site: migne

title: De gemino paschate

author: Richard of Saint Victor

languages: en la

source_edition: Migne, Patrologia Latina, vol. 196, coll. 1059A–1074B

source_text:
## SERMO IN RAMIS PALMARUM.

[1059A]

Geminum pascha colimus, geminum sane celebrare debemus. Primum est illud, quod vulgo solet floridum dici, de quo et modo compellimur aliqua pro tempore loqui. Sed quem, quaeso, [1059B] de tali tempore loqui non oblectet? quem ejus amoenitas in sui laudem non excitet, vel ad amorem inflammet? O tempus amoenum, tempus acceptum, tempus floridum! Tempus amoenum, quod florum multiplici varietate distinguitur; tempus acceptum, quod grato circumquaque odore respergitur. Cui, quaeso, gratum vel acceptum non sit, cum jam veraciter dici possit: *Jam enim hiems transiit, imber abiit et recessit: flores apparuerunt: Vinae florentes odorem dederunt? [n: (Cant. II.)]* Cui non libeat in ejus laude illud apostolicum exclamare: *Ecce nunc tempus acceptabile, ecce nunc dies salutis? [n: (II Cor. VI.)]* Acceptabile utique tempus, quod floribus ornatur; nec minus salubre de quo et fructus speratur. Absque omni ambiguitate si non [1059C] praecedat floridum tempus, frustra, et spe vana fructus exspectamus. Praecedat ergo pascha florigerum, ut subsequatur pascha fructiferum. Hoc geminum pascha debemus sane festivum ducere, et cum omni celebritate suscipere. Vis nosse apertius quid sit quod dicere velimus? Nosti, ut arbitror, quia pascha *transitus* interpretatur, et a transitu Domini pascha nominatur. Quid ergo dicimus pascha floridum, nisi transitum honestum et gratum? Quid autem pascha fructiferum, nisi transitum jucundum et omni gaudio plenum? Accipe ergo geminum transitum utrumque gratum, utrumque honestum. Primum est ut transeamus de malitia ad justitiam, secundum est ut transeamus de miseria ad gloriam. Fratres, quid ad haec dicimus, vel quales esse putamus hujusmodi [1059D] transitus? Quale, quaeso, erit transire de iniquitate ad bonitatem, transire de calamitate ad beatitudinem? Primus transitus ad pascha primum, secundus pertinet ad pascha secundum. Videtis, obsecro, quam libenter et gratanter debeamus hujusmodi tempus festivum ducere, et solemniter celebrare. Et quidem pascha illud secundum, omnes in commune diligimus et pariter affectamus. Sed nunquid primum illud eadem devotione suscipitur, vel pari studio celebratur? Utinam omnes tam studerent esse boni quam affectant esse beati, vere tunc futuri tam beati quam boni! Utinam tam affectarent omnes justorum primordia, quam optant extrema! *Moriatur,* ait Balaam, *anima mea morte justorum, et fiant novissima mea horum similia (Num. [1060A] XXIII)*, sed qui volunt habere justorum novissimis similia, studeant habere eadem primordia. Floreant interim per justitiam et fructum capient ex ea, vitam aeternam. De vita justa, vita aeterna; de vita bona, vita beata; de tali flore, fructus talis; de vita perfecta, [1060B] vita perennis. Omnis arbor ex fructu suo cognoscitur. Non est arbor mala, quae facit fructus bonos. Si arbor bona, et fructus ejus boni, et flores ejus grati. Sed semper necesse est flores praecedere ut fructus sequantur, alioquin sine praecedentibus floribus frustra sperantur. Praecedat ergo pascha floridum, ut sequatur pascha fructiferum; transeamus interim de inhonestate ad honestatem, ut postmodum transeamus de infelicitate ad felicitatem. Si adhuc mali sumus, transeamus de malo ad bonum; si boni, transeamus de bono in melius, et per melius in optimum et fecimus pascha floridum.

Cur, quaeso, homines in hoc pascha florido conveniunt, nisi ut processionem pro more faciant! Nonne ipsum procedere est transire et pascha facere? [1060C] Et ipsum quidem pascha tunc floridum facimus si ordinate et ad honestiora transimus, et processionem quidem pulchram facimus si in bono proficimus. Quam pulchram, quam speciosam putamus processionem ire de virtute in virtutem, qui retro sunt oblivisci et in anteriora extendi? O quales flores, verae virtutes! Sternamus itaque viam nostram floribus talibus, et per florida virtutum transeamus, munde et honeste procedamus, ut processionem nostram pulchram et gratam faciamus et pascha floridum digna celebritate perficiamus. O quam mundum, quam jucundum erit per flores ire et per virtutum amoena transire, per crocum charitatis, per lilium castitatis, per passionis rosam et humilitatis violam! O quam laudabile, o quam amabile gratum odorem undique [1060D] spargere, et opinionis suae fragrantiam circumquaque diffundere, et ad jucundum processionis suae spectaculum undique accurentium animos attrahere et ad probitatis suae exemplum intuentium animos provocare! Haec itaque est processio prima, et pertinet ad pascha primum: nam est et alia, et ipsa pertinet ad pascha secundum. Processio prima, promotio ad perfectionem bonitatis; processio secunda, promotio ad plenitudinem beatitudinis. Geminam processionem Christus fecit, geminam sane facere nos voluit: *Exivi,* inquit, *a Patre, et veni in mundum; iterum relinquo mundum, et vado ad Patrem [n: (Joan. XVI)]*. A summo coelo egressio ejus, haec est processio prima; et occursus ejus usque ad summum ejus, haec est processio [1061A] secunda. Primo descendit, postea ascendit. Prima processio est humiliationis, secunda est exaltationis. Si vere Christiani sumus Christum imitari debemus. Qui enim se dicit in Christo manere, debet sicut Christus ambulavit et ipse ambulare. Primo humiliemur cum Christo ut postmodum exaltemur cum Christo. Humiliamini interim sub potenti manu Dei, ut vos exaltet in die judicii, in tempore adventus Domini nostri Jesu Christi. Sequamur itaque Christum interim qua ivit in terris, ut tandem sequi mereamur qua ivit in coelis: *Oculi sapientiae in capite ejus [n: (Eccle. II)]*. Si sapiens es, qui Christum caput habes, ad ipsum respicere debes. Itineris ejus vestigia attende et virtute qua potes sequi contende. Vide ergo quomodo processit, vel qua te via praecessit [1061B] certe paschalis ista hodiernae festivitatis processio, quae generaliter sit ex operum ejus recordatione, vel imitatione processit. Attende ergo quam ejus processionem tibi evangelista describat, vel quam tibi imitandam proponat. Videamus ergo unde incoepit, videamus quo perrexit, videamus qua transiit, videamus quomodo processit: hoc est quod dicere volo, quod te attendere moneo: unde, et quo, qua et quomodo processionem suam Christus fecerit. Unde incoepit? A Bethania [n: (Joan. XII; Matth. XXI; Marc. XI; Luc. XIX)]. Quo tendit? In Jerusalem. Qua transiit? Per montem Oliveti. Quomodo venit? In asino. A Bethania itaque iter suum incoepit, et in Jerusalem perrexit, in asino sedens et per Olivetum transiens, haec est processio Christi, quam imitari [1061C] debent Christiani. Ecce quo ordine, ecce quali itinere, in Jerusalem ire debemus; ecce ad quem finem in omni eo quod agimus tendere debemus. Servate, fratres, unitatem fidei in vinculo pacis, et in Jerusalem estis, et qualem Christus docuit processionem consummastis. Nam Jerusalem, ut nostis, interpretatur *visio pacis.* Ecce, fratres, quid est ad quod hortari vos volumus, ut pacem quaeramus, pacem apprehendamus, pacem custodiamus. Declina a malo et fac bonum, et qualem processionem Christianum decet inchoasti; inquire pacem, et persequere eam, et ad Jerusalem venisti, et processionem consummasti. Denique quintum in nobis est, habeamus pacem cum omnibus, et in Jerusalem [1061D] sumus, habemus sane alios superiores, alios inferiores, alios autem pares. Habeamus ergo pacem cum superioribus, pacem cum inferioribus, pacem cum paribus, et habemus pacem cum omnibus, et usque ad Jerusalem pervenimus. Primum utique et pernecessarium per omnem modum, ne perturbemus pacem praelatorum nostrorum quibus a Domino est dictum: *Qui vos audit me audit, et qui vos spernit me spernit [n: (Luc. X)]*. Parati simus omni hora ad omnem obedientiam, et absque dubio habemus cum praelatis nostris pacem plenam. In quo, quaeso, erga nos perturbari possunt, si nolumus omne quod nolunt, et volumus omne quod volunt? Si ergo volumus ad Hierusalem tendere, et pacem veram obtinere, oportet ab obedientia incipere, et [1062A] iter pacis a Bethania inchoare. Nam Bethania interpretatur *domus obedientiae.*

Sed nec illud hic praetereundum puto quod tamen breviter admonere volo, quod alii nobis sunt superiores potestate, alii autem dignitate, illi officio, isti merito. Illi praesunt quibusdam gradibus honoris et potestatis, isti praecellunt quibusdam proventibus sapientiae, et sanctitatis; illos perfecit electio humana, istos extulit ordinatio divina. Cogita ergo quale sit, illos vereri quos praetulit humana institutio, et hos nolle venerari quos singulariter magnificavit divina dispositio. Si debito honore venerandi sunt qui ad tempus nobis praesunt, quanto honore digni sunt qui merito sanctitatis in sempiternum nos aeterna exaltatione praecellunt? Hinc est quod [1062B] boni praelati hujusmodi subjectos cum magno honore venerantur, quibus tamen quibusdam, ut dictum est, praelationum gradibus principantur. Primo igitur et praecipue satagendum est, ut habeamus pacem cum omnibus nobis superioribus, sed nec hoc sufficere debet, nisi studeamus servare vinculum pacis, etiam cum inferioribus et infirmioribus. Superiores delinire debemus obsequendo et obediendo, inferiores infirmitati eorum compatiendo et subveniendo. Superioribus obedientia exhibenda, inferioribus misericordia impendenda. Ergo a Bethania iter inchoandum, sed per Olivetum transeundum. Nam et ὄλεον apud Graecos *misericordiam* sonat, et ipsum oleum opera pietatis designat. Per montem itaque Oliveti transimus, cum infirmioribus quibuscunque [1062C] pietatis operam impendimus, cum eorum infirmitati compatimur potius quam irascimur vel indignamur. Certe vides quantum hoc valeat ad infirmorum pacem obtinendam, et ad animi tui tranquillitatem possidendam. Qui enim turbatur et indignatur ad omnem offensam quam videt, quando, quaeso, pacem inveniet? quando, obsecro, veram animi tranquillitatem obtinebit, vel saltem obtinendam sperabit? Semper in infirmioribus inveniet quod jure reprehendat, quod misericorditer tolerari debeat. Alioquin infirmi non essent qui infirmitatis nihil haberent. Profectus itaque nostri promotio vel processio per montem Oliveti fiat, et pietas nostra in immensum excrescat, ut magnitudinis jure juste [1062D] mons dici queat, ut discamus infirmorum non tantum minima, sed etiam maxima cum animi tranquillitate tolerare, et proximorum infirmitatem non solum corporalem sed etiam spiritalem patienter et cum pietate sustinere. Profecto si haec agimus, jam Hierusalem appropinquamus, et pacis plenitudinem eo vicinius attingimus, quo obedientiae et misericordiae perfectionem altius apprehendimus.

