriage is good, for thereby the means of continuing the human race\nhas been devised, but virginity is better, for thereby the heritage of\nthe heavenly kingdom is regained, and the mode of attaining to heavenly\nrewards discovered. By a woman care entered the world; by a virgin\nsalvation was brought to pass. Lastly, Christ chose virginity as His\nown special gift, and displayed the grace of chastity, thus making an\nexhibition of that in His own person which in His Mother He had made\nthe object of His choice.\n\n Sidenote: Isa. xliii. 19.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. i. 23.\n\n4. How great is the madness of their dismal barkings, that the same\npersons should say that Christ could not be born of a virgin, and yet\nassert that women, after having given birth to human pledges, remain\nvirgins? Does Christ grant to others what, as they assert, He could not\ngrant to Himself? But He, although He took on Him our flesh, although\nHe was made man that He might redeem man, and recal him from death,\nstill, as being God, came upon earth in an extraordinary way, that as\nHe had said, _Behold I make all things new_, so also He might be born\nof an immaculate virgin, and be believed to be, as it is written, _God\nwith us_. But from their perverse ways they are induced to say \u2018She was\na virgin when she conceived, but not a virgin when she brought forth.\u2019\nCould she then conceive as a virgin, and yet not be able to bring forth\nas a virgin, when conception always precedes, and birth follows?\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke i. 37.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 34.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 38.\n\n5. But if they will not believe the doctrines of the Clergy, let them\nbelieve the oracles of Christ, let them believe the admonitions of\nAngels who say, _For with God nothing shall be impossible_. Let them\ngive credit to the Creed of the Apostles, which the Roman Church has\nalways kept and preserved undefiled. Mary heard the voice of the Angel,\nand she who before had said _How shall this be?_ not asking from want\nof faith in the mode of generation, afterwards replied, _Behold the\nhandmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy word_. This is\nthe virgin who conceived, this the virgin who brought forth a Son. For\nthus it is written, _Behold a Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son_;\ndeclaring not only that she should conceive as a virgin, but also that\nshe bring forth as a virgin.\n\n Sidenote: Ezek. xliv. 1, 2.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. iii. 15.\n\n Sidenote: Ezek. xliv. 2.\n\n6. But what is that _gate of the sanctuary_, that _outward gate which\nlooketh towards the East, which remains shut, and no man_, it is said,\n_shall enter in by it but the Lord, the God of Israel_. Is not Mary\nthis gate, by whom the Saviour entered into the world? This is the\ngate of righteousness, as He Himself said, _Suffer us to fulfil all\nrighteousness_. Blessed Mary is the gate, whereof it is written that\n_the Lord hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut_ after\nbirth; for as a virgin she both conceived and brought forth.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxiv. 3.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xvii. 6.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xiv. 22.\n\n Sidenote: Numb. xx. 11.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Kings vi. 6.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xiv. 26.\n\n Sidenote: Is. xix. 20, 21.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xv. 20.\n\n7. But why should it be incredible that Mary, contrary to the usage\nof natural birth, should bring forth and yet remain a virgin; when\ncontrary to the usage of nature, the sea saw and fled, and the floods\nof Jordan retired to their source. It should not exceed our belief\nthat a virgin should bring forth, when we read that a rock poured forth\nwater, and the waves of the sea were gathered up like a wall. Nor need\nit, again, exceed our belief that a man should be born of a virgin,\nwhen a running stream gushed forth from the rock, when iron swam upon\nthe waters, and a man walked upon them. If therefore the waves carried\na man, could not a virgin bring forth a man? But what man? Him of Whom\nwe read, _The Lord shall send them a Man Who shall deliver them; and\nthe Lord shall be known to Egypt_. Wherefore in the old Testament a\nHebrew virgin led the people through the sea, in the New Testament\na royal virgin was elected to be a heavenly abode for our salvation.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke ii. 36, 37.\n\n8. But what more? let us also subjoin the praises of widowhood, since\nin the Gospel next after that most illustrious birth from a virgin,\ncomes the widow Anna; she who _had lived with an husband seven years\nfrom her virginity; and she was a widow of about fourscore and four\nyears, which departed not from the temple, but served with fastings\nand prayers night and day_.\n\n9. And fitting it is that these men should despise widowhood, which\nis wont to keep fasts, for they regret that they should have been\nmortified by these for any time, and avenge the wrong they inflicted\non themselves, and by daily banquets and habits of luxury seek to ward\noff the pain of abstinence. They do nothing more rightly than in thus\ncondemning themselves out of their own mouth.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. ix. 27.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. vi. 5.\n\n Sidenote: Col. ii. 20. sqq.\n\n10. But they even fear lest their former fasting should be reckoned\nagainst them. Let them choose whichever they like: if they ever fasted,\nlet them repent of their good work, if never, let them confess their\nown intemperance and luxury. And so they assert that Paul was a teacher\nof excess. But who can be a teacher of temperance if he was a teacher\nof excess, _who chastised his body and brought it into subjection_,\nand recorded his performance of the service he owed to Christ by many\nfastings; and this not for the purpose of praising himself and his\ndoings, but that he might teach us, what example to follow. Did he\nthen teach excess who said, _Why, as though living in the world, are\nye subject to ordinances? Touch not, taste not, handle not, which all\nare to perish with the using_; who also says, _Not in indulgence of the\nbody, not in any honour to the satisfying and love of the flesh, not in\nthe lusts of error; but in the Spirit by Whom we are renewed_.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. lxix. 10.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. iii. 7.\n\n Sidenote: Jonah iii. 5.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xvii. 21.\n\n11. If what the Apostle has said is not enough, let them hear the\nProphet saying, _I chastened myself with fasting_. He therefore who\nfasts not is uncovered and naked and exposed to wounds. And if Adam had\nclothed himself with fasting he would not have been found to be naked.\nNineveh delivered itself from death by fasting. And the Lord Himself\nsays, _This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting_.\n\n12. But why need we say more to our master and teacher? seeing that\nthese persons have now paid the worthy price of their perfidy, who have\non this account come even hither, that no place might remain where they\nwere not condemned; who have proved themselves to be truly Manichees,\nby not believing that He came forth from a virgin. What madness is this,\nalmost equal to that of the modern Jews? If He is not believed so to\nhave come, neither is He believed to have taken upon Him our flesh,\ntherefore He was seen only in figure, He was crucified only in figure.\nBut He was crucified for us in truth, He is in truth our Redeemer.\n\n13. He is a Manichee who denies the truth, who denies that Christ came\nin the flesh; and therefore the remission of sins is not their\u2019s; but\nit is the impiety of the Manichees which both the most merciful Emperor\nhas abhorred[215], and all who saw them have fled from as a plague.\nWitnesses thereof are our brethren and fellow-presbyters, Crescens,\nLeopardus, and Alexander, fervent in the Holy Spirit, by whose means\nthey have been exposed to common execration, and driven as fugitives\nfrom the city of Milan.\n\n14. Wherefore you are to know that Jovinian, Auxentius, Germinator,\nFelix, Plotinus, Genialis, Martianus, Januarius and Ingeniosus,\nwhom your Holiness has condemned, have also, in accordance with your\njudgment, been condemned by ourselves.\n\nMay our Almighty God keep you in safety and prosperity, Lord and\nbrother most beloved.\n\nHere follows the subscription.\n\nI Eventius[216], Bishop, salute your Holiness in the Lord, and have\nsubscribed this Epistle.\n\nMAXIMUS, Bishop.\n\nFELIX, Bishop.\n\nBASSIANUS, Bishop.\n\nTHEODORUS, Bishop.\n\nCONSTANTIUS, Bishop.\n\nBy command of my lord Geminianus Bishop, and in his presence, I Aper,\nPresbyter, have subscribed.\n\nEustasius, Bishop, and all the Orders have subscribed.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XLIII.\n\n\n THIS Letter is a reply to a question from Horontianus, why\n man, the highest work of God\u2019s creation, was made the last.\n S. Ambrose brings forward various analogies to shew that the last\n is first, and each with an enthusiastic and poetical description\n of man\u2019s greatness and of his dominion over the other works of\n creation.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO HORONTIANUS.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. i. 16.\n\n1. YOU have intimated to me your surprise at finding in my Treatise\non the Six days of Creation, that, while you found both the Sacred\nNarrative and the tenor of my discourse assigning greater gifts to man\nthan to any other creature in the earth, still that the land and the\nwaters brought forth all flying and creeping things and things in the\nwaters before him for whose sake they were all created: and you ask me\nthe reason of this, which Moses was silent about, and I did not venture\nto touch upon.\n\n2. And perhaps that spokesman of the Divine Oracles purposely kept\nsilence, lest he should seem to render himself the judge and counsellor\nof the Divine ordinances; for to give utterance to that with which he\nwas inspired by the Spirit of God is one thing, to interpret the will\nof God is another. I am of opinion however that we, not as speaking\nin God\u2019s Name, but as gathering up scattered principles of reason from\nhuman usage, may be able, from the way in which God has disposed other\nthings for man\u2019s use, to come to the conclusion that it was fitting for\nman to be the last work of creation.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xiv. 16.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xxii. 12.\n\n3. For he who sets out a banquet, like that rich man in the Gospel,\n(for we must compare Divine things with each other the better to\ndraw our conclusion,) prepares every thing first, kills his oxen and\nfatlings, and then bids his friends to supper. The more trivial things\ntherefore are prepared in the first place, and then he who is worthy of\nhonour is invited. Hence the Lord also first provided for the food of\nman all other animals, and then invited to the feast man himself, as\nHis friend: and truly His friend, seeing that he was partaker of the\nDivine Charity and heir of His Glory. To man himself it is that He says:\n_Friend, how camest thou in hither?_ So then all things that precede\nare to minister to the need of the friend, and it is the friend who is\ninvited last.\n\n Sidenote: Rev. ii. 10.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Tim. iv. 7.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. ii. 5.\n\n4. Take another instance. What is the world but a sort of arena of\ncontinual strife? Wherefore also in the Apocalypse the Lord says, _To\nhim that overcometh will I give a crown of life_; and Paul says, _I\nhave fought a good fight_; and in another place, _No man is crowned\nexcept he strive lawfully_. He who institutes this combat is Almighty\nGod. Now he who in this world offers a combat, does he not first\nprovide all things which are necessary thereto, and prepare the\nchaplets of victory before he summons the athletics to contend for the\nprize; and all this that the conqueror may not suffer delay, but retire\nfrom the contest crowned with his reward? Now the rewards of man are\nthe fruits of the earth and the lights of heaven; the former for the\nuse of this present life, the latter for the hope of life eternal.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. viii. 20.\n\n Sidenote: Dan. xii. 3.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. ix. 26.\n\n5. As a wrestler therefore he enters the lists last of all; he raises\nhis eyes to heaven, he sees that even the heavenly _creation was\nmade subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath\nsubjected the same in hope_. He sees that _the whole creation groaneth\nin pain together, waiting for redemption_. He sees that labour awaits\nus all. He raises his eyes, he sees the circlets of lights, he surveys\nthe orbs of the moon and stars: _For the just, who overcome, shall\nbe as the stars in heaven_. And he chastises his body, that it may\nnot be his enemy in the combat, he anoints it with the oil of mercy,\nhe exercises it with daily trials of virtue, he smears himself with\ndust, he _runs_ to the goal of the course but _not as uncertainly_, he\naims his blows, he darts forth his arms, but not into empty space, he\nstrikes the adversary whom he sees not, for he has respect to Him alone\nto Whom all enemies give way, even those who are invisible, in Whose\nName the powers of the air were turned aside. It is he therefore who\npoises the blow, but it is Christ Who strikes, it is he who lifts up\nhis heel, but Christ Who directs it to the ground. Lastly, although\nPaul saw not those whom he struck, he was not _as one that beateth the\nair_, because by the preaching of Christ he wounded those evil spirits\nwhich assaulted him. Rightly therefore did man, for whom a race was\nprepared, enter the course last, that he might be preceded by heaven\nwhich was to be, as it were, his reward.\n\n Sidenote: Eph. vi. 12.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. ix. 21.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. xi. 26.\n\n Sidenote: Acts xvi. 22.\n\n6. But we wrestle not only _against spiritualities of wickedness in\nhigh places_, but also _against flesh and blood_. We wrestle with\nsatiety, with the very fruits of the earth, with wine, by which even\na righteous man was made drunk, and the whole people of the Jews\noverthrown; we wrestle with wild animals, with the fowls of the air;\nfor our flesh, if pampered by these, cannot be brought to subjection;\nwe wrestle _with perils of the way, with perils of waters_, as Paul\nsays; we wrestle with rods of the wood, those rods with which the\nApostles were beaten. You see how severe are our combats. Thus the\nearth is man\u2019s trial-ground, heaven is his crown; and fitting therefore\nit was that as a friend, what was to minister to his wants should\nprecede him, as a combatant, his reward.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. xv. 49.\n Gen. i. 27.\n\n7. Take another illustration. In all things the beginning and the\nending are most excellent. If you look upon a house, it is the\nfoundation and the roof which are more considerable than the other\nparts, if you look upon a field it is the sowing and the harvest,\nthe planting and the vintage. How sweet are the grafts of trees, how\npleasant are the fruits! In the same manner also was the heaven created\nfirst, and man last, as a kind of heavenly creature upon earth. For\nalthough in body he is compared with the beasts, in mind he is numbered\namong the inhabitants of heaven; for _as we have borne the image of\nthe earthy; we shall also bear the image of the heavenly_. How should\nhe not be heavenly, who is made after the image and likeness of God?\n\n Sidenote: Is. lxvi. 1.\n\n Sidenote: S. John xiv. 23.\n\n8. Rightly therefore in the creation of the world the heaven is both\nfirst and last, wherein is that which is beyond heaven, even the God of\nheaven. And of man is rather to be understood the text, _Heaven is my\nthrone_, for God does not sit above the element, but in the heart of\nman. Wherefore the Lord also says, _We will come unto Him, and make our\nabode with Him_. Heaven therefore is the first work in the creation of\nthe world, and man the last.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cii. 25.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. cxix. 73.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xix. 1.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. v. 16.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xvi. 18.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xxxii. 13.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. x. 4.\n\n9. Heaven is of the world, man above the world; for the former is a\nportion of the world, the latter is an inhabitant of Paradise, and the\npossession of Christ. Heaven is thought to be undecaying, yet it passes\naway; man is deemed to be incorruptible, yet he puts on incorruption;\nthe fashion of the first perishes, the latter rises again as being\nimmortal; yet the hands of the Lord, according to the authority of\nScripture, formed them both. For as we read of the heavens, _And the\nheavens are the work of Thy hands_; so also man says, _Thy hands have\nmade me and fashioned me_; and again, _The heavens declare the glory\nof God_. And as the heaven is resplendent with stars, so are men bright\nwith the light of good works, for their works shine before their Father\nWhich is in heaven. The former is the firmament of heaven which is on\nhigh, and the latter firmament is not unlike to it, whereof it is said,\n_Upon this rock will I build My Church_; the one is the firmament of\nthe elements, the other of virtues, and the last is more excellent;\n_they sucked honey out of the firm rock_, for _the Rock_ is the flesh\n_of Christ_, which redeemed the heaven and the whole world.\n\n Sidenote: 2 S. Pet. i. 4.\n\n Sidenote: Acts xvii. 27, 28.\n\n10. Why should I add further, carrying you, as it were, through the\nwhole course, that God made man _partaker of the Divine nature_, as we\nread in the Epistle of Peter? Whence one says not improperly, _We also\nare His offspring_, for He made us akin to Himself, and we are of a\nrational nature, that we might seek for that Godhead _Which is not far\nfrom each one of us, in Whom we live and move and have our being_.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. i. 28.\n\n11. Having therefore conferred on man that which is the greatest of\ngraces, He granted to him as to that creature who was dearest and very\nnearest to Him, all the things which are in this world, that he might\nwant for nothing which is necessary either for life or for a good life,\nsome of which things were to be supplied by the abundance of earthly\nplenty to minister pleasure, others again by the knowledge of heavenly\nsecrets, to arouse man\u2019s mind by the love and desire of that discipline\nwhich should enable us to reach the summit of the Divine mysteries.\nBoth these therefore are most excellent gifts, both to have all the\nriches of the world subject to him, all flying and creeping things and\nfishes, and, as being lord of the elements, the use of the sea, and\nwithout toil or want, after the model and likeness of his adorable\nCreator, to abound in all things, living in the greatest plenty, and\nalso to open paths for himself, and make progress, so as to ascend to\nthe royal abode of heaven.\n\n12. You will easily discover that the traveller along this arduous\npath is the man, who has been so fashioned in purpose of heart and\nwill, as to be, as far as possible, estranged from his body, as not to\nenter into any fellowship with vice, nor suffer himself to be smoothed\ndown by the words of flatterers: one who does not, when riding on the\nchariot of prosperity, despise the humble, shun sorrow, discard and\ndisparage the praises of the holy, nor, by desire of glory or of wealth,\ngrasped at too prematurely, exhaust all the ardour of hope; one whose\nmind is not bowed down by sadness nor broken by injury, which is not\n\u2666harassed by suspicion, nor excited by lust, whom the passions of\nthe body do not overcome, whom no desire of vanities or charms of\npleasure disquiet and disturb. Add to all this the virtues of chastity,\nsoberness and temperance; let him be able easily to curb the irregular\nsallies of light passion, set bounds to his pleasures and desires,\nclear up ambiguity by an equitable judgment, by tranquillity of mind\nsettle what is doubtful, and with all the strifes of the mind and body\nreconciled, so to speak, preserve in a just balance the concord of the\nexterior and interior man unimpaired, stilling them as they lie within\nhis own breast, while, should he be called to it, no evil counsellor\nis able to turn him away from the crown of suffering, such a man surely\nwill be adopted not only as a friend but a son by the Father, that he\nmay obtain the riches of His glory and inheritance.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. x. 4.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. lxxiii. 21.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. lxxxix. 9.\n\n13. Rightly therefore did he come last, being, as it were, the end of\nnature, formed to righteousness, and the arbiter of right among other\ncreatures. And, if we may employ the illustration, as among men _Christ\nis the end of the Law for righteousness to every one that believeth_,\nso are we as beasts in the sight of the Lord, for thus says the Prophet,\n_I became as a beast before Thee_. Yet what comparison is there between\nthe two, when He has redeemed those who were ready to perish, and we\nput them to death, He calls slaves to liberty and we inflict bondage\non the free? _But who is like God?_\n\n14. Man however came forth the last of all created things, in form\ncomely, in mind lofty, to be admired by all creatures, having in him,\nafter the image of the eternal God, an invisible intelligence[217]\nclothed in human form. This is that intelligence or power of the\nsoul which claims to itself, as the ruling principle, authority over\nthe soul and body. This it is that all other living creatures dread\nalthough they see it not, just as we fear God Whom we see not, and fear\nHim only the more because we see Him not.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. i. 26.\n\n Sidenote: Jer. xxiii. 24.\n\n Sidenote: S. John i. 18.\n\n Sidenote: Jer. xx. 9.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xvii. 2.\n\n15. For, if we may presume to speak of ourselves _after His image and\nlikeness_, as Scripture says, in the same way as He is established in\nthe fulness of His Majesty, and sees all things, heaven, air, earth\nand sea, embracing the universe and penetrating each part, so that\nnothing escapes Him, and there is nothing which does not consist in\nHim and depend on Him, and which is not full of Him, as He Himself\nsays, _I fill heaven and earth, saith the Lord_, so likewise the mind\nof man sees all things and is not seen, but maintains its own essence\ninvisible. By means of discipline forethought and perception she\napprehends hidden things, dives into the secret of the deep, and those\nlurking-places which are spread throughout all lands, scrutinizing the\nnature of both elements, after the likeness of the great God Whom she\nimitates and follows, Whose image in minute portions is represented in\neach individual. She raises herself likewise into the air, and rising\nabove the cloudy region, soars, in zeal for knowledge and thirst for\nwisdom, to the height of heaven, and resting there awhile, rapt in\nwonder at the heavenly constellations and charmed with their brightness,\nlooks down upon the things of earth. Then she approaches also to\nHesperus and Arcturus and those other stars which although Planets\nerr not, and sees that they keep their course without stumbling, that\ncourse along which, in order the better to visit all regions, they\nseem to circuit and to wander. And thus with greater ardour she raises\nherself to the very bosom of the Father, wherein is the Only-Begotten\nSon of God Who declares the secrets of God, which in the time to come\nare to be revealed face to face. But even now He discloses them partly\nand in a figure to those whom He deems worthy, and at the same time\nsheds forth from the Spirit and from His own countenance floods of\nresplendent light, so that he who is illuminated thereby may say, _But\nit was as a fire blazing in my bones and I am melted on all sides, and\ncannot stay_. And David says, _Let my sentence come forth from Thy\npresence!_\n\n16. By this vigour of mind, therefore, to return to the point from\nwhence I have digressed, whereby she subjects to herself things\nexternal, comprehends in her view things distant and separate from\neach other, and subdues the more powerful animals, she has inspired\nthe rest with such reverence for herself, that they emulously obey her\nas their king, and pay ready attention to her voice. Nay, although they\nare irrational they still acknowledge reason, and fix within themselves\nthat discipline which nature has not given them. Furthermore wild\nbeasts, seeing man\u2019s gentleness, grow gentle under his rule. Often have\nthey closed their jaws, recalled by the sound of the human voice. We\nsee hares caught without injury by the harmless fangs of dogs, and even\nlions, if they hear man\u2019s voice, letting their prey escape: leopards\nalso and bears urged on and recalled by the sound of his voice: the\nhorses stimulated by the applause of man, and slackening their speed\nat his silence: nay, often, untouched by the lash they outstrip others\nthat are scourged on, so much more powerfully does the scourge of the\ntongue incite them.\n\n17. But what shall I say of the creatures\u2019 services to man? In order to\nplease him the ram nourishes his fleece, and is plunged in the stream\nto enhance its beauty; sheep also crop the best herbage to distend with\nsweeter juice of milk their teeming udders; and, that they may offer to\nman their gifts, suffer the pangs of travail; bulls groan all day under\nthe plough pressed down in the furrows; camels, besides the service\nof bearing burthens, suffer themselves to be shorn like rams, so that\neach animal contributes to man, as to a king, its service, and pays its\nannual tribute. The horse, exulting in such a rider, prances proudly,\nand curving his neck when his master mounts, gives his back to afford\nhim a seat. And if you are still at a loss why man was made last, let\nthe same animal teach us that this is to be deemed an honour not a\nslight. For he bears one who came after him, not despising but fearing\nhim, and bearing him with pain to himself from place to place. In\na moment of time man reaches far distant places and traverses long\ndistances, transported sometimes on single horses, sometimes in\ntriumphal chariots[218].\n\n Sidenote: 2 Kings ii. 11.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. viii. 24;\n S. Mark iv. 38.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. xv. 45, 46.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 47.\n\n18. And since I have mentioned triumphal chariots it is needful that I\nshould add thereto the chariot of Elijah which carried him through the\nair, and those of elephants, whereon man sits as conqueror, and governs\nalthough he be last and they precede him. And thus the steersman of a\nship sits in the stern, and yet guides the whole ship. Whence I deem\nit not without a purpose that we are told in the Gospel that the Lord\nJesus was asleep in the stern of the ship; and that when awakened He\ncommanded the wind and the sea, and laid the storm, shewing thereby\nthat He came last because He came as the Pilot. Wherefore the Apostle\nsays, _The first man Adam was made a living soul, the last Adam was\nmade a quickening Spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual,\nbut that which is natural, and afterwards that which is spiritual_; and\nthen he adds, _The first man is of the earth, earthy, the second man is\nfrom heaven, heavenly_.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. viii. 17.\n\n19. Rightly therefore is man the last, being as it were the\nconsummation of the whole work, the cause of the world, for whose sake\nall things were made; the habitant, as it were, of all the elements,\nhe lives among beasts, swims with fishes, soars above birds, converses\nwith Angels, dwells upon the earth, and has his warfare in heaven,\nploughs the sea, feeds upon air, tills the soil, is a voyager over the\ndeep, a fisher in the floods, a fowler in the air, in heaven an heir\neven joint-heir with Christ. These things he does by his diligence.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xiv. 29.\n\n Sidenote: S. John xxi. 7.\n\n Sidenote: Bel and the Dragon 36.\n\n20. Hear also things above man\u2019s natural power. Moses walked along the\nbottom of the sea, the Apostles upon the surface, Habbacuc flew without\nwings, Elijah conquered upon earth, and triumphed in heaven.\n\nFarewell, my son; love me for I also love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XLIV.\n A.D. 389.\n\n\n S. AMBROSE here first dwells on the distinction between God and\n the Universe which is His work. He then speaks of the six days\n of Creation, and of the mystical meaning of the numbers seven\n and eight, applying various passages of Scripture in which they\n occur, and bringing forward analogies from nature.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO HORONTIANUS.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. iv. 18.\n\n1. YOU have done well to mark the prophet\u2019s distinction between the\nCreator and His works, or rather, God\u2019s own distinction; for Moses\nwrote not of himself, but by inspiration and revelation, particularly\nin what relates to the formation of the world. For the One being\nimpassible, the other liable to suffering, he has referred that which\nwas impassible to God the Creator, but the passible part, without life\nor motion of its own, but receiving life and motion and form from its\nCreator, he has assigned to the world; and as this world, after its\ncreation, ought not to be left without a ruler, or unprotected by any\nfather, he therefore plainly describes the invisible God as the Ruler\nand Governor of this visible world. _For the things which are seen are\ntemporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal._\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxlviii. 5.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. civ. 24.\n\n2. He therefore states the creation of the world to have taken place\nin six days, not that God required time to form it in, for He can do in\na moment what He wills, for _He spake the word, and they were created_,\nbut because things which are made, need some certain order, and order\nrequires both time and number. And especially for the purpose of giving\nus a model for our works has He observed a certain number of days and\ncertain seasons; for we also require time wherein to do aught perfectly,\nso as not to be precipitate in our counsels and works; nor to neglect\ntheir proper order. For when we read that God, as Scripture tells us,\nhas _made all things in wisdom_, and by a certain counsel disposition\nand order, it is agreeable to reason that He should first have made the\nheavens which are the most beautiful; it is fitting also that we should\nfirst raise our eyes thither and conceive that it behoves us to aim at\n\u2666arriving thither, and that we should consider that it is to be\npreferred to all earthly habitations.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. ii. 2.\n\n Sidenote: Is. xi. 2.\n\n3. Wherefore in six days He created the world, on the seventh day\nHe rested from His works. The number seven is good, and we treat it\nnot according to the manner of Pythagoras and other philosophers, but\naccording to the form and divisions of spiritual grace, for the prophet\nIsaiah has set forth the seven principal virtues of the Holy Spirit.\nThis sacred seven, like the venerable Trinity of the Father Son and\nHoly Ghost, knows neither time nor order, and is the origin of number,\nnot bound by any of its laws. Wherefore as the heaven the earth and the\nsea were formed in honour of the eternal Trinity, and also the sun moon\nand stars, so in like manner we observe that it is according to this\nsevenfold circle of spiritual virtues, and this swiftly revolving orbit\nof Divine operation, that a certain sevenfold ministry of planets,\nwhereby this world is illuminated, has been created. And their service\nis said to agree with the number of these stars, which are fixed, or,\nas they are called in Greek, \u1f00\u03c0\u03bb\u03b1\u03bd\u03b5\u1fd6\u03c2[219]. The North has likewise\nreceived its Latin name (Septemtrio) from being irradiated by seven\nstars, upon the brightness of which as their guide pilots are said\nspecially to fix their gaze.\n\n4. And this peculiar property has come down from heaven to earth; for\nnot to speak of the sevenfold fashion of the head, in the two eyes,\nthe two ears and nostrils, and the mouth whereby we enjoy the taste of\ngreat sweetness, how wonderful is it that in the seventh month most men\nare conceived, and he that is afterwards born receives at that time the\ncommencement of his vital course. But in the eighth month we perceive\nthat by a natural law the season of bringing forth is suspended, and if\nsome fatal compulsion has opened the barriers of the womb, the danger\nboth of the mother and her offspring is nigh at hand.\n\n5. But he who is born on the seventh day, although he be born well, is\nborn to labour, but he who on the eighth day, obtains the mysteries of\nregeneration, is consecrated by grace, and called to the inheritance of\nthe celestial kingdom. Great in the virtues of the Spirit is the grace\nof the holy number seven, but the same grace answers to the number\nseven, and consecrates the number eight. In the first we have the name,\nbut in the latter the fruit, and therefore the grace of the Spirit,\nconferred on the eighth day, restored to Paradise those whom their own\nfault had banished.\n\n Sidenote: Eccles. xi. 2.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxviii. 24.\n\n Sidenote: Mal. iv. 2.\n\n6. The Old Testament too knew this number eight which in Latin we call\nthe Octave, for the preacher says, _give a portion to seven and also to\neight_. The number seven belongs to the Old Testament, the number eight\nto the New, for then Christ rose, and the day of new salvation shone\nupon all. This is the day whereof the Prophet says, _This is the day\nwhich the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it_: for on\nthat day the brightness of full and perfect circumcision was infused\ninto the hearts of men. On this account the Old Testament also gave a\npart to eight in the solemnity of circumcision. But this still lay in\ndarkness: then came _the Sun of righteousness_, and by the consummation\nof His passion revealed His rays of light; these He unfolded to all,\nand opened the brightness of eternal life.\n\n Sidenote: Hosea iii. 2.\n\n7. These then are that seven and eight whereof Hosea says that by that\nnumber he purchased to himself, and acquired the fulness of faith, for\nthus it is written, _So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver,\nand for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley, and a measure\nof wine_[220]. But in the former verses God had commanded him to hire\nto himself an harlot, and it is manifest that he did so, in that he\nhas mentioned the price of her hiring. Now the fifteen pieces of silver\nare made up of the numbers seven and eight, wherefore they represent\nthese numbers. And by the price of the two Testaments, that is, of\nperfect faith, the prophecy hath received the consummation of its faith\nand the Church her fulness. For by the first Testament the people of\nIsrael were gained, by the second the heathen and Gentiles. And so by\na perfect faith the harlot is hired, seeking herself a consort either\namong the Gentiles, or from the adulterous people of the Jews, who had\ndeserted their Lord, the Author of their virgin faith, and spread their\ncongregations over the breadth of the whole world.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. v. 17.\n\n Sidenote: Micah v. 5.\n\n8. With regard to the words, _an homer of barley, and half an homer\nof barley_, in the homer we have a full measure, in the half homer the\nmeasure is but partly full; fulness in the Gospel, half-fulness in the\nLaw, as we read in our Lord\u2019s own words, _I am not come to destroy the\nlaw, but to fulfil the law_. And in another place the Lord says by the\nprophet Micah, _Then shall there be peace in the land of Israel, when\nthe Assyrian shall come into his land; and there arose against him\nseven shepherds, and eight bites[221] of men_. For the faithful people\nwill then enjoy perfect peace and be freed from all temptations and\nvanities, when peace and grace shall have shut out the vanity of this\nworld from our hearts, the peace, that is, of the Old, the grace of the\nNew Testament.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. x. 10.\n\n Sidenote: Isa. xxv. 8.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. xv. 54, 55.\n\n9. The _seven shepherds_ are the precepts of the law, whereby the flock\nnot yet endued with reason are led through the wilderness by the rod\nof Moses, and governed. The _eight bites of man_ are the commandments\nof the Gospel, and the words of the Lord\u2019s mouth. _For with the heart\nman believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made\nunto salvation._ Those _bites_ are good whereby we have tasted the gift\nof eternal life, and in the Body of Christ have received the remission\nof sins. In the Old Testament the bite of death is bitter, wherefore\nit is said, _Prevailing death has devoured_[222]. In the New Testament\nsweet is the taste of life, which has swallowed up death, wherefore the\nApostle says, _Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy\nsting, O grave, where is thy victory?_\n\n Sidenote: Heb. iv. 4.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 3.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xcv. 8.\n\n Sidenote: Heb. xiii. 8.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xxiii. 43.\n\n10. Moreover, to use the testimony of the Apostles, when God made man,\n_He rested from all His works on the seventh day_. But when the Jews\nwilfully disobeyed the commands of their God, the Lord said, _If they\nshall enter into My rest_. And therefore the Lord appointed another\nday, whereof He says, _To-day if ye will hear My voice_. For in general\nScripture speaks of two days, yesterday and to-day, of which it is said,\n_Jesus Christ the same, yesterday to-day and for ever_. On the first\nday the promise is made, on the second it is fulfilled. But since on\nthe former day neither Moses nor Joshua brought the people into their\nrest, Christ, to Whom the Father said, _This day have I begotten Thee_,\nhas brought them in to-day, for by His Resurrection Jesus has obtained\npeace for His people. The Lord Jesus is our rest; Who says, _To-day\nshalt thou be with Me in Paradise_. For rest is in heaven, not on earth.\n\n Sidenote: Rev. xxii. 16.\n\n11. Why then need I watch the rising and setting of the stars, at\nwhose rising the fallows should be ploughed up and pierced by the hard\nplough-shares, and at whose setting the fruitful crop should be cut\ndown by the sickle? One star suffices for me in the place of all others,\n_the bright and morning Star_, at Whose rising was sown the seed not of\ncorn but of martyrs; when Rachel wept for her children, and offered in\nthe stead of Christ her children washed in her own tears. The setting\nof this Star raised from the tomb not the senseless relics of the\nfuneral pile, but the triumphant bands of the re-animated dead.\n\n12. Let then this number seven be observed by us, seeing that the\nlife of man passes through seven stages to old age, as Hippocrates the\nteacher of medicine has explained in his writings. The first age is\ninfancy, the second boyhood, the third youth, the fourth adult age, the\nfifth manhood, the sixth fulness of years, the seventh old age. Thus we\nhave the infant, the boy, the youth, the young man, the man, the elder,\nthe aged.\n\n13. Solon however made ten periods of life, each of seven years;\nso that the first period, or infancy, should extend to the growth\nof the teeth, to chew its food, and utter articulate words so as to\nseem intelligible; boyhood again extends to the time of puberty and\nof carnal temptation; youth to the growth of the beard; adult age\nlasts until virtue has attained its perfection; the fifth is the\nage of manhood, fitted, during its whole course, for marriage; the\nsixth belongs also to manhood, in that it is adapted to the combat of\nprudence, and is strenuous in action; the seventh and eighth period\nalso exhibit man ripe in years, \u2666vigorous in faculties, and his\ndiscourse endowed with a grace of utterance not unpleasing; the ninth\nperiod has still some strength remaining, and \u2666in speech and wisdom are\nof a chastened kind; the tenth period fills up the measure, and he who\nhas strength to reach it, will after a full period of years knock late\nat the gate of death.\n\n Sidenote: Eph. iv. 18.\n\n14. Thus Hippocrates and Solon recognized either seven ages, or\nperiods of age consisting of seven years. In this then let the number\nseven prevail; but the octave introduces one uninterrupted period\nduring which we grow up into a perfect man, in the knowledge of God,\nin the fulness of faith, wherein the measure of a legitimate period of\nlife is completed.\n\n15. In our inward parts also the virtue of the seventh number is\nmanifested; for it is said that we have within us seven organs,\nthe stomach, heart, lungs, spleen, liver, and the two kidneys, and\noutwardly seven also, the head, the hinder parts, the belly, two hands\nand two feet.\n\n Sidenote: Phil. i. 21.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. ii. 20.\n\n Sidenote: 1 S. John ii. 18.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. v. 15.\n\n16. Very excellent are these members, but subject to pain. Who then can\ndoubt that the office of the Octave, which has renewed the whole man,\nso as not to be susceptible of pain, is more exalted? Wherefore the\nseventh age of the world being completed, the grace of the Octave has\nshone upon us, that grace which has made man to be no longer of this\nworld, but above the world. But now we live not according to our own\nlife but to that of Christ. For to us _to live is Christ, and to die is\ngain, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith\nof the Son of God_. So says the Apostle, whence we gather that the day\nof the world is come to a close. Again, at the last hour the Lord Jesus\ncame, and died for us, _and we are all dead in Him, that we may live\nto God_. It is not then our former selves that now live, _but Christ\nliveth in us_.\n\n Sidenote: Jer. xxxi. 31, 32;\n Heb. viii. 8, 9.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 9.\n\n17. The number seven is passed away, the octave is arrived. Yesterday\nis gone, to-day is come, that promised day wherein we are admonished\nto hear and follow the word of God. That day of the Old Testament\nis passed away, that new day is come, wherein the New Testament is\nperfected, whereof it is said, _Behold, the days come, saith the Lord,\nwhen I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the\nhouse of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their\nfathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the\nland of Egypt_. He adds too the reason why the Testament was changed,\n_Because they continued not in My covenant, and I regarded them not,\nsaith the Lord_.\n\n Sidenote: Heb. iv. 14.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. vii. 16.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 17.\n Ps. cx. 4.\n\n18. The priests of the Law, the tribunals of the Law have passed away;\nlet us draw nigh to _our new High Priest, to the throne of grace_, to\nthe guest of our souls, to the Priest, _Who is not made after the law\nof the carnal commandment, but_ elected _after the power of an endless\nlife_[223]. For _He took not this honour to himself_, but was chosen by\nthe Father, as the Father Himself saith, _Thou art a Priest for ever,\nafter the order of Melchisedech_. Other priests offered for themselves\nand for their people; this Man, not having sin, that He should offer\nfor Himself, offered Himself for the whole world, and by His own blood\nentered into the Sanctuary.\n\n Sidenote: Heb. x. 7.\n\n19. He then is the new Priest and the new Victim, not of the law but\nabove the law, the universal Mediator, the Light of the world, Who said,\n_Lo I come_, and came. To Him then let us draw near in the fulness of\nfaith, adoring and beseeching and hoping in Him, Whom with our eyes\nwe see not, but Whom we embrace with our hearts, to Whom be glory and\nhonour for ever. Farewell, my son; love me, for I love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XLV.\n A.D. 385.\n\n\n S. AMBROSE replies to the inquiry of Sabinus whether he had\n written concerning Paradise, and what was his opinion concerning\n it. Having first touched on the historical description of the\n place, he proceeds to the mystical explanation of it. And having\n shewn that Paradise is situate in the principal region of the\n soul, he teaches what is signified by the several parts thereof,\n and what men should imitate in the serpent. Lastly, having\n declared the greatness of human weakness and what great love\n God has shewn us from the beginning, he exhorts men to fly the\n pleasures of the senses.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO SABINUS.\n\n1. HAVING read my work on the six days of creation, you have thought\ngood to enquire whether I have added ought concerning Paradise, and to\nexpress your strong desire to know what opinion I hold concerning it.\nI have, in truth, written on this subject, though not yet a veteran\npriest.\n\n2. The opinions about it I have found to be many and various. Josephus,\nas an historian, tells us it is a place filled with trees and thick\nshrubs, and that it is watered by a river which divides itself into\nfour streams. Its waters being thus gathered into one, this region\ndoes not entirely empty and deprive itself of its feeders, but up to\nthis day bursts out into fountains and sends forth its winding streams,\nnourishing by them her offspring as from the full breasts of a pious\nmother.\n\n3. Others expound it differently, but all agree that in Paradise is\nthe deep rooted Tree of life, and the Tree of Knowledge whereby good\nand evil are discerned, the other trees also, full of vigor, and life,\nendued both with breath and reason. Wherefore we conclude that the\nreal Paradise is no earthly one which can be seen; that it is placed\nin no spot of ground, but in the highest part of our own nature, which\nreceives animation and life from the powers of the soul, and from the\ncommunication of the Spirit of God.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. xi. 2.\n\n Sidenote: Cant. iv. 12.\n\n4. Moreover, Solomon by inspiration of the Spirit has plainly shown\nthat Paradise is in man himself. And seeing that he declares the\nmysteries either of the soul and the Word, or of Christ and the Church,\nhe says of the virgin soul, or of the Church which he wished _to\npresent as a chaste virgin to Christ, A garden enclosed is my sister,\nmy spouse, a spring sealed up, a fountain closed_.\n\n5. \u2018Paradisus\u2019 is the Greek, \u2018hortus\u2019 the Latin name. And in the\nLatin text we read that Susannah was in a paradise. Adam too was in a\nparadise. Let it not trouble you then that some Latin manuscripts have\nthe word \u2018hortus,\u2019 others \u2018paradisus.\u2019\n\n6. Where the chaste wife is, there also is the virgin; the chosen\nvirgin has indeed her barriers and enclosures, but both are in a garden,\nthat thus by the shade of virtue they may be shielded from the heats of\nthe body and concupiscence of the flesh.\n\n7. Hence also Paradise is in our highest part, thick set with the\ngrowth of many opinions, and wherein chiefly God hath placed the Tree\nof life, that is, the root of piety, for this is the true substance of\nour life, that we should offer due service to our Lord and God.\n\n8. He has likewise planted within us a seed-plot of the knowledge of\ngood and evil; for man alone of all creatures of the earth possesses\nthe knowledge of good and evil. Divers other plants are also there,\nwhose fruits are virtues.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. iii. 2, 3.\n\n9. Now since God knew that man\u2019s affections, once endued with knowledge,\nwould more readily incline towards craft than towards perfect prudence,\n(for how could the qualities of His work be concealed from His\ndiscerning eye, Who had set up certain boundaries in our soul?) He\ndesired to cast out craft from Paradise, and as the provident Author of\nour salvation, to place therein the desire of life and the discipline\nof piety. Wherefore He commanded man to eat of every tree which is in\nParadise, but that of the tree of knowledge of good and evil he should\nnot eat.\n\n10. But since all creatures are subject to passions, lust, with the\nstealth of a serpent, has crept over man\u2019s affections: well therefore\nhas holy Moses represented lust under the similitude of a serpent;\nfor it creeps upon its belly like a serpent, not walking on foot, nor\nraised up on legs, gliding along by the sinuous contortions, as it were,\nof its whole body. Its food, as that of the serpent, is earthly, for it\nknows not heavenly food, but feeds on carnal things, and changes itself\ninto various kinds of desire, and bends to and fro in tortuous wreaths.\nIt has poison in its fangs, whereby the belly of every luxurious man is\nripped up, the glutton is slain, the licker up of dishes perishes. How\nmany have been burst by wine, weakened by drunkenness, distended by\ngluttony.\n\n11. Now I understand why the Lord God breathed on the face of man;\nfor there is the seat and there are the incitements to lust, the eyes,\nthe ears, the nose and the mouth; it was to fortify our senses against\nlust. Now it was this lust, which, as a serpent, inspired us with craft,\nfor it is not lust but labour and constant meditation, which, by God\u2019s\ngrace, gives perfect wisdom.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. xi. 3.\n\n Sidenote: Eccles. vii. 11.\n\n12. Now since the posterity of Adam are involved in the snares of the\nserpent, let us imitate herein the fraud of the serpent, and not run\nour head into danger, but be careful of its security beyond that of our\nother members, for _the head of every man is Christ_. Let this remain\nsafe, that the poison of the serpent may not harm us. For _Wisdom\nis good with an inheritance_, that is, with faith, for there is an\ninheritance to them that believe in God.\n\n13. But if that first man, who, dwelling in Paradise, conversed with\nGod, could fall so easily, though made of that virgin clay which had\nlately been formed and created by the word of God, nor as yet clotted\nwith gore and the murder of kindred, nor polluted by iniquity and shame;\nnor condemned in our flesh to the curse of a guilty posterity; how much\nmore easily afterwards did the smooth-worn path of sin lead the human\nrace to a greater fall, when, one after another, generations more and\nmore depraved succeeded others less wicked?\n\n14. For if the magnet has such natural power as to attract iron to it,\nand transfuse itself into the character of iron, so that often when\npersons, wishing to try the experiment, apply iron rings to the same\nstone, it retains all equally firmly: whereas, if to that ring to which\nthe stone adheres you add another, and so on in succession, although\nthe natural power of the magnet reaches through all in succession, it\nbinds the first with a firm, the hindermost with a slighter bond: if\nsuch be the case, how much more must the condition and nature of the\nhuman race have fallen from a pure state into one less pure, seeing\nthat it was always attracted to a generation more wicked than itself?\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xiv. 3.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. v. 20.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. viii. 5, 6.\n\n15. For if the power of nature is diminished even by passing through\nthose substances which are not capable of sin, how much more must its\nvigour be abated by minds and bodies polluted by the stain of crime?\nWherefore, seeing that wickedness had increased, that innocence had\ndecayed, that _there was no one that did good, no, not one_; the Lord\ncame in order to form anew, nay to augment, the grace of nature; _that\nwhere sin had abounded, grace might much more abound_. It is plain then\nboth that God is the Creator of man, and that there is one God not many\ngods; but that there is one God Who made the world, and one world, not\nmany worlds, as the philosophers assert.\n\n16. First therefore He created the world, and then its inhabitant,\nman, that the whole world might be his country. For if, up to this day,\nwherever the wise man goes, he finds himself a citizen, he understands\nhis own position, he considers himself no where as a stranger or\nsojourner, how much more was that first man an inhabitant of the whole\nworld, and, as the Greeks say, a cosmopolite, he who was the recent\ncreation of God, conversing continually with Him, the fellow-citizen\nof the saints, the seed-plot of virtue, set over all creatures in the\nearth sea and air, who considered the whole world to be his dominion;\nwhom the Lord defended as His own work, and as a loving Father and\nMaker never deserted? In fine He so cherished this His creation, as to\nredeem him when lost, to receive him when banished, when dead to raise\nhim to life by the passion of His Only-begotten Son. Wherefore God is\nthe Author of man, and, as a good Creator, loves His own work, as a\ngracious Father, abandons not him, whom, in the character of a rich\nhouseholder, He has redeemed at the cost of His own possessions.\n\n17. Let us be on our guard therefore that this man, that is, our\nunderstanding[224] be not enervated by that woman, that is passion,\nwho was herself deceived and beguiled by the pleasure of our senses;\nthat she do not circumvent and draw him over to her own maxims and\nopinions. Let us fly pleasure as a serpent; it has many allurements,\nand especially as regards man. For other animals are captivated by\ngreediness after food; man, in that the powers of his eyes and ears\nare more varied, is exposed to greater dangers.\n\nFarewell; love me, as you indeed do, for I love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XLVI.\n A.D. 389.\n\n\n SABINUS, who was Bishop of Placentia, had written to S. Ambrose\n to tell him of an Apollinarian heretic, who appears, after being\n condemned at Placentia, to have gone to Milan. S. Ambrose in\n this reply states how he had answered him from Holy Scripture,\n and refuted his false interpretations, especially of the passage\n in the Epistle to the Philippians and announces that he has\n baffled him, and that he is \u2018preparing to flee.\u2019\n\n\n AMBROSE TO SABINUS.\n\n Sidenote: Phil. ii. 7.\n\n Sidenote: Eccles. x. 8.\n\n1. THE man of whom you have written to me as a disseminator of\npernicious doctrines is a very light character, and has already\nreceived the reward of his poison. For he has been replied to publicly,\nand what he had sown in private he has reaped openly. I had previously\nesteemed him vain and envious only, but when this language of his\nreached my ears, I immediately answered that he was infected by the\nvenom of Apollinaris, who will not admit that our Lord Jesus became\na servant for us when He took upon Him our flesh; and this, although\nthe Apostle declares that _He took on Him the form of a servant_. This\nis the bulwark, this is the hedge of our faith; he who destroys this\nshall be destroyed himself, as it is written, _Whoso breaketh an hedge,\na serpent shall bite him_.\n\n2. At first I gently asked him, Why do you what is in itself good with\nevil intent? For I esteem it a favour if any one who reads my writings\nwill tell me of any thing which causes him surprise. And this, first,\nbecause even in things which I know I may be deceived. Many things\npass by the ear unheeded, many things sound differently to others,\nit is well, if it be possible, to be on one\u2019s guard in all matters.\nNext, because it does not become me to be disturbed, seeing that many\nquestions are mooted concerning the words of the Apostles and those\nof the Gospel and our Lord Himself, if things are found in my writings\nalso, which people consider subjects of dispute. For many indulge\ntheir own humour, like that man who compassed the whole world, that he\nmight find some one to censure, not one whom he might deem worthy of\nimitation.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xi. 25.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cix. 25, 26.\n\n3. Now this man discovered a nasty means of cavilling at something in\nmy writings, since in commenting upon the passage in which the Lord\nJesus said, _I thank Thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth_, I stated\nthat it was intended to show that He is the Father of the Son and the\nLord of the creature. Nevertheless in the Psalm the Son has plainly\ncalled the Father, Lord: _They that looked upon Me shaked their heads:\nhelp Me, O Lord My God_. For speaking in the form of a servant He\ncalled Him Lord Whom He knew to be His Father; though equal in the form\nof God, proclaiming Himself to be a servant according to the substance\nof His flesh; for slavery is of the flesh, lordship of the Godhead.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. v. 16.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. v. 17.\n\n Sidenote: Phil. ii. 7.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. v. 21.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. iii. 13.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. xv. 28.\n\n Sidenote: Acts iii. 6.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 13.\n\n Sidenote: Rev. v. 12.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xxii. 6.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. xv. 55.\n\n4. First then your great sagacity perceives that what is said in the\nGospel has reference to the times of the Gospel, when the Lord Jesus\ndwelt among men in human form; but now _we know Christ according to the\nflesh no longer_. Be it that He was so seen and known by them of old,\nnow _old things are passed away, all things are become new_. But all\nthings are from God, Who has reconciled us by Christ unto Himself; for\nwe were dead, and therefore One was made a servant for all. Why do I\nsay, a servant? He was made sin, a reproach, a curse. For the Apostle\nhas said that _He was made sin for us_, that the Lord Jesus _was made a\ncurse for us_. He has said, _when all things shall be subdued unto Him,\nthen shall He also Himself be subject_. Peter also said in the Acts\nof the Apostles, _In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and\nwalk_. Then he said also, that God had _glorified His Servant Jesus_,\nand no one brings any charge against him concerning the time. But in\nthe Apocalypse He is called _a Lamb_ by John, in the Psalm He is called\n_a worm and no man_. He was made all these things that He might blunt\nthe sting of our death, that He might take away our slavery, that He\nmight abolish our curses, our sins, our reproaches.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xvi. 18.\n\n Sidenote: Is. liii. 4.\n\n Sidenote: Phil. ii. 7.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 11.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xxii. 7.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xxiii. 34.\n\n Sidenote: Isa. xl. 5.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. liii. 2.\n\n5. These things and others and many more you have written me word\nthat you answered to one who consulted you; and, seeing that they\nare contained in Holy Scripture, how should any one hesitate to utter\nwhat has been thus piously written, tending as they do to the glory\nof Christ, not to His disparagement? For if it is said of His gift,\nthat is, of the manna, that _he that gathered little had no lack[225],\nhe that gathered much had nothing over_[226], could He Himself suffer\ndiminution or increase? For in what respect was He diminished by taking\nupon Him our bondage, our infirmities? He was humbled, He was in the\nform of a servant, but He was also in the glory of God the Father.\nHe was a worm upon the Cross, but He also forgave the sins of His\npersecutors. He was a reproach, but He is also the glory of the Lord,\nas it is written, _The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all\nflesh shall see it together_. What did He lose Who is wanting in\nnothing? _He had_ indeed _no form or comeliness_, but He had the\nfulness of the Godhead. He was accounted weak, but He ceased not to be\nthe Power of God. He was seen in human form, but there shone upon earth\nthe Divine Majesty and the glory of the Father.\n\n Sidenote: Phil. ii. 6, 7.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xlv. 2.\n\n6. Well therefore has the Apostle repeated the same word, saying of the\nLord Jesus, _Who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be\nequal with God; but made Himself of no reputation and took upon Him the\nform of a servant_. What is the meaning of _in the form of God_ but in\nthe fulness of the Godhead, in the expression of the Divine perfection?\nBeing therefore in the fulness of the Godhead, He _emptied Himself_ of\nit, and received the fulness of human nature and perfection: as nothing\nwas wanting to Him as God so neither was there any thing wanting to\nHis completeness as Man, that in either _form_ He might be perfect.\nWherefore David also says, _Thou art fairer than the children of men_.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. iv. 8.\n\n Sidenote: Phil. ii. 7.\n\n Sidenote: Ib.\n\n Sidenote: Jer. xvii. 9.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. viii. 2, 3.\n\n Sidenote: S. John xi. 33, 44.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xxvii. 52.\n\n7. The Apollinarian is confuted, he has no refuge to turn to, he is\ncaught in his own net. For he himself had said, He took upon him the\nform of a servant, He was not chosen to be a servant. I ask again\ntherefore, what is the meaning of _in the form of God_? He replies,\nIn the nature of God. For there are those, says the Apostle, _which by\nnature are no gods_. I enquire, what is the meaning of _took upon Him\nthe form of a servant_? Doubtless, as I have stated, the perfection\nof the nature and condition of man, that He might be in the likeness\nof man. And he has said well _the likeness_, not of the flesh, but _of\nmen_, for He is in the same flesh. But since He alone was without sin,\nbut all men are in sin, He was seen _in the form of man_. Wherefore\nthe prophet also says, _He is a man yet who can know him_[227]?\nMan according to the flesh, but beyond man according to the Divine\noperation. When he touched the leper He was seen as man, but above\nman when He cleansed him. When He wept over Lazarus dead, He wept as\nman, but He was above men when He commanded the dead to come forth with\nbound feet. He was seen as man when He hung upon the cross, but above\nman when the graves were opened and He raised the dead.\n\n Sidenote: Phil. ii. 8.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Tim. ii. 5.\n\n Sidenote: S. John i. 14.\n\n8. Nor has the Apollinarian venom any cause for complaining because\nit is thus it written, _And being found in fashion[228] as a man_, for\nJesus is not hereby denied to be man, for in another place Paul himself\ncalls Him, _The Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus_,\nbut rather His manhood is established. For it is the custom and manner\nof Scripture so to express itself, and we read also in the Gospel, _And\nwe beheld His glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father_.\nIn the same way therefore that He is called _as_ the only-begotten, yet\nit is not denied that He is truly the only-begotten Son of God, so He\nis said to be _as_ man, yet it is not denied that the perfection of\nmanhood existed in Him.\n\n Sidenote: Phil. ii. 7.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. iv. 4.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxix. 91.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. lxxxix. 20, 26, 27.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. lxxxvi. 2.\n\n9. While, then, He was in the form of a servant, humbled even unto\ndeath, He yet remained in the glory of God. What injury then was\nHis state of subjection to Him? We read that He was made a servant,\nbecause we read that He was made of a Virgin and created in the flesh,\nfor every creature is a servant, as the Prophet says; _For all things\nserve Thee_. Wherefore also God the Father says, _I have found David\nMy servant, with My holy oil have I anointed him. He shall call Me,\nThou art my Father, my God, and my strong salvation; and I will make\nhim My first-born_; and in another Psalm, _Preserve Thou my soul for\nI am holy: save Thy servant_, and afterwards in the same Psalm, _Give\nThy strength unto Thy servant, and help the son of Thy handmaid_. Thus\nI have collected the words of the Father and of the Son, that I may\nanswer not with human arguments but by the Divine oracles.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xxxi. 5.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 8.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 11.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 16.\n\n Sidenote: Isa. xlix. 1\u20133.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xli. 8.\n\n Sidenote: S. John i. 18.\n\n10. In another passage He says, _Into Thy hands I commend My spirit_,\nand, _Thou hast set My feet in a large room_, and, _I became a reproof\namong all Mine enemies_. And in the same Psalm, _Shew Thy servant the\nlight of Thy countenance_. By the mouth of Isaiah too the Son of God\nHimself says, _From my mother\u2019s womb the Lord hath called My name, and\nHe hath made My mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of His hand\nhath He hid Me, and made Me a polished shaft; in His quiver hath He hid\nMe; and said unto Me, Thou art My servant, O Israel_. For the Son of\nGod is also called Israel, as in another place, _But thou, Israel, My\nServant Jacob, whom I have chosen_. For He alone hath truly not only\nseen but also declared God the Father.\n\n Sidenote: Isa. xlix. 3, 4, 5.\n\n Sidenote: Isa. xlix. 6.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xlii. 6. xlix. 6.\n\n Sidenote: Ezek. xxxiv. 23, 24.\n\n Sidenote: Zech. iii. 8.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. iii. 3.\n\n11. And it goes on, _In whom I will be glorified. Then I said, I have\nlaboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet\nsurely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God. And now\nsaith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be His servant, to bring\nJacob again to Him and Israel._ Who hath gathered the people of God but\nChrist? Who is glorified before the Lord? Who is the Power of God? He\nto Whom the Father hath said, _It is a light thing that Thou shouldest\nbe My servant_[229], and He to Whom He says _Behold, I will give Thee\nfor a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles, that Thou\nmightest be My Salvation unto the end of the earth_. Of Him He has also\nspoken by the mouth of the prophet Ezekiel, saying, _I will set up one\nShepherd over them, and He shall feed them, even My Servant David, He\nshall feed them, and He shall be their Shepherd. And I the Lord will\nbe their God, and My Servant David a Prince among them._ Now king David\nwas already dead, and therefore the true David, the truly humble, the\ntruly meek, the true Son of God, strong of hand, is announced by this\nname; he also is intended in the book of the prophet Zechariah, where\nGod the Father says, _Behold I will send my servant, the Orient[230] is\nHis name_. Did then His being _clothed in filthy garments_ deprive the\nSun of righteousness of the brightness of His Godhead?\n\n12. And why need I say more? Shall we deem servitude to be a state\nof greater weakness than that of being made sin, of being a curse,\na reproach, than the infirmities which He bore for our sakes that we\nmight be saved from them? For He was made all of these that He might\nrelieve the world from them. But they will not admit that He was made\na servant, a reproach, a curse, because they affirm that the Word and\nthe flesh are of one substance, and say, Because He redeemed us He is\ncalled a servant, and ought to be called sin. And they do not perceive\nthis to be the glory of Christ, that in His Incarnation He took upon\nHim the state of a servant that He might restore liberty to all; He\nbore our sins, that He might take away the sin of the world.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. iii. 13.\n\n Sidenote: Is. xlix. 4.\n\n Sidenote: Phil. ii. 16.\n\n13. He was made a servant, He was made sin and a curse, that thou\nmightest cease to be a servant of sin, and that He might absolve thee\nfrom the curse of the Divine judgment. He therefore took upon Him thy\ncurse, for _Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree_. He was made a\ncurse upon the cross, that thou mightest be blessed in the kingdom of\nGod. He was disgraced, He was vilified and set at nought. He said, _I\nhave laboured in vain_, through Whom Paul was enabled to say, _I have\nnot laboured in vain_. This He did that He might confer on His servants\nthe fruit of good works and the glory of the preaching of the Gospel,\nwhereby the world might be released from the burthen of its toil.\n\n Sidenote: Jer. xvii. 11.\n\n14. On hearing these things _the partridge[231] was left in the midst\nof her days_, she who cried _that she might gather the things which she\ndid not lay_, and was overcome by the voice of the Lord Jesus. And even\nnow is she preparing for flight.\n\nFarewell; love me, for I love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XLVII.\n A.D. 390.\n\n\n THIS brief letter was sent with a book which Sabinus had asked\n for. It is a friendly invitation to a regular correspondence, as\n bringing friends together in spirit who are severed in body.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO SABINUS.\n\n1. I HAVE transmitted the volume you asked for, written more clearly\nand neatly than the one which I had previously sent, in order that by\nthe facility of its perusal your judgment of it might be unimpeded. For\nthe original copy was written not for appearance, but for use, for I\ndo not always employ a scribe, especially at night, at which time I am\nunwilling to be a trouble and a burthen to others, and further, because\nthe words I am then dictating flow on with a kind of impetuosity, and\nin a rapid stream.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xlv. 2.\n\n2. But as I am desirous to select with precision the words which my\nold age employs in its familiar intercourse, and to proceed with a slow\nstep, I think the use of my own hands in writing befits me better; that\nI may seem rather to conceal my words than lustily give vent to them;\nand may not have to blush at the presence of him who is writing for me,\nbut, having no one in the secret of my words, may weigh what I write\nwith eye as well as with ears. For, in the words of Scripture, the\ntongue is swifter than the hand; _My tongue is the pen of a ready\nwriter_.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. vi. 11.\n\n3. And though you may perhaps say that the swiftness is here attributed\nto the writer, the meaning will nevertheless not escape you that it is\nonly the swiftness of a ready writer which can take down the words of\nthe prophetic tongue. The Apostle Paul also wrote with his own hand, as\nhe says himself, _I have written unto you with mine own hand_. He did\nit to show honour, we do it from bashfulness.\n\n4. But while your judgement of my book is still in suspense, let us\nentertain each other by letters; the advantage whereof is that although\nsevered from each other by distance of space we may be united in\naffection; for by this means the absent have the image of each other\u2019s\npresence reflected back upon them, and conversation by writing unites\nthe severed. By this means also we interchange thoughts with our friend,\nand transpose our mind into his.\n\n5. Now if, according to your admonition, there is any savour of ancient\nwritings in our letters, not only do our minds seem to be united by\nthis progress in true doctrine, but also the form and fashion of a more\nintimate converse seems to be set forth, in that the discussion which\nis thus entered upon by mutual inquiry and reply appears to place in\npresence of each other those friends who in this manner challenge and\nengage one another.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. v. 3.\n\n6. And why need I produce the example of our ancestors, who by their\nletters have instilled faith into the minds of the people, and have\nwritten to whole nations together, and have shewn themselves to be\npresent although writing from a distance, according to the words of the\nApostle, that he was _absent in body, but present in spirit_, not only\nin writing but also in judging. Again, he condemned them while absent\nby epistle, and also absolved them by epistle; for the epistle of Paul\nwas a certain image of his presence and form of his work.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. x. 10.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 11.\n\n7. For the epistles of the Apostles were not, like those of others,\n_weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence weak, and his speech\ncontemptible_, but his letter was of that kind that such as was the\nsubstance of his work such also was the form of his precept; for\n_such_, says he, _as we are in word by letters when absent, such will\nwe be also in deed when we are present_. He imprinted the image of his\npresence on his letters, he declared its fruit and testimony in his\nwork.\n\nFarewell; love me, as indeed you do, for I love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XLVIII.\n\n\n S. AMBROSE in this letter begs Sabinus to examine the books\n which he sends to him carefully, and to criticise them freely,\n as a proof of true friendship, and at the same time adding to\n the value of the works.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO SABINUS.\n\n1. YOU have sent me back my volumes, and I shall hold them in greater\nesteem owing to your judgment. I have therefore sent you others, not so\nmuch because I was delighted at wishing for your favourable judgment,\nas of that truth which I have asked and you have promised to declare\nto me; for should any thing strike you I would rather it had the\ncorrection of your judgment before it goes abroad beyond the power of\nrecal, than that you should praise what is blamed by others. It is on\nthis account that I have requested to have your opinion of those things\nwhich you asked me to write, for I have not so much desired that what\nI publish from time to time should be read by you, as that they should\nbe submitted to the account which your judgment shall take of them. And\nthis judgment, as one said of old, will not require[232] a long sitting\nand delay. For surely it is easy for you to judge of my writings.\n\n2. Thus far, on your invitation, I have thought it right to proceed; it\nis now your part to discern clearly and examine carefully what requires\ncorrection, that you may thus escape being inculpated in those faults\nwhich may have stolen unawares upon myself. For somehow over and above\nthat want of caution which envelops me as with a mist, every one is\nbeguiled in what he himself writes, and its faults escape his ear.\nAnd as a man takes pleasure in his children even though deformed, so\nalso is a writer flattered by his own discourses however ungraceful.\nHow frequently are words put forth uncautiously or understood less\ncharitably than one means; or some ambiguity escapes from us; things,\nmoreover, which are to be subjected to the judgment of others we\nought to weigh not so much by our own as by another\u2019s opinion, and\nto separate from it every grain of malevolence.\n\n3. Be so kind therefore as to lend an ear of keen attention, peruse\nthe whole thoroughly, test my discourses, see whether they contain, not\nrhetorical charms and persuasive words, but a sound faith and a sober\nconfession. Affix a mark on words of doubtful weight and which are\ndeceitful in the scales, that the adversary may not make out any thing\nto tell in his favour. Let him meet with defeat if he enters into the\ncontest. That book is in a bad condition, which cannot be defended\nwithout a champion; for a book which goes forth without a mediator has\nto speak for itself; my book however shall not go forth from me, unless\nit receive authority from you. When then you bid it go forth, and give\nyour word for it, let it be left to its own keeping.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. iv. 20.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xxviii. 19.\n\n Sidenote: Col. ii. 9.\n\n Sidenote: Phil. ii. 7, 8.\n\n4. But, since _the kingdom of God is not in word but in power_, if a\nword offend you consider the _power_ of its profession. By profession\nI mean that decision of faith which we hold, as handed down by our\nfathers, against the Sabellians and Arians, that we worship God the\nFather and His Only-begotten Son and the Holy Spirit, that this Trinity\nis of one Substance Majesty and Divinity; that in this _Name of the\nFather and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost_, we _baptize_, as it is\nwritten; that the Son, co-eternal with the Father, took upon Him our\nflesh, born of the Holy Spirit and of the Virgin Mary, equal to the\nFather as touching His Godhead, in the form of God, that is, in all\nthe fulness of the Godhead Which _dwells in Him_, as the Apostle says,\n_bodily_; Who, in the person of man, _took upon Him the form of a\nservant, and humbled Himself even unto death_.\n\n Sidenote: Heb. vi. 18.\n\n5. Wherefore as against Photinus this is our sentence, and as against\nApollinaris it is also a proper safeguard; our confession, namely,\nthat as in the form of God He lacked nothing of the Divine nature and\nfulness, so in that human form there was nothing wanting in Him so\nas to cause Him to be judged imperfect as Man; for He came in order\nto save man altogether. Truly it would not have been fitting that He\nWho had accomplished a perfect work in others should suffer it to be\nimperfect in Himself; for if aught was wanting to Him as Man, then He\ndid not redeem the whole man, and if He did not redeem the whole man,\nHe deceived us, for He said that He had come in order to save the whole\nman. But since it is _impossible for God to lie_, He deceived us not;\nwherefore, seeing that He came to redeem and save the whole man, He\ntook upon Him the whole of that which belonged to human perfection.\n\n6. Such, as you will remember, is my belief. Should my words in any\npassage raise a doubt, still they will not raise any prejudice as to\nmy faith, for if the mind continue stedfast, it extends its protection\nover ambiguous language, and preserves it from error.\n\n7. This preface then I send you, and will insert it, if you please, in\nthe books of our letters, and place it among their number; that so it\nmay be recommended by your name, and by our letters to each other our\nmutual love in the Lord, may be increased: that, finally, you may so\nread as to give me your judgment, and to communicate to me whatever may\nstrike you, for true love is proved by constancy. For the present we\nhave chosen that which old men find more easy, the writing of letters\nin ordinary and familiar language: subjoining, should such present\nitself, any appropriate passage from the sacred Scriptures. Farewell,\nmy brother, and love one who is your lover, for I greatly love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XLIX.\n A.D. 390.\n\n\n S. AMBROSE says that he never feels less solitary, than when by\n himself writing to a friend. He then dwells on the benefit of\n solitude; especially in that we may then have God present with\n us, and lay open our souls to Him.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO SABINUS.\n\n1. SINCE you also take pleasure in receiving my letters, by means of\nwhich, although separated from each other, we discourse together as\nif present, I will for the future more frequently converse with you by\nletter when I am alone. For[233] I am never less alone than when I seem\nto be so, nor ever less at leisure than in the intervals of labour. For\nthen I summon at pleasure whom I will, and associate to myself those\nwhom I love most or find most congenial; no man interrupts or intrudes\nupon us. Then it is that I more intimately enjoy you, that I confer\nwith you in the Scriptures, that we converse together more at length.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke i. 35.\n\n Sidenote: Acts x. 10.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. iii. 8.\n\n2. Mary was alone when addressed by the Angel, alone when the _Holy\nGhost came upon her, and the power of the Highest overshadowed her_.