Robert Rypon, Selected Sermons. Volume 1: Feast Days and Saints' Days (Dallas Medieval Texts and Translations) [Translation ed.] 9789042939882, 9789042939899, 9042939885

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d a l l a s m e d i e va l t e x t s a n d t r a n s l at i o n s

24.1

Robert Rypon Selected Sermons Volume I: Feast Days and Saints’ Days Edition, Translation, and Introduction by Holly Johnson

PEETERS

Ropert Rypon Selected Sermons Volume I

DALLAS MEDIEVAL TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS

EDITORS

Kelly Gibson (University of Dallas) Philipp W. Rosemann (National University of Ireland, Maynooth) EDITORIAL BOARD

Charles S. F. Burnett (Warburg Institute); Marcia L. Colish (Yale University); Kent Emery, Jr. (University of Notre Dame); Denis M. Farkasfalvy, O.Cist. (University of Dallas); Hugh Bernard Feiss, O.S.B. (Monastery of the Ascension); Donald J. Kagay (University of Dallas); Theresa Kenney (University of Dallas); James J. Lehrberger, O.Cist. (University of Dallas); James McEvoy (†); Bernard McGinn (University of Chicago); James J. Murphy (University of California, Davis); Jonathan J. Sanford (University of Dallas); Francis R. Swietek (University of Dallas); Baudouin van den Abeele (Université catholique de Louvain); Nancy van Deusen (Claremont Graduate University); Bonnie Wheeler (Southern Methodist University)

SPONSORED BY

DALLAS MEDIEVAL TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS

24.1

Robert Rypon Selected Sermons Volume I: Feast Days and Saints’ Days

EDITION, TRANSLATION, AND INTRODUCTION BY

Holly Johnson (Mississippi State University)

PEETERS LEUVEN - PARIS - BRISTOL, CT 2019

Cover illustration: From the opening page of the sermons of Robert Rypon (MS. London, British Library, Harley 4894, fol. 1r). © The British Library Board.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. © 2019 – Peeters – Bondgenotenlaan 153 – B-3000 Leuven – Belgium. ISBN 978-90-429-3988-2 eISBN 978-90-429-3989-9 D/2019/0602/79 All rights reserved. No part of this publiction may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

For Siegfried Wenzel

Frontispiece: From the beginning of the second sermon for Easter (MS. London, British Library, Harley 4894​, fol. 138v). © The British Library Board.

Foreword This volume of the Dallas Medieval Texts and Translations series introduces the reader to the world of the late medieval English sermon. By the time when the Benedictine Robert Rypon (c. 1350–1421/22) prepared the sermon collection that forms the basis of this volume, the scholastic sermon had superseded an older form of homily that hemmed closely to a particular Gospel pericope. The scholastic sermon, by contrast, took a biblical passage as the point of departure for thematic divisions that gave the preacher’s peroration the complex structure of a carefully ramified learned discourse. This is not to say that the scholastic sermon was suited only for university audiences. Robert Rypon had the ability to illustrate his points with interesting conceits and lively examples. Indeed, some of the sermons gathered in his collection were delivered in the vernacular, as is demonstrated by the presence of Middle English rhymes within the Latin text. What renders Rypon’s sermon collection particularly interesting is that it had a pedagogical purpose, being devised to instruct young Benedictines in the art of preaching. The manuscript that contains the collection—British Library, Harley 4894—is equipped with the kind of consultation aids which are typical of “working manuscripts” of the scholastic age: most notably, a detailed tabula of topics that identifies the passages in which these topics occur in the sermons by means of letters, to facilitate their quick identification. Dr. Holly Johnson, the editor of our volume, identifies Rypon’s own hand in the margins of Harley 4894, which indicates that he oversaw the preparation of the manuscript. Further emphasizing the sermon collection’s pedagogical purpose is the fact that Rypon writes as though he is reporting his own sermons. For, in his text metalinguistic expressions such as inquam or dixi abound, even in phrases like dixi secundo principaliter, “I said for the second principal part.” For the sake of his student audience, Rypon likes to explain his method: Dico ergo sic combinando partes materie … (“Therefore, I say by thus combining the parts of the material …”). Apart from the many lively and sustained examples—at one point, Rypon compares the world to a game of chess—the reader will be struck by the Benedictine’s preoccupation with the need to care for the poor, and his repeated censure of those who abuse their power at the expense of the weaker members of the body of Christ: “The worst plunder occurs when a powerful or rich person makes the poor neighbor in any way unjustly lose his goods.” Some problems never change. Philipp W. Rosemann January 6, 2019

Table of Contents Foreword

vii

Introduction1 Rypon’s Monastic Career 3 MS. London, British Library, Harley 4894 7 The Sermons 16 Sources21 Conceits23 Storytelling26 Orality vs. the Written Form 28 This Edition and Translation 30 Selected Bibliography 31 Appendix: Inventory of MS. London, British Library, Harley 4894 35 Robert Rypon, Sermons for Feast Days and Saints’ Days39 First Sunday of Advent, First Sermon (RY1) 41 Second Sermon, for the Fourth Sunday [of Advent] (RY2) 67 Sermon for the Sunday after Epiphany (RY3) 85 First Sermon for Easter (RY35) 105 First Sermon for Rogation Days (RY37) 137 Sixth Sermon for Rogation Days (RY42) 157 Sermon for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity (RY44) 177 Sermon for St. John the Baptist (RY45) 197 First Sermon for Blessed Mary Magdalene (RY46) 215 Second Sermon for Mary Magdalene (RY47) 233 [Third Sermon for Mary Magdalene] (RY24) 251 First Sermon for Saint Oswald (RY49) 273 Second Sermon for Blessed Oswald (RY50) 293 Third Sermon for Blessed Oswald (RY51) 317 Notes335 Indices Index of Sources General Index

351 351 359

Introduction Sermons were central to the culture of England (and all of Europe) throughout the later Middle Ages. Preaching took place not only on Sundays and saints’ feast days, but on many other occasions, and not only in churches, but outside at crosses, in churchyards, and in marketplaces.1 Far from dry theological treatises or mere statements of official doctrine, many sermons were lively, rhetorical endeavors, artfully constructed and, presumably, energetically delivered. Attending a sermon by a good preacher was often an event, even a form of entertainment, as Chaucer’s Wife of Bath implies when she includes sermons, along with vigils, processions, pilgrimages, plays, and weddings, as occasions on which she has “bettre leyser for to pleye | And for to se, and eek for to be seye” (“better leisure to play | And to see and also to be seen”).2 The form of preaching that developed during the late Middle Ages was complex, demanding skill and training on the part of the sermon composer. Audiences and readers came to expect such complexity, praising those preachers who were the most adept.3 Historians often associate the art of preaching during this period with the mendicant friars, who, following the Fourth Lateran Council (1215), were trained at the universities to preach and hear confessions; the Benedictine monks, on the other hand, were traditionally to remain in their cloisters, praying, laboring, and studying. But by the fourteenth century many monks were also expected to preach, not just to their monastic communities but to larger clerical and lay audiences, and not just within their monastic precincts but in locations outside the monastery. 4 Several  See H. Leith Spencer, English Preaching in the Late Middle Ages (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993), 71–2. The two seminal studies of preaching in England during the late Middle Ages are G. R. Owst, Preaching in Medieval England: An Introduction to Sermon Manuscripts of the Period c. 1350–1450 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1926; repr. 2010), and Owst, Literature and Pulpit in Medieval England, 2nd rev. ed. (New York: Barnes and Noble, 1961). For a comprehensive overview of late medieval sermons and preaching, see The Sermon, ed. Beverly Mayne Kienzle, Typologie des sources du moyen âge occidental 81–83 (Turnhout: Brepols, 2000). 2  Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Wife of Bath’s Prologue,” in The Riverside Chaucer, ed. Larry D. Benson, 3rd ed. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1987), 112, ll. 551–2. 3  See Siegfried Wenzel, Medieval Artes Praedicandi: A Synthesis of Scholastic Sermon Structure (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2015), 113. 4  For monastic preaching, specifically in England, see Joan Greatrex, “Benedictine Sermons: Preparation and Practice in the English Monastic Cathedral Cloisters,” in Medieval Monastic Preaching, 1

2 Introduction

extant sermon collections attest to the active preaching of the English Benedictines during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.5 One of these, MS. London, British Library, Harley 4894, is especially notable. This handsome manuscript was created at Durham priory in the second decade of the fifteenth century. It bears witness not only to monastic preaching both to clergy and laity, but also to the seriousness with which the priory took the preaching of one of its gifted monks, whose sermons were considered worthy not only of preserving but of preserving in a manuscript of very high quality. The author of these sermons, Robert Rypon, lived at the turn of the fifteenth century (c. 1350–1421/22) and was educated at Durham College, Oxford. Siegfried Wenzel has called Rypon “an important preacher in an important period,” who, “in the years between [Richard] FitzRalph and Reginald Peacock combined learning, thought, and originality more than any other.”6 Rypon’s sermons are rich in imagery and rhetorically sophisticated. While he is often inventive, the sermons typify the art of preaching during this period, both in their form and in their aims. Many of his analogies, metaphors, and exempla are original or distinctive in their development—for example, when he describes Muslim beliefs, explains how to count money, or recounts a story that happened during his days in Oxford—but he applies all of them to traditional homiletic concerns, such as the seven deadly sins, the acts ed. Carolyn Muessig, Brill’s Studies in Intellectual History 90 (Leiden: Brill, 1998), 255–78; Patrick Horner, “Benedictines and Preaching in Fifteenth-Century England: The Evidence of Two Bodleian Library Manuscripts,” Revue Bénédictine 99 (1989): 313–32; Siegfried Wenzel, Latin Sermon Collections from Later Medieval England: Orthodox Preaching in the Age of Wyclif (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), chap. 42, 278–87; and Wenzel, Monastic Preaching in the Age of Chaucer, The Morton W. Bloomfield Lectures on Medieval English Literature 3 (Kalamazoo, Mich.: Medieval Institute Press, 1993). 5  For discussions of these collections, see Wenzel, Latin Sermon Collections, 283–4 and passim. 6  Ibid., 73. Beginning with Owst’s seminal studies (Preaching in Medieval England and Literature and Pulpit in Medieval England), a number of scholars have examined Rypon’s sermons, mining them for what they reveal about late medieval preaching, monastic learning, the medieval understanding of the seven deadly sins, the preaching of the pastoralia, and the lay religious life of late medieval Durham. See, for example, Margaret Harvey, Lay Religious Life in Late Medieval Durham, Regions and Regionalism in History (Woodbridge, Suffolk: The Boydell Press, 2006); Patrick Horner, “Benedictines and Preaching the Pastoralia in Late Medieval England: A Preliminary Inquiry,” in Medieval Monastic Preaching, ed. Carolyn Muessig, Brill’s Studies in Intellectual History 90 (Leiden: Brill, 1998), 279–92; Holly Johnson, “The Divine Dinner Party: Domestic Imagery and Easter Preaching in Late Medieval England,” Traditio 67 (2012), 385–415 (at 390–3); Johnson, “The Imaginative Landscape of an English Monk-Preacher: Robert Rypon and the Court of Memory,” Mediaeval Studies 75 (2013), 177–204; Wenzel, Latin Sermon Collections, chap. 10, 66–73; and Wenzel, “Preaching the Seven Deadly Sins,” in In the Garden of Evil: The Vices and Culture in the Middle Ages, ed. Richard Newhauser (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 2005), 145–69 (at 165–9).

Introduction3

of mercy, the theological virtues, the Ten Commandments, prayer, and penance. He also artfully employs the complex scholastic sermon form popular with other preachers trained at the universities. His sermons are therefore both individual and representative of late medieval preaching. Indeed, Rypon sometimes exaggerates the tendencies found in many medieval sermons, and in this exaggeration highlights the rhetorical strategies and concerns of medieval preachers. We also know more about Rypon’s monastic career, the milieu in which he lived, and the circumstances surrounding the manuscript in which his sermons are extant than we do about most medieval English preachers and their sermon collections. Both sermon texts and manuscript open a window onto the world of preaching and the religious culture of late medieval England. Rypon’s Monastic Career As his surname suggests, Robert Rypon was likely born in Ripon, Yorkshire, England, a cathedral city about fifty-five miles due south of another cathedral city, Durham.7 While we do not know the year of his birth or when he entered Durham priory, we do know that he was ordained as a priest in London on May 27, 1374. Because there is no record stating that he had permission to be ordained earlier than the customary age of twenty-four, he was likely eighteen or nineteen years old when he entered Durham priory, which places his arrival there in 1368 or 1369.8 Not much is known about his life in the monastery in his early years; monks were not often given important positions (called “obedientiaries”) until they had spent several years living the monastic life. We do know that Rypon must have impressed the senior monks with his intellect because he was one of a handful of monks sent to study in Oxford; the records show that he was studying in Oxford possibly as early as 1376/1377.9 Monks from Durham priory had been attending Oxford since the  Many of the details of Rypon’s life are supplied by Alan J. Piper’s entry on Rypon in The Durham Liber Vitae: London, British Library, MS Cotton Domitian A.VII: Edition and Digital Facsimile with Introduction, Codicological, Prosopographical and Linguistic Commentary, and Indexes, 3 vols., ed. David Rollason et al. (London: The British Library, 2007), 3:292–3 (C.985); and A. B. Emden, A Biographical Register of the University of Oxford to A.D. 1500, 3 vols. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1955–57), 3:1618. 8  See R. Barrie Dobson, Durham Priory 1400–1450 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1973), 61, and Joan Greatrex, The English Benedictine Cathedral Priories: Rule and Practice, c. 1270–c. 1420 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011), 53. 9  This is based on “courtesies” he received from his priory’s obedientiaries, as noted in the priory’s extant account rolls. 7

4 Introduction

1280s, but a regular college for them was not founded until 1381.10 Rypon attended Durham College in Oxford off and on until he received his bachelor’s in theology in 1387 and his doctorate in 1393/1394.11 That Rypon was chosen for further study beyond the bachelor’s speaks not only to his intellect but to his talents as a preacher, since training for preaching was one of the primary motivations for sending monks to Oxford. By 1382 Rypon also started receiving commissions to conduct visitations of the priory’s churches in the areas around Durham and Northumberland; he would conduct visitations throughout the 1380s and into the 1390s. At such visitations he also preached sermons, some of whose themes are extant in the records, although the texts themselves are not. He and a fellow monk traveled to each parish and, by meeting with both pastor and parishioners, investigated the church’s state of repair, both physical and moral. For example, in July of 1392, the prior commissioned Rypon along with William of Killerby to conduct a series of visitations in Northumberland, beginning with the church of Bywell St. Peter, moving onto Bedlington, Edlingham, Holy Island, and Norham.12 At each visitation they were treated to a series of complaints. At the visitation in Holy Island, where the priory had a cell, the two monks heard first from Dom Robert Abell, the chaplain of Holy Island, then three more monk-chaplains, along with John Love, the holy water clerk of Holy Island, and John Shilbottle, the holy water clerk of Kyloe chapel, and finally the parishioners. They were informed, for example, that the chrism, holy water and eucharist are less than well looked after; John Pateson fornicated with Edonia Lestharnes, also John Henrison with Elena of Goswick, Thomas Brome of Berrington with Mariota Athy and William Turnbull with his concubine; the men of the vills of Kyloe and Lowick refused to give to the church blessed bread and money towards the fabric; the churchyard is insufficiently enclosed; the nave needs repair; the prior of Holy Island has put his horses in the churchyard and has broken the churchyard walls.13

 See Greatrex, The English Benedictine Cathedral Priories, 126.  For monks’ interrupted educations, see ibid., 140–1, and James G. Clark, “University Monks in Late Medieval England,” in Medieval Monastic Education, ed. George Ferzoco and Carolyn Muessig (London and New York: Leicester University Press, 2000), 56–71. 12  These visitation records are in the Durham Cathedral’s Archive, 1.1.Arch.Northumb.12, and have been translated and summarized in the Durham University Library’s online catalog (http://reed.dur. ac.uk/xtf/view?docId=ark/32150_s13x816m613.xml;query=1.1.Arch.Northumb.12;brand=default#1; accessed June 16, 2018). 13  Ibid., 4–5. 10

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Introduction5

Other grievances include the somewhat ambiguous accusation that “William Raegh has committed adultery with a maid in his household together with his own wife” and the more pious complaint that “the priest of Ancroft chapel does not say prayers in church nor does he pronounce the feast as he ought.”14 Rypon and ­Killerby issued a series of injunctions in response to these problems, for instance telling the “inhabitants of the vills to have a holy water clerk in Ancroft chapel by next Michaelmas” and “the inhabitants of Kyloe to have the eucharist, holy oil and chrism safeguarded in their chapel by St Cuthbert next on pain of 12d.” Robert Abell, their fellow monk and the prior of Holy Island, was not given a pass for his malfeasance; apparently, he had failed to carry out a mandate and was thus “to appear before the prior at Durham on the morrow of Michaelmas to answer for his contempt.”15 Rypon was clearly no stranger to the sins and follies not only of the laity but of the clergy and his fellow monks, and he and Killerby were not hesitant to issue mandates to all for the care of the physical states of the churches and chapels along with the spiritual states of the parishioners’ souls. In the early 1390s Rypon took on his first obedientiary role, becoming almoner in 1390 and holding that position until 1392, a year during which he held it jointly with Robert of Claxton. The Durham priory almoners were responsible for maintaining three almshouses (also referred to as hospitals) and overseeing the almonry school. The three almshouses had fifty-three places in total, and according to Alan Piper, these were granted to individuals by a gift of the prior, and often the incumbents were relatives of the monks.16 “[D]ealing with such people,” Piper says, “must have called for sensitivity on the almoner’s part, particularly when problems of discipline arose.”17 Rypon’s own sister had a place at the almshouse of St. Mary Magdalene from 1395 to 1401.18 Rypon then held the position of subprior in 1393 and again in 1395–96, after spending time in Oxford presumably in order to complete his doctorate. He would later hold the position of subprior almost continuously from 1405 to 1419. In 1397 Rypon became prior of Finchale priory, one of Durham’s cells and only four miles north of Durham, sitting in a pleasant location on the River Wear. Finchale was a vacation spot for the monks, a place where they went for a few weeks at a time to relax from the demands of the monastic regime. The role of prior  Ibid.  Ibid. 16  Alan Piper, “Dr. Thomas Swalwell: Monk of Durham, archivist and bibliophile (d. 1539),” in Books and Collectors 1200–1700: Essays Presented to Andrew Watson, ed. James P. Carley and Colin G. C. Tite (London: The British Library, 1997), 71–100 (at 74). 17  Ibid. 18  See Dobson, Durham Priory, 168. 14 15

6 Introduction

was often given to the more scholarly among them, including Uhtred of Boldon, Durham priory’s best known late medieval theologian, who held the position for many years before he died in 1397.19 Rypon remained prior of Finchale until 1405, when he returned permanently to Durham to take up duties again as subprior. During the first two decades of the fifteenth century, Rypon remained active and was given several high-profile assignments that called for acumen and intelligence. In 1406 he was one of two monks appointed commissaries of the priory as “keepers of the Durham spiritualities,” the priory’s possessions and rights which have a spiritual character, when both the seats of the prior and bishop were empty (utraque sede vacante).20 He was then a scrutineer at the election of Thomas Langley as bishop of Durham in 1406 and, beginning in 1412, was frequently commissioned by Langley to act as penitentiary, hearing confessions, imposing penances, and dealing with extraordinary cases in lieu of the bishop himself.21 Rypon also played a chief role during the election of John Wessington as prior of Durham in 1416, including preaching a sermon on the theme Vas eleccionis est iste (Acts 9:15) to an “audience of clerks and laymen,” reading the final collect, and calling for “the expulsion from the chapter-house of all seculars except eight named lawyers and witnesses.”22 He also “formally called over the names of those monks present, examined the validity of the five letters of proxy and pronounced contumacious all professed monks of Durham who were absent without cause.”23 Rypon’s last year as subprior was likely 1419, and he died in 1421 or 1422. While Rypon was given a great deal of responsibility both within and outside of his monastic community, he was apparently most highly regarded as a preacher. Aside from preaching at visitations, Rypon preached in churches in Durham as well as in the cathedral, probably often in the Galilee Chapel, where the monks preached from 1:00–3:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoons to both clergy and laity. According to the Rites of Durham, the laity were granted indulgences for attending these Sunday afternoon sermons.24 Rypon also preached at synods held at the priory for the priests of the surrounding areas, at the proclamation of miracles (presumably associated with St. Cuthbert), at processions, and on a variety of other important occasions.25 In the 19  See ibid., 310–11; Greatrex, The English Benedictine Cathedral Priories, 218–19. For details of Uhtred’s life and a list of his works, see The Durham Liber Vitae, 3: 255–8 (C.888). 20  Dobson, Durham Priory, 218–19. 21  For monks appointed as penitentiaries, see Greatrex, The English Benedictine Cathedral Priories, 277. 22  Dobson, Durham Priory, 86. 23  Ibid. 24  See Harvey, Lay Religious Life in Late Medieval Durham, 125. 25  Eight of Rypon’s synodal sermons are extant, along with six Rogation Days sermons, which would have been preached after processions. Two of these Rogation Days sermons are edited in this volume.

Introduction7

prologue to the index of the manuscript in which his sermons are extant, such occasions are named and an additional sermon collection or collections promised: Furthermore know that beyond these sermons are others and many to be added under diverse titles, specifically the Sundays of Lent, visitations, sermons during processions for the lord king or for peace, or for the publication of miracles or for the presentation of notable deeds, for which will be made a brief corresponding tabula.26

No further sermon collections are extant, so perhaps this second manuscript has been lost, or perhaps the promise was not kept. Only MS. London, British Library, Harley 4894 remains, which contains fifty-nine well-developed Latin sermons, a large enough number to offer a vibrant picture of Rypon as preacher, to highlight his preoccupations and artistry, and to shed light on religious life in the north of England during the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. MS. London, British Library, Harley 4894 MS. London, British Library, Harley 4894 is a large parchment manuscript, measuring 360 mm  ×  255 mm (about 14 in.  ×  10 in.), with 231 folios and nineteen quires, each comprising twelve folios, except for an index, which comprises fifteen. Siegfried Wenzel calls it “[a]lmost a de luxe book”27 because of its size; its two decorated borders, one at the beginning of the collection and one at the beginning of a section of synodal sermons; and its illuminated initials that begin each sermon (see frontispiece).28 It is written in one column in one hand, and the margins are wide, leaving ample space for annotations that identify topics and sermon components; some of these annotations are written in the hand of the principal scribe, while others are written by a hand that also makes corrections to the texts (I will discuss these hands below). Each page is divided horizontally into two by the letters of the alphabet written in the margins, letters which are then keyed to the index, or tabula, as the monks called it (see fig. 1). 26  MS. London, British Library, Harley 4894, fol. 217v: “Quinimmo est sciendum quod preter hos sermones sunt alii et plures addendi sub diuersis titulis, videlicet de dominicis quadragesime, de visitacionibus, de predicacionibus in processionibus pro domino rege vel pro pace aut miraculorum puplicacione, siue pro alicuius actus notabilis ostensione faciendis, pro quibus fiet breuis tabula correspondens.” 27  Wenzel, Latin Sermon Collections, 66. 28  Kathleen L. Scott calls this type of initial “spray” initials. See Dated and Datable English Manuscript Borders c. 1395–1499 (London: The Bibliographical Society of the British Library, 2002), 8–9 and passim.

8 Introduction

Fig. 1: MS. London, British Library, Harley 4894, fol. 2v. © The British Library Board.

Introduction9

The prologue to the index explains how this works: The form of this tabula is this: that first it follows the letters of the alphabet and secondly each sermon is inscribed by the same letters, namely, A, B, C, and thus all the rest in order, so that in each margin of the book there are two letters, that is, A B in one margin, C D in the other margin and thus in succession, between which letters is the written material of the sermons so that one can more quickly find what one is seeking.29

The index includes topics that are often the very ones identified in the margins. For example, the first entry for the word diabolus reads, “Quomodo diabolus captiuauit genus humanum, primo sermone Aduentus, g” (“How the devil captured the human race, in the first sermon for Advent, g”) (fol. 220v). If we turn to the section labeled “g” of that sermon, we find in the margins, “nota quomodo diabolus captiuauit genus humanum” (“Note how the devil captured the human race”) (fol. 2v). (See figures 2 and 3.)

Fig. 2: A section from the index (MS. London, British Library, Harley 4894, fol. 220v). © The British Library Board.

 Harley 4894, fol. 217r: “Cuius tabule hec est forma, videlicet quod primo sequitur litteras alphabeti et secundo quilibet sermo intitulatur per easdem litteras, scilicet a b c et sic de ceteris seriatim. ita quod in quolibet margine libri due littere continentur, puta a b in vno margine, c d in alio margine, et sic deinceps inter quas litteras sunt inscripte sermonum materie vt cicius inueniantur per tabulam a querente.” 29

10 Introduction

Fig. 3: Marginal annotation keyed to the index (MS. London, British Library, Harley 4894, fol. 2v). © The British Library Board.

Although there are occasionally topics annotated that do not appear in the index and entries in the index that are not annotated in the margins, so closely does the index mirror the marginal annotations that they were likely created as a unit, or close in time.30 The sermons are also arranged with an eye to navigability. Like a model sermon collection, they follow the liturgical year, beginning with the first Sunday of Advent; yet unlike a model sermon collection, which would include sermons for each Sunday and/or for each feast relative to one or more saints, the second sermon in this collection is for the fourth Sunday of Advent and the one following that for the Sunday after Epiphany. A large number of the sermons are for the Sundays of Lent, with twelve sermons for the first Sunday, nine for the second, and fewer for the others (for the list  For a more detailed discussion of the relationship between the annotations and the index, see Johnson, “Robert Rypon and the Creation of British Library, MS Harley 4894: A Master Preacher and His Sermon Collection,” Medieval Sermon Studies 59 (2015): 40–58 (at 54–7).

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Introduction11

of contents, see Appendix).31 There are also seven sermons for saints—one for John the Baptist’s birth (June 24), three for Mary Magdalene (July 22), and three for Oswald (August 5)—arranged in order of their feast days. Why these particular saints are included is unclear. St. Oswald is a famous northern English saint, so his feast day may have warranted a special sermon. There was also a local parish church dedicated to Oswald at which Rypon may have been invited to preach on his feast day. Likewise, there was a parish church as well as one of Durham priory’s almshouses dedicated to Mary Magdalene, so that Rypon may have been invited to preach at one of these locations on her feast day. It is also possible that the main times Rypon was called on to preach during the summer were special feast days, and all three of these saints’ feast days were during the summer. The collection also includes eight synodal sermons, preached at the annual synods held at Durham cathedral for the local clergy. These sermons form their own mini-collection within the larger collection, the first folio of which is adorned with the second decorated border. While close attention has been given to the arrangement of the sermons in this collection, their selection suggests that they were not originally composed as model sermons but are based on sermons Rypon preached before live audiences which were then gathered together and likely revised for the purposes of this collection. What makes this manuscript especially remarkable is that evidence suggests that Rypon himself was involved in its creation.32 There are at least two contemporary hands present in Harley 4894, along with a later hand, that of Thomas Swalwell, a monk who lived at the turn of the sixteenth century and annotated a large number of Durham manuscripts and printed books.33 The sermon texts and the index are written in a neat, regular bookhand of a sort that can be found in several other manuscripts and documents created in Durham and Finchale during the first decades of the fifteenth century.34 This bookhand displays features from both Anglicana and Secretary. Its distinctly Anglicana features include a two-compartment g, an occasional two-compartment a, although the scribe favored a one-compartment a, and a cursive short final s. The scribe also favored a single-stroke cursive long r associated

31  For a complete inventory including incipits and explicits, see Wenzel, Latin Sermon Collections, 587–93. Volume 2 will comprise a selection of Lenten sermons. 32  For a detailed discussion of Rypon’s involvement which includes several examples of his handwriting, see Johnson, “Robert Rypon and the Creation of London, British Library, MS Harley 4894.” 33  Piper, “Dr. Thomas Swalwell.” Anne Thayer is currently examining Swalwell’s copious annotations of both manuscripts and printed texts. 34  See A. I. Doyle, “Book Production by the Monastic Orders in England (c. 1375–1530): Assessing the Evidence,” in Medieval Book Production: Assessing the Evidence, ed. Linda L. Brownrigg (Los Altos Hills, Calif.: Anderson-Lovelace, 1990), 1–19, at 8.

12 Introduction

with Anglicana but sometimes used a 2-shaped short r from Secretary.35 Other significant features of the script include a t with a shaft that consistently rises above the headstroke and an ampersand made with two strokes. A. I. Doyle describes this script as a “proficient up-to-date [A]nglicana without foreign features, of a distinct type found in a number of priory documents of the first quarter or so of the fifteenth century.”36 It was apparently a bookhand employed by a scribe or small group of scribes hired by the monks for a large variety of writing tasks. The second hand present in the manuscript uses an older Anglicana bookhand and does not write with the regularity or evenness of a professional scribe. This second hand has written a great number of the annotations, made most of the corrections in the margins and within the lines of the text, and even completed the last three lines of the third sermon for Mary Magdalene (fol. 182v). Its letter forms include a more consistent two-compartment a, a t whose shaft ends at the headstroke, a q with the descender bending or curving sharply to the left (whereas the q of most hands of this period has a straight descender), and along with the straight long r, there is a long r that resembles a z, a form that seems idiosyncratic to this hand (see figs. 4 and 5).

Fig. 4: A marginal annotation written on fol. 140v (MS. London, British Library, Harley 4894). Note the z-like r in corpore. © The British Library Board.

 See M. B. Parkes, English Cursive Book Hands, 1250–1500 (Aldershot, Hampshire: Ashgate, 1969; repr. 1979), 9 (plate 9[ii]). 36  Doyle, “Book Production,” 8. 35

Introduction13

Fig. 5: Two marginal annotations written on fol. 141r (MS. London, British Library, Harley 4894). Note the q with slanted descender in q[u]id and the t with its shaft ending at the headstroke in interpretatur. © The British Library Board.

This hand, trained at an earlier period, is very like a hand found in several documents associated with Rypon from the 1390s and early 1400s.37 These documents, including a letter Rypon wrote in 1396/97 while prior of Finchale and several account rolls he drew up both as almoner of Durham priory and prior of Finchale,38 reveal just those letter forms found in the margins and in interlinear corrections made throughout Harley 4894 (see fig. 6).39 If one were to accept that the hand of the annotator/corrector was Rypon’s, then Rypon himself was likely overseeing the creation of Harley 4894. On this assumption, the principal scribe was working directly from Rypon’s own autograph copies of the sermons and following Rypon’s directions in their ordering and annotating, at least in the case of those annotations that Rypon did not write himself. Rypon may have also created the index; that it correlates so closely with marginal a­ nnotations  For a similar if more calligraphic hand but without the curve on the descender of q or two-stroke ampersand, see Parkes, English Cursive Book Hands, plate 2(i). This manuscript is dated 1381. 38  For images of these documents, see Johnson, “Robert Rypon and the Creation of British Library, MS Harley 4894.” The discussion in this section is largely a summary of that presented in this article. 39  Subpriors, the position Rypon held longest, did not keep accounts. 37

14 Introduction

Fig. 6: Durham Cathedral’s Archive, 2.7.Pont.2(c). From a letter Rypon wrote in 1396/7 to John of Hemingbrough, prior of Durham priory. Note the t in patri (line 1), the r in priori (line 1), and the q in quarto (line 2). Reproduced by kind permission of the Chapter of Durham Cathedral.

written in his hand makes this a strong possibility.40 Yet his hand does not appear anywhere in the copy of the index attached to the manuscript. It is possible that, for any number of reasons, he did not have a chance to correct the copy made by the scribe or scribes, for unlike the sermon texts, the index has a large number of errors, some fairly obvious.41 If Rypon was responsible for the manuscript’s creation, we can safely assign a terminus ante quem of 1422, the year he died. The manuscript was more likely created before 1419, after which Rypon was no longer subprior. We can infer this because when the manuscript’s title was added, along with several other titles, to the 1395 library catalog, the collection was titled Sermones Magistri Roberti Rypon Supprioris Dunelmensis, cum Tabula (“The Sermons of Master Robert Rypon, Subprior of Durham, with Tabula”). Rypon was therefore likely subprior at the time the manuscript title was added to the catalog as he probably did not retain that title after leaving the office.42 We can also safely assign a terminus post quem of 1410. There  The monks of Durham, although not unique in this way, were avid creators of indices. See A. J. Piper, “The Monks of Durham and the Study of Scripture,” in The Culture of Medieval English Monasticism, ed. James G. Clark (Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell Press, 2007), 86–103 (at 99), and Greatrex, The English Benedictine Cathedral Priories, 117–18. 41  For examples of some of these errors, see Johnson, “Robert Rypon and the Creation of British Library, MS Harley 4894,” 56–7. 42  Otherwise he might have been styled “Master of the Divine Page,” as was his contemporary, Thomas of Rome, in an entry for the Sermones Januensis, which Thomas procured for the priory’s cloister library and whose title was added to the catalog at the same time as Rypon’s collection. See Catalogi Veteres Librorum Cathedralis Dunelm., ed. B. Botfield and J. Raine, Surtees Society 7 (London: J. B Nichols and Sons, 1840), 76. 40

Introduction15

are three references within the sermons to contemporary events: a reference to a comet that Rypon says recently appeared during Lent in 1401 (fol. 116v), a reference to the victory at Homildon Hill, which occurred in 1402 (fol. 78v), and a reference to the Great Schism, which began in 1378, as having lasted for thirty-two years— that is, until 1410 (fol. 55r).43 Most of the sermons, then, can be assigned to the first decade of the fifteenth century, although Rypon was certainly preaching for two decades prior to that and continued to preach throughout the second decade of the fifteenth century. Upon its completion, Rypon’s sermon collection was designated for the cloister library, which was used by the novices and younger monks and housed a number of volumes of sermons and other tools helpful for preaching.44 How much use the manuscript saw while it was stored in the cloister library is unknown. There is little additional marginal annotation aside from Swalwell’s, but monks may have been hesitant to write in books that belonged to the priory and so left few if any marks on the pages. It may also not have been much consulted after Rypon’s death, that is, until Thomas Swalwell set about reading the manuscript, adding many marginal notes, underlining sections of interest to him, and even adding folio numbers to index entries of topics he must have found especially useful. In the upper right-hand corner of the first folio, he noted what he could learn about the author from internal evidence, writing, “Hic floruit anno Christi 1401, f. 116” (“This man flourished in the year of Christ 1401, f. 116”). He was also apparently so struck by a complex numerological discussion of the Greek letters in the name “Jesus” that he pasted a note referring to it onto a flyleaf preceding the manuscript. At the time of the Dissolution, the sermon collection apparently also attracted the attention of the subprior Stephen Marley and/or his younger brother Nicholas, also a monk of Durham, who were likely responsible for its removal from Durham and its eventual residence in the household of the Tempest family.45 According to A. I. Doyle, the two former monks had refused to accept the new articles of faith in 1559 under Elizabeth. Apparently, they removed from the priory a number of manuscripts and printed books, and at least Nicholas is thought to have eventually taken them in 1560 to the house of Thomas Tempest of Lanchester, who had acted as one  See Wenzel, Latin Sermon Collections, 72.  See Alan J. Piper, “The Libraries of the Monks of Durham,” in Medieval Scribes, Manuscripts & Libraries: Essays Presented to N. R. Ker, ed. M. B. Parkes and Andrew G. Watson (London: Scolar Press, 1978), 213–49 (at 228). 45  See A. I. Doyle, “The Library of Sir Thomas Tempest: Its Origins and Dispersal,” in Studies in Seventeenth-Century English Literature, History and Bibliography: Festschrift for Professor T. A. Birrell on the Occasion of His Sixtieth Birthday, ed. G. A. M. Janssens and F. G. A. M. Aarts (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1984), 83–93, at 85–6. 43

44

16 Introduction

of two sureties for him when he was summoned before royal commissioners in London. Stephen or Nicholas may also be responsible for assiduously erasing anything identifying Rypon as a monk of Durham. At some point the words libraria monachorum Dunelmensis (“the library of the monks of Durham”) were not only erased in the heading on the first folio, but the word Dunelmensis was also erased on the flyleaf, where Swalwell, who wrote out the contents of a great number of the Durham manuscripts, had written, Sermones magistri Roberti Rippon, followed by at least two words that have been expunged, the second of which appears to be Dunelmensis. Sometime between 1720 and 1731, Lord Harley purchased the manuscript from Lord Widdrington, the husband of Sir Thomas Tempest’s daughter. It has now found its home with the rest of the Harley collection in the British Library.46 The Sermons All of Rypon’s sermons use the scholastic form, which was developed in the schools during the thirteenth century and initially associated with university preaching. Sermons written in this form have also been called “thematic,” “modern,” and “university,” but Siegfried Wenzel points out that “scholastic” fits well “if one considers as genuinely scholastic the urge to divide concepts and issues into parts and order the latter in a numbered sequence.”47 A scholastic sermon takes as its basis a theme, or thema, usually a verse from Scripture often drawn from that day’s liturgy, from which the preacher produces topics that become the subjects for each larger division, or “principal part,” of his sermon. He can divide the theme either by taking each word one by one and making that word the basis for a part (divisio ab intra), or by deriving a general idea in the theme (divisio ab extra) and generating several topics from this idea. Both ways of dividing the theme usually result in three or four principal parts, parts that can then be subdivided.48 Scholastic sermons have other distinct sections. They usually begin with a protheme, or prothema, which ends in a prayer. This is followed by a further introduction that leads to the formal division (divisio thematis) of the sermon’s primary material. It is a complex form with complex rules.49 The older form of preaching, called the homily, in which the preacher explicated the Gospel pericope for that day, often using the four senses of Scripture, was still used throughout the Middle Ages. However, by the second half of the  See ibid., 83–4.  See Siegfried Wenzel, Medieval Artes Praedicandi, 47. 48  For a detailed discussion of these methods, see ibid., 65–75. 49  For a lucid synthesis of the form’s complexities, see ibid., 47–86. 46 47

Introduction17

fourteenth century, the scholastic form came to dominate, and model sermon collections along with treatises on the art of preaching (artes praedicandi) were written to facilitate a preacher’s composition in this form.50 Indeed, Rypon’s own sermon collection seems partially to serve as a guide to composing scholastic sermons.51 Rypon was a master of this form and especially adept at dividing his themes to allow him to manage his content in the time available to him. For example, in his sermon for the first Sunday after Epiphany—a sermon preached before a clerical audience—Rypon takes as his theme, Notas facite in populis adinuentiones (Make his works known among the peoples [Isa. 12:4]), drawn from the first reading for that Sunday, which is an amalgamation of verses from Isaiah.52 Just as the text of the Sarum Missal itself does, Rypon replaces the Vulgate’s word adinuentiones with the more familiar word virtutes before dividing the theme ab intra by first finding three general topics in each of the individual words: knowledge (Notas facite), people (populis), and virtues (virtutes). He further divides each of these three general topics into three subtopics, beginning with knowledge, noting that knowledge comes through “signs, words, and deeds”: “through express signs of inward perfection, through persuasive words of learned preaching, through manifest deeds of salvific action.” He then divides the people into three kinds: “the people perfected, the people subjected, and the people gathered from both groups. The people perfected are the clerical people, the people subjected are the lay people, the people gathered from both are the general people.” And finally he takes his last term, “virtues,” and states that there is “a virtue physical or natural, a virtue ethical or moral, a virtue theological or supernatural.” He proceeds to combine these sets of threes to arrive at the topics for his three principal parts: Therefore by combining each with each, to you priests and curates, whose calling it is to preach, to whom also the words of the theme are especially related, first I say, make known the physical and natural virtues through express signs of inward perfection among the clerical people; secondly, make known the ethical and moral virtues through persuasive  For the importance of model sermon collections throughout Europe, see David d’Avray, The Preaching of the Friars: Sermons diffused from Paris before 1300 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1985). For their popularity in late medieval England, see Spencer, English Preaching in the Late Middle Ages, 17–18, 21. For a recent edition with translation of five Artes praedicandi, see Siegfried Wenzel, The Art of Preaching: Five Medieval Texts & Translations (Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 2013). 51  For a more extended discussion of how Harley 4894 is designed as a model sermon collection, see Holly Johnson, “Master Robert Rypon and the Making of a Model Sermon Collection,” in L’éloquence de la chaire entre écriture et oralité, ed. Amy Heneveld and Cinthia Véronique Meli (Paris: Honoré Champion, 2018), 63-76. 52  See The Sarum Missal, ed. J. Wickham Legg (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1916), 39. See p. 85 in this volume for Rypon’s discussion of this pericope. 50

18 Introduction

words of learned preaching among the lay people subjected to you; and thirdly, make known the theological and supernatural virtues through manifest deeds of salvific actions among the general people gathered from both.53

Such complexity is not merely to fulfill the requirements of the scholastic sermon form, but to give structure to the sermon material, to make the larger points easier to remember for both preacher and audience, and to allow the preacher some flexibility without, one hopes, tempting him to go off on incoherent tangents. This particular division gives Rypon leeway to cover, if time permitted, not only the ministry of a priest who has care of souls, but also the internal state of perfection that should inform this ministry. Rypon was perfectly capable of much simpler divisions, on which he often relied when preaching to lay or mixed audiences. For example, in his sixth sermon for Rogation Days, a sermon likely preached to the laity following a procession to their parish church,54 Rypon takes the theme, Pueri mei mecum sunt in cubili (My children are with me in bed [Luke 11:7]), and builds up to his division by first expounding on the idea of childhood: Note that this noun “child” or “children” not only is taken for a child or for children at the infant age or of youthful stature, but one is also called a child at any age if one has the qualities of a child which are recited below. Thus it is written in Kings 21 [1 Kings 21:4 (1 Sam. 21:4)], how the priest Abimalech called the men of David children licensed to eat from the shewbread, saying, If they are children clean of women, etc. Secondly, note that Christ, indeed also each holy and just person having similar associates with him, can say, My children, etc. Thirdly, each wicked person with his accomplices can in a certain way say, My children, etc.55

He then divides his theme ab intra: The assertions in this theme for our purpose are threefold: first, the highest fitness of those praying or of pray-ers when it says, my children; secondly, the pure society of those gathered in charity when it adds, with me, or likewise when it says, my children with me; thirdly, the place of rest in which there is glory and delightful happiness when it adds, are in bed. And thus: My children are with me in bed.56

This division potentially gives Rypon room to cover any number of subjects pertaining to prayer and community, and his third topic—the final place of rest—allows  “Sermon for the Sunday after Epiphany,” p. 87 in this volume.  Rypon says as much at the beginning of the sermon (“Sixth Sermon for Rogation Days,” p. 157 in this volume). 55  Ibid., 161–3. 56  Ibid., 163. 53 54

Introduction19

him to end with a point that will naturally lead to the sermon’s customary final prayer, in which the preacher prays for eternal life for himself and his audience. Rypon can then keep the third principal part short if he finds himself running out of time or his audience growing weary and impatient. In the case of this particular sermon, Rypon in fact devotes about one sentence to this third part, but because he had built into his sermon structure this heavenly direction, he can bring his sermon to an end organically. So while the scholastic sermon form typifies the “subdividing mentality”57 associated with the schoolmen, in the hands of a trained and talented preacher like Rypon, it can be fairly elastic, allowing a preacher space for development and amplification but within a structured environment, the structure keeping him and his audience from losing track of the larger points. In the protheme (or, as Rypon commonly calls it, antitheme or prologue), the preacher frequently elaborates on an idea from the theme relating to the role of the preacher and his audience. This is often Rypon’s primary focus, too, but he sometimes uses his prothemes to explicate the full pericope from which he draws his theme, an unusual practice in scholastic sermons.58 His second sermon for the feast of St. Oswald is a good example of both of these strategies. In the sermon proper, Rypon uses his theme, Hic homo cepit edificare (This man began to build [Luke 14:30]), to explore how each rank or estate builds a wall of the Church militant, but in the protheme he focuses more specifically on the two things necessary for building a tower—the necessary funds (sumptus necessarios) and ready aid (iuuamen expediens)—a tower which becomes a metaphor for a holy way of life. By applying each section of the biblical passage to both preachers and hearers of sermons, Rypon presents a detailed tropological explication of the entire pericope. He begins with preachers: First (I say) it is necessary that the one who will build the tower of a holy way of life has the necessary funds lest he fails in his work. Thus the Evangelist asks in this Gospel [Luke 14:28–30]: For who among you wishing to build a tower does not first sit down and reckon the funds which are necessary, whether he has wherewithal to finish it; lest, after he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish it, all who see it begin to mock him, saying that this man began to build, and was not able to finish? Morally to my point, each preacher of God’s word can aptly be called the man who began to build this tower, because, according to the opinion of blessed Gregory, in book 20 of the Moralia, chapter 29: “Preaching is to beget people into life.”59

 David d’Avray, The Preaching of the Friars, 177.  See Wenzel, Latin Sermon Collections, 67. 59  “Second Sermon for Blessed Oswald,” p. 293 in this volume.

