Decretal Letters

DUBIOUS WORKS OF ST. CLEMENT I, POPE OF ROME. IX (27).

^A Of Saint Clement, Bishop of Rome, who after the Apostle Peter presided over the apostolic throne, concerning the Holy Spirit.

Blessed is the man who opened his closed eyes, and through resurrection received again the spirit that was expelled by difficulty of breath. This was what it meant to lie upon the ground and not to stand upon one's feet, namely not to possess the truth. But resurrection is the recognition of the Father, and the manifestation of the Son, through whom he revealed the senses. Blessed is the man who knows the gift of the Father through the procession of the most Holy Spirit. Blessed is he who knows and has received that the Holy Spirit is the gift of Him, and this was delivered to him under the form of a dove. For this animal possesses innocence and lacks gall. Now the Father, being alien from all malice, gave a Spirit alien from malice, free from anger and bitterness, perfect, undefiled, sending Him forth from His own bowels, that He might order the ages, and afford knowledge of Him who cannot be seen. ^B Therefore, this Holy Spirit is upright, who proceeds from Him, and is His power, and His will, who appeared unto the fullness of His glory. Those who have received this are marked with the type of truth and perfect grace.

(27) Extracted by Joannes Baptista Cotelerius and published among the notes to book I of the *Recognitions*, chapter 24, page 547. I would not venture to assert that it is excerpted from the same work from which Basil transcribed the fragment above. Indeed, since it would have been just as appropriate and suitable as the preceding one according to Basil’s design, it is probable that Basil would not have omitted it if it had been present there.

S. CLEMENTIS I ROMANI PONTIFICIS EPISTOLAE DECRETALES

D. COUSTANT'S ADMONITION ON THE FOLLOWING LETTER.

I. Joannes Baptista Cotelerius published the following epistle in Greek and Latin among those things which he entitled "Clementine." We already had a translation of the same accepted from Rufinus, which Isidorus Mercator, adapting it, placed at the front of his collection with no small addition. But since we are to display this collection of Isidore in its proper place, it might perhaps seem superfluous to some to present the epistle inserted in it here, or to reprint it there. But it is not appropriate to publish this without the Greek, in which it was first written, nor is it fitting to add the Greek, which it lacked, to the mere collection of Isidore. We print the original Greek text here together with Cotelerius’s translation, the more readily because everyone knows how free and careless are the translations from Greek into Latin by Rufinus. But whoever desires his translation may approach the collection of Mercator, in which it will obtain its proper place.

II.

III.

IV.

V.

VI.

EPISTLE I. TO JAMES, THE BROTHER OF THE LORD.

Clement recounts how Peter, about to die shortly, gathered the brothers and, an exhortation having been delivered in which he extols the merit of Clement himself and hands over to him many precepts for the governing of the Church, appoints him his successor, and Clement is commanded to send an epitome of Peter’s preaching to James after his death.

(This is the same as the following, except that it has been augmented by many interpolations by Isidore Mercator, or rather by someone much older than Isidore.)

THE SAME EPISTLE, interpreted by Rufinus Turranius, a presbyter of Aquileia.

Clement to James, the brother of the Lord, and Bishop of bishops, who governs the holy Church of the Hebrews in Jerusalem, but also all the Churches that everywhere have been founded by the providence of God, together with the presbyters and deacons, and all the rest of the brothers. Peace be with you always.

I make known to you, master, that Simon Peter ^A, who by the merit of his true faith and the pretext of his complete preaching was defined as the foundation of the Church—for which reason he was also called Peter by the divine mouth of the Lord—who was the firstfruits of the Lord’s election, the first of the Apostles, to whom God the Father first revealed the Son, to whom Christ fittingly granted beatitude, who was both called and chosen, and was made the companion and table-fellow of the Lord as a good and most approved disciple, who was commanded to illuminate the darker region of the world, that of the West (as being more powerful than all), and who was also able to fulfill the command completely. But how long do I prolong my speech, shrinking from indicating what is sad, yet which it is necessary, though late, to bring forth? This Peter, in the end, who on account of the immense charity which he bore toward all men, did not cease to preach the good with all confidence openly (even with the tyrant of the whole world opposing) and to bring the King of all ages to the notice of the world, even to the very region of Rome, so that it too might be saved; having ^B desired to suffer for piety, he finished his present course. But in those very days in which he felt the end of his life drawing near, placed in the assembly of the brothers, having taken my hand, he suddenly arose and uttered these words in the ears of the whole Church: “Hear me, brothers and fellow-servants: because, as I have been taught by Him who sent me, my Lord and Master Jesus Christ, the day of my death is at hand, I ordain this Clement as your bishop, to whom alone I hand over the chair of my preaching and doctrine; who from the beginning even to the end has been my companion in all things, and through this has recognized the truth of my entire preaching; who has stood as my associate in all my temptations, faithfully persevering; whom I have proved, more than any other, to be a worshiper of God, a lover of men, chaste, devoted to the studies of learning, sober, benign, just, patient, and knowing how to endure the injuries of some (even of those who are instructed in the word of God). For which reason I hand over to him the power ^C of binding and loosing handed down to me by the Lord; so that for all things whatsoever he shall decide on earth, this decree shall be in heaven. For he will bind what ought to be bound, and he will loose what is expedient to be loosed, as one who has known the rule of the Church to its clear depths. Hear him, therefore, knowing that whoever shall grieve the teacher ^D of the truth, sins against Christ, and against the Father of all.

and provokes God, on account of which he shall even lack life. But it behooves him who presides over others to act with the disposition of a physician, and not to be moved by the fury of a wild beast.” ^A While he was saying this, I fell at his feet, pleading, excusing myself, and declining the honor of the chair, or the authority. But he, answering, said: “For this, do not plead with me. For it has been decreed for me that this should happen, and all the more so, since you excuse yourself; because this chair does not seek him who desires it and boldly asks for it, but rather one adorned with morals and learned in words. But if there were another who was better, if any other helper as diligent had stood by me, if any had so fully grasped the rationale of my doctrine, and had so fully learned the ecclesiastical dispositions from me, I would not compel you, who are unwilling, to undertake a good work, holding another such as this. It is, therefore, superfluous to look for another, since I have offered to God the first-fruits of those who are saved from the Gentiles through me, and especially those of this city, and you first of all. But observe this too, that if, fearing the danger of sin, you refuse to take up the steering-oars of the Church; be certain that you sin more, you who, when you could help the people of God set as if in surging waves and in peril, shirk your duty, having consideration only for yourself, and not providing for what is expedient for the common good of all. But be certain that it is necessary for you to take up every danger, because I myself will not cease from beseeching for the salvation of all. Therefore, the more quickly you agree with me, the more quickly you will relieve me of the sorrow of my labor and sadness. I know also this, O Clement, that I bring upon you the weariness and troubles, and even the dangers and reproaches of the unlearned and unteachable mob; which, however, I know that you will bear steadily and bravely, looking to that hope which prepares for you a crown of patience before God. But I also desire you to perceive with me by just reason, when Christ most needs your work: now, when the enemy stirs up war against His spouse, or in a future time, when Christ shall already triumph after the victory, and will no longer need the work of anyone? Who, even of small sense, does not understand that this is the time in which Christ requires your work? Therefore, with your whole mind, in the present necessity, offer your work, and show your aid in the battles for the best King, who is about to render magnificent accounts after the victory. ^B Freely, therefore, take up the office of the episcopate, especially because you have learned the ecclesiastical dispositions from me acceptably, so that the salvation of those who have fled to God through us may not on any account falter. Nevertheless, I also think it necessary to admonish you briefly in the presence of all concerning the order of this dispensation itself.

You, indeed, must live irreproachably and strive with the greatest zeal to cast away all the occupations of this life; so that you may not become a surety, that you may not become an advocate of lawsuits, and that you may in no way be found entangled in any worldly business because of any occupation whatsoever. For Christ does not wish you to be an arbiter or a judge of secular lawsuits today, so that, choked by the present cares of men, you might not be able to be free for the Word of God, and according to the rule of truth, to separate the good from the bad. For these tasks, which we have explained above as being less fitting for you, let those who are learning from one another perform—that is, the laity; and let no one occupy you with those studies through which salvation is given to all. ^C For just as it is a crime of impiety for you to neglect the studies of the Word of God and to take up secular cares: so also it is a sin for any of the laity, unless they have faithfully given their labor to one another even in those things which pertain to the use of common life. Let all work together to make you secure from those things with which you ought not to be occupied. But if, by chance, the laity do not understand this from themselves, they must be taught by the deacons, so that they may leave for you the concerns of the Church alone; so that you may be sufficient to dispense it as is worthy, and to serve more abundantly and diligently in the Word of truth. For if you are occupied with worldly cares, you will deceive both yourself and those who hear you. For you will not be able to distinguish more fully those things which pertain to salvation for each one separately. And it will come to pass from this, that both you, as one who has not taught the things which pertain to the salvation of men, will be punished, and the disciples will perish through ignorance.

For this reason, give yourself to this alone, that you may teach the Word of God opportunely and without intermission, through which they may be able to obtain salvation. And let them receive your words with such reverence, as those who know that you are an ambassador and herald of the truth, and that whatever you have bound on earth, is bound also in heaven; and whatever you have loosed on earth, is also to be loosed there. For since you will, as I have said, bind what is proper, and loose what is expedient. And for you, who preside, let these be the warnings, and such things as these. But for the presbyters, let these follow: ^D Above all, that striving for chastity, they should join young people in marriage, whereby they may anticipate the heat of a fervent age by the law of marriage. But lest, in those more advanced in age, they neglect to have care of such things, because in many, even when the body has aged, concupiscence flourishes. Lest, therefore, the stain of fornication, by opportunity accepted, spread among you like a most foul poison, it is necessary to be wary and to anticipate, lest any secret conflagration of adultery grow cold within you. And what is more grievous in all sins than adultery? For it holds the second place in punishments, since indeed the first place is held by those who...

