Commentaries on the New Testament

“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth; for the Father seeks such as these to worship Him,” clearly demonstrating that while He rejected those who circumscribed divine worship to Jerusalem and Samaria, He greatly values these lovers of truth, who everywhere on earth offer sacrifice in the same way to the God who is the Creator of all things and who is equally present everywhere. ^B Verumtamen these things were appropriately spoken for the time of the Maccabees; for since there were very many sins both of those who seemed to perform the priesthood and of the people, God cast them into the war of the Macedonian succession, by whom they were entangled in many calamities. But with Judas Maccabeus undertaking the guardianship of the divine law and waging war on its behalf against the then-reigning kings of the Macedonians, a great change for the better occurred for the entire nation. For having obtained God’s aid, the Maccabees both defeated the kings and, having punished their wicked ministers, restored the entire nation to order and prosperity: so that the divine laws flourished among them, and all the iniquity that had previously spread widely was expelled: and finally, the priesthood and all its proper ministry was performed with due rite. This indeed the blessed Zechariah also signified in his discourses. Therefore, he says this now as well: namely, “Since you seek judgment, the time will come when I will punish your sins, and by inflicting evils I will make you more temperate; and as if purging you from your ancient sins by a furnace, I will prepare you for the observance of all duties pleasing to God, and indeed even to offer sacrifices well-pleasing to God.” Subjoining to these, since he had narrated the utility of the punishments to be inflicted upon them, that he would provide a more perfect correction for them, he says thus: ^C VERS. 5-7. “And I will approach you in judgment.” That is, I will appear to you to judge your works. “And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers, and against adulterers, and against those who swear by my name with falsehood, and against those who defraud the hireling of his wages, and those who oppress widows, and those who strike orphans, and who pervert the judgment of the stranger, and who do not fear me, says the Lord Almighty.” By these words he certainly shows for how many and how great committed iniquities they are about to pay the penalty. Now, he says the expression “Swift witness” for “I will bring swift punishment,” inasmuch as I know accurately everything regarding you: and against all people entirely, whoever freely, having abandoned fear of me, adhere to wickedness, I will declare this punishment. Soon he adds: “Because I, the Lord your God, do not change. And you, sons of Jacob, do not depart from the sins of your fathers, ^D

^A you have turned aside from my statutes, and have not kept them. For I am always consistent with myself, knowing when it is proper to be patient, and likewise knowing the time for punishment; but you are exact imitators of your fathers' sins, being, like them, violators of my laws and taking no account of their observance, for which you shall receive a just punishment.

VERS. 8-10

^A *Vers. 11-12.* “Return therefore in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “if I do not open to you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you my blessing until there is enough. And I will distribute for you for food, and I will not corrupt the fruits of your land, and your vine in the field shall not be weak,” says the Lord Almighty. “And all nations shall call you blessed, for you shall be a desirable land,” says the Lord Almighty. Come, he says, be converted and amend all these things. For you will see how I will provide for you copious rain, and how I will supply you with an abundance of produce to satiety. For this is what the words denote, “my blessing until there is enough,” so that from these things you may have rich nourishment. For the words, “I will distribute to you for food,” signify that all your fruits will be preserved for you unharmed, with your vine also providing you with abundant drink, so that, because of the general abundance among you, even all outsiders will call you blessed, and declare that God truly decrees all the best for you, while granting your land plenty of produce in abundance beyond the rest.

^B *Vers. 13-16.* Then he returns to the previous discourses, as if deeming those wicked and impious ones worthy of a second admonition, and says: “You have burdened me with your words,” says the Lord Almighty. With harsh reproaches, he says, you have attacked me. “And you said, In what have we spoken against you?” Do you then not even have a sense of such great blasphemy? For the prophet everywhere here uses the word “you said,” as if reproaching them for a grave stupidity, through which they were acting wickedly, grasping no sense of the matter, but living so in their sins as if they thought they had not sinned at all. Then, explaining what the sin was: “You said,” he says, “that it is useless to serve God; for no benefit has come to us while keeping the guard of the things commanded by him; nor, when we have often entreated him, has anything of good come to us. Our affairs have reached such a state that, while we languish in straits and afflictions, we call blessed others who have no regard for the divine will, to whom things proceed for the better, although they are always opposing God, from whom, however, they suffer no harm.” “These things spoke those who feared the Lord, each to his neighbor.” These things, he says, they did not hesitate to say to one another—those who pretended to hold my fear ^C above all foreigners. To them God paid attention, and left their memory written for those who come after, for that time when they will pay the price, those who use such words and give themselves over to every kind of wickedness. But on the contrary, nothing but good will come to those who will truly observe my laws; and them, indeed, at that time when I punish the wicked, I will deem worthy of my providence, thus surely declaring that he considers them in the number of his own intimates, and that he will distribute to them all that is best, just as someone would be affected toward his own son, who showed much

had shown love at all times. Then he adds:

^A “And you shall turn and see between the just and the unjust, and between him who serves God, and him who does not serve him.” Then the distinction will become manifest between the just and the lawless, and between those who have made it their business to serve God and those who have deemed none of this worthy of concern—a clear distinction being made as to the punishment brought upon the wicked, and the goods accruing to those who are grateful, and the actual existence of both good and evil. He says these things in agreement with what was said previously regarding the events that would occur at the time of the Maccabees, when the wicked of the people received, in truth, a most heavy punishment, and those who sought after what is better obtained the greatest divine support in everything. Wherefore, ^B for a confirmation of what has been said, he adds:

CHAPTER IV

Vers. 1, 2. — “For behold, the day comes burning as an oven, and it shall burn them; and all the aliens and all those who do lawlessly shall be stubble; and the coming day shall set them on fire, says the Lord Almighty; and there shall not be left of them root or branch.” For in that time, he says, all the aliens and those who are workers of lawlessness shall be burned as if by fire, being destroyed like stubble by the punishment that comes upon them. And so much for the wicked; but what of those who fear him? “And the sun of righteousness shall rise for you who fear my name, and there is healing in his wings.” ^C For you there shall be great glory, as is fitting, granted by God on account of your benevolence toward him. And he will deliver you from all evil, covering you with his own providence as if with wings; and you shall differ in nothing from calves that are released from bonds and leap with great delight; for you shall rule over those who act lawlessly, who shall be under your feet like ashes, being deemed worthy of neither care nor any correction at that time. He says these things, as I have often said, concerning the events that occurred in the time of the Maccabees, when God, providing his own aid, punished the wicked, but established in rest and prosperity those who held fast to his laws, who ^D indeed punished and completely overcame their adversaries, not only those from among the aliens, but also those from among their own people. From which it became clear to all how great is the difference between those who serve God and those who hold the contrary view; for which reason the latter underwent a most heavy punishment, while the former obtained prosperous success and the greatest happiness. And such was the prophecy of the blessed Angel, which he made concerning the matters that pertained to the Israelites at that time, and specifically at the time of the Maccabees.

Since, however, this was the last of all the prophets who committed their own prophecies to writing, he rightly judged that he ought thereafter to demonstrate the cessation of the Law, and what things would follow.

^A “Remember the law of Moses my servant, as I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, both statutes and judgments. And behold, I will send you Elijah the Tishbite before the great and illustrious day of the Lord comes, who shall restore the heart of the father to the son, and the heart of man to his neighbor, lest I come and smite the earth utterly.” ^B Verily, in addition to all that has been said, I hand down to you this final commandment, that you might be mindful of my law, which I imposed upon all Israel through Moses, setting forth clearly whatsoever things ought to be done by them accordingly. Thus, therefore, you will give the first sign of obedience if you receive the Lord who is coming, Christ, who will appear for the salvation of all men; and who will set an end to the Law, and demonstrate its own proper perfection. Certainly it would have been well for you immediately, and at his first coming, to believe and to acknowledge him to be the one whom Moses and all the prophets had indicated, about to set an end to the Law and to reveal the common salvation of all: from which it would also have become known to all that this is the heading and the greatest good of the whole economy of the Law, namely, that all men be led to Christ the Lord, who for the sake of such a great good was to come in his own time. But because in his present manifestation you will show your malevolence, blessed Elijah will be sent to you ^C before the second coming of Christ the Lord, which he will make from the heavens, in order that he may join together those who are divided from one another on account of religion, and also that he may draw parents into concord with their children through the knowledge of this same religion—being beforehand divided because of the cause of religion—in sum, that he may bind all men together with one and the same bond: so that those who are found to be irreligious at that time may receive the knowledge of the truth from him, and thereafter concur with the religious. This will God do, who takes care for the salvation of all men, lest perhaps, persisting in impiety, they experience his fearful coming, which occurs for the total destruction of the wicked.

God do, who takes care for the salvation of all men, lest perhaps, persisting in impiety, they experience his fearful coming, which occurs for the total destruction of the wicked.

Fragments on the Old Testament. On Genesis.

^A From the same Theodore, from the fifth book of his commentaries on creation, in which he says that both good and evil things were made by God.

Therefore, he did not bring death upon men unexpectedly or beyond his judgment, nor did he provide an entrance for sin without any utility; for indeed, he was not unable to prevent this from happening had he been unwilling, but because he knew it was useful for us, and even more for all rational beings, that an entrance for evils and worse things should first occur, and that afterwards these should be blotted out and better things introduced; for this reason God divided creation into two states, the present and the future; in the former, he intended to lead all things to immortality and immutability, while in the present state he leaves us for a time to death and mutability. For if he had made us immortal and immutable immediately from the beginning, we would have had no difference from irrational creatures, not knowing our own good. For, being ignorant of mutability, we were ignorant of the good of immutability; being ignorant of death, we did not know the gain of immortality; being ignorant of corruption, we did not praise incorruption; being ignorant of the burden of passions, we did not admire impassibility. To speak briefly, so as not to make a long discourse: being ignorant of the experience of evils, we could not deserve the knowledge of those goods.

From the same, concerning the same things, and stating that angels, and men, and demons are likewise evil.

It is necessary, however, that all rational beings—I speak of the invisible ones and ourselves, for whom the body is mortal, but the soul is in all things equal to those invisible and rational substances—should here experience the present mutability, so that we may be educated in the best doctrine of religion and be established in goodwill.

From the same, suppressing judgment, and stating that all mutable and mortal things having been made, all will again be immutable and immortal immediately after the resurrection, according to the likeness of Christ.

That which pleased God was this: to divide creation into two states: one which is the present, in which he made all things mutable; the other, which will be the one following, ^A when he will translate all things to immutability, renewing them: the principle of which he showed us in the dispensation of the Lord Christ, whom, existing from among us, he raised from the dead, and made his soul and body immortal and immutable; by which he demonstrated that this will happen regarding the entire creation.

From the same, from the fourth book on creation.

It being established for certain that, just as for us there will be, through the resurrection, both an incorruptible body and an immutable soul, in the same way it happens that invisible and rational natures also deserve the immutable, at present indeed receiving conversion, as the ten thousand demons many times turned show, but then will be with us in immutability.

From the same, from the fifth book, that God, knowing it was expedient for men that there be sin, ordained it to be so.

For he indeed knew that they would sin in every way, but he granted this to happen, knowing it was expedient for them, since it was not possible for him, who when he had made those things that were not, and had demonstrated himself the master of so many, and had proposed such great goods to be enjoyed by them, not to forbid the entrance of sin if he knew it was expedient for them. But truly it was not possible for us to learn otherwise about sin, and the burden of passions, and the worse things, and to demonstrate our own infirmity in these things, to show the ^C magnitude of the immutability which was afterwards to be granted to us, unless these things had been dispensed by God from the beginning in such a way that, by the comparison and experience of those infinite goods, we might be able to know their magnitude: and for this reason, as it would be profitable for us, by allowing sin to enter, he found great help for his battle.

From the same Theodore, refuting those things said about the flaming sword and concerning the cherubim (Gen. III).

For they call it a flaming sword, so as to say that the fire is fearfully flashing, extended in the form of a sword, so that the appearance might be doubly terrible to those seeing it, both by its nature and by its form.

^A For he does not call the cherubim invisible powers here, as some suppose; since the invisible nature had no ability there, when the sight was meant to be sensible, and such as would chastise Adam. Therefore, the flaming sword was not in its nature fire, but in its appearance; and the cherubim were not living creatures, but an appearance of such.

OTHER FRAGMENTS ON GENESIS

^B CAP. I. VERS. 14. — Theodore. Let there be lights in the heavens, he says, not as if they were fixed to them, but as though they were fulfilling their own course above them. Just as it is said concerning Adam: He placed him in paradise, not indeed as if he were fixed to the earth, but so that he might roam hither and thither upon it; in a similar way, he here commands the lights to be placed in the firmament of heaven. ^C He rightly adds, to give light upon the earth; intending to say that they might provide what is necessary for the earth. For this reason precisely were they placed in the heavens.

CAP. II. ^D VERS. 2. — And God finished on the sixth day his works which he made, and rested on the seventh day, and the rest. By these words he declares that on the sixth day he had brought all things to completion, so that he would add nothing new to them afterward, since he judged that nothing was lacking in them. He rested on the seventh day from making. For this reason, he added this day, although [it is] empty of any work and free from all creation, so that by the rest of that day he might prove that all things were already entirely perfect. For because on the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth days he had always brought forth something new, which seemed to be lacking in creation, it becomes manifest that he refrained from all work on the seventh day in order to declare by this rest that creation had finally been completed. He therefore defined the series of days by the number seven, though he could have done in the space of six days what he accomplished in the creation. Thus, those six days provide the reason for what has been made; but the seventh indicates that all things had reached their end, and that they no longer lacked anything in any respect. It is clear that nothing new has been made after the sixth day, although plants and seeds and animals are born daily. For these are not new, but according to the form of those things which were previously created, and according to the same law, in accordance with the blessing pronounced upon them by God, they grow day by day.

(a) See the complete title below.

^A Animals indeed, being devoid of reason, obtain life while they are animated by the breath of the spirit which passes through the air; but man is a participant in a nature that is itself immortal and most excellent. For God breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul. It was commanded to the former to serve and obey, but to the latter to rule and hold dominion.

Scripture did not say that the flesh became a living soul, but rather, "Man became a living soul," employing the name of man, which is common to both sexes. By this appellation, He designated that both were joined together; yet by the distinction of the creation, He had separated their natures—by the one, "And He formed dust from the earth," indicating the flesh; by the other, "And He breathed the breath of life," declaring the soul; then, bringing them together under a common term, He adds, "And man became a living soul."

^B VERSE 8. — It seems that by the name Eden, He designates the place situated to the east, in which the paradise was, not calling by this name merely some small part of the earth. For He shows that the paradise was great, if the river watering it, after its use there, was borne outside and divided into four very great rivers. And after a little: Therefore, by the name of Eden, the paradise is not named alone, but also an external region, not small, which was considered to be a part of Eden, and which lay adjacent to the paradise. Whence He says concerning Cain, "And Cain went out from the face of God, and dwelt in the land of Nod, opposite Eden" (Gen. iv, 16). You may believe, therefore, that they dwelt in Eden before, where God had appeared to them. But when later he goes forth from those places, being rejected far from God on account of his own wickedness, he subsequently dwells in another place, called Nod, which existed opposite that former place of Eden in which he had dwelt before. For so, too, when Adam was cast out of the paradise, He said that he was settled opposite the paradise. Therefore, having chosen from all the earth, as it were, a certain excellent place toward the east, named Eden, in it He fashioned the paradise, in which He wished the created man to dwell.

VERSE 19. — Not as though He had fashioned other animals from the earth after these, but because the occasion was given, He relates again those which had been produced before. The word "still" is a property of the Hebrew language. As also that saying: "And God still brought forth from the earth."

CHAPTER III

VERSE 7. — It appeared foolishly to some that what the devil had said to the woman was fulfilled by these words: "Your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." They taught this because the prophet, immediately upon the tasting of the food, adds, "And the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked." But it is to be noted that these things differ from each other in many ways. For the devil speaks of the eyes being opened in the sense that their mind would be sharper, and that they would have the power to contemplate good and evil after the likeness of God

^A but the prophet does not say this, but rather that they saw and became aware of their own nakedness. Before this, experiencing nothing regarding it, nor being ashamed, they were later moved by this nakedness in such a way that, once they understood it, they were immediately ashamed. It escapes no one that there is a reason in the mind why, upon seeing a thing, we are moved now in one way, now in another. For infants are not ashamed of their nakedness, nor those using a bath; not because they do not see it, but because this sight arouses no base feelings within them. Therefore, Adam and his companion, being newly created and not yet stained by sin, nor suspecting even any evil at all, did not consider their nakedness, nor any other aspect of their nature, to be shameful. But after they had sinned, acting contrary to the laws of God, the sense of shame was implanted in them by God as a help against sin, sufficient to curb its impulse. They necessarily received this primary notion of shame regarding the organs of procreation, so that shame might from afar deter human beings from all intemperate intercourse.

^B V. 8. — When they heard the voice of God walking, while they were still sewing the leaves, they hid themselves under the tree, evidently no different from that whose leaves they were sewing. This was the same one concerning which they had received the commandment, as the prophet testifies: *For they hid themselves*, he says, *in the midst of the tree of paradise*. From it, moreover, after eating the fruit, they plucked leaves because of their shame over their nakedness. Now these were certainly fig leaves; therefore the tree concerning which they had received the commandment was the fig tree. Some deny this, foolishly, if I am not mistaken, thinking that that tree must have been something extraordinary, not considering that the weight of sin does not depend on the quality of the tree, nor on the novelty of the food, but on the condition of the law. In whatever way it may have been violated, the guilt will be the same.

^C V. 17. — I have heard some asking: If God foresaw that Adam would violate the law, for what reason did He provide the occasion for this transgression by issuing the law? I will answer that He did this because He knew mortality would be profitable to men. For those who are immortal, if they fall, fall forever. It was therefore in our interest that, with the body of death being dissolved, the body of sin should be dissolved at the same time. But God did not set us immediately in the best state (that is, of mortality), lest He be accused of not having given immortality from the beginning. However, He first established that law which He knew would be neglected. By this means He tested men, even though immortality was promised to the obedient, while death was threatened against the rebellious, so that they might nevertheless doubt their Creator and Benefactor, to the extent of hoping that if they disobeyed, they would not only have immortality, but would also attain to the dignity of divinity. For if their flesh had already obtained immortality, how much more would they have been persuaded that they would become gods through disobedience! For to those whom the threat of death did not suffice ^D to keep the commandment, the certainty of immortality would surely have been a stronger inducement to sin, and constant, by means of the immortality

^A the grace of the commandment, and through the disobedience of those around Adam, that mortality is advantageous; and then He grants this, at once persuading men and not withdrawing from what is advantageous. For that He prepared man for a mortal life, the very form of male and female shows, in the power of procreation being demonstrated straight away and from the beginning. So, the formation was prepared for a mortal life, but the giving of the commandment both exercised the free will, and gave the opportunity for self-chosen struggles to the mind, and showed the benefit of mortality.

^B VERSE 22. — You ask what the coats of skins are. If clothes were to be made of slaughtered animals, it is clear that the race of the slaughtered would have failed. Since God had only recently created them male and female, and nothing had yet been ordained, and since one cannot suppose that God ordered animals to be slaughtered when meat-eating was not yet permitted to men; and since to think that there were no coats at all is even more absurd—seeing that God brought them forth, He who, in the creation of man, ceased from doing anything not existing, as if in this He had completed the creation of the whole world—it is clear, therefore, that He did not bring forth the coats of skins out of nothing. But those who inquire about these things have, it seems, failed to notice that "skins" are not called only those which are stripped from animals, but also those from trees, which most people are accustomed to call barks. From trees, therefore, which were, in a way, suitable for the making of garments, the men around Adam came to be provided with bark, with God instructing them according to His intention as to how this should be done.

^C VERSE 24. — He does not call the Cherubim some invisible powers, as some suppose; since an invisible nature would not have served any purpose there, as Adam needed to be instructed by a sensible spectacle. Therefore, neither was the "flaming sword" a nature of fire, but it appeared as such, nor were the Cherubim animals, but they appeared as such. For Ezechiel also saw the Cherubim as having four faces, although the invisible nature is not like that. But He calls "Cherubim" whatever excels in power; thus saying, "Who sits upon the Cherubim" (Ps. XCVIII, 1), as if to say, he who is a mighty king; and, "He mounted upon the Cherubim and flew" (Ps. XVII, 11), that is, he appeared with great power. Therefore, "He set the Cherubim," means this: He stationed a certain mighty and terrible vision and form, as though of some animals, before the entrance to paradise, so as to turn Adam away.

CAP. XIX.

VERSE 3. — They were not men by nature, but seemed to be; nor did they eat as men, but they seemed to eat to the eyes of those who saw them, those things which were offered being consumed by divine power.

VERSE 31. — They did not, therefore, indulge in the impulses of lust, but were sparing of their race. Whence they are worthy of pardon.

^A VERSE 32. — They secretly unite themselves with their father. For they were not unaware of the sobriety and temperance of their father.

CAP. XX.

VERSE 5. — I did not desire, he says, to be joined with her out of intemperance, but I believed it would be a great thing if I were to take in marriage a holy woman and the sister of a holy man.

CHAPTER XXVII.

VERSE 1. — This also is a work of divine grace, that in the meantime, by the help of Rebecca, it was permitted to Jacob to steal the blessing.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

VERS. 18. — ^B Jacob poured oil on the top of the stone, and called the place, House of God. This, however, was a figure of the Mosaic tabernacle, which, once constructed and built, they anointed.

CAP. XXX.

VERS. 39. — When in Mesopotamia white sheep are sought, and black goats, but in Palestine the opposite prevails, the aforementioned matter served the interests of the patriarchs.

CHAPTER XXXII.

VERS. 1. — When Jacob was freed from Laban, angels met him, sent indeed by Michael, the prince of the Israelites, for he presided over them, as Gabriel says to Daniel: Michael your prince (Dan. XI, 21). For when, freed from the fear of Laban, he began ^C to fear Esau, Jacob is instructed by the angels who had met him not to fear the encounter with those who were with his brother.

VERS. 24. — Having sent all his own across the river, Jacob remains alone, and struggles with a certain one who appeared to him. This one, however, was certainly none other than he who leaned upon the ladder seen in Bethel. The angels who were ascending and descending upon it were not different from those whom he had encountered.

VERS. 25. — And he saw, he says, that he could not prevail against him, and he touched the breadth of his thigh, and it became numb. Jacob saw that he could not prevail against the angel, and the angel touched ^D the breadth of his thigh.

VERS. 26. — For no other reason does the angel say, Let me go, than that he might rouse Jacob and provide him an opportunity to respond: I will not let you go, unless you bless me.

VERS. 27. — But he asks: What is your name? And he said: Jacob. And he said to him: Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name: for you have prevailed with God, and with men you shall be powerful. A sufficient blessing for you, he says, is this struggle with God; a greatest of signs for you is this new name, Israel, which is interpreted as "man seeing God." Indeed, if he who appeared had truly been an angel, he would have been falsely called Israel, since he would not have seen the true God. Therefore, he was God, the same as man and angel;

all things truly. But the one is of the incarnation; the other, of the economy; the other, of nature. ^A

CHAPTER XLIV

CHAPTER XLIX

Vers. 10. — Having mentioned the ass or the colt, upon which the Lord sat before the passion, he now also brings in the intimation of the passion: *He will wash his robe in wine*, and the rest. It is the custom of Scripture to represent punishments and death by wine; as in that passage: *The cup in the hand of the Lord of pure wine* (Ps. LXXIV, 8), as if to say, it is in God’s power to afflict whom He wills with punishments. Since, therefore, he here calls the passion and death *wine*, he rightly added that his *clothing is in the blood of the grape*, that by the name of blood he might more clearly declare the suffering. He calls his *robe* the form of a servant he assumed. Now, it is quite evident that clothes cannot be cleaned with wine; nay, rather, they are immediately so stained by wine that this defilement can only be removed with the greatest difficulty. But since death for all men is a stripping off of life, whereas for the Lord it is not a stripping off of life, but a transition to another better life, which He received rising from the dead, he therefore says: *He will wash his robe in wine*, and the rest; to say that He will receive the passion not for punishment, as do others, but that He might appear much more brilliant because of it, having become immortal and incorruptible. ^{B C}

Vers. 12. — *His eyes are gladdening above wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.* Since it is the custom for the eyes of those who use much wine to appear bloodshot, he says this, that through the passion and death He will appear to have undergone a certain change; but He will undergo such a change toward the better, that He will appear whiter than milk. For from the teeth, as from a part, he wished to signify the whole; and especially since it happens that teeth are hidden by the lips, and appear only when the mouth is opened. In this way also, the brilliance surrounding Him, hidden at the time of death, will appear to all after the resurrection. ^D

FRAGMENT ON EXODUS

^A CAP. XXVI. Vers. 35. — The lampstand was a symbol of the day perfected by God. Hence it even had seven lamps, by which the week of days was prefigured. Thus, indeed, was the first tabernacle constituted. But at the same time, all things were a figure of what was to follow. For the ark of the covenant indicated the worship and acknowledgment of God; but the tablets of the covenant which were in the ark, and the rod of Aaron, signified that divine worship is fulfilled through the observance of the law and sacred rites. The urn containing the manna commended the memory of the time when, being thus instructed by God, they fed on manna in the desert. The golden censer also declared that the virtue which is perfected through these things is pleasing and acceptable to God. Gold on every side intimated that nothing on earth is more pleasing to God than the zeal of men regarding piety. The Cherubim which were above were a memory of the invisible and ministerial powers ^B among whom it was fitting for God to be present with the invisible powers, as ministers, and to perform through them all things which pertain to the utility of our souls.

EXPOSITION OF THE SAME THEODORE ON THE PSALMS

PSALM I. VERS. 1. — Of Theodore of Antioch. Since God is properly blessed [for Paul says: "Blessed and only Potentate" (1 Tim. vi, 15)], He has made us partakers of this appellation, just as He is also called faithful: "Faithful is God," he says, "by whom you were called" (1 Cor. i, 9). And, "God is faithful, and there is no iniquity in Him" (Deut. xxxii, 4). Thus He also calls them gods, according to that: "I said, You are gods" (Ps. lxxxi, 6). The name of "blessed," therefore, is the fruit of perfection in virtue.

PSALM II. VERS. 1. — Of Theodore of Antioch. He does not say "nations" absolutely, so that it might be thought ^D that all are included

^A but "nations" implying a certain exception: since the Jews, having apprehended (Christ), delivered Him to the nations, therefore He says these things: What is this cause, or what is the deed, that the peoples should be moved against Him, and He should be delivered into the hands of the nations? And "Fremuerunt" (they raged) is instead of "they boasted."

VERS. 7. — He who was the Son before the ages, is today born become man.

VERS. 9. — He shatters them not for destruction and ruin, but for restoration: for to this end the potter acts, shattering his own vessels, when it does not save the formation of the potter sound and intact, not yet having been exposed to fire; to these things also bears witness the blessed prophet Jeremiah, speaking as from God: "As this potter, shall I not be able to do this to you, O house of Israel, saith the Lord?" (Jer. xviii, 6). ^B That is, to restore those who have fallen apart, and to bring them back again to their original state.

VERS. 11. — Since, fearing the Lord, we act rightly, we bring back much joy from our deeds, since a good conscience always provides the greatest joy. But "in trembling," that is, in compunction, lest the joy of God should lapse into the joy of the world.

VERS. 12. — Wishing that we should cling tightly to the teaching of the Lord, he deservedly uses the expression "lay hold" (apprehendite).

PSALM III

VERS. 2. — This is shown more clearly as needing to be said of David regarding this psalm. For "insurgunt" (those who rise up) is properly said of those who, having first been wisely brought into subjection, afterwards moved to war.

PSALM V

VERS. 9. — "Lead me and direct in thy sight my way," he says this for "Bring me back": for "in thy sight" signifies "direct my way toward Thee," so that I may return to Thee according to the Jewish mind, as if the Lord were leading ^C me to Mount Sion: for because of my enemies there was meanwhile a double toll for me: "Bring me back," he says, so that I may be saved from the enemies who have taken me, and after he said "In thy justice," that is, according to your custom of judging, he immediately shows how it is just for him to be saved from his enemies, bringing forward the reasoning in his own way.

PSALM VI

VERS. 2. — The blessed David confesses to God concerning his own sin which he committed in sleeping with Bathsheba. He says these things while he was in the adversities by which he was being tested on account of his sin. The same man said it more strongly: for this, "My bones have been troubled," shows the magnitude of the contrition and of the ^D agitation: "And my soul is troubled exceedingly," this

which bruised my body, has penetrated even to the soul itself.

PSALM VII

Vers. 4. — "If I have done this which I now suffer," that is, if I have acted unjustly: whence he adds more clearly, saying: "If there is iniquity in my hands," instead of, if I am found to have committed any injustice, "if I have requited those who render evils to me": he always places the greater thing in the second position after the lesser; and yet, not to begin injustice, which is greater than suffering those who act unjustly, he mentions in the second place.

Vers. 7. — Not that He Himself is exalted (for He does not need exaltation), but that such a conception of Him exists in our thoughts whenever He performs some fearful sign: therefore he says, "In the borders of my enemies," that is, surrounding all my enemies with your retribution, make your magnitude and your strength known to all: for from thence He was especially celebrated, by exercising retribution upon all.

Vers. 8. — Since at the time of Absalom the kingdom was divided against itself, with some adhering to David and others to Absalom, he consequently said, "To those rising up against me, exercising judgments according to your decree; but again they shall be gathered (the peoples) into one, rendering the thanks owed to you": for on account of this you shall be shown to be exalted.

Vers. 9. — He does not call himself innocent or just, but says that he has done nothing evil: just as, he says, I did not treat them badly, yet I now suffer badly from them, so judge me as innocent, suffering gratuitously and not justly.

Vers. 10. — Instead of "shall be completed," Symmachus put "shall be finished." Whether vanity or evil awaits those living evilly, the diligent cultivators of virtue, he says, will prepare for themselves a good end.

Vers. 17. — These things seem to me to have been fulfilled openly and word for word in Ahitophel. For when, by the counsel of Hushai, he had been cast down from his purpose, being a man distinguished among all, he could not endure the envy, and being skilled at foreseeing the future, and perceiving that the affairs of Absalom were betrayed, and that he would never be able to be freed from the hands of David, he delivers himself to hanging in his own house, and all things which he had begotten by his own counsels, gathering and collecting them with the same wickedness by which he had acted against David, he brought forth for his own destruction. "He opened a deeper pit," he says, signifying from a metaphor the deceit and the depth of his counsel.

Vers. 18. — "But I, having experienced such providence from God, will sing of this benefit forever, and will recount the justice of his judgments."

PSALM VIII

Vers. 3. — In this also the blessed David prophesies Christ to us. From the inspiration of the Spirit, he declares how infants, sucklings, and other children are to praise Him in the temple: some say

^A and this is the common opinion, that a man was questioned during the Festival of Tabernacles, and that this psalm was composed by the blessed David for the time when the gathering of fruits takes place; and for this reason it is inscribed, *For the winepresses*.

PSALM IX

VER. 2. — For after the narration of your wonders, it remains for me also to rejoice, as I recall your benefits.

VER. 5. — Symmachus: *He has established his throne in judgment*, that is, He has made this judgment firm, and it does not admit of being changed by Him.

VER. 10. — *Instead of, "And he will become a refuge"* — for the context desires this; but the tense has been changed. For the aid is timely, ^B coming at the time of tribulation.

VER. 14. — Here again a change of tense; instead of "He had mercy," he says, "Have mercy"; and thus Aquila also says: "He granted to me; the Lord has seen my humiliation"; and the context desires this as well. This, he says, is the end of goods, the removal of corruption and the destruction of death, from which being set free we shall sing of your benefits forever.

VER. 15. — He calls the danger leading to death "the gates of death." He calls Zion the heavenly city, as the blessed Paul has taught; and the churches of the earth everywhere are its gates, through ^C which the believers enter into it. There, therefore, he says, rejoicing and dancing in the hopes of the resurrection, let us sing to the Author of these goods; and since he mentioned the destruction of death, he reasonably added: — because of the excess, he says, of his pride and his wrath against the poor, he does not seek the Lord, nor does he perceive that the thing done is displeasing to Him. — Here too a change of tense, instead of "He lords it over"; for what is being done by the wrongdoer is recounted instead of, "Because of this he dominates all and treats everyone unjustly without restraint." Symmachus spoke more clearly: *He puffs away all his enemies.* ^D That which Symmachus interpreted more clearly: "I will not be moved for generation and generation, nor will I be in evil." And he uses this audacity, and considers that he will endure nothing terrible, hastening through all forms of wickedness.

VER. 16. — The things, he says, which the enemies had plotted against us, they themselves were caught by them. Instead of, "The things they were eager to do against us, those they suffered."

HEBREW PSALM

VER. 4. — For in this, he says, the impious man greatly provoked the Lord, in daring to think regarding Him that He does not exact vengeance for the mistreated.

VER. 14. ^A — These words are by inversion: for in the place of "For you see," it is read "You see." This is because the Hebrew text wishes it thus: for when he said of the iniquitous, "For he said in his heart: He will not require," he added, "You see; for you consider labor and pain," as if wishing to say to God that the iniquitous man had advanced so far as to say that You have no care for the iniquitous, nor do You search out their faults, since, seeing their anger and wickedness, You do not immediately proceed to retaliation, but you consider, that is, you delay, until from the multitude of their wicked deeds they deliver themselves into your hands, by the number of their iniquities stirring up vengeance upon themselves. He says this by a metaphor of those who do not stop at one or two evil deeds, but whom many evil deeds lead to the tribunals, where there is a multitude of the iniquitous; he wants, however, to show the long-suffering of God.

VER. 17. — He set "desire" here for prayer, because what we desire to come to pass, in that we persist in our petition.

PSALM XI

VERS. 3. — "Vana" [Vain] for "dolosa" [deceitful]: for he commonly calls all things that are unseemly "vain," just as [he calls] good [things those] which are done by those who perform them rightly. "With deceit," he says, "each one speaks to his neighbor," and thus using his lips, he sends falsehoods into the heart of his neighbor; and he in turn similarly sends back the like; from this it remains that he threatens them with vengeance.

VERS. 5. — "They say," he says, "namely, that it is in our power to speak what we wish: for what master do we have who is to be feared?" He says this not as if they were absolutely saying so, but as showing by their manner of acting that they do all things so fearlessly, as if there were no judge.

VERS. 9. — Since we are surrounded on all sides by the impious, we can in no way be delivered unless God helps us.

PSALM XII

VERS. 2. ^B — In his solitude he was well elevating his mind to God, and in a contrite heart was meditating on His terrible judgments: "Has God been propitious to me? Has His anger rested? Is He still angry?" and other things of this kind. So therefore he speaks: "Until when shall I meditate on these things, and take counsel? Until you turn away your face," he says, that is, you are angry against me; it is necessary for me to suspect these things and to meditate on these things. Instead of this Symmachus said: "Care in my heart daily." These things, however, he (the Psalmist) wrote for our admonition, teaching how one ought to repent of sins in these words, which are to be used as medicines.

VERS. 3. ^D — With God consenting to his suffering on account of sin, the enemies were meanwhile strong against him,

^A and they were arranging all things that pleased them with great confidence. But there were those from the faction of Absalom who were fighting against him; therefore he says: *How long shall my enemies be exalted over me?*

PSALM XIII

VERS. 7. — Since they were commanded to bring sacrifices onto Mount Zion, and were legally ordained to perform their offerings and all their worship there, they could also boast of the presence of God sitting there; wherefore he says: *Who shall give out of Zion the salvation of Israel?* that is, Who shall provide salvation and help for us out of Mount Zion? so that he might answer by silence, *God*, as if by signifying by what is acknowledged that there is no other in this Zion to save from dangers except God alone.

PSALM XV

VERS. 6. — Since land is naturally always measured with ropes, and just as each nation had its own land which it inhabited, so he wishes to say this to the Israelite people: Just as it had obtained a certain land of its own by promise, *the best part of the land fell to me* as if by measurement. *Fell* is put for *I was allotted*, from the metaphor of lots, ^C just as it is also said in the Acts: *And the lot fell upon Matthias*. (Acts 1, 26.)

VERS. 7. — Therefore I give you thanks for all things, because you have not only given me an excellent land into my possession, but you have also granted me prudence and wisdom to do what you have commanded concerning these things—to wit, what things are to be done and what things are not to be done.

VERS. 8. — For this reason, what (shall I offer)? Since *I foresaw the Lord before my face always*, and, he says, I was not frustrated of my hopes; but since I was always receiving help from you, what I was asking for came to me, and I was established in great joy.

VERS. 10. — There he calls the soul the whole person. *I shall enjoy* all these things, he says, when, keeping ^D

me, You do not allow me to perish in dangers, nor will You ^A hand me over to be corrupted by them; and he calls the people (the Israelite people) holy, to distinguish them from others on account of the knowledge of God.

VERS. 11. — *From Your face*, that is, from Your manifestation and aid, I am filled with joy. It must be noted here also that the blessed apostle Peter used these final words of the Psalm in the Acts (2:25) as having been spoken about the Lord. It should be known, therefore, that this is also interpreted here in the same sense as by the blessed Apostle; because, while it is spoken here in a more exhortatory manner, yet properly and according to the true meaning of the words—by which I mean the meaning relevant to the text—it has its fulfillment in the Lord, for whose sake he used the testimony, as the outcome of events provides more evident testimony regarding Him. ^B

PSALM XVI.

VERS. 6. — A change of tense has occurred; instead of "I cried out because You hear me," he says "because You have heard me."

VERS. 8. — That is, to those who resist Your aid; for when He said, "You who save those who hope in You" (v. 7), yet He succors and aids those hoping in Him, he called those who resist the ones hoping in Him "good" in relation to His aid. *The Lord is my supporter, because He helps me, and does not allow me to be perverted.* For that which is said, *He is at my right hand, that I might not be moved*, is the same as "He aids me," calling the aid [that which comes] from the right, that is, from the superior side. ^C

VERS. 10. — Thus, he says, they are delicate, such that they take care that no one disturbs their softness; for they have established this enclosed fatness in great security. He says "they enclosed" to mean that they hold their prosperity in great security, so that no accident is to be feared by them, lest it be said that they have lost the happiness of life.

VERS. 11. — They look toward this, and they strive toward this with all their might, that they may drive me out of the land of the inheritance, that is, out of the land of promise.

— Those who once, he says, called me blessed, now persecute and surround me, so that they may take me out of the way. For so also Symmachus says, "Calling me blessed, they immediately surrounded me." But he called those who were "casting me out" the ones who had previously called him blessed, because they had not called him blessed with a sincere mind; but in order to cast him out and divert him from the decent way, they used the words of blessedness for the sake of imposture. ^D

VERS. 12. — They expect me, so that they may destroy me, after the manner of

a lion expecting its prey. But for "they expect," it says, "They have anticipated." Since those who anticipate expect that something is about to happen. That is, they have this opinion concerning me, that they will seize me like some kind of prey. Thus also the expression, "We have anticipated, O God, thy mercy," that is, we have waited for and expected thy philanthropy to be in us.

^B VERS. 13. — Some read "thy framea" (sword) in the dative case (rumphaia sou). It is not so, however, but "of thy framea" (rumphaias sou) must be read in the genitive case; for thus Aquila said, "of thy sword" (machairas sou). What it means to say is this: Deliver my soul, that is, myself, from these impious men, and from the sword of the enemies of thy hand. For he calls "sword" the contrivance made against him by them, producing a conspiracy sharper than any blade against him; and he calls the enemies of the hand of God his own enemies, since, because they strove to take him whom he had anointed as king, they were clearly showing themselves to be hating God and striving to oppose those things which were brought about by him.

VERS. 14. — Therefore, "Destroying from the earth," he said to God, as if he were bringing forth a decree of death against men, that he might say that He alone commands death. "Divide" stands for "disperse," from the fact that what is being scattered must necessarily be divided everywhere. "From thy hidden things" stands for "from thy punishments which thou hast in reserve, which, when thou willest, thou bringest forth, punishing men unexpectedly and as they do not know it."

VERS. 15. — That is, those who have done such things are worthy to enjoy such vengeance. But "I, appearing before thee in righteousness," that is, after I have done nothing unjust toward them, "shall be filled with thy help, and I shall enjoy thy glory from thee."

PSALM XVII

VERS. 6. — That which says, "They have anticipated me," means something of this sort: So many and such great plots of the enemies have been formed against me, that my very faculty of reason is anticipated, and neither time nor intelligence is given me to investigate the manner of escaping from their hands.

VERS. 8. — As if to say: When God had heard and was moved to anger, first of all, everything was shaken, both the earth and the mountains. ^D Then the smoke of his anger was shown as the prelude, and after this the fire was kindled; that is, he was clearly shown to be angry through the punishment which he brought upon the enemies. Then, wishing to express the intensity of the punishment, proceeding by way of an obvious metaphor taken from physical things, he added: "Smoke went up."

VERS. 9. — For when the fire had become very great,

it happens that many coals are produced. By all these things he wishes to say that at once he heard the one praying, and was moved against the enemies, and immediately all things were shaken. His anger was ^A revealed in part by certain effects, but now he begins to take vengeance on the enemies: his anger is increased and punishes them more vehemently. Then, persevering, he utterly destroys them; for the custom of consuming coals occurs when fire, greatly increased, sets ablaze the wood lying beneath.

VERS. 10. — But since he foresees that from the sacred words which are to be brought forth something indecent or humble might appear, he again extols his discourse, saying: "He descended from heaven, and he had thick darkness under his feet." Yet since this presence seemed too humble to us, he added (v. 11): "He ascended upon the cherubim," showing him as a king sitting upon a chariot, and thus appearing with majesty. Then, resuming the context, he said that again: "And he made darkness his hiding-place" (v. 12), and, ^B which is the consequence, "thick darkness under his feet." But since he had spoken at length about the darkness, namely that which is under his feet and hides them, and some indecency seemed to arise from the sacred utterance when it is asserted that his dark circuit is his very own tabernacle; he says, first, that the darkness is cast against the enemies while he himself remains hidden, and in the meantime he is seen by no one. Otherwise, this tabernacle of his was round about him, so that it might be called light, just as the blessed Paul says of him (1 Tim. vi, 16), "dwelling in an unapproachable light." Into the same meaning, however, these two points fall back; for just as he is said to dwell in light, so also the tabernacle of God could properly be called light. ^C Carrying "dark water in the clouds of the air," he inserted it for the phrase, "His tabernacle was around him." Again, consistently with what precedes—to the words "And he made darkness his hiding-place"—he added: "Dark water in the clouds of the air"; for it was consistent that there should be thick darkness and darkness; for he was confounding everything, he says, by having fashioned the anger of God; for the condensation of the air certainly produced darkness, and it is the same case with water in the clouds darkened by the condensation of the air. ^D

(2) Of the same on the twenty-first Psalm.

"They dug my hands and my feet, and they searched out all things," both what I was doing and what I was attempting. For he said "they dug" from the translation of those who attempt to search out what is in the deep by digging. "They counted all my bones," they became the masters of all my strength and all my substance, so that they even subjected my affairs to a count. He said this from the custom which enemies have: those who, when they have obtained victory, make a subtle record of the things found, and of such a nature. Therefore, also speaking consequently: "But they themselves considered and looked upon me," he inferred: "They divided my garments among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots." Considering me, he says, and seeing that all things that were desired by them occurred in me (for "to look upon," as used among us, is said for that which is, "He saw in him the things he wanted him to suffer"), now ^D as if I were utterly given over to evils, just as my enemies also...

having divided the plunder and captivity, partitioned it by lot. And the Evangelist indeed, taking the words from the events in the Lord, used them, as we have said here and elsewhere. For that the Psalm does not pertain to the Lord, we have clearly shown above. But the blessed David spoke these things ^A even more exceedingly from the things that were done by Absalom: for when David had withdrawn, Absalom, having entered the metropolis by right of war, secured all the royal resources, and was not ashamed even to defile his father's couch.

PSALM XXVI

VERS. 2. — Since, therefore, they have come so near as even to taste my flesh—for this is what it means to say, "To eat my flesh," in order to show their cruelty and the anger with which they rushed upon him. "Approaching," for "Since they have become so near," suggests that nothing was lacking for the fulfillment of their intent. He rightly calls them "wrongdoers," who, because of their power, crush everyone with a thousand evils. — Rightly they themselves, for although they did us no harm, they suffered the very things they devised against us. With greater emphasis he says, "They were weakened and fell," for, "They were destroyed not by enemies, nor did they suffer anything terrible at the hands of men, but marvelously, without any human hand, they were suddenly cast down into weakness by the vengeance of God."

VERS. 3. — Since the divine deeds ^B are sufficient grounds for hoping for aid, even if all the camps and warfare were to surround me, I will fear nothing, trusting in this aid of God; for "in it," that is, in the help and alliance of the Master.

VERS. 5. — Just as if having protected me with His own aid as with a tabernacle, He guarded me with great security. For He calls the divine aid a "tabernacle," as having protected him from their evils. "He hid," for "He guarded," comes from those who always hide what they wish to preserve. "In the day of my evils," in the time of adversity, when I expected that I would encounter many evils.

PSALM XXVIII

VERS. 5. — Concerning this abyss of the waters of thoughts, David says: "The voice of the Lord is upon the waters."

PSALM XXIX

VERS. 10. — Instead of, "I was saying these things: If I die, what is the profit? For as one who has died I am corrupted, becoming ash and dust."

VERS. 12. — "Sackcloth" signifies malice and ignorance, since the hairs were from the goats ^C that stood both on the left and from the scapegoat.

VERS. 13. — Having said, "And I shall not be pricked," for "I shall not cease from chanting," he adds, "I will confess for ever," meaning to continue this ceaselessly, giving thanks; "an age of goods," the time ^D of his own life.