57

58

20 Introduction

Rypon then immediately applies it to hearers of sermons and here introduces another passage from Luke’s Gospel: And not only is the preacher of God’s word called the man who builds this tower, but also the hearer of God’s word is the man who builds this tower, as Saint Luke testifies in the Gospel (Luke 6[:47–48]): Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them is like to a man building a house, who digged deep and laid the foundation upon a rock. And when a flood came, the river beat vehemently upon that house and it could not shake it, for it was founded on a firm rock. Thus morally the one who, by listening to God’s word, wishes to build a tower or house of a way of life, it is necessary that he digs deep, namely, by putting what he heard into the depths of his heart and his understanding. It is also necessary that he lays his foundation on a firm rock, that is, on a firm intention, by doing the work that he heard in the sermon.60

He continues in this vein, moving between Luke 14 and Luke 6, touching on several aspects of the proper disposition for listening to sermons and the grace necessary for both the preacher and his audience, until he arrives at the legation mentioned in Luke 14:31–32, which he paraphrases for his audience: In a sign of this there is an example found in the Gospel whence the theme comes concerning a king engaged in war against another king coming against him with twenty thousand soldiers. Then the first king sits and considers whether he can come against him with ten thousand soldiers, and if he cannot, then he sends a legation to the other king who is as yet a long way away, and asks that there be peace. 61

This final passage leads him seamlessly to the requisite prayer in which a preacher prays that he may preach well and that his audience may listen attentively. This prayer precedes the division of the theme: “Therefore let us send that legation in the beginning of our collation for obtaining the grace and help of God for the completion of the building of the mentioned tower, praying, etc.”62 The protheme is masterfully constructed, working on several fronts: preparing the audience to listen attentively to the rest of the sermon, explicating the Gospel pericope and applying it to the preaching and hearing of sermons, and transitioning to the next expected part of the sermon. While the lexicon of the scholastic sermon with its thema, antithema, and divisio often sounds dry and arbitrary, a good preacher such as Rypon can use the form to create a sermon with an internal logic that makes each section flow naturally from the preceding one.

 Ibid., 293.  Ibid., 295–7. 62  Ibid., 297. 60 61

Introduction21

Rypon’s artistry is apparent not only in the organization of his sermons but in the varied ways in which he amplifies each part, relates his material to his audience members’ lives, and exhorts and instructs. Sermons are after all rhetorical: they are meant to persuade a listener to convert and repent, to flee vice and pursue virtue, to love God and neighbor. Well aware of his role as persuader and educator, Rypon uses a number of preaching strategies to serve this end, fleshing out his sermons with authorities, analogies, images, and exempla. His favorite topics include traditional pastoral themes such as the seven deadly sins, the Ten Commandments, penance, and prayer, but his exploration of these topics varies from sermon to sermon: he transforms this material to fit a specific context and audience.63 He was also fascinated by the workings of the mind and the memory, how what we think and allow ourselves to absorb from our surroundings affects how we behave. He put the scholastic form with all its divisions and subdivisions at the service of these homiletic goals. Sources Like all late medieval preachers, Rypon relied on a number of sources to develop and flesh out his sermons. Durham priory had a large book collection, thus ample resources for a monk composing sermons.64 Rypon had access to commentaries on the Bible; books of theology, philosophy, history, science, and literature; model sermon collections, florilegia, and other preaching aids; and possibly the Koran along with a biography of Mohammed.65 Like many medieval monks, and especially one who had completed his doctorate, Rypon had read widely and reflectively. Of course he weaves many quotations from the Bible and the Glossa ordinaria into his sermons, and he also relies on other authorities—Aristotle, Augustine, Jerome, Gregory, Bede—popular with most medieval preachers. Rypon certainly had his preferred sources, including the Dicta of Robert Grosseteste and Pseudo-John Chrysostom’s Opus imperfectum in Mattheum, a popular text among the Durham monks, who, according to Alan Piper, owned seven tabulae or indexes to this text, one of which was created at the priory. “They were evidently intent,” Piper notes, “on having the appropriate tools to make  For a discussion of one such transformation, see Johnson, “The Imaginative Landscape of an English Monk-Preacher: Robert Rypon and the Court of Memory.” See also Horner, “Benedictines and Preaching the Pastoralia.” 64  The early catalogs of Durham priory’s collections are published in Catalogi (see note 42 above). For Durham priory’s libraries, see Piper, “The Libraries of the Monks of Durham.” 65  These latter works do not appear in the fourteenth- and fifteenth-century library catalogs, so he may have consulted them while a student at Durham College, Oxford. 63

22 Introduction

best use of this popular if dubious work.”66 Rypon also relied on many other preaching aids, such as John of Bromyard’s Summa praedicancium, Anselm’s Similitudines, John of Wales’s Communiloquium, and Jacopo da Varazze’s Legenda aurea, along with exempla collections and florilegia that he does not always name. Gerald Owst accuses Rypon of using his sources slavishly, displaying “that overwhelming conservatism of the mediaeval preachers of the convent” for whom “[n]o mere independent statement is good enough …, but above it and below he must quote from ‘Lincoln,’ or Bernard, or Gorham, the very commonplaces of doctrine that few men would debate.”67 But in fact, while Rypon does use authorities to confirm each topic in the division of his theme, as the artes praedicandi advise,68 he rarely uses an authority merely to reinforce a commonplace, unless it is a commonplace associated with a specific authority, such as John of Damascus’s saying that “prayer is the ascent of the mind to God”69 or that the will is “the queen in the kingdom of the soul” (Rypon attributes the latter to Augustine).70 Rypon might also use an authority to bolster a claim for which he may not want to take responsibility. For example, he cites Aristotle on the sexual proclivities of stallions and mares, a perhaps commonplace zoological notion but one that Rypon might prefer not to assert as his own observation.71 So while he sometimes cites authorities to reinforce what may be termed commonplaces, he more often relies on the language and imagery in authorities such as Gregory or Augustine or Bernard of Clairvaux to add richness and variety to the texture of his sermons and to create rhetorically heightened moments. For example, when discussing the transience of human life, Rypon turns to Gregory’s Registrum, where Gregory compares our life to “one sailing, for he who sails, whether he stands or sits or lies down, always moves because he is led by the impulse of the ship. So also we, whether keeping awake or sleeping, through moments of time move to the end.”72 He relies on a source he believes to be written by Bernard of Clairvaux when he presents a terrifying image of the torments in hell where “cruel worms will eat the inmost heart,” where “the flesh will be tortured with fire, the soul with the worm of conscience,” where “only weeping, lamenting, and gnashing of teeth are heard.”73 Very  Piper, “The Monks and the Study of Scripture,” 99.  Owst, Preaching in Medieval England, 54. 68  Wenzel, Medieval Artes Praedicandi, 75–8. 69  “First Sermon for Blessed Mary Magdalene,” p. 173 in this volume, and “Sixth Sermon for Rogation Days,” p. 151. 70  For example, “Third Sermon for Mary Magdalene,” p. 255 in this volume, and “Sermon for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity,” pp. 183–5. 71  See “Second Sermon for Mary Magdalene,” p. 241 in this volume. 72  “Sermon for St. John the Baptist,” p. 201 in this volume. 73  “First Sunday of Advent,” p. 63 in this volume. 66 67

Introduction23

often authorities serve as springboards for Rypon’s own imaginative reworkings, such as Grosseteste’s image of the court of memory from his Dicta (Dictum 7), which Rypon reuses in several sermons, always transforming it to suit the needs of that particular sermon until it barely resembles Grosseteste’s original.74 When Rypon does quote larger chunks of authoritative texts, which he does more often when preaching to clerical audiences than lay audiences, he rarely simply inserts swathes of texts into a sermon, creating almost a pastiche, as some of his contemporaries do.75 Instead Rypon walks his listeners (and readers) through longer texts bit by bit, using transitions such as “and then he adds an example,” “then he continues,” and “he concludes.”76 Rypon thus acts as guide for both listeners and readers; he always has control over his material. Conceits The multi-faceted conceit is one of the most fascinating aspects of late medieval preaching. Such conceits give life to homiletic material, and Rypon is one of their more inventive—if sometimes excessively elaborate—users.77 He draws his conceits from a number of realms, including agriculture, warfare, history, medicine, numerology, and grammar. He includes material on the nature of mirrors, the game of chess, the process of making a book or baking a loaf of bread, and the prosaic task of counting money—a task he knew well from his years as almoner and prior of Finchale. These conceits are often complex; Rypon will pursue every detail of a comparison until it dominates a large section of the sermon.78 As Siegfried Wenzel has noted, Rypon sometimes “belabors matters à fond,”79 and Wenzel offers an example from a 74  See Johnson, “The Imaginative Landscape of an English Monk-Preacher.” For examples in this volume of these transformations, see the following sermons: “Sermon for the Sundy after Epiphany,” pp. 89–91; “Sermon for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity,” pp. 183–7; and “Third Sermon for Mary Magdalene,” pp. 267–9. 75  English preachers whose sermons include lengthy passages from authorities include John Felton, vicar of St. Mary Magdalene in Oxford from 1397 to 1434; Philip Repingdon, an Augustinian canon who became bishop of Lincoln from 1404 to 1419; and John Dygon, a parish priest who became a Carthusian monk in 1435. For discussions of their sermon collections, see Wenzel, Latin Sermon Collections, 54–7 (Felton), 50–3 (Repingdon) and 100–15 (Dygon). 76  See, for example, “Second Sermon for Blessed Oswald,” pp. 297–9 and 303–05 in this volume, where Rypon uses a large section from Anselm’s Similitudes. 77  For examples and discussions of some of Rypon’s conceits, see Wenzel, “Preaching the Seven Deadly Sins,” 165–9; Wenzel, Latin Sermon Collections, 68–71; Holly Johnson, “The Divine Dinner Party: Domestic Imagery,” 390–3; and Johnson, “The Imaginative Landscape of an English Monk-Preacher.” 78  See, for example, his first sermon for Rogation Days, pp. 145–55 in this volume. 79  Wenzel, Latin Sermon Collections, 68.

24 Introduction

Lenten sermon of a lengthy and technical discussion of the copula et which Rypon applies to biblical exegesis “with a vengeance.”80 But Wenzel also notes that Rypon “illustrat[es] his grammatical point with references to a sermon audience and to Lenten practices” and that it leads him “precisely to the point of [his] disquisition.”81 Rypon may have sometimes dazzled audiences with his erudition, and audiences may have expected to be dazzled, but his primary aim was homiletic and didactic. When he explains the game of chess, as he does in his sermon for John the Baptist, he is not interested in teaching his audience how to play, but in drawing connections between the allowed movements of a chess piece and the corrupt behavior of the segment of society to which he connects that particular piece.82 The bishop, for example, which can move diagonally through the corners of the squares, is likened to clerics who move through secret “corners” in order to gain benefices, or, in other words, clerics who secure coveted positions through the requests and letters of people in power, not through merit or holiness.83 When Rypon explains the method for counting money, it is not to teach his audience computational skills; by connecting the lining up of pence and counters to living a holy life, to fulfilling the Ten Commandments, to sharing one’s goods with those less fortunate, and generally to loving God and neighbor, he enlivens and makes memorable his pastoral teachings. The rows of fives, sixes, tens, and twelves along with the image of a person physically sorting coins act as effective mnemonic devices.84 To take one example of a multifaceted image that works as a backdrop for an entire sermon, I will turn again to the second sermon for the feast of St. Oswald, whose protheme was discussed above. When Rypon turns to the sermon proper, he uses his theme, Hic homo cepit edificare (“This man began to build” [Luke 14:30]), to explore the metaphoric building of the four walls of the Church, each of which is constructed by one of the three estates—those who pray, those who defend, and those who farm—to which he adds a fourth, those who live in cities, specifically artisans and merchants, whom he calls collectively “citizens.” In the introduction to his division, he not only establishes what the four estates are but describes in a fairly detailed way the structure they build. Each of the building’s four walls is associated with an estate, the comparison being based on a suitable property shared by the wall and the estate. The comparison can be direct: warriors face north to fight off the Scots, a threat especially felt by those in northern England, or it can be metaphorical:  Ibid., 70. This sermon will be edited in volume 2.  Ibid. 82  See “Sermon for St. John the Baptist,” pp. 207–09 in this volume. 83  See ibid., p. 207. 84  See “Sermon for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity,” pp. 193–5. 80 81

Introduction25

ecclesiastics face south because they must illuminate the building with the light of doctrine. It can also be stretched beyond what one thinks the analogy might bear: the “citizens” face west because, says Rypon, “in the west is the end of the day and the stars appear gathered in the firmament. So at the end of the world will appear all the predestined citizens of the saints and household members of God.”85 At the end of the introduction, Rypon verbally constructs the rest of the image of the building of the Church: The foundation of this house is the man Christ Jesus …. The cement joining the walls to the foundation is true faith, and the cement joining the walls to each other is hope and love, and they join the walls to each other as if they were beams from the transverse beam. But now this house is incomplete in this world, but the walls will be erected up to the house of God, which is heaven. Above this house, as it were, a terrace will be built, to which house the aforementioned ranks of men will ascend by rank from the lower house, namely, from the Church militant to the Church triumphant, and for the times of this life they cover the mentioned walls with panels, that is, with good works; these panels are joined to the transverse beams with the nails of penance.86

The naturalistic detail of this image, with its cement, transverse beams, and nails of penance, is characteristic of Rypon. The image acts as a backdrop for the rest of the sermon, with each of the three principal parts devoted to a different estate; he combines the farmers and citizens whom he had only divided to sustain the four-wall analogy, not because four estates were critical to his theological argument. Rypon then works the same ordering of material into each section, beginning with how that particular estate builds its wall, and then covering the steps necessary for that particular estate to ascend to the building’s terrace. The image works both horizontally and vertically. The steps by which each estate ascends are made appropriate to that estate’s role or nature, yet each set of steps has a broader application: the clergy ascend by the steps of humility, the warriors by the four cardinal virtues, and the commoners by very practical Christian virtues—which include working diligently, paying tithes, and observing chastity within and outside of marriage. Rypon also tailors the content of each principal part to suit the different estates and the potentially different members of the audience. So, for example, he elucidates for the warrior class the origin of the word miles and, in the fashion of popular preaching, includes for the commoners two lively exempla. Lying behind all of Rypon’s material is the image of a building under construction, an image that holds the material together for a listening audience and helps to make this material 85 86

 “Second Sermon for St. Oswald,” p. 311 in this volume.  Ibid., p. 301.

26 Introduction

memorable by creating the “places” or loci in which one can then mentally store what one hears.87 The conceit is potentially made more effective by the fact that Rypon’s audience may have been sitting in a building with four walls, one facing north towards the threatening Scots. The technique for image-construction is thus to connect each facet of the image to a larger homiletic point or points, in order to create a metaphoric landscape. This landscape is usually dynamic: there are in it both stasis and movement, as can be seen in the image of the building of the church. Sometimes Rypon verbally paints the image before making the connections; at other times he does so simultaneously. In either case the conceits help to create memories, visually attaching images to abstract concepts or pastoral teachings. Storytelling Like conceits, exempla similarly make vivid and memorable homiletic points and create larger structures to hold these points together. Rypon was no stranger to the lively exemplum, especially when preaching to the laity, for, as Chaucer’s Pardoner says, “lewed peple loven tales olde; | Swiche thynges kan they wel reporte and holde” (“laypeople love old stories; | Such things they can well retell and remember”).88 In fact, one of his exempla is an analog to Chaucer’s Friar’s Tale, which Rypon calls “amusing” (iocosa) although he draws from it a serious moral.89 Exempla can be quite short. For example, in Rypon’s sermon for the fourth Sunday of Advent, he tells a brief story about a woman who, while her husband was “drunkenly asleep,” clothed him in the habit of a friar, so that when he awoke and found himself clothed as a friar, he remarked that the one who had dressed him so should be cursed but then went on to behave himself. Rypon goes on to interpret, or “moralize,” this exemplum (the habit is a Christian’s baptism, the wife is the Church), but, even though brief, it is a slightly odd and therefore memorable story, making its point in a few broad

87  Mary Carruthers notes: “While one certainly can retain matters from listening alone, it requires great concentration, and even so, it is always made easier and more secure when supported by a visual image” (“Moving Images in the Mind’s Eye,” in The Mind’s Eye: Art and Theological Argument in the Middle Ages, ed. Jeffrey F. Hamburger and Anne-Marie Bouché [Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006], 287–305, at 288). 88  Chaucer, The Pardoner’s Prologue, 195, ll. 437-38. 89  This exemplum occurs on fols. 103v–104r, in the fourth sermon for the third Sunday of Lent, which will be edited in volume 2. For a full transcription and translation of this exemplum, see Peter Nicholson, “The Rypon Analogue of the Friar’s Tale,” Chaucer Newsletter 3 (1981): 1–2.

Introduction27

strokes.90 Many of Rypon’s exempla are much more fully developed, sometimes dominating an entire section of a sermon, such as the story he tells in his sixth sermon for Rogation Days of two Norwich merchants, one of whom was pious while the other was not. The impious one refuses mercy even at the end of his life and dies in mortal sin, despite the prayers of his friends and a vision of Christ, who, at the end of the vision, spatters blood on the dying man. Rypon develops this exemplum at some length with dialog and vivid description, and the final image of the dead man spattered in blood, who the audience knows has gone to Hell, leaves a chilling after-effect. The moralization is built into the story, so there is no need for Rypon to add anything more.91 Narrative strategies appear in other ways throughout the sermons. In several examples of one of Rypon’s favorite images, the court of memory, Rypon creates an entire mental landscape in which different aspects of the mind, the interior “senses,” play roles in either a city or an estate and sometimes strike up lively conversations. In one version of this image, carnal concupiscence is likened to a court jester flitting about and stirring up trouble, and in another carnal concupiscence is likened to a prostitute in a city similarly on the prowl.92 Or Rypon introduces dialog for dramatic effect, as he does in the sermon for the fourth Sunday of Advent when he puts words into the mouths of each type of sinner, showing how each of them “cry out,” beginning with the greedy who say, “Give, give!” He then contrasts the cries of sinners with Christ’s from the cross, when he cried out, “Eloi, Eloi, lamazabathan” (Mark 15:34).93 In a passage Rypon derives from Anselm’s Similitudes, he shows how, when we offend God the creator, we anger every created thing, each of which can then rebuke us. For example, the sun can say, “I do not have to shine for you for health, but burn you with the vengeance of the true Lord, who is the light of light and the source of light.”94 Such dialogs and hypothesized speeches allow for variety in delivery and striking rhetorical effects. We have no idea if Rypon when preaching modulated his voice (although treatises on the art of preaching sometimes recommended doing so95) or took on different voices, but such acting likely would not have been necessary for the voices to be distinguished by the listener.  See the sermon “Fourth Sunday of Advent,” p. 75 in this volume.  See “Sixth Sermon for Rogation Days,” pp. 169–73. 92  The court jester appears on fol. 98v in the third sermon for the third Sunday of Lent, which will be edited in volume 2. The prostitute appears on p. 269 in the third sermon for Mary Magdalene in this volume. 93  “Fourth Sunday of Advent,” p. 79. 94  “Second Sermon for St. Oswald,” p. 305. 95  For example, in his Forma praedicandi (c. 1322), Robert of Basevorn includes a section on modulating one’s voice (Wenzel, Medieval Artes Praedicandi, 16). 90 91

28 Introduction

Orality vs. The Written Form We do know that Rypon was often called upon to preach and the sermon collection attests to the fact that his sermons were highly regarded, at least by his fellow monks. Yet we can never know with any certainty what effect his sermons and preaching style had on audiences or exactly what he said while standing in the pulpit. While much evidence suggests that the sermons in Harley 4894 were originally “real” sermons and not sermons composed for this collection, their written form differs from what an audience heard. If Rypon is himself responsible for the collection’s creation, it is likely that he saved a large number of sermons that he had in fact preached and revised them for an audience of readers who might not only have been interested in the sermons’ material but in studying how to be effective preachers. When revising them, he may have added full citations of sources that he may not have said aloud when preaching, citations for which Gerald Owst gives him high marks.96 Evidence that at least some of the citations were added while the collection was compiled comes from the occasional spaces in the manuscript left blank for a book or chapter number. Apparently Rypon or someone else failed to find the information or forgot to add it. Rypon also added cross-references for his readers, sometimes noting where in the collection readers might find a subject treated more fully, which he would therefore omit in that particular sermon even when the subject was stipulated by the sermon’s division; naturally, when preaching before different audiences or in different years, he would have included such material. There is also the question of what language Rypon preached in. While the sermons are recorded in Latin, which was common practice, when preaching to a lay or mixed audience, he necessarily had to preach in English, and there are occasional signs of English in a handful of the Lenten sermons, mainly English rhyming verses used for sermon divisions and a few English proverbs, also in rhyme. For example, the following quatrain appears in the sixth sermon for the second Sunday of Lent: When myght and wut and ryght wer ane, þen was welthe in ilk a wane. Bot sen myght want wut and ryght, hase bene sorow day and nyght. [When might and knowledge and right were one, Then was wealth in such a place,

96

 See Owst, Preaching in Medieval England, 54.

Introduction29

But since might lacks knowledge and right, There has been sorrow day and night.]97

Rhyming verses and English proverbs do not translate as rhymes in Latin, so it stands to reason that Rypon saw fit to leave them as is while he rendered the majority of the sermon in Latin to serve as a resource for contemporary and future monkpreachers.98 But there are also several instances where Rypon relies on Latin vocabulary and Latin grammar to make his points, even in sermons that otherwise seem directed to the laity. For example, in his sermon for John the Baptist, he explains the difference between the imperfect indicative form erat and the perfect indicative fuit or the perfect subjunctive fuerit, an explanation that makes no sense if he were only speaking in English, where the same word, “was,” would be used in each case. Possibly he added this discussion when revising the sermon for publication with an eye to his reading audience, or he might well have explained to the laity, in English, what the differences are among these Latin verb forms. While laypeople might not have spoken Latin themselves, they were certainly exposed to it frequently during liturgical gatherings, so that they may have had a sufficient understanding of it, which was augmented by preachers like Rypon. Because erat is part of his theme, which he likely read out in Latin before translating it into English, as was common practice when preaching in the vernacular, the laity in his audience had therefore heard the word, perhaps several times. The texts of the sermons as we have them thus seem to be directed to two audiences: the audience to whom Rypon originally preached and his future readers. They combine lively rhetorical passages with sometimes meticulous attention to sermon construction, as if Rypon was simultaneously training young monkpreachers how to construct scholastic sermons and demonstrating how to preach such sermons. The manuscript itself, with its detailed index and linked annotations, also seems designed for this purpose. The index and annotations facilitate the finding of sermon material while the sermons themselves exemplify how this material can be orchestrated for preaching. While there are no contemporary reports to inform us of how effective Rypon’s sermons were, the resources poured into the creation of Harley 4894 testify to his gifts and renown as a preacher, at least in the eyes of his brother monks.  Fol. 78r. This sermon will be included in volume 2.  For truly macaronic sermons, see Patrick J. Horner, A Macaronic Sermon Collection from Late Medieval England: Oxford, MS. Bodley 649 (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 2006); Holly Johnson, The Grammar of Good Friday: Macaronic Sermons of Late Medieval England, Sermo 8 (Turnhout: Brepols, 2012); and Siegfried Wenzel, Macaronic Sermons: Bilingualism and Preaching in LateMedieval England (Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1994). 97 98

30 Introduction

This Edition This volume is the first of two devoted to Rypon’s selected sermons. While the second volume will include a selection of sermons for Lent, this edition includes most of Rypon’s sermons designated for Sundays outside of Lent along with all but one of the sermons designated for saints’ feast days. In addition, it includes two of the six sermons designated for Rogation Days. I have excluded Rypon’s sermon for Trinity Sunday because it is quite lengthy (about 14,000 words) so that, although rich in material, it would have dominated the edition and necessitated cutting several other sermons; I chose variety instead. Similarly, this volume includes only one of the two Easter sermons, both of which are fairly long. In choosing two Rogation Days sermons out of the six, I chose the most diverse. The first of these develops an elaborate image of a well in the cloister of one’s soul, and the second narrates a lively story of two Norwich merchants (see above discussion). I have included all of Rypon’s sermons for saints’ days, with one exception. The collection includes three sermons designated for Mary Magdalene’s feast day, but among the sermons for the second Sunday of Lent appears another sermon that had clearly been intended—at least originally—for Mary Magdalene. Its theme, Mulier erat in ciuitate peccatrix (Luke 7:37), is similar to the theme of the Lenten sermon preceding it, Mulier egressa clamavit (Matt 15:22), so that it may have been placed here in error, or it may have been placed here intentionally because this sermon deals extensively with the seven deadly sins.99 This sermon shares a great deal of material with the third sermon designated for Mary Magdalene, including the same theme, the same division of the material, and essentially the same first principal part. But the latter is incomplete, ending abruptly before the conclusion of the first part.100 I have therefore chosen for this edition the fully developed version labeled as a Lenten sermon over the one labeled for Mary Magdalene. The sermons are labeled according to the siglum (RY) and numbering used by Siegfried Wenzel in his inventory of Latin sermon collections.101 I have stayed as close to the Latin texts as possible but have added capitalization, punctuation, and paragraphing to conform to modern conventions, and I have silently expanded abbreviations. I have maintained medieval spellings, including e instead of ae or oe, internal c where one expects t, as well as the u/v distinction. Scribal ff at the beginning of words is reduced to f. The manuscript consistently uses  See Wenzel, Latin Sermon Collections, 67–8.  For a fuller discussion of the difference between these two sermons, see Johnson, “Robert Rypon and British Library, MS. Harley 4894,” 52–4. 101  See Wenzel, Latin Sermon Collections, 587–93. 99

100

Introduction31

set instead of sed, so I maintain this spelling even when the word has been abbreviated. The text uses both inquit and inquid, velut and velud, tanquam and tamquam, so readers will find both spellings in this edition. Tamquam has been chosen when the word is abbreviated. I have also retained the intrusive p in words such as condempnare. I have used arabic numbers when the text uses them along with roman numbers where these appear. Marginal additions and corrections are set off by slashes, and interlinear corrections are set off by angle brackets. When I have made emendations where the grammar and sense require it, I have footnoted each emendation, the manuscript reading following the edited form. I have supplied in brackets words and parts of words where the sense requires them. In the translation I note full scriptural citations that do not appear in the manuscript as well as other bibliographic references. In translating the biblical quotations, I have consulted the Douay-Rheims translation and sometimes used its diction and phrasing, but I have tried to stay close to the Latin used in the sermons and to render the biblical texts into modern English. My translation in general attempts to stay fairly close to the original text, altering it in places to make it more readable and often using active voice in place of passive voice, especially when the latter makes for awkward English syntax. The word scilicet appears frequently, and I have translated this in several ways depending on context. If the word is setting up a list, I have often used a colon, instead of translating it with “namely,” “that is,” or “specifically” as I do elsewhere. I have also varied my translations of several connective words that also appear frequently, such as vnde, insuper, ceterum, and immo. When Rypon quotes an authority or hypothesized speech, he often inserts an inquit (“he said”) and a concluding “thus said so-and-so” (e.g. hec Augustinus) to distinguish clearly his own words from the words of his source. I have omitted most of these unnecessary “he saids” from the translation, while retaining them in the Latin text. I have also often added nouns to replace some of the ambiguous pronouns in the text. Selected Bibliography Benedictine Monasticism in Medieval England Clark, James G. (ed.), The Culture of Medieval English Monasticism, Studies in the History of Medieval Religion (Woodbridge, Suffolk: The Boydell Press, 2007). —, “University Monks in Late Medieval England,” in Medieval Monastic Education, ed. George Ferzoco and Carolyn Muessig (New York and London: Leicester University Press, 2000), 56–71.

32 Introduction

Coates, Alan, “Benedictine Monks and Their Books in Oxford,” in Benedictines in Oxford, ed. Henry Wansbrough and Anthony Marett-Crosby (London: Darton, Longman, and Todd, 1997), 79–94. Greatrex, Joan, The English Benedictine Cathedral Priories: Rule and Practice, c. 1270– c. 1420 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011). —, “The Scope of Learning within the Cloisters of the English Cathedral Priories in the Later Middle Ages,” in Medieval Monastic Education, ed. George Ferzoco and Carolyn Muessig (New York and London: Leicester University Press, 2000), 41–55. Wansbrough, Henry, and Anthony Marett-Crosby (ed.), Benedictines in Oxford (London: Darton, Longman, and Todd, 1997). Durham and Durham Priory Brown, David (ed.), Durham Cathedral: History, Fabric and Culture (New Haven and London: The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, 2015). Dobson, R. Barrie, “The Black Monks of Durham and Canterbury Colleges: Comparisons and Contrasts,” in Benedictines in Oxford, ed. Henry Wansbrough and Anthony Marett-Crosby (London: Darton, Longman, and Todd, 1997), 61–78. —, Durham Priory 1400–1450, Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought, 3rd Series, 6 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1973). Doyle, A. I., “The Library of Sir Thomas Tempest: Its Origins and Dispersal,” in Studies in Seventeenth-Century English Literature, History and Bibliography: Festschrift for Professor T. A. Birrell on the Occasion of His Sixtieth Birthday, ed. G. A. M. Janssens and F. G. A. M. Aarts (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1984), 83–93. Gameson, Richard, Manuscript Treasures of Durham Cathedral (London: Durham Cathedral and Third Millennium Publishing Limited, 2010). Harvey, Margaret, Lay Religious Life in Late Medieval Durham, Regions and Regionalism in History (Woodbridge, Suffolk: The Boydell Press, 2006). Piper, Alan J., “The Historical Interests of the Monks of Durham,” in Symeon of Durham: Historian of Durham and the North, ed. David Rollason (Stamford: Shaun Tyas, 1998), 301–32. “The Libraries of the Monks of Durham,” in Medieval Scribes, Manuscripts and Libraries: Essays Presented to N. R. Ker, ed. Malcolm B. Parkes and Andrew G. Watson (London: Scolar Press, 1978), 213–49. —, “The Monks of Durham and the Study of Scripture,” in The Culture of Medieval English Monasticism, ed. James G. Clark (Woodbridge, Suffolk: The Boydell Press, 2007), 86–103.

Introduction33

Preaching in England Fletcher, Alan J., Late Medieval Popular Preaching in Britain and Ireland: Texts, Studies, and Interpretations, Sermo 5 (Turnhout: Brepols, 2009). Greatrex, Joan, “Benedictine Monk Scholars as Teachers and Preachers in the Later Middle Ages: Evidence from Worcester Cathedral Priory,” in Monastic Studies: The Continuity of Tradition, ed. Judith Loades, 2 vols. (Bangor, Gwynned: Headstart History, 1991), 2:213–25. —, “Benedictine Sermons: Preparation and Practice in the English Monastic Cathedral Cloisters,” in Medieval Monastic Preaching, ed. Carolyn Muessig (Brill: Leiden, 1998), 255–78. Horner, Patrick, “Benedictines and Preaching in Fifteenth-Century England: The Evidence of Two Bodleian Library Manuscripts,” Revue Bénédictine 99 (1989): 313–32. Owst, Gerald R., Literature and Pulpit in Medieval England, 2nd revised ed. (New York: Barnes and Noble, 1961). —, Preaching in Medieval England: An Introduction to Sermon Manuscripts of the Period c. 1350–1450 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1926). Spencer, H. Leith, English Preaching in the Late Middle Ages (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993). Wenzel, Siegfried, Latin Sermon Collections from Later Medieval England: Orthodox Preaching in the Age of Wyclif (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005). —, “Monastic Preaching in the Age of Chaucer,” The Morton W. Bloomfield Lectures on Medieval English Literature (Kalamazoo, Mich.: Medieval Institute Press, 1993). —, Preaching in the Age of Chaucer: Selected Sermons in Translation, Medieval Texts in Translation (Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 2008). Robert Rypon Horner, Patrick, “Benedictines and Preaching the Pastoralia in Late Medieval England: A Preliminary Inquiry,” in Medieval Monastic Preaching, ed. Carolyn Muessig (Leiden: Brill, 1998), 279–92. Johnson, Holly, “The Imaginative Landscape of an English Monk-Preacher: Robert Rypon and the Court of Memory,” Mediaeval Studies 75 (2013): 177–204. —, “Master Robert Rypon and the Making of a Model Sermon Collection,” in L’Éloquence de la chaire entre écriture et oralité, ed. Amy Heneveld and Cinthia Véronique Meli (Paris: Honoré Champion, 2018), 63-76.

34 Introduction

—, “Robert Rypon and the Creation of London, British Library, MS. Harley 4894: A Master Preacher and His Sermon Collection,” Medieval Sermon Studies 59 (2015): 40–58. Wenzel, Siegfried, Latin Sermon Collections from Later Medieval England: Orthodox Preaching in the Age of Wyclif (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), chap. 10, 66–73 (inventory of sermon collection, 587–93). —, “Preaching the Seven Deadly Sins,” in In the Garden of Evil: The Vices and Culture in the Middle Ages, ed. Richard Newhauser (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 2005), 145–69.

Introduction35

Appendix Inventory of MS. London, British Library, Harley 4894 no.

occasion

theme

fols.

 1

1 Advent

Ecce rex tuus venit tibi (Matt. 21:5 and Zach. 9:9)

1r–4r

 2

4 Advent

Tu quis es? (John 1:22)

4r–6v

 3

Sunday after Epiphany

Notas facite in populis adinuenciones (Isa. 12:4)

6v–9r

 4

1 Lent, Sermon 1

Ne in vacuum graciam Dei recipiatis (2 Cor. 6:1)

9r–12r

 5

1 Lent, Sermon 2

Ne in vacuum graciam Dei recipiatis (2 Cor. 6:1)

12v–17r

 6

1 Lent, Sermon 3

Tempore accepto exaudiui te (2 Cor. 6:2)

17r–22r

 7

1 Lent, Sermon 4

In die salutis adiuui te (2 Cor. 6:2 and Isa. 49:8)

22r–25v

 8

1 Lent, Sermon 5

Mitte te deorsum (Matt 4:6)

25v–31r

 9

1 Lent, Sermon 6

Dominum Deum tuum adorabis (Matt. 4:10)

31r–35r

10

1 Lent, Sermon 7

Quasi morientes et ecce viuimus (2 Cor. 6:9)

35r–38r

11

1 Lent, Sermon 8

Quasi morientes et ecce viuimus (2 Cor. 6:9)

38r–41v

12

1 Lent, Sermon 9

Reliquit eum diabolus (Matt. 4:11)

41v–45v

13

1 Lent, Sermon 10

Reliquit eum, diabolus suple (Matt. 4:11)

46r–50r

14

1 Lent, Sermon 11

Accesserunt angeli et ministrabant ei (Matt. 4:11)

50v–52v

15

1 Lent, Sermon 12

Exhibeamus nosmetipsos sicut Dei ministros (2 Cor. 6:4)

52v–56r

16

2 Lent, Sermon 1

Accepistis a nobis quomodo vos oporteat ambulare (1 Thess. 4:1)

56r–60v

17

2 Lent, Sermon 2

Vocauit nos Deus in sanctificacionem (1 Thess. 4:7)

60v–65v

18

2 Lent, Sermon 3

Scitis que precepta dederim vobis (1 Thess. 4:2)

65v–69r

19

2 Lent, Sermon 4

Sic et ambuletis vt habundetis magis (1 Thess. 4:1)

69r–72v

20

2 Lent, Sermon 5

Fiat tibi sicut vis (Matt. 15:28)

73r–75r

21

2 Lent, Sermon 6

Gentes ignorant Deum (1 Thess. 4:5)

75r–79r

22

2 Lent, Sermon 7

Vocauit nos Deus in sanctificacionem (1 Thess. 4:7)

79v–83v

36 Introduction no.

occasion

theme

fols.

