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TOPIC: Nicene Fathers Vol 06 (Other Topics in this Collection)
SUBJECT: 16.01.02 Sermon on the Mount Bk 1 Part 2
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Chapter VIII.
20. In this sentence the meaning is twofold.hyperlink We must deal with it in both ways. For He who says, "I am not comehyperlink to destroy the law, but to fulfil," means it either in the way of adding what is wanting, or of doing what is in it. Let us then consider that first which I have put first: for he who adds what is wanting does not surely destroy what he finds, but rather confirms it by perfecting it; and accordingly He follows up with the statement, "Verily I say unto you,hyperlink Till heaven and earth pass, one iota or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." For, if even those things which are added for completion are fulfilled, much more are those things fulfilled which are sent in advance as a commencement. Then, as to what He says, "One iota or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law," nothing else can be understood but a strong expression of perfection, since it is pointed out by means of single letters, among which letters "iota" is smaller than the others, for it is made by a single stroke; while a "tittle" is but a particle of some sort at the top of even that. And by these words He shows that in the law all the smallest particulars even are to be carried into effect.hyperlink After that He subjoins: "Whosoever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven." Hence it is the least commandments that are meant by "one iota" and "one tittle." And therefore, "whosoever shall break and shall teach [men] so,"-i.e. in accordance with what he breaks, not in accordance with what he finds and reads,-"shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven;" and therefore, perhaps, he will not be in the kingdom of heaven at all, where only the great can be. "But whosoever shall do and teach [men] so,"hyperlink -i.e. who shall not break, and shall teach men so, in accordance with what he does not break,-"shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." But in regard to him who shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven, it follows that he is also in the kingdom of heaven, into which the great are admitted: for to this what follows refers.
Chapter IX.
21. "For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven;"hyperlink i.e., unless ye shall fulfil not only those least precepts of the law which begin the man, but also those which are added by me, who am not come to destroy the law, but to fulfil it, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. But you say to me: If, when He was speaking above of those least commandments, He said that whosoever shall break one of them, and shall teach in accordance with his transgression, is called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but that whosoever shall do them, and shall teach [men] so, is called great, and hence will be already in the kingdom of heaven, because he is great: what need is there for additions to the least precepts of the law, if he can be already in the kingdom of heaven, because whosoever shall do them, and shall so teach, is great? For this reason that sentence is to be understood thus: "But whosoever shall do and teach men so, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven,"-i.e. not in accordance with those least commandments, but in accordance with those which I am about to mention. Now what are they? "That your righteousness," says He, "may exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees;" for unless it shall exceed theirs, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever, there fore, shall break those least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called the least; but whosoever shall do those least commandments, and shall teach men so, is not necessarily to be reckoned great and meet for the kingdom of heaven; but yet he is not so much the least as the man who breaks them. But in order that he may be great and fit for that kingdom, he ought to do and teach as Christ now teaches, i.e. in order that his righteousness may exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. The righteousness of the Pharisees is, that they shall not kill; the righteousness of those who are destined to enter into the kingdom of God, that they be not angry without a cause. The least commandment, therefore, is not to kill; and whosoever shall break that, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall fulfil that commandment not to kill, will not, as a necessary consequence, be great and meet for the kingdom of heaven, but yet he ascends a certain step. He will be perfected, however, if he be not angry without a cause; and if he shall do this, he will be much further removed from murder. For this reason he who teaches that we should not be angry, does not break the law not to kill, but rather fulfils it; so that we preserve our innocence both outwardly when we do not kill, and in heart when we are not angry.
22. "Ye have heard" therefore, says He, "that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment. But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a causehyperlink shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of the gehenna of fire." What is the difference between being in danger of the judgment, and being in danger of the council, and being in danger of the gehenna of fire?hyperlink For this last sounds most weighty, and reminds us that certain stages were passed over from lighter to more weighty, until the gehenna of fire was reached. And, therefore, if it is a lighter thing to be in danger of the judgment than to be in danger of the council, and if it is also a lighter thing to be in danger of the council than to be in danger of the gehenna of fire, we must understand it to be a lighter thing to be angry with a brother without a cause than to say "Raca;" and again, to be a lighter thing to say "Raca" than to say "Thou fool." For the danger would not have gradations, unless the sins also were mentioned in gradation.
