title: In festo S. Andreae

author: Nicholas of Clairvaux

source_edition: Migne, Patrologia Latina, vol. 184, coll. 1049B–1056A

source_text:
## *Corde creditur ad justitiam, ore autem fit confessio ad salutem [n: (Rom. X, 10)]*.

[1049B] *714* 1. Et quietum studium, et attentum silentium, et tanta tanti viri solemnitas monent, imo compellunt aliquid dicere ad ostendendum gloriam deitatis, gratiam apostolicae dignitatis, confessionis virtutem. Demus gloriam laudi ejus, quem laudant omnes gentes, qui ministros suos et laudat, et laudabiles facit. Ipse est cui assistunt Angeli ad audiendam vocem sermonum ejus: qui stellas vocat et dicunt: Adsumus: cujus manus extendit coelos, qui fundavit terram super stabilitatem suam, qui graditur super fluctus maris, qui fecit mirabilia solus, in quem desiderant Angeli prospicere. Ipse est qui fecit omnia, et in omnibus quae fecit, quaecunque voluit fecit. Huic servire regnare est, qui servivit pro nobis dura et gravi necessitate, et purpuram [1049C] suae divinitatis cilicio nostrae mortalitatis operiens, pauper et mendicus venit in regionem nostram. Numquid non ludus vobis videtur, Judaei, pagani, haeretici, et omnis illa subsannantium, imo insanientium turba, cum dicimus Filium Dei carnem, mortem, clavos et lanceam tolerasse? Ludus profecto est, unde sic nobis luditur, ut vobis illudatur. Unicus ille Sapiens hujus mysterii non ignarus, ludum istum eleganti sermone praelusit. *Delectabar,* inquit, *per singulos dies, ludens coram eo in orbe terrarum [n: (Prov. VIII, 30)]*. Lusit quippe *coram Deo,* cum carnem ex ejus praecepto suscepit; *et in orbe terrarum,* quia ad redemptionem orbis terrarum delectatus, *per singulos dies* in singulis Apostolis jucundatus, dum uni tradit regnum coelorum, alteri de [1049D] pectore suo reclinatorium facit.

## 2.

*Et deliciae meae esse cum filiis hominum.* Putabam ego, Domine Jesu, quod deliciae tuae essent esse non cum filiis hominum, sed cum choris Angelorum, ubi divinitatis gloria Thronis et Potestatibus admirandus superiorum oculos reverberas naturarum; ibi lucem inhabitas inaccessibilem, et circumstantiam clarissimorum luminum tui luminis obtegis majestate. Sed illa clementissima tua pietas, et benignitas adoranda, delicias suas dicit esse cum filiis [1050B] hominum. Isti sunt filii hominum, qui speraverunt sub tegmine alarum tuarum, quos elegisti de plebe, quorum lavisti pedes, quibus tuum spiritum infudisti, qui fidem tui nominis quadrigis evangelicis per orbem quadrifidum portaverunt. Nota tamen quod dicit, non, *715* Cum hominibus; sed, *cum filiis hominum.* Ego puto homines ad veterem hominem; filios hominum ad filium hominis pertinere, juxta quam intelligentiam puer citharista sic intonat: *Quid est homo, quod memor es ejus? aut filius hominis, quoniam visitas eum? [n: (Psal. VIII, 5.)]* Videsne quia Deum hominis esse memorem, filium vero hominis se visitare confirmat? Praesumimus et speramus, quia faciet nobis misericordiam suam in conspectu filiorum hominum, si interim protegat nos [1050C] in abscondito faciei suae a conturbatione hominum. Igitur et Dominus noster, cujus schola est in terris; et cathedra in coelo, ex his omnibus quos elegit et praeelegit, Andream elegit apostolum, cujus solemnitatem et vocibus, et cordibus inclamamus. O dulcis Apostolus et primitiva vocatio Domini Salvatoris, qui in ipsum apostolicum chorum tanti prioratus insignitur fastigio! Non subterfugit nos, quia quodammodo tenerrimus est, et dulcior in cordibus fidelium, cujus passio tanta spiritus devotione distillat, ut mentes audientium adipe et pinguedine replere videatur. Unde non immerito in singularem auctoritatis arcem suscepta est, quam qui viderunt scripserunt orbi, et ministri fuere sermonis. Vocatio ejus, vita ejus et passio cognitae sunt vobis: et nunc [1050D] quid superest ut a me amplius exspectetis?

## 3.

Verumtamen movet me lectio apostolica, ut aliquantisper de ea vestrae reverentiae colloquamur. Ait enim: *Corde creditur ad justitiam, ore autem confessio fit ad salutem. Dicit enim Scriptura: Omnis qui credit in ipsum non confundetur.* Tria proponuntur hic: et corde credere ad justitiam, et ore confiteri ad salutem, et in illum credere, in quem qui crediderit non confundetur. Solum cor hominis capax est orationis et susceptibile mysteriorum Dei, [1051A] quod purgatum atque politum ipsam divinitatis substantiam considerat: etsi non comprehendit, apprehendit tamen. Cor est in pectore, anima in corde, mens in anima, fides in mente, Christus in fide. Et hoc est, puto, quod dicit Apostolus, *habitare Christum per fidem in cordibus nostris [n: (Ephes. III, 17)]*. Hoc igitur in meracissimam eliquatum est puritatem, cum omnia mysteria christianae fidei fide percipis inconcussa, nihilque est quod tibi dubitationem parit, licet non videas rationem. Haec est consummata justitia, perfecta veritas, et vera perfectio, si tamen oris confessio subsequatur. Fides enim cordis sine oris fide, aut nulla est, aut parva, Salvatore dicente: *Qui me erubuerit et meos sermones, hunc Filius hominis erubescet [n: (Luc. IX, 26)]*, etc. Et [1051B] propheta: *Periit fides et ablata est de ore eorum.* Non dixit, De corde; sed, *de ore:* quia nihil valet fides cordis sine fide oris, nec fides oris sine fide cordis; cum ista justitiam, illa donet salutem; quia salus a justitia, vel justitia a salute separari non possunt. Crede ergo et confitere; nihilominus confitere et crede: quia fides ad justitiam, confessio fit ad salutem.

## 4.

Et quandoquidem in haec devenimus loca, et occasio confessionis se obtulit, reddendum est quod alibi promisimus, totumque conferendum quod de confessione sentimus. Patientes autem estote, et si forte protensius sermonem extendero, vos intendite quae dicuntur, quia vestrae utilitati proferuntur. Via enim est sine qua nemo venit ad Patrem: quam qui perdidit, perdidit Deum. Cum enim de vitiorum [1051C] abysso disponis emergere, ad illum praecipue sit refugium tuum, cui tua anima commissa est, quem imposuit Deus super caput tuum. Nec te moveat si illiteratus sit, vel indiscretus, quia hoc ipsum signum humilitatis est, quae generat confessionem. Memento quia non est potestas, nisi a Deo. *Super cathedram,* inquit, *Moysi sedent Scribae et Pharisaei.* Et tu attende non ad sedentem, sed sedem; cathedram, non personam. Quod si forte vel licentia ejus ad alium transfugere permittatur, tu tamen prius ei reveles tui cordis arcanum: quia non est plena salus, si ille fugitur aut contemnitur, cui adhaerere, et quem honorare debueras. Quod si minus sufficiens tibi videtur ejus instructio, patet ad libertatem via, ut coram [1051D] alio litterato atque discreto effundas cor tuum; reservato illi privilegio suo, cui tu tuam animam commendasti.

## 5.

Nec tibi blandiaris, si graviter peccanti levior poenitentia, vel a nesciente, vel a dissimulante dictatur, cum *716* in purgatoriis ignibus perficiendum sit, quidquid hic minus feceris, quia dignos fructus poenitentiae quaerit Altissimus. Licet autem non evaserit manus Omnipotentis, qui tibi non plene consulit, tibi tamen ratio magistra praesidet, quae te doceat tantum a licitis abstinere, quantum te memineris illicita perpetrasse. A vestibulo igitur hujus sacratissimae virtutis omnes illos excludimus, quos ad confessionem vel timor cogit, quia extorta confessio non est confessio; vel aliorum accusatio trahit, [1052A] quia non est confessio, sed offensio; vel sui excusatio ducit, quia non est confessio, sed defensio; vel jactantia inanis rapit, quia non est confessio, sed illusio; et si quae aliae pestes sunt, quae obumbratorio velamine tanti sacramenti simulant sanctitatem. Cor in semetipso, et ex semetipso contritum et humiliatum, ad hujus purificationis potest ascendere puritatem. Ostendam tibi unum justorum justissime confitentem. Quaeris quisnam sit? Psaltes Domini est. *Dixi,* inquit, *Confitebor adversum me injustitiam meam Domino [n: (Psal. XXXI, 5)]*. *Dixi,* hoc est, in corde proposui, non coactus, non compulsus, sed spontaneus. *Injustitiam meam,* ait, non alienam, adversum me arguens et accusans. Vides quia non timore alterius, vel ad alium accusandum, sed se [1052B] ipsum sanctus Domino confitetur. Pro hujusmodi confessione *remittes tu, Domine, impietatem peccati mei. Pro hac orabit ad te omnis sanctus in tempore opportuno.* Haec primum in corde germinat ad justitiam, post haec in ore nascitur ad salutem.