PSALM XXX

VERS. 3. — Since our cries are lifted up to your height, incline your ear to me, because I am falling into an abyss, as if into some evident danger. ^A

VERS. 5. — He called "snares" the captivity in which he was held. Then he says, "which they hid from me"; he pursues the same imagery, because he called the captivity a "snare." For it is the nature of a snare to be set secretly in a hidden place, and thus to catch its prey unexpectedly.

VERS. .. — For therefore, he says, you have justly delivered us, since you hated and turned away from those who with much diligence had wrought iniquities; for they do not work evil from a flash of anger, but observe the practice of wickedness as if it were something necessary. "In vain," because they profit nothing from their zeal for working evil, since you punish them and do not allow them to bring to any end those things which they were intent upon. ^B

PSALM XXXII

VERS. 3. — The Psalmist begins well, especially for the sake of what follows. For since he had announced joy to them, he had to rouse them to hymns and to rendering thanks for the benefits received; because he wished to establish them in a state of reverence for what was to be done hereafter, so that they might render hymns and thanksgivings to God with a genuine decency. By [the words] "Praise becomes the upright," he admonishes that it is not for everyone to praise God, but only for those who do so with the rectitude of reason, since for them, as witnesses of the benefits, such praises are fitting. Therefore, when they have become worthy, let them approach to praise God with piety. ^C

In the title. The blessed David, prophesying in this psalm the victory granted to the Israelites by God through the miraculous overthrow of the Assyrians in the time of the blessed Hezekiah, sang it in his own manner as a victory hymn for the things that had occurred. And from here, starting from the argument against the Assyrians, he digresses into a universal hymn of praise to God and a commemoration of the things done by Him. He teaches all men not to trust in present circumstances, even if they are great; but to consider the help of God as more powerful than all things. For one ought to notice this most of all in the Psalms, that he turns from arguments to exhortation for our instruction, instituting this in various ways and suitably for the benefit of the hearers. Whence it is necessary for us, in order to rightly grasp the power of the Psalms, first to know their subjects: then

to attend to the rest which he has used in his arguments, for the benefit of those who encounter them.

^A Ver. 1.—By "just" in this place he calls the Jews, not from the virtue of their life, but from the knowledge of God. And reasonably, after saying, "Exult," he added, "in the Lord." For since they were in human estimation base and poor, and exposed to plundering by the Assyrians, who excelled in multitude, strength, and experience of war, he predicts their exultation in the Lord; by whose help they obtained safety miraculously, not by war or military expedition, but solely by the slaughter of the Assyrians by the hand of God.

*In the Vatican Codex, fol. 112, verso, this unpublished argument by Theodore of Psalm XXXIV exists.*

^B Of Theodore. — In this psalm, the blessed David prophesies the events concerning Jeremiah; and having assumed his person, he speaks those things which it is natural for a man to say who is placed in the same situation, adhering in this most especially to the custom he uses in the majority of his psalms: namely, declaring those things which are fitting for those about whom he prophecies. This psalm, however, differs only in the person from those which exist concerning the captives held in Babylon. For Jeremiah was a prophet around that time, and he declares that which is near, which others had sung of long before; and therefore he suffered from the people those things which are most well-known, because he had prophesied concerning the same things. He clearly wishes to demonstrate that they deservedly suffered these things, because they did not believe even the prophet who was near to their own times, when the imminent event of the things was giving credence to the prediction. ^C Yet the blessed David does not prophesy concerning the blessed Jeremiah simply as one individual, but because, as he is accustomed to do in most of his psalms, he at the same time adds the future events of the peoples.

PSALM XXXIX

In this psalm, David prophesies the things concerning the people as if they had already been brought into the power of the Babylonian king; and he speaks in their person, giving thanks to God for the future liberation of that same people from captivity; teaching, indeed, that it is possible, if those who are afflicted place their hope in God, to be freed from the troubles incumbent upon them. Then he also declares them blessed, because, having been tested by calamities, they have bid farewell to every unworthy act and have clung to God, from whom alone they were to obtain help.

PSALM XL

In this psalm, the blessed David prophesies the events concerning the blessed Hezekiah, namely, how and for what cause—to wit, sin—he fell ill; and ^D what happened to him, while he was sick, from his friends. Then he teaches how, on account of his care for the poor, he recovered his health, exhorting all thereafter to be willing to conduct themselves in this manner.

THEODORUS OF MOPSUESTIA ON PSALM XLIV

VERS. 1. — What then shall be found greater than these things, which have been done by Christ in such a great transformation of the world, when all acknowledge that the God of the universe has a care for piety and virtue, and all are hastening to glorify the Only-Begotten of God, and are rendering worthy adoration to the Holy Spirit? For whom blessed David says: *My heart hath uttered a good word* (Ps. XLIV, 1).

PSALM XLIX

VERS. 1. — This psalm also is moral, but it is not directed to all men, but only to the Jews, as those who were despisers of virtue and who placed their entire hope in legal sacrifices; concerning themselves only with knowing the words of the law, but not with keeping its commandments. Therefore, setting forth a formidable discourse to them, he figuratively describes a judge who is judging them and the accused themselves.

PSALM LII

VERS. 5. — This is placed with a hyperbaton. For thus it must be understood here also; for the sequence is this: *Shall not all who work iniquity know, who devour my people as a meal of bread, because God hath scattered the bones of men?* The rest, however, is interjected. That is: Shall not these workers of iniquity themselves, who devour the people and attempt to consume them as if they were necessary food, know that you consume and abolish all who please men, after the example of Rabshakeh? For he was uttering words full of impiety for the sake of winning favor with men. ^B But the part, *They have not called upon God; there they feared a fear where there was no fear*, lies between in the middle, as if he said: Not making mention of God, they feared what they had not expected. For, despising those who were in Jerusalem as insignificant and few, they received the punishment from God beyond all expectation.

VERS. 7. — Since God was thought by them to dwell in Sion, *Who*, he says, *will give us salvation from Mount Sion?* That is, God, as though passing over that which is admitted, since they could receive help from no one else from Mount Sion, except from God, who was believed to dwell therein. ^C

PSALM LIII

VERS. 3. — Since those who were besieging the city were specifically reproaching them with this, that the things which were said by Hezekiah were of no benefit to them (these things, however, were that one should surely trust in God, who would certainly free them from danger), he well said this: *Save me in thy name*. That is: Since, by calling upon thy name, I am mocked by them, provide me salvation in this very thing, so that there may be no need for war or an army; but that by thy prayer alone I may obtain what I seek, so that they may learn ^D how great is the power of those who implore thy help.

VERS. 4. — Attend, he says, and with inclination hear the words of my prayer.

PSALM LIV

^A The Jews, having been delivered from the Babylonian captivity in a manner wondrous by the power of God, rebuilt the temple and inhabited their own land again; the city also received back all its former splendor, and they all enjoyed deep peace (II Mach. III, IV). In the progress of time, Onias became the high priest of the nation, a man most righteous and most religious; for at that time it was customary for the high priesthood to be conferred also as the authority of the nation. Therefore, with Onias presiding over the state, the laws being most accurately observed, and religion toward God being most excellently practiced, a certain Simon from the tribe of Benjamin—at a time when Seleucus was ruling over all of Asia, Syria, and Phoenicia—being entrusted with a certain governorship of the temple, dissented from Onias not at all reasonably. When he was defeated in that contention against him, he communicated with Apollonius, the governor, saying that very great sums of money were stored in the temple, which, if taken, could be useful to the king for the enlistment of troops. This matter also became known to the king through the governor; and having received the instructions from the governor, he sent Heliodorus, one of his own household, to seize the money. ^B And indeed, upon arriving, Heliodorus learned that there was not as great an abundance of money in the temple as Simon the informer had desired it to be believed, but that it was a small treasure, and that this was the deposits of others, who, looking to the trustworthiness of the place and the power of God, had laid up their deposits there. Onias, moreover, gave counsel to Heliodorus not to attempt to take anything of what was laid up. For it is an outrage, he says, against the divine to do what is happening, and you will grieve Him whose deposit you are seizing. But none of these things moved Heliodorus, who judged the fulfillment of the king's command to be of greater importance than all else. Prayers and lamentations were therefore occurring throughout the city because of these things, as they besought God not to leave the audacity unpunished. But he was entering ^C as if to take the money; and God, assenting to the prayers of the multitude and accepting the piety of the high priest, restrained him from the daring deed by appearing in a most fearful manner. For as he was about to enter, a horse appeared through the air, fearful in appearance, yet radiant in form, carrying one clothed in golden armor, who also, with great force, struck Heliodorus with his front hooves. Two youths, also, fearful in their appearance and radiant in their attire, standing on this side and that, were scourging him. And thus, stunned by the vision and by the blows, he was carried off, being nearly dead. ^D Then indeed the companions of Heliodorus besought Onias to become an intercessor with God, that he might be delivered from the imminent death. This Onias straightway doing, sacrificed for his sake and freed the man from his infirmity.

^A And the God appearing to him, [the angels] commanded that he give great thanks to the high priest. Thus saved, and having offered sacrifices to God, he returned to the king to relate the things that had occurred. But Simon did not desist from his own wickedness, but remained utilizing many calumnies against him; and because of this, Onias having reached the king, he learned of all the calumnies against him, so that he even procured the appropriate peace for the nation.

While things were in this state for Onias, Seleucus died, and Antiochus Epiphanes seized the kingdom, under whom a certain Jason, the brother of Onias, said that he would bring a revenue of much money to the king if he himself should obtain the high priesthood; and that he would give other and greater sums if he were permitted to construct a ^B gymnasium in the city, and to abolish their circumcision, and altogether to change the ordinances. Persuaded by these words, [Antiochus] handed the authority over to him. And indeed Onias, being a most pious and most righteous man, was deposed from the high priesthood; but Jason, having taken hold of both the priesthood and the authority, straightway set about leading the Jews into the Hellenic character; he constructed a gymnasium contrary to the Jewish custom; and, having made preparations to change the ordinances, he persuaded everyone to depart from the worship of God and from the commandments of the law, and to pay close attention to Hellenic customs, gymnasia, and wrestling schools, and things of that sort. And now the circumcision was being neglected, the observance of the sabbaths was being disregarded, and the city’s affairs were being wholly transformed into a Hellenic ^C form. The blessed Onias, seeing these things happening over a long period, was dispirited, and angered, and groaned; and when he saw the evil advancing, he left and withdrew, and having gone into Egypt, he set up a temple and constructed a sanctuary, and took care of the piety toward God, providing his service to the Jews who were there in matters pertaining to religion.

The blessed David prophesies these things in the present Psalm; and having assumed the person of Onias, he was uttering these things, just as it was fitting for him to speak—being plotted against by those of his own household, cast out from the priesthood by the satellites of Antiochus, seeing the wickedness of those then dwelling in the city, because of the greed within it, and the subversion of the laws, and the ^D increase of evils happening each time, and [seeing him] already deliberating about flight. The blessed David spoke the Psalm indeed while being pursued by Saul, and having become a fugitive, and being compelled to dwell in desert places; but he foretells at the same time the plots of the Jews against the Savior, and in himself he prefigures the sufferings of the Lord beforehand. For he himself was driven out by Saul, to whom he had done good, and was betrayed by certain acquaintances, and he saw the Lord in the eyes of the Spirit as about to suffer the very same things. For this reason also the inscription "unto the end" sends the reader to the aforesaid matters, and wisely admonishes him to pay attention to the words, as having a prophetic sense lying hidden therein, which in its own time was to be brought to an end. Furthermore, this Psalm is also numbered among the hymns, [index: entries preserved]

^A containing a certain shadowing forth of the Lord’s sufferings; for it is right always to hymn Him who deigned to suffer these things for the salvation of humanity. But let no one, observing the lowliness of the words, account them unworthy of the Saviour Christ; rather let him consider that He who endured gall and vinegar and other things of this kind would not easily refuse the lowliness of words. For it is fitting that words should correspond to the facts. His own voice is: *Learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls* (Matt. xi, 29). And again: *I received a commandment, what I should say and what I should speak, and I do nothing of my own self.* And: *My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?* These and suchlike things He spoke as a man, displaying His human nature and adapting Himself to the weakness of the Jews. In this place, however, the divine David both teaches of the injustice done to himself, and at the same time predicts what was to happen to the Lord, exulting in the communion of sufferings and almost crying out with Paul: *I bear the marks of the Lord Jesus in my body.* ^B

PSALM LIV

PSALM LVII

nds among the innocent*; that is, I will embrace communion with them. Here, therefore, he says that the just man, at the slaughter and death of the sinner, will be shown to have no ^A part in their communion, that is, he shall be declared just. For when they are punished by these means, while the others remain suffering no evil, the virtue of the latter is demonstrated.

VERS. 12. — Some have read, *Is there indeed a fruit for the just?* as a question; as if they were inquiring, "Is it indeed so?"—which is what we are accustomed to say in our syllogisms: "Is it not this?" that is, "Therefore, is it not this?" So also he says in this place, that when these things have occurred, all will say that truly there is a fruit for the just man, and he does not practice justice without reward. For see, those who were lying in wait for them have been punished on their account.

PSALM LVIII

VERS. 7. — Here also there is a change of tense, instead of "Let them be converted and let them circle around and suffer hunger." The point he is making is of this kind: Since it is the nature of a dog during the night-time to wander around the whole city and to use louder cries—and they do this especially when it happens that they are hungry and in need of food—a similar thing, he says, may happen to ^B my enemies; may they be turned from their present prosperity to the worse state through your punishment. And just as dogs, obsessed by hunger at night-time, wander around the city howling in a circle, so may these also, struck by your punishment, howl after the manner of dogs, so that from the very sound of their wailing the magnitude of your punishment upon them may be manifest. Symmachus indicates the change of tense by saying, *Let them be turned at evening.*

VERS. 8. — Here also this word "behold" is added from the Hebrew idiom. Symmachus, however, says: *They indeed belch forth with their mouth, and as it were swords upon their lips [they have].* For here, too, he has changed the tense, having used the future instead of the present. For they, he says, speak through their mouth and through their lips words worse than any sword, and capable of wounding more cruelly than any blade. *For who heard?* that is, No one. Furthermore, here also the word "saying" is understood—spoken, as it were, by the Prophet through an aposiopesis—just as also [is found] in the second Psalm: *The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers gathered together in one, against the Lord and against his Christ. Let us break their bonds and cast away their yoke from us.* For there, too, through ^C an aposiopesis, the word "saying" is understood, so that the sense is: "saying, Let us break their bonds." So also here: *Behold, they will speak in their mouth, and a sword is on their lips; for who has heard?* We have more clearly noted in the forty-fourth Psalm, as is the custom of the Prophet, that "he said" and "saying," and anything of a similar kind, are placed through an aposiopesis. For he wishes to say concerning them, as if they were saying: "We did not fear punishment in the least, but like men we rushed upon them, killing and slaying them; for while we were doing many other things, who heard them groaning? Or who paid attention to them when they were oppressed by injustice? Or who took vengeance on the killers?" Not that the enemies spoke these things explicitly, but according to his custom he said this by setting forth the reality of the matter itself; for it is similar to that [verse], *He said in his heart: He will not require.* ^D

and to that, *I said: Who shall see them?* For he wishes to say the same thing here too: that they perform all things in such a way as if no one were listening or caring for the things that occur. It is characteristic of blessed David, therefore, to ask this of God most of all—the punishment of those who sin—because many, having been affected by injuries, blame God, as if the Lord were not providing for them. For just as when they do injury and suffer nothing, they create such an opinion for the many, so when they are punished, they make everyone suspect the contrary. He shows, then, that he does not seek the punishment from God against those who do injury because of having suffered something himself, but in order that from this a better opinion about God might be born in men, teaching us that we should strive to perform all things for the glory of God. ^B

Vers. 12. — This must be read as a question. As if he were to say: "Will you kill them, so that they might not be mindful of your law?" That is to say, they cannot gain an advantage through punishment. What he says is of this kind: Before the advent of the Lord Christ, since they did not have perfect faith concerning the resurrection, they imagined that those who die are utterly reduced to nothing and are unable to have any account or memory of God. For this reason he says elsewhere, *For in death there is no one who is mindful of you* (Ps. VI, 6); and in another place, *The dead shall not praise you, O Lord* (Ps. CXIII, 17). And it is possible to find this manner of speaking quite frequent in the Old Testament. ^C Since, therefore, it was as if those being praised here were praising God, but those who had departed from this life could no longer even remember God, he says this: "But you will not kill them," he says, "but rather you will delay their punishment, so that they might not, by dying, pass into forgetfulness of your power." It is as if he were to say: "Not even through this will they be able to escape punishment. For if they were mindful of your power, and had the knowledge of you, and knew the things that were fitting, it would be right to spare them, so that by their not dying, your memory might not be taken away from them. But since they are so far from remembering you here that they do all things to the contrary, and behave as if there is no one presiding over life and judging the things being done, and even say things such as if no one were hearing or caring for the things that occur—neither is it permitted to think of those things that are of the best and soundest opinion concerning you, that they might not consign to oblivion the things that relate to you—punish them at once with death and various evils, and let them be subjected to these rather than to death." ^D For the dragging out of afflictions refreshes the memory of sins. And he wishes to say this through everything, that there is nothing in them that deserves to receive pity.

Vers. 13. — Since the things that occur are altogether also announced, he frequently says "annunciation" for "the thing done." E.g., *You will make me hear gladness and joy* (Ps. L, 10); that is, you will altogether provide for me: for that which was being done was about to be heard.

et ^A “They shall be declared in the consummation,” that is, they shall exist. He calls the things done by them an execration and a lie, inasmuch as they are full of lies and worthy of execration. From these things, therefore, he says, which they do, from these they shall be consumed and shall die; for these things shall be to them the causes of consummation and of death. In both respects he is consistent with himself, wishing to prove them worthy of greater punishment by their manner of acting; for thus he says: It is not possible for them to gain profit from your punishment as though they were mindful of you or knew you; for they appear to be worthy of punishment all the more because of that very thing, by reason of what they say and do. For these actions especially bring upon them the necessary punishment, and further, the consummation.

^B VERSE 14. — And because they often reproach us, as though we were not deemed worthy of your protection, and therefore most indecently practiced treacheries against us, they shall know through the punishment that you are not only our Master and Lord, but also Lord of all the earth. For this reason, avenge us as much as you will by punishing those who do us wrong. He expressed the whole consequentially according to these words: “Do not slay them”; then he resumes from the above the execration against them, and says:

VERSE 15. — That which he had said above by way of reproaching them, he says again here by resuming it, after he had shown them to be worthy of punishment. Therefore, he says, since it is not at all permissible to spare them—as if they were indeed mindful of you now but would consign you to oblivion if they were dead—on the contrary, since they are ungrateful, they shall recognize the debt through punishment. Let them, therefore, undergo the most just penalty, and cast out by your punishment, let them howl like dogs wandering around the city in the time of night.

^C PSALM LIX.

VERSE 3. — But if you have permitted these things to be endured, you have certainly by no means permitted them to linger in evils, manifesting to us your most ready clemency.

VERSE 4. — Those who cling to material things and set their hearts on earthly things, finding delight in them because they are affected by them, think that they possess stability and imperturbability; but such a state brings them harm. Wherefore it is useful that, by the mercy of God, it should be shaken and troubled by way of repentance. For knowing how harmful it is to cling to material things and to have the mind of an earthly man, it undergoes perturbation and commotion, being translated from its previous wicked life to a virtuous one full of blessedness; being truly contrite, and perceiving the sense of the contritions from the invisible ^D enemies that exist, it will surely invoke him who says: “I am the Lord who heals you.” For since he is a physician, he will heal it. It is possible, moreover, that an earthquake might be brought upon those who are in it, as the demons are moved to the reception of divine oracles.

IBID. — Since he had taken up their passions upon the earth, he made use of his own sequence; and for this reason, as if

calls any affection of the soul toward any matter whatsoever; as when he says, *They were scattered, and were not pricked* (Ps. xxxiii. 15), meaning that after having failed many times, they did not even then suffer in their soul, nor did they condemn themselves. Such also is that which is said, *What you say in your hearts, be pricked in your beds* (Ps. iv. 5). That is: what you revolve in your mind while you are at rest, reflect upon it when on your bed, condemn yourselves, and repent of what you have done. So also concerning the elders in the case of Susanna, he says that *they were pricked in heart* (Dan. xiii. 56); that is, they were affected toward her, held fast by concupiscence. In this place, therefore, he calls concupiscence compunction, as a desire ^B being set to work in the soul. For just as repentance and the compunction of a matter produce a passion, and as concupiscence and love are difficult, so despondency brings on a passion. And he always speaks of wine as signifying calamity and punishment; because wine given more abundantly translates thoughts, turns them aside, and moves the mind from its established state of punishment brought by God. Therefore he says this: That because you permitted punishment to be brought upon us, so abundantly—to the point that one might appear to be led into despair—and so severe, that it might sufficiently fill the soul with passion and despondency.

VERS. 6. — *But you did not permit us, situated in the midst of such evils, to suffer, but as if distinguishing us by some sign; so [it was that] while we were moving about in the midst of evils, you caused us to be kept safe from the machinations of the opponents.* ^C He says this from the metaphor of those who in wars are often mingled with the enemy, who give one another signs and symbols of familiarity or friendship, from which they recognize one another in the likeness of form, so that they may not fall into sudden and unexpected slaughter: for those who do this always, by all means, give to one another some sign by agreement, lest on account of the common appearance they kill one another instead of the enemy. But by some recognizable sign they distinguish one another, they abstain from mutual slaughter, and perform with all security the things that seem opportune against the enemy; which, in any case, they would by no means be able to do and observe if they were deceived by appearance, while being ignorant of the agreed-upon sign. Therefore he says this: That just as if distinguishing us by some sign, you freed us from their machinations, so that we might not suffer anything evil either from arrows being carried [by the wind] or from anything else. ^D He also said this taking the example of those things which happened in Egypt: because as if by some sign, with the blood on the doorposts, distinguishing them from the Egyptians, he kept these unharmed, but punished the Egyptians.

VERS. 7. — These things, he says, you have performed for us who are beloved by you, so that we might be delivered from their machinations. Then, also praying, he adds, so that, he says, remaining unharmed, we might be delivered from the face of the bow

you have given the sign to your beloved. It must be said also in this way: then will they be able to be delivered from invisible enemies, when your right hand, your only-begotten Son, shall save them. For this is often interpreted as the right hand of God, especially when that which is set before us is, *I have established you by my right hand* (Isa. XLI, 10); and, *My right hand has established the heaven* (Isa. XLVIII, 13). It must be understood how, again, the things which are spoken have their place in the order of intelligence. For first, when God hears, He saves: and this is the sequence of the connection of the prayer, having "Hear me" after "Save." Unless, perhaps, it should be understood in this way: as if he says, O saving right hand, hear me, so that once saved it may be my desire to request divine goods; these, however, are nothing other than the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, the beloved of God are those who, on account of the probity of their morals, are worthy to be loved by Him. ^B

PSALM LXVII

VERS. 18. — Since, therefore, the people were serving as if captive in Egypt, God drew them out of servitude and delivered them by the law of war: for when He had punished the enemies, then He snatched them away. "Captivity," moreover, is said to be whatever is taken by the law of war. This is what he says; as if he were to say: When you led captivity captive (namely us, who were serving as if in captivity), you dragged away and extracted them (as a strong military leader conquering by the law of war). But that which follows, *You ascended into height*, means, you were shown, he says, to be great and exalted: therefore *you received gifts in men*. For God had commanded them then to ask for silver and gold vessels; and when they asked for these, they received them (Exod. XI); then, with the death of the firstborn invading (Exod. XII), they burst forth from Egypt at the command of God, having also the vessels. Not only, therefore, he says, did you extract us and deliver us from servitude, but you also received gifts from men, as if they were sending them all away with gifts. The Apostle, however, used this testimony (Ephes. IV, 8) as if about Christ; because He Himself also, when we were captives under the devil, having joined battle and conquered him, delivered us. Therefore, since that saying, *You received gifts*, did not square with our manner of speaking, which we use in ecclesiastical sentiments, he changed the word "received" and said "gave." For this was more fitting for Christ, as One who did not receive, but, after His ascent into heaven, bestowed the gifts of the Holy Spirit. ^{C D}

PSALM LXVIII

(1) Of the interpretation of the sixty-eighth psalm, on the words: *They gave me gall for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink*. Since food and drink are indeed sweet in time of joy, but insipid and bitter in sadness; such, he says, were those things which were done by them, so that out of sadness and anger there was for me food in the place of gall, and there was also a drink differing in no way from vinegar. Moreover, this happens most especially in those angers which occur in tribulation, which it was likely they would suffer against their own. The evangelist, however, used this testimony in the Lord, and the Lord Himself said, *Zeal for your house has consumed me*, speaking of Himself;

^A and blessed Paul speaking of the Jews: *Let their table be*, etc.; and blessed Peter concerning Judas: *Let his habitation be desolate*. And certainly, with different things established, it is not as if the psalm were written only for these, and then again for that one, and again for another; but because several things have been said about the Jews, who separated themselves from God and the Law, convicting their lack of devotion, the use of testimonies is necessary, at once and taken from the things themselves, such as: *They gave me gall for food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink*.

Ver. 27. — And they pressed to attempt everything against us, by preceding calamities ever inducing others, and never desisting from the war against us.

Ver. 28. — God is not the cause, if they have been handed over to whom they desired, namely to the devil, the deserter of God: He left them, therefore, according to the devices of their own hearts; for this reason they have added iniquities upon iniquities. But since they preferred the shadow of the law to the coming truth, they were even expelled from the place of figurative worship, adding to this previous sin the fact that they wished to do these things outside of Judea; therefore they do not enter into the righteousness which is through faith in Jesus Christ, concerning which it has been said: *But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets* (Rom. III, 21). ^B For since they always clung to the shadow, how could they have entered into the righteousness of God which they were ignorant of? *For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God* (Rom. X, 3): for the same thing is to be submitted as to enter into it.

Ver. 29. — *Let them be blotted out*, that is, let them die. By the book of the living he speaks as if God had the living registered in some book, by the metaphor of kings, who have the catalogs of army leaders written in books.

PSALM LXXI

Ver. 5. — This *before* does not speak as if of time, as some have thought; for what connection would this have with the verb *remain*? For he says, *He shall remain with the sun and before the moon, unto generation of generations*. And so, the verb *remain* refers to what follows, but the preposition *before* refers to what precedes. No one, therefore, says that he will remain beforehand. ^C If any one, however, does not wish to have *he shall remain* understood as implied for this, then this too, *before the moon unto generation of generations*, will make nothing but a mangled and lame sense; for it has no adjunct to it—what it is, or what exists, or what has been, or anything of the sort. Therefore, he says that *he shall remain* is implied; but he does not say *before* concerning a superfluity of time, but concerning permanence itself. *He shall remain*, therefore, he says, and peace and justice shall be preserved, splendid like the sun, and above the moon, so that it even surpasses the moon itself in this. But why does it also excel the moon? Because, indeed, it also has many times of failing, ^D while this, as long as it always remains, is also increased and preserved. Moreover, this, *unto generation of generations*, he said according to the peculiar way of speaking of Scripture, for a long time.

^A Verse 7. He had shown that the words *it shall remain with the sun* were said regarding peace and justice; he therefore also made use of the similitude, saying *it shall rise* with respect to the sun; that is, it shall appear. Thus, he says, it shall shine like the sun. Now, therefore, he has declared this very thing more clearly. And thus, he says, a deep peace shall encompass all things through your care, such that it is equally impossible for his peace to be dissolved as for the substance of the moon to be dissolved. It is common, however, for Scripture to use such hyperboles, as in the eighty-eighth Psalm: *I will place his seed unto eternity, and his throne as the days of heaven* (Ps. lxxxviii, 30). Because he had spoken quite hyperbolically, that the kingdom in the successors of David would remain as indissoluble as heaven, he says again in the following: *And his throne as the sun in my sight, and as the moon perfected forever* (Ibid. 38); which things indeed did not happen so in exact reality, but have been said by Divine Scripture hyperbolically.

Verse 8. Not that he shall command and rule in every way, but that because of his fame and glory, all, as if wondering at their own Lord, shall venerate him: which also is found to have happened in reality. ^B

Verse 17. Here also he demonstrated that the word *before* is not said of time, so that it might be thought to apply to Christ, as some have supposed. For if *before* spoke of time and pre-existence, how would *it shall remain* follow, which he says in the subsequent verses? Thus, therefore, he says, his name remains to be wondered at, no less than the sun and the moon. And the demonstration of this is that, for as long as the sun and the moon remain, he too is remembered by all men and wondered at for the wisdom, and glory, and honor which he obtained among all. ^C

Ibid. Here he especially adduced the cause of the statements made regarding him, because he recounts his beauties for the common good. For all honor of a king, and especially the care of the just one, regards the common utility of the subjects. For him, he says, all tribes shall be amazed, that is, all Israel. And the proof of this is that the queen of the South, coming to him, pronounced his ministers blessed, because they incessantly enjoyed his wisdom. ^D

Psalm LXXII

Verse 10. And they shall live with surfeit, while life is so ordered by them that no day of life may pass by, before they are anticipated by death. But he says this, not as if there is an altogether determined time for any man living, but because we frequently, since we are by nature subject to passions, sustain death from trials and afflictions or some such things; which, if we could have avoided, we would have lived for a very long time. For there are some deaths which are brought on by trials, and others, again, which proceed not from external evils, but from the very condition of nature itself. For although

^A nothing external happens (e.g., death by the sword or something similar), yet nature itself, when it has fully advanced to old age, necessarily draws death along with it. As if to say, therefore, that since they themselves had previously suffered many such things, and had often been anticipated by an untimely death through pressing evils, he says that they will no longer suffer anything of the kind, but will have their days full, awaiting death only from the frailty of nature.

PSALM LXXIII

PSALM LXXIV

(Ps. CXIX, 4); and not adding the word "saying," he subjoined, *O Lord, deliver my soul*, signifying it by the silence from the sequence of what he was saying. And more clearly in the second Psalm: *For the kings of the earth*, he says, *stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. Let us break their bonds* (Ps. II, 2). Now, however, omitting the word "saying," he has used the proper sequence throughout. And entirely this can be found in very many places. But it will suffice to have put forth these as testimony to what we have said. In the interpretation itself, which follows, the aforementioned phrase often occurs; it will certainly be for the readers to remember always the subaudition or the implication. ^B

VERS. 7. — He often calls the sunrise an "exit," as in that, *The outgoings of the morning and evening you will delight* (Ps. LXIV, 9). For he also calls the east itself the exit of the sun, as in that, *His going forth is from the end of heaven* (Ps. XVIII, 7). Therefore, he speaks of the exit, or going forth, of the eastern parts, but of the desert of the mountains of the north and south. For since parts of these two climates are uninhabited and deserted, because of the excess of ice (namely, the northern ones), and others because of excessive heat (namely, the southern ones), he has called these two climates the desert of the mountains. But he wishes to say that there is nowhere to flee from God. For wherever you may withdraw to the four climates of the sky, you can in no way flee from God, who is the common judge and present everywhere. ^C

VERS. 8. — He understands "wine" as a punishment, from the fact that those who are punished are made dizzy and fall, like those who are drunk, under the blow of God. For he has, he says, in his hand a cup full of pure wine; as if he were speaking of more terrible punishments, because pure wine strikes or perturbs more. Furthermore, he does not speak of "mixed" as of a commixture (for how, when he has called it pure, could he again call it mixed?), but because we often call a measure, which is sufficient for a drink, a mixture. He truly wished to say that such a mixture was so great that it had filled the cup. For from both he wishes to signify the intensification of the punishment; then from the fact that it was pure wine, and then from the fact that the cup was full: by the pure wine, indeed, declaring austerity and vehemence, and by the fullness, sufficiency or abundance, and that it would reach everyone. But he called the heavier ^D punishment the "dregs." I, he says, have drunk the clearer [wine]; that is, I have been subject to lesser evils. But the Babylonians will drink the dregs themselves, that is, they will pay for faults more grievous than those they have committed.

ON JOB

^A Of the same Theodore, reproving the Book of Job and its author—that is, the Holy Spirit—saying that a pagan wise man composed this book.

These (1) things which were written for the instruction of men, and which are to be numbered among the books of Solomon, that is, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, which he composed himself in his own person for the benefit of others, when he had not indeed received the gift of prophecy, but did have the gift of wisdom, which is evidently another thing beyond that, according to the voice of blessed Paul.

*And after other things.*

It was enough, therefore, to remove from the Scripture all the superfluous words; but to set forth those things which were necessary for the signification of his life, which were all sufficient to convert anyone to better things and to make them an emulator of the good. But now, since he has not done this, looking toward a lover of vain glory who is not necessary, he has injured the reputation of the just man in the minds of those who are not accustomed to judge the divine Scriptures with the due devotion, and from this he has caused many to blame the writings, and to draw forth an accusation against blessed Job.

*And after other things.*

Immediately, the very words from which he says the author begins, when the friends had arrived, who—seeing everything considerately, saying everything—would think or say that it ever befitted the mind of the just man? For to collect so many curses immediately from the beginning, and to impose them upon matters which cannot receive a curse, because they are not believed to exist, who would think it fitting for a man who had governed his life with such wisdom, and virtue, and reverence?

And throughout, reproving the Scripture of Job, and cursing the author (for it is the same thing to say the Holy Spirit), at the end of the interpretation of his blasphemy he says thus:

"But even this minor crime is added to that which is placed at the end. For this which he said, that he called his third daughter [by the name of] the horn of Amalthea, is nothing else than to show that he was in agreement with pagan myths and was fond of the figments of idolatry, it being certain indeed that the blessed Job, a barbarian man of Edomite stock, could not even have known the pagan myths about Jove and Saturn and Juno. But even if he did know them, he would not have imposed upon his daughter, miraculously and divinely born, a name from pagan myths of idolatry, thinking to decorate her if she had been so named. For this would have been the act of one consenting to pagan myths and fond of the figments of idolatry, and wanting to decorate his daughter through them, and desiring and considering it to have communion with the figments of myths. But ^B that all this is a figment is certain to everyone."

*And after other things.*

"And the author is indeed manifest, having suffered this from a great and importunate love of vain glory. For to show himself to be educated in foreign doctrine and to have possessed the knowledge of pagan myths, which they held as firm concerning those whom they thought were gods, he thought it a small matter to impose, from thence, that name upon the just man, as if desiring to decorate his own daughter through it. To me, however, it is evident from the whole composition of the book that the author was educated in pagan learning, to whose imitation he desired to compose the present writing, and [in doing so] he harmed the beauty of the history. For those who compose tragedies among them, they indeed take their causes from those things of which many speak, even when it happens that such [a story] in some way has the opinion of truth among the many; but using them for a pure purpose, they hasten to show their art and wisdom in the composition of myths, and, introducing characters pleasing to themselves and placing words around them — by which they think they become more brilliant and are decorated — so that the complaint and praise which is brought in by the writings, whether through the intellect or through the very words [in which] the writer may have sinned, [the readers] refer not to the persons whose words he fashions, but to the author of the myth.

"And this man, when he had found the great and clear history of blessed Job, which was spoken of in the mouths of all, not only of the Israelite race but also of others—the testimony of God made it even clearer, which happened to the prophet—desiring to receive glory from the magnitude of the subject, composed this Scripture, not thinking that there is a great difference between the history of the just man according to the simplicity and subtlety proposed by the divine Scripture, and words that are the opposite, superfluous and fabricated for proof. Hence he also made those fictions in which he made the devil [enter into] a struggle with God, and placed words as he wished, some indeed to the just man, others to his friends: in which words, how much he exceeded what is fitting, it has been said even in the earlier passages. But the same Elihu, he introduced at the end, saying things full of such injury against the just man, and at the end of the person of the magnitude of the divine nature, he placed such language, in which it did not shame him to add even a figment of a herd. From this, therefore, from this importunate love of vain glory, he applied this nomination, snatched from pagan myths, to the blessed Job."

ON THE SONG OF SONGS

The same Theodore also disdains the Song of Songs, and he says that Solomon wrote these things to his beloved, explaining them in a way that is unspeakable to Christian ears. It runs as follows:

"When I was reluctant to read through the Song of Songs, since they are explained neither according to a prophetic mode, nor according to the tradition of history, like the book of Kings, nor do they employ a demonstrative instruction of study, I do not know how the precept of your letters, demanding from us a cause concerning the Song of Songs, made me more diligent about it, albeit by force. And indeed, I did not cease; at the very beginning of the reading, as if with eager alacrity, I was frequently nodding off and dozing, as if at a nuptial feast of a book, and this a royal one, chanted to me."

^A And after a few words: "For he who sings every song delights himself: but I indeed sing the proposed song; yet for whom I sing, I do not sing for my own delight with them: for I did not want to be the writer for the ages of the disparagement of my own nuptials. But wishing, by necessity of excuse, to sing what I do not wish to sing, I am forced to sing the song in a way that makes my song above the manner of a song. For I am forced to sing with the bride, which those who disparage the public apology, and to proclaim those things which it is proper for the newly wedded to hide. Since they think that we are struggling with vituperations, and that we are divided by the stigmas of reproaches, let them hear us singing our embraces more warmly, and let them receive the scent of our nuptial ointments more fully: let them ring out with tragic songs of our kisses: proclaim your blackness, O bride, proclaim it purple and graceful: your lineage is disparaged of praiseworthy origin, fellow-kin to Israel. Begin at the start of the response to them: From my warm kisses let them know that we enjoy one another with amatory speeches; let those who strike with vituperations learn of the silent cithara that loves the nuptials; let them know by their curses what they thought it was for us to dance at my nuptials. Let them know not to curse, because they have stirred up love resonating more pleasantly than the disparagers; let a bitter stimulus of our kisses enter their hearts."

^B Yet the meaning for the writer is of this sort; for he had the meaning, in that he made the writing without a name, only not shouting to Israel that the writer is not Solomon himself, but [that it was written] by the necessity of rivalry. But thus, through wisdom, existing as someone proclaimable and terrible to the nations and the Jews because of his sagacity. Whence also his peace was firmer than it was in previous times, while the nations who loved wars were restrained by the fear of his utmost prudence regarding these matters, he makes an Egyptian feast. He shows Solomon to be, among the Jews, a man of vice, as a transgressor of the paternal laws, those who forbid alien nuptials, and he fell to the feast of a maiden, someone to be fled indeed for her very own ugly paternal color (for Egypt is the mother of nocturnal colors), but more of one to be fled because she who had her lineage from Ham, who was the heir of the ancient curse of Noah, from whom Solomon suffered something regarding his desire for a spouse, and being irritated by the disgrace of his transgression, he composes the song as an excuse, so that he might even be more pleasing to his wife, delighted by the songs made for her: and he wisely struck those who were reproaching him, as if they were giving him a cause for joys, and not for repentance because of the nuptials as if they were wicked. Whence also, there is an immediate beginning for him from the nuptial kisses, as if for someone standing [within the song] was a new bride protesting against the disparagers: Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, and I have no care for the reproach of those barking at me. And again, ^C an irritation at the disparagements on behalf of his bride: I am black and beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Cedar, like the skin of Solomon. "Do not," he says, "propose color to me for the sake of disparagement, unless by chance you also think the miracle of well-composed edifices of the black stone of Arabia is a cause for disparagement: the stones of which my members are similar to, like certain precious stones. For of that very sky-blue color, which you who disparage sing of, there is a likeness of such stones, and of royal purple, and not royal simply, but such as Solomon is surrounded by, who loves ornaments more than all kings." But also the exposition of the rest of the song is an irritation of the disparagements.

^D And after a few words: "All of which things it behooves those reading the book to think upon, and not to think that the writing of the most wise man is an incitement to lewdness, and on account of this to hate it (for what utility would there be for Solomon to hasten to a writing of lewdness, for whom there was the power of lewdness even without a writing?), nor to praise the book as if it possessed a prophetic dictation of the goods of the Church. For if it had merited prophetic grace, he would have made mention of God somewhere (for in no prophetic scripture is God not mentioned), but all ought to know that the book is a table-song of nuptial rivalry, just as Plato later wrote a feast concerning love. Whence neither to the Jews, nor to us, has a public reading of the Song of Songs ever been made, as it is a domestic and nuptial song for the feasts of Solomon, sounding the reproaches of the bride."

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA THE REMAINS OF HIS COMMENTARIES ON THE NEW TESTAMENT COLLECTED, ARRANGED, AND EMENDED BY OTTO FRIDOLINUS FRITZSCHE Doctor of Theology, Ordinary Professor in the Academy of Zurich, Director of the Library of the Republic of Zurich, Member of the Historical-Theological Society of Leipzig. (Zurich, at the expense of Meyer and Zeller, 1847, in 8°.) PREFACE

When, in the dissertation which I published eleven years ago at Halle on the life and writings of Theodore of Mopsuestia, I indicated that I would soon discuss the remaining matters concerning Theodore, I did not think that I would break the trust I had given for so long. But as happens, other things drew me in other directions. At first, indeed, when I had shortly thereafter exchanged my homeland for Switzerland, the demands of a new office and the vicissitudes of affairs caused me to direct my attention elsewhere; later, however, when I had made time for myself—than which nothing is sweeter—other studies delighted my mind, whether to uplift it when it was raised up or to raise it up when it was cast down. But I have set aside other domestic delights or anxieties, which I may one day bring forth, to return to Theodore. I was never entirely unmindful of him, but seeing almost every year new fragments of his drawn from darkness into light, I thought it better to wait for an opportunity to discuss them. Now, however, I have believed it to be the time, first, to collect and arrange all his fragments which have been published to this point. For besides the fact that these are read in very diverse books, access to which is not open to many, it will be possible in this way for us to distinguish more easily the genuine from the adulterated, and to examine more accurately, as we follow them with the mind in one continuous flow, what sort of man Theodore was and what was the nature of his thought. I advise fully, in passing: professional scholars have not hitherto devoted as much effort as they ought to the collecting of fragments of those ecclesiastical authors whose books have for the most part perished. If they devote themselves more to this matter, believe me, many of them will be revived, as it were, from the dead, and not only literary history, but ecclesiastical history itself will receive great benefit from this.

In this book, therefore, I have included the remains of Theodore's commentaries on the New Testament, and when J. C. Orelli, an excellent colleague and friend, gave me the opportunity to lecture during the coming winter semester in our academy, I used this occasion to present the surviving collected and emended books of Theodore *On the Incarnation of the Son of God*, a booklet which was printed at Zurich by the press of Orell, Füssli and partners. I shall then publish the remaining dogmatic fragments of Theodore and his exegetical remains on the Old Testament when I know that it is to the interest of scholars.

It suffices to deal briefly with the purpose of this book. For since I was not aiming to explain Theodore, but rather to present his words in an emended form, I have rarely added notes, and I have signified by a mere word only if anything seemed to me noteworthy, whether for reasons of language or other considerations. In emending the text, I have not proceeded with boldness and force, but have followed the traces of the manuscript as much as possible. I know that the text of the catenae is for the most part quite vitiated and corrupt, that passages have been omitted, others placed in the wrong spot, and finally that the authors have acted licentiously; yet, if anyone, relying on this fact, cares less for the written books, he will argue many things ingeniously, but few things according to the truth. But not rarely, genuine readings could be restored by a slight change of punctuation or accents.

It remains for me to touch briefly upon the very difficult question concerning Theodore the monk. Cramer's codex

[The following is the editorial preface to the fragments of Theodore of Mopsuestia, which serves as the introduction to the work on this page.]

...the Bodleian, with the catena on the Epistle to the Romans, contains it only up to the ninth chapter; ^A Cramer added a sufficiently ample supplement, pp. 163 ff., from the Munich codex, concerning which see Reiser, *Catal. theolog.*, p. 9. This codex ascribes thirty-nine fragments to "Theodore the monk." Sixteen of these—to which must be added one attributed to Theodoret—are, based on the authority of the Bodleian and Vatican codices (of which you should not groundlessly doubt), by Mopsuestenus; two of Theodoret's ^B are on pp. 416, 469 (see his works, Hal. ed., III, pp. 123, 139); four the Bodleian assigns to Diodorus, pp. 188, 199, 226, 252 (cf. pp. 105, 114, 128, 140), and one on p. 212 agrees in part with the fragments attributed to Diodorus in the Bodleian codex, pp. 119 ff., though in such a way that it is apparent that the authors of the catenae used the same source. I add that the same codex on p. 123 ff. designates as "Diodorean" some things which on pp. 219, 220 are ascribed to Severianus and Theodore. There remain sixteen fragments on pp. 183, 260, 263, 265, 324, 328, 381, 387, 392, 395, 397, 404, 414, 417, 477, 508, which you should not doubt are by Theodore—either the monk, or Mopsuestenus, or Diodorus. The same holds true regarding the eight scholia attributed to Theodore (see p. 358; these conflict with those ^C which discuss Theodore of Mopsuestia (v. infra p. 33 ff.) at the same location, 9.25, in the Vatican codex), 359, 441, 481, 509, 516, 518, 526. Who among these may have written these pieces, given the character of the fragments, you could hardly determine, since these interpreters were very similar to one another. Since matters are so, I would appear to have acted rashly if I had received these into this book; rather, I thought it best to wait until the authority of the codices might resolve this difficulty. Yet someone might ask: who was this "Theodore," sometimes called monk and presbyter, sometimes monk, sometimes presbyter, who is often mentioned in the catenae? To this question I have nothing to answer, not even now (see my commentary). We know that several men were so called—see Fabricius, *Bibl. Gr.*—but it has not been recorded in memory that any of them was a distinguished interpreter of Holy Scripture. Furthermore, from the very fragments printed thus far, you could not even conjecture what sort of person he was or at what time he lived. Although, of the men of this name whom I have encountered, only this one seems ^D able to be counted: Theodore of Alexandria, a monk, who was attached to the Severians. He flourished at the beginning of the sixth century. Facundus speaks of him, 2.3; Photius mentions his books against Themistius in *Bibl.* c. 108; see generally Fabricius, *Bibl. Gr.*, Harles ed., X, pp. 372, 710. No more; let others more learned than I investigate that man, who, without any doubt, performed well in the interpretation of Holy Scripture. Fragments of his are read in the catenae on Matthew edited by Possinus and Cramer; the former contains three, pp. 35, 63, 214; the latter fifteen, pp. 13, 33, 34, 37, 39, 48, 51, 56, 75, 78, 79, 87, 88, 125, 243. Finally, the Coislin codex of the catena on the Acts of the Apostles, edited by J. A. Cramer at Oxford, 1838, attributes two fragments to "Theodore, monk and presbyter" on pp. 33, 227 (cf. pp. 427, 438), which the New College codex assigns to "Theodore of Ancyra." If this be true, it must certainly be written as *Theodoti*, although it is strangely problematic that in the other codex, in both places, it is written as "Theodore of Ancyra." Written at Zurich, Kalends of September, A.D. MDCCCXLVII. O. F. FRITSCHE.