23

2 Lent, Sermon 8

Mulier egressa clamauit (Matt. 15:22)

83v–86v

24

2 Lent, Sermon 9 (possible error for Mary Magdalene)

Mulier erat in ciuitate peccatrix (Luke 7:37)

86v–89v

25

3 Lent, Sermon 1

Omnis inmundicia nec nominetur in vobis (Eph. 5:3)

89v–92r

26

3 Lent, Sermon 2

Vt filii lucis ambulate (Eph. 5:8)

92r–96v

27

3 Lent, Sermon 3 (misidentified as 4 Lent, Sermon 1)

Locutus est mutus (Luke 11:14)

96v–101r

28

3 Lent, Sermon 4 (misidentified as 4 Lent, Sermon 2)

Erat Ihesus eiciens demonium (Luke 11:14)

101r–106v

29

4 Lent, Sermon 1

Abraham duos filios habuit (Gal. 4:22)

106v–110v

30

4 Lent, Sermon 2

Ierusalem libera est (Gal. 4:26)

110v–114r

31

4 Lent, Sermon 3

Impleti sunt (John 6:12)

114r–119v

32

5 Lent (Passion Sunday)

Sanguis inquinatos sanctificat (Hebr. 9:13)

119v–124r

33

6 Lent, Sermon 1 (Palm Sunday)

Processerunt ei obuiam (John 12:13)

124r–128v

34

6 Lent, Sermon 2 (Palm Sunday)

Quid faciam de Iesu? (Matt. 27:22)

129r–133v

35

Easter, Sermon 1

Pascha nostrum immolatus est Christus (1 Cor. 5:7)

133v–138v

36

Easter, Sermon 2

Epulemur (1 Cor. 5:8)

138v–143v

37

Rogation Days, Sermon 1

Obsecro oraciones fieri pro omnibus hominibus (1 Tim. 2:1)

144r–146v

38

Rogation Days, Sermon 2

Quis ex vobis homo (Matt. 7:9)

146v–149r

39

Rogation Days, Sermon 3

Multum valet deprecacio iusti assidua (James 5:16)

149r–152r

40

Rogation Days, Sermon 4

Dabit spiritum bonum petentibus se (Luke 11:13)

152r–155r

41

Rogation Days, Sermon 5

Pueri mei mecum sunt in cubili (Luke 11:7)

155r–157v

42

Rogation Days, Sermon 6

Pueri mei mecum sunt in cubili (Luke 11:7)

157v–160v

43

Trinity

Homo venit ad Iesum nocte (John 3:2)

160v–169r

44

Trinity 9

Redde racionem villicaciones tue (Luke 16:2)

169r–172r

45

John the Baptist

Erat Iohannes (John 1:28)

172r–174v

46

Mary Magdalene, Sermon 1 Fortitudo et decor indumentum eius (Prov. 31:25)

174v–177v

Introduction37 no.

occasion

theme

fols.

47

Mary Magdalene, Sermon 2 Confidit in ea cor viri sui (Prov. 31:11)

177v–180r

48

Mary Magdalene, Sermon 3 Mulier erat in ciuitate peccatrix (Luke 7:37)

180v–182v

49

Oswald, Sermon 1

In breui expleuit tempora multa (Wisd. 4:13)

183r–186r

50

Oswald, Sermon 2

Hic homo cepit edificare (Luke 14:30)

186r–190r

51

Oswald, Sermon 3

Etas senectutis vita inmaculata (Wisd. 4:9)

190r–192v

52

Synod, Sermon 1

Dicite: Pax huic domui (Luke 10:5)

193r–195v

53

Synod, Sermon 2

Ite (Luke 10:3)

195v–198v

54

Synod, Sermon 3

In eadem domo manete (Luke 10:7)

198v–202r

55

Synod, Sermon 4

Operarii autem pauci (Luke 10:2)

202r–205r

56

Synod, Sermon 5

Dignus est operarius mercede (Luke 10:7)

205r–208v

57

Synod, Sermon 6

Misit illos binos (Luke 10:1)

208v–212r

58

Synod, Sermon 7

Pax vestra ad vos reuertetur (Luke 10:6)

212r–214v

59

Synod, Sermon 8

Ecce ego mitto vos (Luke 10:3)

214v–216v (incomplete)

Robert Rypon Sermons for Feast Days and Saints’ Days

fol. 1r

Dominica Prima Aduentis, Sermo primus

Antethema Ecce rex tuus venit tibi. Ista verba euangelii et prophete triplici de causa in hac prima aduentus dominica possunt capi: primo quia de aduentu Christi quem iam canit ecclesia faciunt mencionem; secundo quia totus processus euangelii hodierni specialiter adducitur ad hec verba; tercio quia eadem verba cum toto processu euangelii possunt, iuxta sensus allegoricum et tropologicum, pertinere congrue tam ad predicatorem quam ad verbi Dei auditorem. De aduentu (inquam) faciunt mencionem cum dicitur venit tibi, de quo aduentu in diuisione principali dicetur. Quomodo autem totus processus euangelii ad hec verba mistice reducitur statim patebit. Quomodo vero pertinere possunt ad predicatorem et auditorem verbi Dei, primo patet in eorumdem ordine verborum, vnde primum verbum thematis est hec diccio: ecce. Super quo verbo dicit Iohannes Crisostomus super Mattheum, Operis imperfecti, omelia 30, scilicet super eodem textu: Ecce (inquid) ostendentis est verbum, id est vide non carnali aspectu set spirituali intellectu. Cum igitur videre, id est intelligere, dicta predicatoris suo pertineat auditori congrue, primum verbum thematis dicitur sibi ecce, hoc est dictu intellige, id est intus lege vel vide in corde que dicentur tibi. Residua pars thematis cum dicitur rex tuus venit tibi congruit predicatori verbi Dei precipue curam animarum habenti. Primo enim sibi conuenit quod sit rex non secundum nomen vulgare regum quibus populi sui corporaliter sunt subiecti, set secundum quod rex dicitur a regimine. Debet enim esse rector spiritualis populi cui predicat et eos docere qualiter animas suas regant. Vnde dominus Lincolniensis, Dicto 51, in principio: Rex (inquit) a regendo dicitur. Ideoque rex recte nominatur qui regiminis sibi commissi gubernacula recte moderatur. Quapropter omnes rectores animarum, si populum vobis subiectum recte regitis reges et vocamini et estis. Debet insuper predicator, sicut et curatus, venire ad populum nedum corporaliter set eciam spiritualiter

First Sunday of Advent, First Sermon (RY1) Theme: Behold your king shall come to you (Matt. 21:5 and Zach. 9:9). Protheme Behold your king shall come to you [Matt. 21:5 and Zach. 9:9]. These words from the Gospel and from the prophet are read for three reasons on this first Sunday of Advent: first, because they make mention of the advent of Christ about which the Church now sings; secondly, because the entire development of today’s Gospel especially leads up to these words; thirdly, because the same words with the entire development of the Gospel can, according to the allegorical and tropological senses, pertain aptly both to the preacher and to the hearer of God’s word. They make mention of advent (I say) when it says, He shall come to you; this advent will be discussed in the division of the principal parts. But I will explain immediately how the entire development of the Gospel can mystically lead back to these words. To be sure, the way they can pertain to the preacher and hearer of God’s word is first made clear in the order of the same words. Thus the first word of the theme is this: Behold. On this word John Chrysostom says on Matthew in Opus imperfectum, homily 30, on that same text: “‘Behold’ is a word of showing, that is to say, you should see not with the bodily sense of sight, but with spiritual understanding.”1 Therefore, when to see (that is, to understand) the words of the preacher aptly pertains to his hearer, the first word of the theme, Behold, is said to [the hearer], that is, understand what is said, that is, read within or see in the heart those things that are said to you. The remaining part of the theme, when it says, Your king shall come to you, applies to the preacher of God’s word, especially the one who has the care of souls. For it first applies to him because he is a king, not according to the common name of kings to whom the people are bodily subjected, but according to that name “king” (rex), which comes from “governing” (regimine). For he should be a spiritual rector for the people to whom he preaches, and he should teach them how to rule their own souls. Whence the lord from Loncoln [i.e. Robert Grosseteste] says, in Dictum 51, in the beginning: “‘King’ comes from ‘ruling’ (regendo). Therefore, a king is properly named who properly controls the rudder of the steering (regiminis) entrusted to him. On which account all rectors of souls, if you properly rule the people subjected to you, are both called kings and are kings.”2 In addition, the preacher should, just as

42

fol. 1v

Latin Text (RY1)

mentes populi doctrina fidei illuminando, quo modo venit Christus ad Iudeos, immo tota Trinitas venit indies in mentes humanas, quas graciose inspirat ad cogitaciones sanctas, ad contricionem peccatorum, et ad alia innumera beneficia meritorum. De isto modo veniendi scribitur Iohannis ix de sancta Trinitate: Ad eum veniemus et mansionem apud eum faciemus. Ceterum totus processus euangelii que, vt predixi, reducitur ad verba thematis, de isto aduentu facit mistice mencionem. Vnde primo recitandum est euangelium ad litteram: Cum appropinquasset illuc, etc., vsque finem. Moraliter Bethfage interpretatur domus bucce, id est oris; per montem Oliueti secundum Iohannem de Abbatis Villa super eodem euangelio significatur pacis excellencia, sublimitas medicine, et cumulus misericordie, in quibus notantur cause quedam aduentus Christi in carnem. Venit enim Christus ad reconciliandum et ad pacificandum hominem Patri suo et sibi, qui homo per discordiam peccati primi parentis a caritate diuina recesserat, de quo dicetur posterius in processu. Vnde Christus contra istam discordiam predicauit in persona propria veram pacem, teste apostolo Ephesios secundo: Et veniet (inquit) euangelizante pacem. Et ideo significanter1 dicitur in euangelio Bethphage positum iuxta montem Oliueti, cum Bethphage sit idem quod domus bucce per quam signatur ecclesia vbi est locucio siue predicacio verbi Dei que de pace et caritate specialiter debet esse. Item Christus venit vt hominem in vinculis diaboli religatum liberaret et spiritualiter infirmatum a langore peccati curaret, sicut dicetur posterius satis plane. Qui quidem Christus tunc misit duos de discipulis suis, etc. in signum quod sicut ille liberauit, curauit, et erudiuit hominem, sic et predicatores, prelati, et curati consimiliter. Qui bene signantur per duos discipulos quia in tempore Christi fuerunt solum duo ordines predicatorum, scilicet apostoli et discipuli quorum vices iam gerunt superiores prelati in ecclesiam tanquam apostoli, et omnes alii inferiores sunt quasi discipuli. Insuper notate quid Iesus dixit illis: Ite in castellum quod contra vos est, et statim inuenietis asinam alligatam et pullum cum ea. Soluite et adducite michi, et si quis vobis aliquid dixerit, dicite quia dominus hiis opus habet. (Alius textus habet hiis operam habet.) Et confestim dimittet eos (vel remittet eos secundum alium textum). Et sequitur, Hoc autem totum factum est etc. vsque verba thematis | Ecce rex tuus, etc. Et fecerunt discipuli sicut preceperat illis Iesus et adduxerunt asinam et pullum et strauerunt super eos vestimenta et eum desuper sedere fecerunt. 1

 significanter] signantur



English Translation (RY1)43

also the curate, come to the people not only bodily but also spiritually by illuminating the people’s minds with the doctrines of faith. In this way Christ came to the Jews, indeed the entire Trinity comes from day to day into human minds, whom he graciously inspires to holy thoughts, to contrition for sins, and to other innumerable benefits of rewards. About this way of coming, it is written in John 9 [14:23] about the Holy Trinity: To him we come and make our dwelling with him. Moreover, the entire development of the Gospel, which, as I said, leads back to the words of the theme, makes mention mystically of this advent. Thus the Gospel should first be recited word for word: When he approached that place [i.e. Jerusalem] [Matt. 21:1] etc. until the end. Morally, Bethphage is interpreted as the jaws of the house, that is, of the mouth; Mount Olivet, according to John of Abbeville on the same Gospel,3 signifies the excellence of peace, the sublimity of the remedy, and the surplus of mercy, in which are noted the reasons for the advent of Christ in the flesh. For Christ came to reconcile and to make peace between man and his Father and himself. This man, by means of the rupture of the first parent’s sin, withdrew from divine love, which I will discuss later in the development. Thus Christ, against this rupture, preached in his own person the true peace, as the Apostle testifies to the Ephesians 2[:17]: And he came preaching peace. And for that reason the Gospel says meaningfully that Bethphage is placed near Mount Olivet, although Bethphage may likewise be that house with the mouth that signifies the Church, which is where the speech or preaching of God’s word concerning peace and charity should especially take place. Likewise, Christ came to free man bound in the chains of the devil and to cure man’s spiritual sickness from the disease of sin, as will be discussed more fully later. Indeed, Christ then sent two of his disciples, etc., in a sign that, as he freed, cured, and taught man, so also preachers, bishops, and curates [should do] similarly. This is well signified by the two disciples because in Christ’s time there were only two orders of preachers—namely, the apostles and the disciples—whose places are now taken by the superior prelates in the Church as the apostles, and all the other inferior ones are, as it were, the disciples. In addition, note what Jesus said to them [Matt. 21:2–4]: Go into the castle4 that is over against you, and at once you will find a she-ass tied and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to me. And if any man shall say anything to you, say that the Lord has need of these (another text has operam for opus [i.e., a different word for “need”]) And at once he shall let them go (or he shall send them back according to another text5). And it follows, Now all this was done, etc. until the words of the theme, Behold your king, etc. And the disciples did as Jesus commanded them and brought to him both the she-ass and the colt and spread over them vestments and made him sit on top.

44

Latin Text (RY1)

In isto processu euangelii notatur plenum officium predicatoris. Primo enim debet mitti a Christo vel ab eius vicem gerente. Secundo debet ire in castellum quod est contra se in quo inueniet asinam alligatam et pullum cum ea. Tercio debet soluere asinam. Quarto debet illam cum pullo adducere ad Iesum. Quinto debet dicere, Dominus hiis opera uel opus habet. Sexto debet superponere vestimenta sua super asinam et pullum. Septimo debet facere Iesum sedere desuper. Primo inquam debet predicator mitti ab habente auctoritatem et non se vltro ingerere. Vnde Apostolus, Romanos 10: Quomodo predicabunt nisi mittantur, quasi diceret, non predicabunt nisi, etc. Castellum quod contra predicatorem est, dicitur secundum doctores, mala communitas uel malus homo in communitate, quorum vterque est spiritualiter, licet non corporaliter, contra predicatorem quando non facit quod predicat vel quando contra facit. In castello male communitatis est asina ligata habens pullum cum ea, id est malus ciuis et male viuens, qui ligatur in vinculis diaboli, scilicet mortalium peccatorum, qui habet pullum quando habet filium vel seruum prauum et insolentem qui liber est ad male faciendum pro defectu castigacionis sicut pullus ad discurrendum. Si per castellum intelligatur malus homo in quo castello sunt quinque sensus, quinque porte per quas intrat turba illecebrarum, tunc per asinam signari potest mala anima peccatis mortalibus alligata, et per pullum intelligitur mala cogitacio que sicut pullus ex asina, sic mala cogitacio oritur ex peruersa anima. Que cogitacio sicut pullus indomitus discurrit in praua opera. Et congrue mala anima uel malus homo ligate asine comparatur quia, secundum naturales, asinus vel asina inter omnia iumenta subiugalia est maxime rudis et piger ac multum vilis. Sic homo uel anima existens in peccato mortali est rudior, vilior, et pigrior quam asina. Quia asina hoc habet a natura set in toto est contra naturam anime sicut et hominis quod sit in peccato cum ad ymaginem Dei sit creatus. Ceterum si intelligam per castellum istam communitatem vel hominem in ista communitate, numquid inueniam aliquas asinas vel pullos in ista communitate? Certe timeo quod perplures. Numquid inueniam hic aliquos superbos, luxuriosos, gulosos, inuidos, iracundos, cupidos, aut auaros? Nonne patrem sequitur sua proles, et seruus dominum suum? Reuera communis fama sic laborat. Igitur istam asinam et pullum subiugalis asini, scilicet vellem, ista vice si Deus permitteret soluere, et ad Iesum reducere, hoc est ad bonam vitam reformare, et facere Iesum super eos sedere, non corporaliter quia non est verisimile quod sic sedit super vtrumque. Licet tamen dicat textus quod strauerunt super eos vestimenta sua et eum desuper sedere fecerunt, ideo



English Translation (RY1)45

The entire office of the preacher can be found in this development of the Gospel. For first, he should be sent by Christ or by his representative. Secondly, he should go into the castle which is over against him in which he will find a she-ass tied and a colt with her. Thirdly, he should loose the she-ass. Fourthly, he should bring her with the colt to Jesus. Fifthly, he should say, The Lord has need of these. Sixthly, he should put his vestments on the she-ass and the colt. Seventhly, he should make Jesus sit on top. First, I say the preacher should be sent by one with authority and not take [this role] upon himself without being asked. Whence the Apostle say (Romans 10[:15]): How will they preach unless they are sent, as if to say, “They will not preach unless,” etc. The castle that is over against the preacher is called, according to scholars, a wicked community or a bad man in the community, both of which spiritually (although not corporally) are against the preacher when he does not practice what he preaches or when he acts contrary to what he preaches. In the castle of the bad community is a she-ass tied who has a colt with her, that is, a bad citizen or one who lives wickedly, who is bound in the chains of the devil (namely, of mortal sins), who has a colt when he has a vicious or insolent son or servant who is free to behave wickedly because, like a colt running about, he is not reprimanded. If we understand the castle as a wicked man and the castle’s five doors as the man’s five senses through which a crowd of enticements enters,6 then the she-ass can signify the wicked soul bound by mortal sins, and by the colt we understand the wicked thought which, as a colt from the she-ass, arises from the depraved mind. This thought, as an ungoverned colt, runs about in vicious works. And the wicked soul or the wicked man is aptly compared to a she-ass tied because, according to natural philosophers, the male or female ass among all the yoke-bound beasts of burden is the most wild and lazy and vile.7 Thus man or the soul existing in mortal sin is wilder, more vile, and lazier than a she-ass. For a she-ass possesses this from nature, but it is entirely against the nature of the soul, just as also of man, that it may exist in sin since it was created in the image of God. Moreover, if I understand by the castle this community or a man in this community, would I find any she-asses or colts in this community? Certainly I fear that I’d find very many. Would I find here anyone proud, lustful, gluttonous, envious, angry, greedy, or avaricious? Does not the offspring follow its father and the servant his lord? Indeed, the common talk says so. Therefore, I wish at this time, if God permits, to loose and to lead back to Jesus this she-ass and the colt of the yoke-bound ass, that is, to reform them to the good life, and make Jesus sit on them—not physically because it would not be realistic that he sat in this way on both. Yet although the text may say that they spread their vestments on them and made him sit on top, it should be understood that he sat on them by a

46

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Latin Text (RY1)

intelligendum est quod sedit super eos sessione spirituali, hoc est requieuit in cordibus vel super corda eorum cum fide et gracia. Hoc inquam est officium predicatoris vt faciat Christum requiescere in cordibus auditorum et dicere quod dominus hiis opus habet vel opera habet. Quantam enim operam vel sollicitudinem Christus sustinuit pro humano genere vt eum solueret de vinculis inimici, scriptura satis edocet per processum et dicetur in parte posterius. Set indubie nonnulli predicatores nituntur asinam soluere et eam cum pullo ad Christum reducere, et sepe dicunt et predicant quod Dominus hiis opus habet, hoc est quantam sollicitudinem in conuersando subiit propter eos, et quandoque de facto soluunt asinam et reducunt ad Christum, hoc est mouent suos auditores vt penitendo ad Christum redeunt, et a peccatorum vinculis pro tempore absoluuntur, sicut forsan erit de multis in quadragesima. Set quid? Certe Dominus confestim remittit eos, scilicet ad suum liberum arbitrium quod possent stare et proficere si vellent. Set quod dolendum est, ipsi cum sint soluti et liberi ad diuertendum quo voluerint, remittunt seipsos ad iugum diaboli et peccati, de quibus propheta ait, Ezechiele 16: Sodoma (id est peccatores) et filie eius reuertentur ad iniquitatem suam. Similiter predicatores quandoque non soluunt asinam nec reducunt ad Christum quia non sternunt super asinam et pullum vestimenta sua sicut fecerunt discipuli secundum euangelium. Per vestimenta intelliguntur virtutes anime quas predicatores debent habere. Sicut enim vestimenta vestiunt corpus, sic et virtutes vestiunt2 animam. Vestimenta igitur sua debent predicatores sternere super asinam et pullum, hoc est virtutes suas in bene | viuendo. Debent patribus et filiis, dominis et seruis ostendere et eorum peccata caritatis diploide tamquam veste duplice, scilicet Dei et proximi, operire. Caritas enim operit multitudinem peccatorum. Quod si non fecerint, aut nec asinam nec pullum soluunt aut ad Iesum nec reducunt aut saltem Iesum desuper sedere, hoc est in cordibus auditorum requiescere, non faciunt. Predicator igitur verbi Dei, qui desiderat asinam soluere et ipsam cum pullo ad Christum reducere, sternat vestimenta sua super asinam et pullum et faciat Iesum desuper sedere, et tunc vere potest dicere, Ecce rex tuus, scilicet qui spiritualiter te regit, venit tibi, id est ad vtilitatem tuam. Vlterius in processu euangelii mistice describitur officium auditoris verbi Dei in tribus: primo cum dicitur plurima autem turba strauerunt vestimenta sua in via; secundo cum dicitur alii cedebant ramos de arboribus; tercio cum dicitur clamabant dicentes, osanna filio Dauid. Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. 2

 vestiunt] vestint



English Translation (RY1)47

s­piritual sitting, that is, he rested in the hearts or over their hearts with faith and grace. This (I say) is the office of the preacher: to make Christ rest in the hearts of his hearers and to say that the Lord had need of these. For the Scripture fully teaches through its development how great an effort or anxiety Christ endured for humankind in order to loose it from the chains of the enemy, and I will discuss this in a later part. But undoubtedly some preachers strive to loose the she-ass and to bring her back with the colt to Christ, and often they speak and preach that the Lord has need of these (that is, how great an anxiety on their behalf he endured while living), and sometimes in fact they loose the she-ass and lead her to Christ (that is, they move their hearers to return to Christ by doing penance), and they are absolved from the chains of sins for a season, just as perhaps it will be for many during Lent. But what else? Certainly the Lord speedily sent them back, that is, to their free will so that they could stand and progress if they were willing. But what is to be grieved, when they are loosed and free to separate from that which they wanted, they return to the yoke of the devil and of sin, concerning which the prophet says (Ezechiel 16[:15]): Sodom (that is, sinners) and her daughters shall return to their iniquity. Similarly, this happens when preachers do not loose the she-ass or bring her back to Christ because they do not spread on the she-ass and colt their vestments as the disciples did, according to the Gospel. By the vestments we understand the virtues of the soul which preachers should have. For just as vestments clothe the body, so also virtues clothe the soul. Therefore, preachers should spread their vestments on the she-ass and the colt, that is, their virtues in living well. They should reveal to fathers and sons, to lords and servants, their sins and cover them with a cloak of charity as a twofold garment, namely, of God and neighbor. For charity covers a multitude of sins [1 Pet. 4:8]. So that if they do not do [these things], they either do not loose the she-ass or the colt or they do not bring them to Christ or at least make Jesus sit on top, that is to say, rest in the hearts of their hearers. Therefore, the preacher of God’s word who desires to loose the she-ass and bring her with the colt to Christ spreads his vestments on the she-ass and colt and makes Jesus sit on top, and then indeed he can truly say, Behold your king (namely, the one who spiritually rules you) will come to you (that is, to your advantage). Further in the development of the Gospel the office of the hearer of God’s word is mystically described in three ways: first, when it says, A large crowd spread their vestments along the way [Matt. 21:8]; secondly, when it says, Others chopped branches from the trees [21:8]; thirdly, when it says, They cried out saying, Hosanna, son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord [21:9].

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Primo auditores verbi Dei soluti a vinculis diaboli et reducti ad Christum debent sternere vestimenta sua in via, hoc est dictu: sicut prius strauerunt vestimenta sordida viciorum in via, id est in communi conspectu hominum, sic occurrentes Christo debent sternere, id est operari in aperto, vestimenta virtutum, vt si prius fuerunt cupidi et auari, sint iam largi elemosine. Largitores contenti, iuxta apostolum, alimentis et quibus tegantur. Si prius superbi, iam humiles. Si prius gulosi, iam abstinentes. Si prius luxuriosi, iam continentes. Et sic de aliis. Secundo debent cedere ramos de arboribus et sternere in via. Illi rami fuerunt palmarum a quibus dominica in ramis palmarum habet nomen, in qua eciam dominica legitur istud euangelium quia secundum litteram euangelii venit Christus ad Ierusalem vt, scilicet per passionem, redimeret genus humanum. Legitur eciam isto die quia ad sensus allegoricos ille aduentus Christi ad Ierusalem signat aduentum Christi in carnem et causas aduentus sui; signat eciam aduentum eius spiritualem in mentes hominum. Vnde per palmam congrue signatur victoria quia secundum Alexander Necham, De naturis rerum: Victores in triumphis suis palmam gestare consueuerunt eo quod hec arbor quantumlibet magnis illi impositis non frangitur. Item per palmam bene significatur virtutum constancia quia semper viret; vnde moraliter cedunt ramos de arboribus palmarum, scilicet, et sternunt in via Christi venientis qui triumphantes de diabolo nullis franguntur temptacionibus per quas separentur a caritate Christi, set ad instar palme cum Christo in virtutibus semper virent. Eciam aliis tribuunt exemplum sic continue virere et vincere inimicum. Tercio debent auditores verbi Dei clamare et dicere corde et ore, Osanna filio Dauid, benedictus, etc. Dauid interpretatur manu fortis vel mitis. Osanna ­interpretatur precor salua. Debet ergo dicere et orando clamare, Iesu fili Dauid, qui scilicet es dominus fortis et potens et misericors, Filius (inquam) Dei Patris cui potencia appropriatur. Precamur salua nos et dicamus oracionem huius dominice principalem: Excita potenciam tuam et veni, etc. Secundo dicamus, Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Predicator verbi Dei venit in nomine Domini, id est Christi sicut prius dictum est, pro quo rogandum est vt sit benedictus, ita quod bona et bene dicat ad laudem Dei et ad comodum auditorum. Insuper rogandum est, etc. Ecce rex tuus venit tibi, etc. Inter virtutes regi pertinentes, secundum doctores, tres sunt principales quarum vsui vsus omnium aliarum virtutum regi pertinencium



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First, the hearers of God’s word, loosed from the chains of the devil and brought back to Christ, should spread their vestments along the way; that is to say, just as they previously spread their garments, dirty with vices, along the way (that is, in the common sight of people), so running to Christ, they should spread (in other words, work in the open) the garments of virtues, so that if they were previously greedy and avaricious, they are now generous with alms. Generous givers, according to the Apostle, are content with food and wherewith to be covered [1 Tim. 6:8]. If they were previously proud, they are now humble. If they were previously gluttonous, they are now temperate. If they were previously lustful, they are now continent. And thus concerning the rest. Secondly, they should cut branches from the trees and spread them along the way. Those branches were from the palm trees from which Palm Sunday takes its name, on which Sunday this Gospel is also read because, according to the literal sense of the Gospel, Christ came to Jerusalem to redeem mankind, namely, by his Passion. And it is read on this day because in the allegorical sense this advent of Christ to Jerusalem signifies the advent of Christ in the flesh and the reasons for his advent; it also signifies his spiritual advent into people’s minds. Whence the palm aptly signifies victory because, according to Alexander Neckam, On the Nature of Things: “Victors in their triumphs are accustomed to carry palms because this tree, howsoever great the weights imposed on it, may not be broken.”8 Likewise the palm well signifies the constancy of virtues because it is always green; so morally the ones who, triumphing over the devil, cut branches from palm trees and spread them along the way of Christ’s coming, are not broken by temptations through which they might be separated from the charity of Christ, but in the likeness of a palm, they are, with Christ, always green with virtues. Also they give an example to others thus continuously to be green and to conquer their enemy. Thirdly, the hearers of God’s word should cry out and say in their hearts and mouths, Hosanna, son of David, blessed, etc. David is interpreted as a hand either strong or mild. Hosanna is interpreted as “I beg for salvation.” Therefore one should say and by praying cry out, Jesus, son of David, you who are, to be sure, a lord strong and powerful and merciful, the Son (I say) of God the Father to whom power belongs. Let us beg for salvation and let us say the principal prayer of this Sunday: Raise your power and come [Ps. 79:3], etc.9 Secondly let us say, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord [Matt. 21:9]. The preacher of God’s word comes in the name of the Lord (that is, of Christ, just as I said earlier), for whom we should pray that he be blessed, so that he may speak good things and speak well for the praise of God and for the benefit of his hearers. In addition we should pray, etc. Behold your king shall come to you, etc. Among the virtues pertaining to a king, according to scholars, are three principal ones, to whose use are annexed the uses of all the

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sunt annexe, que tres virtutes sunt iste: iusta potencia, vera sapiencia, et bona clemencia. Et iste tres in Trinitate beatissima radicantur. Nam iusta potencia est in Patre, vera sapiencia est in Filio, et bona clemencia est in Spiritu Sancto. Iusta potencia pertinet regi ad sui populi defensionem et ab hostibus liberacionem. Vera sapiencia sibi pertinet ad indoctorum instruccionem. Set bona clemencia sibi attinet ad miserarum saluacionem. Allegabitur pro partibus diuisionis posterius in processu. Vlterius secundum beatum Augustinum, 12 Super Genesim ad litteram: Item triplex est visio, scilicet intellectualis, spiritualis, et corporalis. Visio intellectualis est3 illorum que non possunt videri corporaliter. Visio spiritualis est rerum prius visarum corporaliter, apprehencio vel cogitacio in mente. Visio corporalis est rerum sensui visus presencium. Insuper est triplex Christi adue[n]tus, | scilicet aduentus in carnem, aduentus in mentes hominum, et aduentus ad iudicium. Divisio principalis Partes igitur diuisionum combinando, dico taliter pro processu: ecce intellectualiter, corporaliter, et spiritualiter quomodo Christus rex tuus iustus et potens venit tibi in carne ad tui defensionem et ab hostibus liberacionem; secundo ecce intellectualiter quomodo rex tuus sapiens venit tibi in mente ad tui informacionem; et tercio ecce intellectualiter et spiritualiter quomodo rex tuus venit tibi bonus et clemens ad tui saluacionem; immo veniet in iudicio iustus et potens vel ad tui saluacionem vel ad tui dampnacionem. Primum principale Primo dico ecce intellectualiter, spiritualiter, et corporaliter quomodo Christus rex tuus iustus et potens venit tibi in carne ad tui defensionem et ab hostibus liberacionem. Vnde Zacharie 9 vbi thema, Ecce rex tuus venit tibi iustus, iuncto illo Apostoli Thimotheo 1, Solus potens Rex regum et Dominus dominancium. Ista visio intellectualis est cognicio per fidem quia est eorum que non videntur. Ecce ergo intellectualiter, id est crede fideliter, quod Christus rex tuus venit tibi in carne, id est fuit pro te incarnatus. Ad quid? Certe ad tui ab hoste liberacionem, 3

 est] written twice.



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other virtues pertaining to a king. These three virtues are the following: just power, true wisdom, and good mercy. And these three are rooted in the blessed Trinity. For just power is in the Father, true wisdom is in the Son, and good mercy is in the Holy Spirit. Just power pertains to the king for the defense of his people and the liberation from enemies. True wisdom pertains to him for the instruction of the unlearned. But good mercy concerns him for the salvation of the unfortunate. This will later be recounted for the sake of the parts of the division in the development. In addition, according to blessed Augustine, in On the Literal Interpretation of Genesis, book 12, sight is likewise threefold: intellectual, spiritual, and bodily. Intellectual sight is of those things that cannot be seen bodily. Spiritual sight is the apprehension or thought in the mind of things previously seen bodily. Bodily sight is of things present to the sense of sight.10 In addition, the coming of Christ is threefold: the coming in the flesh, the coming into the minds of men, and the coming on Judgment Day. Principal division Therefore by combining the parts of the division, I say thus for the development: behold intellectually, bodily, and spiritually how Christ your king, just and powerful, comes to you in the flesh for your defense and to free you from enemies; secondly, behold intellectually how your king, wise, comes to you in the mind to teach you; and thirdly, behold intellectually and spiritually how your king comes to you good and merciful for your salvation; indeed, he will come on Judgment Day just and powerful either for your salvation or your damnation. First principal part First I say, behold intellectually, spiritually, and bodily how Christ your king, just and powerful, comes to you in the flesh for your defense and liberation from enemies. Whence Zachariah 9[:9] (see the theme), Behold your king comes to you, just, joined with that [saying] of the Apostle to Timothy 1 [1 Tim. 6:15], only mighty, the King of kings, and Lord of lords. This intellectual sight is knowledge through faith because it is of those things that are not seen. Behold therefore intellectually (that is, believe faithfully) that Christ your king comes to you in the flesh, that is, he became incarnate on your behalf. For what reason? Certainly to liberate you from the enemy, because the devil your enemy, after the sin of the first parent, held

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quia diabolus tuus hostis pro peccato primi parentis totum genus humanum taliter captiuauit quod nulla simpliciter creatura eum liberare potuit et reducere ad statum in quo fuit ante peccatum. Ideo Deus Pater, cuius est vera visio intellectualis, nolens perdere ipsum genus humanum quod creauit ad laudandum eum, ad seruiendum ei, et tandem ad fruendum eo, misit non angelum, non aliam creaturam, set filium suum vnigenitum factum sub lege, factum sub muliere vt eos qui sub lege erant redimeret vt nos adopcionem filiorum reciperemus. Galatheos 4. Set quo modo redemit? Certe, vt dicit Petrus Apostolus, Non corruptibilibus auro et argento, set cum incomparabiliter precio meliori, scilicet precioso sanguine suo quem effudit in circumcisicionem, per sudorem in oracione, in flagellacione, in spinarum coronacione, in cruci clauacione, in lateris perforacione. Set hic posset diabolus dicere Christo: Iniuriaris michi, nam genus humanum meum est, quia se gratis non coacte michi subdidit. Quare ergo violenter eum rapis a me? Scio equidem quod cum sis omnipotent, non possum tibi resistere. Set respondet Christus diabolo negando quod genus humanum est suum, licet sponte se sibi subdiderit. Nempe seruus alienus perpetuus non debet se submittere alieno domino, suo primo domino minime requisito. Set constat quod natura humana siue genus humanum fuit primo Dei dominio mancipatum; ideo non potuit, Deo non requisito, se diaboli seruicio subiugare. Cum itaque genus humanum nedum Deo non requisito set eciam contra preceptum Dei paruit gratis precepto diaboli, iuste potuit Deus repetere seruum suum, quia factum iniustum serui non debet tollere iustum dominium domini. Vlterius posito quod homo fuisset diaboli, perdidit eum, quia ex causa peccati vnius hominis, non contra ipsum diabolum commissi set contra offensam Dei, vsurpauit sibi potestatem nedum in illo homine, set in toto humano genere. Set iniustum fuit quod vsurparet potestatem in alieno seruo peccante dumtaxat contra dominium suum, non contra eum nisi ipse dominus dederit ei potestatem. Set non legitur Deum dedisse ei potestatem super genus humanum pro suo primo peccato. Igitur pro illo peccato diabolus iniuste dominium super homine vsurpauit. Ergo de iusticia restitucionem fecisset. Similiter commouit Iudeos vt Christum verum hominem qui numquam peccatum fecit nec inuentus est dolus in ore eius morte turpissima condempnarent. Ergo tantam iniuriam vel maiorem fecit Christo homini, quantam primus homo fecit sibi. Si tamen aliquam fecit sibi, si ergo ex aliqua iusticia tenuit genus humanum sibi obnoxium, ex consimili iusticia redderet tantum Christo pro iniuria sibi illata quantum sibi retinuit. Set nichil habuit sufficiens ad r­ eddendum



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c­ aptive the human race in such a way that no creature could simply free it and bring it back to the state in which it was before sin. Therefore, God the Father, whose sight is the true intellectual sight, not wishing to lose this human race that he created to praise him, serve him, and finally enjoy him, sent not an angel, not another creature, but his only begotten son born under the law, born of a woman so that he could redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons (Galatians 4[:4–5]). But in what way did he redeem us? Certainly, as Peter the Apostle says, Not with corruptible gold and silver [1 Pet. 1:18], but with an incomparably greater price, namely, his own precious blood [1:19], which he shed in the circumcision, through sweat in prayer, in the scourging, in the crown of thorns, in the nailing to the cross, in the piercing in the side. But here the devil can say to Christ, “You do me wrong, for the human race is mine, because it freely submitted itself to me, not by coercion. So why do you violently rob me of it? I know truly that because you are all powerful, I cannot resist you.” But Christ responded to the devil by denying that the human race is his, although it willingly submitted itself to him. Certainly a perpetual servant belonging to another should not submit himself to a foreign lord, without at least an official order from his first lord. But everyone knows that human nature or the human race was first assigned to the dominion of God; therefore, it could not, without an official order from God, subject itself to the service of the devil. And thus since the human race, not only without God’s official order but also against God’s commandment, yielded freely to the devil’s command, God could justly demand back his servant, because a servant’s unjust deed should not remove a lord’s just dominion. Besides, assuming that man had belonged to the devil, [the devil] lost him; because of the sin of one man, not committed against this devil but against the offense of God, [the devil] usurped to himself power not only over that man but over the whole human race. But it was unjust that he usurped to himself power over another’s servant who simply sinned against his [lord’s] dominion, not against him, unless that lord gave him the power. But we do not read that God had given him power over the human race because of its first sin. So for that sin the devil unjustly usurped power over man. Therefore, for the sake of justice [God] made restitution. Likewise, [the devil] provoked the Jews to condemn Christ to the vilest death, Christ the true man who never sinned nor was found guilty in speech. Therefore, he did to Christ the man as great a wrong or greater as the first man did to him. Yet if he did anything to him, if therefore by any justice he retained for himself the guilty human race, by a similar justice he should return as much to Christ for the injury borne by [Christ] as he retained for himself. But he had nothing sufficient to return to Christ except the human race. Therefore, by justice