23. But here one obscure word has found a place, for "Raca" is neither Latin nor Greek.The others, however, are current in our language. Now, some have wished to derive the interpretation of this expression from the Greek, supposing that a ragged person is called "Raca," because a rag is called in Greek rakoj; yet, when one asks them what a ragged person is called in Greek, they do not answer "Rata;" and further, the Latin translator might have put the word ragged where he has placed "Raca," and not have used a word which, on the one hand, has no existence in the Latin language, and, on the other, is rare in the Greek. Hence the view is more probable which I heard from a certain Hebrew whom I had asked about it; for he said that the word does not mean anything, but merely expresses the emotion of an angry hind. Grammarians call those particles of speech which express an affection of an agitated mind interjections; as when it is said by one who is grieved, "Alas," or by one who is angry, "Hah." And these words in all languages are proper names, and are not easily translated into another language; and this cause certainly compelled alike the Greek and the Latin translators to put the word itself, inasmuch as they could find no way of translating it.hyperlink
24. There is therefore a gradation in the sins referred to, so that first one is angry, and keeps that feeling as a conception in his heart; but if now that emotion shall draw forth an expression of anger not having any definite meaning, but giving evidence of that feeling of the mind by the very fact of the outbreak wherewith he is assailed with whom one is angry, this is certainly more than if the rising anger were restrained by silence; but if there is heard not merely an expression of anger, but also a word by which the party using it now indicates and signifies a distinct censure of him against whom it is directed, who doubts but that this is something more than if merely an exclamation of anger were uttered? Hence in the first there is one thing, i.e. anger alone; in the second two things, both anger and a word that expresses anger; in the third three things, anger and a word that expresses anger, and in that word the utterance of distinct censure. Look now also at the three degrees of liability,-the judgment, the council, the gehenna of fire. For in the judgment an opportunity is still given for defence; in the council, however, although there is also wont to be a judgment, yet because the very distinction compels us to acknowledge that there is a certain difference in this place, the production of the sentence seems to belong to the council, inasmuch as it is not now the case of the accused himself that is in question, whether he is to be condemned or not, but they who judge confer with one another to what punishment they ought to condemn him, who, it is clear, is to be condemned; but the gehenna of fire does not treat as a doubtful matter either the condemnation, like the judgment, or the punishment of him who is condemned, like the council; for in the gehenna of fire both the condemnation and the punishment of him who is condemned are certain. Thus there are seen certain degrees in the sins and in the liability to punishment;hyperlink but who can tell in what ways they are invisibly shown in the punishments of souls? We are therefore to learn how great the difference is between the righteousness ofthe Pharisees and that greater righteousness which introduces into the kingdom of heaven, because while it is a more serious crime to kill than to inflict reproach by means of a word, in the one case killing exposes one to the judgment, but in the other anger exposes one to the judgment, which is the least of those three sins; for in the former case they were discussing the question of murder among men, but in the latter all things are disposed of by means of a divine judgment, where the end of the condemned is the gehenna of fire. But whoever shall say that murder is punished by a more severe penalty under the greater righteousness if a reproach is punished by the gehenna of fire, compels us to understand that there are differences of gehennas.
25. Indeed, in the three statements before us, we must observe that some words are understood. For the first statement has all the words that are necessary."Whosoever," says He, "is angry with his brother without a cause, shall be in danger of the judgment." But in the: second, when He says, "and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca," there is understood the expression without cause,hyperlink and thus there is subjoined, "shall be in danger of the council." In the third, now, where He says, "but whosoever shall say, Thou fool," two things are understood, both to his brother and without cause. And in this way we defend the apostle when he calls the Galatians fools,hyperlink to whom he also gives, the name of brethren; for he does not do it without cause. And here the word brother is to be understood for this reason, that the case of an enemy is spoken of afterwards, and how he also is to be treated under the greater righteousness.
Chapter X.
26. Next there follows here: "Therefore, if thou hast broughthyperlink thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." From this surely it is clear that what is aid above is said of a brother: inasmuch as the sentence which follows is connected by such a conjunction that it confirms the preceding one; for He does not say, But if thou bring thy gift to the altar; but He says, "Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar." For if it is not lawful to be angry with one's brother without a cause, or to say "Raca," or to say" Thou fool," much less is it lawful so to retain anything in one's mind, as that indignation may be turned into hatred. And to this belongs also what is said in another passage: "Let not the sun go down upon your wrath."hyperlink We are therefore commanded, when about to bring our gift to the altar, if we remember that our brother hath ought against us, to leave the gift before the altar, and to go and be reconciled to our brother, and then to come and offer the gift.hyperlink But if this is to be understood literally, one might perhaps suppose that such a thing ought to be done if the brother is present; for it cannot be delayed too long, since you are commanded to leave your gift before the altar. If, therefore, such a thing should come into your mind respecting one who is absent, and, as may happen, even settled down beyond the sea, it is absurd to suppose that your gift is to be left before the altar until you may offer it to God after having traversed both lands and seas. And therefore we are compelled to have recourse to an altogether internal and spiritual interpretation, in order that what has been said may be understood without absurdity.