FRAGMENTS OF THE COMMENTARIES OF THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA ON THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

(Matt. iv, 11): Namely, being stationed with him, and cooperating, and ministering to God in all things concerning him, because he was already shown to be more brilliant through his struggles against the devil. Moreover, we learn from the Gospels that angels were present with him when he was about to suffer, and they were seen at the tomb when he rose again. For through all these things the dignity of Christ was demonstrated, in that angels were inseparably present with him and ministered to Him in all things. For just as they are kept apart from those who sin, so do they assist those who are honored through merit. On account of this, the Lord well says (John i, 51-52): "You shall see things greater than these, and that heaven will be opened to all through me, and all the angels will always be with me, now indeed ascending, now truly descending, as if to a domestic of God and his friend."

FRAGMENTS OF A COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

traria, nor was it possible for him to discern anything. First, therefore, in those things which were created, he produced a great contrariety. (1) Since, however, Adam did not obey, and was subsequently subjected to death: and this came about because of disobedience, which—setting aside disobedience—was done by the Creator for our benefit, we have all been taught regarding sin.

^A

CAP. I.

CAP. II.

CAP. III.

VERS. 15. — For that saying: *This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased*, is an evident insanity to think he says concerning the Word of God. For he who said: *This is my beloved Son*, and added: *in whom I am well pleased*, signified that he says this openly in comparison with other sons, who are neither beloved by him, nor were they able to please him much.

CAP. IV.

CHAPTER V

VERS. 40. — It is proper not to decline contention with adversaries when it happens for the sake of religion or piety, but rather to endure even terrible things and to rejoice in them. But if it is some other matter concerning temporal things, one should gladly cede it to those who desire it, and not offer the slightest resistance.

CHAPTER VIII

VERS. 13. — He entreated him, he says, to cure the boy. To whom the Lord says: I, coming, will cure him. For this reason, he promised to go more readily, so that the virtue of the centurion might appear when he refused [the visit]. For he says: I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof; therefore, speak only by word, and this will be enough to cure him. Thus, he shows first great reverence, and second, the greatest faith. Then, with prudence, showing his own faith: For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me, and I say to this one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my servant, Do this, and he does it. For it was a matter of prudence, according to a rationale that seemed reasonable to him, to believe such things about Christ. ^A For I also am a man: yet, nevertheless, of those whose power I have received, I am the master; those things that seem right to me are done by my subordinates. Therefore, it is not unreasonable that, you too having received this power from God, you should expel passions by merely commanding by a word. For indeed, the centurion had not approached him as the Son of God, existing before every creature, and the maker of all things that are. ^B For it was not even for the disciples to know these things at that time before the cross, as we shall show more subtly in what remains, with the Lord's help; but [he approached him] as a man who had attained from God a power greater than that of a man. Hence he said to him: For I also am a man. He well added: For I also am a man, so as to say, It is not to be wondered at if you are able to do this, since you are a man receiving it from God: since I, too, being as I am, ^C receive those who obey me, once I possess the power to command because of the indulgence of him who gave it. Wherefore, it is not incongruous that you, too, having received this power from God, drive away passions by commanding by a word alone. For the centurion did not approach him as the Son of God and as existing before the entire creation, and as the creator of the things that are.

VERS. 34. — They begged, therefore, that he might pass over to other regions, as if they were not worthy to enjoy such a great good in their own country, being terrified, of course, on account of their sins.

CHAPTER IX

VERS. 8. — The matter seems indeed divine; but the one who performs it, a man; for which reason they admire it as a gift of God, and not as the power of Christ.

CHAPTER X

VERS. 5. — The Samaritans inhabited cities situated in the very middle of Judea, through which it was necessary for the apostles to travel to and fro through Judea. ^D Because, therefore, an occasion would often arise to enter such cities, he forbids them, saying: Do not enter. But concerning the Gentiles he did not say, do not enter, but, do not go.

VERS. 16. — If someone removes the chicks of a dove, it will again lay eggs and hatch them in the same place. Therefore you too, he says, when you are attacked by plots and persecutions, remain in my faith, and do not allow yourselves to be moved or led away anywhere at all. But just as a serpent, fleeing and hiding itself, escapes unharmed, so also you, if you avoid by flight those who are armed with bloody hatreds and seek you for slaughter, you will live.

CHAPTER XII

Vers. 7. — "I do not require sacrifices," he says, "yet I accept them, accommodating myself to the judgment of your infirmity; but I demand these two things: that you should pursue me with love and your neighbor with humanity; for these are the things that hold the first place among my commandments: *You shall love the Lord your God, and your neighbor as yourself* (Matt. xxii, 37, 39)."

Vers. 34. — "O," he says, "most wicked of all men, and in your malice similar to vipers; it is no wonder if you speak nothing good, for words are expressed according to the disposition of the soul; and how can you speak what is favorable, when you have once and for all chosen what is worse and are declining toward what is worse?"

CHAPTER XIII

Vers. 33. — By "three measures of meal" he means the Greeks, the Jews, and the Samaritans; for into these three the leaven of the evangelical doctrine was cast, and it made them all one single mass in nature.

CHAPTER XIV

Vers. 1. — Herod the king is one person, and his son the tetrarch is another. For after the death of Herod the king, the Romans divided his kingdom into tetrarchies, and his son held one part of the tetrarchy; this is the one who beheaded the Forerunner, and who paid the penalty for this wickedness not long after.

Vers. 25. — He calls the fourth watch of the night the space of three hours which were counted after the ninth hour of the night.

CHAPTER XV

Vers. 13. — The Manichaeans indeed use this testimony to prove that the law was not established by the Father of Christ, but they wander very far from the truth. For here, the discussion is not about the precepts of the Law, but about the doctrines of the Pharisees, who, indulging in their own opinions, inculcated upon their followers a discipline differing in many ways from the Law, as the Savior himself clearly rebuked them above.

Vers. 34. — They did not yet understand that the Lord had formed the design, for the sake of confirming their faith, of multiplying the food again by a miraculous method, although this question of his tended to that very thing, as that saying of John teaches: *Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?* He desired to train the soul of the disciples so that they would no longer doubt his divine power, and therefore he instructed them not by words only, but by works. He asks not as though he were ignorant, but to demonstrate his power more clearly.

CHAPTER XVI

Vers. 3. — For the Lord Christ was both God and man, each according to its nature in like manner: appearing from one, but remaining invisible from the other, insofar as it was the divine nature. Moreover, there was one thing manifest to all, insofar as it was what appeared: for all of them took him to be a man, and nothing more.

That which lay hidden in him was previously incredible to all; but from the magnitude of the things brought about concerning him, and from the novelty of his miracles, which contributed to the instruction of those who saw them, and from the grace of the Holy Spirit that came upon the apostles, he was afterward understood and believed to be the true God, the true Son of the eternal God, existing essentially. Because, however, in the previous time it was unknown that he existed according to essence, but rather from the fact that he appeared to those who saw him he was thought to be a mere man, he spoke for the most part according to man, and according to the nature that appeared. Anyone who observes carefully will find these things in what is written in the Gospel.

The Lord, even when close to his passion, said to his disciples: *If you knew me, you would have known my Father also* (John 8:19); and to Philip: *Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not known me?* (John 14:9). *Philip, he who sees me, sees the Father*; showing that they knew neither the divine nature of the Only-Begotten, nor did they know the Father to be true God. Whence they did not in any way perceive him when he spoke of his own Father as if he were speaking of God; but their understanding being divided, they thought the same things to be also those [divine things]. Hence Philip was led to say: *Show us the Father, and it is enough for us* (John 14:8). For if he had known completely that he was calling him Father, who in very truth was his Father, from whom he was truly as God from God, he would never have said, "Show us your Father," knowing well that the divine nature is invisible to men. Consequently, therefore, the Lord also said to him: *Have I been so long with you and you have not known me, Philip?* (Ibid. 9). For the desire to see the Father was an indication that he knew neither who he himself was according to nature, nor whom he meant by calling him Father, being the Son existing from him. And opening this very thing, he added: *He who sees me, sees the Father.* For if you know, he says, who I am, you will know him also, in accordance with what is possible, by contemplating through me the nature of the Father, whose Son I am, existing from him according to essence, and being of the same essence with him. Since, however, you do not know me, nor do you know my Father whom I speak of, but by knowing me, you will know the Father whom I have mentioned; seeing me by the contemplation of the intellect, through me you will certainly see him also. He added also: *Until now you have asked nothing in my name* (John 16:24). And, revealing that they did not yet understand his divine nature, nor were they offering prayers to him as to God, nor were they making any petitions in his name, as it was proper to do in the name of the existing God and the Son of the God of all: and because it is indicated still more clearly that on account of this infirmity of theirs he spoke in similitudes concerning the Father, because they were unable to know completely what was being said, either of what Father he spoke, or in what manner he existed. For he said: *These things I have spoken to you in proverbs, but the hour comes when I shall no longer speak to you in proverbs, but I shall announce to you plainly of the Father* (John 16:25). What, however, was it that he had not clearly said about the Father, except that they did not know the true divine nature of the Only-Begotten, from which they could learn of God the Father, who was in certainty his Father, as God of God born of him according to essence? For which reason he spoke to them of the Father through similitudes: now indeed using the name only among them, but reserving the true understanding of him to be taught to them in the future, when the grace of the Holy Spirit, which came upon them, would instruct and perfect them to be receptive of such a doctrine. On account of this, the Lord himself, in that same discourse when close to his passion, in order to show their infirmity, from whence they might be able to assume a more perfect doctrine, said: *I have many things to say to you* (Ibid. 12). For what reason, therefore, do you not say them now? Because you cannot bear them now: not that he is grudging, but because you are not sufficient for a greater perception of things, being still more infirmly affected than to be able to be taught the integrity of these dogmas. When, therefore, will they be able, or from where? *When that Spirit of truth has come, he will lead you into all truth.* For the grace of the Holy Spirit will come upon you, from which you will know the entire subtlety of the dogmas. Therefore, if they were to be taught the divinity of the Only-Begotten, they would certainly also be taught God the Father, as the Father of the Son of God; what more perfect thing would remain for them regarding the knowledge of the dogmas?

CHAPTER XXIII

CHAPTER XXIV

the fallen state of the stars from heaven, which are admitted here, while they are ignorant of the power of God, and that all things follow His will.

^A Verses 48, 49. — The fact that the evil servant is introduced as saying to himself, "My master is delaying his coming," signifies that men sin for no other reason than that they do not see the Judge present, nor do they consider that there will ever be any judgment at all. What he adds, that the evil servant strikes his fellow servants, he says because the greatest harm to the souls of those under [a superior] redounds from the faults and errors of those who teach.

^B Chapter XXV. Verse 24. — Being ungrateful and slothful, he hides the talent, and does nothing of what his master commanded him; therefore, it shall also be taken away from him, and will be given to him who has and who works.

Chapter XXVI. Verse 26. — He did not say: "This is the symbol of my body, and this of my blood," but: "This is my body and my blood," teaching us not to look to the nature of the thing placed before us, but through the thanksgiving that has taken place, it is changed into flesh and blood.

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA FRAGMENTS OF COMMENTARIES ON THE GOSPEL OF MARK

^C Chapter III. Verse 4. — The Savior asks the Jews if it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath, and to save a life or to destroy it; but they are silent, knowing that He will certainly heal him.

Chapter IV.

By the "bushel," malice and earthly prudence are to be understood, while by the "lamp," it is virtue [that is understood]. Thus, it cannot be placed under malice. The bed is a symbol of sloth, for it provides rest to the body. Virtue, therefore, must be kept on high, and not be hidden by sloth; for good, when neglected, perishes.

Verse 26-29. — In this place, the Savior commits the work to our own will, so that He might not appear to have done all things Himself, and so that our virtue might not be involuntary or without choice; wherefore He adds this: "For the earth brings forth fruit of itself," yet not in the way of necessity; for the fruit

it brings forth fruit ^A of its own accord, not by any forced necessity. It produces first the blade, according to the law of nature, then the ear; but when the fruit has grown and the fields are whitening for harvest, the skillful farmer brings out the sickle, so that he may gather the fruit into the barns.

CAP. XIII. VERS. 50. — Another says that the words "evil generation" are to be understood in a tropical, not a literal sense, as if Christ were teaching that He would reveal His heavenly glory to those who were standing by and beholding Him, the impious ones and the killers of Christ, so that might be fulfilled: "They shall look on Him whom they have pierced" (John xix, 37; Zech. xii, 10).

THEODORI MOPSUESTENI IN EVANGELIUM LUCAE COMMENTARII FRAGMENTA

CAP. II. ^B VERS. 31, 32. — The Apostle saying (Rom. iii, 29), "Is God the God of the Jews only, and not also of the Gentiles?" Julian replies: "Why, pray, did He send the prophetic gift, and Moses, and the anointings, and the prophets, and the law, and the wondrous prodigies of fables among the Jews? For you hear them shouting: 'Man ate the bread of angels' (Ps. lxxvii, 25). Finally, He sent Jesus to them as well." Through the succession of time, these same things were sent to all; and although not all received them at that time, they did receive them afterwards. For in the earlier time, they were vehemently shaken by the prophets and the portents previously performed. But they succumbed completely when they saw your gods defeated at the time of Christ, and discovered that all the things said about them were fictions ^C and fables, and nothing more. For since they were immovable on account of the deceit of the idols which stopped the ears of all, and they were held fast, trusting in them as saviors; for this reason, God delivered them all to be mingled ^D with all their enemies.

It is therefore right to ask Paul: If God were not the God of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles, why, etc.

^A that each one might see their own god, unable to help either themselves or these others, and might know that there is no hope of salvation in them. Under one man ^B were gathered so many nations and the gods that had governed them in times past—they who had once existed only under the Macedonians, and subsequently under the Romans—and as they sought for a god to whom they might safely entrust themselves, Christ appeared among them, and showed Himself in due time to those in need. At first, He chose not individuals by nations, but individual men from among the nations, whom He found willing to be persuaded; but now, He chooses them by nations. For God does not wish to offer violence to our will, so that we should not wish for that which we do wish; for this is nothing other than changing our nature.

^C And for what reason did God at one time deliver the more universal sovereignty of the world to this people, and at another to that, so that we also, all of us, should observe the laws governing at the time? And for many other reasons He permitted these changes to occur, and so that we might make use of God, that they might be brought of necessity to seek Him who is truly God.

CAP. III.

VERS. 22. — For this, which says: *This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased*, demonstrates the adoption in baptism by way of comparison with the Jewish adoption, because it was said also to them: *I said, You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High* (Ps. LXXXII, 6); and: *I have brought up children and exalted them* (Isa. 1, 2). He shows the preeminence of that adoption from the fact that He said, *beloved*, and *in whom I am well pleased*. For this reason, the voice of the Father was made to confirm the adoption, and by the naming of the Son, He demonstrated him who is truly the Son through adoption according to grace: whose union with the true and firm adoption constituted him; and the Holy Spirit descending in the form of a dove remained upon him, insofar as, in the union with Him who is truly the Son, he should remain intent upon His cooperation, having the firm dignity of adoption: through all things, however, in whom the baptism of adoption was first prefigured—I mean the baptism of the Lord Christ—he was fulfilled in that which took place from the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

^C CAP. IV.

VERS. 1 sqq. — It is not a new thing, most impious Julian, if Jesus, although He is known by the demons and confessed to be God, is nonetheless tempted by the prince of the demons who does not acknowledge His kingdom. For it is not at the same time, but whereas at first He struggles...

and is defeated, subsequently he learns and confesses His kingdom, saying: We know who Thou art: Thou art the Holy One of Israel. For He does not confess these things before the baptism, but after the baptism and having been tempted, and having returned from the desert, having conquered the devil according to the flesh, according to which he also tempted Him. For it was not as knowing God the Word that he tempted Him—for to all, God is in His essence unknown—but according to the flesh, in which He truly both hungered and was tempted. ^B But Moses, he says, having fasted forty days, received the Law, and Elias, having fasted the same length of time, attained divine visions; but what did Jesus receive after such a fast? It is not equal to be given the Law and to be thought worthy of visions of God, as it is to receive the Gospel and to preach the kingdom of heaven; for there is as much difference between the two as there is between heaven and earth, and between the immortal and the mortal, and the eternal and the temporal.

And the saying, "By every word of God" (Luc. iv, 4), He does not say for the sake of teaching, but because of the comparison of food. For, to his absurd provocation, "Command these stones that they become bread" (Matt. iv, 3), as if Jesus ought to be nourished by bread everywhere, He reminded him of those things which happened in the desert, saying: God has no need of bread. For God fed Israel in the desert without bread, and He is able to feed Him as He wills, calling "word" the creative will of God. ^C But Moses and Elias, when they fasted, were not permitted to be tempted by the devil, as they were hastening toward other, lesser things; but the Savior was necessarily permitted to be, since He was living for the sake of the dissolution of death and the undoing of the former sentence. For the devil is eager to divert and deceive people against the divine laws in matters that fall within our power; but the giving of the Law and the receiving of it, since it was not in the power of Moses but of God, the devil could not prevent. However, it was granted to him to deceive us in those things which it lies in our own decision to do or to omit. Thus he also deceived Adam: for the touching of the tree, although it was placed within our power, was nonetheless a spontaneous act. ^D Since, therefore, it was necessary for Jesus Himself, who was without sin, to suffer for sinners because of His own self-emptying and innocence, and to take away the sentence of death, yet he who had not yet lived in all things and wrestled against sin in all things was not shown to be sinless, for this reason He is necessarily permitted to be tempted by the devil, as the devil himself wills, so that He might be seen to be purely sinless, not by not having been tempted, but by…

^A having proven Himself in that temptation. But why do you wonder that it is said the devil led Him into an exceedingly high mountain, since in the desert there is no mountain that is high? For it says “in a moment of time,” clearly indicating that the devil had produced a phantasm of a mountain, and that He was able in this way to see the inhabited world being ruled subject to man. For it was not insofar as He was God that the devil was tempting Him ^B or was being tempted; for this would not have been a temptation, but rather, by having deceived, it would have been a deception. But how, he asks, did the devil lead the Lord to the pinnacle of the temple while He was in the desert? Because He was not being led to the pinnacle in abandonment of the desert, from which point He would have been absent for a short time, and not for a long time, and as one about to return there. For it is not said that He had gone out from the desert. For just as if someone is staying in a city or house, and spends days or months or years in the house or the ^C city, he is said to be staying there, even if he should sometimes be outside, it is not in total abandonment of the city or the house; so also Christ, having been led into the desert to be tempted, even if He were outside the desert while being tempted, and not in abandonment of the desert, He is reasonably said to be in the desert, and He spent forty days without having gone out of the desert. But when He says, "You shall not test the Lord your God," He does not say, "Me," even if He were God; for the devil was ^D not tempting Him as God, nor did He answer as God being tempted; but as a man truly being tempted, He answered the things of men, that one should not test God. For he who tests God appears not to believe in Him, even if he happens to be seeking to believe. Therefore, He exposed his wickedness in a circle and by a circuitous path, as he was leading Him to disbelief in God through the pretense of believing in Him very much. And this also must be said, that it was from the humanity being tempted that He said, "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve," not excluding from the worship of the Father the God the Word and the Holy Spirit.

CHAPTER XXI

^A VERS. 7. — Such things have often happened and are happening. And how are these signs of the consummation? But even if such things have happened, they have not happened to everyone, nor have all of them happened; now, however, all these things will happen in part and in every place, so that it may be manifest to all from these things that the world is to be dissolved, just as one becomes hopeless when infirm, when all the signs of decay coincide at once, although it may have been sick from one of these many times and escaped ^B death because that one thing was not enough to cause the death of a man. When, therefore, He says, all these things occur at once, famines and pestilences and uprisings of nations against nations and kingdoms against kingdoms, and the other terrors which He mentioned, and all are moved together against everyone, then He says that His coming is indicated as being near (Luke xxi, 11, 12).

CHAPTER XXII

VERS. 39 sqq. — And Jesus prays in such a way, he says, as does a miserable man not easily able to endure calamity, and, being God, he is strengthened by an angel. But who, Luke, told you about the angel, and how it came to pass, when the disciples, who were praying in the vicinity at that time, were unable to see it? For they were sleeping. ^C For this reason, coming away from prayer, He found them sleeping out of grief and said: "Why do you sleep? Rise and pray" (Luke xxii, 46), etc.; and later (vers. 47): "While He was still speaking, behold a great crowd and Judas." For this reason John did not write of it, for he saw nothing. These are the words of Julian. It is not a demonstration of fortitude and wisdom not to fear terrifying things, but rather, while knowing such things well, to endure them in a prudent manner when necessary. For there is nothing more terrifying to men than death, even if one suffers it for the sake of benefits conferred. Since, therefore, Christ, according to the flesh He assumed, was truly man by nature, it was also necessary ^D that

^A He should be led by the Father’s counsel and render obedience according to His judgment. But since He did not will to obey merely in figure and for form's sake, He also feared death according to human nature, and He prayed, and was strengthened by an angel. For when His soul was set upon the resolve to choose death for the salvation of all, but the body was failing through fear, it was possible to see the soul, truly brave in the weakness of the body, contending by its resolve alone against nature and prevailing. Do not, therefore, confuse what is said by us. For because we call Christ God according to His eternal and unbegotten nature from God and the Father, do we not also confess Him to be truly man according to His temporary succession from men, which came to be after many generations? For we do not say that the Word of God became flesh by being changed, but by assuming flesh. ^B Now Luke could have learned about the angel from many sources: first, from Peter and the sons of Zebedee, who were present when Jesus was praying (Matth. xxvi, 37; Marc. xiv, 33); then also from Jesus Himself, after the resurrection, when He spent forty days with them. John, indeed, though well aware of this, did not write it, just as he omitted a myriad of other things which he knew (Act. i, 3, 4)—perhaps also because he had already written before him. And how do you not perceive that it was not at the same moment that Jesus was praying that the disciples were overcome by sleep, so that they would not see the angel, if indeed he had presented himself to be seen? For they were not far off from sight and hearing, but as the prayer was prolonged by Him, it happened that the disciples were burdened and fell asleep. Moreover, when he prayed for the third time and they were aroused to pray, it happened that they also saw the angel ^C in the night of the full moon, and even without the light which casts a great gleam at night, or rather, Jesus Himself revealed to them the things that had occurred to Him while He was praying, so that He might the more arouse them to prayer.

CHAP. XXIII

Vers. 8. — Jesus, however, being led before Herod, did no miracle, although he greatly desired to see a miracle or to hear his words: knowing well that Herod would not be honored by him with a benefit. For he did not do miracles in vain or for the sake of ostentation, so that Herod might admire him; but that those perceiving them might believe and be saved. For it was evident that he was not ^D

and seek from Him some miracle, but as one mad, expecting to see something worthy of his wrath. For he did not release Him as innocent, even though he treated Him with contempt as one incapable of doing anything, but having clothed Him in military attire, he sent Him to Pilate, with whom, suspicion having been removed, he was reconciled, having mastered his foe and enemy, and dispising Him as a powerless enemy ^A no longer able to do anything.

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA FRAGMENTS OF THE COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

PROLOGUE. After the ascension of the Lord into heaven, the disciples remained for a long time at Jerusalem, traveling about the neighboring cities and preaching especially to the Jews, until that great Paul, by the instinct of divine grace, was set apart to preach openly to the nations. But as time went on, the divine grace, not permitting its own heralds to be confined to any one part of the earth, led them forth by various ministries to remote places. For the profession of Simon ^B gave the blessed Peter the opportunity to travel to Rome, and to another [it gave] another [journey]; for this is not the time to recount these things. Thus, then, it happened to the blessed John also to inhabit Ephesus, from whence he traveled through all of Asia, providing great benefit to its inhabitants through his own words.

When, therefore, the Gospels of the other evangelists, Matthew and Mark, and also Luke, had been written and published, they were immediately distributed to the believers throughout the whole world, and were received by them with as great study and religion as was fitting. But when the Asian ^C believers judged the blessed John to be more worthy of credence than the others for the testimony of the Gospel—as one who had conversed with Christ from the beginning, and had received a greater prerogative of love and grace—they brought the books to him, wishing to learn from him what judgment he had concerning them. He, for his part, approved them as being consonant with the truth, yet he said that some things had been passed over by them, and indeed those miracles which were most conducive to the instruction of all. ^D He added, moreover, that since they had discoursed on the advent of Christ in the flesh, they should not have passed over His divinity in silence, lest, as time advanced, men, having grown accustomed only to those discourses, should believe Him to be only that which appeared. He was therefore asked by the brethren to write down diligently those things which he judged most necessary for instruction and which he perceived to have been omitted by the others.

^A Since he knew that this was the most truthful beginning, he judged it necessary that it be the beginning of the Gospel; and thus, passing on to the dispensation, he then himself discoursed accurately concerning the things said or done by the Lord, regarding no other true principle for them than this; and this he has indeed done. Whence, straightway and from the beginning, he philosophized concerning the dogmas of the Godhead, judging this necessary to be the beginning of the Gospel.

CHAPTER 1

VERS. 3. — Many have read it thus: *What has come to be in him*, instead of *through him*, saying: How would it not be ridiculous if the Evangelist intended, by speaking in this way, to teach us something new and unknown to men? Even anyone you might meet could say the same concerning anyone else! “Apart from him nothing has come to be of those things that have come to be through him.” For anyone whatsoever will say this about everything, since it is clear that regarding everything that happens, one could not say otherwise than that, of those things which have come to be through him, nothing has come to be apart from him. Others have read it differently: “And apart from him not one thing has come to be.” Then: “What has come to be in him was life,” for many things are devoid of life, such as the earth and mountains. There is, therefore, a weaving together and confirmation of the former; then also clarity. For having said that “All things came to be through him,” he added: “And apart from him not one thing has come to be which has come to be,” that is to say, to speak concisely, nothing of what has come to be has been brought into existence without him, with only the Father and the Holy Spirit being excepted from his work; since, because he is always with them, he rightly participates with them in the creation of all things. ^B

He said this, wishing through all these things to show that he was always with the Father, as being of the same nature, as a sharer in the creation, as one who, while always coexisting with him, also cooperated whenever it was necessary for existing things to come into being. He clearly showed that the phrase “through him” is not placed there for the sake of his service, but for the sake of his cooperation; and so that nothing of the things that have come to be might be removed from his workmanship, he added: “And apart from him nothing has come to be that has come to be.” ^C

VERS. 4. — “In him was life.” Because he causes the vital power to spring forth, so that he not only lives himself, but also imparts life to others. Whence it follows: “And apart from him nothing has come to be that has come to be.” For he says, he made all things, causing life to spring forth, so that he does not merely produce natures simply, but also living ones.

Because the same power in him is sufficient not only to vivify, but also to fill the souls of men with every kind of knowledge.

VERS. 6. — Having passed on, then, to the appearance of the Son, what other beginning could he have found than that according to John? Whence it is possible to understand who he is who received the beginning. ^D

^A

In the world he was, and the world was made through him, and the world knew him not; he well added this concerning the Lord Christ, "He was in the world," so that he might show that he referred this "coming" to the manifestation. For he says, his substance and nature were in the world even before this. And as if this were too little, he added, "The world was made through him": that is, what is surprising if he was in the world, he who would not even have existed had He not willed it? But nevertheless he was indeed in the world even before, and he himself even made the world, "And the world knew him not." He rightly said here "And knew him not," as if he would say "they did not know their own Lord."

^B

VERSE 10. — After those words, "Coming into this world," concerning the Lord Christ he rightly subjoined: "He was in the world," that he might declare that it was said "coming" on account of the manifestation of the flesh. For he says, according to his hypostasis and his nature, he was also before this in the world, albeit it was still imperfect, whence he subjoined: "And the world was made through him." As if to say: What is surprising if he was in the world, which would not have existed at all, had He not willed it to be?

VERSE 13. — He truly rendered a rich reward to those who receive him. For the first and greatest good he bestowed upon them was a certain equality of honor with himself—a little less, indeed, than his own, such as they were capable of—donating to them the gift of sonship: which grace they enjoy, not being reborn corporally according to the natural order of generation, but procreated spiritually by divine power through a certain likeness and affinity to him.

For God, full of love toward men and beneficent, draws all to himself not by force or necessity, but by persuasion and by doing good; and for this reason, when he came, some received him, but others did not. For men, indeed, since they establish the ministry of a household out of necessity, keep those who have been hired in great numbers bound by the law of the master; but God, being in need of nothing, doing everything for the sake of our salvation, makes us ourselves the masters of this. Why then, he asks, does he punish those who do not obey him? Because he cares for us even when we are disobedient. He is so good that he does not desert us when we depart or flee; but when we abandon the first path of virtue, he imposes upon us another path of obedience and prosperity, the path of correction and penalties, so that, lest we experience those things, we may become wiser even against our will. For even legislators decree many and severe punishments against those who have sinned, and yet we do not turn away from them; for this very reason we even value them more for the sake of the punishments. If we admire those who have wisely established the manner of acting, how much more ought we to admire and love God on account of such care! And it would be astounding if any disciple were not to blush at his master's reproach, but were to audaciously make this abomination known; and this would be no small sign ^{C D}

^A of their truthfulness and character. Moreover, one who blushes on behalf of those who are insulted should not blush on behalf of the one who has been insulted; for he shone forth all the more in this way, and even after such an outrage, he provided for those who insulted him. But they, ungrateful and wicked, appeared as such to everyone, having thrust away, as an enemy and foe, the one who came for such great goods; and not only were they harmed in this way, but also by failing to attain what those who received him attained.

VER. 14. ^B The Apostle also calls the human body a "tabernacle," saying: *For we who are in this tabernacle do groan* (II Cor. v, 4). And again: *We know that if our earthly house of this habitation be dissolved* (ibid., 1). It is usual, however, in Scripture to call the whole man "flesh," as in the passage: *To thee shall all flesh come* (Ps. LXIV, 2). And in that other: *I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh* (Joel II, 28).

VER. 15. The phrase "after" and "before" he speaks according to opinion and the understanding of men. If he says "has been done" instead of "will be done," what is surprising? For we have shown that this is a very frequent custom of Holy Scripture of speaking, and that our Evangelist also said above: *They did not comprehend* (v. 6), meaning "they will not comprehend."

VER. 27. Suspicionless and with open freedom, blessed John announces those things which pertain to Christ. And for this reason, the Evangelist also ^C marks the location (v. 28) to show the confidence of the herald who announces great things. For when he had reached the Jordan, in the midst of the crowd of all who were standing by and being baptized by him (for the Jews had run together for his baptism), he proclaimed those wonderful words: *I am not worthy to unloose the strap of his sandal.*

VER. 28. These things, however, took place not in Bethania, but in Bethara, as the more accurate copies hold. For Bethania was not beyond the Jordan, nor was it in the desert, but near Jerusalem. He notes these locations because he is about to narrate things that happened shortly after that time, and so that he might have those standing by as witnesses to the truth of what was said.

VER. 29. The Baptist saying here, *Behold this is he who takes away the sin of the world*, did not say: "Behold the only-begotten Son," nor "Behold he who is in the bosom of the Father," as we saw above (v. 18). ^D Yet it might have seemed that the greatness of his nature would be correctly stated to prove the promises of the things which he was about to give. But he did not say this, but called him the Lamb of God, by which his passion was signified, since he washed away sin by his own passion. For as sin was reigning in our mortality, and in turn death was clinging to us on account of sin, our Lord Jesus Christ came, forgiving us both; and having destroyed death by his own death, he destroyed also the sin that was rooted in our mortality.

Having already made us immortal by his promise, and afterwards effectively granting the gift of immortality, he also destroyed sin; hence he appropriately used the designation of the lamb here. He appears to say, "Behold the Lamb of God," as one who was already expected, but pointing him out to those present now; and this should not be thought unlikely. For since, according to the words of Isaiah, "Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and as a lamb dumb before his shearer" (Isa. LIII, 7), those following the prophetic voice were already expecting that someone would come who, by suffering on behalf of all, would rightfully dissolve the sins of all. And "Behold the Lamb of God," means, ^B "This is that same one concerning whom Isaiah spoke beforehand." One must note, however, how the Evangelist said that he came to him, but did not say that he was baptized; thus, throughout, he appears to be eager to speak of things omitted, while considering it superfluous to repeat things already said.

VERS. 32. From this it is manifest that not all who were standing by saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove, but that according to a certain spiritual vision, it was seen by John alone, just as it was the custom for prophets to see in the midst of many what was invisible to everyone else. Furthermore, it is most foolish what is said by some, that the Holy Spirit is shown thereby to be inferior to Christ because a dove is inferior to a human; for what appeared was a vision, not a nature. Moreover, if he did not say "the only-begotten Son" or "he who is in the bosom of the Father," yet since it belongs to the one God alone to remit sins, by the lamb he manifested the incarnation, ^C and by what follows, the proper nature of his divinity, which was suited to the lamb because of the ineffable union and because the one and the same is this and that, without confusion.

VERS. 32-34. John, therefore, having spent the whole past time until the manifestation of Christ in an obscure manner of life and in the desert, was thus stirred by divine grace so that he might become such as it was fitting for him to be, when he was to perform such duties for Christ the Lord and was to become his forerunner in a short time. He appeared at that time, not by entering the cities, but by accomplishing his work in the desert. For divine grace ordained that all things should happen in such a way, so that no ^D perverse suspicion might arise among men concerning him who was to be a witness for the Lord Christ, as if he were wishing to bear such testimonies to him out of kinship (for their mothers were kinswomen and mindful of ancestral friendship) or out of the familiarity from childhood; therefore he was led by divine grace into the desert and urged on all sides, so that for the sake of the truth he might bear witness to him.

And from his sojourn in the desert and his unsociable way of life, he ^A testified to this same thing, saying: "And I knew him not, but he who sent me to baptize in water, he said to me" (John 1, 33).

Verse 47. — Nazareth was indeed despised by the Jews from of old, for the reason that this region was inhabited mostly by Gentiles, nor had it ever produced anything good. Whence also the Jews said to Nicodemus: "Search the Scriptures and see, that out of Galilee no prophet arises" (John 7, 52). Rightly, therefore, does Philip say to Nathanael: "Come and see." For, he says, since you object to me an ancient prejudice, I intend to show you the things themselves. Then Jesus, seeing Nathanael coming to him from afar, said: "Behold a true Israelite, in whom there is no guile." Nathanael said to him: "Whence do you know me?" Jesus answered: "Before Philip called you," and so forth. Wherefore ^B even Nathanael, having received the proof from the very works, says: "You are the Son of God, you are the king of Israel." These things, it is clear, they expected regarding Christ as being familiar to God beyond all others, as king of Israel, even if they expected them more dimly and carnally at that time; for it was not possible for the Jews at that time to know how he was the Son of God, nor how he was king; nor was it possible for Nathanael to recognize that immediately, which we see that even the apostles themselves recognized only after a long time. For he saw only a man; and the things said to him by the Lord were not yet such as to reveal that other nature. For it was the work of prophets to know such things; ^C just as Elisha rebukes his own disciple for having taken gold from Naaman, although he was far distant. And yet, even only because of what had happened, "Do you believe because I said to you, under the fig tree? You shall see greater things than these." Thus he showed that what he had said was nothing great, nor sufficient to clearly reveal what he was.

Verse 50. — He had indeed sufficiently declared to him the magnitude of his power, since Nathanael, having received the declaration from the very works, says: "Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the king of Israel." These things, it is clear, they expected concerning Christ. ^D Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the king of Israel, that is: You are the one who has been preached from afar as Christ. This, of course, was what he hoped for concerning Christ, as one set as familiar to God beyond all others. He was indeed certain, and he himself stated it, not calling him the Son of God according to the birth of his deity, but according to the fact that he was intimate with God: for which reason they who through virtue were established as intimate with God were termed sons of God.

Chapter II

Verse 3. — It is worth inquiring whence arose in the mother this silent confidence regarding her son; for he had performed no miracle, since the evangelist says of it that this was the beginning—

of signs in Cana of Galilee.

But if someone should say that this is not a sufficient proof that this was the very beginning of his miracles—that it was indeed first in that place, but not absolutely the first, for it is likely he performed others elsewhere—we shall reply to this by saying that John says: "I did not know him: but that he might be manifested to Israel, therefore I came baptizing" (John 1, 31). For if he had performed miracles during his adolescence, the Israelites would have had no need of one to manifest him. For the things that would have been done would have seemed more miraculous, being performed by a mere youth. Luke alone bears witness to him, that when he was twelve years old he sat listening to the teachers, and through his questioning seemed wonderful to them. And it is reasonable and logically sound that he did not begin his signs from his earliest childhood, so that they might not be thought to be a phantom.

Whence, then, did the mother come to have such great confidence regarding him? Because, he says, he was now beginning to be manifested. And he was clearly known from John, because of the things said to the disciples about him; and before all these things, the very conception itself, and the things that accompanied the conception, had placed in the mother the greatest [judgment] regarding the child, and she was, as it says, keeping all things in her heart. When, therefore, she knew that John had come for his sake and was bearing witness to him, and that he had disciples, then, being encouraged, she made her appeal. For she wanted to make herself more distinguished, and to place a favor upon them. And perhaps she was experiencing something human, just as his brothers were who said: "Manifest yourself to the world" (John 7, 4), hoping to reap glory from his miracles.

Verse 9.

Verses 14-19.

CHAPTER III

^A Ver. 5. — He explained the manner in which we are regenerated through baptism, saying that while it is conferred in water, it is the Holy Spirit who, exerting his own proper power in the element, brings this task to completion. For God, and not water, is called the Spirit of adoption, since it is by the power of God alone that we are regenerated. For this reason, in baptism we name the Spirit along with the Father and the Son, but we make no mention of the water, so that it may be manifest even from this that the water is taken as a kind of sign or token to signify something, whereas the Spirit is invoked as the fulfiller alongside the Father and the Son. Since even the Lord, in response to the words, "Can he enter into his mother’s womb and be born?" set this in opposition, "of water and of the Spirit." As in natural generation, the womb is the natural workshop where the fetus is formed by divine power—as has been stated before—and is brought to completion, so in this case, the water takes the place of the womb, while the Spirit takes the place of the Lord the fashioner. ^B

Ver. 21. — Aptly did he say, "He who does evil," and "he who does the truth," rather than, "he who has done." For it is possible for one who has done evil to cease from wickedness and look toward the good, and for one who professes to rejoice in the truth to incline at some time toward the worse. Therefore he said, "he who does" and "he who is doing." For it is impossible that one who is habitually given over to wickedness should rejoice in the good, and whoever is a lover of the truth is, in any case, a seeker of virtues. ^C

Ver. 24. — All these things happened before the imprisonment of John the Baptist; by the other evangelists, they are recorded immediately after the Lord's baptism and the temptations of the devil; as Matthew says (iv, 12), "When he heard that John had been delivered up, he withdrew from Judea into Galilee." It is also known that Luke, more than the others, accurately reported the chain of divine events, as is evident in that, when the others omitted the things that had occurred before the imprisonment of John but after the time of Christ, he applied himself especially to them. Yet someone might say: "But surely Matthew, after saying that Jesus had been baptized and the Holy Spirit had descended upon him, immediately adds, 'Then the Spirit drove him into the desert' (Matth. iv, 1; Mark 1, 12)." It must be said that the expression "then" does not always signify "immediately," but sometimes refers to things that will happen long after; as in, "Then let those who are in Judea flee" (Matth. xxiv, 16), just as also with [the word] "straightway." ^D

CHAPTER IV

Ver. 9. — He teaches us, however, that it was not as one of an opposing sect that she refused to give the water, due to enmity, but that she wished to remind him of the obligation of his own law, lest he might violate the ancient law laid down for him by necessity.

^A For since the Law had said, "Do not touch anything unclean," they did not dare to touch even the flesh of foreigners, thinking that they would be defiled by this.

CHAP. V

VERS. 12. — For since it is His work to manage matters for the sake of humanity, and there is no law that forbids Him, nor indeed does He have a limit for His activity, He thus said: "I also work, because I so will," having no time fixed for the things done by Me for the sake of the common salvation of humanity. But if there is no one who blames Him (for His sovereignty grants Him the license), let no one blame Me either. For, in the same way, it is permitted for Me also to act as I will. ^B

VERS. 19. — After He had said, "The Son can do nothing of Himself," He added the reason: "unless He sees the Father doing it." For whatever He does, these things the Son likewise does. For the things that come from Him are not one thing, and the things that come from Me another, as if by way of similarity to those things done by Him; but whatever He does, these I also do, with the operation being common, and both He and I accomplishing the same things. He did not say simply, "These things the Son also does," so that the operation might appear superior in them, but He added "likewise," so as to show that not only are the works common, but also the manner of operation, and the identity of power and will. Therefore, He rightly said that He could do nothing of Himself; for since the deeds and the manner of operation are common, how could the design and the will of the deed be divided? ^C And the expression, "The Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things," should be interpreted thus: Since our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, being God and man—and in God all things were inherent, whereas in man all things came to be afterwards through a suitable union—was therefore, as a man, accused by them of breaking the Sabbath, He proves by the credibility of the word of God that He does not break it, but that it is permitted to Him to do all things whatsoever He wishes. And for this reason He speaks of the magnitude of that nature; He takes the occasion from the reproach of the Jews to demonstrate what and how great His own nature was; then He passes from the divine to the human, since His words differ so much from His deeds. He transitions from there to the human dimension, since the things being said are far removed from what was apparent in Him. ^D

VERS. 35. — For he was serving in the capacity of a lamp, which, when the sun is absent, is used by those in darkness. But when the sun has risen, it is superfluous and of no use for anything.

VERS. 43. — I indeed, He says, since I lead you to God, promising nothing magnificent in this life, you avoid the difficulty of My teaching. But he, since he displays all his own glory in the present life, has established very much in those who believe in him

^A by promising security through an escort, being enticed by the desire for present glory, you would all flee to him.

CHAPTER VI

VERS. 3. — ^A He ascended the mountain ^B to teach us that he who wishes to draw closest to God must avoid every tumult, and seek a place and time free from it.

VERS. 5. — Why does He not ascend to the feast, but when all are hurrying to Jerusalem, He Himself goes into Galilee? In one word He dissolves the law, taking the occasion from Jewish wickedness. The evangelist indicates the time when He was about to perform the miracle, so that it might be known that it had been performed a little before the feast, and might make what was to be said credible. When Jesus had lifted up His eyes and seen that a very great multitude was coming: He shows from this that He never sat idly with His disciples, but was always accurately discoursing to them about something, and composing Himself, and in a marvelous way proving His humility and condescension towards them. They were therefore sitting together looking at one another; then, when He had lifted up His eyes, He sees the crowd, and the rest.

VERS. 6. — Even if the Lord seemed to speak to one only, ^C nevertheless He instituted a discourse common to the need of all. The evangelist, at the same time explaining the manner of the inquiry, subjoins: *This however He said, testing him*, that is, proving him, as if he were to say, rendering him proven. For when, first, he was in suspense of mind, and afterward saw the miracle that was being done unexpectedly, he was taught that everything is always to be committed to God, and that one should never through penury fail in his resolution.

VERS. 9. — He said these things, indeed, lest He should seem to be hiding the penury in which the reality found them. For these things were as nothing to such a great multitude, and He truly said it, nor did the matter stand otherwise.

VERS. 12. — *Gather up the fragments that remained.* He seemed to say this to kindly command them to gather the fragments; but He dispensed the whole matter so that, by how much the more they were copiously refreshed, by so much the more they would be mindful of such a great miracle, or that others also might be made participants in that deed. For the abundance of grace was apparent in that overflow of food to the multitude, and ^D that Christ does whatever He pleases. He permitted so many fragments to remain, not for the sake of ostentation, far from it, but lest anyone should think the work had been done in appearance only.

VERS. 29. — The Lord said this, as He was not ignorant that the name of the mystery exceeded their grasp: for it was spiritual food. Therefore He did not straightway bring in the explanation, but kept the convenient course of the discourse. For faith, He says, in Me, will clear the way for you to the understanding of the rest, and...

the teaching. For it is not possible for those who believe to doubt the certainty ^A of what is said, nor is it possible for those who do not believe to accept any of the things said, as they are great, intelligible, and far surpassing our hearing.

Ver. 35. — Since, after the resurrection, He gives eternal and incorruptible life to those who believe, there will be neither food nor drink therein that is perceived by the senses, and therefore they shall not hunger.