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Christo nisi genus humanum. Ergo ex iusticia tenebatur reddere humanum genus Christo. Christus itaque nedum ex potencia, set ex iusticia genus humanum exemit de diaboli potestate. Ecce ergo, o homo, quomodo Christus rex tuus venit tibi in carne potens et iustus ad tui ab hoste liberacionem. Set hic queri potest: quare venit in carne vt Deus fieret homo ad liberandum hominem cum per iusticiam potuit liberasse hominem quamquam non fuisset | incarnatus vel eciam per angelum aut per alium hominem innocentem de nouo creatum potuit hominem liberasse? Respondetur quod, licet Deus potuit hominem de iusticia a diabolo liberasse, adhuc tamen homo si reduceretur ad gradum quem habuit ante lapsum necessario satisfaceret per se vel per alium pro delicto. Set de se fuit impotens; oportuit igitur quod per alium. Set non decuit quod angelus pro eo satisfaceret quia tunc homo obligatus fuisset illi angelo vltra quam satisfacere potuisset, et sic non fuisset homo eque liber sicut fuerat ante lapsum quando soli Deo obligabatur pro toto quod habuit. Et consimilis est racio quare alius homo solum, creatura non Deus, non creabatur vt hominem redimeret. Igitur decentissimum fuit, immo necessarium, vt Deus naturam humanam assumeret in vnitatem suppositi, ita quod pro humana natura que deliquit eadem natura satisfaceret, et homo redemptus Deo homini non simpliciter creature foret pro sua redempcione obnoxius. Venit igitur (inquam) tibi Christus in carne ad tui ab hoste liberacionem, nedum potens et iustus, verum eciam misericors et mansuetus, quia miseraciones eius super omnia opera eius. Et ait propheta vbi theme, Ecce rex tuus venit tibi mansuetus. Si ergo volueris Christum tibi venientem digne suscipere, oportet te necessario, si potens sis eciam iustum esse et mansuetum. Dicit enim beatus Augustinus, 13 De Trinitate, capitulo 12, de magnis in summa quod quecumque potencia similis est potencie diabolice nisi illam precedat iusticia, quia aut fundatur in superbia vel queritur propter superbiam. Vnde procul dubio tales qui querunt esse potentes in mundo propter inanem gloriam vel vt opprimant pauperes vel vt excellant suos pares sunt sequaces diaboli qui appetit maxime esse potens, set non iustus. Tales (inquam) non credunt intellectualiter aduentum Christi in carnem nec participant effectus aduentus eius, quia iusticia processit potenciam. Effectus aduentus eius diaboli vtique credunt set contremiscunt vt dicitur Iacobi 2. Contremiscunt (inquam), id est timent Deum ne amplius torqueantur. Demones enim timent tormenta sicut patet de legione demonum quam fecit Christus exire de homine, Marce 5, que legio clamauit ad Iesum ne ipsam torqueret. Set reuera



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he was obligated to return the human race to Christ. And thus Christ, not only by power but by justice, freed the human race from the power of the devil. Behold therefore, O man, how Christ your king comes to you in flesh powerful and just to free you from the enemy. But here you can ask: why did he come in the flesh as God-made-man to free man when with justice he could free man even if he had not become incarnate, or he could have freed man by means of an angel or another innocent man newly created? The answer is that, although God could justly free man from the devil, yet man, if he is to be led back to the state that he had before the Fall, must make the necessary satisfaction for sin by means of himself or by means of another. But for himself he was powerless; it was therefore necessary that it be done by means of another. But it was not appropriate that an angel make satisfaction for him because man would then be obligated to that angel more than he could make satisfaction, and thus man would not be as free as he was before the Fall when he was obligated to God alone for all that he had. And similar is the reason why another man—merely a creature, not God—was not created to redeem man. Therefore, it was most appropriate, indeed necessary, that God assume human nature in unity with the one who is subordinate to him, so on behalf of human nature, which committed the offense, he would make satisfaction by means of that same nature, and man redeemed by God-man would not simply be liable to a creature for his redemption. Christ comes to you therefore (I say) in the flesh to free you from your enemy, not only powerful and just, but also merciful and meek because his tender mercies are over all his works [Ps. 144:9]. And the prophet says (see the theme): Behold your king shall come to you meek [Matt. 21:5]. So if you wish to be worthy to receive Christ coming to you, it is necessary for you, if you are powerful and just, also to be meek. For blessed Augustine says in On the Trinity, book 13, chapter 12, from the large [chapters] (in sum) that any power is similar to diabolical power unless justice precedes that power, because either it is based on pride or it is sought because of pride.11 So no doubt such who seek to be powerful in the world for vainglory or to oppress the poor or to excel those who are their equals are followers of the devil, who greatly desires to be powerful, but not just. Such (I say) do not believe with understanding the coming of Christ in the flesh nor share the effect of his coming because justice precedes power. The devils certainly believe the effect of his coming, but they tremble as James 2[:19] says. They tremble, I say, that is, they fear God lest they are further tortured. For demons fear torments as is clear concerning the legion of demons that Christ made to leave a man (Mark 5[:24]); this legion cried out to Jesus lest he torture them. But indeed, those who seek power unjustly are worse than demons because they do not fear God. For if they feared God, they would believe in him,

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appetentes potenciam iniuste sunt peiores demonibus quia non timent Deum. Quia si timerent Deum, crederent in eum, et si crederent in eum, considerarent causas aduentus eius, et si [non] propter amorem, saltem crederent propter timorem aduentus eius ad iudicium. Vnde glossa super textu Iacobi, vbi supra, qui non credunt Deum vel non timent sunt peiores demonibus. Igitur non participant effectus aduentus eius, scilicet defensionem et ab hostibus liberacionem nec suo domino reconciliacionem a quo per maliciam recesserunt. Quomodo enim reconciliari potest pax vel amor inuidie, superbia humilitati, metuendus non metuenti, pauper et humilis superbo diuiti? Dicit Propheta, vbi thema, Ecce rex tuus venit tibi mansuetus. Quomodo ergo recipies eum si sis superbus? Venit tibi iustus et fidelis. Quomodo tecum stabit si fueris iniustus et falsus? Venit tibi pauper et humilis. Quomodo si fueris diues superbus manebit in domo tua nisi sicut abiectus? Quid vilius quam regem esse in domo sui subiecti abiectum? Si rex est, debet a suo subdito metui. Quomodo ergo veniet tibi ipsum non metuenti? Nonne dicit Propheta, Ieromie4 10, Quis non timebit te, o rex gencium? quasi diceret, nullus. Reuera talibus non veniet cum mansuetudine et paupertate, set cum potestate cui non poterunt resistere et cum maiestate in quam non audebunt pro timore respicere. Insuper propter dileccionem qua Deus dilexit nos, misit suum filium incarnandum, sicut dicit Apostolus, Venit eciam pacificus, sicut dicit Propheta, Malache 3. Quomodo ergo manebit cum inuido? Nonne inuidia diaboli mors intrauit in mundum, sicut dicitur Sapiencie 2? Nonne prima diuisio amoris fratrum facta fuit per inuidiam, vt patet de Chaym inuidente Abel fatri suo? Vbi ergo regnat inuidia, ibi mors, scilicet anime; ibi principatur et regit diabolus et Chaym est eius attornatus. Qui ergo inuidet proximo suo est inhabilis occurrere nostro Regi venienti aut eum videre. Quia qui odit filium regis dilectissimum, quomodo audet ad presenciam regis accedere? Et a forciori non est habilis in suum hospicium recipere ipsum regem. Iste quidem rex cum sit Deus caritas est quia Deus caritas est. Set qui odit fratrem suum, quomodo | caritas Dei manet in illo? Caritas enim est amor copulans amantem cum amato. Ergo nichil copulatur Deo nisi quod amat Deum. Set qui odit fratrem suum non amat Deum. Ergo nullus inuidus copulatur Deo nec manet Deus cum eo, et per consequens non venit sibi. Dicitur inuidus, id est non videns quia non potest videre bona alterius, vt dicit Sanctus Thomas. Set 4

 Ieremie] Iero



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and if they believed in him, they would consider the causes of his coming, and if [not] for love, at least they would believe for fear of his coming at Judgment Day. Whence the gloss on that text of James (see above): those who do not believe in God or do not fear are worse than demons.12 Therefore, they do not share the effect of his coming, that is, the defense and freedom from enemies nor reconciliation to their Lord, from whom they had withdrawn through malice. For how can peace or love be reconciled with envy, pride with humility, what should be feared with those who don’t fear, the poor and humble with the proud and rich? The prophet says (see the theme): Behold your king comes to you meek. How therefore will you receive him if you are proud? He comes to you just and faithful. How will he remain with you who are unjust and false? He comes to you poor and humble. How, if you are a proud rich man, will he remain in your house unless it were as one subservient? What is viler than a king to be subservient in the home of his subject? If he is a king, he should be feared by his subject. How, therefore, will he come to you who do not fear him? Does not the prophet say (Jeremiah 10[:7]), Who does not fear you, O king of the nations? as if to say, no one. Indeed, he will not come to such with meekness and poverty, but with power, which they cannot resist, and with majesty, on which they will not dare to look out of fear. In addition, for the love with which God loves us, he sent his Son to be incarnate, as the Apostle says.13 He comes also as a peacemaker, as the Prophet says (Malachi 3).14 So how will he remain with an envious man? Did not death enter the world through the envy of the devil, as it says in Wisdom 2[:24]? Was not the first division of brotherly love caused by envy, as appears in Cain, who envied his brother Abel [Gen. 4:2–8]? Therefore, where envy reigns, there is death, namely, of the soul; there the devil rules and reigns and Cain is his attorney. So whoever envies his neighbor is unfit either to run to meet our lord King when he comes, or to see him. Because how would someone who hates the most beloved son of a king dare to come into the king’s presence? And he is even more unfit to receive that king into his lodging. This same king, when he is God, is charity because God is charity. But how will the love of God remain in someone who hates his brother? For charity is the love that binds the lover with the beloved. Therefore nothing is bound to God except that which loves God. But whoever hates his brother does not love God. So no envious man is bound to God, nor does God remain with him, and consequently he does not come to him. He is called “envious” (invidus), that is, “not seeing” (non videns), because he cannot see another’s good, as

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aduentus huius regis ad suum proximum est maximum sibi bonum. Quomodo illud videbit? Inuidia habet pessimas filias. Prima est odium fraternum. Secunda est exultacio in eius aduersis. Tercia est affliccio in eius bonis. Quarta est susurracio, id est detraccio latens. Quinta detraccio patens. Inuidus comparatur cani qui applaudit in facie et mordet a tergo. Item Iude qui osculo tradidit Christum. Immo inuidia inter omnia alia peccata maxime inpugnat bonitatem Dei que tribuit vnicuique quicquid habet. Set inuidus quod Deus tribuit de sua bonitate aliis plus quam sibi dolet, quod bonitas Dei non est auara illis quibus inuidet. Reuera non video quare inuidia regnaret inter mercatores nisi quia altero plus lucratur. Set certe scriptura testatur quod talis nuncquam ditabitur. Prouerbium 28: Qui festinat ditari, et aliis inuidet, ignorat quod egestas super­ ueniet ei, et precipue virtutum. Sicut enim caritas omnia facit nostra, sic inuidia sibi opposita aufert nobis omnia. Immo breuiter inuidus, quantum in se est, confundit totam communitatem vel ciuitatem in qua manet. Quia secundum Philosophum, 3 Politicarum: Ciuitas est communicacio hominum gracia bene viuendi vel bone vite. Set bona vita numquam potest esse inter inuidos quia non sunt discipuli Christi, teste Christo, Iohannis 13: In hoc cognoscent omnes quia mei estis discipuli, si dileccionem habueritis adinuicem. Set diabolus dicet econtrario: In hoc cognoscent omnes, etc., si inuidiam habueritis adinuicem. Igitur, amore Christi, diligamus inuicem sicut Christus dilexit nos, qui nedum venit ad nos in carne, set tradidit semetipsum pro nobis vt liberaret nos a seruitute diaboli. Et ad hoc videndum nedum habemus fidem ad videndum intellectualiter, verum eciam quociens intramus ecclesiam possumus spiritualiter hoc videre eciam in figura corporaliter in ymagine crucifixi. Ibi enim videmus exemplar in statua quod pro nobis moriebatur in cruce, et qua de causa venit corporaliter vt scilicet morte crucis nos redimeret. Et sicut tunc venit corporaliter, sic venit tibi et est tecum cotidie spiritualiter per verbi predicacionem et deuotam sue passionis recordacionem eciam intellectualiter per fidem. Istis (inquam) modis venit tibi et tecum est ad tui defensionem et ab hostibus liberacionem, scilicet a diabolo et pompis eius. Si ergo tecum est, liberatus es ab hiis hostibus. Si in peccato mortali es, a te recessit vel tibi non venit. Et cum tuis hostibus conuersaris, et nimirum quod a te recessit vel tibi non venit. Quis enim homo vilissimus suum contemptorem aut suis hostibus adherentem defenderet aut a periculo hostium liberaret? Certe nullus. Si igitur



English Translation (RY1)59

St. Thomas says.15 But the coming of this king to his neighbor is the greatest good for him. How will he see that? Envy has the worst daughters. The first is fraternal hatred. The second is joy in one’s [neighbor’s] adversities. The third is sadness at his good fortunes. The fourth is whispering, that is, hidden slander. The fifth [is] open slander. The envious man is compared to a dog who wags his tale before your face and bites behind your back. Likewise [he is similar to] Judas, who betrayed Christ with a kiss. Indeed, envy among all the sins most attacks God’s bounty from which he gives to each one whatever he has. But the envious man grieves that God gives from his bounty to others more than to him, that God’s bounty is not stingy to those whom he envies. Indeed, I do not see why envy would reign among merchants unless it is because another has earned more. But certainly Scripture testifies that such a person will never be made rich, Proverbs 28[:22]: Whoever hastens to be rich, and envies others, does not know that poverty will come to him, and especially poverty of virtues. For just as charity makes all ours, thus envy, its opposite, takes all from us. Indeed, briefly, the envious man, however much is in him, brings disorder to the entire community or city in which he lives. Because according to the Philosopher in Politics, book 3, the city is a fellowship of people living with good grace or the good life.16 But the good life never can be among the envious because they are not disciples of Christ, as Christ testifies (John 13[:35]): In this all will know that you are my disciples that you love one another. But the devil says the opposite: “In this all will know, etc., if you hate one another.” Therefore, for the love of Christ, let us love each other as Christ loved us, who not only came to us in the flesh, but handed himself over for us to free us from slavery to the devil. And in order to see this we not only have faith for seeing with understanding, but also, as often as we enter a church, we can see this spiritually and bodily in the figure in the image of the crucified. For here we see in the statue’s reproduction that he died for us on the cross and for which reason he came bodily—so that by his death on the cross he could redeem us. And as he came then bodily, thus he comes to you and is with you spiritually every day through the preaching of the word and devout remembrance of his Passion, and intellectually through faith. In these ways, I say, he comes to you and is with you for your defense and liberation from enemies, that is, from the devil and his retinue. So if he is with you, you are free from these enemies. If you are in mortal sin, he withdrew from you or did not come to you. And when you associate with your enemies, without doubt he withdrew from you or did not come to you. For what man, even the most vile, would defend someone who despises him or someone who adheres to his enemies, or would free him from the danger of his enemies? Certainly no one. So if you wish him to come to you and remain with you, it is necessary that you condemn those

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velis vt tibi veniat et tecum maneat, oportet te suos hostes contempnere, scilicet diabolum et pompas eius contempnere et toto vigore relinquere, scilicet inuidiam, superbiam, et auariciam, aliaque peccata corporalia et spiritualia, que sunt pompe diaboli, considerans illud Ysaie 62, Ecce saluator tuus venit tibi vt scilicet te saluet et ab hoste defendat. Ecce merces eius cum eo, scilicet tota miseria sua cum acerbissima passione sua per quas te redemit, et opus illius coram ipso, scilicet que diuersa miracula et opera quibus te ad fidem concitauit, et sequitur vocaberis ciuitas sancta et non derelicta, quam scilicet rex tuus Christus eternaliter inhabitabit nisi ipsum expuleris per peccatum. Et hoc est quod dixi primo et principaliter, ecce intellectualiter, etc. Tercia diuisio principalis

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Secundum principale pertranseo quia tractatur in antethemate. Dixi tercio, ecce intellectualiter et spiritualiter quomodo rex tuus venit tibi bonus et clemens ad tui saluacionem. Pro isto est auctoritas supra proximo allegata et euangelium vbi thema, Ecce rex tuus venit tibi mansuetus. Que queso maior mansuetudo quam quod rex descendat a suo solio in domum serui et ministret suo seruo? Que maior clemencia quam vbi seruit delinquit vt dominus puniatur pro seruo? Que maior clemencia quam patrem vilipendi, verberari, in faciem conspui, immo tandem occidi? Que maior clemencia quam non obstantibus omnibus sibi illatus iniuriis filio petenti veniam sibi remittere? Nonne omnia ista et longe plura fecit Rex mansuetissimus, qui descendit de celo in mundum non ministrari set | ministrare? Seruus, id est homo, deliquit; ipse innocens pro delicto serui punitus fuit. In propria venit, scilicet inter Iudeos, qui non cognouerunt eum. Immo non obstantibus canitis suis miraculis eum cognoscere noluerunt, tamen quando eum crucifixerunt, rogauit pro eis dicens, Pater, ignosce eis, etc. O quam clemencia saluatoris! Quomodo ergo veniet tam clemens rex ad seruum iracundum? Ipse sustinuit gratis tot verba probrosa, tot verbera, tot vulnera. Set vnus nostrum vix pati potest modicum verbum set statissime inflammati iracundia prorumpimus in verba discordie et contumelie et, quod peius est, in pugnas et tandem in homicidia. Christus venit, vt dixi, ad saluandum infirmos. Inuidi et iracundi infirmant sanos et perdunt quantum in eis est. Ecce quid dicit Sapiens, Prouerbiorum 20: Misericordia et veritas custodiunt regem et firmabitur clemencia thronus eius. Set impetit ira animam ne possit cernere verum.



English Translation (RY1)61

enemies—the devil and his retinue—and abandon them with all vigor, that is, envy, pride, and avarice, and other sins bodily and spiritual, which are the devil’s retinue, considering that [saying] of Isaiah 62[:11], Behold your savior comes to you, so that he will save you and defend you from your enemy. Behold his reward is with him [Isa. 52:11], that is, all his wretchedness with his most painful passion through which he redeemed you, and his work before him [52:11], that is, the various miracles and works with which he urged you to faith. And it follows, you will be called a holy city and not forsaken [52:12], that is, [a city] which your king Christ will inhabit eternally unless you expel him through sin. And this is what I said first and principally, behold with understanding, etc. Third principal division I pass over the second principal part because it was treated in the protheme. I said thirdly, behold intellectually and spiritually how your king comes to you good and merciful for your salvation. For this is the authority last adduced above and the Gospel from which the theme comes: Behold your king comes to you meek [Matt. 21:5]. What greater meekness, I ask, than that a king descends from his throne into the home of his servant and ministers to his servant? What greater mercy than that he is forsaken where he served so that the lord is punished for the servant? What greater mercy than the father to be despised, wounded, spat on in the face, indeed finally killed? What greater mercy than that, notwithstanding all these, he endured injuries by seeking the son in order to forgive him? Did not the meekest king do these things and many more, he who descended from heaven into the world not to be served but to serve? The servant—that is, man—committed the offense; for the servant’s offense this innocent one was punished. He came among his own, that is, among the Jews who did not recognize him. Indeed, notwithstanding his celebrated miracles, they were unwilling to recognize him, yet when they crucified him, he prayed for them saying, Father, forgive them [Luke 23:24], etc. O what mercy of the Savior! Therefore how will so merciful a king come to a servant so wrathful? He freely endured so many shameful words, so many blows, so many wounds. But any one of us can scarcely suffer the least word before at once, inflamed with anger, we break rudely into words of discord and insult, and, what is worse, into fights and finally into homicide. Christ came, as I said, to heal the infirm. The envious and angry make the healthy sick and lose however much is in them. Behold what the wise man says (Proverbs 20[:28]): Mercy and truth preserve the king, and his throne is strengthened by clemency. But anger assails the soul so that it cannot see truth. It is written (Proverbs 27[:4]): Anger has no mercy, nor fury when it breaks forth, and who

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­ rouerbiorum 27 scribitur: Ira non habet misericordiam nec erumpens furor, et P impetum concitanti5 spiritus ferre quis poterit? quasi diceret, nullus. Misericordia ergo et ira non simul stant. Cum ergo in clemencia firmabitur thronus regis et per consequens in misericordia, fundari non potest nec firmari in ira. Considera ergo aduentum huius regis pacifici et depone inuidiam atque iram, verum quia si iam non susceperis rege[m] clementem, suscipies6 eum velis nolis iustum et potentem non vt tecum maneat set vt te iuste et potenter iudicet et te a se imperpetualiter potenter expellat. De quo scribitur in Psalmo: Deus manifeste veniet, scilicet ad iudicium, et voce terribili dicet malis: Ite maledicti in ignem eternum. De isto iudicio loquitur terribiliter beatus Bernardus, et ponitur 6 Florum, capitulo 39: Quid (inquid) tam pauendum, quid tam plenum anxietatis cogitari potest quam iudicandum, astare illi tam terrifico tribunali vbi iudex teste non indiget, vbi veritas discutit intenciones, vbi inquisicio culparum pertingit ad abdita cordis? Veniet (inquit) veniet qui mala7 iudicata reiudicabit, illicite iurata confutabit, qui faciet iudicium iniuriam pacientibus. Ibi plus valebunt pura corda quam hastuta verba. Ibi consciencia bona quam marsupia plena quando iudex nec falletur verbis nec flectetur donis. Erit tunc non misericordie set iusticie tempus. Nota Ysodorus de eodem, primo De summo bono, capitulo penultimo, et statim capitulo proximo beatus Bernardus, de penis inferni: Quis putas tunc luctus eritque tristicia cum separabuntur impii a consorcio iustorum et a visione Dei et traditi in potestatem demonum et ibunt cum ipsis in ignem eternum vbi perpetuo cruciabuntur, nuncquam lucem visuri ad consolacionem, set vt videant alios torqueri ad suam confusionem, nunquam refrigerium recepturi, numquam inde liberandi nec qui torquet fatigatur, nec qui torquetur moritur. Sic ignis consumit vt semper reseruet, semper renouantur tormenta. Iuxta qualitatem culpe erit quantitas pene. Similis culpe rei coniungentur cruciandi. Ibi vermes crudeles mordebunt intima cordis. Ibi dire tortorum facies. Ibi caro cruciabitur igne, anima verme consciencie. Ibi audientur nisi fletus, planctus et stridores dencium. Ibi nulla spes venie aut misericordie. Hec Bernardus. Quis hec audiens non obstupescat? Quid ergo faciemus? Certe sicut docet sanctus ille ibidem, iudicemus nosmet ipsos sicut dicit Apostolus: Si nos ipsos  concitanti] concitati Vulg.  suscipies] suscipiens 7  mala] sic but male in printed edition 5 6



English Translation (RY1)63

can bear the violence of one provoked? as if to say, no one. Therefore mercy and anger do not remain together. So because the throne of the king will be strengthened in mercy and consequently in compassion, it cannot be founded or strengthened in anger. Consider therefore the coming of this peaceful king and put aside envy and anger, truly because if you have not now received the king merciful, you will receive him willy nilly just and powerful, not to remain with you but to judge you justly and powerfully and to expel you from him perpetually. About this it is written in the Psalm [49:3]: God will come openly, that is, for judgment, and with a frightful voice he will say, Go cursed ones into eternal fire [Matt. 25:41]. Concerning this judgment blessed Bernard speaks frighteningly, and this is found in the Liber florum, book 6, chapter 39: “What so frightening, what so full of anxiety can be thought of than the thought of judgment, to stand before such a terrifying tribunal where the judge does not need testimony, where he strikes down intentions, where the hunting out of sins reaches to the secrets of the heart? He will come, he will come to judge those who gave wicked sentences, to convict oaths made unlawfully, to give sentence to an injury done to those suffering. There pure hearts will prevail over clever words. There a good conscience [will prevail] over full purses when the judge is neither fooled by words nor persuaded by gifts.”17 It will then not be a time of mercy but judgment. Note Isidore on the same subject, in the first book of Concerning the Greatest Good, in the penultimate chapter,18 and immediately in the following chapter of blessed Bernard, concerning the pains of hell: “Who do you think will then be in mourning and sadness when the impious will be separated from the society of the just and from the vision of God and given over to the power of demons and will go with them into eternal fire, where they will be tortured forever, never to see the light for consolation but to see others tortured for their shame, never to receive mitigation, never to be freed from that place, nor will the one who tortures get tired, nor will the one who is tortured die? In this way the fire consumes so that it may always be maintained; always the torments are renewed. According to the quality of the sin there will be a quantity of pains. Likewise the offenses of the sinner are joined to the one being tortured. There cruel worms will eat the inmost heart. There you will make fearful twists. There the flesh will be tortured with fire, the soul with the worm of conscience. There only weeping, lamenting, and gnashing of teeth are heard. There is no hope of forgiveness or mercy.”19 So says Bernard. Who hearing this is not struck dumb? So what shall we do? Certainly, as this saint teaches in the same place, let us judge ourselves, as the Apostle says [1 Cor. 11:31]:

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iudicaremus non vtique condempnaremur. Iudicemus (inquam) nosmet ipsos, quales sumus, quales fuimus, et si aliquid distortum vel viciosum reperimus, emendemus secundum preceptum Apostoli, abnegantes omnia secularia desideria, id est omnia peccata ad que mundus nos excitat, vtpote superbiam, auariciam, sobrie contra gulam, iuste contra superbam, potenciam et iniusticiam, caste contra luxuriam, et pie contra iram et inuidiam, viuamus in hoc seculo expectantes beatam spem et aduentum Domini nostri Iesu Christi, scilicet ad iudicium ad quod veniet et non tardabit redditurus vnicuique secundum opera sua. Veniamus igitur ad Dominum qui dicit de seipso, Iohannis sexto: Qui venit ad me non eiciam cum foras. Et sequitur paulo post: Omnis qui videt Filium et credit in eum habet vitam eternam. Ad quam perducat, etc.



English Translation (RY1)65

If we would judge ourselves, indeed we should not be condemned. Let us judge ourselves, I say, of what sort we are, of what sort we were, and if we find anything misshapen or vicious, let us emend it according to the precept of the Apostle [Tit. 2:12], denying all worldly desires, that is, all sins to which the world excites us (namely, pride and avarice), soberly (against gluttony), justly (against pride, power, and injustice), chastely (against lust), and piously (against anger and envy), let us live in this world watching for the blessed hope and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ [Tit. 2:12–13], that is, for the judgment for which he will come, and he will not delay to render to each according to his works. Let us come therefore to the Lord who says of himself (John 6[:37]): Whoever comes to me, I shall not cast out. And it follows a little after: All who see the Son and believe in him will have eternal life [6:40]. To which may he may lead [us, who lives and reigns forever. Amen].20

Sermo secundus et est de quarta dominica

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Tu quis es? Iohannis primo. Ista fuerunt Phariseorum missorum a Iudeis ad Iohannem Baptistam qui interrogabant ab eo, Tu quis es? Putabant enim quidam Iudeorum ipsum esse Christum propter diuersorum miraculorum operacionem, eciam quia baptizauit homines eo quod talia de Christo ventura fuerant prophetata. Alii dicebant eum esse Helyam | propter abstinenciam et castitatem et propter solitariam vitam et asperimam delictorum reprehencionem, que omnia fecit Helyas sicut testatur de eo scriptura per magnum processum. Alii dixerunt quia fuit vnus ex prophetis, scilicet Heliseus, resuscitatus propter magnam graciam prophecie quam habuit. Ipse tamen interrogatus quis esset, scilicet an Christus an Helyas an alius ex prophetis, respondit ad eorum opiniones dicens non, quod neque videlicet fuit Christus neque Helyas neque alius ex prophetis sicut ipsi intellexerunt, videlicet quod non1 esset personaliter aliquis istorum. Christus tamen dixit quod Iohannes fuit Helyas in spiritu prophecie et virtute et non in persona. Set qui istis diebus imitantur istum sanctum in responsionibus? Ipse potuit fuisse maximi nominis et reputacionis inter homines supra id quod fuit, tamen noluit. Set, vt dicit de eo beatus Gregorius super euangelio vbi thema, magis voluit subsistere in se, scilicet tenere se in gradu suo vel citra gradum suum quam inaniter excelli supra se. Set quid? Certe pauci hominum contenti sunt de gradu vel statu in quo sunt, set modis et viis quibus possunt, ad altiorem gradum non virtutis set inanis glorie et potencie mundialis aspirant. Vnde si cogitacio cuiusdam querat ab eo, Tu quis es? reuera cicius sibi ipsi respondet: Sum de magna parentela. Sum diues. Sum potens, fortis, formosus, sciens, discretus, et huiusmodus ad inanem gloriam pertinencia. Qua respondeat2: Sum miser peccator, terra sum, et in terram ibo. Sum ita impotens quod nichil habeo de me ipso. Sum ita incertus de vita quod nescio quando moriar, et si moriar in peccatis in quibus nunc sum reus, procul dubio dampnatus ero. Quis istis modis respondet ad nostram questionem? Procul dubio et prothdolor nimis pauci. 1 2

 non] omitted in the MS.  respondeat] respondet. It is possible that there is text missing here.

Second Sermon, for the Fourth Sunday [of Advent] (RY2) Theme: Who are you? (John 1:22). Who are you? (John 1[:22]). These were the words of the Pharisees who were sent by the Jews to John the Baptist [and] who asked him, Who are you? For some of the Jews thought that he was the Christ because of the working of various miracles and because he baptized people, both of which were prophesied concerning the Christ who was to come. Others said that he was Elijah because of his abstinence and chastity and because of his solitary life and his very pointed condemnation of misdeeds, all of which Elijah did, as is testified about him in Scripture in great detail. Others said that he was one of the prophets, specifically Elisha, reborn because of his great gift of prophecy. Yet asked who he was—whether he was Christ or Elijah or one of the prophets—he answered these rumors, saying, No [John 1:21], that he was not Christ or Elijah or another prophet as they thought, indeed that he was not personally any of those men. Yet Christ said that John was Elijah in the spirit of prophecy and in virtue and not in person. But who these days emulates this saint in their responses? He could have had the greatest name and reputation among people above that which he had, but he was unwilling. But as blessed Gregory says about him, commenting on the Gospel from which the theme comes, he desired more “to subsist in himself,” namely, to keep himself in his own rank or below his own rank, than vainly to be raised above himself.1 But what else [does this mean]? Certainly few people are content in the rank or estate in which they are, but by whatever means and ways they can, they aspire to a higher rank, not of virtue but of vainglory and worldly power. So if a certain person asks himself, “Who are you?”, indeed he more quickly tells himself, “I am of great lineage. I am rich. I am powerful, strong, handsome, knowing, discreet,” and this sort of thing pertaining to vainglory. To this question, he should respond, “I am a wretched sinner, I am earth, and into the earth I will go. I am so powerless that I have nothing from myself. I am so uncertain concerning life that I do not know when I will die, and if I die in the sins of which I am now guilty, no doubt I will be damned.” Who responds in these ways to our question? No doubt and sadly, very few.

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Set rogo videamus pro nostro proposito: que fuit responsio Sancti Iohannis ad questionem propositam? Certe dixit se esse illud quod de eius persona fuerat prophetatum: Ego (inquit) vox clamantis in deserto. Quid clamauit? Parate viam Domini. Rectas facite semitas Dei nostri. Si queratur quomodo predicta a predicatore, in ista responsione beati Iohannis docetur quid respondebit. Nam predicatoris est esse vocem clamantis in deserto, id est Christi, qui clamauit in deserto, scilicet huius mundi quod fuit et est ad instar deserti plenum bestiis ferocissimis, id est malis et crudelissimis hominibus qui bene comparantur bestiis propter certas proprietates bestiarum. Gulosi comparantur porcis propter nimiam et nimis festinam cibariorum voracitatem. Eciam luxuriosi comparantur porcis propter nimiam luxurie vilitatem. Sicut enim porci in vili luto se volutant,3 sic luxuriosi in vilissimo stercore luxurie se inuoluunt. Iracundi et inuidi comparantur cani. Canis nempe condicio est alium canem a suis similibus persecutum et morsum consimiliter persequi et mordere. Sic inuidi et iracundi, si viderint proximum suum in periculo vel tribulacione, tunc ipsum acrius persequ[u] ntur. Cupidi comparantur hericio qui tantum se onerat pomis quod quandoque non potest intrare foramem suum et sic aliquando capitur a venatore. Ita et cupidus tantum se onerat diuiciis quod non potest intrare angustam portam celi, et ideo venator diabolus multociens capit eum. Accidiosus similis est gliri qui vix dum comedit vigilat, set dum alie bestie vigilant, ipse dormit. Superbus similis est pauoni qui semper respicit pulcras plumas set non respicit viles pedes. Sic superbus respicit inanem gloriam et pompam mundi, set non respicit viles pedes, id est viles affecciones quas sequitur ad peccata. Ad istos clamauit Christus de quo scribitur Osee 11, Quasi leo rugiet. Christus dicitur rugire vt leo duabus de causis. Dicunt enim naturales quod leo rugit vt viuificet fetum suum et vt rapiat predas. Primus rugitus fuit Christi in cruce quando clamans expirauit et genus humanum, scilicet fetum suum, a morte peccati resuscitauit. Secundum rugitum dabit in iudicio quando clamabit ad dampnandos, Ite maledicti in ignem eternum, et deuorabit eos, id est deuorari eos faciet morsu amarissimo ab auibus inferni, sicut scribitur Deuteronomio 32. Isto modo clamauit Iohannes in deserto huius mundi dicens illud Matthei 3: Penitenciam agite appropinquabit enim regnum celorum. Isto modo 3

 volutant] volitant



English Translation (RY2)69

But I ask, let us consider our proposition: What was St. John’s response to the proposed question? Certainly he said that he was that which was prophesied about his person: I am the voice crying in the desert [Isa. 40:3; Matt. 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4; John 1:23]. What did he cry? Prepare ye the way of the Lord. Make straight the paths of our God [Matt. 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4]. If the preceding question is somehow asked of a preacher, he is taught to respond with this response of blessed John. For it belongs to the preacher to be the voice of one crying in the desert, that is, of Christ who cried in the desert, namely, [the desert] of this world that was and is filled with ferocious beasts in the likeness of a desert, that is, with wicked and very cruel people who are well compared to beasts because of certain characteristics of beasts. The gluttonous are compared to pigs because of their excessive and excessively impatient voracity for food. The lustful are also compared to pigs because of the excessive foulness of lust. For just as pigs roll themselves around in foul mud, so the lustful envelop themselves in the most foul filth of lust. The angry and envious are compared to a dog. Certainly a dog’s predisposition is to pursue and bite another dog of his own kind who has similarly pursued and bitten him. Thus if the envious and angry see their neighbor in danger or difficulty, they pursue him more severely. The greedy are compared to a hedgehog who burdens himself so much with fruit that at some time or other he cannot enter his own hole, and he is thus sometimes caught by the hunter. Thus also the greedy man burdens himself so much with riches that he cannot enter the narrow door of Heaven, and therefore the hunter devil oftentimes seizes him. The slothful man is similar to a dormouse who scarcely stays awake while he eats, but sleeps while other animals are awake. The proud man is similar to a peacock who always gazes at his beautiful feathers and does not notice his vile feet. Thus the proud man gazes at the vainglory and pomp of the world, but does not consider his vile feet, that is, his vile desires which he follows to sins. To these Christ cried, about whom is written in Hosea 11[:10]: As a lion he roared. Christ is said to roar like a lion for two reasons. For the natural philosophers say that a lion roars to revive its offspring and to snatch its prey.2 The first roar was Christ’s on the cross when, crying out, he died and revived the human race, that is, his offspring, from mortal sin. The second roar he will give on Judgment Day when he will cry to the damned, Go wicked ones into the eternal fire [Matt. 25:41], and he will devour them, that is, he will make them to be devoured in the most bitter jaws by the birds of hell, as is written in Deuteronomy 32[:24]. In this way John cried out in the desert of this world, saying (Matthew 3[:2]): Do penance for the kingdom of heaven draws near. In this way preachers cried out to you

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c­ lamauerunt ad vos iam in aduentu predicatores qui dixerunt vobis de vtroque aduentu Christi. Ego eciam clamo ad vos in presenti cum apostolo in epistola hodierna, dicens, Gaudete in Domino semper; iterum dico gaudete. Gaudere in Domino secundum glossam est gaudere in veritate, non in iniquitate, in spe eternitatis, non in flore vanitatis. Vnde precipit nos gaudere in Domino, hoc est non gaudere in seculo. Et precipit nos iterum gaudere in signum quod, quando quis incipit gaudere in Domino, non desistat, set iterum gaudeat in Domino, id est continuat bonam vitam. Quid est seculi gaudium? Dico breuiter secundum glossam, impii | vita luxuriari, in spectaculis nugari, inebriari, nulla aduersa pro Deo pati, nec castigari fame, belli, timore vel morbo, set omnia male agere in pace carnis, in securitate male mentis. Hec glossa. Vnde precipit Apostolus in epistola, Modestia vestra (id est secundum glossam vestra racionabilis conuersacio) nota sit omnibus hominibus. Hic prohibet omnem intemperanciam carnis, et subdit causam, Dominus (inquit) prope est. Nichil solliciti sitis (scilicet circa mundum). Hic prohibet alia vicia, scilicet superbiam, auariciam, circa quas mundiales solliciti sunt. Vnde si queratur ab auditore verbi Dei, Tu quis es? respondeat, Sum gaudens in Domino, non in seculo. Modestus sum, nichil sollicitus sum. Dirrigo viam Domini. Rectas facio semitas Dei nostri. Et vt ista bene fiant in vobis et in me, rogo: faciamus iuxta preceptum in epistolam hodierna: In omni oracione (inquit) et obsecracione cum graciarum accione peticiones vestre innotescant apud Deum pro me et vobis, pro me vt aliquid dicam pro salute vestra et quod vos excitet parare viam Domini, et pro vobis vt vos audiatis ad honorem Dei et salutem vestram habentes recommendatos oracionibus vestris, etc. [Divisio thematis] Tu quis es?, vbi supra. Ista questio, vt predixi, fuit quesita de Sancto Iohanne et potest queri de quolibet homine qui creatus fuit ad triplex esse, scilicet ad esse nature, ad esse gracie, ad esse glorie. Esse nature correspondet ad hominis principium siue ingressum; esse gracie ad hominis progressum; esse glorie ad hominis terminum siue egressum. Primum est principaliter a Patre tanquam a principio; secundum esse est a Patre et a Filio tamquam a medio; et tercium esse est a Patre et Filio et Spiritu Sancto tamquam a termino. Ista est materia questionis. Vnde sicut ista questio potest queri de quolibet homine, ita potest quilibet homo



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now during Advent, [preachers] who have spoken to you concerning both advents of Christ. I also cry out to you now with the Apostle in today’s epistle, saying, Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice [Phil. 4:4]. Rejoice in the Lord, according to the gloss, is to rejoice in truth, not in iniquity; in hope for eternity, not in the blossom of vanity.3 Whence he preaches to us to rejoice in the Lord, that is, not to rejoice in the world. And he preaches to us to rejoice again in a sign that, when anyone begins to rejoice in the Lord, he should not stop, but he should again rejoice in the Lord, that is, continue a good life. What is the joy of the world? I say briefly, according to the gloss, to indulge in a life of wickedness, to play the fool in spectacles, to be drunk, not to suffer adversity on God’s behalf, nor to be chastised by hunger, war, fear, or illness, but to do all things badly in the peace of the flesh, in the security of a wicked mind. So says the gloss.4 Whence the Apostle preaches in the epistle: Let your modesty (that is, according to the gloss, your reasonable way of life5) be known to all men [Phil. 4:5]. Here he prohibits all intemperance of the flesh, and he adds the reason: The Lord is near. Do not be anxious (namely, concerning the world) [Phil. 4:5–6]. Here he prohibits other vices, specifically, pride [and] avarice, concerning which the worldly are anxious. So if the hearer of God’s word is asked, “Who are you?”, he should respond, “I am rejoicing in the Lord, not in the world. I am modest, I am not anxious. I set in order the way of the Lord. I make straight the paths of our God.” And so that these may be done well by you and by me, I ask, let us do according to the command in today’s epistle [Phil. 4:6]: In every thing, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your petitions be known to God for me and for you: for me, so that I may say something for your salvation and rouse you to prepare the way of the Lord, and for you, so that you can listen, for the honor of God and for the salvation of those whom you commend in your prayers, etc. [Division of the theme] Who are you? (see above). This question, as I said before, was asked of St. John and can be asked of every person, each of whom was created for a threefold existence: for an existence in nature, for an existence in grace, for an existence in glory. The existence in nature corresponds to man’s beginning or entry; the existence in grace to man’s progress; the existence in glory to man’s end or exit. The first is principally from the Father as from the beginning; the second existence is from the Father and the Son as from the middle; and the third existence is from the Father and Son and Holy Spirit as from the end. This is the substance of the question. So just as this question can be asked of each person, so each person can, indeed also should, respond