27. And so we may interpret the altar spiritually, as being faith itself in the inner temple of God, whose emblem is the visible altar. For whatever offering we present to God, whether prophecy, or teaching, or prayer, or a psalm, or a hymn, and whatever other such like spiritual gift occurs to the mind, it cannot be acceptable to God, unless it be sustained by sincerity of faith, and, as it were, placed on that fixedly and immoveably, so that what we utter may remain whole and uninjured. For many heretics, not having the altar, i.e. true faith, have spoken blasphemies for praise; being weighed down, to wit, with earthly opinions, and thus, as it were, throwing down their offering on the ground. But there ought also to be purity of intention on the part of the offerer. And therefore, when we are about to present any such offering in our heart, i.e. in the inner temple of God ("For," as it is said, "the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are; "hyperlink and, "That Christ may dwell in the inner manhyperlink by faith in your hearts") if it occur to our mind that a brother hath ought against us, i.e. if we have injured him in anything (for then he has something against uswhereas we have something against him if he has injured us, and in that case it is not necessary to proceed to reconciliation: for you will not ask pardon of one who has done you an injury, but merely forgive him, as you desire to be forgiven by the Lord what you have committed against Him), we are therefore to proceed to reconciliation, when it has occurred to our mind that we have perhaps injured our brother in something; but this is to be done not with the bodily feet, but with the emotions of the mind, so that you are to prostrate yourself with humble disposition before your brother, to whom you have hastened in affectionate thought, in the presence of Him to whom you are about to present your offering. For thus, even if he should be present, you will be able to soften him by a mind free from dissimulation, and to recall him to goodwill by asking pardon, if first you have done this before God, going to him not with the slow movement of the body, but with the very swift impulse of love; and then coming, i.e. recalling your attention to that which you were beginning to do, you will offer your gift.hyperlink
28. But who acts in a way that he is neither angry with his brother without a cause, nor says "Raca" without a cause, nor calls him a fool without a cause, all of which are most proudly committed; or so, that, if perchance he has fallen into any of these, he asks pardon with suppliant mind, which is the only remedy; who but just the man that is not puffed up with the spirit of empty boasting? "Blessed" therefore "are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Let us look now at what follows.
Chapter XI.
29. "Be kindly disposed,"hyperlink says he, "toward thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come Out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing." I understand who the judge is: "For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son."hyperlink I understand who the officer is: "And angels," it is said, "ministered unto Him:"hyperlink and we believe that He will come with His angels to judge the quick and the dead. I understand what is meant by the prison: evidently the punishments of darkness, which He calls in another passage the outer darkness:hyperlink for this reason, I believe, that the joy of the divine rewards is something internal in the mind itself, or even if anything more hidden can be thought of, that joy of which it is said to the servant who deserved well, "Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord;"hyperlink just as also, under this republican government, one who is thrust into prison is sent out from the council chamber, or from the palace of the judge.
30. But now, with respect to paying the uttermost farthing,hyperlink it may be understood without absurdity either as standing for this, that nothing is left unpunished; just as in common speech we also say "to the very dregs," when we wish to express that something is so drained out that nothing is left: or by the expression "the uttermost farthing" earthly sins may be meant. For as a fourth part of the separate component parts of this world, and in fact as the last, the earth is found; so that you begin with the heavens, you reckon the air the second, water the third, the earth the fourth. It may therefore seem to be suitably said, "till thou hast paid the last fourth," in the sense of "till thou hast expiated thy earthly sins:" for this the sinner also heard, "Earth thou art, and unto earth shall thou return."hyperlink Then, as to the expression "till thou hast paid," I wonder if it does not mean that punishment which is called eternal.hyperlink For whence is that debt paid where there is now no opportunity given of repenting and of leading a more correct life? For perhaps the expression "till thou hast paid" stands here in the same sense as in that passage where it is said, "Sit Thou at my right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool;"hyperlink for not even when the enemies have been put under His feet, will He cease to sit at the right hand: or that statement of the apostle, "For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet;"hyperlink for not even when they have been put under His feet, will He cease to reign. Hence, as it is there understood of Him respecting whom it is said, "He must reign, till He hath put His enemies under His feet" that He will reign for ever, inasmuch as they will be for ever under His feet: so here it may be understood of him respecting whom itis said, "Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing," that he will never come out; for he is always paying the uttermost farthing, so long as he is suffering the everlasting punishment of his earthly sins. Nor would I say this in such a way as that I should seem to prevent a more careful discussion respecting the punishment of sins, as to how in the Scriptures it is called eternal; although in all possible ways it is to be avoided rather than known.
