Commentary on the Catholic Epistle of James

THE CATHOLIC EPISTLE OF JAMES THE APOSTLE

CHAPTER I

1, 1, 2. *James, a servant of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are in the dispersion, greeting. Count it all joy, my brethren, when you fall into various temptations.*

Of God the Father, and of the Lord the Son. Therefore, if he is a servant of the Father and the Son equally, the Son is equal to the Father both in honor, and in essence, and in operation. But the apostles of the Lord, glorying above all worldly dignity that they are servants of Christ, wish this to be considered their mark, both in speaking and writing and teaching.

"Count it all joy." He knows that the sadness which is according to God and these temptations are worthy of praise and joy; for these are a robust bond, and an increase of charity and compunction. Whence that also is said: *My son, if you come to serve the Lord, prepare your soul for temptation.* And Christ says: *In the world, you shall have affliction, but be of good courage*; and: *Narrow and strait is the way that leads to life.* For it does not happen without struggle and exercise to attain either worldly or divine crowns. Moderately regarding himself, he calls them brethren, not children. But for the upright and diligent, temptations or afflictions are a cause of the greatest joy, although through them their probation is made manifest.

^B *And probation transmits to a perfect work.* But someone will say: If temptations effect this, how does Christ teach us to ask of God in prayer not to be led into temptation? We say, therefore, that temptations or afflictions are twofold. Some have their beginning from us ourselves; others, however, are brought upon us by God for the sake of exercise and the declaration of victory. Again, those that have their beginning from us are twofold. For some, indeed, arise from an irrational strength, which we call rash audacity, which the Lord also instructs us to guard against, as when the spirit is willing, but between the struggles the ^C

readiness is extinguished, and it does not end in good for those who have used it; while others are brought on by sin, as was the destruction for the Sodomites. These temptations, as much as we have the power, must be fled by living without sin. But as for those from God, as were those of Job and Abraham, we must not only not flee them, but if at all possible, we must draw them to ourselves through patience and thanksgiving. For God, when He tempts, knows how to do this for our benefit and glorious display. He said "variegated temptations," because, as we have said, some are from God, while others proceed from us.

^B “Knowing that the proving of your faith works patience; but let patience have a perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing.”

He calls that which has been sifted, proven, and pure a "proving" (*dokimion*). As it is also said: “Silver refined by fire, a proving for the earth.” But how does the proving produce patience? Because that faith is proven to be pure which continues in patience and endurance of the afflictions brought upon it. For it is truly the work of a believer to receive such attacks with long-suffering and thanksgiving, just as Job was accustomed to do, giving thanks in all things. “Let it have a perfect work.” Observe: he did not state patience in the indicative, that it "has a perfect work," but in the imperative, “Let it have.” For he is not declaring a virtue that already exists, but is laying down a rule for how it ought to come to be in the present.

“But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all simply and upbraids not, and it shall be given to him. But let him ask in faith, doubting nothing. For he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, tossed by the wind and driven. For let not that man think that he will receive anything from the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.”

He says wisdom is the cause of the perfect work. “Let him ask of God.” Since he knows that the proving of faith and patience in temptations is not the accomplishment of any random person, but of those who are wise according to God, for this reason he urges those who desire to accomplish these things to seek after wisdom. “Doubt nothing.” For if he believes, let him ask; but if he doubts, let him not even ask. For he will not receive, as he does not believe that he will receive. “Is like a wave of the sea.” For he who doubts, being uncertain about his own requests, after enduring for a little while, immediately departs. He suffers this from pride, despairing quickly because what was asked for did not follow immediately, as if he thought great things of himself, and as if he were not unworthy to be denied the request he makes. In contrast to this is the humble-minded man. “For let not that man think.” That is, the one who asks with arrogance and negli-^Dgence. Take away your double-mindedness, and do not be double-minded at all in asking from...

^A God, saying to yourself, “How can I ask anything of the Lord and receive it, having sinned so much against Him?” Do not reason thus, but turn with your whole heart to the Lord, and ask of Him without hesitation; and you will know His abundant compassion, that He will by no means abandon you, but will fulfill the petition of your soul. For God is not like men, who remember mutual injuries; but He Himself is amnestic of injury, and has compassion on His own creation. “A double-minded man.” He calls the unstable, the shaky man ^B double-minded, the one who is firmly settled neither toward the future nor toward the present, but is led and carried here and there, and at one time clings to the future, and at another time to the present. He also compared such a one to a wave of the sea, which has neither firmness nor stability, and to a flower of grass, which does not even remain, but as soon as the sun rises, it withers away. Observe that he did not say such a man is like grass, but like the flower of grass, indicating through the flower the entirely fleeting time. Since he knows that modesty of mind is the midwife and nurturer of all good things, and that without it nothing ^C is excellent in upright and zealous men, therefore he adds: “Let the brother who is humble glory,” etc. But how and why is another called double-minded? Because he is not settled either toward the present life or toward the future; for the soul is also called life, as when it is said: “All that a man has he will give for his life.” — “In all his ways.” By ways he means the movements of the soul by which hopes are suspended, whether useful or otherwise, just as David also says: “And Thou hast foreseen all my ways.”

1, 9-11. “Let the brother who is humble glory in his exaltation: ^D but the rich in his humiliation: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun has risen with the burning heat, and has dried the grass, and its flower has fallen, and the beauty of its countenance has perished. So also the rich man shall wither in his ways.”

Since he likens the vacillating man to a wave which is moved by the wind, which is indeed lifted up by the swelling spirits of the sea, but before it is fully raised, it is brought down and falls to rest—this very thing also happens to the vacillating man, who, because of arrogance and pride, does not fix his petitions on any of those things that are fitting—for this reason he adds: “Let the brother who is humble glory.” As if he were to say: Whoever wishes to ask for something, let him first ask for the things that are fitting, in which he will by no means be defrauded of what is asked. These things are the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Then, let him be patient in the petition of such things, and not, having prayed for a little while, immediately depart—for this is the way of the arrogant—but let him wait until he receives, enduring through humility. “He who is humble, in his exaltation.” From the humiliation according to God, every good thing comes to us.

^A He calls the rich man “arrogant,” whom he also calls humble, since he is cast down by the very thing in which he is exalted. “But the rich [in] his humiliation.” It would have been more consistent to say, “Let the rich man be ashamed in his humiliation,” but fleeing a hateful word, he added instead, “And the brightness of his appearance.” He uses the word “appearance” [or face] improperly. For this is said only of man, and not of other animals; for among quadrupeds it is called a muzzle, not an appearance; and among birds, a beak. “In his ways.” By the ways or journeys of the rich man, he denotes the courses of his prosperous success, or his administrations and dispositions, in the midst of which he unexpectedly receives a transformation to misfortune and calamity.

1, 12-16. Blessed is the man who endures temptation: for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love him. Let no one who is tempted say, “I am tempted by God.” For God is untempted by evil, and He himself tempts no one. But each one is tempted, being dragged away and enticed by his own desire. Then desire, having conceived, gives birth to sin. And sin, when it is perfected, yields death. Do not be misled, my beloved brothers.

This blessed man seems to have used a more secure speech concerning temptations when he says: “Consider it all joy when you fall into trials.” Then, mindful of the Lord’s prayer, which entreats us not to fall into temptation, he repeats the discourse ^B through what is set forth here, clarifying what sort of temptation is from God—which is also a source of great joy—and what sort is from our own volition. Yet it is well asserted that the Lord and God, Jesus Christ, looking toward the weakness of human nature, instructed them to pray to avoid temptations, since the disciples were still affected more imperfectly—a thing He also did in many other places, refraining for the time being from the more perfect lessons. But after our weak nature was strengthened through the realization of His resurrection and His ascension into the heavens, His brother according to the flesh no longer suggests that we fear temptations, seeing as it is now capable, having been strengthened by the sufferings of the Lord, to overturn every incoming assault.