## 6.

Primus ejus gradus est, cognitio peccati. « Initium salutis, » ait quidam, « notitia peccati [n: (SENEC. in Epist.)]. » In hac cognitione videndum est quid egeris, quantis contumeliis affeceris corpus tuum, ambulans in passione desiderii, sicut et gentes quae ignorant Deum, possidens vas tuum in immunditia et vilitate, non in sanctificatione et honore. Considerandum est etiam quid merueris; ignem scilicet illum, qui paratus est diabolo et angelis ejus, et omnia genera poenarum, quae in illis poenalibus locis [1052C] emulantur et crescunt. Inspiciendum vero quid amiseris, bona videlicet illa quae oculus non vidit, et auris non audivit, nec in cor hominis ascenderunt, quae praeparavit Deus diligentibus se.

## 7.

Horum igitur omnium consideratione perterritus transi ad poenitentiam, ultricem vitiorum, altricem virtutum. Poeniteat te, quod tot et tantis flagitiis involutus, in luto faecis et miseriae diutius jacuisti. Poenitentiam agens corpus tuum contere, et furibundo carnis asello incentivorum semina subtrahens, poenitenda amplius non admittas, ne vulnus vulneri frequenter ingeminans, confringas ossa animae tuae, quae custodit in justis Dominus: *Unum ex his,* inquam, *non conteretur [n: (Psal. XXXIII, 21)]*. [1052D] Nam haec duo ita sibi invicem conjuncta sunt, ut quis se cognoscere non possit, nisi poeniteat; et poenitere non possit, nisi se cognoscat.

## 8.

Sic ergo tibi cognitus, et in te poenitens transvola ad tertium gradum, dolorem videlicet cordis; et jam plantata erit justitia plantatione illa, quam plantavit Pater tuus coelestis. Dole igitur quia Creatorem offendisti, cujus legem coelestia et terrestria praeter te indefessa statione conservant: et in tanta republica Dei tu solus peregrinus es, et imperatoriae majestatis decreta non curas. Surgat et acrior dolor, quod cum Creatore etiam Patrem offenderis, et illum patrem, qui tibi ministrat siderum cursus, fecunditatem terrae, fructuum ubertatem. Accedat et acerrimus dolor, qui pertranseat animam [1053A] tuam quod tantum benefactorem contempseris, qui dolorem crucis sustinuit, ne dolores inferni amplius sustineres. Sic igitur in interiori homine justitia germinante, surculus erumpat in arborem, et loquatur lingua quod scientia loquebatur.

## 9.

Quartus itaque gradus est confessio oris. Haec pure facienda est: quia non est pars una peccatorum dicenda, et altera reticenda; neque levia confitenda, et gravia diffitenda. Nec alter accusandus et ipse excusandus, sed cum justo dicendum est: *Non declines cor meum in verba malitiae ad excusandas excusationes in peccatis [n: (Psal. CXL, 4)]*. Haec enim sunt verba malitiae, et gravis malitiae, qua gravior vel pejor vix esse possit. Confitendum est et humiliter, ut idem sit in corde, quod sonabit in ore. Sunt enim [1053B] nonnulli, qui narrare in confessionibus solent, quae vel *717* argute litteratorio, et fortiter gladiatorio gessere conflictu, proh dolor! sub humilitatis pallio superbiam inducentes, et putantes se posse vitare oculos Judicis cuncta cernentis. Nonne utique reges Saul et David redarguti a prophetis Samuele et Nathan, dixerunt, *Peccavi?* et tamen Samuel audivit, *Transtulit Dominus regnum a te, et dabit illud aemulo tuo [n: (I Reg. XV, 28)]*; et David, *Transtulit Dominus peccatum tuum, et non morieris [n: (II Reg. XII, 13)]*. Quid est hoc, nisi quia quod Saul habuit in ore, non fuit in corde; et humilitas quae in ore David, exstitit in corde, etiam radiavit? Dicendum est et fideliter, ut in fide Ecclesiae credat sibi peccata dimitti, quia Cain et Judas pure et humiliter confessi [1053C] sunt, sed nequaquam fideliter: quia alter eorum desperans ad laqueum cucurrit [n: (Matth. XXVII)]; alter illud grande scelus evomuit, *Major est iniquitas mea quam ut veniam merear [n: (Gen. IV, 13)]*. Mentiris, latro, quia major est pietas Dei quam quaevis iniquitas: quia miserationes ejus super omnia opera ejus.

## 10.

Sequitur quintus gradus, maceratio carnis, quae jejuniis, vigiliis attenuanda est; ne nova prurigine ad voluptuosam revolet pravitatem. Haec autem facienda est licentiose; quia quod sine licentia fit, vanae gloriae deputabitur, non mercedi. Occulte, ut nesciat sinistra tua quid faciat dextera tua. Discrete, propter debilitatem corporis, et multimodas infirmitates. Plerosque enim vidimus in principio conversionis ita discretionis infregisse repagula, ut [1053D] laudum solemniis inhabiles redderentur, et apparatu deinceps lautiori diuturnis foveri temporibus indigerent. Jam sic illuminatus procedat ad sextum, qui est correctio operis. Prohibe ergo linguam tuam a malo, operare quod bonum est, et sensuales motus tuos continentiae frenis infrena, et sic erit pax in terra carnis tuae. Argue malos pro persona quam habes: et te praesente justitiam non sinas sepeliri. Veni ad septimum gradum: et hic est perseverantia bonitatis. Et in hoc septimo vocabit te Dominus cum Moyse de medio caliginis [n: (Exod. XXIV, 16)]: et in ipsam divinitatis substantiam interiores oculos infiges. Perseverantiam autem faciunt exspectatio praemiorum, poenarum recordatio, primitiae spiritus [1054A] et donum coeleste, de quibus loquitur Apostolus, quod nec expertus ignorat, nec inexpertus intelligit [n: (Hebr. VI)]. Stultitia est enim illi, et non potest intelligere quae sunt spiritus Dei [n: (I Cor. II, 14)].

## 11.

Audite et breviter quem oporteat ordinari ad dispensationem mysterii hujus. Oportet eum esse non minus litteratum quam religiosum, ut zelum Dei habeat, et secundum scientiam; cum indiscreta religio magis obesse soleat quam prodesse. Litteratum ideo, ut sciat quid injungat, cui parcat, quando parcere debeat, quam consolationem proferat de Scripturis. Religiosum vero idcirco, et ut puras manus levet ad Deum, et pro peccatoribus fiducialiter intercedat. Videat autem ne unquam de his quae sub signaculo confessionis accepit, aliquam faciat [1054B] mentionem, vel alicui loquenti consentiat. Caveat etiam ne vilescat in conspectu ejus, qui suam vilitatem ostendit: nec sit suspectus, nec de praeterita futuram vitam aestimet peccatoris. Quod si fortuito de his quae in confessione suscepit, causa coram eo fuerit ventilata, non tanquam conscius in partem declinet, sed quasi nescius judiciarium ordinem permittat exerceri. Habeat autem in voluntate compati, et liberare eum: et nitatur aliquid detrahere severitati, imitans dulcedinem Domini sui, de quo dicit sanctus: *Quoniam fecisti judicium meum, et causam meam [n: (Psal. IX, 5)]*. Sed proh dolor! temporibus nostris, per universum mundum pestilentialis morbus excrevit, ut praeferantur ecclesiis, quos nec scientia, nec vita commendet, caeci [1054C] duces caecorum, et praecipitati et ad praecipitium perducentes.