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immo et debet respondere sicut respondit Sanctus Iohannes, scilicet Ego vox clamantis in deserto. Vnde ad primam questionem, si queratur a te: Tu quis es naturaliter in tuo principio vel ingressu? respondeas ad similitudinem Patris in Trinitate per duo prima verba in responsione Sancti Iohannis, et dicas: Ego sum vox. Secundo si queratur a te: Tu quis es ex gracie in tue progressu? respondeas ad similitudinem Filii: Ego vox clamantis. Si tercio queratur a te: Tu quis eris in esse glorie et in tuo egressu? scilicet ab omni miseria, respondeas ad similitudinem Spiritus Sancti, Ego vox clamantis in deserto. Hec est materia collacionis. Primum principale Dico primo si queratur a te: Tu quis es naturaliter in tuo principio vel ingressu? respondeas per duo prima verba in responsione Sancti Iohannis ad similitudinem Patris, et dicas: Ego vox. Ista responsio bene conuenit ad thematem secundum communem modum loquendi, quia, si querat vnus ab alio quem prima non perpendit, Quis es tu? communiter respondet, Ego talis homo uel talis. Bene eciam dicitur ad similitudinem Patris in Trinitate, Ego vox, quia vox est principium verbi exterioris, sic Pater est principium verbi incarnati. Item Pater dicit de se ipso, Ego sum qui sum, Exodi 3. Vnde ad reducendum istam responsionem ad te, si queratur a te, Tu quis es?, respondeas primo, Ego, secundo, vox. Grammatici dicunt quod hoc pronomen ego signat veram demonstracionem et incepcionem quia primitiuum est et alterius diccionis super se suscepcionem. Vnde si bene respondebis ad questionem qua queritur, Tu quis es in tuo principio siue ingressu, dicas vere cum Patre celesti, Ego sum qui sum. Cognosce condicionem tuam, quis es in natura tua, quia ad ymaginem Dei factus, que ymago fuit posterius deformata per peccatum, reformata tamen per virtutem Passionis Christi et sacramenti baptismi in quo factus fueras Christianus. Ista responsio est cuiuslibet nostrum. Si queratur a te: Tu quis es?, respondes: Christianus. Tunc replico contra te: Si Christianus es, vel ergo nomine tantum vel re et nomine? Si nomine tantum, tunc idem est dicere tu es Christianus et voco te Christianum. Conformiter si vocas te asinum, es asinus. Si es Christianus de facto sicut et nomine, tunc facis in re quod dicis, et quod promisisti quando factus fueras Christianus. Promisisti (inquam) te credere in Deum, hoc est tendere in Deum per spem et fidem et caritatem et per bonam operacionem. Promisisti secundo te renunciaturum Sathane et omnibus pompis eius, id est



English Translation (RY2)

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as St. John responded, that is: I am the voice crying in the desert. So to the first question, if you are asked, “Who are you naturally in your beginning or entry?”, you should respond in the likeness of the Father in the Trinity by the first two words in St. John’s response, and you should say, I am the voice. Secondly, if you are asked, “Who are you from grace in your progress?”, you should respond in the likeness of the Son: I am the voice crying. If thirdly you are asked, “Who will you be in the existence of glory at your exit?”, specifically from all misery, you should respond in the likeness of the Holy Spirit: I am the voice crying in the desert. This is the material of the collation. First principal part I said first if you are asked, “Who are you naturally in your beginning or entry?”, you should respond with the first two words in St. John’s response in the likeness of the Father, and you should say, I am the voice. This response fits well with the theme according to the common way of speaking because, if someone asks another person whom he does not recognize at first, “Who are you?”, commonly [the other] responds, “I am such or such a man.” I am the voice is also well said in the likeness of the Father in the Trinity because the voice is the beginning of the external word; thus the Father is the beginning of the Word Incarnate. Likewise, the Father says about himself, I am who am (Exodus 3[:14]). So to bring this response back to you, if you are asked, “Who are you?” you should first respond, I, secondly, the voice. The grammarians say that this pronoun “I” signifies a true demonstrative and beginning, because it is first, and it replaces another word with itself.6 So if you will respond well to the question which is asked, “Who are you in your beginning or entry?” you should say truly with the celestial Father, I am who am. Know your condition, who you are in your nature, because [you are] made in the image of God. This image was afterwards deformed through sin, yet re-formed by the power of Christ’s Passion and the sacrament of baptism, through which you were made a Christian. This response is for each of us. If you are asked, “Who are you?” you respond, “A Christian.” Then confronting you, I reply, “If you are a Christian, are you therefore in name only or in deed and name?” If in name only, then it is the same to say you are a Christian, and I call you a Christian. Similarly, if you call yourself an ass, you are an ass. If you are a Christian in fact and in name, then you do the thing that you say and what you promised when you were made a Christian. You promised (I say) to believe in God, that is to say, to strive toward God in hope and faith and charity and through good works. You promised, secondly, to renounce

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omnibus peccatis mortalibus. Quando ergo non bene facis vel peccas mortaliter, responsio tua ad questionem falsa est, et tamen respondes eisdem verbis quibus respondit Iohannes, set non eadem sentencia. Quando Iohannes credebatur esse Christus in persona et querebatur ab eo, Tu quis es?, respondit, Non sum ego Christus, scilicet in persona, tamen fuit Christus in imitacione, sicut omnes boni viri dicuntur Christi, nedum quia crismate vncti in baptismo, verum eciam quia quantum in eis est imitantur Christum in moribus. Set tu dicis nomine sum Christus, id est Christianus, set certe facta tua dicunt contrarium. Set dicis sicut narratur de quodam quem ebrium dormientem, vxor sua induit | habitu fratris, qui euigilans diu dubitauit de se ipso quis esset. Tandem perpendens se esse in habitu fratris, dixit: Deus det malam graciam qui me fecit fratrem. Et quamdiu fuit in habitu fratris, vxor sua refutauit eum. Reuera sic est spiritualiter. Habitus fratris est Christianitas tua quia in baptismo factus fuisti frater Christi. Vxor tua est sancta Ecclesia cui fuisti copulatus tamquam sponse. Immo Ecclesia dicitur sponsa Christi, set, vt dicit Apostolus sentencialiter, omnes fideles sunt vnum spiritualiter in Christo et cum Christo, vnum (dico) corpus misticum spirituale et sic quasi vnum corpus et vnus homo. Habemus vnam sponsam, id est vnam ecclesiam que, vt dixi, induat4 nos dormientes habitu fratis quia baptizati fuimus recenter nati quando fuimus quasi dormientes quia tunc non habuimus intellectum nec discursum racionis. Set iam quando vigilamus et adulti sumus habentes aliqualem intellectum, dicit aliquis de se ipso: Realiter non sum ego Christus quia non de membris Christi neque veraciter Christianus. Vnde Iohannes Crisostomus super Mattheum Operis imperfecti, omelia 20: Non omnes (inquit) qui Chrisitiani dicuntur Christiani sunt. Christianorum enim opera aspicienda sunt non nomina. Qui ergo dicit se Christianum et non facit opera Christiani, id est seruat fidem et mandata Dei, certe non est similis Deo Patri, nec signat veram et bonam demonstracionem in natura sua sicut faceret. Immo nec signat vere suam incepcionem quia Deus Pater signat seipsum sicut est, et ille qui vere dicit, Ego sum hoc vel illud, demonstrat se sicut est et non aliter. Si ergo queratur ab eo, Tu quis es? et respondeat, Christianus, et non facit opera Christiani, false dicit et demonstrat. Si igitur bene respondebit et vere, oportet quod sit re sicut et nomine Christianus. 4

 induat] indicit



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Satan and all his retinue, that is, every mortal sin. So when you do not do good and sin mortally, your response to the question is false, and yet you respond in the same words with which John responded, but not with the same meaning. When John was believed to be Christ in person and he was asked, Who are you?, he responded, I am not the Christ [John 1:20], namely, in person, yet he was Christ in imitation, just as all good people are called Christ, not only because of the chrism oil at baptism, but also because, as much as they have it in them, they imitate Christ in their morals. But you say, “I am Christ by name,” that is, Christian, but certainly your deeds say the contrary. But you say as is narrated about a certain man whom, when he was drunkenly sleeping, his wife clothed in the habit of a friar.7 Waking up, for a long time he wondered who he was. Finally considering that he was in the habit of a friar, he said, “May God give bad grace to whoever made me a friar.” And as long as he was in the habit of a friar, his wife kept him in check. Indeed, thus it is spiritually. The habit of a friar (fratris) is your Christianity because in baptism you were made the brother (frater) of Christ. Your wife is the holy Church to whom you were joined like a spouse. Indeed, the Church is called the spouse of Christ, but as the Apostle says in essence, all the faithful are spiritually one in Christ and with Christ [perhaps Gal. 3:28], one (I say) mystical spiritual body and thus, as it were, one body and one man. We have one spouse, that is, one Church, which, as I said, clothes us while we are sleeping in the habit of a friar because we were baptized shortly after we were born, when we were sleeping as it were, because then we neither had understanding nor the use of reason. But now when we are awake and are adults having some kind of understanding, someone says of himself, “In reality I am not Christ because I am not one of the members of Christ nor truly Christian.” Whence John Chrysostom on Matthew, Opus imperfectum, homily 20: “All who are called ‘Christian’ are not Christian. For the works of Christians should be observed, not names.”8 So whoever calls himself “Christian” and does not do Christian works—that is, preserve the faith and the commandments of God—certainly is not similar to God the Father, nor does he represent a true and good proof in his nature as [God] made it. Indeed, he does not truly represent his beginning because God the Father represents himself as he is, and he who truly says, “I am this or that,” shows himself as he is and not otherwise. So if he is asked, “Who are you?” and he responds, “A Christian,” and does not do Christian works, he speaks and represents himself falsely. So if he is going to respond well and truly, it is necessary that he be Christian in deed as he is in name.

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Oportet eciam quod, ad modum huius diccionis ego, suscipiat super se aliam nominacionem, vt dicat, Ego sum ego, set ego sum vox, sicut quilibet nostrum preter vel iuxta nomen sue substancie habet proprium nomen, vt Iohannes, Williamus, vel aliud simile. Et non sufficit hoc nisi eciam habeat cognomen per quod discernitur ab aliis. Conformiter quilibet nostrum habet proprium nomen, scilicet hoc nomen Christianus, set non sufficit vocari Christianum nisi eciam habeatur alia vox cum illo nomine, vt dicatur aliquis bonus et fidelis Christianus. Philosophi dicunt, et verum est, quod omnis vox est animalis et vox exprimit affectum siue desiderium animalis, et inter omnes voces, vox hominis est perfectissima et maxime perficit melodiam. Scitis quod in bona et concordi melodia communiter sunt tres voces consonantes, scilicet vox tenoris, vox medii, atque triplex. Sic moraliter est in vita hominis. Vox tenoris est vox quam homo canit in principio sue vite, scilicet inicium Christianitatis sue, que vox dicitur tenor quia debet teneri firma et stabilis. Vox vero media est vita media hominis, scilicet in media etate, et triplex est vita hominis in altissimo suo statu. Vnde ad hoc quod sit melodia in hiis vocibus, oportet quod concordent adinuicem, id est quod vita in media etate et vita in senectute concordent cum tenore, scilicet cum inicio Christianitatis in quo homo per baptismum purgatus est a mortali peccato, vt videlicet quod sicut tunc fuit sine mortali peccato, ita eciam sit in media etate et in senectute, quod, si medius cantus vel triplex aliquando discordet a tenore, tunc sit discordia in cantu. Sic reuera si quis Christianus deuiet a promissis in baptismo, tempora sue vite nimis discrepant; immo cantus non valet donec redeant ad concordiam. Item si tollat tenor cantus, medium et triplex non efficiunt melodiam. Conformiter si quis erret in fide quacumque bona opera fecerit, cantus sue vite non valet. Ideo teneatur tenor stabilis, scilicet fides et promissum baptismi, et tunc indubie tunc cum ipso medium et triplex optime concordabunt. Hec est vox de qua habetur in Psalmo: Vox exultacionis et salutis in tabernaculis iustorum. Sic inquam respondebis ad primam questionem propositam quando queritur: Tu quis es naturaliter in tuo ingressu siue principio?



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It is also necessary, in this use of the word “I,” that it replace with itself another naming, so that he may say, “I am I, but I am the voice,” just as each of us, in addition to or near to the name of his substance, has a proper name, like John, William, or something similar. And this does not suffice unless he also has a surname by which he is distinguished from others. Similarly, each of us has his proper name, that is, this name “Christian,” but it does not suffice to be called Christian unless one also has another “voice” with that name, so that he may be called a good and faithful Christian. The philosophers say—and it is true—that every animal has a voice, and the voice expresses the animal’s emotion or desire, and among all voices, man’s voice is the most perfect and most perfectly achieves a melody. You know that in a good and harmonious melody there are commonly three harmonious voices: the tenor voice, the middle voice, and the treble voice. Thus it is morally in man’s life. The tenor voice is the voice with which a man sings in the beginning of his life—that is, the beginning of his Christianity—which voice is called the tenor because it should be held firm and stable. The middle voice is indeed man’s middle life—namely, middle age—and the treble is man’s life in his last age. So that there may be melody among these voices, it is therefore necessary that they be harmonious with each other, that is, that the life in middle age and the life in old age be harmonious with the tenor— that is, with the beginning of Christianity in which a man was, through baptism, purged from mortal sin. In this way, as he was then without mortal sin, so may he also be in middle age and in old age, because if the middle song or the treble is at any time disharmonious with the tenor, then there may be discord in the song. But, indeed, if any Christian deviates from his baptismal promises, the times of his life are exceedingly out of tune; indeed, the song is not strong until they return to harmony. Likewise, if the tenor carries the song, the middle and treble do not achieve a melody. Similarly, if anyone errs in faith, whatever good works he had done, the song of his life is not strong. Therefore let the tenor be held stable—that is, faith and the baptismal promise—and then undoubtedly the middle and treble will be most harmonious. This is the voice concerning which the Psalm [117:15] says, a voice of rejoicing and of salvation in the tabernacles of the just. Thus, I say, you will respond to the first question proposed when you are asked, “Who are you naturally in your beginning or entry?”

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[Secundum principale]

fol. 6r

[Secundo si queratur a te: Tu quis es ex gracie in tue progressu?5] respondeas, Ego vox clamantis, scilicet Christi, qui multipliciter clamauit. Primo generaliter ad omnes, Iohannis 7, clamabat Iesus dicens, Si quis sitit, veniat ad me et bibat. Et statim post exponit Christus quid bibet, dicens, Qui credit in me, flumina de ventre eius fluent aque viue. Per potum quem promisit omnibus generaliter intellexit fidem, quam vocauit aquam viuam fluentem de ventre quia venter est receptaculum corporis, scilicet locus qui recipit cibum et potum. Sic cor hominis est spiritualiter receptaculum fidei Christiane. Que fides quasi aqua humectat animam et induci facit humorem | gracie. Ideo Christus precepit generaliter omnibus qui sitirent hanc aquam quod venirent ad eum. Et quare clamauit quando dixerat ista verba? Certe ad informandum predicatores quod clamarent predicando fidem ad populum, et hac de causa: Predicator est [vox] Christi clamantis ad cuius exemplum auditor verbi Dei debet esse vox predicatoris clamantis vice Christi. Set qualis debet illa vox esse? Certe ad similitudinem Filii, qui dicitur plenum verbum Patris, sic auditor verbi Dei debet esse vox predicatoris plenum verbum signans in opere sicut profertur in ore. Vt si predicem tibi quod sis fidelis Christianus et tu respondeas tam verbo interiori quam exteriori quod vis esse vox verbi mei, hoc est facere quod predico, et cum facis in opere sicut verbo promittis, tunc es plena vox clamantis ad similitudinem Filii. Alia vice Christus clamauit vocando Lazarum de monumento, vt scribitur Iohanne 11, qui clamor signat spiritualiter vocacionem hominis a morte culpe ad penitenciam. Isto modo Iohannes, vox Christi clamantis, Matthei 3, Penitenciam agite, etc., sic predicatores clamant omni die, set certe frustra pro maiori parte quia homines sunt ita dedite voluptatibus carnis et mundi quod nolunt audire clamorem penitencie. Set quid clamant? Certe cupidus clamat: Affer! Affer! Numquam sibi videtur satis habere. Clamat corde ymaginando quomodo potest false sibi bona adquirere. Clamat voce per iuramenta, mendacia. Clamat opere per falsa mercimonia et mensuras. Superbus clamat cum Phariseo dicens: Non sum sicut ceteri hominum. Luxuriosi et gulosi clamant illud Sapencie 2: Venite et fruamur bonis […] vino et preciosis vnguentis impleamus nos. […] Nemo sit exsors luxurie nostre. Inuidi et iracundi clamant cum 5

 The transition to the second principal part seems to be missing.



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[Second principal part] [I said secondly, if you are asked, “Who are you from grace in your progress?”]9 you should reply, I am the voice crying, that is, [the voice] of Christ who cried out many times. First [he cried out] generally to all people (John 7[:37]), saying, Anyone who thirsts, let him come to me and drink. And immediately after, Christ explained what he will drink, saying, He who believes in me, out of his belly shall flow living waters [7:38]. By the drink that he promised to all generally he understood faith, which he called living water, flowing from the belly because the belly is the body’s receptacle, that is, the place that receives food and drink. Thus man’s heart is the spiritual receptacle of the Christian faith. This faith moistens the soul as if it were water and makes it so that the liquid of grace is brought in. Therefore, Christ preached generally to all who thirst for this water that they should come to him. And why did he cry out when he said these words? Certainly to teach preachers that they should cry out by preaching faith to the people, and this for this reason: the preacher is [the voice of] Christ calling out by whose example the hearer of God’s word should be the voice of the preacher who called out in place of Christ. But of what sort should this voice be? Certainly, in the likeness of the Son, who is called the full Word of the Father, so the hearer of God’s word should be the voice of the preacher, which signifies the full word at work just as it is brought forth in the mouth. So: if I preach to you that you should be a faithful Christian and you respond both by interior and exterior word that you wish to be the voice of my word, that is, to do what I preach, and when you do in work as you promise in word, then you are the full voice crying out in the likeness of the Son. Another time Christ cried out by calling Lazarus from the tomb, as is written in John 11[:43]. This cry signifies spiritually the calling of man from mortal sin to penance. In the way John, the voice of Christ crying out, [says] in Matthew 3[:2], Do penance, etc., so preachers cry out every day, but certainly in vain for the most part because people are so committed to the desires of the flesh and of the world that they are unwilling to hear the cry of penance. But what do they cry out? Certainly the greedy man cries out, “Give! Give!” He never seems to have enough. He cries out with the heart by imagining how he can falsely acquire goods for himself. He cries out with the voice through oaths, lies. He cries out with works through false merchandise and measures. The proud man cries out with the Pharisee, saying, I am not as other men [Luke 18:11]. The lustful and the gluttonous cry out (Wisdom 2[:6–7, 9]): Come, and let us enjoy […], let us fill ourselves with good wine and precious ointments.[…] Let none of us be without his part in luxury. The envious and the angry

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Iudeis illud Sapiencie 2: Venite circumueniamus iustum quem contrarius est operibus nostris. Et sequitur postea: Grauis est nobis eciam ad viuendum.6 Et tandem dicunt pro complemento malicie sue: Morte turpissima condempnemus eum. Accidiosi clamant illud Luce 12: Anima habes multa bona posita in annos plurimos: requiesce, comede, bibe, et epulare. In ista auctoritate coniungit Euangelista auariciam, accidiam, atque gulam quia habundancia diuiciorum est causa gule. Ideo dicitur in euangelio de diuite: Epulabatur cotidie splendide. Et gula est causa accidie quia, post nimiam refeccionem, oportet corpus quiescere. Iste clamor sicut quilibet clamorum dictorum peccatorum fuit Sodomorum de quo Genesis 8: Clamor Sodomorum venit ad me. Pro quibus clamoribus fuit Sodoma cum omnibus suis incolis destructa preter Loth et suos. Insuper Christus clamauit in cruce: Heloy, heloy, lamazabathani. Hoc est: Deus meus, Deus meus, vt quid me dereliquisti? Deus non dereliquit suum filium penitus, set dereliquit eum in potestate Iudeorum qui occiderunt eum. Ideo dicitur eum dereliquisse. Reuera isti praui predicti, licet quandoque clamant ad Deum Patrem, scilicet in quadragesima vel iam, aliqui forte clamant per tres partes penitencie, scilicet contricionem, oris confessionem, et aliqualem satisfaccionem ter, Deus meus, etc., tamen clamor eorum non est similis clamori Christi in sentencia licet similis sit in verbo. Nam responsio Patris ad Filium secundum sentenciam beati Bernardi in sermone de Aduentu et Sacre Scripture, talis est: Fili mi, non derelinquo te pro tua culpa nec pro tuo dedecore, set quia ego et tu creauimus hominem ad ymaginem et similitudinem nostram vt nobis et Spiritu nostro seruiret nos et amaret et tandem frueretur. Ille ad instigacionem diaboli affectauit esse michi et tibi equalis in sciencia cum sibi dixit diabolus: Eritis sicut dii scientes bonum et malum. Ideo ipsum propter te, Fili mi, de Paradiso iuste expuli. Set quia tu vis sicut et ego volo cum vna sit nostra voluntas vt per passionem mortis in natura humana reducas hominem ad nos, quia hoc est medium decentissimum vt sic fiat, ideo dereliqui te in manibus impiorum vt scilicet fiat voluntas tua et mea ad honorem nostrum et ad salutem humani generis. Hec Bernardus. Set aliter respondebit peccatori clamanti et dicenti, Deus meus, quare me dereliquisti? Dicet enim: Dereliqui te quia tu dereliquisti me. Immo contra preceptum meum dereliquisti te in manibus inimici. Ideo bene diceris: vox clamantis in deserto. Desertum enim dicitur quasi derelictum. Quia dereliquisti me, es 6

 viuendum] videndum Vulg.



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cry out with the Jews (Wisdom 2[:12]): Come, let us surround the just man who is contrary to our works. And it follows after: He is grievous to us, even to behold [2:15]. And finally they say as a completion of their malice: Let us condemn him to a most shameful death [2:20]. The slothful cry out (Luke 12[:19]): Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your rest, eat, drink, and be merry. In this authoritative text the Evangelist connects greed, sloth, and gluttony because an abundance of riches is the cause of gluttony. Therefore, it is said in the Gospel concerning the rich man: He feasted sumptuously every day [Luke 12:19]. And gluttony is the cause of sloth because, after an excessive meal, it is necessary for the body to rest. This cry, just as each of the cries mentioned, was [the cry] of the Sodomites, concerning whom Genesis 8 [18:20] [says]: The cry of the Sodomites comes to me. For these cries Sodom, along with all its inhabitants, was destroyed except for Lot and his family. In addition, Christ cried out on the cross, Eloi, Eloi, lamma sabacthani, that is, My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? [Mark 15:34]. God did not abandon his son completely, but he abandoned him into the power of the Jews who killed him. Therefore, it is said that he abandoned him. Indeed, although these corrupt people whom I spoke about sometimes cry out to God the Father—that is, during Lent or now, some perhaps cry out, My God, etc., three times by means of the three parts of penance, namely, contrition, oral confession, and some kind of satisfaction—yet their cry is not similar to Christ’s cry in meaning although it may be similar in word. For the Father’s response to the Son, according to the text of blessed Bernard in a sermon for Advent and according to Sacred Scripture, is such: “My Son, I do not abandon you for your guilt or for your vice, but because I and you created man in our image and likeness to serve and to love and finally to enjoy us and our Spirit. That [man] tried, at the instigation of the devil, to be equal to me and you in knowledge when the devil said to him, You will be as gods knowing good and evil [Gen. 3:5]. Therefore, I expelled him from paradise for your sake, my Son. But because you wish as I wish, since our will is one, that through the suffering of death in human nature you should lead man back to us, because this is the most appropriate manner to achieve this, therefore I abandoned you into the hands of the impious so that your and my will may be done to our honor and for the salvation of the human race.”10 So says Bernard. But he will respond in another way to the sinner crying out and saying, My God, why do you abandon me? For he will say, “I abandoned you because you abandoned me. Rather, against my command you abandoned yourself into the hands of the enemy. Therefore you are well called the voice crying in the desert, for [the word] ‘desert’ is used just like ‘abandoned.’ Because you abandoned me, you are abandoned by me into the desert of the devil.”

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derelictus a me in deserto diaboli. Quia tamen adhuc es nisi in introitu huius deserti, scilicet in peccato mortali, quod in hac vita est introitus ad infernum, potes adhuc si clames audiri extra istud desertum vt reuertaris. Immo et multi clamant cotidie reuocando te. Hec est vox de qua Ysaye 40: Vox clamantis in deserto, parate viam Domini. | Rectas facite in solitudinem semitas Dei nostri. Quod si sic vos paraueritis, tunc indubio Dominus vere dicet vobis illud Prophecie, Eduxi vos de terra Egipti (id est peccato), loco horroris et vaste solitudinis ad desertum glorie, vbi vox gaudii interioris et vox leticie exterioris, vox sponsi, id est Christi, et sponse, id est anime fidelis vel ecclesie, vox dicencium: Confitemini Domino, scilicet laudem, quoniam bonum, quoniam in eternum misericordia eius. Tercium principale Iste voces, inquam, erunt in deserto glorie ad similitudinem Spiritus Sancti. Quorum quilibet qui ibi erunt, si quesitum fuerit ab eo, Tu quis es in esse glorie in tuo egressu? scilicet a seculo vel a purgatorio, respondebit ad similitudinem Spritus Sancti, Ego vox clamantis in deserto. De quo deserto loquitur Iohannis Crisostomus, Operis imperfecti omelia 5 super illo Matthei, ductus est Iesus in desertum: Est (inquit) desertum secundum Deum et desertum secundum diabolum. Natura carnalis domus est diaboli et omnis iniusticia epulacio eius est. Alio modo desertum est omnis res spiritualis. Ad talem (inquit) desertum omnes filii Dei qui habent Spiritum Sanctum exeunt. Istud desertum est planum sine spinis et vepribus peccatorum et feris bestiis, id est malis hominibus, de quo scribitur in Psalmo, Pinguescent speciosa deserti, scilicet ornati virtutibus quorum speciosa pinguescent vncta oleo interioris leticie et exultacione. Eius colles accingentur, scilicet virtuosi qui sunt super omnes colles et regna mundi accingentur exultacione exteriori in collibus suppremis vbi leticia et pax eterna. Ad quam nos perducat.



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Yet because until now you are only at the entry of this desert, that is, in mortal sin, which in this life is the entry to hell, you can as yet, if you cry out, be heard outside of that desert so that you can return. Indeed, many also cry out every day to call you back. This is the voice concerning which Isaiah 40[:3] [says]: The voice crying in the desert, prepare ye the way of the Lord. Make straight the paths of our God in the wilderness. So if you are thus prepared, then undoubtedly the Lord truly will say to you that [word] of the prophecy, I led you from the land of Egypt [Lev. 11:45], that is, from sin, from the place of horror and a vast wilderness to the desert of glory [Deut. 32:10], where there is the voice of interior joy and the voice of exterior rejoicing, the voice of the [male] spouse (that is, of Christ) and of the [female] spouse (that is, of the faithful soul or the Church), the voice of those saying, Grant to the Lord (namely, praise), for he is good, for eternal is his mercy [Psalm 135:1]. Third principal part These voices (I say) will be in the desert of glory in the likeness of the Holy Spirit. Each of those [voices] who will be there, if he is asked, “Who are you in the existence of glory at your departure?” (namely, from the world or from purgatory), will respond in the likeness of the Holy Spirit: I am the voice crying in the desert. Of this desert, John Chrysostom speaks, in homily 5 of the Opus imperfectum on this [verse] of Matthew [4:1]: Jesus was led into the desert: “There is a desert according to God and a desert according to the devil. Carnal nature is the house of the devil and every injustice is his food.”11 In another way the desert is every spiritual thing. “To such a desert all the sons of God depart who have the Holy Spirit.”12 This desert is flat without the thorns and thorn-bushes of sins and [without] ferocious beasts (that is, wicked people), concerning which [desert] is written in the Psalm [64:13]: The beautiful places of the desert shall grow fat, that is, [the desert will be] garnished with virtues, whose beauty will grow fat anointed with the oil of interior joy and exultation. Its hills shall be girded about [Psalm 64:13], that is, the virtuous who are on every hill, and the kingdoms of the world are girded with exterior exultation on the highest hills, where there is joy and eternal peace. To which let him lead us …

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Isaie 12: Notas facite in populis adinuenciones. Epistola hodierna secundum morem ecclesie citatur1 leccio Ysaie que tamen epistola non habetur ad verba in aliquo capitulo Ysaie set sparsim ponitur (suple in summa) 12 et 35 capitulis. Vnde 12 capitulo prope finem agit propheta de baptismi institucione, dicens: Haurietis aquas in gaudio de fontibus saluatoris. Et capitulo 35 tangitur de Christi apparicione et de nostra redempcione dicens: Ipse (suple Christus) veniet et saluabit nos. De quibus tribus, vt intuenti patere potest, specialiter memorat epistola hodierna hortans predicatores ista notificare populis per hec verba, Notas facite in populis virtutes eius, scilicet Iesu Christi. Que quidem verba epistola secundum intellectum ecclesie signant idem cum dictis verbis prophete cum dicitur Notas facite in populis adinuenciones eius. Me igitur conformans ecclesie pro planiore intellectu sumo pro presenti processu verba epistole ita dicens: Notas facite in populis virtutes. Set tam in textu epistole quam prophete priusquam precipiatur adinuencionum siue virtutum notificacio; id est per exhortacionem imponitur diuine laudis confessio et sui nominis inuocacio cum dicitur, Confitemini Domino et inuocate nomen eius, glossa, Confitemini Domino laudis confessionem et inuocate nomen eius per deuotam, scilicet oracionem, et tunc subiungit, Notas facite, etc., in signum quod predicator antequam predicando notificet verbum Dei debet ei confessionem laudis offerre et suum nomen deuotissime inuocare. Quapropter in principio collacionis iuxta preceptum prophete, Confitemini Domino et inuocate nomen eius ipsum cordialiter deprecantes pro statu, etc. Diuisio principalis Notas facite in populis virtutes. Pro processu collacionis, sicut de notificacione ita de populo et virtute, tripliciter reperio in scriptura. Est enim notificacio per 1

 citatur] cotatur

Sermon for the Sunday after Epiphany (RY3) Theme: Make his works known among the peoples (Isa. 12:4). Make his works known among the peoples (Isaiah 12[:4]). In today’s reading, according to the custom of the Church, the lesson of Isaiah is cited, yet this reading is not word for word in any chapter of Isaiah but is put more or less (supply: in summary) in chapters 12 and 35. So in chapter 12 near the end, the prophet speaks about the institution of baptism, saying, You shall draw the waters with joy out of the savior’s fountains [12:3]. And in chapter 35 he touches on Christ’s Epiphany and on our redemption, saying many times, He (supply: Christ) will come and he will save us [Isa. 35:4].1 As we can see by close consideration, today’s reading especially commemorates these three doctrines, encouraging preachers to make them known to the people through these words, Make known to the peoples his virtues, namely, Jesus Christ’s. Indeed, the words of this reading, according to the understanding of the Church, signify the same thing as in the mentioned words of the prophet when he says, Make his works known among the peoples. Therefore, conforming myself to the Church for the sake of a clearer understanding, I take up for the present development the words of this reading, thus saying, Make known among the peoples his virtues. But both in the text of the reading and in that of the prophet before, what should be preached is knowledge of works or of virtues; that is, we are exhorted to profess the divine praise and to invoke his name when it says, Profess the Lord and call upon his name [Ps. 104:1]; the gloss: Profess the Lord with a profession of praise and invoke his name by devout prayer,2 and then [to these] is joined, Make known, etc., in a sign that the preacher, before he makes known the word of God by preaching, should offer to him a profession of praise and most devoutly invoke his name. Therefore in the beginning of this collation, according to the teaching of the prophet, Profess the Lord and call upon his name by cordially praying for the rank, etc. The principal division Make known among the peoples his virtues. For the development of this collation, I find in Scripture that the knowledge and also the people and the virtue are t­ hreefold.

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signa, per verba, per facta: per signa expressiua intrinsece perfeccionis, per verba persuasiua scientifice predicacionis, per facta ostensiua saluifice accionis. Est insuper trifarius, videlicet populus perfectus, populus subiectus, et populus ex vtrisque collectus. Populus perfectus est populus clericalis, populus subiectus est populus laicalis, populus ex vtrisque collectus est populus generalis. Est postrema virtus phisica seu naturalis, virtus ethica seu moralis, virtus theologica seu supernaturalis. Quamplures partes diuisionis satis patent de se et pro aliis partibus allegabo cum occurrerint in processu. Combinando ergo singula singulis, vos sacerdotes et curati quibus ex officio predicare incumbit, ad quos eciam verba thematis specialiter proponuntur, primo inquam Notas facite per signa expressiua intrinsece perfeccionis in populo clericali perfecto virtutes phisicas seu naturales; secundo notas facite per verba persuasiua scientifice predicacionis in populo laicali vobis subiecto virtutes ethicas seu morales; et tercio notas facite per facta ostensiua saluifice accionis in populo generali ex vtrisque collecto virtutes theologicas seu supernaturales. Hec materia collacionis. Prima pars principalis fol. 7

r

Primo inquam notas facite, scilicet vos sacerdotes, per signa expressiua intrinsece perfeccionis in clerico clericali perfecto virtutes | phisicas seu naturales. Ista virtutum notificacio nichil aliud est quam perfeccionum naturalium siue intrinsecarum perfeccionum virtuosa manifestacio. Sicut enim teste Philosopho, 2 Ethicorum, virtus moralis ipsam habentem perficit et suum opus bonum reddit, ita et virtus naturalis cuius est potencia naturalis siue anime siue corporis. Si suam naturalem operacionem debite exequatur (suple ad finem sibi a natura preordinatum) sane ipsam habens cum gracia perficitur, et suum redditur opus bonum. Nunc autem secundum Auicennam, sexto Naturalium, capitulo vltimo prime partis: Obligacio anime cum corpore est vt perficiatur intellectus contemplatiuus et sanctificetur et mundetur pro fine, videlicet vlterius perquirendo et contemplando. Immo secundum beatum Augustinum, 15 De Trinitate, capitulo 2, de magnis: Ad hoc debet homo esse intelligens vt requirat Deum. Patet ergo quod quelibet virtus siue naturalis potencia debet affici ad hunc finem, quod si sic fuerit, tunc certe sua notificacio, vt premisi, est virtuosa manifestacio. Vnde pro notificacione virtutum naturalium est notandum secundum processum Auicenne superius quod anime naturales virtutes diuiduntur in duas



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For it is knowledge through signs, words, and deeds: through express signs of inward perfection, through persuasive words of learned preaching, through manifest deeds of salvific action. In addition, [the people] are threefold: the people perfected, the people subjected, and the people gathered from both groups. The people perfected are the clerical people, the people subjected are the lay people, the people gathered from both are the general people. Last it is a virtue physical or natural, a virtue ethical or moral, a virtue theological or supernatural. Very many parts of the division are quite clear from this, and I will treat the other parts when they occur in the development. Therefore, by combining each to each, to you priests and curates, whose calling it is to preach, to whom also the words of the theme are especially related, first I say, make known the physical and natural virtues through express signs of inward perfection among the clerical people; secondly, make known the ethical and moral virtues through persuasive words of learned preaching among the lay people subjected to you; and thirdly, make known the theological and supernatural virtues through manifest deeds of salvific actions among the general people gathered from both. This is the material of the collation. First principal part First I say Make known, specifically you priests, the virtues of clerical perfection physical or natural through express signs of inward perfection among the clerical people. This knowledge of virtues is nothing other than a virtuous manifestation of natural perfections or inward perfections. For just as moral virtue perfects the one who has it and returns his good work, as the Philosopher testifies in book 2 of the Ethics,3 so also [does] natural virtue, which is the natural power either of the soul or of the body. If it carries out its natural operation appropriately (supply: to the end preordained for it by nature), the one having it is perfected with grace, and his good work is returned. Now, moreover, according to Avicenna in the sixth book of the Liber Naturalium, in the last chapter of the first part: “The bond of the soul with the body is to perfect and sanctify and cleanse the contemplative understanding”4 for its final end, that is, by searching eagerly and contemplating further. Indeed, according to blessed Augustine, in book 15 of On the Trinity, chapter 2, from the large [chapters]: “For this a man should have understanding: that he searches for God.”5 So it is clear that each virtue or natural power should be moved to this end so that, if it is [moved in] this way, then certainly its knowledge, as I said before, is a virtuous manifestation. So for the knowledge of natural virtues we should note, according to Avicenna’s development (see above), that the natural virtues [or powers]6 of the soul are divided

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species, videlicet in virtutem sciendi et virtutem agendi, hoc est in virtutem anime contemplatiuam et virtutem anime actiuam. Virtus anime actiua est illa quam habet anima ad illud quod est infra se, scilicet inferius in natura, et exersicat,2 vtpote ad corpus regendum. Et oportet, secundum ipsum, ad hoc quod homo habeat bonos mores quod ista virtus ceteris virtutibus organicis principetur. Virtus anime sciendi siue contemplatiua est illa quam habet anima ad illud quod est supra se in natura qua mediante virtute contemplatur altissimam, vtpote Trinitatem. Insuper, secundum ipsum, dicte virtuti actiue famulantur 5 sensus interiores cum operacionibus sibi indictis a natura, eciam 5 sensus exteriores. Quinque autem sensus interiores sunt isti, et recito propter sequencia, videlicet sensus communis, virtus ymaginatiua siue fantasia, virtus cogitatiua, virtus estimatiua, et tandem memoria siue virtus memoratiua. Quam, scilicet dominus Lincolniensis dictis suis, dicto scilicet septimo, comparat vni aule quia est capax et retentiua3 specierum et intencionum sicut est aula intrancium populorum. Cui aule 5 sensus exteriores sunt quasi 5 porte quarum ianitor est sensus viuacitas que populum accedentem primo recipit, ac in sensum communem, quasi in vestibulum ante hostium introducit, vbi hostiarius, scilicet virtus ymaginatiua, occurrens ipsum populum suscipit quia hoc est officium fantasie ea recipere que intrant in sensum communem. Necnon susceptum populum virtuti4 cogitatiue, quasi marescallo, representat que discernit si sit dignus recipi vel indignus. Quem dignum et recepit offert virtuti estimatiue tamquam senescallo qui ipsum populum inducit in aulam memorie vt inibi moram trahat. Populus vero accedans ad dictas quinque portas5, secundum Lincolniensis, est quadruplex. Primus populus est species rerum sensibilium. Secundus populus est meretricalis turba illecebrarum cui obuiat libido sensuum et in atrium introducit in quem6 introducta fornicatur ipsamque aulam cum ­cunctis suis officiariis et familiaribus turpissime dehonestat. Tercius populus venerabiles est vtilitates rerum sensibilium cui si obvia sit virtus actiua supradicta ipsum introducit et cum eo consilium sanum facit. Quartus populus  exersicat] sic for exercitat  retentiua] recentiva 4  virtuti] virtute 5  portas] portans 6  quem] quam 2 3