deviate from God, even if they have lived soberly. Therefore, O presbyters, cultivate the Church and prepare the bride of Christ unto chastity. I speak of the bride as the whole congregation of the Church; if she is found chaste by her bridegroom, she shall be honored by him with great gifts and favors; and you, as ministers of the bride and friends of the bridegroom, shall enjoy great joy and gladness. But if this bride is found stained with sins, she indeed, as unworthy, shall not be delivered to the royal marriage bed. Moreover, you shall pay the penalty if by chance through your negligence or sloth the cruel contagion of sin creeps in. For this reason, above all things, be concerned for sobriety and chastity. For fornication is rightly considered a very grave crime before God, of which there are indeed many species, as Clement himself will diligently explain to you. Nevertheless, the first species of adultery is for a man not to be content with his own wife alone, and for a woman not to keep herself for her own husband only. If, therefore, anyone is chaste, he can also become humane and merciful, through which he himself also may obtain eternal mercy from God. Indeed, just as the poison of adultery is more destructive than all evils, so fraternal love and charity hold the summit of every good. And therefore love all your brethren, and look upon all with religion and mercy. Show yourselves as parents to orphans. Bestow care upon the wives of others, providing with all chastity the things that are necessary. However, marry off the younger widows. For those who do not know a trade, seek out some honest opportunities whereby they may seek necessary sustenance; but for the craftsmen, provide work, and show mercy to the weak. I know, however, that you will do all these things if you fix charity in your heart above all others and before all things. The greatest incentive to receiving and having this charity will be if you frequently make your common meal and table among yourselves, and as far as each one is able, more often shares his bread and salt with his brethren. For by these things especially is charity acquired, and the cause of all good consists in such communion. But where there is peace and goodness, there also is salvation. For which reason, make your meals common with those who are brothers according to God, because through these temporal offices, you will merit eternal joys [as fruits] of peace and charity. But with much greater concern, refresh the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, and clothing to the naked; visit the sick, and help those who are in prison as far as is possible; receive strangers quite readily into your houses. And lest I say everything one by one now, charity itself, if it be in you, will teach you to do every gift by itself, just as on the contrary, it teaches those who are alien from salvation to do every evil out of hatred. ^B If any of the brethren have disputes among themselves, let them not be judged before the cognitores of the world, but before the presbyters of the Church, whatever it may be, let it be settled, and in every way let them obey their decrees. But above all things flee from avarice, which separates men from eternal goods by the occasion of present gain. Keep weights, measures, and balances most just for every place; faithfully restore deposits. All of which things, and if there are any similar to these, you will thus finally fulfill solicitously and diligently if you turn over the future judgment of God in your heart without intermission. For who will be able to sin if he always places the judgment of God before his eyes? Which is certain to be enacted at the end of the world, that finally those who have done well in this life may obtain the stored-up goods; but that sinners may obtain the prepared and hidden punishments, concerning which we can in no way doubt that it will happen; since indeed the true Prophet has predicted to us that all these things will come to pass. Whence also you, who are the disciples of the true prophet, cast away from your hearts above all things discords and dissensions of spirits, from which every evil work proceeds, and preserve kindness and simplicity with your whole mind. But if by chance the heart of anyone—either spite, or infidelity, or some evil from these which we have mentioned above—has secretly crept in, let him not hesitate, if he takes care of his own soul, to confess these things to him who presides, so that he may be healed by him through the word of God and wholesome counsel, by which he may be able, with entire faith and good works, to escape the punishments of eternal fire, and to arrive at the rewards of eternal life. ^C The deacons of the Church, however, as if they were the eyes of the bishop, wandering about and looking around with modesty at the acts of the whole Church, and searching more diligently if they see anyone becoming one who is nearing a precipice, and is close to sin, let them report these things to the bishop, so that he who is about to fall into the precipice may be warned by him and recalled, and not fall into sin. And let them also warn and exhort the more negligent ones, and those who approach more rarely to listen to the word of God, and who do not solicitously meet for the bishop’s discourse. For if they are assiduous in listening, not only do they take the gains of eternal life from the wholesome warning, but also whatever they are—sadness or sorrows, which come from the necessities and disasters of the present life, and which they carry about in their heart like fixed arrows from the evil sermons of others—all are cast away by the preaching of the truth, and purified by the doctrine of eternal life and by instruction. Otherwise, if for a long time they withdraw their hearing from the word of God, and remain in the worship of vices, without doubt they will be occupied by thorns and briers. And for what else, if not for fire, will such ground be prepared? Of these deacons, therefore, as we have said,

^A let there be care. But let them also diligently search out those who are sick according to the flesh, and indicate them to the people (if by chance the people are ignorant), so that they may visit them, and provide what is necessary for them with the knowledge of whoever presides. Even if they do this secretly, they will not sin; and concerning strangers, they should likewise suggest to the bishop that they be refreshed; and other similar matters which pertain to the cultivation of the Church and its discipline, let these be the care of the deacons. Those who catechize, that is, those who instruct beginners in the word, ought first to be instructed themselves; for it is the soul of man that is at stake. And he who teaches and instructs untutored souls ought to be such that he can adapt himself to the disposition of those who are learning, and direct the order of the word according to the capacity of the hearers. He himself, therefore, must be especially well-learned, ^B learned, irreproachable, mature, and fearless, just as you yourselves will prove this Clement to be after me. It would be a long task if I were to go through in detail everything that everyone ought to have.

Nevertheless, this is what I desire above all to be kept by you all in common: that you hold to concord, through which alone you can enter the harbor of rest and inhabit the city of the supreme King, which is called peace. For the state of the whole Church is like a great ship, which carries men from various places and regions across a stormy sea, desiring to hasten to one city of a mighty kingdom. Let, therefore, the Lord of this ship be God Almighty Himself, and let Christ be the helmsman. Then let the bishop fulfill the office of the lookout, the presbyters the place of the rowers, and the deacons that of the stewards: let those who catechize be compared to the nautical experts; and let the multitude of the entire brotherhood be similar to the passengers; and let the sea itself be considered this world: and let the varieties of winds and whirlwinds be compared to various temptations: let persecutions, tribulations, and perils be equated to the waves. But let the earthly spirits, which blow from the torrents or from the valleys, be considered the words of false prophets and deceivers, or of perverse doctrine: ^C but let the promontories and craggy places be those who are in the powers of the world as judges, who threaten dangers and deaths. But let the "Dithalassa" (places which are lashed by the double tides of a treacherous wave) be compared to those who are double-minded and waver concerning the truth of the promises, and to those who discuss our faith with irrational reasoning. But let hypocrites and the deceitful be considered like pirates. For what else are the rapid vortex, and the hellish Charybdis, and shipwrecks dashed against the rocks, and deadly submersions to be considered, than sins? It remains, therefore, that this ship, safe on a prosperous course, may be able to enter the harbor of the desired city, for the voyagers to pour out prayer to God, so that they may deserve to be heard. But someone will deserve to be heard by God only if the prayers themselves are assisted by good morals and good works. But before all things, with quiet and silence, let the passengers (that is, the laity) ^D reside, each in his own place, lest by chance through restlessness, and disorderly and useless wanderings, if they begin to roam about, they either hinder the sailors from their duty, or the ship be submerged, pressed down to one side by their restlessness. Let the nautical experts give warning about the wages; and let the deacons neglect nothing at all that pertains to diligence or to discipline: let the presbyters, like sailors, diligently fit all things for the instruction of the ship, and instruct the things which in their own time are required. Let the bishop, as the lookout, vigilantly and carefully guard the words of the helmsman, Christ. Let the whole Church believe in and obey the Savior Lord, the helmsman of His Church, and His precepts and commands alone. Let there also be unceasing prayer by all to God for the prosperity of the winds, so that those who are sailing may overcome every tribulation and every peril, as if sailing the deep sea of this world and of human life, in which hunger and thirst must be endured, nakedness also borne, and the sicknesses of the body and infirmities endured. Moreover, the snares and deceits of men must be worked through, since they know that they are sometimes to be scattered, but at other times also to be gathered, and that vomitings and humiliations are also to be endured. When, from the confusion of sins and the rejection of crimes, as if badly gathered in the bowels of bile, a jettison must be made, and all bitterness of sin which lies hidden within the heart must be cast away entirely, if by chance it has been gathered from wicked desires, as if from harmful food. Which, indeed, when one has vomited it up and cast it away, one will be freed from the sickness of the great infirmity, if, however, after the vomit, one takes what pertains to health. But know, all of you, that the bishop labors above you all; because each one of you carries your own individual labor, but he carries both his own and that of everyone. Because of this, O Clement, as one who knows that you preside over all, help and relieve individuals (as you are able), you who carry both the burden and the solicitude of all. Whence, also, I, now enjoining this administration upon you, know that I am receiving grace rather than bestowing it. But be confident and endure bravely; certain that you will receive the reward of your labor when you have brought this ship safe to the harbor of rest. There you will receive rewards and prizes for the salvation of all, if you have watched here for the safety of all. Therefore, if many of the brethren have held you in hatred because of the rigor of justice, you are not harmed by this, but from such hatreds the love of God will be won for you. And therefore, strive all the more and flee, lest you be praised by the wicked and loved by those doing evil; but rather, because of a just administration and a most equitable rule of discipline, may you deserve to be praised by Christ.

When he had said these things, and many more like them, he turned again to the people and said: "But you also, most beloved brothers and my fellow servants, obey him who presides over you to teach you the truth; knowing that whoever grieves one who has been entrusted by Christ with the chair of teaching, does not receive Christ. And whoever has not received Christ will be judged as not having received God the Father, and therefore he will not be received into the kingdom of heaven. For this reason, strive to gather together for every assembly and congregation, so that you may not be condemned by Christ the Judge as negligent and slothful. But always gathering together to Clement, all of you take care to think as he does, and with the highest zeal to show your favor towards him, knowing that he, more than anyone, is assailed by the enemy because of each one of you, and that he stirs up greater wars against him. ^A

"It is therefore necessary for you to strive with the utmost zeal so that, bound to him by every tie of love, you may cling to him with the fullest affection. But you yourselves must also endure in all concord, so that you may all the more easily be able to obey him with equal consent and unanimity. On account of this, you may achieve salvation, and he, with you obeying him, may more readily bear the weight of the burden imposed upon him. You ought also to understand from yourselves certain things, if there be any, which he cannot declare more clearly and manifestly because of the snares of evil men. For example: If he is an enemy to someone because of his actions, do not wait for him to tell you, 'Do not be friends with him'; but you ought to observe prudently and comply with his will without being reminded, and turn yourselves away from him to whom you feel him to be opposed; nor should you speak to those to whom he does not speak, so that each one who is at fault, while desiring to restore the friendships of all of you, may hasten the more quickly to be reconciled to him who presides over all, and through this return to salvation, when he begins to obey the warnings of the leader. But if anyone is a friend to those to whom he is not a friend, and has spoken to those to whom he does not speak, he himself is one of those who wish to destroy the Church of God: and although he seems to be with you in body, in mind and spirit he is against you. And this enemy is much more wicked than those who are outside and are clearly enemies. For this one, under the guise of friendship, acts as an enemy, and scatters and lays waste the Church."

And when he had said these things, in the midst before everyone, he laid his hands upon me and compelled me, fatigued by great modesty, to sit in his chair. And when I had sat down, he spoke these things to me again: "I beseech you, oh ^B Clement, after I have made an end to this present life (as is the debt of nature), that you describe briefly to James, the brother of the Lord, matters pertaining to the beginning of your faith, or what spirits you bore before the faith, but also how you have been a companion of my journey and deeds from the beginning to the end, and what matters you, as a diligent listener, took in (while I was disputing) at each city, and what the order of my words or deeds was in my preaching; but do not be weary of sending everything you can briefly comprehend, as I have said, to him whose final destination I have met in this city. Nor fear that he might be greatly saddened by my departure, since he does not doubt that I endure this for piety’s sake. But it will be a great consolation to him if he learns that after me some not-unskilled man, or one not unlearned and ignorant of the mystery of the divine word, and the discipline of ecclesiastical order, or one ignorant of the rule of doctrine, has received my chair; for he knows that if an unlearned and ignorant man receives the office of teacher, without doubt the disciples and listeners will be wrapped in the shadows of ignorance and will be plunged into destruction. Whence I myself, my lord James, when I had received these commands from him, had the necessity to fulfill what he had ordered, indicating to you both concerning these very things, and at the same time briefly comprehending those things which, passing through each city, he either brought forth in the speech of his preaching, or accomplished in the virtue of his deeds; although I have already sent to you many things about these things more fully before, at his bidding, under that very title which he orders to be affixed, that is, *Clement’s Itinerary*, [not *The Preaching of Peter*].

But even now I will begin, with the Lord giving help, to set forth what he commanded: 'Repent,' he says, 'and perform true ^C penance.' Therefore, all men who are counted under the Christian name ought most highly to believe and confess truly in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God and Lord, and to love Him with their whole mind and whole heart and whole strength, and to love their neighbor as themselves, and to be teachable until they reach perfect doctrine for the carrying out of these things. For faith and love are the foundation of all goodness. But without faith, no one will be able to please God. Christ, therefore, rising again and ascending into heaven, with the Holy Spirit being sent, and the knowledge of tongues being bestowed upon the Apostles, while they were still placed in one spot, they composed the Symbol, which the faithful Church now holds, with each one saying what he felt, so that, departing from one another, they might preach this rule through all nations. Therefore, recount the sum of the entire catholic faith. ^D

^A in which also the integrity of belief is shown, and the equality of the one God Almighty (that is, of the Holy Trinity) is declared, and the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God, who for the salvation of the human race descended from the Father from heaven, deigned to be born of a Virgin, in what order or when He suffered death, how He rose after being buried, and ascended into heaven in that same flesh, and sat at the right hand of the Father, and is to come as judge, and how He bestowed the remission of sins upon those reborn in the holy baptism, and the resurrection of the human race in the same flesh and into the life eternal to come, thus they taught. For *Symbolum* is called "collation" in Latin. And this the aforementioned holy apostles healthfully composed among themselves through the Holy Spirit, as has been said. It is also called an "indication," because by it, he who has correctly believed is indicated. Therefore, for all believers, the salvation of souls and life eternal is prepared by good deeds in the things contained in the aforementioned Symbol.