Since, as we have said, there are two kinds of temptations, patience is useful in both. In those that are from God, because we obtain praise afterward for the victory, as Abraham did; and in those that are from ourselves, because by enduring them with thanksgiving, we offer this as if it were a compensation for the sins we have committed. For he who examines his own deeds lays for himself the beginning of salvation, and assimilates himself to the likeness of the righteous, if ^D a righteous man is indeed the accuser of himself at the beginning of his speech. “Let no one who is tempted say.” If temptations are twofold, why then does he cast out every temptation from the [source] of God af-

But observe: he did not say “Let no one who has been tempted,” but “Let no one who is tempted.” For he says that he who brings temptations upon himself through transgression and incontinence, so as to be in a state of continual agitation, is not tempted by God, but by his own desire. For he who has conquered the temptation brought upon him, and has established himself more securely, becomes even less susceptible to temptations, especially those stirred up by himself. For, having turned to a wiser life, he has closed up the fountain that flows with temptations, and henceforth lives at rest from temptations. God, however, cannot be tempted by evils, according to him who said (even though he be one from outside and alien to the faith): “The divine and blessed nature neither has trials itself, nor provides them for others.” For all these things concern mortal and earthly nature, in which variety and change are observed, which precede our own nature. Desire and sin, and the death that springs from this in the soul, are certain degrees established toward human ruin. For desire, having found a place of reception, and having found a dwelling, worked sin, which begets death, unless, by uprooting it from our mind, we find the beginning of another life for ourselves. Since, therefore, he has sufficiently shown that the divine nature can neither be tempted nor ^B offer this to others—and here he calls “temptations” those thoughts that disturb and confuse the stability of the soul: for those things that are from God most of all stabilize the soul, illuminating it and showing its ineffable beauty to many—for this reason he now subjoins:

1, 17, 18. *Every good gift and every perfect donation is from above, descending from the Father of lights, with whom there is no transmutation nor shadow of turning. By a determined will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.*

“From above, from the Father of lights.” As those things which are brought in by us neither have perfection, but rather have much that is imperfect, nor illuminate the soul. For how could they have perfection, those things which afterwards receive perfection from a happy progress, and with ^C great labor barely cleanse the vileness contracted from birth, and then arrive at the divine splendor? “With whom there is no transmutation.” For He Himself cries out through the prophet, “I am, and I am not changed.” But regarding what he says, “shadow of turning,” this is to say, not even up to the point of a suspicion or touching upon any shadow of suspicion. “By a determined will.” He said “by a determined will,” stopping the mouths of those who babble that the world was produced by chance. For since he said above, “with whom there is no transmutations,” and from this showed the divine to be immutable, he subjoins, “By a determined will He brought us forth.” For if we are generated, it is manifest that we are also mutable. For how is that which proceeds from non-being through change into being immutable? Then, since he said, “He brought us forth,” so that no one ^D might suppose that the Son also produces us in the same way as we do, and with us the Son is also...

mutati. Quomodo namque immutabile esset quod ex non esse per mutationem procedit ad esse? Deinde quia dixit: Progenuit nos, ne quis suspicaretur quod similiter ut et nos, ipsum quoque Filium progenuerit, et una nobiscum etiam Filium fuisse natum, subjungit: Verbo veritatis. Omnia enim, juxta beatum Joannem, per Filium facta sunt. Itaque si per Verbum veritatis progressus nobis contigit, qui a Verbo habemus esse, non sumus una cum eo geniti a quo facti sumus. «Ut essemus primitiæ.» Hoc est, primi et honoratissimi. ^A Κτίσματα δὲ αὐτὴν τὴν ὁρωμένην κτίσιν φησί.

«Ὥστε, ἀδελφοί μου ἀγαπητοί, ἔστω πᾶς ἄνθρωπος ταχὺς εἰς τὸ ἀκοῦσαι, βραδὺς εἰς τὸ λαλῆσαι, βραδὺς εἰς ὀργήν. Ὀργὴ γὰρ ἀνδρὸς δικαιοσύνην Θεοῦ οὐ κατεργάζεται.»

^B Τὸ, «Ταχύς,» οὐχὶ εἰς ψιλὴν ἀκρόασιν περιίστησιν, ἀλλ’ εἰς μὲν ἐνεργὸν, καὶ τὸ ἀκοῦσαι πρὸς τὴν μεταχείρισιν τῶν ἠκουσμένων ἀφορμῶσαν. Ἐπίσταται γὰρ τὸν μετὰ σπουδῆς ὑπέχοντα τοῖς λεγομένοις τὴν ἀκοὴν, καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἐργασίαν τούτων, ἕτοιμον παρ’ ἕξοντα ἑαυτόν· ὥσπερ ἀπ’ ἐναντίας, τὸν μετὰ βραδυτῆτος πρός τι διατιθέμενον τῇ ἀναβολῇ, καὶ πάμπαν εἰργόμενον ἔσθ’ ὅτε τῆς ἐγχειρήσεως. Διὸ ἐπὶ μὲν τῆς τῶν θείων διδασκαλίας ταχύτητα ἐντέλλεται, ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν ἐπισφαλῆ τὴν μεταχείρισιν ἐχόντων, τὴν βραδυτῆτα. Ταῦτα δέ ἐστι, τὸ λαλῆσαι, τὸ ὀργισθῆναι. Ἥ τε γὰρ ἀπρομηθὴς λαλία, ἥ τε ἀπερίσκεπτος ὀργὴ, οὐκ εἰς ἀγαθὸν ἔσθ’ ὅτε οἶδεν ἀποτελευτᾶν. Δι’ ὃ καί τις ἀνὴρ θεῖός φησιν· Ὁ λαλήσας μετέγνω πολλάκις, ὁ δὲ σιωπήσας οὐδέ ποτε. Καὶ ὁ μακάριος δὲ πάλιν Δαυΐδ· «Ὀργίζεσθε καὶ μὴ ἁμαρτάνετε.» Τουτέστι, μὴ ὀργιζόμενοι, εὐθέως καὶ τὴν ὑποβαλλομένην ἐκ τῆς ὀργῆς ἐπάγετε μανίαν. Σύμφωνα τούτοις καὶ τὰ παρόντα. Τό τε γὰρ περὶ τὸ λαλῆσαι ἀργὸν, τό τε περὶ τὸ ὀργισθῆναι νωθρὸν, τῇ περὶ ταῦτα μελλήσει ἐπανήγαγε τὸν μεταχειριζόμενον πρὸς τὸ δέον καὶ τὸ εὐθές. Καὶ ἡ παντελῶς τὴν περὶ ταῦτα ἐξέλυσεν ὁρμὴν διὰ τῆς κεκριμένης ἐπισκέψεως, ἢ κατὰ τὸ προσῆκον τῶν πραγμάτων ποιήσασθαι τὴν διέξοδον τούτων εἰσηγήσατο, μάλιστα τῆς ὀργῆς. Ἥτις ἀλογίστως προενεχθεῖσα τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ δικαιοσύνης ἀποστερεῖ. Διὸ καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν ἐπάγει ταύτην, τό, «Ὀργὴ γὰρ ἀνδρὸς δικαιοσύνην Θεοῦ οὐ κατεργάζεται.» Εἰ γὰρ δικαιοσύνη ἐστὶν ἕξις ἐν ψυχῇ τοῦ κατ’ ἀξίαν ἑκάστῳ ἀπονεμητική, ὀργὴ δὲ, κατὰ τὸν εἰπόντα, ἀπόλλυσι καὶ φρονίμους, πῶς αὕτη ἡ διὰ τὴν ἀγὰν ἐμπάθειαν σκοτοῦσα τὸν νοῦν, ὡς καὶ φρονίμους ἀπολλύναι, τὴν κεκριμένως ἀπονέμουσαν ἑκάστῳ τὸ κατ’ ἀξίαν συστήκειεν; «Βραδὺς εἰς ὀργήν.» Τὴν βραδυτῆτα διχῶς βούλεται ἐνεργεῖσθαι παρ’ ἡμῶν εἴς τε τὸ λαλῆσαι, καὶ τὸ ὀργισθῆναι. Οἶδε γὰρ ἡ μέλλησις καὶ ἀποχὴν ἐργάζεσθαι τῆς ὁρμῆς.