## SERMO IN RAMIS PALMARUM. (cont.)

Puto quia jam opus erit asinum quaerere, et inter ejusmodi virtutum insignia humilitatis sibi praesidium vindicare; sic et Christus Jesus cum appropinquarent Hierosolymis asinum sibi adduci fecit, et super ipsum sedit. Scimus autem omnes asinum esse animal sordidum et vile, mansuetissimum sane, [1063A] sed pene prae caeteris omnibus contemptibile: humilitatis itaque, ut arbitror, formam gerit, per quam animus sibi ipse vilescit, et in contemptum venit. Et quidem sine hujusmodi animali poterit forte processio nostra fore spectabilis, non tamen absque dubio sine eo erit, vel esse poterit usque adeo admirabilis. Quis, obsecro, non digne miretur choris praecedentium et hinc inde psallentium asinum interesse, et inter tam gloriosos, solemnesque apparatus tam sordidum animal apparere? Certe quantum ad me attinet in meis quidem oculis mirabilius apparet, hominem pontificalibus indutum in asino sedere, et inter ejusmodi insignia tale subsellium non erubescere, quam illud cunctis pene dulce lignum in manibus portare quam mitram in capite, [1063B] vel pallium in humeris gestare. Nec novum sane, nec mirum de virtutibus gloriari, sed illud magnum atque mirandum inter summa quaeque ornamenta virtutum asinum non dedignari, humilitatis bono firmiter inhaerere, unum eumdemque hominem aliis omnibus mirabilem soli sibi contemptibilem apparere. Hoc ordine sane processionem nostram mirabilem facimus, si inter obedientiae et misericordiae fastigia humilitatis modestiam non deserimus; hac sane arte poterimus pares nostros nobis conciliare, si summa cum diligentia studeamus semper novissimum locum tenere, illos nobis venerationis officio, et honoris loco sine simulatione praeferre, imo et praeferendos esse veraciter credere, et sibi persuadere, [1063C] et aliis persuaderi velle. Vides certe quia in hoc negotio opus habemus, quod pene nobis excidit, ex asina, et ejus pullo. Duo sunt, humilitas et humiliatio: humilitas in asina, humiliatio designatur in pullo. Pullus ex asina nascitur, et ex humilitate humiliatio vera oritur; humilitas interius, humiliatio exterius; humilitas in corde, humiliatio in actione, humilitas pertinet ad affectum, humiliatio autem ad actum. Sola autem humiliatio illa necesse est vera sit, quae ex humilitate descendit. Qui infirmitatem suam veraciter agnoscit, et in oculis suis sibi ipse vilescit jam asinam in suam quasi praesentiam adduxit. Sed si non oculis hominum se humiliare vel contemptibile apparere erubescit, matrem quidem praesentem habet, sed usque adhuc pulli [1063D] praesentia caruit. Si te exterius humilias, sed magnum aliquid de te existimas, pullum habes, sed matrem non habes. Adducamus itaque asinam et pullum cum ea, ut veraciter humiles sumus in mente, et veram humiliationem exhibeamus in actione. Alioquin si te ficte humilias, et fraudulenter incedis, eum, secundum prophetae sententiam: *Compulsus fueris transire flumina, discooperire crura, absque dubio turpitudo tua revelabitur [n: (Isa. XLVII)]*, eo quod nihil opertum sit quod non reveletur.

Studeamus ergo veraciter humiles esse, et veraciter humiles apparere, et hoc ordine, ut arbitror, poterimus pares nostros nobis conciliare. Constat namque quia inter pares maxime nasci solet invidia, et ex invidia discordia? Sed si in asino, ut dictum [1064A] est, sedemus, et infimum inter eos, et vilem quemdam, et abjectum locum tenemus, invidiae fomitem amputamus. Absque dubio vera humiliatio non solummodo pacem inter pares reformat, sed etiam cum superioribus et cum inferioribus confirmat. Vide ergo quale sit tale subsellium quaerere, et si opus fuerit etiam de longinquo adducere. Aliis namque facile assumitur de proximo, aliis autem adduci opportet de longinquo. Qui enim adhuc enormiter vivunt, et erubescenda committunt, satis ad manum inveniunt unde erubescant, et humiliare se debeant. Qualis fuit publicanus ille qui erubescebat vel oculos suos in coelum levare non audebat. Sed qui in vita sua nil erubescendum inveniunt, quales esse credo qui de Bethania veniunt et per [1064B] Olivetum transeunt qui pascha floridum faciunt, et viam suam virtutum floribus sternunt, necesse habent, ut arbitror, asinum de longinquo adducere, et humilationis suae materiam vel de pristinae vitae lapsu vel de futurae vitae statu assumere. Sic et Paulus eo quod ad manum non haberet unde sibi de proximo asinum assumeret, quoniam sibi nihil conscius esset, ad antiquae conversationis viam considerationis suae exploratores misit et inde sibi humiliandi materiam ascivit. Audi unde sibi asinum adducat, vel quam humilem sibi dejectionis locum eligat, cum dicat: *Ego minimus apostolorum, qui non sum dignus vocari apostolus, quoniam persecutus sum Ecclesiam Dei [n: (I Cor. XV)]*; sed quid ille facturus [1064C] est qui cum beato Job dicere potest: *Neque enim reprehendit me cor meum in omni vita mea (Job XXVII)*, profecto qui ejusmodi est, non habet unde asinum adducat de his quae jam post tergum reliquit, quia unde sibi vilescat de praeterita conversatione non invenit. Sed ecce habet quid faciat, ante faciem suam mittat modum summae perfectionis quam nondum apprehendit ad quam attendat. Attendat autem quae sit illa perfectio angelicae puritatis, quae illa consummatio angelicae integritatis, et absque dubio in castello quod contra se est imperfectionis suae modum ex comparatione colligere potest. Consideret quae sit illa futurae vitae puritas, vel qualis ejus integritas, quam sit pura ab omni malo, quam sit integra in omni bono, pura ab omni corruptione, [1064D] integra ab omni imperfectione, et puto quia in hoc gemino ministerio asinum sibi adducere valeat, et invenire unde se veraciter humiliare debeat. Profecto tutum non erit sine hujusmodi humili subsellio pueris Hebraeorum occurrere, ac clamantibus illis undique: Euge, euge, eo quod pueri sint, et idcirco discernere non possunt, quos, quando, vel quomodo debeant laudare. Tale, ut arbitror, subsellium voluit nos Apostolus quaerere, cum admoneret nos de nobis non alta sapere: *Non alta,* inquit, *sapientes, sed humilibus consentientes [n: (Rom. XII)]*. Hic est processionis modus quem Christus tenuit, quem utique et nos tenere voluit. Vultis apertius noscere, quia a Bethania venit, et quia in omni, quod egit obedientiam tenuit: *Non veni,* inquit, [1065A] *facere voluntatem meam, sed voluntatem ejus qui misit me Patris [n: (Joan. VI)]*. Et Apostolus protestatur: *Quod factus sit obediens usque ad mortem, mortem autem crucis [n: (Philipp. II)]*. Utique et per montem Oliveti transiit, et ex morte sua quam pro nobis sustinuit, quantum nos diligeret ostendit. Majorem enim charitatem nemo habet, quam ut animam suam ponat quis pro amicis suis. Vultis scire quomodo in asino sedit, vel quam humilis venit, cum in forma Dei esset, non rapinam arbitratus est esse se aequalem Deo, sed semetipsum exinanivit formam servi accipiens, in similitudinem hominum factus, et habitu inventus ut homo. Sed quod per omnem ejusmodi viam in Hierusalem tendat, quis ignorat nisi forte quem latere valeat, quod ipse sit [1065B] pax nostra, quae fecit utraque unum, medium parietem maceriae solvens inimicitias in carne sua lege mandatorum decretis evacuans. Ecce quomodo Christus transiit, ecce qualibus floribus viam suam stravit ut pascha floridum faceret et per virtutum amoena transiret. Ecce qualis fuit Christi processio. Ecce unde, et quo, ecce qua, et quomodo, quod superius proposuisse me recolo. Ex obedientia per pietatem, cum humilitate ad pacem. Nescio si compendiosius recapitulari potuit quod superius prolixior oratio copiosius digessit. Memento, et tu talibus floribus viam tuam sternere, si cupis pascha floridum celebrare. Boni flores obedientia et misericordia, boni flores humilitas et pax. Ecce, inquis, [1065C] de floribus, et ubi sunt fructus. Vultis in Christo nosse qui sint fructus servatae obedientiae, vel impensae misericordiae quod factus est pro nobis obediens Patri usque ad mortem. Recole illud Apostoli: *Quod Christus resurgens ex mortuis jam non moritur, mors illi ultra non dominabitur; quod enim vivit, vivit Deo [n: (Rom. VI)]*. Accipe et illud quis sit fructus quaesitae pacis, vel susceptae humilitatis. *Propter quod,* inquit, *et Deus exaltavit illum, et dedit illi nomen quod est super omne nomen, ut in nomine Jesu omne genu flectatur coelestium, terrestrium et infernorum [n: (Philipp. II)]*. Ecce qualis transitus, ecce quam fructuosus. De morte ad vitam de tribulatione ad gloriam; ecce pascha secundum, ecce pascha fructiferum: o qualis fructus vita et gloria! O fructus [1065D] dulcis, o fructus sublimis, sempiterna vita cum summa gloria, et gloria summa cum vita sempiterna. Sed hos fructus Christus noluit comedere solus, quinimo dispersit dedit pauperibus. Et jam: *Sicut in Adam omnes moriuntur, ita et in Christo omnes vivificabuntur. Unus quisque autem in suo ordine. Primitiae quidem Christus, deinde qui sunt ejus [n: (I Cor. XV)]*. Et in loco, ubi dictum est: *Non populus meus vos, jam dicitur eis, filii Dei viventis [n: (Ose. I)]*. *Sicut enim per inobedientiam unius hominis peccatores constituti sunt multi, ita et per unius obedientiam justi constituuntur multi. Si enim in unius delicto mors regnavit per unum, multo magis abundantia gratiae, et donationis, et justitiae accipientes in vita regnabunt per unum Jesum Christum (Rom. [1066A] V)*. Scientes igitur quis sit fructus obedientiae immortalitas vera et incorruptio vitae aeternae, accurramus omnes cum magna festinatione in Bethaniam, subjicientes nos ad omnem obedientiam. De ejus fructu nihil diffidentes, sed sine ulla haesitatione tenentes, quia oportet corruptibile hoc induere incorruptionem, et mortale hoc induere immortalitatem.