## 12.

Audivimus de confitente, et de confessionem suscipiente: audiamus nunc quae impediant confessionem. Quantum colligere possum, quatuor praecipue occurrunt: pudor, timor, spes et desperatio. Nihil fortius ad expugnandum gratiam Dei quam pudor humanus; quia dum erubescimus confiteri quae commisimus, Deum minus quam homines reveremur. Haec est confusio adducens peccatum [n: (Eccle. IV)]. Opponamus ei considerationem rationis, reverentiam intuentis Dei, comparationem majoris confusionis: ut enim confiteamur ratio monet, Deus cogit, qui vidit. Et si confundimur hic dicere, quid [1054D] erit in illa magna confusione, ubi omnibus omnia patebunt? Timor plerosque opprimit, ne gravi poenitentia percellantur, et perferre non possint. Vere qui timet pruinam, irruet super eum nix [n: (Job. VI, 16)]. Hic considerandum, quam gravis sit poena gehennae, quam longa, quam infructuosa: e contrario autem poenitentia praesens levis, brevis et fructuosa. Spes autem multos obruit, qui dum bona praesentium cupiunt, aperire conscientias suas nolunt; ne, si quales sint hominibus appareant, ad nulla praesentis vitae bona conscendant. Quibus inculcandum est quia bona hujus saeculi parva sunt, incerta et momentanea: et illa illius vitae maxima, et certissima et aeterna. Plurimos desperatio interficit, qui hoc solum metuunt, ne possint continere. Verum [1055A] est, quia peccator cum venerit in profundum malorum, contemnit [n: (Prov. XVIII, 5)]. Hanc obterere debemus vigore confessionis, gratia humilitatis, et compassione illius cui aperimus conscientiam nostram. Sciendum autem quia alia est confessio quae peccatum plangit, alia quae laudem canit. Bonum animae ornamentum confessio, quae et peccatorem purgat, et justum reddit purgatiorem.

## 13.

Sequitur: *Qui credit in illum non confundetur.* Credere Deo, est verbis ejus fidem adhibere. Credere Deum, est confiteri ubique esse. Credere in [1056A] Deum, est omnem spem suam in illum dirigere. Deum et Deo credunt daemones: sed in illum non credunt, in quem qui credit non confundetur; quia spem suam non ponunt in illum. Ecce quantum potui, etsi non quantum volui, de confessionis disserui Sacramento. Sed sermonem in longum protraximus, finem loquendi pariter audiamus. Det nobis credere ad justitiam, ore confiteri ad salutem, et in se credere, Sponsus Ecclesiae, Filius Mariae, qui est Deus benedictus in saecula. Amen.

english:
## *With the heart it is believed unto justice, but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation [n: (Rom. X, 10)]*.

[1049B] *714* 1. Both your quiet attention, and your intent silence, and the great solemnity of so great a man admonish — nay, compel — me to say something toward showing the glory of the Godhead, the grace of apostolic dignity, the power of confession. Let us give glory to the praise of him whom all nations praise, who both praises his ministers and makes them praiseworthy. He it is to whom the Angels stand by to hear the voice of his words; who calls the stars, and they say: We are here; whose hand has stretched out the heavens, who founded the earth upon its own stability, who walks upon the waves of the sea, who alone has done wonderful things, upon whom the Angels desire to look. He it is who made all things, and in all the things he made, he did whatsoever he willed. To serve him is to reign — him who served for us under a hard and heavy necessity, and, covering the purple [1049C] of his divinity with the sackcloth of our mortality, came poor and a beggar into our country. Does it not seem to you a game, you Jews, pagans, heretics, and all that throng of mockers, or rather of madmen, when we say that the Son of God endured flesh, death, nails, and the lance? A game it truly is, whereby the play is ours, and the mockery is turned on you. That one Wise Man, not ignorant of this mystery, played this game beforehand in an elegant saying. *I was delighted,* he says, *every single day, playing before him in the world of the earth [n: (Prov. VIII, 30)]*. For he played *before God,* when at his command he took on flesh; *and in the world of the earth,* because he was delighted unto the redemption of the world of the earth; *every single day,* being made glad in each of the Apostles, while to one he hands over the kingdom of heaven, and of his own [1049D] breast makes a resting place for another.

## 2.

*And my delights are to be with the sons of men.* I used to think, Lord Jesus, that your delights would be to be not with the sons of men, but with the choirs of Angels, where in the glory of the Godhead, to be wondered at by the Thrones and Powers, you beat back the eyes of the higher natures; there you inhabit light inaccessible, and cover the standing circle of the brightest luminaries with the majesty of your own light. But that most merciful devotion of yours, and your adorable kindness, says its delights are with the sons [1050B] of men. These are the sons of men who have hoped under the covering of your wings, whom you chose out of the people, whose feet you washed, into whom you poured your spirit, who carried the faith of your name by the four-horse chariots of the Gospels through the four-parted world. Note, however, that he says not, *715* With men, but, *with the sons of men.* I think that men pertain to the old man, and the sons of men to the Son of man; according to which understanding the boy harper sounds forth thus: *What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him? [n: (Psal. VIII, 5.)]* Do you see that he affirms that God is mindful of man, but that he visits the son of man? We presume and hope that he will do us his mercy in the sight of the sons of men, if meanwhile he protect us [1050C] in the hiding of his face from the disturbance of men. Therefore our Lord also, whose school is on earth and whose chair is in heaven, out of all those whom he chose and chose beforehand, chose Andrew as an apostle, whose solemnity we acclaim both with our voices and with our hearts. O sweet Apostle, and first calling of the Lord and Savior, who in that very apostolic choir is marked out by the height of so great a precedence! It does not escape us that he is in a manner most tender, and sweeter in the hearts of the faithful, whose passion drops with so great a devotion of spirit that it seems to fill the minds of the hearers with fatness and richness. Whence not undeservedly has it been taken up into a singular citadel of authority — which those who saw it wrote for the world, and were ministers of the word. His calling, his life, and his passion are known to you: and now [1050D] what remains that you should expect further from me?

## 3.

Nevertheless the apostolic reading moves me to speak with your reverence a little while concerning it. For it says: *With the heart it is believed unto justice, but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says: Everyone who believes in him shall not be confounded.* Three things are here set forth: to believe with the heart unto justice, to confess with the mouth unto salvation, and to believe in him in whom whoever believes shall not be confounded. The heart of man alone is capable of prayer and receptive of the mysteries of God, [1051A] which, when purged and polished, considers the very substance of the Godhead: and even if it does not comprehend it, yet it lays hold of it. The heart is in the breast, the soul in the heart, the mind in the soul, faith in the mind, Christ in faith. And this, I think, is what the Apostle says, *that Christ dwells by faith in our hearts [n: (Ephes. III, 17)]*. This, therefore, is refined into the purest purity, when you perceive all the mysteries of the Christian faith with unshaken faith, and there is nothing that breeds doubt in you, though you do not see the reason. This is consummate justice, perfect truth, and true perfection — if, however, the confession of the mouth follows after. For the faith of the heart without the faith of the mouth is either nothing or little, since the Savior says: *He who is ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed [n: (Luc. IX, 26)]*, and so forth. And [1051B] the prophet: *Faith has perished and is taken away out of their mouth.* He did not say, Out of the heart, but, *out of the mouth:* because the faith of the heart avails nothing without the faith of the mouth, nor the faith of the mouth without the faith of the heart; since the one grants justice, the other salvation; because salvation cannot be separated from justice, nor justice from salvation. Believe therefore and confess; and no less, confess and believe: because faith is unto justice, confession is made unto salvation.

## 4.

And since we have come into these regions, and the occasion of confession has offered itself, we must render what we promised elsewhere, and bring together the whole of what we think concerning confession. But be patient, and if perhaps I extend the sermon at greater length, do you attend to what is said, since it is brought forth for your profit. For it is a way without which no one comes to the Father: and he who has lost it has lost God. For when you set about emerging from the abyss of vices, [1051C] let your refuge be chiefly to him to whom your soul has been committed, whom God set over your head. And let it not move you if he be unlettered or lacking discernment, because this very thing is a sign of humility, which begets confession. Remember that there is no power but from God. *Upon the chair of Moses,* he says, *sit the Scribes and Pharisees.* And do you attend not to the one sitting, but to the seat; to the chair, not the person. But if perhaps, even by his leave, it be permitted you to flee across to another, do you nevertheless first reveal to him the secret of your heart: because salvation is not full if he is fled from or despised to whom you ought to have cleaved and whom you ought to have honored. But if his instruction seems to you insufficient, the way lies open to freedom, that before [1051D] another, lettered and discerning, you may pour out your heart — his own privilege being reserved to him to whom you commended your soul.

## 5.

Nor should you flatter yourself if to one sinning gravely a lighter penance is prescribed, whether by one who does not know or by one who dissembles, since *716* whatever you do here too little must be completed in the purgatorial fires, because the Most High seeks worthy fruits of penance. And although he who does not fully counsel you has not escaped the hand of the Almighty, yet reason presides over you as mistress, to teach you to abstain from things lawful as much as you remember that you have committed things unlawful. From the vestibule, therefore, of this most sacred virtue we shut out all those whom either fear compels to confession — because an extorted confession is not confession; or whom the accusation of others draws on, [1052A] because that is not confession but offense; or whom the excusing of themselves leads, because that is not confession but defense; or whom empty boasting carries off, because that is not confession but mockery; and whatever other plagues there are, which under the shadowing veil of so great a sacrament counterfeit holiness. A heart contrite and humbled in itself and out of itself can ascend to the purity of this purification. I will show you one of the just confessing most justly. Do you ask who it is? He is the psalm-singer of the Lord. *I said,* he says, *I will confess against myself my injustice to the Lord [n: (Psal. XXXI, 5)]*. *I said* — that is, I purposed in my heart, not forced, not compelled, but of my own accord. *My injustice,* he says, not another's, arguing and accusing against myself. You see that the holy man confesses to the Lord not from fear of another, nor to accuse another, but [1052B] himself. For a confession of this kind, *thou, O Lord, wilt forgive the impiety of my sin. For this shall every holy one pray to thee in a seasonable time.* This first sprouts in the heart unto justice, and after this is born in the mouth unto salvation.