31. But let us now see who the adversary himself is, with whom we are enjoined to agree quickly, whiles we are in the way with him. For he is either the devil, or a man, or the flesh, or God, or His commandment.hyperlink But I do not see how we should be enjoined to be on terms of goodwill, i.e. to be of one heart or of one mind, with the devil. For some have rendered the Greek word which is found here "of one heart," others "of one mind:" but neither are we enjoined to show goodwill to the devil (for where there is goodwill there is friendship: and no one would say that we are to make friends with the devil); nor is it expedient to come to an agreement with him, against whom we have declared war by once for all renouncing him, and on conquering whom we shall be crowned; nor ought we now to yield to him, for if we had never yielded to him, we should never have fallen into such miseries. Again, as to the adversary being a man, although we are enjoined to live peaceably with all men, as far as lieth in us, where certainly goodwill, and concord, and consent may be understood; yet I do not see how I can accept the view, that we are delivered to the judge by a man, in a case where I understand Christ to be the judge, "before" whose "judgment-seat we must all appear,"hyperlink as the apostle says: how then is he to deliver me to the judge, who will appear equally with me before the judge? Or if any one is delivered to the judge because he has injured a man, although the party who has been injured does not deliver him, it is a much more suitable view, that the guilty party is delivered to the judge by that law against which he acted when he injured the man. And this for the additional reason, that if any one has injured a man by killing him, there will be no time now in which to agree with him; for he is not now in the way with him, i.e. in this life: and yet a remedy will not on that account be excluded, if one repents and flees for refuge with the sacrifice of a broken heart to the mercy of Him who forgives the sins of those who turn to Him, and who rejoices more over one penitent than over ninety-nine just persons.hyperlink But much less do I see how we are enjoined to bear goodwill towards, or to agree with, or to yield to, the flesh. For it is sinners rather who love their flesh, and agree with it, and yield to it; but those who bring it into subjection are not the parties who yield to it, but rather they compel it to yield to them.
32. Perhaps, therefore, we are enjoined to yield to God, and to be well-disposed towards Him, in order that we may be reconciled to Him, from whom by sinning we have turned away, so that He can be called our adversary. For He is rightly called the adversary of those whom He resists, for "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble;"hyperlink and "pride is the beginning of all sin, but the beginning of man's pride is to become apostate from God;"hyperlink and the apostle says, "For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life."hyperlink And from this it may be perceived that no nature [as being] bad is an enemy to God, inasmuch as the very parties who were enemies are being reconciled. Whoever, therefore, while in this way, i.e. in this life, shall not have been reconciled to God by the death of His Son, will be delivered to the judge by Him, for "the Father judgeth no man, but hath delivered all judgment to the Son;" and so the other things which are described in this section follow, which we have already discussed. There is only one thing which creates a difficulty as regards this interpretation, viz. how it can be rightly said that we are in the way with God, if in this passage. He Himself is to be understood as the adversary of the wicked, with whom we are enjoined to be reconciled quickly; unless, perchance, because He is everywhere, we also, while we are in this way, are certainly with Him. For as it is said, "If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me."hyperlink Or if the view is not accepted, that the wicked are said to be with God, although there is nowhere where God is not present,-just as we do not say that the blind are with the light, although the light surrounds their eyes,-there is one resource remaining: that we should understand the adversary here as being the commandment of God. For what is so much an adversary to those who wish to sin as the commandment of God, i.e. His law and divine Scripture, which has been given us for this life, that it may be with us in the way, which we must not contradict, lest it deliver us to the judge, but which we ought to submit to quickly? For no one knows when he may depart out of this life. Now, who is it that submits to divine Scripture, save he who reads or hears it piously, deferring to it as of supreme authority; so that what he understands he does not hate on this account, that he feels it to be opposed to his sins, but rather loves being reproved by it, and rejoices that his maladies are not spared until they are healed; and so that even in respect to what seems to him obscure or absurd, he does not therefore raise contentious contradictions, but prays that he may understand, yet remembering that goodwill and reverence are to be manifested towards so great an authority? But who does this, unless just the man who has come, not harshly threatening, but in the meekness of piety, for the purpose of opening and ascertaining the contents of his father's will? "Blessed," therefore, "are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth." Let us see what follows.
Chapter XII.
33. "Ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: but I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." The lesser righteousness, therefore, is not to commit adultery by carnal connection; but the greater righteousness of the kingdom of God is not to commit adultery in the heart. Now, the man who does not commit adultery in the heart, much more easily guards against committing adultery in actual fact. Hence He who gave the later precept confirmed the earlier; for He came not to destroy the law, but to fulfil it. It is well worthy of consideration that He did not say, Whosoever lusteth after a woman, but," Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her,"hyperlink i.e. turneth toward her with this aim and this intent, that he may lust after her; which, in fact, is not merely to be tickledhyperlink by fleshly delight, but fully to consent to lust; so that the forbidden appetite is not restrained, but satisfied if opportunity should be given.