## SERMO IN RAMIS PALMARUM. (cont.)

Sed quia secundum Apostolum corporalis labor ad modicum utilis est, pietas autem ad omnia valet promissionem habens vitae quae nunc est, et futurae, transeamus per montem Oliveti exercentes nos ad pietatem, scientes absque dubio, quod accepturi simus oleum pro oleo, oleum laetitiae pro oleo misericordiae. Beati enim misericordes quoniam ipsi misericordiam consequentur. Nec vos pudeat sedere in [1066B] asino, vel recumbere in novissimo loco, non ignorantes quoniam Deus superbis resistit, humilibus autem dat gratiam. Nihil itaque fiat per contentionem, neque per inanem gloriam, sed in humilitate superiores sibi invicem arbitrantes; non quae sua sunt singuli considerantes, sed quae aliorum, libenter, ut arbitror, nos humiliamus, sive verae humiliationis fructum attendimus. Absque dubio sicut omnis qui se exaltat humiliabitur, sic omnis qui se humiliat exaltabitur. Cogita tamen quae sit exaltatio, ista ut agnoscas quem fructum habeat humiliatio vera. Quale aut quantum putas possidere regnum coelorum: nam ipsum arbitror verae humiliationis fructum. Beati enim pauperes spiritu, quoniam ipsorum [1066C] est regnum coelorum; ecce quo ordine, ecce quo fructu, vel fine debeamus procedere, et in Hierusalem tendere. Profecto si hoc ordine incedimus, si hac intentione properamus, Hierusalem appropinquamus; si obedientiam cum charitate et humilitate servamus, veram quam quaerimus pacem citius invenimus. O stultum, o caecum qui studiose non properat ubi pacem, et pacem veram inveniat! Vultis tamen fructum ejus agnoscere, ut inde colligere valeatis quantum ad eam obtinendam oporteat properare: *Beati,* inquam, *pacifici, quoniam filii Dei vocabuntur [n: (Matth. V)]*. O fructus mirabilis, o fructus singularis, o quanta gloria servi, et servi tam indigni fieri filium Dei. Quid ei, quaeso, jam sapere, vel satisfacere possit quem hujus fructus concupiscentia [1066D] non trahit. Si hunc fructum esurimus, si eo frui desideramus, verae paci studeamus. Teneamus interim pacem quam nobis Christus reliquit, et securi exspectemus illam quam promisit: *Pacem,* inquit, *relinquo vobis, pacem meam do vobis [n: (Joan. XIV)]*. Non turbetur itaque cor tuum, neque formidet, et pacem habes quam tibi Christus reliquit, et servare te voluit. Sed forte, et illam quaeris quaenam sit quam Christus promisit, vel suam nominavit. Sed quibus, quaeso, verbis explicare possum quae sit illa pax Dei, quae exsuperat omnem sensum. Curramus itaque per pacem ad pacem, per pacem internam ad pacem aeternam. Nam est pax quae est tantum exterius, et est pax quae est tantum interius, et est pax quae est simul interius et exterius. Prima pertinet [1067A] ad solam carnem, secunda ad solam mentem, tertia ad mentem simul et carnem. Primam et secundam in hac vita, nunquam tamen simul habere possumus, quas semper in moribus disparibus seorsum et seorsum videmus, tertiam in futura tantum vita speramus, unde et aeternam nominavimus. Primam venit Christus destruere, secundam statuere, tertiam dare, sed in futurum tamen reservare. De prima dicit: *Non veni mittere pacem in terram, sed gladium [n: (Matth. XI)]*. De secunda et tertia illud intelligimus quod et jam supra posuimus: *Pacem relinquo vobis, pacem meam do vobis [n: (Joan. XII)]*. Detestemur itaque illam quam Christus damnavit, amemus illam quam Christus docuit, speremus illam quam Christus nobis reposuit, quia fidelis est [1067B] qui promisit. Amemus internam, speremus aeternam. Illa ad florem, ista pertinet ad fructum; illa ad pascha primum, ista pertinet ad pascha secundum. Qui adhuc amat primam, relinquat eam, et transeat ad secundam, certus quod per ipsam transiturus sit ad tertiam. Qui ad secundam transiit, jam pascha primum, jam pascha floridum celebravit. Quid de secunda ad tertiam, secundum jam transitum fecit, et de ejus fructibus gustavit, ad secundum pascha jam transiit cujus celebritas sempiterna erit. Ecce de floribus, ecce de fructibus tentamus: istos desideremus, illos, ut in aeternum fuit, mereamur, et de aeterna celebritate sine fine laetemur.

## SERMO IN DIE PASCHAE.

[1067C]Pascha nostrum immolatus est Christus, fratres, Scripturas scitis et virtutem earum. Ideo sermo noster ad vos non erit doctrina, sed admonitio, et notorum ad memoriam revocatio. De quo fonte enim bibo ego, bibitis et vos. Ubi haurio hauritis et vos. Si ego haurio aquas in gaudio de fontibus Salvatoris, hauritis et vos. Judicate ergo tanquam spiritales utrum aqua quam vobis propinabo fluat de medio fontium, an sit hausta de fontibus Salvatoris. Pascha nostrum immolatus est Christus. Fructuosa Domini passio, et gloriosa ipsius resurrectio, non solum facta sunt et signa, sed insuper remedia. Non solum sunt veritas et figura, sed etiam medicina. Veritas sunt quia vere qui mortuus est [1067D] ex infirmitate resurrexit ex virtute. Signa sunt et figura, quia mortuus est et resurrexit ut peccatis mortui justitiae vivamus. Medicina sunt, quia mortuus est propter delicta nostra, et resurrexit, propter justificationem nostram. De exemplo ergo et remedio passionis, et de remedio et exemplo resurrectionis pro modulo nostro prosequamur. Christus factus est obediens usque ad mortem, humilitatis perfectae et charitatis consummatae dedit nobis exemplum. Quae sit autem vera humilitas et non ficta, ipsis verbis expressit loquens ad Patrem, dicens: *Non sicut ego volo, sed sicut tu [n: (Matth. XXVI)]*. Haec est vox verae humilitatis, quae semper humanae voluntati praeponit divinam, et in hoc ab humanis in divina dirigitur. Nec hoc solum, sed etiam [1068A] alterius hominis, non solum majoris vel partis, sed etiam inferioris voluntatem suae praeponit. Contraria vox superbiae est; non sicut tu, sed sicut ego, cujus proprium est suam praeponere voluntatem; non solum hominis alterius voluntatem, sed etiam divinae, et in hoc a divinis in ima demergitur. Humilis ergo non suam, sed Dei facit voluntatem. Superbus vero non Dei, sed suam facit voluntatem; humilis non suam, sed Dei quaerit gloriam. Superbus vero non Dei, sed propriam quaerit gloriam. Humilis aedificat super petram, superbus super arenam. Omnes ergo superbi discipuli sunt diaboli qui est rex et magister super filios superbiae. Omnes vero humiles discipuli sunt Christi, qui ad hoc ut humilitatem doceret et fieret magister humilitatis, humilis [1068B] factus est: unde et gloriatur in discipulis, humilis in humilibus dicens: *Ecce ego et pueri mei quos dedit mihi Dominus [n: (Isa. VIII)]*. Tales enim dat Filio, trahens eos ad Filium, juxta illud: *Nemo venit ad me, nisi Pater meus traxerit eum [n: (Joan. VI)]*. Qui veniunt ad Filium tracti a Patre, non inviti veniunt, sed sine coactione, sine necessitate, voluntate, amore et in cordis vinculo. In hoc enim Pater trahit ad Filium humiles, quod eis revelat Filium. Unde: *Abscondisti haec a sapientibus, et revelasti ea parvulis [n: (Matth. XI)]*. Filius autem ad se venientes non foras ejicit, sed benigne suscipit. Et ut probet eos an eum diligant, fasciculum myrrhae eis apponit, de quo et ipse comedit, sicut et de torrente bibit transiens [1068C] per foramen acus, per angustias scilicet passionis. Ipsi vero prae amoris magnitudine non sentiunt amaritudinem myrrhae gloriando in tribulatione. Unde unus ex illis ait: Scimus quia neque mors, neque vita poterit separare nos a charitate Christi [n: (Rom. VIII)]. Charitatis etiam consummatae exemplum nobis in ipsa sua immolatione dedit, orando pro inimicis. Quam descripsit, ubi ait: *Nemo majorem charitatem habet quam ut animam suam det pro amicis suis [n: (Joan. XV)]*. Dominus vero Jesus animam suam, cum essemus inimici posuit, et in hoc charitatem suam commendavit. Quam Apostolus supereminere scientiae dicit. Quam quidem comprehendere non possumus, nisi fuerimus radicati et fundati in charitate. Radicati ad similitudinem arboris, fundati [1068D] ad similitudinem domus, fundati per dilectionem Dei, per quam sumus domus Dei, et templum, et Deus habitat in nobis. Radicati per dilectionem proximi per quam sumus arbores fructiferae proferentes folia protectionis, et fructum sustentationis. Qui autem sic sunt in charitate radicati et fundati, possunt comprehendere quae sit latitudo et longitudo, et altitudo, et profundum charitatis cum omnibus sanctis. Latitudo charitatis in hoc consideratur ut diligatur inimicus, longitudo ut perseveretur usque in finem. Altitudo ut omnia fiant propter Deum. Profundum vero charitatis in hoc attenditur, ut homo nil boni sibi ascribat, sed totum gratiae Dei, cui causas investigare est nimis profundum, excedens sensum humanum, scilicet cur hunc induret, [1069A] illum vocet. Unde Apostolus: *O altitudo divitiarum sapientiae et scientiae Dei, quam incomprehensibilia sunt judicia ejus [n: (Rom. XI)]*. Medicamento humilitatis sanatur morbus totius elationis. Dono charitatis curatur infirmitas cupiditatis. Per haec duo scilicet superbiam et concupiscentiam habitabat in nobis princeps hujus mundi, per superbiam in mente, per concupiscentiam in carne. Sed nunc princeps hujus mundi ejectus est foras per gratiam Christi; unde ipse ait: *Ecce ejicio daemonia, et perficio sanitates [n: (Luc. XXIII)]*. In hoc quod peccata dimittuntur, daemonia ejiciuntur. In hoc quod virtutes mentibus infunduntur, sanitates perficiuntur.