^C And because at the beginning of the same Symbol it is set forth, *I believe in God the Father Almighty*; a preeminent testimony and foundation of faith is shown at the very forefront, for he who has rightly believed will be able to be saved. For it behooves one approaching God to believe: since with the heart one believes unto justice, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Whence the Prophet says: *I believed, therefore I have spoken*. And that: *The just lives by faith*. And: *If you do not believe, you shall not understand*. Therefore, in human affairs no work is begun, unless it is believed that the whole labor will come to effect. Whence it is to be believed in God, by whom both this present life and the future one is bestowed. Now "God" is a name for eternal substance, or for divine fear. Therefore, God is without beginning, without end, simple, incorporeal, and incomprehensible. But when you hear "Father," acknowledge that He has a Son truly begotten, just as one is called a possessor who possesses something, and a master who has what he may rule. Therefore, "God the Father" is a name for a secret sacrament, of which the Son is truly the Word, and the mirror, and the character, and the living image of the living Father, similar to the Father in all things, of the same nature in divinity, begotten, and in all things coequal to the Begetter. Nor should it be asked how He begat the Son; which even the angels do not know, and it is unknown to the prophets. Whence that saying: *Who shall declare His generation?* Whose secret origin, along with His own Son, He alone who begat knows. ^D Nor is God to be examined by us, but to be believed; since we ourselves do not know, in our very selves, what we do or how our wisdom, talent, or intellect, or counsel, or mind begets a word. But it suffices to know that Light begat Splendor, as the Prophet says: *In the splendors of the saints, from the womb before the daystar I have begotten Thee*. And after: *He was seen on earth, and conversed among men*. ^B Therefore, it behooves everyone to love God with all his heart, and with all his soul, as has been set forth, and with all his strength, and his neighbor as himself, as the Lord responded to a certain Scribe and said: *The first of all commandments is, Hear O Israel: The Lord thy God is one God; and: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like to this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself*. There is no other commandment greater than these, which is greater than all holocausts and sacrifices. Whence it is also written in the Old Testament: *What you do not want done to you, do not do to another*. And the Lord says: *All things whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you also to them in like manner*. By both of these commandments, by the one malice is restrained, and by the other kindness is spread, so that one may not inflict evil, but bestow good. The first, to take care not to harm; the second, to know how to provide good. For if you do not love your brother whom you see, how can you love God, whom you do not see? Thus, therefore, it behooves us to exercise our care, so that we do not abandon your care: and so to love us, that the love of our neighbor is not neglected; because the love of God is compared to death, as Wisdom says: *Love is strong as death*: for the reason that, just as death violently separates the soul from the body, so the love of God separates the soul violently from worldly and carnal love. For who, says the Lord, loves me, will keep my commandments. For he who despises God's precepts does not love God. Whence it is written: *Do not think that you remain in my love, if you have not kept my precepts*. For we do not love a king if we hate his laws. Nor indeed can he love God with his whole heart who is not known to run forward in love for his neighbor: because through the love of the neighbor one arrives at the charity of Christ, since, as has been mentioned before, the whole law and the prophets hang on these two commandments. It behooves all, therefore, to be teachable—those who are not perfectly taught—both so that they themselves may be taught, and so that they may prudently instruct others, and may be able to teach perfectly, according to the prophet Daniel, who says: *But they who are learned in their God shall prevail and do, and the learned among the people shall teach many*. All, as has already been said, who are learned, ought to be teachable; but Christ taught that it was necessary for the priests to be more learned than the rest of the people, saying: *For if the blind lead the blind, both fall into the pit*. Priests ^C

^A should be indeed the salt of the earth and the light of the world, ^A teaching us to glorify God the Father in the splendor of good works; concerning whom the Lord says: *Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you, lying, for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for your reward is great in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. You are the salt of the earth: but if the salt has lost its flavor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot of men. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it gives light unto all that are in the house, that they who enter may see the light. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven*. Moreover, He commanded us to send bishops throughout every city to which He had not sent them, as prudent as serpents and as simple as doves, according to the precept of the Lord. This we have already begun to do, and with the Lord’s help, we shall accomplish. You, however, consecrate and send out bishops through your own dioceses, for we shall take care to act likewise in other parts, as the same Lord commanded. Indeed, we are sending some to the Gauls and the Spains, and we desire to direct others to Germany and Italy, and to the remaining nations. But where we have learned that the nations are more ferocious and rebellious, we find it necessary to send there the wiser and more austere, who will not cease daily to sow the divine seeds, and to win many to Christ, and to lead them to the true faith and the way of truth, so that they may be able to present more sheaves to the Lord. ^B Indeed, in those cities where in former times their pagan arch-flamens and first doctors of the law were, He commanded that primates of the bishops be placed, or patriarchs, who should determine the judgments of the remaining bishops and the greater matters (whenever it might be necessary) concerning the faith and according to the will of God, just as the holy apostles established, so that no one might unjustly be put in peril. But in those cities where, in the past, arch-flamens were, whom they nevertheless considered inferior to the aforementioned primates, he commanded archbishops to be instituted, who, however, should not enjoy the name of primate, but of archbishop, because they do not hold the mother-sees of the cities, but obtain only the title of bishop. For there was no parity of office even among the apostles themselves, but one presided over all. However, he instituted that this should be provided for, that bishops should not be instituted in villages or small towns or minor cities, lest their name be rendered vile. He taught, therefore, that bishops hold the place of the apostles, and he implied that presbyters ought to hold the place of the rest of the disciples. And if anyone should scandalize one of these, he preached that the most grievous punishment ought to be inflicted upon him. He instructed all to love one another and to assist one another, and that no one should withdraw himself from the help of his brother. He prohibited murderers, indeed, and adulterers, and all entangled in criminal bonds, and those who were not their equals, from their vexation and accusation, the Lord teaching, and he taught that nothing ought to be brought against them except by their equals; because it is not right that a disciple should be above his master, nor that one should inflict any injury upon him. ^C He asked also that all infamous persons, and those whom the primates and the laws of the world do not accept, but even laymen, should always be excluded from their accusation and vexation, and he commanded that all be subject to them. He taught that the life of all priests should be superior, holier, and distinct from worldly and lay men, and that all spiritual persons and priests should always be set over carnal men and laymen; because it ought to be for us a very small thing that we should be argued against and judged by such men, or by man’s day. He said, furthermore, that the greater cannot in any way be accused or judged by the lesser; because he taught that not only divine, but also secular laws prohibit this. ^D He therefore judged all willing violators of divine laws and voluntary disturbers of sacred institutions to be unworthy of the ecclesiastical rule and holy communion: but he said that the workers of the same and those obedient to them were worthy of both, and of other good things. Whence he also took the prophets as a witness: "Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord has spoken: I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knows his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel does not know me, and my people do not understand. Woe to the sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters! They have forsaken the Lord, they have blasphemed the Holy One of Israel, they are gone away backward. Why should you be stricken any more? You will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment."

Your land is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your country, strangers devour it in your presence, and it shall be desolate, as when overthrown by strangers. Woe, he says, unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter. Therefore my people are led away captive, because they have no knowledge, and their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure. And their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it. And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled. But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness. ^A He forbade the carnal to resist the spiritual. And concerning those who lifted up their necks against their teachers and elders, he brought forward this for an example: Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; that made the world a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners? ^B He strongly forbade drunkenness, and preached that drunkards are dead in body and soul; concerning whom he also said as an example: Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them! And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands. And again: Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him! Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust. Because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. Therefore is the anger of the Lord kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out ^C still. He also taught that no presbyter ought to do anything in any bishop’s parish without his permission; but also that all presbyters should be obedient to the bishops in all things without delay, as the Lord ordains. He likewise taught that no one should covet or presume to take what belonged to others, but that everyone should be content with the things that were his own and committed to his charge. He also instructed that no one should do to another what he would not wish to be done to himself. He preached that all ought to keep the holy Church immaculate, whose keys he said were the bishops. For they have the power to shut heaven and open its gates, because they have been made the keys of heaven. Moreover, he taught that no one should admonish them, because they are the eyes of the Lord, and he who touches them, touches the apple of his eye. And he said that the Lord himself taught how great a punishment he is worthy of who offends them, where he says: Whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe unto the world because of offences! For it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! Wherefore if thy hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee. It is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee. It is better for thee to enter halt into life, rather than having two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee. It is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones. Verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. And he speaks again through the prophet, saying: The heaven was astonished at this, and was horribly afraid, saith the Lord. ^D O intolerable wickedness, O tongue speaking iniquity against God, and mind lifting up the horn on high! And again: Set, O man, a door and a lock to thy tongue. Cease, thou that liftest up the horn on high, and speakest iniquity against God and thy neighbor. How long dost thou insult the patient Christ and his brethren? For by sinning in this way against your brethren, and by striking their weak conscience, ye sin grievously against Christ, and becoming guilty of judgment, ye become infamous, and are justly rejected. And again he speaks through the prophet, saying: But ye shall be named the priests of the Lord: men shall call you the ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. For your double confusion and shame, they shall praise their portion. Therefore

^A in their own land they shall possess double, and everlasting joy shall be unto them; for I the Lord love judgment, and I hate robbery for a burnt offering; and I will give their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring in the midst of the peoples. All that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, and hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. He said that these are to be judged or removed by the Lord alone, and not by others, because they are His and not another's. And who is it that judgeth another man’s servant? For if men do not suffer it, neither does the God of gods and Lord of lords suffer these things in any way. Whence he also said that the prophets were his witnesses, through whom the Lord speaks, saying: Behold, I have refined thee, but not as silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. For mine own name's sake will I do it, that I be not blasphemed, and I will not give my glory unto another. Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, whom I call. I myself, I am the first, and I am the last. Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens. I will call them, and they shall stand together. The isles shall wait for me, and on mine arm shall they trust. My salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not fail ^C. Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law. Fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool. But my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness unto generations of generations. And again: My way is hidden from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God. Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard? The Lord, the everlasting God, who created the ends of the earth, shall not faint, neither is weary, there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength and vigor. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength: they shall mount up with wings as eagles: they shall run, and not be weary: they shall walk, and not faint. Let the isles keep silence before me, and let the nations renew their strength. Let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment. The Lord, however, condemns through the prophet those who insult them, or attempt to remove or condemn them, and taught that they remained condemned until they made satisfaction to them and to the Church, where He says: They have chosen these things in their ways, and their soul ^D delighted in their abominations. Whence also He will choose their delusions and bring their condemnation upon them; because I have called and they did not answer; they did evil in my eyes, and chose those things which I willed not. Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at his word: Your brethren that hated you, and cast you out for my name's sake, said: Let the Lord be glorified, and we shall look upon your joy; but they shall be confounded. For my prelates shall not labor in vain in tribulation, for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord. Before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. The Lord chose them to glorify Himself and to sow and preach the divine commandments, and he suggested that they should not be hindered or disturbed; for he who harms them, harms Him whose embassy they perform. He asked that they be preached to assiduously, and that the Lord's commandments be announced without intermission. He urged that their good works be shown before men, and that they possess a good conscience before God. He commanded all the princes of the earth and all men to obey them and to submit their heads to them, and to be their helpers, that all might be shown to be alike faithful and co-workers in the law of God, so that it may not be said of them: All they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded; and they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee. They shall be as nothing, and as the thing of nought, the men that war against thee.

^D Therefore, all who contravened them, he showed to be condemned and infamous until they made satisfaction, and he commanded that, unless they repented, they should be excluded from the threshold of the Church. He said that there were three kinds of homicides and taught that their punishment was to be equal. For just as he manifested those who kill their brothers to be homicides, so also did he manifest those who speak evil of them and hate them to be homicides, because both he who kills his brother, and he who hates, and he who speaks evil of him, are shown to be homicides alike. He also requested all to abstain from fleshly desires, which war against the soul, and to show their good and innocent way of life to all. For he suggested that all should love one another more attentively from the heart, and taught them to hold true fraternity among themselves. For his daily preaching, among other divine commandments, was this, which I have also taken care to signal to you, dearest brother, as an example of his. Of good works, he says, among other seeds and acts, is that—as far as each one knows and is able—he should love God with the whole heart’s inner chambers, as has been mentioned, and his neighbor as himself: to deny himself for his own sake, that he might follow our Lord Jesus Christ, and to prefer nothing to His love, to make known the truth with heart and mouth, and always to commit one’s whole hope to God.