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into two species, namely, into the power of knowing and the power of doing,7 which is to say, into the contemplative power of the soul and the active power of the soul. The active power of the soul is that which the soul has for that which is within itself, that is, which is inferior in nature, and it acts primarily to rule the body.8 And it is necessary, according to Avicenna, in order that a person may have good habits, that this power may rule the rest of the organic powers.9 The power of the soul for knowing or the contemplative power is that which the soul has for that which is above itself in nature,10 by which it, by means of this power, contemplates the highest, namely, the Trinity. In addition, according to Avicenna, the five interior senses serve the mentioned active power with the operations dictated to it by nature, as do the five exterior senses. Moreover, the five interior senses are these, and I recite them in sequence: the common sense, the imaginative power or imagination, the cogitative power, the estimative power, and, finally, the memory or memorative power.11 This power [i.e. the memory] the master of Lincoln [i.e. Grosseteste] compares in his seventh Dictum12 to a court because it is spacious and retentive of forms and intentions as is a court of people entering. To this court the five exterior senses are, as it were, five doors of which the porter is the natural vigor of the sense that first receives the approaching people, whom he leads to the common sense, as if into a vestibule before the door, where the doorkeeper—namely, the imaginative power—runs to meet these people and accepts [them] because it is the office of the imagination to receive those things that enter into the common sense. And indeed he presents the people received to the cogitative power, as if to the marshal who discerns whether they are worthy or unworthy to be received. Those worthy he receives and offers to the estimative power, as if to the steward who leads these people into the court of memory in order to remain there. The people, to be sure, approaching the said five doors, according to Grosseteste, are fourfold. The first people are the forms of sensible things. The second people are the meretricious crowd of enticements whom the inordinate desire of the senses meets and leads into the atrium, where the introduced crowd fornicates and most shamefully disgraces this court with all its officers and servants. The third people are the venerable uses of sensible things, and if the aforementioned active power meets [them], it leads [them] in and makes a sound plan with them. The fourth people,

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reuerendissimus sunt in ipsis rebus sensibilibus vestigia creatoris cui populo si obvia fuerit virtus sciendi eum introducit et familiarem facit cum intrinseca familia dicte aule. Immo iste tercius populus et quartus debite regulati secundum imperium regitiue virtutis ordinatissime deseruiunt suo capitali domino, videlicet omnium summo regi. Hec est vtique intrinseca perfeccio per cuius signa expressiua predicator notas faceret, vt predixi, virtutes naturales in populo clericali perfecto (suple cum quo personaliter conuersatur), et per eadem signa satis notum est quis de predictis populis introiuit per portas sensuum in aulam memorie. Verbi gracia: Cum quis libenter videre appetat vanitates et spectacula, signum est instabilitatis et insolencie. Si delectet auditus in verbis detractoriis, signum est rancoris et inuidie. Si quis frequenter olfaciat siue gustet cibaria temporibus indebitis prout communiter faciunt in comessacionibus et potacionibus pernoctantes aut preprop[er]e, laute, nimis, ardenter, studiose comedentes, ­signum euidet castrimargie siue gule et ex consequenti accidie. Si quis raro vel numquam excutit manus suas ab omni munere, set quasi semper gaudet accipere et nil dare, signum est cupiditatis et auaricie. Hec inquam sunt signa expressiua quando populus nephandus illecebrarum in memorie | aulum intrat. Et nedum hec sunt signa set, vt dicit Sapiens Ecclesiastici 19: Amictus corporis risus dencium et incessus hominis annunciant de illo. Quo contra signa expressiua perfeccionis intrinsece sunt 5 contraria dictis signis. Primum videlicet a vanitatibus oculorum auersio; hec est contra instabilitatem et insolenciam. Secundum signum est cum pietate auditorum attencio, et hec est contra detraccionem, iram, et inuidiam. Tercium est a sacietate cibariorum abstraccio; hec est parsimonia contra castrimargiam. Quartum signum est a varietate delecatorum remocio; hec est abstinencia contra gulam et accidiam. Quintum signum est cum liberalitate possessorum donacio, et hec est elemosina contra auariciam. Insuper quam ad primum signum quando scilicet est auersio oculorum a vanitate et delectacio in visis honestis, euidencia est quod videns intueri delectat honesta maxime sibi nota, et sic clerici et precipue sacerdotes ­affectantes videre honesta maxime delectarentur in visione honestissimi sacramenti altaris et in aliis circa altare et in ecclesia, vtpote in visione ymaginis crucifixi. Et tunc imperante intellectu, sensus communis iudi­ caret, fantasia iudicium ­reciperet, virtus cogitatiua componeret, virtus ­estimatiua firmam intencionem inprimeret in memoriam quo continuo



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the most honorable, are the footprints of the creator in the sensible things themselves, and if the power of knowing were to meet them, it leads them in and makes them intimate with the inner household of the said court. These third and fourth groups of people, when they are appropriately regulated according to the command of the ruling power, serve their high lord—namely, the highest king of all—in a most orderly manner. This is certainly inward perfection through whose manifest signs the preacher makes known, as I said before, the natural virtues among the clerical people perfected (supply: with whom he abides), and by means of the same signs it is fully known which of the aforementioned people he led in through the doors of the senses into the court of memory. For example, when anyone freely desires to see vanities and spectacles, this is a sign of instability and insolence. If he delights in hearing words of detraction, this is a sign of resentment and envy. If anyone frequently smells or tastes foods at inappropriate times according to what is commonly done, spending the night in feasting and drinking, or “too hastily, sumptuously, excessively, ardently, zealously”13 eating, this is a sign of a glutton or gluttony, and sloth follows after. If anyone rarely or never shakes his hands from all bribes [Isa. 33:15], but almost always rejoices to receive and give nothing, it is a sign of greed or avarice. These, I say, are the express signs when the impious people of enticements enter into the court of memory. And not only are these the signs but, as the wisdom of Ecclesiasticus says (19[:27]): The attire of the body, and the laughter of the teeth, and the gait of the man, show what he is. On the other hand, the express signs of inward perfection are five signs contrary to these signs. The first [is] when one turns away from the vanities of the eyes: this is [the sign] contrary to instability and insolence. The second sign is when one listens attentively with piety, and this is contrary to slander, anger, and envy. The third is when one separates oneself from an abundance of foods: this is temperance contrary to gluttony. The fourth sign is when one removes oneself from a variety of delights: this is abstinence contrary to gluttony and sloth. The fifth sign is when one gives with generosity from one’s possessions, and this is almsgiving contrary to avarice. In addition, as far as the first sign is concerned, when someone turns away his eyes from vanity and takes pleasure in worthy sights, this is evidence that the one seeing delights to look on what he knows to be worthy, and thus clerics and especially priests aspiring to see worthy things greatly delight in the sight of the worthiest sacrament of the altar and in other things around the altar and in the church, especially in the sight of the image of the crucified. And then after the understanding has ruled, the common sense may judge, the imagination may receive the thing judged, the cogitative power may order, [and] the estimative power may imprint a

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r­ ecoleret de institucione sacramenti eucharistie et de crucifixione Domini Iesu Christi. Quo ad secundum signum quando est cum pietate auditorum attencio, experiencia est quod audiens non delectatur in verbis detractoriis aut prophanis, set in verbis edificatoriis dulcibus et amenis ex quibus imperat intellectus sensibus predictis interioribus vt circa talia verba proferenda dumtaxat versentur et sic inducantur ad senciendum de verbis Christi in sua predicacione in discipulorum communione, in passione, et pendentis in cruce. Quo ad tercium signum quando est a sacietate cibariorum abstraccio, apparencia quod abstinens amat ieiunum, et sic, imperante intellectu, discernunt sensus interiores de nostri saluatoris abstinencia, quomodo ieiunauit 40 diebus et 40 noctibus et postea esuriit. De quarto signo quando est a varietate sapidorum remocio, \apparet/ quod non inest curiositas circa lauta cibaria, et intellectus inducitur imperaris sensibus contemplari quomodo noster saluator sciciens in cruce potatus est aceto insipido felle mixto. Quam ad quintem signum et vltimum, quando est cum liberalitate possessorum donacio, saltem pauperibus, satis constat quod sentitur de compassione Christi et mouentur sensus percipere quomodo Christus nostris miseriis est compassus dum pro nobis per sputa, clauos, spinas, et lanceam erat tactus dolorose a funestis manibus Iudeorum in tantum quod a planta pedis vsque ad verticem capitis non erat in eo sanitas. Hec sunt signa expressiua perfeccionis intrinsece per que predicatores, immo quilibet, notas facerent in populo clericali perfecto virtutes phisicas seu naturales. Et signanter dico quod istas virtutes notas facerent in populo clericali perfecto, quia cum illis precipue conuersantur. In cuius signum Christus notam fecit in populis virtutem suam, vt dicit Propheta Psalmo 76, Notam (inquit) fecisti in populis virtutem tuam, set specialiter in populo Israel cum quo fuerat conuersatus quem eciam populum vocat suum populum in multis locis scripture; specialissime tamen inter apostolos et discipulos notas fecit virtutes suas naturales quorum tipum gerunt ecclesiastici. Igitur et perfecti essent sicut et ipsi perfecti fuerunt. Ideo dixeram in populo clericali perfecto. Sic igitur facta notificacione virtutum naturalium secundum virtutem anime actiuam parata est via predicatori notificare ipsas virtutes7 secundum virtutem anime 7

 Secundum virtutem … ipsas virtutes] written twice.



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firm intention in the memory by which it continually recollects the institution of the sacrament of the Eucharist and the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. As far as the second sign is concerned, when someone listens attentively with piety, the experience is that the one listening does not delight in words of slander or profanity, but in edifying words, sweet and pleasant, from which the understanding rules the aforementioned interior senses, so that such words brought forward are reflected on and are thus led in to the extent that [the hearer] understands Christ’s words in his preaching in the community of the disciples, during the Passion, and while he hung on the cross. As far as the third sign is concerned, when one separates oneself from an abundance of food, it is apparent that the one abstaining loves fasting and thus, when the understanding has ruled, the interior senses discern the abstinence of our Savior, how he fasted for forty days and forty nights and afterwards he was hungry [Matt. 4:2]. Concerning the fourth sign, when someone removes himself from a variety of tasty things, it is apparent that he has no interest in elegant meals, and the understanding is led by the ruling senses to contemplate how our Savior, thirsting on the cross, was given to drink tasteless vinegar mixed with gall. As far as the fifth and last sign is concerned, when someone gives with generosity from his possessions, as least to the poor, it is fully evident that he feels compassion for Christ, and the senses are moved to perceive how Christ had compassion for our sufferings while for us through spit, nails, thorns, and the lance he was struck painfully by the fatal hands of the Jews, so much so that from the souls of his feet to the top of his head there was no wholeness in him [Isa. 1:6]. These are the express signs of inward perfection by which preachers, indeed anyone, should make known the physical or natural virtues among the perfected clerical people. And significantly I say that these virtues are made known among the perfected clerical people because they dwell especially with them. In a sign of this Christ made known among the people his own virtue, as the Prophet says in Psalm 76[:15]: I made known among the people your virtue, but especially among the people of Israel, with whom he dwelled [and] whom he also calls his own people in many places in Scripture; yet most especially he made known his own natural virtues among the apostles and disciples, who are prototypes for clerics. Therefore, these also should be perfected just as those were perfected. For that reason I have said “among the perfected clerical people.” So therefore, when the knowledge of the natural virtues according to the active virtue [or power] of the soul is acquired, the way is prepared for the preacher to make known these virtues according to the contemplative virtue

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contemplatiuam, vt scilicet perfecto, sanctificato, et mundato intellectu contemplatiuo, secundum dictum Auicenne superius, requiratur et inueniatur vera Trinitatis ymago in memoria, intelligencia, et voluntate et sic noscatur Deus. Immo secundum processum Auicene, vbi supra: Omnis virtus anime actiua secundum imperium huius virtutis contemplatiue regenda est vt requiratur vltimus (Deus scilicet) et noscatur. Sic inquam notas facite per signa expressiua intrinsece perfeccionis in populi clericali perfecto virtutes phisicas seu naturales. Quod fuit primum principale. Secundum principale cum tercio combinatum combinacio

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Dixi secundo vos predicatores notas facite per verba persuasiua scientifice predicacionis tam populo clericali quam laicali virtutes ethicas et morales. Quia vero tercium membrum principalis diuisionis continet in parte secundum membrum, ideo pro breuitate combino tercium cum secundo. Dico ergo conuenienti vos predicatores Notas facite per verba persuasiua scientifice predicacionis et per facta ostensiua saluifice | accionis in populo, clericali et laicali collecto, virtutes morales et theologicas. Ad hoc quod ista notificacio habeatur, oportet ea noscere que constituunt officium pastorale siue curati, pro quorum habenda noticia diligenter consideranda est sentencia saluatoris, Iohanne 10, vbi vocat seipsum pastorem. Set prius in principio capitulis ibi, Amen, dico vobis qui non intrat per hostium, etc., partitur officium curatorum in senariam distinccionum. Cuius prima pars est ut intret per hostium in ouile; secunda vt efficiat suas oues suam vocem audire; tercia vt eas vocet nominatim; quarta vt illas educat; quinta vt ante eductas vadat; sexta vt cum necesse fuerit pro ouibus animam suam ponat. Prime tres inducunt ad verba persuasiua scientifice predicacionis, et alie tres ad facta ostensiua saluifice accionis. Prima inquam pars officii curatorum est vt intret per hostium in ouile. Hostium Christus est, et moraliter ouile est mens subditi. Intrat ergo pastor ecclesie siue curatus per hostium in ouile quando per Christum predicatum intrat in mentes siue animas subditorum. Set quomodo (inquis) intrat in animas subditorum? Respondet Lincolnensis, Dicto 102, vbi sex predicta diffuse exponit: Cogitacio (inquit) et voluntas loquentis in verbo exprimitur et per verbum defertur ad aures auditoris, et per aures intrat in auditoris



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of the soul, so that with the perfected, sanctified, and cleansed contemplative understanding, according to Avicenna’s dictum above, the true image of the Trinity may be sought and found in the memory, understanding, and will, and thus God may be known.14 Indeed according to Avicenna’s development (see above): Every active virtue of the soul should be ruled according to the authority of its contemplative virtue so that the highest (namely, God) is sought and known.15 So I say Make known the physical or natural virtues through express signs of inward perfection among the perfected clerical people. That was the first principal part. Second principal part combined with the third I said secondly to you preachers: make known the ethical and moral virtues through persuasive words of knowledgeable preaching both to the clerical people and to the laypeople. But because the third member of the principal division contains in part the second member, so, for the sake of brevity, I will combine the third with the second. Therefore, I say fittingly to you preachers: make known the moral and theological virtues through persuasive words of knowledgeable preaching and through manifest deeds of salvific action among the people, both clerical and lay. To have this knowledge, it is necessary to know those things which constitute the office of pastor or curate; to acquire this knowledge, we should diligently consider the Savior’s meaning (John 10[:11]), where he calls himself shepherd. But first, in the beginning of the chapter where [he says], Amen, I say to you, he who enters through the door [10:1], etc., the office of curate is divided into six parts. The first part is that he should enter through the door into the sheepfold; the second [is] that he should bring it about that his own sheep hear his voice; the third that he should call them by name; the fourth that he should lead them out; the fifth that he should go before those whom he leads; the sixth that, if it were necessary, he should lay down his own soul for his sheep. The first three lead to the persuasive words of knowledgeable preaching, and the other three to the manifest deeds of salvific action. I say, the first part of the office of curate is that he should enter through the door of the sheepfold. The door is Christ, and morally the sheepfold is the mind of the one subject to him. So the shepherd of the church or the curate enters into the sheepfold when, through Christ preached, he enters into the minds or souls of those who are members of his flock. But how (you say) does he enter into the souls of his flock? Grosseteste responds in Dictum 102, where he sets forth the six aforementioned [divisions] diffusely: “Thought and the will of the speaker are expressed in word, and through the word they are conveyed to the ears of the hearer, and through

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i­ntelligenciam, et ab intelligencia transit in memoriam, et in memoria reconditum amplexatur per amorem. Et ita (inquit) cogitata voluntas loquentis intrat per verbum in consensum audientis, et ita quodammodo ipse loquens intrat per verbum quasi per medium in audientes. Hec Lincolniensis. Isto modo intrare per hostium est primum officium pastorale, hoc est virtutem Christi notam facere per verba persuasiua scientifice predicacionis. Et congruenter indicitur curatis predicare Christum. Congruit enim a natura vt singula membra proprium suum corpus ostendant. Nunc autem secundum eundem doctorem, Dicto 35: Pastores (siue curati) sunt os Christi, labia Christi, lingua, dentes, et guttur Christi. Sicut (inquit) ex variis scripture locis manifestum est, omnibus instrumentis Christi vocalibus in Christi corpore comparantur. Et redit causam: Vt (inquit) ad officium predicacionis arcius inuitentur,8 et de silencio grauius dampnabiles ostendantur. Quapropter hortor vos curatos in visceribus Iesu Christi quatinus considerantes vos esse membra eius, vt dicit Apostolus, Corintheos 6, studeatis notas facere virtutes membrorum. Cum sitis os Christi, studeat vnusquisque vestrum, vt sua cotidiana oracio in se sumat effectum cum orat, Ne auferas de ore meo verbum veritatis vsquequaque. Non loquatur os vestrum opera hominum, vtpote hereses, blasphemias, mendacia de negociacionibus [et] venacionibus (suple vt eis intendatis), aut breuiter non loquatur de aliquibus inhonestis vt labia ori concordent. Impleat illud Psalmi prophetici, In labiis meis pronunciam omnia iudicia oris tui, Dei scilicet siue Christi. Et muta fiant in sacerdote labia dolosa que corde et corde locuti sunt decepciones in dolum proximi Christiani. Insuper vt lingua labiis et ori sit consona in se verificet illud Psalmi, Pronunciabit lingua mea eloquium tuum. Non adhereat lingua palato cum veritas sit dicenda, non sit labilis ad maledicendum aut verba detractoria proferendum. Sint necnon dentes tui sicut greges tonsarum, Canticorum 4, super quo dicit quidam postilla: Dentes tui (id est predicatores tui) sint puritate candidissimi, fortitudine ossei, iusticia ordinatissimi, constancia immobilissimi. Qui peccata redunt, scripturas conterunt; cibos verbi Dei in corpus ecclesie predicando dimittunt. Non moueantur dentes in nimia corrosione ciborum vt propter ingluuiem verbum Domini postponatur. Set verificetur in quolibet curato illud Osee 8: In gutture tuo sit tuba clangor,  inuitentur] imitentur. Probable error. Grosseteste has invitentur, but here there are too few minims. The scribe likely forgot one. 8



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the ears they enter into the hearer’s understanding, and from the understanding cross into the memory, and, concealed in the memory, are embraced by love. And thus the intended will of the speaker enters through the word into the consent of the one listening, and thus in a certain way the one speaking enters through the word as though through a medium into those listening.”16 So says Grosseteste. In this way to enter through the door is the first pastoral office, that is, to make known Christ’s virtue through persuasive words of knowledgeable preaching. And in a corresponding way it is proclaimed to curates to preach Christ. For it corresponds with nature that each member displays its own body. Now, moreover, according to the same theologian, in Dictum 35: “Shepherds (or curates) are the mouth of Christ, the lips of Christ, the tongue, teeth, and throat of Christ. Just as is clear from various places in Scripture, all of Christ’s tools capable of speech are compared to the body of Christ.” And he adds the reason: “So that they are invited to the office of preaching more perfectly and, if [they remain] silent, they are shown to be more gravely damnable.”17 Therefore I exhort you curates in the innermost part of Jesus Christ where you should consider yourselves to be his members, as the Apostle says in Corinthians 6 [1 Cor. 6:15],18 strive to make known the virtues of his members. If you are the mouth of Christ, let each one of you strive for truth, so that his daily prayer takes effect within him when he prays, Take not the word of truth out of my mouth utterly [Ps. 118:43]. Let your mouth not speak of the works of men—namely, heresies, blasphemies, lies about business ventures, [and] hunts (supply: as if you pay attention to them)—or, briefly, let it not speak about anything dishonest so that the lips may be in harmony with the mouth. Let them fulfill the words of the prophetic Psalm [118:13]: With my lips I have pronounced all the judgments of your mouth, that is, [the judgment] of God or of Christ. And may the deceitful lips be made mute in the priest [whose lips] have spoken with a double heart [Ps. 11:3] deceptions with ill will towards his Christian neighbor. In addition, so that the tongue may be harmonious with the lips and mouth, may [the words] of the Psalm be confirmed in it: My tongue shall pronounce thy word [Ps. 118:172]. Do not let the tongue stick to the palate when truth should be spoken, nor let it slip into evil-speaking or utter disparaging words. Nor let your teeth be as flocks of sheep (Canticles 4[:2]), on which a certain commentary says, “Let your teeth (that is, your preachers) be of the most shining white purity, of the strength of a bone, of the justice of the most well-ordered, of the constancy of the most steadfast. Those who narrate sins consume the Scriptures; they abandon the food of God’s word which should be preached in the body of the Church. Let their teeth not be moved in excessive gnawing of foods so that, because of gluttony, the word of God

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videlicet verbi Dei. Eructet verbum bonum non pro ebrietate siue ingluuie vomitum, quod si quodlibet istorum membrorum suum officium dictis modis compleuerit, tunc indubie verificatur illud dictum Apostoli, vbi supra: Pro inuicem sollicita sint membra, et si quid patitur vnum membrum compaciantur omnia membra siue gloriatur vnum membrum congaudeant omnia membra, et sequitur, Vos autem estis corpus Christi et membra de membro. In hiis itaque consistit primum officium pastorale. Secundum eius officium est vt faciat oues, id est populum suam, vocem audire. Set quomodo hoc faciet cum non sit in sua potestate? Dico certe secundum Lincolniensis quod oportet eum oracionem premittere vt Christus cuius voce9 predicat loquatur spiritualiter auribus mentium auditorum, quod si fecerit Christus, tunc vox predicatoris auditur per Christum. Et ad hoc quod ista oracio sit efficax duo alia sunt necessaria, videlicet sana doctrinacio | et exemplaris operacio, hoc est quod doceat sana et quod faciat opere quod docuit in sermone. Istud est quod dixi in diuisione, videlicet notas facite virtutes per verba persuasiue scientifice predicacionis et per facta ostensiua saluifice accionis. Sana enim doctrina est scientifica predicacio et facere secundum illam doctrinam est saluifica accio. Et in hiis duobus consistunt quartum et quintum officium curatorum, vt scilicet educant eas ab erroribus et peccatis per doctrinacionem scientificam et vadat ante eas per accionem saluificam quibus factis potest [facere]10 leniter tercium officium pastorale, quod est vocare eas nominatim. Hoc est, tu curate, cum aliquam personam tui populi perpendis delinquere, ipsum vocando nominatim secundum consilium Apostoli Thimotheo 4: Argue, obsecra, increpa. Argue leniter de peccati transgressione, obsecra dulciter pro eius dimissione, et increpa acriter pro eius continuacione, vt delinquens sic a suo auertatur errore. Sextum officium pastoris est suam animam, id est corporis vitam, pro ouibus ponere si opus fuerit. Nam secundum Lincolniensis, virtus minima melior est vita corporis, cuius racio est vita corporalis non est nisi viuificacio corporis ab anima. Set virtus est vita anime a Deo viuificate. Vnde dicit beatus Augustinus in De moribus ecclesie, libro 1, capitulo 23: Virtus ad beatam vitam nos ducit, ex quo sequitur quod beata vita sit finis virtutum. Sunt igitur virtutes notificande ab hiis que habent ex officio vitas humanas ducere ad hunc finem, cuiusmodi sunt pastores et curati quibus incumbit 9

 voce] vice  Verb is missing between potest and leniter.

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is neglected.”19 But let that [saying] of Hosea 8[:1] be made true in every curate: Let there be a trumpet in your throat, that is, the words of God. Let the good word belch forth, not vomit through drunkenness or gluttony, so that if each of these members were to fulfill its office in the said ways, then undoubtedly that word of the Apostle is made true, as above: The members might be mutually careful one for another, and if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it, or if one member glories, all the member rejoice with it [1 Cor. 12:25–26]. And it follows, Now you are the body of Christ, and members of member [12:27]. In these [duties], then, consists the first pastoral office. His second office is to make his sheep—that is, his own people—hear his voice. But how does he do this when it may not be in his power? I say certainly that, according to Grosseteste, it is necessary to make a prayer in advance so that Christ, through whose voice he preaches, speaks spiritually into the ears of the minds of the hearers, so that if Christ does it, then the voice of the preacher is heard through Christ.20 And so that this prayer may be effective, two other things are necessary: sound teaching and exemplary works, that is to say, that he teach sound things and that he does the work that he taught in his sermon. This is what I said in the division, namely, Make known the virtues through persuasive words of knowledgeable preaching and through manifest deeds of salvific action. For sound doctrine is knowledgeable preaching, and to act according to that doctrine is salvific action. And in these two things consist the fourth and fifth offices of curates, specifically that the curate should lead [his people] from errors and sins through knowledgeable doctrine and that he should go before them by means of salvific action. In these ways he can gently [perform] the third office, which is to call them by name. This is to say, you curate, when you carefully judge any person from among your people to be doing wrong, call him by name, according to the counsel of the Apostle (Timothy 4 [2 Tim. 4:2]): Reprove, entreat, rebuke. Reprove gently concerning the transgression of sin, entreat sweetly for its remission, and rebuke sharply against its continuation, so that the wrongdoer may be thus diverted from his errors. The sixth office of the shepherd is to lay down his soul, that is, the life of his body, for his sheep if there were need. For according to Grosseteste, “the least virtue is better than the life of the body.” His reason is that “the corporeal life is nothing other than making alive the body by the soul. But virtue is the life of the soul given life by God.”21 Whence blessed Augustine says in On the Customs of the Church, book 1, chapter 23: “Virtue leads us to the blessed life”22 since it follows that the blessed life is the end of virtues. Therefore, these are the virtues that should be made known by those who, according to their office, are obligated to lead human lives to this end, of which kind are

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sextiplex officium vt predixi. Cuius officii partes omnes reducuntur ad duo, videlicet ad predicacionem et ad operis exemplacionem. Verum quia non sufficit pastori siue curato solum predicando ducatum prebere, set oportet tam ante quam post predicacionem ea que predicat operibus exemplare. Ideo dicitur signanter in themate, Notas facite virtutes. Non dicit notate, posset enim quis notare virtutes per verba, set notas facere virtutes est ipsas notatas per verba, notificare per opera. Sic itaque notas facite virtutes, morales scilicet et theologicas. Morales inquam quia sunt directiue hominis quo ad proximum et seipsum; theologicas quia sunt perductiue hominis ad Deum. Morales equidem notificande virtutes sunt 4 cardinales, scilicet prudencia, temperancia, fortitudo, et iustiticia que dicuntur cardinales quia super ipsas quasi hostium super cardinem tota humana vita vertitur et versatur. Cuius racio est secundum Egidium De regimine principum, libro 1, parte secunda, capitulo 5, humana vita versatur principaliter circa raciones, operaciones, et passiones. Vnde omnis virtus (inquit) vel rectificat raciones vel equat operaciones vel temperat passiones. Temperat (inquit11) passiones ne nos impellant ad illud quod racio vetat vel nos retrahant ab illo quod racio dictat. Prudencia vero, que est recta racio agibilium, rectificat raciones. Iusticia que tribuit vnicuique quod suum est equat operaciones. Temperancia modificat passiones ne nos, vt predicitur, impellant ad id quod racio vetat. Fortitudo autem passiones modificat ne nos retrahant ab eo quod racio dictat. Hec Egidius. Perinde cum vita ista non possit duci sine operacionibus, racionibus, et passionibus, virtutes igitur morales quibus iste regulantur sunt necessarie viatori pro fine vltimo conueniendo. Et ad notificandum istas virtutes sicut et virtutes theologicas, que sunt fides, spes, et caritas, sunt 4 regule in natura. Prima est ista: solum bonum amandum est. Secunda est hec: Omne malum est fugiendum. Tercia est ista negatiua: Non omne bonum est equaliter diligendum. Quarta est ista similiter negatiua: Non omne malum equaliter est odiendum set quodlibet secundum gradum sue malicie. Ex prima regula et secunda notificatur prudencia quia qui amat solum bonum et odit omne malum est naturaliter circumspectus in discernendis bonis et malis, illis eligendis et istis fugiendis, et in istis consistit virtus prudencie. Ex tercia regula habetur noticia temperancie quia qui amat quodlibet bonum secundum gradum bonitatis sue maius bonum minori bono  inquit] inquam

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shepherds and curates to whom this sixfold office pertains, as I said before. All parts of their office lead to two things: preaching and exemplary works. But because it does not suffice for the shepherd or curate to provide leadership by preaching alone, it is necessary both before and after preaching to be an example in works of those things which he preaches. Therefore, it is said significantly in the theme, Make known the virtues. It does not say, “note,” for anyone can note the virtues by word, but “to make known” the virtues is to make known through works that which is made known through words. So thus make known the virtues, namely, the moral and theological ones. I say moral because [these virtues] are man’s directives as far as concerns his neighbor and himself; theological because these are man’s guides to God. Indeed, the moral virtues that should be made known are the cardinal virtues—prudence, temperance, fortitude, and justice—which are called cardinal because all human life is turned and maneuvered on those like a doorway on a hinge (cardinem). The reason is, according to Egidius [Giles of Rome], in On the Regime of Princes, book 1, second part, chapter 5, because human life principally turns on reasons, works, and passions: “Whence every virtue either makes reasons right or works level, or it tempers passions. It tempers passions lest they impel us to that which reason prohibits or draw us back from that which reason dictates. But prudence, which is right reason for conduct, governs reasons. Justice, which attributes to each what is his, makes works level. Temperance modifies the passions lest they impel us, as was said, to that which reason prohibits. But fortitude modifies the passions lest they draw us back from that which reason dictates.”23 So says Egidius. Likewise, since this life cannot be led without works, reasons, and passions, therefore the moral virtues, by which these are ruled, are necessary to the pilgrim in order for him to reach his final end. And to make known these virtues, as also the theological virtues (which are faith, hope, and charity), there are four rules in nature. The first is this: only a good thing should be loved. The second is this: every bad thing should be shunned. The third is this negative one: not every good thing should be loved equally. The fourth is this one, similarly negative: not every bad thing should be hated equally but each according to the degree of its wickedness. From the first rule and the second, we know prudence, because he who loves only a good thing and hates every bad thing is naturally circumspect in discerning good and bad, in choosing the former and shunning the latter: and in these consists the virtue of prudence. From the third rule we know temperance, because he who loves each good thing according to its degree of goodness places a greater good before a lesser good and consequently sets rational

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­ reponit et per consequens motus racionales anteponit motibus sensitiuis, et p per idem carnales et terrenas affecciones spiritalibus et celestibus desideriis postponit que sunt precipua opera temperancie. Ex quarta regula noscitur fortitudo quia qui odit quodlibet malum secundum gradum sue malicie de racione magis odiret culpam quam penam cum culpa peior sit; immo pocius eligeret sustinere penam quam in casu quocumque perpetrare culpam. Et per idem pateret sibi quod cicius esset tollendum malum communitatis quam singularis persone, que sunt opera fortitudinis. Et tercia regula eciam habetur noticia iusticie quia in illa continetur quod equale bonum est equaliter diligendum. Cum ergo proximus sit equale bonum, videtur quod quilibet suum proximum debet | equaliter diligere vt seipsum. Et per consequens deberet velle fieri suo proximo in omnibus velut sibi. Set a natura sibi vellet equitatem fieri, eandem ergo suo proximo fieri debet velle. Quod est opus precipium iusticie. Patent ergo regule naturales notificandi tam virtutes ethicas seu morales. Quinimmo ex eisdem regulis sequitur notificacio virtutum theologicarum in quibus tota vita hominis consummatur, quia, vt predixeram, sunt perductiue hominis ad Deum. Verum quia ex tercia regula satis notificatur caritas siue in tercia regula sit contentum quod quodlibet bonum est amandum secundum gradum bonitatis sue, constat quod summum bonum est summe amandum et equale bonum equaliter. Cum ergo Deus sit summum bonum et proximus bonum equale, vt predicitur, patet euidenter quod Deus est super omnia diligendus et proximus equaliter qui duo actus dileccionis sunt precipua opera caritatis. Necnon caritatem istam fides et spes racionabiliter comitantur, quia cum in ordinato amore sint mutua beneuolencia, summe creditur et operatur quod, cum quis amet Deum super omnia, quod Deus vult reciprocam amanti beneuolenciam, et cum Deus non amet nisi summe, speratur et creditur quod amanti se rependit perfectissimam amiciciam que est conuiuere cum amico et sic causantur fides et spes. Et sic ex istis regulis ­instruimur in virtutibus moralibus nos regendi quo ad proximum et virtutibus theologicis quo ad Deum per caritatem, ipsi firmiter inherendi per amorem quod est ipso frui et per fidem in presenti et spem sui amoris reciproci cum ipso eternaliter conuiuendi. Quod nobis concedat, etc.



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impulses before sensible impulses, and in the same way places carnal and earthly affections after spiritual and celestial desires: which are the particular works of temperance. From the fourth rule we know fortitude because he who hates anything evil according to the degree of its wickedness reasonably hates the offense more than the penalty since the offense may be worse; indeed, in any situation he prefers to suffer the penalty rather than perpetrate the offense. And in the same way it should be clear to him that he should prefer to take away an evil from the [entire] community more quickly than from a single person: which are the works of fortitude. And the third rule is also the knowledge of justice because in that it is held that an equal good should be equally loved. Therefore, because a neighbor may be an equal good, it seems that each person should love his neighbor equally as himself. And consequently he should be willing that his neighbor be treated in all things just as himself. But naturally he wishes justice to be done to himself; therefore, he should wish the same to be done to his neighbor. That is the special work of justice. So these are clearly the natural rules for making known both the ethical or moral virtues. Indeed, from the same rules the knowledge of the theological virtues follows, in which all of man’s life is brought to perfection, because, as I said before, they are man’s guides to God. But because from the third rule we can fully know charity, or it is implicit in the third rule that each good thing should be loved according to its degree of goodness, it stands that the highest good should be loved in the highest degree and an equal good equally. Therefore, because God is the highest good and our neighbor the equal good, as was said, it appears clearly that God should be loved above all things and our neighbor equally; these two acts of love are the particular works of charity. And indeed faith and love reasonably accompany this charity because, when mutual kindnesses are regulated by love, [love] is believed and performed in the highest degree, so that when anyone loves God above all things, God wishes a reciprocal kindness for his lover, and because God loves nothing but the highest thing, we hope and believe that he gives himself in return to the lover in the most perfect friendship, which is to live with his friend, and thus this produces faith and hope. And so by these rules we are instructed in the moral virtues to rule ourselves as far as our neighbor is concerned and in the theological virtues as far as God is concerned through charity, by holding fast to him firmly through love so that he is enjoyed, and, through faith in the present and hope of his reciprocal love, to live with him eternally. That to us it may be granted, etc.

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Sermo in die Pasche

Antithemata Pascha nostrum immolatus est Christus (Cor. 5). De duplice immolacione seu oblacione legitur in scriptura, est enim oblacio corporalis et oblacio spiritualis. Oblacio corporalis est de corporalibus de qua dicetur posterius. Oblacio spiritualis secundum processum scripture sit tripliciter: aut laudando aut magnificando aut benedicendo. Que triplex oblacio fuisset in statu innocencie in quo statu homo laudasset Deum pro beneficio creacionis; magnificasset Deum pro beneficio sue largissime donacionis, nam magnificare est aliquem de magnis donis commendare; tercio benedixisset Deum pro beneficio sue ab inimicis conseruacionis. Si enim prime temptacioni diabolice restitisset, diabolus, obstante preseruacione diuina per bonos angelos ei, numquam posterius nocuisset. Quod autem benediccio sit proprie a malis preseruacio dicetur statim. Dictam triplicem oblacionem debet quilibet homo et precipue Christianus Deo suo offere. Debet enim primo Deum laudare nedum pro beneficio sue creacionis, verum eciam recreacionis. Vbi enim homo se gratis perdidit et quasi adnichilauit per peccatum, Deus de sua misericordia ipsum redemit et graciosissime recreauit. Debet secundo ipsum magnificare de suis donis liberalibus tam nature quam gracie quam fortune que homini confert nedum in gracia verum in mortali existenti, que enim dicta dona occupare permittet vt per illa, quasi per instrumenta media, se emendet. Debet tercio ipsum benedicere quia per sue benediccionis potenciam eciam in crimine et potestate diaboli existentem hominem ab execucione diabolice malicie preseruat et defendit. Quod autem benedicere sit a malis defendere, dicit Crisostomus, Operis inperfecti, omelia 21, prope finem: Causa (inquit) sanctificatarum escarum hec est quonium totus mundus in maligno positus est, ergo et omnis res corporalis quem mundi pars est in maligno est posita, et ipsam propterea sanctificari consequenter et infantes quando nascuntur. Et ipsi quantum ad carnem in maligno positi sunt quoniam omnis caro quasi pars mundi in maligno posita est, propter quod necesse est offerri pueros vt assidue fiat benediccio super eos. Hec Crisostomus.

First Sermon for Easter (RY35) Theme: Christ our pasch is sacrificed (1 Cor. 5:7). Protheme Christ our pasch is sacrificed (Cor. 5) [1 Cor. 5:7]. We read in Scripture about a twofold sacrifice or offering, for it is a bodily offering and a spiritual offering. The bodily offering is from material things, and it will be discussed later. The spiritual offering, according to the development of Scripture, may be threefold, either by praising, or by magnifying, or by blessing. This was the threefold offering in a state of innocence, the state in which man praised God for the blessing of creation; he magnified God for the blessing of his most lavish gift, for to magnify is to commend someone for his great gifts; thirdly, he blessed God for his blessing of protection from his enemies. For if he had stood firm against the first diabolical temptation, the devil, hindered by divine protection by means of the good angels, never could have harmed him. But I will discuss presently the fact that the blessing may be a special protection from evil. Each person, and especially each Christian, should offer this threefold offering to his God. For he should first praise God, not only for the blessing of his creation, but also for his re-creation. For when man freely lost himself and annihilated himself, so to speak, through sin, God from his mercy redeemed him and most graciously recreated him. Secondly, he should magnify [God] for his generous gifts of nature and of grace and of fortune, which [God] confers on man not only in grace but also when he is in a state of mortal sin; for [God] allows him to take possession of the gifts that he permits him to take possession of so that, through their use, as though through the use of tools, [man] might emend himself. Thirdly, a man should bless [God] because, through the power of [God’s] blessing, he preserves and defends man, even when he is in sin and the devil’s control, from the working of diabolical malice. Moreover, that a blessing may be a defense from evil, Chrysostom says in Opus imperfectum, homily 21, near the end: “The reason for sanctifying what we eat is because all the world is set in wickedness [1 John 5:19]; therefore every material thing which is part of the world is also set in wickedness, and so consequently it should be sanctified, as also infants when they are born. And these, in so far as their flesh is concerned, were set in wickedness, because all flesh, being part of the world so to speak, was set in wickedness; because of this it is necessary for children to be offered [to God] so that a blessing may continually be on them.”1 So says Chrysostom.