De remedio passionis de caetero dicendum est quod in justitia et misericordia intelligitur. Salvator [1069B] enim noster, cum sit omnipotens, solo verbo virtutis suae potuit hominem liberare de potestate tenebrarum. Sed in nostra liberatione maluit uti justitia quam potentia, quia diabolus amator est potentiae, desertor justitiae. In quo homines magis eum imitantur qui affectant potentiam et exosam habent justitiam. Quae est illa justitia? Audite. Christus innocens est, et immunis ab omni peccato, solus inter mortuos liber non habens causam peccati sub auctore peccati. Sicut ipse ait: *Venit princeps mundi hujus et in me non habet quidquam [n: (Joan. XIV)]*. Tota enim possessio hostis antiqui est peccatum, qui data est in haereditatem terra spe sterilis, spinis et sentibus plena, terra, cui maledixit [1069C] Dominus, cui ceciderunt funes in obscuris et tenebrosis. De hac tota substantia ejus nihil invenitur in Christo, occidit tamen innocentem, et ideo jussus est recedere a nocentibus confugientibus ad Christum. Occidit eum qui nil debuit morti, et jussus est recedere a debitoribus mortis credentibus in eum qui pro eis mortuus est. Misericordia autem nostrae redemptionis in hoc insinuatur, Christus sola charitate, nostrae miseriae compassione Patri obediens mortem pertulit, et in hoc ipso apud Deum Patrem multum meruit, omneque meritum suum suis membris concessit. Et in sua passione eum qui mortis habebat imperium destruxit, et hominis reatum expiavit, et peccatorem Deo Patri reconciliavit, et sicut David Goliam gladio [1069D] proprio occidit, sic Christus diabolum propriis armis peremit. Quae fuerunt arma diaboli quibus mundum vicit, et a Christo victus est? Mors, quia auctor peccati ideo ex divina sententia mortem corporis inferre potuit quibus voluit, ideoque homines timore obnoxii erant peccati vel diaboli servituti, et quaelibet patiebantur ne morerentur. Unde Job ait: *Pellem pro pelle, et omnia dabit homo pro anima sua [n: (Job II)]*. Salvator vero voluntarie mortem suscepit, et moriendo mortem destruxit, et sic homines a timore mortis eripuit. Unde sancti jam mortem timent, sed cupiunt dissolvi et esse cum Christo. De hoc remedio ait Salvator: *Sicut Moyses exaltavit serpentem in deserto, sic exaltari oportet Filium hominis, ut omnis qui credit in eum non [1070A] pereat, sed habeat vitam aeternam [n: (Joan. III)]*.

Nota est vobis historia qualiter filii Israel murmurantes percussi sunt ab ignitis serpentibus in deserto. Tunc Moyses praecepto Domini serpentem aeneum in pertica erexit, ad quem filii Israel aspicientes sanabantur a morsibus serpentinis. Per hunc serpentem aeneum in pertica exaltatum intelligimus Christum crucifixum, quia per serpentem mors intravit in mundum, ideo mors per eum figuratur. Serpens ille aeneus similitudinem habuit serpentis sed non habuit venenum. Sic et Christus similitudinem habuit carnis peccatricis, sed non habuit venenum peccati. Quia, si peccati venenum haberet, a veneno peccati non liberaret. Quoties ergo a serpentibus percutimur, id est, daemonibus vulneramur, [1070B] ad hunc serpentem aspiciamus oculo carnis et oculo mentis: oculo carnis per imitationem exempli, ut crucifigamus carnem cum vitiis et concupiscentiis; oculo mentis per fidem remedii dicendo cum Petro: *Quia non est aliud nomen in quo oporteat nos salvos fieri [n: (Act. IV)]*, et sine dubio perfecte curabimur ab omni plaga, et per imitationem exempli sanabimur ab omni actu peccati, per fidem remedii purgabimur ab omni reatu, hoc est infirmum Dei quod est fortius hominibus. Quis enim hominum potuit facere quod Christus per mortem suam effecit? Nullus, imo nec totus mundus, hoc est stultum Dei quod est sapientius hominibus. Quis enim hujus sacramenti potest penetrare profunditatem? Nunc de remedio resurrectionis dicendum [1070C] est: Pascha nostrum immolatus est Christus. Pascha interpretatur *transitus,* qui pertinet ad resurrectionem, imo transitus Domini ipsa est resurrectio Domini, unde dies praesens dies Paschae, et dies resurrectionis dicitur. Christus enim resurgens ex mortuis transivit de morte ad vitam, de corruptibilitate ad incorruptionem, et in hoc factus est pascha nostrum, quia in illo et per illum transimus de tenebris ad lucem, de vitiis ad virtutes, de hoste ad patrem, de morte ad vitam.

## SERMO IN DIE PASCHAE. (cont.)

Et videte quomodo constat quia justus ex fide vivit. Ubi ergo non est fides, nec justitia, ibi non est justitia nec vita. In morte autem Christi fides ejus, et jam in apostolis mortua est; quia, percusso [1070D] pastore, dispersae sunt oves. Ipso autem resurgente et discipulis suis apparente, reformata est fides in apostolis. Insuper accensa sunt corda, et inflammata amore et desiderio immortalitatis et futurae beatitudinis et sic intus vivificati et justificati transmigraverunt de infidelitate ad fidem, de peccato ad justitiam, et sic de morte animae transierunt ad vitam: *Hodie namque,* ut dicit Apostolus, *datum est Christo nomen quod est super omne nomen [n: (Philipp. XXI)]*. Ab aeterno quidem habuit nomen quod est super omne nomen secundum divinitatem, et in sua incarnatione quidem nomen datum homini per gratiam, sed quod hucusque latuit per resurrectionem in palam venit. Ideoque Dominus tot argumentis ipsam resurrectionem probavit. Quia ipsa constante, [1071A] caetera constant, ipsa enim est quasi basis sub columna, quasi fundamentum fundamentorum, cui omnes articuli fidei innituntur. Unde apostolus totam summam nostrae salutis in ipsa posuit dicens: *Si corde credideris, et ore confessus fueris quia Deus suscitavit eum a mortuis, salvus eris [n: (Rom. X)]*. Hanc igitur non solum credere, sed etiam in jugi memoria tenere debemus. Unde Apostolus ait ad Timothaeum: *Mementote Dominum Jesum resurrexisse a mortuis [n: (II Tim. II)]*. Sicut enim ex cupiditate quae est radix omnium malorum oriuntur mala desideria, et nociva quae mergunt hominem in perditionem et in interitum, sic ex assidua resurrectionis memoria nascuntur sancta desideria, et affectiones piae, mundi contemptus, amor aeternorum, et mutatur [1071B] homo in virum alterum, et spiritualis efficitur. Una igitur resurrectio Domini secundum carnem, geminam nostram resurrectionem efficit, et animarum in praesenti, de qua dicit Joannes in Apocalypsi: *Beatus qui habet partem in prima resurrectione, quia non laedetur a morte secunda [n: (Apoc. XX)]*, et resurrectionem corporum in futuro. De qua Apostolus: *Et reformabit corpus humilitatis nostrae configuratum corpori claritatis suae [n: (Philipp. III)]*. Restat de exemplo resurrectionis, de quo dicit Apostolus: *Quomodo Christus resurrexit a mortuis per gloriam Patris, ita et nos in novitate vitae ambulemus [n: (Rom. VI)]*. Jam nos igitur innovati, et in novitate vitae positi ambulemus de novitate in novitatem, de claritate in claritatem, [1071C] de virtute in virtutem: nam in eadem virtute de gradu in gradum procedimus.