Ver. 39. — Two things He declared above, namely that it is necessary for all to believe in Him, and that to those who believe, eternal life is to be granted. He binds both together very beautifully, asserting that the same will belongs to Him as to the Father, namely that all should believe in Him, and that those who believe should obtain the reward through Him. Whence it is clear that in both these points they have struggled against the will of God the Father.

Ver. 41. — These two things He had already stated above: that it is necessary for all to believe in the Son, and that to those who believe He would give eternal life. Since He had said that the Father’s will was His own will, He rightly joined both, both that it is necessary for all to believe in Him, ^B and that those who believe are to obtain the reward through Him: so that from these two points it appears that they were fighting against the will of the Father.

Ver. 61. — Hard, indeed, was the saying for those who were listening, as they imagined that He would make them flesh-eaters and blood-drinkers; but to those who were spiritually understanding spiritual things, nothing appeared hard, but the words were full of piety and would prepare for them eternal life. But Jesus, knowing that they were murmuring about this—for this too was of His divinity, to bring hidden things into the open—was saying: "Doth this scandalize you? If therefore you shall see the Son of man ascending where He was before?" (v. 63). Now He had already said to Nathanael: "Because I said to thee: I saw thee under the fig tree," and the rest. Why therefore dost thou heap difficulties upon difficulties? By no means; He does not do this; but He wishes to lead them to the magnitude and multitude of the dogmas. For if He had said only that He had descended from heaven, adding nothing more, they would have been more scandalized; they would have been more so when He had said: "My flesh is the life of the world"; and when He had said: "As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father"; and when He had said that "I have descended from heaven," to solve the difficulty. For he who puts forth only one great thing concerning himself comes under suspicion of lying; but by saying these things, He removes all suspicion for the future. He does and says all things in such a way that they may be led away from thinking that Joseph is His father. Therefore, He does not say this in order to increase the scandal, but rather to resolve it. For he who

thought Him to be from Joseph would not have received what was said; but he who was persuaded that He had descended from heaven and would ascend back there, would more easily attend to what was said.

CAP. VII.

VERS. 19. — Since at the previous feast they had accused Him of violating the Law by healing the paralytic, He removes that supposed excuse for their unbelief, and takes up the argument regarding that matter again, saying: "Did not Moses give you the Law? And none of you keep the Law, for you seek to kill me." For he, while legislating, commands one to abstain from murder; but you, because of the extremity of your wickedness, are already consulting about my destruction. Or it is thus: "But you," He says, "vindicate the Law of Moses; show me, then, based on the works of the Law, the observance, and state the reason why you wish to kill me, which is considered of all things the most unholy according to the Law." But they, answering out of insolence, say: "You have a demon: who seeks to kill you?" This word was uttered out of anger, fury, and a benumbed conscience. Then, wishing to take Him without any hope of escape, they find a way out through a lie. But He, permitting them to repel this from themselves, so that they might not be overwhelmed with too much shame, again touches upon the excuse concerning the violation of the Sabbath, convicting them from the Law itself; and one can see how wisely: "It is no wonder," He says, "if you do not listen to me, since you do not listen to the Law itself; for when they said that God had spoken to Moses, but 'as for this man, we do not know where he is from' (John IX, 29), He shows that they are even insulting him."

VERS. 22. — He indeed forbade by the Law that you should commit murder: but you, on account of your extreme wickedness, are thinking about my death. By this method of reasoning, He says: "I did one work, and you all marvel," that is, you are disturbed, you are in a tumult.

VERS. 38. — He signifies the abundance of grace, of which He says elsewhere: "A fountain of water springing up into eternal life" (John IV, 14); that is, it will have much grace. Elsewhere, indeed, He says "eternal life," but here "living water," that is, always working. For the grace of the Spirit, when it comes into a pure mind and dwells within it, gushes forth more abundantly than any fountain, and neither intermits, nor stands still, nor is exhausted. And one might see what is meant by this clearly in the apostles, how they were neither terrified nor defeated, neither by the fury of the populace nor by the power of tyrants, but like a river flowing with much rushing water, they went forth carrying everything along with them.

CHAPTER VIII.

VERS. 21. — "It behooves me to depart," He says,

^A where I go you shall not be able to come, but you shall pay the penalty for the sin committed against me.

VERS. 26. — Having many things to judge concerning you, I justly deem you unworthy of my speech. Nor did He who sent me send me to speak lies to you, since He is true in all things and always rejoices in truth alone; nor do I speak other things than what are pleasing to Him: so that, I who could justly condemn you for your unbelief, might also justly abstain from speaking to you. ^B

VERS. 35. — Just as a master expels from his house a servant who is of evil mind whenever he pleases, and subjects him to such punishments as he deems fit; but for a son, as he is a master, there is no expulsion to be feared: so indeed, he who serves sin and is expelled from all the good things that are before God, is delivered to eternal punishment: but he who has enjoyed freedom and has been established in the dignity of a son, receives the eternal enjoyment of those things that are good before God. ^C

VERS. 42. — He could indeed have refuted this also, that it is not so: for they were often mixed with the Gentiles, and many were born to them from fornication; which is read to have been frequently reproached to them by the prophets. But the Lord does not do even this, but rather refutes them from their own words.

VERS. 43. — This is what He wishes to say: But I say, He says, to you, "Why do you not know my speech?" Whereas He might have said: "Because you are prone to evil." Sparing them from an open demonstration, He restrained His speech, saying, "Because you cannot." Then He shows why you cannot: For as great as was your near kinship with him who is by nature prone to lying, so great should have been your necessity for conversion to the truth. But He says it otherwise: "The devil is the father of falsehood," since he also gave birth to it. By first applying it, in speaking to Adam, he exercised his own work, usurping one thing in place of another. He says, therefore, "Because he is a liar and his father" (v. 44), because he clearly was the first to use a lie, as the added article proves, for Scripture is accustomed to speak thus indifferently. ^D Therefore, because you are associates of falsehood, it is not marvelous that you do not attend to the truth which I speak. This, moreover, He explained: "Why do you not know my truth? Because you cannot hear my word." For He stated the cause on account of which they cannot, so that it might be seen to lie not in nature, but in their will, their impotence of works lying in their proneness and affection toward evil. Since they do not believe the truth of His words, and for that reason do not understand what is said, as if concluding from a syllogism, He said: "I tell the truth, you do not believe me" (v. 45).

CHAP. IX

^A Ver. 2. — They believed it a plausible cause for the misfortune, and that the suffering would not have befallen him without cause, since God governs human affairs in a way analogous to human concern. Thinking of nothing further regarding the cause of the human infirmity, they attributed the cause of the misfortune solely to sin, either that of his parents or of the sufferer himself; not indeed that he suffered because he had already sinned—for how could it be possible for one not yet born to have sinned?—but rather as if, because he was about to sin, God had surrounded him with the suffering according to His foreknowledge.

^A Ver. 3. — When He says, "That the glory of God might be manifested," He speaks of Himself, not of the Father; for the latter's glory was already manifest. For when they heard that God made man by taking clay from the earth, for that reason He also acted. For if He had said, "I am the one who then also fashioned man," it would have seemed too harsh to those hearing Him. But by performing this work, it was no longer an obstacle. Wherefore He Himself took clay from the earth, and mixing it with spittle, in this way manifested His hidden glory; for it was no small glory to be considered the Creator of the creation. For if He were regarded as the creator of the greater, He was confirming what was less. For just as man is nobler than all creation, so the eye is nobler than all our members. He took nothing other than clay, and thus teaching that He is Creator, He also commanded him to be washed so that he might be healed; adding also concerning Himself, "That the glory of God might be manifested: I must work," that is, it is necessary that I manifest and do what I am able; finally, showing Himself to be doing the same things as the Father, He demonstrates the greatest likeness.

^B That the healing of the blind man was beneficial to him, in that he took the removal of his affliction as an occasion for acknowledging the Only-Begotten, and that many others were induced to prefer faith in Him above all else, is clear. But that it was necessary for all men to be ignorant before the outcome—that this would happen, and that his infirmity was useful for these things—was necessary. Thus, now He confirmed the rest by means of this miracle; for, as we know from what preceded, the Jews had shown their own stupidity regarding the miracles in different ways, especially regarding the healings on the Sabbath, and had tried to pursue Him as some impious man and a violator of the Law. ^C But it was the Sabbath day on which He was about to heal the man blind from birth; whence the Pharisees, being unable to contradict the miracle, tried to disparage what had occurred because of the day, saying: "This man is not from God, because he does not keep the Sabbath" (v. 16). Well-answering, Jesus said: "I must work the works of Him who sent me" (v. 4). I know, He says, that the Pharisees will contend about the day, and will try to denounce me as impious and a violator of the Law, as one who breaks the Sabbath; but let them say and do these things, while it is fitting for me to do the works of Him who sent me, performing these works which He Himself established, when the opportune time for them is at hand. For there will be a time when it will be necessary for me to desist from these works. For just as ^D [footnote 1: For whatever He has done, these same things the Son does likewise, chap. v, vers. 4.]

work and the other for rest, during which it is not even possible to perform any work—so too for me there is a time for the working of miracles until the passion, during which it is necessary to be occupied with all the tasks set before me, which are in accordance with the will of the Father and make known what my dignity is. However, after the passion, it is necessary for me to cease from all these, having left behind my life upon the earth. "When I am in the world," He says, "I am the light of the world." This means: Just as the sun, by bringing about the day, provides the occasion for work to men, so is my life; just as its presence makes the day, so I perform the healings that are to be performed. Having said these things before the miracle, and having shown that even though He saw them indignant, He does not desist from miracles, and that the things being done are also pleasing to the Father, and that there is no profit for them in persecuting Him, since He could neither suffer anything before the appointed time nor could He, until that pre-determined limit, desist from the working of miracles, He thereupon addresses Himself to the performance of the miracle. ^B

VERS. 17. — Nevertheless, after they had contended among themselves, they turn again to the blind man, as if choosing him as an arbiter of their own dispute, and they say to him: "You, what do you say about him, that he opened your eyes?" One must read this as a question, joining "You, what do you say about him?" with "that he opened your eyes," and not separating them; for they were not asking the blind man whether he had opened his eyes—it was superfluous to inquire about this when they could see it—but rather: "What do you say about him, in reference to the fact that he opened your eyes? Is he a wonder-worker because of what has happened, or is he a lawbreaker because of the violation of the Sabbath?" Whence the blind man, answering wisely, said: "That he is a prophet"—meaning, "This is the opinion I have about him; for this is what I am led to say about what occurred regarding him." ^C

VERS. 27. — Again they asked him: "How did he open your eyes?" But he, now using greater liberty, was at once rebuking them and exposing them as fighting against the truth, and indeed mocking them with biting wit. For what does he say? "Do you also wish to become his disciples?" ^D

VERS. 41. — Just as, when the Lord was speaking to them earlier about freedom from sins, they replied: "We are the seed of Abraham, and we have never been enslaved to anyone," understanding it in terms of bodily servitude, so here too, when the Lord was reproaching them for their spiritual blindness, they, as though they were people who could see perfectly well with their physical eyes, were discoursing about the very same thing. Therefore, the Lord...

by this means ^A increasing the sin against them [—] the very sin in which they thought they were boasting [—] said: "What is this? Are you saying that you see? It would have been better for you to be blind in your eyes, for in that case, there would have been some excuse for you because you do not believe. But now, since you claim to see, and even with your own eyes you watch the one who was once blind now seeing, you do not believe your neighbors; being able to have no apology, you receive the acknowledged condemnation of your unbelief."

CAP. X.

^B Ver. 1 sqq. Let the fold of the sheep be proposed to us as the doctrine of the Law; the sheep, however, are those who are subject to it and have pledged themselves to live under the Law. The gatekeeper of this fold is the blessed Moses, who established this fold through the setting forth of the legal requirements. Let the shepherd of the sheep be anyone who is truly and worthily endowed with the teaching office, and who uses the legitimate path—that is, anyone who has been diligent in the Law in every respect, and trained in it properly, and thus has undertaken the administration of this fold in the appropriate and suitable manner. Then, at least, he leads the others out, like sheep, one by one to the pastures of doctrine. Therefore, if such a one is the shepherd, it follows that he is a thief and a robber who is not like this, but who jumps in recklessly to seize the dignity and schemes for the destruction of the sheep. I ask, therefore, to be examined regarding this, both by you, if it seems right, and by me: who has used the legitimate entry, who has maintained diligent and accurate care of the Law, to whom Moses, the gatekeeper of the Law, opens? For the accomplishment of the requirements of the Law is found in me ^C rather than in you.

Ver. 6. The Lord saw fit to say these things in a more parabolic way, so as not to seem burdensome to them by speaking such great things about Himself, and saying openly that the teaching office from the acts themselves belongs not to you, but rather to me. From then on, He continues to speak only of Himself; for no one would say that He was being overbearing about Himself, nor will anyone show that He acted with pride after the manner of those whose transgression He was addressing. And then He begins to speak more openly in the language of all the people, showing that the status of the shepherd pertains to Him.

Ver. 7. By calling Himself the door, He does not contradict Himself; for He says that He enters through the door. For He was speaking to the Pharisees who were leaders of the people according to the Law, but who had unjustly cast out the blind man; in other respects, He was comparing Himself to them according to the legal manner of life. As one who was going to observe the Law more accurately, He therefore says that He, as a safer leader of the sheep, enters through the door, since He Himself was also going to submit to the Law and would enter legitimately. There, however, He says ^D that He is the door of the sheep, as if He were to be the whole principle of entry into the truth. "By Me," He says (v. 9), "if anyone enters, he will be saved." But those who have entered will be Mine, and through Me, furthermore, the truth...

shall receive, shall enjoy true salvation, abiding in the truth having much confidence, abundantly enjoying the food of the commandments and eternal life. By this he means, supplying "resurrection," so that they may have this added. Neither thief nor predator, he says, is to be feared by them. Moreover, he wishes to show that he is not a mercenary shepherd, like those who are hired by some to pasture, but a master, pasturing his own. He says this against the Pharisees and scribes, and generally all those who according to the Law of the Jews seemed judges, but who behaved like thieves and predators. They could follow no one, although they seemed to have obtained the leadership of the people. They did not pasture as masters, but as mercenaries hired for a time by the master. He therefore teaches that he is in no way like those shepherds of sheep. A mercenary, however, whose own the sheep are not, if he sees the wolf coming, by no means concerned for the sheep, he says, thinks only of his own ^B safety; for being a mercenary, he does not know how to endure dangers for the sake of others.

Ver. 17.

Ver. 22.

Ver. 35.

CAP. XI.

Ver. 2.

^A situation, moreover, occurred later in regard to Lazarus; and the evangelist shows this by relating it afterward. Since he was about to mention this in the proper order as having happened, he anticipates and explains, as if it were a future event, who the woman is of whom he speaks here, and he warns that she is the same one who had done that [anointing], and now it is the case of Lazarus that is being discussed.

Vers. 3. — Those words, "Behold, he whom you love is ill," declare great faith. For they recognized that such great power resided in the Lord that they wondered that he who was loved by him could be overtaken by illness.

Vers. 4. — This would indeed have been ^B amazing if Lazarus had been dead; but the Lord says that this illness is not unto death; for to him, who was about to rise again in a short time, there was no death; which he will make evident a little later, calling it sleep and not death.

Vers. 5. — The evangelist adds to these things that Jesus loved Martha and Mary and Lazarus, to show the virtue of men who share in this same sentiment (Rom. xii, 16).

Vers. 6. — Let us inquire in what place Jesus was when he said these things. For as far as can be gathered from the Gospel, he was not outside Judea. How then does he say to the disciples: "Let us go into Judea"? Unless perhaps someone, examining these things more simply, should say that he had quietly departed from Judea. When, therefore, he says: "Let us go into Judea again," he hears from the disciples: "And are you going there again?" Who would not seem to himself to be a ^C faithful disciple of Jesus, to be blessed, and to cast himself into dangers and into the hands of wicked men for the sake of salvation?

Vers. 15. — "I rejoice," he says, "for your sake. For [the fact] that I was not there will contribute to your faith: because if I had been there, I would have cured the sick man; but that miracle would have been very small for demonstrating my power. But since I myself was left behind and death has supervened, and I, going there, am about to raise him up, you will be more confirmed in your faith [in me], when you see me ^D calling back to life the dead, and indeed those already corrupted and stinking."

Vers. 16. — It was indeed a fine thing, having applied faith, to remain and avoid the plots of the enemies; but since it is fully persuaded to him that we should go, "Let us also go with him"; for it is better to perish with him in a common death than, by looking out for our own safety, to be deprived of his teaching.

Vers. 21 sqq. — Martha, indeed, went out when she had heard that the Lord was arriving: but she did not share [the news] with her sister.

323 Jo 16, 25. The Lord spoke in a veiled manner on account of the childishness of the hearers; but He promises that He will clearly reveal to them, as they make progress, the glory of the Father. 324 Jo 16, 26–27. As has been said, great progress grants them boldness in asking. This, moreover, has come to pass through the grace of the Only-Begotten because of faith in Him. He has made the saints friends to the Father. 325 Jo 16, 28. For it was necessary that He, having ordered all things for our salvation, should return again to the Father and to His own glory. 326 Jo 16, 29–30. The disciples were saying these things, marvelling at Him as God, from the things He was saying especially clearly, which they were reasoning out within themselves. Wherefore, from what they were hearing—and not without reason—they believed that, being the Son of God, He became man and came into the world. 327 Jo 16, 31–32. As they did not yet possess perfect faith in Him, He foretells the things that were about to happen, that when He was seized, they were all about to flee and leave Him alone as far as they were concerned. But He was not alone, always having the Father in Himself and with Him. 328 Jo 16, 33. They needed much consolation, so that they might escape the difficulty of the things coming upon them and remain in His peace, which He granted to all who believe in Him, having conquered and overthrown through long-suffering the prince of this world. 329 Jo 17, 1. By "hour" he means the suitable time of the Passion, as also elsewhere; for we do not say [it is one] from fate, which does not exist, but in accordance with which He Himself judged to suffer, yielding to the malice of those plotting against Him. Thus indeed, in the case of the sign of the wine, He called the opportunity the "hour." He uses "to glorify" and "to be glorified" synonymously, so that He might teach the indistinguishable nature of Himself and the Father. For He is glorified by the Father inasmuch as He, as man, is raised by the Father; and He glorifies Himself inasmuch as He, as God, raising Himself by His own power, gives us to behold the Father Himself, whose Son He begat, and from whom it appears who He is. 330 Jo 17, 2. He is Lord of all bodies and souls, but to those only who believe in Him does He give the blessed life. 331 Jo 17, 3. He calls the Father the true God as the Unbegotten, yet He does not exclude Himself from being God; for the Only-Begotten is also God, but begotten of God. Having said this, He taught us the doctrine of the truth. 332 Jo 17, 4–5. Through which things, He says, I, having become man, endured the things for the salvation of men, so that I might make My name known to them. I have glorified Thee by making Thy power known through My own power, which is equal to Thine. And having said, "before the world was," He shows Himself to be the pre-eternal God of all. He asks, therefore, with economy to receive back that glory, not which He did not have, but which, having become man, He had economically brought down to insults for Himself by the good pleasure of the Father, and which He emptied Himself of, having possessed it; which it was fitting not [merely] to receive, but to receive back. Or else, through the form alone, having said Himself to be before the world was, He showed that He was not a mere man having begun to be from the time of the birth from the Virgin, but being pre-eternal, and having been incarnate in the last days. And by saying "with the glory which I had," He shows that the Son had the glory from Himself without beginning, not from another. 333 Jo 17, 4–5. It is fitting to know that He did not pray to receive, but to receive back. Furthermore, He also stops the mouths of the heretics who assume He was only a man, by saying His own glory is older than the world. And no less does He demonstrate the deception of Marcellus, who said that the Word did not receive glory from the Father, but possessed it from Himself without beginning. 334 Jo 17, 6–8. Many having wandered into godlessness, the Son of God arrived, leading men to the knowledge of God through giving them the illumination of knowledge. Existing things are indeed of the Father, yet none the less are they of the Son because of the consubstantiality. But also all things are said to have been given to the Son, through which those who have obeyed the Son are brought to the Father through the knowledge of God and through keeping His commandments. But if He says...

"they have known" now, it means they have learned by experience; for He says these things as befitting humanity. Nevertheless, the Father also appears in the Old Testament saying to Abraham: "Now I know that you fear God." Nonetheless, the Son, by giving the Father's words to men, assured the believers that He had come forth from the essence of the Father.

John 17:9–11. He does not pray for the things of the world, but for the holy ones, whom He says He has received from the Father, whom the Father, in an ineffable manner, handing over to the Son, yet remains their Master. The holy ones, even those practicing a life of virtue, are not called God’s creation, but men insofar as they do what is pleasing to Him. Nevertheless, the Son speaks of the things of the Father as His own, and none the less are the things of the Father His own. These things He spoke as He was hastening to ascend to heaven; wherefore He says these things while the disciples were still remaining on earth for the sake of the proclamation.

John 17:11. He speaks economically as a man. "Just as," He says, "You have exalted me and I have the name of Godhead, so also keep these in this name, so that, perfected in faith, they may be united just as I and You are one in essence, even if distinct in hypostases."

John 17:12. For while He was with them, He kept them through His teaching and through the contribution of His own power, which is called the Father's. He shows, however, that He did not draw them by necessity, but kept them in that they were with Him by choice. Wherefore Judas also perished through voluntary wickedness, that the scripture might be fulfilled which says: "He who eats my bread has lifted up his heel against me," which prophecy did not become an obligatory cause for Judas, but an exposure of his own wickedness.

John 17:13. Since He had imparted divine power to them, when He made them cast out demons, He filled them with joy, and He asks that this joy be preserved for them.

John 17:14–16. Since they had accepted the evangelical teaching, the world hated them, that is, wicked men who pursue worldly pleasures. Being outside of these, the holy ones are no longer of the world. He wishes them, therefore, to be for a time in the world for the sake of the evangelical ministry, but to be kept from diabolical plots. Because of the virtue of their soul and way of life, He calls them strangers to the world, just as He is Himself because of His sinlessness.

John 17:17. It was necessary, for the work of an evangelical life, for the disciples to be strengthened by the sanctification that is from the Father through the word of truth.

John 17:18–19. Just as He Himself was sent economically as a man to preach the saving word, so also, after the resurrection, He sent the disciples to instruct the inhabited world, having pre-sanctified them in Himself; for by the means through which He gave Himself to slaughter, He "sanctifies Himself" (for to give oneself to sacrifice is called sanctifying), offering Himself as a sacrifice for the world, so that those who have attained the redemption in Him may be sanctified in truth.

John 17:–21. For having imparted to them His holy and own glory, He has made them partakers in this of the dignities. He constantly mentions the manner of unity, leading to an accurate grasp of most perfect understanding, by which they are led to perfect faith. Seeing this, the believers learned through the works themselves how great He was who gave these things to His disciples, through whom was also shown the good pleasure of the Father, having loved them and perfected them through the grace in Christ.

John 17:–21. He mentions not only the disciples, but also all who are about to believe through the disciples, who themselves also have become one, joined to themselves and to God through being joined to Christ. This unity does not come to pass in essence or in hypostasis, but according to the agreement of faith. From this agreement, even the world believed that Christ was incarnated by the good pleasure of the Father and preached the saving word; for this is what it means to be sent.

John 17:24. He asks for them to be in heaven, that, beholding His glory, they may enjoy this blessedness.

^A Verses 9-11. — Perhaps they were expecting to hear something new from him, as one returning from foreign parts and lands unknown to men. Therefore, the chief priests, seeing that the multitude was drawn to the sight by the desire to see Lazarus, thought of killing Lazarus along with Christ, perceiving that the crowd did not stop at the mere sight of Lazarus, but knowing well that, as they saw him, they were being led through him to faith in Christ, just as if He who had once raised him could not, if need arose, raise him again.

Verses 13. — You see how this especially choked them, that it was fully believed that He is not an enemy of God; and this especially troubled the people, to say that He comes from the Father. For this reason they also cried out, *Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord*, which is to say: Fear not, daughter of Zion. Since most of their kings were for the most part unjust men, covetous, and handed them over to their enemies, and corrupted the multitude and rendered them liable to the enemy; Take heart, He says, for He is not like these, but good and gentle; and this is shown by the donkey; for He did not enter dragging an army, but having only a donkey.

Verses 16. — You see that they did many things in ignorance, and that He Himself had not yet revealed it. For when He said, *Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up* (John 2:19), they did not understand it at all. This, however, was rightly hidden from them, as being beyond them. Therefore, another evangelist says that they were all grieved and saddened (Matt. 17:22-23). They were grieved because they did not understand the word concerning the resurrection.

Verses 21. — On account of the great miracles which were happening everywhere among the Jews, and the holiness of the temple, many of the Greeks, if not all, were participants in the laws. They went up, therefore, to worship God, and to be participants in the feast as much as they could; at any rate, they were close to being proselytes. Therefore, as the fame spread, these approached Philip and said to him: "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." Philip goes to Andrew, who was near him, and both of them report the matter to Him. But no permission is granted. For he (Philip) had heard: *Do not go into the way of the Gentiles* (Matt. 10:5); therefore he first speaks with his fellow disciple, then they report it to the Master: for both said it to Him. But Jesus answered them, saying: *The hour has come*. The time, He says, has come to go to the passion, since all things had been fulfilled. Since, therefore, He was about to send the disciples to the Gentiles after His death, and saw them hastening, He said: The time has come to proceed to the cross. For He did not permit them previously, so that it might be a testimony to them. For until they had laid hands upon Him and crucified Him, He did not say: *Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations* (Matt. 28:19), but: In teaching us not to [stand] until then.

^A Ver. 23. The time, he says, is now at hand, all things having been fulfilled, for approaching the passion. For if we were to continue to attend to those who are stubborn, and yet to reject those who are willing, this would surely be unworthy of our providence. Since, therefore, He was about to permit the disciples to go to the nations after the cross, but saw them anticipating it, He says: The time is here to go to the cross. For He did not permit them [to go] before, in order that this might be a testimony to them. For until they rejected Him by their deeds, until they crucified Him, He did not say: *Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,* but: *Do not go into the way of the Gentiles* (Matt. 10:5), and: *I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel* (Matt. 15:24), and: *It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs* (Ibid. 26). But since they hated Him, and hated Him so much as to kill Him, it was superfluous to continue to attend to those who were pushing Him away. Indeed, they rejected Him, saying: *We have no king but Caesar* (John 19:15); then, and only then, did He leave them. This discourse, as the other evangelists tell us, took place on the second and third day of the week, and on the fourth day Judas came to an agreement with the Jews to deliver the Lord to them.

^B Ver. 24. Since he did not persuade them in this way by words, he employs the experience of actual events, saying: For this happens even in the grain of wheat: it is destined to bring forth fruit when it dies. If this happens in seeds, [it happens] much more in Me. But the disciples did not understand what was being said. What is the grain of wheat? He speaks of the cross, so that they might not be troubled, remembering that it was when the Gentiles came that He was killed. He says: This very thing will most especially cause them to come forward and increase My preaching; then, because they were not persuaded by words, he employs the experience of the actual events, saying: For this happens even in the grain of wheat; it brings forth more fruit when it dies. If this is so in seeds, much more in Me. But the disciples did not understand what was being said; therefore the evangelist briefly notes this, so that he might more leniently excuse their flight that was soon to follow.

^C Ver. 25. He says these things, not as though his soul were suffering anything here, but he speaks of a soul beloved by those who seem to save it, and to whom nothing is more precious than to rescue the body from any impending dangers.

Ver. 26. He exhorts them to follow, by imitating His life and by emulating His integrity and virtue; and I would say that everyone who does anything according to the word of God serves the Word and ministers to the Son of God, and follows Him, doing nothing illicit. For ...

He does not simply exhort those who walk to follow Him; for many of the impious were walking with Him and following Him, so that they might either entrap Him with a word or be able to seize Him at a step. But for the disciples who follow in the footprints of His virtue and divine manner of life, He straightaway promises dwelling in heaven: "For where I am," He says—that is, in heaven—"there shall also My servant be. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him."

VERS. 27.—These, He says, I ask for, which are the cause of great glory; so that it is fitting that you also should not fear death, but do those things which are acceptable to God. When the Lord had said this, a voice came from heaven to further confirm the disciples concerning those things that had been spoken to them. The voice does not appear to have been distinct, and therefore the crowd was divided; some thought it was an angel, others thunder, so greatly had the bystanders been struck by the sound. But to the disciples, to whom the word was addressed, perhaps the meaning of this revelation was made clear by the Lord.

VERS. 35.—By an example he ^B showed that it is necessary to experience death, and that he does not remain dead, having called Himself the light. For just as this light of the sun, he says, when it departs, appears not to exist—it is not, however, extinguished altogether and destroyed, but remains in its own nature and existence, and at the appropriate time appears again—so too, think of me. For I do not die as if I were to remain in death, since my body is not to be corrupted; but when the soul has departed from the body for a little while, soon it will rise again, and it will receive back its own incorruptible body.

VERS. 36.—He hid himself from them. Guarding Himself, ^C of course, for the day appointed for His passion, which was the Passover, when He was about to prepare a new paschal victim; for this sheep which the Jews were then sacrificing, He was offering Himself as a rational lamb for the expiation of the sin of the world.

CHAP. XIII.

VERS. 10.—When Peter thought that he was to be washed in place of baptism, and that through this he would become a participant with the Lord, and for that reason said that He should wash him entirely if such were the case, the Lord, correcting his ignorance, responded: He who has been washed has no need except to wash his feet.

VERS. 12.—Here He gives the reason for His action. ^D For, addressing Peter above, He had said: But you will know hereafter; to him He said: Do you know what I have done to you? That is, Do you know the reason and the purpose of My action?

VERS. 25-27.—To John, who was reclining in the bosom of Christ (that very John who indeed wrote this Gospel), Peter beckons, as he was nearer, and who

^A could ask him quietly who it might be that would betray him. Reclining, therefore, upon the breast of Jesus, so as not to call out within the hearing of the rest, he inquired.

For since he thought to conceal his plot, and imagined that he was meditating it to himself alone, it became manifest through the giving of the morsel to the disciples. And so far was he from marveling at the power of One who knows the heart and reveals secret thoughts to all, or from being chastened by shame at the rebuke administered in the presence of those there, that he even more hardened his resolve ^B within his own soul, and taking the rebuke heavily, he hurried all the quicker to bring to an end the things he had conceived. Rightly, therefore, did the Evangelist call this the entry of Satan, the confirmation of the thoughts that were pleasing to the devil.

VERS. 33.—The phrase, "Yet a little while I am with you," refers to the time until the Passion. To the Jews, indeed, by saying, "You shall seek Me," he added, "And you shall not find Me," since they were no longer to see Him. But to the disciples, "You shall seek"—for they certainly did seek Him, as was natural, when they saw themselves deprived of such a profound Teacher ^C and Guardian—but they also found Him. For they saw Him after the resurrection, and consorted with Him, and ate with Him, until His ascension into heaven.

Well did He add "now": for by saying that they could not go where He was going, He meant that they were not yet able to face death as He did. All, indeed, fled, and Peter even denied Him with oaths. But He added "now," to show that later they would be far bolder against dangers and death; for after the descent of the Spirit, they were even rejoicing to suffer for Christ, being firmly instructed once and for all concerning future things and regarding the faith in Christ. So, He says, even if you seek Me, moved by your disposition—for I know that this ^D of yours will be present, from your love for Me—yet you cannot now demonstrate that disposition by action, as your natural infirmity makes you fearful of death.

VERS. 34.—The Law enjoined, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," but the voice of the Lord desires that we love those who are of the household of faith even more than ourselves. For so great is the observance of this commandment, that it is a sufficient token of My discipleship. Hence, I think, the Apostle also, having been taught the power of charity, calls it the "fullness of the Law." For it is clear that he who lays down his very life for his friends will gladly dispense with all other things, and will much more forgive anything whatever. If this be done, there will be no pretext for malice, nor any need for particular commandments, as all are succinctly comprised in this one.

CHAPTER XIV

^A VERS. 1. — Id est, Ne propter jam dicta animo deficientes turbemini. That is, lest, fainting in spirit because of what has been said, you be troubled. By this, in the first place, He shows the power of His divinity, in that He was able to bring to light the things they were carrying in their minds, and He commands them not to be troubled.

VERS. 2. — He called a mansion the perennial possession of good things, for the reason that we have rest and happiness only in our own proper possessions. Since it is also the custom of men, when places are very narrow, to take possession of these places beforehand, He wished to say: I would have told you that I was going to occupy this same place among men shortly, were it not that there is some great possession for those who refuse, whereas this possession of good things is to be awaited for a long time.

^B VERS. 6. — There is no need for labor for you to know the way. You have My teaching; through Me you know the truth; you are about to attain eternal life; you will be partakers of those good things; I shall be your guide on the way, and I shall lead you by the hand at length to the possession of the hoped-for good things. And, speaking concisely, He adds: No one comes to the Father except through Me; nor can he know Him, or otherwise be gifted with knowledge and friendship with Him.

VERS. 9. — As one who, by the words He had spoken to them, had provided through His own utterances sufficient demonstration of this matter to Philip, the Lord says: Am I so long a time with you, and you have not known Me, Philip? As if He were to say: Has not so much time been sufficient that I should teach you both Me and the Father, so that you still imagine that you can see Him? If you had known Me, both would have come to pass: that you would know the Father through Me, and that you would not imagine that He could be seen by the eyes of the body. ^C

Beautifully, however, He adds: How do you say that I should show you the Father, unless you are utterly ignorant of Me? So that the previously spoken word is true, that "Neither have you known Me, nor the Father": for if you had known Me, you would surely have known Him also, because of the exact similarity, since He is recognized in Me.

VERS. 10. — He declared the equality of the opposition, or rather the exactness of the similarity, inasmuch as He Himself exists in the Father, and the Father in Him, so that the similarity of each in the other may be shown. Then He also proves and confirms the stated words: The words that I speak to you, I do not speak from Myself. If you do not believe these things, He says, know that there is such a ^D conformity of nature, and intent, and power, that there is no difference in the words, but whatever I speak, the words are so common that I do not appear to speak anything alone.

The equality of the antistrophe... you see the highest pinnacle of proximity, and a demonstration of one substance. I have, He says, such a [demonstration] toward Him.

^A substantial similitude, that my voice may be His, and whatever I do, may be believed to be the justice of Him.

Vers. 15 sqq. — You, He says, it befits first to ask, by loving and manifesting your love through the keeping of the commandments; and to those thus disposed I will provide the grace of the Spirit, so that you may have Him with you always, teaching you all truth, whence you shall also become partakers of all good things. He calls Him another Paraclete, that is, another teacher, naming the doctrine in difficult matters "Paraclete," so that the proper grace of the Spirit might render the evils brought upon them by men lighter, that they might easily be able to bear them, as has been clearly shown in the Acts of the apostles; who indeed previously feared death, but after the descent of the Spirit, willingly suffered anything whatsoever. He called Him the Spirit of truth, as one who teaches nothing but truth, nor admits any change into the contrary. ^B One must observe, however, that this word, "I will ask" [rogabo], is spoken rather figuratively, for "you will receive my grace." For He was not about to ask that they might receive, as is manifest from the fact that it was already defined and established before God for our necessity and need, and promised; as indeed the Lord Himself said to the disciples, "But wait for the promise of the Father which you heard." If, therefore, there was a promise, the asking for the things promised would be superfluous.

Vers. 20. — Then in very deed you shall discover that those things I have said are true, about which you seem even now to be in doubt: ^C that is to say, that I am in the Father through likeness and nature, and you in Me through faith and my love, and moreover, having received through the gift of the Spirit the communion with Me, and I in you, as is fitting. For this union effects that you, being regenerated by the virtue of the Spirit, and in a way incorporated into Me, I am to you as if I were the head. Moreover, everyone who loves Me and keeps my commandments will enjoy the love both from Me and from my Father, and will find Me and the vision in knowledge, which vision shall not be less than any bodily vision; since he shall enjoy these things on the day of the resurrection, seeing Me descending from heaven.

CAP. XV.

Vers. 4. — Just as the vine, He says, planted in the earth, has its own life, which it received once from the earth, and produces shoots, and ^D brings forth its own fruit as long as it remains in the stock; but when these shoots have been cut off, they no longer bear fruit; so it is to be thought regarding you, that you hold the place of the vine. First, having received all grace within Himself according to the communion, *Addit Mai: hactenus Mai.* palmites mihi adhærentes virtute regenerationis...

Spiritus, qui in trunco manentes fructum ferunt, recisi vero nullum. The same shall happen to you, so that if you keep my love, you will necessarily be destined to bear the most abundant fruit of virtue; but if you depart from my love, you will necessarily be deprived of every good. And just as a vinedresser explores the usefulness of the branches, and renders those which he sees to be beautiful and fit for bearing fruit more fecund through his care, while those which are unfruitful and useless to the vinedresser he consigns once and for all to the fire: so the Father, exploring the mind of each, keeps great care of those whom He sees to be constant in my love, bestowing upon them a maximum abundance of spiritual goods; but those whom He sees to have failed in my love, He preserves for future punishment. ^B

VERS. 26. — That this was not said as a favor, the Spirit Himself testifies, who proceeds from the very substance of the Father. For unless by the word "proceeds" he understood a natural procession, and not some extrinsic mission, it would be uncertain of which of the many spirits who have been sent for ministry he would be speaking in common, of whom the Apostle Paul says: "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to do service?" (Hebr. 1, 14). But here he notes a property by which it can be sufficiently known that only He who is properly signified by the name of Spirit in Holy Scripture has proceeded from the Father. You, he says, are witnesses, because you have been with me from the beginning. For in that you have always been with me, your testimony necessarily becomes trustworthy, while you yourselves speak, and the Spirit bears witness to your words through the miracles which occur. ^C

CAP. XVI.

VERS. 8. — So terrible, he says, is the descent of the Holy Spirit, that as He descends, the sin of those who lie in wait for me will be made manifest to men.

VERS. 26. — Earlier he says: "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Paraclete"; but here: "And I do not say to you that I will ask the Father concerning you." Now these appear to be contrary, but there he was discussing his ascent into the heavens, after which the Holy Spirit descended, which was fitting for his dispensation: but here, he says, you will clearly recognize the dignity of my Divinity, and this "not asking" reveals that there is no need for him to ask for them, since he himself is likewise able to give it. But [he says this] so that, by saying it openly, he might not give to his disciples, as they were still weaker, an occasion for arrogance. Since ^D

^D maybe they will know this, that the Father is the One who begat the Son from Himself, a thing which they did not yet understand. But neither did they understand Him as Father according to providential care, thinking that He was so called after the manner of other men.

CAP. XVII

CHAPTER XVIII

VERS. 38. — He so moved him with brief words that he said: "What is truth?" For it had almost disappeared from among men formerly and was ignored by all who still served in unbelief.

CAP. XIX

CAP. XX

^A Ver. 17. — He seems indeed to prevent her from touching, as though she ought not to engage in the touching of His body in the same way as before, seeing that the body had become something else and far more excellent. But He indicates something else as well. For it is evident that He did not prevent the woman from touching Him, from the fact that He frequently caused the disciples to touch Him and to receive the sense of the marks—which, as is natural, had occurred to the body from the nails. Therefore, through these words He indicates two things: both that the body is now, after the resurrection, far more excellent than it was before, so that on this account it ought not to be approached simply by human touch, and that it was destined to be taken up into heaven.

This, then, which is said, "to my Father and your Father, and my God and your God," no one is so demented as to say it applies to any other than to the temple of the Word of God, which was assumed for our salvation; who also died, and rose again, and was about to ascend into the heavens, and claimed the Father for himself along with the disciples as God, and calls Him his own God, because he received to be so in like manner as the rest of men. Whence, on account of the communion of nature, he says "my Father and your Father," and "my God and your God": yet he again distinguished his own person from them, signifying the preeminence of grace, on account of which, by the union with the Word of God, he is honored by all men in the place of the true Son.

Ver. 22. — This which is said, "receive," he says instead of "you shall receive." For if, when he breathed on them, he had given the Spirit to the disciples—which some have very foolishly imagined—it was superfluous to say to them afterwards, and especially at the time of the ascent into heaven, that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Spirit. And in what follows: "But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you" (Acts 1:8). And clearly, Luke says that the actual coming of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples took place on the fiftieth day after the resurrection, after the ascension. And it must also be noted that if they had received the Spirit from the breathing, he would not say "receive," but "since ye have received." For this which is said, "receive," corresponds to those who have not yet received.

Ver. 28. — He says to Thomas: "Reach hither thy finger, and see my hands, and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side, and be not faithless, but believing." Because, he says, you do not believe, and you think that sight alone is sufficient for you to believe—for saying these things, you did not escape me—touch with your hand, and take proof, and learn to believe and not to doubt. Thomas indeed, when he had thus believed, says, "My Lord and my God," not calling him Lord and God himself, for he was not taught by the knowledge of the resurrection that he who rose again was God, but he praises him as God as though for a miracle performed.

In the world to come, those who have chosen honest things here shall, with praise, receive the joy of good things; but the wicked, who throughout their whole life have inclined toward evils, will be set in order with punishment and fear—(they shall repent) and choose honest things, and learn how much they have sinned while they persisted in evils and were not in the good, and through these having received the knowledge of the primary doctrine of the fear of God, and having been instructed, those who with a good will take hold of him, shall be made worthy of the joy of divine liberality. For he would never have said: "Till thou hast paid the last farthing" (Matt. 5:26), unless it were possible that, when we had paid, we might be cleansed from our sins by those punishments. Nor, furthermore, would he have said: "He that knew his lord's will shall be beaten with many stripes," and "he that knew not, shall be beaten with few stripes" (Luke 12:47, 48), unless after they had gone through (had endured) the punishments according to their sins, they at length received a release.

CAP. XXI.

Ver. 25. — These words were rather inserted by a strange writer, to prove that there were more miracles done by God than what have been written: on the one hand first, because others were ignorant, perhaps he inserted these, and part—

^B

KΕΦ. ΚΑ'.

Ver. 25. — It is more of an addition, placed there by some one of the diligent from without, to show that the miracles done by the Lord were more than those written; but in part—

the unknown first [text] was inserted, and became part of the Gospel scriptures; then, by time and custom, it resulted that it was referred to by everyone as a certain part of the Gospel. Thus a firm persuasion was born in the faithful that this was truly a part and the ending of what was written in the Gospel. ^A

FRAGMENT OF A COMMENTARY BY THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

^B CAP. II.

VER. 38. — But he said that those who were doing penance for the iniquity of the cross, and acknowledging the Savior and Lord and author of all good things, Jesus Christ—how on account of these things He arrived and was assumed from the divine nature—must receive faith in Him and become His disciples, first of all approaching baptism, which He Himself also delivered to us, having indeed a pre-formation of the hope of future things, but being celebrated in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. For this statement, that "each one should be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ" (Acts II, 38), does not say that, abandoning the invocation which is in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, they should invoke Jesus Christ in baptism, but it is of the same kind as that "they were baptized in Moses in the cloud and in the sea" (1 Cor. X, 2), in order to say that, under the cloud and the sea, they were separated from the Egyptians and liberated from their servitude so that they might attend to the laws of Moses; such is "let each one be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ," so that when they had approached Him as the Savior and author of all good things and teacher of truth, they might be called by His name, as being the author of good things and teacher of truth: ^C just as for all men following any sect whatsoever, it is the custom to be named after the inventor of the dogma himself, as Platonists and Epicureans, Manichaeans and Marcionites, and if any others are called such. For in the same way the apostles judged that we should be named Christians ^D, as if by this making it certain that one must attend to His doctrine: so that they might also receive baptism, which was given by Him, established indeed first in Him who was also the first baptized: but from Him passed on to others, that it might be celebrated according to the pre-formation of future things.

FRAGMENTS OF THE COMMENTARIES OF THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA ON PAUL'S EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

^A Vers. 2, 3. — And because it seemed in some way new, what was said by them concerning Christ, he adds: *Which he had promised before by his prophets*, desiring to show the antiquity of the doctrine. And hence, magnifying the prophecy, he well added: *In the holy Scriptures*. For he did not wish to speak of the letter or of the character, but of the prophecy itself, which was granted to them by the revelation of the Holy Spirit. Therefore he rightly called it prophecy. And elsewhere he says: *Every Scripture is inspired by God, and is useful* (II Tim. III, 16). What, then, do these things say? *Concerning his Son*. And because "Son" is a common name, and with divinity it is accepted in a sense of humanity, wishing to disclose what was manifest, whence he now makes his proposal, or for the sake of whom he adds the testimony of the prophets: *Who was made to him of the seed of David according to the flesh*, clearly showing that, although he introduces speech about the assumed man, yet he did not leave behind any sign of divinity unstated. For in that which he added, *according to the flesh*, he sufficiently shows that he knows how to signify "sons" differently; just as by this he knows him to be made of the seed of David, not as if knowing him to be only this. For they understand two natures, but one thing by connection. The one is of the assumed man, the other truly of the Word of God. They concur, however, into one, both on account of the assumption and on account of the union, which is made from the assumption, and for that form of a servant which he has from God.

Vers. 8. — Beginning this Epistle and others also with thanksgiving, he exhorts those with whom he is speaking, to give thanks to God first for their own work or word, not only for their own, but even for those of others. Here indeed he uses a most fitting opening. Note also this: that it is said *through Christ*, not as a servant, as the heretics seem to think, but referring it to the cause of good things. For the Apostle did not need Christ as a minister to offer up thanksgivings; he says, however: *I give thanks to God for you*, Christ providing the grace whence we return thanks. There is also in these same words a praise of the Romans which is not common; for he uses the same opening in his Epistles always for this cause, namely, to kindle the zeal of the faithful for knowing the doctrine. By this same reason, he also makes the Romans join with him in this task, ^B preparing them for reading, which also contributes to this for the Romans themselves.