## 6.

Its first step is the knowledge of sin. « The beginning of salvation, » says a certain writer, « is the knowledge of sin [n: (SENEC. in Epist.)]. » In this knowledge one must see what you have done, with how many outrages you have afflicted your body, walking in the passion of desire, as do the nations also that know not God, possessing your vessel in uncleanness and vileness, not in sanctification and honor. It must also be considered what you have deserved: namely that fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels, and every kind of punishment which in those places of punishment [1052C] vie with one another and grow. And it must be looked at what you have lost: namely those good things which eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, nor have they ascended into the heart of man, which God has prepared for those who love him.

## 7.

Terrified therefore by the consideration of all these things, pass over to penance, the avenger of vices, the nurse of virtues. Let it repent you that, wrapped in so many and so great disgraces, you have lain too long in the mire of dregs and misery. Doing penance, wear down your body, and, withdrawing the seeds of incitements from the raging little ass of the flesh, admit no further things to be repented of, lest, frequently redoubling wound upon wound, you break the bones of your soul, which the Lord keeps in the just: *Not one of these,* I say, *shall be broken [n: (Psal. XXXIII, 21)]*. [1052D] For these two are so joined to one another that no one can know himself unless he repent; and he cannot repent unless he know himself.

## 8.

Thus therefore, being known to yourself and repentant in yourself, fly over to the third step, namely sorrow of heart; and now justice will have been planted with that planting which your heavenly Father planted. Grieve, therefore, that you have offended the Creator, whose law things heavenly and earthly, except you, keep with unwearied standing; and in so great a commonwealth of God you alone are the stranger, and care nothing for the decrees of the imperial majesty. Let a sharper sorrow also arise, that along with the Creator you have offended the Father as well — and that Father who furnishes you the courses of the stars, the fruitfulness of the earth, the abundance of fruits. Let a most bitter sorrow come too, to pass through your soul, [1053A] that you have despised so great a benefactor, who bore the sorrow of the cross that you should not bear the sorrows of hell any longer. So therefore, justice sprouting in the inner man, let the shoot break forth into a tree, and let the tongue speak what knowledge was speaking.

## 9.

The fourth step, accordingly, is confession of the mouth. This must be made purely: because it is not the case that one part of one's sins should be told and another kept silent; nor light things confessed and grave ones denied. Nor is another to be accused and oneself excused, but with the just man it must be said: *Incline not my heart to words of malice, to make excuses in sins [n: (Psal. CXL, 4)]*. For these are words of malice, and of grave malice, than which scarcely any could be graver or worse. It must be confessed humbly also, so that the same thing be in the heart which will sound in the mouth. For there are [1053B] some who are accustomed to relate in their confessions what things they have done, whether *717* shrewdly in the conflict of letters or bravely in that of the sword — alas the grief! — bringing in pride under the cloak of humility, and thinking they can escape the eyes of the Judge who discerns all things. Did not the kings Saul and David, rebuked by the prophets Samuel and Nathan, say, *I have sinned?* And yet Samuel heard, *The Lord has taken away the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy rival [n: (I Reg. XV, 28)]*; and David, *The Lord has taken away thy sin, and thou shalt not die [n: (II Reg. XII, 13)]*. What is this, except that what Saul had in his mouth was not in his heart; and the humility which was in David's mouth existed in his heart, and shone out as well? It must be said faithfully too, so that one believe in the faith of the Church that his sins are forgiven him, because Cain and Judas confessed purely and humbly, [1053C] but by no means faithfully: since one of them, despairing, ran to the noose [n: (Matth. XXVII)]; the other spewed out that great crime, *My iniquity is greater than that I should deserve pardon [n: (Gen. IV, 13)]*. You lie, you robber, because the devotion of God is greater than any iniquity whatever: because his mercies are over all his works.

## 10.

There follows the fifth step, the mortifying of the flesh, which is to be thinned by fastings and vigils, lest with a new itch it fly back to voluptuous depravity. But this must be done by leave, since what is done without leave will be reckoned to vainglory, not to reward. Secretly, so that your left hand know not what your right hand does. Discreetly, on account of the weakness of the body and its manifold infirmities. For we have seen very many at the beginning of their conversion so break down the bars of discretion that [1053D] they were rendered unfit for the solemnities of praise, and thereafter needed to be cherished for long periods with a more sumptuous provision. Now, so enlightened, let him proceed to the sixth, which is the correction of works. Restrain therefore your tongue from evil, work what is good, and bridle your sensual motions with the bridles of continence, and so there will be peace in the land of your flesh. Rebuke the wicked according to the person you bear: and in your presence do not suffer justice to be buried. Come to the seventh step: and this is perseverance in goodness. And in this seventh the Lord will call you with Moses out of the midst of the darkness [n: (Exod. XXIV, 16)]: and you will fix your inner eyes upon the very substance of the Godhead. Now perseverance is made by the expectation of rewards, the recollection of punishments, the firstfruits of the spirit [1054A] and the heavenly gift, of which the Apostle speaks — which he who has experienced it does not fail to know, nor does he who has not experienced it understand [n: (Hebr. VI)]. For it is foolishness to such a man, and he cannot understand the things that are of the Spirit of God [n: (I Cor. II, 14)].

## 11.

Hear also briefly what sort of man ought to be ordained to the dispensation of this mystery. He must be no less lettered than religious, that he may have the zeal of God, and that according to knowledge; since religion without discernment is wont to hinder rather than to profit. Lettered, therefore, that he may know what to enjoin, whom to spare, when he ought to spare, what consolation to bring forth from the Scriptures. But religious for this reason: both that he may lift pure hands to God, and that he may intercede with confidence for sinners. And let him see to it that he never make any [1054B] mention of those things which he received under the seal of confession, nor consent to anyone speaking of them. Let him beware also lest the man who has shown his own vileness become cheap in his sight; and let him not be suspicious, nor judge the sinner's future life from his past. But if by chance a case concerning those things which he received in confession be aired before him, let him not turn aside to one side as one who is privy to it, but as one not knowing let him permit the judicial order to be carried out. But let him have in his will to suffer with the man and to free him: and let him strive to take something away from severity, imitating the sweetness of his Lord, of whom the holy man says: *For thou hast made my judgment and my cause [n: (Psal. IX, 5)]*. But alas the grief! In our times, through the whole world a pestilential disease has grown up, that men are set over the churches whom neither knowledge nor life commends — blind [1054C] leaders of the blind, both fallen headlong and leading others to the headlong fall.

## 12.

We have heard concerning the one confessing, and concerning the one receiving the confession: let us now hear what things hinder confession. So far as I can gather, four chiefly present themselves: shame, fear, hope, and despair. Nothing is stronger to storm the grace of God than human shame; because while we blush to confess what we have committed, we revere God less than men. This is the confusion that brings on sin [n: (Eccle. IV)]. Let us set against it the consideration of reason, reverence for God who looks on, the comparison of a greater confusion: for reason admonishes that we confess, and God, who has seen, compels it. And if we are confounded to speak here, what [1054D] will it be in that great confusion, where all things shall lie open to all? Fear oppresses very many, lest they be struck with a grave penance and be unable to bear it through. Truly, upon him who fears the frost, the snow shall rush [n: (Job. VI, 16)]. Here it must be considered how grave is the punishment of Gehenna, how long, how fruitless: but on the contrary, present penance is light, brief, and fruitful. But hope overwhelms many, who, while they desire the goods of things present, are unwilling to open their consciences; lest, if they appear to men as they are, they should climb to none of the goods of the present life. To whom it must be pressed home that the goods of this world are small, uncertain, and momentary: and those of that life greatest, most certain, and eternal. Despair kills very many, who fear this alone, that they may not be able to hold out. It is true [1055A] that the sinner, when he has come into the depth of evils, despises [n: (Prov. XVIII, 5)]. This we ought to crush by the vigor of confession, by the grace of humility, and by the compassion of him to whom we open our conscience. But it must be known that one confession is that which bewails sin, and another that which sings praise. Confession is a good ornament of the soul, which both cleanses the sinner and renders the just man more cleansed.