Has autem interiores processiones, spirituales profectus, incrementa virtutum figurant istae exteriores processiones quas his diebus solemnius frequentavimus, quas cum magna devotione nos celebrare decet, gaudentes tum de resurrectione capitis nostri, tum de resurrectione mentium in praesenti, tum de resurrectione corporum quae erit in futuro. Sed praecipue de resurrectione Jesu Christi quae est causa nostrae geminae. Ideoque summa gaudiorum inde est, quod cantamus: Christus resurgens ex mortuis, etc. Interiores vero processiones omni quidem tempore faciendae sunt, sed potissimum hac solemnitate quae non solummodo aguntur, sed praesentantur. [1071D] Ut autem utiliter fiant, duo sunt necessaria, scilicet cithara et psalterium. Non quidem materialia, sed eorum significata. Cithara sonat ab inferiori, et ideo significat vitiorum mortificationem, psalterium vero sonat a superiori, et ideo signifiat bonorum operum exhibitionem. Qui citharizat et non psallit, vel psallit et non citharizat, non procedit, non proficit, quia neutrum sine altero reddit sonum jucundum, quia psalterium jucundum cum cithara; quia, sicut scriptum est: *Honor regis judicium diligit [n: (Psal. XCV)]*, honorem summo regi damus, cum de beneficiis gratias referimus. Sed hic honor judicium diligit, quo mala puniuntur, et vitia mortificantur, quia non est speciosa laus in ore peccatorum. Nam solos rectos decet laudatio. Unde [1072A] etiam Apostolus docens nos hanc paschalem solemnitatem celebrare, ait: *Expurgate vetus fermentum [n: (I Cor. V)]*. Vetus fermentum vocat quodlibet mortale peccatum, quod nos corrumpit, et veteres et acidos reddit. Unde idem Paulus praemisit: *Modicum fermentum totam massam corrumpit [n: (ibid.)]*. Unum enim peccatum, peremptorium omnia bona merita reddit inutilia, et ad salutem insufficientia, juxta illud: *Qui offendit in uno, omnium est reus [n: (Jac. II)]*. Quod non est scilicet intelligendum quasi qui unum peccatum habet omnia habeat, et pro omnibus sit puniendus, nec etiam de virtutibus concedimus, quod qui unam habet, omnia habeat. Dicit enim Hieronymus quod haec est philosophica sententia. Qui unam habet virtutem, omnes habet, sed [1072B] non divina. Nec, inquit, curae est quid dicat Aristoteles; sed quid Paulus? Quomodo ergo intelligendum est, qui offendit in uno, omnium est reus? Nunquid qui facit furtum, reus est homicidii, adulterii, sacrilegii et aliorum? Esse reum alicujus non uno modo dicitur. Aliter enim quis dicitur reus peccati, aliter reus capitis. Reus peccati est aliquis, id est, dignius ut pro peccato puniatur. Reus est capitis, id est dignus ut caput amittat. Sic, cum dicitur: Qui offendit in uno, omnium est reus, non intelligitur omnium peccatorum, quasi pro omnibus puniendus, sed intelligitur omnium bonorum quae fecit, ut illa amittat. Ut si quis novem praecepta faciat, et unum solum transgrediatur, offendens in uno, factus est [1072C] omnium reus, id est, dignus ut meritum novem praeceptorum amittat, quia efficacius est unum transgressum ad damnationem, quam novem impleta ad salutem. Hanc autem sententiam confirmat Salomon, dicens: *Qui in uno offendit multa bona perdet [n: (Eccle. IX)]*. Iste igitur tres auctoritates, *scilicet modicum fermentum totam massam corrumpit,* et *qui offendit in uno, omnium est reus,* et *qui offendit in uno multa bona perdet,* juxta eumdem sensum intelligendae sunt. Vobis igitur, fratres, qui multo tempore laudabiliter vixistis, providendum est ne modicum fermentum totam massam bonorum meritorum corrumpat; ne in uno offendentes sitis omnium rei, et multa bona perdatis; ne igitur hoc contingat juxta Apostolum, paschalem solemnitatem in animis [1072D] celebrare. Panis azymus absque fermento est, si gignat sinceritatem, scilicet puritatem a vitiis. Per hoc autem quod est solidus, designat veritatem, scilicet bonorum operum exhibitionem. Sinceritas partim ad citharam, veritas ad psalterium. Sed ecce est aliquis qui vitia mortificat et bona agit, sed omnia retorquet ad propriam gloriam. Iste procedit, sed non proficit, quia Dei gloriam non requirit. Unde Dominus per Prophetam: *Exsurge gloria mea, exsurge psalterium, et cithara [n: (Psal. XXXVI)]*. Nil enim prodest portare citharam et psalterium, nisi fiat totum propter Deum. Debemus enim declinare a malis et insistere bonis, ad Dei laudem et gloriam. Unde Apostolus: *Vir est imago et gloria Dei [n: (I Cor. XXI)]*; vir in vitiorum mortificatione, [1073A] imago in bonis agendis. Quis enim dicit se in Christo manere, debet sicut et ipse ambulavit et ipse ambulare, hoc est eum imitari, et ideo imago ab imitando scilicet, gloria Dei, ut Deus non ipse vir per omnia glorificetur. Hanc eamdem processionem Dominus designat, ubi ait: *Surge, tolle grabatum tuum, et vade in domum tuam [n: (Marc. II)]*. Surge a vitiis, tolle grabatum tuum, id est, porta a quo portaberis, id est, sicut frater tuus tolerabat infirmitates tuas, sic tu tolera infirmitates fratris tui, et haec faciendo ambula per rectam intentionem in domum tuam, id est, paradisum ut omnia facias propter spem futurae vitae. Nemo cum uxore Lot retro respiciat, vel quasi canis ad vomitum redeat, vel cum filiis Israel in Aegyptum ad ollas mente eat, [1073B] quia, juxta Veritatem: *Nemo mittens manum ad aratrum [n: (Luc. IX)]*, etc. Nunc igitur summatim videamus unde haec processio incipere debeat, et quousque pervenire, vel procedere. Mens igitur laetetur, spiritus exsultet, os, lingua novum canticum depromant. Manus sinistra tympanizet, vel citharizet. Dextra manus psallat, imo utraque manu utamur pro dextera, ut omnia interiora et exteriora laudem [1074A] et gloriam Deo concrepent, ut totus homo tendat ad Deum, juxta illud: *Levemus corda cum manibus in coelum, ut qui totum fecit totum possideat [n: (Thren. III)]*. Sic igitur procedamus donec occurramus omnes in virum perfectum, in mensuram aetatis plenitudinis Christi obviam Christo in aera. Deus bonus pastor, qui posuit animam suam pro ovibus suis, introducat nos in veram terram promissionis, in terram viventium, quae fluit lacte et melle. Haec terra viventium est nobis promissa a Christo qui est Dei virtus et Dei sapientia, quam terram dabit nobis in haereditatem, quando manifestabit se nobis ducens ad paternam visionem, ad summi boni fruitionem, ad omnium deliciarum affluentiam. Et nos egredientes et ingredientes pascua inveniemus. [1074B] Egrediemur per sensum carnis, et pascua inveniemus in lacte humanitatis Christi. Ingrediemur per sensum rationis, et pascua inveniemus in melle divinitatis ejus. Ibi erit aeterna satietas, gaudium plenum quod nemo tollet a nobis, quia aeternum hoc erit in fine sine fine, ad quem nos perducat ipse auctor pietatis. Amen.

english:
## A SERMON ON PALM SUNDAY.

[1059A]

We keep a twofold Pasch; a twofold Pasch, surely, we ought to celebrate. The first is that which is commonly wont to be called the flowering Pasch, of which we are now constrained to say something suited to the season. But whom, I ask, [1059B] would it not delight to speak of such a season? Whom would its loveliness not rouse to its praise, or inflame to its love? O lovely season, acceptable season, flowering season! A lovely season, which is marked out by the manifold variety of flowers; an acceptable season, which is besprinkled round about with a pleasing fragrance. To whom, I ask, would it not be pleasing or acceptable, when it can now be truly said: *For now the winter is past, the rain is gone and departed: the flowers have appeared: the flowering [sic: Vinae] have given their odor? [n: (Cant. II.)]* Whom would it not please to cry out in its praise that word of the Apostle: *Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation? [n: (II Cor. VI.)]* An acceptable time indeed, which is adorned with flowers; and no less healthful, since from it fruit also is hoped for. Without any ambiguity, if the flowering season does not [1059C] go before, we look for fruit in vain and with an empty hope. Let the flower-bearing Pasch, then, go before, that the fruit-bearing Pasch may follow. This twofold Pasch we surely ought to keep as a feast, and to receive with all solemnity. Do you wish to know more plainly what it is that we mean to say? You know, as I judge, that *Pasch* is interpreted *a passing over*, and that the Pasch is named from the Lord's passing over. What, then, do we call the flowering Pasch, save an honorable and pleasing passage? And what the fruit-bearing Pasch, save a glad passage, full of all joy? Take, then, a twofold passage, both parts of it pleasing, both honorable. The first is that we pass over from wickedness to righteousness; the second, that we pass over from misery to glory. Brethren, what do we say to these things, or of what sort do we think such [1059D] passages to be? What, I ask, will it be to pass over from iniquity to goodness, to pass over from calamity to blessedness? The first passage belongs to the first Pasch, the second to the second Pasch. You see, I beseech you, how gladly and how thankfully we ought to keep such a season as a feast, and to celebrate it solemnly. And that second Pasch, indeed, we all love in common and alike aspire to. But is that first one received with the same devotion, or celebrated with equal zeal? Would that all were as zealous to be good as they aspire to be blessed — then indeed they would be as blessed as they are good! Would that all aspired to the beginnings of the just as much as they long for their last ends! *Let my soul die,* says Balaam, *the death of the just, and let my last end be like to theirs (Num. [1060A] XXIII)*; but let those who wish to have the like of the last ends of the just be zealous to have the same beginnings. Let them flower meanwhile through righteousness, and they shall take fruit from it: life everlasting. From a righteous life, eternal life; from a good life, a blessed life; from such a flower, such a fruit; from a perfect life, [1060B] a perennial life. Every tree is known by its own fruit. That is no evil tree which makes good fruits. If the tree is good, its fruits also are good, and its flowers pleasing. But it is always necessary that the flowers go first, that the fruits may follow; otherwise, without preceding flowers, they are hoped for in vain. Let the flowering Pasch, then, go before, that the fruit-bearing Pasch may follow; let us meanwhile pass over from dishonor to honor, that afterward we may pass over from unhappiness to happiness. If we are still evil, let us pass from evil to good; if good, let us pass from good to better, and through the better to the best — and we have kept the flowering Pasch.

Why, I ask, do men come together at this flowering Pasch, unless to make a procession according to custom! Is not the very going in procession a passing over and a keeping of the Pasch? [1060C] And we then keep that Pasch as a flowering one, if we pass over in due order and to more honorable things; and we make a fair procession indeed, if we make progress in good. How fair, how comely a procession do we think it to go from virtue to virtue, to forget the things that are behind and to stretch forth to the things that are before? O what flowers are the true virtues! Let us therefore strew our way with such flowers, and pass over through the flowering fields of the virtues; let us go in procession purely and honorably, that we may make our procession fair and pleasing, and may accomplish the flowering Pasch with a worthy solemnity. O how pure, how glad it will be to go through flowers and to pass through the lovely places of the virtues: through the crocus of charity, through the lily of chastity, through the rose of suffering and the violet of humility! O how praiseworthy, O how lovely, to scatter a pleasing fragrance on every side, [1060D] and to spread abroad round about the sweet smell of one's good name, and to draw to the glad spectacle of one's procession the hearts of those who run up from every side, and to summon the hearts of the beholders to the example of one's own uprightness! This, then, is the first procession, and it belongs to the first Pasch; for there is another also, and that one belongs to the second Pasch. The first procession is an advancement to the perfection of goodness; the second procession, an advancement to the fullness of blessedness. Christ made a twofold procession, and surely willed us to make a twofold one: *I came forth,* he says, *from the Father, and came into the world; again I leave the world, and go to the Father [n: (Joan. XVI)]*. His going forth is from the highest heaven — this is the first procession; and his circuit even unto the height thereof — this is the second [1061A] procession. First he descended, afterward he ascended. The first procession is of humiliation, the second of exaltation. If we are truly Christians, we ought to imitate Christ. For he who says that he abides in Christ ought himself also to walk even as Christ walked. First let us be humbled with Christ, that afterward we may be exalted with Christ. Be humbled meanwhile under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in the day of judgment, in the time of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us therefore follow Christ meanwhile by the way he went on earth, that at length we may deserve to follow by the way he has gone in heaven: *The eyes of wisdom are in his head [n: (Eccle. II)]*. If you are wise, you who have Christ for your head ought to look to him. Mark the footprints of his journey, and strive to follow with what strength you can. See therefore how he went in procession, or by what way he went before you — [1061B] surely this paschal procession of today's festivity, which generally may be out of the remembrance or the imitation of his works, proceeded. Mark, then, what procession of his the evangelist describes for you, or what he sets before you to be imitated. Let us see, then, whence he began; let us see whither he went on; let us see by what way he passed; let us see how he went in procession. This is what I mean to say, this is what I warn you to mark: whence, and whither, by what way and how Christ made his procession. Whence did he begin? From Bethany [n: (Joan. XII; Matth. XXI; Marc. XI; Luc. XIX)]. Whither does he make his way? To Jerusalem. By what way did he pass? By the Mount of Olives. How did he come? On an ass. From Bethany, then, he began his journey, and went on to Jerusalem, sitting on an ass and passing by Olivet: this is the procession of Christ, which Christians ought [1061C] to imitate. Behold in what order, behold by what journey, we ought to go to Jerusalem; behold to what end we ought to tend in everything that we do. Keep, brethren, the unity of faith in the bond of peace, and you are in Jerusalem, and you have completed such a procession as Christ taught. For Jerusalem, as you know, is interpreted *vision of peace.* Behold, brethren, what it is to which we mean to exhort you: that we seek peace, that we lay hold of peace, that we guard peace. Turn away from evil and do good, and you have begun such a procession as befits a Christian; seek after peace and pursue it, and you have come to Jerusalem, and have completed the procession. In fine, a fifth thing is in us: let us have peace with all men, and we are in Jerusalem; [1061D] we have, surely, some who are above us, some below us, and some our equals. Let us therefore have peace with our superiors, peace with our inferiors, peace with our equals; and we have peace with all, and have come even to Jerusalem. The first thing, surely, and in every way most necessary, is that we not disturb the peace of our prelates, to whom it was said by the Lord: *He that heareth you heareth me, and he that despiseth you despiseth me [n: (Luc. X)]*. Let us be ready at every hour for every obedience, and without doubt we have full peace with our prelates. In what, I ask, can they be disturbed toward us, if we refuse everything that they refuse, and will everything that they will? If therefore we wish to make for Jerusalem and to obtain true peace, we must begin from obedience, and [1062A] begin the journey of peace from Bethany. For Bethany is interpreted *house of obedience.*