34. For there are three things which go to complete sin: the suggestion of, the taking pleasure in, and the consenting to. Suggestion takes place either by means of memory, or by means of the bodily senses, when we see, or hear, or smell, or taste, or touch anything. And if it give us pleasure to enjoy this, this pleasure, if illicit, must be restrained. Just as when we are fasting, and on seeing food the appetite of the palate is stirred up, this does not happen without pleasure; but we do not consent to this liking, andhyperlink we repress it by the right of reason, which has the supremacy. But if consent shall take place, the sin will be complete, known to God in our heart, although it may not become known to men by deed. There are, then, these steps: the suggestion is made, as it were, by a serpent, that is to say, by a fleeting and rapid, i.e. a temporary, movement of bodies: for if there are also any such images moving about in the soul, they have been derived from without from the body; and if any hidden sensation of the body besides those five senses touches the soul, that also is temporary and fleeting; and therefore the more clandestinely it glides in, so as to affect the process of thinking, the more aptly is it compared to a serpent. Hence these three stages, as I was beginning to say, resemble that transaction which is described in Genesis, so that the suggestion and a certain measure of suasion is put forth, as it were, by the serpent; but the taking pleasure in it lies in the carnal appetite, as it were in Eve; and the consent lies in the reason, as it were in the man: and these things having been acted through, the man is driven forth, as it were, from paradise, i.e. from the most blessed light of righteousness, into deathhyperlink -in all respects most righteously. For he who puts forth suasion does not compel. And all natures are beautiful in their order, according to their gradations; but we must not descend from the higher, among which the rational mind has its place assigned, to the lower. Nor is any one compelled to do this; and therefore, if he does it, he is punished by the just law of God, for he is not guilty of this unwillingly. But yet, previous to habit, either there is no pleasure, or it is so slight that there is hardly any; and to yield to it is a great sin, as such pleasure is unlawful. Now, when any one does yield, he commits sin in the heart. If, however, he also proceeds to action, the desire seems to be satisfied and extinguished; but afterwards, when the suggestion is repeated, a greater pleasure is kindled, which, however, is as yet much less than that which by continuous practice is converted into habit. For it is very difficult to overcome this; and yet even habit itself, if one does not prove untrue to himself, and does not shrink back in dread from the Christian warfare, he will get the better of under His (i.e. Christ's) leadership and assistance; and thus, in accordance with primitive peace and order, both the man is subject to Christ, and the woman is subject to the man.hyperlink
35. Hence, just as we arrive at sin by three steps,-suggestion, pleasure, consent,-so of sin itself there are three varieties,-in heart, in deed, in habit,-as it were, three deaths: one, as it were, in the house, i.e. when we consent to lust in the heart; a second now, as it were, brought forth outside the gate, when assent goes forward into action; a third, when the mind is pressed down by the force of bad habit, as if by a mound of earth, and is now, as it were, rotting in the sepulchre. And whoever reads the Gospel perceives that our Lord raised to life these three varieties of the dead. And perhaps he reflects what differences may be found in the very word of Him who raises them, when He says on one occasion, "Damsel, arise;"hyperlink on another, "Young man,hyperlink I say unto thee, Arise ;"hyperlink and when on another occasion He groaned in the spirit, and wept, and again groaned, and then afterwards "cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth."hyperlink
36. And therefore, under the category of the adultery mentioned in this section, we must understand all fleshly and sensual lust. For when Scripture so constantly speaks of idolatry as fornication, and the Apostle Paul calls avarice by the name of idolatry,hyperlink who doubts but that every evil lust is rightly called fornication, since the soul, neglecting the higher law by which it is ruled, and prostituting itself for the base pleasure of the lower nature as its reward (so to speak), is thereby corrupted? And therefore let every one who feels carnal pleasure rebelling against right inclination in his own case through the habit of sinning, by whose unsubdued violence he is dragged into captivity, recall to mind as much as he can what kind of peace he has lost by sinning, and let him cry out, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ."hyperlink For in this way, when he cries out that he is wretched, in the act of bewailing he implores the help of a comforter. Nor is it a small approach to blessedness, when he has come to know his wretchedness; and therefore "blessed" also "are they that mourn,hyperlink for they shall be comforted."
Chapter XIII.
37. In the next place, He goes on to say: "And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should gohyperlink into hell." Here, certainly, there is need of great courage in order to cut off one's members.hyperlink For whatever it is that is mean.t by the "eye," undoubtedly it is such a thing as is ardently loved. For those who wish to express their affection strongly are wont to speak thus: I love him as my own eyes, or even more than my own eyes. Then, when the word "right" is added, it is meant perhaps to intensify the strength of the affection.hyperlink For although these bodily eyes of ours are turned in a common direction for the purpose of seeing, and if both are turned they have equal power, yet men are more afraid of losing the right one. So that the sense in this case is: Whatever it is which thou so lovest that thou reckonest it as a right eye, if it offends thee, i.e. if it proves a hindrance to thee on the way to true happiness, pluck it out and cast it from thee. For it is profitable for thee, that one of these which thou so lovest that they cleave to thee as if they were members, should perish, rather than that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
38. But since He follows it up with a similar statement respecting the right hand, "If thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should gohyperlink into hell," He compels us to inquire more carefully what He has spoken of as an eye. And as regards this inquiry, nothing occurs to me as a more suitable explanation than a greatly beloved friend: for this, certainly, is something which we may rightly call a member which we ardently love; and this friend a counsellor, for it is an eye, as it were, pointing out the road; and that in divine things, for it is the right eye: so that the left is indeed a beloved counsellor, but in earthly matters, pertaining to the necessities of the body; concerning which as a cause of stumbling it was superfluous to speak, inasmuch as not even the right was to be spared. Now, a counsellor in divine things is a cause of stumbling, if he endeavours to lead one into any dangerous heresy under the guise of religion and doctrine. Hence also let the right hand be taken in the sense of a beloved helper and assistant in divine works: for in like manner as contemplation is rightly understood as having its seat in the eye, so action in the right hand; so that the left hand may be understood in reference to works which are necessary for this life, and for the body.