[Regarding the Greek text block following:]

^A ...all received it; for death is not ordained as a punishment for this kind of sin, but for every sin. And one must see [the fruit] from this: *And not only, but also glorying in God through our Lord Jesus Christ* (Rom. V, 11). For he says that we do not glory only in this, that God reconciled us to himself through Christ, but that he also truly dissolved all the old evils. What are these? For when Adam had sinned, and indeed had become mortal on account of this, sin took its passage into those who followed, and death ruled over all men, as is likely. For since all had sinned, if not in a sin similar to Adam's, yet in some way, some in this way, others in that, it was necessary for death also to rule over all alike. But not even the Law, coming in later, was able to remove it from among men; on the contrary, indeed, the opportunity for sinning was actually heightened for us from that, since it is not possible for a transgression to be judged outside of laws. But when those among us were in these circumstances, and all hope of attaining better things was lost, Christ worked out the dissolution of all evils. Wherefore he briefly added, *"Who is a type of the one to come,"* in order to say that the things concerning Adam became a type of the things concerning Christ, since just as through the former the passage of worse things occurred, so through the latter we received the opportunity for the enjoyment of better things.

Vers. 15. — *And not*, he says, *is the kind of trespass* so great as that of the gift; for if the sin of the one brought death to men, yet the gift through Christ became something greater for men. The words *the many died* he says instead of "all," for all died, as he himself asserts above: *And so death passed into all men* (Rom. V, 12). And it is clear that the words, *And into the many it abounded*, he says likewise instead of "into all." For the grace of the resurrection is common, as all are raised.

Vers. 16. — He mentions this one cause of the difference. For there, he says, one having sinned and having been condemned on that account, provided for the punishment to be brought upon those who followed, having held all as sharers in the sentence of death. But grace is not so; for it has not come from one just as in the case of Adam to those who followed, but with many having already been condemned, he provided in a brief manner for both those who were before and [the rest], and expanded it; it is therefore much greater, if that one indeed shined its light upon those who followed, while this one not only benefited those who followed, but also solved the offenses of those who had previously existed.

Vers. 17. — Still more, he says, that also shows the great difference, that there death entered by the sin of Adam and ruled over...

in Seleucia, because the shipowner had excused himself from such a cargo on account of the season. But since I recognized neither the wording as being like your own, nor the hand, nor the precision of the writing, I deemed it right that you should not be unaware of this. For it is absurd if, such being the horse, it should be saved for neither me nor you.

LETTER 91. To Pylaemenes.

^A and what follows. The history of Moses is also called "law," as when in the Epistle to the Galatians it says: "Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons," and the rest. (Gal. iv, 21, 22.) He also calls the prophecies "law," as when it is written in the law: "In other tongues and by other lips I will speak to this people" (1 Cor. xiv, 21); this is in Isaiah. (Isa. xxviii, 11). But he never calls Christ's teaching concerning morals the "law," and in that passage, "You who are justified by the law have fallen away from grace" (Gal. v, 4), he recalls us from the letter of Moses. Therefore, he speaks here of a circumcision other than the concision (Phil. iii, 2), and intends a spiritual law (Rom. vii, 14). This "law" can also be understood as the natural senses; for the soul progresses when it is spiritually circumcised by the amputation of desires, and when it observes the law by performing what must be done. ^B Nor would it be inept to interpret these words literally, arguing that they pertain to those who were of the Jews: for Paul became a Jew to the Jews, that he might gain the Jews (1 Cor. ix, 20); he circumcised Timothy, and shaved and purified him according to the law (Acts xvi, 3), so that he could say to them: "Circumcision indeed is of value if you observe the law." Yet, in speaking to those from the Gentiles, he forbids them to be circumcised: nevertheless, he is not in any way contradicting himself.

Since it has been said in the discourse concerning this matter not that those from the Gentiles should be circumcised to Abraham, but only those of his seed, and those born in his house, and those bought with silver; and similarly in Leviticus it is spoken only of the children of Israel, there is no necessity ^C that proselytes should also be understood as included in these, just as the laws specifically ordained for the Levites, or for the priests, or for the elders, do not allow others to be included under them. For whenever the law wishes something to be done by proselytes, it mentions them by name: so it does many times regarding sacrifices; but especially in the year which is called the year of sanctification (Lev. xxv, 5), proselytes also offered sacrifices. Thus also the Lord says to the ten lepers who had been cleansed: "Go, show yourselves to the priests" (Luke xvii, 14). One of them was a Samaritan, to whom the Savior, bearing witness, says: "Were there not ten cleansed? And where are the nine? Was there no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?" (ibid. 17, 18). But if anyone objects with those words from Exodus (xii, 48), saying that proselytes wishing to eat the passover must be circumcised, we shall reply that the passover was to be immolated in one place only, and once this requirement was set, circumcision ^D no longer applied to proselytes.

VERS. 29. — In spirit, not [the] Holy [Spirit]; for he is not dealing with men acting in goodness by grace, but aims throughout at those who, being outside the law, perform the things that are of the law, and demonstrates them to be superior to those who are under the law.

^A Everything corresponds appropriately with his own purpose, having the intention of demonstrating that the Greeks are transgressors of the natural law, and the Jews—alongside the natural law—[transgressors] of the law given by God, so that he might establish that all stand in need of grace. And he says "in spirit," instead of "by purpose," as God says in the book of Numbers: "All who provoked me shall not see the land; but my servant Chaleb, because a different spirit was in him and he followed me," and what follows, clearly calling "spirit" the disposition of the mind. Thus also the prophet: "They were seduced by a spirit of fornication" (Ose. IV, 12); as if to say, they served fornication with their mind.

CHAP. III.

^B VER. 9. — As if to say: Come then, having refuted them, let us show our own preeminence.

VER. 12. — He uses this testimony not as a prophecy, but because it suits his argument, since David pronounces it generally regarding the fallen. For thus do we also still use testimonies in ecclesiastical discourses, twisted from their genuine sense, yet adapted to our own statements. For that Psalm was not spoken by David concerning all men; and it is clear from what he says: "Shall not all who work iniquity know, who devour my people with a ration of bread?" (Psal. XIII, 4). For whom would He have called God's own people, had he proclaimed that all men inclined toward evil? ^C

VER. 27. — You ask me: What new law excludes this law? For it is the nature of law that it is not dissolved except by a more excellent law. To which he responds: The law of works established later does not dissolve the former law; for that one had been instituted most appropriately according to the works. But the law of faith deservedly proved that one to be superfluous, winning the boast that [comes] through the law of works, since many things are available to us from the grace of God, which you would have sought in vain with great labor in the law of works. He declared, however, not simply "faith," but calling it the "law of faith," he indicated that our justification is perfected as if by the aid of another, even though it is called our own.

VER. 28. — "We calculate" is not spoken by one who is in doubt, ^D but by one who intends to assert: I judge this to be an apt conclusion of justification which, according to faith, is without the works of the law, that every man who wishes may become a participant. It must be noted that it is not stated absolutely, "without works of the law," as if to say even if we were to practice works of virtue...

we did so not by the necessity of the law, but were led to this ^A by another.

VERS. 30. — That statement, "from faith," concerns the Jews; for although they were moved by other reasons to seek justification, they could not attain it except from faith. But those things pertain to the Gentiles through faith.

CAP. IV.

VERS. 8. — He most wonderfully joined these two testimonies: the one concerning faith, "And it was reputed to him unto justice" (Rom. iv, 3); and the other concerning works, "To whom the Lord has not imputed sin." ^B There, therefore, faith availed so much, that it was reputed to him unto justice, but here works, even if they are evil, are not imputed, because the mercy of God surpasses all works.

VERS. 11. — With this expression, "That he may be the father of all who believe," he speaks according to the Pauline manner of speaking in the same way as those words: "That they may be inexcusable" (Rom. i, 20), namely, to affirm a thing which necessarily coheres with the facts. Whence he even adds: He is the father of all who have similarly received faith.

CAP. V.

VERS. 13. — For the law given afterwards did not resolve sin, he says, but as long as the law was among ^C men, and it was in force and held sway, sin was even increased, since the law provided nothing for the taking away of it. To confirm this, he did not hesitate to assert: "But sin was not imputed, when there was no law." There would have been no sin, he says, if there were not a law, much less could the law take away sin. By "law" here he designates that judgment by which, whether with the law or nature as a guide, we pronounce on the goodness of things. For unless this judgment existed, there is no reason why anyone should be called a sinner; for he does not sin who does not turn aside from the good to known and perceived evil. He brought these points forward to prove the statement: "In whom all have sinned." ^D Yet, developing the doctrine set forth, he added: "But death reigned from Adam even to Moses, even upon them who have not sinned after the similitude of the transgression of Adam, who is a figure of him that was to come." Those words, "even upon them who have not sinned after the similitude of the transgression of Adam," are to be interpreted in this sense, that death reigned over all, in whatever way they had sinned. For the rest of men are not immune from death because their sins are of a different kind than Adam's sin; but death has held sway over those sinning in any manner whatsoever. Death, of course, is the penalty defined not for such or such a sin, but for all sin. But the connection of the discourse must be resumed from

the words: "But not only so, but we also glory in God through our Lord Jesus Christ." He says, then, that we do not glory only in this, that God has reconciled us to Himself through Christ, but also that He has solved all the ancient evils. ^A What are these? When Adam had sinned, and for this reason had indeed become mortal, sin took its passage to those who followed, and death held sway over all men, as was to be expected. For since all had sinned—if not with a sin identical to that of Adam, yet in one way or another, some in this way and others in that—it was necessary that death should reign over all of them equally. Nor was the law, when it came in, able to take it away from men; on the contrary, an occasion for sinning was actually afforded to us by it, since without law it was not even possible for a transgression to be judged. ^B Being as we were in those circumstances, with no hope appearing for a change for the better, Christ wrought a solution for all these evils. Therefore, he concisely added, "who is a figure of him that was to come," that he might say that what happened in the case of Adam was a figure of what happened in the case of Christ, since just as through the former the passing of evils took place, so through the latter we received the occasion for the enjoyment of greater blessings.

Verse 15. — The measure of the transgression, he says, is not so great as that of the gift; for even if the sin of the one brought death upon men, yet the gift through Christ became something greater for men. The words, "the many died," he says in place of "all," for all died, as he himself had stated earlier: "Death passed through unto all men." ^C It is manifest, then, that the words "abounded unto the many" occur as if to say "unto all." For by the common grace of the resurrection, all will rise alike.

Verse 16. — He brings forward this one cause for the difference. There, he says, one who sinned and was condemned on that account caused the penalty to be brought upon those who followed, having made all of them partakers of the sentence of death. But grace is not so; for it did not come from one to those who followed as in the case of Adam, but when many were already condemned, he speedily performed the distribution of the gift to those who were before, and to those who were to come after. It is therefore much greater, if the former only ^D shone upon those who followed, while this one benefited not only those who followed, but also set free from their accusations those who had gone before.

Verse 17. — Furthermore, he says, this also shows the great difference, that while there death was brought in by the sin of Adam and held dominion over his successors, the grace of the gift...

^B bestowed upon us through Christ—by which we shall also attain to the resurrection and persist in righteousness, receiving no resolution—will suffer no dissolution; for we shall abide, enjoying the coming life continuously.

Vers. 18. Having sufficiently proven in the preceding verses how much sin and the gift differ from one another, he once again sets forth arguments according to that saying: "Therefore as by one man sin entered into the world," explaining those words by saying: By these things it is proven to us how, Adam having become for us the author of sin and death, Christ bestowed upon us both the remission of sins and liberation from death by the hope of the resurrection, in which we shall walk outside of all sin; for this is what he calls "justification of life." Just as that man’s sin, he says, both made the rest of men mortal and rendered them, through this, prone ^C to sin (for this is what it means to be "sinners"), so Christ granted to us a resurrection, that being established in an immortal nature, we might live free from all sin, walking in perfect righteousness. And here he proved that this word "many" is used instead of "all." For when he had said, "unto all men for justification of life," he added, "many were made sinners," whence it appears that here, as also above, the word "many" is meant for "all."

Vers. 21. By "sin to reign in death," he means that we, having been subjected to the law of death, are more prone to sin. For we fall more often on account of the pleasure regarding food and drink and the external world, and indeed also the intercourse with women, since many do not use these things fittingly, ^D or use them immoderately. But these things would have no power over an immortal nature. For what pleasure or what place for avarice would remain in an immortal nature? But since we have become and exist as mortals in our nature, we endure a certain unspeakable disturbance from the aforementioned passions, and from this, we receive a great propensity toward sinning. Rightly, therefore, he said that sin reigns in death, in the sense that it commands us just so far, in that we are more easily carried toward sins because of it. Just as, therefore, he says that sin once reigned over us, to which we often fell even against our will, so the goodness of God will take us up and will constantly reign in us, when, instructed by the divine life through the resurrection, we must live in true and firm righteousness, no longer admitting any sin.

CAP. VI.

Vers. 3. "Do you not know," he says, "that through baptism we die together with Christ? For just as...

we seem to be buried together with him by being baptized according to the pattern, so that it behooves us, just as the Lord, having risen from the dead, entered into another new life, so also for us to be established in a new life after baptism, ^A considering it worthy to show forth a life of that life, which we believe we have attained through baptism.

Vers. 5. — It is clear, he says, also from this, that it is impossible that those who have typologically shared in the death should not also attain the resurrection, the reality of the matter. He rightly uses the word "grafted" (conplantati), discussing both the mortification and the quickening, since it is characteristic of plants that they die in the planting, and yet move on to a much better and more glorious state. ^B And with reason he strengthens the future with the present; for since it was clear that they were partakers of the Spirit in baptism, and this was clearly shown by the things themselves, he rightly persuades them of what was not yet manifest from what was then apparent.

Vers. 6. — He also describes the reason why the Lord's passion came to pass, for a greater conviction of the things mentioned. For since, having come under the decree of death, we were extremely prone to sin on account of our mortality, he says that our entire nature, which lay under mortality, was crucified together with Christ, who was crucified; ^C and since the whole of us also rose with him, every human being hoping to share in his resurrection, the result being that our ease in sinning is destroyed, through the transformation of the body towards immortality, and we ourselves are positioned outside the necessity of sinning.

Vers. 12-14. — He says, indeed, that as things are so, it is right for us not to sin in this present life, even if we are still mortal by nature and have a greater inclination towards this. Since he has mentioned the kingdom of sin, he rightly said: "Do not present your members; for it is the custom for satellites to be presented to kings." Do not, therefore, he says, as if eager to serve sin as a queen, commit things you ought not, but rather strive to adhere to God as those who live from the dead, ^D uniquely seeking to perform through all things the works of righteousness. Most admirable, however, is his phrase, "as if living from the dead," demonstrating that he does not demand the deed from them, but the imitation according to their ability. For they will indeed be living from the dead at that time, but now, he says, "as if living from the dead," meaning that they are imitating that state according to their ability. And he rightly persuades them not to fear the inclination towards sin and the consequent stirrings, if the integrity of the mind be preserved, adding: "For sin will not have dominion over you." Since he showed that they ought not to sin from the things that are to come, he consistently follows up by saying that it is impossible for sin to hold sway over you; for there will be a time, when you will walk free from all sin, so that if now your mind is sound,

^A shunning every kind of sin and eagerly wishing to do what is good, you need not fear the tendency toward the worse; for this will certainly find healing at the appropriate time, and there is no need for our labors for this, and what is greater: for you are not under law, but under grace. For you will then so far refrain from fearing even such a thing, that you will have no need of laws pointing out what is proper to do, but by the grace and generosity of the One who has given it, you will enjoy the gifts of the Spirit.

^B V. 15. — This was to be said especially to the Jews: that the nature of law defines what is proper to do and what is not. For if we were outside the law, nothing would prevent everyone from doing whatever occurred to them; but if there is some distinction between things that must be done and things that must not, we are again under law, and what is said by you has only the empty semblance of an argument. Having therefore set against himself this objection, he says how it is proper for us to be without sin, not being under law, but also how the enjoyment of grace does not provide us with license to sin. And he immediately adds, according to his custom: God forbid, considering even the mention of sin to be something to be shunned. He dissolves the objection in this way: Every man, he says, whenever he chooses to obey, has made himself a slave to that one, so as to be persuaded by him and to do everything that seems good to him. Therefore, you are under the necessity, either by choosing to obey sin you do what seems good to it, awaiting the death that comes from that, ^C or, having dedicated yourselves to righteousness, you must necessarily fulfill its will, awaiting the good things from that source.

V. 17. — With good reason he says: But thanks be to God; for it was necessary to begin with thanksgiving for one who is about to explain the gift of so many good things bestowed upon us by God. And most appropriately the phrase: into which form of doctrine you were delivered. For the apostles did not cease proclaiming everywhere in the world that the old things are dissolved; death is conquered, sin is extinguished, by deed indeed later, but by word already now. We fulfill a certain form and figure of those things in baptism, through the gift of the Spirit given to us in it, as if being reborn in imitation of the things that will be then. This, then, is what he says: with your mind you accepted our instruction, through which we led you ^D and almost delivered you to the form of future things through baptism: therefore, it is necessary for those who believe these things to act in accordance with them, imitating in their life those things to which they were appointed in figure.

V. 21. — That phrase is to be read as an interrogation: What fruit then had you? Then, in response: In which you are now ashamed. For we know, he says, what that pursuit is worth, concerning the things in which you are ashamed if others tell of them.

CAP. VII.

^A Ver. 4. — Declaring what Christ profits us, he says: *That we may bring forth fruit unto God.* The word "that" is not used to indicate a cause, but to designate an effect, after the Pauline habit. For he intends to say that we, being endowed with this life, shall bring forth lasting fruits of righteousness to God, having abandoned the conversation which is according to the Law. It is most worthy of admiration that he does not say: "You have been put to death by baptism," but "by the body of Christ." For Adam was the author of the present life for all men, while Christ is the author of the future life. As, therefore, in the present life we have a common nature with Adam, so in the future we are fashioned to the likeness of Christ, and for this reason we shall rise again. We are therefore called part members of the body of the Lord, as having been made partakers of Him. Since, therefore, we believe that we have been made so in them typologically through baptism, he says this: that having become a part of the body of Christ through the communion according to the resurrection, the types of which we seem to fulfill in baptism, one is thenceforth dead to the present life, and having been freed from this present life and alien to that conversation which is according to the Law, you will no longer be obnoxious to any crime ^B if you reject the precepts of the Law, since it dominates only those who live in this present life.

Ver. 5. — Divine Scripture sometimes calls "flesh" the nature itself; sometimes, however, not nature simply, but mortal nature, so that, death having been cast off, it can no longer be called so. Thus, when it says: *Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God* (1 Cor. xv, 50), it certainly cannot be called, nor exist as, flesh, that which has been made immortal in the future life. It may be also that he calls our passions "flesh," as in that passage: *Who in the days of his flesh* (Hebr. v, 7), as if to say, in the time of his sufferings, when he was being borne toward death. Sometimes he also designates under this name all things that are perishable and transient, as he said in the Epistle to the Corinthians: *But the foolish things of the world hath God chosen, that he may confound the wise; and the weak things, that he may confound the strong; and the base things, and those that are not, that he might bring to naught things that are, that no flesh should glory in his sight* (1 Cor. i, 27-29). Although he did not here distinguish between the two lives, yet he seems to say that even the most excellent things of this life cannot be compared with the knowledge of piety; but he who has lived in the immortal life will never be called ^C by this name. Since "flesh" now designates nature, and now not the nature itself, but the mortality to which we are subject, or even all things that are perishable, he declares that it signifies nothing but mortal things. Hence that saying: *Flesh and blood cannot possess the kingdom of God.* Thus these matters stand: *When we were in the flesh*; that is, when we were mortal, calling the same things "to be in the flesh" and "to be mortal." For those who have believed in Christ, and

have already received the promise regarding the things to come, and indeed have been deemed worthy of the form of grace in baptism, are no longer considered to be mortal. Whence he even calls those who die "those who are asleep" in the Epistle to the Thessalonians (1 Thess. iv, 13). ^B Therefore, the text: *The passions of sins which were through the law were working in our members*. Just as diverse passions naturally befall our body, even if not all of them occur to all people nor at all times, so too do diverse passions of sins naturally trouble us, even if not all are committed by everyone, nor at all times. For just as according to the body one person falls into passions less and another more, so too regarding sins, one person sins more and another less. Since, therefore, sins are judged by some law, whether according to natural discernment or according to precepts given from without, he says this: that all the passions of sins, as many as happen to occur in us because they are judged by some law, whenever we commit something against our conscience or against what is prescribed as good, all these were indeed performed by us. He means to say that, being mortal by nature and for that reason having a great inclination toward sinning, we performed every kind of sin, even though we were instructed by diverse laws from which it was fitting that we should abstain. And what resulted from this? *To bear fruit unto death.* He says that because of this, the penalty of death was pressing upon us more heavily; for just as on account of mortality we were enduring a greater harassment of sinning, so too the penalty was pressing upon us from our falling, and the law was able to profit us nothing, but on the contrary became an instigator of sins, since we were doing the opposite of what was commanded. ^C VERS. 6. — *But now*, he says, *all things have been changed.* For to this life we have died, in which we were held fast as if by some necessity to live according to the law; hence there is no longer any communion of life for us with it henceforth. For having been renewed by the power of the Spirit, and having become different from what we were, and having passed from the present life to an incorruptible life, we endure no harassment of sins. Consequently, we have no need of laws and letters to instruct us on abstaining from evil; for these can be useful to those who are established in the oldness of this life, but not to those who have been renewed by the Spirit and have become incorruptible, to whom laws are no longer necessary because they are no longer capable of sinning. Thus, he says, we have obtained better and much greater things through Christ than those who were instructed by the law. ^D VERS. 7. — Perceiving this from the text: *The passions of sins which were through the law*, and from that: *But the law sub-entered that the transgression might abound* (Rom. v, 20); and many other things...

which he will say in the preceding remarks, ^A he now undertakes to explain a certain reproach which attaches itself to the law, as if it were the cause and producer of sins. He addresses, therefore, the argument concerning these things. He begins the objection thus, saying: *What therefore shall we say? Is the law sin?* But far be it, he says; let not this be proven from our words, that the law is evil and a producer of sin. ^B *Far be it; but I did not know sin, except through the law.* On the contrary, I would not even have known sin, by which it is appropriate to decline the action, if the law were not the one instructing us by the distinction of the good and of the worse, as to what we ought to do and what we ought to refrain from; so that the law became for us the cause of the hatred of sin, which pointed it out and commanded us to avoid it. And making what was said clearer, he added: *For I did not know concupiscence, unless the law said, Thou shalt not covet.* It has happened that we desire many things in the present life—not only foods and drinks and marriage relations, but also glory and riches. Yet, of those things for which we possess the concupiscence residing within, we would never have thought any of them to be evil, had the law not been teaching us those things which it is appropriate to avoid while desiring them—just as indeed each brute animal ^C is urged to fulfill its own concupiscence without checking, since there is nothing pulling it in the opposite direction, by which it might be set against the struggle of its own appetite. Then he uses the example of those things concerning Adam for greater clarity of what has been said; for the law was also the commandment given to him concerning the tree, and the things which happened to him contributed most aptly to the establishment of the arguments concerning the Law.

Verse 8.

in which, by not remaining, we are clearly shown to be sinning. ^A Thus, it is not by that alone that sin had its passage through the commandment, in that we had partaken of the plant; but rather also because we learned from this not to follow all desires indiscriminately, but rather, by hastening to fulfill the promptings of desire beyond what is fitting, we sinned. For this is what he says: "It worked in me every desire," meaning every sin born from a certain desire. From this source the beginning [of sin] came to us, for it was then that our discernment received its incentives. So also in the aforementioned, ^B "I did not know desire, unless the Law said, 'You shall not desire,'" instead of: I would not have known that it is not right to do any of the things that lie in desire, if the Law were not the one defining this for us. For when he says "in me," he means the common [experience] of men, and he uses the account of Adam as a proof of what is common. Hence, he speaks of his own person to show through all this that we necessarily live according to the laws in the present life, by which the innate discernment is stirred up, and we are instructed in what to avoid and what it is fitting to do, so that the rational part in us may also be active; for we have need of the future state, in which, having been established, we shall be able to do easily the things that seem good to us. Hence, holding to his own sequence and wishing to show that there would not even be in us a discernment of good and evil, nor knowledge of sin, if these had not been defined among us by law—and that we would have been inclined to do everything encountered like irrational creatures—he adds: "For without the Law sin is dead." It would not, he says, be enacted as a sin, had it not been defined by the Law. Why? Because the act itself is not simply sin, but [it is the act of] those who know what they ought to avoid, [yet] do something contrary to what they know to be good.

^C VERS. 9-12. Again ^D he proceeds to an example for the confirmation of the matter at hand, and says: "But I was living without the law once," speaking of Adam, as when he existed immediately after his creation outside of law, before receiving from God the commandment of abstinence from the plant; for it is manifest that he was [created] first, and then received the commandment later. Hence he adds, "But when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died; and the commandment which was unto life, it was found to be unto death." For he says that when God gave the law concerning the plant, and a distinction of two things was made, sin found an entry. But I, doing things that were contrary to the will of God, was condemned to death, and that which would have been life for us had we obeyed it became for us, consequently, the author of death—the law given by God for the sake of life, provided we allowed ourselves to be persuaded by it. For the blessed Paul arrived at these statements about the law, wishing to show that he does not consider it to be evil; but he goes on to discuss the nature of the law in general, teaching what its utility is, and what its use, thus...

also mentioning the commandment given to Adam, since he became the beginning of the law for humanity. And weaving both together, he brings in: ^A *So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy* and just and good, as if to say that both are most useful. And he rightly employed more abundant praises for the commandment, inasmuch as it was not given of necessity to those who were ready to be judged, and since it had become a cause of death for all. He called it "holy" because it provides opportunities for distinguishing between good and evil, and separates the better from the worse; "just" because, having necessarily demonstrated what is good, it imposes punishment upon the transgressor; and also "good" as a provider of benefits, both in providing discernment and in promising greater goods to those who obey.

Ver. 14. — *Spiritual*, that is, capable of aiding and teaching the soul what is necessary; but *carnal* means mortal, and for this reason, very prone to sinning. This is what is meant by *sold under sin*, for a sale makes the one sold entirely a slave, and subjects him to the power of a master; so we, on account of our mortality, are forced into committing sin. For he intends to say: The law is indeed good, because it teaches the soul what it ought to love and what it ought to reject, and makes it follow the will of God above all things. But regarding the warding off of sin, it is of no use to me. ^B For being mortal by nature, and having consequently received a great facility for sinning, I am unable to refrain from stumbling, even if I teach the soul a thousand times over through the Law what is proper.

Vers. 17, 18. — Yet this, he says, is the utility of the Law: that I do not assent to any of my deeds. For I confess those things to be detestable, even if I perform them a thousand times, having been taught this by the Law. And the power of sin seems to hold dominion over me in such a way, because of my mortality, that even unwillingly I am often led to the performance of evil. And again: *For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, there dwells no good.* For I know, he says, that insofar as it concerns the flesh, endowed as it is with a mortal nature, no virtue can be perfected by us; for mortality makes us cling only to present things; ^C whose study generally produces sins, nor is it possible for anyone to attain to the height of virtue unless he neglects present things and adheres with a sounder mind to immortal works.

Ver. 19. — *Insisting on the same things:* *For not what I want, he says, do I do the good, but what I do not want, the evil.

^A For he says the same thing here too: that in my soul I choose the good, being instructed by the Law as to what is fitting, but I do not do what I want often, but rather what I do not want. For I desire the things that accord with divine laws, but I perform the opposite of those good things that I know and desire; so that from this the power of sin is made manifest, which it has attained over me through mortality, since indeed, even against my will, it has the power to drag me down to its own work. For the words, "It is no longer I that do it," signify—both earlier and here—that I act against my will. Through all these things, from the point where he says, "For we know that the Law is spiritual," he wishes to say that the Law is indeed good, instructing the soul in what is proper, and for this reason is most useful; but I, ^B because of mortality, easily admitting sins, cannot be recalled from transgressions through the discipline of the Law. For the Law has much power in instructing the soul, and this is clear from the fact that the distinction between the good and the evil is laid out for us with precision; we have never lost this knowledge through the multitude of our sins, but on the contrary, even while sinning ten thousand times, we have not failed to recognize the baseness of sin. However, it has not been able to remove our sinning, since mortality produces in us great ease in this. But even if it produces a great disposition toward what is proper through its own teaching, still, against our will and as though unknowingly, we are often carried off into the performance of unseemly things.

Ver. 21. — *The phrase should be distinguished:* "I find then the Law to me who wishes to do good," should be separated from what follows: "that evil lies close to me." For each of these has its own perfect and complete sense: the former, "to me who wishes," is to be referred to the soul, but the latter, "that evil lies close to me," to the flesh. For he says that the Law is useful as regards the soul, instructing it to desire the good and turn away from evil; but it can in no way remove our readiness to sin, which ^C originated from mortality.

Ver. 22. — *With my mind, he says, I delight greatly in the laws of God,* praising them and esteeming them highly; but sin, resisting the will of the soul through all, so to speak, of my members, drags me off to its own work. And he well said, "in my members," since sin is versatile and able to adapt itself to all the members; for now we sin with our eyes, now with our tongue, or in some other way. Those who here ask whether the Apostle meant to speak of three or four laws are worthy of wonder, when the clear and

^A absolute mind is evident. For instead of saying "sin," he has said "the law of sin," meaning nothing different, but applying to it its own proper term. Thus also above he says: "Through the law of faith" (Rom. III, 27); and a little further down (VIII, 2) he will say: "For the law of the spirit of life," instead of saying, "the spirit of life." For since each law has its own scope, he adds the name of "law" to each, so that he may declare the goal of the matter of which he is speaking, pointing to the thing itself and intending nothing else.

^B V. 24. — Considering with his mind the war waged through the body against the soul, and how man is led into captivity by it, he seeks a saving refuge and looks around to see by whom he might be rescued, so that the body of death might be transformed into a body of life. Then, as if he had found the one by whom he would be rescued—the one who grants the grace of salvation—he offers the due thanksgiving to God through Jesus Christ, through whom he himself was delivered from the enemy. He does not ask or desire simply to be delivered from the body, but from the death that holds the body through sin. For he wishes his body to be a body of life, not a body of death, nor a body of sin.

CHAPTER VIII

V. 1. — To the soul, he says, I will the things that accord with the law of God, but by mortality I am drawn to sin. ^C But we have been delivered from all these things, and are free from all punishment—all who, through faith in Christ, are no longer oppressed by mortality nor live according to it. For to mortals, and to those prone to evil, the Law is necessary to turn them away from what is depraved; but for those who have become immortal and immutable, that which was once necessary has necessarily become superfluous.

V. 2. — The Apostle says that the resurrection comes about by participation in the Spirit. For it is sown an animal body, he says, it is raised a spiritual body (I Cor. XV, 44), that, with this dominating, we may be established in incorruption and immortality. He calls it the "Spirit of life," as the author of the immortal life which we shall then attain. The Spirit, ^D therefore, he says, given to us in the hope of immortality, which faith in Christ...

has afforded us, and has freed me from death and from sin. ^A It is clear that he takes the proof of the things provided for us through Christ from things to come, when the outcome of these matters will be reached; for then the freedom from death will also come to us, not only when we are raised, but also when we are deemed worthy of immortal life; then too we shall be delivered from sin, then having become immutable by the grace of the Spirit, we shall not admit sin; for it is evident throughout the present life that we are both mortal and lie under the burden of sin.

VERS. 3. The Law, he says, even if it benefits the soul, ^B was seen to be weak in the accomplishment of virtue, because mortality resisted it and caused much of the disturbance of sin [in us]. But the Son of God, having taken on this mortal nature, subject to sins, for no other reason than to take away its sin, set it free from the power of sin to which it seemed to be enslaved, having removed its mortality, and at the same time having removed sin along with it, so that in the future the end and purpose of the Law might be fulfilled in us, when we are freed from mortality and established in immortality. For what the Law could not do in us, while we were yet mortal by nature, although it discoursed at great length about avoiding sin—this we attained upon the destruction of mortality, nor is it possible to be disturbed any longer by any evil impulse, when we are truly immortal by nature.

^C Then he proves with many arguments that mortals necessarily serve sin, but that those who have become immortal are freed from it, so that by comparison it may appear how much the gifts of Christ excel the Law; for the latter could not take away death, nor snatch us from the invincible power of sin, even if it had instructed the soul a thousand times in its duties; but Christ took away death, and at the same time with it the motions of sin by which we were agitated. From those words: *Therefore, being justified by faith, let us have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ* (Rom. v, 1), he had begun to demonstrate, among many other things, the greatness of the gifts which have been given to us through Christ, and their excellence when compared with the Law. But when he approached the solution of the main questions, defending ^D them, as we have shown more clearly in what has been said, and especially concerning the Law, which accuses itself as the cause of sin, he showed that it was nonetheless necessarily useful: which indeed appears more clearly from what was recently explained. Again, comparing the Law with the greatness of the gifts of Christ, he returns to the former discussions and proves that Christ was the author of the greatest blessings for us; for which reason he also endeavors here with many arguments to show that mortals serve sin, but that those who are immortal are freed from it. Therefore he says: *For those who are according to the flesh, mind the things of the flesh*, and so forth. That is: Those who are mortal by nature [alt-version omitted]

necessarily endure the greatest harassment of sin; for what would a mortal nature even wish to be immortal? But if there is any virtue in us, it is not of the flesh, but of the disposition of the soul, whenever it becomes higher than present things. Those, however, who have already participated in the Spirit have a mental power superior to these, having become immortal in nature and freed from every harassment from baser things. For this is what he means by "peace," since in the previous ^A remarks he had said that there is war among those who are mortal by nature, with sin resisting the will of the soul; here, by "peace," he means the removal of the harassment of sin.

Verse 11. — Having previously mentioned ^B the Spirit of Christ, he says again: *The Spirit of Him who raised up Christ dwells in you*, leading back from Christ to the Father, for no other reason than to teach clearly that the Spirit of the Son is not alien from the paternal divinity; and they to whom there is one operation, to them the essence is also entirely coeternal with the Father. Consistently, however, since the Holy Spirit has dwelt within and sin has been mortified, he says that the rewards are to be distributed to those who struggle, of which the first and greatest was the resurrection from the dead.

Verse 14. — It is manifest, therefore, that such as these will live the blessed life with their own Father.

Verse 15. — The word is again to be referred to the voice of servitude. It should be read, therefore, as follows: *For you did not receive a spirit*, and then, after a pause, one must add: *of servitude again unto fear*. For regarding those under the Law he speaks also in the *Epistle to the Galatians*, that one kind is ^C from Mount Sinai giving birth to servitude, calling those under the Law slaves in comparison with the good things of the age to come, since these men, being under commands, were punished if they transgressed or praised if they observed them—which as it happens is characteristic of slaves. Those men, however, having obtained the enjoyment of the future good things by the grace of the Master, no longer fear any change, which is a custom that belongs to children from their fathers. For just as he says in the *Epistle to Timothy*: *For you did not receive a spirit of fear* (II Tim. 1, 7), not as if a spirit of fear exists, but instead of saying, *such a feeling is not in the nature of the spirit*, so here: *For you did not receive a spirit of servitude* again unto fear, instead of saying, you have participated in the Spirit, not so that you might again be under servitude and fear like those under the Law, for these things cannot exist for those who have received the grace of the Spirit in its perfection. *You have received a spirit* ^D *causing you to be sons* of God, whence we are led to call God Father; for it is manifest that we are prompted to call God Father according to the usage of the Lord:

Our Father who art in heaven* (Matt. vi, 9). It is not inappropriately called so, since it is for little children to call their fathers Abba. Now they were still children in relation to this present life, those who were accounted worthy of adoption through baptism, yet they believed themselves to be truly and perfectly to become sons in the coming age. He employed the phrase *Abba, Father*, both to commemorate the perfection that is expected and to signify our present state, in which, as little children, we obtain only an imperfect portion of the blessings, while we wait for the rest to be granted to us according to the promises that have now been made.

VERS. 16, 17. — *The Spirit himself bears witness to our spirit, that we live spiritually, and therefore are children of God.* If, therefore, we suffer with Christ—that is, if we choose to undergo the same sufferings that Christ, the herald of truth, willingly endured—if, being persecuted, we endure, and suffer other things of this kind for the sake of piety, we shall be glorified with Him, having become children of God and co-heirs of Christ. And what this inheritance is, has been declared previously, where the discourse was about this: *For if they who are of the Law be the heirs, faith is made void* (Rom. iv, 14).

VERS. 18. — I consider this to be a fitting argument, and I am persuaded that it is true. Thus it is: *For we account a man to be justified by faith without the works of the Law* (Rom. iii, 28).

VERS. 19. — The word ^B *karadokein* (to look expectantly) signifies keeping hope, while *apokaradokein* signifies hoping firmly. What he says, therefore, is this: God has made the whole of creation one body, and from this, all things are called the “world” (kosmos), whether visible or invisible, as he says in the Epistle to the Corinthians: *That we are made a spectacle to the world, and to angels, and to men* (1 Cor. iv, 9). Since, therefore, there is a difference among them, some being visible and others invisible, wishing to unite all things into one, He created man, composed of a visible body, ^C akin to the sensible creation (for it consists of earth, and air, and water, and fire), and an invisible soul, akin to the invisible [natures]. And indeed, He created him as a certain pledge of friendship toward all; for sensible things are useful to him, as we learn by experience itself, and spiritual natures preside over them to make them useful to us. The Apostle gives testimony of this concerning the opposing power, when he says: *According to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that now worketh on the children of disobedience* (Ephes. ii, 2), so that it might be manifest to us that, before the fall, the devil was numbered among those who preside over the movements of the air. ^D Indeed, they are also accustomed to assist us by teaching the discipline of piety, as the Apostle says: *Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to minister for them who shall receive*

^A the inheritance of salvation (Hebr. 1, 14)?

From this, therefore, the invisible natures are set to concern themselves with our affairs, rejoicing if it happens that we lean toward the better; for the Lord Himself teaches us this, saying: *There will be joy before the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth* (Luc. xv, 10). It is also manifest that they grieve over us if we incline toward the worse; for they would not rejoice at our ceasing from the practice of sins, unless they likewise lamented our persistence in evil. We are held by them, therefore, as a familiar and kindred creature. When the newborn Adam heard the commandments of God, and at the same time learned that he would die if he transgressed them, they considered what end awaited him. And when, the law being violated, he became mortal on account of the transgression, and—as it seems—the soul was separated from the body, and the bond of creation that had been fashioned through man was dissolved, in this way the intelligible natures were saddened at what was happening; and they were not disposed toward us as before, as though we were the authors of such evils. And when, as time passed, ^B the men who followed, progressing ever more toward the worse, tightened upon themselves the sentence of death, they despaired of all our affairs, and took up an even greater hatred against us; wherefore they were no longer willing to aid us at all, now rejecting us as strangers, now even abominating us as enemies of God.

What, then, happened regarding them? The Lord announced to them that He would accomplish our restoration, and by raising us up, would make us immortal, so that our destruction and the dissolution of the bonds by which the one creation is joined would no longer be feared. Upon learning this, they recovered their spirit, knowing that we were to be restored by divine grace and that all things were to be forgiven us by the goodness of God—things which we had thwarted for ourselves through the depravity of our customs—and that the bond of the universe was henceforth to be ^C henceforth indissoluble and unbroken, held together by love in the various parts of creation. Wherefore they did not hesitate to do all things for our sake, even though we had lapsed into worse things, being confirmed by the hope of future things through the proclamation of God. This, therefore, is what he says: that the creation, having often despaired of our affairs, anticipates that restitution of all things, the expectation of things to come, because we shall all be raised up to be immortal. For he calls the resurrection the "revelation of the sons of God," calling the adoption as sons generally "immortality," since he considers being sons of God to be the same as being immortal. Whence also David has this: ^D *I said, You are gods and all of you the sons of the Most High. But you shall die like men* (Psal. LXXXI, 6, 7); for there is no reason why those who are called the sons of God should die.

^A VERS. 20. — Truly, he says, since the angels previously were unwilling to do anything more for us, they have now chosen to do everything on account of that preaching; and although we are occupied with vain things, they have this persuasion, according to the promise of God, that everything will be free from corruption, change, and alteration, when we too, being deemed worthy of the resurrection, shall become immortal by the power of God.

VERS. 21. — They will be liberated, he says, then, and they themselves [will be freed] from the servitude by which they serve corruptible things, when we become immortal and everything is freed from the possibility of change; since there will no longer be anything to force them to serve the movement of these things.

^B VERS. 22. — Rightly does he say "groans together and travails in pain together," but not "groans and travails" when "all creation" is mentioned here, while above it is only called "creation." He wishes, however, to indicate that "all creation" feels the same thing, so that this common sense of all creation may teach them to maintain communion with everyone through the endurance of painful things. But in what way is it said that "all creation" suffers this? The invisible creatures of course groan, as they are endowed with reason and the understanding of things, while the visible ones [do so] by participating in the work.

^C VERS. 24. — We have not yet, he says, attained the resurrection, but having received the promise, we are consoled by hopes. He calls "salvation" the complete deliverance from evils which we shall obtain in the future age; therefore, he says, a firm hope of obtaining this pertains to this present life. For if, he says, we were already enjoying the things we expect, they would certainly be before our eyes; and there is no reason why we should ever hope for things that are apparent. But when we hope for them as things not apparent, it is naturally necessary, while waiting for the outcome of them all, to endure everything that might need to be suffered for them.

^D VERS. 26. — This which is said is, according to the custom of Holy Scripture, figurative; to one considering it lightly it seems to signify one thing, but it signifies another. It signifies indeed that we cannot expect those things by the powers of nature, but the grace of the Spirit, the first-fruits of which we have received here, will without any doubt grant them to us. But he hints at this: we pray to God for the things we expect; yet we would not dare to ask for the things we do not hope to happen. That "we do not know how we ought to pray" means the same as "we cannot expect them," since, as I said, you would not even ask for things that you cannot in any way expect.

^A But he says that the Spirit intercedes because it makes us hope that because of the Spirit's power, we will surely possess these things. For since we often receive in prayer those things that we are in no way able to procure for ourselves, and because believing in the future is granted to us already in this present life as a gift of the Spirit, he says, "The Spirit himself intercedes for us," to mean that this [Spirit] is the cause of those things for us, just as being given as a pledge in the present life necessarily makes us believe in the perfection [of the future]. Therefore, so that you might not think he is speaking truly of prayer, he added, "with ineffable groanings," to mean that in an unspeakable way that which is to come is drawn towards us; for that which is given to us in this present life according to the future promises surely secures those things for us. And he also follows the figure of speech regarding "groanings" as if it were prayer, because those who pray with groanings are thought to be heard more, as if they were making their requests more intensely. Thus, even above, regarding creation, he spoke of "groaning," and regarding us that we "groan," everywhere calling the expectation of those good things a "groaning." Here, in the same way, he says the Spirit intercedes with groanings, as if it were providing us with [the expectation of] those things which prepare for the outcome.

^B Verse 27. — Here he wishes to say that these things will be provided to us by the Spirit according to the will of God, who, since He desired that we receive the first fruits of the Spirit in this present life, will necessarily provide also those things on account of the hope of which we received these first fruits. And since he framed it as if it were about prayer, that from the first fruits of the Spirit here we necessarily expect the future things, he necessarily added that God, too, knowing the mind of the Spirit, and that [the Spirit] makes requests for us according to His will, grants the prayer. And he says "for the saints" quite rightly, to mean those who have been set apart for this and have already partaken of the Spirit. He says the Spirit intercedes [for] the grace given to us in the present life, which he also calls the "first fruits of the Spirit," not of His hypostasis, but of the grace which we await, and by which we will attain the perfect inheritance of good things. That it is, indeed, customary for divine Scripture to use such figurative modes of speech is clear from the writings of the blessed David, who constantly produces such things; thus, that saying, "darkness under his feet" (Ps. XVII, 10), and the other things that are held in that same place; for there is not time here to relate everything. So also in the twenty-third Psalm (v. 7), he addresses the gates figuratively so that they might be opened, and they give a response. These things, certainly, as has been said, cannot be understood literally, but something else is implied by them. I have brought these things forward, however, so that no one might think that I am inventing novelties while I contend that these verses were spoken by the Apostle through a figure.

^A Ver. 28. Do not be surprised, he says, if we expect to obtain such good things then, while at present we find ourselves in extremely dire straits; for we know very well that it is the custom of God to foster those who love Him in all things, providing them with an abundant supply of goods, so that even through those things which seem calamitous, they may merit greater eternal rewards for themselves. Moreover, we know this truly, for he asserts as a thing known and indubitable to all, that God bestows good things upon those who love Him; since He even bears with the wicked, shedding His sun and making His rain fall upon them (Matt. v, 45). Then, in confirmation of the argument I have mentioned, he says: "to those who are called according to purpose." For God had long since known what the purpose of these people regarding themselves would be—what sort it would be—whence He also called them so that they might receive a reward worthy of their own intent.

^B Ver. 37. Showing that one ought not to fear the weight of the evils brought upon us, he rightly added: "But in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." For He Himself ensures that even those things which appear to be grievous evils are lightened, and by His aid He causes us to bear even those which are most difficult with the greatest of ease.