^A He instructed one to watch over the actions of one’s own life at every hour, and to look to God in every place; to know firmly that wicked thoughts coming to one’s heart must be immediately dashed against Christ, and made known to the priests of the Lord. He taught one to guard one’s own mouth from much or perverse conversation, and not to speak vain words or lies; because the mouth that lies kills the soul. He taught one to listen gladly to divine words, to obey one’s priests willingly, and to be obedient. To apply oneself frequently to preaching, to prayer, and to reading, and to perform true acts of almsgiving. Not to fulfill the desires of the flesh, but to break one’s own will; when one perceives something good in oneself, to attribute it to God, and not to oneself; and that one should recognize the evil one has done, and impute it to oneself. To not love much speaking, but to guard one’s lips, so that they do not speak deceit or evil. To fear the day of judgment, to be terrified of hell, and to desire eternal life with all concupiscence; not to kill, not to commit adultery, not to steal, not to covet the property of one’s neighbor, not to bear false witness, but to honor all men, to guard the body, not to embrace vain and fleeting pleasures, to love fasting and holy vigils, to refresh the poor, to clothe the naked, to visit the sick, to give drink to the thirsty, to bury the dead, ^B and to perform their obsequies diligently, and to pray for them and give alms; to console those who grieve, to refresh them with one’s own goods, and to make oneself alien to evil deeds. To not be proud, not given to wine, not a glutton, not drowsy, not slothful, not a murmurer, nor a detractor; because he who detracts kills not himself, but many others. To not fulfill anger, nor keep time for wrath. To hold no deceit in one’s heart, nor to give a false peace. Not to abandon charity, nor to swear, lest perchance perjury, which God forbid! should occur. To not return evil for evil, nor to commit an injury, but to suffer patiently the one that is done. To love one’s enemies, not to curse those who curse oneself, but rather to bless them, and to endure persecution for righteousness’ sake. To love charity, and to hate no one; because he who hates his brother is a murderer. To flee haughtiness, to have no evil zeal, not to practice envy, nor to love contention. With those who disagree, to return to peace before the setting of the sun, and to never despair of the mercy of God. ^D To honor the elders, and to love the juniors. To instruct and direct one’s own bishops, priests, and all the rest of the ministers of the Church, and all the people committed to one, by the divine word and mandate, and to love all these and their bishops with all the virtue of one’s soul, as one’s own eyes, because they are their eyes. To obey their precepts in all things, even if they themselves should act otherwise—which God forbid!—being mindful, of course, of that Dominical precept: “What they say, do; but what they do, do not” ^A nor imitate. But those bishops, if they shall have gone astray, are not to be rebuked or argued with by these, but supported, unless they have erred in the faith.

Those [priests and ministers] therefore are above these [the laypeople], but these are not above those; since a greater cannot be argued with or judged by a lesser. Let no one exalt himself against his doctors and teachers, because a disciple ought not, nor can he, be above his master. “Let no one wish to be called holy, before he is; but let him first be, so that it may be more truly said.” One must fulfill the precepts of the Lord and of one’s doctors and teachers by daily deeds, and pray for one’s enemies in the name of Christ. “For obedience and humility which is practiced toward masters is exhibited to the Lord. The fear of the Lord shall delight the heart, and shall give gladness and joy for the length of days. To him who fears the Lord it shall be well in the end, and in the day of his death he shall be blessed.” Woe to the faint-hearted, who do not believe God and resist His mandates, and are disobedient and contumacious to those who act in His embassy; and therefore they shall not be protected by Him. Woe to those who have lost their endurance, who have abandoned the straight ways and turned into crooked paths. And what will they do when the Lord begins to inspect? Those who fear the Lord will not be unfaithful to His word: and those who love Him shall preserve His way. Those who fear the Lord will seek what is well-pleasing to Him: and those who love Him shall be filled with His law. Those who fear the Lord will prepare their hearts, and in His sight will sanctify their souls. Those who fear the Lord keep His mandates, and will have patience until His inspection, saying: If we have not performed penance, we shall fall into the hands of God, and not into the hands of men: for according to His greatness, so also is His mercy with Him. Come (he says), O children, hearken to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Run while you have the light of life, lest the darkness of death overtake you. Everyone who desires life, and wants to see good days, let him restrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no deceit. Let him turn away from evil, and do good: let him seek peace, and pursue it: because the eyes of the Lord are upon the just, and His ears are open to their prayers. But the countenance of the Lord is against those who do evil, to destroy the memory of them from the earth. Therefore do not become as the horse and mule, in which there is no understanding. But rejoice in the Lord, and exult, you just, and glory, all you right of heart. Because many shall come from the East and the West, the Lord says, and from the North and the South, and shall recline with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. For which cause, I beseech you, most dear brother, that you might teach more attentively this order of preaching and the absolution of days, so that the souls of men may be saved, who, by the hidden virtue of God, recognize whom they ought to love before they are taught. For the account of works belongs to the power and choice of each one[...]

permitted, and this is their own property. But to have a desire toward the teacher of truth, this is a gift given by the heavenly Father. But salvation lies in this, that you should do the will of Him whose love and desire you have conceived, God granting it; lest His word be spoken to us, which the same One said: "But why do you call me, Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say?" It is therefore of the individual duty, that everyone should be, as our Lord has given, perfect in the Church, sending forth divine seeds, so that of us, not the aforementioned word, but that one may be spoken, which elsewhere our Lord said: "Therefore," he says, "every scribe instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like a man who is a householder, who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old." Therefore, he says, let no one hinder the order, or occupy a place ^B irrationally, or swap the turns of times; but let us first seek what His justice is, what is His will, so that we may be filled with good works and the grace of God. For God is ready for those who think rightly and do good, since here He manifests Himself. For if anyone wishes (before he amends his own acts) to inquire about those things which he cannot find, such an inquiry will be foolish and ineffectual. For the time is short, and in the judgment of God the cause of deeds is handled, not of questions. Therefore, before all things let us seek this, what we ought to do or in what manner, so that we may deserve to attain eternal life. For if we occupy this short time of life with vain and useless questions, we shall proceed ^A without doubt and empty of good works to God, where He might grant judgment upon our works. For every thing has its time and place. This is the place of works, this is the time; the future age is for merits. Let us run, therefore, along the path of the commandments of God, and let us not recede from the institutions of the blessed precepts of the Lord, nor from the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. On this account our hearts and bodies are to be prepared, to serve the obedience of the commandments of God and of His bishops and preachers, that He may command the help of His grace to be ministered to us, and fleeing the punishment of hell, we may all be able to arrive at eternal life.

"These things, therefore, dearest brother James, I received from the mouth of the holy Peter commanding, and I have endeavored to insinuate them to you, as you desired, so that you may command that all things be kept immaculate, because ecclesiastic affairs ought not to be performed negligently, but diligently. Therefore, let no one believe that he may neglect or dissemble these precepts without his own peril, because in the judgment of God he will suffer the torments of eternal fire who has neglected ecclesiastical decrees. But whoever hears you, as the minister of Christ Jesus has commanded, will receive glory. But whoever does not hear you, indeed the Lord speaking through you, he shall receive to himself condemnation. We must therefore take care and attend to what is expedient for us all in perpetuity, that we may participate in Christ's passions through patience, and deserve to be sharers in His kingdom. Amen.

EPISTLE II. TO JAMES, THE BROTHER OF THE LORD. On sacred vestments and vessels.

CLEMENT, presiding over the Roman Church, to JAMES, bishop of the people of Jerusalem.

Since, as we have received from the blessed apostle Peter, the father of all the apostles, who received the keys of the heavenly kingdom, it is right for me to instruct you in order as to how we ought to hold concerning the sacraments which are performed in the sacred rites. For the sacraments of divine mysteries have been committed to three ^C orders—that is, to the presbyter, the deacon, and the minister—who ought to guard the relics of the fragments of the Lord’s body with fear and trembling, so that no rot is found in the sanctuary, nor, since it is done negligently, may a grave injury be inflicted upon the portion of the body of the Lord. For if the communion of the body of our Lord Jesus Christ is distributed negligently, and the presbyter does not take care to admonish the lesser offices, let him be struck with a grave anathema and a blow worthy of humiliation. Certainly, let so many holocausts be offered on the altar as ought to be sufficient for the people. But if they remain, let them not be reserved until the morrow, but let them be consumed with fear and trembling by the diligence of the clergy. But those who consume the remnants of the body of the Lord, which have been left in the sanctuary, let them not immediately convene to receive common food; lest they might think that food—which, having been digested through the intestines, is poured into the latrine—is mixed with the holy portion. If, therefore, the portion of the Lord is eaten in the morning, let the ministers who have consumed it fast until the sixth hour. And if

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at the third or fourth hour, let them fast until evening. Thus are holy sacraments of eternal efficacy to be guarded. As for the sacred vessels, they are to be handled in this way: the altar cloth, the chair, the candelabrum, and the veil, if they have been worn thin by age, let them be committed to the fire, since it is not permitted that things which have been in the sanctuary be ill-treated, but rather that everything be consigned to the fire. The ashes of these things also are to be carried into the baptistery, where no one might walk, or they should be cast into the wall or into the trenches of the pavements, lest they be defiled by the feet of those entering. Let no cleric, through ignorance, believe that the dead should be wrapped in a cloth that has been upon the altar, or that a deacon should wish to cover his shoulders with that which has been upon the altar, or certainly that which has been given to the Lord's table. Whoever does these things, or considers divine mysteries lightly as if they were nothing and treats them with negligence, shall be alienated from the Lord's altar for three years and six months, having been struck by a grave anathema. But if a presbyter does not admonish a cleric, he shall be excommunicated for fifteen years and five months; for this reason, that he did not admonish those subject to him concerning the Lord's sacraments, and afterward, with great humility, he is to be reconciled to the Mother Church.

The altar cloths and the veils which have become soiled in the service of the sanctuary, let the deacons with the humble ministers wash near the sanctuary, not casting the veils of the Lord's table outside the sanctuary, lest by chance dust from the Lord's body fall badly from the shroud washed outside, and this shall be a sin for the one working: therefore we command the ministers within the sanctuary to guard these holy things with diligence. Indeed, let a new basin be procured, and let it touch nothing else besides this. But let not that basin itself be put to use for the washing of cloths, unless those that pertain to the worship of the Lord’s altar. Let only the altar cloths be washed in it, and other veils in another. Regarding the veils of the doors, let there be care on the part of the doorkeepers, by the admonition of their superiors, so that no one, whether negligent or ignorant, may wipe his hands in a disorderly manner upon the veil of the door of the Lord's house; but let every man, being immediately restrained, learn that the veil of the atrium of the Lord's house is holy. We also command that none of the excommunicated from the Church, or any layman, be given from the fragments of the Lord's oblations at the table. Whence do you know, you who distribute the bread of the sanctuary to the unworthy here and there, whence do you know if those to whom you distribute it are clean from women? Hence even David, when questioned by Ahimelech the priest, confessed that if he were clean from a woman, he would eat the bread of the presence, when he had been clean for three days.