ΚΕΦΑΛ. Β’. Περὶ πραότητος καὶ ἁγνείας καὶ πράξεως ἀγαθῆς μεταδοτικῆς ἐπὶ μακαρισμῷ· καὶ περὶ ἐπιστήμης καὶ συμμετρίας λόγου.

«Δι’ ὃ ἀποθέμενοι πᾶσαν ῥυπαρίαν καὶ περισ-

^Aσείαν κακίας, ἐν πραύτητι δέξασθε τὸν ἔμφυτον λόγον, τὸν δυνάμενον σῶσαι τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶν.

To "uncleanness" he adds also the "redundance of malice," wishing to demonstrate this: Although one might frequently fall into some uncleanness, he should depart from it quickly, and not by remaining and lingering in it, through habit, make the evil more firm and harder to wash away; for those things which are practiced more frequently and superfluously in us are wont to be established into a nature, or rather, to acquire for us a habit of nature. "In meekness." For it is in meekness, and not in tumult and disturbance, that the reception of instruction takes place. "Insitum sermonem" (the implanted word). He calls the implanted word that which discerns the better from the worse—by which we are also and are called rational.

§ 23-25. "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves: for if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed."

Since he knows that some who listen to the word with diligence ^B frequently extinguish its fervor even at the very moment they are listening, for this reason he here adds these things, in effect commanding them: Do not show diligence in hearing alone, but much more in doing. "Fallentes autem vosmetipsos" (deceiving your own selves); that is, seducing yourselves. Furthermore, he calls "the face of his birth" the knowing of oneself through the law. Therefore, also after "face," he subjoined "of birth." For by the law learning what manner of persons we have become, we consider that the spiritual law renders us such through the laver of regeneration. Then, lest by not remaining in such ^C consideration through action, we even forget the grace and the gift. For he who exposes himself to wicked actions does not even remember that he has been benefited by God. For if he had remembered that he was adopted as a son of God and justified and sanctified—which are spiritual gifts—he would by no means give himself over to works that repel grace. "In speculo" (In a glass). From this well-known glass he transfers the word to an intellectual glass, adding nothing of those things which would adapt what was said to an example, as if he were to say thus: If any man is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man contemplating the face of his birth in a glass. For as that man contemplated himself and went his way, and straightway forgot what manner of man he was; so also this man, who through the law of Moses contemplated for what end he was made—namely, that he was made for the glory of God and according to the image of God the Creator—after he contemplated, expressed none of those things which were contemplated in his deeds, ^D but remained in the same state regarding his contemplation as before. Not therefore by the word

^A he used, but as he ought to use it. And the Lord’s disciple, James, does not do this in vain, but speaks everything concisely, as a disciple of the abbreviated word, at once gathering the hearer and straining him so as not to hear these things casually. “But he who has looked closely.” Observe that he said “looked closely,” and not “entered in.” For the spiritual law has the desirable and magnificent everywhere, and from that very brief encounter it knows how to attract and to perfect; and since it has perfection and is lacking in nothing, it frees the one who happens upon it from doubting anything that is contained in it, and persuades those who have gazed upon it to remain therein. “The perfect law.” Since the Jews were puffed up ^B by the observances of the law, and thought that in these they performed the whole of piety toward God, and by occupying themselves with these alone, they considered that they had acquired perfection for themselves, while they were disposed toward other men haughtily and reproachfully, as is clear from the Pharisee in the Gospel and those who acted insolently toward the Publican; the blessed James, checking this conceit, says the things that are set before us. For having made mention of the doer of works and having called him blessed, he corrects immediately the evil that is born in many from the doing, and says: Do not suppose, you who have obtained blessedness from the doing of the law, that the doing alone holds that which is acceptable ^C with God. For it is not so; but he is blessed who acts, and who is not disposed reproachfully or inhumanely toward those of his own kind. “That of liberty.” Having said “Perfect law,” he added, “That of liberty,” making liberty his hallmark. For the law according to Christ, having freed man from the servitude of all that is carnal, of Sabbaths, and of circumcision, and of the worship regarding other purifications, establishes the one who approaches it in the liberty and rest from these things. And because of the freedom, and the sweetness that proceeds from freedom, it makes him attentive, and frees him from the forgetfulness that corrupts all good things. For nothing so persuades one to adhere to something ^D as that which is seen to offer rest from toils and freedom. Moreover, he also declared such a one blessed. “An oblivious hearer.” He joined forgetfulness to the hearing, as if hearing were in need of doing, and no work follows forgetfulness, as if the hearing were done casually and not actively. “If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is vain. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction; to keep oneself unstained from the world.” Religion seems to have something more than faith. For the name promises the knowledge of certain hidden things, for religion

promises the name itself, and the firmness of those things which are perceived by faith. Therefore, the blessed James also used this expression, saying: *Religion*, as if he had said: You think you know and accurately observe the secrets which are in the Law. How can this be, when you do not know how to bridle your tongue, slandering your neighbor, and living arrogantly, you show no mercy to any needy person? ^A Since the Law neither accepts the slanderer, and commands one to have mercy even on enemies, and commands that if you see an enemy’s beast of burden that has fallen under its load, you should be of assistance. If, therefore, you wish to be religious, do not show yourself religious by the knowledge of the Law, but by action, and that by having mercy on your neighbor; for mercy toward one’s neighbor is a certain likeness to God. For He says: "Be merciful, as your heavenly Father is merciful." But let there be no mercy with respect of persons; for God does not bestow His benefits upon this one or that one, but without distinction He affects all with benefit, rich and poor, bad and good. But *bridling*, that is, restraining, ^B and not, out of arrogance, as if expressing the Law by his deeds, deceiving his own conscience: for this is what is signified by the heart, as it is written: "A contrite and humbled heart Thou wilt not despise." *Religion pure.* Perhaps someone will say: If James is a teacher of the testament which Christ established, how is it that he does not now abrogate the things of the Law, but rather extols them, accepting those who are engaged in its observance, and neither rebuking them nor repelling them from the observance of the Law? To which we say this: that he is now discoursing with them in a more introductory manner, and is condescending to their weakness, so that by overturning the Law from the very threshold, ^C he might not cause them to retreat, loathing the newness of the doctrines and declining into unbelief. Handling the matter more economically, and condescending to the Law insofar as it brought no harm to the New Testament with its legal superstitions (for what harm does the observation of Sabbaths, or fasting, or abstinence from certain foods do to the faith which is in Christ?), and having made them more attentive to his speech by these things, he thus gently and by degrees encourages them to depart from the observances of the Law, as burdensome and yet useless, and as calling them to servitude and not ^D to the freedom which is in Christ. Having therefore wisely used brief exchanges and alternations, when he finally had them not taking ill what was being said, then he proposes those things which were fitting for Christians: "To keep oneself unspotted from the world." By *world* here we must understand the popular and vulgar crowd, which is corrupted by the desires of its own error.

CAPUT III. Concerning love towards each person without respect of persons according to the Law.

II, 1-4. My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there should come into your assembl—

assembly a man with a gold ring, in splendid apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment, and ye have respect to him that weareth the splendid apparel, and say to him, Sit thou here in a good place, and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: And are ye not partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? ^A Well, as to «Ne cum respectu personarum» (With respect of persons), for he who does anything with respect of persons fills himself with much stain, with much blemish, dishonoring his own kin; and before him, he dishonors himself, if indeed the display towards one's peer is also transferred to oneself. Then, «Et non dijudicastis» (And are ye not partial). The conjunction «And» is redundant; that is, you have corrupted the power of discernment which was in you, making no inquiry as to which one should be honored—whether the poor man who is upright or industrious, or the rich man who is sluggish—but thus, without judgment and with respect of persons, you have honored the one because of his wealth, and held the other in contempt because of his poverty. ^B «Et facti estis judices cogitationum malarum» (And are become judges of evil thoughts). That is, unjust judges, inclined to wickedness through respect of persons. The conjunction «And» is redundant here, as has been said, according to the customary ancient phrasing. For since there is a response of the discourse here to what preceded, the conjunction is superfluous. For the sentence is to be ordered thus: «If there come into your assembly a man wearing a gold ring, in splendid apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment, etc.», you do not judge in yourselves and are become judges of evil thoughts: that is, corrupting the power of judgment, you have chosen evil thoughts, honoring the one and holding the other in contempt, even though the same nature existed in both.