## 13.

There follows: *He who believes in him shall not be confounded.* To believe God is to give credence to his words. To believe that God is, is to confess that he is everywhere. To believe in [1056A] God is to direct all one's hope toward him. The demons believe that God is, and believe God: but they do not believe in him, in whom whoever believes shall not be confounded; because they do not place their hope in him. Behold, as much as I have been able, though not as much as I wished, I have discoursed concerning the Sacrament of confession. But we have drawn out the sermon at length; let us likewise hear the end of speaking. May he grant us to believe unto justice, to confess with the mouth unto salvation, and to believe in himself — the Bridegroom of the Church, the Son of Mary, who is God blessed forever. Amen.


site: migne

title: In parabolam de decem virginibus

author: Anonymous

languages: en la

source_edition: Migne, Patrologia Latina, vol. 184, coll. 1043B–1050A

source_text:
## [1043B] *Simile est regnum coelorum decem virginibus,* etc. [n: (Matth. XXV, 1-13.)]

## 1.

Sponsus Christus est, ad cujus vocem qui amicus est, stat et audit, et gaudio gaudet propter vocem sponsi. Huic nos despondit Apostolus, qui ait: *Despondi vos uni viro virginem castam exhibere Christo [n: (II Cor. XI, 2)]*. Timeo autem quod non possit hoc facere quod spopondit, id est animam nostram exhibere Christo virginem, et virginem castam. Castam addit, quia sunt quaedam virgines corpore, quae cogitatione fornicaria devirginantur, et suaveolentem virginitatis florem libidinosae affectionis pudore contaminant. Et hae quidem fatuis quinque virginibus designantur, quas non rectae intentionis affectus infatuat. Virgo Christus est, et Virginis filius, [1043C] et virginem conjugem vult habere. Tu si habeas angelicam, plus dico vobis, Christi matrisque suae gratiam, hilaresce, tripudia, et in amplexus Christi festinabunda gestiens, illud amatorium clama suspirans: *Osculetur me osculo oris sui [n: (Cantic. I, 1)]*. Sponsa ergo es Jesu Christi; sed hoc tuum nomen diligenter attende. Sponsae vel sponsi nomen ab eo quod est spondere grammatici derivant. Dicuntur autem sponsus et sponsa, quia se sibi alterutrum spondent, ut nec ille, nec illa alteri nubat. Porro inter diem desponsationis hujus interponitur aliquando breve spatium, aliquando et productum; et tamen definita ac denominata est dies, qua debeant convenire: quod quidem sapienter atque utiliter statutum est, ut interim mutuus amor augeatur et [1043D] crescat, et impatiens desiderium cupitae copulae quo amplius differtur, ignescat; et quia juxta Sallustium, cupienti animo nihil satis festinatur, diem dictarum nuptiarum properantius esse desiderent. Sic Jacob pro Rachel septennium a die desponsationis labore desudat, cubat sub dio, gelu alget, solibus uritur, nec tanti ac tam diuturni laboris amator vehemens cedit injuriae [n: (Gen. XXIX, 18-28)]. Quorsum autem ista? Ut et tu si jam sponsa Christi es, ardeas amore, aestues desiderio, anheles suspiriis, dum tardat dies copulae concupitae. Ait quidam, [1044B] « Palleat omnis amans; » ut pallor et macies sint amoris signa certissima. Quid tibi cum lautioribus epulis? quid tibi cum *711* vino? Non est hoc monachorum. Epulentur splendide cives Babylonis. Si te viderit ob amorem suum sponsus marcescere, si pallescere, si calescere impatienti desiderio, accelerabit copulae diem, offeret oscula, junget amplexus. O laetam diem nuptiarum! o felicem sponsam tali conjugio! Carpe oscula, o beata sponsa, junge amplexus, canta: Ecce quod concupivi jam video; quod amavi jam teneo: ipsi sum juncta in coelis, quem in terris posita tota devotione dilexi [n: ( In Officio S. Agnetis )].

## 2.

*Simile est regnum coelorum decem virginibus* quas Rex coelorum, si sibi cum lampadibus luminosis [1044C] occurrerint, in illum coelestem thalamum intra asylum cubiculi introducet. Sed quid facimus, quia quinque sunt fatuae, et quinque prudentes? Puto autem quod et plures, et prudentium numerum longe superet multiplicitas fatuarum: caeterum omnes, *acceptis lampadibus, exierunt obviam sponso et sponsae. Exierunt.* Unde exierunt? Plane de substantia et saeculari conversatione, juxta illud: *Recedite, exite inde, et immundum ne tetigeritis [n: (Isa. LII, 11)]*. Audit et Abraham: *Exi de terra tua, et de cognatione tua, et de domo patris tui [n: (Gen. XII, 1)]*. Loth quoque de Sodomis exire praecipitur, et retrospicere prohibetur, ne pariter cum Sodomitis ardentibus involvatur incendiis. Sed quid dixit ad angelum? *Est civitas hic juxta, ad quam possum confugere, [1044D] parva, et salvabor in ea [n: (Gen. XIX, 20)]*. Numquid non modicum est, et vivet anima mea? Civitas parva et juxta, id est non longe a saeculo, in qua Loth ardente Sodoma salvatur, monasterium est. Numquid non modica est respectu illius, quae mundi latitudinem occupans, populosa valde et malitiosa, cupiditatis et libidinis flagrat incendio? Eximus inde et ad parvam civitatem quae juxta est confugimus, ardentem cum civibus suis Sodomam relinquentes. *Salvabor,* inquit, *in ea.* Plane salvabimur in civitatula ista, si non respexerimus retro, si flammantis [1045A] Sodomae, quae juxta juste ardet, non nos apprehenderint, non nos incenderint favillae caducae. De hac Sodoma exierunt virgines obviam sponso et sponsae: longe enim est a virginibus flamma Sodomorum.

## 3.

Exierunt autem cum lampadibus, lumbos habentes praecinctos, et lucernas in manibus ardentes; ut et castitatis cingulum astringatur in corpore, et ad utilitatem proximi et gloriam Patris, lux exempli clareat in operatione. Sic Gedeon in lagunculis lampades occultans, sed in hora certaminis fractis vasculis demonstrans, repentina luce hostes terruit, et vertit in fugam [n: (Judic. VII)]. Terrentur enim principes tenebrarum visa luce bonorum operum, quia stare ante lucem tenebrae non possunt. *Prudentes* [1045B] enim *virgines acceperunt oleum in vasis suis cum lampadibus.* Vide prudentiam virginum istarum. Sciebant noctem fore productam: et nescientes qua hora noctis sponsus veniret, non contentae oleo lampadum, etiam in vasis oleum sumunt; ut, si forte illud quod erat in lampadibus annihilaretur et deficeret, de eo quod in vasis reposuerant ad custodiam luminis, lampades implerent. Oleum in lampade, est opus bonum in manifestatione; sed dum videtur a proximis claritas operis, dum mirantur et laudant, extollitur plerumque et assurgit elatus animus operantis; et dum in se et non in Domino gloriatur, lumen lampadis annullatur, et carens fomento congruo lampas, quae coram hominibus clare lucet, [1045C] coram Domino tenebratur. Prudentes vero virgines praeter oleum quod in lampadibus habent, oleum aliud in vasis reponunt: quia nimirum sanctae animae dum sponsi sui praestolantur adventum, dum toto desiderio ei clamant quotidie, *Adveniat regnum tuum [n: (Matth. VI, 10)]*, praeter illa opera quae proximis lucent ad Dei gloriam et videntur, aliqua in occulto, ubi solus Pater videt, opera faciunt; ut si forte illa, quae conspicua et clara sunt, flatus humanae laudis exstinxerit, oleum occultae conscientiae suffragetur. Haec est gloria filiae regis ab intus, dum plus de oleo quod in vasis conscientiae dilucescit, quam de eo quod lucet de foris, gloriatur; periisse aestimat omne quod cernitur, nec id dignum judicat remuneratione, quod favores hominum prosequuntur. [1045D] Latenter igitur quae praevalet, operatur, petit secretum, orationibus pulsat coelum, fundit lacrymas testes amoris, et cum dilecto illo suo, suspirio gemituque fabulatur. *712* Haec est gloria, sed ab intus, sed invisa, filiae regis et amicae. Hoc oleum fatuae virgines non habent; quia nisi ad nitorem vanae gloriae et favorem hominum bona non operantur. Hoc oleum, in quo prudentes confidunt, in abditis conscientiarum vasculis reponunt.

## 4.

*Moram autem faciente sponso, dormitaverunt omnes et dormierunt.* Dormiunt virgines bonae in Domino, et in Christi pectore dulce reclinatorium habentes, mane illud ultimum praestolantur. *Mane,* [1046A] inquit, *astabo tibi, et videbo [n: (Psal. V, 5)]*. O quam jucundo interim sopore sopiuntur, quarum caro in spe requiescit, et in spe spiritus hilarescit! [n: (Isa. LI.)] Libet inter haec meminisse, quod sanctus Germanus pontifex Antissiodorensis Romam petens, cum Aeduam devenisset, ad tumulum sancti Cassiani divertit; quem proprio vocans nomine: « Quid, inquit, agis, frater charissime? » Et ille de tumulo - « Dulciter, inquit, in pace requiesco, et adventum Redemptoris exspecto. » Ecce prudentium virginum somnus, quibus coelicus dicit Spiritus: *Ut requiescant a laboribus suis [n: (Apoc. XIV, 13)]*. Non autem hoc fatuis virginibus dicitur, nec talis interim sopor earum. Neque enim a laboribus requiescunt, quarum caro videt corruptionem, ut ingrediatur putredo [1046B] in ossibus earum, et subter eas scateat. Et hoc quidem caro. Anima vero sepulta in inferno quomodo dormit conturbata, quae in tormentis posita aret siti, nec sperat guttam refrigerii, et resurrectionis diem et adventum Judicis male sibi conscia perhorrescit?