\nShe was alone when she effected the salvation of the world, and\nconceived the Redemption of the universe. Peter was alone when the\nmystery of the sanctification of the Gentiles all over the world was\nmade known to him. Adam was alone, and he fell not, because his mind\nadhered to God. But when the woman was joined to him he lost his power\nof abiding by the celestial precepts, and therefore he hid himself when\nGod walked in Paradise.\n\n3. And even now, while I read the sacred Scriptures, God walks in\nParadise. The book of Genesis, wherein the virtues of the Patriarchs\nbud forth, is Paradise; Deuteronomy, wherein grow the precepts of the\nLaw, is also Paradise, wherein the tree of life brings forth good fruit,\nand diffuses over all nations the precepts of eternal hope.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. v. 44.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xix. 21.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke vi. 29.\n\n Sidenote: Heb. iv. 13.\n\n4. So when I hear, _Love your enemies_, when I hear, _Sell that thou\nhast, and give to the poor_; when I hear, _unto him that smiteth thee\non the one cheek offer also the other_; when I hear these things and do\nnot perform them, nay, when I barely love him who loves me, when I will\nnot part with what I have, when I desire to avenge the injuries I have\nreceived, and to recover what has been wrested from me, whereas the\nScripture bids me give up more than I have been asked for or deprived\nof, I perceive that I am acting contrary to the commands of God. Thus\nopening the eyes of my conscience, I perceive that God is present and\nwalking with me; I desire to hide, I desire to clothe myself; but I\nam naked in His sight unto Whom _all things are naked and opened_!\nI am abashed therefore, and desire to conceal the shame of my crimes\nas though they were the secret members of my body; but since God sees\nall things, since I am manifest to Him, though covered with leaves and\nshaded by thickets, I think to conceal myself from Him by the covering\nof my body. This is that coat of skins, in which Adam was clothed\nwhen he was cast out of Paradise, neither shielded from the cold, nor\nprotected from scorn, but exposed to misery as well as guilt.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. iii. 8.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. i. 27.\n\n Sidenote: S. John xvi. 32.\n\n5. From whence it appears that it is when alone that we offer ourselves\nto God, that we open to Him our souls, that we put off the cloak of\nfraud. Adam was alone when placed in Paradise; alone also when made in\nthe image of God: but when cast out of Paradise he was not alone. The\nLord Jesus was alone when He redeemed the world; for it was no herald\nor messenger, but the Lord Himself alone Who redeemed His people,\nalthough He, in Whom the Father always dwells, can never be alone. Let\nus also then be alone, that the Lord may be with us. Farewell: love me,\nfor I also love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER L.\n\n\n THIS letter contains an interesting discussion of the question\n how an evil man like Balaam could be employed by God to utter\n true prophecies, and deals with other difficulties which arise\n out of Balaam\u2019s history.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO CHROMATIUS.\n\n Sidenote: Heb. vi. 18.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. iii. 4.\n\n1. DOES God lie? Truly He lies not, because it is impossible for God\nto lie. And further, does this impossibility arise from infirmity? No,\ntruly, for how can He be Almighty if He cannot do all things? What then\nis impossible to Him? Not that which is difficult to His Power, but\nwhat is contrary to His Nature. _It is impossible_, it is said, _for\nHim to lie_. This impossibility comes not of infirmity, but of Power\nand Majesty, for truth admits not of falsehood, nor God\u2019s Power of the\nweakness of error. Wherefore _let God be true and every man a liar_.\n\n2. The truth therefore is always in Him; _He remains faithful_; change\nor _deny Himself He cannot_. But if He deny that He is true, He lies,\nbut to lie belongs not to power but to weakness. Nor can He change, for\nHis nature admits not infirmity. This impossibility therefore comes of\nHis fulness, which cannot be diminished or increased, not of infirmity,\nwhich, in that it increases itself, is weak. Whence we gather that this\nimpossibility on the part of God is indeed most powerful. For what can\nbe more powerful than to be ignorant of all infirmity?\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. i. 25.\n\n3. There is however another _weakness of God_ which _is stronger than\nmen_, and a _foolishness of God_ which _is wiser than men_, but this\nhas reference to the Cross, the former to His Godhead. If then His\nweakness is strength, how can that which comes of His power be weak?\nLet it therefore be an axiom with us that God lies not.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xviii. 10.\n\n4. But there was no diviner of auguries in Israel according to the law\nof God. How then was it that Balaam said that he was forbidden by the\noracle of God to go and curse the people of Israel, and yet he went,\nand the Angel of the Lord who had forbidden his going, met him, and\nstood in the way of the ass that carried him, and nevertheless the\nAngel himself bid him go, only he must speak that which should be\nput into his mouth? If there was to be no deceiver in Israel, how did\nthis oracle of God, declaring things for true, come to him who was a\ndeceiver? If he spoke as the oracle of God, whence did he derive the\ngrace of the Divine inspiration?\n\n Sidenote: S. John xi. 50.\n\n5. But you are not to wonder that the Lord should put into the mouth\nof a diviner what he should speak, when you read in the Gospel that it\nwas put into the mouth even of the prince of the Synagogue, one of the\npersecutors of Christ, that _it is expedient that one man should die\nfor the people_? Herein then is no merit of prophecy, but an assertion\nof the truth; that by the testimony even of adversaries the truth might\nbe declared, so that the perfidy of unbelievers might be confuted by\nthe words even of their own diviners. Just so Abraham[234] the Chald\u00e6an\nis called to belief, that the superstition of the Chald\u00e6ans might be\nput to silence. It is not therefore the merit of him who utters, but\nrather the oracle of God Who calls, the grace of God Who reveals.\n\n Sidenote: Numb. xxii. 12.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 19.\n\n6. Now what was the guilt which Balaam incurred, but that he spoke one\nthing, and designed another? For God requires a clean vessel, not one\ndefiled by uncleanness and pollution. Balaam therefore was tried, not\napproved, for he was full of deceit and treachery. Again, when he first\nenquired whether he should go to that vain people, and was forbidden,\nhe excused himself: afterwards, when more honourable messages were sent,\nhe who ought to have refused consent, seduced by ampler promises and\nmore abundant gifts, was led again to enquire of God, as if many gifts\ncould influence the mind of God.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 25.\n\n7. Answer was made to him as to a covetous man, not as to one who\nsought the truth, that so he might rather be deceived than rightly\ninformed. He set out, an Angel met him in a narrow place, and shewed\nhimself to the ass, but not to the diviner. To the former he revealed\nhimself, the latter he crushed; yet, that he might at length be\nrecognized by him, he opened his eyes also. He saw, but even yet he\ndid not believe the manifest oracle, and though his very eyes ought\nto have convinced him, he answered confusedly and doubtingly.\n\n Sidenote: Numb. xxii. 35.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xxiii. 8.\n\n8. Then the Lord, being angry, said to him by the Angel, _Go with the\nmen, but only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that shalt thou\nspeak_. As an empty instrument you shall give utterance to My words.\nIt is I Who will speak, not you; you will only echo what you hear and\ndo not understand. You will gain no advantage by going, because you\nwill return without either a reward of money or progress in grace.\nAgain, these are his first words, _How shall I curse whom God hath not\ncursed?_ in order to shew that the benediction of the Hebrew people\ndepended not on his will but on the grace of God.\n\n9. _From the top of the rocks_, he says, _I see him_; for I cannot\nembrace within my ken this people, which shall dwell alone, marking\nout their boundaries, not so much by the occupation of space as by\nthe abode of virtue, and extending them into eternal ages by the\ndistinctive peculiarity of their manners. For which of the bordering\nnations shall be numbered with this one, which is raised above their\nfellowship by its exalted righteousness? Who shall understand the\nnature of its generation? Their bodies we indeed perceive to have been\ncompounded and fashioned of human seed, but their minds have sprung\nfrom higher and wondrous seed-plots.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 10.\n\n10. _Let my soul die with their souls_, die to this bodily life, that\nwith the souls of the just it may attain to the grace of that eternal\nlife. Herein even then was revealed the excellence of our heavenly\nSacrament and of holy Baptism, by the operation whereof men die to\noriginal sin and to evil works; that being transformed by newness of\nlife into fellowship with the just they may rise again to live as do\nthe just. And what wonder is it that it should be so, when men die to\nsin in order to live to God?\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 11.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. xiii. 1.\n\n Sidenote: Numb. xxiii. 21.\n\n11. Balak hearing this, was wroth and said, \u2018I brought thee to curse\nand thou blessest.\u2019 He answered, \u2018I am reproved for that of which I am\nnot conscious; for I speak nothing of my own, but utter sounds like _a\ntinkling cymbal_.\u2019 Again, being carried to a second and a third place,\nalthough he wished to curse, he blessed; _He hath not beheld iniquity\nin Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel; the Lord his God\nis with him_. And afterwards he commands seven altars and sacrifices\nto be prepared. He ought, indeed, to have departed, but his weak mind\nand mutability of purpose led him to believe that he could turn aside\nthe Will of God: he himself, the while, being in a trance, desired one\nthing but spoke another.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xxiv. 5, 6.\n\n Sidenote: v. 19.\n\n Sidenote: v. 8.\n\n Sidenote: v. 7.\n\n Sidenote: v. 9.\n\n Sidenote: Heb. iv. 12.\n\n12. _How goodly_, said he, _are thy tents_, O host of the Hebrews! _As\nthe valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river\u2019s side and\nas cedar trees beside the waters._ A man shall come out of Jacob, and\nshall subdue many nations, and his kingdom shall be exalted on high:\nin the earth also he shall extend his dominion in Egypt. _Blessed is\nhe that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee._ Now to whom\ndid he point but to the people of Christ? God blesses him into whose\nheart the Word of God enters, _even to the dividing asunder of the\nsoul, and of the joints and marrow_; in him Balaam would have found the\ngrace of the Lord if he had acted according to the intent and purpose\nof his heart. But since an evil mind is confuted by its own counsels,\nand the secrets of the soul are betrayed by events, his mind was thus\ndiscovered by the treachery which followed.\n\n13. Therefore also he met with a worthy reward of his malice. For\nfinding while in his trance that he could not curse, he gives his\nadvice to the king, saying, \u2018Such is the utterance of what God has\ncommanded, hear now my counsel against the oracles of God. This people\nis just, it has the protection of God: since it has not given itself to\ndivinations and auguries, but to the eternal God above; and therefore\nits faith excels that of others. But sometimes even faithful minds fall\nthrough corporeal charms and the blandishments of beauty. Numerous are\nyour women, and many of them not uncomely; now the male sex is in no\nrespect more prone to fall than through the frailty with which it is\ncaptivated by female beauty, particularly if their minds are excited\nby frequent converse, and thus become inflamed as by a torch; if,\nwhile they drink in the hope of enjoying, their passions are kept in\nsuspense. Let your women therefore cast their hooks by their converse,\nlet them offer no obstacles to a first access, but roam abroad and\nspread themselves through the camp, exposed to view and affable of\nspeech. Let them so artfully deal with these men as not to admit them\nto carnal intercourse until they shall have proved the strength of\ntheir love by becoming participators in sacrilege. For they may thus be\ndeprived of the protection of heaven, if they shall themselves depart\nby sacrilege from the Lord their God.\u2019\n\n Sidenote: Rev. ii. 14, 15.\n\n14. Unrighteous therefore, as the counsellor of fornication and\nsacrilege, was Balaam; for thus it is plainly written in the Apocalypse\nof John the Evangelist, when the Lord Jesus says to the Angel of\nthe Church of Pergamos; _Thou hast there them that hold the doctrine\nof Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling-block before the\nchildren of Israel, to eat things sacrified unto idols, and to commit\nfornication; so hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the\nNicolaitans_. Wherefore it appears that from hence has flowed the\nimpiety of the Manichees, like that of Manasseh, who mingle and unite\nsacrilege with impurity.\n\n Sidenote: Num. xxv. 11.\n\n15. Neither, then, was God unjust, nor His purpose mutable; for He\ndetected Balaam\u2019s mind and the secrets of his heart, and He therefore\ntried him as a diviner, He did not choose him as a prophet. Surely\nhe ought to have been converted if it were only by the grace of such\ngreat oracles and the sublimity of his revelations, but his mind, full\nof iniquity, brought forth words but did not yield belief, seeking\nto frustrate by its counsels that event which it had predicted. And\nsince he could not defeat the prophecy, he suggested deceitful counsels\nwhereby the fickle people of the Jews were tempted but not overcome;\nfor by the righteousness of one priest all the counsel of this wicked\nman was overthrown, and that the host of our fathers could be delivered\nby one man was much more wonderful than that it could be deceived by\none man.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xxiv. 63. to meditate E.V.\n\n16. This little gift I have sent to your Holiness, because you wish\nme to compile somewhat from the interpretations of the ancient authors.\nBut I had undertaken to write letters in a familiar style, savouring\nof the tone of thought of our fathers; and should you relish their\nflavour I shall be emboldened to send you of the same kind hereafter.\nFor I prefer conversing garrulously with you like an old man concerning\nheavenly things, which is called in Greek \u1f00\u03b4\u03bf\u03bb\u03b5\u03c3\u03c7\u1fc6\u03c3\u03b1\u03b9: _Isaac went\nforth into the field_, \u1f00\u03b4\u03bf\u03bb\u03b5\u03c3\u03c7\u1fc6\u03c3\u03b1\u03b9, seeing in his mind, on the approach\nof Rebecca, the mysteries of the Church which was to come: this\nconversing with you with the words of an old man, that I may not\nseem to have abandoned my art, I prefer, I say, to uttering in a more\nvehement style things no longer adapted to our studies or strength.\n\nFarewell: love me, for I also love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LI.\n A.D. 390.\n\n\n THIS is the famous Letter addressed by S. Ambrose to Theodosius\n after the massacre at Thessalonica. The details of that\n occurrence are too familiar to need repeating here. In this\n Letter S. Ambrose explains to the Emperor why he had avoided\n meeting him on his return to Milan, and urges him with\n respectful and most affectionate, but firm remonstrance, to\n follow David in penitence as he had followed him in crime, and\n tells him that God Himself had in a vision forbidden him to\n offer the Sacrifice of the Eucharist in his behalf while he\n remained impenitent. The Letter, far from deserving Gibbon\u2019s\n scornful title of \u2018a miserable rhapsody on a noble subject,\u2019\n may rather be regarded as a model of dignified remonstrance,\n well befitting an eminent prelate addressing a great earthly\n Sovereign.\n\n\n AMBROSE BISHOP, TO HIS MAJESTY THE EMPEROR THEODOSIUS.\n\n1. VERY pleasant to me is the remembrance of your long friendship,\nand I also bear a grateful sense of those benefits which at my frequent\nintreaties you have most graciously extended to others. You may be\nsure then that it could not be from any ungrateful feeling that on\nyour arrival, which I was wont to long for so ardently, I shunned your\npresence. The motives of my conduct I will now briefly explain.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke viii. 17.\n\n2. I found that I alone in all your court was denied the natural right\nof hearing, in order to deprive me of the power of speaking too: for\nyou were frequently displeased at decisions having reached me which\nwere made in your Consistory. Thus I have been debarred from the common\nprivilege of men, though the Lord Jesus says, _Nothing is secret which\nshall not be made manifest_. Wherefore I did my utmost to obey with\nreverence your royal will, and I provided both for you and for myself;\nfor you, that you should have no cause of disturbance, to which end I\nendeavoured that no intelligence should be brought me of the Imperial\ndecrees; and as to myself, I provided against my not seeming to hear\nwhen present, from fear of others and thus incurring the charge of\nconnivance, and also against hearing in such manner that while my ears\nwere open my mouth must be closed, and I must not utter what I heard,\nlest I should injure those who had fallen under suspicion of treachery.\n\n Sidenote: Ezek. iii. 18.\n\n3. What then was I to do? was I not to listen? But I could not close my\nears with the wax of the old tales. Must I disclose what I heard? But\nthen I had reason to fear that the same result which I apprehended from\nyour commands would ensue from my own words; that they might become\nthe cause of bloodshed. Was I then to be silent? But this would be the\nmost miserable of all, for my conscience would be bound, my liberty\nof speech taken away. And what then of the text, _if the priest warn\nnot the wicked from his wicked way, the wicked man shall die in his\niniquity_, but the priest shall be liable to punishment, because he did\nnot warn him?\n\n4. Suffer me, gracious Emperor. You have a zeal for the faith, I own\nit, you have the fear of God, I confess it; but you have a vehemence\nof temper, which if soothed may readily be changed into compassion, but\nif inflamed becomes so violent that you can scarcely restrain it. If no\none will allay it, let no one at least inflame it. To yourself I would\nwillingly trust, for you are wont to exercise self-control, and by your\nlove of mercy to conquer this violence of your nature.\n\n5. This vehemence of yours I have preferred secretly to commend to\nyour consideration, rather than run the risk of rousing it publicly\nby my acts. And so I have preferred to be lacking somewhat in duty\nrather than in humility, and that others should complain of my want\nof priestly authority, rather than that you should find any want of\nrespect in me, who am so devoted to you; and this in order that you may\nrestrain your emotions, and have full power of choosing what counsel\nto follow. I alleged as my reason, bodily sickness, which was in fact\nsevere, and not to be mitigated but by more gentle treatment; still I\nwould rather have died than not have waited two or three days for your\narrival. But I could not do so.\n\n6. An act has been committed in the city of Thessalonica, the like of\nwhich is not recorded, the perpetration of which I could not prevent,\nwhich in my frequent petitions before the court I had declared to be\nmost atrocious, and which by your tardy revocation you have yourself\npronounced to be very heinous: such an act as this I could not\nextenuate. Intelligence of it was first brought to a synod held on the\narrival of the Gallican Bishops: all present deplored it, no one viewed\nit leniently; your friendship with Ambrose, so far from excusing your\ndeed, would have even brought a heavier weight of odium on my head,\nhad there been no one found to declare the necessity of your being\nreconciled to God.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Sam. xii. 13.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 7.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xcv. 6.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Sam. xii. 13.\n\n7. Is your Majesty ashamed to do that which the Royal Prophet David\ndid, the forefather of Christ according to the flesh? It was told him\nthat a rich man, who had numerous flocks, on the arrival of a guest\ntook a poor man\u2019s lamb and killed it, and recognizing in this act\nhis own condemnation, he said, _I have sinned against the Lord_. Let\nnot your Majesty then be impatient at being told, as David was by the\nprophet, _Thou art the man_. For if you listen thereto obediently and\nsay, _I have sinned against the Lord_, if you will use those words\nof the royal Prophet, _O come let us worship and fall down, and kneel\nbefore the Lord our Maker_, to you also it shall be said, Because thou\nrepentest, _the Lord hath put away thy sin, thou shalt not die_.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xxiv. 10.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Sam. xxiv. 12.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 14.\n\n8. Another time, when David had commanded the people to be numbered,\nhis heart smote him, and he said unto the Lord, _I have sinned greatly\nin that I have done, and now, I beseech thee O Lord, take away the\niniquity of thy servant, for I have done very foolishly_. And Nathan\nthe prophet was sent again to him, to offer him three things, to choose\none of them, which he would; seven years famine in the land, or to\nflee three months before his enemies, or three days pestilence in the\nland. _And David said, I am in a great strait, let us now fall into the\nhand of the Lord, for His mercies are great, and let me not fall into\nthe hand of man._ His fault lay in wishing to know the number of all\nthe people which were with him, a knowledge which ought to have been\nreserved for God.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 17.\n\n9. And Scripture tells us that when the people were dying, on the very\nfirst day and at dinner time, David saw the Angel that smote the people,\nhe said, _Lo, I have sinned and done wickedly; but these sheep, what\nhave they done? let Thine hand, I pray Thee, be against me, and against\nmy father\u2019s house_. So the Lord repented, and commanded the Angel to\nspare the people, and that David should offer sacrifice: for there were\nthen sacrifices for sin, but we have now the sacrifices of penitence.\nSo by that humility he was made more acceptable to God, for it is not\nwonderful that man should sin, but it is indeed blameable if he do not\nacknowledge his error, and humble himself before God.\n\n Sidenote: Job xxxi. 33. (the sense, not the words.)\n\n Sidenote: 1 Sam. xix. 4.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 5.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Sam. iii. 28.\n\n10. Holy Job, himself also powerful in this world, saith, _I covered\nnot my sin, but declared it before all the people_. And to the cruel\nking Saul Jonathan his son said, _Let not the king sin against his\nservant, against David_; and _Wherefore then wilt thou sin against\ninnocent blood to slay David without a cause?_ For although he was a\nking he still would have sinned in slaying the innocent. Again when\nDavid was possessed of the kingdom, and heard that innocent Abner had\nbeen slain by Joab the Captain of his host, he said, _I and my kingdom\nare guiltless before the Lord for ever from the blood \u2666of Abner the son\nof Ner_, and he fasted for sorrow.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xxviii. 20.\n\n11. This I have written, not to confound you, but that these royal\nexamples may induce you to put away this sin from your kingdom; for\nthis you will do by humbling your soul before God. You are a man;\ntemptation has fallen upon you; vanquish it. Sin is not washed away but\nby tears and penitence. Neither Angel nor Archangel can do it. The Lord\nHimself, Who alone can say _I am with you_; even He grants no remission\nof sin save to the penitent.\n\n12. I advise, I entreat, I exhort, I admonish; for I am grieved\nthat you who were an example of singular piety, who stood so high\nfor clemency, who would not suffer even single offenders to be put in\njeopardy, should not mourn over the death of so many innocent persons.\nSuccessful as you have been in battle, and great in other respects, yet\nmercy was ever the crown of your actions. The devil has envied you your\nchief excellence: overcome him, while you still have the means. Add not\nsin to sin by acting in a manner which has injured so many.\n\n13. For my part, debtor as I am to your clemency in all other things;\ngrateful as I must ever be for this clemency, which I have found\nsuperior to that of many Emperors and equalled only by one, though I\nhave no ground for charging you with contumacy, I have still reason\nfor apprehension: if you purpose being present, I dare not offer the\nSacrifice. That which may not be done when the blood of one innocent\nperson has been shed, may it be done where many have been slain? I trow\nnot.\n\n14. Lastly, I will write with my own hand what I wish should be read\nby yourself only. As I hope for deliverance from all tribulation from\nthe Lord, it has not been from man, nor by man\u2019s agency that this has\nbeen forbidden me, but by His own manifest interposition. For in the\nmidst of my anxiety, on the very night whereon I was about to set\nout, I saw you in a vision coming into the Church, but I was withheld\nfrom offering Sacrifice. Other things I pass over, which I might have\navoided, but I bore them for your sake, I believe. May the Lord cause\nall things to turn out peacefully. Our God gives us divers admonitions,\nby heavenly signs, by prophetic warnings; and by visions vouchsafed\neven to sinners, He would have us understand that we ought to beseech\nHim to remove from us commotions, that He would bestow peace on\nyou, our rulers, that the Church, for whose benefit it is that we\nshould have pious and Christian Emperors, may be kept in faith and\ntranquillity.\n\n Sidenote: Eccles. iii. 1.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxix. 126.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. ix. 13.\n\n Sidenote: Prov. xviii. 17. Vulg.\n\n15. Doubtless you wish to be approved by God. _To every thing there\nis a season_, as it is written; _It is time for Thee Lord_, saith\nthe prophet, _to lay to Thine hand_, and, It is an acceptable time to\nGod. You shall make your oblation when you have received permission to\nsacrifice, when your offering will be pleasing to God. Would it not be\na delight to me to enjoy your Majesty\u2019s favour, and act in accordance\nwith your will, if the case permitted it? Prayer by itself is a\nsacrifice; it obtains pardon while the oblation would be rejected, for\nthe former is evidence of humility, the latter of contempt: for God\nHimself tells us that He prefers the performance of His commandments\nto sacrifice. God proclaims this, Moses announces it to the people,\nPaul preaches it to them. Do that which you understand is for the time\nbetter. _I will have mercy_, it is said, _and not sacrifice_. Are not\nthose therefore rather to be called Christians who condemn their own\nsin than those who think to excuse it? _The just accuses himself in the\nbeginning of his words._ He who, having sinned, accuses himself, not he\nwho praises himself, is just.\n\n16. I would that previously to this I had trusted rather to myself than\nto your accustomed habits. Remembering that you quickly pardon, and\nrevoke your sentence, as you have often done, you have been anticipated,\nand I have not shunned that which I had no need to fear. But thanks to\nthe Lord, Who chastises His servants, that they may not be lost. This\nI share with the prophets, and you shall share it with the saints.\n\n17. Shall not I value the father of Gratian at more than my own eyes?\nYour other sacred pledges too claim pardon for you. On those whom I\nregarded with impartial affection I conferred by anticipation a name\nthat is dear to me. You have my love, my affection, my prayers. If you\nbelieve my words, I call on you to act according to them; if, I say,\nyou believe, acknowledge it, but if not, excuse my conduct in that I\nprefer God to my sovereign. May your gracious Majesty, with your holy\noffspring, enjoy in happiness and prosperity perpetual peace.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LII.\n A.D. 392.\n\n\n TITIANUS, or Tatianus, for both forms of the name are given,\n was a person in high position under Theodosius, and filled the\n office of Pr\u00e6torian Prefect. He had incurred, as this Letter\n implies, the enmity of the Emperor\u2019s favourite minister Rufinus,\n who eventually procured his exile. He is here congratulated on\n Rufinus\u2019 removal from the position of \u2018Master of the offices,\u2019\n and thereby from exercising an unfavorable influence on some\n private suit in which Tatianus was engaged.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO TITIANUS.\n\n1. YOU have obtained a harmless victory, enjoying the security of\nvictory without the bitterness of entreaty; for Rufinus from being\nMaster of the Offices[235], has been made in his consulate a Pr\u00e6torian\nPr\u00e6fect. By this he has acquired more power for himself, but to you\nhe can be hurtful no longer, for he is become the Pr\u00e6fect of another\ndistrict. I greatly rejoice both with him, as a friend, in having thus\nreceived an increase of honour, and at the same time a relief from\nodium, and also with you, as a son. And this, because you are delivered\nfrom him whom you deemed would be too rigid a judge to you, so that if\nyou shall have arranged your business with your grand-daughter, it will\nhave arisen from your affection, not from fear.\n\n2. Exert yourself, therefore, to obtain an adjustment, both the hope\nand profit of which are now greater: the hope, because the father of\nyour grand-daughter, who promised himself much from the sentence of\nRufinus, has no longer anything to hope from him; for Rufinus is now\nconcerned about other things, and neglects the past, or has laid it\naside together with the office which he then held; the father now looks\nrather to the merits of his cause, than to a patron of his sentiments;\nthe fruit too of an adjustment will be sweeter, for the credit of it\nmust be ascribed to yourself; for you might have scorned it, and have\nnot done so, regarding the pious claims of kindred, rather than the\nangry suggestions of injury.\n\nFarewell: love me as a son, for I love you as a parent.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LIII.\n A.D. 392.\n\n\n S. AMBROSE here writes to Theodosius to express his grief at\n the death of Valentinian II, and mentions the preparations\n made for his burial. S. Ambrose spoke his funeral oration,\n which is extant, and is full of expressions of deep attachment.\n Valentinian had been slain by Arbogastes, who put Eugenius on\n the throne.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO THE EMPEROR THEODOSIUS.\n\n1. YOUR Majesty\u2019s letter has broken my silence; for I had persuaded\nmyself that in sorrow so great I could do nothing better than withdraw\ninto retirement. But not being able to conceal myself in any retreat,\nor abdicate my bishopric, I at least retired within myself by silence.\n\n2. I am filled, I confess, with bitter grief, not only because the\ndeath of Valentinian has been premature, but also because, having been\ntrained in the faith and moulded by your teaching, he had conceived\nsuch devotion towards our God, and was so tenderly attached to myself,\nas to love one whom he had before persecuted, and to esteem as his\nfather the man whom he had before repulsed as his enemy. I have\nmentioned this not for the sake of recalling former wrongs, but as a\nproof of his conversion. For the one he learnt from others, the other\nwas his own, and retained by him when once received from you, so firmly,\nas to fortify him against all the arguments of his mother. He professed\nthat he owed his education to me, he longed for me as for a careful\nparent, and when some pretended to have received tidings of my arrival,\nhe anticipated it with impatience. Moreover, on those very days of\npublic mourning, although he had within the limits of Gaul holy and\neminent bishops of the Lord, he thought proper nevertheless to write\nto me to confer upon him the Sacrament of Baptism. By this request,\nin an unreasonable but affectionate way, he gave testimony of his love\ntowards me.\n\n3. Shall I not then sigh after him with my inmost spirit, shall I not\nembrace him in the secret recesses of my heart and soul? Shall I deem\nhim dead to me? Yes, indeed to me he is assuredly dead. How thankful\nwas I to the Lord, that he was so changed towards me, so improved, and\nhad assumed a character so much more mature. How thankful also was I\nto your Clemency, in that you had not only restored him to his kingdom,\nbut also, what is more, had disciplined him in your own faith and piety.\nShall I not weep therefore that he, while fresh in years, and before\nhe had obtained as he desired the grace of the Sacraments, has met with\na sudden death? It has been a solace to my mind that you have yourself\ncondescended to testify to my grief. I have your Majesty for judge of\nmy affections and interpreter of my thoughts.\n\n4. But hereafter we shall have time for sorrow; let us now care for his\nsepulture, which your Clemency has commanded to take place in this city.\nIf he has died without Baptism, I now keep back what I know. We have\nhere a most beautiful porphyry vessel, and well adapted for the purpose;\nfor Maximian the colleague of Diocletian was so buried. There are also\nvery precious tablets of porphyry, to encase the covering in which the\nroyal remains are inclosed.\n\n5. All this was prepared, but we waited for your Majesty\u2019s order; and\nits arrival has comforted your holy daughters, sisters of your son\nValentinian, who greatly afflict themselves, and the more in that for\na long while they received no answer. This has been no small solace\nto them, but so long as his remains lie unburied, they do not spare\nthemselves, for they daily imagine that they are celebrating the\nfuneral of their brother. And in truth they never are without many\ntears and heavy sorrow, and whenever they visit his body they return\nalmost lifeless. It will be for their good therefore, and for that of\nhis beloved remains, that the burial should shortly take place, lest\nthe heat of summer should wholly dissolve them, for its first fervour\nis scarcely past.\n\n6. I observe your command and commend it to the Lord; may He love you,\nfor you love the Lord\u2019s servants.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LIV.\n A.D. 392.\n\n\n THE Eusebius to whom this and the following letters are\n addressed is probably not the Bp. of Bologna who took a leading\n part in the Council of Aquileia, though he appears to be also\n connected with Bologna, (Lett. lv. 2.). S. Ambrose does not\n write to him in the style in which he would address an eminent\n \u2666Ecclesiastic. He was probably a layman, on very intimate terms\n with S. Ambrose, as the whole tone of the Letters implies. Both\n are on affairs of private life, both, especially the latter,\n are written in a tone of playful pleasantry and a not irreverent\n adaptation of sacred things, such as has often marked the\n familiar correspondence of a great Bishop.\n\n Eusebius seems to have had a son Faustinus, and this son a large\n family, of whom another Faustinus an Ambrosius and an Ambrosia\n are here mentioned. It was to this Eusebius, on the occasion\n of Ambrosia\u2019s dedication as a professed Virgin, that S. Ambrose\n wrote the treatise \u2018De Institutione Virginis.\u2019 She is the\n \u2018sancta soror,\u2019 the \u2018holy sister\u2019 of Lett. liv.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO EUSEBIUS.\n\n1. THE Secretary of the Prefecture, who had got into trouble on account\nof the works at Portus[236] is now safe in port. He came at the right\nmoment, for as soon as I received your letters I saw the Prefect, and\ninterceded for him; and he immediately pardoned him, and ordered the\nletter which he had dictated for the sale of his goods to be recalled.\nEven if his arrival had been less speedy, no man would more readily\nhave admitted the embarrassments attending that work of repairing the\nport than he who would have made shipwreck therein had he not had you\nfor his pilot; and from whence he could otherwise only have escaped\nwith his bare life.\n\n2. The little Faustinus is suffering from a cough, and has come to\nhis holy sister to be cured, and came willingly, for he found that the\ncomplaint of his stomach is better cared for here. He also considers\nme to be a \u2666physician and looks to me for his dinner. So he has his\nmedicine here twice a day, and he had begun to get strong, but while\nfrom their too great love they keep him away, his stomach-cough has\nreturned, worse than before, and unless he returns to his medicines\nhe will still suffer from it.\n\nFarewell: love me, for I also love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LV.\n A.D. 392.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO EUSEBIUS.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. viii. 11.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 20.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. ix. 1.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 9.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 12.\n\n1. THE two Faustinuses are herewith restored to you, the two little\nAmbroses stay with me. You have in the father what is best, in the\nyounger son what is most agreeable; for you have at once the summit\nof virtue, and shew forth the grace of humility. I have what is\nintermediate between father and younger son. With you is the head of\nthe whole family, and the continuous succession of a name handed down;\nwith me remains that frugal mean which both depends upon the head,\nand has a common being with what follows it. You have him who is our\ncommon rest, who when he comes to me in my turn, smooths all the cares\nof my soul. You have him who alike by his life and works, and by his\noffspring has found favour with our Lord, you have him who in the\nstorms of this world nourished a spiritual dove, to bring him the fruit\nof peace, anointed with the oil of chastity. You have him who built\nan altar to the Lord, he whom God blessed together with his sons, and\nsaid unto them, _Be fruitful and multiply_; with whom He established\nthe covenant of His peace, that it might be unto _him and his sons for\nperpetual generations_.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 20.\n\n2. You have then one who is an heir of Divine benediction, a partner\nin grace, a sharer in righteousness. But take care, I beseech you, that\nthis our husbandman Noah, the good planter of the fruitful vineyard,\ndoes not become inebriated with the cup of your love and favour, as one\nfilled with wine, and so indulge too long in rest, and then if haply he\nfall asleep the longing for our Shem awake him.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 23.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. ix. 24.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xlv. 3.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. ix. 27.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. x. 1.\n\n3. There also is Japhet the youngest of the brethren, who with pious\nreverence may cover his father\u2019s nakedness, whom his father may see\neven in sleep and never dismiss from his remembrance, but keep him ever\nin his sight and in his bosom, and when he wakes may know _what his\nyounger son has done unto him_. In Latin his name signifies \u2018health,\u2019\nin that grace is spread over his lips and over his life, wherefore God\nhath blessed him, because he, going backward, one may say, to Bologna,\ncovered his father with the pious garment of charity, and shewed honour\nto piety; of whom also his father said, _God shall enlarge Japhet,\nand he shall dwell in the tents of Shem_. Wherefore also in the\nenumeration of this generation he is preferred to his elder brother,\nhe is substituted for him in the blessing: he is preferred in regard\nof honour to his name, he is substituted in regard of the prerogative\nof elder birth and the honour due to nature.\n\n Sidenote: Prov. xxii. 1.\n\n4. Now in Latin Shem signifies a \u2018name.\u2019 And truly is this Ambrose of\nours a good name, in whose tents Japhet may be enlarged, _because a\ngood name is rather to be chosen than great riches_. Let him therefore\nalso be blessed, let his name be above gold and silver, let the seed of\nAbraham be in his portion, let all his blessing rest on his posterity,\nand on the whole family of the just man. But no one is cursed, all are\nblessed, for blessed is the fruit of Sarah.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. ix. 26.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. x. 9.\n\n5. The Ambroses salute you, the beloved Parthenius salute you, so does\nValentinian, disposed to humility, which is in Hebrew \u2018Canaan\u2019, being\nas it were the servant of his brother, to whom he has also given place\nas regards his name. And therefore he is like Nimrod, mighty in his\ndouble name, a great hunter upon the earth, of whom it is said; _Even\nas Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord_. For being somewhat rude\nin intellect, but of great bodily strength, he surpasses in strength\nthose whose genius he cannot equal; so that he would seem to carry\nwith him the Comacine[237] rocks, and to resemble them in his outward\nappearance, being as he is somewhat like a bull, wrathful at being\nset aside, at being deprived of his paternal name, at being subjected,\nthrough an inhabitant of the capital, to one from Bologna, for he knows\nnot the blandishments of infancy, and sprung without suffering injury\nfrom his nurse\u2019s bosom.\n\nFarewell: love me for I love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LVI.\n A.D. 392.\n\n\n A NOTE in p. 71 [Footnote #50] gives a brief outline of\n the schism in the Church of Antioch up to the time of the\n Council of Aquileia, which made some efforts to bring about\n a settlement. Meletius was then succeeded by Flavian, so that\n there still remained two rival Bishops, Flavian and Paulinus.\n Another opportunity for closing the schism came at Paulinus\u2019\n death, at the end of 388 A.D., but so far from allowing the\n wound to be so healed Paulinus on his death-bed consecrated\n Evagrius as his successor in violation of the Canons of Nic\u00e6a,\n (Theod. H.E. v. 23) which \u2018do not allow a Bishop to appoint\n his successor, but require all the Bishops of the province to\n be summoned to elect, and forbid consecration without at least\n three consecrating Bishops.\u2019 The western Bishops therefore\n continued to press Theodosius to call a Council to deal with\n the matter, which was accordingly assembled at Capua. Flavian,\n though ordered by the Emperor, did not appear, and the\n Council referred the question to the decision of Theophilus\n of Alexandria and the Bishops of Egypt who were not committed\n to either side, and in this letter S. Ambrose replies to\n Theophilus who had written to him that Flavian still refused\n to submit himself to their decision and again appealed to\n the Emperor, and urges him to summon Flavian once more, and\n endeavour to bring the matter to a peaceful issue, advising\n him to consult also Siricius, the Bishop of Rome. He points\n out that both parties rely rather on the weakness of their\n opponent\u2019s case than on the soundness of their own, and\n expresses a hope that an end may be put to the schism, and\n peace restored to the Church. Tillemont, in note 41 on the\n Life of S. Ambrose, discusses the date of the Synod of Capua,\n and fixes it at the end of A.D. 391, chiefly on the ground\n that Theodosius did not return to Constantinople from Milan\n till November of that year, while it must have been held\n before the disturbance in the west occasioned by the revolt of\n Arbogastes and the death of Valentinian, which took place in\n the spring of A.D. 392.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO THEOPHILUS.\n\n1. EVAGRIUS has no good ground for preferring his claim, Flavian has\ncause to fear, and therefore avoids the trial. Let our brethren pardon\nour just grief, for on account of these men the whole world is agitated,\nyet they do not sympathize with our grief. Let them at least patiently\nsuffer themselves to be censured by those whom they perceive to have\nbeen for so long a time harassed by their obstinacy. For between these\ntwo who would agree upon nothing which appertains to the peace of\nChrist, a grievous discord has arisen and spread through the whole\nworld.\n\n2. To this shipwreck of pious peace the holy Council of Capua had at\nlength opened an haven of tranquillity; that communion should be given\nto all throughout the East who profess the Catholic faith, and that\nthe cause of these two men should be referred to the judgment of your\nHoliness, and to our brethren and fellow-bishops of Egypt, as assessors.\nFor we deemed your judgment likely to be true, in that, having embraced\nthe communion of neither party, it would be inclined by no favour\ntowards either side.\n\n3. But while we were hoping that by these most equitable decrees of\nthe Council a remedy was now provided, and an end put to discord, your\nHoliness writes word that our brother Flavian has again had recourse to\nthe aid of prayers, and to the support of Imperial Rescripts. And thus\nthe toil of so many Bishops has been spent to no purpose; we must have\nrecourse once more to the civil tribunals, to the Imperial Rescripts,\nonce more must they cross the sea, once more, though weak in body,\nexchange their own country for a foreign soil, once more must the\nHoly Altars be deserted that we may travel to distant lands, once more\ncrowds of indigent Bishops, whose poverty was before no burthen to them,\nbut who now need external aid, must suffer want themselves, or at any\nrate use for their journey what else had fed the poor.\n\n4. Meanwhile Flavian, alone exempt, as he fancies, from the laws, does\nnot come when all others are assembled. The money-lender and debtor\nmeet each other, these men alone cannot meet: Flavian by his own will\ndeprives himself of Episcopal fellowship, and will not appear in person\neither at the Imperial order, or when cited by his brethren.\n\n5. Nevertheless, even this cause of offence does not induce me to\nconsider our brother Evagrius entirely in the right, although he seems\nto himself the more defensible either because Flavian avoids him, or\nbecause he thinks his opponent to be in no better case than himself,\neach of them relying more on the defects of his opponent\u2019s ordination\nthan on the validity[238] of his own. We however would recall them to a\nbetter course, wishing them to be aided rather by the goodness of their\nown cause than by the defects of others.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. ii. 18.\n\n6. Now since you have stated in your letter that some form may be\ndevised touching this matter, whereby the discord of our brethren may\nbe removed; and as the holy Synod has trusted the right of cognizance\nto the unanimous judgment of yourself and our other fellow-bishops from\nEgypt, it is fitting that you should again summon our brother Flavian,\nso that, if he should persist in not choosing to appear, you may then\nwithout prejudice to the decrees of the Council of Nice, and also of\nthe Synod of Capua, take such measures for the preservation of general\npeace as may not destroy what has been built up: _For if I destroy\nwhat I have built, or build again what I destroyed, I make myself a\ntransgressor_. Let the grace of that peace which has been obtained be\nthus preserved by all, and the refusal of either party to appear will\nnot have the effect of frustrating it.\n\n7. Moreover we are of opinion that it will be well for you to refer to\nour holy brother the Bishop of the Roman Church; for we do not doubt\nthat what you shall determine he also will approve. For the resolution\nthat is come to will be useful, and our peace and quiet will be secure,\nif such a decree is made by your advice as shall not create discord in\nour communion. And thus we also, receiving the series of your decrees,\nand assured that the Roman Church has given its undoubting approbation\nto what has been done, shall with gladness participate in the result of\nthis trial.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER ON THE CASE OF BONOSUS.\n A.D. 392 or 393.\n\n\n THIS letter is certainly not written by S. Ambrose, though\n included among his letters. The writer of it speaks of \u2018our\n brother Ambrose.\u2019 Tillemont discusses the authorship in a note,\n (45.) and makes it probable that it was written by Siricius.\n\n The case of Bonosus had been brought before the Synod of Capua,\n and they had decided that it should be referred to the Bishops\n of Macedonia, under the presidency of \u2666Anysius Bishop of\n Thessalonica, as being his nearest neighbours. These Bishops\n seem to have written a letter to consult Siricius, the Bishop of\n Rome, and this is believed to be his reply, in which he declines\n to interfere with their decision, only adding a few remarks\n upon one point. Bonosus was Bishop of Sardica[239] in Illyria,\n and the founder of an obscure sect. They were accused of\n Photinianism, and Bonosus is called a fore-runner of Nestorius,\n but the Helvidian doctrines of which this letter speaks are the\n most clearly ascertained of their errors. The sect survived at\n least till the vith Century.\n\n\n A LETTER CONCERNING THE DECIDING OF THE CASE OF BONOSUS,\n ACCORDING TO THE DECREE OF THE SYNOD OF CAPUA.\n\n1. YOU have written to us a Letter concerning Bishop Bonosus in which,\neither from love of truth or from modesty, you enquire our opinion.\nBut since it has been the judgment of the Council of Capua that those\nwho are neighbours to Bonosus and his accusers should be assigned his\njudges, and specially the Macedonian Bishops, who, with the Bishop of\nThessalonica, should judge of his acts and writings, we have to remark\nthat the function of judging cannot appertain to ourselves. Otherwise,\nwere the question of the Synod at this day still open, we might well\nhave decided concerning these things which are included in what you\nhave written at length. Having taken upon yourselves this judgment, it\nis now your part to form your decision on the whole question, to give\nno power of retreat or escape either to the accusers or the accused;\nfor, being chosen by the Synod to conduct the examination, you have\ntaken upon you its functions.\n\n2. Again, when Bishop Bonosus, after your judgment, sent to our brother\nAmbrose to enquire his opinion whether he should break into and enter\nupon the church which was closed to him, he received for reply that he\nmust do nothing rashly, that everything must be carried on modestly,\npatiently and in order, that nothing contrary to your decision must\nbe attempted, that you, to whom the Synod had committed such authority,\nwould appoint what appeared to you agreeable to justice. The first\npoint therefore is that judgment should be given by those to whom the\npower of judging has been given; for you, as we have said, judge in\nplace of the entire Synod; as to ourselves it does not befit us to\njudge as though by the authority of the Synod.\n\n3. Assuredly we cannot deny that he is justly blamed concerning the\nsons of Mary, and that your Holiness deservedly repudiated the opinion\nthat from the same Virgin womb, of which according to the flesh Christ\nwas born, other offspring was produced. For the Lord Jesus would not\nhave chosen to be born of a Virgin, if He had conceived she would be so\nwanting in continence as to suffer that birthplace of the Lord\u2019s Body,\nthat palace of the eternal King, to be polluted by human intercourse.\nTo propound such an opinion as this, what is it but to fortify the\nunbelief of the Jews who say that it was impossible He could be born of\na Virgin, and who, thus confirmed by the authority of Christian Bishops,\nwill strive with greater earnestness to overthrow the true faith?\n\n Sidenote: S. John xix. 26, 27.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. i. 18.\n\n4. What else can be the meaning of that text wherein the Lord says to\nHis Mother of John the Evangelist, _Woman, behold thy son_, and again\nto John of Mary, _Behold thy mother_? With what purpose was it that\nwhile the Lord was hanging upon the cross and atoning for the sins\nof the world, He declared also the integrity of His Mother? Wherefore\nwas it said but that unbelief might close its lips and be silent, nor\ndare to offer any insult to the Mother of the Lord? He therefore, in\npronouncing upon and asserting His Mother\u2019s chastity, likewise bears\nwitness that she was only espoused to her husband Joseph; and that she\nwas ignorant of that carnal commerce which is the accustomed right of\nthe marriage bed; for, had it been that she was to conceive children\nof Joseph, He would not have chosen to separate her from the company\nof her husband.\n\n Sidenote: S. John xix. 27.\n\n5. But if this is not enough, the Evangelist has added his testimony,\nsaying that the _disciple took her unto his own home_. Did he then\ncause a divorce? Did he carry her off from her husband? How can he who\nreads this in the Gospel stagger and waver to and fro as one who has\nbeen shipwrecked?\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 30.\n\n6. This then is the testimony of the Son concerning His Mother\u2019s\nchastity, this is the rich heritage of Mary\u2019s immaculate Virginity,\nthis is the consummation of the entire work. He spake thus, and _gave\nup the ghost_, crowning the whole mystery with a good end of filial\nduty.\n\n7. We have also read and perused the whole of the instructions, as well\nwhat relates to Senecio being joined with our brother and fellow-bishop\nBassus in the government of his Church, as what relates to other\nmatters, and we now look for the direction of your sentence.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LVII.\n\n\n VALENTINIAN II. having been murdered by Arbogastes, one of his\n Generals, the latter, not venturing to claim the empire for\n himself, set up Eugenius, who was really his puppet, as Emperor\n of the West. Theodosius temporised with him, till he should be\n fully prepared to attack him, and it was whilst he was thus for\n a time accepted as Emperor that S. Ambrose addressed this letter\n to him. He excuses himself in it for withdrawing from Milan when\n Eugenius came there, on the plea that he was bound to fear God\n rather than man, and reproves him for granting the restoration\n of their former revenues to the heathen temples, which Gratian\n and Valentinian had before refused, and exposes the futility\n of his plea that he was merely granting favour to his friends,\n reminding him that God sees the heart. He quotes at length the\n conduct of the Jews in the time of Antiochus, as recorded in the\n Book of Maccabees, as a precedent which Christians were bound to\n follow. At the same time he says that he is willing to address\n Eugenius in matters which do not affect his duty to God.\n\n\n TO THE MOST GRACIOUS EMPEROR EUGENIUS,\n AMBROSE, BISHOP, SENDS GREETING.\n\n1. I withdrew from Milan from fear of God, to Whom I am wont to refer,\nas far as I am able, all my acts, never turning my mind from Him nor\nmaking more account of any man\u2019s favour than of the grace of Christ. By\npreferring God to every one else I wrong no man, and trusting in Him, I\ndare to tell your Majesties, the Emperors, my poor thoughts. Wherefore\nI will not refrain from saying to your most gracious Majesty what I\nnever refrained from saying before other Emperors. And that I may\npreserve the order of events, I will touch one by one the points which\nrelate to this transaction. The illustrious Symmachus, when prefect of\nthe city, memorialised[240] the Emperor Valentinian the younger, of\naugust memory, begging that he would command what had been withdrawn\nfrom the temples to be restored. He performed his part in accordance\nwith his own wishes and mode of worship. It became me also, as Bishop,\nto recognize the duties of my office. I presented two petitions to the\nEmperors wherein I declared that a Christian man could not contribute\nto the expenses of the sacrifices; that I had not advised the\nwithdrawal of the payments, but that I did advise that they should not\nbe now decreed, and lastly, that he would seem to be giving rather than\nrestoring these expenses to the images; for what he had not withdrawn,\nhe could not be said to restore, but of his own free-will to give it\nfor the uses of \u2666superstition. Lastly, if he had done so, he either\nmust not come to the Church, or if he did, he would either not find a\npriest, or one who would withstand him. Nor could it be offered as an\nexcuse that he was only a catechumen, for it is not lawful for\ncatechumens to contribute to the expense of idols.\n\n\u26663. My petitions were read in the Consistory; Count Bauto, a man of the\nhighest military rank, and Rumoridus, himself too of the same dignity,\nand from the first year of his boyhood attached to the Gentile worship,\nwere present. Valentinian then listened to my suggestion, and did\nnothing but what our faith reasonably required. And they submitted to\nhis officer.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxix. 46.\n\n4. Afterwards I openly addressed myself to the most gracious Emperor\nTheodosius, and hesitated not to speak to him face to face. He having\nreceived the intimation of a similar message from the Senate, although\nit was not the whole Senate who asked it, at length gave his consent to\nmy suggestion, and so for some days I did not come near him, nor was he\ndispleased thereat, for I did not act for my own advantage but for his\nprofit, and that of my own soul also; _I was not ashamed to speak in\nthe king\u2019s presence_.\n\n5. Once more an Embassy was sent from the senate to the Emperor\nValentinian, of blessed memory, when he was in Gaul, but was able to\nextort nothing from him. At that time I was absent and had not written\nanything to him.\n\n6. But when your Majesty assumed the reins of government it was found\nthat this boon had been granted to men of eminence in the state but in\nreligion heathens. And perhaps it may be said, your Majesty, that it\nis not a restitution to the temples on your part, but a boon to men who\nhad deserved well of you. But the fear of God ought, you know, to lead\nus to act with constancy, as is done in the cause of liberty not only\nby priests but by those who serve in your armies or are reckoned among\nthe provincials. Envoys petitioned you, as Emperor, for restitution to\nthe temples, but you consented not; others again required it, but you\nresisted; yet subsequently you have thought fit to grant it as a boon\nto the petitioners themselves.\n\n7. The Imperial power is indeed great, but let your Majesty consider\nthe greatness of God; He sees all hearts, He scrutinizes the inmost\nconscience, He knows all things before they come to pass, He knows\nthe secrets of your breast. You will not suffer yourselves to be\ndeceived, and do you hope to hide anything from God? Has not this\nsuggested itself to your mind? Although they urged their suit with such\nperseverance, ought not your Majesty from respect for the most high and\ntrue and living God, to have resisted still more perseveringly, and to\nhave refused what was derogatory to the Divine law?\n\n8. Who grudges your bestowing upon others whatsoever you chose? We\ndo not pry closely into your munificence, nor are we jealous of the\nadvantages of others; but we are the ministers of the Faith. How will\nyou offer your gifts to Christ? your acts will be estimated by few,\nyour wishes by all; whatever they have done will be ascribed to you,\nwhatever they have not done to themselves. You are indeed Emperor, but\nyou ought all the more to submit yourself to God. Else how shall the\npriests of Christ dispense your gifts?\n\n Sidenote: 2 Macc. iv. 18 sqq.\n\n9. There was a question of this kind in former times, and then\npersecution itself yielded to the faith of our fathers, and heathendom\ngave way. For _when the game that was used every fifth year was kept at\nTyre_, and the wicked king of Antioch had come hither to see it, _Jason\nsent special messengers from Jerusalem, to carry three hundred silver\ndrachms_, and give them _to the sacrifice of Hercules_. But our fathers\nwould not give the money to the heathen, but sent trusty persons to\nmake declaration that such money was not to be devoted to sacrifices to\nthe gods, _for this was not convenient_, but was to be applied to other\nexpenses. And it was decreed that, forasmuch as Jason had said that\nthe silver was sent for the sacrifice of Hercules, that which was sent\nought to be so applied. And yet seeing that they who brought it pleaded\nin opposition, in their zeal and devotion, that it should not be\nemployed for sacrifice but for other exigencies, the money was applied\nto build ships. They sent the money, that is, because they were\ncompelled, but it was not applied to sacrifices, but to other public\nexpenses.\n\n10. Again, they who brought the money might have been silent, but they\nwere led to violate secrecy because they knew whither it was being\ncarried, and so they sent men who feared God, and who were to do their\nendeavour that the money might be applied to the equipment of ships,\nand not to the temple. Thus they entrusted the money to men who were to\nplead the cause of the Divine law, and He who cleanses the conscience\nwas made Judge of the matter. If those who were in the power of others\ntook these precautions, it cannot be doubted what it was your Majesty\u2019s\nduty to do. You, whom no man constrained, who were in no man\u2019s power,\nought \u2666certainly to have referred for advice to the priest.\n\n11. For my own part, although I was alone in the resistance I then\nmade, still others both willed and advised it. Being thus bound by\nmy own words both before God and before all men, I have felt that I\nhad no other choice or duty but to consult for myself, for I could\nnot properly trust to you. For a long time I stifled and concealed my\ngrief, I gave no hint to any one, but now I am no longer at liberty to\ndissemble, or to be silent. And this was why, at the beginning of your\nreign, I made no reply to your letters, because I foresaw that what you\nhave done would happen. Afterwards, when you found I did not answer,\nand sent to demand a reply, I said, \u2018The reason why I do not write is\nthat I think it will be wrung from him[241].\u2019\n\n Sidenote: Rom. xiii. 7.\n\n12. But when a just occasion for the exercise of my office arose,\nI both wrote and petitioned for those who were anxious on their own\naccount, with a view of shewing that in the cause of God a due fear\nof Him affected me, and that I did not set a higher value on flattery\nthan on my own soul; but that in the matters wherein petition is proper\nto be made to you, I paid just deference to your authority, as indeed\nit is written, _honour to whom honour, tribute to whom tribute_. For\nseeing that I cordially deferred to a private person, how should I\nnot defer to the Emperor? But as you desire deference to be shewn to\nyourselves, suffer us to defer to Him from Whom you would fain prove\nyour authority to be derived.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LVIII.\n A.D. 393.\n\n\n IN this letter S. Ambrose informs Sabinus that Paulinus and\n Therasia had resolved to give up all their wealth to the poor,\n and retire to Nola, and complains of the objections raised\n against such self-denial, ending with a mystical interpretation\n of David dancing before the ark.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO SABINUS, BISHOP.\n\n1. CREDIBLE information has reached me that Paulinus, the lustre of\nwhose birth was inferior to none in the region of Aquitania, has sold\nboth his own possessions and those of his wife, and entered upon a\ncourse of life which enables him to bestow upon the poor the property\nwhich has been converted into money; while he himself having become\npoor instead of rich, as one relieved of a heavy burden, has bid\nfarewell to his home his country and his kindred, in order to serve\nGod more diligently; and he is reported to have chosen a retreat in\nthe city of Nola, to pass the rest of his days in avoiding the turmoil\nof life.\n\n2. The lady Therasia too approaches closely to his zeal and virtue,\nand objects not to the resolve he has taken. Having transferred her\nown property to other owners, she follows her husband, and contented\nwith his little plat of ground will console herself with the riches of\nreligion and charity. Offspring they have none, and therefore desire to\nleave behind them good deeds.\n\n3. When the great of the world hear this, what will they say? That a\nman of his family, his ancestry, his genius, gifted with such eloquence,\nshould have seceded from the senate, that the succession of a noble\nfamily should become extinct, such things, they will say, are not to\nbe borne. And though they, when they perform the rites of Isis, shave\ntheir heads and eyebrows, they nevertheless call it an unworthy deed\nshould a Christian man out of zeal for holy religion change his habit.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. x. 33.\n S. Mark viii. 38.\n\n Sidenote: Heb. xi. 26.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Sam. vi. 20.\n\n Sidenote: Isa. xx. 4.\n\n4. Truly I grieve that, while falsehood is so respected, there should\nbe such negligence as regards the Truth, that many are ashamed of\nseeming too devoted to our holy religion, not considering His words\nWho says, _Whosoever shall be ashamed of[242] Me before men, of him\nwill I also be ashamed[243] before My Father Which is in heaven_. But\nMoses was not thus ashamed, for though invited into the royal palace he\n_esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of\nEgypt_. David was not thus ashamed when he danced before the Ark of the\ntestimony in the sight of all the people. Isaiah was not thus ashamed,\nwhen he walked naked and bare-foot through the people, proclaiming the\nheavenly oracles.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xlvii. 1.\n\n Sidenote: Ezek. vi. 11.\n\n5. Viewed by the outward eye what can be a more unseemly spectacle than\nan imitation of the gestures of players, and a wreathing of the limbs\nafter the manner of women? Lascivious dances are the companions of\nluxury and the pastime of wantonness. What did David himself mean by\nsinging, _O clap your hands together, all ye people_? If we regard the\nbodily action we must suppose that he clapped his hands as if mingling\nwith female dancers, and shouted with unseemly noise. Of Ezekiel too it\nis said, _Smite with thine hand, and stamp with thy foot_.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Sam. vi. 20.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 21, 22.\n\n6. But the things which viewed corporeally are unseemly, when viewed in\nregard to holy religion become venerable, so that they who blame such\nthings will involve their own souls in the net of blame. Thus Michal\nreproves David for his dancing and says to him, _How glorious was the\nking of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of\nhis handmaids_! And David answered her, _It was before the Lord, which\nchose me before thy father, and before all his house to appoint me\nruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel: therefore will I play\nbefore the Lord, and I will be yet more vile thus, and will be base in\nmine own sight, and of the maid-servants which thou hast spoken of, of\nthem shall I be had in honour_.\n\n7. David therefore did not shrink from female censure, nor was he\nashamed to hear their reproaches for his religious service. For he\nplayed before the Lord as being his servant, and was the more pleasing\nto Him in that he so humbled himself before God, as to lay aside his\nroyal dignity and to offer to God the very lowest ministry, as though\nhe were a servant. She also who censured such dancing was condemned to\nbarrenness and had no children by the king, that she might not bring\nforth a proud offspring; and so, as it turned out, she obtained no\ncontinuance of descendants or of good deeds.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xi. 17.\n\n Sidenote: Eccles. iv. 5.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. v. 16.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cx. 1.\n\n8. If any one is still doubtful, let him hear the testimony of the\nGospel, for the Son of God said, _We have piped unto you, and ye have\nnot danced_. Therefore were the Jews abandoned, because they danced\nnot, nor clapped their hands, and the Gentiles were called in, who gave\nto God spiritual applause. _The fool foldeth his hands together and\ndevoureth his own flesh_, that is, he entangles himself in corporeal\nmatters, and devours his own flesh, like prevailing death[244], and so\nhe shall not find eternal life. But the wise man, who so holds up his\nworks that they may shine before his Father Which is in heaven, has not\nconsumed his flesh but has raised it to the grace of the resurrection.\nThis is that glorious dance of the wise man which David danced, and\nthus by the loftiness of his spiritual dancing he ascended even to the\nthrone of Christ, that he might see and hear _the Lord saying to his\nLord, Sit Thou on My right hand_!\n\n Sidenote: Isa. xx. 4.\n\n9. Now if you are of opinion that this interpretation of the dancing\nhas not been made unreasonably, do not spare yourself the trouble of\nreading a little further, in order that we may consider together the\ncase of Isaiah, how, as is well known to you, he was uncovered, not in\nmockery but gloriously, in the sight of the assembled people, as one\nwho reported with his own mouth the oracles of God.\n\n10. But perhaps it may be said, Was it not then disgraceful for a man\nto walk wholly uncovered through the people, seeing that he must be met\nboth by men and women? Must not the sight itself have shocked the eyes\nof all, especially of women? Do not we ourselves generally shrink from\nlooking upon naked men? And are not men\u2019s persons concealed by garments\nthat they may not offend the eyes of beholders by an unseemly spectacle?\n\n Sidenote: Isa. xx. 3.\n\n11. In this I also acquiesce; but consider what it was this act\nrepresented, and what was set forth under this outward show; it was,\nthat the young men and maidens of the Jews should be led away prisoners,\nand walk naked, _like as My servant Isaiah_, it is said, _hath walked\nnaked and barefoot_. This might also have been impressed in words,\nbut God chose to render it more expressive by example, that the sight\nitself might thus strike greater terror, and what they shrunk from in\nthe person of the prophet, that they might dread for themselves. In\nwhich of the two then does the baseness most shock us; in the person of\nthe prophet, or in the sins of those unbelievers which deserved to fall\ninto this great misery of captivity?\n\n Sidenote: Ps. lxxxv. 8.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. ii. 25.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. iii. 7.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xxxix. 12.\n\n12. But what if there was nothing worthy of reproach in the prophet\u2019s\nbody? He indeed alluded not to corporeal but to spiritual things; for\nin his ecstasy of mind he says, not _I will hearken what_ I shall say,\nbut, _what the Lord God shall say in me_. Nor does he consider whether\nhe is naked or clothed. Again, Adam before his sin was naked, but\nknew not he was naked, because he was endued with virtue; after he\nhad committed sin he saw that he was naked, and covered himself. Noah\nwas uncovered, but he blushed not, because he was full of gladness\nand spiritual joy, while he who derided him for being naked, himself\nremained subject to the disgrace of perpetual baseness. Joseph too,\nthat he might not be basely uncovered, left his garment, and fled away\nnaked; now which of the two was base in this instance, she who kept\nanother\u2019s garment, or he who put off his own?\n\n Sidenote: Acts vii. 56.\n\n Sidenote: Isa. xx. 2.\n\n13. But that it may be more fully evident that the prophets regard\nnot themselves nor what lies at their feet, but heavenly things, when\nStephen was stoned he saw _the heavens opened, and Jesus standing on\nthe right hand of God_; and therefore he felt not the blows of the\nstones, he regarded not his bodily wounds, but his eyes were fastened\non Christ, he clung closely to him. So also Isaiah looked not on his\nown nakedness, but offered himself to be the organ of the Divine voice,\nthat he might utter what God spake within him.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xviii. 12.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xv. 6.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xx. 3.\n\n14. But be it supposed that he saw himself, could he not do that which\nhe was commanded? Could he believe that to be base which God enjoined?\nSarah, because she laughed, was convicted of unbelief; Abraham was\npraised, because he doubted not the word of God; yea, he received a\nvery great reward, because he believed that at God\u2019s command, even\nparricide might be piously committed.\n\n15. What cause for shame then had the prophet here, when one thing\nwas enacted, but that of which it was a figure was quite different?\nThe Jews, being deserted by God for their wickedness, began to be\nvanquished by their enemies, and were fain to betake themselves to the\nEgyptians, to be a protection to them against the Assyrians, whereas\nhad they consulted for good, they ought rather to have returned to\nthe faith. The Lord, being angry, shews that their hope was vain in\nthinking that the offence against Him could be removed by a greater sin,\nfor that very people in whom the Jews were trusting, were themselves to\nbe vanquished. This was the meaning as regards the actual history.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xxxii. 6.\n\n16. But this history itself is a figure, signifying that he trusts in\nthe Egyptians who is given up to impurity, and enslaved to wantonness.\nFor no man abandons himself to excess but he who departs from the\nprecepts of the true God. But as soon as a man waxes wanton, he begins\nto fall off from the true faith. And then he commits two grievous\ncrimes, lassitude as regards the flesh, and sacrilege as regards the\nmind. He then who follows not the Lord his God ingulfs himself in\nimpurity and lust, those pestilential passions of the body. But he who\nhas engulfed and plunged himself in such wallowing places, falls also\ninto the snare of unbelief; for _the people sat down to eat and to\ndrink_, and required that gods should be made for them. Hereby the Lord\nteaches us that he who gives up his soul to these two kinds of vices,\nis stript of the garment, not of a woollen vest, but of living virtue;\nthat clothing which is not temporal but eternal.\n\nFarewell, love me, for I also love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LIX.\n A.D. 393.\n\n\n S. AMBROSE here writes to Severus, Bishop of Naples, to tell him\n of one James, a presbyter of Persia, who was seeking a retreat\n from the world in Campania. This leads him to dwell on the\n contrast of the many troubles with which he is surrounded at\n Milan.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO SEVERUS, BISHOP.\n\n1. JAMES, our brother and fellow-presbyter, has come from the depths of\nPersia, and chosen the coast of Campania and your pleasant abodes for\nhis resting-place. You see in what spot he has anticipated for himself\nthe enjoyment of a haven sheltered, as it were, from the storms of this\nworld, where, after his long toils, he may spend the remainder of his\nlife.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xxiv. 2.\n\n2. For your coast, removed not only from danger, but from all tumult,\nfills the senses with tranquillity, and transports the mind from the\nfearful and raging billows of care to an honourable rest. So that those\nwords of David concerning the holy Church, which belong in common to\nall, appear to be especially fitting and appropriate to yourselves;\n_For He hath founded it upon the seas, and prepared it upon the floods_.\nFor a mind undisturbed by inroads of barbarians and the evils of war,\nhas leisure for prayer, devotes itself to the service of God, cares for\nthe things of the Lord, cherishes those things which belong to peace\nand tranquillity.\n\n Sidenote: Hab. iii. 7.\n\n3. We meanwhile, exposed to the outbreaks of the barbarians and the\nstorms of war, are tossing in the midst of troubles, and from these\ntoils and dangers can only gather that those of our future life will\nbe still more grievous. Wherefore that saying of the Prophet seems to\naccord with our condition, _I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction_.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxx. 5.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. ii. 15.\n\n4. For since I have now lived in the body fifty and three years, among\nthe shadows of this world, whereby the truth of future perfection is\nobscured, and have already endured such heavy afflictions, am I not\ncamping in the tents of Cushan, and having my habitation among the\ndwellers of Midian? For these, owing to their consciousness of their\ndarksome works, dread being judged even by mortal men, _but he that is\nspiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man_.\n\nFarewell, my brother; love me, as indeed you do, for I also love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LX.\n A.D. 393.\n\n\n IN this Letter S. Ambrose urges Paternus not to break the laws\n both of God and man by promoting a marriage between his son and\n his daughter\u2019s daughter, who were within the forbidden degree of\n relationship, and shews him what confusion would arise from such\n an union.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO PATERNUS.\n\n1. I HAVE read your greeting, my like-minded friend Paternus, but the\nquestion on which you ask my advice, wishing to marry your son to your\ngrand-daughter by your daughter, is by no means paternal, but unworthy\nof you both as grand-father and as father. Consider therefore what\nit is you ask about, for in all that we wish to do, we ought first\nto investigate the nature of the deed, and then we shall be able to\nestimate whether it is worthy of praise or blame. For instance, carnal\nintercourse with women is a pleasure to some, physicians even say it\nis healthful to the body; but we must consider whether it be with a\nwife or a stranger, with a married or an unmarried woman. If a man have\ncommerce with one who is espoused and given to him he calls it marriage;\nhe who assails the chastity of one who belongs to another commits\nadultery, by the very name of which the temerity of the attempt is\ngenerally repressed. To slay an enemy is accounted a victory, to slay\na criminal is justice, to slay an innocent man murder, and if a man is\nconscious of this he withholds his hand. Wherefore I beg that you also\nwill consider what it is you propose.\n\n2. You wish to arrange a marriage between our children. But I would ask\nwhether you would have equals or those who are unequal joined together?\nif I mistake not, they are wont to be called \u2018pairs[245].\u2019 He who\nyokes oxen to the plough, or horses to the chariot, chooses pairs, that\nboth their age and their form may harmonize, that there be no natural\ndifference, nor blemish of diversity. You are proposing to unite your\nson and your grand-daughter by your daughter, that is, that he should\nmarry his sister\u2019s daughter, true though it is that he was born of\na different mother from his professed mother in law. Consider what\nrestraint is implied in the very names; he is called her uncle, she is\ncalled his niece. Does not the very sound of the names[246] recal you,\nwhen the one has in it the sound of grand-father, and the other refers\nalike to uncle and to grand-father? How great again is the confusion of\nthe other terms? You will be called both grand-father and father in law,\nshe too will receive the different names of niece and daughter in law.\nThe brother and sister also will exchange different names, she will be\nthe mother in law of her brother, he the son in law of his sister. The\nniece will marry her uncle, and the affection of these your unstained\noffspring be exchanged for an irregular love.\n\n3. On this point you tell me that the holy man your Bishop is looking\nfor my sentiments. I cannot think or believe this. For if this were\nso, he would himself have chosen to write, but by not doing so he has\nintimated that he considers there is no ground for doubt upon the point.\nFor how can there be any such doubt, when the prohibition of marriage\nbetween first cousins extends, according to the Divine law, to those\nwho are related in the fourth degree. But this is the third degree,\nwhich even by the civil law seems to be excepted from the fellowship\nof marriage.