II, 5-9. Hearken, my beloved brethren. Hath not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? But ye have despised the poor. ^C Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? If ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as ^D transgressors.

Because poverty is grievous to many even just to hear of, for this reason, when he had said, «the poor of this world», he immediately added, «rich». And in what are they rich? In faith and concerning faith. And so indeed the matter stands. For since the poor are not distracted by the things of the world, when they have come to the faith, they are rendered more energetic and more diligent in their work than the rich. Therefore also the Lord chose such disciples, whom He also declared to be heirs of the kingdom. «Blaspheme that worthy name.»

The worthy name. A new name, according to the prophet who says: «But to those who serve me a new name shall be called, which shall be blessed over all the face of the earth.» — «According to Scripture.» Deuteronomy says.

10–13. For whoever shall keep the whole law, but stumble in one, is guilty of all. For He who said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not murder. For if you do not commit adultery, but you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are about to be judged by the law of liberty. For the judgment is without mercy to the one who has not shown mercy. And mercy glories against judgment.

^B «But stumble in one.» This he has said regarding love, for the sake of which he also spread out all the preceding discourse for the sake of demonstration. He said, «Do not commit adultery, do not murder,» for the sake of an example. Consider, however, that the examples are from the law, as far as it contributed to love. For he who perfectly loves his neighbor, this man will neither commit adultery nor murder. For these things belong to one who is disposed with a hostile mind toward his neighbor. Since, if it were not said in this way, no man would be saved, since no one keeps the integrity of the commandments in all things. For he who has attained chastity, for example, is sometimes overcome by anger; and he who is adorned with almsgiving is perhaps obscured by envy. Therefore it is not said of everyone who has no defect in virtues, but of love, that one should not fulfill it with defect by respect of persons, but integrally. This we also say regarding other virtues. For he who has not held fast to chaste or just things through to the end, for example, but has used them with defect, he, by limping in the handling of the virtues, has corrupted the whole body of virtue. The law, therefore, concerning love must be understood as that concerning which is its principal scope. He calls the law of liberty that which lacks respect of persons, which is the law of Christ. For he who respects persons is not free, but a slave. For «by whom anyone is overcome, his slave he is also.» ^C «For the judgment is without mercy to the one who has not shown mercy.» If we have forgiven the sins against us to our neighbors, and if we have made the needy who are among us participants of our almsgiving, the mercy from God toward us will be received in the judgment of those things that have been performed in life. For the achievement is great, just as on the contrary, the condemnation is grievous to those who have not been disposed with good conscience toward those of the same race. For upon those who have been unsympathetically disposed toward those who have sinned against them, the condemnation of the evil servant will hedge them in, together with the retribution that is designated in the Lord’s Prayer. For there we ask from God that He forgive us as we also forgive those who have sinned against us. And for those who are hard-hearted, or unsociable and cruelly disposed toward those in need of bodily comfort, the judgment will also meet them ^D without mercy, according to the present discourse: «And mercy glories against judgment.» For the merciful shall receive mercy, according to the Lord’s

verdict. ^A Moreover, if mercy toward the poor can blot out sins even in idolaters (as we heard in Daniel), what would it not accomplish in believers? It seems to me that this mercy produces a certain effect similar to that oil which flows from trees and is rubbed upon athletes. For it allows them to slip away, so that they are not held by their adversaries; and thus, in the universal judgment, our mercy toward the needy will provide a means to escape the assaults and dangers that will loom from the demons who are our accusers. — In another way. ^B "For judgment is without mercy." This is a rendering of the cause against those who have shown great cruelty and arrogance toward the more humble, with respect of persons. He therefore softens their cruelty and hardness by frightening them with this sentence, as if he were saying: The Law commands one to love their neighbor as themselves; just as, therefore, no one shows respect of persons toward themselves (for that would be insane), so neither should you show respect of persons. But if, out of arrogance and hardness, you turn toward respect of persons, fear that you yourself might encounter the same from the just Judge, and exclude from yourself His mercy; for "Judgment is without mercy. But mercy boasts against judgment." That is, it conquers, overcomes, blunts, or dulls it.

CAPUT IV.

II, 14-19. What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith, but does not have works? ^C Can faith save him? But if a brother or sister should be naked, and lacking in daily food, and someone among you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them the things necessary for the body, what is the use? So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself. But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works; show me your faith, and I will show you my faith from my works." You believe that God is one? You do well. Even the demons believe and shudder.

Observe the spiritual understanding. For he did not say only, "If you have faith," but, "What is the use?" As if he were saying: Show me the thing from which I might judge that this name [of faith] is appropriate for you; for this is the use of faith. ^D "So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself." These things do not contradict blessed Paul, since the name of faith is applied to two meanings. For we are accustomed to call it faith in the case of simple assent to what is seen, just as we have known the demons to believe that the Son of God is Christ; and again, when we call by the name of faith that which follows from the heart [disposition] with firm assent, James indeed calls the simple assent faith

^A dead and lacking in life-giving works. Paul, however, speaks of that which comes from disposition, which is by no means bereft of works. For this could not come into being in the absence of noble works; nor indeed did Abraham obtain this without first having struggled to cast off his paternal impiety, to which struggle, faith was awarded as a prize. But Paul preferred faith [over] these works—those of the Sabbaths, of circumcision, and of the other purifications according to the law. For two meanings are ^B observed in the term "works." For some works are said to confirm faith, and lacking these, faith is dead. Again, other works are those of the law, justified by which Abraham and all who follow Christ are made righteous. For who would deny that faith—I mean true faith—would not approach the impure? For ointment would not be stored in a vessel full of mire, nor would the faith of God be placed in an impure man. The holy apostles, therefore, are not in disagreement, but, dealing with the different senses of the term, each conducts and carries through to the goal that which has been proposed to him according to the need of the sense he is using.

II, 20-26. Vis autem cognoscere, o homo inanis, quod fides absque operibus mortua sit? Abraham pater noster nonne ex operibus justificatus est, cum obtulisset Isaac filium suum super altare? Vides quod fides adjumento fuerit operibus illius, et ex operibus fides perfecta fuerit? Et completa est Scriptura quæ dicit: Credidit Abraham Deo, et imputatum est illi ad justitiam, et amicus Dei vocatus est. Videtis igitur quod ex operibus justificetur homo, et non ex fide tantum. Similiter autem et Rahab meretrix annon ex operibus justificata est, cum excepisset nuntios et alia via emisisset? Nam quemadmodum corpus absque spiritu mortuum est, ita et fides absque operibus mortua est.

He called him a "vain man" who boasts in naked faith, while having acquired nothing of subsistence through works unto completion. "Abraham our father." Both, when ^C Paul and this James use the same Abraham as an example for the discourse on faith—the one showing faith to be superior to works by the example of Abraham, and the other, again, [showing] works to be superior to faith through the same Abraham—it has been said above that both are occupied with the twofold meaning of the word, each bringing forward what leads to the demonstration of his own proposal. Some of the Fathers, however, have understood this matter in this way: they say that the same Abraham, distinguished by different times, was an image of both kinds of faith—both that which is before baptism and which does not seek for works, but for faith alone and the confession of salvation and the Word by which we are justified while believing in Christ; and that which follows baptism and is joined to works. And thus, the Spirit ^D who spoke in the apostles does not appear as divergent; but that these

^A distinguish: the one which justifies the one approaching solely through confession, if he should immediately depart from this life (for to this man works are not present, but the purification through baptism is a sufficient provision for him); and the one which already requires of the baptized person the demonstration of good works. Paul also agrees with this in another place, where he says and teaches that faith after baptism requires perfection through works, where he says: “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision, but faith which worketh by love” (Gal. v, 6). And love requires much discipline to be fulfilled.