## 5.

*Dormitaverunt* igitur *omnes et dormierunt. Media autem nocte clamor factus est: Ecce sponsus venit! exite obviam ei.* O clamorem prudentibus virginibus omni modulatione, omnibus modulis dulciorem! *Ecce sponsus venit!* Putas vox ista est Filii Dei, quam cum venerit beata illa hora, omnes qui in monumentis sunt audient, et qui audierint vivent? [n: (Joan. V, 25.)] Domine Jesu Christe, Fili Dei [1046C] vivi, da in illa hora auditui meo gaudium et laetitiam, et exsultabunt ossa humiliata. Non timeam tunc, quaeso, Domine, ab auditione mala, quam audituri sunt quibus dicturus es: *Ite, maledicti, in ignem aeternum [n: (Matth. XXV, 41)]*. Erit fortassis vox ista illius tubantis archangeli, in cujus voce et in novissima tuba Dominus descendet de coelo [n: (I Thess. IV, 15)]. Canet enim tuba, ad cujus clangorem, ut Hieronymi verbis utar, totus timebit mundus. Fragor igitur tubae illius, dum tubabit angelus, dum expergiscentur homines, tartara etiam tenebrosa concutiet. Audient miseri qui ibi sunt, qui illo tenentur ergastulo, audient tunc, qui nunc audiunt et facere nolunt: *Exite obviam ei.* Magnus quidem clamor: quoniam, ut Sibylla dicit quando tuba [1046D] sonitum tristem dimittet ab alto orbe et Dominus coelum advocabit desursum et terram, discernere volens populum suum ante se, et prudentes virgines ab infatuatis separare; advocabit coelum desursum, ut virtutes illae coelorum de suis sedibus moveantur, et omnes Angeli cum eo ad judicandum congregentur. Psalmista, *Advocabit coelum desursum [n: (Psal. XLIX, 4)]*; id est spiritus animasque justorum, quibus ante dictum fuerat ut requiescerent tempus adhuc modicum, donec impleretur numerus fratrum eorum [n: (Apoc. VI, 11)]. Tunc coelesti illa habitatione relicta, sanctae illae animae suis corporibus redditae, tanto tutius, quanto [1047A] incorruptius gaudebunt. Tunc in momento, in ictu oculi, juxta Ezechielem, in campo pleno ossibus, mortuorum ossa ad ossa, et nervi ad nervos, et juncturae ad juncturas denuo colligentur [n: (Ezech. XXXVII)]; quia surget corpus spirituale quod seminatum est animale [n: (I Cor. XV, 44)]: et resurgens a mortuis jam non moritur, mors illi ultra non dominabitur. Tunc in articulo, in diluculo diei illius, veniente sponso, clamor magnus omnes excitabit dormientes, et clamabit virtute magna et efficacissima: *Exite obviam ei.* Exite, dormientes, et in occursum Judicis festinate. Tunc plangent se omnes tribus terrae. *Tunc dicent montibus, Cadite super nos: et collibus, Operite nos [n: (Luc. XXIII, 30)]*. Exite de tumulis quos conscientiae memoria non accusat, et videte Judicem [1047B] bene sibi conscii et boni meriti gaudentes.

## 6.

Reprobos autem non tam voluntas quam potestas Judicis exhibebit, nec tam de monumentis exient quam trahentur. Merito dies illa, dies irae, dies calamitatis et miseriae, dies tenebrarum et caliginis praedicatur [n: (Sophon. I, 15)], in qua

*713* *Judicii signo, tellus sudore madescet:*
*Decidet e coelis ignisque et sulphuris amnis,*
*Tartareumque chaos monstrabit terra dehiscens*.

Ignis enim ante Dominum praecedet, et inflammabit in circuitu inimicos ejus [n: (Psal. XCVI, 3; Luc. XII, 49)], quos tunc instar Sodomitarum inveniet nudos et intectos. Sic enim resurgentes ignis et sulphuris imber inundans igniet et comburet. Erit tunc omnino miserabile visu, quod incorruptibile et incremabile [1047C] corpus ardebit, nec interibit: comburetur, nec minuetur. Capillus enim de capite non peribit; quia nil corporis, quod incorruptelam induerit, vel incidi poterit vel aduri. Aspice Salamandram super ignitas et ardentes prunas illaeso corpore gradientem. Porro asbestus lapis talis fertur esse naturae, ut semel accensus inexstinguibiliter ardeat, igne lapidi inhaerente, nec tamen consumente. Tali vero modo, ut opinor, ignis ille sulphureus inflammabit inimicos Domini. Justos vero, sicut Babylonios tres pueros, non tanget omnino [n: (Dan. III)], nec contristabit, nec molestiae quidquam inferet, cum reformabit Dominus corpus humilitatis nostrae, configuratum corpori claritatis suae. Rogo, quid inter haec [1047D] erit mentis peccatoribus, qui nunc laetantur cum malefecerint, et exsultant in rebus pessimis? [n: (Prov. II, 14.)] quid, inquam, animi tunc habebunt, ardentibus elementis, terra dehiscente, et hiatu terribili chaos demonstrante tartareum, consurgentibus mortuis, et Judice illo, cui Pater omne judicium dedit [n: (Joan. V, 22)], cum omnibus Angelis coelitus adveniente? Miserum me! dum haec cogito et scribo, cor timore palpitat, hument oculi, et tribularer nimium, si nescirem misericordias Domini.

## 7.

Verum ad propositum revertamur. *Tunc surrexerunt omnes virgines illae, et ornaverunt lampades suas,* id est conscientias, cogitationibus accusantibus, [1048A] aut etiam defendentibus: *Arguam te,* inquit, *et statuam te contra faciem tuam [n: (Psal. XLIX, 21)]*. Posuimus nos peccata nostra post dorsum nostrum dum hic viveremus, et tanquam de actibus nostris nulla esset ante tribunal Christi facienda discussio, per negligentiam peccata multa oblivioni tradidimus. Sed quid ait? *Statuam te contra faciem tuam;* id est totam vitam tuam, quidquid cogitatu actuque peccasti, ante tuae faciem mentis adducam: quae cum omnia simul videris, dicam: *Haec fecisti et tacui.* Sic fieri arbitror hora illa, tale judicium fieri, Veritate, quae Christus est, in cordibus singulorum judicante. Heu! quanta tunc in mentem venient, quae nunc vel nulla putantes, inconfessa atque impurgata relinquimus! Quod metuens pius ac prudens rex Ezechias: [1048B] *Recogitabo,* inquit, *omnes annos meos in amaritudine animae meae [n: (Isa. XXXVIII, 15)]*. *Recogitabo,* id est iterum cogitabo; ne aliquid forte oblitus sim, neque aliquid injudicatum et indiscussum remaneat.

## 8.

Ornant ergo lampades prudentes virgines oleo, quod in vasis reposuerant: sed fatuarum virginum lampades exstinguuntur, et quia tenebrarum opera fecerant, in tenebris remanserunt. *Date nobis,* inquiunt, de *oleo vestro.* Stulta petitio. Vix justus salvabitur [n: (I Petr. IV, 18)], et vix etiam sanctis justitiae suae oleum sufficit ad salutem: quanto minus et sibi, et proximis? Noe, Daniel, et Job, nec filium liberabunt: sed sicut anima quae peccaverit ipsa morietur, sic anima quae justitiam fecerit, sola salvabitur [1048C] [n: (Ezech. XVIII, 4, 20-30)]. *Responderunt prudentes dicentes: Ne forte non sufficiat nobis et vobis, ite potius ad vendentes, et emite vobis.* Tardatum est: jam enim nequaquam justitiae oleum venumdatur. Jam Prophetae et Apostoli, aliique doctores, qui hoc distrahere et habere venale solebant, a tali mercimonio quiescunt, nec jam ulterius dicunt: *Sumite psalmum, et date tympanum [n: (Psal. LXXX, 3)]*. Quid plura? *Quae paratae erant, intraverunt cum eo ad nuptias.* Virgines ad nuptias intrant, quas introducet Rex in cubiculum suum: quia earum speciem concupivit. Ibi de coelesti cella vinaria promitur et propinatur vinum novum, quod pariter bibet et monstrabit Filius hominis. [1048D]