\n\n4. But let us first inquire what are the decrees of the Divine law,\nfor you allege in your letters that an union between such persons must\nbe considered as allowed by that Law, in that it is not forbidden. I\nhowever assert that it is actually forbidden; for seeing that first\ncousins are forbidden slighter familiarities, much more must I deem\nthis forbidden which contains within it the bond of a much closer union.\nFor he who affixes censure to lighter offences does not acquit but\nrather condemn heavier ones.\n\n5. But if you consider it to be permitted because it is not specially\nforbidden, neither will you find it forbidden by the words of the\nLaw that the father should take his daughter to wife. But is this\nlawful, merely because it is not forbidden? By no means; it has been\ninterdicted by the law of nature, by that law which is in the hearts of\neach of us, by the inviolable rule of piety, on the ground of nearness\nof kin. How many things of this kind will you find which are not\nforbidden in the law promulgated by Moses, but which are yet forbidden\nby the voice of nature.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. x. 23.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. v. 17.\n\n6. There are many things which are lawful, but which are not expedient,\nfor _all things are lawful, but all things are not expedient, all\nthings are lawful, but all things edify not_. If then the Apostle\nrecalls us even from those things which edify not, how can we imagine\nthat may be done which is not permitted by the oracle of the Law, and\nwhich edifies not, because it differs from the rule of piety? Yet those\nvery things in the old Law which were more severe were mitigated by\nthe Gospel of the Lord Jesus. _Old things are passed away, behold, all\nthings are become new._\n\n7. What is so usual as a kiss between an uncle and a niece, which he\nowes to her as a daughter, she to him as a parent? Will you therefore\ncast suspicion on this kiss of unoffending piety by proposing such\na union, will you deprive your beloved offspring of a sacrament so\nvenerable?\n\n8. But if the Divine law pass by you unheeded, at least the laws of\nEmperors, from whom you have received such ample honours, ought not\nto have been so disregarded. Now the Emperor Theodosius forbad even\ncousins by either the fathers\u2019 or mothers\u2019 side to be united under the\nname of marriage, and affixed a severe penalty upon any rash union of\nbrothers\u2019 children. And yet these are equal as regards each other, but,\nas they are bound together by the ties of mankind and brotherly union,\nhe would have them owe their birth to piety.\n\n9. But you will say this rule has been relaxed in favour of some. The\nlaw however is not prejudiced thereby, for that which is [not][247]\nenacted for general use is only profitable to him in whose favour the\nrelaxation takes place, and so the odium is much less. Now although\nwe read in the Old Testament of one calling his wife his sister, it is\nunheard of that any man should marry his niece and call her his wife.\n\n10. It is indeed a curious plea which leads you to assert that your\ngrand-daughter is not connected with your son, her uncle, by any\nclose bond, merely because they have no relationship by the father\u2019s\nside[248]. As if an uterine brother and sister, born that is, of the\nsame mother but by a different father, would be united together when\nof a different sex, for as much as they have no relationship by the\nfather\u2019s side[249], but are only united to each other by the mother\u2019s\nside[250].\n\n11. You ought therefore to relinquish your intention, which, even\nwere it lawful, would not tend to propagate your family, for your\nson owes to us grand-children, your dear grand-daughter owes to us\ngreat-grand-children.\n\nFarewell to you and all yours.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LXI.\n A.D. 394.\n\n\n THIS letter was addressed to Theodosius after his victory over\n Eugenius. S. Ambrose in it explains his absence from Milan, and\n after expressing his gratitude to God for His blessing on the\n arms of Theodosius, urges the Emperor to a merciful use of his\n victory.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO THE EMPEROR THEODOSIUS.\n\n1. YOU seem to have supposed, most blessed Emperor, as I understood\nfrom your Majesty\u2019s letters, that I had removed to a distance from\nMilan because I believed your cause was forsaken by God. But in my\nabsence I was not so foolish, nor so unmindful of your virtues and good\ndeeds, as not to feel sure that the assistance of heaven would aid your\npiety, and assist you to rescue the Roman Empire from the cruelty of a\nbarbarian robber, and the rule of an unworthy usurper.\n\n2. Wherefore I made immediate haste to return, as soon as ever I was\naware that he whom I thought it right to avoid was gone, for I had not\ndeserted the Church of Milan, which the judgment of God had committed\nto me, but I shunned the presence of one who had involved himself in\nsacrilege. So I returned about the first of August, and from that day\nI have been in residence here, and here your Majesty\u2019s letter[251] has\nfound me.\n\n3. Thanks be to our Lord God, Who has responded to your faith and piety,\nand revived among us the pattern of ancient sanctity, giving to us to\nsee in our own times what we marvel at in the Lessons of Holy Scripture,\nso effectual a presence, I mean, of Divine aid in battle[252], that\nno mountain tops delayed your passage, no hostile arms presented any\nimpediment.\n\n4. For this you think I ought to give thanks to the Lord our God; and\nthis I will willingly do, conscious of your good deeds. That victim is\ncertainly pleasing to God, which is offered in your name; and how great\nfaith and devotion does this evince! Other Emperors, as soon as ever\nthey gain a victory, order triumphal arches or other badges of triumph\nto be erected, but your Clemency provides a victim for God, and desires\nthat oblations and thanksgivings should be offered to the Lord by the\npriests.\n\n5. I therefore, though unworthy and unequal to such an office, and to\nthe offering of such prayers, will yet tell you how I have acted. I\ncarried with me your Majesty\u2019s letter to the altar, and laid it thereon,\nbearing it in my hand, when I offered the Sacrifice; that so your faith\nmight speak with my voice, and the Imperial letter itself might perform\nthe functions of the priestly oblation.\n\n6. Truly the Lord is merciful to the Roman Empire, seeing that He hath\nchosen such a prince and parent of princes, whose virtue and power,\nraised on so great and triumphant an eminence of dominion, is supported\nby such humility as to vanquish Emperors in valour and priests in\nhumility. What shall I wish for, or what shall I desire? You possess\neverything; from your stores therefore I will obtain the sum of my\nwishes; your Majesty is pitiful, and has great clemency.\n\n7. But I desire for you again and again an increase of mercy, than\nwhich the Lord hath given nothing more excellent; that by your clemency,\nthe Church of God, as it rejoices in the peace and tranquillity of the\ninnocent, so it may also rejoice in the absolution of the guilty. I\nwould chiefly ask you to pardon those who have sinned for the first\ntime. May the Lord preserve your Clemency. Amen.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LXII.\n A.D. 394.\n\n\n IN this letter also S. Ambrose urges on Theodosius a merciful\n use of his victory, and appeals to him specially for some of\n the defeated party who had sought the protection of the Church.\n He acknowledges the greatness of the request, but pleads for it\n on the score of the divine favour which had been miraculously\n displayed in his behalf.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO THE EMPEROR THEODOSIUS.\n\n1. ALTHOUGH I lately wrote to your Clemency even a second time, still\nI was not satisfied to fulfil my duty of corresponding with you letter\nby letter; for your gracious benefits have so often laid me under\nobligation that by no services can I pay my debt to your Majesty, most\nblessed Emperor.\n\n2. The very first occasion ought not therefore to have been omitted,\nbut through your chamberlain I ought to have offered to you my thanks,\nand laid before you the expression of my duty; and this that my\nomitting to write previously might not seem to arise from sloth rather\nthan necessity: I had also to inquire for some mode whereby I might\noffer to your Goodness my proper and dutiful greeting.\n\n3. Rightly then do I send my son Felix the Deacon, to convey to you my\nletter, and to offer to you in my name both my dutiful respects, and\nalso a memorial in behalf of those who, suing for mercy, have fled to\nthe Church, the Mother of your piety. Their tears have constrained me\nto anticipate your Clemency\u2019s mind by my petition.\n\n4. Our request is indeed a great one, but it is addressed to one on\nwhom the Lord has bestowed unheard-of and wonderful things, to one\nwhose mercifulness we have experienced, and whose piety we have as a\nhostage. We confess then that we look for even more, for as you have\nsurpassed yourself in valour, so also you must surpass yourself in pity.\nFor your victory is considered to have been bestowed on you in the\nprimitive manner, and miraculously, as it was on Moses, on holy Joshua\nthe son of Nun, on Samuel and on David, not by human respect but by the\noutpouring of celestial grace. Wherefore we look for a measure of pity\ncorresponding to that by means of which such a victory has been earned.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LXIII.\n A.D. 396.\n\n\n THIS, the longest and latest, and certainly not the least\n interesting, of S. Ambrose\u2019s Letters, is addressed to the\n Church of Vercell\u00e6, which, owing to intestine divisions, had\n been for some time without a Bishop. S. Ambrose first urges\n them to remember Christ\u2019s Presence among them, and to proceed\n to Election with that thought especially in their minds. He then\n speaks of two follows of Jovinian, Sarmatio and Barbatianus, who\n had introduced their evil doctrines among them, and so fostered\n divisions. This leads him to dwell at length on the evils of\n sensuality and the benefits of self-denial, on the profit of\n fasting, and the excellence of a virgin life, and bids them\n \u2018stand fast,\u2019 and not be led astray by false teachers. Then he\n recurs to the subject of the election of a Bishop, and bids them\n lay aside all evil feelings, and choose one worthy of so high\n an office, setting before them the examples of our Lord Himself,\n of Moses and Aaron. He then speaks of the qualities to be looked\n for in a true Bishop, and urges them to choose one worthy to\n succeed to the see of the holy martyr Eusebius, and, recurring\n to the examples of the old Testament, dwells on the history of\n Elijah. He ends by a general exhortation to all the Church of\n Vercell\u00e6 to the chief Christian virtues, after the model of\n S. Paul\u2019s Epistles, to which the outline of this letter bears a\n general resemblance. Some questions as to its genuineness have\n been alluded to in the notes. There seems no sufficient reason\n for doubting that it is a genuine letter of S. Ambrose. It is\n thoroughly Ambrosian in style and method, and in its treatment\n of Scripture, especially of the history of the old Testament and\n of the lives of the great saints of the old dispensation. It was\n written not more than a year before S. Ambrose\u2019s death.\n\n\n AMBROSE, SERVANT OF CHRIST, CALLED TO BE BISHOP,\n TO THE CHURCH OF VERCELL\u00c6, AND TO THEM WHO CALL ON THE NAME\n OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, GRACE UNTO YOU FROM GOD THE FATHER\n AND HIS ONLY-BEGOTTEN SON BE FULFILLED IN THE HOLY SPIRIT.\n\n1. I AM overcome by grief that the Church of the Lord, which is among\nyou, has still no Bishop, and alone in all the regions of Liguria and\n\u00c6milia, of Venetia[253] and the adjacent parts of Italy, stands in\nneed of those ministrations which other Churches were wont to ask at\nher hands, and, what causes me still more shame, the contention[254]\nwhich causes this delay is ascribed to me. For as long as there are\ndissensions among you, how can either we determine anything, or you\nmake your election, or any man accept the election, so as to undertake\namong men who are at variance an office difficult to bear the weight of,\neven among those that agree?\n\n2. Are you the scholars of a confessor, are you the offspring of those\nrighteous fathers, who as soon as they saw holy Eusebius[255], though\nbefore he was unknown to them, put aside their own countrymen, and\nforthwith approved of him; and required no more than the sight of him\nfor their approval? Rightly did he who was chosen unanimously by the\nChurch, turn out so eminent a man, rightly was it believed that he whom\nall demanded was chosen by the judgment of God. It is fitting therefore\nthat you follow the example of your fathers, especially since it\nbehoves you, who have been trained by so holy a Confessor, to be better\nthan your fathers, forasmuch as you have been trained and taught by a\nbetter preceptor; and to show forth a visible sign of your moderation\nand concord, by unanimously agreeing to the choice of a Bishop.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xviii. 19, 20.\n\n3. If the Lord has said, _If two of you shall agree as touching any\nthing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father\nwhich is in heaven: For where two or three are gathered together in My\nname, there am I in the midst of them_; how much less, when many are\nassembled in the name of the Lord, where all agree together in their\npetitions, how much less ought we in any wise to doubt that there\nthe Lord Jesus will be present to inspire their will and grant their\npetition, to preside over the ordination and confer the grace?\n\n Sidenote: Eph. ii. 14.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. i. 30.\n\n Sidenote: S. John i. 26.\n\n4. Make yourselves therefore worthy that Christ should stand in the\nmidst of you; for wheresoever is peace there is Christ, for Christ is\n_Peace_; wheresoever is righteousness there is Christ, for Christ is\n_Righteousness_. Let Him stand in the midst of you, that you may see\nHim, that it be not said to you also, _There standeth One among you,\nWhom ye know not_. The Jews saw Him not, for they believed not on Him;\nwe behold Him by devotion, and Him by faith.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xix. 1.\n\n Sidenote: Acts vii. 56.\n\n5. Let Him therefore stand in the midst of you, that you may have the\n_heavens_ which _declare the glory of God_, opened to you; that you may\ndo His will and work His works. The heavens are opened to him who sees\nJesus, as they were opened to Stephen, when he said, _Behold I see the\nheavens opened, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God_. Jesus\nstood as an intercessor, He stood, as being eager to assist His soldier\nStephen in his combat; He stood as being prepared to crown His martyr.\n\n Sidenote: Dan. vii. 9, 10.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. lxxxii. 1.\n\n6. Let Him therefore stand in the midst of you, that you may not\nfear Him when seated on His throne, for seated thereon He will judge,\naccording to the saying of Daniel, _I beheld till the thrones were\ncast down, and the books were opened, and the Ancient of days did sit_.\nAnd in the 82nd Psalm it is written, _God standeth in the congregation\nof princes, He decideth among gods_. So then being seated He judges,\nstanding He decides. He judges concerning them that are not perfected,\nHe decides among the gods. Let Him stand for you as a Defender, as the\ngood Shepherd, that cruel wolves may not attack you.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. ix. 27.\n\n7. Nor is it without reason that my admonition directs itself to this\npoint; for I hear that Sarmatio and Barbatianus[256] have come among\nyou, vain boasters, who assert that there is no merit in abstinence,\nno grace in a strict life, none in virginity, that all are to be rated\nat one price, that they who chastise their flesh, in order to bring it\ninto subjection to the body, are beside themselves. But had the Apostle\nPaul thought it a madness, he never would have practised it himself,\nnor written it for the instruction of others. Yet he thus glories,\nsaying, _But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection, lest\nthat by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself be found\na reprobate_[257]. So that they who chastise not their own bodies, yet\nwould fain preach to others, are themselves accounted reprobates.\n\n Sidenote: 1 S. John ii. 19.\n\n8. For is there aught so reprobate[258] as that which excites us\nto impurity, to corruption, to wantonness? as the fuel of lust, the\nenticer to pleasure, the nurse of incontinence, the incentive of\ndesire? What new school has sent forth these Epicureans? No school of\nphilosophers, as they affirm, but of ignorant men who are setters forth\nof pleasure, who persuade to luxury, who hold chastity to be useless.\n_They were with us, but they were not of us_, for we blush not to say\nwhat the Apostle John said. It was when placed here that they first\nfasted, within the monastery they were under restraint; there was no\nroom for licence, all opportunity of jesting and altercation was cut\noff.\n\n9. This these men of delicacy could not bear. They departed, and when\nthey desired to return were not received, for I had heard many things\nconcerning them against which it behoved me to be on my guard; I\nadmonished them, but in vain. Thus they began to boil over and spread\nabroad what might prove the miserable incentives of all kinds of\nvice. Thus they lost the fruits of their fasting, they lost the fruits\nof having contained themselves a little while. And now with Satanic\nmalice they envy others those good works, the fruits of which they have\nthemselves lost.\n\n10. What virgin can hear without grieving that her chastity will have\nno reward? Far be it from her readily to give credence to this, still\nless let her lay aside her earnestness, or change the intention of\nher mind. What widow, were she to find her widowhood profitless, would\nchoose to preserve inviolate her first marriage-vow, and live in sorrow,\ninstead of allowing herself to be comforted? What wife is there who\nhearing that no honour is due to chastity, might not be tempted by\nunwatchful heedlessness of mind or body? And that is why the Church, in\nher sacred Lessons, in the discourses of her priests, daily sends forth\nthe praises of chastity, the glory of virginity.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. v. 9.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. v. 10.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 11, 12.\n\n Sidenote: Eph. v. 3.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 5.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. vi. 3.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. viii. 17.\n\n11. Vainly then has the Apostle said, _I wrote to you in an Epistle\nnot to company with fornicators_: and lest perhaps they should say,\n\u2018We speak not of the fornicators of this world, but we say that he\nwho has been baptized into Christ ought not to be deemed a fornicator,\nbut whatever his life may be, it will be accepted by God,\u2019 the Apostle\nhas added; _Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world_,\nand below, _If any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or\ncovetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner;\nwith such an one no not to eat. For what have I to do to judge them\nalso that are without?_ And to the Ephesians, _But fornication, and\nall uncleanness or covetousness, let it not once be named among you,\nas becometh saints_, adding straightway, _For this ye know, that no\nwhoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater,\nhath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God_. This, it is\nplain, is said of the baptized, for they receive an inheritance who are\nbaptized into the death of Christ, and are _buried together with Him,\nthat they may rise together with Him_. Wherefore they are _heirs of\nGod_, and _joint-heirs with Christ_, heirs of God because the Grace of\nGod is conveyed to them, and coheirs of Christ because they are renewed\naccording to His life; heirs also of Christ because by His Death He\ngrants to them as Testator His inheritance.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. x. 7.\n Exod. xxxii. 6.\n\n12. Now such as these, who have somewhat to lose, ought more to take\nheed to themselves than they who have nothing. These ought to act with\ngreater caution, to avoid the snares of vice and the incentives to sin,\nwhich chiefly arise out of meat and drink. _The people sat down to eat\nand drink, and rose up to play._\n\n Sidenote: Gen. iii. 1\u20134.\n\n13. Even Epicurus himself, whose example these men prefer to that of\nthe Apostles, he, the champion of pleasure, while he denies that it\nproduces evil, denies not that certain consequences flow from it, from\nwhich evils are generated: he maintains too that not even the life of\nthe licentious, which is filled with pleasures of this kind, can be\nsaid to be objectionable, unless it be assailed by the fear of pain\nor death. How far removed he is from the truth, may be discovered\neven from this, that he declares pleasure to be the work of God in\nman as its originator, as his follower Philomarus[259] maintains in\nhis Epitomes, referring this opinion to the Stoics as its authors.\n\n14. But this is refuted by holy Scripture, which teaches us that\npleasure was instilled into Adam and Eve by the snares and enticements\nof the Serpent. For the Serpent itself is pleasure, and, in accordance\nwith this, the passions of pleasure are various and slippery, and\ninfected by the poison, so to speak, of corrupt enticement. Hence it\nis plain that Adam, deceived by the sensual appetite, fell from his\nobedience to God, and the reward of grace. How then can pleasure recal\nus to Paradise, when it alone cast us out of Paradise?\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. iv. 2.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 3.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 4.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xvii. 21.\n\n15. Wherefore the Lord Jesus, willing to strengthen us against the\ntemptations of the Devil, fasted before His combat, to teach us that\notherwise we cannot conquer the snares of evil. Moreover, the Devil\nhimself employed the force of pleasure in launching the first dart of\nhis temptations, saying, _If Thou be the Son of God, command that these\nstones be made bread_. To which the Lord replies, _Man shall not live\nby bread alone, but by every word of God_; nor would He do it, although\nwithin His power, that He might teach us by this wholesome precept to\nattend rather to love of reading, than to pleasure. Now seeing they\ndeny that we ought to fast, let them be prepared with some reason why\nChrist fasted, unless it were that His fast might be an example to us.\nLastly in a subsequent instance He has taught us that except by fasting\nevil cannot easily be conquered. These are His words, _This kind of\nevil spirits goeth not out but by prayer and fasting_.\n\n Sidenote: Acts x. 10.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xxxiv. 28.\n\n Sidenote: Dan. vi. 22.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. ix. 2.\n\n Sidenote: Tobit xii. 8, 9.\n\n16. Or what can be the meaning of Scripture which teaches that Peter\nfasted, and that it was while he was fasting and praying that the\nmystery of the baptism of the Gentiles was revealed to him? what but\nto convince us that the Saints themselves by fasting are advanced in\nvirtue? It was while fasting that Moses received the Law, and in like\nmanner, Peter, while fasting, was taught the grace of the New Testament.\nTo Daniel also it was vouchsafed through fasting to stop the mouths of\nthe lions, and to behold the events of times to come. Lastly, what hope\nof salvation can there be for us, unless by fasting we wash away our\nsins, since Scripture says, _Fasting and alms purge away sin_?\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. xv. 32.\n\n17. Who then are these new teachers who deny the merit of fasting?\nAre they not heathen words which say, _Let us eat and drink_? And well\ndoes the Apostle tell them, saying, _If after the manner of men I have\nfought with the beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead\nrise not? let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die_. That is to say,\nWhat did it profit me to contend even unto death, save that I might\nredeem my body? For in vain is it redeemed if there is no hope of the\nresurrection. If therefore all hope of this is to be abandoned, let us\neat and drink, let us not lose the fruit of things present, seeing that\nfuture things are not within our grasp. It is for those then to indulge\nin meat and drink, who have nothing to hope for after death.\n\n18. Lastly, the Epicureans, the champions of pleasure, assert that\ndeath is nothing to us: what is dissolved, they say, is insensible,\nand what is insensible is nothing to us. By this they show plainly that\nthey live by the body only and not by the mind, and do not perform the\nfunctions of the soul but of the body only, in that by separation of\nsoul and body they deem all their vital functions to be dissolved, the\nmerits of their virtues and all vigor of their souls to perish, that\nwith his bodily senses the whole man fails, and that, though the body\nitself is not immediately dissolved, the mind leaves not a relic behind\nit. Then they would have the soul perish sooner than the body, whereas\neven according to their own opinion they ought to remember that the\nflesh and bones remain after death; and, would they abide by the truth,\nthey ought not to deny the grace of the resurrection.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 33, 34.\n\n19. Well therefore does the Apostle, confuting these persons,\nadmonish us not to be overthrown by such opinions, saying, _Be not\ndeceived, evil communications corrupt good manners. Be sober[260] unto\nrighteousness and sin not; for some are ignorant of God._ To be sober\nthen is good, for drunkenness is sin.\n\n20. But to Epicurus, this advocate of pleasure, him of whom we make\nsuch frequent mention, in order to prove that these men are disciples\nof the heathens, and follow either the sect of the Epicureans or the\nman himself who was excluded even by philosphers from their company\nas the pattern of luxury, what if we can prove even him to be more\ntolerable than these men? Now he asserts, as Demarchus[261] tells\nus, that it is not drinking-bouts, nor banquettings, nor the birth of\nsons, nor the embraces of women, nor a large supply of fish and such\ndelicacies provided for sumptuous feasts, it is not these which make\nlife sweet, but sober discourse. He added also that they who are not\nexcessive in seeking the dainties of the table, are moderate in the use\nof them. The man who cheerfully limits himself to the juices of plants\nand to bread and water, despises delicate feasts, for from these arise\nmany evils. Elsewhere too they say that it is not excessive banquets\nand revels which make pleasure sweet, but a temperate life.\n\n21. Seeing then that philosphy has renounced these men, shall not the\nChurch exclude them? They themselves too, as is usual in a bad cause,\noften attack themselves by their own arguments. For although it be\ntheir main opinion, that there is no sweetness of pleasure but that\nwhich arises from eating and drinking; yet, perceiving that they cannot\nlay down so shameful a definition without the utmost disgrace, and that\nnone stand by them, they have sought to disguise it under the gloss\nof colourable arguments, and thus one of them has said, In seeking\npleasure by means of feasting and song, we have lost that which is\nderived from hearing that Word whereby alone we can be saved.\n\n Sidenote: Acts xvii. 18.\n\n22. Do we not then perceive in this complicated discussion how\ninconsistent and variable these men are? Scripture condemns them,\nfor it has not passed over those whom the Apostles confuted, as Luke\nrecords in the Acts of the Apostles, which he has written in narrative\nstyle, _Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans[262], and of the\nStoics encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say?\nother some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods._\n\n23. Yet not even from this number did the Apostle part devoid of\nsuccess. For Dionysius the Areopagite, and Damaris his wife, with many\nothers, believed. And thus by their acts this assembly of the learned\nand eloquent proved themselves vanquished by the simple discourse of\nthe faithful. What then do these men mean by attempting to pervert\nthose whom the Apostle has won, and Christ redeemed with His own blood,\ninsisting that the baptized have no need to apply themselves to the\nexercise of virtue; that they are not injured by revellings, by excess\nof pleasure; that they who deprive themselves of such things are\nfoolish; that virgins ought to marry and bear children; widows also\nought to renew that carnal commerce which they had better never have\nknown; and that although they might be able to contain themselves they\nare mistaken in refusing again to enter into the bond of marriage?\n\n24. What then? Shall we put off the man and put on the beast? shall\nwe strip off Christ, and be clothed over and over with the garments of\nSatan? The very heathen sages held that pleasure was not to be esteemed\nhonourable, lest they should seem to couple men with brutes, and can we\ninstil the habits of animals into the human breast, and engrave on the\nrational mind the irrational instincts of wild beasts?\n\n25. Yet there are many kinds of animals, who when they have lost their\nmate, will no longer copulate, but lead, as it were, a solitary life.\nMany also feed on simple herbs and only quench their thirst in the pure\nstream; you may also often see dogs refuse food which they have been\nforbidden, and, if bid to refrain, close up their hungry jaws. Do men\nthen require to be recalled from that in which even mute animals have\nlearnt from man\u2019s teaching not to transgress[263]?\n\n26. But what is more excellent than abstinence, which makes even the\nyears of youth to be old, and produces an old age of conduct? For as\nby excess of food and drunkenness even old age is inflamed, so on the\nother hand, the insolence of youth is restrained by sparing food and\nby the flowing stream. Fire without us is quenched by the pouring on\nof water, no wonder then if even internal heat is allayed by draughts\nfrom the brook; for the flame is nourished or fails, according as it\nis fed or not. As hay, stubble, wood, oil, and the like are the fuel of\nfire, and feed it, and if you withdraw or do not supply them the fire\nis quenched, so also the warmth of the body is nourished or diminished\nby food; by food it is excited and by food allayed. Gluttony therefore\nis the mother of lust.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. ix. 20.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Tim. v. 23.\n\n27. And shall we not say that temperance is accordant with nature, and\nwith that Divine law, which in the very origin of all things, gave us\nto drink of the fountains and to eat of the fruit of trees? After the\nflood the just man found himself tempted by wine. Wherefore let us use\nthe natural drink of temperance, and would that we all could do so. But\nsince we are not all strong, the Apostle says, _Use a little wine for\nthine often infirmities_. It is to be drunk then because of infirmity\nnot for pleasure, and therefore as a remedy, sparingly, not as a luxury,\nprofusely.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Kings xix. 6.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 8.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xvii. 6.\n\n Sidenote: Dan. i. 8;\n \u2666xiv. 30;\n iii. 40.\n\n28. Again, Elijah, when the Lord God was training him to the perfection\nof virtue, found _a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at\nhis head; and in the strength of that meat he fasted forty days_. Our\nfathers, when they passed over the sea on foot, drank water, not wine.\nIt was when fed on their homely food and drinking water, that Daniel\nrepressed the rage of the lions, and the Hebrew children saw the fiery\nfurnace playing round their limbs with harmless flames.\n\n Sidenote: Judith xiii. 16.\n\n Sidenote: Esther iv. 16;\n v. 2.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke ii. 37.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. iii. 4.\n\n29. And why should I speak of men only? Judith, in no wise moved by\nthe luxurious banquet of Holofernes, won a triumph which men\u2019s arms had\nfound desperate, by the sole merit of her temperance, delivering her\ncountry from invasion, and slaying with her own hand the captain of the\nhost: a manifest example both that this warrior dreaded by the people\nhad become enervated by his luxury, and that temperance in food had\nmade this woman stronger than men. It was not in her sex that she\nsurpassed nature, but by her spare diet she conquered. Esther obtained\nfavour from the proud king by her fasts. Anna, _a widow of about\nfourscore and four years_, serving in the temple _with fastings and\nprayers night and day_, came to the knowledge of Christ, and John the\nTeacher of abstinence, and, as it were, a new Angel upon earth, was His\nherald.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Kings iv. 39.\n\n Sidenote: Ezra viii. 2.\n Neh. viii. 2.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. xi. 27.\n\n30. O foolish Elisha! to feed the prophets with wild and bitter gourds;\nO Ezra[264] unmindful of Scripture though from memory thou dost restore\nScripture! O senseless Paul, to glory in fasting, if fasting avails\nnothing!\n\n Sidenote: Is. lviii. 11.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xxiii. 5. Vulg.\n\n31. But how can that not profit whereby our vices are purged? And if\nyou offer it together with humility and mercy, then, as Isaiah has said\nby the Divine Spirit, _thy bones shall be made fat, and thou shalt be\nlike a watered garden_! Thy soul then is fattened, and its virtues are\nenriched by the spiritual fat of fasting, and thy fruits are multiplied\nby the richness of thy mind, that thou mayest be made drunk, as it were,\nwith soberness[265], as is that cup whereof the Prophet speaks, _And my\ncup which inebriateth me, how goodly is it_!\n\n Sidenote: Ecclus. xviii. 30, 31.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xix. 2.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. vii. 4.\n\n32. But not only is that temperance praiseworthy which is sparing\nin food, but that also which restrains desires. For it is written,\n_Go not after thy lusts, but refrain thyself from thine appetites. If\nthou givest thy soul the desires that please her, she will make thee\na laughing stock to thine enemies_! and again, _Wine and women will\nmake men of understanding to fall away_! Hence Paul teaches temperance\neven in marriage; for he who commits excess therein is, as it were, an\nadulterer, and violates the Apostolical law.\n\n Sidenote: Col. ii. 9.\n\n33. But how can I express the greatness of the grace of virginity,\nwhich was counted worthy to be chosen by Christ, to be the bodily\ntemple of God, wherein dwelt, as we read, _the fulness of the Godhead\nbodily_! A virgin conceived the Saviour of the world, a virgin brought\nforth the Life of the universe. Ought not then virginity to be above\nall other states[266] which was profitable to all in Christ? A virgin\nbore Him Whom this world cannot contain or support. He, born of the\nwomb of Mary, preserved inviolate her chastity, and the seal of her\nvirginity. Therefore Christ found in the Virgin what He would take for\nHis own, what the Lord of all would assume to Himself. By the woman\nand the man our flesh was cast out of Paradise, by the Virgin it was\nre-united to God.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xv. 20.\n\n34. And what shall I say of the other Mary[267], the sister of Moses,\nwho, leading the female band, passed on foot over the straights of the\nsea? By the same grace Thecla was reverenced even by lions, so that the\nunfed beasts, lying at the feet of their prey, underwent a holy fast,\nneither with wanton look nor sharp claw venturing to harm the virgin,\nfor even by a look the sanctity of virginity is profaned.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. vii. 25.\n\n35. Again, with what reverence has the holy Apostle spoken, _Now\nconcerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord, yet I give my\njudgement as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord_. Commandment he\nhas not, but counsel; for that which is above the Law is not commanded,\nbut counselled and advised. Nor is any authority assumed, but grace is\nshewn, and that not by any chance person, but by him who _hath obtained\nmercy of the Lord_. Are then the counsels of these men better than\nthose of the Apostles? The Apostle says, _I give my counsel_, but they\ndissuade all from leading a virgin\u2019s life.\n\n Sidenote: Cant. iv. 12.\n\n Sidenote: Eph. v. 27.\n\n36. And we ought to wonder at the greatness of the commendation of\nit which the Prophet, or rather Christ in the person of the Prophet,\nhas expressed in one short verse. _A garden inclosed is my sister,\nmy spouse, a spring shut up, a fountain sealed._ Christ says this\nto the Church, whom He would have _a virgin without spot or wrinkle_.\nVirginity is a fertile _garden_, which bears many fruits of a good\nodour; _a garden inclosed_ because it is surrounded on all sides with\nthe wall of chastity; _a fountain sealed_, in that virginity is the\nfountain and source of modesty, and that which keeps unbroken the seal\nof purity; that fountain wherein is reflected the image of God, since\nwith chastity of body accords likewise holy simplicity.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. xi. 2.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. vii.\n\n37. Nor can any one doubt that the Church herself is a virgin, whom\neven at Corinth the Apostle Paul espoused, that he _might present her\na chaste virgin to Christ_. Thus in his first Epistle he gives counsel\nand sets a high value on the gift of virginity, for that it is not\ndisquieted by the needs of this present world, nor defiled by its\ncorruptions, nor agitated by its storms. In the latter he espouses the\nCorinthians to Christ, that so, in the purity of that people, he may\nratify the virginity of the Church.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 26.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 32.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 34.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 35.\n\n38. Answer me now, O Paul, in what way _for the present distress_ dost\nthou give counsel? _He that is unmarried_, thou sayest, _careth for\nthe things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord_, adding\nfurther, _the unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord_, that\nshe may be holy both in body and spirit. She has therefore a bulwark\nagainst the storms of this world, and thus shielded and fortified\nby the Divine protection she is disquieted by none of the blasts of\nthis world. Counsel then is good, because therein lies profit, but\nin commandment is a bond[268]. Counsel leads forward the willing,\ncommandment binds the reluctant. So that if any follow this counsel,\nand repent not, she hath profited; on the other hand, if she change\nher purpose, she hath no ground to accuse the Apostle, for she ought\nto have judged better of her own weakness, and thus she is responsible\nto herself for her own choice, for she has bound herself by a bond and\nknot heavier than she can bear.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. xiv. 2.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. vii. 37\u201340.\n\n39. Wherefore, as a good physician, who desires both to preserve for\nthe strong the stability of their virtue, and to restore health to\nthe weak, he gives to the one counsel, to the other a remedy; _Whoso\nis weak, let him eat herbs_; let him take a wife; he that is stronger,\nlet him use the strong meat of continence. And he well adds; _He that\nstandeth stedfast in his heart, having no necessity, but hath power\nover his own will, and hath so decreed in his heart that he will keep\nhis virgin, doeth well. So then he that giveth her in marriage doeth\nwell, but he that giveth her not in marriage doeth better. The wife is\nbound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be\ndead she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.\nBut she is happier if she so abide, after my judgment, and I think also\nthat I have the Spirit of God._ Now having the counsel of God consists\nin examining all things diligently, in urging what is best, and\npointing out what is safest.\n\n40. A careful guide points out many ways, that each person may walk on\nwhich he will, and which he finds suitable for himself: provided only\nhe lights on one which will lead him into the camp. Good is the way of\nvirginity, but, being lofty and steep, it requires the stronger sort.\nGood too is the way of widowhood, not so difficult as the former, but,\nbeing rocky and rough, it requires the more cautious sort. Good too\nis the way of matrimony, but, being smooth and direct, it arrives by\na longer circuit at the camp of the faithful, and this way is trodden\nby the larger number. We have therefore the rewards of virginity, the\nmerits of widowhood, there is also a place for conjugal chastity. They\nare the degrees and advances of several virtues.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. iii. 5.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. v. 31.\n\n41. Stand stedfast therefore in your hearts, that no man may unsettle\nor overthrow you. The Apostle has taught us what \u2018to stand\u2019 signifies,\nthat is, what was said to Moses, _For the place whereon thou standest\nis holy ground_; for no one stands but he who stands by faith, who\nstands firm in the resolution of his heart. In another place too we\nread, _But as for thee, stand thou here by Me_. Both are addressed\nto Moses by the Lord, both _the place whereon thou standest is holy\nground_, and _stand thou here by Me_, that is to say, \u2018thou standest\nwith Me, if thou standest in the Church. For the place itself is holy,\nthe land itself bears the fruit of holiness, and is rich with the\nhaunts of virtue.\u2019\n\n42. \u2018Stand therefore in the Church, stand where I appeared to thee,\nthere I am with thee. For where the Church is, there is the most secure\nresting-place for thy soul; there is the support of thy mind, when I\nappeared to thee out of the bush. Thou art the bush, I am the fire: the\nfire in the bush, and I in the flesh. And therefore am I the fire, that\nI may give thee light, that I may burn up thy thorns, that is, thy sins,\nand discover to thee My grace.\u2019\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xxvi. 4.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. l. 20.\n\n43. Stand firm therefore in your hearts, and drive away from the\nChurch those wolves which seek to carry off prey. Let there be no sloth\nin you, nor an evil mouth or bitter tongue. Sit not with vain persons,\nfor it is written, _I have not dwelt with vain persons_. Listen not to\nthose who detract from their neighbours, lest, hearing others, ye be\nyourselves excited to do likewise, and it be said to each of you, _Thou\nsatest and spakest against thy brother_.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxxxiv. 1, 2.\n\n44. Sitting we speak against others, but standing up we praise the\nLord, as it is said; _Behold now, praise the Lord, all ye servants\nof the Lord; ye that stand in the house of the Lord_. He who sits, to\nspeak of the habit of the body, is, as it were, dissolved by ease, and\nrelaxes the energy of his mind. But the careful watchman, the unwearied\nscout, the wakeful sentinel who keeps the outposts of the camp, these\nstand. The brave warrior also, who would prevent the designs of his\nenemy, stands[269] ready in his rank ere he is looked for.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. x. 12.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xxvi. 5.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xxxvii. 1.\n\n45. _Let him that standeth take heed lest he fall._ He who stands is\nfree from detraction, for it is by the talk of the idle that slander\nis disseminated and rancour displayed. Wherefore the Prophet says, _I\nhave hated the congregation of the wicked, and will not sit among the\nungodly_. And in the 37th Psalm, which is full of moral precepts, he\nhas placed in the very outset, _Be not malignant among them that are\nmalignant, neither be thou envious against the evil-doers_. Malignity\ndoes more harm than malice, for its property is neither pure simplicity\nnor open malice; but a hidden malevolence, and it is more difficult to\nguard against what is concealed than against what is known; and so our\nSaviour bids us beware of evil spirits, for they captivate us by the\noutward show of charming pleasures, and the false show of other things,\nholding forth honour as a lure to ambition, wealth to riches, power to\npride.\n\n Sidenote: Prov. xiv. 30. LXX.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. ix. 12.\n\n46. Wherefore in every act, but especially in the search after a\nBishop, by whose model the life of all is formed, malignity ought to be\nabsent, that by a composed and peaceful exercise of judgment he may he\npreferred to all who is to be chosen from all and who may heal all. For\n_a gentle-minded man is the physician of the heart_, of that whereof\nour Lord also in the Gospel has professed Himself a Physician, _They\nthat be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick_.\n\n Sidenote: Heb. v. 5.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 7.\n\n47. He is the good Physician, Who has taken upon Him our infirmities,\nWho has healed our sicknesses, and yet He, as it is written, _glorified\nnot Himself to be made an High Priest_, but _He that said unto Him_,\neven the Father, _Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten Thee, as\nHe saith also in another place, Thou art a Priest for ever after the\norder of Melchisedeck_. And as He was to be the type of all priests,\nHe took upon Him our flesh, that _in the days of His flesh, He might\noffer up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears\nunto_ God the Father, _and though He were the Son_ of God, might even\n_learn obedience from the things He suffered_, in order to teach us,\nthat He might become to us the Author of salvation. Finally, having\naccomplished His sufferings, and being Himself made perfect, He gave\nhealth to all, He bore the sin of all.\n\n Sidenote: Numb. xvii. 8.\n\n Sidenote: Heb. v. 2.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 4.\n\n48. Thus He Himself chose Aaron the High Priest, that human ambition\nmight not sway the choice, but the grace of God; no voluntary offering,\nnor taking upon himself, but a heavenly call, that he might offer gifts\nfor sins, who could have compassion on sinners _for that he himself\nalso_, it is written, _is compassed with infirmity_. A man should\nnot _take this honour to himself, but he that is called of God as was\nAaron_; so also Christ did not assume but received His priesthood.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. vii. 2, 3.\n\n Sidenote: Rev. i. 8.\n\n49. And further, since the succession derived by descent from Aaron\nproduced heirs of his race rather than partakers of his righteousness,\ntherefore there came the antitype of that Melchisedeck whom we read of\nin the Old Testament, the true Melchisedeck, the true King of Peace,\nthe true King of Righteousness, for this is the interpretation of his\nname; being _without father, without mother, without descent, having\nneither beginning of days, nor end of life_, which also has reference\nto the Son of God, for in His Divine generation, He had no mother, and\nin His birth from the Virgin Mary He knew no father; Who, born of the\nFather alone before the world, and from the Virgin alone in the world,\ncould have no beginning of days, for He _was in the beginning_. And how\ncould He have any end to His life, Who is the Author of life to all?\nHe is _the Beginning and the Ending_. But this is referred to also by\nway of example, that a Bishop ought to be without father and without\nmother, in that it is not nobility of birth, but holiness of life and\npreeminence in virtue that is chosen in him.\n\n Sidenote: Heb. xi. 9.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xcix. 6.\n\n50. Let him possess faith and ripeness of conduct, not one without\nthe other, but let both continue in one, with good works and deeds.\nWherefore the Apostle Paul wishes us to be imitators of those who _by\nfaith and patience possess the promises_ of Abraham, of him who by\npatience was counted worthy to receive and possess the grace of the\nblessing promised to him. The prophet David has admonished us that we\nought to be imitators of holy Aaron, for he has proposed him to us,\namong the saints of the Lord, as an example for our imitation, saying,\n_Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among such as call upon\nHis Name_.\n\n Sidenote: Numb. xvi. 48.\n\n51. An example worthy to be followed by all truly was he, seeing\nthat when death, owing to the rebels, was spreading among the people,\nhe placed himself between the living and the dead, thereby to arrest\ndeath so that no more might perish. Of a priestly mind and temper truly\nwas he, who thus with pious zeal offered himself, as a good Shepherd,\nfor the Lord\u2019s flock. Thus he broke the sting of death, checked its\nviolence, refused to let it pass. Thus piety aided his services,\nbecause he offered himself for those who resisted.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 32.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 3.\n\n52. Wherefore let those also who separate themselves learn to fear the\nanger of the Lord, and to appease His priests. What? did not the earth\nopen and swallow up Dathan Korah and Abiram on account of their schism?\nFor when Korah Dathan and Abiram stirred up two hundred and fifty men\nagainst Moses and Aaron to separate themselves from them, they rose up\nagainst them, saying, _Let it suffice for you that all the congregation\nare holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them_.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Tim. ii. 19.\n\n53. Wherefore the Lord was angry and spake to the whole congregation.\n_The Lord knoweth them that are His_, and hath drawn His saints to\nHimself; and those whom He hath not chosen, He has not so drawn to\nHimself. And the Lord commanded that Korah and all those who together\nwith him had rebelled against Moses and Aaron, the priests of the Lord,\nshould take censers, and put incense therein, that he who was chosen of\nthe Lord, might be declared to be holy among the ministers of the Lord.\n\n Sidenote: Numb. xvi. 8, 9.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 10, 11.\n\n54. And Moses said unto Korah, _Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi,\nseemeth it but a small thing unto you that the God of Israel hath\nseparated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to\nHimself to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord?_ and below,\n_Seek ye the priesthood also? for which cause both thou and all thy\ncompany are gathered together against the Lord: and what is Aaron that\nye murmur against him?_\n\n55. The whole people therefore, weighing the cause of offence, that\nthese men, though unworthy, wished to fill the office of the priesthood,\nand therefore separated themselves, murmuring against the Lord, and\ncensuring His judgment in the choice of their priests, were seized with\ngreat fear, and oppressed with apprehension of punishment. But at the\ngeneral entreaty that all may not be involved in destruction through\nthe insolence of a few, the guilty are marked out, and two hundred and\nfifty men with their leaders are separated from the rest, the earth\nquakes and is rent asunder in the midst of the people, a deep gulf is\nopened and swallows up the offenders, and thus they are removed from\nthe pure elements of creation, so as neither to pollute the air by\nbreathing it, nor the heavens by looking on them, nor the sea by their\ntouch, nor the earth by their burial.\n\n56. The punishment ceased, the wickedness ceased not; for owing to\nthis very act a murmuring arose among the people that by means of the\npriests the people had perished. Indignant at this the Lord would have\ndestroyed all, had He not first been moved by the prayers of Moses and\nAaron, and afterwards, at the intercession of Aaron His priest, (in\norder to render their pardon more humiliating,) consented to spare\ntheir life at the prayer of those, whose prerogative they had denied.\n\n Sidenote: Numb. xii. 1.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 10.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. xi. 25.\n\n57. Miriam the prophetess herself, she who with her brethren had\ncrossed the straights of the sea dryshod, because, being still ignorant\nof the mystery of the Ethiopian woman, she had murmured against her\nbrother Moses, became leprous white as snow, and even at the prayer\nof Moses was scarcely healed of this great plague. This her murmuring\nhowever is to be considered as a type of the Synagogue, which,\nuninstructed in the mystery of this Ethiopian woman, that is, of the\nGentile Church, utters daily reproaches, and envies that people by\nwhose faith she herself will also be relieved from the leprosy of her\nunbelief, according as we read, _that blindness in part is happened to\nIsrael, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in_.\n\n58. And that we may observe that it is Divine rather than human grace\nwhich operates in priests, of all those rods which Moses received from\nthe tribes and laid by, the rod of Aaron alone budded, and thus the\npeople perceived that the Divine commission is a gift which is to be\nlooked for in a priest, and though they before thought that a similar\nprerogative belonged to themselves, they now ceased to claim the same\nprivilege for a merely human election. But this rod, what else does\nit indicate, but that priestly grace never decays, and in the utmost\nlowliness has in the exercise of its functions the flower of strength\ncommitted to it, or because this also has reference to a mystery? Nor\nis it without a meaning that we deem this to have taken place near the\nend of the life of Aaron the priest. It appears to be intimated that\nthe ancient Jewish people, decaying and worn away by the long-continued\ninfidelity of their priesthood, will in the latter times be reclaimed\nto zealous faith and devotion by the example of the Church, and by the\naid of reviving grace will again put forth the blossoms which have so\nlong been dead.\n\n Sidenote: Numb. xx. 26.\n\n Sidenote: Heb. v. 1.\n\n59. But what is signified by the fact that on the death of Aaron it\nwas not to all the people, but to Moses alone, who is among the priests\nof the Lord, that God gave the command to invest with the garments of\nAaron the priest Eleazar his son, what but to teach us that a priest\nought to be consecrated by a priest, and clothed with his proper\ngarments, that is, with priestly virtues; and then, when it appears\nthat he lacks no part of his priestly array, but is complete in all\nthings, that he should be brought near to the holy altars. For being\nabout to offer for the people, he ought to be chosen by the Lord,\nand approved by the people; and this lest some grave cause of offence\nshould be found in him whose duty it is to intercede for the sins of\nothers. No ordinary degree of virtue befits a priest, for he ought\nsedulously to shun not only more heinous sins, but even the smallest;\nhe ought to be open to compassion, not to revoke his promise, to raise\nthe fallen, to sympathise with sorrow, to preserve meekness, to love\npiety, to drive away or stifle wrath, to be a trumpet to rouse the\npeople to devotion, or to soothe them into tranquillity.\n\n Sidenote: Prov. xv. 18.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. iv. 4. Vulg. LXX.\n\n60. It is an old saying; Accustom yourself to be single-minded that\nyour life may be as a picture, and ever preserve the same stamp which\nit has received. How can he be one and the same, who at one time is\ninflamed with anger, at another, boils with bitter indignation, whose\ncountenance burns and then changes to paleness, varying and changing\ncolour every moment. But suppose that it is natural to be angry, or\nthat for the most part there is cause to be so; it also is the part of\na man to moderate his wrath, and to resist being carried away by brutal\nfury, so as not to know how to be appeased; it is his duty not to\nembitter family discord, for it is written, _A wrathful man diggeth\nup sin_. He is not one with himself who is double-minded, nor he who\ncannot restrain his wrath, of whom David says well, _Be ye angry, and\nsin not_. Such a one does not command his anger, but rather indulges\nhis natural passions, which cannot indeed be prevented but may be\nmoderated. Although then we are angry, let our passion admit only such\nemotion as is according to nature, not sin which is contrary to nature.\nFor it is intolerable that he who undertakes to govern others should be\nunable to govern himself.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Tim. iii. 2.\n Tit. i. 7.\n\n61. And so the Apostle has given us a model, that it behoves a _Bishop_\nto be _blameless_, as he also says elsewhere, _For a Bishop must be\nblameless, as the steward of God, not self-willed, not soon angry,\nnot given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre_. For how can\nthe compassion of the almsgiver and the avarice of the coveter agree\ntogether?\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 9.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 6.\n\n62. I have set down those things which I have learnt are to be avoided;\nit is the Apostle who teaches what virtues are needed, and he tells us\nthat the _gainsayers_ are to be _convinced_ with patience, and commands\na Bishop to be _the husband of one wife_, and this not in order to\nexclude him from marriage, (for this is beyond the bounds of the\nprecept,) but that by conjugal chastity he may preserve the grace of\nhis Washing; nor again, that he may feel that he has the sanction of\nApostolical authority for begetting children after he is a priest, for\nhe speaks of one having children, not of one begetting them or marrying\nagain.\n\n63. And I have thought it better to touch upon this, because many\npersons argue as if the being _husband of one wife_ had reference to\na man marrying once after Baptism, seeing that by Baptism all the sin\nwhich would interpose any obstacle is removed. True indeed it is that\nin Baptism all sins and offences are washed away, so that even to one\nwho has polluted his body with many women not united to him by wedlock,\nall is remitted. But Baptism does not dissolve marriage, if a man has\nmarried again, for it is sin, not the Law, which is destroyed by the\nBath, and in marriage there is no sin but a law. Being therefore a\nlaw it is not dissolved as if it were a fault, but retained, in that\nit is a law. Now the Apostle has laid down a rule saying, _If any be\nblameless, the husband of one wife_. So that if any man be blameless,\nthe husband of one wife, he comes under the forms of the rule for\nundertaking the priestly office, but he who marries again incurs not\nindeed the sin of pollution, but loses the prerogative of a priest.\n\n64. We have declared what the law prescribes, let us speak also of what\nis prescribed by reason. But in the first place we are to understand\nthat the Apostle has not ordained this with reference to Bishops and\nPresbyters only, but that the Fathers of the Nicene Council[270] have\nalso decreed that no man should be a cleric at all who has contracted a\nsecond marriage. For how can he give consolation or honour to a widow;\nhow can he exhort her to continue a widow, or to preserve that faith\nto her husband which he has not preserved to his own first marriage?\nOr what difference would there be between the people and the priest,\nif they were bound by the same laws? The life of the priest ought to\nbe pre-eminent as well as his graces, for he who obliges others by his\nprecepts ought himself to observe the precepts of the law.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Tim. iii. 6.\n\n65. How vehemently I resisted ordination! and when I was at last\nconstrained to consent, how I strove that it might be postponed! but\nthe popular impulse[271] prevailed over prescribed[272] rules. And yet\nit was approved by the judgement of the Bishops of the West, and its\nexample followed by those of the East[273]; and this notwithstanding\nthe prohibition to ordain a _novice, lest he be lifted up with pride_.\nIf my ordination was not postponed, it was owing to a constraining\nforce, and if proper humility be not wanting to the priest, where the\nfault does not lie with him no blame will be imputed.\n\n66. But if even in other Churches such deliberation is used in\nordination, how much care is required in that of Vercell\u00e6, where two\nduties seem equally required of the Bishop, monastic severity and\necclesiastical discipline. For Eusebius of blessed memory was the\nfirst to bring together in the West these two differing requisites,\nand though living in the city observed the monastic institute, and\nwith the government of his Church united the sobriety of an ascetic\nlife. Great increase accrues to the grace of the priesthood when young\nmen are thus obliged to practise abstinence and to obey the laws of\nchastity, and, though living within the city, to renounce its customs\nand ways.\n\n Sidenote: Heb. xi. 37.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 38.\n\n Sidenote: Dan. i. 16.\n\n Sidenote: Heb. xi. 33, 34.\n\n67. Hence sprung those famous men Elijah, Elisha, and John the son\nof Elizabeth, who clothed _in sheepskins, being destitute, afflicted,\ntormented, wandered about in deserts_, in mountains thickets and\nprecipices, among pathless rocks, in horrid caves, through marshy fords,\n_of whom the world was not worthy_. Hence Daniel, Ananias, Azarias and\nMisael, who were brought up in the royal palace, were fed sparingly as\nthough they had been in the desert, with coarse food and water to drink.\nRightly then did the king\u2019s servants prevail over kingdoms, shake off\nthe yoke and set at nought captivity, _subdue kingdoms_, conquer the\nelements, _quench the violence of fire, escape the edge of the sword,\nstop the mouths of lions, out of weakness were made strong_, shrank not\nfrom the _mockings_ of men, seeing that they hoped for heavenly rewards,\nnor dreaded the darkness of the prison, since on them had shone the\nbrightness of eternal light.\n\n Sidenote: Prov. xix. 12.\n\n68. Following their example, holy Eusebius[274] left his country and\nkindred, and preferred foreign sojourn to the enjoyment of home. For\nthe faith\u2019s sake he also chose and desired the hardships of exile,\nhaving for his companion Dionysius of blessed memory, who chose a\nvoluntary banishment in preference to the Emperor\u2019s friendship. Thus\nwhen these illustrious men, beset by arms, hemmed round by soldiers,\nwere being carried off from the greater church, they triumphed over the\nimperial power. Troops of soldiers and the din of arms could not rob\nthem of their faith, but they subdued the fierceness of the brutal mind,\ndepriving it of power to hurt the Saints. _For_, as it is written in\nProverbs, _the king\u2019s wrath is as the roaring of a lion_.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. vi. 10.\n\n Sidenote: Heb. xi. 34.\n\n69. He confessed himself vanquished, by requesting them to relinquish\ntheir purpose, but they deemed their pen of reeds more powerful than\nhis iron swords. Thus it was unbelief, not the faith of the Saints,\nwhich was wounded and fell: they for whom a heavenly abode was prepared\nneeded not a sepulchre in their own country. They wandered through\nthe world _as having nothing, yet possessing all things_. Every place\nwhither they were sent appeared full of delights, nor could they\nfeel any want who always abounded in faith. They were tempted but not\novercome, in fastings, in labours, in watchings, in prisons; _out of\nweakness they were made strong_. Fed to the full by fasting they looked\nnot for the charms of pleasure; refreshed by the hope of eternal grace,\nthe burning summer parched them not, nor did the cold of icy regions\nbreak them down; for the warm breath of devotion invigorated them; they\nfeared not the bonds of men, for Jesus had loosed them; they desired\nnot to be redeemed from death, for they looked forward to be raised\nagain by Christ.\n\n70. Holy Dionysius again prayed that his life might close in exile,\nfearing that, if he returned, he should find the minds of the clergy or\npeople perplexed by the doctrines and customs of the unbelieving, and\nhe won this grace and carried with him with calm mind the peace of the\nLord. Thus as holy Eusebius first lifted up the standard of confession,\nso blessed Dionysius, dying in his exile, won a higher title even than\nmartyrdom.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. iv. 9.\n\n Sidenote: Eph. vi. 12.\n\n71. Now this endurance in holy Eusebius throve under the monastic\ndiscipline, and by being accustomed to a stricter rule, he imbibed a\npower of bearing hardships. For it is certain that in the higher kinds\nof Christian devotion these two things are the most excellent, the\nClerical function and the Monastic rule. The first is trained to be\nobliging and courteous in its behaviour, the second is accustomed to\nabstinence and endurance; the one lives as on a theatre, the other in\nsecret; the one is seen, the other hidden. It is the saying of one who\nwas a noble combatant, _We are made a spectacle unto the world, and to\nAngels_. Worthy truly was he to have Angels as his spectators, when he\nwrestled that he might attain the prize of Christ, when he contended\nthat he might lead on earth an Angel\u2019s life, that he might overcome\nthe wickedness of spirits in heaven, for _he wrestled with spiritual\nwickedness_. Rightly was the world a spectator of him whom it was\ncalled on to imitate.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xvi. 24.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. ii. 20.\n\n72. Thus one of these lives is on the stage, the other in the cell;\nthe one contends with the distractions of the world, the other with\nthe lusts of the flesh; the one subdues, the other flees from corporal\npleasures; the one regulates, the other refrains itself, for to the\nperfect it is said, _If any man will come after Me, let him deny\nhimself, and take up his cross, and follow Me_. Now he follows Christ\nwho can say, _Nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me_.\n\n Sidenote: Acts xx. 24.\n\n73. Paul denied himself, when, knowing that _chains, bonds and\ntribulations awaited him_ in Jerusalem, he voluntarily exposed himself\nto these dangers, saying, _Neither count I my life dear unto myself, so\nthat I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have\nreceived of the Lord Jesus_. And though many stood round him, weeping\nand beseeching, they did not affect his resolution, so strict a censor\nover itself is a ready faith.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. vi. 14.\n\n74. Thus the one kind of life fights, the other retires into seclusion;\nthe world is triumphed over by the one, and placed at a distance by the\nother; _to the one the world is crucified, and to it the world_, to the\nother the world is unknown; the one has more temptations and therefore\na more signal victory; the other falls less frequently and more easily\nkeeps guard over itself.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Kings xvii. 3.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xix. 8.\n\n75. So also Elijah himself, that the word of his mouth might be\nconfirmed, was sent by the Lord to the brook Cherith. Both Ahab and\nJezebel threatened him, Elijah feared and rose up, _and went in the\nstrength of that_ spiritual _meat forty days and forty nights unto\nHoreb the mount of God_; and he came thither unto a cave, and lodged\nthere, and afterwards was sent from thence to anoint kings. Thus he\nwas inured to endurance by dwelling in the desert, and as though fed\nby coarse viands unto the fatness of virtue, went forth increased in\nstrength.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke iii. 2.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 19.\n\n76. John also grew up in the desert, and baptized the Lord, and there\nfirst exercised himself in constancy, that afterwards he might reprove\nkings.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Kings xvii. 3\u20136.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. civ. 15.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Kings xix. 8.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 3.\n\n77. And now, seeing that we have cursorily passed over, in treating\nof holy Elijah\u2019s dwelling in the desert, the names of places which are\nnot without meaning, let us return to consider this. Elijah was sent\nto the brook Cherith, there the ravens fed him, in the morning they\nbrought him bread, in the evening flesh. And with reason did they bring\nhim bread in the morning, for _bread strengthens man\u2019s heart_, and\nit was with mystical food that the prophet was fed. In the evening he\nwas supplied with flesh. Understand what thou readest; for Cherith is\nunderstanding, Horeb signifies, \u2018heart\u2019 or \u2018as heart;\u2019 of Beersheba the\nsignification is the \u2018well of the seventh,\u2019 or \u2018of the oath.\u2019\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xlvi. 4.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. v. 17.\n\n Sidenote: S. John vii. 38.\n\n78. Elijah first went to Beersheba, to the mysteries and sacraments\nof the Divine and holy Law, afterwards he was sent to the Brook, to\nthe stream of that _river_ which _makes glad the city of God_. Here\nyou perceive the two Testaments, and their single Author; the ancient\nScriptures as a deep and dark well whence you have to draw water with\ndifficulty, for He Who was to fill it full was not yet come, as He\nsaid in after times, _I am not come to destroy the Law, but to fulfil\nit_. Therefore the Saint is commanded by the Lord to pass over the\nbrook, for he who shall drink of the New Testament is not only a river,\nbut _out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water_, rivers of\nunderstanding, rivers of meditation, spiritual streams, which yet are\ndried up in time of unbelief, lest the profane and faithless should\ndrink of them.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxlvii. 9.\n\n79. And there the ravens acknowleged the Lord\u2019s prophet whom the\nJews acknowleged not. They fed him whom that royal and noble nation\npersecuted. Who is Jezebel who persecuted him, but the Synagogue,\nvainly flowing, vainly abounding in the Scriptures, which it neither\nkeeps nor understands? Who are the ravens that fed him, but they whose\nyoung ones call upon Him, to whose cattle He _giveth fodder_, as we\nread, _and feedeth the young ravens that call upon Him_. These ravens\nknew whom they were feeding; for they had a spiritual intelligence, and\nbrought food to that stream of sacred knowledge.\n\n80. He too feeds the prophet who understands and keeps what is written.\nOur faith supports him, our advance gives him nourishment; he feeds on\nour minds and senses, his discourse is sustained by our understanding\nof it. We give him bread in the morning, in that, placed in the light\nof the Gospel, we bring to him the stablishing of our hearts. By these\nthings is he nourished and strengthened and fills the mouths of them\nthat fast, to whom the unbelief of the Jews administered no food of\nfaith. All prophetic words are fasting diet to them, for they cannot\ndiscern its interior richness, to them it is food weak and thin, such\nas cannot make fat their bones.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. iii. 2.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. lxv. 8, 9.\n\n81. Perhaps the reason why they brought him flesh in the evening\nwas that it is, as it were, stronger food, such as the Corinthians,\nwho were weak, could not bear, and were therefore fed with milk by\nthe Apostle; and thus in the evening of the world stronger meat was\nbrought, in the morning of the world bread. And so since it was the\nLord Who commanded this food to be administered to him, we may suitably\naddress Him in this place with these prophetic words, _Thou makest the\noutgoings of the morning and evening to praise Thee_, and below, _Thou\npreparest their corn, for so Thou providest for the earth_.\n\n82. But now I think we have said enough of the teacher, let us now\nfollow up the lives of his disciples, who have given themselves to\npraise the Divine Name, and celebrate it with hymns night and day.\nFor this is the service of Angels, always to be praising God, and\nwith frequent prayers to propitiate and beseech the Lord. They give\nthemselves to reading, and occupy their minds with continual labours,\nseparated from all female society, they mutually protect each other.\nWhat a life this is, wherein there is nothing you need to fear, but\nmuch for you to imitate! The pain of fasting is repaid by tranquillity\nof mind, alleviated by custom, made supportable by rest, or beguiled\nby occupation; worldly solicitude does not burthen nor outward troubles\nengross it, nor do the distractions of the city draw down upon it any\ndifficulty.\n\n Sidenote: Eph. iv. 32.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xxxvii. 1.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xxvi. 5.\n\n83. For the maintenance or teaching of this gift an instructor is to\nbe sought: what kind of one he ought to be you perceive, and by your\nunanimous aid we shall be able to obtain him, if you mutually forgive\none another, if any of you consider himself injured by the other. For\nit is not the sole condition of virtue not to hurt him who has not hurt\nyou, but it consists also in forgiving him who has injured you. We are\ngenerally injured by the fraud of others, by the guile of our neighbour,\nbut we must not deem it to be the part of justice to repay guile with\nguile, and fraud with fraud. For if justice be a virtue, it must be\nfree from the imputation of crime, and not return evil for evil. For\nwhat kind of virtue is it for you to do yourself what you punish in\nanother? This is merely to propagate iniquity, not to punish it; and\nthe character of the person whom you injure, whether he be just or\nunjust, makes no difference, for you ought not to have done evil. Nor\ndoes the mode of your \u2666transgression signify, whether it proceed from\nthe desire of avenging yourself, or of injuring others, for in neither\nkind are you free from blame. There is no difference between being\nungodly and unjust, and therefore it is said, _Fret not thyself because\nof the ungodly, neither be thou envious against the evil-doers_,\nand above, _I have hated the congregation of the wicked_. Thus he\ncomprehends all, without exception; he points to their wickedness\nwithout enquiring for the cause.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. v. 44.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xxxii. 35.\n\n84. And what can be a better model than the Divine justice? For the\nSon of God says, _Love your enemies_. And again He says, _Pray for them\nwhich despitefully use you and persecute you_. So far does He remove\nthe love of revenge from the perfect, that he enjoins upon them charity\ntowards their persecutors. And as in the Old Testament He said, _To Me\nbelongeth vengeance, I will repay_, so in the Gospel He commands us to\npray for them that injure us, that He Who has threatened to punish them\nmay not do so. For He desires you to pardon of your own free-will, with\nwhich He agrees according to His promise. And if you call for vengeance,\nyou know that the unrighteous is more severely punished by his own\nthoughts, than by judicial severity.\n\n Sidenote: Col. iii. 11.\n\n85. And as no man\u2019s life can be free from adversities, let us take care\nthat they do not befal us by our own fault. For no man is condemned\nmore severely by another\u2019s judgment than the foolish man, who is the\nauthor of his own misery, is by his own. Wherefore let us avoid such\noccupations as are troublesome and contentious, which bear no fruit,\nbut only bring obstacles. But we ought to see that we have no cause to\nbe ashamed either of our choice or of our act; for it is the part of\na prudent man, to guard against having to feel frequent sorrow for his\nacts, since it is the prerogative of God alone never to repent. For\nwhat is the fruit of justice but calmness of mind, or what does living\njustly bring with it, but a life of tranquillity? According to the\nmodel of the master will be the condition of the whole house. But if\nthis is required in a family, how much more in the Church, where both\nrich and poor, bond and free, Greek and Scythian, noble and plebeian,\nare all one in Christ Jesus.\n\n Sidenote: 1 S. Pet. i. 19.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 15.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 17.\n\n86. Let no man suppose that because he is rich more deference ought\nto be shewn him. In the Church he is rich, who is rich in faith, for\nthe faithful have a whole world of riches. What wonder is it that the\nfaithful should possess the world, seeing he possesses the heritage\nof Christ, which is more precious than the world? _Ye were redeemed\nwith precious blood_, is said to all, and not to the rich only. But\nif ye would be rich, follow him who says, _Be ye holy in all manner\nof conversation_. This is said not to the rich only but to all, for He\njudges without respect of persons, according to the faithful testimony\nof His Apostle. Wherefore, says he, _pass the time of your sojourning\nhere_ not in indulgence, nor pride, nor elation of heart, but _in fear_.\nUpon this earth ye have received what is temporal, not what is eternal,\nuse therefore those temporal things as knowing that you must shortly\ndepart hence.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 18, 19.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. viii. 17.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xxxiv. 6.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. viii. 9.\n\n87. Trust not therefore in riches, for all these things must be left\nbehind, and faith alone will accompany you; justice indeed, if faith\nprecede, will also be your companion. Why do riches entice you? Not\nwith _silver and gold_, not with silken vests and riches _were ye\nredeemed from your vain conversation; but with the precious blood of\nChrist_. He therefore is rich who is an _heir of God, and co-heir of\nChrist_. Despise not then a poor man, it is He Who hath made thee rich.\nScorn not a needy man; _lo! the poor crieth, and the Lord heareth him_.\nReject not a needy man; for Christ, when He was _rich became poor_, and\nthis for thy sake, _that by His poverty He might make thee rich_. Exalt\nnot thyself therefore, as though thou wert rich, for He sent forth His\ndisciples without money.\n\n Sidenote: Acts iii. 6.\n\n Sidenote: Phil. ii. 9.\n\n Sidenote: Isa. xxxv. 3.\n\n88. And the chief of these said, _Silver and gold have I none_. He\nglories in his poverty as if he shunned contamination. _Silver and\ngold_ he says, _have I none_, he does not say, gold and silver, for he\nwho knows not the use of these things knows not the relative value of\nthem. _Silver and gold have I none_, but faith I have. I am rich enough\nin the name of the Lord Jesus, which is above every name. Silver I have\nnone, nor do I ask for it, gold I have not, nor do I desire it, but I\nhave that which ye that are rich are without, which even ye esteem of\nmore value, and this I give to the poor, namely, to say in the name of\nJesus, _Strengthen ye the weak hands and lift up the feeble knees_.\n\n89. But if ye would be rich, become poor. For ye shall in all things\nbe made rich, if ye become poor in spirit. It is not money but the\ndisposition which makes a man rich.\n\n90. There are those who humble themselves when riches abound, and this\nis well and prudently done, for the law of nature is enough for all,\nand what suffices to her is easily found, but where lust is, there, in\nthe abundance of riches, is still poverty. And no man is born poor, but\nbecomes so. Thus poverty lies not in nature but in our notions of it,\nand therefore to find riches is easy to nature, but difficult for lust.\nIn proportion to man\u2019s gains this thirst for gain increases, and he is,\nas it were, inflamed by the intoxication of his lusts.\n\n91. Why do ye seek to accumulate riches as though they were necessary?\nNothing is so necessary as to know what is not necessary. Why do ye\ncast the blame upon the flesh? it is not the lust of the belly, but the\ndesires of the mind which make a man insatiable. Is it the flesh which\nblots out the hope of the future; is it the flesh which takes away the\nsweetness of spiritual grace; is it the flesh which obstructs faith;\nis it the flesh which in every way defers to the frantic domination\nof vain opinions? The flesh loves rather that frugal temperance, which\nrelieves it of its burthen, which endues it with health, for so it rids\nitself of keen anxiety, and obtains for itself tranquillity.