In another way. Abraham was an image of the justification that comes from faith alone, when, having believed, it was reckoned to him for righteousness; but of that which is from works, when he offered his son on the altar. For indeed he not only performed the work, but also did not depart from the faith that in Isaac his seed was about to multiply as the stars, reckoning that God is able to raise him even from the dead. Nevertheless, Paul also brings forward David as a witness, wisely confirming his own arguments. For he knew by the Holy Spirit the faith that was about to come in time through Christ. Therefore he says: “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin” (Ps. xxxi, 2). “Faith without works is dead.” He speaks of the faith that is after baptism. For faith profits nothing if it is widowed of works; rather, it renders us liable to a greater sin, for we have received the talent but do not bring forth the gain. Whence also the Lord, giving a pattern, as we have need of work after baptism, having been baptized by John, reached the desert and undertook the struggles against the devil. Paul also exhorts those who were already vouchsafed ^C the mysteries, saying: “Let us labor to enter into that rest” (Hebr. iv, 11), as if faith were not enough, but that purity of life must also be added, and that great diligence should be applied regarding this.

“My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater judgment; for in many things we all offend” (Jas. iii, 1). Having said above and taught that the faithful should not possess a faith void of good works, he passes to another commandment akin to this. ^D (For indeed some attempt to teach what they themselves have not achieved). And he says that the judgment of such is greater, since they have gained nothing. For he who teaches what is not present in him as if it were his own, is condemned as having slipped through his own tongue. And confirming this more abundantly, he says: For even if the tongue is otherwise naturally prone to slip from inattention, from which he who possesses it does not escape judgment, as Solomon says, saying: “A sinner falls into a snare through the sin of his lips” (Prov. xii, 13); how much more he who sins deliberately, teaching with his tongue what he

experience has learned, he will be unable to escape the inevitable punishment. ^A

CAPUT V

III, 2-4. If anyone does not stumble in speech, he is a perfect man, who can also bridle the whole body. Indeed, we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they may obey us, and we turn about their whole body. Behold, ships also, although they are so great and are driven by fierce winds, are turned about by a very small rudder wherever the impulse of the pilot wills. ^B

That no man passes his life without sin is confirmed by the slipperiness of the tongue. From the same, he also demonstrates that perfection falls to no one. For who is there who has not erred by his tongue? But if anyone has overcome the slipperiness of his own tongue, is he not capable of turning about the whole body? For he who has conquered that which is most easy to stumble over, will by no means be overcome by that which is far slower.

"But behold in the mouths of horses." The order of the text is in this manner: We put bits into the mouths of horses: for unless it be thus composed, the discourse is unintelligible (that is, if you take the Greek words in the order in which they are set). ^C But this confirms what was said about the tongue, and he proceeds to something even greater: namely, that he who brings under his own power that which is easy to compose, will also overcome that which is difficult to handle. By this, moreover, he solves an objection. For it was likely that someone might subjoin this: What labor is it to govern so small a member? Or what harm will come from such a small member? And he shows these things by the bit, and the rudder, and the spark, which are indeed small, but produce great things. — Another way. ^D Furthermore, these things also show that one ought not to move the tongue rashly, but to transfer it to better things, just as one transfers the ferocity of a horse by a bit, and the impetus of a ship by a rudder. Thus, therefore, we also ought to transfer the tongue to what is expedient by right discourse. For this is what he signifies when he says: "So also the tongue," which means that in this way the tongue ought to be turned about by right discourse, and not do what it does: for when it is small, it does great things, and kindles a great fire for us, since it is itself a fire. And what are those things which it does? It adorns iniquity through the cunning eloquence of rhetoricians; it contaminates the body, persuading women to allow access to themselves; it works slaughters through deceit; it reaps the rewards of others through perjuries; and above all, it sets the wheel of hell on fire. That is to say, it kindles and excites hell against us, as if to run over us

^A with fire. But it itself, he says, is set on fire by hell, as is evident from the rich man who was tormented by his tongue. For the tongue is punished for no other reason than that it was prone to delicacies and idle talk. If then it reads "of hell"—as some of the copies have—the passage should be explained in this way. But if it has "the wheel of birth," it finds the following solution: by "wheel of birth" he means our life. Therefore, by setting the wheel of birth on fire, it defiles life. And how? By moving rashly, from which our life—that is, the time of our life—is made rough. For this also the Psalmist called "the crown of the year." Now, a crown and a wheel are not different in their circular and orbicular nature. A wheel is said to be life, as if it were revolving upon itself. ^B And how does it defile our life? By moving as we have described above, from which life is made filthy and full of sighing. In this way, therefore, the tongue should be turned by right reason. For even if it is a "world of iniquity," as it were, it is carried toward and looks upon the common, vulgar crowd. For "world" (kosmos) here is to be understood as the multitude. Or it is a "world," that is, adorning human nature: for through it we communicate our thoughts to one another. Since some wish to take "world" in this sense also. But in any case, when it is carried toward the vulgar crowd, it does wrong, and defiles the whole body, and sets the wheel of birth on fire, and is set on fire by hell. Yet it is not difficult to manage it so that it moves reasonably, and as the one who handles it might wish. ^C For if every nature of beasts and birds, of creeping things and marine animals, is tamed and has been tamed by human nature, shall I say that no one among men can tame the tongue, since it is an ungovernable evil, full of deadly poison? I would not say so. For if it were untamable and never inclined toward the better, how could we with it bless God and the Father, and with it curse men? Behold, it is turned according to the will of the one who uses it. But it ought not to be, my brothers, that these things happen in this way. For if by it we bless, is it not then a shame to curse men who have been made according to the likeness of God? Is it right that from the same mouth should come forth blessing and cursing? It ought not to be. ^D Thus also the tongue is a little member, and boasts great things. Behold how great a fire kindles how great a forest. And the tongue is the fire. The world of iniquity. Thus the tongue is established in our members, defiling the whole body, and setting on fire the wheel of birth, and being set on fire by hell. For every nature of beasts and birds, of creeping things and marine animals, is tamed and has been tamed by the nature of

^A human beings; but no man can tame the tongue: it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless God and the Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made after the likeness of God.

Chapter V

« So also the tongue. » As if it were said: In the same manner also the tongue ought to be moved aright, for although it is a small member, yet it works great things, to wit, both good and evil: but the discourse here is not explicit, since he who writes these things is a disciple of abbreviated speech. « A world of iniquity. » Some wish here to signify by "world" a multitude, just as where it is also said: « The world knew him not 36, » that is, the popular multitude. Therefore the tongue also is a world, that is, a multitude of iniquity; and as much as to say "how great a multitude," it is said by those words which he used: "how great a forest." « For every nature. » The contents of this objection must be understood in accordance with the things previously said. For when he had previously said and shown through the bridle and through the rudder that those things which are small indeed, but great when they are moved aright, accomplish much, and had subjoined that in like manner the tongue also ought to be steered by right speech: he shows now by the subjoined examples that it is not impossible to govern it; as if he were saying: But someone will say that although the tongue is a small member, yet because it works great things, both good and bad, it is neither obedient nor manageable for us toward those things which we desire. This does nothing toward an answer. For if man tames beasts which by their own nature are not domestic, and are savage indeed to look upon, but far more savage to handle, would he not much more be able to handle his own member so that it might easily obey him? Therefore also, that which he says, « But the tongue no man among men can tame, » is not to be read as an affirmation, but by way of doubt or interrogation, so that it may be said in this manner: If man makes wild beasts tame and renders them manageable, will he not be able to tame his own tongue? Thus, therefore, this must be read and understood. For if it were said assertively, it would by no means appear to use in its progress a right exhortation, when he says: « My brethren, these things ought not so to be. » For if it were impossible so to adapt oneself, he who admonishes regarding impossible things does not make a stable and suitable admonition. ^D Someone might say: Yet that which he says, « An unruly evil, full of deadly poison, » is to be uttered assertively: for these things by way of augmentation show that the tongue is intractable. But on the contrary, that which says, « Out of the same mouth proceeds blessing and cursing, » is to be read dubitatively: for it is the speech of one exhorting his hearers. For if we are all commanded to bless—since slanderers shall not inherit the kingdom of God—is it not a shame to use the same member for the ministry of iniquity and of good operation? No sensible person would move mud and ointment with the same instrument.