## 9.

*Et clausa est janua.* Quae janua? Illa quae nunc patet venientibus ab Oriente et Occidente, ut recumbant cum Abraham, Isaac, et Jacob in regno coelorum: illa quae ait, *Eum qui venerit ad me, non ejiciam foras [n: (Joan. VI, 37)]*. Ecce quomodo patet nunc, quae tunc in aeternum claudetur. Veniunt homicidae, et admittuntur; veniunt publicani et meretrices, et recipiuntur; veniunt sodomitae, molles, adulteri, fures, et quicunque hujusmodi, et patens eis janua non negatur. Multus enim est ad ignoscendum, praestabilis super malitia qualicunque et quantacunque. Tunc autem quid dicit? *Clausa est janua.* Janua pietatis et misericordiae Christi, quae nunc lacrymis, [1049A] gemitibus, suspiriis et precibus poenitentium facile patet, clausa est. Nullius poenitentia, nullius oratio, nullius gemitus amplius admittetur. Clausa est illa janua, quae Aaron post idololatriam recepit, quae David post adulterium, post homicidium admisit, quae Petrum post trinam negationem non solum non [1050A] repulit, sed claves suas ei observandas tradidit. *Vigilate itaque, quia nescitis diem neque horam:* quia vigilantibus et orantibus, non dormientibus et pigritantibus regnum coelorum praestatur per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, cui est honor et gloria in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

english:
## [1043B] *The kingdom of heaven is like unto ten virgins,* etc. [n: (Matth. XXV, 1-13.)]

## 1.

The bridegroom is Christ, at whose voice he who is the friend stands and listens, and rejoices with joy because of the bridegroom's voice. To him the Apostle betrothed us, who says: *I have betrothed you to one husband, to present you a chaste virgin to Christ [n: (II Cor. XI, 2)]*. But I fear that he may not be able to do what he pledged — that is, to present our soul to Christ a virgin, and a chaste virgin. He adds "chaste," because there are certain virgins in body who are unvirgined by fornicating thought, and defile the sweet-smelling flower of virginity by the shame of lustful affection. And these indeed are signified by the five foolish virgins, whom the affection of an intention that is not upright makes foolish. Christ is a virgin, and the son of a Virgin, [1043C] and he wishes to have a virgin for his consort. If you have the grace of angels — more, I say to you, the grace of Christ and of his mother — be glad, dance for joy, and, hastening eagerly into the embraces of Christ, cry out sighing that word of love: *Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth [n: (Cantic. I, 1)]*. You are, then, the bride of Jesus Christ; but attend diligently to this name of yours. The grammarians derive the name of bride or bridegroom (*sponsa, sponsus*) from *spondere,* to pledge. And they are called bridegroom and bride because they pledge themselves each to the other, so that neither he nor she may wed another. Further, between the day of this betrothal and the wedding there is sometimes set a short space, sometimes a long one; and yet the day on which they are to come together is fixed and named: which indeed has been wisely and usefully established, so that in the meantime mutual love may be increased and [1043D] grow, and the impatient longing for the desired union may take fire the more it is put off; and because, according to Sallust, for a longing mind nothing is hastened enough, they may desire the day of the appointed nuptials to come more quickly. So Jacob sweats with labor seven years for Rachel from the day of the betrothal: he lies under the open sky, he is chilled with frost, he is burned by the sun; nor does so vehement a lover give way before the injury of so great and so long a labor [n: (Gen. XXIX, 18-28)]. But to what end these things? That you too, if you are already the bride of Christ, may burn with love, seethe with desire, pant with sighs, while the day of the longed-for union delays. A certain man says, [1044B] « Let every lover be pale; » so that pallor and thinness are the surest signs of love. What have you to do with richer banquets? what have you to do with *711* wine? This is not for monks. Let the citizens of Babylon feast splendidly. If the bridegroom sees you wasting away for love of him, growing pale, growing hot with impatient desire, he will hasten the day of union, he will offer kisses, he will join embraces. O glad day of the nuptials! O bride happy in such a wedlock! Take his kisses, O blessed bride, join his embraces, sing: Behold, what I longed for I now see; what I loved I now hold: I am joined in heaven to him whom, set on earth, I loved with all devotion [n: ( In Officio S. Agnetis )].

## 2.

*The kingdom of heaven is like unto ten virgins* whom the King of heaven, if they meet him with shining lamps, [1044C] will bring into that heavenly bridal chamber, within the refuge of his chamber. But what shall we do, since five are foolish and five prudent? I think, however, that they are even more, and that the multitude of the foolish far exceeds the number of the prudent: yet all of them, *taking their lamps, went forth to meet the bridegroom and the bride. They went forth.* Whence did they go forth? Plainly from their substance and from worldly manner of life, according to that word: *Depart, go out from thence, and touch not the unclean thing [n: (Isa. LII, 11)]*. Abraham too hears: *Go forth out of thy land, and out of thy kindred, and out of thy father's house [n: (Gen. XII, 1)]*. Lot also is commanded to go out of Sodom, and forbidden to look back, lest he be wrapped together with the Sodomites in the burning fires. But what did he say to the angel? *There is a city here nearby, to which I can flee, [1044D] a little one, and I shall be saved in it [n: (Gen. XIX, 20)]*. Is it not a small thing, and my soul shall live? The city small and nearby — that is, not far from the world — in which Lot is saved while Sodom burns, is the monastery. Is it not small in comparison with that other city which, filling the breadth of the world, exceedingly populous and malicious, blazes with the fire of greed and lust? We go out from there and flee to the little city which is nearby, leaving Sodom burning with her citizens. *I shall be saved,* he says, *in it.* Plainly we shall be saved in that little city, if we have not looked back, if the falling embers of flaming [1045A] Sodom, which justly burns nearby, have not seized us, have not set us afire. Out of this Sodom the virgins went forth to meet the bridegroom and the bride: for far from virgins is the flame of the Sodomites.

## 3.

And they went forth with lamps, having their loins girded, and burning lanterns in their hands; so that both the girdle of chastity may be drawn tight upon the body, and, for the profit of the neighbor and the glory of the Father, the light of example may shine out in work. So Gideon, hiding his lamps in little jars, but showing them when the jars were broken at the hour of battle, terrified the enemy with the sudden light and turned them to flight [n: (Judic. VII)]. For the princes of darkness are terrified at the sight of the light of good works, because darkness cannot stand before light. For *the prudent* [1045B] *virgins took oil in their vessels with their lamps.* See the prudence of these virgins. They knew that the night would be long: and not knowing at what hour of the night the bridegroom would come, they were not content with the oil of the lamps, but took oil in vessels also; so that if perchance what was in the lamps should be brought to nothing and fail, they might fill the lamps from what they had laid by in the vessels for the keeping of the light. The oil in the lamp is a good work made manifest; but while the brightness of the work is seen by neighbors, while they marvel and praise, the mind of the worker is very often lifted up and rises in pride; and while he glories in himself and not in the Lord, the light of the lamp is annulled, and the lamp, lacking its proper nourishment, which shines brightly before men, [1045C] is darkened before the Lord. But the prudent virgins, besides the oil which they have in their lamps, lay by other oil in vessels: because indeed holy souls, while they await the coming of their bridegroom, while with all longing they cry to him daily, *Thy kingdom come [n: (Matth. VI, 10)]*, besides those works which shine before their neighbors to the glory of God and are seen, do certain works in secret, where the Father alone sees; so that if perchance the breath of human praise has quenched those which are conspicuous and bright, the oil of a hidden conscience may come to their aid. This is the glory of the king's daughter from within, when she glories more in the oil that shines out in the vessels of conscience than in that which shines outwardly; she reckons that all which is seen has perished, and does not judge that worthy of reward which the favors of men attend upon. [1045D] Therefore she works in hiding as much as she is able, she seeks the secret place, she knocks at heaven with prayers, she pours out tears, the witnesses of love, and converses with that beloved of hers by sigh and groan. *712* This is the glory of the king's daughter and friend — but from within, but unseen. This oil the foolish virgins do not have, because they do not do good works except for the gloss of vainglory and the favor of men. This oil, in which the prudent trust, they lay by in the hidden little vessels of their consciences.

## 4.

*And while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.* The good virgins sleep in the Lord, and, having a sweet resting-place on the breast of Christ, they await that final morning. *In the morning,* [1046A] he says, *I shall stand before thee, and shall see [n: (Psal. V, 5)]*. O with how pleasant a slumber are they in the meantime lulled, whose flesh rests in hope, and whose spirit is glad in hope! [n: (Isa. LI.)] It is pleasant here to recall that holy Germanus, bishop of Auxerre, on his way to Rome, when he had come to Autun, turned aside to the tomb of holy Cassian; and calling him by his own name, said: « How is it with thee, dearest brother? » And he from the tomb: « Sweetly, he said, do I rest in peace, and await the coming of the Redeemer. » Behold the sleep of the prudent virgins, to whom the heavenly Spirit says: *That they may rest from their labors [n: (Apoc. XIV, 13)]*. But this is not said to the foolish virgins, nor is such their slumber in the meantime. For they do not rest from their labors, whose flesh sees corruption, so that rottenness enters [1046B] into their bones and swarms beneath them. And this indeed the flesh. But the soul, buried in hell, how does it sleep — troubled, set in torments, parched with thirst, hoping for no drop of refreshment, and shuddering with an evil conscience at the day of resurrection and the coming of the Judge?