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Latin Text (RY35)

Ex quibus patet quod benediccio vel santificacio que sunt idem fiunt ad defendendum a maligno. Que benediccio sit per verba et per signa, per verba signancia sanctissimam Trinitatem vel Christum vt in nomine | Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti vel in nomine Iesu Christi vel in aliis verbis equipollentibus. Signum vero benediccionis in lege veteri fuit thau; in nouo autem lege fit crux in nominibus antedictis. Set si hic queratur quare benedicimus Deum cum nichil mali possit ei accidere, dicitur quod ei benediccionem attribuimus quia ipse principaliter benedicit et nos nisi ministerialiter in nomine ipsius. Vnde dicit Crisostomus, vbi supra: Non (inquit) sacerdos manum imponit, set Christus in cuius nomine manus imponitur. Et cum laus sit nomen generale tam ad magnificacionem quam ad benediccionem, ideo quilibet impleat preceptum prophete, Psalmo 49, Immola Deo sacrificium laudis, ipsum magnificando et benedicendo ipsum, specialiter orando vt nos et sermonem nostrum benedicat et michi bene dicere concedat. Sermo primus pasche Pascha nostrum, etc. Hoc nomen pascha dicitur a phase quod est transitus vel immolacio secundum Bedam vel dicitur a patyn quod est passio secundum Ambrosius. Ita quod pascha idem est transitus, immolacio, vel passio, et quocumque istorum modorum sumatur, satis pertinet ad presentis sermonis propositum. Vlterius est sciendum quod legitur in scriptura specialiter festum pasche fuisse in loco triplici celebratum: primo scilicet in Egipto in Ramasse, Exodi 12, vbi eciam fuit primo institutum et primum et precipuum festum Iudeorum. De cuius institucione dicetur posterius. Secundo in deserto in Syna, Numeros 9. Tercio in terra promissionis in Galgalo, Iosue 5. Hec triplex celebracio pasche figura erat triplicis pasche iam in ecclesia celebrati. Primum pascha celebratum in Egipto post quod exierunt filii Israel de Egipto signat pascha celebratum a cena domini vsque diem resurreccionis dominice. Secundum pascha celebratum in transitu per desertum in Syna signat sollemp­ nitatem paschalem a die resurreccionis vsque festum Ascencionis. Tercium pascha celebratum in terra promissionis in Galgala signat transitum de hoc mundo ad Patrem et leticiam perpetuam in terra viuencium, scilicet in celo.



English Translation (RY35)

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These points make clear that a blessing or sanctification (which are the same) is given to defend from evil. This blessing may be given by words and by signs—by words signifying the most holy Trinity or Christ or in the name of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit or in the name of Jesus Christ or in any equivalent words. To be sure a sign of blessing in the old law was “thau”2; however, in the new law it becomes a cross in the names of those just mentioned. But if you ask here why we bless God when nothing bad can happen to him, we say that we bestow on him a blessing because he chiefly blesses and we only do so ministerially in his name. Therefore, Chrysostom says (see above): “The priest does not impose his hand, but Christ [does], in whose name the hand is imposed.”3 And since praise is a general name both for magnifying and for blessing, let each one therefore fulfill the command of the prophet (Psalm 49[:14]): Offer to God a sacrifice of praise by magnifying him and blessing him, especially by praying so that he may bless us and our sermon and grant to me to speak well. The first sermon for Easter Our pasch, etc. This name “pasch” comes from “Passover,” which is a passing over or a sacrifice according to Bede,4 or it comes from “patyn,” which is “a passion” according to Ambrose.5 So that the same “pasch” is a passing, a sacrifice, or a passion, and whichever of these ways we accept, it fully applies to the plan of the present sermon. In addition, know that we read in Scripture that the feast of the pasch was specifically celebrated in three places: first in Egypt in Ramesse (Exodus 12), where it was also first instituted and was the first and foremost feast for the Jews. I will discuss this institution later. Secondly, in the desert of Sinai (Numbers 9[:1–5]). Thirdly, in the promised land in Galgala (Joshua 5[:11]). This threefold celebration of the pasch was a figure of the threefold pasch now celebrated in church. The first pasch celebrated in Egypt, after which the children of Israel went out from Egypt, signifies the pasch celebrated from the Lord’s Supper until the day of the Lord’s Resurrection. The second pasch celebrated in the crossing of the desert in Sinai signifies the paschal solemnity from the day of the Resurrection until the feast of the Ascension. The third pasch celebrated in the promised land of Galgala signifies the passing from this world to the Father and the perpetual joy in the land of the living, that is, in heaven.

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Divisio principalis Hiis primitus intellectis notari possunt tria in verbis thematis pro processu: primo innuitur in verbis thematis inicium bone conuersacionis, et hoc in figura primi paschatis et in veritate correspondente. Secundo intelligitur cursus et forma bone vite et virtuose operacionis in figura secundi pasche et euis veritate. Tercio exprimitur tam bone vite quam operacionis virtuose nedum inicium et cursus, immo eciam consummacionem Christo; scilicet immo et in toto themate cum dicitur pascha nostrum immolatus est Christus et precipue in tercio paschate notatur ipsa consummacio et in Christo. Inicium bone conuersacionis notatum in primo pascha est in memoria dominice passionis et per virtutem sacramentorum in transitu de peccatis et nequicia. Secundo cursus et forma bone vite et virtuose operacionis que notantur in secundo paschate est per impleccionem decalogi in iusticia. Et tercio bone vite et virtuose operacionis nedum inicium, cursus, et forma, set et consummacio notata in Christo, immo et in toto themate, et in tercio pascha erit tandem in terra viuencium in perpetua leticia. Hec materia collacionis. [Primum principale]

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Dico primo quod inicium bone conuersacionis notatum, etc. Istud probabitur per processum historie de celebracione et institucione primi paschatis. Vnde scribitur Exodi in processu quomodo populus Israeliticus quondam detinebatur in Egipto per reges euisdem quibus commune nomen erat Pharao, in maxima miseria laboris corporalis, in operacione seu operibus luti et lateris, in tantum quod teduit eis vite, nec potuerunt more progenitorum suorum laudes domino et sacrificia immolare. Quibus deuote ad Deum pro misericordia clamantibus, tandem Dominus miseratus misit seruos suos, Moysen et Aaron, qui fuerunt de stirpe Israelitica, ad Pharaonem precipiens ei vt populum suum dimitteret, et subdit causam et ad quid, vt (inquit) sacrificent michi in deserto. Set Pharao non obstantibus multis signis et prodigiis coram ipso per Moysen et Aaron in nomine Domini factis et ostensis, eciam cum multis plagis tam populo quam pecudibus et fructibus terre contingentibus, | noluit dimittere populum nisi in manu forti. Quando tamen huiusmodi plage sibi



English Translation (RY35)

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The principal division For understanding these first points, we can note for the development three things in the words of the theme. First, the beginning of a good way of living is implied in the words of the theme, and this [is implied] in the figure of the first pasch and its corresponding truth. Secondly, a course or plan of a good life and of virtuous activity is understood in the figure of the second pasch and its truth. Thirdly, not only are the beginning and the course both of the good life and of virtuous activity represented, but also the consummation in Christ; indeed, this consummation in Christ is also noted in the entire theme, when it is said, Christ our pasch is sacrificed, and especially in the third pasch. The beginning of a good way of living noted in the first pasch, in memory of the Lord’s Passion and through the power of the sacraments, consists in the passing over from sin and wickedness. Secondly, the course and plan of a good life and virtuous activity, which are noted in the second pasch, consist in fulfilling the Ten Commandments in justice. And thirdly, not only the beginning, the course, and the plan of the good life and of virtuous activity, but also the consummation is noted in Christ, indeed also in the entire theme, and the third pasch will finally be in the land of the living in perpetual joy. This [is] the material of the collation. [First principal part] I say first that the beginning of a good way of living is to be noted, etc. This will be proven by the development of the story about the celebration and institution of the first pasch. Thus it is written in the development of Exodus how the Israelite people once were detained in Egypt by its kings (whose common name was Pharaoh), in great distress by manual labor, in making clay and bricks, so much so that it wearied them of life, nor could they offer praise and sacrifice to their Lord in the custom of their forefathers. When they had cried out devoutly to God for mercy, finally the Lord, feeling pity, sent two servants, Moses and Aaron, who were from the Israelite race, to Pharaoh ordering him to let their people go, and [God] supplies the cause and to what end: [S]o that they may sacrifice to me in the desert [Ex. 10:6]. But Pharaoh, notwithstanding many signs and portents done and shown before him by Moses and Aaron in the name of the Lord, as well as many plagues smiting the people and the sheep and the fruits of the earth, was unwilling to let the people go except by strong force. Yet when plagues of this sort touched his relatives, when also

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propinquis contingebant,1 quando eciam populus fecit sibi instanciam, tunc simulauit se velle dimittere populum. Set cessantibus plagis eos retinuit sicut prius, nec dimisit donec tandem Dominus in quadam nocte misit angelum suum et interfecit omnem primogenitum in terra Egipti ab homine vsque ad pecus, qua plaga accidente compulerunt Egipcii populum Israeliticum exire. Set in vespere precedente precepit eis Dominus immolare agnum et assatum comedere et sanguinem eius spergere super vtrumque postem et [in] superliminiaribus hostiorum, quo sanguine viso angelus percussor primogenitorum Egipti pertransiret et primogenitis in domibus sanguine aspersis parceret et agno commesto inciperent exire de Egipto. Qui transitus angeli per Egiptum et commestio agni forent eis memoriale perpetuum sui transitus de Egipto, vnde singulis annis posterius comederent talem agnum et celebrarent posterius festum azimorum 7 diebus, que commestio agni et celebracio azimorum vocabatur festum pasche quod nos iam in veritate celebramus. Et exeuntes filii Israel de Ramasse in nocte in mane eiusdem noctis transierunt per mare rubrum sicco pede in desertum quos persequens Pharao cum suis in mari miserabiliter est submersus. Spiritualiter ad propositum partis diuisionis, iste populus Israeliticus notat genus humanum, nam Israel interpretatur videns Deum. Genus enim humanum ad hoc creabatur: ad videndum et fruendum Deo. Quod genus fuit in Egipto que interpretatur tenebra. Fuit (inquam) in tenebris peccatorum et detentum miseria et labore peccati per Pharaonem, id est diabolum, longo tempore. Et bene vocatur diabolus Pharao propter interpretacionem huius nominis Pharao quod interpretatur nudauit virum vel dissipauit virum vel negans eum. Que tria bene competunt diabolo qui nudari fecit virum, id est genus humanum, spirituali veste innocencie, gracie, et virtutum, et dissipari fecit dominio paradisi, immo et toto suo dominio naturali. Eciam dicitur negans eum quia in peccando negauit, eciam negare fecit genus humanum Dominum Deum suum. Iste Pharao nec propter predicacionem prophetarum nec propter plagas nec propter signa in genera humano contingencia voluit ipsum dimittere vt meritorie sacrificaret Domino Deo suo nisi in manu forti, donec scilicet forcior illo superuenit, scilicet Iesus Christus qui spolia dirupit diabolica et reuestiuit genus humanum vestimento gracie. Immo et Deus Pater reuestiuit genus humanum veste innocencie in domino Iesu Christo et restituit in ipso et per ipsum humano 1

 contingebant] contingebat



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the people made an earnest supplication to him, then he pretended that he was willing to let the people go. But after the plagues had ceased, he held them back as before, nor would he let them go until finally the Lord, on a certain night, sent his angel and killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from man to sheep. This plague having befallen [them], the Egyptians compelled the Israelite people to leave. But during the preceding evening, the Lord instructed them to sacrifice a lamb and to eat it roasted and to sprinkle its blood on both the doorposts and on the lintels of the doorways. When seeing this blood, the angel striking down the firstborn of the Egyptians should pass over and spare the firstborn in the houses sprinkled with blood and, after they had eaten the lamb, they would begin to leave Egypt. This passover of the angel through Egypt and the eating of the lamb would be for them a perpetual memorial of their passover from Egypt. So every year after that they would eat such a lamb and celebrate the feast of the unleavened bread for seven days. This eating of the lamb and celebration of unleavened bread is called the feast of pasch, which we now celebrate in truth. And those children of Israel escaping from Ramesse during the night, in the morning of this same night, passed through the Red Sea dry-shod into the desert, and Pharaoh pursuing them with his own people was miserably drowned in the sea. Spiritually, for the purpose of this division’s part, the Israelite people signify the human race, for Israel means “the one who sees God.”6 For the human race was created for this: to see and to delight in God. That race was in Egypt, which means “darkness.”7 It was (I say) in the darkness of sins and detained in wretchedness and the labor of sin by Pharaoh—that is, the devil—for a long time. And the devil is well called Pharaoh because this name “Pharaoh” means “he stripped a man” or “he overthrew a man” or “the one who denies him.”8 These three meanings well apply to the devil, who stripped a man (that is, the human race) of the spiritual garment of innocence, grace, and virtue. And he caused the dominion of paradise to be overthrown, and indeed every part of his natural dominion. It also means “the one who denies him” because in sinning he denied, and he made the human race deny the Lord their God. This Pharaoh, notwithstanding the teaching of the prophets or the plagues or the signs happening among the human race, was unwilling to let it go so that it could sacrifice with merit to the Lord its God unless [he were to face] violent force, until, that is, one stronger than he arrived—namely, Jesus Christ—who divided the devil from his spoils and re-clothed the human race in the garment of grace. Indeed, God the Father also re-clothed the human race in the garment of innocence in the Lord Jesus Christ and restored in Christ, and by means of him to the human race, the full

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generi titulum plenum dominii naturalis. Et misit Pater ipsum Christum, angelum consilii, ad interficiendum primogenita Egipti, id est peccati, scilicet genera mortium, nam mors fuit primogenitum peccati. Quando enim Dominus prohibuit primis parentibus esum fructus ligni sciencie boni et mali, imprecatus est eis mortem nedum corporis set eciam anime per peccatum si sue prohibicioni contrairent, que contraicio primo et principaliter est peccatum ex quo oritur pena mortis. Ideo mors bene dicitur primogenitum peccati. Et quot fuerunt in principio genera peccatorum, fuerunt et sunt genera mortium. Ista primogenita occidit Christus per mortem suam, nam mors mortem superauit, et dicit Osee propheta de morte Christi: O mors (scilicet peccati) ero (scilicet per mortem meam) mors tua (id est destruccio tua) meis (videlicet in electis). Ego enim sum ille vere agnus occisus quem vetus agnus paschalis figurauit, et sicut mortuo et commesto illo agno populus Israeliticus exiit de Egipto per mare rubrum, sic per meam mortem et per mei corporis commestionem et per sacramenta mea baptismi et penitencie transiet de peccato. Et hoc est pascha nostrum, scilicet mei et meorum, per illud vetus pascha figuratum. Aliter potest dicta historia applicari ad | quemlibet peccatorem, ita quod per populum Israeliticum intelligatur homo peccator presertim in mortali peccato cuius potencia et sensus naturales vocantur populus spiritualis secundum Lincolniensis, Dicti 7, vbi comparat corpus hominis ciuitati vel castro cuius ciues sunt sensus et potencie antedicte. Iste populus tenetur spiritualiter in Egipto in miseria et labore, scilicet in peccato, et eius labore ac miserima seruitute per Pharaonem pro cuius intellectu notandum secundum sentenciam beati Augustini, 12 De Trinitate, capitulo 19 de paruis et 8 de magnis, vbi deducit quomodo primi parentes inciderunt in peccatum per temptacionem diaboli in specie serpentis, ostendit consimilem modum incidendi in peccatum in quolibet peccatore. Ponit (inquam) primo in homine partem seu porcionem duplicem racionis, scilicet porcionem superiorem que intendit celestibus et vocatur vir, et porcionem inferiorem que intendit corpori gubernando et vocatur et mulier. Et sicut fuit inter Adam et Euam coniugium corporale, sic est inter istas duas coniugium spirituale. Non enim possunt pro ista vita separari quia ratio non potest continue contemplari diuina, set oportet quod interdum vacet corpori regulando. Quando tamen pro locis et temporibus oportunis omittit suum officium superius et nimis excercet suum officium inferius, tunc peccat vel incidit in peccatum. Et ista inferior porcio racionis, vel illa potencia racionalis, vocatur a quibusdam voluntas seu appetitus rationalis que voluntas vocatur domina in regno anime.



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claim to his natural dominion. And the Father sent this Christ, the angel of counsel, to kill the firstborn of Egypt, that is, [the firstborn] of sin, that is, the kinds of deaths, for death was the firstborn of sin. For when the Lord prohibited the first parents from eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he called down upon them death not only of the body but also of the soul if they opposed his prohibition through sin. This first opposition is the first and principal sin, from which the penalty of death arises. Therefore, death is well called the firstborn of sin. And as there were in the beginning many kinds of sins, so there were and are many types of deaths. Christ killed these firstborn through his death, for death conquered death, and the prophet Hosea says about Christ’s death [13:14]: O death (namely, of sin) I will be (through my death) your death (that is, your destruction) for my own (among the elect). “For I am the true lamb slaughtered whom the old paschal lamb prefigured, and just as after that lamb was dead and eaten, the Israelite people went out from Egypt through the Red Sea, so through my death and the eating of my body and through my sacraments of baptism and penance, [the human race] passes over from sin. And this is our pasch, namely mine and my people’s, prefigured through the old pasch.”9 In another way this story can be applied to each sinner, so that by the Israelite people we understand man the sinner, especially when in mortal sin; man’s power and natural senses are called spiritual people according to Grosseteste, Dictum 7, where he compares man’s body to a city or castle whose citizens are the senses and aforementioned powers.10 This people is held spiritually in Egypt in wretchedness and labor—that is, in sin—and their labor and wretched servitude [is] by means of Pharaoh. For the understanding of this we should note, according to the interpretation of blessed Augustine, in book 12 of On the Trinity, chapter 19 from the small [chapters] and [chapter] 8 from the large [chapters]11—where he deduces how the first parents fell into sin through the temptation of the devil in the form of a serpent—[that] he reveals a similar way of falling into sin by each sinner. He posits (I say) first in man a twofold part or portion of reason, namely, the superior portion which attends to heaven and is called “man,” and an inferior portion which attends to governing the body and is called “woman.” And just as there was a material marriage between Adam and Eve, so there is a spiritual marriage between these two. For they cannot be separated for this life because reason cannot continuously contemplate divine things, but it is necessary that sometimes it be free from that to regulate the body.12 Yet when at opportune places and times the superior part omits his office and the inferior part over-exercises her office, then one sins or falls into sin. And this inferior portion of reason, or that rational power, is called by some the will or rational appetite, and this will is called the lady in the kingdom of the soul.13 Indeed, man has a

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Tercium vero in homine est illa potencia quam habet commune cum bestiis, scilicet sensualitas vel alio nomine voluntas seu appetitus carnalis cum qua miscetur luxus seu mala concupiscencia que vocatur fomes peccati, que est tanquam venenum serpentis et comparatur in temptacione hominis serpenti. Vnde dicta sensualitas cum illo fomite siue luxu incitat inferiorem partem racionis quasi mulierem ad peccandum que deuicta excitat superiorem partem racionis tamquam virum, quo consenciente totus homo cum toto suo populo spirituali, id est potenciis et sensibus anime antedictis, peruertitur ad peccatum. Vnde illa sensualitas siue voluntas carnalis cum dicto fomite consenciens peccato auaricie bene vocatur spiritus auaricie seu cupiditatis, et consenciens luxurie et sic de aliis peccatiis. Et potest vocari spiritualiter Pharao qui detinet dictum populum vel omnes alios suos fautores et complices in peccatis. Iste Pharao denudit virum, id est superiorem partem racionis, veste gracie; dissipat eum a titulo dominii naturalis sibi per Christum restituti; facit ipsum peccando Deum suum negare. Quando enim quis peccat mortaliter, negat Deum suum. Eciam iste, scilicet spiritus alicuius peccati in ipso, per consuetudinem induratus, non vult dimittere dictum populum ad immolandum dignum sacrificium laudis Domino Deo suo nisi in manu forti vel donec primogenita Egipti sint occisa. Quotquot enim plagas infirmitatum, pestilenciarum, guerrarum vel quorumque aliorum infortunorum huiusmodus auarus vel peccator alius obduratus viderit in populo sibi extrinseco, non tamen vult dimittere peccatum suum nisi forsan, cum Pharaone, fingat se velle dimittere peccatum ad instanciam populi sibi conquerentis vel propter plagas suis propinquis imminentes. Constat enim secundum seriem historie quod Pharao ad instanciam sui populi per varias plagas afflicti finxit se velle dimittere populum antedictum, sic nonnulli auari et luxuriosi, videntes penitenciam populi peccatoris pro suis peccatis in quadragesima, fingunt se velle relinquere sua peccata. Set Pharao plagis cessantibus persecutus est populum sicut prius. Sic reuera multi spiritualiter pharaones in quadragesima, scilicet in tempore penitencie, finxerunt se velle sacrificare spiritualiter Domino Deo suo set iam transactus penitencie plagis persequ[u]ntur diuinum populum amplius quam perante. Et consimiliter contingit quando accidit in sibi propinquis, id est in suorum corporum propriorum potenciis aliqua grauis infirmitatis plaga, tunc cum Pharaone vocant Moysen et Aaron, id est Domini sacerdotes, et dicunt, peccauimus, et deinceps persecucionem diuini populi dimittere volumus. Set recedente egritudinis plaga statim peiores quam prius. Immo populum, id est multitudinem | suorum dudum complicum iam de Egipto et peccato per



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third power which he has in common with beasts, namely, sensuality or, by another name, the will or carnal appetite. With this [will] mingles excess or wicked desire, which is called the fuel of sin, which is like the poison of a serpent, and we compare it to the serpent in the temptation of man. Thus the mentioned sensuality with its fuel or excess incites the inferior part of reason to sin—the woman so to speak, who, when she has been conquered, excites the superior part of reason, the husband so to speak, by whose consent the entire person with all his spiritual people, that is to say, his powers and senses of the soul mentioned before, is corrupted by sin.14 When it consents to the sin of avarice, this sensuality or carnal will, with its mentioned fuel, is therefore aptly called the spirit of avarice or greed, and when it consents to lust, [it is the spirit of lust], and so on for all the other sins. And it can be called spiritually “Pharaoh,” who detains the said people or all of their other partisans and accomplices in sins. This Pharaoh strips a man, that is, the superior part of reason, of the garment of grace; he overthrows him from his claim to his natural dominion restored to him by Christ; he makes him by sinning to deny his God. For when anyone sins mortally, he denies his God. Also this one—namely, the spirit of any sin in him—hardened through habit, is unwilling to let go of the mentioned people so that they can offer a worthy sacrifice of praise to their Lord God, except by strong force or until the firstborn of Egypt are killed. For however many plagues of sicknesses, pestilences, wars, or other kinds of misfortunes the miser or any hardened sinner may have seen among the people outside of himself, he is still unwilling to let go of his sin—unless perhaps, along with Pharaoh, he pretends that he is willing to let go of sin at the earnest supplication of the people conquered by him or because of plagues threatening his relatives. For it is clear that, according to the sequence of the story, Pharaoh, at the earnest supplication of his people afflicted by various plagues, pretended that he was willing to let go of the aforementioned people; similarly, some greedy and lustful people, seeing the penance undertaken during Lent by sinful people for their sins, pretend that they are willing to give up their own sins. But when the plagues had ceased, Pharaoh persecuted the people as before. Thus indeed, many spiritual Pharaohs during Lent, specifically during the time of penance, pretended that they were willing to sacrifice spiritually to their Lord God, but now, having performed the plagues of penance, they persecute the divine people more than before. And similarly it happens when any plague of grave infirmity comes to pass for those near to them, that is, to the powers of their own bodies, then with Pharaoh they call Moses and Aaron, that is, the Lord’s priests, and say, “We have sinned, and we are willing from now on to stop persecuting the divine people.” But when the plague of sickness recedes, immediately [they are] worse than before. Indeed, they persecute spiritually and continuously the people, that is, the multitude of their former accomplices now departed out of Egypt and sin through the Red

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mare rubrum, scilicet penitenciam, egressum cum suo populo, scilicet cum suis potenciis et viribus spiritualiter et continue persequ[u]ntur vt eas ad seruitutem Egipciacam reducant. Set ipse tandem Pharao, id est obduratus peccato, in mari rubro, scilicet in inferno, cum suo populo est submersus. Et notandum quod mare rubrum aliquando accipitur pro penitencia propter amaritudinem per quam notatur contricio, et propter spumam per quam notatur confessio per quam peccatum euomitur quasi spuma, et propter pisces per quos notatur satisfaccio quia piscis satisfaciunt restauracioni nature. Aliquando notat baptismum propter vim aque maris que est multum purgatiua. Aliquando notat infernum propter turbulenciam et profunditatem. Sic (inquam) obstinati peccatores se emendare nolentes in profundum inferni demergentur. Quod si se emendare noluerunt propter minas alicuius pene temporalie \nisi/ saltem se emendent propter minas pene infernalis que indubie incomparabiliter maior erit quam alia pena erit vel esse poterit citra illam. Quo licet probari possit per raciones et auctoritates, tamen propter simplices euadetur per vnam narracionem. Narratur enim de sancto Machario quomodo incedens per viam inuenit capud cuiusdam mortui. Volens ergo forsan inspiratus cognoscere quomodo valeret anima illius cuius fuerat ipsum capud, tandem orando impetrauit a Deo quod hoc sciret, et audiuit vocem sibi dicentem quod illud fuit capud cuiusdam pagani interfecti. Cui Macharius: Quomodo (inquit) vales et vbi est anima tua? Respondit: In inferno in pena ignis, et si (inquit) excogitare potes quantum est maior distancia inter celum et terram, qua est distancia inter istud capud et te, tanto (inquit) maior est calor ignis in quo anima mea est quam est calor cuiuscumque ignis extra infernum. Cui Macharius: Est ne aliquis (inquit) inferior te in pena? Immo (inquit) Iudei qui nouerunt legem Dei et Christi presentis miracula non credentes set ipsum contempnentes et crucifigi inuide conspirantes sunt in pena ignis infra me sicut comparacio distancie quam predixi. Et adhuc in tanta pena in comparacione ad Iudeas sunt pheudo2 Christiani qui credentes in Christo scienter et ex consuetudine mala viuunt. Sicut sunt Iudei in comparacione ad penam meam, vnde vt mali Christiani vitent penam istam. Certe oportet spiritualiter interficere omne primogenitum sue terre Egipti, scilicet suorum corporum peccancium, que primogenita dicuntur prima peccata que procedunt de suis spiritibus peccantibus, vt verbi gracia, de spiritu auaricie 2

 pheudo] i.e. feudo



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Sea—that is, through penance—along with their own people—that is, with their powers and strengths—so that they lead them back into Egyptian slavery. But finally this Pharaoh—that is to say, hardened sin—is submerged with his people in the Red Sea—that is, in hell. And note that the Red Sea is sometimes taken for penance because of the bitterness, by which we understand contrition; and because of the spume, by which we understand confession, through which sin is vomited out like spume; and because of the fish, by which we understand satisfaction, because fish make amends to restore nature. Sometimes it denotes baptism because of the force of the sea’s water, which is very cleansing. Sometimes it denotes hell because of the turbulence and depth. Thus (I say) stubborn sinners unwilling to make amends for themselves are plunged into the depth of hell. So if they are unwilling to make amends for themselves because of threats of any temporal pain, at least they should make amends for themselves because of threats of infernal pain, which will undoubtedly be incomparably greater than any pain will or can be outside [of hell]. Although I can prove this by means of reasons and authorities, yet for the simple people I will avoid that by means of one story. For it is told that Saint Macharius, when walking along the way, found the head of a certain dead man.15 Therefore, wishing—perhaps inspired—to know how the soul of this man whose head this was was getting on, finally, by praying, he was granted to know this by God, and he heard a voice speaking to him, saying that this was the head of a certain pagan who was killed. Macharius said to him, “How do you get on and where is your soul?” He responded, “In hell in the pain of fire, and if you can conceive how great the distance is between heaven and earth, which is the distance between this head and you, by that much greater is the heat of the fire in which my soul is than the heat of any fire outside of hell.” Macharius said to him, “Is there anyone lower than you in pain?” “Indeed,” he said, “the Jews who knew God’s law and who, not believing the miracles of Christ in person but who out of envy condemned him and conspired for him to be crucified, are in the pain of fire lower than I am, just as the comparison of the distance which I said before. And in even greater pain in comparison to the Jews are Christians in feudal service who, believing in Christ, knowingly and from habit live wickedly. Just as the Jews are in comparison to my pain, so the wicked Christians seek to escape that pain.” Certainly it is necessary spiritually to kill every firstborn child of the land of Egypt, that is, of their sinning bodies. The first sins that come forth from their sinning spirits are called these firstborn children, so that, for example, lies, oaths, false words, and this sort of thing come forth in speech from the spirit of avarice. Indeed, false

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p­ rocedunt in locucione mendacia, periuria, ficta verba, et huiusmodi. In opere vero procedunt false mensure, falsa pondera, falsa mercimonia, extorsiones, furta, rapina, et huiusmodi species cupiditatis. Et consimiliter procedunt huiusmodi primogenita de peccatis luxurie, gule, superbie, et omnium aliorum capitalium peccatorum. Hec primogenita oportet primo occidere et mortificare; deinde oportet celebrare pascha in Ramasse quod interpretatur commocio turbulenta vel corrosio tinee vel amaricans. Et bene notat peccatum mortale quod commouet, turbat, et amaricat, id est amaram facit conscienciam et ipsam corrodit sicut tinea vestem. Constat quod tinea est modica vermis et latenter corrodit vestem, cuius tamen corrosio in processu temporis patenter est visa. Hec tinea moraliter notat peccatum latens in consciencia quod latenter ipsam corrodit et vestem, scilicit virtutem anime consumit. Que corrosio aut in confessione sacramentali aut in iudicio coram Deo et omnibus creaturis racionabilibus probabitur ad confusionem perpetuam consciencie corrose. Et idem huiusmodi consciencia consideret amaritudinem, corrosionem, et maliciam peccati et celebret pascha, id est transitum de peccato in consciencia, scilicet vt habeat propositum transeundi de Ramasse per immolacionem, occisionem, commestionem agni, et aspersionem sanguinis agni super vtrumque | postem, id est vt sit memoria passionis, de qua dicetur infra, in anima, et stigmata passionis in corpore, et in sup[er]liminiare domus, id est in superiore parte racionis. Transeat eciam de peccato per sacramentum penitencie que, vt constat, habet tres partes, scilicet contricionem, confessionem, satisfaccionem. Contricio notatur in dolore mortis agni, quia non est maior dolor quam in morte. Confessio notatur in effusione sanguinis, nam sicut sanguis in prima effusione est calidus, sic confessio est calida per ostensionem contricionis intrinsece et rubia per pudorem seu verecundiam que est magna pars penitencie. Satisfaccio innuitur in hoc quod filii Israel in hiis factis preceptum Moysi et Aaron in omnibus impleuerunt, sic et peccator satisfacit si in omnibus obtemperet sui imperio confessoris. Immo et hoc sacramentum penitencie per mare rubrum, vt predicitur, figuratur. Per quod eciam mare rubrum, vt supradictum, est notatur baptismus per quem quilibet homo natus in peccato primo et principaliter transit de Egipto, id est de tenebra originalis peccati et sic in desertum fidei Christiane que bene vocatur desertum quia per illum transit homo de infidelitate ad fidelitatem omnes pompas diaboli deserendo. Vnde de istis duobus sacramentis, scilicet baptismo et penitencia, dicit Innocentius in libello suo De officiis: Sicut (inquit) ecclesia per batismum transiit de infidelitate ad fidelitatem, sic et anima peccatoris per penitenciam transiit de viciis ad virtutes. Omnia ista



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measures, false weights, false goods, extortions, thefts, robbery, and the kinds of greed of this sort come forth in work. And similarly from the sins of lust, gluttony, pride, and all the other capital sins the firstborn of these kinds come forth. It is necessary first to kill and mortify these firstborn children; then it is necessary to celebrate the pasch in Ramesse [see Ex. 12:37–39], which is interpreted as “turbulent commotion” or “the gnawing of the moth” or “embittering.”16 And it denotes well mortal sin, which disturbs, agitates, and embitters, that is to say, causes a bitter conscience, and gnaws away at it as the moth [does] at a garment. Everyone knows that a moth is a tiny maggot and secretly gnaws away at a garment, yet over the course of time this gnawing away is openly visible. This moth morally signifies sin concealed in the conscience which secretly gnaws away at it and consumes the garment, that is, the virtue of the soul. This gnawing away will be tested either in sacramental confession or in the Judgment before God and all rational creatures to the perpetual ruin of the gnawed conscience. And likewise the conscience of this kind should consider the bitterness, corrosion, and malice of sin and should celebrate the pasch, that is, the passover from sin in the conscience, so that it may intend to pass over from Ramesse by means of the sacrifice, killing, eating of the lamb, and the sprinkling of the blood of the lamb on both doorposts, that is, so that the memory of the Passion, which will be discussed below, may be in the soul, and the stigmata of the Passion in the body and on the lintels of the house, that is, in the superior part of reason. It also passes over from sin through the sacrament of penance, which, as everyone knows, has three parts: contrition, confession, satisfaction. Contrition is signified by the sorrow of the death of the lamb, because there is no greater sorrow than in death. Confession is signified by the shedding of blood, for as blood in its first shedding is hot, so confession is hot through the revealing of inward contrition and red through the shame or embarrassment which is a large part of penance. Satisfaction is implied because, as the children of Israel in these deeds fulfilled all of the instructions of Moses and Aaron, so also the sinner makes satisfaction if he obeys in all things the direction of his confessor. Indeed, this sacrament of penance is also prefigured by the Red Sea, as was said before. By that Red Sea, as mentioned above, we also understand baptism, by means of which each person born in sin first and principally passes over from Egypt, that is, from the darkness of original sin, and thus into the desert of Christian faith, which is well called a desert because a person passes by means of it from infidelity to fidelity by forsaking all the retinue of the devil. So concerning these two sacraments, namely, baptism and penance, Innocent says in his little book De officiis: “Just as by means of baptism the Church passes over from infidelity to fidelity, so also the soul of the sinner passes over from vices to virtues by means of penance.”17 All these prefigurations in the story mentioned before are now made

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prefigurata in historia antedicta iam verificantur in primo paschate in ecclesia celebrato in quo, vt constat, ecclesia de immolacione, occisione, sanguinis effusione, et vera commestione agni immaculati, scilicet Iesu Christi, de baptismo, de penitencia fecit celebrem mencionem et in quo realiter verus populus transit spiritualiter de Egipto. Et hoc est quod dixi principaliter quod inicium bone conuersacionis notatum, etc. Secundum principale Dixi secundo principaliter quod cursus et forma bone vite et virtuose operacionis que notantur in secundo paschate celebrato in Syna sunt per implecionem decalogi in iusticia. Quia non sufficit declinare a mala nisi eciam fiat bonum precipiente propheta: Declina a malo et fac bonum. Ideo non sufficit per se inicium bone vite nisi eciam sequatur bonum opus cum continuacione. In cuius signum filii Israel transeuntes de Egipto non leguntur ad illam redisse; sic peccator transiens, vt premittitur, de peccato non debet ad illud redire, set dietam suam per 40 annos cum filiis Israel in deserto, scilicet totam vitam suam deserendo peccatum continuare. Et bene notatur cursus vite humane per numerum quadragenarium quia in illo numero consecramus tempus penitencie pro peccato in qua penitencia quia cotidie peccamus debemus transcurrere vitam nostram. Item ad continuandum cursum vite nostre sine peccato saltem mortali, habemus exemplum in sacramento baptismi in quo caracterem inuisibilem eciam indelibilem in anima \impressam/ [est]. Et sicut est de caractere impresso in pellem animalis, quod caracter continue manet durante pelle, licet quandoque cooperiatur per superfluitatem capillorum, et ostendit quod illud animal est illius cuius est caracter. Sin autem est inanis respectu illius cuius est caracter, si animal non sit suum. Sic est de caractere baptismali: erit semper indelebilis licet pili, id est superflua viciorum, supercreuerint, et denotat hominem caracterem habentem esse Christi, quod si non fuerit homo Christi, tunc \non/ suus caracter est. Ideo ad hoc quod signum correspondeat rei, oportet quod sicut caracter continue manet, sic et maneat res caracteris, scilicet gracia baptismalis. Ceterum exemplum pro continuacione cursus bone vite habemus in morte et resurreccione Christi qui semel mortuus resurrexit numquam vlterus moriturus. Sic et nos nedum semel set nimis sepe prothdolor mortui in peccato, iam per penitenciam resurgentes non de cetero moriamur in peccato.



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true in the first pasch celebrated in church, during which, as everyone knows, the Church speaks often of the sacrifice, the killing, the shedding of blood, and the eating of the true immaculate lamb (namely, Jesus Christ), of baptism, of penance, and during which the true people in reality pass over spiritually from Egypt. And this is what I said principally that the beginning of a good way of living is to be noted, etc. Second principal part I said for the second principal part that the course and plan of a good life and of virtuous activity, which are signified in the second pasch celebrated in Sinai, are by means of the fulfilling of the Ten Commandments in justice. For it is not enough to turn away from evil unless we also do good, as the prophet preaches: Decline from evil and do good [Ps. 36:27]. Therefore, the beginning of the good life is not sufficient in itself unless good works also follow continuously. In a sign of this we do not read that the children of Israel passing over from Egypt returned there; thus the sinner passing over from sin, as I said before, should not return to it, but should continue his regimen for forty years with the children of Israel in the desert—that is, through his entire life—by rejecting sin. And the course of human life is well signified by the number forty because in that number we recognize as holy the time of penance for sin, in which penance we should be through all of our life, since we sin daily. Likewise, for continuing the course of our life without sin, at least mortal, we have an example in the sacrament of baptism, during which an invisible and indelible brand was imprinted on the soul. And as it is concerning the imprinted brand in the hide of an animal—that the brand remains continually by enduring in the hide, although now and then it is covered by an abundance of hair, and shows that this animal belongs to the one whose brand it has, but if, on the contrary, it does not have this brand, then the animal may not be that person’s—so it is concerning the baptismal brand: it will always be indelible although the hair (that is, the abundance of vices) grows over, and it indicates that a person who has this brand is Christ’s, so that if he were not one of Christ’s people, then he would not have his brand. So to the extent that a sign corresponds to a thing, it is necessary that, as the brand remains continually, so also the thing represented by that brand remains, that is, the baptismal grace. Moreover, we have an example for the continuation of the course of a good life in the death and resurrection of Christ, who, having died a single time, rose never to die again. So also we, [who are] not only once but sadly excessively often dead in sin, now rising again through penance should not die again in sin.

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Iste (inquam) cursus bone vite debet esse cum bona operacione nam in natura non est bene esse sine bene agere. Que operacio siue quod agere est in implecione decalogi in iusticia, quod notatur in secundo pascha celebrato in Syna vbi filii Israel receperunt decalogum per quem postquam | exiuerant de Egipto ducerent vitas ad beneplacitum Dei sui. Sina interpretatur mensura siue vulnus eius—set constant quod mensura est pocior pars iusticie—in signum quod nos, post nostrum exitum de peccato, debemus spiritualiter celebrare transitum vite nostre in iusticia et implecione decalogi cum memoria vulnerum eius, scilicet Iesu Christi, et hoc per 40 annos, id est per totum tempus vite nostre. Perinde dicto pasche tipice celebrato correspondet veritas pasche nostri presentis. Nam sicut in illo transitu 40 annorum per desertum fuerunt filii Israel in leticia pro liberacione sua ab Egipto et in spe proueniendi ad terram promissionis, sic et ecclesia iam post exitum de peccato est in leticia spirituali et in spe proueniendi ad celum, id est terram viuencium bene viuentibus repromissam. Insuper in isto paschate habemus veram euidenciam implendi decalogum in iusticia diuina, scilicet que, secundum glossam super capitulum Apostoli Romanos 5, vocatur bona vita cum fide et bonis operibus, quia in isto pascha sunt 40 dies, videlicet a die resurreccionis vsque diem dominice ascencionis in quibus diebus fit continue de paschali festo mentio specialis. Set constat quod in 40 sunt quatuor 10 per que 10 notatur decalogus qui debet multiplicari per 4 quia debet impleri per 4 partes anni per quas currit vita humana et in 4 complexionibus corporis in quibus consistunt vires corporales in signum quod decalogus debet continue et cum omnibus viribus adimplere. Ad cuius implecionem adhuc in isto festo habemus euidenciam planiorem. In isto enim festo accipimus corpus Christi in eucharistia. Accipimus (inquam) Christum non tamquam hospitem set tamquam amicum specialissimum. Set secundum Philosophum, amici propter virtutem semper appetunt conuiuere, sic igitur accipimus siue accipere debemus vt ei continue conuiuamus. Quod si sit amicus noster, tunc pro quanto est noster amicus, pro tanto eum diligimus. Set quare diligimus amicum? Aut certe propter suam bonitatem aut propter beneficia aut propter dona. Si diligimus Christum propter suam bonitatem, quante bonum ipsum cognoscimus, tante ipsum diligimus. Set cognoscimus ipsum esse meliorem quacumque creatura propter vnionem ypostaticam; ideoque ipsum diligimus supra omnem creaturam et sic super omnia. Si ipsum diligimus propter beneficia, plus bene fecit nobis nos creando, recreando, conseruando, et quasi innumera beneficia faciendo que nec nos ipsi nec alia creatura possumus nobis facere, et sic propter beneficia debemus ipsum diligere super omnem creaturam.