\n\n Sidenote: Prov. xiii. 8.\n\n Sidenote: Prov. x. 15.\n\n92. But riches in themselves are not blameable. For _the ransom of a\nman\u2019s life are his riches_, for he who gives to the poor, redeems his\nsoul. There is therefore scope for virtue even in these material riches.\nYe are as it were pilots, in a great sea. If any man steers well his\nship, he quickly passes over the sea, and reaches his haven, but he who\ncannot manage his property is sunk together with his burthen. Wherefore\nit is written, _The rich man\u2019s strength is his strong city_.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxix. 94.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. cxxxii. 6.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xxxiii. 16.\n\n Sidenote: which Isa. i. 3.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. liii. 7.\n\n93. And what is this city but Jerusalem, which is in heaven, in which\nis the kingdom of God? Good is this possession, which brings perpetual\nfruit. Good is this possession, which we do not leave behind us, but\npossess in heaven. He who finds himself in this possession says, _The\nLord is my portion_. He says not, My portion stretches and extends\nitself to such and such limits. He says not, My portion is among such\nand such neighbours, unless haply with reference to the Apostles, the\nprophets and the saints of the Lord, for these are the portion of the\njust. He says not, My portion is in the meadows, or in the woods, or\nin the fields, less perchance in the fields of the wood, wherein the\nChurch is found, of which it is written, _We found it in the wood_.\nHe says not, Troops of horses are my portion, for _a horse is counted\nbut a vain thing to save a man_. He says not, Herds of oxen asses or\nsheep are my portion, except so far as he numbers himself among those\nherds _know their owner_, and with that ass which shuns not the _crib_\nof Christ; that lamb too is his portion which was _brought to the\nslaughter_, and _that sheep which before her shearers was dumb, which\nopened not his mouth; by whose humility judgment has been exalted_. And\nit is rightly said, _before her shearers_ because, on that Cross He put\noff what was but accidental, not part of His essence, for He put off\nHis body, but lost not His Divinity.\n\n94. It is not every one therefore who can say _the Lord is my portion_.\nNot the covetous man, for avarice comes and says; Thou art my portion,\nI have thee in subjection, thou art my slave, thou hast sold thyself\nto me with that gold, thou hast adjudged thyself to be mine with\nthese goods. The sensual man says not, Christ is my portion, because\nluxury comes and says, Thou art my portion, I have brought thee into\nsubjection to myself by that banquet, I have caught thee by the snare\nof those feasts, I keep thee in my bondage by the constraints of thy\ngluttony. Wilt thou not acknowledge that thou didst set a higher value\non the indulgence of thy appetite than on thy life? I condemn thee by\nthine own judgment; deny it if thou canst; but thou canst not. Again,\nthou hast reserved nothing for thy subsistence, thou hast spent it all\non thy table. The adulterer cannot say, _The Lord is my portion_, for\nlust comes and says, I am thy portion, thou hast enslaved thyself to me\nby the love of that damsel, by a night spent with that harlot thou hast\ncommitted thyself to my dominion. The traitor cannot say, _Christ is my\nportion_, because his wickedness immediately seizes upon him and says,\nHe is deceiving thee, O Lord Jesus, this man is mine.\n\n Sidenote: S. John xiii. 2.\n\n95. We have an example of this, for, when Judas had received the sop\nfrom Christ, the devil entered into his heart, as claiming him for his\nown possession, retaining his right to his own portion, and saying,\nThis man is not Thine but mine; my servant, Thy betrayer; to me, then,\nhe manifestly belongs. With Thee he sits at table, but it is I who\nfeed him, from Thee he has received bread, from me money; with Thee he\ndrinks, but to me he has sold Thy Blood. And the event proved how truly\nhe spoke. Then Christ departed from him, and Judas also left Jesus, and\nfollowed the devil.\n\n Sidenote: Philem. i. 1.\n\n96. How many masters has he, who deserts that one Master! But let us\nnot desert Him. Who would fly from Him Whom Paul and Timothy follow,\nbound with chains, but voluntary ones, chains which do not bind but\nloose, chains in which they glory, saying, _Paul, a prisoner of Jesus\nChrist, and Timothy_. Bondage under Him is more honourable than freedom\nand release from others. Who then would fly from peace, who would fly\nfrom salvation, who would fly from pity, who would fly from redemption?\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xi. 12.\n\n97. Ye see, my sons, what they have become who have followed this\ncourse, how they, though dead, still work. Now we join in praising\ntheir virtue, let us also study to attain to their diligence, and\nsilently recognize in ourselves that which we speak of with approval\nin others. Nothing effeminate, nothing frail can deserve praise, _The\nkingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force_.\nOur fathers ate the Paschal lamb in haste. Faith makes good speed,\ndevotion is lively, hope unwearied; it loves not perturbations of\nthe soul, but it loves to pass from profitless inactivity to fruitful\nlabour. Why put off till to-morrow? you may still gain to-day; beware\nlest you fail to attain the one, and lose the other also. The loss even\nof one hour is not unimportant; one hour forms part of our whole life.\n\n98. There are some young persons who wish straightway to arrive at old\nage, that they may no longer be subject to the will of their elders,\nand there are old men who would return if they could to youth. Now\nI can approve of neither of these desires; the young men, disdaining\nthings present, desire that their life may be changed, the old men that\nit may be prolonged. But it is in the power of the young to become old\nby gravity of mind, and of the old to grow young by vigorous actions.\nFor it is not age so much as discipline which brings with it correction\nof life. How much more therefore ought we to lift up our hopes to the\nkingdom of God, where our life will be renewed, and where there will be\na change not of age but of grace.\n\n99. It is not by indolence or sleep that we obtain for ourselves a\nreward. The sleeper cannot work, there comes no fruit from indolence,\nbut rather loss. Esau, being slothful, lost the first-fruits of\nblessing, choosing to receive rather than to seek for food. The\nindustrious Jacob found grace at the hands of both his parents.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. xii. 19.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xxvii. 43.\n\n100. But Jacob, although superior in virtue and grace, gave way to his\nbrother\u2019s anger, who was indignant that his younger brother should be\npreferred to him. Wherefore it is written, _Give place unto wrath_, to\nthe intent that displeasure against another may not draw you also into\nsin, while wishing to resist and to be avenged. If you will consent to\nyield you may remove the blame both from yourself and from him. Imitate\nthe patriarch, who by his mother\u2019s advice went into a far country. And\nwho was this mother? Rebecca, that is, patience. For who could give\nthis counsel but patience? The mother loved her son, and chose that\nhe should be separated from herself rather than from God. And thus as\na good mother she gave benefits to both her sons, but on her younger\nson she conferred a blessing which he had power to keep. For she did\nnot prefer one son to the other, but she preferred diligence to sloth,\nfaith to unbelief. And even on her elder son she conferred no little\nfavour, for she sent away the younger, to save him from unworthy\nfratricide.\n\n Sidenote: S. John i. 29.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xviii. 21.\n\n101. His piety not his fault having thus banished him from his parents,\nhe conversed with God, he increased in his estate, in his children,\nin grace. Nor was he elated by these things on meeting with his\nbrother, but he humbled himself and did obeisance, not to his brother,\nimplacable as he was, but to God Whom in his person he honoured.\nTherefore he bowed down to him seven times, being the number which\nsignifies remission, for it was not a man that he adored, but Him of\nWhom He foresaw in spirit that He should come in the flesh, _to take\naway the sins of the world_. And this mystery is unfolded to you in the\nreply of Peter, who says, _How oft shall my brother sin against me and\nI forgive him, till seven times?_ Thus you see this forgiveness of sins\nis a type of that great sabbath, of that perpetual rest of grace; and\ntherefore it receives the gift of contemplation.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xxxiii. 6.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xviii. 22.\n\n102. But what is the meaning of his setting in array his wives, and\nsons, and all his servants, and commanding them to bow themselves\nto the earth? It was not to the earth, as an element, which is often\nfilled with blood, which is the receptacle of crimes, and which is made\nhideous by desolate rocks, or by precipices, or by a barren and hungry\nsoil, but as that Flesh Which was to be our salvation. And perhaps this\nis that mystery which the Lord has taught thee in the words, _I say not\nunto thee, until seven times, but, until seventy times seven_.\n\n Sidenote: Col. iii. 13.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cix. 4.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cix. 28.\n\n103. Do ye therefore forgive the wrongs done to you, that ye may be the\nsons of Jacob. Be not provoked as was Esau. Imitate holy David, who as\na good teacher, has left us an example in the words, _For the love that\nI had unto them, lo! they take now the contrary part, but I give myself\nunto prayer_, and so when men reviled him, he prayed. Prayer is a good\nshield, a shield which wards off contumely, which repels curses, and\nthrows them back on the heads of those who utter them, so that they are\nwounded by their own weapons: _Let them curse_, it is said, _but bless\nThou_. That curse of men is to be courted, for it obtains for us a\nblessing from the Lord.\n\n Sidenote: Heb. xiii. 12.\n\n Sidenote: Phil. iii. 20.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xxxiii. 7.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xxix. 12, 13.\n\n104. For the rest, my most dearly beloved, remembering that _Jesus\nsuffered without the gate_, do ye go forth from this earthly city,\nfor your city is Jerusalem, which is above. Do ye dwell there that ye\nmay say, _For our conversation is in heaven_. Jesus went forth from\nthe city, that ye, going forth from the world, may be above the world.\nMoses alone, who saw God, had his tabernacle without the camp when he\ntalked with God; and when sacrifices were offered for sin, the blood\nindeed was carried to the altar, but the bodies were burned without\nthe camp; for no man living among the temptations of this world can lay\naside sin, nor can his blood be accepted by God until he has put off\nthe defilement of this body.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xviii. 3.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xix. 24.\n\n Sidenote: Josh. ii. 14.\n\n105. Love hospitality, for thereby holy Abraham found favour in God\u2019s\nsight, received Christ as his guest, and Sarah, already worn with\nage, obtained grace to bear a son; Lot also escaped the flames which\ndestroyed Sodom. And thou also mayest receive Angels, if thou wilt\noffer hospitality to strangers. And what shall I say of Rahab, who,\nby performing this office, escaped destruction?\n\n Sidenote: Eccles. vii. 2.\n\n106. Compassionate those who are kept in bondage, as though ye also\nwere bondsmen. Console those who are under sorrow; _It is better to go\nto the house of mourning than to the house of feasting_. From the one\nwe win the merit of discharging a duty, from the other the stain of a\ntransgression. And again in the one case the reward is yet hoped for,\nin the other it is received. Sympathise with those who suffer as if ye\nsuffered together with them.\n\n107. Let a woman be obedient not servile to her husband, let her offer\nherself to be ruled not coerced. Let the husband also direct his wife\nas her governour, honour her as the companion of his life, share with\nher as his fellow-heir in grace.\n\n108. Mothers, wean your own children, love them, and pray for them,\nbut pray that their life[275] may be prolonged above this earth, rather\nthan in it, for there is nothing longlived in this earth, and that\nwhich seems permanent is at the best short and fragile. Admonish them\nrather to take up the Cross of Christ than to love this life.\n\n Sidenote: S. John xix. 25.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xxvii. 45.\n\n Sidenote: S. John xix. 27.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xlv. 1.\n\n109. Mary, the mother of the Lord stood by the cross of her Son; it is\nno other than the holy Evangelist John who teaches me this. Others have\ntold us that in the Lord\u2019s passion the earth was shaken, the heaven\ncovered with darkness, the sun withdrew its light, the thief, after\na faithful confession, was received into paradise. John has taught\nwhat the others have not, how when nailed to the Cross He spoke to His\nmother, esteeming rather this exhibition of pious offices to His mother\nthan that gift of a heavenly kingdom, which, after triumphing over His\npains, He conferred. For if it be pious to grant pardon to the thief,\nmuch more pious is it that the Son should shew such solicitous honour\nto His Mother: _Behold_, He says, _thy son, Behold thy mother_. Christ\ntestified from the Cross, and distributed the offices of piety between\nthe mother and the disciple. The Lord made not only a public but also a\nprivate Testament, and John signed this His Testament, a witness worthy\nof so great a Testator, a good Testament, not of money but of eternal\nlife, written not with ink, but by the Spirit of the living God, Who\nsays, _My tongue is the pen of a ready writer_.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. lxxxviii. 4, 5.\n\n110. Nor did Mary fall below what became the Mother of Christ. When the\nApostles fled she stood before the Cross, and with pious eyes looked\nupon the wounds of her Son, for she expected to see not the death of\nher Offspring, but the salvation of the world. Or perhaps because she\nwho was the Palace[276] of the King had learnt that the redemption of\nthe world would ensue from the death of her Son, she thought that by\nher own death she might add something to the general good. But Jesus\nneeded no helper for the redemption of all, Who without any helper\nsaved all. Wherefore He says, _I am become like a man without help;\nfree among the dead_. He received the affection of His Mother, but He\nsought not aid from others.\n\n111. Imitate her, ye holy mothers, who in her only and beloved Son\nexhibited such an example of maternal virtue, for your children cannot\nbe dearer to you than hers was, nor did the Virgin seek consolation in\nthe bearing of another son.\n\n Sidenote: 1 S. Pet. ii. 18.\n\n112. Masters, command your servants not as your inferiors in rank, but\nas remembering that they are partakers of the same nature as yourselves.\nServants also, serve your masters cheerfully, for every one ought\ncheerfully to endure that state whereunto he is born; and obey not\nonly the good, but also the froward. For what merit has your service,\nif ye serve the good diligently; but if ye serve the froward also\nye have merit, for neither do the free obtain any reward, if, having\ntransgressed, they are punished by the judges, but herein lies their\nmerit if they suffer wrongfully. Thus if ye, considering Jesus Christ,\nserve even austere masters with patience, ye will have your reward. For\nthe Lord Himself suffered, the just from the unjust, and with admirable\npatience nailed our sins to His Cross, that he who shall imitate Him\nmay wash away his sins in His blood.\n\n113. In short, turn all of you to the Lord Jesus. Take pleasure in this\nlife so that it be with a good conscience; let the hope of immortality\nmake you patient of death, let your assurance of the resurrection be\nconfirmed by the grace of Christ; let there be truth and simplicity,\nfaith and confidence, abstinence and holiness, industry and sobriety,\nmodest conversation, learning without vanity, sobriety of doctrine,\nfaith not intoxicated by heresy. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be\nwith you all, Amen.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LXIV[277]\n\n\n S. AMBROSE replies to Iren\u00e6us, who had asked why the manna,\n which was given to the children of Israel, was not given now,\n that the Body of Christ, Which is given to Christians, is the\n true Manna, of which the other was a type; as it was also of\n Divine Wisdom, which is the food of souls.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO IREN\u00c6US, GREETING.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. xiii. 10.\n\n Sidenote: S. John vi. 58.\n\n1. YOU ask me why the Lord God does not now rain manna as He did on our\nfathers. If you consider, He does rain manna from heaven on those who\nserve Him, and that day by day. The earthly manna indeed is to this\nvery day found in many places, but it is not now an event so miraculous\nbecause _that which is perfect is come_. Now _that which is perfect_\nis the Bread from heaven, the Body born of the Virgin, as to which the\nGospel sufficiently instructs us. O how greatly does this excel what\nwent before it! For they who eat that manna or bread, are dead, _but\nhe that eateth of this bread shall live for ever_.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. iv. 4.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xvi. 15, 16.\n\n Sidenote: Prov. xvi. 24.\n\n2. But there is also a spiritual manna, the dew that is of spiritual\nWisdom, which descends from heaven upon those who sincerely seek for\nit, and which waters the souls of the righteous, and puts sweetness\ninto their mouths. Wherefore he who comprehends this out-pouring of\ndivine wisdom receives pleasure from it, nor requires any other food,\n_nor lives by bread alone, but by every word of God_. He who is more\ncurious, will ask what that is which is sweeter than honey. The servant\nof God answers him, _This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to\neat_. And hear further what this bread is, _the word_, he says, _which\nthe Lord hath commanded_. Now this food so commanded by God nourishes\nthe soul of the wise, imparting light and sweetness, brightened by\nthe beams of truth, and communicating to it the soothing sweetness of\ndivers virtues and the word of wisdom like that of an honey-comb; for\n_pleasant words_, it is written in the Proverbs, _are as an honey-comb_.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xiii. 19.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xvii. 6.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xiii. 21.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xxxii. 20.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xxiv. 41.\n\n3. And now hear the reason why it was small; it was because a grain of\nmustard-seed which is compared to the kingdom of heaven is also small,\nand because faith, which is as a grain of mustard-seed, can remove\nmountains and cast them into the sea. Again, _the kingdom of heaven is\nlike leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till\nthe whole was leavened_. Again, Moses ground the head of the golden\ncalf to powder, and cast it into water, and made the people drink of\nit; for their heart was hardened by the greatness of their perfidy, and\nhe did thus that it might be softened and made refined by faith. Lastly,\nthat woman who grinds meal well and fine shall be taken, but she who\ngrinds ill shall be left.\n\n Sidenote: Cant. iii. 6.\n\n4. Follow then these examples as regards thy faith, that thou mayest be\nlike that soul which excites in itself the love of Christ, and which,\nas it ascends aloft, is admired by the host of heaven; that it may\nrise without impediment, that it may soar above this world with joy\nand gladness, lifting itself on high like the vine stock and like the\nsmoke, sending forth the fragrance of a holy resurrection, and the\nsweetness of faith, as it is written, _Who is this that cometh out of\nthe wilderness like the stock of vine burned with smoke, perfumed with\nmyrrh and frankincense, with all powders of ointment?_\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xxx. 8.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxli. 2.\n\n Sidenote: Rev. viii. 3, 4.\n\n5. The refined nature of this faith is well expressed by being compared\nwith powder or by the mention of perfume; for we read in Exodus of that\nprophetic incense which is the prayer of the Saints, as being a subtile\nperfume and compounded of many things, that it may be set forth in the\nsight of the Lord, as David also says, _Let my prayer be set forth in\nThy sight as the incense_. And so it is in the Greek also, \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5\u03c5\u03b8\u03c5\u03bd\u03b8\u03ae\u03c4\u03c9\n\u1f21 \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c3\u03b5\u03c5\u03c7\u03ae \u03bc\u03bf\u03c5 \u1f61\u03c2 \u03b8\u03c5\u03bc\u03af\u03b1\u03bc\u03b1 \u1f10\u03bd\u03ce\u03c0\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd \u03c3\u03bf\u03c5. And in the Revelation of John\nwe read that _an Angel stood at the Altar, having a golden censer; and\nthere was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the\nprayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.\nAnd the smoke of the incense_, it is said, _with the prayers of the\nSaints, ascended up before God out of the Angel\u2019s hand_.\n\n Sidenote: Cant. vii. 2.\n\n6. Small too is the navel and the belly of that soul which ascends\nup to Christ, and therefore it is praised by the words of the spouse\nsaying, _Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor,\nthy belly is like an heap of wheat set about with lilies_. For it is\nrounded and polished with all kinds of learning, and is a spiritual\ndrink not failing in fulness, and in the knowledge of heavenly secrets.\nThe belly of the soul is also like the navel, mystical, and not only\nstrong food whereby the heart is strengthened, but also sweet and\nflowery food whereby it is delighted, is received therein. And perhaps\nthis is what Moses meant, that by many and pious prayers the sacrilege\nwas to be atoned for.\n\n Sidenote: Wisd. vii. 22.\n\n Sidenote: Rev. xviii. 22.\n\n7. In the book of Kings also, when the Lord revealed Himself to holy\nElijah, a small still voice was first heard, and then the Lord revealed\nHimself to him; thereby to teach us that bodily things are solid\nand gross, but such as are spiritual tender and so fine as not to be\nperceptible to the eye. In the same way we read in the book of Wisdom\nthat the Spirit of Wisdom is subtile and lively _for in her is an\nunderstanding spirit, holy, one only, manifold, subtile and lively_;\nand she grinds her words before she speaks, that neither her mode\nof speech nor her meaning may give offence. Lastly, it shall be said\nto Babylon herself, when about to be destroyed, _And the sound of a\nmillstone shall be heard no more at all in thee_.\n\n8. The manna then was fine, and was gathered each day, not reserved\nfor the day following; because the extemporaneous inventions of\nWisdom please the most; when made at leisure they excite not the same\nadmiration as when struck out at the moment by the spark of genius.\nOr it may be that future mysteries are revealed herein: the manna\nkept till the rising of the sun was unfit to be eaten, in other words,\nafter the coming of Christ, it lost its grace. For when the Sun of\nRighteousness arose, and the more illustrious Sacraments of the Body\nand Blood of Christ appeared, lower things were to cease, and the\npeople were to take in their stead what was more perfect.\n\nFarewell; love me, for I also love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LXV.\n\n\n THIS letter contains a mystical explanation of the statement in\n Exodus xxiv. 6. that Moses put half the blood of the sacrifices\n into basons and poured half on the altar.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO SIMPLICIANUS, GREETING.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xxiv. 6.\n\n1. YOU were perplexed, you tell me, when reading that Moses, after\noffering sacrifice and the immolation of salutary victims to the Lord,\nput half of the blood in basons, and sprinkled half on the altar, to\nknow what could be the purport of this. But why need you doubt and\ninquire of me, when for the sake of the faith, and of acquiring Divine\nknowledge, you have traversed the whole world, and night and day have\ndevoted the whole time of your life to constant reading? Thus with your\nkeen intellect you have embraced all the objects of the understanding,\nand are wont to prove as concerns even the books of philosophy, how\nfar they deviate from the truth, many of them being so futile that the\nwords of their writers perished sooner than their life.\n\n2. But since gathering words, like money, is of great profit, and\ngreat increase is thereby obtained for the general good of trade, I\ncannot refrain from mentioning how wonderful is that division of the\nblood. For part of it seems to signify the moral, and part the mystical\ndiscipline of wisdom. That part which is put into basons is moral, that\nwhich is sprinkled on the altar is mystical; in that by the Divine gift\nand a certain inspiration it is instilled into men\u2019s minds, that the\nsentiments they conceive of God may be suitable and full of faith.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. xii. 4.\n\n Sidenote: Acts vii. 55.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cx. 1.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xxxiv. 10, 11.\n\n3. Moreover, they who have spoken of His majesty, and of heavenly\nthings, whether apostles or holy prophets, have only dared to speak of\nsuch things as were shewn them by revelation. Hence Paul has testified\nin his Epistle that he was _caught up into Paradise, and heard words\nwhich it is not lawful for a man to utter_; Stephen also _saw the\nheavens opened, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God_, and\nthe Prophet David saw Him sitting on His right hand. And what shall\nI say of Moses, of whom the Scripture says that _there arose not such\na prophet since in Israel, who knew the Lord face to face, in all the\nsigns and the wonders which he did in the land of Egypt_.\n\n Sidenote: S. John xx. 22.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. iv. 12.\n\n4. The mystical part therefore is offered to God, Who by the brightness\nof the Divine Wisdom, Whose Father and Parent He is, quickens the\nvigour of the soul, and enlightens the mind. But the Wisdom of God\nis Christ, on Whose breast John lay, that from that secret source of\nwisdom he might be known to have imbibed Divine mysteries. He himself,\nconscious of his gift, has recorded this, for he dreaded to claim for\nhimself, and to ascribe to his own genius that which he had received.\nThe Lord also said to the Apostles, opening their mouths, _Receive\nye the Holy Ghost_, whereby He declared that He is the same Who said\nto Moses, _I will open thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt\nsay_. Wherefore this wisdom, divine, unspeakable, unadulterated and\nincorruptible, pours her grace into the minds of her saints, and\ndiscloses to them knowledge that they may behold her glory.\n\n5. But that is the discipline of moral wisdom which is poured into\nbasons, and is taken and drank from them. The basons therefore are the\norgans of the senses. The basons are the two eyes, the ears, the nose,\nthe mouth and other parts suitable to this function; for the eyes are\nthe recipients and ministers of sight, the ears of hearing, the nose\nof smell, the mouth of taste, and so with the rest. Into these basons\nthat Word in Whom is the Headship of the priestly and prophetic office\npoured the half of His blood; that He might quicken and animate the\nirrational parts of our nature, and endow them with reason.\n\n6. Again, having rehearsed and proclaimed the precepts of the Law to\nthe people, and being about to explain the meaning of that mystical ark\nof the testimony, and of the candlestick, and of the censers, he slew\nvictims, and offered sacrifice, sprinkling half of the blood on the\nsacred altar, and putting half in basons.\n\n Sidenote: Heb. iv. 12.\n\n7. A division therefore is made between that mystical or divine and\nmoral wisdom. For the \u039b\u03cc\u03b3\u03bf\u03c2 is a divider of souls and of virtues:\nthe \u039b\u03cc\u03b3\u03bf\u03c2 is the _Word of God, quick and powerful_, which pierces\nand penetrates even to the dividing asunder of the soul, and which\nalso distinguishes and divides virtues, whose minister, Moses, by the\ndivision of the blood, distinguished the kinds of virtue.\n\n8. And forasmuch as nothing is so emphatically declared in the Law as\nChrist\u2019s Advent, or prefigured as His Passion, consider whether this\nbe not the saving victim which God the Word offered by Himself, and\nsacrificed in His own body. For first both in the Gospel and also in\nthe Law He taught us moral discipline, and manifested it in His own\npatience and in very act and deed, transfusing into our lives and\nsenses, as if into basons, the very substance and marrow as it were of\nwisdom, and quickening thereby men\u2019s minds to be a seed-plot of virtue,\nand instructed in piety, and then, drawing near the altar, He poured\nout the blood of His offering.\n\n Sidenote: Prov. ix. 2.\n\n9. Should you choose then to understand it thus, the sense is pious;\nthe interpretation also which follows that of Solomon is, if you prefer\nit, equally concordant, namely, that whereas the prophet Moses put the\nblood into basons, this is the same blood whereof it is written that\n_Wisdom hath mingled her wine_, bidding men to forsake foolishness,\nand seek after understanding. From the bason then we drink wisdom,\ndiscipline, understanding, correction, amendment of life, regulation of\nhabits and counsels, the grace of piety, increase of virtue, a fountain\nof plenty.\n\n Sidenote: S. John i. 29.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xix. 34.\n\n10. But by this sprinkling the blood on the Altar you may understand\nthe cleansing of the world, the remission of all sins. For He sprinkles\nthat blood on the Altar as a Victim to atone for the sins of many. For\nthe Victim is a Lamb, but a Lamb not of irrational nature but of divine\npower, of Which it is said, _Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away\nthe sin of the world_. For not only has He cleansed with His blood the\nsins of all men, but has also gifted them with divine power. Does not\nHe seem to you to have indeed shed his blood, from Whose side blood and\nwater flowed over the very altar of his Passion?\n\nFarewell; love me as you do, with the affection of a parent.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LXVI.\n\n\n HERE is a mystical exposition of Aaron\u2019s taking the earrings\n of the women to make the golden calf, and of other details\n connected with it.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO ROMULUS.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xxxii. 2.\n\n1. THERE is no doubt that letter-writing was invented that we might\nhold a sort of converse with the absent, but this becomes more\nexcellent in use and example when frequent and pleasant colloquies\npass between a parent and his sons, whereby is really produced a sort\nof image of actual presence, even though they are separate in body; for\nby such offices love attains its growth, just as it is augmented by our\nmutual letters between ourselves. All this I begin to experience much\nmore abundantly in these last addresses of your affection, wherein you\nhave thought fit to ask me with what intent Aaron took the gold from\nthe people when they required gods to be made them, and why the head\nof a calf was fashioned with that gold, and why Moses was so deeply\nincensed that he commanded every man to rise upon his neighbour and\nslay him with the sword. For it is a great thing that the absent should\nsuffer no loss either of kindness or of the liberal communication\nof mutual knowledge. My sentiments on this point, therefore, as you\nrequire it, I will offer for the purpose rather of comparison than of\ninstruction.\n\n2. While Moses was receiving the Law on Mount Sinai the people were\nwith Aaron the Priest. Prone as they were to transgress, we do not find\nthat they committed sacrilege so long as the Law was being delivered,\nbut when the Divine Voice ceased, sin overtook them, so that they\nrequired gods to be made them. Aaron, thus constrained, asked for their\nrings and the women\u2019s earrings, which, when given to him, he cast into\nthe fire, and the head of a calf was molten of them.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xxxv. 2.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xxxii. 2.\n\n3. We can neither excuse this great priest, nor dare we condemn him.\nIt was not however unadvisedly that he deprived the Jews of their rings\nand earrings; for they who designed sacrilege could have neither the\nseal of faith nor ornaments of their ears. The patriarch Jacob too hid\nthe earrings along with the images of the strange gods, when he hid\nthem in Shechem, that no one might come to know of the superstitions\nof the Gentiles. And he said well, _Break off the golden earrings\nwhich are in the ears of your wives_; not as leaving the men their\nearrings, but in order to shew that they had them not. Fitly also are\nthe earrings taken from the women, that Eve may not again hear the\nvoice of the serpent.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Kings xii. 30.\n\n4. Because they had listened to sacrilegious counsel, an image of\nsacrilege was formed by the melting of their earrings; for he who hears\namiss is wont to perpetrate sacrilege. Why the head of a calf came\nforth, the sequel shews, for it was signified thereby, either that in\ntime to come Jeroboam would introduce this kind of sacrilege, and that\nthe people of the Hebrews should worship golden calves; or else that\nall unbelief bears the semblance of brutal and savage folly.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xxix. 5, 6.\n\n5. Moses, incensed by this unworthy act, broke the tables, and ground\nthe head of the calf to powder, that he might abolish all traces of\ntheir impiety. The first Tables were broken in order to the restoration\nof the second, whereby, through the preaching of the Gospel, unbelief\nwas broken to pieces, and done away. And thus Moses brought down this\nEgyptian pride, and repressed this self-exalting arrogance, by the\nauthority of the eternal Law. Wherefore David also says, _The Lord\nshall break the cedars of Libanus, and shall reduce them to pieces,\nas a calf of Libanus_.\n\n Sidenote: Isa. xxv. 8.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. xv. 54, 55.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cx. 7.\n\n Sidenote: S. John xix. 30.\n\n6. The people drank up all their perfidy and pride, that impiety and\narrogance might not drink them up. For it is better that every one\nshould prevail over the flesh and its vices, that it may not be said\nthat _prevailing[278] death hath swallowed him up_, but rather, _Death\nis swallowed up in victory; O death, where is thy sting, O grave, where\nis thy victory?_ And of the Lord it is said, _He shall drink of the\nbrook in the way_; for He received the vinegar, that He might drink up\nthe temptations of all men.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xxxii. 26, 27.\n\n7. But in his causing every man to slay his neighbour, the parents\ntheir children, the brother his brother, we find an evident precept\nthat religion is to be preferred to friendship, piety to kindred. For\nthat is true piety which prefers divine things to human, eternal to\ntemporal. Wherefore also Moses himself said to the sons of Levi, _Who\nis on the Lord\u2019s side, let him come to me. And he said unto them, Thus\nsaith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and\ngo throughout the camp_, that thus, by the contemplation and love of\nthe Divine Majesty all human ties and affections might be destroyed.\nIt is written that three thousand men were slain, nor need we feel any\njealousy of the number being so great, for it is better that by the\npunishment of a few the body should be exonerated, than that vengeance\nshould be taken on all; nor indeed does any punishment of wrong against\nGod appear too severe.\n\n Sidenote: Num. xviii. 6.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. ix. 27.\n\n Sidenote: Heb. iv. 12.\n\n8. Again, the ministry of the Levites, whose portion is God, was chosen\nfor this work, as being more holy than the others: for they know not\nhow to spare their own who know nothing of their own, for to the holy\nGod is everything. Now he is the true Levite and punisher and avenger,\nwho kills the flesh that he may preserve the spirit, such as he was who\nsays, _I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection_. And who are\nsuch close neighbours as the flesh and the soul? What is so akin to us\nas the passions of the body? These the good Levite slays within himself\nwith that spiritual _sword_ which is _the word of God, sharp and\npowerful_.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke ii. 35.\n\n9. There is also a sword of the Spirit, which pierces the soul, as was\nsaid to Mary, _A sword shall pierce through thy own soul also, that the\nthoughts of many hearts may be revealed_. Is not the flesh united with\nthe soul by a kind of fraternal bond? Is not discourse also related and\nakin to our mind? When therefore we check our discourse, that we may\nnot incur the sin of much speaking, we put aside the rights of blood,\nand loose the bonds of this fraternal connexion. Thus by the force\nof reason the soul severs from itself its irrational and, as it were,\ncognate part.\n\n10. And so Moses taught the people to rise against their neighbours,\nby whom faith was in danger of being mocked, and virtue hindered,\nthat whatever in us was straying from virtue, perplexed by error, or\nentangled in vice might be cut off. By this direction to the people he\nobtained not only a mitigation of the Divine wrath and a turning away\nof offence, but even conciliated for them grace.\n\n11. Thus, according to our apprehension, we have explained, since you\nasked it, our sentiments. And do you, if you have aught preferable,\nimpart it to us, that from you and from ourselves we may learn which\nto choose and follow.\n\nFarewell: love me as a son, for I also love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LXVII.\n\n\n S. AMBROSE begins by pointing out that Moses deferred to Aaron\n in matters connected with the Priesthood, and then goes on to\n dwell on the rarity and the blessing of true penitence.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO SIMPLICIANUS, GREETING.\n\n Sidenote: Num. xii. 8.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xxxiv. 10.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xxxiv. 28.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. iv. 12.\n\n Sidenote: Num. xii. 1.\n\n1. THE greatness of each person as regards his own functions is taught\nus in that Scripture lesson by which your attention has been justly\nattracted, that Moses, than whom no man saw God more intimately,\n_neither arose there a prophet since in Israel whom the Lord knew face\nto face_; he who was constantly with the Lord forty days and nights,\nwhen he received the law in the Mount, he, I say, to whom the Lord gave\nthe words which he should speak, is found to have approved the counsel\nof his brother Aaron more than his own. Was there then any man more\nprudent and learned than Moses? Nay, of Aaron himself we afterwards\nread that together with Miriam he transgressed concerning the Ethiopian\nwoman.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xviii. 15.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xvi. 31.\n\n2. But I would have you carefully consider this very thing, how Moses\nexcelled in knowledge, Aaron in counsel. Moses was the greatest prophet,\nwho said of Christ, _Like unto me, unto Him shall ye hearken_. And the\nLord Himself says of him, _if they hear not Moses and the prophets,\nneither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead_. In the\nmatter of prophecy therefore Moses is preferred as a prophet; but where\nthe subject and function and office relates to the Priesthood, Aaron is\npreferred as being a Priest. Let us now treat the passage itself.\n\n Sidenote: Lev. x. 16\u201318.\n\n3. A he-goat was slain for sin; offered for an whole burnt-offering.\nMoses afterwards sought for it, and it was burnt. _And he was angry\nwith Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron which were left alive,\nsaying, Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin-offering in the holy place,\nseeing it is most holy, and God hath given it you to bear the iniquity\nof the congregation? Ye should indeed have eaten it in the holy place\nas I commanded._ Now when Aaron saw that Moses was angry he replied to\nhim meekly, _Behold, this day have they offered their sin-offering and\ntheir burnt-offering before the Lord, and such things have befallen\nme, and if I had eaten the sin-offering to-day, should it have been\naccepted in the sight of the Lord? And when Moses heard that, he was\ncontent._ Let us consider what these things mean.\n\n4. Not to sin is an attribute of God alone: to amend and correct one\u2019s\nerror and to do penance for one\u2019s sin is the part of a wise man. But\nthis is very difficult in this human life. For what is so rare as to\nfind a man who will convict himself, and condemn his own act? Rare\nis the confession of sin, rare is penitence, rare among men is the\nadmission of that word. Nature and shame both recoil from it; nature,\nbecause all are under sin, and he who wears flesh is subject to\ntransgression. Thus the nature of the flesh, and the allurements of\nthe world are repugnant to innocence and integrity. Shame recoils also,\nbecause every man blushes to confess his own fault, thinking more of\nthe present than of the future.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xiv. 6.\n\n5. Now Moses desired to find a soul free from sin, that it might lay\naside the slough of error, and depart, relieved from transgression,\nwithout any cause of shame within itself. But such a soul he found not,\nbecause an irrational impulse comes quickly on, and a certain flame,\nwhose motions are very swift, feeds upon the soul, and burns up its\ninnocence. For the future is outweighed by the present, moderation by\nviolence, worth by numbers, soberness by pleasure, hardness by luxury,\nsadness by joy, austerity by blandishments, slowness by too great\nprecipitance. And iniquity, which suggests occasions of doing evil,\nis a thing swift in its nature, for its _feet are swift to shed blood_;\nbut all virtue uses gentle and long delays, judging beforehand and\nlooking narrowly into what is to be undertaken. And thus the good mind\nscrutinizes its own counsels, and examines beforehand what is becoming\nand excellent; but in iniquity the act outstrips consideration.\nPenitence therefore is tardy and abashed, because it is oppressed and\ndrawn back by present shame; having, in itself, regard only to things\nfuture, the hope whereof is late, the fruit tardy, and so the desire of\nthem is tardy also.\n\n6. During these strivings of hope and virtue shamelessness runs\nonward, and by the glare of things present, penitence is excluded,\nits affections are, as it were, burnt up, and all that has respect to\nit is lost. The Law seeks and finds it not, for it is scorched by the\nheat and smoke of iniquity, and the anger, as it were, of the Law is\nroused. Moses says that the sin-offering ought to have been eaten in\nthe holy place, and rebukes the priests as remiss; Aaron replies that\nthe priestly judgment ought to be cautious; that such a function must\nnot be lightly entrusted to an unsound conscience, lest this error be\nworse than the first. For by a filthy vessel wine or oil is easily\ntainted and spoilt.\n\n7. But how could sin be burnt out when the fire was strange fire; and\nthis in the sight of the Lord to Whom even hidden things are known? Can\nit please the Lord, if a man, while he is yet engaged in sin, and keeps\nunrighteousness in his heart, professes that he is doing penance? It is\nthe same thing as if one who is sick should feign himself well, he will\nonly become worse; for the pretence of health can avail him nothing;\nsince it is but shadowed forth by words, not sustained by any support\nof virtue.\n\n8. This strange fire then is lust, this strange fire is every incentive\nof cupidity, this strange fire is all burning avarice. By this fire man\nis not cleansed but rather burned up. For where this strange fire is,\nif any man offer himself in the sight of the Lord, the celestial fire\nconsumes him as it did Nadab and Abihu who were burned together with\nthose sacrifices which had been offered for sin on the sacred Altars.\nHe therefore who would cleanse his sin let him remove from him strange\nfire. Let him offer himself to that fire only which burns up the fault\nnot the man.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. iii. 11.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. ix. 20.\n\n Sidenote: Luke xix. 8.\n\n Sidenote: Heb. xii. 29.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xxiii. 43.\n\n9. And who this fire is, let us learn from the words, that Jesus _shall\nbaptize with the Holy Ghost and with fire_. This is that fire which\ndried up her issue of blood who had suffered it for twelve years; that\nfire, which took away the sin of S. Zacch\u00e6us when he said that he would\ngive half of his goods to the poor, and if he had taken any thing from\nany man would restore fourfold. This is that fire, which wiped away\nthe thief\u2019s crime, for He is _a consuming fire_ Who said, _To-day shalt\nthou be with Me in Paradise_. Thus He healed those in whom He found a\nsimple and pure confession; no malice, no fraud.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xxvii. 4.\n\n10. Judas moreover could not obtain a remedy, although he said, _I have\nsinned, in that I have betrayed the innocent blood_, for he cherished\nwithin his breast strange fire, which urged him on to destroy himself.\nHe was not worthy to be healed, for he wept not through conversion of\nhis inmost mind, nor did he diligently do penance; for such is the love\nof the Lord Jesus that He would have granted pardon even to him, had he\nwaited for the mercy of Christ.\n\n Sidenote: S. John iv. 34.\n\n Sidenote: Isa. xxx. 15.\n\n11. This fault therefore the priests cannot remove, nor the sin\nof him who offers himself in guile, and still harbours a desire of\ntransgressing. For they cannot eat of that which is full of fraud, and\nhas the serpent\u2019s scar within; for the food of the priest lies in the\nremission of sins. Wherefore Christ the chief of Priests says, _My\nmeat is to do the will of My Father which is in heaven_. What is the\nwill of God but this, _In returning and rest shall ye be saved_? In the\nguileful man therefore there is no food. Neither again can he taste the\nsweetness of a feast whose conscience is not sincere and pure; for the\nbitterness of fraud takes away the sweetness of the viands; and an evil\nconscience will not permit penitence to refresh and feed the guilty\nsoul.\n\n Sidenote: Lev. xvi. 27.\n\n12. Such affections therefore, such petitions, such penitence are\nneither useful nor a pleasure to the priests. And that he-goat offered\nas an whole burnt offering for sin was deservedly burnt, because\nstrange fire was found in the sacrifice. On that account it was not\na pleasing and acceptable sacrifice to God; for that is not accepted\nwhich has not been approved among the riches of sincerity and truth.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xvi. 8.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xxiv. 40\n\n13. And so elsewhere also you read of two he-goats, one whereon was\nthe lot of the Lord, the other that of the scape-goat, and that that\nwhereon was the lot of the Lord was offered and sacrificed, while the\none whereon was the lot of the scape-goat was sent into the wilderness\nto take away the iniquities of the people, or of any sinner. For as\nthere are _two men in the field, and one of them shall be taken and\nthe other left_, so are there two he-goats, one of which is used for\nsacrifice, and the other sent into the wilderness. The one is of no\nuse, neither to be eaten nor fed upon by the sons of the priests. For\nas in matters of food, what is good is eaten, what is useless or bad\nis thrown away, in the same way we call good works festive, as fit for\neating.\n\n Sidenote: Lev. xxv. 6.\n\n14. It will not therefore be pleasing to the Lord if the priest eat\nof a sacrifice which presents a deceptive offering, not the sincerity\nof a diligent confession. And therefore that goat is to be sent into\nthe wilderness, where our fathers wandered, where they wandered and\ncould not attain to the land of the resurrection, but the memory of\nthem passed from the land. Hear again what are festive works. _And\nthe sabbath of the land shall be meat for you._ For rest in God, which\ncauses tranquillity of mind, is festive and refreshing. And now let us\nalso rest from discoursing.\n\nFarewell; love me as you do, for I also love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LXVIII.\n\n\n AN explanation of the text, _Thy heaven shall be brass and thy\n earth iron_.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO ROMULUS.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xxviii. 23.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Kings xvii. 1.\n S. Luke iv. 25.\n\n1. BEING yourself in the country I am surprised at your having been\nled to inquire of me the reason why God should have said, _And thy\nheaven shall be brass, and thy earth iron_. For the very appearance of\nthe country and its present fertility might teach us how great is the\nmildness of the air, and how genial is the climate, when God vouchsafes\nto give plenty, but when sterility, how all things are closed up, how\ndense the air, so as to seem hardened into the very substance of brass.\nElsewhere also you read that in the days of Elijah _the heaven was shut\nup three years and six months_.\n\n2. By the heaven then being brass is signified its being shut up,\nand refusing its use to the earth. The earth also is iron, for it\n\u2666withholds its produce, and with hostile rigour excludes from its\nfructifying soil the seeds thrown upon it, which its wont is to cherish\nas in the bosom of a tender mother. For when does iron bring forth\nfruit, when does brass melt into showers?\n\n3. Those impious men therefore He threatens with miserable famine,\nthat they who know not how to shew filial piety to the common Lord and\nFather of all, may be deprived of the support of His paternal clemency,\nthat the heaven may be to them as brass, and the air condensed into\nthe substance of metal; that the earth may be to them as iron, deprived\nof its natural productions, and as is usually the case with poverty,\na sower of strife. For they who are in want of food commit robberies,\nthat at the expense of others they may relieve their own hunger.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xvi. 4.\n\n4. If further the offence of the inhabitants be so great that God\nstirs up and brings war upon them, then their land is truly iron,\nbristling with crops of spears, and stripped of its own fruit, fruitful\nas regards punishment, barren as regards nourishment. But where is\nabundance? _Behold I will rain bread for you, saith the Lord._\n\nFarewell; love me, for I also love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LXIX.\n\n\n IN this Letter S. Ambrose answers a question propounded to him\n as to the ground of the severity of the Mosaic Law against those\n who disguised their sex.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO IREN\u00c6US, GREETING.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xxii. 5.\n\n1. YOU have referred to me, as to a father, the inquiry which has been\nmade of you, why the Law was so severe in pronouncing those unclean who\nused the garments of the other sex, whether they were men or women, for\nit is written, _The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a\nman, neither shall a man put on a woman\u2019s garment; for all that do so\nare an abomination unto the Lord_.\n\n2. Now, if you will consider it well, that which nature herself abhors\nmust be incongruous. For why do you not wish to be thought a man,\nseeing that you are born such? why do you assume an appearance which\nis foreign to you? why do you play the woman, or you, O woman, the man?\nNature clothes each sex in their proper raiment. Moreover in men and\nwomen, habits, complexion, gestures, gait, strength and voice are all\ndifferent.\n\n3. So also in the rest of the animal creation; the form, the strength,\nthe roar of the lion and lioness, of the bull and heifer are different.\nDeer also differ as much in form as they do in sex, so that you may\ndistinguish the stag from the hind even at a distance. But in the case\nof birds the similitude between them and men, as regards covering, is\nstill closer; for in them Nature distinguishes their sex by their very\nplumage. The peacock is beautiful, but the feathers of its consort are\nnot variegated with equal beauty. Pheasants also have different colours\nto mark the difference of the sexes. And so with poultry. How sonorous\nis the cock\u2019s voice, night by night performing his natural office of\ncalling us from sleep by crowing. They do not change their form; why\nthen do we desire to change ours?\n\n4. A Greek custom has indeed prevailed for women to wear men\u2019s tunics\nas being shorter. Be it allowed however that they should imitate the\nnature of the more worthy sex; but why should men choose to assume\nthe appearance of the inferior? A falsehood is base even in word, much\nmore in dress. So in the heathen temples, where there is a false faith,\nthere also is a false nature. It is there considered holy for men to\nassume women\u2019s garments, and female gestures. And therefore the Law\nsays that every man who puts on a woman\u2019s garment is an abomination\nunto the Lord.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. xiv. 34, 35.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. iii. 16.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Tim. ii. 11, 12.\n\n5. I conceive however that it is spoken not so much of garments as of\nmanners, and of our habits and actions, in that one kind of act becomes\na man, the other a woman. Wherefore the Apostle also says, as the\ninterpreter of the Law, _Let your women keep silence in the Churches;\nfor it is not permitted unto them to speak, but they are to be under\nobedience, as also saith the Law. And if they will learn anything, let\nthem ask their husbands at home._ And to Timothy: _Let the woman learn\nin silence with all subjection; but I suffer not a woman to teach, nor\nto usurp authority over the man_.\n\n6. But how unseemly is it for a man to do the works of a woman! As for\nthose who curl their hair, like women, let them conceive also, let them\nbring forth. Yet the one sex wears veils, the other wages war. Let them\nhowever be excused who follow their national usages, barbarous though\nthey be, the Persians and Goths and Armenians. Nature is superior to\ncountry.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. xi. 13\u201315.\n\n7. And what shall we say of others who think it belongs to luxury to\nhave in their service slaves wearing curls and ornaments of the neck?\nIt is but just that chastity should be lost where the distinction of\nsexes is not preserved, a point wherein the teaching of nature is\nunambiguous, according to the Apostle\u2019s words; _Is it comely that a\nwoman pray unto God uncovered? Doth not even nature itself teach you\nthat if a man have long hair it is a shame unto him: but if a woman\nhath long hair, it is a glory unto her; for her hair is given her for\na covering._ Such is the answer which you may make to those who have\nreferred to you.\n\nFarewell; love me as a son, for I love you as a father.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LXX.\n\n\n S. AMBROSE in this Letter considers a part of the prophecy of\n Micah as describing the recovery of a fallen soul.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO HORONTIANUS.\n\n1. THE Prophets indeed announced the gathering together of the\nGentiles, and the future establishment of the Church; but as the Church\nsees not only the continuous progress of strong souls, but likewise the\nrelapse of weak ones, and their subsequent conversion, we are able to\ngather from the Prophetical books both how the gracious and strong soul\nadvances without stumbling, and also how the weak soul falls, and how\nshe repairs her falls and recovers her steps.\n\n Sidenote: Mic. v. 2.\n\n2. Accordingly as in the Song of Songs we read of this continuous\nprogress of blessed souls, so let us now consider, as set forth in the\nprophet Micah, concerning whom we have begun to speak, the conversion\nof a fallen soul. For it is not without good reason that the prophet\u2019s\nwords, _But thou Bethlehem Ephratah_, excited your attention. For how\ncan that house where Christ was born be the house of wrath? Such is,\nindeed, what the name of the place signifies, but certain mysterious\noperations are declared thereby.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. i. 1.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xi. 27.\n\n Sidenote: Mic. i. 1.\n\n3. Let us first consider what Micah signifies in Latin. It means \u2018Who\nis from God,\u2019 or as we find elsewhere \u2018who is this man,\u2019 the son of\nthe Morasthite, that is, the heir? Now, who is this heir, but the Son\nof God, Who says, _All things are given unto Me of My Father_; and Who,\nbeing Himself the Heir, would have us His co-heirs. And well may we\nsay \u2018Who is that man?\u2019 not one of the people, but chosen to receive the\ngrace of God, in whom the Holy Spirit speaks, who began to prophesy _in\nthe days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah kings of Judah_. By which order\nis signified the course of the vision, for the progress is from the\ntimes of evil kings to that of a good king.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. iv. 8.\n\n Sidenote: Isa. v. 2.\n\n4. Thus as the afflicted soul was first oppressed under evil kings, let\nus consider what was the progress of her conversion. Being weak she was\noverthrown, and all her fences were made as a way for the passers-by,\nor for the inroads of passion; dissolved in luxury and pleasure, she\nwas trodden down and removed from the presence of the Lord. Her _tower\nwas decayed_, that tower which, as we read in the song of Isaiah, was\nplaced in the midst of a choice vineyard. Now this is the case with\nthe tower, when the vine is withered, and her flock wanders; but when\nthe verdure of the vine comes back, or the sheep returns, it grows\nbright again, for nothing is so decayed as iniquity, or so bright as\nrighteousness.\n\n Sidenote: Rev. i. 8.\n\n Sidenote: Mic. iv. 9.\n\n Sidenote: Ib.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xiii. 11.\n\n5. To this tower the sheep is recalled, when the soul is recalled from\nher relapse, and in that sheep that reign of Christ returns, which was\nin the beginning, for He is _the Beginning and the Ending_, even the\nbeginning of our salvation. Still the soul is first severely rebuked,\nin that she has grievously transgressed, and she is asked, _Why hast\nthou learnt evil? was there no king in thee?_ that is, thou hadst a\nking to govern and protect thee, thou oughtest not to have strayed\nfrom the path of righteousness, nor to have left the ways of the Lord,\nWho imparted to thee sense and reason. Where were thy thoughts and\ncounsels, whereby by innate vigour thou mightest have guarded against\nunrighteousness and warded off transgression? Why have _pangs taken\nthee, as a woman in travail_; that thou shouldest be in labour of\niniquity, and bring forth unrighteousness? For there is no greater\ngrief than for a man to wound his conscience with the sword of sin;\nnor is there any heavier burden than the weight of sin and the load of\ntransgression. It bows down the soul, it bends it even to the earth, so\nthat it cannot raise itself. Heavy, my son, heavy indeed is the weight\nof sin. Thus that woman in the Gospel, who was bowed together, and thus\nbore the semblance of a heavy-laden soul, could be made straight by\nChrist alone.\n\n Sidenote: Mic. iv. 10.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. v. 3\u20135.\n\n6. To such a soul it is said, _Be in pain and labour to bring forth,\nO daughter of Sion_. For the pains of child-birth work tribulation, and\n_tribulation patience, and patience experience, and experience hope,\nand hope maketh not ashamed_. At the same time all that is opposed\nto virtue is plucked up and cast forth, lest its seeds should remain\nbehind and revive, and put out new buds and fruit.\n\n Sidenote: Mic. iv. 13.\n\n7. Nor is it without a meaning that horns and hoofs were given to\nher, that she might bruise all the sheaves of the floor, like the\ncalf of Mount Lebanon. For unless the sheaves were bruised, and the\nstraw winnowed, the corn that is within cannot be found and separated.\nWherefore let the soul that would advance in virtue first bruise and\nthrash out its superfluous passions, that so, when the harvest is come,\nit may shew forth its fruits. How many are the weeds which choke the\ngood seed! These must first be rooted out, that they may not destroy\nthe fertile crop of the soul.\n\n Sidenote: Prov. xiii. 24.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. lxxxix. 32.\n\n Sidenote: Ecclus. xxx. 1.\n\n8. Then the provident guide of the soul has regard to this, that he\nmay circumscribe her pleasures and cut off her desires, that she may\nnot delight herself in them. That father\u2019s corrections are profitable,\nwho spares not the rod, that he may render his son\u2019s soul obedient to\nsalutary precepts. For he visits with a rod, as we read, _I will visit\ntheir offences with the rod_. And so he who smites the soul of the\nIsraelites with a rod on the cheek, by this Divine punishment instructs\nher in the discipline of patience. But no man need despair who is\nchastised and corrected, for he who loveth his son chastiseth him. Let\nno man therefore despair of a remedy.\n\n Sidenote: Mic. v. 2.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke ii. 4.\n\n Sidenote: S. John vi. 50.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. ii. 18.\n\n9. Behold therefore, that house which was to thee \u2018the house of one\nseeing wrath,\u2019 is become \u2018the house of bread;\u2019 where rage was, there\nis now piety; where the slaughter of the Innocents, there now the\nredemption of all mankind, as it is written, _But thou, Bethlehem\nEphratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out\nof thee shall He come forth that is Ruler in Israel_. Bethlehem is the\nhouse of bread; Ephratah the house of one seeing wrath. This is the\ninterpretation of these names. In Bethlehem Christ was born of Mary,\nbut Bethlehem is the same as Ephratah. Thus Christ was born in the\nhouse of wrath, and therefore it is no longer a house of wrath, but\nthe house of bread, for it received that _bread which came down from\nheaven_. But Ephratah is the house of one that was wrath, because while\nHerod searches there for Christ, he commands the Innocents to be slain,\nwherefore _In Rama was there a voice heard, Rachel weeping for her\nchildren_.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxxxii. 6.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke i. 42.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xxxv. 19.\n\n10. But let no man fear any longer; for that rest which David sought\nafter _is heard of at Ephrata_, and _found in the fields of the wood_.\nA wood, as yet, was the assembly of the Gentiles, but after it believed\nin Christ it became fruitful, receiving the fruit of the blessed womb.\nAnd Rachel died in childbirth, because even then, as the patriarch\u2019s\nwife, she saw the wrath of Herod, which spared not the tenderest\nage. Or again, because in Ephratah she gave birth to that Benjamin\nwho excelling in beauty came last in the order of the mystery, I mean\nPaul, who before his birth caused no small grief to his Mother, by\npersecuting her sons. And she died, and was buried there, that we,\ndying and being buried together with Christ, may rise again in His\nChurch. Therefore according to another interpretation, Ephratah\nsignifies \u2018enriched or filled with fruit.\u2019\n\n Sidenote: Mic. v. 2.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. ii. 6.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. \u2666xxv. 40.\n\n11. Now here, that is, in the book of the Prophet, we find the\nexpression, thou art \u1f40\u03bb\u03b9\u03b3\u03bf\u03c3\u03c4\u03cc\u03c2, that is, one of few. But in Matthew\nwe find, _And thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not among the\nfew_. In one the expression is house of Ephratah, in the other house\nof Juda; but this is a difference of words not of meaning. For inwardly\nJud\u00e6a saw this exhibition of wrath, outwardly she suffered it. And she\nis among the few, because they are few who enter the house of bread\nby the narrow way. But he is not among the few, that is among those\nthat make progress, who knows not Christ. Nor is she the least, who is\nthe house of blessing, and the receptacle of Divine grace; yet in this\nshe is the least, for any thing which is offered to Christ seems to be\noffered to her. And he who seeks for the Church seeks for Christ; and\nHe is either honoured or despised in every little one, wherefore He\nsays Himself, _Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these, ye\nhave done it unto Me_.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xxxv. 19.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxxix. 8.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. cxxvi. 7.\n\n12. Now that Bethlehem is the very same place as Ephratah we learn from\nthe passage in Genesis, which says, _And Rachel died, and was buried in\nthe way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem_. Holy Rachel, being a type of\nthe Church, was buried in the way, that they who go by might say, _The\nLord prosper you_, and _they shall come again with joy_.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. x. 17.\n\n13. Wherefore every soul which receives that bread which comes down\nfrom heaven is the house of bread, that is, the Bread of Christ, being\nnourished and supported and having its heart strengthened by that\nheavenly bread which dwells within it. Hence Paul also says, _For\nwe being many are one bread_. Every faithful soul is Bethlehem, as\nJerusalem also is said to be, which has the peace and tranquillity of\nthat Jerusalem which is above, in heaven. That is the true Bread which,\nwhen broken into pieces, fed all men.\n\n14. The fifth version[279] has the words, \u2018the house of Bread.\u2019 For\n\u2018Beth\u2019 signifies a house, and \u2018lehem\u2019 signifies bread. From the other\nversions I imagine that the unbelief of the Jews, who feared to convict\nthemselves, either led the writers to omit it or others to erase it.\n\n Sidenote: Jud. xix. 2.\n\n15. And that Bethlehem is of the tribe of Judah we learn from that\npassage in the book of Judges, where the Levite took to him a concubine\nout of Bethlehem-judah, and his concubine was incensed against him, and\nreturned to her father\u2019s house in Bethlehem-judah.\n\n Sidenote: Mic. v. 2.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xix. 5.\n\n Sidenote: Mic. v. 3.\n\n Sidenote: Is. liv. 1.\n\n16. Now Christ\u2019s _goings forth were from everlasting_[280], because\nour life[281] then commenced, when He _went forth to run His course_,\nand gave to Israel the day of salvation. _Until the time \u2666that she\nwhich travaileth hath brought forth._ To that soul to which Christ\nhath come fruitfulness or bringing forth hath come also; so it was with\nthe Church, who has _brought more than she that had children_; who has\nbrought forth seven, that is, a lawful peaceful and tranquil progeny.\nNow that soul begins to conceive, and Christ to be formed in her, which\nwelcomes Him on His arrival and is so fed by His plenty that she is in\nwant of nothing, and other souls by seeing her return unto the way of\nsalvation.\n\n Sidenote: Mic. v. 5.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. viii. 37.\n\n17. _And there shall be peace to him_, but it is by temptations that\nhe must be tried; then, when he has shut out or repulsed vain thoughts,\nwhen he has subdued all the motions of his rising passions, when\ndistress and persecution and hunger and peril and the sword press\nhard upon him, will the value of his peace and tranquillity be tested.\nThen, it is said, _shall be peace_; because in all these things _we\nare conquerors through Him that loved us_, because we trust in Him that\nneither death nor the power of temptations shall cast off or separate\nus from His love. He will send temptations, that the just may be proved.\nThe Lord sends temptations, not that He wishes any man to be beguiled,\nbut because the weak are for the most part vanquished by temptation,\nwhilst the strong are proved by them.\n\n Sidenote: Mic. v. 7.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 8.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xiii. 43.\n\n Sidenote: For Mic. v. 10.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. vii. 5.\n\n Sidenote: Eph. ii. 14.\n\n18. Then there shall be to them _dew from the Lord_, and rest; then the\nsoul of the just shall be _as a young lion among the flocks of sheep_.\nI cannot doubt but that this similitude should, after the manner of\nthe Gospel, be referred to Christ, for He has said, _Then shall the\nrighteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father_.\n_his chariots shall be broken_; that is to say, the senseless impulses\nand motions of the body shall be appeased; that condition shall cease\nwherein _Without are fightings, within are fears_, and over all, that\nis, within and without, tranquillity shall prevail; nor shall there be\nany resistance or repugnance to this good will, because the obedience\nof the flesh, when _the middle wall of partition is broken down_, and\nboth are made one, shall abolish all discord.\n\n Sidenote: Mic. vi. 8.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. vii. 1.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 2.\n\n19. But if any weak soul, like Israel according to the flesh have\nstumbled, and, shaken by persecutions, have separated herself in\nsome degree from the love of Christ, she is checked and reproved as\nfaithless, and ungrateful, and unbelieving, as one who, after being\nfreed from the vanities of the world, has looked behind her and so\nrelapsed into them again; as one from whom no gifts, no sacrifice\nof bulls, but only to know what is good and to do justly, has been\nrequired. _He hath showed thee, o man, what is good; and what doth\nthe Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to have mercy, and to\nwalk humbly with thy God?_ But since the weaker soul has not kept this\ncommandment, the Lord says to her, _Woe is me, for I am as when they\nhave gathered the summer fruits, as the grape-gleanings of the vintage_.\nAnd the prophet, in whom the Lord spoke, says to that soul, _Woe is me,\nthe good man is perished out of the earth_. This is as though the Lord\nHimself spoke, in compassion for the future punishment of sin, and as\nweeping over our transgressions.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 8.\n\n20. Then the soul, learning that she will gather no fruit from what\nshe has sown; that in the loss of her harvest nothing will remain to\nstrengthen her, that she will press her olives, but will find no oil of\ngladness, nor will drink the wine of pleasantness; finding also in the\nworks of the flesh all things full of blood, full of circumvention, of\nfraud and deceit, hollow shows of affection, and pre-concerted guile;\nnay, those of her own household adverse to her; and therefore that\nthe motions of her companion the body, which are grievous enemies of\nthe soul, must be guarded against; turns to God, and begins to hope in\nHim, and knowing that the flesh is truly an enemy to her, says to it,\n_Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy, when I fall I shall arise, when\nI sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me_.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. v. 5.\n\n Sidenote: Mic. vii. 9.\n\n Sidenote: Mic. vii. 9.\n\n Sidenote: Ib.\n\n21. Finding moreover that she is mocked by some power which opposes her\nfollowing a better path, and domineers over her, so that she has been\ndelivered _for the destruction of the flesh_, to be afflicted with\nvarious evils, assigned to her either by the Lord to satisfy for her\nsins, or by the Evil One who is envious of her conversion, and desires\nto harass and regain her to himself, finding this, she says, _I will\nbear the indignation of the Lord_, Who either chastens me in my fall,\nor has given thee power to persecute me, _because I have sinned against\nHim_, but I will endure _until He plead my cause_. For unless I shall\nconfess, and pay the price of my iniquities, I cannot be justified. But\nbeing justified and having paid double for my sins, He shall _execute\njudgment for me_, laying aside His wrath, since the sentence against me\nis satisfied. _He will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold\nHis righteousness_ and gaze on His delights. Then she that is mine\nenemy, that is, the malice of the devil, shall see the light of my\nreconciliation and _shame shall cover her which saith to me, Where is\nthe Lord thy God?_ She shall behold in me His pity and His love.\n\n22. Wherefore let us not listen to him when we are in any of the\ntroubles of this world, be it bodily pain, or the loss of our children,\nor of other necessaries, let us not listen to his words, _Where is the\nLord thy God?_ It is under severe pain that his temptations are to be\nfeared, it is then that he seeks to turn the sick soul astray.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 18.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xxxii. 1.\n\n23. Wherefore the soul which has not listened to his allurements,\nseeing afterwards the wonderful works of God, seeing herself in heaven,\nand the devil creeping upon the earth, will congratulate herself saying,\n_Who is a God like unto Thee, that pardoneth iniquity and passeth by\ntransgression?_ Thou hast not been mindful of Thy indignation, but hast\ncast all our iniquities into the sea as the lead of Egypt, and hast\ngraciously returned to have pity upon us, both forgiving and hiding\nour offences, as it is written, _Blessed is he whose unrighteousness is\nforgiven, and whose sin is covered_. For some sins Thou dost wash away\nin the blood of Thy Son, others Thou dost remit unto us, that by good\nworks and confession we may cover our errors. The expression therefore\n_that pardoneth iniquities_, appertains to remission; because He takes\nthem away altogether, so that the things which He remembers not are\nas though they did not exist. But the words _passeth by transgression_,\nsignify that inasmuch as we confess our failings, and cover them\nwith the fruit of our good works, they are referred to the author of\nour fault, and the instigator of our sin. For what else does he who\nconfesses his fault do but prove himself to have been beguiled by the\ncraft and malice of that spiritual wickedness which is his adversary?\n\n24. For this therefore this soul gives thanks, that the Lord both\n_pardoneth iniquities and passeth by transgressions_, and _casts\nthem into the deep of the sea_. Which may also be referred to Baptism,\nwherein the Egyptian is drowned, the Hebrew rises again; and whereby\nby the depths of His wisdom, and the multitude of her good works her\nformer sins are covered, through the riches of the mercy of our God,\nWho is mindful of the promise which He gave to Abraham, and suffers not\nthat soul which is heir of Abraham to perish.\n\n25. It is by these means that such a soul is recovered. But do you,\nmy son, who from the first flower of boyhood have been an heir of the\nChurch which bore and which sustains you, persevere in your purpose,\nmindful of the grace of God, and of the gift which you have received\nby the imposition of my hands, that in this degree[282] also, as in the\nholy office of deacon, you may shew faith and industry, and expect a\nrecompense from the Lord Jesus.\n\nFarewell; love me as a son, for I also love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LXXI.\n\n\n S. AMBROSE in this letter continues the subject of the last,\n and, having described in that the steps by which the fallen\n soul recovers herself, here considers how the faithful soul is\n taken in charge, taught and conducted to perfection by Christ:\n and shews that the stages in the progress of such a soul are\n typified by the journies of Christ.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO HORONTIANUS.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. xi. 25.\n\n1. IN my last letter I spoke of the soul that has made in its progress\ncertain devious circuits, wavering, as Israel according to the flesh\ndid of old, to and fro. For Israel herself also, when _the fulness of\nthe Gentiles shall be come in_, shall be delivered by the grace of our\nLord Jesus Christ: the Gentile soul meanwhile, whose transgression has\nbeen lighter, having by her conversion worked her own recovery. In my\npresent letter I will treat of the daughter of the Church; and consider\nhow the Lord Jesus first took her under His care, taught her, and, in\nHis Gospel, led her on to perfection.\n\n2. Now it was as she lay in misery and confusion that He first took her\nunder His care,\u2015\u2015for how else but miserably can that soul live, which\nis exiled from Paradise?\u2015\u2015and brought her to Bethlehem. The progress\nthen, of this soul is at once signified in that it goes up to the\n\u201chouse of bread[283],\u201d where it can know no death or barrenness of\nfaith. Observe, I am now speaking of souls in general, those souls by\nwhich we live and move, not of any soul in particular; for it is not\nof the individual or species, but of souls in general that I purpose\nto discourse.\n\n3. Christ went down into Egypt, as Protector and Guide of our soul,\nfrom thence He returned into Jud\u00e6a. He was in the wilderness, in\nCapernaum; near the borders of Zabulon; by the sea coast; He passed\nthrough the corn fields; He was in Bethphage; in Ephraim; in Bethany;\nthen He passed over into the garden, where He gave Himself up; on\nCalvary, where He suffered.\n\n Sidenote: Phil. ii. 8.\n\n4. All these are the progresses of our soul, and exercised thereby\nshe receives the graces of a holy life[284]. For the human race,\nwhen excluded from Paradise in Adam and Eve, and banished to the\nvillage[285], began to roam up and down and to wander about with\ncareless steps: but in His own good time the Lord Jesus _emptied\nHimself_ that He might receive this exile into himself, and re-form\nher again to her previous state of grace. And thus, when found, she\nretraced, as the Gospel lesson teaches us, her devious course of error,\nand was recalled to Paradise.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Kings x. 22.\n\n5. He led her through the cornfields that He might satisfy her hunger,\nfirst in the desert, then to Capernaum, making her abode to be not\nin the city but in the field: next He brought her to the borders of\nZabulon, near unto the floods of night, that is, the darker riddles\nof the prophets; that she might learn thereby to reach to the borders\nof the Gentiles, that common centre, and not to fear the storms and\nbillows of this world. Why should she, seeing that Christ has ships\nof Tarshish, mystical ships I mean, which traverse the sea, and bring\npious offerings for the building of the Temple? In such ships as these\nChrist sails, and like a good pilot rests in the stern while the sea\nis calm; when it is disturbed He awakes, and rebukes the winds, that He\nmay anew shew peace on His disciples. Furthermore, by passing over to\nthe Gentiles, He delivers the soul which was bound by the chains of the\nLaw, that she may not pass over and keep company with the heathen.\n\n Sidenote: S. John xi. 54.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xii. 1.\n\n6. He came to Bethany to the \u201cplace of obedience;\u201d therefore was the\ndead there raised; for when the flesh is subdued to the spirit, human\nnature no longer lies as if dead in the tomb, but is raised again\nby the grace of Christ; there also she professes to offer herself to\n\u2018suffering\u2019[286] for the Name of God. From the place of obedience, as\nJohn tells us, He is led to Ephraim, that is, to the \u201cfecundity of good\nfruits.\u201d Hence He returns to Bethany, that is, to \u201cobedience;\u201d for she\nwho has once tasted the fruit of holy obedience is for the most part\nready to preserve it and to be proved thereby.\n\n7. And now, having been proved, she comes to Jerusalem, being made\nworthy to become the temple of God wherein Christ may dwell. Here it is\nthat the Lord Jesus, sitting upon the foal of an ass, is received with\nthe joy and congratulation of the age of innocence.