^A For the sake of the ease of following the text, and to arrange the whole passage in the proper order of the phrasing, I will add some of the missing parts. It will be as follows: "Behold, we put bits into the mouths of horses that they may obey us, and we turn about their whole body; behold also the ships, for although they are so great and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned about by a very small rudder, wherever the impulse of the helmsman wills." So then, let the tongue also be turned about by right speech. And this is not difficult. For every nature of beasts and birds, of reptiles and things in the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by human nature. But if these things are so, can no man tame the tongue? I would not say that. "Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing? These things ought not, my brethren, to be so. Does a fountain put forth from the same opening both sweet and bitter water? Can, my brethren, a fig tree produce olives, or a vine figs? So no fountain can produce salt and sweet water. Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show out of good conduct his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter zeal and contention in your heart, do not glory and lie against the truth. This wisdom is not one coming down from above, but is earthly, animal, devilish. For where there is zeal and contention, there is instability and every evil thing. But the wisdom that is from above is first indeed pure, then peaceable, gentle, easily obeyed, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of justice is sown in peace for those who make peace."

^B «Out of the same mouth.» Let nothing bitter, nothing unpleasant, be cast out by one who has been deemed worthy of such a mystagogy. «Who is wise among you?» Since men were ambitious and boasting of the wisdom of this world, they were preaching out of contention and zeal against the true teachers, inciting the mob and, moreover, harboring envy, and mixing human things with divine, so that by the novelty of what was said they might attract their hearers. ^C Whence also heresies arose. Having therefore completed the discourse concerning the rashness and incontinence of the tongue, he passes next to the envy that is born in men from similar temerity. And he says these doctrines are not established or firm, since they are not of divine wisdom, but devilish. He said these things having previously praised the good teacher, saying that he shows his wisdom by good works out of meekness. ^D Since the name of *zelos* (that is, of emulation) is seen to be in the middle, between good and evil (for *zelos*, or emulation, is an enthusiastic movement of the soul toward something, with a certain imitation of the object upon which the zeal is fixed). For this reason

^A he adds "bitter," showing towards what zeal is directed. For "bitter" is blameworthy contentiousness. "First, it is pure." That is, clean and stainless, adhering to no carnal thing. "Without dijudication." Not distinguishing the requirements regarding foods and various washings, about which Paul discourses precisely in the Epistle to the Colossians.

IV, 1-4. Whence [come] wars and fightings among you? [Come they] not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust and have not: ye kill and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

^B He shows that, though they feign the speech of a teacher, they are nonetheless entirely carnal and commit most grievous acts, procuring pleasures for themselves. Some [seek] a more delicate table (which Paul himself, reproving them, says: "For they that are such serve not our Lord, but their own belly"), while others lust for the possession of precious fields or houses: others again [seek] to take a family or to join house to house; others still for something else, in which that evil one places snares for them, attempting to plunder their souls. "Ye lust, and ^C have not," etc. By thesis and antithesis, he proceeds: when a thesis is assumed on account of its absurdity, the absurdity [exists] because the enticements of pleasure are subsequently seen to lie within the thesis. For even concupiscence is finished in the perfection of pleasures, and murder and emulation, and likewise fighting and war, are not good: and therefore they do not attain those things for the sake of which they seek these. It must be noted, however, that in this place he says "murder" and "war" are not bodily—for this would be a heavy thing to imagine even of brigands, much less of those who were somewhat faithful and were approaching the Lord. But as it seems to me, he says they "kill" who, ^D by these reckless endeavors, kill their own soul, because of which their war is also against piety. And just as, proceeding further, he calls them adulterers and adulteresses, not that they are altogether such, but because they defile the divine and rightly instituted precepts by turning away toward other illegitimate things; for no one would tolerate a fornicator as a preceptor, even if he were more mired in filth than swine: so therefore he speaks of "murders" and "wars" not as bodily, but as concerning the soul. "Ye ask and receive not." As the Pharisee, of whom [it is written] in the Gospel according to Luke: for the more he recounted his own good works, the more he stripped away the divine hearing, and the weight of his words flowed empty around his lips, and dissolved into foam, just like a splashing wave. But someone will say, If

the promise of the Lord Jesus, the truthful Teacher, is true, where He says, “Everyone who asks receives,” how does the present Apostle say these things now? But we say that he who proceeds by the proper path and order for asking possesses the promise entire, in no way frustrated of those things which are requested. ^B But if one, having departed from the scope of the petition that has been handed down, seems to ask, not asking in the way he ought, he does not truly ask, and therefore he will not receive. For just as, for example, if a grammar teacher were to promise that he would teach everyone who came to him the science of grammar, but the one who desires to learn approaches improperly and does not apply himself to the attainment of the things promised, and then turns out to be like his own negligence—could anyone justly accuse the teacher of falsehood? Such a person would certainly not be acting prudently. For he who was about to receive instruction did not approach as the teacher exhorted. But someone might say: And how or what is it necessary to ask? Hear Him who made the promise: “Seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matt. vi, 33). It is manifest, therefore, that he who asks in this way—and primarily for such things—will not be frustrated of other things, and receiving them, he will not fall outside of those things that are for his own salvation. But he who asks for harmful and detrimental things will not have Him provide them, from whom comes every good gift. But even if one asks for divine knowledge or some spiritual gift, but asks out of pleasure, he will not receive it; for he asks badly, and it is a evil thing for his own perdition; but God by no means grants evils.

“Adulterers and adulteresses. Do you not know that friendship with the world…” ^C Since, above, he had reproved somewhat certain false sages who were violating the divine Scripture and using it perversely according to their own will, so that they might have from it a provision for their own pleasure-seeking life—this, however, arises from nothing else than arrogance and pride—for this reason now he proceeds more heavily, and uses reproving words more alien to his own gentleness, calling such persons adulterers and adulteresses, and shaming them through exposure, using almost such accusations as these: Tell me, vain man, do you wish to show yourself wise? And from where comes it that you live in contention and war, and are always fixed on the things present, and pursue the pleasure of the present life with a settled mind? ^D This is not the way of wise men, but of vulgar men, and those who have turned aside to the friendship of the world; and he shows you to be adulterers who prefer vulgar and profane and base beauty to that which is hidden and divine and honorable, and who cherish enmity toward God on account of your affection for present things. Or do you not know that friendship with the world alienates one from divine friendship, or renders one an enemy of God? He calls the world, in this place, all material and gross life, as being the mother of corruption; he who makes haste to be a partaker of this becomes an enemy of God. For because of his zeal for useless things, he holds divine things in low regard and is disdainful. Since there are, therefore, two…

^A two things with which men are occupied, namely God and the world, and concerning each of these two there are two things circulating, friendship and hatred, whenever we are found to be zealous concerning either of these, we are seen to be unsparing of the other. Zeal produces friendship, while neglect produces hatred; therefore, whoever holds fast to divine things is, and is called, a friend of God. But whoever holds God in neglect and is caught clinging tightly to the things of the world, this man is counted among the greatest enemies of God.

Since these things, and every evil of such a kind, have been shown to have taken their origin from the pride and haughtiness of the pseudo-wise teachers, he ^B uses a second argument again, wishing to make them recover from such drunkenness and to free them from this gluttony, and he says:

IV, 5, 6. Do you think that the Scripture says in vain, "to envy"? The spirit that dwells in us yearns jealously; but he gives greater grace.