Ver. 38. The phrase "I am persuaded" is used correctly, as if he had entrusted everything not to his own strength, but to the cooperation of Christ. Those things—"neither death, nor life"—mean either things grievous or things extremely pleasant; and those things—"nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers"—clearly signify the invisible natures. He wished also, from the high reputation of those beings, to show that he considered everything to be lesser than piety; but as for the phrase "nor height, nor depth," that is to say, neither things most celebrated nor things most inglorious, it is worthy of greater admiration. ^C For since all people perform all things out of the expectation of future events, so that they might either escape the punishment then to be inflicted upon the impious by God, or enjoy the goods which God prepares for those who love Him, he himself says that he would not turn aside from piety even for the sake of those things: declaring clearly that he does not cultivate piety for the sake of a reward, but that out of love for Christ—who has become the author of so many good things for men—he chooses both to do and to suffer all things willingly. For such is the nature of love, that the lover never thinks of his own interests, but desires to do and suffer all things by which he might hope to aid the beloved. All the things previously mentioned are indeed great and appropriate to the blessed Paul’s love for Christ, but above all others is that which he adds to the rest: "nor any other creature." For since he had first mentioned everything, in whatever way they exist and appear, and indeed had added the invisible powers and those things which we hope will be, he finally adds also that, confirming that all these things cannot be compared with love for Christ, ^D indeed, even if some other creature should appear along with those things, that it...

ib. The thought is thus held correctly. Although perhaps some things have been omitted here and Theodorus wrote thus: (Rom. 8, 39)

^A he ultimately added that "neither any other creature," showing that he deems all these things to be of no consequence in comparison with the love for Christ; for he holds that even if other things were to exist along with them, they would be as nothing when set against that love.

CAP. IX.

VERS. 3. — He confirms his statement with an oath. For since he said that there is nothing which can separate him from the love of Christ, he adds that he is only ^B held by the concern for his kinsmen; he speaks, moreover, of all those from Israel. Gladly, he says, do I offer both body and soul, so that those from whom they have fallen, these they might call back again, having believed in Christ; for what among noble things did the Jews not possess, in which the nations now glory? The glory, the covenant, and most importantly, Christ according to the flesh, who is God not only of them, but is the God of all in common. ^C In order, therefore, that they might recover these things, I would gladly have been an anathema for them. But "anathema" signifies that which is alien, since that which is set aside ^D is alien to the one who sets it aside.

VERS. 10. — What then, he says, would you say regarding that account of Isaac and Jacob, where there is one father and one mother and the same conception? For "from one" having a bed, means this: that the same woman did not bring them forth from the same [process] by different conceptions. And thus, although they were joined in all respects, both by the intimacy of their parents and by their birth, God nevertheless, before they were born and before they had done anything good or evil, having anticipated, not only distinguished them, but also ordered—if one must speak the truth—the sequence of nature by declaring that the greater should serve the lesser; knowing indeed what sort of men they would be, but not waiting until they could be judged by their own character, but having distinguished them from afar, so that by all means the grace of the election might appear, which is more highly valued than both nature and all other things. Most seasonably, therefore, regarding the present matter, he uses "for when they were not yet born"—for he says that it is not possible for God to be proven false, promising some things while doing others, because even before birth, knowing the character of each, He elects those whom He deems worthy. What error, then, could arise in this matter, so that one would judge this according to the reasoning of men? ^D Showing that the facts followed the election according to grace, he adds: "As it is written: I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau." By all these things, however, he clearly declared that God does not know how to serve the sequence of nature, but by grace and generosity selects those whom He deems worthy.

^A

VERS. 14. *What shall we say then?* he says. *Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.* But I have said these things, he says, wishing to show that God is not one who follows the sequence of nature, but who selects by grace and generosity those whom He deems worthy of His own election. Let no one think that we represent God's election as unrighteous, as if He were striving to benefit some and harm others rashly and without judgment—for may it never be that such a thing should appear to be said by us. Then, ^B by setting forth the argument of the adversaries more elaborately: *For He says to Moses: I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.* And after the testimony, he reasons in their person: *So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.* And putting forward another passage of Scripture: *For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth."* He concludes again: *Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.* He brings forth all these things as if in the name of his adversaries, and indeed he employs the testimonies just as if they were used by them to confirm their own doctrine, and he constructs the arguments consequently in their name. ^C There are two matters being turned over in what has been stated: whether God makes those whom He wills to be good or evil in their intention, or whether the power for this choice lies with us; and whether He Himself punishes those whom He wills and, in turn, shows kindness according to His own pleasure, or whether we are the cause of these things being attempted or that. Yet the second follows from the first; for if it were admitted that the power of choosing what is good or what is worse lies with us, then it would also be refuted that all things which relate to us proceed from our own cause. But if the power of doing what we should will is not in us, then neither are we the cause of the things that relate to us, but the good pleasure of God who acts.

Most excellently, however, the blessed Paul provides a distinct ^D answer. Since the first argument overthrows the whole matter, he attempts to solve that first point with a valid argument, and afterwards he has combined the solution of the second as if it were a corollary. To the things which are brought forward in their name, he again directs his attention to those things which are consistent with the preceding: *You will say to me then, "Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?"* This is as if to say: Relying on the testimonies of Scripture, as if they taught the same things that you assert, you say that you are guilty of no crime and liable to no punishment, doing nothing of your own judgment, but working by necessity those things which are pleasing to God, and not being able to choose anything other than those things. Then, declaring in one word how absurd the things which are objected are: *But indeed, O man,* he says, *who are you that replies against God?* Wonderfully, through their own answer, he shows how foolish their words are. For these things are not brought forward so that they might be reprehended, as it has seemed to some; for it is entirely foreign to the manner of the blessed Paul, in his treatment of the adversaries'—

' ^A objection, to censure them before solving the difficulty. It should have been observed also by those who have interpreted the matter in this way that the Apostle very often uses this mode to resolve objections, and indeed even while speaking. Thus, a little later (x, 18), he will have, confuting himself: *But I say, have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth*, by which he openly resolves the aforesaid difficulty. Similarly, here also, to refute those who assert that they have no faculty to do what they will, he said: *And indeed, O man, who art thou that repliest against God?* Thou sayest, he says, that thou art worthy of no blame, because it is not in thy power to do what thou wishest. Moreover, not from anywhere else, but from thy very own response, it is apparent how absurd are the things thou assertest. Tell me, O man, whoever thou art who arguest with God with such words, what do you mean, you who contend that no discernment of good and evil belongs to you, nor any faculty of distinguishing good from evil, but say that you act by necessity in things that please God, and are carried toward those things, and rejoice in them, whether what happens is good or evil? How do these not seem to conflict with each other? For although you maintain opposites, you seem to distinguish good from evil very well, while you discourse on the nature of each of these things, and endeavor to refer the cause of every act to God, and to free yourself from all crime. Are these not the actions of a man who understands the nature of good and evil, and is manifestly capable of choosing one over the other? Most aptly, however, he twists his words so that the vanity of his statements may become more apparent. For when he had said from the person of the adversaries: *For who hath resisted his will?* he then opposed this: *Who art thou that repliest against God?* Which openly conflicts with the former; for if he replies, it is manifest that he resists God; and therefore it is false that we cannot resist God. In this way, therefore, the solution of the question stands briefly: You do nothing by your own will, but all things according to God’s good pleasure, while you contend that no one has any faculty to resist God; who, therefore, are you to reply to him? It is manifest that you do resist him; therefore you do not serve God’s good pleasure in all things, but act by your own will, choosing whatever seemed right to you. Then he argues in general: *Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?* For it is not for the creature to argue with the Creator about the constitution of its own nature; for the nature of everyone, whatever it may be, is pleasing to him; who, therefore, would argue about that by which he is favored above all others? Confirming the reasoning also by an example: *Hath not the potter power of the clay*, he says, *of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?* For let us consider, if it please us, the work of potters, who from the same clay, according to their own desire, fashion any vessel whatever for any use they wish.

^A For who has ever heard of vessels made for humbler purposes blaming the potter for his work, and why he did not rather fashion them for better things? For by nature this cannot be. But if, on the same principle, as one who is the work of God, you were to consider yourself as one slipping toward inferior things by a necessary force, by ignorance of propriety, and by a certain natural constitution, in accordance with the likeness of the vessels and the potter, and there appeared in you no discernment of good and evil, you would not strive to accuse God as the cause of your deeds, freeing yourself from every reproach, but would be content to live according to your nature. But now you know more accurately what is fit, and you discuss these things, and you perceive so clearly that he who sins is worthy of reproach that you strive to free yourself from your crimes and to argue that another is the cause of your fall. Everywhere you present the most manifest proof of the power which your mind possesses, by which it is able to distinguish good from evil and most easily to undertake whatever it wills. If God had fashioned your nature for indulgence, you ought to be happy even in the evil which you would do by nature; but if you speak of the discrimination between good and evil, you openly confess the malice of your deeds, and you declare more clearly that you have the faculty for performing them from God, but that the will is present in your own mind. Thus, arguing concerning free will, he also speaks of those who are subject to punishment, or who, according to God's judgment, obtain better things.

VERS. 22-24.

nor forced to become impatient in adversity; while the wicked are shown to be lovers of the worse things throughout, acting ungratefully toward the Author [of their benefits] while enjoying the good, and increasing the corruption of their character when they experience painful things. He renders to each according to their worth in the future age; so that the outcome of these things may not be disbelieved, He provides enigmas of them in the present life for the correction of all; and He punishes some of the wicked for the disciplining of those who wish to practice shameful things, while He makes others reputable among the good, for the encouragement of those who have been eager to pursue a life of virtue. Wishing, therefore, he says, that God [might] show His wrath and His power, meaning how He punishes all who behave wickedly, He often bears with the wicked, allowing them to advance in this life, just as He did in the case of Pharaoh; then, when their wickedness has become manifest to all, He punishes them justly, providing a clearer sign to all that those who sin do not do so with impunity. ^B This same thing He also performs again in the case of the good, and having made them, beyond all expectation, manifest from obscure [origins]; this He has done at various times in the case of Moses and many others, providing proof of the glory with which the saints are to be enlightened in the future age. Having concluded in these things the answer to the questions, he resumes the sequence of his argument. For it was his objective to show that God does not look to nature, but by His own grace chooses those who are worthy, rejecting the wicked among men; but since questions arose from what had been said, having provided the appropriate solution for them, he returns to the subject at hand and says: "Whom He also called us, not only from the Jews, but also from the Gentiles," saying this: that God, conventionally showing His own kindness even now, chose us by grace, some from the Jews and some from the Gentiles, calling to piety those whom He judged worthy from on both sides, not looking to nature, nor by this means distinguishing us from others, but by the testing of character, rejecting some and receiving others.

Verse 25.

Verse 27.

^A For he says that even though the Israelites be in number as the sand of the sea, few of them, those worthy of the better things, shall be saved, and that the promise formerly made to the fathers concerning those who draw their lineage from them, having been narrowed down to a few, he will fulfill in them with the justice of the promises the truth.

VERS. 30. — He next explains the cause for which most of the Jews have been cast out of association with God, while countless Gentiles, against all expectation, have happened upon it; for it was consequential that he who had spoken of the rejection of some and the adoption of others should set forth the cause of each. Hence he says: "What then shall we say? That the Gentiles who did not follow after justice," and so forth. What, then, we might say, is that not a few of the Gentiles attained to justification, having approached the teaching concerning Christ, ^B even though they had never concerned themselves with piety? And how could they? For they were those who attended to idols, while most of the Jews stood outside this, always promising to attend to the Law in the hope of justification. For while he speaks of "pursuing a law of justice" regarding the Mosaic Law, he wishes to say that they pursued a law that promised justification if one were to keep it; and in saying "law of justice" he calls justice itself a law, according to the proper idiomatic sense, just as he also calls faith the "law of faith." Some, however, dividing the words, have read "What then shall we say?" as an interrogation, and then as an answer: "that the Gentiles who did not follow after justice," and so forth, ^C having greatly missed the mark of what is proper and having been unable to discern the apostolic thought. For it must be read as interconnected according to the interpretation before us: "What then shall we say? That the Gentiles who did not follow after justice," and so forth, with the Apostle saying this, that what might we say about this matter, which is both entirely new and has occurred beyond all expectation—that those who took no account of the matter attained it, while those who had every zeal regarding it did not attain it?

VERS. 32, 33. — To be justified from the works of the Law is impossible; for it is necessary never to sin, but this is entirely impossible for those judged as men. For one who has sinned must necessarily fall under the verdict of the Law; so much does he fall short of attaining the justification from the Law, who hopes that he will attain justification by establishing his life according to it. ^D Yet God has bestowed this upon men by grace, promising to remove all our inclination toward sinning when, rising again, he makes us immortal; and it is for these [people] to receive the promises through faith in Christ. These, therefore, having taken no account of the justification which we hope will be present to us by grace through faith, but having hoped to be justified from the works of the Law—which is impossible—not only did they not attain that, but they were never able to obtain this for themselves.

and they failed to attain the former, and they have been quite unable to procure the latter for themselves. ^A For they “stumbled at the rock of offense,” which he very marvelously adds, in order to show that he is accusing them not of their former deeds, but of their recent ones. For he says that they ran the race of justice according to the law before this, and it was in no way possible to bring any reproach against them for their former conduct; but, having stumbled at the Lord through unbelief as if at some stone, and having suffered a heavy fall, they rendered all their previous running vain. ^B And he introduces a testimony that is appropriate not only to what has been said, but that also concurs with the entire idea, as it is written: “Behold, I lay in Sion a stumbling-block and a rock of offense, and everyone who believes in him shall not be put to shame.” For the phrase “they stumbled at the rock of offense” is appropriate to “Behold, I lay a rock of offense”; but the phrase “and everyone who believes in him shall not be put to shame” contributed, as I said, to the entire idea—as he wishes to demonstrate that faith is something great and sufficient to make both one’s own people and those who are foreigners [righteous], since it has even been said by the prophets that faith is sufficient to fulfill all the good things that come from God. And since he spoke not only of the rejection of the Jews, but also of the cause of the rejection, he confirms once again that he is saying nothing out of enmity toward them, and says what follows.

CHAPTER X

^C VERSES 2-4. It is worthy of wonder with how much bitterness he has most shrewdly veiled an idea, tempering the harshness of the statement with the addition of “I bear witness.” For to them, it seems at first glance as if he is even bearing witness to something good, but it appears that while he calls their zeal for God a pretense, he reproaches their ignorance—since such a thing is not even worthy of accusation. For it was possible for the Jews, along with the others, to recognize what was required, but they willfully neglected to learn it. This, then, is what he says: that they overlooked the justification promised to us by God, thinking that by living in accordance with the law from their own works they could procure this for themselves, and they did not set their hearts on believing in Christ, and so to receive the justification promised to us from that source by grace. ^D For why do they contend that they have sought to live by the law so that justification might accrue to them, when it is possible to obtain this very thing with the greatest ease through faith in Christ? And that which the law indeed sought to provide for them, but could not, because of our weakness, and because it is not easy for us to accomplish everything as it wants, this Christ promises to provide for us who have believed in Him, by His own grace, without works, so that the goal of the law is fulfilled in us.

VERSES 14, 15. The Apostle wishes to explain in these verses the usefulness of the Law and of the life instructed according to it, and

^A since he has completed what he proposed above with the words, *For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved*, he takes the beginning of the subsequent argument from there: *How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?* He means the following: It is clear to us, he says, from the divine Scriptures, that salvation comes to everyone who calls upon him, so that even the Gentiles are not prevented from obtaining it, if indeed they are willing; but it is worth inquiring by what means they might call upon him. It is necessary first to believe, for it is not possible to call upon one in whom one has not first believed; and whence could faith arise? From hearing and instruction. But if there is no one to teach, it is not possible to learn; and it is not possible for those who are to teach to appear otherwise than by the divine grace bringing them forward, to which alone it belongs to know how it is appropriate to choose such men. Therefore, above all, there is need of those who, having been chosen for instruction, shall be sent out as heralds of the world, through whom it is possible both to learn piety, and, having learned, to believe, and, having believed, to call upon him for the hope of eventually receiving the salvation that comes from such calling. But grace did not choose these men from elsewhere, thinking them suitable, but rather from those who had been under the Law and the pedagogy of the Law, who over a long time had firmly received from the proclamations of the prophets the expectation of Christ’s coming as the cause of many goods, so that even the place from which he was to appear was not unknown to them. Thus, the salvation of men to be bestowed through Christ depends upon the pedagogy of the Law, both because it had to be offered first to those who were hoping for it, and because from ^B them the first disciples came forward, who were deemed worthy by divine grace to instruct all others. If, therefore, Christ and all his disciples, the apostles, came from there, God surely provided greatly for the Law, intimately associating the salvation of all with it. Thus it was permitted for men to be taught what was necessary, and, having been taught, to believe, and, believing and calling upon him, to obtain salvation granted through the calling. And since he had subordinated everything to the teaching of the apostles so as to show the usefulness of the Law, if indeed he displays the apostles as the teachers of all, he adds: *As it is written, How beautiful are the feet*, and the rest. These things, however, were not said by the prophet about the apostles, but about those who were to announce the coming goods to the Jews. But if the heralds of those things, he says, are held in such admiration, how necessary and how perfect ought the teaching of the apostles to be deemed by all. ^C VERS. 16. The phrase, *But not all obeyed the Gospel*, must be read interrogatively, and it seems as though he is posing an objection to himself, as if he were to say: "But perhaps you will object, that not all have believed." There is no reason for you to marvel at this; for the small number of those who believe was long ago described by Isaiah; he indicates that they are so few that he says: "Who, then, shall receive those things which, having been taught by divine grace, we preach?" ^D

^A Since we have been taught by divine grace and are now preaching, it follows that not even now has anything new occurred. Having dissolved the objection with this testimony, he concludes from it what preceded the objection, namely: "How, then, shall they call upon him in whom they have not believed?" and what follows, for he says, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." It is clear to us, he says, from the voice of the prophet, even that which we were saying: that faith could never come into being without instruction, nor could instruction in piety be established unless God were to demonstrate the truth. This, therefore, has now occurred through those who were being tutored under the Law, whom God had for a long time taught through the prophets to expect these things, and in the appropriate time, He revealed them as teachers of the truth to all mankind.

^B Vers. 18. — That which is said, "And truly into all the earth their sound has gone out," he uses not as if he were setting forth a prophecy about them, but because it fittingly corresponds to the matters here preached. It should also be noted from this that the term "truly" is used for the sake of a solution, so that it might appear that in that passage also there is a "truly." "O man, who art thou that repliest against God?" (Supra ix, 20), refers to a question being solved, not to an expression of rebuke, as some think.

Vers. 19. — Again he brings against himself another objection: "But I say, did not Israel know?" As if to say: Do not think that the calling of the Gentiles to the worship of God was something new and unheard of to the Israelites, and that therefore, as if disturbed by a new doctrine, they are fighting against our teaching. For Moses himself, who gave them the Law, is seen long ago testifying from God that, since they were bending toward worse things, He would call the Gentiles into their place and would foster them with His own providence, so that when the matter was accomplished, they might receive understanding ^C from the events themselves.

CAP. XI.

Vers. 1. — Since he had shown the utility of the Law from those who believed, and in answering the objections had intensified the accusation against the unbelievers—as if they were bringing no charge against the Law on account of their own wickedness—he now makes an apology as to why he had said nothing to the disparagement of the kinship of Abraham through his censure of the unbelievers. For, he says, have I thought the dispensation of the Law to be something marvelous, but in my words do I show the kinship of Abraham to be unworthy, ^D tearing it with my teeth? God forbid. How, moreover, would I dare this? "For I also," he says, "am an Israelite," and so on. He could have mentioned many from that lineage who had believed in Christ, but after the phrase "I say then," it was more appropriate to speak of himself. For how could it be that God would have rejected him who was arguing so gravely about the faith and was attempting to teach others about it? And he rightly mentions not only the patriarch but also the tribe leader, so as to show that he is not feigning the relationship.

VERS. 2. — You seem to be unmindful of them, he says, which are recounted in Isaiah. Indeed, he who accused Israel of falling away into evil, fled from approaching such senseless men again. But God answered him that He had seven thousand men who were still mindful of His worship, and had not yet declined toward worse things; and He therefore exhorted him to watch over the office of preaching the doctrine, both because he was certain that he would not labor in vain, and because it was sufficient for God if, out of all the people of the Jews, seven thousand were retained in piety by the discipline of the prophets. It is therefore no cause for wonder if today there are found many who refuse to obey the teachers of piety. Yet the promises made by God to the race cannot be blamed on this account; for the salvation of the believers proves what is of value, while the infidelity of the others demonstrates nothing but their own malice, if they received no fruits from the care of God. ^A

VERS. 7. — There are some who have read it most ineptly: What then did Israel seek? adding thereafter that which they did not obtain, further blinding the apostolic words so that they might appear to prove their own ineptitude. They remove that which was placed before the word "seek," [and] they write that which "is not obtained," as if the Apostle were saying: What then was it that Israel sought? That indeed which it did not obtain. They ridiculously think that it is the Apostle’s intention to define what was sought by Israel, and they do not understand that he is here attaching a syllogism to what preceded. You must therefore read it this way: "What then," as if he were to say: "What then shall we conclude from the aforesaid, by which we rebuked the unbelievers, and proved how rightly those who believe profess the truth of the doctrine? That which Israel sought, this it did not obtain," because it did not befall the Israelites to attain that which they sought, that is, justice. The passage agrees with that [in the same epistle]: "Israel, however, pursuing the law of justice, has not arrived at the law of justice." The word "all" is missing, so that it may be understood thus: "Not all have obtained it." For he adds: "The calling, however, has obtained it, but the others have been blinded," as if he were saying: they, who were called, attained justice, being held worthy of this gift on account of their character; but all the others were rejected on account of their own malice. ^{B C D}

VERS. 9. — He utters these words not as though they were spoken by way of prophecy, but because they actually fit the Jews about whom they were uttered, and to show at the same time that they are suffering nothing new; but they had already met with similar things then, valuing the worse more than the better. For when the Jews attempted to tear apart the Christian doctrine because of their own rejection, the Apostle...

^A demonstrates that they were always like that in regard to the worship of God.

VERS. 11, 12. — Do we then say this, that those who erred concerning piety and denied faith in Christ were so utterly rejected that no hope of salvation remains for them, even if they should ever wish to return to saner paths? Far be it. Indeed, I remember saying that even if most of them were rejected because of their unbelief, those who did believe from among them, though very few in number, were the agents of salvation for all the nations, because all those nations received from them the discipline of piety to be taught. Hence, it is also permitted to those Jews who now dissent to imitate those who believed from among them, and to be converted to the desire to achieve what is good with noble zeal. For it is certain that God will not reject those who, if they wish to believe, are ^B not only accepted by Him, but whom He also sent forth as teachers to instruct the nations. For that expression, "that they might emulate them," should not be referred to the nations, as some have thought, but to those who were of the Jews; for he intends to prove that they too will be accepted provided they believe. However, if you interpret the phrase "that they might emulate them" not as a cause, but according to his custom as indicating the result, the conclusion is thus: If those who were willing to believe were accepted and became teachers of the nations, it is clearly permitted to these also, by imitating them, to attain the grace of faith. Then, to move them with a desire for conversion, he adds besides: If even a few and so small a number were the cause of so many good things for all people throughout the world, what then must we ^C think would happen if it came to pass that Christ received them all together?

VERS. 15. — For what reason the Apostle thinks that the resurrection of all is to follow the conversion of all, must now be stated. Animals indeed, being destitute of reason, perform all things of their own nature and impulse, nor are they such as can distinguish the good from the evil, and choose what they see fit by the authority of their own judgment; but they are by all necessity bound to remain within the limits of nature, and therefore every law is useless for them, since they can neither learn nor understand any such thing. But for those endowed with reason, it is far otherwise; for they are able to distinguish good from evil, and they choose what they see fit by the authority ^D of their judgment, and the exposition of laws is very appropriate for them, inasmuch as they are able to be taught the good from them. In such a way, indeed, did God shape our race, having given us a nature capable of instruction, and revealing the better path through the exposition of various laws. For it was not acceptable to Him that we should possess the habit of virtue without being taught, having become creatures possessed of reason by nature, since this is the clear distinction between rational and irrational beings; for the former have things by nature... anyone therefore to have understanding further...

^A For this reason, He has made us mortal in this present life, but has given us laws that are most apt, desiring to bring us to a remembrance of the correction of the good, so that we might in this way obtain the complete understanding of virtue. From this, even if it happens that we have a strong inclination toward what is worse, we nevertheless possess a firm knowledge of the good in our soul, and there is no person who does not absolutely know what is the better thing in life. Thus indeed does He provide us with the safe and firm teaching of virtue for the present life.

But since we do not, just as we know the good, also perform it easily so long as we remain in mortality, the Creator has granted us a second life, the one to come through the resurrection, far better than the present one, immortal and passionless and freed from every sin. It is therefore not only a ^B restoration and correction of present things, but also their perfection. For those things which we are unable to do when instructed here, we will then perform without labor and with the greatest ease, because then it will fall to the soul to recoil from every wicked work and to burn with an insurmountable zeal for the good. For the most wise Framer of souls did not wish them to be granted those things immediately, lest we be borne toward the cultivation of virtue with a blind and indiscriminate impulse.

And in this life we are instructed in the discipline of the good in the aforementioned manner; He mentions most aptly and necessarily the constitution of the things to come: most aptly indeed, so that by comparison with present things we might know accurately how they differ from the future; and necessarily, so that we might understand in a manner consistent with reason what is the perfection of the good, which, when we ^C see it then, will be perfected in us by the grace of the Spirit; these things, which here according to the ineffable wisdom of God we are taught in various ways, though in this life we are not even able to abstain from the operation of evils, not even with the greatest labors. We have said these things so that it might appear more clearly what the Apostle wishes to say when he asks: "What will their acceptance be but life from the dead?" As if that would hasten the consummation of all things. But we are mortal in this life for this reason: that we might first be suitably instructed in the discipline of virtue, and then also obtain the future things for the perfect worship of the known truth. He says this: that the few who believed from among them became the authors of salvation for the Gentiles, and through them the whole inhabited world was almost entirely ^D converted to God.

But if all the Jews had believed, thinking in accordance with the discipline of the law, it is manifest that the Gentiles also, moved by this unanimous profession, would have more easily admitted faith in Christ. But with all being instructed in the doctrine of piety in this way, nothing would have stood in the way of us immediately reaching the final good, the resurrection of the dead; for we do not attain that for any other reason than that we might first be taught the accurate knowledge of virtue; if this were present in us, the resurrection would also happen entirely. Blessed Paul, however, when he described the conversion of the Jews as useful for all, intended to exhort the Gentiles in every way to admit them rather, and not to reject them, whoever might wish to embrace the doctrine of the truth, by examples

^A showing that they are not unacceptable, but worthy of earnestness, insofar as they desire to incline toward the better.

Verse 16. — Some have thought that the Apostle means the same thing by "the first fruits" and "the root," not considering that the first fruits is selected after the harvest of the whole, while the root is considered to be the beginning of the thing. Whence here, consistently, he calls Christ the first fruits, as one taken from the whole assembly of the Jews, but he calls Abraham the root, from whom the whole race grew. And he quite rightly demonstrates through both that the Jews were not to be rejected from the truth, unless they preferred the worse things by their own judgment. For it was ridiculous that those whose first fruits are worthy of all praise, should be deprived of the doctrine of piety as if they were unworthy of this gift, even if they wished to embrace it.

Verse 22. — To you, however, he says, it is granted to be instructed by either example. And when you consider the generosity of God, of which you have been deemed worthy through faith, become more zealous concerning piety; and when you consider how He rejected them on account of their unbelief, with all your might take care not to fall into the same. For he does not call the "cutting off" cruelty, but [uses] "the excision," as if he were to say how He divided them and cut them off from the list of the pious. If, therefore, you change your opinion, he says, the present things will be of no benefit to you, and it is possible for them, if they turn to more wholesome things, to attain again the favor of God.

Verse 25. — I do not hesitate, however, to say to you, he says, even that which is uncertain, so that you may not, through ignorance of what is to come, most unjustly despair of them. For the [phrase] "lest you be wise in your own sight" is as if he said: lest your mind imagine that the desperation [of you] regarding them is in accordance with justice. But what does this mean? That they will not remain forever alienated from piety, but there will be a time when they themselves also will recognize the truth, when people everywhere shall have received the doctrine of piety, and so "all Israel shall be saved"; meaning those who by nature have kinship with Israel, namely the Jews, and those who through faith have set themselves up as worthy of this appellation—he refers to those from the Gentiles. ^D

Verse 28. — It is proper, therefore, for you to know this: that I, for the sake of the Gospel, when they wished to disparage it, blaming your adoption and offering this as a reasonable excuse, as they suppose, for not believing our doctrines, considered them to be enemies, and

^A for that very reason I do not refrain from stating anything that is appropriate for the refutation of their wickedness. But because of my kinship with their fathers, I have been so eager to value them highly, that I would not hesitate to endure even the most grievous things for the sake of their salvation; for I know accurately that God, not out of having repented of the choice of their fathers, rejected them, but they themselves, by the wickedness of their mind, have become the cause of their own alienation from God.

CHAPTER XII

^B VERSE 1. — Having established the truth of the doctrines, he undertakes the task of forming morals, most aptly beginning with supplications. For truth, once the discipline has been handed down, was most easily held by those who were willing; but labor is yoked to virtue, such that we embrace it more slowly, and we only accomplish the work we have undertaken with much exhaustion. Therefore, he lightens the burden of the matter by supplicating, and he supplicates more intensely by adding "by the mercies of God." Since he had been occupied above in teaching of the mercy of God, by which He cherishes all men, it was necessary that he should urge them most potently to cultivate virtue by means of this very memory. For it is not a cause of sloth for us, but rather on that account we burn with more ardent zeal for the good, so that we do not show ourselves ungrateful to so good a Lord. But what is that supplication: "that you present your bodies"? and the rest. He says, therefore, that it is just that we dedicate our bodies to God, serving His laws, for the work of God ought to become an instrument of virtue, not of malice. That word "present" signifies the same as "give over," by a metaphor taken from those ^C who stand by to serve either kings or masters, and who fulfill all the services of servants: for so he had said above (vi, 12): "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body," and then retaining the same comparison with a king (vi, 13): "Neither present your members as weapons of iniquity to sin: but present yourselves to God, as those who are alive from the dead, and your members as weapons of righteousness to God." He confirms his sentiment most admirably through everything, not only persuading us that we should present the body, but also by calling it a "living sacrifice": for he declares in this way that there is no reason for us to abuse the powers of the body for evil, when it was already forbidden to use for common human purposes things that had been consecrated to God according to the law. He calls that one holy, because victims offered according to the law were dead after the sacrifice, but this one is offered to God for this reason, ^D that it might serve the laws of God while living. Whence he also calls it holy, while this was not a legal victim defiled by the malice of those offering it; indeed, it is even pleasing to God, which again is not altogether [the case] with the legal [victim].

^A And he shows clearly how much your rational service differs from that. For it is one thing to offer to God oblations that lack reason, and quite another to show toward God a conscience based on the perfection of reasoning in one’s works.

VERS. 3. ^B The preceding remarks concerning virtue in general hold true; but now he proceeds to individual virtues. First of all, he forbids pride as being the worst stain, no longer with an entreaty, but rather with authority. For it is not the same thing to urge [someone] toward virtue as it is to forbid the committing of evil acts; hence, an entreaty might well be joined to the former, but for the latter, severity is often fitting. Indeed, he makes the interdiction even more formidable by adding, "through the grace that was given to me."

He calls pride folly, but calls modesty wisdom. Yet, lest it seem that he is causing turmoil in all matters from this point on, as if he were abolishing ecclesiastical order on account of an exaggerated modesty, he rightly adds: "to each as God has assigned a measure of faith." I wish, he says, that everyone think modestly, but let the order be preserved among you according to the gifts that God has bestowed upon you. For since the gifts among them were very many, he calls the distribution of the gifts a "division" and "measure of faith."

VERS. 8. ^C "He who presides, with zeal," i.e., he who takes care. This is also in the Epistle to Timothy: "If anyone does not know how to preside over his own house, how will he provide for the Church of God?" (I Tim. 3:5)? It is manifest here that "presiding" is used for "caring for." For in various ways, especially at that time, the rich among the faithful used to cherish the poorer ones, concerning whom it is spoken here equally: both that "he who distributes," and "he who presides," and "he who shows mercy."

VERS. 10. ^D That [passage], "with the love of brotherhood, being affectioned one to another," agrees almost with that [other one], "Love without simulation": for in no way does true love differ from vehement affection; but it signifies something more by the addition of "one to another." For he desires all to burn with the same zeal toward one another, since charity cannot otherwise hold sway unless the beloved loves the lover back with the same mind; for if this does not happen, the lover will cease to love, however much he may be inflamed with charity, because he cannot endure to be despised.

VERS. 13. "Communicating to the necessities," he says, "of the saints"; but some codices [read] "to the mentions." He says "according to your rational service," that is, according to the laws of that [service]; for this is the holy and living and pleasing sacrifice, to present your bodies, so that one might conduct no life outside of what was legislated according to the service; for both are necessary: for faith to accord with life, and for life to accord with faith.

^A It signifies the same thing. For he says ^B it is right for you to remember the saints always, to acknowledge their needs, and thus to relieve their want.

VERS. 16, 17. — “Be not,” he says, “wise in your own conceits”; this again is another thing arising from pride. Do not, he says, simply maintain the opinion of your own mind when it appears unreasonable to the common judgment. And rightly also, “recompensing to no man evil for evil”; for again he has moved from duties toward brothers to those that concern outsiders. Therefore, he added “to no man” so that he might say: do not allow yourself to be such even toward unbelievers.

CAP. XIII

VERS. 5. — For a twofold reason, he says, it is fitting for us to be subject to such persons: partly that, by observing what is orderly, we may avoid the punishment from them, and partly that we may appear, by our reverence toward them, to be yielding to God, who has ordained these things. It is certain, ^B however, that the blessed Paul bids us obey rulers in such a way that we do not hesitate to resist them when they command impious things; for he openly describes the goal of authority and the manner in which God has thus established human affairs, so that to legislate about things that ought not to be [legislated] would not be the goal of authority, but [rather] of the mind of those who do not use their rule for the right purpose; for things referred to God are not for rulers to judge, since they were not established for this; but regarding things moving among men, and what is just in mutual dealings, kings are established as a kind of mediator and arbiter of justice, and whenever they keep the duty ^C entrusted to them, they demonstrate that authority is a most excellent and necessary thing.

VERS. 7. — He calls “tribute” that which is paid for the land, and “custom” that which is paid for trade or any physical craft.

VERS. 10. — In one word he says “love is the fulfilling of the law,” and because what was said was quite paradoxical, he added what follows. Every legal ordinance either contains a prohibition of evil or a command of good; for the legislator set forth some [things] so that we might not harm one another, and others so that we might also do good to one another according to our ability, but all these things are encompassed in the ^D command by which we are bid to love our neighbor. Rightly, therefore, is that “recapitulated,” as if to say: all those things ordered by many laws are, as it were, summarized in this one, “You shall love your neighbor.”

For he who loves, he says, cannot harm the beloved, provided he follows him with true zeal; therefore, the fulfillment of love is the plenitude of the whole law. Then he began to exhort and brings forward the things that follow.

^A

Ver. 11. — Thus it is to be read, and this, then distinctly: *knowing the time*, and what follows. For he intends to say that we ought to take care of this, that we may do what is necessary, knowing that the time is at hand to cast off the pleasure which binds us to sins, as if it were a deep sleep. He calls our resurrection "salvation," because then we shall attain the gift of true salvation.

Ver. 12. — He calls the time of Christ’s coming "day," because then he will most clearly reveal the distinction between honest and evil things; but the preceding times he calls "night." He says both of these things primarily to those who were serving idols, among whom there was neither law nor any discipline of conduct. The time of ignorance, he says, has passed, when you were as if in the night, neither knowing God, nor instructed in the disciplines of the law; but the time of the day has come, that is, of most splendid light, with the advent of Christ shining upon us all. ^B

Ver. 14. — *But put ye on*, he says, *the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.* The phrase "put ye on" is used for "you have put on." For this is what he means: When, through the regeneration of baptism, you were joined to Christ and were shown to be a member of the common body of the Church, of which He is the head, just as you have put Him on by the communion of those who are awaited, so you also hope to become partakers with Him of the resurrection, it is right that you also should think those thoughts which are appropriate to that state, in which it is necessary that all such evils be laid aside. ^C Therefore, let us not perform such things as that age will not admit. He addresses men greedy for sin in this life, in which our body is still subject to corruption, and for that reason is stirred by many desires. We have already noted above that "flesh" is often used in Scripture not to designate nature itself, but mortality or things that are fleeting. Therefore, it signifies the same thing here: *make not provision for the flesh, in lusts*, not meaning nature, that is to say; as if he were to say: "Do not be slaves to your desires, striving to perform those things to which we are carried in this life on account of our mortality." Therefore, he calls "provision for the flesh" the preoccupation with present things or with evils, which indeed can be sought in this life, but in the future age no longer. Hence he contrasted this with, *Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ*, which signifies the imitation of the future constitution. Do not, therefore, he says, be eager about these things, lest you serve the desires of the present age, ^D with which there is no communion with the future constitution.

CAP. XIV.

Vers. 7-9. — What do I say, he asks, about those who eat and those who do not eat? *For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.* For whether we live, we live unto Him; or whether we die, we die according to the term defined by Him; therefore, this ought to be our goal everywhere, to please God, considering that whether we live or die, we are His. Then, demonstrating this,

and showing that we belong to Him not only by creation ^A but also by the things recently administered through Christ, he adds: "For to this end Christ..." and so on. For consider, he says, that Christ both died for your sake, and having died, rose again, and when risen, He lives, having done everything for our sake to make us eternally alive, so that we, having died, might also be partners with Him in the resurrection and enjoy the life—so that from every side it appears that we have an obligation to serve Christ, if indeed even in dying we are entirely His, since He died for our sake so that He might raise us up; and living, we owe our life to Him who provided for us, beyond our expectation, life after death.

VERS. 10, 11.—The expression, "Why do you judge?" is addressed to those from the Jews, and "Why do you despise?" is addressed to those from the Gentiles; to neither, he says, is either appropriate, since all must necessarily stand before the judgment seat of Christ to render an account of their lives, and he produces a testimony to confirm the things said: "For it is written: 'As I live, says the Lord,' and so on." That this is produced as a testimony to confirm what was said about Christ is certain; but it should be noted that in Isaiah it reads continuously: "I am the Lord, and there is no other" (cf. Isa. xlv, 18), and (Ibid. 21): "I am God, and there is no other ^B besides Me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides Me," and such things. Therefore, we must investigate how the Apostle applies these words to Christ. Against heretics who attempt in every way to diminish the divinity of the Only-Begotten, one might say that whether he used these words here as being said about Christ, the worth of the divinity of the Only-Begotten is clearly shown to be in no way less than the Father's; or if, when the Apostle used the testimony, he meant it as things said by the prophet about the Father concerning the Lord—and thus it is shown that the Son is not of a different divinity, since he employed this utterance, which could be said equally of Christ, even if it were originally spoken concerning the Father. This, then, is what one might say against the heretics. But the truth is this: that it was spoken neither about the Father nor the Son specifically, but absolutely about the divine nature, which is the ^C primary cause of all things; and for this reason the Apostle applied it to Christ, thinking that such things pertain equally to the Father and the Son, as there is no difference in nature between them. Likewise, he appears to use the passage in the Epistle to the Hebrews (i, 12), "But You are the same, and Your years will not fail," in reference to Christ.

VERS. 15.—"Let us not, therefore," he says, "judge one another anymore." This is said in a general sense; then, furthermore, he directs his speech toward those from the Gentiles, as though he had said enough to the Jews. It is not right for you, he says, to set yourselves up as judges of your fellow believers, since the judgment seat of Christ awaits everyone, but rather judge this: not to place a stumbling block or an occasion for scandal before a brother. For since those from the Gentiles among the Romans were more numerous and more prosperous, they did much to detract from the Jews, making a point of eating before them those very things from which the Jews were most ^D eager to abstain, so that the Jews, being disturbed by this, would more often fall away from piety or, at the very least, neglect the sacred assemblies.

^A

Vers. 14, 15. — Having said that it is better for you to see to it that you do nothing for the destruction of a brother, nor to do such things as might turn that man away from piety—lest he seem to be defending the observance of foods by introducing these things himself—he fittingly adds: "I know and am persuaded that there is nothing common through him," and the rest. He insists most aptly on this point in order to render that assurance stronger, and by adding the declaration "through him" he makes it more certain, as if Christ were sufficient to show all things to be clean. "Nothing, therefore," he says, "is unclean of those things which are eaten, unless someone through weakness of perception holds such an opinion about foods." Thus, I do not approve of such an observance. But what did he add? "But if because of food your brother is grieved, you no longer walk according to love." Do not, he says, grieve your brother because of food, since it is necessary to abstain even from greater things for the sake of charity. ^B

Vers. 17. — The folly of those who think that even after the resurrection we must eat and drink is also to be laughed at for this reason; for they hold opinions that are completely contrary to Paul’s voice, who asserts that the kingdom of God does not consist in food and drink. ^C

Vers. 22, 23. — "Blessed," he says, "is he who does not judge himself in what he approves." He has set forth a statement that is not merely necessary for those [to whom he was writing], but also for all who wish to pursue anything that contributes to perfection. For I, he says, judge that person to be most blessed who, when he has chosen to pursue something for the sake of perfection and virtue, applies himself to the work, but does not think that he is superior because of this to those who do not pursue the same thing. For it is good to perform virtue apart from all arrogance, not thinking oneself to be better because of these things, which one pursues out of a desire for higher things, nor yet condemning the one who is not examined by the same standards. This, then, has been said by the Apostle as a general rule, not for the present situation only, but to be kept for every matter whatsoever. Then he returns the argument to the subject at hand: "But he who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because it is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin." The "one who doubts" [is not being spoken of] with regard to a fellow believer; for he who, out of faith, he says, simply and indiscriminately participates in the things provided for eating, eats very well; but he who differs from his brother over this, and eats with spite towards him, is harmed, rather making the food an occasion for contention against his neighbor. For it seems that he is not doing it out of faith indiscriminately, but rather out of contentiousness toward him; but what is done not with simplicity and faith, but with spite toward one’s neighbor, is a confessed sin. ^D

CHAPTER XV

Vers. 1. — He says this again to those from the nations who were disparaging those from the Jews on account of the legal observances. "You therefore," he says, "who are strong, ought to bear with the infirmities of those [weak ones], and to endure them who..."

^A are unable to depart from their former way of thinking; and do not look only to your own interests, for this is to please yourselves, but it is better also to look to the interests of your fellow-believer, so that he, too, may be improved." And, persuading them by an example to do this, he adds what follows.

Vers. 5. — For he says: "May God grant you all patience and consolation, so that, being of one mind toward one another, you may hold fast to the faith in Christ, and thus with one accord give praise to God and the Father." This, too, is an exhortation in the form of a prayer; for he prays that they may become such as he wishes them to be. Whereupon, without departing from his own aim, he adds again:

Vers. 7. — "Wherefore," he says, "it is right that you should rather receive the weaker ones, considering that Christ also received you, even though you were strangers to piety, that you might attain the future glory from God." And since he had spoken much to those from the Gentiles, calling them strong and praising their faith concerning the nature of foods, lest he should appear to be disparaging the Jews themselves as if they were unworthy of any consideration, he adds what follows.

Vers. 8. — All those things previously mentioned, he says, ^B I brought forward for the sake of rebuking those who, after the coming of Christ, wish to adhere to the observance of the laws; for I considered it very absurd, when all things have been brought to perfection by Christ, to return to those [former things]. However, I did not say anything to disparage the law. On the contrary, I have deemed all those things wonderful and great, knowing them to have been established by God, who, when He chose Abraham, made promises to him that He would take care of his offspring, and that through the covenant made with him and his race He would fill all the nations with His blessings, so that all might recognize God as the Creator of all things and acknowledge Abraham as their own father, ^C setting great store by their relationship with his seed. Therefore, the promises made to Abraham concerning the divine blessings to be obtained by all nations through him and his seed had to be fulfilled. But since most of the Jews did nothing worthy of the care of God, and the promises of God could not be fulfilled on account of their wickedness, Christ, who was born of them according to the flesh, endured to receive circumcision, although he stood in no need of it according to the rest of the Jews, who on account of their own folly necessarily bear the reproof of their conduct in their own flesh. For who was Christ to need external things, who by his own judgment confirmed the promises and fulfilled the will of the law? ^D Yet he endured even this, that he might have the sign of the covenant made with the patriarch, and so, when all have believed in Christ, who was born into the race of Abraham, there might appear, together with the relationship according to nature, the sign and the promises given to Abraham to be truly and firmly fulfilled, since the nations believe in the seed of Christ, and at the same time Abraham is called father, and the truth of the predictions is confirmed, all being brought through communion with the son of Abraham by divine

grace, receiving the sure and certain outcome of the promise made to him, that those ^A from the nations would believe in the Christ who is his seed. He says that Christ accepted circumcision, having become, as it were, a minister of the promises given to this sign, so that the truth of God might appear, with the conclusion of the promise made to the fathers thus being received. Therefore, when the Jews cross over from the law to Christ, they are moved from good to better; but those who come from the Gentiles receive the appropriation to these things through the philanthropy of God. These things, then, he said for the establishment of the things under the law, to show how great the difference is between the Greek and the Jewish situation, so that he might not seem to disparage the things of the law from what had been previously accepted; but consistently he secures himself again so as not to provide an occasion for the Jews against those from the nations, as if they had been received only recently.