## 5.

*They* therefore *all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made: Behold, the bridegroom cometh! go ye forth to meet him.* O cry sweeter to the prudent virgins than every melody, than all measures of music! *Behold, the bridegroom cometh!* Do you suppose this is the voice of the Son of God, which, when that blessed hour has come, all who are in the tombs shall hear, and they who have heard shall live? [n: (Joan. V, 25.)] Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, [1046C] grant in that hour joy and gladness to my hearing, and the bones that have been humbled shall exult. Let me not fear then, I beseech thee, Lord, at the evil hearing which they shall hear to whom thou art to say: *Go, ye cursed, into everlasting fire [n: (Matth. XXV, 41)]*. Perhaps this will be the voice of that trumpeting archangel, at whose voice and at the last trumpet the Lord shall come down from heaven [n: (I Thess. IV, 15)]. For the trumpet shall sound, at whose blast — to use Jerome's words — the whole world shall fear. The crash of that trumpet, then, while the angel trumpets, while men are waking, shall shake even the shadowy nether regions. The wretched who are there shall hear, who are held in that prison-house; then they shall hear who now hear and refuse to do: *Go ye forth to meet him.* A great cry indeed: since, as the Sibyl says, when the trumpet [1046D] sends forth its sad sound from the height of the world, and the Lord shall call heaven from above and the earth, wishing to sift his people before him, and to separate the prudent virgins from the foolish; he shall call heaven from above, so that those powers of the heavens may be moved from their seats, and all the Angels may be gathered with him for the judging. The Psalmist: *He shall call heaven from above [n: (Psal. XLIX, 4)]*; that is, the spirits and souls of the just, to whom it had before been said that they should rest yet a little time, until the number of their brethren should be fulfilled [n: (Apoc. VI, 11)]. Then, that heavenly dwelling being left behind, those holy souls, restored to their own bodies, shall rejoice the more safely as they are the more [1047A] incorrupt. Then in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, according to Ezekiel, in a field full of bones, the bones of the dead shall be gathered again, bone to bone, and sinews to sinews, and joints to joints [n: (Ezech. XXXVII)]; because there shall rise a spiritual body which was sown a natural one [n: (I Cor. XV, 44)]: and rising from the dead it dies no more, death shall no longer have dominion over it. Then at that moment, in the dawning of that day, when the bridegroom comes, a great cry shall rouse all who sleep, and it shall cry with great and most effectual power: *Go ye forth to meet him.* Go forth, you who sleep, and hasten to meet the Judge. Then shall all the tribes of the earth bewail themselves. *Then shall they say to the mountains, Fall upon us; and to the hills, Cover us [n: (Luc. XXIII, 30)]*. Go forth from your tombs, you whom the memory of conscience does not accuse, and behold the Judge, [1047B] rejoicing with a good conscience and good desert.

## 6.

But the reprobate the Judge's power rather than their own will shall bring forth, nor shall they so much go out of the tombs as be dragged out. Deservedly is that day proclaimed a day of wrath, a day of calamity and misery, a day of darkness and gloom [n: (Sophon. I, 15)], on which

*713* *At the sign of judgment, the earth shall grow wet with sweat:*
*There shall fall from the heavens a river of fire and of brimstone,*
*And the earth, gaping open, shall show the chaos of Tartarus*.

For fire shall go before the Lord, and shall set his enemies ablaze round about [n: (Psal. XCVI, 3; Luc. XII, 49)], whom it shall then find, like the Sodomites, naked and uncovered. For so shall the flooding shower of fire and brimstone set them alight as they rise and burn them up. It will then be altogether pitiable to see that the incorruptible and unburnable [1047C] body shall burn and not perish: it shall be burned up and not diminished. For a hair from the head shall not perish; because nothing of a body which has put on incorruption can either be cut or be scorched. Look at the salamander walking with unharmed body over fiery and burning coals. Further, the stone asbestos is reported to be of such a nature that, once kindled, it burns unquenchably, the fire clinging to the stone and yet not consuming it. In such a way, I think, will that sulphurous fire set the Lord's enemies ablaze. But the just, like the three Babylonian youths, it shall not touch at all [n: (Dan. III)], nor sadden, nor bring any trouble upon, when the Lord shall refashion the body of our lowliness, conformed to the body of his brightness. I ask, amid these things what [1047D] will be the mind of sinners, who now are glad when they have done evil and exult in the worst of things? [n: (Prov. II, 14.)] what spirit, I say, shall they then have, with the elements burning, the earth gaping open, and with its terrible chasm showing the chaos of Tartarus, the dead rising up, and that Judge, to whom the Father has given all judgment [n: (Joan. V, 22)], coming from heaven with all the Angels? Wretched me! while I think and write these things, my heart throbs with fear, my eyes grow wet, and I would be troubled beyond measure, did I not know the mercies of the Lord.

## 7.

But let us return to the matter proposed. *Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps,* that is, their consciences, with thoughts accusing [1048A] or even defending: *I will reprove thee,* he says, *and set thee before thy own face [n: (Psal. XLIX, 21)]*. We have put our sins behind our back while we lived here, and — as though no examination of our acts were to be made before the tribunal of Christ — through negligence we have handed over many sins to forgetfulness. But what does he say? *I will set thee before thy own face;* that is, thy whole life, whatever thou hast sinned in thought and in deed, I will bring before the face of thy mind: and when thou hast seen all these things at once, I will say: *These things hast thou done, and I kept silence.* So I judge it will be in that hour, such a judgment will be made, with Truth, which is Christ, judging in the hearts of each. Alas! how many things shall then come into mind which now, thinking them nothing, we leave unconfessed and unpurged! Fearing which, the devout and prudent king Hezekiah said: [1048B] *I will think over again all my years in the bitterness of my soul [n: (Isa. XXXVIII, 15)]*. *I will think over again* — that is, I will think a second time; lest perchance I have forgotten something, and lest anything remain unjudged and unexamined.

## 8.

The prudent virgins, therefore, trim their lamps with the oil which they had laid by in vessels; but the lamps of the foolish virgins are put out, and because they had done the works of darkness, they remained in darkness. *Give us,* they say, of *your oil.* A foolish request. The just man shall scarcely be saved [n: (I Petr. IV, 18)], and scarcely does the oil of their own righteousness suffice even for the saints unto salvation: how much less for themselves and for their neighbors too? Noah, Daniel, and Job shall not free even a son: but as the soul that has sinned shall itself die, so the soul that has done righteousness shall be saved alone [1048C] [n: (Ezech. XVIII, 4, 20-30)]. *The prudent answered, saying: Lest perhaps there be not enough for us and for you, go rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.* It is too late: for now the oil of righteousness is by no means for sale. Now the Prophets and Apostles, and the other teachers, who used to deal in this and to have it for sale, have ceased from such merchandise, nor do they any longer say: *Take up a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel [n: (Psal. LXXX, 3)]*. What more? *They that were ready went in with him to the marriage.* The virgins go in to the marriage, whom the King shall bring into his chamber: because he has desired their beauty. There from the heavenly wine-cellar the new wine is drawn and poured out, which the Son of man shall both drink and display. [1048D]

## 9.

*And the door was shut.* What door? That which now stands open to those coming from the East and the West, that they may recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven: that door which says, *Him that cometh to me I will not cast out [n: (Joan. VI, 37)]*. Behold how it now stands open, which shall then be shut forever. Murderers come, and are let in; publicans and harlots come, and are received; sodomites come, the soft, adulterers, thieves, and whoever are of this kind, and the open door is not refused them. For he is abundant in pardoning, mighty over malice of whatever kind and however great. But then what does he say? *The door was shut.* The door of Christ's mercy and compassion, which now stands easily open to the tears, [1049A] groans, sighs, and prayers of the penitent, is shut. No one's penitence, no one's prayer, no one's groaning shall be admitted any more. That door is shut which received Aaron after his idolatry, which let David in after adultery, after murder, which not only did not [1050A] repel Peter after his threefold denial, but handed over its own keys to him to keep. *Watch ye therefore, because ye know not the day nor the hour:* because to those who watch and pray, not to those who sleep and are slothful, the kingdom of heaven is granted through our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

license_source: Public Domain Mark 1.0

license_translation: CC BY-NC 4.0

license_apparatus: CC BY-NC 4.0