He signifies something of this kind through these words, using speech by way of omission, and again by the use of abbreviated expression. He says, therefore: "I indeed reproved you in my own words concerning the straight and blameless use of your wisdom, so that you might not, abusing it out of arrogance, adulterate and deceive the word of doctrine. But if you also seek this from the Scripture, hear it. For it says: 'God resists the proud.'" ^C Therefore, I did not say without cause that the contempt for the Lord's dogmas—a contempt proceeding from pride—and the great zeal for the world constitute enmity toward God. For if He resists the proud, and we are accustomed to resist our enemies, then surely the proud ought also to be counted among the enemies. For the Scripture does not publish commands that are difficult for us and that exceed our own strength in vain or fruitlessly, or out of envy, but because it yearns for—that is, it searches out—the grace dwelling in us by means of its exhortation; and when it finds this working in us through spiritual humility, it gives greater grace. ^D Therefore, if you are obedient to the Scripture, humble yourselves before the Lord, and you will find grace through the exaltation of Him. But pride is a vice that completely puffs one up, which we call elation; and it differs from arrogance, in that the former is puffed up over things which he possesses, but the latter is puffed up over things which in no way pertain to him. Conversely, humility—or modesty of soul—is a great good. And since both come to us by our own will, whoever exalts himself through arrogance, besides the fact that he is condemned by the Lord, is even more surely humbled by Him; for the one who had humbled himself out of modesty of soul is exalted in turn, with that virtue as his guide, as it procures spiritual sublimity through the struggles for one who has exercised himself in these things. "Do you think that the Scripture says in vain, or out of envy?" None of these things. But it yearns for—that is, it searches out—the grace dwelling in you by means of its exhortation.

^A It is also similar to the reticence of a response, as in Job: "Do you think that I answered you for any other end than so that you might appear righteous?" For at this point the answer is not expressed. "The spirit yearns." By spirit, he means the good intention, just as David also says, "With a leading spirit," ^B that is, with an intention that is sovereign over the passions; and "a right spirit," meaning a right intention.

IV, 7-13. "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to dejection. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. Do not speak evil of one another, brothers. He who speaks evil of a brother, and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you that you judge another?"

"Purify your hearts, you double-minded." He calls those double-minded—both here and in what went before—who do not choose to live in one way, but are driven and carried about by the craftiness of men. For they are not single-minded, living in the house of the Lord. And that soul is also called life, that passage in Job will teach us ^C sufficiently: "Skin for skin, and all that a man has he will give for his soul." ^D "Do not speak evil of one another." He knows that arrogance and pride arise from contempt and detraction against the gentle, which impels those who use these things to the full contempt of them. Therefore, leading them away from this, through the things that are here set before us, he wishes to make them modest, saying: "He speaks evil of the law and judges the law." This means: he condemns, he despises. For he who condemns does so out of contempt. But what law? First, the one that commands, "Do not judge, so that you might not be judged." Then also that which is in the Psalms: "Him who spoke secretly against his neighbor, him have I pursued." And that this happens out of contempt, he adds: "But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law." For how would anyone, if he despises [it], endure to live any longer under it? Do not, therefore, he says, be disdainful and behave as if you were setting yourself up as a counter-lawgiver. For it is not permitted to you, when there is only one Lawgiver, God, who is able to save and to destroy the transgressors of His law. For this belongs to the law and to the lawgiver: to render those who are his own transgressors liable to punishment, but not to you, who besides having nothing else but the ability to prattle, even fall into the same yourself, passing judgment upon yourself. For by doing the same things as the one you are speaking evil of, in the very degree that you condemn him, you condemn yourself long beforehand. "Who are you that you judge another?" He says this contemptuously. Which is to say: being such a person yourself, how do you dare to judge someone who is similarly affected?

ehand. "Who are you that you judge another?" He says this contemptuously. Which is to say: being such a person yourself, how do you dare to judge someone who is similarly affected?

CAPUT VI. That the steps of a man are directed not by man, but by God; in which also the avarice of the rich and their delights in this world, and the righteous judgment of God, are treated.

IV, 13-17. Come now, you who say: Today and tomorrow we will go to this city, and spend one year there, and trade and make a profit, you who do not know what will be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes; instead of saying: If the Lord wills, and if we live, we will do this or that. Now, however, you boast in your arrogance. All such rejoicing is evil. Therefore, he who knows how to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. ^A

"You who say: Today." He does not remove power or free will, but shows that the whole does not rest in one’s own hand; for the grace from above is also needed. For while it is permitted to strive, and to run, and to trade, and to perform all things that pertain to life, one must not attribute these things to one's own labors, but to the kindness of God. For Jeremiah says: "O Lord, man's way is not in himself." And the Proverbist: "Do not boast of tomorrow, for you do not know what the coming day will bring." ^B "For what is your life?" By this he signifies the vanity and abjection of our life, and shames us because we consume all the time of our life in such things, and in temporal evils, and in those things which, as soon as they have arisen, vanish; our every labor is expended. This David also strikes at, saying: "Nevertheless, man passes away in an image, yet he is troubled in vain," that is, about that which is not, but subsists only in a phantom: for such things are an image; or about that which does not subsist as the same, but only insofar as it has an assimilation and a conjecture with the life that truly proceeds. ^C "For it is a vapor." A vapor is an airy coagulation exhaling from the heat of fire out of humidity, having the slightest substance. For because of its extreme tenuity, it easily yields to the surrounding body, vanishes, and is dissolved, just like a small drop of moisture when water is added. To such a thing he likened our life, and that very skillfully. ^D Furthermore, having interrupted the discourse with such an example, he returns again from the digression to render that which followed it. For the whole passage should be ordered in this way: Come now, you who say, Today and tomorrow we will go to this city, and spend one year there, and trade and make a profit; instead of saying, If the Lord wills, and if we live, we will do this or that. "Now, however, you boast in your arrogance." Since this was the true sequence of the discourse, he does not do this, but after he interrupted the consequence of the discourse with the example, subsequently he subjoined what was lacking, having already, through the image of the thing, established the vanity of our arrogance concerning this world.

estris. » Cum ita vera consecutio sermonis esset, non hoc facit, sed postquam exemplo intersecuit sermonis consequentiam, deinceps subjunxit quod deerat, per imaginem rei proponens ^A a convincing and refuting of the vanity that distracts us concerning this world. For it must be understood in this way: "Glory in your arrogances." Who are you who do not know what will happen on the morrow? "For what is your life?" and so forth. By saying, "What is your life?" he shows contempt for the life, and through this he prepares the way with an example set forth for its fragility, and thus he adds the example, making this most timely. "Glory in your arrogances." An arrogant person and arrogance is a preoccupation with things that do not subsist. Therefore, he is also called an "arrogant one," that is, one living with the sea, which means living with an unstable thing and one that has no substance. "All such glorying is evil." He repeats that vain boasting which seeks to arise from pride, and as if concluding his argument, he brings in that it is evil: and if it is evil, it is certainly also from the Evil One. But those who have been consecrated to the Lord through holy baptism ought not to receive any infiltrations from the Evil One. ^B He also introduces this: "Therefore, he who knows how to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin." And again he disciplines false teachers. Do you dare to teach these things that you have not first performed correctly yourself? "For blessed, he says, is not he who shall teach, but he who shall do and teach." For works should precede the word. As the just man also declares his faith by showing it. "For he who breaks, says the Lord, one of these least commandments, and teaches men so," that is, vainly, concerning things in which he has not labored, "shall be called least; but he shall be great who, after doing, shall teach." Since even he himself, the God-man, began to do, and then made a teaching of those things. It seems to me that the "Let him who boasts, ^C boast in the Lord," is similar, meaning "according to the Lord," using Him as an example long before, and thus doing, and thus teaching. For even when David says, "In the Lord shall my soul be praised," he says nothing other than that he would be praised while walking according to the commandments of the Lord.