Verses 9-12. — He brings forward these testimonies to prove that the nations have always been described even among the prophets as worthy of the discipline of piety, provided they desire it; ^B since indeed the prophet is said to give thanks in their sight, and they are commanded to rejoice with the people of God and to send up hymns to God.

Verse 15. — He says, "I have written more boldly in part." He rightly says "in part," so that he might not seem to assert this concerning himself absolutely, and thus overthrow his own teaching. For certainly he would deserve no trust if he were to fall headlong into immoderate boldness regarding things that did not pertain to him. But now, by adding "in part," he shows how necessary his teaching is, and makes clear the reason for which he confesses to have written more boldly; for he is not teaching them new things, but is recalling the doctrine of Peter to their minds. He proves how necessary a matter it was by the expression, "As reminding you." He says, "Rightly 'reminding you.'" For he says he so regards and admires those things that he does not even profess to be teaching, but to be bringing to your ^C remembrance those things which you have learned. And declaring that it was permitted for him to do this, he adds, "Because of the grace given to me by God, and the rest." He says that he was deemed worthy of the grace from God to serve Christ, preaching to men everywhere the greatness of those things which, through Christ, have been bestowed upon us, so that they, too, believing and having been deemed worthy of the grace of the Spirit, might attain to future good things. Therefore, having been entrusted with this, I have necessarily used the teaching to you, not promising to teach anything new, nor leading you to things you did not know.

Verse 22. — For this reason, he says, I was hindered from coming to you; because God had sent Peter to you as a sufficient teacher of piety, and He wished me to be occupied with the ^D necessities of others.

^A Ver. 24. — “In part,” he says, as if he visited them again, since the blessed Paul did not come to Rome only once.

Ver. 28. — “And sealed to them this fruit,” that is to say, completed it, meaning he would bring and give it. For even if the fruit was perfect in the intention of the givers, it was imperfect in its use since those for whose sake it had been given had not yet received it. Truly miraculous is the foreknowledge of the blessed Paul, promising so accurately that he would come to them, and then proceed to Spain, and declaring that this would not happen only once, which he indicated by the words “in part.” What follows is even more miraculous.

^B Ver. 29. — He clearly declares that he was not ignorant of the manner in which he would come to them, which was that he would be brought as a prisoner from Judea to Rome for the sake of piety. This was no small proof of the knowledge he possessed regarding future events.

Ver. 33. — Because he was to be tossed about by the aforementioned miseries, he most fittingly beseeches them to assist him with their prayers, and therefore he wishes them to always enjoy peace, declaring that even if he himself suffers so much for the sake of others, he nevertheless wishes that the rest might pursue piety in complete tranquility.

CAP. XVI.

Ver. 10. — This person does not seem to be anyone other than the one whom the blessed Luke commends in the Acts as an eloquent man, and one who confuted the ^C Jews from the Sacred Scriptures.

Ver. 18. — He uses “blessings” for the praises and flatteries by which they seduced many. By these he refers to those from among the Jews who went about everywhere among the believers from the Gentiles and tried to persuade them to observe the legal rituals. These he sufficiently refutes by saying that they do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, since they leave nothing untried in order to fill their own belly by seducing others. He declares also at this point that he strongly approves the doctrine of Peter, as he wishes them to remain in the things taught by the latter, and to turn away from those who attempt to teach anything beyond that doctrine.

^D Ver. 23. — He calls the “steward of the city” the one to whom the duty of providing for the victualling of the city from outside rulers had been entrusted. And this man was without a doubt one of those who believed in Christ.

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA FRAGMENTS OF COMMENTARIES ON ST. PAUL'S FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS

^A CAP. 1. VERS. 13. — That is, some have taken for their portion Christ, while others have taken others; some Cephas, and others Apollo, who is said to have been the first bishop of the Corinthians.

VERS. 17. — The cross of the Savior is not made void, because it is venerable and lovable not by common oratory, but by its own power. Yet it is reckoned as foolishness by those who are ignorant of the truth, because it lacks the cultivation of oratory with which their own speeches are adorned. But those men illustrate falsehoods with the elegances of oratory, not unlike those who temper poison with honey; but the preachers of divine doctrines present the truth naked and devoid of any ornament of speech.

VERS. 22-26. — As if he were saying: we defend the cross of Christ against all the enemies of piety. Explaining these things regarding the cross, he says that it is held as ignominy by the Jews, and as foolishness by the Greeks; but we believe it to be the power and wisdom of God, being exactly conscious of the magnitude of those things which were perfected through the cross. By "power and wisdom of God," they say, he does not mean the divinity of the Only-begotten, but the very preaching regarding the cross, intending thus to declare as it were the nature of the matter. He refutes, they say, the followers of Arius and Eunomius, who from this passage have wickedly attempted to prove that God the Word is called Wisdom. For from this, even from the words of the Proverbs, they prepare their blasphemies. ^B The divine Apostle, having shown how weak is natural intelligence, and how foolish they are who are proud of it, and this indeed regarding things ^C

^A rightly examined, so that he might take away the arrogance of those who therefore wish to hold first place and rule over the others. Having thus proved the vanity of those who boast of such things, so that they might be called by it as if it were a good, he proceeds to a third argument, which is exhortatory, namely, regarding themselves.

VERS. 26. — As if to say, In you in this present life.

CAP. II. VERS. 12. — For he calls the whole creation the world, as he said elsewhere: We have been made a spectacle to the world and to angels and to men. VERS 13. — As if he were to say: By the arguments of the Spirit we confirm the teaching of the Spirit. For by "comparing," he does not mean "conferring," but "demonstrating." Here, to compare signifies to demonstrate by means of a metaphor taken from those who, by comparing, make the demonstration more convincing.

CAP. III. VERS. — Most excellent teachings are not dissolved with this life, but will shine with even greater light when they are then proved by works. He who therefore teaches these things, he says, which can even then remain more effectively when the Lord appears, will receive a reward for them by all means. But he who teaches things contrary to this, he says, may perhaps be able to suffice in this life, but he will vanish completely at the time when all things are brought to perfection. ^B He will not only receive here the reward for the labors he undertook, which he has merited for himself by working in virtue, but he will also be saved for another reason, by which he could have been saved, purified by the trial of fire, which must be undergone for evil works; for this is what he says, "so yet as by fire."

CAP. IV. VERS. 12, 13. — For whoever in such great evils is relieved by no external consolation, but provides himself with daily bread through his own labor, is pressed by an intolerable weight of miseries. We are reviled, and we bless; we suffer persecutions, and we endure; we are blasphemed, and we entreat. He calls "revilings" the insults with which he is afflicted, but "blasphemies" those things which are uttered by adversaries to accuse his life; whence he ^C says "we bless" first, that is, we pray for those who offer injuries, and then "we entreat," that is, we converse mildly with those who rebuke us, entreating them not to slander us.

The word "Offscouring" (peripsema) is said metaphorically of those who

when a meal is finished, clear the tables and cast away the crumbs as superfluous refuse.

CHAPTER V

^BVERS. 5. — He entreats them by the memory of Christ, so that they may not, by neglecting the grace toward Him, fail to do what is necessary, delivering such a man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. He says "to deliver to Satan," not as if he himself decrees this to happen, but as one who is cast out of the Church for being alienated from God, and is thus subjected to the power that has arisen under Satan; for the punishment from him was to cast him out of the Church, and from this, that result [the destruction of the flesh] would certainly follow. The Apostle, however, speaks of the consequence rather than the punishment, in order to terrify them the more. He says that he must be cast out, not desiring that he be utterly alienated, but that, becoming conscious of his own transgression, he might, by some repentance in this present life, crush himself, and be able to make himself worthy of future salvation. He refers to the "destruction of the flesh" as that crushing in the present life through repentance. And since our resurrection is to come about by the power of the Spirit, he often uses the term "spirit" regarding the resurrection and immortality; thus in the Epistle to the Romans he says: "But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit" (Rom. viii, 9); as if to say: being freed from the judgment of death, you have been established in the hope of immortality.

^CVERS. 8. — Aptly, after the precepts, he now applies a persuasion. For, as if present, he converses with those who are present, and says: He who is joined to an evil man by a necessary disposition receives from him, in the course of time, fellowship; and following the example, he makes the exhortation to them from the facts.

CHAPTER VI

VERS. 1, 2. — One might inquire why, in the Epistle to the Romans (XIII, 1), he says that all powers are from God and praises them highly, yet here he calls them iniquitous in general? Because there, in the Epistle to the Romans, he discusses the fulfillment of duties and says that all offices are by God’s command most excellently established, judging them by the end to which they were ordained; but here he addresses those who are at law, because they attempt to crush their brothers by custom, wealth, and power. For the poor, destitute of these things, cannot easily defend their rights. He called them "iniquitous" because of their intent, as if to say: you take refuge with those among whom you can hide your iniquity against the poor in many ways; whence he also rightly says, "He dares." "Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?" You reject, he says, those whose virtue will judge the whole world, not by examination, but by comparison.

^A Since the whole world is judged by them, can the dispute over money not be settled by them? It is most shaming, the clause "if you have—," including also those who refuse, as if they themselves were rejecting themselves by rejecting their fellow believers. Making a progression, he says: "Do you not know that we shall judge angels?" As if adding something greater. Thus, he calls disputes about money the "minimal" things of the world, as being very small in comparison to that; but he calls earthly disputes "secular," as if they [the angels] do not belong to this life.

^A VERS. 4, 5. — "If therefore you have secular ^B courts, seat those who are considered the lowest in the Church." And lest he seem to be commanding them truly to seek out those who are the most contemptible of all and to set these up as judges for such matters, he says: "I say this to your shame." And he adds who those are who ought to judge.

VERS. 11. — For this, he says, even if you did these things formerly, now that you have attained sanctification through participation in the Spirit by faith in Christ, it is fitting that you flee from them with every diligence.

VERS. 12. — But perhaps you will say, he says, "All things are lawful to me." Then he adds: "But not all things are expedient," conceding that all things are lawful, but that one should not use the license for all things. For since not all things are expedient, it is manifest that they are not all to be done, but only those which are profitable. Then, taking up the antithesis again, he proposes it differently: "All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any." For I see, he says, that my freedom would not remain safe and intact if I were to approach all things simply, not using them for my own benefit; ^C thus, while I concede that all things are lawful, not all things are to be done. Thus he demonstrates also that not all things are lawful, but only those which we are not forbidden by any law to do, declaring through a certain comparison that some things are in our power, others not in our power.

VERS. 14. — Do not think that the body is saved by death. For He who raised Christ will also raise us up entirely. For just as He gave the power of eating, since the belly was created for this and will be destroyed in time, so He denied the power of fornicating, since the body was not made for this, and it is to be restored after the resurrection.

VERS. 15. — We are all members of Christ, whoever have received our connection to Him through the regeneration of the Spirit, in the hope of also rising again similarly to Him.

VERS. 18. — The rest of the sins, he says, seem to harm other bodies; but this one harms the sinner himself more than all the rest; for he pollutes his own body.

CAP. VII.

^A VERS. 5. — He says incontinence, not lasciviousness; but he who is unable to control himself will slip into fornication.

VERS. 8. — He calls it a work not undertaken from one’s own resolve, but without doubt perfected by divine grace. For to perform those things which are contrary to nature belongs not to our virtue, but to the Creator of nature. And so also the Lord: *Not all*, He says, *can receive this word, but those to whom it is given* (Matt. xix, 11). He himself calls the thing a gift and grace.

VERS. 14. — As far as it rests with us, it is certain that a right intent can be holy.

VERS. 17. — It would be absurd to think that the same things turn one away from piety, which did not previously prevent one from being called to the faith. For this is what *as He has called* signifies; and showing the necessity of the commandment, *And so in all the Churches I appoint.*

VERS. 18. — Flesh once taken away can certainly not be restored. Yet the blessed Epiphanius of Cyprus asserted that this could happen. Consult his writings if you wish to know how these things were to be done. ^B

VERS. 25. — It is manifest that he is answering those who consulted him regarding this matter, since they were inquiring about both things entirely: whether one spouse ought to abstain from the other, and whether those who lack marriage should remain in their former state. Therefore, when he speaks of virgins, you shall interpret this regarding virginity, and you shall refer similar things on this matter both to men and to women.

VERS. 29. — Having interposed items which he speaks of in a general sense, he returns to his argument, explaining those words: *Because of the instant necessity*, and *they shall have tribulation for the flesh.*

VERS. 37. — Rightly did he place that word: *Not having necessity.* For it happens quite often that someone has already received bridal pledges, and therefore is compelled to hand over his daughter; it also happens that a servant wishes to keep his own, but cannot because his master has ordered her to marry. ^C

CAP. IX.

VERS. 20. — By *under the law* he means those who are proselytes among the Jews; but by *the weak*, those who have believed from among the Jews, but who still, on account of the weakness of their reasoning, serve the legal rites. ^D

CAP. X.

VERS. 3-5. — He calls both the food and the drink spiritual, because the Spirit, through Moses, according to His ineffable power, provided both. Thus also spiritual…

^A he called the rock, as having, by the power of the Spirit, poured forth the waters, and following them, because the water that flowed accompanied them throughout the desert, so that they never lacked drink even in the most arid places. And that which is said, *The rock was Christ*, is as if he were to say: This rock was to them what Christ is to us, whose blood we believers drink, having been spiritually transformed in the mysteries.

VERS. 6. — *These things were types of us*, not that they were punished on that account (for how could that be?), but rather that those things which occurred to them have the power to instruct us in the form of types.

VERS. 12. — According to the sense, the word "ours" is omitted.

VERS. 13. — Behold, he says, you have not sustained calamities or necessities beyond human nature, which it is the lot of every man to undergo; having been received by God in the temple for your kindness at a banquet, you are inflamed only by present advantages ^B.

VERS. 23. — He is said to provoke jealousy who, of two people, admires now one and now another, so as to win both over to his own favor. But one weaker than another will not attempt this with those who are stronger; for the stronger would be indignant if he saw himself honored by one who is weaker. Yet it is fitting for those who excel by a certain rule, for inferiors desire the favor of their superiors, and because they are frustrated in this, they are vexed.

CAP. XI.

VERS. 3. — He wishes to say this: that we pass from Christ to God, from whom He Himself is, and from man to Christ; for from Him we are, according to our later subsistence, by which, ^C rising again with Him, we shall all be immortal, having obtained the grace of the Spirit together in Him. For while we were subject to suffering, we had Adam as our head, from whom we sprang; but once made impassible, we have Christ as our head, who made us impassible. Likewise, he says, it is from the woman to the man, because she was made from the man.

VERS. 7. — He demonstrates that this is repugnant to the laws of piety, of nature, and of creation ^D.

VERS. 18. — Above all, he says, I upbraid you with this. For the word "first" signifies the same as "above all," as also in the Epistle to the Romans: *First of all, because they were entrusted with the oracles of God* (Rom. III, 2).

VERS. 20. — He calls it the Lord’s Supper both because of the time and the place, because they were accustomed to eat it on the Lord’s Day and in the place of assembly.

^A VERS. 23. — "I received from the Lord." It is as if he were saying: I received that the Lord himself handed down that it should be done in this way; for he was not present when he handed it down to the disciples.

VERS. 28. — "Let each one," he says, "examine his own mind," regarding what he thinks about the mysteries, and then let him partake of them. For where he says "himself," he says it instead of "his own mind," referring generally to the opinion one holds concerning the mysteries.

VERS. 34. — Some, not having attended to the meaning of what is written, think they are fulfilling the Apostle’s intent if they partake of the mysteries very rarely. But they ought to have seen that if he wanted us to partake only when we have been completely purified of sins, first, it is impossible for a man to be completely purified from sin; and second, even if this were possible, it was not for us to have presumed this about ourselves. And what will "as often as you eat" signify? For he shows the continuity of the communion in what is said, ^B to which is also joined the bond of the Church, which wishes the mysteries always to be performed. It is holy, indeed, for those who defile themselves with the greatest and highly forbidden sins—of which the Apostle also clearly pronounced that they shall not inherit the kingdom—to abstain from the mysteries. Men of this sort must abstain while they are slaves to their sins. But others must, to the best of their strength, flee from those things by which men are accustomed to sin often through daily offenses, and most often through the weakness of nature. For by the pursuit of virtue and daily care of life, such lapses are diminished day by day. Those, however, who slip in such ways should not deprive themselves of the mysteries, but should approach them with greater fear, considering their magnitude and receiving them with good hopes, because in this way we shall obtain the remission of sins, if we have shrunk from evil to the best of our power ^C and have not neglected other good things, and indeed (have sought) the help of the Spirit by which we may more easily order our life. For whatever Christ merited for you through his death, the same is to be sought through the commemoration of his death, so that I would not hesitate to assert: if anyone should happen to have committed even the gravest sins, but has resolved to refrain from evil and to surrender himself to virtue, shaping his conduct according to the precepts of Christ, let him become a participant in the mysteries, certain that he will obtain the remission of all things; nor will he ever be frustrated in his hopes.

CHAP. XII

VERS. 1. — As if to say: I wish you to know the order of spiritual gifts, and therefore I will bring forward some things concerning these.

^A VERS. 10. — He says that prophecy is the prediction of future things. It is also termed the gift of explaining those things which, whether in actions or in counsels, escape most people; nay, even the faculty of declaring things past and unknown to all, just as Moses narrated everything.

At that time, many, on account of the multitude of spiritual gifts, feigned piety for the sake of deceiving others, and in fact appeared to perform miracles just like the faithful, but by using the cooperation of demons. Thus the sons of Sceva, like exorcists, feigned that they too were casting out demons. There was, therefore, a gift of the Spirit for this purpose as well: to discern who were truly performing miracles by the power of the divine Spirit, and who were feigning the truth through the cooperation of demons.

^B VERS. 25. — He says, "We put around," not "it lies around"; for shoes are not a part of nature, but were discovered by us later. "And those which are uncomely among us have more abundant comeliness, but our comely ones have no need." He calls those things uncomely which are so commonly viewed, not that they are uncomely by nature, since they have more abundant comeliness, but because they are so judged by common opinion, according to which we deem it improper to uncover them without cause.

VERS. 27. — When you show the order of a body constituted of diverse members, ^C forming the Lord's body by the power of the Spirit, you must preserve this harmony, having allowed no cause for envy on account of the diversity of gifts.

CHAP. XIV

VERS. 1. — As if to say: I wish you above all to apply yourselves to charity; if, therefore, you also pursue spiritual gifts, may you know which are more excellent, and that to prophesy is better than to speak in tongues.

CHAP. XV

VERS. 1, 2. — For if the Gospel has been preached, and they have received it, and now also hold it—for this is what "In which also you stand" signifies—it is superfluous to write about it, unless those people have held the Christian doctrine only in appearance, while in their works they were seen to accomplish the opposite. Whence he not undeservedly adds, "Through which also you are saved," as if to say, hold it in such a way as those expecting to obtain salvation through it. ^D As to “In what word I have preached to you,” it is as if to say, what is the goal of the Gospel, what is the reason; just as the Gospel of Christ is the resurrection, so the end of the Gospel is to believe that we shall all rise again following Him; if indeed you hold it fast, and have not cast away everything, as if you had believed the things spoken by us in vain. If you hold it fast and do not reject all things, as it becomes those who believe my words.

VER. 45. — It is written: *Factus est homo in animam viventem* (Gen. ii, 7); but he himself adds the words, *the first Adam* and *the second Adam*, so that he might say, *the last Adam*.

VER. 52. — He calls it the *last trumpet* here, by which all shall rise; for this is the abolition of death. It is manifest that trumpets sound many times, and that for each individual instance something is accomplished. Since, therefore, each thing happens in a certain order, he quite appropriately says that this shall occur at the last trumpet.

VER. 56. — He speaks here simply of the law, whether the natural law or the positive law. For he wishes to say that then, together with death, sin is also abolished, and the entire law ceases, since, having become immortal, we shall be governed by the grace of the Spirit.

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA FRAGMENTS OF COMMENTARIES ON ST. PAUL'S SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS

However, we find those [fragments] on the former [epistle] published in the year 1841, in Cramer’s Catena, and therefore we omit them. But Cramer does not include the fewer [fragments] on the latter [epistle], and he calls the scholia published by him by no author’s name. Therefore, we present them below.

CHAPTER I

VER. 3. — He begins prudently with thanksgiving, rather than with a narrative of the things that had happened to him, as if he made little account of them. Nor does he begin from the tribulation, but from the consolation, as if he had proposed to himself a thanksgiving for [his] consolation; although, from the flow of the epistle, he appears to be speaking about his own tribulations. *Blessed be God*; it must be noted that there is an ellipsis here; for *our* is understood, that is, *Blessed be our God*.

VER. 6. — That is, we prefer to suffer, hoping for true things concerning you.

VER. 12. — He says this because those from the circumcision were slandering him, saying that he himself also observes the law, even if he speaks otherwise to you, who are from the gentiles.

VER. 15. — They ought to have been most ashamed that the Apostle no longer dared to rely upon them as much, and that they were not held to be such as they were toward him. From what is said, however, it is plain that he had preserved many affections among them.

VER. 20. — *Amen*, he says, is the conclusion of the thanksgiving which is offered to God, according to that which he says in the first [epistle]: *How shall he who fills the place of the unlearned say Amen upon thy thanksgiving?* (1 Cor. xiv, 16)?

CHAP. II.

^A VERS. 12, 13. — He calls the "rest of the Spirit" the ability for the various gifts of the Spirit to be fulfilled. This, however, was for the sake of the work of others; for it is not permitted to suspect that Paul refrained from teaching on account of human tribulation, when he had found those who were able to receive the evangelical proclamation.

CHAP. III.

VERS. 7. — He does not say "the ministration of the law," since the name of "law" itself possessed a certain authority; but [he calls it] "the ministration of death," speaking of it rather from its effect, so as to diminish the impression surrounding it. And he does well also to [add] that which is "passing away," for the increase of the matter, meaning: "And that though it was passing away." He does well also [to add] "shall be," since the greatness of the things concerning Christ is proven from future events. For if that which is passing away was through glory, much more is that which remains in glory. He well says "through glory" in the case of the former, since, whereas no one else shared in similar things, even Moses himself became such only for a little while. Here, however, it is said "in glory," since Christ himself and those who share in the glory will always be in the same goods.

^B

VERS. 17. — If he had wished to say that the Lord is spirit, he would have said "spirit" simply, not "the Spirit" with the addition of the article; so that [he would have said] "God is spirit," even if it be extremely foolish to say this. For not as he was speaking to the Samaritan woman, who thought the divine was contained in a place, and necessarily said to her that it is an incorporeal spirit; not so, I say, did the Apostle here wish to show that the Lord is incorporeal. For what he intends here is evident. Since he did not say "spirit," but "the Spirit" with the article, it is clear that he is not saying that the Lord is spirit, but that *the Lord is the Spirit*. For no one would be able to show throughout the entire New Testament that the Father and the Son are designated by the name "spirit." ^C For when God is said to be "spirit," he is not designated by the name "spirit," but is named "God"; and when he says he is spirit, he has not placed it with the signification of a name, as are "God," "Lord," "Father," "Son," and similar things that are read in Divine Scripture, but for the instruction that he is not circumscribed in a place.

CHAP. IV.

VERS. 14. — "Well knowing"; for when they professed the resurrection of Christ, the Apostle incited them likewise to believe the rest. He connects "with you," so that the matter might not be thought to be something he was saying for himself alone.

CHAP. V.

VERS. 9. — He has used the word "we are ambitious," signifying the great diligence which he wishes us to show in this regard. Then he also shows from another point that the acquisition of virtue is necessary.

VERS. 11. — From the [phrase] "Knowing therefore the fear of the Lord," he breaks into his reproof of them; ^D and he adds the rest...

and the following things to those presented he has rendered; for we are constrained, he says, by the love of Christ to do everything according to what is pleasing to him. ^A

CHAPTER VI.

CHAPTER VII.

CHAPTER X.

Verse 7. — This fragment is said to be in the codex of Theodore and simultaneously [that of] Theodoret, in the keeping of the latter it actually exists, and therefore it is omitted by us.

CHAPTER XI.

CHAPTER XII.

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA FRAGMENTS OF COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS

CHAPTER I.

^A when it designates our life—"Our age in the illumination of his countenance" (Ps. LXXXIX, 8)—now greater, when it indicates the whole interval from the foundation of the world until the second coming of Christ, which shall consummate this present life, concerning which the Lord himself said in the Gospels: "Behold, I am with you all the days, even unto the consummation of the age" (Matt. XXVIII, 20). The Apostle also calls this the present age, naming it so because we live this present life within it. How, then, could it be an interval, which is not even viewed as a substance, ^B or as something good or evil by nature? But that which the Apostle wishes to say is this: If the first man, as he was created, had remained immortal, our present life would not exist, since it would have no end; but because he became mortal on account of sin, our present life is not unjustly called "this current life" compared to the future one. In this life, indeed, we are subject to sin, whence we have need of laws, but in the future age we shall have need of no ordinance, since we shall be preserved from every sin by the grace of the Spirit. ^C He wishes, therefore, to say that while the Law was given, sin was not taken away, but rather it exercised its dominion over us quite strongly. For we were always transgressing the Law, at one time doing this and at another doing that contrary to the ordinance of the Law, and there was nothing to turn us away from sin; nay, the very weakness of nature was dragging us into offenses. But Christ, having died for us and risen again—bestowing through himself upon us also the participation in the resurrection—delivered us from the living of this present life, in which we very often do things that are not fitting, and established us in the hope of the future life, in which we shall remain evermore immortal and impassible and free from all sin. This, indeed, the Law never willed to provide for us; and showing this well, he added: "According to the will of God and our Father." He said "snatch us out" (ἐξέληται) to indicate that this was not permitted to any other, neither to the Law nor to the prophets; for "to snatch out" almost signifies force, ^D yet not force, but the power of one who rescues. Why, however, is it not force, but power? Because he did not say "of one snatching," but "of Him who gave himself for our sins, that he might snatch us out": this very expression points, above all, to the difficulty of the matter. God is called our Father, so that the necessity excluded by the Law might be declared through adoption. To whom be glory forever, amen: this is also new and—

[index: entries preserved] far more certain is it that the Catena belongs to Theodore of Mopsuestia. For besides the fact that he is named in the subscriptions on p. 540 and in the Catena on the Epistles to Timothy (ed. Cramer, p. 111), the character of the words is clearly evident from the orthodox author of the Catena on p. 302, 309, and the nature of the fragments themselves is entirely Theodore's; but one fragment is falsely attributed to Theodore on p. 78. It is Chrysostom. Nor can it be denied that it is certain and indubitable that, besides those things which are said to be Theodore's, other things by Theodore lie hidden in the Catena.

when the adoption was revealed, the necessity of the law was excluded; ^A to whom be glory for ever. Amen. This also is new and unusual, for we never find the word [i]Amen[/i] placed at the beginning and in the exordiums of an epistle, but after many other things. Here, however, showing that what he had already said was sufficient for convicting the Galatians, and that he did not need many more arguments, he has placed these words in the preamble, for clear charges do not require much corroboration. Having therefore reminded them of the cross, the resurrection, the redemption of sins, the security for the future, the will of the Father, the counsel of the Son, the grace, the peace, and all His gifts, he concluded his speech with a doxology, sending up to Him the praise he was able to offer on behalf of the whole world. For this reason, he uses more vehement language after this, as if inflamed heavily by the thought of the benefits of God; for when he said, "To whom be glory for ever. Amen," he proceeds from a more vehement rebuke, saying:

Vers. 6-8.

Vers. 15.

CAP. II.

Vers. 4.

Vers. 6.

^A that not only did they not teach him, but they were even taught by him.

Vers. 15. — As if he were saying: by race Jews, and not proselytes. Do you perceive how he covertly attacks the Jews and organizes his teaching for completion? For having said, *By nature Jews, and not sinners from the Gentiles*, he also sets forth a reasonable cause for why they departed from Judaism.

Vers. 19. — When they were fulfilling the figure of death and resurrection in baptism, they were said to be crucified with Christ; as if he himself had received death through the cross and had risen. But they, through the figure of baptism, were established in those same things, in the hope of attaining similar things entirely, when the time arrives for the common resurrection of all at the consummation of the age. He says this, therefore: Since ^B I have been crucified with Christ, he says, I have no part in this present life, in which it is necessary to conduct oneself according to the law.

CAP. III

Vers. 2. — He calls the grace "Spirit," but conduct according to the law "flesh."

Vers. 16. — The words spoken to Abraham are promises, he says; but the law demands obedience, and only then grants the merited reward. If, therefore, we obtain these things through the law, the promise is useless. For we obtain the reward by our own labor, and not by the promise of God. But if the promise is made, declaring the grace of the one who promises, it is certainly not a perfecting of the law, but the promise of God which grants us a participation in the blessing. That phrase, *to his seed*, stated so absolutely, we find most perfectly fulfilled in Christ; for he is his seed by nature, just as the rest of us who have drawn our lineage from him. We believe in him, and therefore we acknowledge Abraham ^C as our father, and thus we become participants in the blessing, so that the statement made as if about one, but which can be understood in a general sense as about many—designating all those who derive their lineage from there—is seen to be perfectly and truly fulfilled in Christ.

Vers. 21. — For if there were such power in the law that those living according to it could be justified and attain eternal life, the law itself would overturn the promise by providing justification in its place; but now, on the contrary, since the law forbids sins, but is unable to set free those who fall into them on account of the infirmity of nature—and thereby increases our guilt—it is with the greatest difficulty, or rather by no means can it justify us, and therefore we necessarily stand in need of the grace of Christ.

Vers. 22. — The sacred Scripture rebukes ^D those who

^A were before the law and those who are under the law: the former for transgressing the natural law, the latter for transgressing the Mosaic law. But to both the one and the other it has brought the remedy of salvation, to be attained through faith; for here again, it has put "concluded" in place of "convicted."

Vers. 23. — It is to be noted that he makes the demonstration of things concerning Christ from the things that are to come, as is natural, since the full manifestation for us of all the attainments from Him will take place when those things are realized. He calls it "faith," because, since we have not yet arrived at the realities, we believe for now concerning them; and "promise," because we have already received the pledge regarding them. And he rightly calls them "grace" more than anything else, since the things given are a clear gift of God, not having their beginning from our merit, but from His own generosity; and he reasonably opposes the law to all these things. ^B

Vers. 26. — As if to say "perfect"; for this is necessary, since they are sons of God, no longer under a pedagogue; for nothing is lacking to a Son of God for perfection.

Vers. 28, 29. — The author of this present life for us all is Adam; we are all one man by reason of nature, for each one of us is as it were a member of the whole race. So also is Christ the author of the future life for us, and all who share with Him in the resurrection and in the immortality after the resurrection become as it were one with Him, by the similarity of the matter, providing the ordering of a member to the whole for each one of us. Then, therefore, neither male nor female shall be discerned; for it will not be possible to marry or be married; nor Jew, nor Greek; for there is no place in the immortal nature for circumcision, which distinguishes the uncircumcised from the circumcised; nor slave, nor free; for every inequality of conditions shall be removed. ^C Since, therefore, we are constituted in these things typically through baptism, he says: "But if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, heirs according to the promise." For if you are the body of Christ through the regeneration in baptism, having the form of the likeness of the future similarity with Him, and Christ is the seed of Abraham, we, as His body, must be the same seed as He is; whence we are also rightly heirs of the promise. Do you see how what he said before, he has now demonstrated: that the blessings were given to Him and to His seed? ^D

CHAPTER IV

Vers. 1-3. — The Apostle was supposing the substance of virtue to be illustrated by love toward God and toward one's neighbor, but by its inopportune use—that is, by wicked works—its very essence is destroyed. "We were, therefore, under tutors and stewards."

^A We have become [under] laws, so that the continuous observance of these might lead us always to a remembrance of the God who gave the laws, and so that, living more prudently, we might not dissipate [1, 908 A] the substance committed to us, until the perfection that then stands by may provide a firm and complete enjoyment of the substance, inasmuch as we are then able to keep the paternal inheritance intact.

VERS. 6, 7. — The miracles which were then occurring followed the gift of the Spirit, which, as was natural, made the gift of the Spirit undoubted for them; hence they believed that they had also received adoption. Wherefore he too, emboldened by the strength of the proof, as being one derived from events that were certain even to them, concludes: "So that you are no longer a slave, but a son, and an heir of God through Christ." Thus, he says, you now have no communion with those who live under the law. ^B

VERS. 15. — That "what," here for "where" is the beatification? It has gone, it has perished, he rightly declares, not by affirming this, but by questioning.

VERS. 19. — That "again," is so he might bring to mind the former birth pangs; but that, "until Christ is formed in you," describes a most vehement pain, since no one knows what the end of the labor pains will be for him.

VERS. 20. — A wonderful method, also, by which he addresses them. For in everything the Apostle appears to be affected by very diverse concerns; now indignant at these, now at those, now even groaning as if for lost sons; so that one who considers the matter more ^C intently would recognize a wonderful variety of emotions in the writings.

VERS. 24. — He calls an allegory a comparison of things done long ago with present things. For just as, he says, Ishmael was born according to the flesh, so here too the law wanted those under it to live according to its rule and to receive justification from it; and just as Isaac was born according to grace (for this is what the promise, as the sequence of the sentiments declares, was willing), so too what pertains to Christ had this as its end and purpose: that death should be abolished, and that all men who had ever existed, rising again, should continue ^D in an immortal nature, and, because of the grace of the Spirit implanted in them, should henceforth be delivered from all sin. The reaching of those born into life is to be referred to nature, because of which we are subjected to the conduct of the law; and that generation by which all who rise again are born into the future life is to be referred to grace.

^A Ver. 25. Arabia was not called in ancient times only the region which is called by this name today, but Agar signifies the whole desert and the parts that are inhabited around it, and indeed also no small part of Egypt. This, therefore, is what he intends regarding Agar: that it is equivalent to the Jerusalem that is with us—that is to say, the one viewed according to this life—Agar holding for us the order of the present Jerusalem, in which the requirements of that covenant are fulfilled looking toward the expected blessings, of which we also hope to attain in the age to come, which Agar held when compared to Sarah. However, the phrase, "She is in slavery with her children," is not spoken of Agar, but of the covenant given on Mount Sinai.

^B Vers. 29-31. He does not put forward only the names of faith and promise, but indeed also those of the Spirit, since we, through the participation of the Spirit, await the reception of the enjoyment of future things; and thus also those things which are of the law are called of the flesh, since the law is able to provide the utilities of this life, and he denotes by "flesh" that which is temporary and easily dissolved, whenever he does not name our own nature. Therefore, those who wish to defend the primacy of the law drive away the things of grace, just as Ishmael did Isaac. But what does the Scripture say? And the rest; for there is no communion between present things and future things, nor do legal mandates have a place in our way of life, which we fulfill according to the figure of the resurrection; and the rest is argued just as the things said before.

CHAP. V

^C Ver. 8. It was of the grace of God to call, to give the grace of the Spirit, and to promise future things; but to remain firm in the faith was not his, but yours.

Ver. 15. If, he says, you are so incessantly contentious with one another, not only do you provide no benefit to those who are sinning, but on the contrary, you prepare them to be turned away entirely from piety, which he also rightly called being consumed, since those who depart from piety diminish the common life of piety.

Ver. 17. Immortality is contrary to mortality, and mortality to immortality; for these do not agree with each other. Whence it is not permitted to us to do whatever we wish, since it is not even possible, while being in those things, to perform the works of mortality; for he said "so that" [ἵνα] not as indicating a cause, but as a consequence according to his own usage.

CHAP. VI

Ver. 2. He calls love the law of Christ; but you ought also to share in the burden with him, and this comes about when...

and with your kindness, you refresh his soul, broken by the consciousness of sin.

VERS. 11. — Whenever he reproved others, he used the largest possible letters, indicating that he neither denied what was said nor felt shame for it.

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA FRAGMENTS OF THE COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE EPHESIANS

^B I have often wondered vehemently at those who have not hesitated to assert that the message of piety was first handed down to the Ephesians by John the evangelist; for they do not remember that John spent only the last years of his life among the Ephesians, dwelling among them from the days of Nero—by whom Paul was beheaded and the Jewish war began—until the times of King Trajan. For it was during the raging of this war that all the apostles departed from Judæa. Then John went to Ephesus and remained there, continuing until the times of Trajan, as I have said. Now, Paul appears to have written the Epistle before he had visited the Ephesians; and it was only afterwards that he placed Timothy in charge of their Church, after he had already visited them himself. Who, then, would be so foolish as to think that, while John was present, the task of governing the Church could have been entrusted to Timothy? It is also to be noted, furthermore, that Paul visited the Ephesians much earlier than he had returned to Rome from Judæa, as you may learn more clearly from the Acts of the Apostles; so that it appears this Epistle was written long before John lived among the Ephesians. ^C

CHAPTER I.

VERS. 3. — *Blessed*, as if he were to say, worthy to be praised and admired. Yet the phrase, *the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ*, can also be read distinctly, so that the word *God* may be thought of separately, and in the same way *Father* separately. But if you should contend that they ought to be connected, so that the *God and Father of Christ* is spoken of as one, there is no reason for me to reject this; and thus it will be of the incarnate God that he is speaking, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. He called spiritual blessing the gifts of the Spirit, opposing them to the blessings which were according to the law. ^D

And the phrase, "in the heavenly places," means "concerning the heavenly things," not that we should inherit the earth according to the law, nor that we should inhabit the earth. ^A It is manifest that it is his custom to offer proof from the future things which are in Christ, inasmuch as they shall appear at the actual time; for now we are of them only by promise, through faith.

Verse 5. — This contains an amplification of the subject matter from two sides, since for us the love of election is greater, and the adoption of sons [who are] holy and blameless; for these hold the greatest proof of intimacy. And the phrase, "to himself," [is meant] so that we might be called and designated his sons. ^B

That He might say...

Verse 6. — Thus, he says, for these things it is right that He be praised and admired by us, for in that He has bestowed such glory upon us by His own grace.

Verses 9, 10. — He calls it "the mystery of the will of God," calling His hidden and unknown-to-all will a mystery. Therefore, what he says was from long ago pleasing to Him and foreordained, this He made known to us with great wisdom and prudence—as if to say, He brought [it] to pass by action. But why does he add, "In the dispensation of the fullness of times"? Because all things had to be ordered according to a plan. ^C When, therefore, the times of the others had been fulfilled, then, according to the order dispensed from above, at the proper times those things which pertain to Christ were also manifested.

Verse 13. — For in the same way, he says, having heard the words of the Gospel, you came to faith and received confirmation by the participation of the Spirit; for this is what he means by "you were sealed." And through the grace of the Spirit there was added to them the confirmation of miracles, as is likely, which followed [the faith] in the proper way and bound them more tightly and fully to the faith. And he rightly called it the "Spirit of promise," because all the good things that are expected in the future age will be realized by the participation of the Spirit. ^D

Verse 14. — He calls the possession of future goods "an inheritance," inasmuch as they are firmly given to us; but he calls the current gift of the Spirit "a pledge" of the inheritance, since, having received the promises concerning the things to come and awaiting the perfect gift of the Spirit...

they were receiving, as I said, a certain brief taste and first-fruit of the present. ^A Theodore says that the "redemption of acquisition" is nothing other than being joined with God, through the resurrection and immortality, having been delivered from the evils of the present, from which, having partaken of the glory that is from Him, we deservedly declare that God is wonderful, He who has become the author of such great benefits for us; for this is what is meant by "to the praise of His glory."

VERS. 17, 18. — He says: I request this, that the grace of the Spirit may be granted by God to you, so that you may be filled with wisdom and the knowledge of God, having received the revelation of mysteries, so that your mind, as if by light, may be illuminated by the teaching of the Spirit. For what reason? "That you may know what is the hope of His calling," as if to say, into what hopes He has called you, and what are the "riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints," and what great store of good things awaits the saints of God in the coming age. He rightly called it "the glory of the inheritance," because then we shall be illustrious, and "riches of glory," in order to express the pre-eminence of the gifts.

CAP. II.

VERS. 10. — Here he does not intend the former creation, but the later one, by which we are created anew through the resurrection, so that those things which we could never achieve by our own choice, being hindered by our natural infirmity, we may be able to accomplish without any labor, with great ease, by the grace of Him who recreates us unto this.

VERS. 13, 14. — Now the death of Christ, granting us the resurrection and bringing in another life instead of this present one, has reconciled those who were far apart. How and in what way? "For He Himself is our peace," and the rest. Christ, by granting us immortality through the resurrection, destroyed that distinction; for in an immortal nature there could be no place for circumcision; and since this does not exist, no distinction will appear between the uncircumcised and the circumcised. Nay, more, He also abolished the commandments of the Law; for then the whole constitution of the Law is superfluous.

VERS. 15. — As if to say, through the new dogmas of the resurrection, of incorruptibility, of immortality—calling these "dogmas" as if they were already accomplished in fact, with divine grace working in us, so that we no longer need commandments and precepts, some commanding one thing, others forbidding another.

VERS. 21. — Since we are built together into the temple of God, both of us, called by the same power of the Spirit through regeneration to the accomplishment of one building. But that "In whom every joint is framed together" we are a creation, built unto good works.

^A gmentata, as if saying "every stone is joined together by faith," using the singular expression, truly naming the stone for a man.

CHAPTER III.

VERS. 14, 15. — Some read "family," not understanding the text that was set before them: it should be "society," for "family" implies kinship, whereas "society" implies a gathering; but in the heavens there is no kinship, but many societies. That expression, therefore, "for this cause," went back above (v. 1) to those things by which he celebrates the magnitude of the grace of God towards us; but here, having interposed other things, he repeats the same, saying: "For all these things which he has granted to us," and as I said before, being so great and wonderful, "I bow my knees unto the Father of Christ, ^B whom every society, whether in the heavens or on the earth, confesses and deems its own Lord."

VERS. 18, 19. — He says "to know" instead of "to enjoy," meaning true knowledge, as in the Psalm: "You have made known to me the ways of life" (Ps. xv, 11), as if to say: "You have established me in the enjoyment of life." Similarly, that which is to be interpreted as "that you may be able to comprehend" is to be established in the enjoyment of the thing; and he declares this through the phrase, "with all the saints." By "breadth and length and depth and height," he means to express the magnitude of grace by names familiar to us. I pray, therefore, that you may enjoy with the saints that gift of God so great and wonderful, which the abundant love of Christ for us has bestowed upon us.

CHAPTER IV.

VERS. 3. — "Spirit" refers to the body ^C regenerated, which you have attained through regeneration.

VERS. 5-8. — Do not think that by the phrase "one Lord" the Father is taken away, or by "one God" the Son; but as if to say, we believe in neither distinct Lords nor distinct Gods. For with us "Lord" and "God" mean one and the same thing; we call upon one and the same by diverse names, and we follow them with one and the same worship. "Who is over all," as if to say, "who excels all, and has the most diligent care for us through all, and in all us is believed to exist and dwell." And although God cherishes us all equally through all things, yet there is in us a certain inequality through the variety of the gifts; ^D for he adds: "But to each one of us grace is given according to the measure of the gift of Christ." But if to each one of us there is some peculiar gift as our own, we must differ according as the Lord Christ has measured out the gift to each one of us.

^A For He who has given to us is one, and the Spirit given to us is one. By changing "He gave gifts" from what is written in the Psalm, He said "He gave gifts," using the change to suit the sequence concerning His own [Person]. For there, indeed, the word "received" suited the thesis, but here, in what is proposed, "gave" was the consistent word. He wishes to say that Christ, having engaged in a struggle on our behalf ^B against the devil and having conquered him as if by the law of war, since He removed Himself from death by rising first, made the solution of death common for all of us; and, as if taking us out of the tyranny of the devil, just as though they were certain captives and ones held by him, He led us up into the heavens.

Vers. 17-19. — He says this briefly. It is not right for you to act according to the Gentiles, who, knowing nothing of what is necessary, live as if in darkness, being far from piety and becoming strangers to the life of God, so that he means [by this] the awaited resurrection. But the phrase "having become past feeling" refers to those parts of the body that are often deadened by some ailment, to which not only does no pain reach from that source, but neither does the removal of the part cause any sensation.

^C Vers. 25. — What Christ has provided to the Church, that is, the Savior—for he is the one who provided the cause for the formation of the ecclesiastical body—this same position the husband holds toward the wife, since indeed she is to exist and be constituted from him.

Vers. 30. — Just as the woman became a member of Adam, having been taken from his bones and from his flesh, so we also are members of the Lord's body, as having been brought into being from his flesh and from his bones.

Vers. 32. — What, he says, is stated at the beginning of the creation concerning women and men, this has been fulfilled more mystically in the case of Christ and the Church. For all of us, having laid aside the generation by which we are begotten of father and mother, as if put off from this life by death, through spiritual regeneration receive the resurrection, in an unspeakable way being joined to Christ and obtaining an accurate likeness of immortality with Him. ^D

Cap. VI.

Vers. 17. — Rightly [is it said], "Which is the word of God," to represent the power of the operation of the Spirit. For he calls the word of God a substitute for the operation of God, as in the passage: "By the word of the Lord the heavens were established" (Ps. XXXII, 6), meaning that by the operation and power of God these were established. Thus also among the prophets occurs continuously the phrase, "The word of the Lord which came to pass," and the word of the Lord...

of the Lord which has come to pass," as if to say, the revelation made according to the operation of God. Here, too, the Word of God is called the operation of the Spirit. ^B

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA FRAGMENTS OF COMMENTARIES ON PAUL’S EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS

CAP. I.

Vers. 1. — It is to be noted that he says "with the bishops," not as some have supposed, in the same manner as we are accustomed écrire to fellow-presbyters. For he does not refer the "with" to his own person, so as to mean "together with our bishops," but he says: "to all the saints who are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons who are there." He does not simply mention their names, but rather because discourses concerning modesty are most appropriate to these men, who are charged with the duty of teaching others and who, before all others, ought themselves to pursue what is right.