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xviii. 8.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xxiii. 43.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 42.\n\n8. Afterwards are taught in the garden the words of eternal life; in\nthat place where the Lord permitted Himself to be taken, as John the\nEvangelist writes, signifying that our soul, or rather human nature,\nreleased from the bonds of error, is restored by Christ to that abode\nfrom whence in Adam she was cast. Wherefore to the thief who confessed\nHim it is said, _Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with Me\nin Paradise_. The thief had said, _Lord, remember me when Thou comest\ninto Thy kingdom_. Christ answered not concerning His kingdom, but yet\nto the purpose, _To-day thou shalt be with Me in Paradise_, that is,\nWhat has been lost must first be restored, then the increase bestowed;\nthat thus the progress may be through Paradise to the kingdom, not\nthrough the kingdom to Paradise.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xvi. 19.\n\n9. For the disciples it is reserved that they may receive an ample\nreward for their labours; and therefore to the thief He promised a\nsojourn, but deferred the kingdom. So that to him who is converted\nunder the stroke of death, and confesses the Lord Jesus, to him let\nan abode in Paradise be vouchsafed, but for him who has undergone long\ntravail, who has fought for Christ, who has won over souls and offered\nhimself for Christ, for his wages let the kingdom of God be prepared;\nand let him rejoice in the fruition of this reward. To Peter it is said,\n_I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven_; and thus,\nwhile the convert from robbery obtains rest, on him who has been proved\nin the Apostolate authority is bestowed.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. xv. 22.\n\n10. This is the Evangelical soul, the soul of the Gentiles, the\ndaughter of the Church, far better than the soul cast out of Jud\u00e6a;\nraising herself from her earthly course to the Lord Jesus and to higher\nthings by good counsels and works; received by Christ upon Golgotha.\nUpon Golgotha was the sepulchre of Adam; that Christ by His Cross might\nraise him from death. Thus where in Adam was the death of all, there in\nChrist was the resurrection of all.\n\nFarewell, my son; love me, for I also love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LXXII.\n\n\n IN this letter S. Ambrose deals with the question of the rite of\n circumcision, and explains to Constantius why it was established\n in the Old Testament and yet done away in the New. He speaks\n also of the true and spiritual circumcision which belongs to\n Christians.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO CONSTANTIUS.\n\n Sidenote: Acts xv. 10.\n\n Sidenote: S. John viii. 56.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xvii. 10.\n\n1. MANY persons have raised an important question why circumcision\nshould be enjoined as profitable by the authority of the Old Testament,\nand rejected as useless by the teaching of the New; especially since\nit was Abraham, who _saw the day_ of the Lord Jesus _and was glad_,\nwho first received the command to observe the rite of circumcision. For\nit is manifest that he directed his mind not to the literal but to the\nspiritual sense of the Divine Law, and so in the sacrifice of the lamb\nsaw the true passion of the Lord\u2019s Body.\n\n2. What then shall we consider to have been the aim of our father\nAbraham, in first instituting that which his posterity were not to\nfollow? or for what reason are the bodies of infants circumcised,\nand in their very birth subjected to dangers, and this at the Divine\ncommand, so that peril of their life ensues from a mystery of religion.\nWhat is the meaning of this? For the ground of the truth is hidden, and\neither something should have been signified by an \u2666intelligible mystery,\nor else it should have been indicated by a mystery which was not so\nfull of danger.\n\n3. And why was the sign of the Divine Testament attached to that member\nwhich is considered as less comely to sight; or with what purpose did\nthe Creator of our body Himself, in the very beginning of our race,\nchoose that His work should be wounded and stained with blood, and a\nportion of it cut off, which He, Who has disposed all things in order,\ndeemed proper to form together with the other members, as though it\nwere necessary? For this portion of our bodies is either contrary to\nnature, and then no man ought to have that which is contrary to nature,\nor it is according to nature, and that ought not to be cut off which\nwas created according to the perfection of nature; especially since\naliens from the portion of the Lord our God are wont to make this a\nchief subject of ridicule. Again as it is God\u2019s purpose, as He has\nfrequently declared, to induce as many persons as possible to the\nobservance of holy religion, how much more would they be invited,\nwere not some deterred either by the danger or reproach of this very\ncircumcision.\n\n4. To return therefore to my first purpose and follow the order I have\nproposed, it seems good to speak of the nature itself of circumcision.\nThe defence of this ought to be twofold, for so is the accusation,\nthe one brought by the Gentiles, the other by those who are considered\nas belonging to the people of God, more vigorously on the part of the\nGentiles, for they deem men marked with circumcision to be worthy even\nof scorn and disgrace. Yet their own wisest men approve of circumcision,\nso as to think it right to circumcise those whom they select to know\nand celebrate their mysteries[287].\n\n5. The Egyptians too, who apply themselves to geometry and observing\nthe courses of the stars, consider a priest who does not bear the\nmark of circumcision impious. For they believe that neither the wisdom\nof incantation, nor geometry, nor astronomy can attain their due\npower without the seal of circumcision. And therefore, in order to\nrender their operations efficacious they choose to solemnize a certain\npurification of their own by means of the secret rite of circumcision.\n\n6. And we find in ancient history that not only the Egyptians but also\nsome of the \u00c6thiopians Arabs and Ph\u0153nicians used circumcision. And in\nmaintaining this custom they think that they are maintaining one still\nto approved, for being thus initiated by means of the first fruits\nof their own body and blood, they conceive that by the consecration\nof this small portion, the snares which demons lay for our kind will\nbe defeated; and that those who attempt to injure the well-being of\nthe whole man, may find their power baffled either by the law or the\nsemblance of sacred circumcision. For I am of opinion that heretofore\nthe Prince of devils has deemed that his arts would lose their baneful\nefficacy if he were to attempt to injure one whom he found initiated\nby the seal of sacred circumcision, or one who seemed at least in this\nrespect to obey the Divine law.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xvii. 12.\n\n7. Now he who diligently considers the functions of our several members\nwill be able to judge that it was for no unmeaning purpose that as\nregards this little portion of this member the child was not only\ncircumcised but circumcised also on the eighth day; when the mother\nof the child begins to be in pure blood, having before the eighth day\nbeen considered as sitting in unclean blood. Let so much have been\nsaid in reply to those who are not joined with us in unity of faith;\non which account discussion with them, as differing from us, becomes\nmore difficult.\n\n Sidenote: 1 S. Pet. i. 18, 19.\n\n8. But to those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ we have to offer\nthe following reply, which, when we were disputing against the opinions\nof Gentiles, we were unwilling to disclose. For if we were _redeemed\nnot with corruptible silver and gold, but with the precious blood\nof our Lord Jesus Christ_, and purchased from no one but him who had\npurchased with money, and was owner of, the services of our now sinful\nrace, beyond a doubt he demanded a price for releasing from his service\nthose whom he kept in bondage. But the price of our freedom was the\nBlood of the Lord Jesus, which of necessity was to be paid to him to\nwhom we were sold by our sins.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. vi. 5 sq.\n\n9. Until, therefore, this price should have been paid for all men\nwhich by the shedding of the Lord\u2019s Blood had to be so paid for the\nabsolution of all, the blood of every man, who, by the Law and solemn\ncustom were to follow the precepts of holy religion, was required. But,\nsince one Lord Christ suffered, seeing that the ransom is now paid for\nall, there is now no longer any need that the blood of every man one\nby one should be shed by circumcision, for in the Blood of Christ the\ncircumcision of all has been solemnized, and in His Cross we are all\ncrucified together with Him, and buried in His sepulchre, and _planted\ntogether in the likeness of His death, that henceforth we should not\nserve sin: for he that is dead, is free from sin_.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xvi. 24.\n\n10. But if any one, such as Marcion and Manich\u00e6us, deem the judgment\nof God to be worthy of blame, either because He thought fit to give\ncommand concerning the observance of circumcision, or because He\npublished a law directing the effusion of blood; he must needs consider\nthe Lord Jesus also worthy of blame, Who shed not a little but much\nblood for the redemption of the world, and up to this hour commands\nus also to shed our blood for the great contest of Religion, saying,\n_If any man will follow Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross\nand follow Me_. But if in the case of a man offering his whole self out\nof piety, and cleansing himself by the effusion of much blood, such an\naccusation is not just, how can we blame the Law, for exacting a little\ndrop of blood, when we proclaim the command of the Lord Jesus for the\nshedding of much blood, and the death of the whole body?\n\n11. Nor was the very symbol and semblance of circumcision useless,\nfor the people of God, signed thereby as by a certain bodily seal, was\ndistinguished from the other nations. But the name of Christ being now\nbestowed upon them they have no need of a bodily sign, for they have\nobtained the honour of a Divine appellation. But what was there absurd\nin somewhat of pain or labour seeming to be imposed for piety\u2019s sake,\nto the intent that by such contests devotion might be better tried?\nIt is becoming also that from the very cradle of life the symbol of\nreligion should grow with our growth, and that all of a maturer age\nshould be ashamed to yield either to labour or pain when their tender\ninfancy had conquered both.\n\n12. But now Christians have no need of the light pain of circumcision,\nfor bearing about with them the Lord\u2019s Death, they at every act engrave\non their foreheads contempt of their own death, as knowing that without\nthe cross of the Lord they can have no salvation. For who would use a\nneedle to fight with when armed with stronger weapons?\n\n13. And now any one may easily perceive how easily the suggestion may\nbe refuted, that more persons might be incited to the observance of\nholy religion unless they were withheld by the fear of pain or the\nappearance of labour. For could this terrify an older person, when many\ninfants endured it without danger? Granting however that some Jewish\nchildren unable to bear the pain of circumcision and of so keen a\nstroke may have died, still this did not deter those of a robuster and\nmore advanced age, and one who thus obeyed the celestial precepts it\nonly made more praiseworthy.\n\n14. But if they imagine that this light pain was such an obstacle to\nconfession, what will they say of martyrdom? For if they choose to\nblame the pain of circumcision, they must blame also the death of\nmartyrs, by whom religion so far from being impaired has received its\nperfection. But the pain of circumcision is so much removed from being\nhurtful to faith, that faith is approved by pain, for greater is the\ngrace of faith if any one for religion\u2019s sake despise pain; and such\na one has a greater reward than he who was only willing to endure the\npain of circumcision that he might glory in the Law, and win praise of\nmen rather than of God.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. xii. 23.\n\n15. It was fitting therefore that this partial circumcision should take\nplace before His advent Who was to circumcise the whole man, and that\nthe human race should receive a partial preparation for believing in\nthat which is perfect. But if circumcision must take place, in what\nregion of the body ought it rather to fall than on that which seems\nto some less comely? _And those members of the body, which we think\nto be less honourable, upon those we bestow more abundant power; and\nour uncomely parts have abundant comeliness._ For in what member ought\nmen to be rather reminded of his blood than in that which is wont to\nminister to transgression?\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xix. 12.\n\n16. And now is the fitting time to reply to those also who say, If\nthis part of our body is according to nature it ought not to be cut\noff, but if contrary to nature, then it ought not to have been born\ntogether with it. Let these men, being so subtle, themselves answer me,\nwhether the succession of the human race, which arises by generation\nis according to nature or contrary to nature? If according to nature,\nit ought never to be interrupted, and then how can we praise the\nchastity of men, the virginity of maids, the abstinence of widows, the\ncontinence of wives? No effort then to promote this succession should\nbe suffered to lie idle. But the Author of nature Himself did not pay\nthis regard to generation, for He gave us, when living in the body, His\nown example, and exhorted His disciples to chastity, saying, _There be\neunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven\u2019s\nsake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it._\n\n17. Man being made up of body and soul, (for at present it will suffice\nto speak of these and not to mention the spirit,) he is not naturally\nthe same in both, but what is according to the nature of the body is\ncontrary to the nature of the soul, and what is according to the nature\nof the soul is contrary to the nature of the body; so that were I to\nspeak that which is according to nature in that which is seen, it will\nbe contrary to nature as regards the unseen, and what is according to\nnature in the unseen is contrary to nature as regards the seen. It is\nno incongruity therefore in the man of God, if there should be things\ncontrary to the nature of the body which are according to the nature of\nthe soul.\n\n Sidenote: S. John i. 29.\n\n18. With regard to those who say that more would have believed if\ncircumcision had not been instituted, let them receive this answer,\nthat more would have believed if there had been no martyrdom, but the\nconstancy of a few is to be preferred to the remissness of a larger\nnumber. For as many kinds of washings preceded, because that one true\nSacrament of Baptism with water and the Spirit, whereby the whole man\nis redeemed, was to follow, so also the circumcision of many was to\nprecede, because the circumcision of the Lord\u2019s Passion, which Jesus\nsuffered as the Lamb of God, that He might _take away the sins of the\nworld_, was to follow.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. iv. 16.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. vii. 22.\n\n19. My object in writing this has been to shew that it was fitting\nthat circumcision, which is outward, should precede, that now after\nthe Lord\u2019s Advent it might seem to be justly excluded. But now that\ncircumcision is necessary which is in secret, _in spirit not in the\nletter_, seeing that there are two men in one, of whom it is said,\n_Though our outward man perish_ according to the desires of error,\n_yet the inward man is renewed day by day_, and in another passage,\n_For I delight in the law of God after the inward man_; that is, our\ninward man which is made according to the image and likeness of God,\nour outward is that which is formed of clay. So again in Genesis two\ncreations of man are declared to us, and it is signified that by the\nsecond man was truly made.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. v. 28.\n\n20. As therefore there are two men, so also is his conversation\ntwo-fold; one of the inward the other of the outward man. And indeed\nmany acts of the inward man reach to the outward man, in the same way\nthat the chastity of the inward man passes into bodily chastity. He who\nis free from adultery of the heart is free from adultery of the body,\nbut it does not also follow that he who has not sinned in body should\nnot have sinned even in heart, for it is written, _Whosoever looketh\non a woman to lust after her hath already committed adultery with her\nin his heart_. For although he be not yet an adulterer in body, still\nin affection he is one. So that there is a circumcision of the inward\nman, for he who is circumcised has put off, like a foreskin, all the\nallurements of the flesh, that so he may be in the spirit, not in the\nflesh, and _by the spirit may mortify the deeds of the flesh_.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. iv. 11.\n\n Sidenote: Isa. xi. 6, 7.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke iii. 6.\n\n21. And this is that circumcision which is in secret, as Abraham\nwas first in the uncircumcision and afterwards came to be in the\ncircumcision. Thus our inward man, while it is in the flesh, is as\nit were in uncircumcision, but when he is now no longer in the flesh\nbut in the spirit, he begins to be in the circumcision not in the\nuncircumcision. And as he who is circumcised does not put off the whole\nflesh but his foreskin only, where corruption more frequently lies,\nso he who is circumcised in secret, puts off that flesh of which it\nis written, _All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as\nthe flower of the field; the grass withereth, the flower fadeth, but\nthe word of our God shall stand for ever_; and there remains the flesh\nwhich will see the salvation of God, as it is written, _And all flesh\nshall see the salvation of God_. What this flesh is cleanse your ears\nthat you may understand.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xlix. 8, 9.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. ii. 15.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. v. 17.\n\n22. Now that circumcision which is secret ought to be of such a kind as\nto bear no comparison with that which is outward. He therefore who is\na Jew in secret, is he who excels, he who is from Judah, whose _hand is\nin the neck of his enemies_, who _stooped down and couched as a lion,\nand as a lion\u2019s whelp, whom his brethren praise_. From this Judah the\nprince departs not, because his word makes princes, such as are not\novercome by worldly allurements and ensnared by the pleasures of this\nworld. And since Judah himself was born into this generation, many of\nthose who were born afterwards are preferred, that they may enjoy a\npre-eminence of virtue. Let us have therefore the circumcision which\nis in secret, and the Jew that is in secret, that is, the spiritual:\nbut he that is _spiritual_, as being a prince, _judgeth all things,\nyet he himself is judged of no man_. It was fitting therefore, that the\ncircumcision commanded by the prescript of the Law, which was partial,\nshould cease after His coming Who was to circumcise the whole man, and\nfulfil the circumcision of the Law. And who is this but He Who said _I\nam not come to destroy the Law, but to fulfil it_?\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xvii. 9. sqq.\n\n24. That the fulness of the Gentiles is come in is another reason, if\nyou will attend to it carefully, why the circumcision of the foreskin\nought to cease. For it was not upon the Gentiles but upon the seed of\nAbraham that circumcision was enjoined, for this is the first Divine\npromise, _And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep My covenant\ntherefore, thou and thy seed after in their generations. This is My\ncovenant, which ye shall keep, between Me and you and thy seed after\nthee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised, and ye shall\ncircumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the\ncovenant betwixt Me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be\ncircumcised among you, every man child in your generations. He that\nis born in thy house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is\nnot of thy seed, must needs be circumcised; and My covenant shall be\nin your flesh, for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised man\nchild whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised_ on the eighth\nday, _shall be cut off from the people; he hath broken My Covenant_.\nIt is affirmed indeed that the Hebrew text, as Aquila intimates, does\nnot contain the words \u2018on the eighth day;\u2019 but all authority does not\nrest with Aquila, who being a Jew has passed it by in the letter, and\nnot inserted, \u2018on the eighth day.\u2019\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xxi. 12.\n\n Sidenote: Lev. xvii. 1, 8.\n\n25. Meanwhile you have heard that both the eighth day and circumcision\nwere given for a sign; now a sign is an indication of a greater matter,\na symbol of a future verity; and a covenant was given to Abraham\nand his seed, to whom it was said, _In Isaac shall thy seed be_. The\ncircumcision of the Jews therefore, or of one born in his house, or\nbought with his money was permitted. But we cannot extend this to a\nforeigner or proselyte, unless they were born in the house of Abraham,\nor bought with his money, or of his seed. Again, nothing is said of\nproselytes; when it is wished to speak of them they are expressly\nmentioned, as it is written: _And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,\nSpeak unto Aaron, and unto his sons, and unto all the children of\nIsrael, and say unto them: ... Whatsoever man there be of the house of\nIsrael, or of the strangers which sojourn among you, that offereth a\nburnt-sacrifice_. When therefore they are intended to be included the\nLaw touches them; when the Divine word does not point to them, how can\nthey seem to be bound? Again, it is written, _Speak unto the sons of\nAaron_, when the priests are intended; and so as regards the Levites\nalso.\n\n26. Thus it is abundantly manifest that even according to the letter\nof the Law, although the Law be spiritual, yet that according to the\nvery letter of the Law the Gentiles could not be obliged to observe\ncircumcision, but that circumcision itself was a sign, until _the\nfulness of the Gentiles should be come in, and so all Israel be saved_\nby circumcision, not of a small portion of one member, but of the heart.\nAnd both the excuse on our parts is sufficient, and the continuance of\ncircumcision among the Jews up to this day is excluded.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. i. 23, 24.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. x. 33.\n S. Luke ix. 26.\n\n27. But as to its being imputed it as a cause of blame, now or in\npast time, by the Gentiles, I would say, first, it is not competent to\nthem to blame or deride what others who are their fellows do. Suppose\nhowever that there were cause for their ridicule, why ought this to\nmove us, when the very cross of the Lord is _a stumbling-block to the\nJews, and foolishness to the Greeks, but to us the power of God and\nthe wisdom of God_. And the Lord Himself has said, _Whosoever shall be\nashamed[288] of Me before men, of him will I also be ashamed before My\nFather Which is in heaven_; teaching us not to be disturbed by those\nthings which are laughed at by men, if we observe them in the service\nof religion.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LXXIII.\n\n\n IREN\u00c6US having enquired why the Law was ever given, seeing that\n Paul declares it to be injurious: S. Ambrose replies that it\n would have been useless, had we kept that natural law which is\n written on our hearts, and is found even in infants; but that,\n this being broken, the former became necessary, that it might\n take away all excuse by its manifestation of that sin which was\n afterwards removed by the grace of Christ.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO IREN\u00c6US.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. iv. 15.\n\n1. GREATLY, it would seem, have you been moved by the lesson from the\nApostle, having heard read to-day, _Because the Law worketh wrath; for\nwhere no law is, there is no transgression_. And therefore you have\nthought fit to ask why the Law was promulgated, if it profited nothing,\nnay rather, by working wrath and bringing in transgression, was\ninjurious.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. ii. 14.\n\n2. And indeed, according to the tenor of your question, it is certain\nthat the Law, which was given by Moses, was not necessary. For had men\nbeen able to keep the natural Law, which our God and Maker implanted\nin the breast of each, there would have been no need of the Law, which,\n_written on tables of stone_, tended rather to entangle and fetter\nthe infirmity of human nature, than to set at large and liberate it.\nNow that there is _a natural Law written in our hearts_ the Apostle\nalso teaches us, when he writes, that for the most part _the Gentiles,\nwhich have not the Law, do by nature the things contained in the Law,\nand, though they have not read the Law, have yet the works of the Law\nwritten in their hearts_.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. ii. 15.\n\n3. This law therefore is not written but innate; not acquired by\nreading, but flowing as from a natural fountain, it springs up in each\nbreast, and men\u2019s minds drink it in. This Law we ought to have kept\neven from fear of a future judgment, a witness whereof we have in our\nconscience, which shews itself in those silent thoughts we have towards\nGod, and whereby either our sin is reproved or our innocence justified.\nAnd thus that which has ever been manifest to the Lord, will be clearly\nrevealed in the day of judgment, when those secrets of the heart, which\nwere thought to be concealed, will be called into account. Now the\ndiscovery of these things, these secrets, I mean, would do no harm,\nif the natural Law still remained in the human breast; for it is holy,\nfree from craft or guile, the companion of justice, free from iniquity.\n\n4. Moreover let us interrogate the age of childhood, let us consider\nwhether any crime can be found therein, avarice, ambition, guile, rage,\nor insolence. It claims nothing for its own, assumes no honours to\nitself, never prefers itself to others, neither wishes or knows how\nto avenge itself. Its pure and simple mind cannot even comprehend the\nmeaning of insolence.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. iii. 6.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. vii. 8.\n\n Sidenote: S. John xv. 22.\n\n5. Adam broke this Law, seeking to assume to himself that which\nhe had not received, that thus he might become as it were his own\nmaker and creator, and arrogate to himself divine honour. Thus by\nhis disobedience he incurred guilt, and through arrogance fell into\ntransgression. Had he not thus violated his allegiance, but been\nobedient to the commands of heaven, he would have preserved to\nhis posterity the prerogative of nature and the innocence which he\npossessed at his birth. Wherefore as by disobedience the authority of\nthe Law of Nature was corrupted and blotted out, the written law was\nfound necessary; in order that man, having lost all, might at least\nregain a part; attaining by instruction to the knowledge of that which\nhe had received at his birth, but had subsequently lost. Moreover,\nsince the cause of his fall was pride, and pride arose from the dignity\nof innocence, it was needful that some law should be passed which\nshould subdue and subject him to God. For without the Law he was\nignorant of sin, and thus his guilt was less because he knew it not.\nWherefore also the Lord says, _If I had not come and spoken to them\nthey had not had sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin_.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. iii. 19.\n\n6. The Law then was published, first to take away all excuse lest man\nshould say, I knew not sin, because I received no rule what to avoid.\nAnd next that _all the world might become guilty[289] before God_ by\nthe confession of sin. For it made all subject; in that it was not only\ngiven to the Jews but also called the Gentiles; for proselytes from the\nGentiles were associated with them. Nor can he seem to be excepted, who\nafter being called was found wanting, for the Law also bound those whom\nshe called. And thus the fault of all worked subjection, subjection\nhumility, humility obedience. And thus as pride had drawn after it\ntransgression, so on the other hand, transgression produced obedience.\nAnd thus the written Law, which seemed superfluous, was rendered\nnecessary, redeeming sin by sin.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. v. 20.\n\n7. But again, lest anyone should be deterred, and say that an increase\nof sin was caused by the Law, and that the Law not only did not profit\nbut was even injurious, he has a consolation for his solicitude,\nbecause although _by the Law sin abounded, grace did much more abound_.\nAnd now let us consider the meaning of this.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. vii. 7.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxix. 71.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. v. 19.\n\n8. Sin abounded by the Law because _by the Law is the knowledge\nof sin_, and thus it began to be injurious to me to know that which\nthrough infirmity I could not avoid; it is good to foreknow in order\nto avoid, but if I cannot avoid, to have known was injurious. Thus\nthe effect of the Law was changed to me into its opposite, yet by the\nvery increase of sin it became useful to me, because I was humbled.\nWherefore David also said, _It is good for me that I have been humbled_.\nFor by my humiliation I have broken those bonds of that ancient\ntransgression, whereby Adam and Eve had bound the whole line of their\nposterity. Hence too the Lord came in obedience that He might loose\nthe knot of disobedience and of man\u2019s transgression. And so, as by\ndisobedience sin entered, so by obedience sin was remitted. Wherefore\nthe Apostle also says, _For as by one man\u2019s disobedience many were made\nsinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous_.\n\n9. Here is one reason the Law on the one hand was superfluous and yet\nbecame necessary. It was \u2666superfluous herein, that it would not have\nbeen needed could we have kept the natural Law, but as we kept it not,\nthe law of Moses became needful for us, to the intent that it might\nteach us obedience and loose that knot of Adam\u2019s transgression which\nhas fettered his whole posterity. Guilt indeed was increased by the\nLaw, but pride, the author of this guilt, was overthrown by it, and\nthis was profitable to me, for pride discovered the guilt, and this\nguilt brought grace.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. iii. 19.\n\n10. Hear another reason. At first Moses\u2019 Law was not needed; it\nwas introduced subsequently, and this appears to intimate that this\nintroduction was in a sense clandestine and not of an ordinary kind,\nseeing that it succeeded in the place of the natural Law. Had this\nmaintained its place, the written Law would never have entered in; but\nthe natural Law being excluded by transgression and almost blotted out\nof the human breast, pride reigned, and disobedience spread itself; and\nthen this Law succeeded, that by its written precepts it might cite us\nbefore it, and _every mouth be stopped, and all the world become guilty\nbefore God_. Now the world becomes guilty before God by the Law, in\nthat all are made amenable to its prescripts, but no man is justified\nby its works. And since by the Law comes the knowledge of sin, but not\nthe remission of guilt, the Law, which has made all sinners, would seem\nto have been injurious.\n\n Sidenote: Col. ii. 14.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. v. 20.\n\n Sidenote: S. John i. 29.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. iv. 7.\n\n11. But when the Lord Jesus came, He forgave all men that sin which\nnone could escape, and _blotted out the handwriting against us_ by\nthe shedding of His own Blood. This then is the Apostle\u2019s meaning; sin\nabounded by the Law, but grace abounded by Jesus; for after that the\nwhole world became guilty, He took away the sin of the whole world, as\nJohn bore witness, saying: _Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away\nthe sin of the world_. Wherefore let no man glory in works, for by his\nworks no man shall be justified, for he that is just hath a free gift,\nfor he is justified by the Bath. It is faith then which delivers by the\nblood of Christ, for _Blessed is the man to whom sin is remitted, and\npardon granted_.\n\nFarewell, my son; love me, for I also love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LXXIV.\n\n\n IN this letter S. Ambrose explains the meaning of S. Paul\u2019s\n expression, that \u2018the Law was our schoolmaster,\u2019 and shews how,\n while the letter of the precepts fitted the Jews, the spiritual\n sense which lay under the letter applies to Christians.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO IREN\u00c6US.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. iii. 24.\n\n Sidenote: Num. xv. 35.\n\n1. YOU have heard, my son, the lesson of to-day in the Apostle, that\n_the Law was our schoolmaster in Christ_, that we might be justified by\nfaith. And by this one text I believe that those questions are resolved,\nwhich are wont to perplex many. For there are those who say, \u2018Since God\ngave the Law to Moses, what is the reason that there are many things\nin the Law which now seem abrogated by the Gospel?\u2019 And how can the\nAuthor of the two Testaments be one and the same, when that which was\npermitted in the Law, when the Gospel came, was permitted no longer? as\nfor instance there is a circumcision of the body, which was even then\nonly given for a sign, that the verity of spiritual circumcision might\nbe preserved, yet why was it even given as a sign? Why was there such\ndiversity, that then it was esteemed piety to be circumcised, but now\nit is judged to be impiety? Again it was ordered by the Law that the\nSabbath day ought to be a holiday, so that if any one carried a bundle\nof sticks, he became guilty of death; but now we perceive that the same\nday is devoted to bearing burthens and to transacting business without\nany punishment. And there are many precepts of the Law which at the\npresent time would seem to have ceased.\n\n Sidenote: Ezek. xx. 25.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. v. 17.\n\n2. Let us consider then what is the cause of this; for it was not\nwithout a purpose that the Apostle said, _the Law was our schoolmaster\nin Christ_[290]. To whom does a schoolmaster belong, to one of riper\nyears or to a youth? Doubtless to a youth or boy, that is, to one of\ninfirm age. For a p\u00e6dagogus, as the word is rendered in the Latin,\nis the teacher of a boy; and he cannot apply perfect precepts to an\nimperfect age, because it cannot bear them. Again, the God of the Law\nsays by the Prophet, _I gave them also statutes that were not good_,\nthat is, not perfect. But the same God has preserved more perfect\nthings for the Gospel, as He says, _I am not come to destroy, but to\nfulfil the Law_.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xxxiv. 9.\n\n3. What then was the cause of this difference, but human diversity?\nHe knew the Jews to be a stiff-necked people, prone to fall, base,\ninclined to unbelief, that heard with the ear but understood not, that\nsaw with their eyes but perceived not, fickle with the instability of\ninfancy, and heedless of commands; and therefore He applied the Law, as\na Schoolmaster, to the unstable temper and impious mind of the people,\nand moderating the very precepts of the Law, He chose that one thing\nshould be read, another understood; that thus the foolish man might\nat least keep what he was reading, and depart not from the prescript\nof the letter; while the wise should understand the sentiments of the\nDivine mind, which the letter did not alter; that the unwise man might\nkeep the command of the Law, the prudent might observe the mystery. The\nLaw therefore has the severity of the sword, as the schoolmaster holds\nthe rod, that at any rate by the denunciation of punishment it may\nkeep in awe the weakness of the imperfect people; but the Gospel has\nindulgence whereby sins are forgiven.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. iii. 6.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. v. 30.\n\n4. Rightly therefore does Paul say that _the letter killeth but the\nspirit giveth life_. For the letter circumcises a small portion of the\nbody; the understanding spirit keeps the circumcision of the whole soul\nand body; that the superfluous parts being cut off, (for nothing is so\nsuperfluous as the vices of avarice, the sins of lust, which nature had\nnot, but sin caused,) chastity might be observed, and frugality loved.\nThe sign therefore is bodily circumcision, but the truth is spiritual\ncircumcision, the one cuts off the member, the other cuts off sin.\nNature has created nothing imperfect in man, nor has she commanded it\nto be taken away as if it were superfluous, but that they who cut off\na part of their body might perceive that sins were much more to be cut\noff, and those members which led to offences were to be retrenched,\neven though they were joined together by a certain unity of body, as\nit is written, _If thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it\nfrom thee, for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should\nperish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell_. To\nthe Jews then, as to children, are enjoined not complete precepts but\npartial ones, and, seeing that they were unable to keep the whole of\ntheir bodies clean, they were commanded to keep clean, as it were, one\nportion of it.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xxxi. 13.\n\n5. They were also commanded to keep the holiday of the Sabbath one\nday in the week, so as to be subjected to no burthen, and I would that\nbeing thus released from earthly works they had escaped, carrying with\nthem to that perpetual sabbath of future ages the burthen of heavy\ncrimes. But as God knew how prone to fall the people were, He enjoined\na part upon the weaker by the observance of one day, He reserved\nthe fulness for the stronger: the Synagogue observes the day, the\nChurch immortality. In the Law therefore is a part, in the Gospel is\nperfection.\n\n Sidenote: Num. xv. 33.\n\n Sidenote: S. John viii. 11.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. iii. 12, 13.\n\n6. The people of the Jews are forbidden to carry sticks, that is, such\nthings as are consumed by fire. He keeps in the shade, who flies from\nthe sun. But to you the Sun of Righteousness suffers not the shade to\nbe an hindrance, but pouring forth the full light of His grace says to\nyou, _Go, and sin no more_. The follower of that eternal Sun says to\nyou, _Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious\nstones, wood, hay, stubble; every man\u2019s work shall be made manifest,\nfor the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and\nthe fire shall try every man\u2019s work of what sort it is_. Wherefore let\nus build upon Christ, for Christ is our foundation, that which may not\nbe burnt but purified. Gold is purified by fire, and so is silver.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xii. 6.\n\n7. You hear me speak of gold and silver, you think it to be the\nmaterial substance, you desire to gather it, but you are losing your\nlabour. This gold and silver brings burthen but no fruit. The toil of\nhim who seeks it turns to the profit of his heir. This gold is burned\nlike wood, not preserved; this silver will bring detriment not profit\nto your life in that day. Another kind of gold and silver is required\nof you, that is, a good meaning, a word fitly spoken, of which God says\nthat He gives vessels of gold and silver. These are the gifts of God.\n_The words of the Lord are pure words; even as the silver which from\nthe earth is tried and purified seven times in the fire._ The grace of\nyour understanding, the beauty of chaste discourse is required of you;\nthe brightness of faith not the tinkling of silver. The one remains,\nthe other perishes; the one has reward, and we carry it away with us,\nthe other, which we leave behind, brings loss.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. iii. 14, 15.\n\n8. If any rich man thinks that the gold and silver which he has hoarded\nand stored up can avail him for life, let him know that he carries an\nempty burthen, which the fire of judgment will consume. Leave here your\nburthens, ye rich men, that your burthen may not add fuel to the fire\nwhich is to come. If you will bestow some of these goods, your burthen\nwill be diminished, and what remains will be no burthen. Lay not up\nwealth, O miser; lest you should become in mere name only a Christian,\nin work a Jew, perceiving that your burthens are a punishment to you.\nFor it has been said to you, not in the shade but in the sun, _If any\nman\u2019s work abide, he shall receive a reward, if any man\u2019s work shall be\nburned, he shall suffer loss_.\n\n Sidenote: Isa. xxxii. 20.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xxv. 4.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xix. 33.\n\n9. And therefore, as a perfect man, taught in the Law, confirmed in the\nGospel, receive the faith of both Testaments. For _Blessed is he that\nsows beside all waters, that sends forth thither the feet of the ox\nand the ass_, as we read to-day, that is, who sows upon the people who\nfollow the doctrine of both Testaments; this is that ox of the plough,\ncarrying the yoke of the Law, of which the Law says, _Thou shalt not\nmuzzle the ox, when he treadeth out the corn_; that ox which has the\nhorns of the Divine Scriptures. But the foal of the ass the Lord rides\nupon, in the Gospel, representing the people of the Gentiles.\n\n10. But I think that since the word of God is rich in meanings, we\nought also to understand that the ox has horns full of terror, the bull\nis fierce, the ass mild, and that this is fitly applied to our present\npurpose, for happy is he who observes both severity and mildness;\nthat so by the one discipline may be maintained, while by the other\ninnocence may be cherished; for too great severity is wont by means of\nterror to tempt to falsehood. God prefers being loved to being feared;\nfor the Lord exacts love, the servant fear, for terror cannot be\nperpetual in man, for it is written as we read to-day _Behold, in your\nfear, they whom ye feared, shall fear_.\n\nFarewell, my son; love me, for I too love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LXXV.\n\n\n THIS letter is a sequel to the preceding, and deals with the\n context of the passage of S. Paul which that letter discussed.\n S. Ambrose ends by maintaining that the Jews were \u2018heirs\u2019 only\n of the letter of the Old Testament promises, the Christian being\n the heir of the Spirit.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO CLEMENTIANUS[291].\n\n1. I AM indeed aware that nothing is more difficult than to treat\nproperly concerning the Apostle\u2019s meaning, for even Origen\u2019s\nexpositions of the New Testament are far inferior to his expositions\nof the Old. Yet since in my previous letter you think that I have not\nexplained amiss the reason of the Law being called a Schoolmaster; in\nwhat I say to-day too I purpose to unfold to you the actual force of\nthe Apostle\u2019s statement.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. iii. 10.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 13.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 16.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 19.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. iii. 22.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 25.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 29.\n\n2. Now the former part of his discourse declares that no man shall be\njustified by the works of the Law, but by faith, _For as many as are of\nthe works of the Law are under the curse_; but _Christ hath redeemed us\nfrom the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us_. The inheritance\ntherefore is not given by the Law but by promise. _Now to Abraham were\nthe promises made, and to his seed which is Christ._ Thus the Law _was\nadded because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the\npromise was made_; and therefore _all are concluded under sin, that the\npromise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.\nBut after that faith is come, we are no longer under the Law, that is,\nunder a schoolmaster_; and this because we are _all the sons of God_,\nand are all in Christ Jesus. Now if we are all in Christ Jesus, then\nare we _Abraham\u2019s seed, and heirs according to the promise_. And this\nis the conclusion at which the Apostle arrives.\n\n Sidenote: Heb. ix. 17.\n\n Sidenote: Jer. xii. 8.\n\n3. Still however he is met with this objection, that even the Jew might\nsay, I also, being under the Law, have an heirship, for the Law is also\ncalled the Old Testament, and where is a Testament there also is an\ninheritance. And although the Apostle himself told the Hebrews that a\ntestament is of no force, until the death of the testator happen, that\nis to say, a testament is of no strength while the testator liveth,\nbut is established by his death, yet as in Jeremiah the Lord, speaking\nof the Jews, has said, _Mine heritage is unto Me as a lion_, he would\nnot deny that they were heirs. But there are heirs without possessions,\nthere are heirs also with them; and while the testator lives those\nwhose names are written in the will are called heirs, though without\npossessions.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. iv. 1.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 3.\n\n4. Little children are also heirs, but they _differ in nothing from\na servant, in that they are still under tutors and governors. Even\nso we were in bondage under the elements of the world. But, when the\nfulness of the time was come_, Christ also came, and now we are no\nlonger servants but sons, if we believe in Christ. Thus He gave them\nthe semblance of an inheritance, but withheld from them the possession\nof it. Thus they have the name but not the benefit of being heirs,\nfor like children they possess the bare name of heirship without its\nprivileges, and have no right either to command or to use, waiting\nfor the fulness of their age that they may be delivered from their\ngovernors.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xxiii. 10.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. iii. 17.\n\n5. As then young children, so the Jews also, are under a schoolmaster.\n_The Law is our schoolmaster_, the schoolmaster brings us to our Master;\nand our One Master is Christ: _Neither be ye called masters, for one is\nyour Master, even Christ_. The schoolmaster is feared, the Master shews\nthe way of salvation. Thus fear brings us to liberty, liberty to faith,\nfaith to love; love obtains adoption, adoption the inheritance. Where\nthen faith is there is liberty; for the servant acts from fear, the\nfree-man by faith; the one by the letter, the other by grace; the one\nin slavery the other by the Spirit; but _where the Spirit of the Lord\nis, there is liberty_. If then where faith is, there is liberty; where\nliberty there grace, where grace there inheritance; and he that is a\nJew in the letter not in spirit is in bondage, he who hath not faith\nhath not the liberty of the spirit. Now where there is no liberty there\nis no grace, where no grace no adoption, where no adoption there no\nsuccession.\n\n Sidenote: 1 S. Pet. i. 18, 19.\n\n Sidenote: Isa. liii. 7.\n\n Sidenote: S. John i. 29.\n\n6. Thus, the tablets being, as it were, closed, he beholds[292] his\ninheritance but possesses it not, he has no permission to read it. For\nhow can he say \u2018Our Father\u2019 who denies the true Son of God, Him by Whom\nour adoptive sonship is obtained for us? How can he rehearse the will\nwho denies the death of the testator? How can he obtain liberty, who\ndenies the Blood whereby he has been redeemed? For this is the price of\nour liberty, as Peter says, _ye were redeemed with the precious Blood_,\nnot indeed of a lamb, but of Him Who came as a lamb, in meekness and\nhumility, and redeemed the whole world with the one offering of His\nBody, as He himself says, _I was brought as a lamb to the slaughter_.\nWherefore John also says, _Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away\nthe sin of the world_.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. iv. 4.\n\n Sidenote: Eph. iv. 13.\n\n7. Hence the Jew, being heir in the letter not in the spirit is as a\nchild under tutors and governours; but the Christian, who recognizes\nthat fulness of time wherein Christ came, _made of a woman, made\nunder the Law, that He might redeem all who were under the Law_; the\nChristian, I say, _by unity of faith and knowledge of the\nSon of God grows up unto a perfect man: unto the measure of the stature\nof the fulness of Christ_.\n\nFarewell, my son; love me, for I also love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LXXVI.\n\n\n AT Iren\u00e6us\u2019 request S. Ambrose points out the scope of the\n Epistle to the Ephesians. Therein is proposed to us a heavenly\n inheritance, a seat in heavenly places together with Christ,\n Who has obtained freedom for us. It sets forth to us charity,\n whereby we are united to Christ, as the end of faith. He adds\n that no other Epistle contains the mention of so many blessings,\n and he briefly recounts these one by one.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO IREN\u00c6US, GREETING.\n\n1. YOU have asked me to set forth to you the scope and substance of\nthe Epistle to the Ephesians, an Epistle which seems somewhat obscure,\nunless by analyzing it we can gather what those motives are by which\nthe Apostle would persuade us not to despair of the kingdom of God.\n\n2. In the first place then he points out that the hope of reward and\nthe inheritance of those heavenly promises which have been brought\nwithin our reach by the Passion and Resurrection of Christ, are wont to\nbe a great encouragement to the good in the pursuit of virtue.\n\n Sidenote: Eph. iv. 15.\n\n3. To this he has added that not only has a mode of return to Paradise\nbeen opened to us by Christ, but that even the honour of sitting in\nheavenly places has been imparted to this flesh of our body by its\nfellowship with the Body of Christ; so that you need no longer doubt\nthe possibility of your own ascension, now that you know that your\nfellowship with the flesh of Christ subsists even in the kingdom of\nheaven, knowing also that by His Blood reconciliation has been made\nfor all things, both on earth and in heaven, for He descended that He\nmight fill all things: and, further, that by His Apostles, prophets,\nand priests, the whole world has been established, and the Gentiles\ngathered in; and that the end of our hope is the love of Him, that we\nmay _grow up into Him in all things_; for He is the Head of all things,\nand unto Him according to the measure of His working we are all raised\nand built up by charity into one body.\n\n Sidenote: Eph. i. 5.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. ii. 24.\n\n Sidenote: Eph. v. 31, 32.\n\n4. We ought not therefore to despair of the members adhering to their\nHead; especially since from the beginning we have _been predestinated\nby Jesus Christ to adoption as children of God in Himself_: which\npredestination He has ratified, instructing us that the prediction\nmade from the first, that _a man shall leave his father and mother, and\nshall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh_, is _a\nsacrament of Christ and the Church_. If therefore the union of Adam and\nEve is _a great sacrament which relates to Christ and the Church_, it\nis certain that as Eve was bone of the bones of her husband, and flesh\nof his flesh, so we are members of the Body of Christ, bone of His\nBones and flesh of His Flesh.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. i. 3, 5, 9.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 10.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. vi. 12.\n\n5. No other Epistle has pronounced so many blessings over the people\nof God as this. For herein the pregnant witness of Divine grace has\ndeclared that we are _blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly\nplaces_, and _predestinated unto the adoption of children_, richly\nendowed also with grace in the Son of God, _which things have abounded\nunto the knowledge of the mystery of His eternal will_. Especially now,\nin the fulness of time, when _all things are reconciled in Christ, both\nin heaven and on earth_, have we attained an inheritance in Him, to\nthe intent that both what is of the Law and what is of Grace might be\nfulfilled in us. For even according to the Law we seemed to be elected\nin that season of youth, by which is signified a holy life, without\neither the wantonness of childhood or the infirmity of age. We have\nbeen taught also how we must vigorously _wage war not only against\nflesh and blood, but also against spiritual wickedness in high places_.\n\n Sidenote: Acts i. 26.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. lxviii. 13.\n\n Sidenote: Num. xxvii. 1.\n\n6. Wherefore as the possession of lands taken from the enemy fell to\ntheir lot, so to us has fallen the lot of grace, that we may become\nthe heritage of God, Who possesses our reins, the seat of chastity and\ntemperance. Do you seek to know this lot? Remember that lot which fell\nupon Matthias, that he might be chosen into the number of the twelve\nApostles. The Prophet David also says, _If ye sleep in the midst of\nthe lots_, because he who is placed in the middle, between the lot\nof the Old and New Testament, resting upon both, arrives at the peace\nof the heavenly kingdom. This lot of their paternal inheritance the\ndaughters of Zelophehad sought for, and their petition was admitted\nby God\u2019s judgment. But they sought for it in the shade, for Zelophehad\nmeans \u2018the shade of the mouth;\u2019 they sought it then in dark sayings,\nthey spoke not what was revealed. Hence the supplication for their\ninheritance by the daughters of Zelophehad was couched in dark sayings,\nbut in our case it stands in the light of the Gospel and in the\nrevelation of grace.\n\n Sidenote: Eph. ii. 4.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 6.\n\n7. Let us therefore be the possession of God, and let Him be our\nportion, for in Him are the riches of His glory and inheritance. For\nwho is rich but God alone, Who created all things? Especially however\nis He _rich in mercy_, in that He redeemed all mankind, and, as being\nthe author of nature, changed us, who according to our fleshly nature\nwere the children of wrath, and exposed to trouble, that we might\nbecome the children of peace and charity. For who can change nature\nbut He Who created nature? Wherefore He raised the dead, and those that\nwere _quickened in Christ He hath made to sit in heavenly places in the\nLord Jesus_.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cx. 1.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xxvi. 64.\n\n8. Not that any man has been thought worthy of the privilege of\nsitting in that seat of God, for to the Son alone hath the Father said,\n_Sit thou on my right hand_; but because in that Flesh of Christ the\nflesh of the whole human race has been honoured, because it partakes\nof the same nature. For as He was subjected in our flesh by His unity\ntherewith, and by the obedience of the body, wherein He was made\nobedient even unto death, so we, in His Flesh, are _sat down together\nwith Him in heavenly places_. We therefore are not set down by\nourselves but in the Person of Christ, Who alone, as the Son of man,\nsitteth at the right Hand of God; as He said Himself, _Hereafter shall\nye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of God_. To this end\nhas His Grace and Goodness been formed upon us in Christ Jesus, that\nbeing dead according to works, redeemed through faith and saved by\ngrace, we might receive the gift of this great deliverance. Our very\nnature, raised, as it were, in Him, has been made partaker of the Grace\nof a new creation, that being new created in Christ, we, who had before\nfallen away through the corruption of our guilty lineage, might walk in\ngood works.\n\n Sidenote: Eph. ii. 14.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 15.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 18.\n\n9. For the strife which before existed in the flesh being removed, an\nuniversal peace has been made in heaven; that men might be like Angels\nupon earth, that the Gentiles and Jews might be made one, that both the\nnew and old man might be united, the middle wall of partition, which,\nas a hostile barrier, had once divided them, being broken down. For\nthe nature of our flesh having stirred up anger discord and dissension,\nand the law having bound us with the chains of condemnation, Christ\nJesus subdued by mortification the wantonness and intemperance of the\nflesh, and made void _the law of commandment contained in ordinances_,\ndeclaring thereby that the decrees of the spiritual Law are not to be\ninterpreted according to the letter; putting an end to the slothful\nrest of the Sabbath and to the superfluous rite of outward circumcision,\nand opening to all _access by one Spirit unto the Father_. For how\ncan there be any discord, where there is one calling, one body and\none spirit?\n\n Sidenote: Ib. iv. 10.\n\n10. For what else did the Lord Jesus effect by His descent but our\ndeliverance from captivity into liberty, and the subjection to Himself\nof that captivity which the bonds of unbelief had fettered, but which\nis now restrained by the fetters of wisdom, every wise man putting his\nfeet into its bonds? For it is written that when He had descended He\nascended also, _that He might fill all things_, and that we might all\nreceive of His fulness.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 11.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 13.\n\n11. Wherefore _He gave first Apostles_ in the Church, filling them with\nthe Holy Spirit, others _prophets, others evangelists, others pastors\nand teachers_, that by their exhortations the progress of believers\nmight be accomplished, and the work of the ministry of faith might\nreceive increase. Every one by the growth of virtue is built up unto\nthe measure of the inward life, which _measure_, being that more\nperfect one of a holy life, that is, _of a perfect man_, taking of the\nfulness of Christ, has received the fulness of grace.\n\n Sidenote: Eph. iv. 16.\n\n12. But who is a perfect man, but he who, being delivered from the\nweakness of a childish mind, from the unstable and slippery ways of\nyouth, and from the unbridled passions of adult age, has attained to\nthe strength of full manhood, and has grown up unto such maturity of\ncharacter as not to be easily turned aside by the address of a wily\ndisputer, nor cast, as it were, upon the rocks by the turbid violence\nof foolish doctrine? Who but he that betakes himself to the remedies of\nerror, who follows truth not only in his words but also in his works,\nand, takes upon him the edifying of himself in love, that he may be\nunited with others in the unity of faith and knowledge, and, as a\nmember, not fall off from his Head, that is, from Christ, Who is the\nHead of all, _from whom the whole body_ of the faithful and prudent\n_fitted and compacted and joined together by the rational harmony of\nthe Word_ (for this is the meaning of \u03c3\u03c5\u03bd\u03b1\u03c1\u03bc\u03bf\u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03bf\u03cd\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd, \u1f01\u03c1\u03bc\u03bf\u03bd\u03af\u1fb3 \u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6\n\u039b\u03cc\u03b3\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b4\u03b5\u03b4\u03b5\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd[293],) _by that which every joint supplieth, according\nto the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the\nedifying itself in love_; that so it may rise as one temple of God in\nall, and one habitation of the heavenly mansion in the spirit of all.\n\n13. Herein I conceive we are to understand that not only holy men but\nall believers, and all the heavenly and reasonable hosts and powers\nare united in faith and spirit; that by a certain concord of powers\nand offices one body, composed of all spirits of a reasonable nature,\nmay adhere to Christ their Head, being so united to the framework of\nthe building, that in no single point of juncture the several members\nmay seem to be severed from each other. For this is the meaning of the\nGreek \u1f01\u03c6\u1f74\u03bd \u03c4\u1fc6\u03c2 \u03c7\u03bf\u03c1\u03b7\u03b3\u03af\u03b1\u03c2 \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u1fbd \u1f10\u03bd\u03ad\u03c1\u03b3\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd \u1f10\u03bd \u03bc\u03ad\u03c4\u03c1\u1ff3. And to unite each one\nto Himself according to the due measure of his merits and faith will\nnot be difficult: for the edifice of love closes and blocks up every\ncrevice through which offences may enter. We ought not then to doubt\nthat in the building up of this temple the company of the heavenly\nhosts will be united with us; for it is unreasonable to suppose that\nwhile the Temple of God can be so built up by human love as that we\nshall become _an habitation of God in the Spirit_, He should not dwell\nwithin the heavenly Host.\n\n Sidenote: Eph. i. 18.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. iv. 22.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 26.\n\n Sidenote: S. John xiii. 27.\n\n Sidenote: Eph. v. 24.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 25.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. vi. 13.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 12.\n\n14. On this account, that the building may be raised within us more\nrapidly, the Apostle exhorts us _to open the eyes of our understanding_,\nto lift them to things above, diligently to follow after the knowledge\nof God, to unravel the truth, to hide in our hearts the commandments of\nGod, _to put off deceitful lusts_ and hidden deeds of shame, to seek to\nbe renewed by the graces of the Sacraments, to moderate anger, to calm\nall disturbance of spirit before the sun goes down, to beware lest the\nadversary gain the upper hand of us, that mighty spirit who entered\ninto the heart of Judas, and broke through the gates of his soul,\noverpowering his resistance, to shut out theft, to eschew falsehood,\nto rise from the dead, to put on sobriety. He tells us likewise that\nwives should be subject to their husbands, as the Church is to Christ,\nand that husbands should offer up their own lives for their wives, _as\nChrist gave Himself for the Church_. And lastly, that, as good soldiers,\nwe should _put on the armour of God_, and continually fight, not only\nagainst _flesh and blood, but also against spiritual wickedness_; that\nwe may neither be corrupted by friends nor vanquished by enemies.\n\nThis summary account of the Epistle I offer you as the best which I\nhave in my power to give.\n\nFarewell, my son; love me, for I also love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LXXVII.\n\n\n THIS letter dwells on the Gospel, as the true Inheritance, and\n on the contrast between the Jew, who by rejecting Christ made\n Moses in whom he believed his accuser, and the Christian, who\n received true liberty in Christ, while the Jew remained a slave.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO HORONTIANUS.\n\n1. NOT without reason have you thought fit to enquire into the nature\nof the Divine inheritance; and why it should be so highly esteemed that\nfor its sake many should even offer up their lives. But if you will\nconsider that even in human affairs the advantage of inheriting worldly\ngoods gives an additional sanction to the laws of natural affection,\nand that even on this account greater respect is shown to parents, for\nfear, namely, lest the slighted love of a father may avenge itself by\ndisinheriting or renouncing the rebellious offspring, you will cease to\nwonder why men so greatly desire a Divine inheritance.\n\n Sidenote: Isa. liv. 17.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xxi. 10.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. iv. 24.\n\n2. Now there is an inheritance offered to all Christians; for Isaiah\nthus speaks, _There is an heritage for them that believe on the Lord_,\nand this inheritance is hoped for by the promise, not by the Law. This\nthe history of the Old Testament proves, in the words of Sarah, _Cast\nout this bond-woman and her son, for the son of the bond-woman shall\nnot be heir with my son, even with Isaac_. The son of Sarah was Isaac,\nthe son of the bond-woman was Ishmael; and these were before the Law,\nwherefore the promise was older than the Law. We are after Isaac sons\nby the promise, the Jews are the sons of the bond-woman after the flesh.\nWe have a free mother, which bore not, but afterwards, according to the\npromise, brought forth and produced a child; they have Agar for their\nmother, _gendering to bondage_. He is free, to whom grace is promised,\nhe is a slave on whom the yoke of the Law is imposed, wherefore the\npromise came to us before the Law came to them, and in the course of\nnature liberty is more ancient than bondage. Liberty therefore comes\nof the promise, bondage of the Law. But although the promise itself,\nas we have said, is before the Law, and by the promise comes liberty,\nand in liberty is love, still love is according to the Law, and love\nis greater than liberty.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxxxiv. 1.\n\n Sidenote: Eph. vi. 6.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. vii. 22.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. v. 1.\n\n3. Are we not then servants? and is it not written, _praise the Lord,\nall ye servants_, or how does the Apostle say, _But as the servants of\nGod, doing the will of God from his heart_? But there is also a free\nand voluntary service, whereof the Apostle says, _He that is called,\nbeing free, is Christ\u2019s servant_. And this service is from the heart,\nnot of necessity. Wherefore we are the servants of our Creator; but\nwe have a liberty which we have received through the grace of Christ,\nborn of the promise according to faith. Wherefore, being born of the\nfreedwoman, let us, signed in the forehead, offer the sacrifice of\nliberty as becomes freemen; that we may rejoice and not be confounded,\nbeing signed in the spirit and not in the flesh. For to us it is\nrightly said, _Stand fast, and be not entangled again with the yoke\nof bondage_. He does not say, Be not slaves, but _Be not entangled\nwith the yoke of bondage_, for the yoke of bondage is heavier than the\nbondage itself.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xxvii. 39, 40.\n\n4. Isaac also says to his son Esau, when he sought his blessing,\n_Behold thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew\nof heaven from above; and by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve\nthy brother. But the time shall come when thou shalt have the dominion\nand shalt break his yoke from off thy neck._ How then is this to be\nreconciled, that although he shall break his brother\u2019s yoke from off\nhis neck he shall still serve, unless we recognize the difference that\nthere is in servitude? Now in what this difference consists, let the\nScripture itself explain to us. Isaac signifies good, and he is good\nto us, for after him we are born into liberty, and he is a good father\nto both his sons. His love for them both he proved, in the one case by\naffection, in the other by blessing, for he commanded his elder son to\nbring him food, that he might receive his blessing; but while he makes\ndelay and seeks for wild venison from a distance, the younger brother\nbrings him home-food, from the sheep of the flock.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. iii. 10.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xxx. 14.\n Rom. x. 8.\n\n5. Good food for all is Christ, good food too is faith, sweet food is\nmercy, pleasant food is faith. These are the meats whereon are fed the\npeople of holy Church. Good food too is the Spirit of God, good food\nis the remission of sins. But very hard food is the rigour of the Law,\nand the terror of punishment; and very coarse food is that observance\nof the letter which is preferred to the grace of pardon. The Jews again\nare under a curse, we included in a blessing. A ready food too is faith:\n_The word is nigh thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart_: the food of the\nLaw is more tardy. For while waiting for the Law the people fell into\ntransgression.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xxvii. 40.\n\n Sidenote: Ib.\n\n6. Thus it was on the son who was diligent and faithful that the father\nbestowed his blessing, but he reserved one, for he was a good father,\nfor his elder son also, in that he made him servant to his brother.\nFor he did this, not as wishing to subject his family to any unworthy\nbondage, but because he who cannot rule and govern himself ought to\nserve and be subject to one more prudent; that so he may be governed\nby his counsel, and not fall through his own folly, nor stumble from\nwalking rashly. It is as a blessing then that such a state of service\nis given. Moreover it is numbered among blessings, together with the\ngift of the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above.\nHaving said, _By thy sword thou shalt live_, lest he should be harmed\nby the confidence arising from strength or power, he added, _and thou\nshalt serve thy brother_: that thou mayest thus obtain both the rich\nfruits of the flesh, and the dew of Divine grace, and mayest follow him\nwho is able to direct and govern thee.\n\n Sidenote: Ib.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. ix. 17.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. v. 13.\n\n Sidenote: Ecclus. i. 14.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. v. 14.\n Rom. xiii. 8.\n\n7. _But it shall come to pass, when thou shalt have broken his yoke\nfrom off thy neck_, that thou shalt have the reward of thy willing\nservitude, and not undergo the evils of a compulsory bondage. For that\nkind of bondage is dishonourable which is the result of necessity, that\nis honourable which is offered by piety. Hence the Apostle says, _For\nif I do this thing willingly, I have a reward, but if against my will,\na dispensation is committed unto me_. Better then is it to reap a\nreward, than to obey a dispensation. Wherefore let us not be restrained\nby the yoke of bondage, but let us serve in the spirit of charity,\nfor the Apostle says, _By love serve one another_. The fear of the\nLaw becomes the love of the Gospel. Again, _To fear the Lord is the\nbeginning of wisdom_, but the fulness of the Law is charity. And the\nLaw itself says, _For all the Law is fulfilled in one word, even in\nthis, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself_.\n\n8. This therefore is what we asserted, for although bondage is by the\nLaw, liberty is by the Law also, for charity belongs to liberty, fear\nto bondage. There is therefore both a charity of the Law, and a service\nof charity, but the Law is the forerunner of charity, the charity of\nthe Gospel is the free giver of a pious service.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. iii. 24.\n\n Sidenote: Wisd. iv. 9.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. iii. 23.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. i. 17.\n\n9. The Law then is not superfluous; for like a schoolmaster, it attends\nupon the weak; and by weakness I mean weakness of character not of body;\nfor they are infants who know not how to declare the word of God, who\nreceive not His works. For if _an unspotted life is old age_, a life\nfull of stains is the time of youth. The Law then, that is, \u039d\u03cc\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2, was\nour schoolmaster, until faith came. _We were kept_, it is said, _under\nthe Law, as being weak, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards\nbe revealed_. But afterwards faith came; he does not say the Gospel,\nbut faith, for that only is faith which is in the Gospel. For although\nthe _righteousness of God is revealed therein_ which is _from faith to\nfaith_, still this of the Law is faith indeed when it attains to the\nfulness thereof. Rightly therefore is this faith spoken of as single\nand alone; because without it the former is not faith, and in it alone\nit has its confirmation. Finally, when this faith came, fulness and\nthe adoption of sons came with it, infirmity ceased, infancy was at an\nend, we grew into a perfect man, we put on Christ. How then can any one\nbe weak or childish, in whom Christ is the power of God? Thus we have\narrived at perfection, and have been instructed in its precepts.\n\n Sidenote: S. John v. 30.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 45.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 31.\n\n10. You heard read to-day, _Of Mine own Self I can do nothing, as\nI hear, I judge_. You heard read, _I accuse you not, I judge not_.\nI accuse you not, _it is Moses that accuseth you, in whom ye trust_.\nYou heard read, _If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true_.\nThus I have learnt what kind of judge, what kind of witness I ought\nto be. For it is not as being weak that He says, _Of Mine own self I\ncan do nothing_, he rather is weak who so understands it. The Father\ndoes nothing without the Son, for between them there is a community\nof operation and an unity of power; but in this place He speaks as\nJudge, that we men may learn that, when we judge, we ought to form our\nsentence equitably and not according to our mere will and power.\n\n11. When a criminal is set before him proved guilty and convicted of\ncrime, who does not frame for himself pleas of defence, but prays for\npardon, and prostrates himself at the knees of his judge, the judge\nanswers him, Of myself I can do nothing, it is my justice not my power\nwhich I exercise in judgment. It is not I but your own deeds that judge\nyou, they accuse, and they condemn you. The Laws are your tribunal,\nand I as judge do not alter but keep the Laws. Of myself I originate\nnothing, but the judicial sentence against you proceeds from yourself.\nI judge as I hear, not as I will, and my judgment is true because I\nconsult what is agreeable to equity not to my own will.\n\n Sidenote: S. John v. 30.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xix. 10.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. v. 30.\n\n Sidenote: Prov. xxvii. 2.\n\n12. Let us next consider what is the Divine rule of judgment. The Lord\nof heaven and earth and the Judge of all says, _of Mine own self I can\ndo nothing, as I hear I judge_; and man says to his Lord, _Knowest Thou\nnot that I have power to crucify Thee, and have power to release Thee?_\nBut why is not the Lord able? Because, He says, _My judgment is just,\nbecause I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father Who hath\nsent Me_, that is, not the will of man, whom ye see, not the will\nof man, whom ye only judge as man, not the will of the flesh, (for\n_the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak_,) but the Divine will,\nwhich is the Origin of law, and the Rule of judgment. So likewise that\nwitness is true, who bears witness not to himself but to another, for\nit is written, _Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth_.\n\n Sidenote: Ezek. xviii. 23.\n\n13. In a mystical sense it is well said to the Jews: I judge you not,\nthat is, I, the universal Saviour, I, who am the Remission of sins,\njudge you not, for ye have not received Me. I judge you not, I freely\npardon you. I, who by My Blood redeem sinners, judge you not. I judge\nyou not, for I would not the death but the life of a sinner. I judge\nyou not, for I condemn not but justify those who confess their sins.\nMoses accuses you, he in whom you trust convicts you. He can accuse\nyou, he cannot judge you, this is reserved to his Creator. He then in\nwhom ye trust accuses you, He in Whom ye would not trust absolves you.\n\n14. O great folly of the Jews! Rightly are they accused of their\ncrimes, for they have chosen one who accuses them, and have rejected\na merciful Judge; and therefore they are without absolution, but not\nwithout punishment.\n\n Sidenote: Hab. ii. 4.\n Rom. i. 17.\n\n15. Well therefore, my son, have you begun by the Law, and been\nconfirmed in the Gospel, _from faith to faith, as it is written, The\njust shall live by faith_.\n\nFarewell; love me for I also love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LXXVIII.\n\n\n IN this letter S. Ambrose shews, that we, like Abraham, are\n justified by faith, through which we are sons of the freewoman;\n that circumcision derived all its efficacy from Christ, and was\n abolished, after He had undergone it in His own person, by Him.\n Righteousness is therefore only to be looked for from faith,\n which if it be perfect, is never destitute of charity.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO HORONTIANUS.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. iii. 6.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. iv. 22.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. iii. 24.\n\n1. IF _Abraham believed God, and it was accounted unto him for\nrighteousness_, and that which is accounted for righteousness passes\nfrom unbelief to faith, then are we justified by faith, not by the\nworks of the Law. Now Abraham himself had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac,\none of the bondwoman, the other of the freewoman; and it was told him\nthat he should cast out the bondwoman and the son of the bondwoman, for\nthat the son of the bondwoman should not be his heir. We therefore are\nchildren not of the bondwoman but of the free woman, in that liberty\nwherewith Christ has made us free. Hence it follows that they are\nspecially Abraham\u2019s sons, who are so by faith, for the heirs of faith\nexcel heirs by natural birth. The Law is our schoolmaster, faith is\nfree; let us therefore cast away the works of bondage, let us preserve\nthe grace of liberty, let us leave the shade, and follow the Sun, let\nus desert Jewish rites.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. v. 2.\n\n2. The circumcision of one member is of no avail. For the Apostle says,\n_Behold I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised Christ shall\nprofit you nothing_, not because He cannot, but because He judges those\nunworthy of His benefits who desert His ways.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. iv. 25.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. xiii. 10.\n\n3. And Zipporah of old had circumcised her child, and driven off the\ndanger which hung over him; but then Christ profited while perfection\nwas still deferred. While the people of believers were small, the\nLord Jesus came, not as small, but as perfect in all things. He was\ncircumcised first, according to the Law, that He might not break the\nLaw, afterwards by the Cross, that He might fulfil the Law. Thus that\nwhich is in part has ceased, because _that which is perfect has come_;\nfor in Christ the Cross has \u2666circumcised not one member only, but the\nsuperfluous pleasures of the whole body.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. v. 21.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. iii. 13.\n\n4. But perhaps it may still be asked why He Who had come to declare\nto us perfect circumcision should choose to be circumcised in part.\nConcerning this however we need not deliberate long. For if He was made\nsin that He might expiate our sins, if He was made a curse for us that\nHe might annul the curses of the Law, for the same reason He was also\ncircumcised for us, that being about to bestow salvation by the Cross,\nHe might abolish the circumcision of the Law.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. v. 13.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 6.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. vi. 5.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. xiii. 7.\n\n5. The Apostle therefore declares that it is from faith that our\nhope of righteousness in the spirit is to be derived, and that though\ncalled to liberty we are not _to use our liberty for an occasion to the\nflesh. For neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision;\nbut faith which worketh by love._ And therefore it is written, _Thou\nshalt love the Lord thy God_. Now he who loves also believes, and in\nbelieving each man begins to love. Abraham believed, and so began to\nlove, and he believed not in part, but entirely. For otherwise he would\nnot have perfect charity, for it is written, _Charity believeth all\nthings_. If it believe not all things, charity does not seem to be\nperfect. Perfect charity then has all faith.