^B

^B As for the Lord's mysteries, let those be chosen who have not known their own wives before their ordination. But if, after ordination, it happens that a minister of the altar invades his own marriage bed, let him not enter the thresholds of the sanctuary, nor be a carrier of the sacrifice, nor touch the altar, nor receive the oblation of a burnt offering from those offering, nor approach the carrying of the Lord's body, nor offer the water to the hands of the priests. Let him close the doors from the outside, perform lesser duties, and not carry the cruet or the chalice to the altar. If by chance any presbyter or deacon should sell the linen or veil of the sanctuary, having stolen it, he shall be esteemed similar to Judas Iscariot. Whoever shall have performed this work on account of greed, let him know that he shall receive the punishment of the aforementioned Judas. Indeed, let a cleric not approach a woman's dwelling alone, nor hasten there without the command of a superior elder. Nor let a presbyter be associated with a woman alone, but with two witnesses brought along, let him visit the sick. Nor let him hold conversations with a woman alone. Nor let an archdeacon or deacon, under the pretext of an office of humility, frequently visit the homes of matrons, or perhaps let matrons send anything secret through clerics or their own servants. If it becomes known, let him be deposed, and let her be barred from the thresholds of the Church. But if by chance there is some intercession, let it be suggested to the bishop. And if she is such an one, let him go personally with pious intervention. If, however, he should direct someone from his own side, let it be with two or three who ought to correct this. Indeed, let no cleric enter to visit a sick woman unless with two or three. Yet let none of the clerics live with a strange woman, unless she be a close relative or sister. And let this be done with great solicitude. We are not ignorant of the malice of Satan. All these ministries are to be fulfilled with ecclesiastical gentleness. For it does not behove the business of God to be performed negligently. Again and again we command concerning the fragments of the Lord's body. But as for the chalice for carrying the Lord's blood, let the minister prepare it with all cleanliness of service, lest, not being well washed, the chalice might become a sin for the deacon who presents it. Thus, with all honesty, it is proper that all things which we have set forth above be fulfilled. Such are those for [the] ministry

^A of clerks, who might worthily handle the holy sacraments of the Lord. For it is better for the priest of the Lord to have few ministers who can worthily perform the work of God, than many useless ones who bring a heavy burden upon the one who ordains them. From the beginning of the epistle up to this place, I have written concerning the vigilant care of the sacraments: where neither the droppings of mice appear among the fragments of the Lord's portion, nor [should] things remain rotten through the negligence of the clerks, [so that when those] who desire to receive medicine for themselves see rotten things, they might appear to receive them more with mockery and disgust, and might rather fall into sin through the negligence of the clerks. For this reason, let no clerk any longer feign ignorance of these things, or dare to neglect them in any way, but let him willingly fulfill what has been commanded, and in no way handle the divine sacraments negligently ^B. And therefore it is right that both the young and the old be very solicitous concerning these things, and concerning their entire conversation, and conversion, and penance, and exert themselves enough so that they might do these things worthily, and for the rest, let both clerks and laymen adorn their souls with the most worthy ornaments, namely with the dogmas of truth, the decorum of modesty, the splendor of justice, the candor of piety, and all other things with which a rational mind ought to be composed. Then, furthermore, it is fitting to withdraw from dishonest and faithless partnerships, and to have the company of the faithful, and to frequent those assemblies in which modesty, justice, and piety are discussed. To pray to God always with the whole heart, and from Him alone to seek what is fitting, to give thanks to Him, to bear true repentance for past deeds, and, if it is possible, to aid one's penance through the mercies of the poor. For through these things a more ready pardon will be given, and the one who grants indulgence will do so more quickly. But if the one who comes to penance is of a more advanced age, he ought, all the more, to give thanks to God, because after the end of all the impulse of carnal lust has come, and the knowledge of the truth has been received, no struggle of conflict threatens him, by which he might repress the desires of the body as they rise up against the soul ^C. It remains, therefore, for him to be exercised in the recognition of the truth and in the works of mercy, so that he may bring forth fruits worthy of penance. And let him not think that the proof of conversion is shown in the length of time, and not in the firmness of devotion and purpose. For to God, the minds are manifest, because He does not collect the account of times, but of souls. For He Himself tests whether anyone, once the preaching of the truth has been recognized, has not delayed, nor consumed time by being negligent, but immediately—and, if it can be said, in the very same moment—shuddering at past deeds, has conceived a desire for future ones, and has burned with love for the heavenly kingdom. For which reason, let no one of you any longer feign ignorance, nor look back, but let him gladly draw near to the Gospel of the kingdom of God. Let not the poor man say: "Because, when I shall have been made rich, then I shall be converted." God does not require money from you, but a merciful soul and a pious mind. Nor let the rich man delay his ^D conversion for the sake of worldly solicitude, while he thinks how he might dispense the abundance of his fruits. Nor let him say within himself: "What shall I do? Where shall I store my fruits?" Nor let him say to his soul: "You have many good things stored up for many years; feast and be glad." For it will be said to him: "Fool, this night your soul will be taken from you, and whose will those things be which you have prepared?" Therefore, let every age, every sex, and every condition hasten to penance, so that it might obtain eternal life. Let the young be grateful in this, that in the very impetus of desires, they submit their necks to the yoke of discipline. The aged, too, are praiseworthy, because they exchange the custom of a long time, in which they were previously led astray, for the love of God. Let no one therefore delay, let no one hesitate. For what cause of delay is there to do good? A spirit conscious of evil, while it seems to itself to suffer no punishment, believes that the Lord does not judge; whereas to abuse the patience of God, and not to understand the kindness of the One who spares, is already a great damnation. Whence it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does the work of the Lord negligently." Therefore, it belongs to the pastoral office to call back untiringly whatever, as far as it is permitted to understand, it knows pertains to the correction of the peoples—or rather, more truly, of spiritual sons—and not—which God forbid!—that with its own peril it should cause detriment to the hope of another through negligence alone; but that which pertains to the general salvation, it is necessary to provide for by a salutary treatise.

It ought to be a small thing for a religious man not to exercise the enmities of others, or not to aggravate them by speaking evil, unless he also strives to extinguish them by speaking well. Behold, we sound forth the trumpet of our mouth to the ears of men, and he who is taught what he ought to follow, both by words and by letters, will no longer be able to excuse himself as one not warned. Moreover, divine Scripture teaches us what kind of condemnation and what kind of curse threatens those who sin against their fathers. For if Ham, the son of Noah, when he had seen his father naked, because he had not covered the bodily nakedness of his father, but having gone out, reported it to his brothers, and they covered him with a garment; Ham himself, indeed, and those who were born from him, were made subject to a curse; but those who covered him earned a great blessing; much more, those are worthy of a greater and ampler condemnation who strive to set themselves against their fathers, or to rise up against them, or plot to inflict injury or insult upon them; because whoever resists them, resists God, and whoever does injury or insult to them, does it to God, whose legation they perform, saying: "The heaven shuddered over this, and was horribly afraid," says the Lord. O intolerable malignancy! O tongue speaking ini-

iniquity against God, and mind exalting its horn unto the height! And again: "Set a watch, O man, before thy mouth, and an ^A enclosure around thy lips." Cease from exalting your horn unto the height, and from speaking iniquity against God and your neighbor. How long will you insult the suffering Christ and his brethren? These things our aforementioned master and instructor and our ordainer, the prince of the apostles, Peter, used to teach us more familiarly, and used to preach these things in the Church, giving an example that we too might do likewise: "Humble yourselves," he says, "in the sight of the Lord, and he shall exalt you." Do not disparage one another, for he who disparages a brother, or who judges his brother, disparages the law and judges the law. But he who judges the law is not a doer of the law, but a judge. For there is one Lawgiver and Judge, who can destroy and deliver. But who are you, that you judge your neighbor? It is not right. He does not command us to judge one another, but rather to bring help. There will be woe, he says, to those who trouble their brethren, and to those who persecute them. But you, the more you are troubled, so much the more purified and blessed shall you become, if indeed the tribulation itself be borne patiently. Which even the Lord himself taught us: "Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake." And likewise: "Blessed shall you be when men shall hate you, and when they shall persecute you, and shall cast out your name as evil. Rejoice in that day and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven." Whence he himself also says: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole strength, and thy neighbor as thyself." For he says that he who pursues his brother does not love God rightly: nor does he love his neighbor who disparages him, or who accuses him; because what anyone does not wish to be done to himself, he ought not to do to another at all. "Learn," he says, "my children, wisdom, and keep the righteous way, and embrace charity, that you may not fail." For power is given from the Lord, and virtue from the Most High, who will examine your works, and search out your thoughts. But those who shall have kept justice shall be judged justly: and those who have learned what is just, shall find just answers to make. Always beware. For he has commanded that we should not at any time consent to sin and neglect the commandments of our God. ^D Establish churches in suitable and useful places, which it is necessary to consecrate with divine prayers, and in each place appoint priests, dedicated to God with divine prayers. Whom it is necessary that all should venerate, and by whom no one should be burdened. Always avoid evils, and for your souls do not be ashamed to speak the truth. Flee from lies, and produce truth from your heart, ^A since suspicion has already undermined many. Always love charity, and help your brethren. For they shall be as though they were not, and those who contradict you shall perish. Whence also the Lord says: "He who hears you, hears me; and he who despises you, despises me; and he who despises me, despises him who sent me." And likewise: "For he that is not against you, is for you. For whoever shall give you a cup of water in my name, because you are Christ's, amen I say to you, he shall not lose his reward. And he who shall scandalize one of these little ones who believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were cast into the sea. And if thy hand scandalize thee, cut it off. It is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into unquenchable fire, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not extinguished. And if thy foot scandalize thee, cut it off. It is better for thee to enter into eternal life lame, than having two feet to be cast into hell of unquenchable fire, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not extinguished. ^B But if thy eye scandalize thee, pluck it out. It is better for thee to enter one-eyed into the kingdom of God, than having two eyes to be cast into the hell of fire, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not extinguished. For every man shall be salted with fire, and every victim shall be salted. Salt is good: but if the salt be unsalted, wherewith will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another; because whoever among you shall have taught rightly, and lived justly, shall have glory. But he who shall have acted otherwise, shall undoubtedly suffer punishment. Therefore you must always do good deeds, so that you may receive the prize of eternal life.

Obey these instructions, therefore, well. Let no one believe that these precepts are not to be fulfilled, lest by the judgment of the eternal God he sustain the torments of fire, ^C for having neglected the sacred duties of ecclesiastical work. These things, therefore, brother James, I have heard from the mouth of the commanding saint Peter: If anyone shall have kept these precepts whole, let him be anathema until he has turned to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. These precepts I have received from holy Peter the apostle; and I have taken care to suggest them to you, brother dearest, that you may order them all to be kept without spot. If anyone indeed shall hear you, he shall be a useful minister of Jesus Christ. But he who shall not hear you, but rather the Lord speaking through you, he shall receive damnation upon himself. May Almighty God, dearest one, guard you by his protection, and lead you to the reward of the heavenly country, with manifold fruit of souls. May God guard you again and again in safety, most reverend brother. Amen.

EPISTLE III. TO THE BISHOPS, PRESBYTERS, DEACONS, ETC., AND ALL THE FAITHFUL, CONCERNING THE OFFICE OF PRIESTS AND CLERICS, rendered by Rufinus Toranus of Aquileia, presbyter.