Vers. 7. — He calls faith "the confirmation of the Gospel"; for those who believe confirm, as much as in them lies, the truth of the preaching, according to that saying of the Gospel: "He who has received his testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true" (John III, 33), as if to say: by believing, one will confirm to the best of one's ability that the things which God has done are true. And by "partakers of my grace," he means the same thing; for since he himself had received the grace of the apostolate to convert others to the faith, he who believes, as is natural, is a participant in that grace.

Vers. 8-11. — This is what he wishes to say: God is my witness how I am disposed toward all of you, and I pray that your charity toward God and toward one another may ever abound, and that you may have the knowledge which is appropriate concerning those things that contribute to virtue, proving what things are better, and being more diligent in these, so that you may appear irreprehensible in all things on the coming day, adorned with many merits, and that in this present life God may be admired in you, with all men, as is fitting, marveling at Him on account of your virtue, for whose glory you do these things.

Vers. 12. — The blessed ^D Paul, appealing to Caesar after Festus wished to deliver him to the Jews,

was brought as a prisoner to Rome; and having been brought before Nero and having defended himself concerning his own affairs, he spent two years there, having obtained a full release. Now, everyone at that time was persuaded that the blessed Paul was certainly about to be put to death by Nero, who was most cruel in his manner, especially since he seemed to be teaching new things, very foreign to the philosophy concerning God then prevailing among the Romans. He happened, however, to receive a full release, such that he was able to depart from Rome and to use his customary manner of teaching. This achievement astonished everyone and inspired the faithful with boldness to teach. He says this, therefore: "I wish you to know that the things concerning my teaching are advancing day by day; for, because of my bonds, I have become manifest to all, and the accusations by which they were harassing me were dissolved, and thus I escaped safely, so that many of the brethren, instructed by my example, have taken up the boldness to teach the things of piety from my own situation."

CHAP. II.

VERS. 7. — The Holy Scripture calls "emptying" ^A that which does not appear. Thus, "faith is emptied" (Rom. IV), that is, it does not appear, and "our preaching is vain" (1 Cor. xv, 14), meaning worthless and of no importance. That phrase, therefore, "He emptied Himself," is as if to say: He did not manifest Himself. For, by taking the form of a servant, He hid that dignity, being reckoned to be in reality that which He appeared to be.

CHAP. III.

VERS. 1, 2. — From here he begins to attack those from the circumcision ^C who were endeavoring to persuade them to live according to the Law. As for the words, "to write the same things," he does not mean as if he had already written these same things; for you will not find such things in this Epistle, nor is it recorded that he wrote another epistle to the same people. But since he had already conversed with them many times concerning these matters while he was present, he says this: "To write the same things which I have already preached to you by word of mouth, I do not hesitate, since the repetition of the same things renders you more confident." He calls them "dogs" as being shameless and often refuted, yet, regarding those things they do not teach well, they persist entirely; and "evil workers," as those who have not made an effort to teach the things that are fitting.

VERS. 3. — Those who offer worship to God in a spiritual manner, ^D as is indeed fitting, and who boast in Christ who has become the author of these things for us, certainly do not define piety by those things that concern the flesh.

VERS. 7. — That word, "was," along with the mention of his former gain, indicates how great his zeal was concerning these things.

VERS. 12-14. — From that point: "To write the same things to you," Theodore does not accept the interpretation; for he wishes... I am not busy with recalling my past struggles, but with worrying about what I shall achieve in the future.

to teach you is not burdensome for me, since I wish to persuade you not to trust those who live according to the law ^A. For this is what he declares: "I admit that I have not yet attained true perfection, nor have I been endowed with the hoped-for blessings; yet, certain of their excellence, I count all things of the past as nothing; but intent solely on the future, I pursue this one thing, I desire this one thing above all, that I may obtain the rewards destined for us in the heavenly calling"; that is, the eternal life in the heavens, to obtain which we have all been called.

Ver. 17. — As if to say, not as those living under the law, but as I do. "And observe," he says, "those who walk in this way, as you have us as a pattern; and in general," he says, "look toward those who live in this way, and imitate them."

Ver. 19. — "They think it a great thing," he says, "not to eat this, but to eat that, not considering that everything they eat becomes dung, which even to look upon they are ashamed. Behold the end of their zeal."

CHAPTER IV

Ver. 2, 3. — It is manifest that they, too, were at variance with one another, contending for preeminence, being virtuous—and, as is likely, falling into strife about such things. It is manifest also that by "yokefellow" he does not refer to his own wife, as some suppose, since the word *gnēsios* (genuine) would be superfluous, ^B which is appropriate for a man but not for a woman. They ought to have considered also that the Holy Scripture nowhere calls those who are joined in marriage "yokefellows," but rather those who are partners in the same faith. Some contend that Euodia was the wife of the jailer and Syntyche the man himself.

Ver. 10. — The expression "you were occupied" he says in place of "you were hindered and could not do what you wished."

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: FRAGMENTS OF COMMENTARIES ON THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE COLOSSIANS

CHAPTER I

Ver. 13. — He did not say "of the Son," but "of His beloved Son"; for we do not attain the kingdom of the Word of God, but of ^D

the human being taken up into the heavens, with whom we are made partakers of the same glory, on account of the physical likeness, when we have demonstrated our affection toward him by our works. Hence he also called him the "Son of love," because he was not by nature the Son of the Father, but obtained this by the love of the One who adopts.

^A Ver. 15, 16. — The term "firstborn" is not said of time alone, but often of preeminence in dignity, according to the passage: "He shall call upon me: Thou art my Father, and I will make him my firstborn" (Ps. LXXXVIII, 27, 28). God surely does not say this, meaning that He makes each of them older than the others in time, but that He will hold him in high regard. David says these things, remembering the divine promises given to him, as if God were promising that He would protect his descendants. The Apostle also says: "The church of the firstborn who are written in heaven" (Hebr. XII, 23), as if to say, those who are adorned with the most excellent honors; so too that passage: "Israel is my son, my firstborn" (Exod. IV, 22), that is, dearest to me. So also here: "Firstborn of all creation," as if to say, honored above every creature.

He did not say "through him," but "in him." For he does not mean the first creation, but the restoration that occurred in him, by which things that were previously divided are brought back into one harmony, as he says elsewhere: "To sum up all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth" (Ephes. I, 10).

^C Those who wish to interpret the aforementioned, and that passage, "Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation," as referring to the divine nature, will never be able to refute our interpretation, which shifts from the divine to the human, or from the human to the divine. For they themselves also must needs do this; they will indeed interpret the recently cited words as referring to a more excellent nature, but that other phrase, "firstborn from the dead," unless they have cast off all shame, they will never refer to the divine nature.

VER. 23. — For this was his work, to preach the Gospel among the Gentiles, the observance of the law having been repudiated. ^D

VERS. 24, 25. — "So that," he says, "I rejoice and suffer for your sake." And since Christ previously suffered for your benefit, that you might be shown to be his body through the resurrection, I fill up what is lacking in his afflictions for your sake. But what was lacking? It was that you, having learned what things were accomplished for your sake, should receive the proclamation of them from me. This, however, could by no means come to pass without labor and affliction. For these matters, therefore, I suffer, traveling about and preaching to all what has been accomplished, so that you, having believed through the disposition of the soul, might receive an intimacy with him; for of these things I have been made a minister.

VERS. 27-29. — Such is this great wealth, Christ and belief in him; for this is the hope of future glory, which has also given us the cause to expect those things. He calls the grace toward the Gentiles a "mystery," as it was unknown to those before this, and the recognition of the mystery is the participation in it.

CAP. II

VERS. 3. — He says that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ, as things accomplished with great wisdom through Christ for our benefit, being now hidden, but destined to appear when he himself appears.

VERS. 13. — He does not here refer to the foreskin of the body; but just as he called circumcision the removal of mortality, so he calls those "uncircumcised" who still serve mortality. This, then, is what he says: that having deadened us to sins because of the mortality surrounding us, he made us live together with Christ, preparing in him the common resurrection of all, by which every kind of your sin will be wiped away.

VERS. 15. — The opposing powers will now have no strength, since we will no longer indulge in sin. Therefore, by removing the mortality which he took away for the sake of the common benefit, he simultaneously took away their authority which they used against us, having wrought a greatest and most certain victory over them, so that they themselves are put to shame, having exerted such labor against us in vain, from which they profited nothing at all; for we have attained a better state, such that we are no longer susceptible to sin.

VERS. 18. — Since it is said that the law was given through angels, as if they had ministered to its giving, just as the blessed Paul also says: "For if the word spoken through angels became steadfast" (Hebr. II, 2), those who defended the observance of the law set forth the angels, as if even they would be offended if the law were despised.

Then indeed they professed a certain modesty, as if they were not departing from the observance of the law because angels find contempt of the law grievous. Do not, therefore, he says, believe those who profess this modesty and attempt to put forward the angels; for, blinded in mind, they say things they do not understand.

VERS. 23. — The verse is indeed obscure; but he means to say that ^A by handing down such things, certain teachers seem to prove their own knowledge, and to show a modest mind, by commending to their followers the observance of the law, so that by afflicting the body and rejecting the license of nourishing the flesh with all sorts of food, they should rather abstain from many things on account of the tradition of the law.

CAP. IV. VERS. 17. — As much as can be conjectured from the writings, he was among the Laodiceans and was undergoing the ministry of deacons. ^B

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA FRAGMENTS OF COMMENTARIES ON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS

CAP. I. VERS. 1. — He puts the expression, *Grace to you*, just as we are accustomed to write *Greetings* in the inscriptions of letters; but the expression, *in God the Father*, is as we also say, *in the Lord*.

VERS. 8, 9. — This *word of the Lord* does not signify faith here; for faith did not have its beginning from them, but it is as if he said: Everyone has come to know how much you have endured for the sake of the faith, and everyone admires the steadfastness of your faith, so that you have become an example to others. ^C It must be noted, he says, that in the departure from idols, he called God *living and true* by way of contrast to those [idols], so that wherever we find this expression, we must know that it is not said of the Father to the exclusion of the Son, nor of the Son to the exclusion of the Father, since both the Father and the Son are equally true among the pious.

CAP. IV. VERS. 4, 5. — He calls a man's own wife a *vessel*, which he says to possess in *sanctification*, for one who does not defile himself with another's [wife]. By way of exaggeration ^D

not in the passion of desire, as if he were not engaging in this as a husband with his wife, but merely for the sake of the union alone, which he calls the passion of desire.

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA FRAGMENTS OF COMMENTARIES ON THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONICENSES

^A CAP. II. VERS. 2. — Do not believe those who attempt to deceive you concerning the coming of Christ and our gathering together to Him, as though that time were imminent; and whatever they may preach, whether from some spiritual instinct, or as if they had learned it from our own words or letters, do not give them credence.

VERS. 3, 4. — By this he shows that the idolatry which the devil set up, he himself [the Antichrist], when he comes, will overturn; and every heresy which he has set against the word of truth, he himself, when he comes, will dissolve, so that in this, too, men may have judgment, that the things in which they were led astray were not removed by themselves, but by the author of the errors. For the devil composed these errors in parts, calling men away from God and gradually introducing his own worship, so that when the fixed time arrives, he might find men wandering and destitute of divine help, and thus might more easily seem to achieve the goal he set for himself, namely, to be worshiped by all men. ^B For what the substructure is to an arch, that the heresies are to the devil, both among the Gentiles and among Christians. For just as when an arch is completed and stands by its own structure, the substructure is removed, while the arch itself remains firm and whole; so the devil places all kinds of heresies and various sorts of errors as a substructure, upon which he stabilizes his own arch—that is, his worship—so that when he has condemned and destroyed all the heresies, this worship might nevertheless remain bare and plain among men, introducing his own worship nakedly.

VERS. 6-8. — This appears to me improbable, ^C inasmuch as they have already ceased for a long time. For if anyone should wish to argue that they have not ceased because prayers sometimes occur among certain people, this does not mean that all things will have ceased at that time, since it is impossible for the saints to fail entirely; and even then there will be those who reject his teaching and who will shine forth in the struggles for piety. He declares, moreover, what "that which restraineth" is, ^D understanding the interpretation offered by Severian, who thinks that "that which restraineth" refers to the grace of the Holy Spirit...

of the devil's intention to do this, ^A but that he is hindered by God, because the consummation of the age is the time set for him to be revealed. The Apostle calls this restraint the "definition" of God, whence he also adds: "that he may be revealed in his own time." For that "mystery is already at work," as if to say: although the devil does not yet openly work the apostasy, he is already at work in secret in many ways, always and everywhere trying with all his might to turn away from piety whoever adheres to the faith.

It must be noted that he calls the manifestation the revelation of the Antichrist, as he said above, "unless the man be revealed," and here, "the lawless one will be revealed," as if the devil had been preparing this for the destruction of mankind ever since the coming of the Lord, and would perhaps have already accomplished it, ^B had not God restrained him according to his own secret counsels. But he will then work and reveal that which he has long meditated, once he is given the power to bring his purpose to fruition. "Whom the Lord Jesus will destroy with the breath of his mouth." While he is doing these things throughout the world, he says, and is turning everyone away from piety, suddenly Christ, appearing from the heavens, with a shout, will overturn his whole work and destroy him entirely. For this is what he declares by "the breath of his mouth," as if to say: by his voice, according to the nature of men, who are unable to utter articulate sounds except by breathing.

VERS. 11. — "For this reason God will send them a powerful delusion," ^C that is, he will permit it, for he will not work it himself. For the Apostle means this: If you do not remain in the truth, you will turn aside to error and believe a lie; therefore you will pay just penalties, for having abandoned the truth you have defected to iniquity, that is, to the worship of the devil: which he calls iniquity because they wickedly adhere to it.

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA ON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO TIMOTHY—FRAGMENTS

CAP. 1.

VERS. 3, 4. — He left him in Ephesus not only that he might announce to some not to teach differently, ^D but also

effectively look after the whole ecclesiastical order, regarding which he had also written to him. It is clear that the phrase, "That you may command some," refers to those of his own household; for he could not command those who were outsiders, from whom, on the contrary, he expected many evils. He speaks, however, of those from the circumcision, who, by making much of the law, were attempting to teach the Gentiles things contrary to the Christian doctrine. ^A He says, therefore: "Command all, but especially those from the Gentiles, not to busy themselves with myths and genealogies spread by them." For they were making great efforts to show that Christ, against the promises, had not descended from Abraham and David, and for this reason they were attempting to narrate the ancient genealogies, by which they greatly disturbed many of the Gentiles who had believed, as they knew nothing of the ancient matters with accuracy. He rightly called them "endless," as those who were engaged in such things were able to be led hither and thither by their argument, which of necessity happens in genealogies, speaking now of the lineage of this one, anon of another, and again moving from this one to another. He called them fables as having no necessary narrative.

VERS. 11. — He rightly calls God "blessed" in this place; for He is blessed by nature on account of His immutability, while we are made blessed by the grace of God.

CAP. II.

VERS. 12-14. — The phrase, "But I do not permit a woman to teach," must surely be referred to public assemblies, so that they may not be allowed to teach in the Church. For Paul would not ^C doubtlessly have legislated such things regarding their private conduct, nor did he forbid pious women from teaching piety to impious husbands, or from urging those addicted to vices toward works of virtue. "And Adam was not deceived," since while she was the cause of the deception for him, she herself could not shift the blame for her fall onto the man.

CAP. III.

VERS. 2. — It is a most ridiculous thing to find that which is observed by many: if a man is temperate but has taken a second wife, they do not admit4 him to the clergy; but if one has lived ^D licentiously but has only had one wife according to the law, this man is brought forward, even though the blessed Paul clearly permits a second marriage to take place, and all cohabitation outside of a lawful marriage is fornication. I leave aside for the moment that which is clear, that they even bring forward into the clergy without fear a man who has taken two wives (I speak clearly of lawful ones), baptizing him, even though...

he shows ^A no mark of virtue or of diligent piety. For, to say nothing of the reason of baptism, for which it is given, to which the many do not even wish to look, they at least ought to know that the blessed Paul is legislating regarding conduct—the kind of conduct an bishop ought to have shown beforehand—and not concerning the grace granted through baptism. For if baptism were to accomplish such a thing, the laws of Paul would be superfluous, and he would allow anyone one meets, immediately after baptism, to be received into the clergy. But this he prohibits, and prescribes that only he be chosen for the episcopate who has provided, in his past life, proofs of probity, either by pursuing virtue throughout or by proving through repentance that he has passed from evil to good; which, indeed, will become clearer from what follows. Many, however, cherish that practice as if it were the best.

Therefore, some interpret "the husband of one wife" in this way, to whom I more willingly assent: just as many at that time had two wives at once, because according to the Mosaic Law this seemed to be permitted; and many, having one lawful wife, were not content with her, but made use of others, whether their own maidservants or others, or frequently sinned rashly with whomever they chanced upon—a practice which even today occurs ^C among those who do not concern themselves with good morals. This, they say, is what Paul meant: such a man is to be chosen for the episcopate who, joined to one woman, has lived prudently with her, cleaving to her and indulging the urges of nature only with her; but if such a man, having lost his former wife, has taken another according to the laws, and has lived with her in the same manner, the entrance to the episcopate is not to be denied to him, as indeed Paul prescribes.

I altogether agree with those who have brought forward this explanation of the doctrine of the most blessed Paul, but I do not want to be persuaded that he who defends second marriages just as much as first, provided they are performed rightly, prohibits such men from the episcopate. For he who said (1 Cor. vii, 8): *I say, therefore, to the unmarried and to the widows*, joining them both together and subjecting them to one law, was without doubt considering both marriages to be one and the same thing. And not without reason. For if you are moved by the incitements of nature, it matters little whether you have had no woman at all, or whether you have one lost already; for this is a matter of fortune rather than of reason. For he who has possessed his woman for a long time enjoys her as often as he wishes; but he who loses her quickly, is often [forced] by necessity to the...

[seek] marriage. But these things occur by chance, and not by the achievements of reason, which the blessed Paul, testing throughout, appears to consider that one coming to the episcopate must be best distinguished by such things. For it is also ridiculous to suppose that Paul laid down laws not by weighing reason, but by making a judgment based on fortune. If anyone were to say that he disregarded small things and fortune, and concerned himself with greater accuracy concerning the bishop, considering that he must have been joined to one wife, let him hear that according to this argument, it was not right for a baptized person to arrive at such a state. For baptism does not cause a man who has actually had two wives not to have had them, or to be considered by everyone as having been joined only to one; and much more so, one who has been joined to one in a lawful union, but has fornicated with many others. And it is evident that for one who has lived such a life to be brought to the episcopate is not holy, according to the same argument, because he has obtained baptism. For if indeed one who has been lawfully joined to two, and has lived temperately with them, is said—according to the intent of his mind—not to be acceptable for the episcopate because of [the requirement for] accuracy, much more is it unlawful for one who has lived lasciviously to be brought to this, since he has happened to obtain baptism. And these things, then, let it be said regarding "the husband of one wife," the interpretation of which we have thought it necessary to speak more clearly, having disregarded a little the custom prevailing among the many. ^B

Verse 13. — It is worth adding that one should not be surprised if he mentioned neither subdeacons nor readers. For these are rather outside the ranks in the liturgy of the Church, having been devised later on account of necessity, which, because of the multitude of the faithful, had eventually to be fulfilled by others. Hence, it is not permitted for them to minister before the altar, since they do not serve the sacrifice itself. But some perform the reading, while others within prepare what is necessary for the ministry of the deacons and, moreover, look after the ecclesiastical lamps. ^C

Verse 15. — He calls "the Church" not houses of prayer, according to the custom of the many, but the assembly of the faithful, whence he also called it the pillar and bulwark of the truth, as if the truth were established within it. ^D

Chapter IV

Verse 13. — He calls "teaching" the absolute proclamation, but "exhortation" the rebukes and commendations made given an occasion, which are sometimes also to be done in general, but especially in private conversations with individuals.

Verse 14. — Or he refers to the college of the Apostles, who were with him and were joining with him, as if to one who was bestowing the ordination upon him, and he calls that [the] presbyterium honorifically. Now Theodore, directly contradicting the manifest facts, and ecclesiastical tradition, and all the councils, which one will be able to refute when the time is opportune.

^A ...having named that very thing from that which is honorable. This is also now the custom in the laying on of hands for bishops, that such ordinations in the Church are not performed by one, but by many.

CHAP. V.

VERS. 9. — He does not discuss those who were to be chosen for the ministry, but those who were to be accepted into the number of widows. For those who are to be received into the clergy are not defined by age, but are to be weighed by virtue, as Paul proved by the very election of Timothy. But when widows were chosen to be cared for with ecclesiastical support—not having embraced widowhood from a desire for virtue, but so that they might obtain the necessities of life from the Church without anxiety—and from this very thing many evils clearly arose, those who were to be referred to the catalogue of widows had to be defined by both age and virtue. "The wife of one man" means, not one clinging to two at the same time, but one who was joined only to him and lived prudently with him, whether she had only this one or had married a second later.

^B

CHAP. VI.

VERS. 4, 5. — Envy, indeed, of those who grudgingly bear the glory of a teacher prevailing in discussions; contentions, of those who proceed to fights; and blasphemy, of those who very often utter things that are not fitting, and especially of outsiders who slander us as if we were eager for gain. Hence also, by necessity, bad suspicions about us arise among outsiders, for they are men corrupted in mind and held by no desire for truth, seeking everything for the sake of profit.

VERS. 12. — That is, do not be ashamed of that confession. For many knew well that the blessed Timothy had been with the blessed Paul for the sake of piety, and for that reason had endured not a few things.

VERS. 15, 16. — He called him "blessed" because he will one day grant us immutability; "mighty" because he is able to work the resurrection; and indeed "king and Lord," because he was able to command and rule over all and to take away death. Therefore, he also "alone has immortality," as he is able to grant this to us. And he "dwells in light inaccessible," because, since he exists in an unutterable and inaccessible light, he will also make the bodies of the just luminous. So also the phrase: "Whom no man has seen, nor can see," is used to show that it is no wonder if the things that will then be ours do not appear yet, since he himself, the author of them, is by nature utterly invisible to us.

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA FRAGMENTS OF COMMENTARIES ON PAUL'S SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY

That he did not write this epistle immediately after the former one, nor to one living in a specific place, is manifest, but [it was written] after a very long interval of time. For the former he had sent to him while he was living in Ephesus, but in this one, near the end, he says: "Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus" (iv, 12); he would have said, "to you," if he had been writing to one inhabiting Ephesus. ^A Writing the former, he gives a hint that he would soon come to him, but here he expects that he must shortly undergo death on account of his confession of Christ, and he exhorts Timothy to make haste to come to him (iv, 8). He writes while living in Rome, where his head was cut off for the sake of piety, and he entreats Timothy to study to serve the benefit of others more willingly, and to bear whatever happens to them with a calm mind. ^B He also mentions those who are turning toward worse things, and he rebukes them not lightly; at the end of the Epistle he speaks about himself, declaring where he had been and where he was to be.

CHAPTER I

VER. 7. — Therefore, the evils brought upon us from without are not to be feared. For what reason? Because the grace of the Spirit that is in us is sufficient both to strengthen us, ^C and to bind us to the love of God, and to cause us to remain more sober in our own reasonings.

VER. 12. — "Deposit" is now used to refer to the pledge of the Spirit, which, as a certain deposit, he gave to me in the hope of future things, that he will keep this entire, so that I may then receive the perfect grace of the Spirit, in the hope of which I have received this now.

CHAPTER III

VERS. 2-4. — "Lovers of self" are those who do all things for their own benefit; "boastful" are those who glory in having what they do not have; "proud" are those ^D who are insolently puffed up in their own things; "blasphemers" are those who prefer to affect slanders; "ungodly" are those who do not make it their concern to be righteous; "unloving" are those who are bound by no affection; "without peace" (truce-breakers) are those who break friendships most easily and frequently violate promises; "calumniators" are those who say one thing here and another there to stir up wars; "intemperate" are those who serve their desires; "savage" are those who lack all goodness; "puffed up" are those who are inflated by what is not their own. But the "puffed up" differs from the "proud" in that the former glories in his mind, the latter in his words.

ness; "puffed up" are those who are inflated by what is not their own. But the "puffed up" differs from the "proud" in that the former glories in his mind, the latter in his words.

CAP. IV.

^A VERS. 4. — He calls "fables" those words which are contrary to piety. VERS. 10. — What is now called Gaul; for thus did all the ancients call it.

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA FRAGMENTA OF COMMENTARIES ON PAUL’S EPISTLE TO TITUS.

^B CAP. I.

VERS. 1-4. — The preface is contained in these words: "Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to Titus, my beloved son"; the other parts are interposed by him: "according to the faith of God's elect," up to that which says: "to Titus, my beloved son." VERS. 5. — For the word of piety was being delivered to all by him, and the task of ruling the faithful and instructing them according to the norm of ecclesiastical precepts had been entrusted to him. VERS. 12, 13. — Those who have attacked Christian doctrine have said that here the blessed Paul accepts the voice of the poet and adopts it as if Jupiter had justly said these things about the Cretans, not attending to how he employs these words, nor to what he adds: "This testimony is true." For he does not accept the poem, nor the poet’s utterance, but uses the poet’s words as a proverb; perhaps that expression was in use at that time, just as many other sayings of the ancients are accustomed to be used as proverbs by posterity. For this reason, he says, "rebuke them sharply." ^C He often teaches modesty through praises, but when the Cretans had to be stirred up by reproofs, he says: "Rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith." He commands to rebuke sharply, not everyone encountered, but only the Cretans; for not all are to be corrected in the same way, but in a varied and diverse manner, and according to the state of affairs. VERS. 15, 16. — When they seemed to teach more accurately about foods, that according to the law one must abstain from some and use others, he says that nothing of those things which exist is unclean, provided you receive them with a pure mind. But if anyone has a conscience defiled by incredulity, nothing is clean to him, for he is equally harmed by all things. For God

God made all things pure; but if they were impure, the Creator would be accused. This is declared by that which says: "They profess to know God, but by their works they deny him." But do not for this reason be silent; even if they do not listen, he says, fulfill your task. It is not a matter of observing the law of purity, but of daring all things in purity. For those observances were symbols and figures of purifications; but now we have no further need of these; for all things have passed into the soul. Therefore, one must not remain among the shadows, but adhere to the truth. ^A

CHAPTER II

VERS. 3. — It is not that any election of presbyters was then current among women, as it seemed to some; for he teaches likewise that women who are older in age must have a seemly habit of holiness, ^B that is, one that is wonderful and venerable.

THEODORI MOPSUESTENI IN EPISTOLAM PAULI AD PHILEMONA COMMENTARII FRAGMENTA

VERS. 1. — "Helper," because, through her zeal concerning the service of the saints, she had rendered no small assistance to those who were entrusted with preaching the Gospel. ^C

VERS. 2. — Just as he called him "beloved," so he also called her, thinking that women in no way differ from men regarding piety; and he believed that this term was appropriate for those who had never served the rule of the passions. ^D (Archippo) his son, namely of Philemon and of Apphia.

VERS. 11. — Lest he appear to usurp another's servant, he therefore says "to you," then "to me": "to you" for the sake of service, "to me" for the sake of the improvement of his character.

FRAGMENTS OF THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA'S COMMENTARIES ON PAUL'S EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS

^A He did not write to unbelievers moved by the most bitter hatred against Paul, but to those who were partakers of all things that become the faithful; and then, not to just any persons simply, but to those who had demonstrated the confirmation of faith and the precision of virtue by their works, as even the things recorded in the Epistle clearly show. Thus, the Epistle had to be delivered to them as though Paul had written it to them, just as was done in the case of the others; for the things written could not have benefited them in any way if this had not been done. Furthermore, the contents toward the end of the Epistle demonstrate what I mean (Heb. XIII, 22, 23): "I beseech you, brethren," he says, "that you suffer the word of consolation. For I have written to you in few words." ^B To whom would he say "I have written to you," unless there were those to whom the Epistle was to be delivered? Then he adds: "Know that our brother Timothy is set at liberty; with whom, if he come shortly, I will see you." Do you see how the very minister and messenger of the Epistle is made manifest, with whom he also openly promises that he will see them if he returns quickly? What then is the reason (why he did not prefix his name to the Epistle)? It is clear and most manifest. He and Barnabas had divided the preaching after that controversy with the blessed Peter, not so that some might teach one thing and others another—for there was one goal for all—but so that some might announce the faith to the Gentiles, and others to the Jews. Since at that time, because of extreme jealousy arising from the custom of the law, the Jews would not endure to mingle with the Gentiles, this division was most aptly devised. Therefore, some were called apostles of the Gentiles, others of the circumcision, while the faithful deservedly held both as common teachers and apostles. When, therefore, Paul writes to those who are of the Gentiles, he rightly professes himself to be their apostle; but when he writes to those of the Jews, the same no longer applies.

CAP. I.

VERS. 3. — This is to say, not only is he to be called the creator of the things that are, but he also created all things with the greatest ease, inasmuch as all things subsist by his word. For this has the same meaning as that (Rom. IV, 17): "Who calleth those things which are not as those that are." ^{C D}

or that narrative of Moses saying: "And he said, Let there be light, and there was light; let there be a firmament, and there was a firmament" (Gen. I, 3, 6). ^A

Vers. 7, 8. — One voice (spirit) designates the speed of the ministers, the other (flame of fire) their power. Now, when he says that the angels were made from thence, he intimates that they have this power from thence also. That word "making" is compared with the terms "God," and "throne," and "rod of the kingdom," all of which are symbols of the highest power and dignity. For the word "God" signifies the supreme nature, and the "throne" and the "rod," taken from human things, indicate the firmness of this nature. Then also, "for ever and ever." For the former, "making," shows that those who have been made have an origin and exist from a point of time, whereas this latter confirms the eternal nature of the kingdom. ^B

Vers. 9. — For he says "Jesus of Nazareth, whom God anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power" (Acts X, 38). But he who was anointed by the Spirit surely assumed something. For what madman would say that he assumed the divine nature by the Spirit, or that he was a partaker (of it)? He calls those "partakers" who are themselves anointed, and they are rightly said to be partakers of his anointing in this, not in any other way than through him who was assumed. And this itself is demonstrated by the fact that he received a just reward. "For this reason," he says, "because you have loved righteousness and hated iniquity" (Ps. XLIV, 8), for these things you have deserved a pre-eminent anointing. ^C

Vers. 12. — Hence it is possible to see that when the Old Testament discourses to us concerning the divine nature, it does not speak of the Father alone in isolation, as the heretics suppose—attempting to refer to the Father alone expressions such as "I am God, and there is none else beside me" (Isa. XLV, 21), and others of this kind. On the contrary, as often as it speaks as of God, intending to signify the supreme nature, it says things that can equally well suit both Father and Son on account of their communion of nature. For otherwise, how could the Apostle interpret this testimony concerning Christ later on, having nothing that could designate the person of the Son in particular, as we said above? Has he not clearly done the same in the Epistle to the Romans, where he says: "For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me" (Rom. XIV, 11)? For neither does that testimony contain anything that indicates Christ distinctly. ^D

Cap. I, Vers. 14; Cap. II, Vers. 1.

It is manifest from the testimony just brought forward that they are ministering spirits; but he himself added, defining the kind of ministry, that they do everything by ministering for our salvation; for it is not of small moment to know the need for this ministry. For this reason, he says, we must pay close attention to the things spoken by him, taking heed lest we suffer some turning away from better things.

Vers. 3, 4. — He demonstrates here by the very facts themselves how much these differ from those; there he commends "word," here "salvation." For since that...

^A was merely the giving of the law, while here there is both the grace of the Spirit and the remission of sins and the promise of the kingdom of heaven and the pledge of immortality; for this reason he rightly speaks of "so great" a salvation, by the addition showing its magnitude, and that there it was given through angels, but here through the Lord. And since there were miracles among them, so that Christ might not seem to be surpassed in this respect, he well adds: "God also bearing them witness both with signs and wonders and with various ^B powers," intentionally amplifying the matter, so that even in this way the grace might appear to exceed the law; for there the miracles occurred only for necessity, whereas here many even of strangers are healed through us, whatever diseases may happen to possess them. So great is the abundance of miracles among us! The dead even rise, and we often exact punishments where the matter requires it, bringing blindness on the impious by rebukes, and inciting death against the wicked. Having then instituted a comparison, and having demonstrated the excellence through various and manifold reasoning, he adds what was greater, and which no longer fit the law in any way: "and by distributions of the Holy Spirit"; for only those who are in grace were partakers of the impulses of the Spirit. And he rightly adds over all, "according to His own will," that is, of God, who willed it once and deigned to exercise such great generosity towards us, so that His grace towards us is immutable; for there is no reason for us to fear, as the ancients did, a change of the given goods. ^C

VERS. 9, 10. — They suffer something ridiculous here, who, for "without God," with an altered text, read "by the grace of God." They do not observe the sequence of the passage, and not understanding for what reason he says "without God," they ineptly scrape it away and place what seems easier for them to comprehend. For what would have persuaded Paul here to use "by the grace of God"? What sequence would have led him to this? For he is not accustomed to commend the grace of God simply, but always on account of some sequence of discourse. For now, when he speaks about himself, he uses that, saying (1 Cor. xv, 10): "By the grace of God I am what I am"; now, when he praises the benevolence of God towards men, as in that passage (Ephes. ii, 8, 9): "For by grace you have been saved"; to which he adds: "and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast," thus openly declaring that he is discoursing about the grace of God which He demonstrated upon all men. But here he is indeed speaking of Christ, teaching who He is, and in what He differs from the angels, and so he comes to say how He seems to have been made lower, that is, on account of death. What, therefore, would "by the grace of God" have contributed here? ^D For he does not intend to commend the benevolence of God towards us.

^A This is indicated more clearly by what follows. For having said that "apart from God he tasted death," with the divinity in no way suffering harm by this, he says that it was on account of his own nature that he received this slight lowering, so that he might appear from this to partake of honor through his union with another; for it was necessary that anyone hearing these things should think the indwelling of the Word of God superfluous at the time of the passion, since he is impassible, and contributing nothing to the matters at hand, if indeed he tasted death apart from that experience. He therefore adds: "For it was fitting for him, for whom are all things and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the pioneer of their salvation through sufferings."

Neither was the divinity ineffective, he says. For it was fitting for his own things, and what was appropriate to him—for the passions were in no way appropriate to him—this "it was fitting" clearly confirms [what was said] "apart from God"; for as if the former were not fitting, he states the fitting thing, showing at once also what he was doing then, and what these things were. "For it was fitting for him, for whom are all things and through whom are all things"—speaking clearly of the Word of God—since he had bestowed sonship upon many and brought them into this glory, to perfect through sufferings the pioneer of salvation for all, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the human assumed by him, so that both the nature of this one and the grace of the other might be evident. ^B

CHAPTER III

Verses 16-18. — He intends to show that all who went out through Moses perished on account of unbelief, so that, by comparison, he might move those to whom he addressed the discourse to a greater fear. But those who contradict these things paid attention neither to the sequence of what follows, “With whom was he angered?” and “To whom did he swear?”—which are posed as questions and demand the same response—nor did they understand that “some having heard provoked him” could have been said against them, according to their opinion, if only a few out of the many had suffered this. For we say regarding deeds that “some” did them, [meaning] a part... ^D

^A cut off from a multitude, when it happens that those who did them are fewer than those who did not, whereas here there were only two, Joshua and Caleb; so that it would not even have been appropriate to say that “some” provoked him, when there were only two out of so great a multitude. But the blessed Paul set these things down, deeming that the number two did not in the least harm the claim.

CAP. IV.

VERS. 1, 2. — It behooves us to fear, he says, lest we ourselves, having obtained the promise of entering into the rest, fail because of a depraved mind. For let no one think that the promise of future things is sufficient for himself, otherwise they will be as those to whom the promises did not avail because of unbelief. Hence it must be read thus: “Not mixed with faith by those who heard,” that is, [not mixed] with the promises made to them by God through Moses.

VERS. 4-7. — It is the mark of one who truly yields ^B not to return again to the old things, having admitted change and transposition. For just as God is said to have rested from creating the world, when He placed a final limit upon the creation, so it behooves him who enters into rest not to slip back to old things, having rejected the labors of virtue, to again be borne toward the violation of the laws. For to these it is a necessity that change and a departure from the state follow. But the word “today,” he says, is neither indefinite, nor can it be said concerning an interval of time outside of days, since it can be said of every day. I thought this worthy of note, not only to explain the sentiment of the Apostle, but also to refute those who wish to refer to the generation of the divinity of the Only-Begotten that saying: “Today I have begotten thee” (Ps. II, 7). ^C For these people deem the word “today” to be indefinite, not considering that “today” cannot be said unless a day already exists. But that he understood “today” in a definite manner, the Apostle himself declared, saying: “Again he limits a certain day in David, saying,” and likewise elsewhere (III, 15): “Exhort yourselves day by day, as long as it is called today.” First, he demonstrates that it is not conceived of as being outside of days, by saying “day by day,” and by adding this: “as long as it is called today.” Next, it does not seem that he uses this word “today” as an indefinite time, since it does not belong only to past, but also to future days. For what does he intend? As if it were said to you day by day: ^D “Beware lest you depart from the faith.” For just as the word “today” designates the present day, he exhorts them, so that by this meaning he might move them more vehemently.

CHAPTER VI.

Vers. 18. — *By two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, and confirmed with an oath the promise.*

Vers. 20. — Theodore agrees with the blessed John, adding that Christ has become an eternal high priest for us, because he brings all the faithful of every generation through himself to God in the hope of the resurrection; for this Melchizedek is king of Salem, priest of God the Most High.

CHAPTER VII.

Vers. 3. — He narrated afterward what the structure of the temple was, and says there are two tabernacles: one which the priests entered ^B at all times to perform the sacred rites, and another which only the high priest entered once a year. And in order to teach what is signified by these, he adds: *The Holy Spirit signifying this, that the way of the holies was not yet made manifest* (Heb. IX, 8). Therefore, just as, although the nature of the place was not inaccessible—the place upon which the inner house was built—yet the construction and the law and the consecration of the place made the place inaccessible, and he says this was nevertheless a figure of the heavens; so here, in order to show that Christ is a priest according to the order of Melchizedek, he relates those things that concern him, not describing his nature, ^C but what the divine Scripture narrates about him, and from that he teaches similar things about Christ. Therefore he calls him without father and without mother, the Scripture being silent about his parents; whence also without genealogy, since it refers not to the nature of the man, but to the narration of the divine Scripture; then he adds: *Having neither beginning of days, nor end of life*, not indeed according to nature, but according to the silence of the divine Scripture. But since these things could be said of many others—for Scripture mentions very many whose parents it does not declare, nor their genealogy, ^D especially those whom we learn existed outside the Israelite race—he rightly added: *But being made like the Son of God, he remains a priest forever*, which you could no longer apply to anyone else; but it appears from the narration of Scripture that these things suit him, just as the others do. For Christ was without father according to human nature, but without mother according to his divine subsistence, and furthermore even without genealogy. For what genealogy is there for him who is from the Father only? That he has neither beginning of days nor end of life is also manifest in the case of Christ, but here it is true in reality, while there it is only according to the narration. That he remains a priest forever, the very Scripture attributes to Christ, saying: *You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek* (Ps. CX, 4), namely, functioning in the priesthood forever. He called him a priest forever, because he handed down his priesthood to his descendants,

^A which is what happened under the Law. Hence he also said: *Made like unto the Son of God* (Heb. VII, 3); although it would seem better to have said that Christ was made like unto him. For the prior is not made like the posterior; but since the truth of the realities is found in the latter, while in the former there is nothing of the sort, but only the need for the narrative, he properly said that he was made like unto Christ, as if the divine Scripture wished to provide for us, in its narrative, a likeness of what was to come.

VERS. 21, 22. — It is apparent, he says, from the fact that he received the priesthood with an oath, how this differs from that. For those were made priests without an oath, because they were not to remain in the priesthood; but this one, because he was to preserve his dignity, received a dignity much greater than that of the priests of the Law, since he was also to provide greater things for his followers. ^B For he is called a surety, because he has pledged to us the grace of the resurrection, on the condition that he himself should rise again. For when he—who is called the high priest—rose first, by this act he guarantees to us the likeness of the resurrection.

CHAPTER IX

VERS. 1, 2. — He begins here to explain how the institutions of the Law were symbols and types of those things which are perfect in grace, and how it is possible to look upon these things prefigured in them, while at the same time, by a comparison, he points out how much that grace surpasses them. He presents his instruction by way of a narrative. He says, therefore, that the first covenant also had requirements and regulations for service, which were owed to God: for he calls these regulations ^C *ordinances of divine service* (Heb. IX, 1). *And the worldly sanctuary*: here he rightly calls the temple the sanctuary, in which it was the practice for the service to be rendered to God, or indeed the tabernacle, since they held this in place of a temple beforehand. For they used to call both that tabernacle, as being the dwelling-place of God, and the building later constructed by Solomon, a temple. This becomes clearer from that testimony in the first book of Kings (III, 3): *And Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was*, the temple of Solomon not yet having been built. Just as God, when giving instructions to Moses to construct the tabernacle as a symbol of the world according to a certain type, ordered him to make a sanctuary divided in the middle by a veil (Exod. XXVI, 33), so also the later temple retained this form. ^D

VERS. 28. — *Appearing now*, he says, since sin happens to hold sway, it was necessary that death, which holds sway on account of sin, should be admitted; but then, when the empire of sin has been dissolved, it is necessary that he should also appear unharmed. For this is what he signifies by the phrase *without sin*: that since sin no longer holds sway, he also will be seen free from all human suffering at that time.

CAP. X.

^A Ver. 5. — These words are spoken to God by those in Babylon, as if they intended to say: Sacrifice you have not required of me, but that I might obey you and do your will; and if they were of good cheer, the matters of the return were henceforth beyond doubt. Having changed the voice, as if from the person of Christ he brings forward the passage, saying "a body" instead of "ears," *You have prepared for me* (Ps. XXXIX, 7).

Ver. 26. — Those who in this world fall away from good to evil must, after the resurrection, be handed over to eternal punishment, since there is then no place for repentance. For he does not deny repentance to those living here, but declares that there will be no pardon then for him who has remained in sin until this point and has never understood his own wickedness, but has insanely committed every sin with great pleasure.

CAP. XI.

Ver. 1, 2. — Since he knew that faith was being sought after by the Jews in particular, he rightly discourses at length on this matter. For they defended the Law and justification through works, but the Christians defended faith, saying that even if someone has been tossed about by thousands of evils, by trusting solely in Christ he is quickly set free from them all, having obtained justification from Him. Whence, defining it in such a way that it might both agree with the aforementioned and demonstrate that it existed all the more among all the holy and ancient men, he adds: *For by it the elders obtained a testimony.*

Ver. 19. — He says this, that he obtained what was fitting for his own faith; for believing in the resurrection, he received him back from the dead through certain symbols. For the fact that he was unmoved in the face of such a great expectation of death was a figure of him who was truly to rise again, in that, having tasted death only briefly, he rose again, having suffered nothing by death; therefore, *in a parable*, which is to say, in symbols.

CAP. XII.

Ver. 1. — He does not simply say that there is one time of reward for all (for this was not his intended purpose), but he wishes to demonstrate that, although they have done and suffered so much through faith, they nevertheless still await the fulfillment of the promises, not being distressed if they obtain the ultimate blessings with us, which indicates their supreme power; for even after death they still await those who are to struggle in the same manner, so that they may enjoy the wonderful reward along with them. "Witnesses" are called here not those who have suffered, but those who profess the faith.

^A VERS. 12, 13. — Where are those who contend that the Apostle in this Epistle does away with repentance when he says (VI, 4, 6): "It is impossible for those who were once enlightened," and the rest, "to renew them again unto repentance"? How, then, do they understand these things? Why does he command to "lift up the hands which hang down and the feeble knees," and to heal the lame, if He who would not admit the repentance of sinners is the One who would have them healed? That he is writing these things to the faithful is manifest from the fact that he says to them: "Call to remembrance the former days, in which, after you were enlightened, you endured a great fight of afflictions."

VERS. 17. — He does not intend by these words to do away with repentance, but to teach us that if we do not convert at the proper, convenient time, we shall never attain it afterward, when the time of retribution comes, and it is time for the reward to be bestowed upon each according to his merits. For he does not study to contradict himself, and this is thus clear from what was just brought forward. But his intention is also apparent from the example mentioned above. For first he remembered Esau, who was indeed angry when he was frustrated of the blessing, but who nevertheless remained in the wickedness of his ways even after that. Then, he was not frustrated of the remission of sins as if he had repented of them; for he did not ask for that, but for the blessing, which, once it had been rightly given to his brother, could not then be taken from him nor given to Esau again. ^B Yet it is permitted to see even in this that his tears were not entirely useless to him; for the father was moved the more vehemently for him because of them, and gave him some blessings; thus, he did not wish through these things to do away with repentance.

VERS. 26. — Rightly, from the voice of the prophet, he confirms the transformation of what is now and the firmness of the things to come. For that phrase "I will shake" declares that all these things are to be changed, but by adding "once," he indicates the immutability of the things that shall then be established.

CHAP. XIII.

VERS. 7. — Theodorus says that by "those who have the rule over you," he means those who preached the word of piety among them and were put to death there by the Jews. There were many, not only Stephen and James who was killed with the sword, but also James the brother of the Lord, and countless others whose memory has not come down to us. ^C

VERS. 16. — He called it "beneficence" to commend the work being done, and "communion" because it is done toward those of the same faith; as if it were necessary to consider those who share our faith as our own, and thus with zeal to meet their needs. ^D