Chapter XIV.
39. "It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement." This is the lesser righteousness of the Pharisees, which is not opposed by what our Lord says: "But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery:hyperlink and whosoever shall marry her that is loosed from her husband committeth adultery."hyperlink For He who gave the commandment that a writing of divorcement should be given, did not give the commandment that a wife should be put away; but "whosoever shall put away," says He, "let him give her a writing of divorcement," in order that the thought of such a writing might moderate the rash anger of him who was getting rid of his wife. And, therefore, He who sought to interpose a delay in putting away, indicated as far as He could to hard-hearted men that He did not wish separation. And accordingly the Lord Himself in another passage, when a question was asked Him as to this matter, gave this reply: "Moses did so because of the hardness of your hearts."hyperlink For however hard-hearted a man may be who wishes to put away his wife, when he reflects that, on a writing of divorcement being given her, she could then without risk marry another, he would be easily appeased. Our Lord, therefore, in order to confirm that principle, that a wife should not lightly be put away, made the single exception of fornication; but enjoins that all other annoyances, if any such should happen to spring up, be borne with fortitude for the sake of conjugal fidelity and for the sake of chastity; and he also calls that man an adulterer who should marry her that has been divorced by her husband. And the Apostle Paul shows the limit of this state of affairs, for he says it is to be observed as long as her husband liveth; but on the husband's death he gives permission to marry.hyperlink For he himself also held by this rule, and therein brings forward not his own advice, as in the case of some of his admonitions, but a commandby the Lord when he says: "And unto the marriedhyperlink I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wifehyperlink depart from her husband: but and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife."hyperlink I believe that, according to a similar rule, if he shall put her away, he is to remain unmarried, or be reconciled to his wife. For it may happen that he puts away his wife for the cause of fornication, which our Lord wished to make an exception of. But now, if she is not allowed to marry while the husband is living from whom she has departed, nor he to take another while the wife is living whom he has put away, much less is it right to commit unlawful acts of fornication with any parties whomsoever. More blessed indeed are those marriages to be reckoned, where the parties concerned, whether after the procreation of children, or even through contempt of such an earthly progeny, have been able with common consent to practise self-restraint toward each other: both because nothing is done contrary to that precept whereby the Lord forbids a spouse to be put away (for he does not put her away who lives with her not carnally, but spiritually), and because that principle is observed to which the apostle gives expression, "It remaineth, that they that have wives be as though they had none."hyperlink
Chapter XV.
40. But it is rather that statement which the Lord Himself makes in another passage which is wont to disturb the minds of the little ones, who nevertheless earnestly desire to live now according to the precepts of Christ: "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple."hyperlink For it may seem a contradiction to the less intelligent, that here He forbids the putting away of a wife saving for the cause of fornication, but that elsewhere He affirms that no one can be a disciple of His who does not hate his wife. But if He were speaking with reference to sexual intercourse, He would not place father, and mother, and brothers in the same category. But how true it is, that "the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and they that use violence take it by force!"hyperlink For how great violence is necessary, in order that a man may love his enemies, and hate his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers! For He commands both things who calls us to the kingdom of heaven. And how these things do not contradict each other, it is easy to show under His guidance; but after they have been understood, it is difficult to carry them out, although this too is very easy when He Himself assists us. For in that eternal kingdom to which He has vouchsafed to call His disciples, to whom He also gives the name of brothers, there are no temporal relationships of this sort. For "there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female;" "but Christ is all, and in all."hyperlink And the Lord Himself says: "For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage,hyperlink but are as the angels of God in heaven."hyperlink Hence it is necessary that whoever wishes here and now to aim after the life of that kingdom, should hate not the persons themselves, but those temporal relationships by which this life of ours, which is transitory and is comprised in being born and dying, is upheld; because he who does not hate them, does not yet love that life where there is no condition of being born and dying, which unites parties in earthly wedlock.