But neither do I think that this is to be passed over here, though I mean to mention it only briefly: that some are above us in power, others in dignity; the former by office, the latter by merit. The former preside by certain grades of honor and power; the latter excel by certain increases of wisdom and of holiness. Human election perfected the former; divine ordination raised up the latter. Consider, then, what a thing it is to reverence those whom human appointment has set in front, and to be unwilling to venerate those whom the divine disposition has singularly magnified. If those who preside over us for a time are to be venerated with due honor, with how great honor are they worthy who by the merit of holiness excel us forever in eternal exaltation? Hence it is that [1062B] good prelates venerate with great honor such subjects as these, over whom nevertheless, as has been said, they rule by certain grades of prelacy. First therefore and chiefly must we take pains to have peace with all who are above us; but neither ought this to suffice, unless we are zealous to keep the bond of peace with our inferiors and with the weaker also. Our superiors we ought to soothe by compliance and obedience; our inferiors, by having compassion on their weakness and by coming to their aid. To superiors obedience is to be shown; upon inferiors mercy is to be expended. The journey, then, is to be begun from Bethany, but the passage is to be made by Olivet. For ὄλεον among the Greeks sounds *mercy*, and oil itself designates the works of piety. And so we pass by the Mount of Olives when we expend the labor of piety upon whatever weaker brethren there are, [1062C] when we have compassion on their weakness rather than grow angry or indignant. Assuredly you see how much this avails for obtaining peace with the weak, and for possessing the tranquillity of your own soul. For he who is troubled and grows indignant at every offense that he sees — when, I ask, will he find peace? When, I beseech you, will he obtain true tranquillity of soul, or at least hope to obtain it? He will always find in weaker men something that he may rightly blame, something that ought to be mercifully borne with. Otherwise those who had nothing of weakness would not be weak. Let the advancement or procession of our progress, then, be made by the Mount of Olives, and let our piety grow immeasurably, so that by right of its greatness it may justly [1062D] be called a mountain; so that we may learn to bear with tranquillity of soul not only the least failings of the weak but even the greatest, and to sustain patiently and with piety our neighbors' weakness, not only bodily but spiritual also. Assuredly, if we do these things, we are already drawing near to Jerusalem, and we reach the fullness of peace the more nearly as we lay hold of the perfection of obedience and of mercy the more highly.

## A SERMON ON PALM SUNDAY. (cont.)

I think that by now it will be needful to seek an ass, and, amid such emblems of the virtues, to claim for oneself the protection of humility. So too Christ Jesus, when they drew near to Jerusalem, caused an ass to be brought to him, and sat upon it. Now we all know that the ass is a filthy and cheap animal, most gentle indeed, [1063A] but almost more contemptible than all the rest; and so it bears, as I judge, the figure of humility, by which the soul becomes cheap to itself and comes into contempt. And indeed without such an animal our procession may perhaps be worth the looking at; yet without it, beyond doubt, it will not be, nor could it be, so wholly admirable. Who, I beseech you, would not rightly marvel that an ass should be present among the choirs of those going before and singing psalms on this side and on that, and that so filthy an animal should appear amid such glorious and solemn array? Certainly, so far as concerns me, it appears in my own eyes more wonderful that a man clothed in pontifical vestments should sit upon an ass, and amid such insignia should not blush at such a seat, than that he should carry in his hands that wood which is sweet to almost all, or should wear a mitre upon his head [1063B] or a pallium upon his shoulders. It is surely neither new nor wonderful to glory in the virtues; but this is a great thing and to be wondered at: amid all the highest ornaments of the virtues not to disdain the ass, to cleave firmly to the good of humility, that one and the same man should appear wonderful to all others and contemptible to himself alone. In this order, surely, we make our procession wonderful, if amid the summits of obedience and mercy we do not forsake the modesty of humility. By this art, surely, we shall be able to win over our equals: if with the utmost diligence we are zealous always to hold the last place; to prefer them before ourselves in the office of veneration and in place of honor, without dissimulation; nay, truly to believe that they are to be preferred, and to persuade oneself of it, [1063C] and to wish others to be persuaded of it. You surely see that in this business we have need — a thing that almost slipped from us — of the she-ass and of her colt. There are two things, humility and humiliation: humility is designated in the she-ass, humiliation in the colt. The colt is born of the she-ass, and true humiliation arises out of humility. Humility is within, humiliation without; humility in the heart, humiliation in action; humility belongs to the affection, humiliation to the act. But that humiliation alone must needs be true which comes down from humility. He who truly acknowledges his own weakness, and becomes cheap to himself in his own eyes, has already, as it were, brought the she-ass into his presence. But if he does not blush to humble himself before the eyes of men, or to appear contemptible, he has the mother present indeed, but has thus far lacked the colt's [1063D] presence. If you humble yourself outwardly, but esteem yourself something great, you have the colt, but you do not have the mother. Let us therefore bring the she-ass and the colt with her, that we may be truly humble in mind and may exhibit true humiliation in action. Otherwise, if you humble yourself feignedly and walk deceitfully, him, according to the prophet's word — *when thou shalt be compelled to pass over the rivers, to uncover the thighs, without doubt thy shame shall be revealed [n: (Isa. XLVII)]* — since nothing is covered that shall not be revealed.

Let us therefore be zealous to be truly humble, and truly to appear humble; and in this order, as I judge, we shall be able to win over our equals. For it is agreed that among equals envy is especially wont to be born, and from envy discord? But if we sit upon the ass, as has been said, [1064A] and hold among them the lowest place, a cheap one and an abject, we cut away the tinder of envy. Without doubt true humiliation not only restores peace among equals, but also confirms it with superiors and with inferiors. See therefore what it is to seek such a seat, and, if there be need, to fetch it even from afar. For by some it is easily taken up from near at hand; but by others it must be fetched from afar. For those who still live outrageously, and commit things to blush at, find ready to hand enough for which to blush and to humble themselves. Such was that publican who blushed, and did not dare so much as to lift his eyes to heaven. But those who find nothing in their life to blush at — such as I believe those to be who come from Bethany and pass by [1064B] Olivet, who keep the flowering Pasch and strew their way with the flowers of the virtues — must, as I judge, fetch the ass from afar, and take the matter of their [sic: *humilationis*] either from the lapse of their former life or from the state of the life to come. So Paul too, because he had not ready to hand anything from which he might take an ass from near by — since he was conscious to himself of nothing — sent the scouts of his consideration to the road of his old manner of life, and thence summoned to himself matter for humbling himself. Hear whence he fetches an ass for himself, and what a lowly place of abasement he chooses for himself, when he says: *I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God [n: (I Cor. XV)]*. But what shall he do [1064C] who can say with blessed Job: *For neither doth my heart reprove me in all my life (Job XXVII)*? Assuredly he who is such has nothing from which to fetch an ass out of those things which he has already left behind his back, since he finds nothing in his past manner of life whereby he might become cheap to himself. But behold, he has what he may do: let him set before his own face the measure of that highest perfection which he has not yet laid hold of, and let him look toward it. Let him consider what that perfection of angelic purity is, what that consummation of angelic integrity; and without doubt, in the village that is over against him, he can gather by comparison the measure of his own imperfection. Let him consider what that purity of the life to come is, and of what sort its integrity; how pure it is from every evil, how whole in every good, pure from all corruption, [1064D] whole from all imperfection; and I think that in this twofold ministry he is able to fetch an ass for himself, and to find whence he ought truly to humble himself. Assuredly it will not be safe, without such a humble seat, to meet the children of the Hebrews as they cry out on every side, Well done! well done! — since they are children, and therefore cannot discern whom, or when, or how they ought to praise. Such a seat, as I judge, the Apostle wished us to seek, when he admonished us not to be high-minded concerning ourselves: *Not minding high things,* he says, *but consenting to the humble [n: (Rom. XII)]*. This is the manner of procession which Christ held, and which surely he willed us also to hold. Do you wish to know more plainly that he came from Bethany, and that in everything he did he held to obedience? *I came not,* he says, [1065A] *to do my own will, but the will of the Father who sent me [n: (Joan. VI)]*. And the Apostle testifies: *That he was made obedient unto death, even the death of the cross [n: (Philipp. II)]*. He surely passed also by the Mount of Olives, and by his own death, which he endured for us, he showed how much he loved us. For greater charity hath no man than that a man lay down his life for his friends. Do you wish to know how he sat upon the ass, or how humbly he came? Whereas he was in the form of God, he thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made into the likeness of men, and in habit found as a man. But that by every such way he makes for Jerusalem, who is ignorant — unless perhaps it can lie hidden from someone that he himself is [1065B] our peace, who hath made both one, breaking down the middle wall of partition, the enmities in his own flesh, making void the law of commandments by decrees? Behold how Christ passed over; behold with what flowers he strewed his way, that he might keep a flowering Pasch and pass through the lovely places of the virtues. Behold what Christ's procession was. Behold whence and whither; behold by what way and how — which I recall having set forth above. Out of obedience, through piety, with humility, unto peace. I know not whether what a longer discourse above set out more copiously could have been summed up more briefly. Remember that you too must strew your way with such flowers, if you desire to celebrate the flowering Pasch. Good flowers are obedience and mercy; good flowers are humility and peace. Behold, you say, [1065C] enough of the flowers; and where are the fruits. Do you wish to know in Christ what the fruits are of obedience kept and of mercy bestowed — in that he was made obedient to the Father for us unto death? Recall that word of the Apostle: *That Christ rising again from the dead dieth now no more, death shall no more have dominion over him; for in that he liveth, he liveth unto God [n: (Rom. VI)]*. Take this also: what the fruit is of peace sought and of humility taken up. *For which cause,* he says, *God also hath exalted him, and hath given him a name which is above every name, that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, on earth, and in hell [n: (Philipp. II)]*. Behold what a passage, behold how fruitful. From death to life, from tribulation to glory: behold the second Pasch, behold the fruit-bearing Pasch. O what a fruit are life and glory! O sweet [1065D] fruit, O lofty fruit: everlasting life with the highest glory, and the highest glory with everlasting life. But Christ was unwilling to eat these fruits alone; nay rather, he distributed, he gave to the poor. And now: *As in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. But every one in his own order. The firstfruits, Christ; then they that are his [n: (I Cor. XV)]*. And in the place where it was said: *You are not my people, there it is now said to them, sons of the living God [n: (Ose. I)]*. *For as by the disobedience of one man many were made sinners, so also by the obedience of one many are made just. For if by one man's offense death reigned through one, much more they who receive abundance of grace, and of the gift, and of justice, shall reign in life through one, Jesus Christ (Rom. [1066A] V)*. Knowing therefore what the fruit of obedience is — true immortality and the incorruption of eternal life — let us all run with great haste to Bethany, subjecting ourselves to every obedience; distrusting nothing of its fruit, but holding without any hesitation that this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