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 2.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 13.\n\n6. But I would not lightly assert that all faith has immediately\nperfect charity, for the Apostle says, _Though I have all faith, so\nthat I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing_.\nA Christian man has three principal virtues, _faith hope and charity,\nbut the greatest of these is charity_.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 2.\n\n Sidenote: 1 S. John v. 1.\n\n Sidenote: 1 S. John iii. 9.\n\n Sidenote: 1 S. Pet. iv. 8.\n\n7. On the other hand I conceive the Apostle was led to say this by\nthe tenor of his argument, for I cannot see how _he who has all faith,\nso that he could remove mountains_, can be destitute of charity; nor\nhow such can be the case with that man who _understands all mysteries\nand all knowledge_; especially as John says, _Whosoever believeth that\nJesus is the Christ is born of God_, and the same Apostle had said\nbefore, _Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin_. Whence we infer\nthat if he who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and\nhe who is born of God sins not, then he who believes that Jesus is\nthe Christ sins not. But if any man sin, he believes not, and he that\nbelieves not loves not, and he that loves not is subject to sin. So\nthen he who sins loves not, _for charity shall cover the multitude of\nsins_. But if charity exclude the desire of sin, it excludes also fear,\ncharity then is full of perfect faith.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xvii. 5.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xiv. 31.\n\n8. The Apostles too, who came to be His friends, said, _Increase our\nfaith_, begging the good Physician to strengthen their failing faith.\nTheir faith must indeed still have been weak, when even to Peter it\ncould be said, _O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?_\nThus faith as the herald of charity preoccupies the mind, and prepares\nthe ways of coming love. Thus where is the perfection of charity there\nis also all faith.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. xiii. 7.\n\n9. For this reason I conceive it is said that _charity believeth all\nthings_, that is, leads faith to believe them all, and that a soul of\nthis kind possesses all faith; and hence wherever is perfect charity\nthere is all faith. Moreover, as it believes all things so also it\nis said to _hope all things_. And it is on this account the greatest,\nbecause it includes the other two.\n\n Sidenote: 1 S. John iv. 18.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. xiii. 7.\n\n Sidenote: Gal. vi. 14.\n\n10. He that has this charity fears nothing, for charity _casteth out\nfear_; and fear being thus banished and thrown aside, charity _beareth\nall things, endureth all things_. He who by charity endures all things,\ncannot fear martyrdom; and so in another place he speaks as a conqueror\nat the end of his course, _The world is crucified unto me, and I unto\nthe world_.\n\nFarewell, my son; love me for I also love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LXXIX.\n\n\n S. AMBROSE here assures Bellicius, whose recovery from sickness\n had occurred just at the time when he professed himself a\n believer in Christ, that both his sickness and recovery were\n to be ascribed to his so doing, and exhorts him to endeavour to\n keep Christ near him, and to prepare himself with all diligence\n for the other Sacraments.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO BELLICIUS, GREETING.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xxxii. 39.\n\n1. YOU have sent me word that while you were lying afflicted by\na severe sickness you believed in the Lord Jesus, and straightway\nbegan to recover. This sickness therefore was unto salvation, bringing\ngreater pain than danger, for you had long deferred your promise.\nThis is the meaning of the text, _I wound, and I heal_. He wounded by\nsickness, He healed by faith. For He saw that the inward affection of\nyour mind was not without pious desires, but that they were shaken and\nunsettled by delays, and so He thought fit to admonish you, in a way\nwhich while it did not injure your health, excited your devotion.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. viii. 7.\n\n2. For how should He do an injury to health Who is wont to say, as\nwe read in the Gospel, _I will come and heal him_. Being invited\nby your friends to visit your house He doubtless said, _I will come\nand heal him_; Although you heard Him not, He, as God, spoke to you\nimperceptibly, and although you saw Him not, still beyond doubt He\nvisited you in spirit.\n\n Sidenote: Acts xvii. 28.\n\n3. But in truth you have seen Him, for you have believed in Him, you\nhave seen Him, for you have received Him into the dwelling of your mind,\nyou have seen Him in the Spirit, you have seen Him with your inward\neyes. Take care then not to let this new Guest depart, long expected,\nlate received, even Him _in Whom we live and move and have our being_.\nYou have tasted the first beginnings of faith, let not the word be\nhidden in your heart. Herein lies all grace and every gift. For no man\njudges of the secret recesses of a house by its entrance, since all\nthe fruit is within; nor is it the part of a wise man to look from the\nwindow into the house, and it is folly for a man to listen at the door.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. ii. 9.\n\n Sidenote: 1 S. Pet. i. 12.\n\n Sidenote: Exod. xvi. 15, 16.\n\n Sidenote: Numb. xxvii. 12.\n\n4. The mysteries of the more perfect Sacraments are of one kind; for\nthe Scripture says, _Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath\nentered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for\nthem that love Him_. Of another kind are the things which the prophets\nhave announced concerning future glory, _unto whom it was revealed_,\nand to whom the saints have preached the Gospel _with the Holy Ghost\nsent down from heaven, which things the Angels desired to look into_.\nOf another kind again are those mysteries wherein is the redemption\nof the world, the remission of sins, the distribution of graces, the\nparticipation of the Sacraments: when you receive these you will wonder\nthat a gift so transcendent should have been bestowed on man, as to\nmake the manna which we wonder should have been rained down from heaven\non the Jews seem to you to have possessed neither so much grace nor so\nmuch efficacy towards salvation. For all who received this manna in the\nwilderness died, save Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb, whereas he who\ntastes this Sacrament shall never die.\n\nMay the Lord Jesus send you restoration. Farewell.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LXXX.\n\n\n S. AMBROSE here shews that the case of the man who was blind\n from his birth was the work of Divine power, and censures the\n question which the disciples asked about him; and dwells on some\n of the details of the miracle.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO BELLICIUS.\n\n Sidenote: S. John ix. 1.\n\n1. YOU have heard, my brother, the lesson of the Gospel, wherein it\nis narrated that as _the Lord Jesus passed by He saw a man which was\nblind from his birth_. Now if the Lord saw him He did not pass him\nby, neither ought we to pass him by whom the Lord overlooked not;\nespecially since he was blind from his birth, which is not mentioned\nwithout reason.\n\n2. Now there is a blindness in which by the operation of illness\nthe sight of the eyes is obscured, and this by the help of time is\nmitigated; there is a blindness also which is caused by the entrance of\nhumours, and this, when the defect is removed, is cured by the aid of\nmedicine; and this I say that you may know that it was not by skill but\nby Divine Power that he who was blind from his birth was healed. For\nthe Lord gave him health as a free gift, not by any medicinal skill,\nfor they whom the Lord Jesus healed were they whom no one could cure.\n\n Sidenote: S. John ix. 2.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 3.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 5.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xxxiv. 5.\n\n3. But how foolish was the inquiry of the Jews, _Who did sin this\nman or his parents?_ ascribing bodily diseases to the score of sin.\nWherefore the Lord said, _Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents,\nbut that the works of God should be made manifest in him_. That which\nnature created, the Creator, being the Author of nature, was capable of\nremedying. He added therefore, _As long as I am in the world I am the\nlight of the world_, that is, all who are blind may see whether they\nneed Me Who am the Light. _Approach ye, and be enlightened, that ye may\nsee._\n\n Sidenote: S. John xi. 43.\n\n Sidenote: S. Mark ii. 11.\n\n Sidenote: S. John ix. 6, 7.\n\n4. In the next place why did He Who restored life at command, Who gave\nhealth by His word, saying to the dead, _Come forth_, and Lazarus came\nforth from the grave, saying also to the sick of the palsy, _Arise and\ntake up thy bed_, and the sick of the palsy rose and himself began to\ncarry his bed, whereon, when all his limbs were paralyzed, he had been\nwont to be carried; why, I say, did He _spit on the ground and make\nclay, and anoint the eyes of the blind man, and say to him, Go, wash\n\u2666in the pool of Siloam, which is by interpretation, Sent. He went his\nway therefore, and washed, and came seeing_\u2015\u2015What is the reason of\nthis? Great indeed is the reason, if I mistake not, for he who is\ntaught by Jesus comes to see more clearly.\n\n Sidenote: S. John xv. 3.\n\n5. Observe at the same time both His Divinity and His sanctity; as\nbeing Himself Light He touched and so communicated light to others; as\nbeing a Priest He fulfilled by the figure of Baptism the mysteries of\nspiritual grace. He spat, that you might learn that the inner parts of\nChrist are light; and clearly indeed does he see who receives cleansing\nthereby. His spittle cleanses, and so does His discourse, as it is\nwritten, _Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto\nyou_.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. ii. 7.\n\n Sidenote: S. John vii. 16.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. ix. 11.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 25.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. xiii. 12.\n\n6. But His making clay and anointing the eyes of the blind was intended\nto signify to us that the Same Who made man of clay, restored him to\nhealth by anointing with clay, and to signify also that this flesh of\nour clay must receive the light of eternal life by the Sacrament of\nBaptism. Do you also draw near to Siloam, that is, to Him Who was sent\nfrom the Father, as it is written, _My doctrine is not Mine, but His\nthat sent Me_. Let Christ wash you that you may see. Come to Baptism,\nthe time itself is at hand, make haste and come that you may say,\n_I went, and washed, and I received sight_; that you may also say,\n_whereas I was blind, now I see_, that you may say, as that man on whom\nlight was poured said, _the night is far spent, the day is at hand_.\n\n Sidenote: S. John xiii. 27.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xvii. 2.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xxvi. 70.\n\n7. The night was blindness. It was night when Judas received the sop\nfrom Jesus, and Satan entered into him. To Judas, in whom the Devil was,\nit was night; to John, who lay on the breast of Christ, it was day. To\nPeter also it was day, when he saw the light of Christ on the mount. To\nothers it was night, but to Peter it was day. To Peter himself however\nit was night when he denied Christ. But the cock crowed, and he began\nto weep, that he might correct his error, for now the day was at hand.\n\n Sidenote: S. John ix. 10.\n\n8. The Jews enquired of the blind man, _How were thine eyes opened?_\nWhat signal folly! They enquired concerning what they saw; they\nenquired into the cause, seeing the effect.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 28.\n\n9. _Then they reviled him, and said, thou art His disciple._ Their\ncurse is a blessing, for their blessing is a curse. _Thou_, they say,\n_art His disciple_. They confer a benefit, while they think they are\ndoing an injury.\n\nFarewell, my son; love me as you do, for I also love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LXXXI.\n\n\n IN this letter S. Ambrose seeks to comfort some of his clergy,\n who were in despondency on account of their labours and\n difficulties, and sets before their eyes both the reward they\n may expect, and also the ready aid they will receive from Christ.\n He then presses upon them passages of Scripture applicable to\n their case, and exhorts them not to suffer themselves to be\n separated from Jesus their Saviour.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO CERTAIN OF THE CLERGY.\n\n1. IT is a fault which frequently besets the human mind, that, if\nthings do not at once fall out according to their wishes, they lightly\ntake offence, and desist from their duty. In other classes of men this\nis tolerable, but in those who are devoted to the Divine service it is\na frequent cause of sorrow.\n\n2. There are certain persons in the clerical function, into whose minds\nthe Enemy, if he cannot otherwise deceive them, thus seeks to creep,\nthat he may instil evil thoughts of the following kind; \u2018What does\nit avail me to remain among the clergy, to suffer injuries, to bear\ntoil, as if my own farm could not support me, or, if I have no farm,\nas if I could not otherwise obtain support?\u2019 It is by such thoughts\nas these that even good dispositions are withdrawn from their duty, as\nif provision for his own sustenance was the only function of a cleric,\nand not rather to purchase for himself the Divine assistance after\ndeath. Whereas he only shall be rich after death, who on earth has\nhad strength to contend unharmed against the wiles of his numerous\nadversaries.\n\n Sidenote: Eccles. iv. 9.\n\n3. It is said therefore in Ecclesiastes, _Two are better than one,\nbecause they have a good reward for their labour, For if they fall, the\none will lift up his fellow_. Where are the two that are better than\none, but where Christ is, and he whom Christ defends? For if he who is\nwith the Lord Jesus falls, Jesus raises him up.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. lxix. 3.\n\n Sidenote: S. John iv. 6.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. xi. 29.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xxv. 43.\n\n4. But in what sense is it said, _for their labour_? Is Christ then\nweary[294]? Yes truly, for He says, _I am weary of crying_. He labours,\nbut it is on us. Moreover after His toil He sat down wearied on the\nwell; but what is the mode of His labours? The Apostle by his own\nhumbler example has taught us in the words, _Who is weak, and I am not\nweak?_ Our Lord Himself has also taught us in the words, _I was sick,\nand ye visited Me not, naked and ye clothed Me not_. He labours, in\norder to raise me in my falls.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Kings iv. 34.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. xlv. 8.\n\n5. Hence in Elisha also our Lord is prefigured, for he stretched\nhimself upon the dead child that he might raise him to life, and in\nthis we have a symbol that Christ died with us, that He might rise\nfor us. Thus Christ placed Himself on the level even of our frailty,\nthat He might raise us again. He did not fall, but of His own will cast\nHimself down, and in rising raised up His fellow. For He has taken us\ninto fellowship with Himself, being anointed, as it is written, _with\nthe oil of gladness above His fellows_.\n\n Sidenote: S. John ii. 19.\n\n Sidenote: Eccles. iv. 10, 11.\n\n Sidenote: Rom. vi. 8.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xii. 49.\n\n6. Well says the Preacher, _If they fall, the One_, not being Himself\nlifted up, _will lift up his fellow_; for Christ needed not the\nassistance and aid of another to raise Him, but rose by His own power.\nAgain, _Destroy_, He says, _this temple, and in three days I will raise\nit up. But this He said of the Temple of His Body._ And it is well that\nhe who has not fallen should not be raised by another, for he who has\nbeen so raised must have fallen, and he who has fallen needs assistance\nthat he may be raised. This is taught also by the words of Scripture\nwhich follows, _Woe to him that is alone when he falleth, for he hath\nnot another to lift him up_. Again, _if two lie together, then they\nhave heat_. For _we are dead with Christ, and therefore we also live\nwith Him_. And Christ has thus died that He might give us warmth, as\nHe has said, _I am come to send fire upon the earth_.\n\n7. I was dead, but because in Baptism I died together with Christ,\nI received the light of life from Christ. And he who dies in Christ,\nbeing warmed by Christ, receives the breath of life and resurrection.\nThe boy was cold, Elisha warmed him with his breath, and imparted to\nhim the warmth of life. He slept together with him that being thus\nburied with him in a figure the warmth of his rest might raise him up.\nHe is cold then who dies not in Christ; he cannot be warmed to whom\nno burning fire is applied; he who has not Christ with him cannot grow\nwarm by being near another.\n\n Sidenote: Eccles. iv. 12.\n\n8. And that you may understand it to be said as a mystery and not in\nreference to the bare number that _two are better than one_, he adds\na mystical saying, _A threefold cord is not quickly broken_. For that\nwhich is threefold and uncompounded cannot be broken. Thus the Trinity,\nbeing of an uncompounded nature, cannot be dissolved; for God is,\nwhatever He is, one and simple and uncompounded; and what He is that\nHe continues to be, and is not brought into subjection.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 13.\n\n Sidenote: Eph. iii. 1.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. lxviii. 18.\n Eph. iv. 8.\n\n9. It is a good thing therefore to adhere closely to that other One,\nand to put your neck into His chain, and to bow down your shoulder and\nbear Him, and be not grieved with His bonds; because He went forth from\nthe house of bondmen to assume His kingdom, that _Child who is better\nthan an older and foolish king_. Wherefore they who follow Him are\nalso bound with chains. Paul too is _the prisoner of Jesus Christ_.\nAnd Jesus Himself _led captivity captive_. He thought it not enough to\ndestroy that captivity which the devil had imposed, so that he might\nnot again assault those who were wandering at large. But to dwell in\nsubjection to Christ, putting your feet into the fetters of wisdom, and\nbecoming His captive that you may be free from the adversary, this is\nwhat He accounted perfect liberty.\n\n Sidenote: Is. ix. 6.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xlix. 6. puer, Vulg.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke ii. 52.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Cor. viii. 9.\n\n10. Rightly is He called a _Child_, for _unto us a Child is born_, and\ntruly a good Child to Whom it has been said by God the Father, _It is a\nlight thing that Thou shouldst be My Servant_; wise also, as the gospel\nteaches us, for He _increased in wisdom and stature_; and properly\ncalled poor, for, _though He was rich, for our sakes He became poor,\nthat we through His poverty might be rich_. Wherefore in His kingdom\nHe does not despise the poor man, but listens to him and frees him from\nall straits and troubles.\n\n11. Let us then live in obedience to Him, that that _old and foolish\nking_ may have no power over us. For he, desiring to reign and be\nsupreme after his own will, and not to be under subjection to the Lord\nJesus, grows old in sin, and falls into the deformity of folly. For\nwhat can be more foolish than for a man to relinquish heavenly and\napply himself to earthly things, for him to neglect what is eternal,\nand to choose the frail and perishing?\n\n Sidenote: 1 Kings xii. 16.\n\n Sidenote: Deut. xxxiii. 8.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. lxviii. 13. Vulg.\n\n Sidenote: Wisd. ii. 15.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. v. 12.\n\n Sidenote: Eccles. x. 4.\n\n12. Let no one then say, _We have no portion in Jacob nor inheritance\nin Israel_. Let no one say, I am not among the Clergy, for it is\nwritten, _Give unto Levi his lots_[295]; and again David says that\nhe who _lieth in the midst among the lots_ ascends to heaven with\nspiritual wings. Say not of your God, _He is grievous to us_, nor of\nyour place, it _is not for our turn_, since Scripture says, _Leave not\nthy place_: For the adversary would fain deprive thee of it, he would\nfain drive thee away, for he envies thee thy hopes and thy function.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxxxix. 13.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xvii. 7.\n\n13. But thou that art in the lot of the Lord, His portion and\npossession, depart not therefrom, that thou mayest say to Him, _For\nThou hast possessed my reins, Thou hast covered me in my mother\u2019s womb_;\nand that He may say to thee, as to a good servant, _Go, and sit down to\nmeat_.\n\nFarewell, my sons: serve the Lord, for the Lord is good.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LXXXII.\n\n\n S. AMBROSE tells Marcellus that he has been appointed to decide\n the case in which he and his brother L\u00e6tus and their sister were\n concerned, and why he undertook rather to act as arbiter than\n as judge in it. He urges Marcellus to submit willingly to his\n loss, praising him at the same time for having himself offered\n so equitable an adjustment of the matter, and tells him why he\n has nevertheless made some change in the settlement, and ends by\n shewing how the success gained by the several parties has been\n without general detriment to the Church.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO MARCELLUS.\n\n1. THE law suit which you did not indeed institute of your own accord,\nbut took up when begun by others, the obligations of piety and a\ndesire of approving your bounty towards the poor leading you thereto,\nhas in the course of its adjudication devolved into my hands. I took\ncognisance of it by the tenor of the Imperial enactment, and both\nthe authority committed to me by the blessed Apostle and the form and\ncharacter of your own life and conduct have laid this upon me. Having\nmyself censured the keeping alive amongst you your ancient animosity,\nI found myself obliged by the parties to hear their cause.\n\n2. I blushed to refuse, I must confess, particularly since the\nadvocates of either party recriminated on each other, asserting that my\ninvestigation would make manifest to whose side the suffrages of right\nand justice would incline. Why need I say more? When the days were\nalmost concluded, and only a few hours remained, in which the Prefect\nwas hearing other business; the advocates in the suit requested that\nit should be adjourned for a few days, that I might preside as judge.\nSo much zeal was shewn by Christians to prevent the Prefect from\ninterfering with the jurisdiction of the Bishop. They stated moreover\nthat certain matters had been conducted in an unseemly manner, and\neach party, according to his own inclination, brought forward points\nas proper to be heard by the Bishop rather than the Prefect.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. v. 12.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. vi. 4\u20136.\n\n3. Overcome by these reasons, reminded also of the Apostolical precept,\nwhich reproves Christians, saying, _Do not ye judge them that are\nwithin?_ and again, _If then ye have judgments of things pertaining\nto this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the Church.\nI speak to your shame. Is it so that there is not a wise man among\nyou, no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren? But\nbrother goeth to law with his brother, and that before unbelievers_, I\naccepted the hearing of the cause, on condition however that I should\nsettle the terms of the compromise. For I saw that, if I decreed\nin your favour, the other party might not acquiesce; while, if the\nsentence were given for him, you and your holy sister would abandon\nyour defence. And thus there would have been an unequal rule of\ndecision. Suspicion might also have attached in their eyes to the\ninfluence which the sacerdotal relation would exercise over my mind.\nFor when does the defeated party consider the others to have greater\nequity than himself? And truly, the expenses of this old-standing\ncontest would have been intolerable to both parties, had its\ntermination been without fruit, or without, at least, the solace of\nmunificence.\n\n4. Since, therefore, I perceived that the issue was doubtful, the\nlaw disputed, the pleas on both sides numerous, and that petitions to\nthe emperor of an invidious character were being prepared[296] which\ncontained charges of tampering with his decrees, perceiving also that\nin case of his being victorious he would rigorously sue for double the\nmesne profits, and for the costs of this protracted suit; while it was\nunbecoming your office to demand the expenses of the cause, and not\ncompetent for you to claim any of those profits which as possessor you\nhad received, I preferred settling the dispute by a compromise to any\naggravation of it by a decree. For there were other disputes liable to\nbe raised, and what was still more grievous, although these disputes\nmight be removed, hatreds would remain which are detrimental to\nfeelings of good will.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. vi. 7.\n\n5. Involved in these difficulties, and feeling that the office of the\npriest, the sex of the woman and the gravity of her widowed state, and\nregard for my friend appealed to me with a threefold and weighty claim,\nI thought that my course of conduct should be to desire no one\u2019s defeat,\nbut the success of all. Nor was my intention baffled; you have all\novercome, as regards kindred, as regards nature, as regards Scripture\nwhich says, _Why do ye not rather take wrong, why do ye not rather\nsuffer yourselves to be defrauded?_\n\n Sidenote: Acts xx. 35.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Cor. vi. 7.\n\n6. But perhaps you deem yourself aggrieved by the unfavourable issue of\nthe suit, and by your pecuniary losses. Better surely for priests are\nthe losses than the gains of the world; For _it is more blessed to give\nthan to receive_. But perhaps you will say, I ought not to have been\nexposed to fraud, to have suffered injury, to undergo loss. What then?\nWould you have inflicted these things? But although you did not do so,\nhe would have complained of suffering them. Consider therefore what the\nApostle says, _Why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?_\nSo one may almost say that he who suffers not a wrong, inflicts it, for\nhe who is the stronger ought to be the one to bear it.\n\n7. But why do I treat with you as if this was my concern rather than\nyour own? For in order to compound the quarrel you offered that for\nthe time of her life your sister should possess part of the farm, but\nthat after her death all the property should be ceded to your brother,\nand that no one should sue him either in your name or in that of the\nChurch; but that, if he chose, he should hold it without being called\non to dispense any portion to the Church. When I had declared this, and\nextolled the great grace of munificence which had thus been implanted\nin your mind, your brother replied that such an arrangement would be\npleasing to him if all fear of injury to the property were removed.\nFor how, he asked, could a woman, who was a widow besides, manage a\nproperty liable to tribute? How could it profit him, your yielding up\nto him your right of possession, if he supposed that greater losses\nwould accrue to him from the bad cultivation of the land?\n\n8. The advocates on either side were influenced by these considerations.\nWherefore, with the consent of all, it was determined that the\nhonourable[297] L\u00e6tus should undertake the farm, and should pay yearly\nto your sister a certain quantity of corn wine and oil. By this means\nyour holy sister was relieved from anxiety, not deprived of her rights;\nshe relinquished, not the fruits but the labour, not the revenues,\nbut the hazard as it is often called of an uncertain return of them.\nIf violent storms of wind should destroy the harvest, your sister\nwill still retain undiminished the fruits of the seed-time. L\u00e6tus will\nascribe to himself the unfavourable conditions of the arrangment, and\nshould the pressure of necessity from time to time and of extraordinary\nimposts become severe, your sister will stand clear both of L\u00e6tus\u2019 loss\nand of receiving benefits from you; while L\u00e6tus will console himself\nwith the proprietorship of the estate.\n\n9. Thus all have gained their point: L\u00e6tus, because he obtained the\nright over the property, which he had not before; your sister, because\nshe will now enjoy the annual profits without dispute or strife; no\none, however, will have gained so complete and glorious a victory\nas yourself, for together with the fulfilment of your bountiful\ndispositions towards your sister, you have rendered her partner of your\nfraternal union. For you have conceded, to your brother the property,\nto your sister the usufruct. But as regards the Church, nothing is\nlost to her which is gained to piety; for charity is no loss but a gain\nto Christ, charity also is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. And thus the\ncause has been concluded according to the Apostolic model. We used to\ngrieve that you were at strife, but your strife has been profitable,\nbecause it has led you to put on the form of the Apostolical life and\ndiscipline. Your strife was unbecoming the priesthood, but this\ntransaction befits even the Apostolic rule.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xvi. 9.\n\n10. And fear not that the Church should be placed out of the range\nof your bounty. She also partakes of your fruits, fruits even more\nplentiful, for she enjoys the fruit of your teaching, the service\nof your life, she has that fertility which you have watered by your\ndiscipline. Rich in these profits she seeks not temporal things, for\nshe is in possession of what is eternal. But you have added not only\nApostolical but also Evangelical fruits, for the Lord has said, _Make\nto yourselves friends of the Mammon of unrighteousness_. You also have\nmade to yourself friends, and, what is remarkable, from those who were\nat variance with you. You have made brethren return under the laws of\nkindred, you have assured then by this charity and this grace that they\nshall be received into eternal habitations.\n\n11. Thus, under the guidance of Christ, and the directions of two\npriests, yourself, that is, who gave the first outline, and myself\nwho gave the sentence, the peace which we have made will not fail; for\nthere have been so many concurrent voices in favour of fidelity, that\nperfidy cannot be without punishment.\n\n12. L\u00e6tus will now plough for his sister, whereas before he grudged\nher the services of others; L\u00e6tus will now gather the harvest for his\nsister, though he could not before endure the gifts of others; he will\nbear the fruits to the granaries of his sister, and this he shall do\ngladly[298], in renewed accordance with the proper signification of his\nname.\n\n Sidenote: Ps. cxxxix. 13.\n\n13. You meanwhile, being conformed to the image of the Apostle of\nChrist, and assuming the prophetic authority, shall say unto the Lord,\n_Thou hast possessed my reins_. This possession better becomes Christ,\nthat He may possess the virtues of His priest, that He may receive\nthose fruits which belong to integrity and continence, and what is more,\nto charity and tranquillity.\n\nFarewell; love me, for I also love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LXXXIII.\n\n\n IN this letter S. Ambrose praises Sisinnius for forgiving his\n son, who had married without his leave, and compares him with\n some of the Saints of the Old Testament, and with the father in\n the parable of the prodigal son.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO SISINNIUS.\n\n1. YOUR forgiving our son at my request for having married a wife\nwithout your knowledge I attribute to your natural affection rather\nthan to your regard for me; for it is better that natural affection\nshould have gained this from you than any one\u2019s request. Assuredly it\nis in the triumph of virtue that the priest\u2019s petition has its chief\nsuccess, for he then obtains most when virtue is powerful, his petition\nmust always coincide with the dictates of natural affection. And\nnature and your son obtained the more fully their request, in that the\nconsideration of requests is usually a brief matter, whereas the habit\nof virtue is lasting and natural affection permanent.\n\n2. It was indeed worthily done to recognize yourself to be a father,\nparticularly since your cause for indignation was a just one; for I\nprefer to admit the fault, so that your fatherly indulgence may gain\nhigher praise; for it was as a father that you were offended; since you\nhad a claim to exercise the choice of your judgment as to one to whom\nyou were to become a father, and who was to be to you in the place of\na daughter. For we obtain children either by nature or adoption; in\nnature it is a matter of chance; in adoption, of judgment; and we are\nmore liable to blame in the case of our adopted than of our natural\noffspring; because it is ascribed to nature if our children by birth\nshould happen to be degenerate, but that those who become ours by\nadoption or other such tie should prove unworthy of it is ascribed to\nour own mistake. You had therefore cause of displeasure against your\nson in this his choice of a wife to himself; you have also reason for\nforgiving him. For you have obtained a daughter for yourself without\nthe danger of making a selection for yourself; if he has married well,\nhe has obtained for you this advantage; if he has been deceived, you\nwill make them better by receiving them into favour, but worse by\ndisowning them.\n\n3. It is with riper judgment that a father chooses a bride for his\nson, but when she is brought by the son to his father, when she enters\nher father-in-law\u2019s roof as the chosen of her husband, their purpose\nof obedience is stronger, the son fearing lest his election should\nbe disapproved, the daughter-in-law that her attentions may not be\nacceptable. While the distinction of the paternal choice elevates the\none, the other is humbled by the fear of giving offence and bowed down\nby modesty. The son will not be able to throw blame on the wife, as\nif he himself were not answerable for any of those causes of offence\nwhich are wont to occur; on the contrary he will strive more diligently\nto obtain approbation of his judgment in regard of his wife, of his\nobedience in regard of himself.\n\n4. You have therefore acted the part of a good parent and pardoned\nreadily, but still upon supplication; before this was made, you would\nhave been not pardoning but sanctioning. When this was done, to defer\npardon any longer would have been unprofitable to them and very painful\nto yourself, for your paternal affection could no longer have held out.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xxii. 6.\n\n5. Determined by motives of high devotion, Abraham, obeying the\noracle of God, offered his son for a whole burnt sacrifice; and, as\nif destitute of natural affection, drew his sword, that no delay might\nobscure the brightness of the offering. But when he was commanded to\nspare his son he willingly sheathed his sword, and he who with this\nfaithful intention was hastening to offer up his only son with still\nmore zealous piety hastened to substitute a ram as a sacrifice.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xliv. 15.\n\n\u26667. Joseph also, in order to get his younger brother to him, feigned\nanger against his brethren on the plea that they had concerted an act\nof fraud. But when Judah, one of his brethren, fell at his feet, while\nthe others wept, he was moved and overcome by fraternal affection and\nwas no longer able to maintain his assumed severity, but sending away\nall witnesses he told them they were his brethren, and he that very\nJoseph whom they had sold. He added that he remembered not his own\nwrong, making brotherly excuses for the malice of their betrayal of\nhim, and referring what was so blameworthy to higher and deeper causes;\nforasmuch as by the providence of God it must needs so have been, to\nthe end that by passing over into Egypt he might supply his kindred\u2019s\nneed of provisions from another country, and in the time of dearth\nassist in supporting his father and his father\u2019s sons.\n\n Sidenote: 2 Sam. xiv. 22.\n\n8. And what shall I say of holy David, who at the petition of one woman\nsuffered his mind to be softened, and with paternal compassion received\ninto his house his degenerate son, stained with his brother\u2019s blood?\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xv. 22.\n\n9. So that father in the Gospel, when the younger son had spent all\nthe substance he had received from his father by riotous living, yet\nwhen he returned confessing that he had sinned against him, moved by\nthe humility of a single sentence, gave him an affectionate greeting,\nfell upon his neck, commanded the best robe and a ring and shoes to be\nbrought forth, and having thus honoured him with a kiss, and loaded him\nwith gifts, entertained him with a sumptuous banquet.\n\n10. You have become an imitator of these by that parental affection\nwhereby we approach nearest to the Divine likeness, and therefore\nI have exhorted our daughter that, though it be winter, she should\nundertake the toil of the journey, for that she will pass the winter\nmore commodiously not only in the mansion, but also in the bosom of her\nfather, now that wrath has given place to pardon. Moreover, that you\nmay fully assimilate yourself to the likeness and pattern of the saints,\nyou have accused those who by concocted falsehoods endeavoured to\nexcite your mind against your son.\n\nFarewell; love me, for I also love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LXXXIV.\n\n\n A BRIEF letter of assent and approval.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO CYNEGIUS.\n\n1. HOW ingenuous is the modesty with which you have commended yourself,\nin that you have consulted me concerning a matter which you did not\napprove, out of deference to your father that you might not injure\npiety, feeling safe that no reply could be made by me which was\nunbeseeming holy relationships.\n\n2. But I have willingly taken upon me your burdens, and have reconciled,\nI hope, the niece to her uncle. Truly I am ignorant with what view he\ndesired that she should become his daughter-in-law, changing his own\ncharacter of uncle for that of father-in-law. I need not add more, lest\nthis also should be a cause of confusion.\n\nFarewell my son, and love us, for we also love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LXXXV.\n\n\n S. AMBROSE thanks Siricius for sending him letters by the\n Presbyter Syrus, whose speedy return he promises.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO SIRICIUS.\n\n1. I AM always pleased to receive a letter from you, but when you\nalso send to me some of our fellow servants, as you have now given our\nbrother and co-presbyter Syrus a letter to me, my joy is doubled. I\nwould however that this pleasure had been more lasting; for as soon as\nhe had arrived he thought he must return, and this diminished my regret\nand added greatly to my estimation of him.\n\n Sidenote: Jer. xvii. 16.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xi. 28.\n\n2. For I love those presbyters and deacons who when they have performed\ntheir mission will not allow themselves to remain absent any longer\nfrom their duties. For the prophet says, _I have not been weary in\nfollowing thee_. And who can be weary in following Jesus, when He\nHimself says, _Come unto Me all ye that labour, and are heavy laden,\nand I will give you rest_. Let us therefore never cease from following\nJesus, which if we do we shall never fail, for He gives strength to\nthem that follow Him. The more nearly you approach to the Source of\npower the stronger you will be.\n\n Sidenote: Jer. xvii. 15.\n\n Sidenote: Numb. xxiii. 21.\n\n3. Often, while we are thus following Him, the adversaries say to us,\n_Where is the word of the Lord? let it come now_. But let us not grow\nweary in following Him, let us not be turned aside by meeting with this\ncrafty question. It was said to the prophet, when he was thrown into\nprison, when he was cast into the pit of mire, _Where is the word of\nthe Lord? let it come now_. But he followed him so much the more, and\ntherefore attained the prize, and received the crown; for following\nJesus he was not weary; for _there is no weariness in Jacob, neither\nshall sorrow be in Israel_.\n\nFarewell; love me, for I love one who loves me, and whom I regard as a\nfather.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LXXXVI.\n\n\n S. AMBROSE speaks briefly in praise of Priscus.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO SIRICIUS.\n\n1. WHEN Priscus, my friend and co-equal in age, was coming here, you\ngave him a letter to me, and now that he is returning I give him the\nreply which I send both to duty and affection. By this service he\nhas recompensed us both, for he has given me yours, and you mine, and\ntherefore ought to reap the reward of this his service by an increase\nof favour.\n\nFarewell, my brother; love me, for I love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LXXXVII.\n\n\n A LETTER of commendation.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO BISHOPS SEGATIUS AND DELPHINUS.\n\n1. MY son Polybius, on his return from Africa, where he discharged the\nduties of the proconsulship with credit, passed some days with us, and\ninspired my heart with singular affection towards him.\n\n2. Then, when he wished to go from hence, he requested me to write\nto both of you. I promised to do so, and having dictated a letter\ndelivered it to him superscribed with both your names. He asked for\nanother; but I said that I had directed this to both of you according\nto our custom and usage, forasmuch as your holy minds are gratified\nnot by the number of letters but by the association of names, and that,\nunited as you were in feeling, you would not allow yourselves to be\nseparated in name; farther, that to employ this compendious form of\nlove was a prescribed part of my duty.\n\n Sidenote: Philem. i. 1.\n\n3. Why need I say more? He asked for another, and I gave it, but so as\nneither to deny him what he asked, nor to change my accustomed mode of\naction. Thus he has a letter to deliver to each of you, for this was\nall he put forward, his having nothing for one, when he had delivered\nhis letter to the other. And this office of undivided affection I may\nrender to you without any danger of offence, or thought of division;\nespecially since this form of writing is Apostolical, so that either\none may write to many as Paul to the Galatians, or two to one, as we\nread, _Paul a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto\nPhilemon_.\n\nHealth to you; love me and pray for me, for I love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LXXXVIII.\n\n\n A FRIENDLY letter of commendation of Priscus.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO ATTICUS.\n\n1. YOU entrusted my friend Priscus with a letter, which he delivered\nto me, and I now give mine in turn to Priscus. Continue to love Priscus,\nas you do, and even more than before; this I advise, because I also\nvalue my Priscus highly. For I feel towards him that ancient love,\nwhich from our childhood upwards has grown together with our years; but\nit is long since I saw him before, so that not only in name but from so\nlong an interval of time he came to me as truly Priscus.\n\nFarewell: love me your lover, for I also love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER LXXXIX.\n\n\n A BRIEF acknowledgement of letters.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO ALYPIUS.\n\n1. ANTIOCHUS, a man of consular rank, delivered to me your Excellency\u2019s\nletter; nor did I neglect to reply to it; for I sent you a letter by\nmy own messenger, and another occasion having offered, I sent, if I\nmistake not, a second. But since the offices of friendship are rather,\nI think, to be added to than balanced; it became my duty, especially\non his return who had laid upon me such a debt of obligation by your\nletters, to make some return in the way of my own correspondence, that\nso I might stand clear with both of you, and he with you, bound as he\nwas to bring you back what he had brought from you.\n\nFarewell; love me, who love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XC.\n\n\n S. AMBROSE dwells on the mutual love of himself and Antonius.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO ANTONIUS.\n\n1. YOU never are silent in regard of me, nor ought I ever to complain\nof being neglected by your silence, knowing that I am not absent from\nyour thoughts. For since you bestow that which is the most precious,\nhow can you withhold that which many others receive, not so much from\nany habitual affection as from an interchange of civility.\n\n2. And even from my own feelings I can judge in turn of yours, and\nthese lead me to believe that I am never absent from you, nor you\nfrom me, so closely are our souls united. Nor do I feel as if we ever\nrequired each others\u2019 letters, for I daily converse with you as if\npresent in body, turning towards you my eyes, my affections, and all\nmy regards.\n\n3. In such things as these I delight to cope with you; for, to speak\nopenly with one who is inseparable from my heart, your letters make\nme ashamed. I beg therefore that you will cease to be always returning\nme thanks, for my services to you have their highest reward, if I may\nbelieve I have not been wanting in my duty towards you.\n\nFarewell; love me, for I also love you.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER XCI.\n\n\n A GRACEFUL letter of affection.\n\n\n AMBROSE TO HIS BROTHER CANDIDIANUS.\n\n1. GREAT is the beauty of your language, but that of your love is\nstill more apparent, for your letters manifest to me the bright colours\nof your mind, blessed and most dear brother. The Lord give you His\nGrace and Blessing, for in your letters I recognize your good wishes\nrather than my good deserts. For what merits of mine can equal such\ncommendations as yours?\n\nLove me, my brother, for I love you.\n\n\n\n\n EPISTOLA V.\n A.D. 380.\n\n\n (See page 19.)\n\n SENTENTIAM abs se in causa Indici\u00e6 latam defendens, Syagrii\n judicium arguit, quod legitima in eo forma non servata sit.\n Maximum trag\u0153di\u00e6 auctorem apud se non comparuisse: Syagrium\n inspectionem virgini contumeliosissimam decrevisse, cum alia,\n unde judicari virgo debeat, suppetant: inspectionem incertam\n atque inutilem; aliud enim obstetricum officium esse; non ergo\n hac ratione causam decidendam; pr\u00e6sertim cum peperisse diceretur\n Indicia. In quibus inspectio sit toleranda. Syagrium vanam\n afferre excusationem: Maximum vere accusatorem esse. Postremo\n accusatione ac testibus rursus vituperatis, refertur Marcellin\u00e6\n aliarumque pro Indicia testimonium, post quod judicium\n Ambrosianum subjicitur.\n\n\n AMBROSIUS SYAGRIO.\n\n\u26661. PROSPICIENDUM esse ne de nostro obloquantur judicio carissimi\nnostri Veronenses, propriis texuisti litteris. Non arbitror fore,\ncerte non solent. Aut si obloquantur, de quo obloqui soleant haud\ndubie liquet: cum exasperati huc veniant, pacifici ad te revertantur;\npr\u00e6sertim cum hoc judicium nostrum cum fratribus et consacerdotibus\nnostris participatum processerit: tu autem sine alicujus fratris\nconsilio hoc judicium tibi solus vindicandum putaris; in quo tamen ante\njudicium pr\u00e6judicium feceris, ut puellam Zenonis sanct\u00e6 memori\u00e6 judicio\nprobatam, ejusque sanctificatam benedictione, post tot annos, sine\nauctore criminationis, sine accusatore, sine professore delationis, in\npericulum reatus deducendam arbitrare: cui invidia esset a vanis, ab\nh\u00e6reticis, ut ipsi volunt, a turpibus personis conflata per scelus, per\navaritiam, per intemperantiam, qu\u00e6rentibus proprii libertatem flagitii;\nab iis postremo qui domo ejus ejecti atque eliminati forent, quod\ndiscolora opera subtexerent, quam prima fronte su\u00e6 professionis\npr\u00e6tenderant.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xviii. 16.\n\n2. Hujusmodi accusatores, hujusmodi testes in tuo constituebas judicio,\nqui neque accusare audebant, neque delationis se nexu obligare;\natque ita inspectioni adjudicandam constituebas virginem, quam nullus\nargueret, nullus deferret. Ubi h\u00e6c cognitionis solemnitas? Ubi talis\njudicandi formula? Si leges publicas interrogamus, accusatorem exigunt:\nsi Ecclesi\u00e6; _Duobus_, inquit, _et tribus testibus stat omne verbum_:\nsed illis testibus qui ante hesternum et nudiustertius non fuerint\ninimici; ne irati nocere cupiant, ne l\u00e6si ulcisci sese velint.\n\n Sidenote: Hist. of Sus. 34 sqq.\n\n3. Inoffensus igitur affectus testium qu\u00e6ritur; ita tamen ut accusator\nprius in medium procedat. Ipsi illi presbyteri Jud\u00e6orum manus suas\nprius supra caput imposuerunt Susann\u00e6, et accusationem professi sunt,\net pariter addiderunt testimonii auctoritatem, quam imprudenter populus\nsub errore positus acceperat: sed divino judicio per prophetam retexit\net redarguit omnipotens Deus; ut liqueret omnibus eos velle invidiam\npr\u00e6seminare adversum innocentis periculum, qui deficerent accusationis\nargumento, et firmamento probationis, conjicientes videlicet quod\nsi pr\u00e6occupatis vulgi auribus invidia mentem incesseret, pr\u00e6judicium\nexaminand\u00e6 veritatis inferret. Etenim cum audita pr\u00e6veniunt, aurem\nobstruunt, animum occupant; ne probatio desideretur, ut rumor pro\nconvicto teneatur crimine.\n\n4. Nos igitur accusatorem exegimus, et auctorem totius scen\u00e6 Maximum\nperurgendum arbitrati sumus. Verum ille accusationem, quam studio\ninformaverat, verbo detulerat, deseruit professione; et tamen affectu\nurgebat, arte exsequebatur, sed fugiebat nomine, quod diffideret\nprobationi. Denique sparsis rumoribus, sed etiam epistolis compositis\net destinatis, qu\u00e6sivit acerbare invidiam delationis: sed nequaquam\nopprimi potuit integritas et circumveniri. Nam si habuisset probationes,\nnumquam inspectionem tua sententia flagitavisset.\n\n5. Quid igitur sibi velit, et quo spectet quod obstetricem adhibendam\ncredideris, non possum advertere. Itane ergo liberum erit accusare\nomnibus, et, cum probatione destiterint, patebit ut genitalium\nsecretorum petant inspectionem, et addicentur semper sacr\u00e6 virgines\nad hujusmodi ludibria, qu\u00e6 et visu et auditu horrori et pudori\nsunt? Denique non minima etiam in tuis litteris tentat\u00e6 expressionis\nverecundia est. Qu\u00e6 ergo sine damno pudoris in alienis auribus resonare\nnon queunt, ea possunt in virgine sine ejus tentari verecundia?\n\n6. Invenisti tibi vile mancipium, procacem vernulam, cur non abutaris\npudibundo ministerio, et exponas ejus modestiam; cum pr\u00e6sertim nihil\nsanctius in virgine sit, quam verecundia? Non enim sacra virgo ut\ncorpore tantummodo integra sit qu\u00e6ritur, et non ut in omnibus ejus\ninoffensus maneat pudor. Virgo Domini suis est nixa fulcris ad sui\nprobationem, nec alienis dotibus eget; ut se virginem probet: et\nnec abditorum occultorumque inspectio, sed obvia omnibus modestia\nadstipulatur integritati. Non placet Deo, quam non suorum gravitas\nmorum probat: non probatur Domino, qu\u00e6 unius obstetricis indiget\ntestimonio, quod plerumque qu\u00e6ritur pretio. Ea ergo tibi locuples\nvidetur ad fidem, qu\u00e6 et redimi et falli potest; ut excuset ream, et\ncrimen tegat, aut nesciat, et non possit flagitium deprehendere?\n\n7. Neque vero illud justum arbitror, quod tuis comprehendisti litteris,\nquia nisi inspecta fuerit, integritas periclitetur, et incerto sui\nfluctuet. Ergo omnes qu\u00e6 inspect\u00e6 non sunt, periculum subierunt\npudoris? Ergo et qu\u00e6 nuptur\u00e6 sunt, prius inspiciantur, ut nubant\nprobatiores? Ergo et qu\u00e6 veland\u00e6 sunt, prius subjiciend\u00e6 sunt hujusmodi\nadtrectationi; non enim visitantur, sed adtrectantur: et rectius\nsecundum tuam sententiam inspicitur non probata, quam consecrata.\n\n8. Quid, quod etiam ipsi archiatri dicunt non satis liquido comprehendi\ninspectionis fidem, et ipsis medicin\u00e6 vetustis doctoribus id sententi\u00e6\nfuisse? Nos quoque usu hoc cognovimus, s\u00e6pe inter obstetrices obortam\nvarietatem, et qu\u00e6stionem excitatam; ut plus dubitatum sit de ea, qu\u00e6\ninspiciendam se pr\u00e6buerit, quam de ea qu\u00e6 non fuerit inspecta. Siquidem\net proximo id comperimus exemplo: nam qu\u00e6dam conditionis servilis\nAltini inspecta et refutata, postea Mediolani non meo quidem jussu, sed\nNicenti ex tribuno et notario domini vel patroni sui voluntate visitata\nest a peritissima et locupleti femina hujusmodi artis; et cum simul\nista suppeterent, ut neque paupertas obstetricis suspectam faceret\nfidem, neque indocilitas imperitiam, tamen adhuc manet qu\u00e6stio.\n\n9. Quid profuit igitur eam inspici, cum damnatio maneat? Nam ut quisque\nvoluerit, aut imperitam medicam, aut redemptam asseret; ita sine\neffectu ullo injuria inspectionis est. Quid deinde fiet? Quotiescumque\nemerserit, qui non credat, toties virgo adtrectabitur? Nam si umquam se\nvisitandam abnuerit, secundum adsertionem tuam de crimine confitebitur.\nEt facilius est ut refutet, quod numquam fecerit, quam quod fecerit.\nVariabuntur igitur obstetrices, ne suspect\u00e6 aliqua repetatur grati\u00e6.\nErit itaque inter plures, quamquam paucarum etiam in magnis urbibus\nhic usus medendi sit, erit, inquam, vel malevola, vel imperita, quam\npudoris claustra pr\u00e6tereant, et per imperitiam integro notam affigat\npudori. Vides in quod periculum inducas virginalem professionem, dum\nobstetricem adhibendam putas; ut jam non solum verecundi\u00e6 su\u00e6 dispendio,\nsed etiam obstetricis incerto periclitetur.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xxxv. 17.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xxxviii. 27.\n\n Sidenote: Ex. i. 15 sqq.\n\n10. Nunc consideremus quod obstetricis officium sit. Legimus etiam\nin veteri Testamento obstetrices, sed non inspectrices; denique ad\nparturientes ingrediebantur, non ad virgines; ut partus susciperent,\nnon ut pudorem examinarent. Unde et obstetrices dict\u00e6, eo quod\nobsistant dolori, vel certe pignori, ne laxatis uteri genitalibus\nclaustris, in terram defluat. Secundo et tertio loco in Scripturis\ninvenimus obstetrices adhibitas: sed ubique partui, nusquam inspectioni.\nPrimo ubi Rachel parturit, deinde ubi Thamar parit, tertio ubi necandos\nmares Pharao mandat Hebr\u00e6orum obstetricibus; quando responderunt ill\u00e6,\nnon eo more Hebr\u00e6as feminas parere, quo pariunt \u00c6gypti\u00e6: sed Hebr\u00e6as\nprius parere, quam introeant obstetrices ad eas. Qui locus ut superiori\nutilis ad Hebr\u00e6orum salutem; ita reliquo confragosus ad obstetricum\nfidem, qu\u00e6 didicerunt mentiri pro salute, et fallere pro excusatione.\n\n11. Quid igitur suspecta et dubia captamus; cum majora sint alia\nexaminand\u00e6 veritatis documenta et testimonia, in quibus expressiora\ninsignia vel temerati pudoris sint? Quid enim est quod magis publicum\nsit, quam offensa pudoris, et defloratio virginitatis? Nihil profecto\nquod magis se prodat, quam castitatis dispendium. Tumescit alvus, et\nincedentem f\u0153tus sui onera gravant; ut pr\u00e6termittamus alia, quibus se\nvel tacita prodit conscientia.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. iii. 16.\n\n Sidenote: Isa. xiii. 8, 9.\n\n12. At forte sterilitatis obtentu abscondi in aliquibus possit\nflagitium. Hic vero cum editus partus et expositus, vel necatus, (dum\ninvidi\u00e6 magis, quam probationi consulitur,) dissipatus sit per aures\nuniversorum, strangulata est libertas calumniarum, si peperit. Nempe\nVeron\u00e6 fuit, visebatur frequenter a virginibus et mulieribus; in\nhonore enim semper erat. Visebatur et a sacerdotibus propter pudiciti\u00e6\nreverentiam, et gravitatis speculum. Quomodo ergo potuit occulere\ncrimen, quod se vel specie sui proderet? Quomodo texit uterum? Quomodo\nnon refugit adspectum mulierum, oculos salutantium? Quomodo parturiens\nvocem repressit? Sed hoc non patitur dolor: denique Scriptura hos\nmaximos dicit dolores, qui sunt parturientis. Sic enim inquit,\nDies Domini subito venit, et improvisus adest, ut dolor partus, qui\nintercludit omnia effugia delitescendi.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke i. 24.\n\n Sidenote: S. Matt. i. 18.\n\n13. H\u00e6c est verior documentorum fides, quam erubescunt et mulieres.\nDenique Elizabeth occultabat se mensibus quinque; eo quod sterilis\nconceperat in senectute. His signis et ipsa Mari\u00e6 virginitas apud\nignaros mysterii probri suspectabatur. Unde et Joseph, cui desponsata\nerat Virgo, suspectum habebat vitium, dum adhuc nesciret Dominic\u00e6\nincarnationis sacramentum.\n\n14. Quid ergo, negamus inspiciendas virgines? Interim quod nusquam\nlegerim, non adstruo, nec verum arbitror. Sed quia pleraque ad speciem\nfacimus, non ad veritatem; et erroris gratia complura frequenter\npr\u00e6tendimus, (sunt enim qui nesciant recte facere, nisi metu p\u0153n\u00e6,)\nrelinquamus hoc illis, quas non verecundia revocat a lapsu, sed solus\ninjuri\u00e6 deterret metus: apud quas nulla cura pudoris et castitatis\ngratia, sed p\u0153n\u00e6 timor est. Relinquamus vernaculis, quibus formido est\ndeprehendi magis, quam peccasse. Absit a virgine sacra, ut obstetricem\nnoverit: partus putatur, et remedium doloris ducitur, non examen\npudoris. Relinquamus etiam illis, si qu\u00e6 gravibus appetit\u00e6 calumniis,\noppress\u00e6 testimoniis, strangulat\u00e6 argumentis, ad id confugiant, ut\nse offerant inspectioni, quo vel corporis probetur custodia; si tamen\ndeprehendi potest, in quibus nutat pudoris gratia, et disciplina\nintegritatis. Male tamen se habet causa, ubi potior est carnis quam\nmentis pr\u00e6rogativa. Malo morum signaculo, quam corporis claustro\nvirginitatem exprimi.\n\n15. Jam illud pr\u00e6clarum, quod scripsisti insinuatum tibi a quibusdam\nquod nequaquam tibi communicarent, si eam sine visitatione suscipiendam\ncrederes. Ergo judicandi accepisti formulam. Quales illi, qui volunt\npr\u00e6scribere sacerdotibus quid sequi debeamus? Liberavimus itaque te\na cognitionis gravissim\u00e6 necessitate, ne necesse haberes formulam\nmandatam exsequi. Quid nobis futurum est, qui eorum studiis non\nobtemperavimus?\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke i. 28.\n\n Sidenote: Hist. of Sus. 15 sqq.\n\n16. Sed tamen scio illic plerosque esse, qui timeant Dominum. Nam\net hic vidimus dudum, et illic esse comperimus, qui compositam hanc\nquerantur calumniam: quos aiunt eo offensos favisse Maximo, quod\nista virgo non circumeat domos, nec eorum matronas salutet atque\nambiat. Quid igitur fiet, quomodo tanto eam exuemus crimine? quomodo\npersuadebimus ut cultus adsumat novos, suos exuat? Grave flagitium\nvirginem intra secreta domus degere, claudi penetralibus suis! Sic\ncerte lectio docet Mariam domi repertam, cum ad eam Gabriel Archangelus\nvenisset. Susanna fugiens turbarum inducitur. Denique cum se lavaret,\nparadisum claudi jubebat. Quid autem pr\u00e6stantius, (pr\u00e6sertim in\nvirgine, cujus \u2666pr\u00e6cipuum opus verecundia,) quam secretum? quid tutius\nsecreto, et ad omnes actus expeditius? Munia enim pudoris induit,\nnon concursationis. Sed de aliis videro, tu\u00e6 nunc mihi respondendum\nepistol\u00e6 est.\n\n17. Te miror, frater, qui tantopere defendas Maximum non fuisse\naccusatorem, sed parentis dolore doluisse invidiam sparsi rumoris;\ncum ille se inimicum et adversarium litigatorem, proposito jam jurgio,\nnegare non potuerit adversus sacram virginem judicia adtentavisse:\nmuroque interjecto, discretas \u00e6des uxoris su\u00e6 ac virginis, divisam\ngermanitatis inter sorores societatem; aliaque, quibus doleret quod\nvirgo in agro affinitatis su\u00e6 refugisset consortium. Quomodo ergo non\naccusator, qui affectum accusatoris jamdudum exercuit, qui sermone suo\naccusationem detulit, aures tuas implevit clamore, et testes auditionis\ndeduxit, cognitionem poposcit?\n\n18. Quamlibet argumentatus, negare non potuisti quod ad Indiciam\nscripseris, quoniam Maximus seu impulsu aliorum, seu dolore proprio\ncrimen grave detulerit. Sola h\u00e6c epistola satis est ad accusationis\ntestimonium; neque enim te ego tuis ad me datis litteris urgendum\nputavi, sed iis lectis quas ad virginem dederas, adverti diversum esse,\nquod ad me scripseras: et tamen cum epistola tu\u00e6 sibi non convenirent,\nconsulendum te, non arguendum putavi. Quid igitur sibi vult illa\nargumentatio, quia illud detulerit, quod ad me scripseras, delatam\nvidelicet eam in turpi crimine; ita ut editum et obrutum partum dici\nadserat? Quasi vero istud ad Indiciam, non ad me scripseris. Illa\nubi audivit litteris tuis Maximum subduci accusationi, litteras tuas\nprotulit, quibus eum criminis delatorem probavit: ad me datas non\nlegerat, nec quid haberent, sciebat.\n\n Sidenote: 1 Kings xxi. 10.\n Hist. of Sus. 15 sqq.\n S. Matt. xxvi. 59, 60.\n\n19. Ego autem exhorrui a primo calumniam, quia advertebam non crimen\nintendi, sed injuriam virginis desiderari, cujus inspectio et visitatio\npostulabatur, non aliquod flagitium deferebatur. Quis enim istud a\nprincipio fraude compositum nequaquam sibi congruere et convenire non\narbitraretur? Cucurrisse mulieres viles ad monasterium, jactasse partum\nvirginis, et necem pignoris, de monasterio rumorem per populos sparsum,\neumque affluxisse in aures novi affinis Maximi, ab ipso interpellatum\nepiscopum, dimissas eas qu\u00e6 dixisse ferebantur, atque in fugam coactas,\nut apud nos patuit: eos qui audisse se dicerent, ad Ecclesiam vocatos\nprodisse Renatum et Leontium, duos illos iniquitatis viros, quos\napposuit Jezabel, redarguit Daniel, subornavit Jud\u00e6orum populus; ut\nauctorem vit\u00e6 su\u00e6 falso appeterent testimonio. Qui tamen cum simul\ncomposuissent flagitium, simul ingressi essent viam, et ne quid\npr\u00e6teream a juncti Maximo, comitantibus, ut dixit Leontius, iis qui\nillum rumorem sparserant; tamen ubi in meo adstiterunt judicio, cum\nprimo de origine caus\u00e6 qu\u00e6rerem, diversa et distantia prompsere, non\nlocorum separati, sed mendaciorum divortio.\n\n20. Cum igitur sibi ipsi non convenirent, Mercurium et Leam vilissim\u00e6\nconditionis et detestabilioris nequiti\u00e6 personas amandavissent,\naufugisset Theudule, non ignara objiciendi sibi facinoris, quod ante\nlectum Renati sola cubitavisset, ancilla pr\u00e6esto esset alia, qu\u00e6 stupro\nejusdem Renati se diceret coinquinatam; die ipso, qui dictus erat\ncognitioni, subtraxerunt se episcoporum conventui; licet etiam pridie\nsubito se profecturos idem Renatus clamaverit.\n\n21. Unde ego judicio pr\u00e6scripsi diem, et tamen nullo accusante,\nnullis testimoniis perurgentibus, insinuavi sanct\u00e6 sorori quod peteres\ncoram ipsa inspici et visitari memoratam virginem. At illa sancte\ninspectionem quidem recusavit, sed testimonium non declinavit, dicens\nnihil se in Indicia comprehendisse, nisi quod esset virginalis pudoris\net sanctitatis: habitasse eam Rom\u00e6 in domo nostra, nobis absentibus,\nnulli eam se vitiorum familiaritati dedisse, optare cum ea sibi a\nDomino Jesu partem reservari in regno Dei.\n\n22. Paternam quoque filiam nostram interrogavi, quod ab ea numquam\nsoleat discedere, cujus caritas vit\u00e6 hujus testimonium est. Itaque\netsi quod injurata diceret, fidei sacramento conferendum foret; sub\nobstestatione tamen professa est alienam criminis quo appetebatur, nec\nquidquam in ea scire se bon\u00e6 vacuum conversationis.\n\n23. Nutricem quoque liber\u00e6 conditionis interrogavimus, cui et status\nhaudquaquam degeneri servitio obnoxius libertatem vera fatendi daret,\net fides atque \u00e6tas ad veritatem adstipularetur, et officium nutricis\nad cognitionem secreti. Ea quoque nihil se indecorum vidisse, nihil\nsibi quasi parenti commissum a virgine aliqua dignum reprehensione.\n\n24. His moti, Indiciam inoffensi virginem muneris pronuntiavimus:\nMaximum autem et Renatum et Leontium ita involvit sententia, ut Maximo,\nsi errorem emendaret, spes reditus reservaretur; Renatus autem et\nLeontius excommunicati manerent, nisi forte probata sui p\u0153nitentia, et\nhujus facti diuturna deploratione, dignos se pr\u00e6berent misericordia.\nVale, frater, et nos dilige; \u2666quia nos te diligimus.\n\n\n\n\n EPISTOLA VI.\n A.D. 380.\n\n\n CUM Syagrio quod Indiciam contumelios\u00e6 inspectioni sententia\n sua addixisset, Ambrosius amice expostulat; eique atrocissimam\n ultionem, quam Israelit\u00e6 ob violatam in levit\u00e6 uxore castitatem\n repetiverunt, ante oculos ponens, totam rei seriem eleganter\n describit.\n\n\n AMBROSIUS SYAGRIO.\n\n1. QU\u00c6 sint in nostro judicio decursa, comperta retines; et ideo nunc\nquasi anim\u00e6 portionem convenio me\u00e6, habens apud te pro castitatis\ncontumelia familiarem et dolentem querelam. Itane oportuit inoratam\natque inauditam virginitatis causam adjudicari, ut non possit absolvi?\nHoc est, nisi sua injuria, nisi ab honesto pudore traducatur ad\nindecoram sui corporis oblationem, grande videlicet relatura sui\ntestimonium, ut exponatur ludibrio, et procacitatis notetur. Hanc\nigitur pr\u00e6rogativam detulisti integritati, hujusmodi honorificentiam,\nqua se lacessiri aut invitari gaudeant, qu\u00e6 hoc munus recipiendum\nputant; ut amittant libertatem communis adsertionis, nec se jure\ntueantur vel sanct\u00e6 legis, vel publico, ut non accusatorem exigat, non\narcersitorem urgeat: sed impudentiam solam induat, ac sese projiciat\nad injuriam?\n\n Sidenote: Judg. xx. 1 sqq.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 47.\n\n2. Non ita majores nostri despicabilem habebant castimoniam, cui\ntantum deferebant reverenti\u00e6, ut bellum adversum temeratores pudiciti\u00e6\nsuscipiendum putarent. Denique tantum fuit ultionis studium; ut omnes\ntribules de Benjamin tribu extinguerentur, nisi sexcentos qui bello\nreliqui forent natura editioris loci defendisset; sic enim lectionis\ndivin\u00e6 serie expressum tenetur, cujus tenorem recensere congruit.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xix. 1 sqq.\n\n3. Levites vir animo major quam opibus, habitabat in partibus montis\nEphr\u00e6m; ei quippe tribui sortito obtigerat locus in possessionem\nterr\u00e6 datus pro funiculo hereditatis. Is sibi accepit jugalem de Juda\nBethleem. Et ut se habent prima copularum exordia, ardebat juvenculam\nimmodica animi cupiditate: simul quia similibus ejus non fungebatur,\nexardescebat magis magisque possessione, atque immane quantum\nex\u00e6stuabat. Unde quia nihil referebatur ex parte adolescentul\u00e6, vel\nlevitate amoris, vel vi doloris, quod haud quaquam mercede pari secum\ndecerneret, cum eadem expostulabat. Hinc frequens jurgium: quo mulier\noffensa, claves remisit, domum revertit.\n\n Sidenote: Judg. xix. 3 sqq.\n\n4. At ille amore victus, qui quod speraret non habebat aliud; cum\nquartum jam mensem fluere cerneret, eo contendit, fretus quod consilio\nparentum emolliretur animus adolescentul\u00e6. Occurrit pro foribus socer,\ngenerum introduxit, filiam reconciliavit; et ut l\u00e6tiores dimitteret,\ntriduo tenuit, quasi repararet nuptias: ac volenti abire, quartum\nquoque diem comperendinavit, pr\u00e6tenta humanitatis specie, moras\ninnectendo. Pari modo cum etiam quintum diem vellet adjungere\nsuperioribus, et jam nov\u00e6 deessent caus\u00e6 morandi, paterno tamen affectu\nretinend\u00e6 fili\u00e6 desiderium non deforet, promissam profectionis copiam\ndistulit in meridiem ut viam cibo curati adorirentur. Post epulas\nquoque volens dilationem adtexere, eo quod jam vesper appropinquaret,\ngeneri precibus, \u00e6gre licet, tamen adquievit.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 10 sqq.\n\n5. Ille iter suum perrexit l\u00e6tus animi, quod dilectam sibi\nrecuperavisset. Qui uno comitati servulo, cum jam declinaret\ndies, festino viam celerabant gradu. Mulier vehebatur jumento,\nviro nullus sensus laboris, qui fructu desiderii, simul et vario\nmulieris ac vernaculi sermone viam levaret. Denique ubi Hierosolymam\nappropinquarunt, qu\u00e6 triginta stadiis aberat, quam tunc temporis\nJebus\u00e6i tenebant; suggessit puer deflectendum in civitatem, quia\nsub noctem suspecta essent etiam illa, qu\u00e6 tutiora sunt, cavendaque\ntenebrarum ambigua; maxime quia locorum incol\u00e6 non essent de filiis\nIsrael. Et ideo pr\u00e6vertendum ne quid adversa studia gerentes insidiarum\ninferrent, obscuro noctis dolum qu\u00e6rentibus ad perpetrandum facinus\nsatis opportuno. Sed domino ejus haudquaquam placuit sententia, ut\ninter alienigenas hospitio succederent; cum Gaba et Rama non longe\nabessent civitates Benjamin. Itaque pr\u00e6valens sententia, posthabuit\nservuli suggestionem; quasi ex conditione consilium \u00e6stimaretur, et non\nconsilio quamvis infima conditio allevaretur. Et jam sol in occasu erat:\ndenique vix occurrit, cum jam urgeretur vespere in civitatem succedere.\n\n Sidenote: Judg. xix. 15 sqq.\n\n6. Gabaonit\u00e6 incolebant locum, inhospitales, immites, intolerabiles;\nomnia tamen tolerabiliores, quam si aliquem hospitio recepissent.\nDenique commodius huic viro levit\u00e6 cesserat, si in Gabaa hospitium\nnon reperisset. Verum ne quid deesset offensionis, primo ingressu\ndiversorium non reperit: et cum in publico situs, alienam misericordiam\nimploraret, offendit advenientem ex agro senem, quem vesper ex opere\nagresti compulit nocte decedere. Et cum esset ei conspicuus, rogatus\nquo iret, et unde adventaret, respondit: De Bethleem Juda revertor,\ncontendo ad montem Ephr\u00e6m, et mulier est mecum: sed ecce huc diverti,\net nemo est qui hospitio recipiat, et requiescendi usum ministret. Non\nquo cibi aut potus sibi, aut pecori pabulorum esset indigentia, sed\ntecti hospitio prohiberentur: pr\u00e6sto esse illa, nudum tecti hospitium\ndesiderari. Ad ea senior benigne satis et placide: Pax, inquit, tibi:\net succede hospes pariter et civis; nam et mihi origo de montis Ephr\u00e6m\npartibus, et hic hospitalis habitatio: sed tempore diuturno incolatus\nsedes fundavit. Itaque receptos domicilio ministerio sui et subsidiis\nhospitalibus juxta fovit.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 22.\n\n7. Hortabatur ad l\u00e6titiam senior, et frequentioribus provocabat\npoculis, ut vino aboleret curarum oblivia; cum subito circumsistunt\neos Gabaonit\u00e6, juvenes ad omnem projecti libidinem, nihil pensum ac\nmoderatum habentes: quos forma mulieris illexerat, et in omnem amentiam\npr\u00e6cipitabat; capti enim ejus decore, et per senectutem hospitis,\natque infirmitatem subsidii, accepta spe potiundi, poscunt mulierem,\net pulsant januam.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 23, 24.\n\n8. Itaque egressus senior rogabat eos, ne hospitales mensas turpi\nflagitio f\u0153darent, et reverendum jus etiam indomitis barbararum gentium\nnationibus violandum arbitrarentur: contribulem illum sibi, Israelitem\nvirum legitimi thori subnixum copula non sine indignatione c\u00e6lestis\narbitri tanta affici contumelia. Quod ubi parum procedere advertit,\nesse sibi filiam virginem adjecit, illam se offerre majore parentis\ndolore, sed minore grati\u00e6 hospitalis dispendio: publicum flagitium\nprivato dedecore tolerabilius habere. At illi exagitati \u00e6stu furoris,\net inflammati incentivo libidinis, eo amplius ardebant formam juvencul\u00e6,\nquo magis negabatur. Et justiti\u00e6 exsortes ridebant verba \u00e6quitatis,\nfiliam senis, quia minore invidia sceleris offerebatur, despectui\nhabentes.\n\n Sidenote: Judg. xix. 25 sqq.\n\n9. Itaque cum pi\u00e6 nihil proficerent preces, et seniles frustra hospes\nmanus tenderet, desperato pr\u00e6sidio, rapitur mulier, et per totam\nnoctem injuri\u00e6 impletur. At ubi lux finem intemperanti\u00e6 dedit, januam\nhospitalem repetit, non quo viri conspectum exposceret, quem magis\ndeclinandum putaret, contumeli\u00e6 pudore miserabilis: sed ut affectum\nviro referret, qu\u00e6 castitatem amiserat, et contumeli\u00e6 su\u00e6 funus\nlamentabili specie ante januam hospitalem exponeret. Egressus itaque\nlevita, cum jacentem invenisset, arbitratus quod verecundia vultum\nnequaquam adtollere auderet, consolari c\u0153pit: quia non voluntate, sed\ninvita tant\u00e6 injuri\u00e6 succubuisset: hortari adsurgere, et secum repetere\ndomum. Sed ubi nullum responsum referebatur, quasi quiescentem majore\nvoce e somno excitare.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 28.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 20 sqq.\n\n10. Verum ubi mortis suprem\u00e6 patuit fides, impositas jumento reliquias\ndomum pertulit, et divisos artus mulieris in partes duodecim misit\nper singulas tribus Israel. Quo commotus universus populus convenit\nin Massephat, atque ibi querela per levitam cognita, omnes in bellum\nexarsere, statuentes neminem virorum fas esse in tabernaculum succedere,\npriusquam de tanti sceleris auctoribus ultio capesseretur. Animis\nitaque ruebant in pr\u00e6lium; sed consilium prudentiorum pr\u00e6vertit\nsententiam, non temere confligendum bello cum civibus, sed prius verbis\nexperiendum de flagitio, et decernendum conditionibus pro delictis:\nneque justum videri, ut paucorum sceleris pretium ad omnes perveniret,\net privata adolescentium peccata statum salutis public\u00e6 labefactarent.\nItaque miserunt viros, qui denuntiarent Gabaonitis, ut tanti reos\nflagitii offerrent: sin autem, cognoscerent non minoris esse criminis\ntantum facinus defendisse, quam exercuisse.\n\n Sidenote: Judg. xix. 15 sqq.\n\n11. Verum illis superba referentibus, consilia pacis bello mutata.\nNeque primo aut secundo conflictu cum plurimi a paucis afflictarentur,\ncedendum Israelit\u00e6 adversis pr\u00e6liis \u00e6stimarunt; quadringenta enim\nmillia virorum bellantium adversum vigintiquinque millia Benjamin\ntribus, et septingentos Gabaonitas expertos belli juvenes decertabant.\nEt cum sinistra sorte duo sibi jam cecidissent pr\u00e6lia; animi tamen\npromtus haudquaquam deposuit Israel vincendi fiduciam, et ulciscendi\npr\u00e6sumtam spem.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 26 sqq.\n\n12. Sed quia causa numeroque pr\u00e6stantiores, inferiores pugn\u00e6 eventu\npedem retulerant, divinam offensam rati, jejunio et fletu maximo\nreconciliationem grati\u00e6 c\u0153lestis affectavere. Itaque orata Domini pace,\nacriores in bellum revertuntur; ut pote quibus oraculum animos dederat,\nspem accumulaverat. Et simulato a fronte quod cederetur, ac dispositis\nper noctem insidiis a tergo urbis, in qua locata erat manus hostium;\ndum hi cedunt, et illi sectantur, invadendi urbem vacuam facta copia,\net mox admoto statimque adulto incendio, flammarum fragor atque \u00e6stus\nfurens capt\u00e6 urbis speciem manifestarunt. Quo et suis fracti animi, et\nerecti hostium. Nam et Benjamin viri clausos se et circumventos rati,\npriusquam a tergo invaderentur, dispergere sese, atque in desertum\nfugere c\u0153perunt; et contra Israel gemino agmine urgere eos, ac palantes\npersequi.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 35 sqq.\n\n13. C\u00e6sa itaque \u2666vigintiquinque millia, id est, omnes fere de viris\nBenjamin, pr\u00e6ter sexcentos, qui arrepto scrupe\u00e6 rupis munimento,\npartim loci ingenio et subsidio natur\u00e6, partim desperatione victoribus\nterrori fuere. Nam secund\u00e6 res cautionis admonent: in adversis ultio\npro victoria habetur. Nec feminarum numerus tanti discriminis exsors\nfuit: sed omnis tribus Benjamin muliebris sexus cum pueris et puellis,\nomnique \u00e6tate gladio aut igne extinctus; sacramentumque additum, ne\nquis tribus illius viro filiam suam in uxorem daret, quo reparandi\nnominis omnis aboleretur successio.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. xxi. 2, 3.\n\n14. Belli finis simul atque ir\u00e6 factus, et furor in p\u0153nitentiam vertit:\narmisque positis, in unum convenientes viri Israel fleverunt fletum\nmagnum, et celebrarunt jejunium, dolentes unam tribum perisse ex\nfratribus, atque extinctam populi sui validam manum: jure quidem pro\ndelicti pretio bellatum adversum propugnatores flagitiorum, sed misere\nin sua populum conversum viscera, et bello civili utrumque afflictum.\nLacrymarum effusio movit passionem animi, et affectum perpulit, s\u00e6viti\u00e6\nratio successit: missique legati ad sexcentos illos Benjamin viros, qui\nper quatuor menses edito se pr\u00e6ruptarum tuebantur rupium, aut deserti\nindigentia, qu\u00e6 multitudini obsidentium periculo foret, deploraverunt\ncommunem illam \u00e6rumnam, quod illi contribules, isti cognatos et\nsocios amisissent; sed tamen non penitus interceptam reparand\u00e6 tribus\nsuccessionem, consulere se in medium quomodo et sacramenti fides sibi\nconstet, et tribus una nequaquam a corpore avulsa intercidat.\n\n Sidenote: Judg. xxi. 4 sqq.\n\n15. Altari itaque posito, reconciliationis et pacis oblatum\nsacrificium. Et quia Jabis Galaad populus erat p\u0153n\u00e6 et maledicto\nobnoxius, (obstrinxerat enim se omnis Israel magno sacramento, ut si\nquis non ascendisset cum eo ad puniendum flagitium, morte moreretur,)\nduodecim millia bellatorum directa: ut et viri omnes et mulieres ferro\nextinguerentur, solas virilis thori exsortes reservarent adolescentulas.\nInterfectis itaque omnibus Jabis Galaad, sol\u00e6 virgines quadringent\u00e6\nexitio ceterorum superfuerunt. Quas accipiens Israel, statuit viros\nBenjamin belli metum deponere, et in conjugium sibi sumere integras\n\u00e6vi juxta ac pudoris puellas: quibus et causa esset apud viros integra,\nquod nemo suorum adversum eos bellum susceperat: et caritatis gratia,\nquia propter eos supremo supplicio erept\u00e6 forent. Hoc igitur modo\nquadringentis juvenibus qu\u00e6sita copularum consortia sunt.\n\n Sidenote: Ib. 16 sqq.\n\n16. Sed quia ducenti numero supererant, quibus jugales deerant, iis\nquoque sine fraude sacramentorum consultum accepimus. Die festus in\nSilo quotannis celebrabatur. Ibi exsultare solit\u00e6 virgines, et choreas\nducere in honorem religionis: ali\u00e6 pr\u00e6ire matribus, et totum iter\nagmine viantum repleri. Dixit unus ex senioribus: Si ducenti illi\ntribus Benjamin viri intra vineas siti excubias tenderent, donec se\nomnis feminea turba effunderet, et surgentes ex vineis unusquisque quam\noccursus dederit, uxorem sibi vindicaret, fraudi id nequaquam futurum;\npopulum etenim favere reparand\u00e6 tribus successioni, propter sacramentum\nimpertire non posse filiarum suarum societatem: neque tamen contra\nsacramentum videri, si prohibendum non putaret; quia sacramento neque\ncogendi, neque prohibendi necessitas imposita videretur: illos sibi\nsine metu consulere oportere. Sane si puellarum parentes vindictam\nefflagitarent, partim prece, partim etiam retorquendo in ipsos\ninvit\u00e6 culpam custodi\u00e6, sese revocaturos; quia cum scirent Benjamin\nviros exsortes esse jugalium, cum filiabus processerint: dignam sane\ntribum jam non p\u0153na, sed misericordia: satis dure s\u00e6vitum in eos,\net debellatam corporis sui partem: immoderatius exarsisse plebem, ut\nsuccessionem domesticam extingueret, atque ex suis necaret: placere Deo\nnon perire populo tribum, neque pro una muliere tam acerbe consuli.\n\n Sidenote: Judg. xxi. 23.\n\n17. Probaverunt consilium Israelit\u00e6: exsequuti sunt viri Benjamin, et\ndispositi in vineis loco opportuno et tempore, plenas feminei agminis\nvias occupaverunt. Pr\u00e6buit illis festum nuptiarum religionis solemnitas.\nAvuls\u00e6 de complexu patrum fili\u00e6, tanquam in manum ab ipsis parentibus\ntradebantur, et velut pactam e gremio matris non abduci, sed prodire\narbitrareris. Ita tribus Benjamin pene intercepta atque extincta\nbrevi floruit, documentum exhibens, quod magno exitio sit insolentibus\nvindicta pudiciti\u00e6, et l\u00e6s\u00e6 castitatis ultio.\n\n Sidenote: Gen. xii. 17.\n\n18. Nec hoc solo loco, sed plerisque Scriptura hoc docet. Nam et in\nGenesi legimus exercitum qu\u00e6stionibus regem \u00c6gypti Pharao, quod Saram\nadtentavisset; et tamen alienam esse uxorem nesciebat.\n\n Sidenote: S. Luke xx. 36.\n\n19. Est igitur Domino castitatis tuend\u00e6 voluntas, quanto magis est\ndefensand\u00e6 integritatis? Unde nulla debet virginibus sacris irrogari\ninjuria; qu\u00e6 enim non nubunt, et qui uxores non ducunt, habentur sicut\nAngeli Dei in c\u00e6lo. Et ideo c\u0153lesti grati\u00e6 non inferamus corporalem\ncontumeliam; quoniam potens est Deus, quem nec pr\u00e6varicatio pr\u00e6tereat,\net moveat accepti sibi muneris et consecrat\u00e6 virginitatis acerba et\ngravis contumelia. Vale, frater, et nos dilige: quia nos te diligimus.\n\n\n\n\n INDEX.\n\n\n A\n\n _AARON_\n Called by God to the Priesthood, 373.\n A pattern for Bishops and Priests, ib.\n Took \u2666precedence of Moses as Priest, 404.\n Why he took the rings and ear-rings of the people, 373.\n The meaning of his rod budding, 18, 270, 376.\n\n _Abel_\n Why his offering was accepted, 230.\n\n _Abraham_\n Ministered to his guests with his own hand, 3.\n His belief silenced the superstition of his countrymen, 320.\n The greatness of his faith, 456.\n And trust in God, 349.\n His ready obedience, 472.\n How he saw Christ\u2019s day, 423.\n All Christians his children, 455.\n\n _Absolution_\n Follows on confession, 250.\n\n _Abstinence_\n The excellence of it, 366.\n [See _Temperance_.]\n\n _Abundantius_\n Bp. of Trent, 33.