Clement, bishop of the city of Rome, to all fellow-bishops, presbyters, deacons, and the rest of the clergy, and to all the faithful, both leaders, major and minor, and to all in general, blessing, brightness, and glory in the grace of God, which has been given to us in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Urged by this, brethren, by your great love and religious devotion, we are debtors to write certain things to you. You, therefore, who enjoy the priesthood of the Lord and are placed upon the watchtower, ought to know more, so that you may be able to teach the peoples subject to you fully, and with God’s assistance be able to provide them with guidance to the kingdom of heaven. Whence the Truth herself says: "To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God, but to the rest in parables," etc. For this reason, I give counsel to each of you to teach the divine words constantly; and to those learning, to lend an ear willingly to the word of God. For it is your task, since you perform the office of an ambassador for the Lord, to teach the peoples; and it is theirs to obey you as God. ^B But if all presbyters, deacons, and subdeacons, and the rest of the clergy, and all leaders, both of high and lower rank, and the remaining peoples of every tribe and tongue do not obey you, bishops, they will be not only infamous, but also exiles from the kingdom of God and the fellowship of the faithful, and strangers to the thresholds of the holy Church of God. For it is your task to instruct them; it is theirs to obey you as God, whose embassy you perform, as the Lord says: "He who hears you, hears me, and he who despises you, despises me"; and: "He who receives you, receives me, and he who receives me, receives Him who sent me." For nothing is more unjust or disgraceful than for sons to be rebellious against their fathers, or clerics or laymen against their teachers, or disciples to be disobedient or insolent to their masters. For we know that the first man fell through disobedience; therefore, we warn all to beware of this vice with the utmost care. And because "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble," our Lord, sending you in his stead in the place of the apostles to preach, commanded you to teach all, and that all should faithfully obey you; since in no other way will the earth bring forth its fruits unless, being cultivated, it receives the seed, and being watered, germinates, and brings forth what it is intended to bring forth. So also, any man who has not willingly received the word of God, and has not allowed it to germinate in his heart, ^A and has not believed his teachers and bishops, but has been rebellious and disobedient rather than benevolent, will not bring forth fruit and will not increase, but is like that tree of which the Lord says: "Every tree that does not bring forth good fruit shall be cut down, and cast into the fire." For the first pontiff, Aaron, anointed with the chrism of composition, was the prince of the people; and as a king, he received first-fruits and a tribute per capita from the people; and having received the lot of judging the people, he judged between the clean and the unclean. But if another was anointed with the same ointment, by the power conceived therefrom, he himself also became either king or prophet or pontiff. But if that temporal grace constituted by men had so much power, understand now how great that ointment is which was brought forth by God from the shoot of life, since it confers such exceptional dignities among men over that which was made by men. For what is more glorious in the present age than a prophet, clearer than a pontiff, or more sublime than a king? For every pontiff anointed with sacred chrism, and established in the city, and founded in the sacred Scriptures, ought to be dear and precious among men. Everyone ought to honor him as holding the place of Christ, and to serve him, and to exist as faithfully obedient for their own salvation, knowing that whether honor or injury is offered to him, it redounds to Christ, and from Christ to God. ^C It is proper, therefore, to hear him more attentively, and to receive from him the doctrine of faith, but to inquire about the admonitions of life from the presbyters, and from the deacons concerning the order of discipline. On account of this, I beseech you, my fellow-servants and helpers, that you learn to care more attentively for souls, and to stand for all, but especially for those who labor in divine worship. Have care for all the churches, and provide help for their servants, take religious care of widows, liberate orphans more earnestly, show mercy to the poor, and teach the young modesty. And, to say all in brief, support one another where matters require it. Worship God, who created heaven and earth, and believe in Christ, love one another, and be merciful toward all, not by word alone, but fulfill charity by work and deeds. Act with all your strength, most beloved fellow-servants, because it is a good thing that each of you, in whatever way he can, benefits those approaching the faith of our religion. And therefore, do not let it weary you, according to the wisdom which ^D

^A has been bestowed upon you by the providence of God, to instruct and teach the ignorant. It behooves all men to have a desire toward the teacher of truth, and to love him as their own eyes; for it is fitting that he should love and teach the people committed to him, just as his own children; for this has been bestowed upon him by the heavenly Father. But salvation also lies in this, that by God’s favor, they should conceive and fulfill the will of him whose love and desire they have. If, therefore, any believer wishes to exist and desires to be baptized, being stripped of his former evils, he shall henceforth, through good deeds, become heir to celestial goods by his own actions. Let him who wishes to do so approach his priest, and give his name to him, and hear from him the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, and apply himself to frequent fasts, and prove himself in all things, so that, three months having passed, he may be able to be baptized on the feast day. And let everyone be baptized in perennial waters, the name of the threefold blessedness being invoked over him, having been first anointed with oil sanctified by prayer, so that at last, being consecrated through these things, he may be able to occupy a place with the saints. For let no one, because of the shame of old age or youth, or the nobility of birth, neglect to inquire of children or less learned persons if there is anything useful or salvific. For he who lives rebelliously, and refuses to learn and execute good things, is shown to be a member of the devil rather than of Christ, and is demonstrated to be an infidel rather than a believer. How, then, is this not lovable and desirable to all, that what one is ignorant of, he may learn, and what he has learned, he may teach? For it is most certain that neither friendship, nor family affinity, nor the sublimity of a kingdom, ought to be more precious to a man than truth, because nothing is more precious than the soul. The Lord, however, the creator of all things, made man from the beginning in his own image, and gave him dominion over the earth, the sea, and the air itself, and commanded him to seek the truth, just as the true prophet has told us, and the very reason of things teaches. For man alone is a rational being, and it follows that reason should dominate in rational beings. For he, from the beginning, while he was still just, was superior to all vices and every frailty; but when he sinned and became a servant of sin, he is made simultaneously a debtor and subject to frailty. Which is written for this reason, so that men may know that just as through impiety they become subject to passions, so through piety they can be ^D impassible; and not only impassible, but also healing the passions of others through their own small faith in God. For the true prophet himself promised this, saying: Amen I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain: Remove from here, and it will remove. You yourselves have also received proofs of this voice, and you are not ignorant of certain things already done through our masters, namely the apostles themselves; because with us standing by, the merits of the demons, along with the passions which they had aroused in men, passed away and were put to flight. Since, therefore, some men indeed suffer, and others heal those who suffer, the cause, without doubt, must be recognized, whether of suffering or of healing; which is demonstrated to be none other than infidelity in those who suffer, and faith in those who heal. For infidelity, while it does not believe in the future judgment of God, provides a license for sinning; but sin makes man subject to passions. Faith, however, believing that there will be a future judgment of God, restrains men from sin. But those who do not sin are not only free from demons and passions, but are even able to put to flight the demons and passions of others. From all these things, therefore, it is gathered that the source of all evil descends from ignorance, and it is itself the mother of all evils, which is born of carelessness and sloth, but is nourished and increased by negligence, and takes root in the senses of men, while it is loved; which if anyone happens to teach to be cast out, it is uprooted with difficulty, just as if from ancient and hereditary seats, as if indignantly and angrily. And therefore let us labor a little, as those who are indignant, so that we may excise the presumption of the knowledge of ignorance by reason; especially in those who are possessed by some less correct opinions, through which, as if under the guise of some science, ^C ignorance is more vehemently rooted in them. For there is nothing more grave than if one believes he knows what he is ignorant of, and defends as true that which is false: which is such as if one who is drunk should think himself sober, and indeed should do everything as one who is drunk, yet should think himself sober, and wish to be called so by others. Thus, therefore, are those who, while ignorant of what is true, yet hold the appearance of some knowledge, and treat evils as if they were goods, and hasten as if to salvation toward destruction. On account of which, before all things, we must hasten to the recognition of truth, so that we may be able, as if by a light kindled for us from there, to dispel the shadows of errors. For ignorance is a great evil, as we have said; but because it has no substance, it is easily dispelled by those who are studious. For ignorance is nothing else than not having known what is expedient. But once you have known, ignorance perishes. Therefore, the recognition of truth must be sought greatly, which no one else can assign, except the true prophet. For this is the "way," to those wishing to enter into life, and the highest ^D of good works to those proceeding to the city of salvation. If anyone, indeed, hearing the discourse of the true prophet, wishes or does not wish to receive and embrace his burden, that is, the commandments of life, he has this in his own power; for we are free of will. For if this were the case, that as they saw them, they no longer had in their power to do anything other than what they had heard; there would be some force of nature, through which it would not be free to move to another opinion. Or if, on the other hand, no one of those hearing were to receive it at all, and this were a force of nature, which would compel one thing to be done, and would give no place to the other part.

^A Now, however, because it is free for the mind to decline its own judgment to whichever side it wills, and to choose the path it has approved; it is clearly established that there is freedom of choice in men. Therefore, before anyone hears what is advantageous for him, it is certain that he is ignorant; and the ignorant person wills and desires what is not advantageous to perform, for which reason he is not judged for it. But when he has heard the causes of his error and has received the reason of truth, then if he remains in those errors by which he was previously hindered, he will rightly be called to judgment, to pay the penalties, because he has consumed the space of this life, which he received for living well, in the mockeries of error. But let him who hears these things willingly accept them, and rejoice that the doctrine of good things has been brought to him; let him inquire more intently, and not cease to learn, until he knows if there is truly another age in which rewards are prepared for the good. And when he is certain of this, let him give thanks to God that He has shown him the light of truth, and for the rest let him direct his actions in all good works, the reward for which he is certain is prepared for him in the future, marveling through everything and being stunned at the errors of other men, and that no one sees the truth placed before their eyes. Yet he himself, rejoicing over the riches of wisdom which he has found, ^B let him enjoy these insatiably, and delight in the exercise of good works, hastening to reach the future age with a pure heart and a clear conscience, where he may also be able to see God, the King of all. Ignorance alone causes us to lack and be defrauded of all these things. For while men are ignorant of how much good knowledge possesses, they do not allow the evil of ignorance to be excluded from themselves; for they do not know how great is the diversity in the transformation of these things. For this reason, the counsel for everyone who is learning is to offer himself willingly to the Word of God, and to hear what we say with a love of truth, so that the mind, having received the best seed, may bring forth happy fruits through good acts. For if, while I am teaching those things which pertain to salvation, anyone refuses to receive them, and with a mind occupied by depraved opinions strives to resist, he will have the cause of perishing, not from us, but from himself. For he ought to examine with just judgment what we say, and understand that we speak the words of truth, so that with those things which are, as they truly are, known, by directing his path in good actions, he may be found a partaker of the kingdom of heaven, subjecting to himself the desires of the flesh, and, having become master of them, may thus finally himself become a pleasant possession of the Ruler of all. ^C For he who remains in evil, and is a slave to evil, cannot become a portion of good as long as he remains in evil; because from the beginning, as we have already said, God established two kingdoms; and He gave power to each one of men so that he might become a portion of that kingdom to which he himself has subjected himself for obedience. And because it is defined before God that it is impossible for one man to be a slave of both kingdoms; apply yourselves with every effort to the hall of the good King ^D and to meet with Him. For this reason, finally, the true prophet, when He was present with us and saw some of the rich negligent toward the worship of God, opened the truth of this matter in this way: "No one," He says, "can serve two masters"; and: "You cannot serve God and mammon"; calling wealth "mammon" in the language of their country. This, therefore, is the true prophet, who appeared to us in Judea, as you have heard; who, standing in public, by a simple command made the blind see, the deaf hear, put demons to flight, restored health to the sick, and life to the dead: and since nothing was impossible for Him, He even perceived the thoughts of men, which is possible for no one except God alone. This One announced the kingdom of God; and we, concerning all that He said, believe in Him as the true prophet, deriving the firmness of our faith not only from His words, but also from His deeds; because the sayings of the Law, which had expounded concerning His presence many generations before, are designated in Him, and the images of the deeds of Moses, and before him the patriarch Jacob, bore the type of Him in everything. The time of His advent, too, that is, the very time in which He came, is established as having been foretold by them; and above all, that He was to be expected by the nations, it is comprehended in the sacred writings, which in Him have equally been all fulfilled. But that the prophet of the Jews foretold that He was to be expected by the nations confirms the true faith in Him beyond measure. For if He had said that He would be expected by the Jews, it would not seem to be any extraordinary prophecy, because He whose advent had been promised for the salvation of the world would naturally be hoped for by His fellow-tribesmen and His own people. For it seems to be a more consistent reasoning that this should come to pass, than what prophetic magnificence foretold. Now, however, when the prophets say that all that hope, which is promised concerning the salvation of the world, and the newness of the kingdom, which is to be established through Christ, and all things which are indicated concerning Him, are to be transferred to the nations, it is confirmed by a magnificent prophetic truth, not according to the sequence of events, but by an incredible outcome of prophecy. For the Jews from the beginning had received by a most true tradition that this man would eventually be present, through whom all things would be restored; and meditating and watching daily, when His advent would take place; when they saw Him present, and fulfilling signs and wonders, just as it had been written concerning Him; blinded by envy, they could not recognize Him when He was present, for whose absence they had longed in hope. Only the holy apostles, who were chosen by God, understood, and we, who were chosen by them afterward. But this was done by the providence of God, so that the knowledge of this good would be handed down even to the nations; and those who had never heard of Him, nor had learned from the prophets, might recognize Him; but those, indeed, who had become empty by daily meditations, might remain ignorant. For behold, now through you, who are present and desire to hear the doctrine and the laws of His faith, and to recognize who and how and of what kind