41. Therefore, if I were to ask any good Christian who has a wife, and even though he may still be having children by her, whether he would like to have his wife in that kingdom; mindful in any case of the promises of God, and of that life where this incorruptible shall put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality;hyperlink though at present hesitating from the greatness, or at least from a certain degree of love, he would reply with execration that he is strongly averse to it. Were I to ask him again, whether he would like his wife to live with him there, after the resurrection, when she had undergone that angelic change which is promised to the saints, he would reply that he desired this as strongly as he reprobated the other. Thus a good Christian is found in one and the same woman to love the creature of God, whom he desires to be transformed and renewed; but to hate the corruptible and mortal conjugal connection and sexual intercourse: i.e. to love in her what is characteristic of a human being, to hate what belongs to her as a wife. So also he loves his enemy, not in as far as he is an enemy, but in as far as he is a man; so that he wishes the same prosperity to come to him as to himself, viz. that he may reach the kingdom of heaven rectified and renewed. This isto be understood both of father and mother and the other ties of blood, that we hate in them what has fallen to the lot of the human race in being born and dying, but that we love what can be carried along with us to those realms where no one says, My Father; but all say to the one God, "Our Father:" and no one says, My mother; but all say to that other Jerusalem, Our mother: and no one says, My brother; but each says respecting every other, Our brother. But in fact there will be a marriage on our part as of one spouse (when we have been brought together into unity), with Him who hath delivered us from the pollution of this world by the shedding of His own blood. It is necessary, therefore, that the disciple of Christ should hate these things which pass away, in those whom he desires along with himself to reach those things which shall for ever remain; and that he should the more hate these things in them, the more he loves themselves.
42. A Christian may therefore live in concord with his wife, whether with her providing for a fleshly craving, a thing which the apostle speaks by permission, not by commandment; or providing for the procreation of children, which may be at present in some degree praiseworthy; or providing for a brotherly and sisterly fellowship, without any corporeal connection, having his wife as though he had her not, as is most excellent and sublime in the marriage of Christians: yet so that in her he hates the name of temporal relationship, and loves the hope of everlasting blessedness. For we hate, without doubt, that respecting which we wish at least, that at some time hereafter it should not exist; as, for instance, this same life of ours in the present world, which if we were not to hate as being temporal, we would not long for the future life, which is not conditioned by time. For as a substitute for this life the soul is put, respecting which it is said in that passage, "If a man hate not his own soulhyperlink also, he cannot be my disciple." For that corruptible meat is necessary for this life, of which the Lord Himself says, "Is not the soulhyperlink more than meat?" i.e. this life to which meat is necessary. And when He says that He would lay down His soulhyperlink for His sheep, He undoubtedly means this life, as He is declaring that He is going to die for us.
Footnotes
72 Here begins the second part of the Sermon. In it our Lord sets forth His relation as a lawgiver to the Mosaic law, especially a currently interpreted according to the letter only (Meyer, Alford etc.).
73 Veni; Greek, h[lqon.
74 A decisive assertion off authority. Asseveratio gravissima ei propria, qui per se ipsum et per suam veritatem asseverat (Bengel). The prophet's most emphatic statement was, "Thus saith the Lord." Christ speaks in His own name, as the fount of authority (v. 20 and often: John iii. 3, xiv. 12, etc.).
75 "Christ's words are decisive against all those who would set aside the Old Testament as without significance, or inconsistent with the New Testament" (Alford). Christ declares the New to be rooted in the Old; its consummation, not its destruction. The essence and purport of the law, the "whole law," was fulfilled by Him (Meyer). Theophylact well compares the law to a sketch, which Christ (like the painter) does not destroy, but fills out.
76 Sic; Greek, ou/toj; Vulgate, hic.
77 "With all their care, they had not understood the true spirit off the law" (Schaff). The rest of the Sermon is largely a comment on this verse, Christ giving His interpretation of the law, and the righteousness following upon its observance; showing that the purport goes beyond the external act of obedience to the purpose of the heart, and that in the external act of obedience the real purport might be ignored.
78 Sine causa. The weight of critical evidence is against this clause, which is omitted by Tischendorf, Westcott, and Hort, the Vulgate and the Revised Version.
79 The "judgment" (kri/sij) was the local court of seven, which every community was enjoined to have (Deut. xvi. 18). The "council" was the Sanhedrin, consisting ot seventy-two members, sitting in Jerusalem. The "gehenna" was the vale of Hinnom, on the confines of Jerusalem, where sacrifices were offered to Moloch, and which became the place for refuse and the burning of dead bodies. In the New Testament it is equivalent to "hell."
80 r@eiv)#&)ew$iv
is from the Chald. )qyr
, and is a term of contempt equivalent to empty-headed (Thayer's Lexicon). Trench translates, "Oh, vain man!"