V, 1-6. "Agite nunc, divites, plorate ejulantes super miseriis vestris quæ supervenient. Divitiæ vestræ putrefactæ sunt: vestimenta vestra tineis obnoxia facta sunt. Aurum et argentum vestrum erugine vitiatum est: et erugo eorum in testimonium vobis erit, et exedet carnes vestras sicut ignis. Pro thesauro recondidistis vobis iram in extremis diebus. Ecce merces operariorum qui messuerunt regiones vestras, quæ fraude non reddita est a vobis, clamat: et clamores qui messuerant, in aures Domini Sabaoth introierunt. In deliciis vixistis super terram et lascivistis, enutristis corda vestra tanquam in diem occisionis. Condemnastis et occidistis justum, nec restitit vobis." "Agite nunc." He makes the avarice and stinginess of the wealthy a cause for their lamentation, bidding them wail—that is, to mourn—as those who store up their riches for ruin and perdition, and do not spend them on the needy: solely

^A for spending wealth upon them does not perish, but is kept whole for the one who spends it. On this account the writer of Proverbs also says: "Cast your bread upon the face of the water," that is, upon what seems to be dissolution and corruption (for this is what naturally happens to bread cast into the waters); yet it is by no means lost. Rather, through its dissolution it procures refreshment for us, whenever we might happen to be in need of a drop of water while being scorched in the flame. "Your riches": one must understand "your," so that it runs thus: *Your riches*, which you have stored up like fire, *shall eat your flesh*. "And your garments are moth-eaten." The corruption, he says, of the riches, and the moth-eaten condition—or rather, the grain-eaten condition—of the garments, ^B and the rust of the gold and the silver, will bear witness against you, exposing your lack of generosity. On account of which, "in the last days" (he refers to the coming of the Lord), you will find your riches, which you have stored up like fire, for your ruin—just as happened to the rich man in the Gospel. "You have lived in luxury." He attacks the Jewish princes who were devouring the poor and growing fat on the honors offered by all, while they were being prepared for slaughter at the hands of the Romans. And this is especially because they condemned and murdered the only righteous Lord, who did not contend or cry out. The statement, "You have murdered the righteous One," is undeniably ^C referred to Christ. However, by the addition, "He does not resist you," he makes the discourse general, covering also others who have suffered similar things from the Jews. Perhaps, too, he prophetically hints at his own suffering.

CAPUT VII. Concerning patience and the endurance of afflictions, and concerning truth: in which are placed special exhortations appropriate for each one, along with faith: and that one must serve the salvation of one’s neighbor.

V, 7-11. *Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it, until he receives the early and the late rain. Be patient also you; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord draws near. Do not groan against one another, brethren, ^D lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing before the doors. Take, my brethren, the prophets who have spoken in the name of the Lord as an example of hardship and patience. Behold, we call those blessed who endure. You have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is very merciful and compassionate.*

Having accused the Jewish princes of licentiousness, and of their cruelty and inhumanity toward the poor, he advances also to the faithful, and says: Do not be offended, brethren, seeing these things, nor be downhearted, as if vengeance were not laid up for them, or as if it were indeed laid up, but were slow in coming. For there is indeed vengeance, and it is to come close behind. He is speaking of the Roman

^A incursion, and the captivity of the Jews under them. He calls it also the advent of the Lord, just as John, who reclined upon the breast of the Lord, when he speaks of his own departure, introduces the Lord himself saying: "If I will that he tarry till I come." For in fact the time of this life was extended for him until the destruction of Jerusalem, and a little beyond that time. And that the advent of the Lord—both here and in John—is the total destruction of Jerusalem, is evident also from the prophet, who says: "Behold, the Lord cometh, and who shall abide the day of his coming?" inasmuch as the Lord's advent brings punishment upon the ungodly. But John Chrysostom also, in one of his exegetical works, explaining this same "till I come," says: By this statement, he wishes to signify the total destruction of Jerusalem. And he confirms this from the prayer of the three children, who say: ^B "So let our sacrifice be before thee this day, and be perfected after thee." For he says: What does "after thee" mean? After thy wrath has passed. And when did it come to pass? When Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem. And this is indeed what is said concerning the "advent." Some of the Fathers, however, say that in this passage ["long-suffering"] refers to the long-suffering which is towards those who are among us, while ["patience"] refers to patience towards those who are outside. For a man shows long-suffering towards those whom he is also able to punish; but he shows patience towards those whom he cannot punish. On this account, in God, it is never called patience, but long-suffering, whereas in men, it is patience. "Until he receive the early rain." The early rain is ^C repentance performed in youth with tears; the late rain is that which is in old age. All things depend upon the benevolence of God, for which reason he says: "Until he receive."

V. 12. "But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, nor by the earth, nor any other oath. But let your Yea be Yea, and your Nay, Nay, lest you fall into hypocrisy."

But someone will say: If a person is forced to swear, what must be done? We reply that the fear of God will be stronger than the necessity bringing the constraint. Yet someone might doubt: since the old law deems him who swears by the name of the Lord worthy of praise, how does grace forbid doing this? We say, therefore, that the old law, ^D leading the Jews away from swearing by idols, commanded them to swear by God—just as it also commanded them to sacrifice to God—drawing them away from the sacrifice offered to demons. But when it had sufficiently taught them to worship God, then it also rejected sacrifices as useless, not seeking the sacrifice of animals, but seeking the contrite soul as a sacrifice. And what is that? That which is wholly inflamed through humility by the fire of charity? Such as was also the soul of Paul, who, because some of the faithful were being scandalized, was inflamed in a wondrous manner. "But let your Yea, Yea." That is: Let your affirmation be firm and in a firm matter, and your negation

in those things which do not correspond to the fact. "That you fall not into condemnation ^A," he says, meaning that condemnation which follows those who swear ceaselessly and without discernment, and by the habit of swearing are led to perjury. Or also, the word "hypocrisy" in this place has a specific meaning (namely, simulation, where one thing is and another appears). How, therefore, does he who swears fall into hypocrisy? When by an oath he is believed to be truthful, but with a subsequent transgression he is unmasked as a liar instead of a truthful man. Or also because "Yea," that is, "certainly," is not brought forward for confirmation, nor "Nay," that is, "no," for that which does not correspond to the fact. He forbids swearing by God on account of perjury; and by heaven and the rest, so that these also should not be referred to divine honor. For all who swear, swear by that which is greater. ^B

V. 13-18. Is any one among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any one in good spirits? Let him sing psalms. Is any one sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sufferer, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elias was a man subject to the same affections as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit. ^C

Prayer accompanies affliction, so that to him who is afflicted the outcome of the afflictions or temptations may become lighter. Then, when by prayer those things that disturb us have been calmed, and the soul has arrived at its own proper state and tranquility, then let him sing psalms, so that the things which are profitable for him may be multiplied, and he may delight in spiritual exultation. For cheerfulness and gladness are the right state of the soul, according to our great Basil also, and the consolations of hymns or divine praises confer grace. Therefore, he who has not progressed in this way, nor arrived at such a state, which David also calls holiness—"Sing, he says, to the Lord, His holy ones 57"—performs great trifles, singing vainly and emptily, as they say in the proverb. "Anointing with oil." This also the apostles did while the Lord was still conversing among men, anointing the sick with oil and healing them 58. "Effective prayer." The prayer of a righteous man is effective when he for whom it is prayed also assists him who prays through spiritual affliction. For if, while others pray for us, we indulge in pleasures and dissoluteness and a life full of transgressions, we dissolve by this the intensity of the prayer which struggles for us; and that saying of the blessed Peter is fulfilled in us: "One building and one pulling down, what does it profit them but labor?" ^D

"Brethren, if any of you err from the truth, and one convert him, let him know that he who converts a sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins." "And one convert him, let him know." Since we must serve the salvation of our neighbor. "He who converts a sinner." This also Jeremiah says: "And if you separate the precious from the vile, you shall be as my mouth." For he becomes the mouth of God, whoever announces His words. ^A "For it is not you," He says, "who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you." On account of this, He even prohibits the sinner, through David, from declaring His statutes, and taking His covenant in his mouth.

The end, through the favor of God, of the Catholic Epistle of James.

ARGUMENT OF THE FIRST CATHOLIC EPISTLE OF PETER

Peter writes this instructive Epistle to the Jews who had become Christians and were in the diaspora. For since they had believed from among the Jews, he strengthens them. And first, he explains and proves that faith in Christ was proclaimed by the prophets, and by them was made known the redemption that would occur through His blood; and that all things were preached to them and to the Gentiles, upon which even angels desire to look. Then, having advised them to conduct themselves worthily of Him who called them, he exhorts them also to pay honor to kings. He enjoins concord upon wives and husbands. And having exhorted them a little regarding morals, he signifies that this preaching of salvation and resurrection ^B was made by the Lord even in Hades, so that those who had died beforehand might rise and be judged in the flesh, but persist through the grace of the resurrection. And that the end of all things is now near. And all must be prepared, as being about to give an account to the Judge. And thus he completes the Epistle.

CHAPTERS OF THE FIRST CATHOLIC EPISTLE OF PETER

1. Regarding regeneration in Christ, and regarding patience in