\n Condemns Palladius, 54.\n (In p. 60. is called Bishop of Brescia.)\n\n _Acholius_\n Brought up in monastic life, 84.\n Elected Bishop of Thessalonica by the clergy, at the wish of\n the people, ib.\n Ambrose writes a letter on his death, 80 &c.\n Baptised Theodosius, 80.\n Was present at the Council of Constantinople, ib.\n Visited Ambrose when sick, 83.\n Designated Anysius as his successor, ib.\n Summoned to Constantinople on the question of Maximus\u2019 claim\n to the see, 77.\n\n _Adam_\n His fall, 304.\n His greatness before his fall, 305.\n Upheld himself till united to Eve, 317.\n Before his fall was clothed with virtue, after it, was naked,\n 348.\n Fasting would have saved him from this nakedness, 286.\n The serpent that tempted him was sensual pleasure, 363.\n Might have retained his original innocence, 434.\n Fell through pride, ib.\n His folly in hiding himself, 133.\n Said to be buried on Golgotha, 423.\n\n _Adoption_, the\n Means Redemption, 231.\n Begun now, perfected hereafter, ib.\n\n _\u00c6thiopians_\n Practiced circumcision, 425.\n\n _Africanus_\n His victory over Hannibal appealed to by Ambrose, 102.\n\n _Agnes_\n Went gladly to her martyrdom, 247.\n\n _Ahab_ poor\n Naboth rich, 252.\n\n _Alani_, the\n Conquered by Valentinian, 179.\n\n _Alexander_\n A presbyter of Milan, 286.\n\n _Alexander the great_\n Calanus\u2019 letter to, 246.\n\n _Alexandria_\n A church there burnt by the Gentiles and Jews, 263.\n The Church of, in full communion with Milan, 73.\n\n _Almachius_\n Bp. takes part in the Council of Aquileia, 33, 61.\n\n _Almon_, the river\n Worship of Cybele connected with, 111.\n\n _Alypius_\n Ambrose replies to a letter of recommendation from, 476.\n\n _Amantius_, Bp. of Nice\n Takes part in the Council of Aquileia, 33, 60.\n His condemnation of Palladius, 56.\n\n _Ambrosia and Ambrosius_\n Daughter and son of Eusebius, 333, 334.\n\n _Ambrose_, Bp. of Milan\n Alludes to his election as Bishop, 139.\n To his endeavours to escape from undertaking the office, 379.\n Praised in the Emperor\u2019s letter about the Council of Aquileia,\n 34.\n Celebrated the Holy Communion daily, 132.\n Praises the Clergy who do not desert their duties, 74.\n Devotes all his goods to the poor, 130.\n Pays deference to the Emperors, but will not yield to them in\n the cause of the Church, 143.\n Pleads illness to Theodosius, 326.\n Visited by Acholius in his sickness, 83.\n Had purposed to be buried under the altar, where the relics of\n Gervasius and Protasius were placed, 162.\n Answers a letter from Gratian, and promises him a treatise on\n the Holy Spirit, 2 &c.\n Induced him not to listen to claims for the restoration of\n heathen worship, 91.\n Writes to Valentinian against the same claims, 87 &c.\n Prevents a reply to \u2666Symmachus\u2019 memorial, 101.\n Alludes to this in addressing Eugenius, 341.\n Relates to his sister the persecutions of Justina, 128 &c.\n His sermon on the giving up of the Basilica, 131.\n Another sermon against Auxentius, 142 &c.\n Introduces the Eastern chanting and singing of hymns, 156.\n Refuses to have his dispute with Auxentius settled in the\n Consistory before the Emperor, 137 &c.\n Finds the relics of Gervasius and Protasius, 158.\n His sermon on the subject, 159.\n A second sermon on the same subject, 162.\n Mentions the healing of a blind man, and other miracles, 158,\n 163.\n Writes to the Bishops of \u00c6milia to settle disputes about the\n time of keeping the Easter festival, 166.\n Alludes to his first embassy to Maximus in behalf of Justina\n and her son, 178.\n Writes an account of his second embassy to Valentinian, 176 &c.\n Warns Valentinian not to trust Maximus, 181.\n Writes to Theodosius about the burning of the Synagogue at\n Callinicum, 237 &c.\n Preaches on the subject, 269 &c.\n Prevails with Theodosius to withdraw his sentence, 279.\n Replies to Siricius\u2019 letter against Jovinian in the name of the\n Council of Milan, 282.\n Writes to Theodosius after the Massacre at Thessalonica, 324 &c.\n Boldly bids him repent, 327.\n Refuses to admit him to communion till he does, 328.\n Writes to Theodosius on the death of Valentinian the 2nd, 331.\n His letter on the dispute between Evagrius and Flavian as to\n the succession to the see of Antioch, 336.\n Writes to Eugenius, 341 &c.\n Recounts his efforts against the restoration of heathen rights,\n 342.\n Writes to the Church at Vercellae when troubled by disputes,\n and unable to elect a Bishop, 357 &c.\n Ambrose usually writes with his own hand, 312.\n Mentions his Hex\u00e4emeron, 287.\n His work on Paradise, 302.\n Gives Vigilius an outline of the teaching he should give as\n Bishop, 114.\n Gives an account of his discussion with an Apollinarian, 306 &c.\n\n _Ammianus_\n One of the Bishops of Macedonia, 80.\n\n _Anatolius_\n One of the Bishops of Macedonia, 80.\n\n _Angels_\n Guard Christ\u2019s servants, 146.\n Are grieved to be ministers of vengeance, 227.\n\n _Anna_\n An example of the blessedness of widowhood, 285.\n\n _Antioch_\n Schism in the Church of, 71.\n Synod of Capua deals with it, 336.\n\n _Anysius_\n Succeeds Acholius as Bishop of Thessalonica, 83.\n Ambrose writes to him on his appointment, 85.\n\n _Apame_\n Concubine of Darius, 238.\n\n _Aper_\n A presbyter, subscribes the letter of the Synod of Milan to\n Siricius, 287.\n\n _Apollinarian heresy_\n Alluded to, 78.\n An account of Ambrose\u2019s dealing with one who maintained it,\n 306 &c.\n That Christ was perfect God and perfect Man to be maintained\n against them, 316.\n\n _Apostles_\n First-fruits of the Lord, 230, 231.\n Enlightened to interpret Holy Scripture, 188.\n\n _Apostles\u2019 Creed_\n Mentioned, 284.\n\n _Aquila_\n His version mentioned, 431.\n\n _Aquileia_, Council of\n Its Acts, 32\u201361.\n The occasion of it, 31.\n Its letter to the Bishops of Gaul, 61.\n Letters to the Emperors, 62, 67, 70.\n\n _Arabians_\n Used circumcision, 425.\n\n _Ariminum_, council of\n At first condemned Arius, afterwards was misled, 141.\n Called Christ a creature, 152.\n\n _Arian heresy_\n Refuted at the Council of Aquileia, 32\u201363.\n A Church claimed for the Arians at Milan, 128.\n The troubles arising thence, 129 &c.\n S. Ambrose preaches against them, 143 &c.\n Refuses to believe the \u2666evidence of miracles, 165.\n Called Christ a creature, 141.\n\n _Arius_\n Denied to the Son the titles given to the Father, 64.\n His letter read at the Council of Aquileia, 51 &c.\n\n _Ark of the Covenant_\n Interpretation of, 18.\n\n _Artemius_\n A bishop at the Council of Aquileia, 33, 61.\n\n _Athanasius_\n His authority appealed to, 76, 79.\n\n _Attalus_, a presbyter\n Condemned by the Council of Aquileia, 65.\n Signed the Nicene formula, 50.\n\n _Auxentius_, Arian bishop at Milan\n Challenges Ambrose to \u2666arbitration, 137.\n Ambrose will meet him in a Synod, 141.\n Preaches against him, 143 &c.\n Auxentius came from Scythia, 157.\n Formerly called Mercurianus, ib.\n Contemns Christian Baptism, 157.\n\n _Avarice_\n Perverts men\u2019s judgments, 10.\n [See _Covetous_.]\n\n\n B\n\n _BALAAM_\n His history commented on, 319 &c.\n His words prophetic of Baptism, 321.\n\n _Balance_, the\n Of God\u2019s Judgment, 10.\n\n _Baptism_\n Is a death to sin, 321.\n The complete redemption of the whole man, 429.\n John baptised to repentance, Christ to grace, 157.\n Typified by the Red sea, 115, 420.\n Faith not sufficient without Baptism, 26.\n The baptised should be dead to sin, 362.\n Have died with Christ, and live again with Him.\n\n _Baptistery_\n S. Ambrose teaches in, 129.\n\n _Barbatianus and Sarmatio_\n Heretics who troubled the church of Vercellae, 360.\n Disparaged strictness of life, 361.\n Worse than Epicurus, 362.\n\n _Basilica_\n Those at Milan mentioned, 128, 136, 158.\n Many burnt by Jews in the reign of Julian, 262.\n\n _Bassianus, Bp. of Lodi_\n Takes part in the Council of Aquileia, 33, 60.\n His condemnation of \u2666Palladius, 55.\n Subscribes the letter of the Council of Milan, to Pope\n Siricius, 287.\n\n _Bassus, Bp._\n 340.\n\n _Bauto_\n An officer of rank under Valentinian, 177, 179, 342.\n\n _Beershebah_\n Meaning of, 383.\n\n _Bethany_\n Meaning of, 422.\n\n _Bethlehem_\n Meaning of, 414.\n Mystical interpretation of, 416.\n\n _Bishop_\n The word Sacerdos often used of, 1.\n Instructions for a newly elected, 5, 114.\n Is the pilot of the Church, ib.\n Should be filled with Scripture, 6.\n What he should preach, 7, &c.\n Is a physician of souls, 15.\n The guardian of his flock, 115.\n Should extirpate prevailing sins, 116.\n Must be husband of one wife only, 375.\n A pattern of Christian virtues, 377.\n Able to govern himself, ib.\n His unanimous election a proof of the judgment of God, 359.\n Must speak his mind boldly, 257.\n Bishops the proper judges of questions concerning the Faith,\n 141.\n And of Bishops, 138.\n Are judges of emperors not emperors of them, 139.\n Should not readily appeal to the civil sword, 185.\n Must forbid mixed marriages, 115 &c.\n Lovers of peace except in the defence of the Church, 259.\n Their poverty an excuse for non-attendance at distant Councils,\n 34, 337.\n Their consecration day their birthday, 17.\n Should be chosen for holiness of life, 374.\n\n _Blindness_, spiritual\n How healed by Christ, 461.\n\n _Body_, the\n To be chastened, 249.\n Bodily sickness sent for the healing of the soul, 458.\n\n _Bononia_\n 254.\n\n _Bonosus_, letter concerning\n Probably written by Siricius, certainly not by Ambrose, 339.\n\n _Brixillum_\n 254.\n\n\n C\n\n _CABILLONUM_\n (Ch\u00e2lons-\u2666sur-Sa\u00f4ne,) 181.\n\n _Caesar_\n (see _Emperor_.)\n\n _Cain_\n A warning to Christians, 8.\n\n _Calanus_\n His letter to Alexander the Great, 246.\n\n _Calligonus_\n His threats to Ambrose, 137.\n\n _Callinicum_\n A synagogue there burnt by the Christians, 257 &c.\n\n _Camillus_\n His victory not due to heathen gods, 102.\n\n _Campania_\n A pleasant retreat from the troubles of the world, 350.\n\n _Candidianus_\n A letter of Ambrose to him.\n\n _Capua_, synod of\n Seeks to settle the disputed succession at Antioch, 336 &c.\n Deals with the case of Bonosus, 339.\n\n _Cassianus_, a Bishop\n Takes part in the Council of Aquileia, 33, 61.\n\n _\u2666Castulus_, an Arian presbyter\n Seized by the Christians, and rescued by Ambrose\u2019 order, 129.\n\n _Catechumens_\n Dismissed after the Lessons and Sermon, 129.\n\n _Chald\u00e6an astrologers_\n Have no hope in the stars which they watch, 232.\n\n _Charity_\n Makes men loved by God, 242.\n\n _Chastity_\n Its excellence, 105, 368.\n (see _Virginity_.)\n\n _Children_, the three\n Their freedom, 25.\n\n _Christians_\n Truly free and wise, 242.\n In Ambrose\u2019s time formed a majority in the Senate, 90.\n Deprived of their common rights by Julian, 89.\n Prospered under persecution, 104.\n Should desire peace, but not fear persecution, 132.\n\n _Christ_\n The true David, 311.\n Almighty, 145.\n How subject, 229.\n Both Son and Servant, 307.\n Became a servant for us, ib.\n To make us free, 243, 311.\n Perfect God and perfect Man, 309.\n Was made a curse that we might be blessed, 152, 308, 312.\n Came to restore us by Grace, 305.\n Was the true Melchisedeck, 373.\n His birth of a Virgin maintained against Jovinian, 284.\n Is the Virgin Word, 214.\n Both Priest and Victim, 302.\n The highest Example, 14.\n Was circumcised to fulfil the law, 78, 3.\n Fasted as a pattern to us, 363.\n Obeyed the law to the full, 23.\n His healings true miracles, 80, 2.\n Wins men by His goodness, 271.\n Having forgiven, demands of us forgiveness, 272.\n Why He wrote on the ground, 184, 188.\n Desires the pardon of all men, 189.\n His healing of the blind man interpreted mystically, 80.\n The praises of Christ the scourge of heretics, 150.\n His words to His Mother from the cross, 393.\n His drinking the vinegar, 402.\n Was alone when He redeemed the world, 318.\n Needed no redemption Himself, 23.\n Nor any to help Him to redeem it, 393.\n Suffered in the flesh, not in the Godhead, 42, 103.\n Died for all men, 272, 373.\n Nailed our sins to His Cross, 394.\n Paid the debt which we owed, 373.\n Was the Rock, 390.\n The Lamb, 400.\n The Bridegroom, 214.\n His Blood the Cup of Redemption, 22.\n Died and rose again by His own power, 463.\n How the first-fruits from the dead, 230.\n As Son of Man sits at the right hand of God, and we in Him,\n 446.\n Sits as Judge, 360.\n In what sense He does not judge, 454.\n All Christians are Members of His Body, 273.\n United to Him as Eve to Adam, 445.\n The feebler members His feet, 277.\n Is the true chief good of man, 201.\n His followers in what sense bound, 464.\n Where peace and righteousness are, there is Christ, 359.\n Where Christ is there are all good things, 18.\n Christ is our Rest, 299.\n Carnal men not in Christ, 256.\n Raises up those that fall, if with Him, 462.\n To kiss Christ means to confess Him, 274.\n To be Christ\u2019s prisoner better than to be freed by others, 389.\n How He is the Giant of salvation, 211.\n The Source of happiness, 202.\n The Light of the soul, 204.\n The Fountain of life, 205.\n The wisdom of God, 399.\n How He restores the soul, 216.\n\n _Chromatius_, a presbyter\n Takes part in the Council of Aquileia, 50, 53, 63.\n\n _Church_\n Prefigured by the woman who anointed the feet of Jesus, 266,\n 270.\n By the poor widow who cast two mites into the treasury, 186.\n Foretold by the prophets, 412.\n Founded not on the Law but on Faith, 152.\n Is a ship in the sea of the world, 5.\n A rock unshaken by its waves, ib.\n Its members Christ\u2019s soldiers, 195.\n Kisses the feet of Christ, 275.\n Is a Virgin espoused to Christ, 370.\n The only safe resting-place, 371.\n The true second Tabernacle, 18.\n Looks for immortality, 439.\n Faith its only possession, 107.\n Its wealth the support of the poor, ib.\n Its lands pay tribute to the Emperors, 155.\n Nothing lost to the Church which is gained to piety, 469.\n What are its true riches, 212.\n Belongs to Christ, not to the Emperor, 156.\n\n _Cimbri_\n Their spoils used to build heathen temples, 261.\n\n _Circumcision_\n Why enjoined in the old Test. though abrogated in the new,\n 423 &c., 437.\n Other questions concerning, 424.\n Practised by the heathen, 425.\n Superseded by Christ\u2019s Death, 426.\n The true Circumcision spiritual, 428.\n Of the heart not of the flesh, 430.\n Not binding on the Gentiles, 431.\n\n _Clarus_\n One of the Bishops of Macedonia, 80.\n\n _Claterna_\n 254.\n\n _Clergy_\n Are the Lord\u2019s portion, 465.\n The sole ministers of public worship, 106.\n Their reward future and heavenly, 462.\n Christ their support, 463.\n Forbidden to contract second marriages by the Council of Nicaea,\n (but see note,) 379.\n Forbidden to inherit property by wills, 106.\n\n _Comacine_\n Rocks, 335.\n\n _Comum_, the people of\n Mostly Christians, 19.\n\n _Competentes_, (candidates for baptism)\n S. Ambrose taught them the Creed, 129.\n\n _Confession_\n Justifies sinners, 329.\n The duty of sinners, 327.\n Urged on Theodosius, ib.\n David a pattern of, 326.\n Necessary for forgiveness, 419.\n\n _Counsels_\n Different from commandments, 370.\n\n _Councils_\n Held separately in the East and West, 35.\n Council of Aquileia, 33\u201361.\n Letters written by S. Ambrose in its name, 61, 62, 67, 70.\n Held a second session, 74.\n Not fully informed of the decrees of that of Constantinople,\n 73.\n The second council of Constantinople, 79.\n\n _Constantine_, the Emperor\n Gave to the Bishops the decision in question of faith, 141.\n\n _Constantinople_, the Bishop\u2019s house at\n Burnt, 262.\n\n _Constantius_, Emperor\n Ordered the removal of the altar of Victory, 112.\n Gave to the Bishops the decision in question of faith, 141.\n\n _Constantius_, a newly elected Bishop\n Receives advice from S. Ambrose, 5 etc.\n Who commends to his care the see of Imola, (Forum Cornelii,)\n then vacant, 14.\n\n _Constantius_, Bishop of Sciscia\n Takes part in the Council of Aquileia, 33, 61.\n Condemns Palladius, 56.\n Signs the Letter to Siricius from the Council of Milan, 287.\n\n _Constantius_, (or Constantinus,) Bishop of Orange\n Takes part in the Council of Aquileia, 33, 35, 38.\n Condemns Palladius, 54.\n Was present as representing the Bishops of Gaul, 61.\n\n _Conversion_\n Its blessedness urged on Theodosius, 327.\n No cause of shame, 103.\n Pleasing to God, 268.\n Even at the last, wins paradise, 423.\n Its stages, 423 &c.\n\n _Correction_\n A proof of love, 414.\n\n _Cross_, sign of the\n Used continually by Christians, and why, 427.\n\n _Count_, of the East\n 259, note.\n\n _Creature_, the\n How made subject to vanity, 225 &c.\n\n _Curse_, of man\n To be desired, if it bring a blessing from God, 392.\n\n _Cybele_\n Heathen rites in honour of, 111.\n\n _Cycle_\n Of nineteen years for Easter, 166.\n\n _Cyrus_\n An instance of reverse of fortune, 113.\n\n\n D\n\n _DALMATIUS_\n Conveys Valentinian\u2019s commands to Ambrose, 137.\n\n _Damasus_, Bishop of Rome\n Writes to S. Ambrose, 91.\n\n _Daniel_\n A type of those who refuse allegiance to the Prince of this\n world, 25.\n\n _David_\n His two wives Ahinoam and Abigail, mystically explained, 215.\n Nathan\u2019s expostulation with, applied to Theodosius by Ambrose,\n 278.\n His life an example of the change of fortune, 13.\n Guilty before God alone, 243.\n His humble confession a good example, 327.\n Why he danced before the ark, 347.\n\n _Death_\n The fear of, slavish, 245.\n Not a cause of sorrow since Christ\u2019s Atonement, 256.\n\n _Dead_\n Prayers and offerings to be made for the, 255.\n Not to be mourned for, if in Christ, 256.\n\n _Debtors_\n Usually set free in Holy Week, 129.\n Mankind debtors, set free by Christ, 271.\n\n _Decani_\n Who they were, 129, note.\n\n _Delphinus_, Bp.\n A letter to, 475.\n\n _Demarchus_\n An Epicurean, (see note.), 365.\n\n _Demophilus_\n Elected by the Arians Bishop of Constantinople, 70, note.\n\n _Detraction_\n Evil and danger of, 372.\n\n _Devil_, the\n Held mankind in slavery through sin, 426.\n The price of our freedom paid to him, ib.\n His envy against man, the cause of discord among Christians,\n 71.\n Allowed to tempt men, that they may be proved, 132.\n The devil testifies to the miraculous power of the relics of\n Gervasius and Protasius, 164.\n\n _Diocese_\n Original meaning of the term, 33, note.\n\n _Diocletian_\n Era of, 171, note.\n\n _Diogenes_, Bishop of Genoa\n Takes part in the Council of Aquileia, 33, 61.\n Condemns Palladius, 56.\n\n _Dionysius_, Bishop of Milan\n Driven into exile by Valens, 380.\n S. Ambrose calls himself the successor to his heritage, 149.\n\n _Discipline_\n The contrary of insolence, 193.\n\n _Dodona_, oaks of\n Worshipped by heathens, 107.\n\n _Domninus_, Bishop of Grenoble\n Takes part in the Council of Aquileia, 33, 60.\n\n _Drachma_, the\n In the parable represents Redemption, 20.\n\n\n E\n\n _EAST_\n Civil Diocese of, 259.\n\n _Easter_\n A letter of S. Ambrose as to the time of observance of,\n 166 &c.\n Table of, during S. Ambrose\u2019s time, ib.\n Importance of uniformity in regard of, shewn from Scripture,\n 168.\n How to be kept truly, 175.\n\n _Eclipses_\n Their causes, 226.\n\n _Egyptians_\n Disapproved of the sacrifice of animals, 191.\n And shepherds, ib.\n Devoted to geometry and astronomy, 425.\n Egyptian dogs, meaning of, 168.\n Going down unto Egypt means following the vices of the\n Egyptians, 193.\n Their harvest in the first month of the year, 172.\n Their priests were circumcised, 425.\n\n _Eight_\n Mystical meaning of, 297, 301.\n\n _Eleazar_\n His history teaches the doctrine of ordination, 377.\n\n _Elias_\n How rich, 252.\n Conquered on earth, triumphed in heaven, 295.\n Strengthened by abstinence, 382.\n His history mystically interpreted, 383.\n Acholius compared to, 83.\n\n _Elisha_\n How a type of Christ, 363.\n Acholius compared to, 82.\n His praying that his servant\u2019s eyes may be opened applied,\n 161.\n\n _Enoch_\n His riches, 252.\n\n _Emperor_, the\n Should be the first to obey his own laws, 140.\n Should submit himself to God, 343.\n Good emperors love freedom, the bad, slavery, 257.\n Should not forbid obedience to God, 345.\n Is in the Church, not over the Church, 157.\n The Church benefited by Christian Emperors, 328.\n Who are God\u2019s soldiers, 88.\n And pay honour to God\u2019s Altar only, 104.\n Have no power over the things of God, 130, 133, 155.\n Emperors have oftener coveted the Priesthood than Priests\n sovereignty, 135.\n What should be rendered to C\u00e6sar, 25.\n\n _Ephratah_\n Meaning of, 415.\n\n _Epicurus_\n Allowed evil consequences from pleasure, 362.\n Better than false teachers among Christians, 364.\n His followers believed in no future state, ib.\n\n _Esdras_, Book of\n Its study recommended, 224.\n\n _Esther_\n A pattern of the power of fasting, 368.\n\n _Eucherius_\n Consul at the time of the Council of Aquileia, 32.\n\n _Eugenius_\n Set up as Emperor by Arbogastes, 341.\n S. Ambrose writes to him against the restoration of heathen\n worship, ib.\n\n _Eusebius_, Bishop of Bologna\n Takes part in the Council of Aquileia, 33, 35 &c., 60.\n His condemnation of Palladius, 54.\n Disputes with Secundianus, 57 &c.\n\n _Eusebius_\n One of the Bishops of Macedonia, 80.\n\n _Eusebius_, Bishop of Vercell\u00e6\n His unanimous election, 359.\n First combined the duties of monk and bishop, 379.\n Was a true confessor, 380.\n Driven into exile by Valens, for refusing to condemn\n Athanasius, ib.\n\n _Eusebius_, a layman\n Friend of S. Ambrose, 333.\n\n _Eustathius_\n One of the Bishops at the Synod of Aquileia, 33, 61.\n\n _Eustorgius_\n A confessor, 149.\n\n _\u2666Eutropius_\n One of the Bishops of Macedonia, 80.\n\n _Evagrius_\n His rivalry with Flavian for the see of Antioch, 336.\n S. Ambrose\u2019s opinion thereon, 338.\n\n _Evagrius_, a presbyter\n Appears at Aquileia as a deputy, 36, 61.\n\n _Eventius_, Bishop of Ticinum\n Takes part in the Council of Aquileia, 60.\n Condemns Palladius, 54.\n Signs the letter from the Council of Milan to Pope Siricius,\n 287.\n\n _Exsuperantius_, Bishop of Dertona\n Takes part in the Council of Aquileia, 33, 61.\n Condemns Palladius, 55.\n\n\n F\n\n _FAITH_\n Not to be too readily given, 15.\n The characteristic of the Gospel, 453.\n To be willing to face suffering a proof of true faith, 428.\n Prepares the way for love, 457.\n Is strict with itself, 382.\n Justifies, 152.\n Makes free, 443.\n Makes us heirs of the promises, ib.\n Contained in the two Testaments, 298.\n Delivers by the Blood of Christ, 436.\n Profession of, directed against heresies, 315.\n A summary of, ib.\n Its greatness, 92.\n Questions of, to be decided by the Church, not the Emperor, or\n his council, 144.\n And discussed in the Church, 142.\n\n _Famine_\n One of God\u2019s temporal punishments, 409.\n\n _Fasting_\n Its efficacy maintained, 286, 363.\n Makes us spiritually fat, 368.\n Instances of victories through it, 363, 367.\n Washes away sin, 363.\n Evil not easily conquered without it, ib.\n Jovinian\u2019s disparagement of fasting condemned, 285.\n Forbidden on the Lord\u2019s Day, 170.\n\n _Faustinus_\n Consoled by S. Ambrose on the death of his sister, 254.\n\n _Faustinus_\n Son, and grandson of Eusebius, 333.\n\n _Fear_\n Caused by sin, 241.\n Makes men slaves, ib., 245, 452.\n Yet leads them on to liberty, 442.\n A means of recovering God\u2019s favour, ib.\n God would be loved rather than feared, 441.\n Christ\u2019s true servants have no fear, 157.\n Inferior to love, 441.\n The mark of the Law, 452.\n\n _Felix and Nabor_, a Church dedicated to\n At Milan, where the relics were found of SS. Gervasius and\n Protasius, 158.\n\n _Felix, Bishop of Comum_\n S. Ambrose writes a friendly letter to, 16.\n Was ordained by S. Ambrose, 19.\n Invited to the dedication of a Church, 17.\n\n _Felix, Bishop of Jadera_\n Takes part in the Council of Aquileia, 33, 60.\n Condemns Palladius, 56.\n Signs the letter of the Council of Milan to Pope Siricius,\n 287.\n\n _Felix, an African Bishop_\n A deputy at the Council of Aquileia, 33, 61.\n Condemns Palladius, 55.\n\n _Felix, a deacon_\n Bearer of a letter to Theodosius, 357.\n\n _First-born_, the\n Represent holy men, 222.\n\n _Flavian_\n S. Ambrose writes about the dispute between him and Meletius\n for the see of Antioch, 336.\n Refuses the decision of the Bishops, 337.\n The claims of both sides weak, 378.\n\n _Flesh_, the\n United to the soul as a brother, 403.\n Is mortal, soul immortal, 255.\n\n _Fool_, the\n Always poor, 193.\n\n _Forgiveness_\n A Christian duty, 385.\n Because we have been forgiven, 272.\n Jacob, a pattern of, 391.\n\n _Freedom_\n That of the soul, the true, 240.\n Comes from free-will, 241.\n Exists even in bondage, 243.\n Not good for fools, 237, 248.\n Belongs to the promise, not the law, 450.\n God\u2019s service the highest freedom, 242.\n\n\n G\n\n _GAUL, the Bishops of_\n Thanked for sending deputies to the Council of Aquileia, 61.\n\n _Geminianus, a Bishop_\n Present at the Council of Milan, 287.\n\n _Genialis_\n A follower of Jovinian, condemned by the Council of Milan, 286.\n\n _Gentiles_\n (see _Heathen_.)\n\n _Germinator_\n A follower of Jovinian, condemned by the Council of Milan, 286.\n\n _Gervasius and Protasius_\n The finding of their relics, 158 &c.\n\n _God_\n His Name, I am, marks His Eternity, 29.\n Is one and uncompounded, 464.\n Nothing hidden from Him, 318.\n Knows the secrets of the heart, 88.\n Cannot lie, 319.\n Nor do what is contrary to His Nature, ib.\n To put God before all things, no wrong to any, 90, 267, 341.\n His worship the substance of our life, 303.\n To worship and obey Him, true wisdom, 197.\n Will not be worshipped under the form of stones, 103.\n More to be feared because invisible, 292.\n His dwelling place our hearts, 390.\n He is our Portion, 388, 446.\n Our Rest, 408.\n Alone without sin, 405.\n\n _Gospel_, the\n Is the fulfilment of the Law, 187, 298.\n Indulgence the characteristic of the Gospel, severity of the\n Law, 438.\n The Law bondage, the Gospel liberty, 242, 450.\n The law partial, the Gospel perfect, 439.\n The inheritance of Christians, 449.\n\n _Goths_\n Driven from Macedonia by the prayers of Acholius, 82.\n Their admission within the empire by Valens, ib. note.\n Supported the Arian cause at Milan, 130.\n Came as heathen into God\u2019s inheritance, 134.\n\n _Grace_\n Forgives sin, 436.\n Gives freedom, 450.\n God invites by grace, furthers by increase of grace, 271.\n Corrects the redeemed, 190.\n\n _Gratian_, the Emperor\n Writes to S. Ambrose, 1.\n Cavils not at the manhood of Christ, 1.\n His humility and faith, 2.\n S. Ambrose promises him a treatise on the Holy Spirit, 4.\n S. Ambrose announces to him in the name of the Council of\n Aquileia the results of their deliberation, 62 &c.\n Urges him to support Damasus as Bishop of Rome, 67 &c.\n Gave peace to the Church, 3.\n Put down heathen worship, 89, 114.\n His example held up to Valentinian, 93.\n Maximus refuses to restore his remains to his family, 180.\n\n _Gregory Nazianzen_\n His position in the see of Constantinople, 75.\n\n _Gymnosophists_\n Indian philosophers, 246.\n\n\n H\n\n _HABBACUC_\n His miraculous flight, 295.\n\n _Hamilcar_\n An instance of reverse of fortune, 113.\n\n _Heart_\n Meaning of the expression, \u2018the hidden man of the heart,\u2019 250.\n\n _Heathen_\n Their worship contrasted with Christian, 101 &c.\n Their endurance, 104.\n Their vestal virgins with Christian virgins, 105.\n Not to be supported by Christian Emperors, 88 &c., 342.\n\n _Heirs_\n (see _Inheritance_.)\n\n _Heliodorus, Bishop of Altinum_\n Takes part in the Council of Aquileia, 33, 60.\n Condemns Palladius, 56.\n\n _Hippocrates_\n His seven ages of man, 300.\n\n _Hope_\n Is looking for the unseen, 232.\n\n _Horontianus_\n A pupil of S. Ambrose, 223.\n Ordained by him, 420.\n\n _Hosea_\n His wife of whoredoms mystically interpreted, 187.\n\n _Hospitality_\n Commended, 392.\n\n _Humility_\n Its excellence, 11.\n Joseph a pattern of, ib.\n\n _Huns_\n Employed against the Juthungi by Valentinian, 179.\n\n _Hyginus, Bishop_\n Cruel treatment of, 181.\n\n _Hymns_\n Their powerful effect, 159.\n Introduced by S. Ambrose at Milan during the contest with\n Justina, ib.\n\n\n I\n\n _IDOLS_\n (see _Heathen_.)\n\n _Ignorance_\n Diminishes the guilt of sin, 434.\n\n _Illyricum_\n Disturbances in, 79.\n\n _Incarnation_\n (see _Christ_.)\n\n _Indicia_, a Virgin\n The case of, 478 &c.\n\n _Indiction_\n 172.\n\n _Infants_\n Weak Christians, 452.\n\n _Inheritance_\n The Gospel is the true, 443, 449, &c.\n What the heritage of God is, 192.\n\n _Iren\u00e6us_\n Several letters addressed to, 191, &c.\n\n _Isaac_\n The true first-born of Abraham, 222.\n Foresaw the mysteries of the Church, 324.\n\n _Isaiah_\n Mystical meaning of his walking naked, 348.\n\n _Isis_\n Rites of, 346.\n\n _Italy_\n In S. Ambrose\u2019s time free from Arianism, 78.\n\n\n J\n\n _JACOB_\n A kingly shepherd, 191.\n His marriage to Leah and Rachel mystically interpreted,\n 193, &c.\n A pattern of forgiveness, 391.\n Of industry and perseverance, 390.\n An example in this respect to us, 195.\n Did obeisance not to Esau, but to Christ, Whom he foresaw, ib.\n His dream a blessing, 86.\n\n _James_, a presbyter of Persia\n Seeks retirement in Campania, 350.\n\n _Januarius_, a Bishop\n Takes in the Council of Aquileia, 33, 61.\n Condemns Palladius, 56.\n\n _Januarius_\n A follower of Jovinian, condemned, 286.\n\n _Jason_\n His history urged as a precedent, 343.\n\n _Japhet_\n His reverence for his father mystically applied, 335.\n\n _Jerusalem_, the heavenly\n A good mother of souls, 217 (vid. errata.)\n\n _Jews_\n Sinned in the wilderness when God\u2019s voice ceased, 401.\n Being stiff-necked required the law as a schoolmaster, 438,\n 442.\n A Christian may be in work a Jew, 440.\n Are the sons of the bond-woman, 450.\n Full of slander against Christ and His Church, 264.\n Are under a curse, 451.\n Are in the shade, Christians in the light of the Sun, 455.\n Prefer Moses, who accuses them, to Christ who would pardon,\n 454.\n Who are spiritually Jews, 430.\n\n _Jezebel_\n Represents the Synagogue, 383.\n\n _Job_\n His history applied to the persecution about the Basilica,\n 131, &c., 144.\n Resisted Satan by the help of the Spirit of God, 159.\n\n _John_, the Baptist\n A teacher of abstinence, 368.\n\n _John_, the Evangelist\n Imbibed Divine mysteries while lying on Jesu\u2019s Bosom, 399.\n Signed the Lord\u2019s Testament, 393.\n\n _Jonah_\n A lesson from, read in course during the persecution, on which\n S. Ambrose preaches, 136.\n\n _Joseph_\n Though a slave truly free, 238.\n Though naked not disgraced, 349.\n A pattern of humility, 11.\n Of purity, 12.\n Of the vanity of earthly things, 13.\n Was a type of Christ, 12.\n Neither depressed by adversity nor elated by prosperity, 13.\n\n _Josephus_\n His notion of an earthly paradise, 302.\n\n _Jovinian_\n A monk who had abandoned monastic life, and rushed into\n extremes of self-indulgence, 280.\n Siricius writes about him to the Church of Milan, ib.\n The reply of the Church of Milan, 282.\n\n _Jovinus_, a Bishop\n Takes part in the Council of Aquileia, 33, 61.\n\n _Judas_\n Claimed by Satan as his possession, 389.\n Might have been pardoned had he waited for mercy, 407.\n\n _Judge_\n Not to be excluded from communion for inflicting the punishment\n of death, 182.\n But should prefer mercy, if possible, 183.\n The Church leaves them free, 184.\n Even heathen judges were proud of freedom from bloodshed, 183.\n Bishops proper judges of questions of faith, 141.\n And of bishops, 138, (see _Bishop_).\n Condemns himself, when he condemns in another his own crimes,\n 188.\n\n _Julian_\n Cut off his own retreat, 113.\n His attempt to rebuild the Temple frustrated by fire from\n heaven, 261.\n One who threw down an altar martyred in his reign, 263.\n\n _Julianus Valens_\n Intruded Bishop of Pettau, 65.\n Committed sacrilege by appearing in pagan dress, ib.\n Refused to appear at the Council of Aquileia, 16.\n\n _Just man_, the\n Is a law to himself, 240.\n Possesses spiritual riches, 192.\n And ever lendeth them, 251.\n\n _Justus_, Bishop of Lyons\n Takes part as deputy of the Bishops of Gaul in the Council of\n Aquileia, 33, 38, 60.\n Condemns Palladius, 54.\n\n _Juthungi_\n A Gothic tribe, ravage Rhaetia, 179.\n\n\n K\n\n _KISS_\n Mystical meaning of, 274.\n\n _Kings_\n Unhappy condition of, 205.\n\n _Korah_\n His sin to be avoided, 375.\n\n\n L\n\n _LABARUM_\n The sacred standard, 261.\n\n _Laetus_\n His family dispute, 466 &c.\n\n _Laurence, S._\n His constancy under torture, 247.\n\n _Law_, the Jewish\n Took the place of the Law of Nature, 433.\n Did not increase, but make known sin, 434.\n Convicts of sin but does not forgive, 436.\n How a schoolmaster, 437.\n Only partial, while the Gospel is perfect, 439.\n The law trains for the Gospel, 453.\n\n _Law_, of Nature\n Is innate, 433.\n Forbids many things which the Law of Moses did not, 353.\n Has moral not arbitrary sanctions, 240.\n\n _Laymen_\n Not fit judges of the faith, 139.\n\n _Leah_\n Mystically explained, 192.\n\n _Letter-writing_\n Its pleasure and profit, 313, 316, 401.\n It brings absent friends together, ib.\n\n _Laying on of hands_\n To exorcise evil spirits, 158, 165.\n\n _Leontius and Renatus_\n Accusers of Indicia, 484.\n\n _Leopardus_\n One of S. Ambrose\u2019s Clergy, 286.\n\n _Levites_\n The true first-born, because hallowed, 222.\n\n _Life_\n Its uncertainty common to all, 113.\n\n _Liguria_\n Mention of, 108.\n\n _Limenius, Bishop of Vercell\u00e6_\n Takes part in the Council of Aquileia, 33, 60.\n Condemns Palladius, 55.\n\n _Love_\n The characteristic of the Gospel, 452.\n Brings freedom with it, ib.\n Makes us beloved by God, 242.\n Required by God, 441.\n Excludes offences, 448.\n Increased by intercourse, 316.\n God\u2019s, whether it varies, 213.\n\n _Lucius_, Arian Bishop of Alexandria\n His crimes, 70.\n\n _Luke, S._\n Author of the Acts of the Apostles, 368.\n\n _Lust_\n Compared to a mote, 188.\n Often the cause of wars, 116.\n\n\n M\n\n _MACCABEES_\n Festival of, 263.\n\n _Macedonius_, Bishop\n Takes part in the Council of Aquileia, 33, 61.\n\n _Macedonius_\n One of the Bishops of Macedonia, 80.\n\n _Magnet_, the\n Its lesson, 305.\n\n _Man_\n A combatant whose prize is heaven, 289.\n Made to rule creation, 291, 294.\n His intelligence kingly, 293.\n Fell from bad to worse till redeemed by Christ, 305.\n\n _Manichees_\n Deny that Christ came in the flesh, 286.\n Condemned for fasting on the Lord\u2019s Day, 170.\n\n _Manna_\n Why given to the Israelites and not to Christians, 394.\n Christ the true Manna, ib., 28.\n It represents the Divine Wisdom, 21, 397.\n\n _Marcellina_, sister of S. Ambrose\n His letter to her about the contest with Justina, 128, &c.\n About the discovery of the relics of SS. Gervasius and\n Protasius, 157 &c.\n About the affair of Callinicum, 269 &c.\n\n _Marcellus_, Bishop\n Takes part in the Council of Aquileia, 33, 61.\n\n _Marcellus_\n His dispute with his brother and sister settled by S. Ambrose,\n 465 &c.\n\n _Marcus_\n Bishop of Petavio, 66.\n\n _Marriage_\n A good estate, 371.\n But virginity better, 253.\n With unbelievers, to be avoided, 116.\n And within the forbidden degrees, 357 &c.\n Should have the Church\u2019s blessing, 116.\n (See _Wife_.)\n\n _Mary, S._\n Remained a Virgin after the birth of her Son, 284, 369.\n An example to mothers, 393.\n Was the Palace of the King, ib. note.\n\n _Martianus_\n A follower of Jovinian, 286.\n\n _Martyrs_\n Buried under the altar, 162.\n Their deaths the perfecting of the Church, 427.\n Love casts out the fear of death, 457.\n Their nobility, 247.\n\n _Mass_, (missa)\n The earliest instance of word S. Ambrose\u2019s, 129, note.\n\n _Maximian_\n His burial, 332.\n\n _Maximus_, Bishop of Emona\n Takes part in the Council of Aquileia, 33, 60.\n Condemns Palladius, 55.\n Signs the letter of the Council of Milan to Pope Siricius, 287.\n\n _Maximus_\n Irregularly consecrated Bishop of Constantinople, 75.\n Ambrose and the Western Bishops deceived about him, ib. note.\n\n _Maximus_, the usurper\n Revolted against Gratian, 176.\n S. Ambrose twice goes on an embassy to him from Justina and\n Valentinian the 2nd, ib.\n His address to him on the second embassy, 178.\n Warns Valentinian against him, 181.\n S. Ambrose alludes to his first embassy, 135.\n To Maximus\u2019 defeat by Theodosius, 265.\n\n _Maximus_\n The accuser of Indicia, 479 &c.\n\n _Mayence_, (Moguntiacum)\n S. Ambrose meets Count Victor there, 178.\n\n _Meletius_\n His connection with the great Schism at Antioch, 71, note.\n The opinion of the Council of Aquileia upon it, 74.\n\n _Members_, our\n How they may be made either instruments of sin or of\n righteousness, 249.\n\n _Memoriales_\n Recorders, 129.\n\n _Merchants_, at Milan\n Fined on account of the disturbances, 129.\n The fines remitted, 136.\n\n _Mesopotamia_\n Mystically interpreted, 115.\n\n _Micah_\n Meaning of the name, 412.\n Of his seven shepherds, 288.\n\n _Michal_\n Wrongly reproves David, 346.\n\n _Miracles_\n Wrought through the relics of the saints, 158, 163.\n Acknowledged by the devil himself, 164.\n\n _Monastic life_\n Compared with clerical, 382.\n Its happiness, 384.\n\n _Money_\n See _Riches_.\n\n _Monks_, at Callinicum\n Set fire to a temple, 263.\n\n _\u2666Morasthite_, son of the\n Meaning of, 412.\n\n _Moses_\n Why he ground the golden calf to powder, 396.\n Why he ordered half of the blood of the sacrifices to be poured\n on the altar, 398.\n Why he broke the tables of the law, 462.\n Saw God face to face, 404.\n Yet deferred to Aaron in regard of priesthood, ib.\n How a god before Pharaoh, 199.\n Wrote by inspiration, 295.\n\n\n N\n\n _NABAL_\n Mystically explained, 215.\n\n _Nabor_\n (See _Felix_.)\n\n _Naboth_\n The lesson of, applied, 149.\n Naboth truly rich, Ahab poor, 252.\n\n _Naphtali_\n Meaning of, 253.\n\n _Nature_\n Can only be changed by its Maker, 446.\n The Creator can remedy the defects of, 460.\n God the Author of, 31.\n The law of, superior to national custom, 411.\n\n _Nectarius_\n His claim to the see of Constantinople, 75.\n\n _Neice_\n (See _Uncle_.)\n\n _Nic\u00e6a_, Council of\n Whether it established a cycle for Easter, 166.\n Its doctrine upheld by Theodosius, 141.\n Approved by the Council of Ariminum, ib.\n\n _Nineveh_\n A proof of the power of fasting, 286.\n\n _Noah_\n His drunkenness mystically interpreted, 348.\n\n _Numerius_\n One of the Bishops of Macedonia, 80.\n\n _Numidius_\n A delegate of the African Bishops at the Council of Aquileia,\n 33, 61.\n Condemns Palladius, 55.\n\n\n O\n\n _OATH_\n Meaning of, 90.\n\n _Obedience_\n Brings remission of sin, 435.\n\n _Offering_\n All to be offered to God, 24, 26.\n Not acceptable unless sincere, 408.\n\n _Old-age_\n Venerable for good works rather than gray hairs, 86, 103.\n An unspotted life the true old age, 57.\n\n _Origen_\n His Commentaries on the New Testament inferior to those on the\n Old, 441.\n\n _Original sin_\n Inherited from Adam, 435, 446.\n A debt incurred by Adam cancelled by Christ, 271.\n\n\n P\n\n _PALLADIUS AND SECUNDIANUS_\n Condemned by the Council of Aquileia, 31, &c.\n\n _Pannonia_\n 108.\n\n _Paradise_\n Man\u2019s soul the true, 303.\n The road into Christ\u2019s kingdom, 422.\n\n _Partridge_\n Mystical meaning of, 217 &c.\n\n _Passover_\n A type fulfilled in the gospel, 169.\n The Christian Easter how connected with it, 170 &c.\n The ceremonies of, mystically explained, 22.\n\n _Paterna_\n Gives evidence in favour of Indicia, 485.\n\n _Paternus_\n Consults S. Ambrose as to marriage of uncle and neice, 351 &c.\n\n _Paulinus_\n Supported by the Italian Bishops against Meletius and Flavian\n for the see of Antioch, 71, 74.\n\n _Paulinus_\n Of Aquitania adopts a life of voluntary poverty, 345.\n\n _Paul, S._\n The depth of his writings, 235.\n Difficulty of explaining them, 441.\n A summary of his Epistle to the Ephesians, 444 &c.\n His letters an image of his presence, 314.\n Why he wrote with his own hand, 313.\n Condemned and absolved by letter, 314.\n Was severe at first, that he might be gentle afterwards, 270.\n No teacher of excess, 285.\n\n _Paulus_, a presbyter of Constantinople\n Asks for a General Council of East and West, 79.\n\n _Pelagia_\n Her martyrdom, 247.\n\n _Penitence_\n Difficulty of, 406.\n No forgiveness without, 407.\n David a pattern of, 326.\n Urged on Theodosius, 327.\n\n _Persecution_\n Applied by Justina in regard to the Basilica at Milan, 128 &c.\n S. Ambrose preaches about, 132 &c.\n Persecution continued, 142.\n S. Ambrose refuses to yield, 148.\n Christ persecuted in his servants, 147.\n\n _Peter, S._\n Was in darkness when he denied Christ, 461.\n His vision a proof of the blessedness of retirement, 317.\n The story of Christ\u2019s appearing to him on his way to martyrdom,\n 147.\n\n _Peter_\n Bishop of Alexandria, 72, 74.\n\n _Philaster_\n Bishop of Brescia, 33, 55.\n (In p. 63 Abundantius is called Bishop of Brescia, and\n Philaster is omitted.)\n\n _Philip_\n One of the Bishops of Macedonia, 80.\n\n _Philomarus_\n The name of a heathen writer quoted by S. Ambrose, 362.\n Possibly a mistake for Philodemus, ib. note.\n\n _Phineas_\n His defeat of Balaam\u2019s counsel explained, 323.\n\n _Ph\u0153nicians_\n Practised circumcision, 425.\n\n _Photinians_\n Their assemblies forbidden, 66.\n\n _Piety_\n Prefers things divine to human, 403.\n\n _Plato_\n His notion of the soul, 224.\n\n _\u2666Plotinus_\n A follower of Jovinian, condemned, 286.\n\n _Polybius_\n Proconsul in Africa, 475.\n\n _Pompeius_\n An instance of reverse of fortune, 113.\n\n _Portian Basilica_\n Claimed for the Arians, 128.\n\n _Prayer_\n To be used for the dead In Christ, 255.\n Taught and aided by the Holy Spirit, 233.\n Due seasons for, 169.\n Frequent prayer a life of Angels, 384.\n Is a sacrifice, 329.\n A shield, 391.\n The prayers of the poor a good defence, 156.\n\n _Priest_\n The title \u2018Sacerdos\u2019 often used of Bishops, 1.\n Should be clothed with priestly virtues, 377.\n Be different from ordinary men, 196.\n Forsake the ways of the world, 197.\n Be fit for Christ\u2019s possession, 470.\n Regard \u2666worldly loss as gain, 467.\n Forgiving sins their food, 407.\n Their teaching bitter, but fruit-bearing, 270.\n Are the proper judges in questions of doctrine, 53, 138, 267,\n 343.\n Bound to reprove sinners, 325.\n And to be feared by them, 374.\n\n _Priscus_\n An old friend of S. Ambrose, 476.\n\n _PROCULUS_, Bishop of Marseilles\n Deputy of the Bishops of Gaul at Aquileia, 33, 60.\n Condemns Palladius, 56.\n\n _Prophets_\n Regard heavenly things, 349.\n Their food to have their message understood, 383.\n\n _Protasius_\n See _Gervasius_.\n\n _Pythagoras_\n Derived his wisdom from the Jewish Scriptures, 196.\n\n\n R\n\n _RACHEL_\n A type of the Church, 416.\n Mystically explained, 192.\n\n _Rebecca_\n Her preference of Jacob to Esau mystically explained, 391.\n\n _Redemption_\n Equal to all, 22.\n Called adoption, 231.\n To be of the whole Body of Christ, ib.\n\n _Relics_, of saints\n Placed in Churches, 158.\n Work miracles, 160 &c.\n\n _Religion_\n To be preferred to human ties, 403.\n Not to be neglected for fear of ridicule, 432.\n Makes things unseemly in themselves venerable, 346.\n Takes precedence of all things, 92.\n Turns loss to gain, 104.\n\n _Renatus_\n See _Leontius_.\n\n _Repentance_\n (See _Penitence_.)\n\n _Rest_, the true\n In heaven, not here, 299.\n\n _Rhaetia secunda_\n Its fertility tempted enemies, 108.\n\n _Rich_\n The meek rich in God\u2019s sight, 251.\n He who is rich in faith truly rich, 386.\n The poor in spirit rich, 387.\n He is not rich who has not more than he needs, 253.\n The wise man truly rich, 250, 253.\n\n _Riches_\n Only spiritual lasting, 440.\n To possess Christ the true riches, 386.\n Should be made to subserve the good of the soul, 8.\n Not in themselves injurious, 387.\n No defence against death, 10.\n Their best use, to aid the poor, 14.\n The grasping man poor in the midst of riches, 252.\n Are a burden unless sanctified by charity, 274.\n Are the redemption of a man\u2019s soul by almsgiving, 8, 20.\n Are a provision for man\u2019s journey, 8.\n Not to be applied to usury, 115.\n Give no claim to deference, 386.\n\n _Rome_, Church of\n Called the Head of the whole Roman world, 69.\n The source of all rights of communion, ib.\n Its decision sought along with that of other Churches, 76.\n\n _Rome_, heathen\n Its plea for its gods, 97.\n Refuted by S. Ambrose, 102.\n Often adopted foreign rites, 110.\n\n _Rufinus_\n Pr\u00e6torian Prefect under Theodosius, 330.\n\n _Rumoridus_\n A military Count, attached to Valentinian\u2019s Court, 342.\n\n\n S\n\n _SABINIANUS, A DEACON_\n Acts as reader at the Council of Aquileia, 33.\n\n _Sabinus, Bishop of Placentia_\n Takes part in the Council of Aquileia, 33, 47 &c., 60.\n Condemns Palladius, 55.\n\n _Sacraments_\n The greatness of, 459.\n\n _Sacrifice_\n Not acceptable unless sincere, 408.\n Prayer a, 329.\n Explanation of rules concerning, 398, &c.\n The blood on the altar a type of the sacrifice of the Cross,\n 400.\n\n _Saints_\n God all in all to, 403.\n Ascend upwards to God, 208.\n Work for God even in their rest, 86.\n Fight God\u2019s enemies without effort, 82.\n Are the first-fruits of the Gospel, 230.\n\n _Samson_\n The lesson of his history set forth, 117, &c.\n\n _Sarmatio_\n See _Barbatianus_.\n\n _Satan_\n Means Adversary, 218.\n How our Lord overcomes his craft, 219.\n\n _Scripture_\n Those who add to, or take from, condemned, 47.\n Whether written according to the rules of art, 27, &c.\n A deep well, difficult to draw from, 383.\n Those who drink of it pour forth living water, ib.\n Contains mysteries hid under the letter, 189.\n Valuable to us according to our faith, 186.\n Moistens the soul like rain, 200.\n Compared to Paradise, 317.\n\n _Secundianus_\n Condemned in the Council of Aquileia, 57 &c.\n\n _Serpent_, the\n Represents lust, 304.\n\n _Seven_\n Mystical meaning of, 297, 300.\n\n _Severus_\n A blind man, healed by the relics of Gervasius and Protasius,\n 158, 163.\n\n _Severus_\n One of the Bishops of Macedonia, 80.\n\n _Shekel and half-shekel_\n Meaning of, 20.\n\n _Sickness_, bodily\n Sent for the healing of the soul, 458.\n\n _Simplician_\n Some account of him, 235.\n\n _Sin_\n A heavy debt, 271.\n A heavy burden, 413.\n Its piercing power typified by iron, 238.\n Injures the natural powers, 305.\n Christians should condemn their own sin, 329.\n He who punishes sin should be free from sin, 188.\n Must be burnt away by the fire of Jesus, 407.\n To be confessed in order to be pardoned, 419.\n Its forgiveness signified by the widow\u2019s two mites, 196.\n\n _Sinner_, the\n Is a slave, 245.\n His name written not in heaven but in the earth, 188.\n\n _Siricius_, Pope\n Writes to the Church of Milan against Jovinian, 280.\n The reply, 282.\n\n _Sisinnius_\n Forgives his son at S. Ambrose\u2019s Intercession, 470.\n\n _Slavery_\n All creation seeks deliverance from, 226.\n He who fears death a slave, 245.\n\n _Solon_\n His ten ages of man, 300.\n\n _Sophocles_\n Quoted, 244.\n\n _Son of God_\n Co-eternal with the Father, 39.\n Very God, 40.\n Could not die as God, 42.\n The mighty God, 44.\n The Judge of all, 45.\n Equal to the Father as touching His Godhead, 47.\n Inferior only in His Incarnation, 48.\n The contrary opinions condemned in Palladius, 53 &c.\n No man can say \u2018Our Father\u2019 who denies the Son of God, 443.\n Christians made sons of God by the Holy Spirit, 228.\n Through the death of Christ, 443.\n\n _Spirit, the Holy_\n Teaches how to pray, 233.\n Makes intercession for us, 234.\n S. Ambrose promises to write a treatise on, 41.\n True life His work, 228.\n\n _Stater_\n In the fish\u2019s mouth, meaning of, 23.\n\n _Stephen_\n Supported in his death by the sight of Jesus, 349.\n Saw Jesus standing as his Advocate, 360.\n\n _Soul_\n Its nature, 224.\n Opinions of philosophers upon, ib.\n How subject to vanity, 225.\n Does not die, 42.\n Should govern the body, 225.\n Will be rewarded according to its government thereof, ib.\n How Christ is formed in the soul, 417.\n How it is converted, 412 &c.\n The stages of its conversion, 421.\n Gazing on Christ, renounces the world, 203.\n Having found Christ, loves Him above all things, 202.\n And rejoices exceedingly, 214.\n And becomes His bride, 214.\n Must rise to Him, 203.\n Its food and clothing, 200.\n How it is restored by Christ, 216.\n Its happiness when restored, 217.\n Is proved by temptations, 417.\n Faithful souls represented by Bethlehem, 416.\n\n _Susanna_\n Her case compared with that of Indicia, 479, 483.\n\n _Syagrius, Bishop of Verona_\n His decision about Indicia condemned and reversed by S. Ambrose,\n 478, &c.\n\n _Syagrius_\n Consul in the year of the synod of Aquileia, 32.\n\n _Symmachus_, Prefect of the City\n Urges on Valentinian the restoration of Altar of Victory, 87.\n His Memorial, 94, &c.\n S. Ambrose\u2019s reply, 101, &c.\n Alludes to it in writing to Eugenius, 341.\n\n _Synagogue_, the\n Superseded by the Church, 266.\n Represented by Jezebel, 383.\n (See _Jews_.)\n A, at Callinicum, burnt by the Christians, 257, &c.\n Theodosius orders it to be restored by the Bishop, ib.\n S. Ambrose writes to remonstrate with Theodosius, ib.\n\n _Syricius_\n See Siricius.\n\n _Syrus_\n A presbyter, praised by S. Ambrose, 474.\n\n\n T\n\n _TALENTS_\n Need God\u2019s Blessing, 31.\n\n _Temple_\n To be built to Christ in our hearts, 201.\n How it is to be built, 208, 448.\n\n _Temptation_\n Comes in different ways, 132.\n Instances of Job, ib.\n Elijah, 133.\n John the Baptist, ib.\n Is sent that we may conquer it, 327.\n The weak conquered by it, the strong proved, 417.\n Most to be feared in times of trouble, 419.\n\n _Testament_\n The Old passed away, the New established, 301.\n The Old represented by the number seven, the New by eight, 297.\n\n _Thecla_\n Reverenced even by the wild beasts, 369.\n\n _Therasia_\n Gives up her property to the poor, 345.\n\n _Thessalonica_\n The massacre at, 324.\n\n _Theodorus_, Bishop of Octodurus\n Takes part in the Council of Aquileia, 33, 60.\n Condemns Palladius, 56.\n Signs the letter of the Council of Milan, 287.\n\n _Theodosius_\n One of the Bishops of Macedonia, 80.\n\n _Theodosius_, the Emperor\n A blessing sent by God to the Empire, 356.\n Held the Nicene Faith, 141.\n His piety, 328.\n Hasty, but merciful, 325.\n Restored the orthodox to their churches, 74.\n Restored unity to the Church, 77.\n His strictness, in regard of the law of marriage, 354.\n Is appealed to by S. Ambrose to end the dissensions at Antioch\n and Constantinople, 74.\n And to call a council, 77.\n Is remonstrated with by S. Ambrose for banishing those who\n burnt the Synagogue at Callinicum, 257.\n Is reminded of his forgiveness of the people of Antioch, 268.\n Reproved for ordering the massacre at Thessalonica, 324.\n Urged to repentance, 326 &c.\n Is refused the Communion till he has received absolution,\n 328 &c.\n Addressed by S. Ambrose on the death of Valentinian the 2nd,\n 331.\n Congratulated on his victory over Eugenius, 354.\n Urged to a merciful use of his victory, 356.\n\n _Theophilus_, Bishop of Alexandria\n The disputed succession at Antioch to be referred to him,\n 336, &c.\n\n _Tigris_\n One of the rivers of Mesopotamia, mystically interpreted, 115.\n\n _Timasius_\n A general in chief, his fierceness against the monks, 279.\n\n _Timnath_\n A city of the Philistines, 118.\n\n _Timotheus_\n His claim to the see of Alexandria, supported by the West, 71.\n\n _Timotheus_\n A Bishop of Macedonia, 80.\n\n _Titianus_\n Pr\u00e6torian Prefect, his quarrel with Rufinus, 330.\n\n _Trinity_, the\n Indissolubly united, 464.\n Knows neither time nor order, 296.\n Hymns sung in praise of, 156.\n\n\n U\n\n _UNCLE_\n Forbidden to marry his neice, 351.\n\n _Usury_\n Unbefitting Christians, 115.\n Spiritual usury, 19.\n\n _Ursinus or Ursicinus_\n His history, 68, note.\n The Bishops at Aquileia request the Emperor to degrade him, 69.\n\n\n V\n\n _VALENS_, Julianus, Bp. of Petavio\n His history, 65.\n Responsible for the heresy of Attalus, ib.\n Joins with Ursinus in intrigues at Aquileia, 68.\n\n _Valence_, in Gaul\n Reached by Ambrose in his embassy to Maximus, 179.\n\n _Valentinian the 1st_\n Would not have allowed the restoration of the altar of Victory,\n had he known of it, 93.\n Ordered that the Bishops should be tried by their own order,\n 138.\n Refused to be judge of them himself, 139.\n Anecdote of him, ib. note.\n\n _Valentinian the 2nd_\n Ambrose writes to him, urging him not to restore pagan rites,\n 87 &c.\n Addresses to him a reply to Symmachus\u2019 Memorial, 101 &c.\n Under Justina\u2019s influence claims a Church at Milan for the\n Arians, 128 &c.\n Ambrose writes to him, declining to have the matter settled by\n the civil courts, 137 &c.\n Ambrose sends him a report of his mission to Maximus, 176 &c.\n Alludes to his victory over the Huns and Alans, 179.\n Ambrose writes to Theodosius on his death, 331 &c.\n His love for Ambrose at the last, 331.\n Died before he could be baptised, 332.\n Regarded Theodosius as a father, 92.\n Refused a second application for the restoration of pagan rites,\n 342.\n\n _Valentinians_, heretics\n A temple of theirs burnt by the Christians, 263.\n\n _Valerian_, Bp. of Aquileia\n Takes part in the Council held there, 33, 60.\n His condemnation of Palladius, 54.\n\n _Vallio_, a general of Valentinian\n Put to death by Maximus, 181.\n\n _Venetia_\n 108, 358.\n\n _Venus_\n Worshipped under various names, 111.\n\n _Vercell\u00e6_, the Church of\n Troubled by disputes, 358.\n S. Ambrose addresses a letter of counsel to it, ib.\n\n _Vestal Virgins_\n Contrasted with Christians, 105.\n\n _ Victor_, Count\n Sent by Maximus to Valentinian the 2nd, 178.\n His demands refused, ib.\n\n _Victory_\n Not a real goddess, 111.\n The altar of in the senate house, 87.\n Its restoration demanded by Symmachus, 95 &c.\n Resisted by S. Ambrose, 111.\n\n _Vigils_\n Kept all night long, 158.\n\n _Vigilius_\n Asks S. Ambrose how to fulfil his duties, when newly elected\n Bishop, 114 &c.\n\n _Virgil_\n Quoted, 97, 99, 110, 198, 205.\n\n _Virginity_\n Counselled not commanded, 369.\n A lofty path, 371.\n Its sanctity, 369.\n The numbers of those who dedicate themselves to it, 104.\n\n _Virtue_\n Admits of degrees, 371.\n Considers well before acting, 406.\n Its path upward, 206.\n Admits of no turning, 198.\n\n\n W\n\n _WIDOWHOOD_\n A good but rough path, 371.\n\n _Wife_\n Should obey her husband, 392.\n Is his fellow-heir of grace, ib.\n Marriage good, virginity better, 283.\n (See _Marriage_.)\n\n _Wisdom_, the divine\n Waters the souls of the righteous, 395.\n Is the food of the soul, 21.\n Christ the true Wisdom of God, 399.\n The path of wisdom to be followed, 197.\n Is alone free, 239.\n Is a good sacrifice, 28.\n Scripture the source of, 236.\n\n _Wise man_, the\n All the world his possession, 9.\n Is steadfast, 236, 243.\n Free, ib.\n Acts from free-will, 241.\n Is guided by God into the truth, 244.\n Becomes His heir, ib.\n Has the true riches, 251.\n\n _Word_, the\n Espoused to the Church, His Bride, 214.\n The dew of the Father, 215.\n Lives or dies in us according to our deserts, 214.\n\n _World_, the\n Created by one God, 305.\n Why created in six days, 296.\n The Gospel the eighth age of the world, 300.\n An arena of continual strife, 288.\n Its affairs like a dream, 13.\n Gains of this world the loss of souls, 14.\n The world to be overcome to attain to the Word, 205.\n The ways of the world to be forsaken by priests, 197.\n We must go forth from it, 392.\n We must not give our service to it, 24.\n\n _Works_\n God to be acknowledged in His, 27.\n\n _Wounds_\n Received for Christ bring life, not death, 145.\n\n\n Y\n\n _YOUNG MEN_\n Blamed for their haste to be free, 390.\n Should become old by gravity of conduct, ib.\n\n\n Z\n\n _ZELOPHEHAD_, daughters of\n Meaning of their inheritance, 446.\n\n _Zerubbabel_ Meaning of, 201.\n\n\n\n\n INDEX OF TEXTS.\n\n\n GENESIS\n\n i. 16 287\n 26 155, 290, 292\n 27 219, 318\n 28 291\n ii. 2 296\n 7 460\n 24 445\n 25 348\n iii. 1\u20134 362\n 2, 3 304\n 4, 5 218\n 6 434\n 7 286, 348\n 8 317, 318\n 16 411, 482\n 18 7\n iv. 4 230\n 7 273\n 10 8, 165, 219\n 14 245\n v. 24 252\n vi. 3 255\n viii. 11 276\n 11, 20 334\n ix. 1, 9, 12, 20, 23 334\n 20 367\n 21 289\n 24 335\n 25 236\n 26, 27 335\n x. 1, 9 335\n xii. 17 492\n xv. 6 349\n xvii. 9 431\n 10 423\n 12 425\n xviii. 3 392\n 12 349\n xix. 17, 30 206\n 24 393\n xx. 3 349\n xxi. 10 450\n 10, 12 223\n 12 431\n xxii. 6 472\n 7, 8 28\n xxiv. 63 324\n xxvii. 4, 20 30\n 29 237\n 37 251\n 39, 40 451\n 40 452\n 43 390\n xxviii. 1, 2 115\n 13 86\n xxix. 34 222\n xxx. 32 195\n xxxi. 14 193\n 15, 16 192\n 27 194\n 33 30\n xxxii. 24 195\n xxxiii. 6 391\n xxxiv. 25 116, 195\n xxxv. 2 402\n 17 481\n 19 415, 416\n xxxviii. 27 481\n xxxix. 12 348\n xli. 48 238\n xliv. 15 472\n xlvi. 34 191\n xlvii. 20, 22 238\n xlix. 8, 9 430\n 12 273\n\n\n EXODUS\n\n i. 15 481\n iii. 5 196, 371\n 11\u201314 29\n 14 204\n 12 30\n iv. 1, 10, 12 29\n 12 399, 404\n v. 2 218\n vi. 3 256\n vii. 1 199\n viii. 26 191\n xii. 2 169\n 3 186\n 4 22\n 5\u20138 173\n 8 170\n 11\u201314 174\n 18 173\n 29, 31, 33 174\n xiii. 2 221\n 4 169\n 21 211\n xiv. 15 219\n 22 211, 284\n 29 277, 295\n xv. 20 285, 369\n xvi. 4 277, 410\n 4, 15 29\n 15, 16 395\n 15, 16 28, 459\n 17, 18 21\n 18 308\n xvii. 6 284, \u2666367\n xxi. 12 245\n 5 24\n xxii. 29 230\n xxiv. 6 398\n xxv. 13, 14 196\n 22 18\n xxix. 12, 13 392\n xxx. 8 396\n 12, 15 21\n xxxi. 13 439\n xxxii. 1 218\n 2 401\n 6 350, 362\n 26, 27 403\n xxxiii. 7 392\n xxxiv. 9 275, 438\n 26 230\n 28 203, 363, 404\n\n\n LEVITICUS\n\n x. 16\u201318 405\n xii. 2 186\n xvi. 8, 27 408\n xvii. 1, 8 432\n xx. 8 188\n xxiii. 5 169, 173\n xxv. 6 408\n\n\n NUMBERS\n\n iii. 12, 13 221\n xii. 1 404\n 1, 10 376\n 8 404\n xiii. 24 277\n xv. 33 439\n 35 437\n xvi. 2 218\n 3, 32, 48 374\n 8\u201311 375\n 48 18\n xvii. 8 270, 373\n xviii. 6 403\n xx. 11 285\n 26 376\n xxi. 24 277\n xxii. 12, 19, 25 320\n 35 321\n xxiii. 2 277\n 8, 10, 11 321\n 21 322, 474\n xxiv. 5\u20139, 19 322\n xxv. 8 116\n 11 323\n xxvii. 1 445\n 12 459\n xxviii. 16 173\n\n\n DEUTERONOMY\n\n v. 31 371\n vi. 4 27\n 5 456\n ix. 4 278\n xv. 6 239\n 8 19\n xvi. 1 171\n xviii. 10 319\n 15 404\n xix. 14 15\n xxi. 11 239\n 12 216\n 13, 14 217\n 14 240\n 15, 16 221\n 17 223\n xxii. 5 410\n xxiv. 14 115\n xxv. 4 440\n xxviii. 11, 12 200\n 23 409\n xxx. 14 26, 451\n xxxii. 2 200\n xxiii. 8, 9 84\n 16 85\n 13 290\n 35 385\n 39 458\n xxxiii. 8 465\n 23 253\n 24 276\n xxxiv. 10, 11 399\n 10 404\n\n\n JOSHUA\n\n i. 1 219\n ii. 14 392\n v. 15 196\n viii. 23, 29 277\n x. 26 278\n\n\n JUDGES\n\n xi. 36 246\n xiii. 8 118\n xiv. 14 119\n 16, 18 120\n xv. 16, 18 123\n xvi. 20 125\n 28 126\n xix. 1 486\n 2 416\n 3, 10 487\n 15, 22, 23, 24 488\n 20, 25, 28 489\n 26, 35 490\n xx. 1 486\n 44 116\n 47 486\n xxi. 2, 3 490\n 4, 16 491\n 23 492\n\n\n 1 SAMUEL\n\n viii. 5 218\n xxv. 32, 35, 39 215\n\n\n 2 SAMUEL\n\n iii. 28 327\n vi. 20 346\n 21, 22 347\n vii. 8 264\n xii. 7, 13 326\n 7 278\n xiv. 22 472\n xviii. 17, 18 208\n xxiv. 10 326\n 12, 14, 17 327\n\n\n 1 KINGS\n\n iv. 33 218\n x. 22 421\n 24 84\n xii. 16 465\n 30 402\n xvii. 1 40\n 3 382\n 3\u20136 383\n 9 252\n 19 208\n xix. 3 383\n 4 203\n 6 367\n 8 382, 383\n xx. 23 208\n xxi. 3 149\n 10 484\n\n\n 2 KINGS\n\n i. 14 252\n ii. 4 83\n 11 252, 294\n iv. 8, 10, 16 208\n 34 463\n 39 368\n vi. 6 285\n 16 146, 161\n 18 82\n vii. 6 82\n\n\n 1 CHRONICLES\n\n xxi. 17 234\n\n\n 2 CHRONICLES\n\n ix. 21 86, 87\n\n\n EZRA\n\n viii. 21 368\n\n\n NEHEMIAH\n\n viii. 2 368\n\n\n ESTHER\n\n iv. 16 368\n v. 2 368\n\n\n JOB\n\n ii. 9, 10 132\n v. 17\u201324, 26 251\n vi. 19, 21 197\n ix. 25 197\n xiii. 19\u201321 243\n xx. 15 253\n xxv. 5 244\n xxvii. 2 244\n xxviii. 14 197\n 18, 19 240\n xxix. 15 249\n xxxi. 33 249, 327\n xxxiii. 4 159\n\n\n PSALMS\n\n iv. 4 377\n 5 28\n 6 201\n viii. 2 150\n xi. 2 281\n 7 186\n xii. 6 24, 440\n 7 194, 212\n xiv. 6 249, 406\n 3 305\n xv. 1, 6 115\n xvi. 2 205\n 2 293\n 7 132\n xvii. 13 115\n xviii. 26 193\n xix. 1 159, 290, 360\n 2 160, 162\n 4 212\n 5 416\n xx. 7 161\n xxii. 29 200\n 6, 7 308\n xxiii. 5 368\n xxiv. 2 5, 350\n xxvi. 4, 5 372\n 5 385\n xxvii. 4, 13 200\n 9 233\n xxix. 5, 6 402\n xxx. 9 134\n 11, 12 135\n xxxi. 5, 8, 11, 16 310\n xxxii. 1 419\n 6 250\n 10 248\n xxxiii. 16 388\n 5 460\n 6 386\n xxxiv. 10 253\n xxxvii. 1 372, 385\n 26 251\n xxxviii. 4, 5 248\n 9 234\n xxxix. 6 225\n xl. 1 232\n xli. 1 63\n xlii. 5 210\n 15 215\n xlv. 1 393\n 2 309, 313\n 3 335\n 3 199\n 8 244, 463\n xlvi. 4 5, 383\n xlvii. 1 346\n xlviii. 7 81\n l. 16 149\n 20 372\n li. 6 243\n lii. 1 45\n 17 274\n lv. 7 81\n lviii. 3 222\n lxiii. 6 250\n lxiv. 7 157\n lxv. 4 200\n 8, 9 384\n lxviii. 5 178\n 13 445, 465\n 14 86\n 18 464\n lxix. 10 286\n lxxi. 8 274\n lxxiii. 21 292\n lxxvi. 2, 3 134\n lxxviii. 2 18\n lxxix. 1 134\n lxxxi. 6 243\n lxxxii. 1 360\n lxxxv. 8 348\n 13 7\n lxxxvi. 2 310\n lxxxviii. 4, 5 393\n lxxxix. 9 292\n 26, 27 310\n 32 414\n 36, 37 168\n \u2666xcii. 11 253\n xciii. 4 5\n 6 326\n xcv. 8 299\n xcvi. 5 88\n xcix. 6 374\n cii. 25 290\n ciii. 5 256\n civ. 2 206\n 15 22, 214, 383\n 19 226\n 24 296\n cv. 18 11\n 18, 19 238\n cix. 4 391\n 25, 26 307\n 28 392\n cx. 1 347, 399, 446\n 4 301\n 7 402\n cxiii. 5, 6 160\n 7, 8 160\n 9 160\n cxiv. 3 284\n cxvi. 10 274\n cxviii. 19 198\n 22 150\n 24 168, 170, 297\n cxix. 14 253\n 46 257, 342\n 57, 111 192\n 68, 103 202\n 71 14, 435\n 73 290\n 91 310\n 94 388\n 109 204\n 126 168, 329\n 131 274\n 146 219\n cxx. 5 351\n cxxii. 3 8\n cxxvi. 7 416\n cxxvii. 1 210\n cxxviii. 5 201\n cxxix. 8 416\n cxxxii. 6 388, 415\n cxxxiv. 1 450\n 4, 2 372\n cxxxix. 13 465, 470\n cxli. 2 396\n 3 175\n cxliii. 10 201, 233\n cxliv. 4 225\n cxlvii. 9 383\n cxlviii. 5 6, 296\n\n\n PROVERBS\n\n ii. 13 198\n v. 15 240\n vi. 2 8\n 26 8\n 27 8\n ix. 2 22, 400\n 5 219\n x. 15 388\n xi. 1 10\n xii. 12 253\n xiii. 8 20, 387\n 24 248, 414\n xiv. 7 249\n 30 373\n xv. 16 8\n 7 7\n 17 116\n 18 377\n xvi. 24 6, 396\n xvii. 2 239\n xviii. 7 249\n 17 329\n xix. 12 380\n 17 156\n xxi. 1 104\n xxii. 1 8, 335\n xxiv. 30 249\n xxvi. 8, 9 248\n xxvii. 2 454\n 25 200\n xxviii. 10 251\n xxix. 22 247\n\n\n ECCLESIASTES\n\n ii. 14 217\n iii. 1 168, 329\n iv. 5 246, 347\n 9 462\n 10, 11 463\n 12, 13 464\n vii. 2 392\n 11 304\n 16 21\n x. 4 464, 465\n 8 307\n xi. 2 187, 297\n 3 6\n xii. 11 6\n\n\n CANTICLES\n\n i. 1 275\n 2 274\n 3 202\n ii. 14 215\n iii. 4 217\n 6 396\n iv. 3 209\n 9 205\n 12 303, 369\n v. 2 86\n vi. 13 212\n vii. 2 397\n 8 205\n 13 256\n viii. 6 213\n\n\n ISAIAH\n\n i. 3 388\n 6 276\n 3 168\n 17 178\n v. 2 413\n ix. 6 157, 271, 464\n xi. 2 296\n 6, 7 430\n xiii. 8, 9 482\n xix. 20, 21 285\n xx. 2 349\n 3 348\n 4 346, 347\n xxv. 8 299, 402\n xxx. 15 407\n xxxi. 1 198\n xxxii. 20 440\n xxxv. 1 212\n 3 387\n xxxviii. 8 187\n xl. 5 308\n 6 219\n 31 204\n xli. 8 310\n xlii. 6 311\n xliii. 2 8\n 19 283\n xlix. 1\u20133 310\n 4 312\n 6 311, 464\n 8 169\n 9 272\n li. 7 153\n lii. 7 199\n liii. 2 308\n 7 388, 443\n liv. 1 212, 416\n 17 192, 450\n lv. 1 239\n lviii. 11 368\n lx. 8 87\n lxiii. 1 219\n lxv. 16 57\n lxvi. 1 290\n 12 5\n\n\n JEREMIAH\n\n i. 11 269\n iv. 19 234\n vii. 14\u201317 262\n viii. 7 168\n xii. 8 442\n xvii. 1 151\n 9 309\n 11, 12 217\u2013219, 312\n 13 188\n 15, 16 474\n xx. 9 293\n 19 209\n xxii. 13, 14 209\n 29, 30 183\n xxiii. 5 311\n 24 292\n xxxi. 31, 32 301\n xxxiii. 15 311\n\n\n LAMENTATIONS\n\n iii. 25 232\n\n\n EZEKIEL\n\n iii. 17 257\n 18 325\n 20, 21 258\n vi. 11 346\n xviii. 23 454\n xx. 25 438\n xxxiv. 23, 24 311\n xliv. 1, 2 284\n\n\n DANIEL\n\n i. 8 25, 367\n 16 380\n iii. 18 25\n 40 367\n vi. 22 363\n vii. 9, 10 360\n ix. 2 363\n xii. 3 289\n xiv. 30 367\n\n\n HOSEA\n\n i. 2 187\n ii. 19 213\n iii. 2 187, 293\n iv. 6 216\n\n\n JOEL\n i. 8 213, 215\n iii. 9 207\n 13 206\n 18 207\n\n\n AMOS\n\n v. 14 202\n\n\n JONAH\n iii. 5 286\n iv. 7, 9 136\n\n\n MICAH\n\n i. 1 412, 413\n iv. 4 215\n 8, 9 413\n 10, 13 414\n v. 2 412\u2013416\n 5 298\n 7, 8, 10 417\n vi. 3, 4 277\n 8 278, 418\n vii. 1, 2, 8, 9 418\n 9, 18 419\n\n\n HABAKKUK\n\n ii. 4 454\n 9\u201312 8\n 11 219\n iii. 7 351\n\n\n HAGGAI\n\n i. 2, 4 208\n 4 209\n 8, 10, 14 210\n ii. 6 211\n 7, 8, 23 212\n\n\n ZECHARIAH\n\n iii. 3, 8, 12 311\n v. 1 149\n 7 11\n ix. 10 212\n\n\n MALACHI\n\n iv. 2 187, 214, 298\n\n\n 3 ESDRAS\n\n iv. 29, 30, 31 238\n\n\n TOBIT\n\n iv. 21 116\n xii. 8, 9 363\n\n\n JUDITH\n\n xiii. 16 367\n\n\n WISDOM\n\n ii. 15 465\n iv. 9 87, 103, 453\n 11 252\n 15 224, 252\n vii. 22 397\n viii. 19 217\n ix. 15 204\n\n\n ECCLESIASTICUS\n\n i. 14 452\n xv. 2 214\n xviii. 30, 31 368\n xix. 2 368\n 23, 24 11\n xxiii. 18 208\n xxvii. 11 236\n xxx. 1 414\n\n\n BARUCH\n\n iii. 24, 25 81\n\n\n SUSANNA\n 15 483, 484\n 34 479\n 43 246\n\n\n BEL AND THE DRAGON\n\n 36 295\n\n\n 2 MACCABEES\n\n iv. 18 343\n\n\n S. MATTHEW\n\n i. 18 340, 482\n 23 284\n ii. 6, 18 415\n iii. 4 368\n 9 230\n 11 187, 407\n 15, 23 284\n iv. 2, 34 363\n 4 395\n 17 202\n v. 3 253\n 17 169, 187, 298, 383,\n 431, 438\n 27 183\n 28 430\n 30 439\n 37 59\n 44 318, 385\n 44, 45, 48 204\n vi. 22 20\n 33 233\n vii. 3 188\n 7 30, 210\n 14 198\n 15, 16 280\n 17 201\n viii. 2, 3 309\n 7 458\n 24 294\n 29 163\n ix. 12 329\n 13 329\n 15 214\n 20 407\n x. 19, 20 30, 258\n 28 42\n 30 22\n 33 346, 432\n 39 146\n xi. 12 389\n 17 347\n 25 307\n 27 412\n 28 145, 474\n xii. 48 86\n xiii. 43 236, 417\n 52 256\n xiv. 4 134\n 26 285\n 31 457\n xv. 8 275\n xvi. 18 290\n 19 423\n 24 382, 426\n 26 10\n xvii. 2 461\n 4 203\n 21 286, 363\n 27 23, 25\n xviii. 15, 17 259\n 16 479\n 19, 20 359\n 21, 22 381\n 23, 35 272\n xix. 5 283\n 12 428\n 21 24, 318\n 26 205\n xx. 10 23\n 15 201\n 23 189\n xxii. 12 281, 288\n 17, 18 154\n 18, 19 24\n 21 133\n xxiii. 10 442\n xxiv. 15 275\n 35 212, 226\n 40 408\n 41 396\n xxv. 21 83\n 40 3, 277\n 43 463\n xxvi. 41 234\n 59, 60 484\n 64 446\n 70 461\n xxvii. 4 407\n 23, 25 218\n 25 226\n 45 393\n 46 219\n 52 309\n xxviii. 19 315\n 20 328\n\n\n S. MARK\n\n i. 24 165\n ii. 11 460\n iii. 17 158\n iv. 38 294\n viii. 38 346\n\n\n S. LUKE\n\n i. 24 482\n 28 483\n 34, 37, 38 284\n 35 317\n 42 415\n ii. 4 415\n 23 221\n 28 230\n 35 403\n 36, 37 284\n 37 368\n 51 275\n 52 464\n iii. 2, 19 382\n 6 430\n iv. 25 409\n 29 318\n vi. 45 44\n vii. 36\u201338 270\n 43, 47 266\n 44 273\n 45 274\n viii. 17 325\n ix. 23 14\n 26 432\n x. 2 19\n 20 189\n 35 186\n xi. 1 233\n xii. 49 463\n xiii. 11 414\n 19, 21 396\n 32 168\n xiv. 16 288\n xv. 8, 9 20\n 10 278\n 17, 19 8\n 22 472\n xvi. 9 469\n 13 92\n 31 404\n xvii. 5 457\n 6 396\n 7 465\n 31 206\n xviii. 42 231\n xix. 8 407\n 17 44\n 33 440\n 35 145\n 40 150\n xx. 4 157\n 36 492\n xxi. 2 186\n xxii. 7\u201312 167\n 42 422\n 43 219, 299, 407, 422\n 48 275\n xxiii. 34 308\n 44 211\n 53 230\n xxiv. 7 187\n 32 206\n\n\n S. JOHN\n\n i. 1 159, 203\n 14 310\n 16 202\n 17 169\n 18 57, 159, 293, 310\n 26 222, 232, 359\n 29 23, 189, 202, 256,\n 391, 400, 436, 443\n 32 277\n 36 429\n 47 230\n ii. 19 170\n 19 463\n iv. 6 463\n 14 207\n 26 201\n 34 407\n v. 10, 30 454\n 18 46\n 30, 31, 45 453\n vi. 44 48\n 50 415\n 58 395\n vii. 4, 5, 7, 15 188\n 12 44\n 16 185, 461\n 37 210\n 38 5, 383\n 56 47\n viii. 8, 9 183\n 10 189\n 10, 11 184\n 11 439\n 12 206\n 20 185\n 34 247\n 40 48\n 56 423\n ix. 1 459\n 2, 3, 5\u20137 460\n 10, 11 461\n 25 164, 461\n 28 461\n 29 165\n x. 11 43\n xi. 33, 34 309\n 35 202\n 43 460\n 50 320\n 54 422\n xii. 1 422\n 5 278\n xiii. 2 389\n 27 449, 461\n xiv. 9 155\n 12 164, 231\n 21 4\n 23 290\n 27, 28 46\n 27 274\n 30 25\n xv. 3 461\n 15 243\n 22 434\n xvi. 15, 16 155\n 32 189, 318\n xvii. 1 168\n 3 40\n 11, 14, 18 25\n xviii. 8 422\n xix. 6 226\n 10 454\n 25, 27 393\n 26, 27, 30 340\n 30 402\n 34 400\n xx. 22 399\n xxi. 7 295\n 22 147\n\n\n ACTS\n\n i. 18 38\n 26 445\n ii. 4 27\n iii. 6 387\n 6, 13 308\n vii. 55 203, 398\n 56 349, 360\n ix. 1 255\n 5 7\n x. 9 208\n 10 317, 363\n xv. 10 423\n xvi. 22 289\n xvii. 18 365\n 27, 28 291\n 28 204, 224, 458\n xx. 24 382\n 35 467\n\n\n ROMANS\n\n i. 17 453, 454\n 20 37\n ii. 14 433\n iii. 4 319\n 19 434, 436\n iv. 7 436\n 11 430\n 15 433, 434\n v. 3, 4, 5 195, 414\n 19 11, 156, 435\n 20 305, 435, 436\n vi. 3 362\n 5 426\n 8 220, 463\n 10 147\n 13 249\n vii. 7 435\n 8 434\n 22 429\n viii. 13, 16, 17 228\n 17 295, 362, 386\n 20 288\n 20\u201324 224\u2013232\n 26 233\n 27 234\n 37 244, 417\n x. 2 259\n 4 24, 292\n 8 451\n 10 26, 274, 299\n 15 199\n xi. 5 212\n 25 376, 420\n 25, 26 226\n 33 253\n 36 205\n xii. 19 390\n xiii. 4 182\n 7 345\n 8 452\n 10 204\n 12 461\n xiv. 2 370\n\n\n 1 CORINTHIANS\n\n i. 1 201\n 8 37, 48\n 23, 24 432\n 25 319\n 27 220\n 30 359\n ii. 9 232, 459\n 15 351, 431\n iii. 2 7, 207, 384\n 6, 7 31\n 12, 13 439\n 14, 15 440\n 18 220\n iv. 3, 4 243\n 9 381\n 20 315\n 21 270\n v. 3 313\n 5 418\n 7 173\n 8 175\n 9 361\n 10, 11, 12 362\n 12 466\n vi. 1, 2, 5 153\n 4\u20136 466\n 7 467, 468\n 12, 13 247\n vii. 4 368\n 22 450\n 25 369\n 26, 32, 34, 35,\n 37\u201340 370\n 34, 38 283\n viii. 5, 6 305\n ix. 1, 17, 19 242\n 17 452\n 26 289\n 24, 27 243\n 27 285, 360, 403\n x. 2 175\n 4 290\n 7 362\n 12 372\n 17 416\n 23 353\n 29 248\n xi. 1 14\n 3 304\n 13\u201315 411\n 14 216\n xii. 7\u20139 22\n 7, 11 233\n 21 279\n 23 428\n 28 230\n xiii. 1 322\n 2, 7, 10, 13 456\n 4 195\n 7 457\n 10 395\n xiv. 15 233\n 34, 35 411\n xv. 22 423\n 23 230\n 28 14, 227, 229, 308\n 32 280\n 32\u201334 364\n 41 160\n 45, 46, 47 295\n 48, 49 213\n 49 290\n 54, 55 299, 402\n 55 308\n\n\n 2 CORINTHIANS\n\n i. 19 29, 204\n ii. 10 270\n iii. 3 153\n 17 443\n 18 161\n iv. 6 438\n 16 429\n 18 296\n v. 4 224\n 8 203\n 4, 7, 8, 10 225\n 15 301\n 16 255, 307\n 16, 17 23\n 17 353\n 17, 19, 20, 21 256\n 17, 21 308\n 21 152, 456\n vi. 2 169\n 5 285\n 10 381\n 15 149\n vii. 5 244, 417\n viii. 9 386, 464\n x. 10, 11 314\n xi. 2 303, 370\n 14 149\n 26 289\n 27 368\n 29 231\n xii. 2 86, 203\n 4 234, 398\n 10 45, 135\n\n\n GALATIANS\n\n i. 8 281\n 15 222\n 18 188\n ii. 4 242\n 6 13, 456\n 18 338\n 19 152\n 20 255, 301, 302\n iii. 6 455\n 10 451\n 10, 13, 16, 19 441\n 11, 13 152\n 13 308, 382\n 22, 25, 29 442\n 23 453\n 24 437, 452\n iv. 1, 3 442\n 4 35, 152, 310, 443\n 6 228, 231\n 8 309\n 10, 11 167\n 22 455\n 24 450\n v. 1 451\n 2 455\n 6 256\n 13 242\n 13, 14 452\n vi. 11 313\n 14 382, 457\n\n\n EPHESIANS\n\n ii. 4, 6 446\n 14 359, 417\n 14, 15, 18 447\n iii. 1 464\n iv. 5 157\n 8 464\n 10, 11, 13 447\n 13 216, 300, 443\n 14 236\n 15 444\n 16 448\n 22, 26 449\n 32 384\n v. 3 7\n 3, 5 362\n 1, 3, 5, 9, 10 445\n 14 13\n 24, 25 449\n 27 369\n 31, 32 445\n vi. 12 144, 289, 381, 445,\n 449\n 13 449\n 16 238\n\n\n PHILIPPIANS\n\n i. 23 145\n 24 81, 231\n ii. 6 243\n 6, 7 14, 309\n 7 23, 307, 310\n 7, 8 316\n 7, 11 308\n 6\u20138 46\n 8 421\n 9 387\n 16 312\n iii. 7 156\n 8 14\n 20 159, 392\n iv. 7 212, 251\n 13 207\n\n\n COLOSSIANS\n\n i. 15 18, 230\n 16, 17 210\n 18 230\n ii. 9 316, 368\n 13, 14 272\n 14 436\n 20\u201322 203\n 20 285\n iii. 11 386\n 13 391\n iv. 3 175\n\n\n 1 THESSALONIANS\n\n iv. 4 7\n\n\n 1 TIMOTHY\n\n i. 9 240\n ii. 5 309\n iii. 2 378\n 6 379\n 3\u20137 69\n 16 201\n v. 6 210\n 23 367\n 24 10\n vi. 10 10\n 16 41\n\n\n 2 TIMOTHY\n\n ii. 5 288\n 11, 12 411\n 19 375\n iv. 2 258, 270\n 7 288\n 8 23\n\n\n TITUS\n\n i. 6, 7, 9 378\n iii. 10 66\n\n\n PHILEMON\n\n 1 389, 475\n\n\n HEBREWS\n\n i. 3 155, 201, 202, 231\n 5 59\n ii. 7 47\n iv. 4 299\n 12 212, 322, 400, 403\n 13 318\n 14 301\n v. 1 377\n 2, 4, 5, 7 373\n vi. 13 47\n 18 316, 319\n vii. 2, 3 373\n 16, 17 301\n viii. 8, 9 301\n ix. 4 18\n 17 442\n x. 7 302\n xi. 9 374\n 26 346\n 33, 34, 37, 38 380\n 34 381\n xii. 22 222\n 29 407\n xiii. 8 299\n 12 329\n\n\n 1 S. PETER\n\n i. 12 203, 459\n 15, 17\u201319 386\n 18, 19 426, 443\n ii. 18 394\n iii. 3 253\n 3, 4 250\n iv. 8 457\n v. 8 144\n\n\n 2 S. PETER\n i. 4 200, 291\n\n\n 1 S. JOHN\n\n ii. 18 174, 301\n iii. 9 457\n iv. 18 457\n v. 1 456\n 20 40\n\n\n 2 S. JOHN\n\n 10 69\n\n REVELATION\n\n i. 8 26, 223, 374, 413\n ii. 10 288\n 14, 15 323\n iii. 1 227\n v. 12 308\n viii. 3, 4 396\n xviii. 22 397\n xxi. 23 206\n xxii. 16 299\n\n\n\n\n INDEX OF LATIN AND GREEK WORDS\n\n\n A\n\n Abdicati, 183.\n absconditam pretio humum, 110, note.\n acta 33, note.\n aerarii, 155, note.\n agnatio, 354.\n \u03b1\u1f34\u03c4\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd, 28.\n Almo, 111, note.\n amentata sententia, 16.\n ampliavit, 308.\n apex, 355.\n \u1f00\u03c0\u03bf\u03c4\u03ad\u03bb\u03b5\u03c3\u03bc\u03b1, 28.\n arca, 89, note.\n Astarte, 111, note.\n aula regalis, 393, note.\n \u1f08\u03c6\u03c1\u03bf\u03b4\u03af\u03c4\u03b7 \u039f\u1f50\u03c1\u03b1\u03bd\u03af\u03b1, 111, note.\n\n\n B\n\n Basilica, 142, note.\n\n\n C\n\n Castellum, 421.\n cernere hereditatem, 443, note.\n clarissimus, a title of courtesy, 101, note.\n claudebat, from claudeo, to be lame, 84, note.\n cleros, 465.\n cognatio, 354.\n compares, 352.\n confundar, \u2666confusus fuerit, 346, 432.\n contrarius, 218.\n cornici oculum effodere, 219.\n creaturam, 1.\n cubitum, intexti in, 125, note.\n curiales, 105, note.\n\n\n D\n\n Dacia Ripensis, 67, note.\n decani, 129, note.\n decurions, 105, note.\n denarius, 26.\n dies saeculi, 416.\n diminuit, 308.\n dii patrii and indigetes, 97, note.\n di\u0153cesis, 33, note.\n distinxisti, 258.\n\n\n E\n\n Enneacaidecateris, 166, note.\n \u1f10\u03bd\u03b5\u03c1\u03b3\u03bf\u03cd\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9, 158, note.\n \u1f10\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03bb\u03ad\u03c7\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1, 224.\n \u1f10\u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03c7\u03af\u03b1, 33, note.\n\n\n F\n\n Fiscus, 89, note.\n\n\n G\n\n Gigas salutaris, 211, note.\n gignentia, 110, note.\n\n\n I\n\n Illustris, a title of courtesy, 101, note; 137, note.\n impressio, 379.\n incipit = \u03bc\u03ad\u03bb\u03bb\u03b5\u03b9, 167, note.\n institutis, 421.\n\n\n J\n\n Judicium, 219; judicio, 219.\n\n\n L\n\n Laborat, 463.\n l\u00e6tus, 470.\n longaevi super terram, 392.\n luna, for day of the month, 168, note.\n\n\n M\n\n Magister equitum et peditum, 279, note.\n magister officiorum, 331, note.\n mensis novorum, 169, note.\n missam facere, 129, note.\n Mithras, 111, note.\n morsus hominum, 298.\n \u03bc\u03bf\u03c3\u03c7\u03b5\u03cd\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1, 247.\n\n\n N\n\n Nevel, 187.\n nivei, 6.\n nomen and numen, play on, 95.\n \u03bd\u03bf\u1fe6\u03c2, 306.\n\n\n P\n\n Pannonia, 108, note.\n peculium, 98, note.\n perdendo, 218.\n pr\u00e6fectus pr\u00e6torio, 33, note; Itali\u00e6, 128, note.\n pr\u00e6fectus urbi, 94, note.\n pr\u00e6positus cubiculi, 137.\n pr\u00e6scriptio, 379.\n primitias, 230.\n primogenitus, 221; primogenita, 230.\n primitivus, 221.\n principes virtutum, 128, note.\n propria corporis, 225.\n puer, 464; puerum, 311.\n puleium, 17.\n\n\n R\n\n Refrigerat, 277.\n reprobus, 360; reprobum, 361.\n Rhoetia Secunda, 108, note.\n\n\n S\n\n Sacramentum, 275.\n s\u00e6culum, 416.\n sobrietatis inebrietas, 368.\n sobrii estote, 364.\n sola, 368.\n sospitatis indicio, 280.\n specie, 309.\n spectabilis, a title of courtesy, 101, note.\n spiritum, 274.\n statera, 24.\n subditus fiat, 434.\n superpositus, 65, note.\n\n\n T\n\n Tractatus concilii Nic\u00e6ni, 50, note.\n tubera, 16.\n\n\n V\n\n Valeria Ripensis, 108, note.\n vela, 129, note.\n Venus C\u00e6lestis, 111, note.\n vibulamina, 247.\n vicarius, 33, note.\n vivi, 6.\n\n\n THE END.\n\n\n\n\n Footnotes.\n\n\n 1 \u2013 The word in the original is Sacerdos. It is constantly\n used by S. Ambrose and other writers of his time for\n Bishops, though they sometimes add a qualifying epithet,\n \u2018Summus Sacerdos.\u2019 But even alone it is used where the\n writer is clearly speaking of Bishops, and of Bishops\n qu\u00e2 Bishops. Thus it occurs frequently in the Proceedings\n of the Council of Aquileia, which is itself styled\n \u2018Sacerdotale Concilium.\u2019 See the Article \u2018Bishop\u2019 by Mr.\n Haddan in Dict. of Chr. Ant. Vol. 1 p. 210 b., who refers\n also to Bp. Taylor, Episc. Assert. \u00a7 27. It has therefore\n been rendered \u2018Bishop\u2019 throughout this volume, wherever\n it is plain that the reference is to Bishops, and \u2018Priest\u2019\n wherever it is used in a more general way.\n\n 2 \u2013 This forms the two first books of the \u2018De Fide\u2019 still\n extant among the works of S. Ambrose. The other three\n books were added afterwards, as S. Ambrose explains at the\n beginning of Bk. iii, to maintain his statements against\n the attacks of heretical teachers. The Treatise, \u2018De\n Spiritu Sancto,\u2019 in 3 books, was sent afterwards in\n 381 A.D.\n\n 3 \u2013 Nivei. This is the reading all MSS. Ed. Rom. has \u2018vivi,\u2019\n which would agree better with the text of S. John.\n\n 4 \u2013 The Benedictine reference for the first of these texts\n is Prov. xiv. 3. _The lips of the wise shall preserve\n them_, with which the Sept. and Vulg. agree. In the second\n the English Vers. has _The lips of the wise disperse\n knowledge_. Here S. Ambr. agrees with the Sept.\n\n 5 \u2013 Forum Cornelii was on the Via \u00c6milia, about 23 miles S.E.\n of Bononia. It was at this time in the Province \u00c6milia.\n The modern name is Imola.\n\n 6 \u2013 The Benedictine Editors refer this to the ravages of the\n Goths after Valens\u2019 defeat at Hadrianople A.D. 375. It is\n on this that they found the date of the letter, but the\n reference is somewhat vague.\n\n 7 \u2013 tubera\n\n 8 \u2013 Amentata illa non manipularis sententia. Ed. Ben. refers\n to Junius, Adagiorum Centuriae 3, 10, who says \u2018Amentatam\n sententiam dixit D. Ambrosius pro valid\u00e2 et haud vulgari\n firmisque argumentis roborat\u00e2. Est autem amentum lori\n genus quo hasta praeligata validius certiusque libratur\n evibraturque: hinc amentata sententia ea est qu\u00e6 neutiquam\n trivialis est et pedanea, cujusmodi manipularis vocatur,\n velut a gregario milite profecta, sed eximia et artificio\n vallata.\u2019 He quotes two passages from Cicero, De Orat.\n 1 57, 242. Brut. 78. 271, in both which places he uses\n \u2018amentat\u00e6 hast\u00e6\u2019 of arguments, and also Tertull. adv. Marc.\n iv. 33 where he says that our Lord amentavit [Phariseis]\n hanc sententiam, non potestis Deo servire et mammon\u00e6,\n where it plainly means, \u2018gave them this home-thrust.\u2019\n\n 9 \u2013 puleium, lit. the herb penny royal.\n\n 10 \u2013 Bassianus is mentioned among the Bishops who took in the\n Council of Aquileia, as Bishop of Laus Pompeia, now Lodi\n Vecchio, S.E. of Milan. The modern town of Lodi is about\n 5 miles from the site of the ancient one.\n\n 11 \u2013 He means the day of his consecration as Bishop. So S. Ambr.\n speaks of his own consecration day as his birthday, Comm.\n in Luc. vii. 78.\n\n 12 \u2013 Comum is the modern Como, at the southern extremity of the\n Lake which takes its name from it.\n\n 13 \u2013 These words are added by S. Ambrose.\n\n 14 \u2013 statera.\n\n 15 \u2013 denarius.\n\n 16 \u2013 \u1f45\u03c1\u03bf\u03b9.\n\n 17 \u2013 There is no text in Holy Scripture exactly corresponding\n to this. Lev. xxv. 11 which is referred to by Ed. Ben. is\n hardly to the point.\n\n 18 \u2013 There can be little doubt that the true date is iii. Non.\n Sept. i. e. the 3rd of Sept., and not Nonis, the 5th. For\n in 381 A.D. the 5th of Sept. was on a Sunday, and it is\n hardly likely that a Council would have sat from daybreak\n till one o\u2019clock (Ep. 10. 5) in the Church on such a day,\n and moreover it would not have been natural for Palladius\n to say, as he does in \u00a7 47. Non respondebo nisi auditores\n veniant post Dominicam diem, if he were speaking on a\n Sunday.\n\n 19 \u2013 The reading of Ed. Rom. has been adopted, which omits the\n preposition \u2018cum. \u2019 If this were correct, it would imply\n that the consuls were themselves taking a leading part in\n the Council; whereas it is clear that they are mentioned\n solely as the ordinary way of fixing the year; nor had\n the consuls at this time any other than such ornamental\n functions. See Gibbon\u2019s description, ch. xvii. vol. ii.\n ed. Smith p. 206\u2013208.\n\n 20 \u2013 By \u2018acta\u2019 here are meant formal and official records taken\n down and published by authority. Thus Jul. C\u00e6sar ordered\n the \u2018Acta\u2019 of the Senate to be regularly published. Suet.\n C\u00e6s. 20.\n\n 21 \u2013 It is to be remembered that \u2018diocese\u2019 was then a civil and\n not an Ecclesiastical term. A \u2018di\u0153cesis\u2019 was an aggregate\n of provinces, under the charge of a Vicarius, who was\n subordinate to one of the four Pr\u00e6fecti Pr\u00e6torio, each\n Pr\u00e6fectus having under him a number of dioceses. Thus\n the Vicarius Itali\u00e6, who was subordinate to the Pr\u00e6fectus\n Pr\u00e6torio Itali\u00e6, had in his diocese fourteen provinces,\n including both Liguria of which Milan was the capital,\n and Venetia in which Aquileia was situated. It is to be\n remembered also that Italia at this time meant only the\n north of Italy, the rest of Italy being now included in\n the Diocese of Rome, and under the Vicarius Urbis Romae.\n See the table given in Smith\u2019s Gibbon, vol. ii. p. 315.\n taken from Marquardt. When the word diocese came into\n Ecclesiastical use, it was applied, first to \u201can aggregate\n not merely of several districts, governed each by its own\n bishop, but of several provinces (\u1f10\u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03c7\u03af\u03b1\u03b9) each presided\n over by a metropolitan. The diocese itself was under\n an Exarch or Patriarch.\u201d Dict. of Chr. Ant. sub voc.\n \u2018Credit\u00e2\u2019 is here read for \u2018creditam,\u2019 as required by the\n order of the words.\n\n 22 \u2013 It is not certain to whom the Emperor\u2019s letter was\n addressed. Some have thought that it was addressed to\n the Pretorian Prefect of Italy. Tillemont maintained\n that it was addressed to Valerian, Bishop of Aquileia, in\n whose see the Council was held. The language, though not\n decisive, seems in favour of the former supposition. In\n \u00a7 7. the Prefect of Italy is spoken of as issuing letters\n in pursuance of it.\n\n 23 \u2013 i. e. a copy of S. Paul\u2019s Epistles.\n\n 24 \u2013 i. e. the Emperor\u2019s letter.\n\n 25 \u2013 The text here seems defective, nor is there any thing\n to guide us to supply the lacuna. What is given in the\n translation is no more than a guess at the meaning of the\n sentence. The general connection is however clear enough\n even if it be omitted.