81 It is important "to keep in mind that there is no distinction in kind between these punishments, only of degree. The `judgment
0' (kri/sij) inflicted death by the sword, the Sanhedrin death by stoning, and the disgrace of the gehenna followed as an intensification of death; but the punishment is one and the same,-death. So also in the subject of the similitude. All the punishments are spiritual; all result in eternal death, but with various degrees, as the degrees of guilt have been" (Alford).
82 Augustin helps us to understand how the word e0kh= (without cause) in the preceding clause crept into some of the Mss. In Retract. I. xix. 4 he makes the critical note and correction: "Codices graeci non habent sine causa."
83 Gal. iii. 1.
84 Obtuleris; Vulgate, offers.
85 Eph iv. 26.
86 The performance of an act of worship does not atone for an offence against a fellow-man. The duties toward God never absolve from man's duties to his neighbour. Inter rem sacram magis subit recordatio offensarum, quam in strepitu negotiorum (Bengel).
87 1 Cor. iii. 17.
88 Eph. iii. 17. In interiore homine, a different construction from the Greek, which has ei=j with the accusative. So Vulgate,in interiorem hominem.
89 "Discharge of duty to men does not absolve from duty to God." The passage has strong bearing upon the relation of morality an religion.
90 Benevolus; Vulgate, consentiens. What is matter of prudence in a civil case, becomes matter of life and death in spiritual things. The Lord does not intend to inculcate simply a law of worldly prudence as asserted by a few modern commentators.
91 John v. 22.
92 Matt. iv. 11.
93 Matt. viii. 12.
94 Matt. xxv. 23.
95 The word translated "farthing" means literally "a fourth part" and on this original sense Augustin's second interpretation is based.
96 Gen. iii. 19.
97 Universalists have quoted the passage to prove the doctrine that punishment will not be endless, others in favor of purgatory. The main idea is the inexorable rigor of the divine justice against the impenitent. "The whole tone of the passage is that of one who seeks to deepen the sense of danger, not to make light of it; to make men feel that they cannot pay their debt, though God may forgive it freely" (Plumptre).
98 Ps. cx. 1.
99 1 Cor. xv. 25.
100 "The devil" (Clemens Alex.); "conscience" (Euthymius, Zig.); "the man who has done the injury" (Meyer, Tholuck Lange, Trench, etc.)
101 2 Cor. v. 10. Exhiberi; Vulgate, manifestari.
102 Luke xv. 7.
103 Jas. iv. 6.
104 Ecclus. x. 13, 12.
105 Rom. v. 10.
106 Ps. cxxxix. 8-10.
107 The Greek pro\j to\ e=piqumh=sai refers to sin of intent. "The particle pro9 indicates the mental aim" (Tholuck, Meyer, etc.). So Augustin, rightly: "Qui hoc fine et hoc animo attenderit."
108 Titillari.
109 The reading "if" has been proposed by some.
110 Gen. iii.
111 1 Cor. xi. 3 and Eph. v. 23.
112 Mark v. 41.
113 Juvenis; Vulgate, adolescens.
114 Luke vii. 14.
115 John xi. 33-44.
116 Col. iii. 5 and Eph. v. 5.
117 Rom. vii. 24, 25.
118 Lugentes; Vulgate, qui lugent.
119 Eat; Vulgate, mittatur.
120 Not literally (Fritzsche). Excision of the members would not of itself destroy the lust of the heart.
121 So Meyer et al. What Robert South says (Sermon on John vii. 17) of the Sermon on the Mount as a whole, can certainly be applied here: "All the particulars of Matt. v.-vii. are wrapt up in the doctrine of self-denial, prescribing to the world the most inward purity of heart, and a constant conflict with all our sensual appetites and worldly interests," etc. Augustin's interpretation is correct as far as it goes, but it is too restricted. Christ does not here insist upon the renunciation of sinful lusts, but upon the evasion of occasions of sin. What is harmless and innocent of itself, when through any temperament or condition it becomes an occasion of sinning, is to be relinquished.
122 Eat. So Vulgate.
123 Per alias nuptias, quarum potestatem dat divortium ("by another marriage, power of which divorce gives."-Bengel). So also Meyer, Alford, etc.
124 Solutam a viro...moechatur; Vulgate, dimissam...adulterat.
125 Matt. xix. 8.
126 Rom. vii. 2, 3.
127 In conjugio...mulierem; Vulgate, matrimonio...uxorem.
128 In conjugio...mulierem; Vulgate, matrimonio...uxorem.
129 1 Cor. vii. 10, 11.
130 1 Cor. vii. 29.
131 Luke xiv. 26.
132 Matt xi. 12. Qui vim faciunt diripiunt illud; Vulgate, violenti rapiunt illud.
133 Gal. iii. 28 and Col. iii. 11.
134 Uxores ducent; Vulgate, nubentur.
135 Matt. xxii. 30.
136 1 Cor. xv. 53, 54.
137 Luke xiv. 26.
138 Matt. vi. 25.