^A his advent is, the prophetic truth is fulfilled. For what the prophets had predicted, that he would be sought by you who had never heard of him, and therefore, seeing the prophetic dictates fulfilled in yourselves, you rightly believe in this one, you rightly await him, you rightly inquire about him, so that you may not only await him, but by believing may also attain the inheritance of his kingdom, according to what he himself said, that everyone becomes the servant of him to whom he has submitted himself. Therefore, keep watch, and enlist yourselves under the Lord our God, who is the Lord of heaven and earth. And reform yourselves into his image and likeness, as the true prophet himself teaches, saying: Be good and merciful, as your heavenly Father is merciful, who makes his sun rise on the good and the bad, and rains on the just and the unjust. Him, therefore, imitate, and him fear; and as the commandment is given to men: You shall fear the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve. To the unbelieving, indeed, the Lord sleeps, and he is held as absent by those by whom he is not believed to exist, and whose commandments they do not obey; and for that reason the Lord seems to them to sleep, because they are not heard for their sins. Wherefore, it must be observed by all the faithful, and especially by all presbyters and deacons and the rest of the clergy, that they do nothing without the license of their own bishop. By no means let any of the presbyters perform masses in his parish without his order, nor baptize, nor do anything without his permission. Similarly, let the rest of the people, the greater as well as the lesser, do whatever is to be done through his license; nor let them depart from the parish without his permission, ^B or presume to stay in it if they are arriving. For their souls have been entrusted to him. Therefore, they ought to do everything by his counsel, and nothing without consulting him. For whoever obeys their bishops, indeed, they seem to confer some grace upon God. But those who do not obey them are undoubtedly guilty and reprobate. Moreover, they themselves obtain the gift of the highest office from God, who, walking in the paths of his justice and commandments, gladly obey their teachers (who are rightly understood to be bishops). Regarding whom the blessed Peter, our instructor and organizer and prince of the apostles, also manifestly instructed all who listened, saying: They seem to me, those who speak the words of truth and who illuminate the souls of men, to be like rays of the sun; which, as soon as they have gone forth and appeared to the world, can in no way be hidden or concealed, since they are not so much seen by all as they provide them for all to see. Whence also the Truth itself well says to the heralds of Truth: You are the light of the world; and: A city cannot be hidden that is set on a hill, nor do they light a lamp and put it under a bushel basket, but on a lampstand, that it may give light to all who are in the house. If, therefore, anyone obeys these, he offers a great gift to God. But he who resists them, or has shown himself disobedient, resists not them, but our Lord the Savior, whose embassy they fulfill. Because of this, the first of all things is to seek the justice of God and his kingdom, and to obey his commands; justice, indeed, that we may be taught to act rightly; but the kingdom, that we may know what reward is set for labor and patience; in which there is for the good, indeed, the remuneration of eternal goods, but for those who have acted against his will, a worthy restitution of ^C punishments according to each one's deeds. Therefore, this is the point: being placed in this present life, it behooves us to recognize the will of God, where there is also a place for acting and for sacrificing; since it is not permitted to sacrifice and celebrate masses in other places, except in those in which the proper bishop has ordered, or by a bishop regularly ordained, namely, one who holds the city, has been consecrated. For otherwise these things are not to be done, nor are they to be celebrated with rite, as the New and Old Testament teaches us. These the apostles received from the Lord and handed them down to us; these we teach, and we command you and all, without reproach, to keep and to teach those things that ought to be done. For every thing has its own time and place. This is the place of works, but the time for rewards is the world to come. Let us not, therefore, be hindered, confounding the order of places and times, but first let us seek what is the justice of God, and as those about to go on a journey, let us be filled with an abundant provision of good works, by which we may be able to arrive at the kingdom of God, as if at a great city. For God is manifest to those who think rightly through the very works of the world which he made; using the testimony of his own creature: and therefore, since there should be no doubt about God, let us seek now only his justice and kingdom. For this reason, I persuade you first that his justice is to be sought, so that, walking through this way and being placed on the path of truth, we may be able to find the true prophet, running not with the speed of feet, but with the speed of good works; that using him as a guide, we may suffer no error of this way. For if, following him, we shall have merited to enter that city, to which we desire to arrive; we shall see all things about which one asks with our own eyes, having become heirs of all. Understand, therefore, the way to be this course of our life; travelers, those who instruct us or perform good works; but the gate, the prophet of whom we speak; the city, the kingdom, in which the almighty Father resides, whom only those can see who are pure in heart. Let the labor of this journey, therefore, not seem difficult to us, because at its end there will be rest. For even the true prophet himself, running through the age from the beginning of the world, hastens to his rest. ^D For there is present to us...

^A in these days; and it appears whenever it is necessary, and corrects us, so that, by obeying it, it may lead us to eternal life. But concerning those who neglect the way of their own salvation, and are not yet well-established in the faith, and are disobedient to his precepts and the commands of his pontiffs, or are rebellious against them, our Lord Jesus Christ, sending forth his disciples, instructed us, saying: "Into whatsoever city or house we enter, let us say, Peace be to this house. And if, he says, a son of peace be there, your peace shall come upon him; but if he is not, your peace shall return to you. But departing from that house or city, shake off even the dust that has clung to your feet upon them. It will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city or house." ^B Which he commanded to be done, of course, only if the word of truth had first been preached in the city or house; from which those who receive the faith of truth become sons of peace and sons of God; or those who do not receive it are argued against as enemies of peace and of God. Therefore, we too, following the precepts of the masters, first offer peace to our hearers, so that without any disturbance the way of salvation may be acknowledged. But if anyone does not receive the words of peace, nor acquiesces to the truth, we know how to wage the war of the word against him, and to argue more sharply, refuting ignorance and rebuking sins. It is necessary, therefore, that we offer peace, so that if there is any son of peace, our peace may come upon him; but from him who has made himself an alien to peace, our peace shall return to us. And if we again have the command that, coming to a city, we should first investigate who in it is worthy, so that we may eat our meals with him; how much more does it befit us to know who, or of what kind, is he to whom the words of immortality are to be entrusted? For we must be solicitous, and very solicitous, lest we cast our pearls before swine. But also for other reasons, it is useful for me to have knowledge of such a man. For if I know that he is reformed and blameless in those things about which it cannot be doubted that they are good—that is, if he is sober, if he is merciful, if he is just, if he is meek and humane, which no one doubts are indeed good things—then it will seem reasonable that to him who possesses these goods of virtue, there should also be conferred what is lacking in faith and knowledge; and that any area in which his life seems to be spotted, while in other things it is commendable, may be amended. But if he remains defiled, entangled in sins that are manifest, it is not fitting for me to speak further about the more secret and remote matters of divine knowledge, but rather to protest to him and to rebuke him, that he might cease to sin and amend his actions from vice. But if he thrusts himself forward and provokes us to discuss things that it is not appropriate for him to hear while he is acting incorrectly, we must prudently evade him: for it is not useful, because of a lack of a prompt answer, to decline the encounter, lest his faith be damaged, not the understanding of our purpose. ^C It will be a great indignity and a grave sin for us if we are so foolish that, when we see him who worships idols being sober, we who worship God refuse to be sober. Let this not be among us, but let us have great zeal, so that if those who err do not commit murder, we do not even grow angry. And if they do not commit adultery, we do not even covet another’s wife. If they love their neighbors, we should love even our enemies. If they lend to those who have the means to repay, we should give even to those from whom we hope for no return. And through all things, we who hope for the inheritance of the eternal age ought to surpass those who know only the present age; knowing that if their works, when compared to our works, are found similar and equal on the day of judgment, it will be a confusion for us, because we were found equal in works to those who are condemned on account of ignorance and had no hope of the future age. And it is truly a worthy confusion, where we have achieved nothing more than those by whom we have understood more. But if it will be a confusion for us to be found equal to them in good works, what will it be for us if the future examination finds us inferior and worse? Hear, therefore, how the true prophet himself has instructed us regarding these things. For toward those who neglect to hear the words of wisdom, he says thus: ^D "The queen of the south will rise in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon: and behold, more than Solomon is here, and they do not hear." And towards those who hesitated to do penance for their evil acts, he says thus: "The men of Nineveh will rise in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, because they did penance at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, more than Jonah is here." You see, therefore, how he condemns those who were instructed in the law, by bringing forward as an example those who came from gentile ignorance, and showing that they are not even equal to those who seemed to be set in error, from that comparison alone. From all of which the discourse which we proposed is approved, that chastity, which is in some measure kept even by those who are set in error, must be kept much sooner and more attentively, and in every single detail, as we have shown above, by us who follow the truth; all the more because, among us, the rewards of its observance are set in the eternal. For otherwise no one will be able to be saved, unless he has applied himself with all his strength to these observances. May God always keep you in his will, each in his own order, brothers, and grant you to please him in all things. Amen.

EPISTLE IV

*Written to his disciples Julius and Julianus, who had to some extent declined from the straight path through the persuasions of evil men, [and to these, as well as] to the gentiles among whom they dwelt, directly.*

Clement, bishop of the City of Rome, to the most beloved ^A brethren Julius and Julianus, and to our other fellow-members, and to the gentiles who are around you.

It is fitting, brothers, that all teachers who are established for the salvation of souls, and for whose sake bishops are consecrated to win souls, should exercise concern for all, and lead the erring back to the way of truth and to the harbor of salvation. And although, because of the gentiles who are around you, it may have happened that you have erred a little; it is better, however, to return to the way of truth than to persevere longer in that same error. For whosoever among those who caused you to err, or among those who have not yet heard the word of preaching, you are able, take them with you, and lead them to the way of truth, that you may be found not fruitless, but fruitful in the Lord. And since indeed, just as land neglected by the cultivator necessarily produces thorns and thistles, so your mind, through long-standing neglect, has germinated many and harmful opinions of affairs and understandings of false knowledge; there is now need of much diligence to cultivate the field of your mind, so that this word of truth (which is the true and diligent farmer of the heart) may till it with assiduous disciplines. It is your task, therefore, to offer obedience, and to amputate superfluous occupations and anxieties, lest the good seed of the word be choked by the harmful weed. For it can happen that brief and assiduous diligence repairs the negligence of much time. For the time of every person’s life is uncertain. And therefore one must hasten to salvation, lest perhaps sudden death forestall the hesitant. And for this ^B reason one must strive more keenly that, while there is a space of time, the vices of accumulated bad habit may be cut away. Which you will not be able to do otherwise than if you are angry, in a certain way, against yourselves for those things which you have done uselessly and shamefully. For this is a useful, just, and necessary anger, that each one should be indignant at the things in which he has erred and acted perversely, and should accuse himself. From which indignation a certain fire is kindled in us, which, having been introduced like [fire] on barren soil, having consumed and scorched the roots of the worst will, may prepare the soil of the heart, made more fertile for the good seed of the word of God. I think, however, that you have sufficiently worthy causes for anger, from which this most just fire may coalesce, if you consider into how many errors the evil of ignorance has led you, how many lapses and how many precipices unto sin it has given; from how many good things it ^C has drawn you away, and into what evils it has precipitated you, and — what is more serious than everything — that it has made you liable to eternal punishments in the coming age. For these things, when the light of truth has shone upon you, is not the fire of most just indignation kindled, and the conflagration of the anger of God rises within you, by which every germ is consumed and dies at the root, if perchance any [seed] of bad conscience has sprouted up within you? Whence also He Himself who sent us, when He had come, and had seen that the whole world had declined unto malice, did not immediately grant it peace, having been placed in errors, lest He should confirm it in evils, but opposed the knowledge of truth to its ruins of ignorance; so that, if any might perchance repent, they might look upon the light of truth, and might deservedly grieve that they themselves were deceived and drawn into the precipices of error, and might conceive the fire of saving anger against their own deceiving ignorance. For this reason therefore He used to say: "I came to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish that it were kindled!" There is therefore a certain warfare that must be waged by us in this life. For the word of truth and of knowledge necessarily separates men from error and ignorance; just as we often see rotting and dead flesh of the body separated from the connection of living members by the cutting steel. Such, therefore, is something of what the recognition of truth does. For it is necessary that, for the sake of salvation, a son, for instance, who has received the word of truth, be separated from incredulous parents, or again that a father be separated from a son, or a daughter from a mother. And this happens merely between kin and ^D consanguineous persons, believers and incredulous—the battle of knowledge and ignorance, of truth and error consists in this. And for this reason He used to say again, who sent us: "I came not to send peace upon the earth, but a sword." But if someone should say: And how does it seem just that children should be separated from parents? Hear how: Because while they remain in error with them, they will neither be of use to them, nor will they themselves likewise perish with them. It is just, therefore, and very just, that he who wishes to be saved should be separated from him who does not wish [to be]. But also note this, that this separation does not come from those who understand more rightly. For they wish to be together, and to be of service to these, and to teach better things. But this is also a vice peculiar to ignorance, that it cannot bear to have the light of truth refuting it at close quarters. And therefore from them this separation arises. For those who receive the knowledge of truth, because it is full of goodness, as having been given by a good God, desire it,

even with those who hate and persecute them. For they know that sin is the cause of their own ignorance. Therefore, finally, the Master himself, when he was being led to the cross by those who did not know him, prayed to the Father for his killers, and said: Father, forgive them their sin, for they do not know what they are doing. His disciples also, imitating the Master, even themselves, when they suffered, likewise prayed for their killers. But if it is given to us as a discipline to pray even for our killers and persecutors, why is it not believed that we ought also to endure the persecutions of parents and relatives, and pray for their conversion?