## A SERMON ON PALM SUNDAY. (cont.)

But since, according to the Apostle, bodily labor is profitable to little, whereas piety is profitable to all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come, let us pass by the Mount of Olives, exercising ourselves unto piety, knowing beyond doubt that we shall receive oil for oil, the oil of gladness for the oil of mercy. For blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. And let it not shame you to sit upon [1066B] the ass, or to recline in the last place, being not ignorant that God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. Let nothing therefore be done through contention, nor through vainglory, but in humility, each esteeming others better than themselves; each one considering not the things that are his own, but the things that are other men's. Gladly, as I judge, do we humble ourselves, or if we consider the fruit of true humiliation. Without doubt, as everyone that exalteth himself shall be humbled, so everyone that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Yet consider what that exaltation is, that you may recognize what fruit true humiliation has. What sort of thing, or how great a thing, do you think it is to possess the kingdom of heaven? For that I judge to be the fruit of true humiliation. For blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs [1066C] is the kingdom of heaven. Behold in what order, behold with what fruit or with what end we ought to go in procession and to make for Jerusalem. Assuredly, if we walk in this order, if we hasten with this intention, we are drawing near to Jerusalem; if we keep obedience together with charity and humility, the sooner do we find the true peace which we seek. O the fool, O the blind man, who does not zealously hasten where he may find peace, and true peace! Yet do you wish to recognize its fruit, that from it you may be able to gather how greatly we must hasten to obtain it? *Blessed,* I say, *are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God [n: (Matth. V)]*. O wonderful fruit, O singular fruit, O how great a glory for a servant — and a servant so unworthy — to be made a son of God. What, I ask, can now have savor for him, or satisfy him, whom the longing for this fruit [1066D] does not draw? If we hunger for this fruit, if we desire to enjoy it, let us be zealous for true peace. Let us meanwhile hold the peace which Christ left us, and let us securely await that which he promised: *Peace,* he says, *I leave with you, my peace I give unto you [n: (Joan. XIV)]*. Let not your heart, then, be troubled, neither let it be afraid, and you have the peace which Christ left you and willed you to keep. But perhaps you ask also what that peace is which Christ promised, and called his own. But with what words, I ask, can I explain what that peace of God is, which surpasseth all understanding? Let us therefore run through peace to peace, through inward peace to eternal peace. For there is a peace which is only outward, and there is a peace which is only inward, and there is a peace which is at once inward and outward. The first belongs [1067A] to the flesh alone, the second to the mind alone, the third to mind and flesh together. The first and the second we can have in this life, yet never at the same time — we always see them apart and separate in unlike characters; the third we hope for in the life to come alone, whence we have also named it eternal. The first Christ came to destroy, the second to establish, the third to give — yet to reserve it for the future. Of the first he says: *I came not to send peace upon earth, but a sword [n: (Matth. XI)]*. Of the second and the third we understand that which we have already set down above: *Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you [n: (Joan. XII)]*. Let us therefore detest that peace which Christ condemned; let us love that which Christ taught; let us hope for that which Christ has laid up for us, because he is faithful [1067B] who promised. Let us love the inward, let us hope for the eternal. The former belongs to the flower, the latter to the fruit; the former to the first Pasch, the latter to the second Pasch. Let him who still loves the first forsake it and pass over to the second, certain that through it he will pass over to the third. He who has passed over to the second has now celebrated the first Pasch, the flowering Pasch. What from the second to the third, he has now made the second passage and has tasted of its fruits; he has now passed over to the second Pasch, whose solemnity shall be everlasting. Behold, we make trial of the flowers; behold, of the fruits: let us desire these, let us merit those — as it was unto eternity — and let us rejoice without end in the eternal solemnity.

## A SERMON ON THE DAY OF THE PASCH.

[1067C]Christ our Pasch is sacrificed. Brethren, you know the Scriptures and their power. Therefore our sermon to you will not be teaching, but admonition, and a recalling to memory of things known. For from what fountain I drink, you also drink. Where I draw, you also draw. If I draw waters in joy from the fountains of the Savior, you also draw. Judge therefore, as spiritual men, whether the water which I shall pour out for you flows from the midst of the fountains, or has been drawn from the fountains of the Savior. Christ our Pasch is sacrificed. The fruitful passion of the Lord and his glorious resurrection are not only deeds and signs, but remedies besides. They are not only truth and figure, but medicine also. They are truth, because he who truly died [1067D] out of weakness rose again out of power. They are signs and figure, because he died and rose again that we, being dead to sins, might live to righteousness. They are medicine, because he died for our offenses and rose again for our justification. Let us therefore treat, according to our small measure, of the example and the remedy of the passion, and of the remedy and the example of the resurrection. Christ was made obedient unto death; he gave us an example of perfect humility and of consummate charity. But what true and unfeigned humility is, he expressed in these very words, speaking to the Father and saying: *Not as I will, but as thou wilt [n: (Matth. XXVI)]*. This is the voice of true humility, which always sets the divine will before the human, and in this is directed from human things into divine. And not this only, but it also [1068A] sets another man's will before its own — not only that of a greater or of a part, but even of an inferior. The contrary is the voice of pride: not as thou wilt, but as I will; whose property it is to set its own will first, before not only another man's will but even before the divine — and in this it is plunged from divine things into the lowest. The humble man, therefore, does not his own will but God's. But the proud man does not God's will but his own; the humble man seeks not his own glory but God's. But the proud man seeks not God's glory but his own. The humble man builds upon rock, the proud upon sand. All the proud, therefore, are disciples of the devil, who is king and master over the children of pride. But all the humble are disciples of Christ, who, that he might teach humility and become the master of humility, was made humble; [1068B] whence he also glories in his disciples, the humble one in the humble, saying: *Behold, I and my children whom the Lord hath given me [n: (Isa. VIII)]*. For such men he gives to the Son, drawing them to the Son, according to that word: *No man cometh to me unless my Father draw him [n: (Joan. VI)]*. They who come to the Son, drawn by the Father, do not come unwillingly, but without compulsion, without necessity — by will, by love, and in the bond of the heart. For in this the Father draws the humble to the Son: that he reveals the Son to them. Whence: *Thou hast hidden these things from the wise, and hast revealed them to little ones [n: (Matth. XI)]*. But the Son does not cast out those who come to him; he receives them kindly. And that he may test them, whether they love him, he sets before them a bundle of myrrh, of which he himself also ate, as he also drank of the torrent, passing [1068C] through the eye of the needle, that is, through the straits of the passion. But they, by reason of the greatness of their love, do not feel the bitterness of the myrrh, glorying in tribulation. Whence one of them says: We know that neither death nor life shall be able to separate us from the charity of Christ [n: (Rom. VIII)]. He gave us also an example of consummate charity in his very immolation, by praying for his enemies. This charity he described where he says: *No man hath greater charity than that he lay down his life for his friends [n: (Joan. XV)]*. But the Lord Jesus laid down his life while we were enemies, and in this he commended his charity — which the Apostle says surpasses knowledge. And this indeed we cannot comprehend unless we have been rooted and founded in charity: rooted after the likeness of a tree, founded [1068D] after the likeness of a house; founded through the love of God, by which we are the house of God and a temple, and God dwells in us; rooted through the love of neighbor, by which we are fruit-bearing trees, putting forth the leaves of protection and the fruit of sustenance. But those who are thus rooted and founded in charity can comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and the length and the height and the depth of charity. The breadth of charity is considered in this: that the enemy be loved; the length, that one persevere unto the end; the height, that all things be done for God's sake. But the depth of charity is regarded in this: that a man ascribe no good to himself, but all to the grace of God — whose causes to investigate is too deep, exceeding human understanding, namely why he hardens this man [1069A] and calls that one. Whence the Apostle: *O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are his judgments [n: (Rom. XI)]*. By the medicine of humility the disease of all elation is healed. By the gift of charity the sickness of cupidity is cured. Through these two, namely pride and concupiscence, the prince of this world used to dwell in us: through pride in the mind, through concupiscence in the flesh. But now the prince of this world has been cast out through the grace of Christ; whence he himself says: *Behold, I cast out devils and perform cures [n: (Luc. XXIII)]*. In this, that sins are forgiven, devils are cast out. In this, that the virtues are poured into minds, cures are performed.

It remains for us to speak of the remedy of the passion, which is understood in justice and in mercy. For our Savior, [1069B] since he is almighty, could by the sole word of his power have freed man from the power of darkness. But in our deliverance he preferred to use justice rather than power, because the devil is a lover of power, a deserter of justice. In which those men the more imitate him who aspire to power and hold justice in hatred. What is that justice? Hear. Christ is innocent and free from every sin, alone free among the dead, having no cause of sin under the author of sin. As he himself says: *The prince of this world cometh, and in me he hath not anything [n: (Joan. XIV)]*. For the whole possession of the ancient enemy is sin — to whom there was given for an inheritance a land barren of hope, full of thorns and briars, a land which the Lord cursed, [1069C] and to whom the lines have fallen in dark and shadowy places. Of all this his substance nothing is found in Christ; yet he slew the innocent one, and therefore he has been commanded to withdraw from the guilty who flee for refuge to Christ. He slew him who owed nothing to death, and has been commanded to withdraw from the debtors of death who believe in him who died for them. But the mercy of our redemption is intimated in this: that Christ, out of charity alone, out of compassion for our misery, obedient to the Father, endured death; and in this very thing he merited much with God the Father, and granted all his merit to his own members. And in his passion he destroyed him who had the empire of death, and expiated man's guilt, and reconciled the sinner to God the Father; and as David slew Goliath with his own sword, [1069D] so Christ destroyed the devil with his own weapons. What were the devil's weapons, by which he conquered the world and was conquered by Christ? Death; because, as the author of sin, he was therefore able by the divine sentence to inflict bodily death upon whom he would; and therefore men were, through fear, liable to the servitude of sin or of the devil, and suffered anything whatever rather than die. Whence Job says: *Skin for skin, and all that a man hath will he give for his life [n: (Job II)]*. But the Savior took death upon himself willingly, and by dying destroyed death, and so snatched men away from the fear of death. Whence the saints now fear death, but desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ. Of this remedy the Savior says: *As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him may not [1070A] perish, but may have life everlasting [n: (Joan. III)]*.