\n\n 26 \u2013 The reading of Ed. Rom. is here adopted, as alone\n furnishing a reasonable sense. The Benedictine text is\n unintelligible.\n\n 27 \u2013 By Illyricum is here meant Illyricum Occidentale, which\n at this time was under the jurisdiction of the Vicarius\n Itali\u00e6. (See the Table in Smith\u2019s Gibbon, referred to in\n note[21] p. 33.) Sirmium, which in the following Century\n was entirely destroyed by the Goths under Attila, was\n at this time a place of great importance both civil and\n ecclesiastical. It is spoken of by Justinian as capital of\n Illyricum both in civil and episcopal matters (Tillemont,\n note xv on the Life of S. Ambrose vol. x. p. 739). Its\n ecclesiastical importance is shewn by the contest in which\n S. Ambrose engaged with Justina, two years before the\n Council, 379 A. D. to bring about the election of Anemius\n as Bishop, when the Empress was using all her influence to\n cause an Arian Bishop to be appointed. Arianism had been\n rife there for some time, and Germinus a previous Bishop\n had been one of the leaders of that party. (Tillemont,\n S. Ambr. ch. xx.) Illyricum had been finally separated\n into two divisions, Orientale and Occidentale, by Gratian,\n in 379 A.D. who transferred the Eastern Division to\n Theodosius when he made him Emperor of the East, from\n which time it formed part of the Eastern Empire.\n (Tillemont, Hist. des Emp. vol. v. p. 716.)\n\n 28 \u2013 The context requires the reading \u2018bonus\u2019 for \u2018omnibus,\u2019\n which is that of one MS. The same MS. also inserts\n \u2018Deum\u2019 in Eusebius\u2019 next speech, which is required by the\n argument.\n\n 29 \u2013 made Himself of no reputation E.T.\n\n 30 \u2013 But now ye seek to kill me, a man &c. E.V.\n\n 31 \u2013 By \u2018tractatus concilii Nic\u00e6ni\u2019 is meant simply the\n Nicene Creed. This is established by S. Ambr. De Fide\n iii. 15. 125 (518 Ed. Ben.) where, speaking of the letter\n of Eusebius of Nicomedia read at the Council, in reference\n to the word \u1f41\u03bc\u03bf\u03bf\u03cd\u03c3\u03b9\u03bf\u03c2, he says, H\u00e6c cum lecta esset\n epistola in Concilio Nic\u00e6no, hoc verbum _in tractatu fidei_\n posuerunt Patres, etc.\n\n 32 \u2013 The reading in Ed. Ben. is \u2018carendum.\u2019 If it is genuine,\n the word must have acquired a sort of transitive sense and\n have come to mean \u2018to be deprived.\u2019 No traces of such an\n use is to be found in Facciolati or in Ducange. Ed. Ben.\n quotes a parallel use of \u2018abstinendus\u2019 but without any\n instances. Rom. reads \u2018privandum,\u2019 Chifflet \u2018curandum,\u2019\n either of which give the required sense, but seem\n corrections without MS. authority.\n\n 33 \u2013 The text in this passage is defective and confused: but\n the general sense, as given here, may fairly be made out\n of it as it stands.\n\n 34 \u2013 It is to be noticed that the sentence of only twenty-five\n Bishops are here given out of thirty two or thirty three.\n It is probable therefore that the Record is defective, and\n that the sentences of the rest have been lost.\n\n 35 \u2013 Ed. Ben. here reads, Et cum Secundianus subripuisset. As\n subripuisset by itself could have no sense, the reading\n of Ed. Rom. has been adopted, Et cum Secundianus se\n paullulum subripuisset et postea convenisset. This is\n adopted in Tillemont\u2019s narrative, Il sortit mesme de\n l\u2019assembl\u00e9e, mais il revint quelque temps apr\u00e8s.\n\n 36 \u2013 This is according to the text of Ed. Rom.\n\n 37 \u2013 The abrupt termination of the discussion with Secundianus,\n without any account of a decision in his case, seems to\n point to the same conclusion as the incomplete list of\n Bishops who give sentence on Palladius, that the Record is\n defective. Moreover the unusual number of various readings\n is generally a sign of a defective text. The force and\n cleverness of the evasions of Secundianus seem sometimes\n to be lost thereby.\n\n 38 \u2013 With regard to the names of the sees, those of which\n the modern name is as familiar or more familiar than\n the ancient have been rendered by the modern name, those\n of which the modern name would be unfamiliar to general\n readers have been left in their ancient form. It would be\n affectation to call S. Ambrose Bishop of Mediolanum: on\n the other hand nothing would be gained by calling Felix\n Bishop of Jadera, Bishop of Zara.\n\n 39 \u2013 This name is omitted in the list at the beginning, so\n that there are thirty three in this list, only thirty\n two in the other. The two presbyters were probably\n representatives of Bishops, but it is not stated of whom.\n\n 40 \u2013 It is probable that similar letters were addressed to\n the Bishops of the other Provinces of Gaul, who had\n sent Justus as their deputy, and to Africa and Illyricum,\n though no record of them remains. Possibly they were\n identical, except the address. Gaul had at this time\n been so subdivided, that the Vicariate or civil Diocese\n consisted of no less than seventeen provinces. See\n Marquardt\u2019s Table, as quoted above.\n\n 41 \u2013 There is no mention of the condemnation of Attalus in the\n Records, another proof that they are not complete.\n\n 42 \u2013 Julianus Valens was Bishop of Petavio or Pettau on the\n Drave, into which See he had apparently been introduced\n in the place of the orthodox Bishop Marcus: for this\n is, according to Tillemont, the meaning of the word\n \u2018superpositus.\u2019 When Pannonia and Illyricum were overrun\n by the Goths after Valens\u2019 defeat at Hadrianople, (378 A.D.)\n he deserted his charge. The ravages of the Barbarians\n are described by S. Jerome ad cap i. Zephan. vol. iii.\n p. 1645. See Gibbon ch. 26. (from a note in Newman\u2019s Fleury,\n vol. 1 p. 38.)\n\n 43 \u2013 The reading here is uncertain. Ed. Rom. has \u2018prout jam et\n sacerdotum concilio sententia in eos lata est.\u2019 Nor is it\n certain to what laws allusion is made. A long note in Ed.\n Ben. does not seem to clear up the matter.\n\n 44 \u2013 Dacia Ripensis. The original Province of Dacia was beyond\n the Danube. It was conquered and included in the Empire\n by Trajan. In the time of Aurelian it was abandoned again,\n and the Danube re-established as the frontier. Then the\n Roman colonists were removed to the South of the Danube,\n into the central district of M\u0153sia, which was then called\n Dacia Aureliani. This was afterwards divided into two\n Provinces, called Dacia Ripensis and Dacia Mediterranea,\n Ripensis being the northern part, extending along the bank\n of the Danube, whence the name.\n\n 45 \u2013 \u201cDamasus was made Pope on the death of Liberius A.D. 366.\n Ursinus, called by some Ursicinus, was, as Damasus had\n been, Deacon at Rome, and could not endure the exaltation\n of his former colleague who is suspected of having taken\n part with Felix, the successor to the power of Liberius,\n when exiled by the Arians. Ursinus was factiously\n consecrated by one Bishop, and a contest ensued in which\n even much blood was shed. Ursinus was banished, and\n being recalled the next year, was banished again after\n two months. In 371 he was allowed to leave his place of\n exile, and only excluded from Rome and the suburbicarian\n provinces. In 378 he held the factious meetings mentioned\n in the letter, and was exiled to Cologne. He continued to\n petition Gratian to restore him, and hence the request of\n the Bishops at Aquileia.\u201d Note in Newman\u2019s Fleury vol. 1,\n p. 38.\n\n 46 \u2013 i. e. Julianus Valens, Bp. of Petavio, mentioned in the\n preceding letter.\n\n 47 \u2013 after the first and second admonition E.V.\n\n 48 \u2013 This Lucius the person who, after the death of\n S. Athanasius, was forced upon the Church of Alexandria\n as Bishop, in the place of Peter who had been duly elected,\n by the Governor of the Province. His crimes and cruelties\n are recorded at length by Eccl. Hist. iv. 21, 22. He was\n eventually expelled from the see he had usurped, and is\n mentioned by Socrates, Hist. Eccl. v. 7, as afterwards\n dwelling at Constantinople and sharing the fate of\n Demophilus.\n\n 49 \u2013 Demophilus was originally Bishop of Beroea, (probably\n Beroea in Thrace,) and was deposed from his office for\n Arianism. In A.D. 370, on the death of Eudoxius, he was\n elected by the Arian party Bishop of Constantinople, in\n opposition to Evagrius. He was supported by Valens who was\n then Emperor, and Evagrius banished. In 380 A.D. after the\n accession of Theodosius, matters were changed. Theodosius\n offered to maintain him in his see, if he subscribed\n the Nicene Confession, but he refused, and withdrew,\n and maintained, in conjunction with Lucius and others,\n Arian worship outside the walls of Constantinople. He died\n A.D. 386. He is mentioned by S. Ambrose (De Fide 1. 6. 45.)\n as a leader of one of the various forms of Arianism.\n\n 50 \u2013 This refers to the long schism which had existed in the\n Church at Antioch, ever since 331 A.D. when Eustathius\n was deposed by the Arian party: in 361 A.D. Meletius\n was elected as successor to Eudoxius, having previously\n subscribed the Creed of Acacius (Socr. ii. 44.); but on\n his accepting the Nicene Creed, and acknowledging the\n Homoousion, he was deposed, and banished by the Emperor\n Constantius, and Euzoius, an Arian, appointed in his\n stead, who was afterwards succeeded by Dorotheus, (who\n was afterwards transferred to Constantinople, 385 A.D.)\n Meanwhile Meletius had returned from exile, but the\n extreme orthodox party refused to recognise him, because\n he had at first been appointed as a Semi-Arian, and\n elected Paulinus, though the Council of Alexandria had\n urged them to submit to Meletius, so that, as Socrates\n says, when recounting the Bishops of the chief sees in the\n year 379, \u2666the Church at Antioch \u03c4\u03c1\u03b9\u03c7\u1fc6 \u03b4\u03b9\u1fc4\u03c1\u03b7\u03c4\u03bf. Paulinus\n was supported by the Church of Alexandria and by the\n Bishops of the West, and, as appears from the statements\n of this letter, a compromise had been proposed, that\n when either Meletius or Paulinus died, both parties would\n acknowledge the survivor. The Bishops at Aquileia urge\n the Emperor to enforce this, not aware that Flavian had\n already been elected as Meletius\u2019 successor at the Council\n of Constantinople. The schism was thus perpetuated, and\n continued till 415 A.D.\n\n What the difficulty about Timotheus was, is not\n certain. He had been consecrated Bishop of Alexandria\n that same year, after the death of Peter, the successor of\n S. Athanasius. Tillemont (vol. x. p. 139) suggests that it\n was probably connected with the question of the succession\n at Antioch.\n\n 51 \u2013 The enemy are the Goths under Fritigern. See Gibbon ch. 26.\n\n 52 \u2013 The reading \u2018pactum\u2019 which is suggested by Valerius is\n here adopted instead of \u2018factum\u2019, which seems to give no\n satisfactory sense.\n\n 53 \u2013 Fleury remarks on this \u2666\u2018This letter plainly shews that\n the Bishops who were there present (i. e. at the Council\n of Aquileia) either did not acknowledge the Council which\n had been lately held at Constantinople to be an \u0152cumenical\n Council, or that they were not yet informed of what had\n been transacted in it.\n\n 54 \u2013 In the regard of the question between Nectarius and\n Maximus, the Western Bishops had been deceived by the\n latter. Maximus, called the Cynic because he retained the\n outward garb of a Cynic philosopher after he professed to\n have become a Christian, was irregularly \u2666consecrated at\n Constantinople, but was never recognised, and was formally\n pronounced by the Council not to be a true Bishop. He then\n went about trying to stir up other Churches in his favour.\n See Prof. Bright\u2019s Hist. of the Church, pp. 160\u2013166.\n\n Nectarius was elected after the resignation of Gregory\n Nazianzen, during the Council of Constantinople. He, like\n S. Ambrose, was unbaptized and held a high civil office at\n the time of his election.\n\n 55 \u2013 This is translated from an ingenious and probable\n conjecture of Valesius.\n\n 56 \u2013 The text through this long sentence is confused and\n ungrammatical, but it conveys the general sense expressed\n in the translation with tolerable clearness.\n\n 57 \u2013 i. e. Gratian.\n\n 58 \u2013 The sense is here to be elicited probably by repeating\n the word \u2018quod,\u2019 so that the sentence should run, \u2018dogma\n nescio quod, quod Apollinaris asseritur.\u2019\n\n 59 \u2013 There seems to be something corrupt in the text. Perhaps\n we should read \u2018moventur,\u2019 \u2018the dangerous parts of\n Illyricum are in commotion;\u2019 or \u2018suspecta\u2019 has taken the\n place of some word, such as \u2018superiora,\u2019 which would stand\n in antithesis to \u2018maritima.\u2019\n\n 60 \u2013 It may complete the subject of this series of letters\n to remind the reader that about the same time that the\n Council of the Italian Bishops was held, Theodosius\n convened a second Council at Constantinople to deal\n with the questions raised by the Westerns, where most of\n the Bishops who had formed the previous General Council\n re-assembled. They replied to the invitation to another\n General Council at Rome by a Synodical letter, which is\n given at full length by Theodoret (Eccles. Hist. v. 9.).\n In it they excuse themselves from attending, on the ground\n of their presence being required in their own Dioceses,\n especially after the long exile of many of them, and the\n prevalence of Arian usurpation, wishing that they \u2018had\n the wings of a dove,\u2019 to fly to their Western brethren.\n They then give a summary of the doctrinal decisions of\n the two Councils, and announce that they have sent three\n Bishops as deputies to explain all things more fully to\n them, and, with reference to the disputed successions at\n Constantinople and Antioch, give their assurance to their\n brethren that both Nectarius and Flavian were canonically\n elected, and the elections ratified both by the clergy\n and the faithful of each diocese, and by the Council,\n reminding them of the ancient Canon re-affirmed at Nic\u00e6a\n that each province should settle all such questions for\n themselves.\n\n 61 \u2013 Acholius, or Ascholius, as he is called by Socrates, was\n the Bishop who baptised Theodosius, during an illness\n which seized him on a campaign against the Goths. He was\n present at the Council of Constantinople, and afterwards\n at that of Rome, not as one of the deputies from the\n East, but probably because his see had been so recently\n transferred to the Eastern Empire, that he might seem to\n belong to both East and West. (Tillemont Ambr. ch. xxxi.)\n It was there that he met S. Ambrose, who had gone to Rome\n to attend the Council, and had fallen ill. His death must\n have occurred in A.D. 383, for his successor Anysius was\n Bishop before the death of Damasus, Bishop of Rome, who\n died in A.D. 384. Theodoret therefore (B. v. ch. 18.) must\n be wrong in making him the Bishop who wrote to S. Ambrose\n an account of the massacre at Thessalonica, which occurred\n in A.D. 390. But the passage of Theodoret occurs in only\n one MS., and is perhaps not genuine.\n\n 62 \u2013 The Goths had been settled within the boundaries of the\n Empire by Valens in A.D. 376, when they implored his\n protection against the Huns. He established them in Moesia,\n where they soon revolted, and ravaged Thrace, uniting\n with their former enemies, the Huns, and other barbarians.\n Valens was defeated and slain by them in A.D. 378, and\n then they overran all the neighbouring provinces. There is\n a graphic account in Gibbon, ch. xxvi.\n\n 63 \u2013 The Benedictine text here reads \u2018claudebatur.\u2019 Several MSS.,\n as the editors mention in a note, have \u2018claudebat.\u2019 They\n themselves suggest \u2018claudicabat.\u2019 But \u2018claudebat\u2019 really\n gives the same meaning, and there seems little doubt that\n it is the true reading. It comes from claudeo or claudo,\n (for both forms are to be found,) meaning \u2018to be lame,\u2019\n \u2018to halt.\u2019 It occurs three times in Cicero.\n\n 64 \u2013 \u2018fisco vel arc\u00e6.\u2019 The \u2018fiscus,\u2019 or imperial treasury,\n received whatever was assigned to the Emperor individually,\n as distinguished from the \u2018aerarium,\u2019 which received what\n belonged to the senate, as representing the old republica:\n \u2018arca\u2019 is sometimes used in late writers as equivalent to\n \u2018fiscus,\u2019 sometimes, when distinguished from it, as here,\n it signifies the city funds, which were distinct from both.\n\n 65 \u2013 Julian\u2019s edict, forbidding the Christians to teach in\n the schools of grammar and rhetoric, is mentioned with\n disapproval by Gibbon ch. xxiii.\n\n 66 \u2013 i. e. his half brother Gratian.\n\n 67 \u2013 i. e. Maximus.\n\n 68 \u2013 Valentinian the 1st.\n\n 69 \u2013 This is sometimes represented as an exaggerated piece\n of rhetoric on S. Ambrose\u2019s part, not to be regarded as\n representing a real truth: but it may very well do so, for\n Valentinian was almost constantly occupied with wars on\n the frontiers of the empire, and it does not appear from\n his life that he was ever at Rome during his reign. Milan,\n not Rome, was the chief seat of the Western Emperors at\n this time, when they were not with their armies.\n\n 70 \u2013 The Pr\u00e6fectus Urbi at this time \u2018was regarded as the\n direct representative of the Emperor,\u2019 and, among other\n duties, \u2018he had every month to make a report to the\n Emperor of the transactions of the Senate,\u2019 and also\n was \u2018the medium through which the Emperors received the\n petitions and presents from their capital.\u2019 Dict. of Ant.\n sub voc.\n\n 71 \u2013 By the \u2018late emperor\u2019 is meant Julian; \u2018his successor\u2019 is\n Valentinian the 1st, and \u2018last Emperors\u2019 are Valentinian\n the 1st and Valens.\n\n 72 \u2013 There is a play here on the words \u2018nomen\u2019 and \u2018numen.\u2019\n\n 73 \u2013 Symmachus is thinking of Virgil\u2019s invocation,\n\n Di patrii, Indigetes, et Romule, Vestaque Mater, &c.\n Georg. i. 498.\n\n The Di patrii are explained as being those brought by\n \u00c6neas into Italy, Indigetes those native to the soil of\n Italy.\n\n 74 \u2013 In strict law a slave\u2019s peculium was the property of his\n owner, but custom had allowed it to be regarded his own\n property.\n\n 75 \u2013 Another trace of Virgil:\n\n Cum jam glandes atque arbuta sacr\u00e6\n Deficerent silv\u00e6 et victum Dodona negaret.\n Georg. i. 158.\n\n 76 \u2013 Valentinian the 1st, as Symmachus mentions above, had\n tolerated the heathen rites, and this he here represents\n as having availed to win the special favour of the gods.\n\n 77 \u2013 This an official title of honour. There were three\n ranks among those who held office under the Emperors,\n 1 Illustres, 2 Spectabiles, 3 Clarissimi, which is the\n one here applied to Symmachus. The latter was applied to\n all senators: the other two were reserved for the higher\n offices of state. See Gibbon, ch. xvii.\n\n 78 \u2013 He is referring apparently to Galba, Otho, and Vitellius,\n but somewhat exaggerates the brevity of their reigns.\n Galba reigned nearly seven months, Otho three months,\n Vitellius nearly eight months.\n\n 79 \u2013 The captive Emperor is Valerian, who, A.D. 260, was taken\n prisoner by Sapor king of Persia, and treated with the\n utmost indignity. The other is his son Gallienus, and S.\n Ambrose\u2019s expression with regard to him may be explained\n by a sentence of Gibbon, (ch. xi. init.) \u2018Under the\n deplorable reigns of Valerian and Gallienus, the empire\n was oppressed and almost destroyed by the soldiers, the\n tyrants, and the barbarians.\u2019\n\n 80 \u2013 S. Ambrose refers here to a law of Valentinian\u2019s,\n forbidding the Clergy from receiving bequests from widows\n and unmarried females. It was addressed to Damasus, Bishop\n of Rome. S. Ambrose\u2019s caution in de Off. Min. 1, 20, 87,\n shews that control was needed. S. Jerome, speaking of this\n law says, \u2018I do not complain of the law, but grieve that\n we have deserved it.\u2019\n\n 81 \u2013 In the provincial towns the political power in the times\n of the Emperors had passed into the hands of the curia or\n provincial Senate; and, with the power, many burdensome\n and extensive duties, were laid upon the curiales or\n decurions, as they were called. (See \u00a7 15.) Exemption from\n these had been granted first by Constantine; afterwards,\n as it was found that persons sought Holy Orders in order\n to evade civil duties, the privilege was restrained: and\n various changes were introduced by different Emperors.\n A full outline of the various laws is given in a learned\n note in Newman\u2019s Fleury, vol. i. p. 162. where the text is\n speaking of S. Ambrose\u2019s Letter to Theodosius, (infr. Lett.\n xl.) where he again complains of the same hardship. The\n subject is also more fully dealt with by Bingham Antiq.\n B. V. ch. iii. \u00a7 14\u201316.\n\n 82 \u2013 \u2018Conferte\u2019 is here adopted as a manifest emendation of\n \u2018conferet.\u2019 The transfer of two letters is a common\n mistake of copyists.\n\n 83 \u2013 This was the case in Julian\u2019s reign, as may be seen in\n Theod. iii. 12.\n\n 84 \u2013 The reading of all the other Edd. \u2018sacri nemoris\u2019 for\n \u2018agri nemorum\u2019 is here adopted, as yielding a clearer\n sense.\n\n 85 \u2013 Pannonia was at this time divided into three provinces,\n viz. Pannonia Prima and Secunda, and Valeria Ripensis.\n\n 86 \u2013 Rhaetia Secunda was the name given to Vindelicia when\n separated again from Rhaetia proper, shortly before the\n time of Constantine: it had been united to it about the\n end of the first century.\n\n 87 \u2013 The Reading \u2018nuda gignentium\u2019 is adopted from Ed. Rom. The\n phrase occurs in Sallust Jug. 79, 6. \u2018Gignentia\u2019 is used\n for plants, trees &c. The clause \u2018quae nos\u2019 &c. is strange,\n but probably refers to the torpidity of winter, which is\n felt by man as well as by the lower creation.\n\n 88 \u2013 This passage seems suggested by reminiscences of Virgil,\n the phrase \u2018absconditam pretio humum\u2019 possibly from Aen.\n iv, 211. urbem Exiguam pretio posuit, while in the latter\n part S. Ambrose perhaps had in his mind the description of\n Evander\u2019s town in Aen. viii. See especially ll. 347\u2013366.\n\n 89 \u2013 The story of Cybele being brought to Rome, and landing\n outside the city, where the little stream of the Almo\n joins the Tiber, is told at length by Ovid, Fast. iv.\n 250\u2013348. In commemoration of the washing of the Statue\n and sacred implements at the landing, an annual ceremony\n was maintained, which seems to have been popular, from\n the numerous allusions to it in later writers. See Lucan\n 1. 600, Martial iii. 47. 2, Stat. Silv. v. 1. 222, Sil.\n Ital. viii. 365, all quoted in Dict. of Geogr. When the\n rites were performed away from Rome, the nearest river\n was conventionally made the Almo for the time. It is\n remarkable that Ammianus Marcellinus xxiii, 3, 7. mentions\n as one of the Emperor Julian\u2019s lasts acts, his keeping the\n day of this rite, when on his last campaign against the\n Persians, and performing all the ceremonies at Callinicum\n or Nicephorium on the Euphrates.\n\n 90 \u2013 Venus C\u00e6lestis is a Latin equivalent of \u1f08\u03c6\u03c1\u03bf\u03b4\u03af\u03c4\u03b7 \u03bf\u1f50\u03c1\u03b1\u03bd\u03af\u03b1,\n and this name was transferred, according to Herodotus\n (Bk. i. ch. 105.) to the Ph\u0153nician goddess Astarte,\n or Ashtaroth. The same author also (B. i. ch. 131.)\n identifies Aphrodite with the Persian goddess Mitra,\n which however is shewn by Prof. Rawlinson, ad loc., to be\n an error, as Mithras is the sun-god of the Persians. The\n Temple of Venus C\u00e6lestis, or Astarte, at Carthage was very\n shortly after this time converted into a Christian Church,\n as recorded by Gibbon on the authority of Prosper Aquitan.\n (ch. xxviii).\n\n 91 \u2013 S. Ambrose\u2019s repeated assertions, that the Christians\n formed a majority in the Senate, are characterised by\n writers unfavourable to Christianity as unfounded, but\n they produce no proof. Gibbon (ch. xxviii. note 12.)\n simply says that it is an assertion \u2018in contradiction to\n common sense.\u2019 But as a large majority of the Senate voted\n for the abolition of the worship of Jupiter about the same\n time, as Gibbon himself records, common sense would seem\n rather to agree with S. Ambrose.\n\n 92 \u2013 Referring to the unhappy end of Gratian who in the\n previous year (A.D. 383.) had been overpowered by Maximus,\n who revolted in Britain, and attacked him in Gaul. His\n troops deserted him and he was put to death by Maximus\u2019\n orders.\n\n 93 \u2013 Pompeius was murdered, as he landed in Egypt, after\n escaping from Pharsalia, by Achillas an Eunuch and one of\n the guardians of king Ptolemy.\n\n 94 \u2013 Tomyris queen of the Massaget\u00e6. See the story in Herod.\n i. 214.\n\n 95 \u2013 This is the first of the famous Hamilcars, the one who led\n the great invasion of Sicily in B.C. 480, and was totally\n defeated by Gelon. Herodotus, B. vii. ch. 167, tells the\n story to which S. Ambrose alludes as the account given by\n the Carthaginians of his end.\n\n 96 \u2013 S. Ambrose is alluding to the famous story of Julian\n burning his fleet, after crossing the Tigris to attack\n Sapor, king of Persia, in his dominions. This was regarded\n afterwards by the Christians as an act of judicial\n blindness. See Augustine de Civ. Dei iv. 29, v. 21.\n Ammianus, xxiv. 7. asserts that he repented of the order\n as soon as it was issued, but was too late to stop the\n flames. Gibbon endeavours to justify the act, and says,\n \u2018had he been victorious we should now admire his conduct.\u2019\n See his narrative in ch. xxiv. The author of his life in\n the Dict. of Ant. styles it \u2018the best thing he could have\n done, if his march into the interior of Persia, had been\n dictated by absolute necessity.\u2019 Setting these hypotheses\n aside, and looking only at the actual result, we may\n fairly think that the Christian interpretation of the\n facts, even if over-strongly expressed, is the truer.\n\n 97 \u2013 He here refers to Josephus Antiq. v. ch. iv.\n\n 98 \u2013 The name given in the Hebrew is Ramath Lehi, which\n means, \u2018the hill or lifting up of the jaw-bone.\u2019\n S. Ambrose interprets it below \u2018maxillae interfectionem.\u2019\n He would seem to be here suggesting a Greek etymology.\n The Benedictine note suggests that the name Agon is a\n confusion on his part from the word \u03c3\u03b9\u03b1\u03b3\u1f7c\u03bd in Josephus.\n\n 99 \u2013 The words \u2018quasi in cubitum intexti\u2019 are probably from the\n Old Latin Version of the Bible. Field, on Origen\u2019s Hexapla\n in loc. (Judg. xvi. 13.) mentions that some MSS of LXX\n read \u1f10\u1f70\u03bd \u1f51\u03c6\u03ac\u03bd\u03b7\u03c2 \u1f61\u03c2\u03b5\u03b9 \u03c0\u1fc6\u03c7\u03c5\u03bd or \u1f61\u03c2 \u1f10\u03c0\u1f76 \u03c0\u1fc6\u03c7\u03c5\u03bd, which may very\n well have been translated by some such words as the above,\n in the Old Latin Version which S. Ambrose used.\n\n 100 \u2013 The expression \u2018principes virtutum\u2019 seems to be a phrase\n from the Old Testament. In the Vulgate we find \u2018rex\n virtutum\u2019 Ps. lxvii, (lxviii. E.V.) 13, where the E.V.\n has \u2018kings of armies,\u2019 and in Judith xiv. 17 (19 E.V.)\n \u2018Quod quum audissent principes virtutis Assyriorum,\u2019 and\n in 1 Macc. v. 56. \u2018Azarias princeps virtutis.\u2019 The \u2018comites\n consistoriani\u2019 formed a sort of cabinet (consistorium) or\n privy council to the Emperor. The Benedictine Editors take\n \u2018principes virtutum\u2019 as meaning the Magistri militum, but\n the absence of any conjunction is against this.\n\n 101 \u2013 This must mean the Pr\u00e6fectus pr\u00e6torio Itali\u00e6, one of\n the four great Viceroys, under whom the Dioceses of the\n Empire were placed. He was supreme over all Italy, and the\n countries north of it to the Danube, and the western part\n of the north of Africa. He had under him three Dioceses,\n containing thirty Provinces.\n\n 102 \u2013 The title given them is \u2018Decani.\u2019 They seem to have been\n something like the lictors of the great officers of state\n under the republic.\n\n 103 \u2013 These \u2018vela\u2019 or hangings were a token that the building\n was claimed for the \u2018fiscus,\u2019 or private property of\n the Emperor. Gibbon in his grand way says, \u2018the splendid\n canopy and hangings of the royal seat were arranged in the\n customary manner,\u2019 but, as is noticed by the writer of the\n Life of S. Ambrose in Dict. of Christian Biog. it is clear\n from the sequel of the narrative (see \u00a7 20) that they were\n outside, not inside the Church.\n\n 104 \u2013 The words in the original are \u2018missam facere.\u2019 Prof.\n Bright in his History notes that this is \u2018the earliest\n instance, apparently, of this term being used for the\n Eucharistic service.\u2019\n\n 105 \u2013 \u2018The introduction of barbarians into the Roman armies\n became every day more universal, more necessary, and more\n fatal. The most daring of the Scythians, of the Goths, and\n of the Germans, were enrolled not only in the auxiliaries\n of their respective nations, but in the legions themselves,\n and among the most distinguished of the Palatine troops.\u2019\n (Gibbon, ch. xvii.) The Goths were Arians. It was much\n about this time that Ulfilas, the apostle of the Goths,\n made his famous translation of the Bible into Gothic. See\n Bright\u2019s Hist. of the Church p. 157.\n\n 106 \u2013 This is the Vulgate rendering of \u2018_At Salem is His\n Tabernacle_.\u2019\n\n 107 \u2013 On the high rank and great influence of the Pr\u00e6positus\n cubiculi, or Grand Chamberlain, see Gibbon ch. xvii.\n They ranked with the Pr\u00e6fecti pr\u00e6torio and other highest\n officers of state as Illustres. See note on Lett. xvii. \u00a7 1.\n\n 108 \u2013 A reply of Valentinian the 1st to some Bishops of the\n Hellespont and Bithynia, who demanded permission to meet\n \u2018to amend the doctrine of the faith,\u2019 is given by Sozomen.\n (vi. 7.) His words are, \u2018It is not lawful for me, as a\n layman, to busy myself about such matters as these: let\n the Bishops, whose business it is, meet by themselves\n wherever they will.\u2019 To the same effect are the words of\n his which Theodoret reports, (iv. 6.) when bidding the\n Bishops of the province elect a successor to Auxentius.\n He bids them choose a fit person, \u2018that we also, who rule\n the empire, may sincerely bow our heads to him, and welcome\n his reproofs, (for, being men, we cannot but stumble,)\n as a remedial discipline.\u2019 What law is referred to is\n uncertain. The Benedictine Editors, after mentioning some\n which had been suggested \u2018think it more probable that the\n law referred to is not extant.\u2019\n\n 109 \u2013 Gibbon (ch. xxv.) in his character of Valentinian says,\n \u2018In the time of Julian he provoked the danger of disgrace\n by the contempt which he publicly expressed for the\n reigning religion.\u2019 The story is told by Theod. Eccles.\n Hist. iii. 16. \u2666Valentinian was in official attendance\n on the Emperor Julian on one occasion when he went to the\n temple of Fortune to perform rites. \u2018On either side of the\n door were stationed attendants, who sprinkled all who came\n in with lustral water to purify them, as they believed.\n When some of the drops fell on his cloak, Valentinian\n struck the attendants with his fist, saying that he was\n defiled not purified by them.\u2019 For this he was dismissed\n from the court, and sent to a solitary garrison. The same\n story is told with slight variations by Sozomen. Hist. vi. 6.\n\n 110 \u2013 He is alluding to his own election.\n\n 111 \u2013 This is true of the first decision of the Council, but as\n S. Ambrose says, \u2018it ended badly,\u2019 for the Bishops were\n inveigled into accepting a less orthodox formula. See Prof.\n Bright\u2019s Hist. p. 94, 98.\n\n 112 \u2013 S. Ambrose here delicately alludes to the service he had\n rendered to Valentinian in going on his behalf to the\n court of the usurper Maximus after the death of Gratian,\n which is referred to in Letter xxiv.\n\n 113 \u2013 \u2018This was not so great an inconvenience to them as might\n appear at first sight, for the early Basilicas were not\n unlike the heathen temples, or our own collegiate chapels,\n that is, part of a range of buildings, which contained the\n lodgings of the ecclesiastics, and formed a fortress in\n themselves, which could easily be blockaded either from\n within or without.\u2019 Newman. Ch. of the Fathers. p. 22.\n\n 114 \u2013 The words \u2018custodiam\u2019 and \u2018amisit,\u2019 are repeated by\n S. Ambrose from the former part of the sentence. \u2018Amisit\u2019\n as applied here recalls the Psalmist\u2019s expression, \u2018Hath\n God forgotten to be gracious?\u2019 Ps. lxxvii. 9.\n\n 115 \u2013 This refers to a story thus recounted in Paulinus\u2019 Life\n of S. Ambrose ch. 12, \u2018Among many who tried to force\n S. Ambrose into exile, but through God\u2019s protection failed\n of their \u2666purpose, one Euthymius more hapless than the\n rest, was stirred to such a pitch of frenzy that he hired\n a house close to the Church, and there kept a carriage,\n that he might the more readily carry off Ambrose into\n exile, by seizing him and putting him in the carriage.\n But _his wickedness fell upon his own pate_, (Ps. vii. 7.)\n for that very day year, he was himself put into the\n carriage and from the same house was carried into exile,\n confessing that it was by the just judgment of God that\n his wickedness had recoiled on himself, and he was carried\n into exile in the very chariot which he had prepared for\n the Bishop. And the Bishop did much to comfort him, by\n giving him money, and other necessaries.\u2019\n\n 116 \u2013 The word is \u2018curiales.\u2019 See Footnote 81 on Lett. xviii.\n To the authorities there referred to add Bingh. Antiq.\n iv, 4, 4, where Gothofred\u2019s enumeration of their duties is\n given in full in the notes.\n\n 117 \u2013 Zech. v. 1 [E.V. a flying roll. Vulg. volumen volans.]\n\n 118 \u2013 i. e. by causing them to commit sacrilege.\n\n 119 \u2013 There is a play here on the word \u2018aerarios,\u2019 as connected\n with \u2018aerarium\u2019 the treasury. The aerarii were the lowest\n class of people at Rome, and so S. Ambrose calls the\n \u2018pauperes Christi\u2019 his aerarii, while at the same time\n they are the treasures of the Church.\n\n 120 \u2013 S. Augustine mentions in his Confessions (ix. 7.)\n S. Ambrose\u2019s introduction both of Hymns and chanting\n during this period of trial. \u2018Then was it first instituted\n that, after the manner of the Eastern Churches, Hymns\n and Psalms should be sung, lest the people should wax\n faint through the tediousness of sorrow; and from that\n day to this the custom is retained, divers, yea, almost\n all Thy Congregations throughout other parts of the world\n following herein.\u2019 Oxf. Transl. He speaks in the same\n passage of the behaviour of the people: \u2018The devout people\n kept watch in the Church, ready to die with their Bishop\n Thy servant.\u2019 He also dwells on the effect produced\n on himself, these events happening shortly before his\n conversion. \u2018How did I weep in Thy Hymns and Canticles,\n touched to the quick by the voice of Thy sweet-attuned\n Church! The voices flowed into mine ears, and the Truth\n distilled into mine heart, whence the affections of my\n devotion overflowed, and tears ran down, and happy was\n I therein.\u2019 Ib. ix. 6. It is quite possible that some of\n the twelve Hymns, acknowledged by the Benedictine Editors\n as genuine, were then first sung. Among them are the\n well-known \u2018Aeterna Christi munera,\u2019 \u2018Aeterne rerum\n Conditor,\u2019 \u2018Deus Creator omnium,\u2019 and others, whose strains\n are now familiar in English versions.\n\n 121 \u2013 This is said to be the Church now called \u2018S. Ambrose\n the greater.\u2019 The Roman Church is the one called in the\n previous letter the \u2018New Basilica,\u2019 and also the Church of\n the Apostles. It was probably called \u2018Romana\u2019 from being\n near the Porta Romana.\n\n 122 \u2013 S. Augustine says that it was revealed to him in a dream.\n\n 123 \u2013 These were \u1f10\u03bd\u03b5\u03c1\u03b3\u03bf\u03cd\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9, or persons possessed by evil\n spirits. On them see Bingh. Antiq. iii. 4, 6. The laying\n on of hands was part of the rite of exorcism.\n\n 124 \u2013 The text stands \u2018arriperetur urna,\u2019 nor is there any\n variation of MSS. noted. But it seems absolutely necessary\n to read \u2018una.\u2019 An \u2018urna\u2019 could have nothing to do with\n the matter. It might hold ashes, but surely not the bones\n of two men of marvellous size. The histories founded on\n the letter all tacitly adopt the emendation, and speak of\n \u2018a woman among the possessed.\u2019 See Fleury. B. xviii. 46.\n Tillemont in Vit.\n\n 125 \u2013 now of S. Vitalis and S. Agricola Fleury p. 104. Eng. Tr.\n\n 126 \u2013 This is distinctly asserted by S. Augustine in all the\n three passages referred to in the Introduction.\n\n 127 \u2013 The word is \u2018Enneacaidecateris.\u2019 Mr. Hensley remarks in\n his article on Easter, \u2018It has been often stated that the\n Council established a particular cycle, that of nineteen\n years, but this is a mistake.\u2019\n\n 128 \u2013 \u2018Nam incipit \u2666esse contrarium.\u2019 According to Ducange\n \u2018incipio\u2019 is used in late Latin in the sense of the Greek\n verb \u03bc\u03ad\u03bb\u03bb\u03c9, and here, as it would seem, with the force\n with which that verb is so often used as equivalent to \u2018it\n is likely\u2019 or \u2018it is sure\u2019 that such and such is the case:\n see Lidd. and Scott. \u03bc\u03ad\u03bb\u03bb\u03c9, ii. 3, 4.\n\n 129 \u2013 An allusion to Virg. Georg., 1, 276.\n\n Ipsa dies alios alio dedit ordine luna Felices operum;\n quintam fuge, etc.\n\n 130 \u2013 Days immediately following the Kalends, Nones or Ides,\n considered unlucky by the Romans. See A. Gellius, v. 17.\n What the \u2018Egyptian days\u2019 were is not ascertained.\n\n 131 \u2013 This is the ordinary phrase for the day of the lunar month.\n See Bright Early Engl. Ch. Hist. p. 195.\n\n 132 \u2013 S. Ambrose\u2019s Latin is \u2018mensis novorum.\u2019 The LXX has \u1f10\u03bd\n \u03bc\u03b7\u03bd\u1f76 \u03c4\u1ff6\u03bd \u03bd\u03ad\u03c9\u03bd. The Vulgate \u2018in mense novarum frugum.\u2019\n\n 133 \u2013 bitter herbs E.T. Ex. xii. 8.\n\n 134 \u2013 The Era of Diocletian was the prevalent one at this time,\n and till the general adoption of the Christian Era, which\n did not become established until the 8th Century. See\n Mr. Hensley\u2019s article \u2018Era\u2019 in Dict. of Christ. Antiq. He\n gives there the rule for reducing the Era of Diocletian,\n the epoch of which is Aug. 29th A.D. 284, to the Christian\n Era, viz. to add 283 years and 240 days to the given date\n of Diocletian\u2019s Era. According to this the Easter of the\n 89th year of Diocletian would be A.D. 373, and that of\n the 93rd would be A.D. 377. The \u2018times lately past\u2019 would\n probably refer to A.D. 383, when, as may be seen by the\n Table, the \u2018fourteenth moon\u2019 fell on a Sunday.\n\n 135 \u2013 There is a slight error here. The interval is 32 days,\n not 31.\n\n 136 \u2013 There is some uncertainty about the reading here. The\n original reading in the text was \u2018biennium,\u2019 and, as\n this clearly did not agree with the facts the Benedictine\n Editors adopted a suggestion that \u2018biennium\u2019 was a\n mistaken rendering of a MS. which had \u2018vi-ennium.\u2019 But\n the period of 6 years would not be precise, as the year\n referred to must be A.D. 379, (see table,) which would be\n seven years before.\n\n 137 \u2013 The precise words are not found in either of these passages.\n\n 138 \u2013 in haste E.T.\n\n 139 \u2013 against all the gods of Egypt E.T.\n\n 140 \u2013 This would seem to be not quite correct. Mr. Hensley\n remarks that in A.D. 360. Easter day was on April 23rd\n but that the \u2018fourteenth moon\u2019 of that year was a Monday\n and not on a Sunday. The question is discussed in Ideler\n Chronol. vol. II. p. 254\u2013257.\n\n 141 \u2013 i. e. as Bishop.\n\n 142 \u2013 The Juthungi were a German tribe settled on the north bank\n of the Danube, in what is now Austria Proper and Moravia.\n It is uncertain whether they were, as Ammianus Marcellinus\n describes them, a sept of the Alemanni, or whether they\n were Goths. It has been suggested that the name is only\n another form of Gothi or Gothones, (Dict. of Antiq.)\n The want of a detailed and accurate history of these\n times, which are just beyond the range of Ammianus, makes\n it difficult to make out clearly the allusions which S.\n Ambrose here makes. Tillemont explains them thus, \u2018Bauton\n seeing the Juthungan Alemanni ravaging Rhaetia, while\n the Roman soldiers were engaged in guarding the passes of\n the Alps against Maximus, summoned the Huns and Alans to\n make war on them. These tribes accordingly pillaged the\n territories of the Alemanni up to the frontiers of Gaul.\n But on Maximus complaining that they had been brought\n against him, Valentinian, to deprive him of any pretext\n for breaking off the peace, induced them to retire in\n the midst of their victories by presents of money.\u2019 He\n also considers that the reason why the Juthungi came to\n pillage Rhaetia that year was the extraordinary fertility,\n and that it is this invasion to which allusion is made\n in Letter xxiv, 21, where S. Ambrose says that Rhaetia\n Secunda \u2018drew down an enemy on herself by her abundance.\u2019\n\n 143 \u2013 S. Ambrose means Maximus\u2019 brother.\n\n 144 \u2013 He seems to mean that pity for the dead should move him to\n less harsh treatment. But perhaps the word \u2018tuam\u2019 may have\n dropped out, and we should read \u2018tu tuam causam considera,\u2019\n \u2018do you consider your own case.\u2019\n\n 145 \u2013 It seems necessary here to read \u2018allegabis\u2019 for \u2018allegabas,\u2019\n as the past tense would be unmeaning.\n\n 146 \u2013 Cabillonum is the ancient name of Ch\u00e2lons-sur-Sa\u00f4ne.\n\n 147 \u2013 He refers to the Bishops Idacius and Ithacius, who had\n induced Maximus to put Priscillian and others of his party\n to death, in spite of the remonstrances of S. Martin,\n who urged Maximus to be content with their having been\n condemned by ecclesiastical sentence. Priscillian \u2018had\n adopted a strange compound of various errors,\u2019 (Prof.\n Bright Hist. p. 160.) chiefly Manichean. There is a full\n account of Maximus\u2019 dealings with them in Fleury, xviii.\n 29, 30. Newman\u2019s Transl. vol. 1, p. 66\u201369. S. Ambrose in\n Letter xxvi. condemns the conduct of these Bishops, and\n the appeal to the civil sword in Ecclesiastical cases, in\n still stronger terms.\n\n 148 \u2013 The Benedictine Editors consider him to be referring to\n the Novatians.\n\n 149 \u2013 S. Ambrose\u2019s Latin is \u2018scribe hoc viros abdicatos.\u2019 The\n Vulg. has \u2018scribe virum istum sterilem.\u2019 The LXX. \u03b3\u03c1\u03ac\u03c8\u03bf\u03bd\n \u03c4\u1f78\u03bd \u1f04\u03bd\u03b4\u03c1\u03b1 \u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u1f10\u03ba\u03ba\u03ae\u03c1\u03c5\u03ba\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd.\n\n 150 \u2013 abdicati.\n\n 151 \u2013 Fleury remarks on this, \u2018We must remember that the\n canonical penances inflicted for great crimes were at that\n time so very severe, that they were equal to a rigorous\n punishment.\u2019\n\n 152 \u2013 See Footnote 147 on Letter xxiv.\n\n 153 \u2013 S. Ambrose makes the same statement again, De Spirit.\n iii. 17. \u2018It is important then to notice _where_ the Lord\n maintained this argument, for oft-times His oracles derive\n their value from the quality of the place where He was.\u2019\n\n 154 \u2013 nevel.\n\n 155 \u2013 These words are not in the Heb. In LXX they take the place\n of the half-homer of barley, \u03b3\u03bf\u03bc\u1f78\u03c1 \u03ba\u03c1\u03b9\u03b8\u1ff6\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03bd\u03ad\u03b2\u03b5\u03bb \u03bf\u1f34\u03bd\u03bf\u03c5.\n S. Ambrose combines both.\n\n 156 \u2013 It was said just afterwards, if the story of the woman\n taken in adultery be in its right place, which is doubtful.\n\n 157 \u2013 Leah means \u2018wearied,\u2019 and the name is supposed to refer\n to her \u2018tenderness\u2019 or weakness of eyes. (Gen. xxix. 16).\n S. Ambrose gives a mistaken meaning to the name Rachel,\n which really means \u2018ewe.\u2019\n\n 158 \u2013 S. Ambrose often gives this exposition of the name\n \u2018Shechem.\u2019\n\n 159 \u2013 Isaac means \u2018laughter.\u2019 Gen. xxi. 6.\n\n 160 \u2013 He is here referring to Virg. Ecl. 5, 77. Dumque thymo\n pascuntur apes, dum rore cicadae.\n\n 161 \u2013 Here again he is thinking of Virg. Georg. 3, 328. Et cantu\n querulae rumpent arbusta cicadae.\n\n 162 \u2013 Here again S. Ambrose is thinking of Virg. Georg. 2, 154.\n Squameus in spiram tractu se colligit anguis.\n\n 163 \u2013 Perhaps quoted from memory from S. John iv. 26.\n\n 164 \u2013 \u2018Veri vana.\u2019 This is simply one of the Virgilian\n expressions of which S. Ambrose is so full. It is taken\n from Aen. x. 630, Nunc manet insontem gravis exitus, aut\n ego veri Vana feror.\n\n 165 \u2013 The Engl. Vers. is \u2018Prepare war, wake up the mighty men.\u2019\n The Vulg. \u2018Sanctificate bellum, suscitate robustos.\u2019\n\n 166 \u2013 This refers to Ps. xix. 5. where the sun, that _rejoiceth\n as a giant to run his course_, is usually interpreted\n by the Fathers of the Messiah. It was a very favourite\n thought with S. Ambrose. In his Hymn \u2018De Adventu Domini\u2019\n he adapts the language of the Psalm to it in words of\n beautiful simplicity,\n\n Procedit e thalamo suo,\n Pudoris aul\u00e2 regi\u00e2\n Gemin\u00e6 Gigas substanti\u00e6\n Alacris ut currat viam.\n Egressus Ejus a Patre,\n Regressus Ejus ad Patrem,\n Excursus usque ad Inferos,\n Recursus ad sedem Dei.\n\n In the De Incarn. ch. v. he gives a fuller explanation.\n \u2018Him the Prophet Daniel describes as a Giant, because\n being of a twofold nature, He partaketh in one Person\n both of the Godhead and of a human Body, and exulted in\n going forth as a Bridegroom from His chamber, like a Giant,\n to run His course. He is Bridegroom of the soul as being\n the Word, He is a Giant of earth because He fulfilled all\n the duties of our daily life, and, though He was ever the\n eternal God, took upon Him the Mystery of the Incarnation.\u2019\n\n 167 \u2013 The English Version has \u2018_The partridge sitteth on eggs\n and hatcheth them not_.\u2019 S. Ambrose is referring to \u00a7 11\n of the preceding Letter, where he applies the text to\n Satan. He makes the same application of it in Letter\n xlvi. 14.\n\n 168 \u2013 perdendo.\n\n 169 \u2013 contrarius.\n\n 170 \u2013 judicio.\n\n 171 \u2013 judicio.\n\n 172 \u2013 judicium.\n\n 173 \u2013 \u2018Cornici oculum effodere\u2019 was a familiar Latin proverb for\n overcoming craft with craft. See Cic. pro Mur. 11, pro\n Flacco, 20.\n\n 174 \u2013 primitivus.\n\n 175 \u2013 primogenitus.\n\n 176 \u2013 Horontianus appears to have been, like Iren\u00e6us, a pupil\n of S. Ambrose, and to have been ordained by him, and to\n have been, as the Benedictine Editors say, \u2018In clericorum\n contubernio educatus ab infantia.\u2019 Nothing more is known\n of him. See Letter lxx. 25.\n\n 177 \u2013 \u1f10\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03bb\u03ad\u03c7\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1.\n\n 178 \u2013 propria corporis.\n\n 179 \u2013 Sun, E. V. Sol, Vulg.\n\n 180 \u2013 primitias.\n\n 181 \u2013 primogenita.\n\n 182 \u2013 The difference in the original is only the punctuation; in\n the first case, \u2018Nam quod videt quis quid, et sperat:\u2019 in\n the second, \u2018Nam quod videt quis, quid et sperat?\u2019\n\n 183 \u2013 S. Ambrose is evidently referring to his mission to\n Maximus, and the persecution of Justina.\n\n 184 \u2013 There is another reading of several MSS., \u2018et ille\n profecto gemitus,\u2019 which seems to offer a better sense,\n \u2018and that groaning is indeed truly unutterable, etc.\u2019\n\n 185 \u2013 Canaan. E.V.\n\n 186 \u2013 The Vulgate has, \u2018Trahitur autem sapientia de occultis.\u2019\n The E.V. is, \u2018The price of wisdom is above rubies.\u2019\n\n 187 \u2013 This is referred by the Benedictine Editors to Prov. xxii.\n 7. but it does not agree with either the Sept. or Vulgate.\n\n 188 \u2013 \u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6 \u03c0\u03bd\u03b5\u03cd\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2 is inserted in a few MSS, and Spiritus is in\n the Vulgate.\n\n 189 \u2013 The story of Calanus and Alexander is related in Arian\n vii. 2. It is also more briefly alluded to by Plutarch.\n Alex. 65. Neither writer mentions this letter.\n\n 190 \u2013 vibulamina. Gr. \u03bc\u03bf\u03c3\u03c7\u03b5\u03cd\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1.\n\n 191 \u2013 i. e. the three children in the furnace.\n\n 192 \u2013 S. Ambrose is here imitating the consolation offered by\n Ser. Sulpicius to Cicero on the death of his daughter. See\n Ep. ad Div. iv, 5, 4.\n\n 193 \u2013 distinxisti ei.\n\n 194 \u2013 \u2018Oriens\u2019 or \u2018the East\u2019 was the title of the great civil\n \u2018diocese\u2019 which included Syria, Palestine, Cilicia, Cyprus,\n Mesopotamia, and some adjacent districts, and corresponded\n to the Patriarchate of Antioch in the ecclesiastical\n division. It was originally under one chief called \u2018Comes\n orientis,\u2019 but it would appear from this passage, as\n is asserted by Gothofred, that the civil and military\n functions had been divided, and there were now two\n officers, \u2018Comes orientis militarium partium,\u2019 and\n \u2018Comes orientis civilium partium.\u2019 The subject is somewhat\n obscure.\n\n 195 \u2013 Callinicum was in Osrhoene, a name given to the\n north-western part of Mesopotamia.\n\n 196 \u2013 Socrates, B. v. ch. 13., mentions that Nectarius\u2019 house\n was burnt by the Arian party in the same year in which\n this letter was written.\n\n 197 \u2013 See a note in Newman\u2019s Fleury, p. 160.\n\n 198 \u2013 Andragathius, who commanded a fleet in Maximus\u2019 interest\n expecting Theodosius to come to Italy by sea.\n\n 199 \u2013 The Benedictine editors say \u2018tota h\u00e6c pericope in uno\n Cod. Reg. desideratur: forte non male.\u2019 It is difficult\n to elicit any sense from it.\n\n 200 \u2013 Siscia, now Sissek, was a large town in upper Pannonia,\n on the south bank of the Save. Petavio, now Pettau, was\n on the Drave. It seems likely that \u2018in Sicilia\u2019 should\n be omitted, as being only a false meaning for \u2018Sciscia.\u2019\n There is no mention of Sicily being in any way connected\n with the war. But see Tillemont, Theod. art. xlv.\n\n 201 \u2013 S. Ambrose is quoting from memory and slightly varies the\n facts from the narrative in book of Judges.\n\n 202 \u2013 See a learned note in Newman\u2019s Fleury vol. 1 p. 162,\n on the exemption of the Clergy from municipal offices,\n compare also Letter xviii. 14, and the note there.\n\n 203 \u2013 i. e. the Count of the East.\n\n 204 \u2013 This refers to the famous sedition at Antioch, when the\n mob, enraged at the imposition of new taxes, overthrew\n the Emperor\u2019s statues, and dragged them through the city.\n After a period of suspense, during which S. Chrysostom\n preached the Homilies on the Statues, Theodosius, who had\n at first been violently enraged, sent them a free pardon.\n This was in the previous year.\n\n 205 \u2013 i. e. of Maximus.\n\n 206 \u2013 spiritum.\n\n 207 \u2013 sacramentum.\n\n 208 \u2013 refrigerat.\n\n 209 \u2013 The Latin title is \u2018Magister equitum et peditum.\u2019 When\n the Pr\u00e6fecti Pr\u00e6torio became civil rather than military\n officers, the chief command of the armies was transferred\n to two high officers, called, one \u2018Magister equitum,\u2019 and\n the other \u2018Magister peditum.\u2019 When the empire was divided\n these became four, and eventually the number was increased\n to eight, who were all called \u2018Magistri equitum et peditum.\u2019\n See Gibbon ch. xvii. 3.\n\n 210 \u2013 i. e. the \u2018Comes Orientis,\u2019 under whose jurisdiction the\n matter was, and who had sent the report to the Emperor.\n See Lett. xl. 6.\n\n 211 \u2013 sospitatis indicio.\n\n 212 \u2013 This sentence as it stands in the text is incomplete, the\n \u2018quia\u2019 having no correlative. The \u2018at vero quia\u2019 seems\n like \u2018at enim\u2019 in Classical Latin, or perhaps the \u2018quia\u2019\n should be omitted.\n\n 213 \u2013 See Letter xix, 7. S. Ambrose in De Abraham B. 1. c. 9, 93\n alludes to the use of the veil in Christian marriages.\n\n 214 \u2013 This name appears in the reply of the Milan Synod as\n Plotinus, which is probably the true form.\n\n 215 \u2013 There are three laws in the code of Theodosius directed\n against the Manichees, one of the year 372 A.D. which\n forbade them to hold assemblies, one of 389 A.D. and one\n of 391 A.D. ordering their banishment. It is probably\n the second of these that is referred to, though Gothofred\n refers it to the third, in which case the date of the\n Letter must be altered.\n\n 216 \u2013 All these names except Geminianus occur in the list of\n Bishops present at the Council of Aquileia. See p. 60.\n\n 217 \u2013 \u03bd\u03bf\u1fe6\u03c2.\n\n 218 \u2013 This whole passage is full of expressions borrowed from\n Virgil.\n\n 219 \u2013 This title seems here to be applied especially to the\n constellations of the Pleiades and Hyades, each of which\n consisted of seven stars.\n\n 220 \u2013 See note on Letter xxvi. 9.\n\n 221 \u2013 morsus hominum. E. V. \u2018principal men.\u2019\n\n 222 \u2013 Devoravit mors praevalens. The E. V. is, \u2018He will swallow\n up death in victory.\u2019 The Vulg. has, \u2018Praecipitabit mortem\n in sempiternum.\u2019\n\n 223 \u2013 The word \u2018vitae\u2019 is here inserted as necessary to the\n sense, and to the accuracy of the quotation.\n\n 224 \u2013 \u03bd\u03bf\u1fe6\u03c2.\n\n 225 \u2013 diminuit.\n\n 226 \u2013 ampliavit.\n\n 227 \u2013 This agrees with the LXX, \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u1f04\u03bd\u03b8\u03c1\u03c9\u03c0\u03cc\u03c2 \u1f10\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03c4\u03af\u03c2\n \u03b3\u03bd\u03ce\u03c3\u03b5\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u03cc\u03bd;\n\n 228 \u2013 specie.\n\n 229 \u2013 puerum.\n\n 230 \u2013 \u2018Ecce ego mittam servum meum, Oriens nomen Ejus.\u2019 Vulg.\n has \u2018Ecce ego adducam servum meum Orientem.\u2019 \u2018Oriens\n nomen Ejus\u2019 comes in v. 12. \u2018Behold I will bring forth\n my servant the Branch.\u2019 The same word in the original is\n used also in Is. iv. 2. Jerem. xxiii. 5. xxiii. 15. and\n in all those passages the Vulg. renders it by \u2018Germen.\u2019\n In the passages of Zech. and Jerem. the LXX. have the word\n \u1f00\u03bd\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03bb\u03ae. The word in the original means \u2018a sprout\u2019 or\n \u2018shoot.\u2019\n\n 231 \u2013 See Letter xxxii. 1.\n\n 232 \u2013 He is quoting from a letter of Cicero\u2019s. Ep. ix. 3. Longi\n subsellii, ut noster Pompeius appellat, judicatio et mora.\n\n 233 \u2013 He is here quoting from Cicero De off. iii. 1, where\n Cicero gives as a saying of Scipio Africanus, on the\n authority of Cato, \u2018numquam se minus otiosum esse quam\n quum otiosus, nec minus solum quam quum solus esset.\u2019 It\n is quoted again by S. Ambrose in De off. Min. iii. 1, 107.\n\n 234 \u2013 This is the reading of most MSS, according to the\n Benedictine Editors. And, though the connection of ideas\n is somewhat abrupt, they explain it to be, that, as the\n gift of faith was bestowed on Abraham the Chaldean, so\n the gift of prophecy was bestowed on Balaam. All the\n other Editions have \u2018Balaam\u2019 instead of \u2018Abraham\u2019. This\n makes the connection easier, but then \u2018adscitur ad fidem\u2019\n is strangely applied to him, and it could only mean,\n \u2018is employed to utter the truth.\u2019 He might be called a\n Chaldean as the common name among the Romans for Eastern\n diviners generally.\n\n 235 \u2013 The Magister officiorum was a sort of Chief Secretary of\n state, both for home and foreign affairs. A summary of his\n duties may be seen in Gibbon ch. xvii, iv, 2. It was the\n influence which this post gave him over Theodosius which\n enabled Rufinus to stir the Emperor\u2019s passionateness to\n the crime of Thessalonica.\n\n 236 \u2013 The adjective Portuensis generally refers to the town\n called Portus, which grew up in the times of the Emperors\n on the harbour of Ostia. It is probable therefore that the\n reference is to some work of which the person spoken of\n had the superintendence.\n\n 237 \u2013 As Lake Larius was sometimes called Lacus Comacinus in\n the times of the Emperors, (Dict. of Geogr. voc. Comum.)\n it is probable that the \u2018Comacin\u00e6 rupes\u2019 were some familiar\n rocks on its margin. The comparison to a bull is simply an\n adaptation of Virgil\u2019s \u2018Et faciem tauro propior,\u2019 Georg.\n iii. 58.\n\n 238 \u2013 The word \u2018bonis\u2019 must certainly here be inserted in the\n text, \u2018uterque alienae magis ordinationis vitiis quam suis\n bonis fretus,\u2019 as suggested by the Benedictine Editors.\n It occurs just below in the corresponding sentence, \u2018suis\n potius bonis quam alieno vitio defendi.\u2019\n\n 239 \u2013 He is sometimes spoken of as Bishop of Nairsus in Dacia\n Mediterranea (see Note in p. 67.) but Tillemont (note 43\n in Life of S. Ambrose) has made it probable that there\n were two Bishops of the name of Bonosus, one of Nairsus,\n and the other of Sardica, the latter of whom is the one\n dealt with by the Synod of Capua.\n\n 240 \u2013 He is referring to the \u2018Memorial of Symmachus.\u2019 p. 94. The\n \u2018two petitions,\u2019 libellos duos, are Letters 17 and 18.\n\n 241 \u2013 He means that the reason why he declines all communication\n with Eugenius, who wished to secure his great political\n influence on his side, was, that he felt sure that\n Eugenius, though at present temporising with both parties,\n would in the end yield to the pressure of the pagan\n party, and restore the revenues to the heathen temples.\n \u2018Extorquendum\u2019 is, in accordance with late Latin idiom, a\n mere future passive.\n\n 242 \u2013 confusus fuerit.\n\n 243 \u2013 confundar.\n\n 244 \u2013 See Letter xliv. 9, and note c there.\n\n 245 \u2013 compares.\n\n 246 \u2013 The argument here turns on the Latin words. \u2018Avunculus,\u2019\n uncle, is a mere diminutive of \u2018avus,\u2019 grand-father;\n and the one word \u2018neptis\u2019 is used both for niece and\n grand-daughter without any distinction.\n\n 247 \u2013 The \u2018not\u2019 is inserted according to the suggestion of the\n Benedictine Editors. There seems a contradiction in terms\n without it.\n\n 248 \u2013 agnatio.\n\n 249 \u2013 agnatio.\n\n 250 \u2013 cognatio.\n\n 251 \u2013 \u2018Apices\u2019 here and in \u00a7 5 undoubtedly means \u2018a letter.\u2019\n \u2018Apex,\u2019 in late Latin, is used for a single letter written,\n and \u2018apices\u2019 like \u2018literae,\u2019 for a continuous writing.\n Aulus Gellius (xiii. 30, 10. xvii. 9, 12.) quoted in\n White\u2019s Dictionary, uses the phrase \u2018literarum apices,\u2019\n and in Cod. Just. ii. 8, 6. we find \u2018Augusti apices\u2019 for\n \u2018the Emperor\u2019s rescripts.\u2019\n\n 252 \u2013 Theodoret, v. 24. gives a detailed account of the ways in\n which the special intervention of heaven was displayed in\n Theodosius\u2019 campaign against Eugenius. S. Aug. De Civ. Dei,\n v. 26. says that Theodosius \u2018contra robustissimum Eugenii\n exercitum magis orando quam feriendo pugnavit,\u2019 and, after\n mentioning stories told by eye-witnesses of the manifest\n intervention of God on his behalf, quotes the well-known\n lines of Claudian,\n\n O nimium dilecte Deo cui fundit ab antris\n \u00c6olus armatas hyemes, cui militat \u00e6ther,\n Et conjurati veniunt ad classica venti.\n\n 253 \u2013 The word here used is plural, Venetiarum. From this it has\n been argued that this letter must be of later date than S.\n Ambrose\u2019s time, as Veneti\u00e6 is the usual name for the city,\n which was not founded till the time of Attila. (Gibbon\n ch. xxxv. vol. iv. p. 242 ed. Smith.) But he certainly uses\n the plural form in Letter xviii. 21, which is undoubtedly\n his, and therefore, as Tillemont has pointed out, no\n argument can be founded on this against the present letter.\n It is possible that under the plural form he intends to\n include Venetia and Histria, which are reckoned together\n as one consular province in the civil division of the\n empire, (see Marquardt\u2019s Table, in Smith\u2019s Gibbon vol. ii.\n p. 315.) and also as one ecclesiastical province in the\n Exarchate of Milan, (see Bingham ix. 1, 6.) By \u2018finitimis\n Itali\u00e6 partibus\u2019 he probably means Flaminia and Picenum\n Annonarium, which were also included in the \u2018Diocese\u2019 of\n Italy and Exarchate of Milan.\n\n 254 \u2013 intentio.\n\n 255 \u2013 It is to be noted that Eusebius, who died in A.D. 371, was\n not the last Bishop of Vercell\u00e6, but Limenius, whose name\n occurs among the Bishops who took part in the Council of\n Aquileia. This has also been made an argument against S.\n Ambrose\u2019s authorship, but there does not seem much weight\n in it. Eusebius was much the more famous man of the two,\n and his teaching and example and the memory of his labours\n and martyrdom are naturally appealed to by S. Ambrose.\n\n 256 \u2013 These were, it appears, followers of Jovinian. See above,\n Introd. to Letter of Siricius, p. 280.\n\n 257 \u2013 reprobus.\n\n 258 \u2013 reprobum.\n\n 259 \u2013 Nothing is known of this man, nor is even the name certain,\n as there are many various readings. The Benedictines\n suggest that it may mean Philodemus, who is mentioned by\n Diog. Laert. x. 3. as a follower of Epicurus, and is also\n spoken of by Cicero, De fin. 11, 35. and by Horace, Sat. 1,\n 2, 21.\n\n 260 \u2013 sobrii estote. Vulg.\n\n 261 \u2013 Nothing is known of Demarchus, whom S. Ambrose here quotes.\n The Benedictines suggest that it may be a mistake for\n Hermarchus, who was Epicurus\u2019 successor as head of his\n school, and who wrote books in defence of the Epicurean\n philosophy. He is mentioned several times by Cicero.\n\n 262 \u2013 Though the so-called Epicureans of later days perverted\n his theory to what is generally known as Epicureanism,\n Epicurus himself certainly did not mean by pleasure\n sensual pleasure. \u2018Pleasure was not with him a momentary\n and transitory sensation, but he conceived it as something\n lasting and imperishable, consisting in pure and noble\n mental enjoyments.\u2019 \u2018He was a man of pure simple and\n temperate habits.\u2019 Dict. of Biog. in voc. Vol.ii. p. 34, 35.\n\n 263 \u2013 This must be the sense if we retain the interrogation.\n If it is omitted the passage would mean, \u2018Men then are\n recalled from that, in which\u2019 &c., i. e., it is plainly\n unfitting for men to do that, in which &c.\n\n 264 \u2013 S. Ambrose is alluding apparently to Ezra proclaiming and\n keeping a fast to remove God\u2019s anger against his people.\n Should we not read \u2018memoriae\u2019 for \u2018memori\u00e2?\u2019 Ezra did\n restore the Scriptures _to_ the memory of the people, but\n it does not appear that he restored them _from_ memory?\n\n 265 \u2013 Sobrietatis inebrietas.\n\n 266 \u2013 Sola.\n\n 267 \u2013 Mary and Miriam are really the same name, the former\n having come through the Greek form \u039c\u03b1\u03c1\u03af\u03b1.\n\n 268 \u2013 laqueus.\n\n 269 \u2013 A reminiscence of Virgil\u2019s,\n\n Ante expectatum positis stat in agmine castris.\n Georg. iii. 348.\n\n 270 \u2013 The reading here varies. Ben. has \u2018in Concilio Nicaeni\n tractatus,\u2019 which may mean \u2018the Council which made the\n Nicene Creed,\u2019 (for the phrase \u2018Nicaenus tractatus\u2019\n as applied to the Creed see note 1 on Acts of Council\n of Aquileia.) Another reading is \u2018in Concilii Nicaeni\n tractatu,\u2019 and another \u2018in Concilio Nicaeno tractatus.\u2019\n\n There is a difficulty about S. Ambrose\u2019s statement,\n as there is nothing on the subject in the Canons of\n Nicaea. The Benedictine editors, after discussing other\n explanations, suggest that S. Ambrose may have had an\n inaccurate copy of the Canons, with the one he here\n quotes inserted from some other Council. Some unauthentic\n documents professing to give Nicene regulations on the\n subject are quoted in Dict. of Christian Antiq. Art.\n Digamy.\n\n 271 \u2013 impressio.\n\n 272 \u2013 praescriptio.\n\n 273 \u2013 The most conspicuous instance was Nectarius. See note 54,\n on Letter xiii.\n\n 274 \u2013 Eusebius and Dionysius Bishop of Milan were driven into\n exile by the Emperor Valens, because they refused at\n the third Council of Milan, A.D. 355, to subscribe the\n condemnation of Athanasius. There is a brief but graphic\n account of the circumstances in Bright\u2019s History of the\n Church, pages 70\u201373.\n\n 275 \u2013 longaevi super terram.\n\n 276 \u2013 The expression \u2018aula regalis,\u2019 applied to the Mother of\n our Lord, may be illustrated from De Instit. Virg. ch. xii.\n \u00a7 79. Ipse ergo Rex Israel transivit hanc portam, ipse Dux\n sedit in ea, quando Verbum caro factum est et habitavit\n in nobis, quasi Rex sedens in aula regali uteri virginalis.\n Compare also the expression in S. Ambrose\u2019s Hymn on the\n Nativity, Procedit e thalamo suo, Pudoris aula regia, &c.\n\n 277 \u2013 With this Letter begins what the Benedictines have called\n a second division of the Letters, containing those which\n furnish no internal evidence of their date sufficient\n to justify their being assigned a place in chronological\n order. They are arranged according to their matter,\n 1st, those which contain expositions of passages of\n Holy Scripture, (lxi\u2013lxxv.), 2nd, those which discuss as\n important, and mostly doctrinal subjects, (lxxvi\u2013lxxxiii.),\n 3rd, a few brief letters of ordinary friendly intercourse,\n (lxxxiv\u2013xci.)\n\n 278 \u2013 See note 222 on Letter xliv. 10.\n\n 279 \u2013 Whether the true reading here be \u2018traditio\u2019 as Ben. has,\n or \u2018editio\u2019 as Rom., the reference must be to the \u1f10\u03ba\u03b4\u03cc\u03c3\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2\n or versions which Origen brought together in his Hexapla,\n of which the fifth, the sixth, and the seventh, (for there\n was a seventh,) were only known by their numbers. See Art.\n by Tregelles on \u2018Ancient Versions,\u2019 in Smith\u2019s Dict. of\n the Bible, vol. iii. p. 1623.\n\n 280 \u2013 a diebus saeculi.\n\n 281 \u2013 Saeculum.\n\n 282 \u2013 i. e. the priesthood. cf. 1 Tim. iii. 13.\n\n 283 \u2013 Bethlehem.\n\n 284 \u2013 institutis.\n\n 285 \u2013 castellum.\n\n 286 \u2013 \u05e2\u05b3\u05e0\u05b4\u05d9 signifying affliction; \u05e2\u05b2\u05e0\u05b4\u05d9 one humbled by affliction and\n so, it was inferred, brought to obedience.\n\n 287 \u2013 Baehr on Herod. ii. 37. quotes with apparent approval\n Wesseling\u2019s opinion that in fact, though Herodotus does\n not expressly state it, among the Egyptians only the\n priests and those initiated in the mysteries received\n circumcision. It is to this perhaps that S. Ambrose is\n here alluding. See also the art. on \u2018Circumcision\u2019 in\n Smith\u2019s Dict. of the Bible.\n\n 288 \u2013 confusus fuerit.\n\n 289 \u2013 subditus fiat. Vulg.\n\n 290 \u2013 in Christo. \u03b5\u1f30\u03c2 \u03c7\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03cc\u03bd.\n\n 291 \u2013 Why this letter, which plainly declares itself in the\n first section to be a sequel of the previous one, is\n addressed to a different name, it is difficult to say.\n There is a similar difficulty about Letter xxvi, and\n possibly the same solution may apply here as is suggested\n by the Ben. Edd. there. See Introd. to Lett. xxvi.\n\n 292 \u2013 The phrase \u2018cernere hereditatem\u2019 is a well-known law-term,\n meaning literally \u2018to decide to accept an inheritance,\u2019\n and then \u2018to enter upon it.\u2019 But as this sense will\n not agree with the context, it seems necessary to take\n \u2018cernere,\u2019 as the Benedictine note does, in its common\n sense of \u2018to see.\u2019\n\n 293 \u2013 The words \u1f01\u03c1\u03bc\u03bf\u03bd\u03af\u1fb3 \u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6 \u039b\u03cc\u03b3\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b4\u03b5\u03b4\u03b5\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd seem to be a gloss\n on S. Paul\u2019s compound \u03c3\u03c5\u03bd\u03b1\u03c1\u03bc\u03bf\u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03bf\u03cd\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd. They are not part\n of his text, though S. Ambrose seems here to be quoting\n them as if they were.\n\n 294 \u2013 laborat.\n\n 295 \u2013 cleros.\n\n 296 \u2013 It seems necessary to the sense here to insert \u2018quae\u2019\n before \u2018obtexerent.\u2019\n\n 297 \u2013 v. c. here is an abbreviation for vir clarissimus, a title\n of official rank. See note in p. 101.\n\n 298 \u2013 l\u00e6tus.\n\n\n\n\n Transcriber\u2019s Notes.\n\n\n The following corrections have been made in the text:\n\n Page TOC:\n Sentence starting: The Council which is assembled....\n \u2013 \u2018Marbonese\u2019 replaced with \u2018Narbonese\u2019\n (first and second Narbonese Provinces)\n\n Page TOC:\n Sentence starting: To the most precious Prince....\n \u2013 \u2018Theodorius\u2019 replaced with \u2018Theodosius\u2019\n (his Majesty Theodosius,)\n\n Page TOC:\n Sentence starting: AMBROSE to Atticus.....\n \u2013 \u2018Allicas\u2019 replaced with \u2018Atticus\u2019\n (AMBROSE to Atticus.)\n\n Page 20:\n Sentence starting: 1. YOUR question,...\n \u2013 Paragraph number added.\n (1. YOUR question,)\n\n Page 74:\n Sentence starting: And I would that you could....\n \u2013 duplicated word removed \u2018what\u2019\n (to rescind what they ought)\n\n Page 101:\n Sentence starting: 1. THE honourable[77] Symmachus,...\n \u2013 Paragraph number added.\n (1. THE honourable[77] Symmachus,)\n\n Page 116:\n Sentence starting: Since their prayers ought....\n \u2013 \u2018it\u2019 replaced with \u2018is\u2019\n (whose religion is different.)\n\n Page 125:\n Sentence starting: The Philistines having discovered....\n \u2013 \u2018discoverd\u2019 replaced with \u2018discovered\u2019\n (having discovered through her means)\n\n Page 131:\n Sentence starting: 13. The groans of the people....\n \u2013 Paragraph 13 not marked in this edition.\n (13. The groans of the people)\n\n Page 137:\n Sentence starting: I replied, \u2018May God grant....\n \u2013 \u2018enunch\u2019 replaced with \u2018eunuch\u2019\n (act as befits an eunuch.)\n\n Page 150:\n Sentence starting: Christ then, invited by these....\n \u2013 \u2018scuorge\u2019 replaced with \u2018scourge\u2019\n (takes His scourge and drives)\n\n Page 155:\n Sentence starting: Jesus saw the penny was C\u00e6sar\u2019s,...\n \u2013 duplicated word removed \u2018the\u2019\n (unto C\u00e6sar the things that are)\n\n Page 156:\n Sentence starting: Blind they are and....\n \u2013 duplicated word removed \u2018and\u2019\n (Blind they are and lame,)\n\n Page 158:\n Sentence starting: 1. AS I am wont to keep....\n \u2013 Paragraph number added.\n (1. AS I am wont to keep)\n Sentence starting: I found the suitable tokens;...\n \u2013 Footnote 124 not marked in text.\n (seized[124])\n\n Page 159:\n Sentence starting: 4. _The heavens_....\n \u2013 Number \u20183\u2019 skipped in paragraph numbering.\n (4. _The heavens_)\n\n Page 164:\n Sentence starting: How much have they suffered,...\n \u2013 \u2018Pharoah\u2019 replaced with \u2018Pharaoh\u2019\n (and like Pharaoh,)\n\n Page 173:\n Sentence starting: Therefore even according to the....\n \u2013 \u2018mouth\u2019 replaced with \u2018month\u2019\n (this is the first month.)\n\n Page 175:\n Sentence starting: Let us with fervent spirit keep....\n \u2013 \u2018docrtine\u2019 replaced with \u2018doctrine\u2019\n (in pious doctrine with one accord)\n\n Page 187:\n Sentence starting: In the prophet Hosea also....\n \u2013 \u2018sojouners\u2019 replaced with \u2018sojourners\u2019\n (and licentious train of sojourners.)\n\n Page 188:\n Sentence starting: When a man condemns....\n \u2013 \u2018condems\u2019 replaced with \u2018condemns\u2019\n (man condemns in another)\n\n Page 190:\n Sentence starting: When the criminal is put to death,...\n \u2013 \u2018trangression\u2019 replaced with \u2018transgression\u2019\n (the transgression which is punished,)\n\n Page 191:\n Sentence starting: Thus as wisdom and continence....\n \u2013 \u2018incontient\u2019 replaced with \u2018incontinent\u2019\n (foolish and incontinent man)\n\n Page 199:\n Sentence starting: Hence we read that he was addressed....\n \u2013 \u2018Pharoah\u2019 replaced with \u2018Pharaoh\u2019\n (god to Pharaoh.)\n\n Page 201:\n Sentence starting: 8. Wherefore the Lord....\n \u2013 Number \u20187\u2019 skipped in paragraph numbering.\n (8. Wherefore the Lord)\n\n Page 218:\n Sentence starting: He cried first in Eve,...\n \u2013 \u2018Pharoah\u2019 replaced with \u2018Pharaoh\u2019\n (he cried in Pharaoh,)\n \u2018Corah\u2019 replaced with \u2018Korah\u2019\n (Dathan, Abiram, Korah.)\n\n Page 219:\n Sentence starting: He cried in Solomon,...\n \u2013 duplicated word removed \u2018of\u2019\n (in the power of Wisdom,)\n\n Page 227:\n Sentence starting: And shall we not believe....\n \u2013 \u2018ministeries\u2019 replaced with \u2018ministries\u2019\n (fulfil divers ministries,)\n\n Page 234:\n Sentence starting: The good physician knows....\n \u2013 \u2018physican\u2019 replaced with \u2018physician\u2019\n (The good physician knows)\n\n Page 239:\n Sentence starting: ....\n \u2013 \u2018LX.\u2019 replaced with \u2018LXX.\u2019\n (Prov. xvii. 2. LXX.)\n\n Page 240:\n Sentence starting: And Job says,...\n \u2013 \u2018immost\u2019 replaced with \u2018inmost\u2019\n (Take wisdom into thine inmost parts.)\n\n Page 275:\n Sentence starting: 18. Now the Church ceases....\n \u2013 \u201819\u2019 replaced with \u201818\u2019\n (18. Now the Church ceases)\n\n Page 282:\n Sentence starting: 1. In your Holiness\u2019 Letter....\n \u2013 \u20182.\u2019 replaced with \u20181.\u2019\n (1. In your Holiness\u2019 Letter)\n\n Page 291:\n Sentence starting: You will easily discover that....\n \u2013 \u2018harrassed\u2019 replaced with \u2018harassed\u2019\n (is not harassed by suspicion)\n\n Page 296:\n Sentence starting: For when we read that God....\n \u2013 \u2018ariving\u2019 replaced with \u2018arriving\u2019\n (to aim at arriving thither)\n\n Page 300:\n Sentence starting: Solon however made ten periods....\n \u2013 \u2018vigourous\u2019 replaced with \u2018vigorous\u2019\n (vigorous in faculties)\n \u2013 \u2018it\u2019 replaced with \u2018in\u2019\n (and in speech and wisdom)\n\n Page 327:\n Sentence starting: Again when David was possessed....\n \u2013 \u2018af\u2019 replaced with \u2018of\u2019\n (the blood of Abner)\n\n Page 333:\n Sentence starting: S. Ambrose does not write....\n \u2013 \u2018Ecclesiatic\u2019 replaced with \u2018Ecclesiastic\u2019\n (he would address an eminent Ecclesiastic.)\n\n Page 333:\n Sentence starting: He also considers me to be....\n \u2013 \u2018physican\u2019 replaced with \u2018physician\u2019\n (to be a physician )\n\n Page 339:\n Sentence starting: The case of Bonosus had been....\n \u2013 \u2018Amysius\u2019 replaced with \u2018Anysius\u2019\n (Anysius Bishop of Thessalonica,)\n\n Page 342:\n Sentence starting: I presented two petitions....\n \u2013 \u2018supersition\u2019 replaced with \u2018superstition\u2019\n (for the uses of superstition.)\n\n Page 342:\n Sentence starting: 3. My petitions were read....\n \u2013 Number \u20182\u2019 skipped in paragraph numbering.\n (3. My petitions were read)\n\n Page 344:\n Sentence starting: You, whom no man constrained,...\n \u2013 \u2018certaintly\u2019 replaced with \u2018certainly\u2019\n (ought certainly to have referred)\n\n Page 367:\n Sidenote starting: Dan. i. 8;...\n \u2013 The following 2 references are in error and do not exist\n as listed.\n (xiv. 30; iii. 40.)\n\n Page 385:\n Sentence starting: Nor does the mode of your....\n \u2013 \u2018trangression\u2019 replaced with \u2018transgression\u2019\n (of your transgression signify,)\n\n Page 409:\n Sentence starting: The earth also is iron,...\n \u2013 \u2018witholds\u2019 replaced with \u2018withholds\u2019\n (for it withholds its produce,)\n\n Page 416:\n Sidenote: S. Matt. xxv. 40.\n \u2013 \u2018xxx\u2019 replaced with \u2018xxv\u2019\n (S. Matt. xxv. 40.)\n\n Page 416:\n Sentence starting: Until the time that....\n \u2013 duplicated word removed \u2018that\u2019\n (Until the time that she)\n\n Page 424:\n Sentence starting: For the ground of the truth....\n \u2013 \u2018intelligibe\u2019 replaced with \u2018intelligible\u2019\n (by an intelligible mystery,)\n\n Page 435:\n Sentence starting: It was superfluous....\n \u2013 \u2018superflous\u2019 replaced with \u2018superfluous\u2019\n (It was superfluous herein)\n\n Page 456:\n Sentence starting: Thus that which is in part has ceased,...\n \u2013 \u2018circumscised\u2019 replaced with \u2018circumcised\u2019\n (the Cross has circumcised not one )\n\n Page 460:\n Quote starting: Go, wash in....\n \u2013 duplicated word removed \u2018in\u2019\n (wash in the pool of Siloam,)\n\n Page 472:\n Sentence starting: 7. Joseph also, in order to....\n \u2013 Number \u20186\u2019 skipped in paragraph numbering.\n (7. Joseph also, in order to)\n\n Page 478:\n Sentence starting: 1. PROSPICIENDUM esse ne de nostro....\n \u2013 Paragraph number added.\n (1. PROSPICIENDUM esse ne de nostro)\n\n Page 483:\n Sentence starting: Quid autem pr\u00e6stantius,...\n \u2013 \u2018pr\u00e6cipunm\u2019 replaced with \u2018pr\u00e6cipuum\u2019\n (cujus pr\u00e6cipuum opus verecundia,)\n\n Page 486:\n Sentence starting: Vale, frater, et nos dilige;...\n \u2013 \u2018qula\u2019 replaced with \u2018quia\u2019\n (quia nos te diligimus.)\n\n Page 490:\n Sentence starting: C\u00e6sa itaque vigintiquinque millia,...\n \u2013 \u2018virgintiquinque\u2019 replaced with \u2018vigintiquinque\u2019\n (C\u00e6sa itaque vigintiquinque millia,)\n\n Index Aaron:\n Sentence starting: Took precedence of Moses....\n \u2013 \u2018predecence\u2019 replaced with \u2018precedence\u2019\n (Took precedence of Moses)\n\n Index Ambrose:\n Sentence starting: Prevents a reply to ....\n \u2013 \u2018Symmachius\u2019 replaced with \u2018Symmachus\u2019\n (reply to Symmachus\u2019 memorial,)\n\n Index Arian heresy:\n Sentence starting: Refuses to believe....\n \u2013 \u2018evidenec\u2019 replaced with \u2018evidence\u2019\n (believe the evidence of)\n\n Index Auxentius:\n Sentence starting: Challenges Ambrose to....\n \u2013 \u2018arbirtation\u2019 replaced with \u2018arbitration\u2019\n (Challenges Ambrose to arbitration,)\n\n Index Bassianus:\n \u2013 duplicated word removed \u2018\u2019\n \u2013 \u2018Paladius\u2019 replaced with \u2018Palladius\u2019\n (His condemnation of Palladius,)\n\n Index Cabillonum:\n Sentence starting: Ch\u00e2lons-sur-Sa\u00f4ne,...\n \u2013 \u2018sub\u2019 replaced with \u2018sur\u2019\n (Ch\u00e2lons-sur-Sa\u00f4ne,)\n\n Index Castulus:\n Sentence starting: _Castulus_, an Arian presbyter....\n \u2013 \u2018Castalus\u2019 replaced with \u2018Castulus\u2019\n (_Castulus_, an Arian presbyter)\n\n Index Eutropius:\n Sentence starting: Eutropius....\n \u2013 \u2018Entropius\u2019 replaced with \u2018Eutropius\u2019\n (_Eutropius_)\n\n Index Morasthite:\n Sentence starting: _Morasthite_, son of the....\n \u2013 \u2018Morashthite\u2019 replaced with \u2018Morasthite\u2019\n (_Morasthite_, son of the)\n\n Index Plotinus:\n Sentence starting: Plotinus....\n \u2013 \u2018Photinus\u2019 replaced with \u2018Plotinus\u2019\n (_Plotinus_)\n\n Index Priest:\n Sentence starting: Regard worldly loss as gain,...\n \u2013 \u2018wordly\u2019 replaced with \u2018worldly\u2019\n (Regard worldly loss as gain,)\n\n Index Exodus:\n Sentence starting: xvii. 6....\n \u2013 \u2018673\u2019 replaced with \u2018367\u2019\n (xvii. 6 284, 367)\n\n Index Psalm:\n Sentence starting: xcii. 11....\n \u2013 \u2018cii\u2019 replaced with \u2018xcii.\u2019\n (xcii. 11 253)\n\n Index confundar:\n Sentence starting: confundar,...\n \u2013 \u2018conusuas\u2019 replaced with \u2018confusus\u2019\n (confundar, confusus fuerit,)\n\n Footnote 50:\n Sentence starting: Meanwhile Meletius had returned....\n \u2013 duplicated word removed \u2018the\u2019\n (the Church at Antioch)\n\n Footnote 53:\n Sentence starting: Fleury remarks on this....\n \u2013 closing quote mark not identified.\n (\u2018This letter plainly shews)\n\n Footnote 54:\n Sentence starting: Maximus, called the Cynic....\n \u2013 \u2018conscrated\u2019 replaced with \u2018consecrated\u2019\n (was irregularly consecrated at Constantinople,)\n\n Footnote 109:\n Sentence starting: Valentinian was in official attendance....\n \u2013 \u2018Valentian\u2019 replaced with \u2018Valentinian\u2019\n (Valentinian was in official attendance)\n\n Footnote 115:\n Sentence starting: This refers to a story....\n \u2013 \u2018puprose\u2019 replaced with \u2018purpose\u2019\n (failed of their purpose,)\n\n Footnote 128:\n Sentence starting: ....\n \u2013 \u2018espe\u2019 replaced with \u2018esse\u2019\n (\u2018Nam incipit esse contrarium.\u2019)","title":"The Letters of S. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":219693}