Then afterwards let us also consider more diligently what is the cause for us to love our parents. Because, they say, they appear to be the authors of our life. Yet parents are not the authors of our life, but ministers. For they do not provide life, but offer the ministry of our entering into this life; but the author of life is one and God alone. But if we wish to love the author of life, let us know that he is the one to be loved by us. But, they say, we could not know him, but we know the latter and hold them in affection. So be it; you could not know who God is: yet you could very easily know what God is not. For how could it escape a man that wood, or stone, or bronze, or other material of this kind is not God? But if, in those things which you could easily grasp, you were unwilling to turn your mind to discussion, it is certain that you are hindered in the knowledge of God, not by the vice of impossibility, but of sloth; for if you had wished, you would have truly received from these very useless idols the way of understanding. It is certain that the idols were made through iron; but iron was fashioned through fire, which fire is extinguished by water; but water is moved through the spirit, and the spirit has its beginning from God. For so Moses the prophet said: ^A In the beginning God made heaven and earth. And the earth was invisible and uncomposed, and darkness was over the face of the abyss, and the spirit of God was over the waters. Which spirit of God, at his command, as the hand of the creator itself, separated light from darkness, and after that invisible heaven produced this visible one, so that he might make the upper things a dwelling for angels, and the lower ones for men. Because of you, therefore, by God's command, the water which was over the face of the earth retreated, so that the earth might produce fruits for you. Into which he also secretly inserted veins of humors, so that springs and rivers might flow forth to you from it. Because of you it was commanded to produce living creatures, and all things that might serve your use and will. Do not the winds blow for your sake, so that, conceiving from them, the earth may bring forth fruits for you? Do not rains flow down for your sake, and the seasons change their vicissitudes? Does the sun rise for your sake ^B and set, and does the moon suffer changes? Because of you the sea exhibits its service, so that all things may be subject to you, ungrateful though you are. Will not the punishment of vengeance be just for all these things, because you alone, beyond all others, are ignorant of the bestower of all these things, whom you ought to have both known and honored before all else? But even now, through the same things, I still lead you into the understanding of him. For you see that all things are begotten from waters, but water was made through the Only-Begotten from the beginning, and omnipotent God is the head of the Only-Begotten, through whom, in such an order as we said above, one arrives at the Father. But when you have arrived, know that this is his will, that you be born again through the waters, which are the first of creatures. For whoever is regenerated through water, is filled with good works, and becomes an heir of him by whom he was regenerated in incorruption. For this reason, approach with prepared minds, as sons to a father, so that your sins may be washed away, and the cause of them be proven before God to have been only ignorance. For if, after the knowledge of these things, you remain in incredulity, it will be imputed to you as the cause of your own destruction, and not of ignorance. Nor think that even if you cultivate all piety and all justice, but do not receive baptism, you can have any hope before God; rather, you will be worthy of greater punishment, you who have not done good works well. For merit is conferred upon a man from good deeds; but if they are performed in such a way as God commands. But God has commanded that everyone who worships him be signed with baptism. But if you refuse, so that you obey your own will rather than God’s, you are without doubt contrary and enemies to his will. But you say perhaps: What does baptismal water confer for the worship of God? First, indeed, because what pleased God is fulfilled. Second, because for someone regenerated from the waters and reborn by God, the fragility of the prior birth, which was made for you through man, is cut away, and thus at last you will be able to arrive at salvation: otherwise it is impossible. For thus the true prophet testified to us with a sacrament, saying: Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one is born again of living water, he will not enter into the kingdom ^C of heaven. And therefore hasten; for there is a certain mercy of his in these waters, which from the beginning was borne over them; and it recognizes those who are baptized under the invocation of the triple sacrament, and snatches them from future torments, as if offering to God souls consecrated through baptism. Flee therefore to these waters: for they alone are able to extinguish the force of the future fire; and for whomsoever delays to approach, it is certain that the idol of infidelity resides in him still, and prevents him from hastening to the waters which confer salvation. For whether he is just, or whether he is unjust, baptism is necessary for him in all respects. For the just man, indeed, so that perfection may be fulfilled in him, and

be reborn to God; but for that which is unjust, so that the remission of those sins which he has committed may be granted. Therefore, all must hasten to be reborn to God without delay, and finally to be signed by the bishop, that is, ^A to receive the sevenfold grace of the Holy Spirit (30-31), because the end of everyone’s life is uncertain. But when he has been regenerated through water, and afterwards confirmed by the bishop with the sevenfold grace of the Spirit (as has been mentioned), since otherwise, a Christian can in no wise be perfect, nor have a place among the perfect, if he remains so not out of necessity, but out of negligence or willfulness (as we have received from blessed Peter, and the other holy apostles have taught, the Lord commanding it), and finally shows in himself from good works the likeness of the Father who begat him. After these things, however, let him know that he honors God. The honor of God, however, is that he should live just as He himself wishes; for He wishes everyone to live in such a way that he knows neither homicide nor adultery, that he flees hatred and avarice, and that he rejects and detests anger, pride, boasting, as well as envy and other similar things, and removes them utterly from himself. There is, indeed, a certain observance peculiar to our religion, which is not so much imposed upon men as it is properly sought after by everyone who honors God for the sake of purity; I speak of the caution regarding chastity, the forms of which are many. But first, let everyone observe that he does not have intercourse with a woman during her period; for the law of ^B God considers this an abomination. But if the law had not warned us about these things, we would willingly wallow in filth like puppies. We ought to have something more than animals, as we are rational men and capable of heavenly perceptions, to whom the highest concern ought to be to preserve the conscience from every defilement of the heart. "It is good, and becoming to purity, also to wash the body with water. But I say it is good, not as the principal thing, but as that in which the mind is purified, but that which follows it. For so also our Master rebuked certain of the Pharisees and ^C scribes, who seemed to be better than the others, and separated from the common people, calling them hypocrites; because they purified only those things that were seen by men; but the hearts, which God alone looks upon, they left defiled and filthy. Therefore, to some of them, not to all, He said: Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of filth. Blind Pharisee, cleanse first what is inside, and what is outside will be clean! For truly, if the mind is cleansed by the light of knowledge, when it itself is clean and splendid, then it necessarily also takes care of the one who is outside, that is, of its own flesh, so that it too may be purified. But where this ^D purification of the flesh which is outside is neglected, it is certain that no care is taken for the purity of the mind and the cleanliness of the heart. So it comes about that he who is clean inwardly is undoubtedly cleansed also outwardly. But he who is cleansed outwardly is not always clean inwardly, namely, when he does these things so that he may please men. But also that form of chastity is to be observed, that one should not consort with women indiscriminately and for the sake of satisfying lust, but for the sake of procreating offspring; which observance, since it is found even in some animals, is a shame if it is not observed by rational men who worship God. Therefore all have sinned and need the help of God (32). For which reason, dearly beloved, always pursue charity, and be zealous for better and spiritual things, and help one another, so that you may be able to please God always in all things. Amen.

LETTER V

De communi vita et reliquis causis, suis discipulis scripta, Hierosolymitanisque directa (33).

To the most beloved brothers and fellow-disciples living in Jerusalem with our dearest brother James the co-bishop, CLEMENT bishop.

Communal life, brothers, is necessary for all, and especially for those who desire to serve God irreprohensibly and wish to imitate the life of the apostles and their disciples. For the communal use of all things that are in this world is necessary for all.

but through iniquity one has said that this is his own, and another that, and thus division has occurred among mortals. Finally, a certain very wise man of the Greeks, knowing these things to be so, says: "All things ought to be common among friends," and just as the air, he says, cannot be divided, nor the splendor of the sun, so neither should other things which have been given in common for all in this world to hold, but these ought to be had in common. Whence also the Lord speaks through the prophet, saying: "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together!" For once the manner of this custom is retained, even the apostles and their disciples, as has been said before, lived a common life with us and with you. Whence (as you well know), the multitude of them had one heart and one soul: nor did any of them or of us say that anything of these things which they possessed was their own, but all things were common to them and to us, and there was no one in need among us. Moreover, all those who possessed houses or fields sold them, and the prices of them, and the remaining things which they had, they brought, placing them before the feet of the apostles, just as some of you have known and seen with us: and they distributed to each one as there was need. But Ananias, a harsh man, and Sapphira his wife, who lied to the apostles about the price of the fields which they had sold, with us present, in the sight of all the bystanders, in the sight of the apostles, on account of their sin and the lie which they committed, were both carried out ^B dead. And the other things which we have known and seen concerning such people are worthy of neither record nor demonstration. Wherefore we command that these things be avoided by you, and we urge you to obey the doctrines and examples of the apostles; because those who disregard their commands become not only guilty, but exiles. These things should not only be avoided by you, but they must be preached to all. It has also been reported to us that some, dwelling in your parts, oppose sound doctrines, and (as it seems to them) do not seem to teach according to the tradition of the Father, but according to their own judgment. For some, as we have heard, ^A of your parts, according to the nature of men, receive likenesses from those things which they read; and therefore it must be diligently observed that the law of God, when it is read, should not be read or taught according to the understanding of one's own mind. For there are many words in the divine Scriptures which can be drawn to that sense which each one has presumed for himself, but it ought not to be done. For you should not seek a sense that you may adulterate from the outside, an alien and extraneous one, or in what way you might confirm it by the authority of the Scriptures; but rather you should grasp the sense of the truth from the Scriptures themselves. And therefore it is necessary to learn the understanding of the Scriptures from him who has kept it for himself, handed down from the elders according to the truth, so that he himself might also be able ^B to argue competently concerning what he has rightly received. For since one has received an integral and firm rule of truth from the divine Scriptures, it will not be absurd if one also conveys something from common education and the liberal studies, which perhaps he touched upon in childhood, for the assertion of true dogma; yet so that where he has learned the truth, he may decline what is false and feigned. For the time of life is uncertain even for the young, but for the aged it is no longer even uncertain; for it is not doubted that, however much is thought to remain, it is brief. And therefore it behooves both young and old to be greatly concerned about conversion and penance, and to strive to adorn their soul for the rest of their time with the most worthy ornaments, that is, with the dogmas of the truth, ^C with the modesty of chastity, the splendor of justice, the candor of piety, and with all other things with which a rational mind ought to be adorned. Whence, giving counsel, we urge your prudence that you do not depart from the apostolic rules, but, leading a common life and rightly understanding the sacred Scriptures, you strive to fulfill what you have vowed to the Lord. And when with constant prayer you have merited to obtain the grace of God, then, without suspicion of an evil end, your festive vows may be performed. May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.