The history is known to you: how the children of Israel, as they murmured, were struck by fiery serpents in the desert. Then Moses, at the Lord's precept, set up a brazen serpent upon a pole; and the children of Israel, looking upon it, were healed of the serpents' bites. By this brazen serpent lifted up on a pole we understand Christ crucified; for because through the serpent death entered into the world, therefore death is figured by it. That brazen serpent had the likeness of a serpent, but had not the venom. So Christ too had the likeness of sinful flesh, but had not the venom of sin. For if he had the venom of sin, he would not free us from the venom of sin. As often, therefore, as we are struck by serpents — that is, are wounded by demons — [1070B] let us look upon this serpent with the eye of the flesh and with the eye of the mind: with the eye of the flesh, by the imitation of the example, that we may crucify the flesh with its vices and concupiscences; with the eye of the mind, by faith in the remedy, saying with Peter: *For there is no other name in which we must be saved [n: (Act. IV)]*. And without doubt we shall be perfectly cured of every wound; and by the imitation of the example we shall be healed of every act of sin, and by faith in the remedy we shall be purged of every guilt. This is the weakness of God, which is stronger than men. For what man could do what Christ accomplished through his death? None — nay, not the whole world. This is the foolishness of God, which is wiser than men. For who can penetrate the depth of this mystery? Now we must speak [1070C] of the remedy of the resurrection: Christ our Pasch is sacrificed. *Pasch* is interpreted *a passing over,* which belongs to the resurrection; nay rather, the Lord's passing over is the very resurrection of the Lord, whence the present day is called the day of the Pasch and the day of the resurrection. For Christ, rising from the dead, passed over from death to life, from corruptibility to incorruption; and in this he was made our Pasch, because in him and through him we pass over from darkness to light, from vices to virtues, from the enemy to the Father, from death to life.

## A SERMON ON THE DAY OF THE PASCH. (cont.)

And see how it stands that the just man lives by faith. Where therefore there is no faith, neither is there justice; there there is neither justice nor life. But in the death of Christ, faith in him died also in the apostles; for the shepherd being struck, [1070D] the sheep were scattered. But when he rose again and appeared to his disciples, faith was restored in the apostles. Moreover their hearts were kindled and set aflame with love and with the desire of immortality and of the blessedness to come; and thus, quickened and justified within, they passed over from unbelief to faith, from sin to justice, and so passed from the death of the soul to life. *For today,* as the Apostle says, *there was given to Christ a name which is above every name [n: (Philipp. XXI)]*. From eternity indeed he had, according to his divinity, the name which is above every name; and in his incarnation the name was given to the man by grace; but what lay hidden until then came out into the open through the resurrection. And therefore the Lord proved that resurrection by so many arguments. For when it stands firm, [1071A] the rest stand firm; for it is as it were the base beneath the column, as it were the foundation of foundations, upon which all the articles of faith lean. Whence the Apostle placed the whole sum of our salvation in it, saying: *If thou believe in thy heart, and confess with thy mouth that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved [n: (Rom. X)]*. This, therefore, we ought not only to believe, but also to hold in unceasing memory. Whence the Apostle says to Timothy: *Be mindful that the Lord Jesus rose again from the dead [n: (II Tim. II)]*. For as from cupidity, which is the root of all evils, there arise evil and hurtful desires which plunge a man into perdition and into destruction, so from the constant memory of the resurrection are born holy desires and pious affections, contempt of the world, love of eternal things; and a man is changed [1071B] into another man, and is made spiritual. The one resurrection of the Lord according to the flesh, therefore, effects our twofold resurrection: both the resurrection of souls in the present, of which John says in the Apocalypse, *Blessed is he who hath part in the first resurrection, for he shall not be hurt by the second death [n: (Apoc. XX)]*, and the resurrection of bodies in the time to come, of which the Apostle says: *And he will reform the body of our lowliness, made conformable to the body of his brightness [n: (Philipp. III)]*. It remains to speak of the example of the resurrection, of which the Apostle says: *As Christ rose from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also may walk in newness of life [n: (Rom. VI)]*. Now therefore, being renewed and set in newness of life, let us walk from newness to newness, from brightness to brightness, [1071C] from virtue to virtue; for even within the same virtue we advance from step to step.

Now these inward processions, these spiritual advances, these increases of the virtues, are figured by those outward processions which in these days we have frequented more solemnly — processions which it befits us to celebrate with great devotion, rejoicing both in the resurrection of our head, and in the resurrection of minds in the present, and in the resurrection of bodies which shall be in the time to come. But chiefly in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is the cause of our twofold resurrection. And therefore the sum of our joys is from thence, in that we sing: Christ rising from the dead, and so forth. But the inward processions are to be made at every time indeed, yet chiefly at this solemnity, at which they are not only enacted but also presented. [1071D] But that they may be made to profit, two things are necessary, namely the cithara and the psaltery — not indeed the material instruments, but the things they signify. The cithara sounds from below, and therefore signifies the mortification of vices; but the psaltery sounds from above, and therefore signifies [sic: *signifiat*] the showing forth of good works. He who plays the cithara and does not play the psaltery, or plays the psaltery and not the cithara, does not go in procession, does not make progress; for neither of them without the other renders a pleasant sound, since the psaltery is pleasant with the cithara. For, as it is written, *The honor of the king loveth judgment [n: (Psal. XCV)]*, we give honor to the supreme King when we return thanks for his benefits. But this honor loves judgment, by which evils are punished and vices mortified; for praise is not comely in the mouth of sinners. For praise befits the upright alone. Whence [1072A] the Apostle too, teaching us to celebrate this paschal solemnity, says: *Purge out the old leaven [n: (I Cor. V)]*. He calls the old leaven any mortal sin whatsoever, which corrupts us and renders us old and sour. Whence the same Paul had said before: *A little leaven corrupteth the whole lump [n: (ibid.)]*. For one sin, being deadly, renders all good merits useless and insufficient for salvation, according to that word: *He that offendeth in one is become guilty of all [n: (Jac. II)]*. Which is not to be understood as though he who has one sin has all, and is to be punished for all; nor do we concede this even of the virtues, that he who has one has all. For Jerome says that this is a philosophers' opinion: "He who has one virtue has all" — but [1072B] it is not a divine one. Nor, he says, is it a care to us what Aristotle says; but what does Paul say? How, then, is it to be understood, "He that offendeth in one is become guilty of all"? Is he who commits a theft guilty of homicide, of adultery, of sacrilege, and of the rest? To be guilty of something is not said in one way only. For in one way a man is called guilty of a sin, in another guilty of a capital charge. Someone is guilty of a sin, that is, more deserving that he be punished for the sin. He is guilty of a capital charge, that is, deserving to lose his head. So, when it is said, "He that offendeth in one is become guilty of all," it is not understood of all sins, as though he were to be punished for all, but is understood of all the good things which he has done, that he should lose them. As, if anyone should keep nine commandments and transgress one only, offending in one he has become [1072C] guilty of all — that is, deserving to lose the merit of the nine commandments; for one commandment transgressed is more efficacious unto damnation than nine fulfilled are unto salvation. And Solomon confirms this opinion, saying: *He that offendeth in one shall lose many good things [n: (Eccle. IX)]*. These three authorities, therefore — namely, *a little leaven corrupteth the whole lump,* and *he that offendeth in one is become guilty of all,* and *he that offendeth in one shall lose many good things* — are to be understood according to one and the same sense. You therefore, brethren, who have lived praiseworthily for a long time, must take care lest a little leaven corrupt the whole lump of your good merits; lest, offending in one, you be guilty of all and lose many good things. Lest this then should befall, you must, according to the Apostle, celebrate the paschal solemnity in your [1072D] souls. Unleavened bread is without leaven, if it begets sincerity, that is, purity from vices. But by the fact that it is solid, it designates truth, that is, the showing forth of good works. Sincerity partly to the cithara, truth to the psaltery. But behold, there is someone who mortifies vices and does good things, but twists them all back to his own glory. This man goes in procession, but makes no progress, because he does not seek the glory of God. Whence the Lord through the Prophet: *Arise, my glory; arise, psaltery and cithara [n: (Psal. XXXVI)]*. For it profits nothing to carry the cithara and the psaltery, unless the whole be done for God's sake. For we ought to turn aside from evils and to press on in good things, unto the praise and glory of God. Whence the Apostle: *The man is the image and glory of God [n: (I Cor. XXI)]* — man in the mortification of vices, [1073A] image in the doing of good things. For he who says that he abides in Christ ought himself also to walk even as he walked, that is, to imitate him; and therefore he is an image, from imitating, namely, and the glory of God, so that God, and not the man himself, may be glorified in all things. The Lord designates this same procession where he says: *Arise, take up thy bed, and go into thy house [n: (Marc. II)]*. Rise from vices; take up thy bed — that is, carry him by whom thou wilt be carried; that is, as thy brother bore thy weaknesses, so do thou bear thy brother's weaknesses; and doing these things, walk by a right intention into thy house, that is, into paradise, so that thou mayest do all things for the hope of the life to come. Let no one look back with Lot's wife, or return like a dog to his vomit, or go in mind with the children of Israel into Egypt to the fleshpots; [1073B] for, according to the Truth: *No man putting his hand to the plough [n: (Luc. IX)]*, and so forth. Now, therefore, let us see in sum whence this procession ought to begin, and how far it ought to come, or to proceed. Let the mind, then, be glad; let the spirit exult; let mouth and tongue bring forth a new song. Let the left hand beat the timbrel, or play the cithara. Let the right hand play the psaltery — nay rather, let us use both hands for a right hand, that all things inward and outward may resound praise [1074A] and glory to God, that the whole man may tend toward God, according to that word: *Let us lift up our hearts with our hands to heaven, that he who made the whole may possess the whole [n: (Thren. III)]*. Let us therefore so go in procession until we all meet unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the age of the fullness of Christ, to meet Christ in the air. May God, the good shepherd, who laid down his life for his sheep, bring us into the true land of promise, into the land of the living, which flows with milk and honey. This land of the living has been promised us by Christ, who is the power of God and the wisdom of God; and this land he will give us for an inheritance when he shall manifest himself to us, leading us to the vision of the Father, to the enjoyment of the highest good, to the affluence of all delights. And we, going out and coming in, shall find pastures. [1074B] We shall go out through the sense of the flesh, and shall find pastures in the milk of Christ's humanity. We shall come in through the sense of reason, and shall find pastures in the honey of his divinity. There shall be eternal satiety, full joy which no one shall take from us, because this shall be eternal, in an end without end; to which may the very author of loving-kindness lead us. Amen.

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