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This course (I say) of a good life should be [joined] with good activity, for in nature there is no being well without acting well. This activity, or that which should be done, is in the fulfilling of the Ten Commandments in justice, which is noted in the second pasch celebrated in Sinai where the children of Israel received the Ten Commandments, by which, after they left Egypt, they led lives to please their God. Sinai means “moderation” or “its wound”18—but everyone knows that moderation is the better part of justice—in a sign that, after our exodus from sin, we should spiritually celebrate the passing over of our life in justice and the fulfilling of the Ten Commandments, along with the memory of his wounds—namely, Jesus Christ’s— and this for forty years, that is, through all the time of our life. Likewise, the said pasch figuratively celebrated corresponds to the truth of our present pasch. For just as in that passage of forty years through the desert, the children of Israel were in joy for their liberation from Egypt and in hope of coming to the promised land, so also the Church now, after the exodus from sin, is in spiritual joy and in hope of coming to heaven, that is, to the promised land of the living for those who lived well. In addition, in this pasch we have true evidence of fulfilling the Ten Commandments in divine justice, that is (according to the gloss on the chapter of the Apostle, Romans 5[:21]), in what is called the good life with faith and good works,19 because there are forty days in this pasch, that is, from the day of the Resurrection until the day of the Lord’s Ascension, during which days special mention is continually made of the paschal feast. But everyone knows that in forty there are four tens; this ten signifies the Ten Commandments, which should be multiplied by four because they should be fulfilled throughout the four parts of the year through which human life moves and in the four complexions of the body in which the bodily powers consist, in a sign that the Ten Commandments should be carried out continuously and with all [one’s] powers. We have in this feast still clearer evidence for fulfilling the Ten Commandments. For in this feast we receive the body of Christ in the Eucharist. We receive (I say) Christ not as a guest but as a most special friend. But according to the Philosopher, because of virtue friends always desire to feast together,20 so we therefore receive or ought to receive [Christ] so that we can feast with him continuously. Because if he is our friend, for as much as he is our friend, by that much we love him. But why do we love a friend? Surely for his goodness, or for his favors, or for his gifts. If we love Christ for his goodness, by however much we learn of this good, by that much we love him. But we learn that he is better than any creature whatever because of the hypostatic union; therefore, we love him above every creature and thus above all things. If we love him for his favors, he did more for us by creating, re-creating, and protecting us, and, as it were, by doing innumerable favors which neither we ourselves nor any creature can do for us, and thus because of his favors, we should love

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Si tercio ipsum diligere debemus propter dona, nonne seipsum donum optimum in suo venerabili sacramento nobis realiter donauit? Set quante est donum suum bonum, tante est a nobis diligendus. Igitur super omnia diligendus. Vlterius vera amicicia exigit quod illud quod amicus meus diligit virtuose, illud idem si possim debeo tantum diligere. Set constat michi quod Christus tante diligit proximum meum sicut me, quia fecit eadem meo proximo que et michi, et sic debeo diligere meum proximum vt meipsum. Sic itaque diligam Deum super omnia et meum proximum vt me ipsum. Quod est primum mandatum. Insuper si diligo aliquem, meo debito nichil dico vel facio quod sibi displicere possit. Si ergo diligo Deum super omnia, non capio nomen eius in vanum quod est secundum mandatum. Et tercio impleo quod michi precipit, set precipit sanctificare suum sabbatum, immo et honorare patrem et matrem. Immo in isto festo habemus planam euidenciam sanctificare sabbatum, tum primo quia istud festum fuit in quo sanctificacio diei dominice inoleuit; tum secundo quia istud festum propter virtutem sacramentorum in ipso institutorum festo cetera antecellit; tum tercio quia in isto festo sumus dante Domino extra peccatum mortale et requiescimus in gracia cessantes ab operibus maxime seruilibus, scilicet peccatis; tum quarto quia in isto festo de sabatismo perpetuo memoramus. Sicut enim Christus post 40 dies resurreccionis ascendit in celum, sic et nos pertransito cursu vite qui in hoc festo notatur, vt premissum est, pertransito (inquam) ad verum exemplar huius festi, ad celum | finaliter ascendemus. Quinimmo si diligo proximum vt me ipsum, nichil sibi facio quod nollem michi fieri, et sic non noceo sibi in persona propria perhibendo de ipso falsum testimonium nec ipsum occidendo aut corporaliter ledendo nec ipsi noceo in rebus suis aut vxorem suam adulterando aut bona sua furando, immo nec vxorem euis, seruum, ancillam, bouem, aut aliam rem euis iniuste concupiscendo. Ex quibus omnibus satis patet quod in debita accepcione Christi in eucharistia quem accipimus in hoc festo, habemus planam euidenciam de implendo decalogum in iusticia. Et hoc est quod dixi secundo principaliter, scilicet quod cursus et forma bone vite et viruose operacionis, etc. Tercium principale Dixi tercio principaliter quod tam bone vite quam operacionis virtuose inicium et cursus verum eciam consummacio notatur in tercio pascha. De consummacione omnium figurarum veteris testamenti in Christo, presertim omnium



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him above every creature. If, thirdly, we should love him for his gifts, did he not give himself to us as the best gift in this venerable sacrament? But by however much his gift is good, by that much it should be loved by us. Therefore, it should be loved over all things. In addition, true friendship requires that that which my friend loves virtuously, that same thing, if I can, I should love greatly. But it seems to me that Christ loves my neighbor as much as he loves me, because he does the same for my neighbor that [he does] also for me, and so I should love my neighbor as myself. So therefore I should love God over all things and my neighbor as myself. That is the first commandment. In addition, if I love anyone, it is my duty not to say or do anything that can displease him. So if I love God over all things, I do not take his name in vain, which is the second commandment. And thirdly, I fulfill that which he preaches to me, and he preaches to sanctify his Sabbath, indeed also to honor father and mother. Indeed, on this feast we have clear evidence that we should sanctify the Sabbath: first, because this feast was the first on which the sanctification of the Lord’s day was anointed; secondly, because by reason of the power of the sacraments instituted on this feast day, this feast surpasses the rest; thirdly, because on this feast we are, the Lord willing, without mortal sin, and we rest in grace, taking a break from excessively servile works; then fourthly, because on this feast we remember the everlasting Sabbath. For as Christ ascended into heaven forty days after the Resurrection, so also we, after passing through the course of life which is signified in this feast, as was said before, by passing over (I say) to the true paradigm of this feast, finally ascend to heaven. Furthermore, if I love my neighbor as myself, I do nothing to him or his wife by committing adultery or stealing his goods, nor by unjustly coveting his wife, his servant, his maidservant, his cattle, or any of his things. From all of which it is fully clear that in the reception of Christ in the Eucharist, which we receive during this feast, we have clear evidence for fulfulling the Ten Commandments in justice. And this is what I said for the second principal part, namely, that the course and plan of the good life and virtuous activity, etc.

Third principal part I said for the third principal part that the beginning and the course and also the consummation of a good life and virtuous activity are noted in the third pasch. The consummation of all the figures of the Old Testament in Christ, particularly of all the offerings and sacrifices, is attested to by the gloss on the text of the Apostle to

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o­ blacionum et sacrificiorum, testatur glossa super textum Apostoli Hebreas 9 et 10 capitulis per processum. Omnis enim oblaccio aut fiebat de rebus animatis aut inanimatis, de rebus animatis vt de bobus et ouibus et huiusmodi, de rebus inanimatis vt de pane simulai et huiusmodi. Quod offerebatur de animatis sacrificium, de inanimatis oblaccio vocabatur, et vtrumque quandoque sacrificium quandoque oblaccio, dictum fuit. Vnde plerumque fiebat pro hostibus vincendis et vocatum fuit hostia; quandoque pro hostibus victis et dictam est victima; interdum pro pace et vocabatur pacifica hostia; aliquando pro salute et dicebatur hostia salutaris; aliquando pro peccato, et dicebatur hostia pro peccato. Item istarum hostiarum seu sacrificiorum quoddam totum intendebatur super altare et vocabatur holocaustum, id est totum incensum. Omnia ista sacrificia, oblacciones, seu hostie erat Christus sicut constat per singula discurrendo. Fuit enim hostia et victima vincendo diabolum, et dicitur victima quia vinctus ductus ad aram crucis, Matthei 26, Vincientes Iesum duxerunt eum. Fuit hostia pacifica quia per ipsum reconciliatum est Deo genus humanum, vnde Apostolus Colossenses 1: Conplacuit Deo Patri per eum (id est Christum) reconciliare omnia in ipso pacificans per sanguinem crucis eius. Fuit enim hostia salutaris, Romanos 5: Iustificati in sanguine ipsius salui erimus. Fuit eciam hostia pro peccato, Hebreos 9: Christus oblatus est semel ad multorum [ex] haurienda peccata. Et nedum fuit hostia, set et holocaustum, id est totus incensus in ara crucis igne acerbissime passionis in tantum vt quidam oppinantur quod dolor sue passionis excessit dolorem pene infernalis. Quod persuaderi potest duabus racionibus: quia sic tanta fuit pena separacionis anime Christi a suo corpore, quanta fuit dileccio vniens illa duo. Set illa dileccio fuit infinita quia eadem dileccio que vniebat deitatem cum humanitate, igitur pena separacionis, scilicet mortis Christi, videtur fuisse infinita, scilicet intensiue, set non tanta fuit nec est pena inferni, ergo, etc. Secunda racio et pocior est ista: tantum fuit precium solutum pro peccato, quantum fuit debitum peccati, quod debitum fuit pena inferni. Set precium solutum pro illo debito fuit passio Christi; ideo passio Christi fuit tanta sicut pena inferni. Set pena crudelissima tam in corpore quam in anima fuit Christus incensus, in corpore (inquam) quia secundum Prophetam: A planta pedis vsque ad verticem capitis, non erat in eo sanitas. Et quare? querit Bernardus. Quia (inquit) ab infimo gradu nature humane qui notatur per pedem vsque gradum summum, non erat in humano genero nisi in ipso solo et matre sua sanitas spiritualis. Quia igitur pro toto genere humano erat passurus, ideo in omnibus partibus sui corporis passus est.



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the Hebrews, chapter 9 and 10, by means of the development.21 For every offering is made from things either animate or inanimate: from things animate such as from bulls and sheep and things of this sort, [and] from things inanimate such as from bread of finest wheat flour and things of this sort. What was offered from animate things is called a sacrifice, from inanimate an offering, and both were sometimes called a sacrifice, sometimes an offering. Thus [this sacrifice] was commonly made for the sake of conquering an enemy, and it was called a host; sometimes for the sake of the conquered enemy, and it was called a victim; sometimes for peace, and it was called the peace-making host; other times for salvation, and it was called the host of salvation; other times for sin, and it was called the host for sin. Likewise sometimes all of these hosts or sacrifices were spread out on the altar, and this was called a holocaust, that is, “all burnt.” Christ was all these sacrifices, offerings, or hosts, just as it appears by going through each of them. For he was the host and victim by conquering the devil, and he is called the victim because when conquered, he was led to the altar of the cross (Matthew 26 [Mark 15:1]): Binding Jesus they led him away. He was the peacemaking host because through him the human race was reconciled to God, whence the Apostle [says] to the Colossians 1[:19–20]: It has well pleased God the Father through him (that is, Christ) to reconcile all things in himself, making peace through the blood of his cross. For he was the saving host (Romans 5[:9]): Being now justified by his blood we shall be saved. He was also the host for sin (Hebrews 9[:28]): Christ was offered once to exhaust the sins of many. And not only was he the host, but also the holocaust, that is, all burnt on the altar of the cross in the most bitter fire of the Passion—to such a great extent that some believe that the suffering of his Passion exceeded the suffering of infernal pain. This is persuasive for two reasons: because however great the pain was of the separation of Christ’s soul from his body, that great was the love uniting these two. But that love was infinite because it was the same love which united divinity with humanity, so the pain of separation—namely, the death of Christ—is seen to have been infinite, that is, excruciating; but the pain of hell was not nor is as great, therefore, etc. The second and better reason is this: however great the price was to unbind sin, that much was the debt for sin, which debt was the pains of hell. But the price to unbind that debt was Christ’s Passion; therefore, Christ’s Passion was as great as the pains of hell. But Christ was burned with the harshest pain both in body and in soul—in body (I say) because according to the Prophet: From the sole of the foot to the top of the head, there is no soundness therein [Isa. 1:6]. And why? asks Bernard. “Because (he says) from the lowest degree of human nature, which is noted by the foot, to the highest degree, there was no spiritual health in humankind except in [Christ] alone and in his mother. So because he had to suffer for the entire human race, so he suffered in all parts of his body.”22

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Paciebatur eciam in anima maximam passionem. Quis enim filius regis innocens, si in propria patria in loco publico coram notis et amicis et ab illis quibus multa et maxima fecit beneficia morti turpissime traderetur et cum hoc suam dilectissimam cerneret presentem et gladium cor maternum perforantem, non doleret? Nonne in hoc casu fuit Christus, filius Regis summi, quando pendebat in cruce astante sua matre cuius animam vidit in spiritu acerbissimi doloris gladium pertransire? | Sic (inquam) Christus fuit holocaustum, immo finis et consummacio omnium sacrificiorum factorum de rebus animatis in veteri testamento. Ceterum oblacio fiebat in lege veteri de rebus inanimatis et precipue de commestibilibus vtpote pane simula et huiusmodi. Istam oblacionem fecit se Christus quando ante passionem suam dedit suis dicipulis corpus suum in specie panis et vini. In qua materia queri solent communiter 4 questiones quarum prima: quare Christus dedit corpus suum ante passionem cum ecclesia illud communiter precipit post memoriam passionis? Secunda questio est: quare non dedit corpus suum comedendum in specie carnis sicut in sua propria specie sicut agnus paschalis ipsum figurans edebatur? Tercia: quare plus dedit corpus suum sub speciebus panis et vini quam sub aliis speciebus? Quarta: quare sub duabus speciebus cum Christus totus sub vna specie sit contentus? Ad istas questiones respondetur in glossa super illo textu Apostoli, Corintheos: similiter et calicem. Et primo ad primam sic quod Christus dedit corpus suum immediate post commestionem agni paschalis ad denotandum quod illa commestio figuralis cessaret et veritas illius figure, scilicet commestio sui corporis, succederet, et in signum cessante illo veteri pascha quod fuit cerimonia precipua in lege, cessarent et alie cerimonie et sacrificia legalia que vocabantur antiquum testamentum et inciperet nouum testamentum in morte Christi confirmandum. Vnde in dacione sui sanguinis in specie vini dixit Christus: Hic calix nouum testamentum est in meo sanguine. Set constat quod testamentum non confirmatur nisi in morte et fit ante mortem volens; igitur Christus, testamentum condere ante mortem et ipsum per mortem confirmare, legauit bona sua; immo dedit manibus propriis semet ipsum suis discipulis tamquam specialissimis amicis in nouo testamento ante mortem suam, quo testamento iam per mortem confirmato, ipsum legatum nobis omnibus Christianis accipimus post eius mortem et sue memoriam passionis. Ad secundam questionem dicitur quod dedit corpus suum sub alia specie et non in specie propria quia horror fuisset comedisse carnes crudas; immo prohibitum fuit in lege ad comedendum carnes cum sanguine. Item si ­dedisset



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He also suffered the greatest passion in his soul. For would any innocent son of a king not be afflicted if he were in his own country, delivered over to a most disgraceful death in a public place before acquaintances and friends and by those whom he gave many and great favors, and along with this he discerned his most beloved mother present and a sword piercing her heart? Was not Christ in this plight, the son of the highest King, when he hung on the cross with his mother standing by, whose soul he saw in spirit to be pierced through with the sword of the most bitter sorrow? Thus (I say) Christ was the holocaust, indeed the end and consummation of every sacrifice made of animate things in the Old Testament. Moreover, an offering was made in the old law of inanimate things and especially of eatable items, such as bread of finest wheat and that sort of thing. Christ made himself this offering when, before his Passion, he gave to his disciples his body in the kind of bread and wine. Four questions are commonly asked about this subject, the first of which is: Why did Christ give his body before the Passion when the Church commonly preaches about it after the memory of the Passion? The second question is: Why did he not give his body to eat in the kind of flesh as in his own kind, just as the paschal lamb was eaten which prefigures him? The third question: Why did he give his body under the kinds of bread and wine rather than under some other kinds? The fourth: Why under two kinds when Christ may be contained entirely under one kind? A response to these questions may be found in the gloss on that text of the Apostle, Corinthians 12 [1 Cor. 11:25]: Likewise also the chalice. And first to the first question, [we can answer] in this way: that Christ gave his body immediately after eating the paschal lamb to signify that that figural eating ended and the truth of that figure—that is, the eating of his body—took its place, and as a sign that, when that old pasch had ended, which was a special ceremony in the law, other ceremonies and legal sacrifices also ended, which are called the Old Testament, and the New Testament began, having been confirmed in Christ’s death.23 Thus in the giving of his blood in the kind of wine, Christ said, This chalice is the new testament in my blood [1 Cor. 11:25]. But everyone knows that a testament is not confirmed except in death and is made before death by a will; therefore, in order to establish his Testament before death and to confirm it by death, Christ bequeathed his goods; indeed, he gave himself with his own hands to his disciples as to his most special friends in the New Testament before his death, by which Testament—confirmed now by means of his death—we receive this legacy for all of us Christians after his death and the memory of his Passion. To the second question we say that he gave his body under another kind and not in his own kind because it would be a horror to have eaten raw flesh; indeed, it was prohibited in the law to eat flesh with blood. Likewise, if he had given himself in

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se in specie agni paschalis, tunc dedisset se occisum et assum et sic non fuisset sacrificium vite set mortis. Ad terciam questionem dicitur quod dedit se sub dictis speciebus duplici de causa, tum primo quia ille species similitudinem sui corporis et sanguinis eciam sue passionis maxime gerebant; tum secundo quia in lege nature ille summus sacerdos qui Christum figurabat panem et vinum optulit, vt patet Genesis 14, que omnes doctores asserunt prefigurasse corpus dominicum offerendum in specie panis et vini. Quantum ad primam causam primo est notandum quod granum frumenti figurat crucem Christi et sic passionem, in cuius memoriam precepit Christus suum corpus sumere in cuius tipum est in grano frumenti signum crucis. Secundo notandum quod in sacramento eucharistie est res signata et contenta et res signata et non contenta. Res signata et contenta est corpus Christi verum conpositum ex corpore et anima. Vnde sicut panis conficitur ex multis granis et vinum ex multis acinis, sic corpus Christi verum compositur ex multis membris et carne et sanguine. Panis enim pertinet ad carnem et sanguis ad animam quia, secundum phisicos, sanguis est sedes anime. Res signata et non contenta in eucharistia est corpus Christi misticum cuius Christus est capud, id est ecclesiam predestinatorum que bene figuratur in pane et vino. Sicut enim panis vt predicitur compositur ex multis granis, sic et ecclesia ex multis personis. Et comparatur vino quia per sanguinem Christi est redempta. Item panis et vinum habent similitudinem cum Christo passo. Granum enim antequam fiat panis conuertitur in simulam et cum aqua conspergitur et cum manibus et pugnis panificatur, et tunc in furno pistritur, and sic fit panis commestibilis. Similiter acini et vue | premuntur et sic fit vinum. Comformiter Christus fuit tritus et manibus et pugnis flagellatus, alapatus, spinis coronatus, lacrimis et sputo loco aque conspersus et tandem in furno crucis cum igne mortis pistus et sic panis spiritualis effectus. Eciam sanguis eius fuit violentissime expressus, et sic est spiritualis panis et vinum effectus. Quia igitur panis et vinum tam expressam gerunt similitudinem sue carnis et sui sanguinis, sui veri corporis, sue passionis et sui corporis mistici, id est ecclesie, pertinenter dedit suum corpus in speciebus panis et vini. Vnde in signum quod suum corpus verum et ecclesia cum sue passionis memoria sunt coniuncta et in signum vnitatis in tradendo suum corpus in sacramento dixit, Hoc facite in meam commemoracionem. Glossa: in memoriam passionis et mortis mee, vt sicut ego precessi, vos sequamini. Et per hec patet responsio ad quartam questionem: quod dedit corpus suum sub duplici specie ad denotandum quod nedum nobis et pro nobis



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the kind of the paschal lamb, then he would have given himself to be killed and roasted and would thus not be a sacrifice of life but of death. To the third question we say that he gave himself under the mentioned kinds for a twofold reason: first, because those kinds carry the greatest similitude to his body and blood and his Passion; then secondly, because in the law of nature the high priest, who prefigured Christ, offered bread and wine, as appears in Genesis 14[:18– 20], and all theologians assert that this prefigured the Lord’s body offered in the bread and wine. As far as the first reason is concerned, first, note that a grain of wheat typifies Christ’s cross and thus his Passion, in memory of which Christ taught [us] to take his body, whose type is the grain of wheat, as the sign of the cross. Secondly, note that in the sacrament of the Eucharist there is a thing signified and contained and a thing signified and not contained. The thing signified and contained is the body of Christ truly composed of body and soul. So just as bread is prepared from many grains and wine from many grapes, thus the true body of Christ is composed from many members both of flesh and blood. For bread pertains to the flesh and blood to the soul because, according to physicians, blood is the seat of the soul.24 The thing signified and not contained in the Eucharist is the mystical body of Christ of which Christ is the head, that is, the Church of the predestined, which is well typified in bread and wine. For just as bread is composed of many grains, as was said before, so also the Church is [composed of] many persons. And it is compared to wine because it was redeemed by means of the blood of Christ. Likewise bread and wine have a likeness to the suffering Christ. For before it becomes bread a grain is converted into finest wheat and is sprinkled with water and with hands and fists made into bread and then baked in the oven, and thus it becomes edible bread. Similarly berries and grapes are pressed and thus become wine. In like fashion Christ was worn out and with hands and fists scourged, slapped, crowned with thorns, sprinkled with tears and spit in place of water, and finally in the oven of the cross with the fire of death pounded and thus changed into spiritual bread.25 Also his blood was most violently squeezed out, and thus he was changed into spiritual bread and wine. Therefore, because bread and wine bear so clear a similitude to his flesh and his blood, to his true body, to the Passion, and to his mystical body (that is, the Church), it is appropriate that he gave his body in the kinds of bread and wine. So in a sign that his true body and the Church with the memory of his Passion are joined and in a sign of unity in giving his body in the sacrament, he said, Do this in memory of me [Luke 22:19; 1 Cor. 11:24]. The gloss [on this text]: In memory of my Passion and death, as I have gone before, you will follow.26 And these answers make clear the response to the fourth question: that he gave his body under the twofold kind to signify that he not only gave his flesh to us and

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carnem, set eciam sanguinem suum dedit, eciam ad implendum veritatem figurarum ipsum prius signancium que omnia prius cum sanguine fiebant vt patet in serie veteris testamenti. Et licet tam in anima quam in corpore paciebatur vt premittitur et incomparabiliter plus in anima quam in corpore, quia tamen figure passionis plus fuerunt in corporalibus quam in spiritualibus, ideo pocius attribuitur passio eius, immo et vnio eius apostatica,3 corporalibus quam spiritualibus. Et hinc videtur Iohannem dixisse, Verbum caro factum est. Non dixit verbum anima factum est licet anima fuerit dignior carne et pocius hoc dicenda. Set dixit verbum caro, scilicet corpus cum sanguine in quo est anima, et sic homo factum est, quasi diceret, verbum caro factum est que caro in passione lacerabitur et sanguis effundetur et in speciebus corporalibus carnem et sanguinem denotantibus fidelibus in Christo vnitis tradetur. Ex quibus omnibus satis liquet quod ex quo Christus in se et vnitas ecclesie et memoria dominice passionis in sacramento venerabili eucharistie concurrunt, oportet necessario quod digne suscipiens hoc venerabile sacramentum sit vnus cum Christo et ecclesia et quod habeat de passione in memoriam. Quod si capitis vniri Christo et ecclesie, facite iuxta consilium Apostoli, vbi thema: Expurgate vetus fermentum (scilicet peccati) vt sitis noua consparsio, que est pura simula conglutinata cum aqua sine fermento; hoc est, sitis spiritualiter noua creatura munda a peccato, conglutinati in massam vnam in vnitate ecclesie cum aqua penitencie lacrimarum et deuocionis, et tunc potestis vere dicere cum Apostolo: pascha nostrum, etc. Illi qui non sunt sic expurgati et Christo vniti possunt dicere pascha immolatus, etc., set non possunt dicere nostrum, etc., quia Christus non est pascha suum. Quo contra mundi et puri et Christo vniti possunt dicere pascha nostrum, etc. Et sic digne suscipientes eucharistiam, hec comoda consecuntur que recitat sanctus Thomas in compendio suo, libro 6, capitulo 5: Digne (inquit) suscipientes corpus Christi bonum multiplex consequetur: primum est Christi commemoratio, secundum interior vivificacio, tercium corporis Christi mistici incorporacio, quartum spiritualis refeccio—nam primum sacramentum, scilicet baptismus inesse gracie nos generat; secundum, scilicet confirmacio in eodem esse et proficere nos roborat; set tercium sacramentum, scilicet eucharistie, in dicto esse et proficere nos nutrit—quinto deuocionem augmentat; sexto fomitis mitigacio; septimo virtutum roboracio; octo venialium remissio; nono contra 3

 apostatica] i.e. [h]ypostatica



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for us, but he also gave his blood to fulfill the truth of the figures that previously signified him, which were all formerly made with blood, as it appears in sequence in the Old Testament. And although he suffered both in soul and in body, as was said earlier, and incomparably more in soul than in body, yet because the figures of the Passion were more in bodies than in spirits, therefore his Passion, indeed also his hypostatic union, is represented more in bodies than in spirits. And for this reason it seems that John had said, The word was made flesh [John 1:14]. He did not say the word was made soul, although the soul was more worthy than the flesh and more entitled to be called this. But he said, the word was made flesh (that is, the body with blood in which the soul is) and thus “became man,”27 as if to say, the word was made flesh, flesh that will be lacerated in the Passion, and the blood will be shed, and, in the bodily kinds denoting flesh and blood, it will be given to the faithful united in Christ. From all these [reasons] it is sufficiently proven that, because Christ in himself and the unity of the Church and the memory of the Lord’s Passion come together in the sacrament of the venerable Eucharist, it is necessary that the one receiving this venerable sacrament be worthily one with Christ and the Church and have the Passion in his memory. So that if you seek to be united with Christ and the Church, do according to the counsel of the Apostle (see the theme) [1 Cor. 5:7]: Purge out the old leaven (namely, of sin) that you may be a new paste, which is the pure wheat bound together with water without leaven; that is to say, be spiritually a new creature clean from sin, bound together in one mass in unity with the Church, with the water of the tears of penance and devotion, and then you can truly say with the Apostle: our pasch, etc. Those who are not thus purged and united with Christ can say “the sacrificial pasch,” etc., but cannot say our, etc., because Christ is not their pasch. On the other hand, the clean and pure and those united with Christ can say, our pasch, etc. And so for those worthily receiving the Eucharist, these benefits follow which St. Thomas recites in his compendium, book 6, chapter 528: For those worthily receiving the body of Christ numerous goods will follow: the first is a remembrance of Christ, the second an interior quickening, the third incorporation into the mystical body of Christ, the fourth a spiritual restoration—for the first sacrament (namely, baptism) gives us birth with the indwelling of grace; the second (namely, confirmation) strengthens us in being and progressing; but the third sacrament (namely, the Eucharist) nourishes us in said being and progressing—fifth, it increases devotion; sixth, the alleviation of the tinder [of sin]; seventh, the restoration of the virtues; eighth, the remission of venial sins; ninth, arming against the devil; tenth, the

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diabolum armacio; decimo amoris excitacio; vndecimo fidei commendacio; duodecimo angelica conuiuacio. Quo contra mala istis bonis opposita contingunt indigne suscipientibus, quia indigne suscipiens primo a se Christum et sic omnes virtutes gratuitas a se ignominiose expellit, et certe turpius est hospitem eicere quam non admittere. Secundo similitudinem Iude gerit qui cum Christo cenauit et ipsum tradidit. Tercio ordinem honestatis peruertit quia venturo reuerenciam exhibet, set presenti nullam, similis Iudeis qui cum ramis olmarum et laude Christo occurrerunt, quem tamen postea crucifigi clamauerunt. Vt igitur digne sumatur attendendum est ad modum edendi | veterem agnum paschalem quem Iudei edebant accinctus renibus et calciatis pedibus, habentes baculos in manibus et cum lactucis agrestibus festinanter. Sic moraliter edere debemus sacramentaliter corpus Christi: primo accinctis renibus ab omnibus illicitis concupiscenciis; secundo calciatis pedibus, id est vt omnes affeccionis nostre, que per pedes notantur, sint ab omnibus mundialibus cooperte sicut pedes cooperiuntur per calciamenta a sorde lutorum; tercio habentes baculos in manibus, id est robur et fortitudinem in operibus bonis vt scilicet quis apponat vires suas ad bene operandum; quarto cum lactucis agrestibus que sunt acerbe, id est cum contricione et acerbitate memorie passionis Christi; quinto festinanter vt videlicet non sit tedium in premissis, quod enim cito sit non ingerit tedium facienti. Sic itaque commesta eucharistia et bona vita cum bona operacione continuatis potest quilibet bene viuens dicere finaliter cum Christo, Consummatum est, in quo, vt predixi, est bone vite et bone operacionis consummacio in leticia quod figurabatur in tercio pascha celebrato in terra promissionis, in Galgala quod interpretatur reuelacio. Nam secundum Apostolum, Romanos 10: Finis legis Christus est ad iusticiam omni credenti quam iusticiam, et que ex lege est si fecerit homo, viuet in ea—super quo glossa: Christus adimplet in se et in nobis quod lex siue vetus siue noua predixit qui est dator iusticie, scilicet diuine, que vt supradicitur est ex fide, quam iusticiam si quis habuerit, viuet in ea vitam4 gracie in presenti et glorie in futuro. Ad quam, etc.

4

 vitam] vita



English Translation (RY35)

135

s­ tirring up of love; eleventh, the praise of faith; twelfth, the angelic banquet. On the other hand, to those who receive unworthily bad things happen contrary to these goods, because the one unworthily receiving first disgracefully expels Christ from himself and thus all gracious virtues, and certainly it is more disgraceful to cast out a guest than not to receive him [in the first place]. Secondly, he bears a likeness to Judas, who dined with Christ and betrayed him. Thirdly, he perverts the order of honesty because he reveres the one about to arrive but not the one present, similar to the Jews who ran to meet Christ with olive branches and praise, yet afterwards they cried for him to be crucified. Therefore, to receive him worthily, we should attend to that fashion of eating the old paschal lamb which the Jews ate hastily with girded loins and shoes on their feet, holding staffs in their hands and with bitter herbs [Ex. 12:8; Num. 9:11]. Thus morally we should eat the body of Christ sacramentally: first, with loins girded from all illicit desires; secondly, with shoes on our feet, that is, so that all our affections, which are signified by the feet, are covered from all worldly things, just as feet are covered by shoes from the filth of mud; thirdly, holding staffs in our hands, that is, purpose and strength in good works so that everyone applies his powers to doing well; fourthly, with wild lettuce, which is bitter, that is, with contrition and the bitterness of the memory of Christ’s Passion; fifthly, with haste so that the aforementioned activities do not get tedious, for what is done quickly does not become tedious for the one doing it. And thus when the Eucharist has been eaten and the good life with good activity continued, each one who lives well can say finally with Christ, It is finished [John 19:30], in whom, as I said before, is the consummation in joy of a good life and good activity, which is prefigured in the third pasch celebrated in the promised land, in Galgala, which means “revelation.”29 For according to the Apostle to the Romans 10[:4–5], Christ is the end of the law, for justice for all who believe, and the man who does that which is of the law shall live by it—on which the gloss [says]: Christ fulfills in himself and in us what the law, whether old or new, foretold, [Christ] who is the giver of justice—namely, divine—which, as is said above, is from faith.30 If anyone has this justice, he will live by it the life of grace in the present and of glory in the future. For which, etc.

Sermo primus rogacionibus

fol. 144r

Thimothe 2, Antithemata Obsecro oraciones fieri pro omnibus hominibus. Apostolus Paulus in epistola hodierna precipit generaliter oraciones fieri pro omnibus hominibus set specialiter pro regibus et pro illis qui in sublimitate sunt positi. Et quare pro illis specialiter sit orandum? Signat causam cum dicit, vt nos tranquillam vitam agamus, id est quietam a persecucione. Super quo dicit glossa quod apostolus amonuit orare specialiter pro regibus et pro potentibus afflatus eodem spiritu quo et Ieremias, qui misit epistolam Iudeis qui erant in Babilonia vt orarent pro vita regis Nabugednezer filiorumque eius et pro pace ciuitatis, quia in pace illorum erat pax vestra. Hoc, inquit glossa, figurabat ecclesiam in omnibus sanctis eius qui sunt ciues celestis Ierusalem regibus seruituram. Ideo apostolus monet eam pro eis orare vt quietam vitam agant vt per quietem illorum ecclesia quietetur. Nam secundum glossam, in pace principum quies et regimen seruatur ecclesiarum. Hec glossa. Moraliter ista ad presens propositum nostrum reducendo ecclesia moderna moratur in Babilone, id est in confusione quia miscentur boni cum malis sicut in Babilone, id est Iudei cum gentilibus miscebantur, eciam verisimiliter imminent discordie inter reges et sublimes. Set si bella oriantur, non dubium, vt dicit glossa, quin in bellis tranquillitas dissipatur,1 tepescit pietas, castitas violatur. Quin eciam timendum est quod non omnes in sublimitate positi sunt vere pacifici in seipsis, sicut nec nonnulli eorum filii et ministri quorum quidam non dubium sunt superbi, quidam auari, quidam inuidi, quidam gulosi, quidam luxuriosi. Ideo pro omnibus istis specialiter est orandum vt tranquillam vitam agant in omni pietate, id est cultu et religione diuina et castitate tam mentis quam corporis et integritate fidei Christiane. Hac de causa obsecro cum apostolo oraciones fieri pro omnibus hominibus generaliter et specialiter pro regibus et potentibus.

1

 dissipatur] dispiratur. Emended by consulting Glossa ordinaria.

First Sermon for Rogation Days (RY37) Theme: I desire that prayers be made for all men (1 Tim. 2:1). Protheme I desire that prayers be made for all men [1 Tim. 2:1]. The Apostle Paul in today’s epistle preaches that prayers should be made for all people generally, but especially for kings and those who are placed in high rank. And why should we pray for them especially? He specifies the reason when he says, so that we may lead our lives in tranquility [1 Tim. 2:2], that is, free from persecution. On this the gloss says that the Apostle advised [us] to pray especially for kings and those in power [because he was] inspired by that same spirit that also inspired Jeremiah, who sent a letter to the Jews who were in Babylon so that they would pray for the life of King Nabuchadnezzar and his sons and for the peace of the city, because in their peace was your peace [Jer. 29:7]. This, says the gloss, is a figure of the Church among all her saints, who are the citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem who will be served as kings.1 Therefore, the Apostle admonishes her to pray for them so that they may lead a peaceful life, so that by means of their peace the Church will have peace. For according to the gloss, in the peace of the leaders, the quiet and rule of the churches are protected. So says the gloss.2 By returning now to our point, morally speaking, the modern Church dwells in Babylon, that is, in confusion, because the good are mixed with the bad, just as in Babylon (that is, the Jews were mixed with the Gentiles), and similarly it is threatened by discords among kings and leaders. But if wars arise, no doubt, as the gloss says, in wars “tranquility is destroyed, piety cools, chastity is violated.”3 Moreover, we should fear that not all those who are placed in high rank are truly peaceful in themselves, nor are some of their sons and officers, some of whom are no doubt proud, some greedy, some envious, some gluttonous, some lustful. Therefore, for all these especially we should pray so that they will lead their lives tranquilly in all piety, that is, in worship and divine religion, and in chastity both of mind and of body and with the integrity of the Christian faith. For this reason I desire with the Apostle that prayers be made for all people generally and especially for kings and people in power.

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Latin Text (RY37)

Alia de causa obsecro oraciones fieri, etc., quia iam tempus est oportunum et iam est precipue oracio necessaria. Tempus (inquam) est oportunum quia hoc tempus instituitur ab ecclesia ad orandum. Vnde isti dies vocantur rogacionum, et precipitur in epistola Iacobe 5: Confitemini alterutrum peccata vestra et orate pro inuicem vt saluemini. In quo precepto notatur quod oracionem debet precedere mundicia vite. Ideo dicit confitemini, etc. et tunc sequitur oracio etc. Et notat quod dicit pro inuicem vt scilicet quilibet oret alterutrum pro alio; non tantum ores pro teipso, set pro quolibet alio. Nam dicit beatus Ambrosius in Exaudon, libro vltimo: Si (inquit) pro te roges, pro te solus rogabis; si autem pro omnibus roges, omnes pro te rogabunt, quasi diceret, si pro teipso solum roges, tunc caritas tua non extenditur ad alios; ideo aliorum caritas non flectitur ad te, scilicet ad tuam salutem. Ideo quilibet roget pro omni homine, immo et pro suo inimico, nam secundum Iohannem Crisostomum, Operis imperfecti: Orantes pro inimicis non tantum illos quam nos Deo commendamus, et magis audimur pro inimicis quam pro nobis orantes. Et reddit causam: Nam qui pro se orat non opus gracie exequitur, set nature; qui autem pro inimicis orat digne exauditur quia gracie opus exequitur. Insuper quia orare est opus virtutis et cum virtus sit pocior quanto fuerit circa difficilius; cum sit difficilius orare pro inimico quam pro teipso vel amico, virtuosius est orare pro inimico quam pro teipso vel pro amico. Insuper iam est tempus orandi oportunum quia iam inducitur ieiunium ab ecclesia, set secundum Iohannem Crisostomum, Operis imperfecti, omelia 14: Ieiunium est adiutorium oracionis quia oracio sine ieiunio gracilis est et infirma, quia oracio illa est fortis que fit in spiritu humili et animo contrito; spiritum autem \humilem/ et contritum habere non potest qui nimis manducat et bibit et fruitur deliciis. Et sequitur paulo post: Vnde (inquit) virtus oracionis et ieiunium numquam separantur ab inuicem, set semper simul ponuntur. Et exemplificat: Sicut (inquit) nec miles sine armis est aliquid nec arma sine milite, sic nec oracio sine ieiunio nec ieiunium sine oracione esse potest. Et hic notat quod nedum intelligit de ieiunio corporali set et ieiunio spirituali, scilicet de abstinencia a peccatis. Qui (inquit) orat et peccat, non rogat Deum set deludit. Qui peccat autem et ieiunat | non ad laudem Dei ieiunat, set tantum substancie sue parcit. Et capit ieiunium non stricte set large pro abstinencia moderata a cibariis. Multi enim infirmi et debiles licet comedant ter in die propter necessitatem, tamen bene ieiunant et orant dum se abstinent ab ingluuie ciborum et a peccatis mortalibus.



English Translation (RY37)139

Another reason I desire prayers be made, etc., is because now is the opportune time and now prayer is especially needed. The time (I say) is opportune because the Church instituted this time for praying. This is why these days are called Rogation Days, and James preaches in his epistle (5[:16]): Confess your sins one to another, and pray one for another that you may be saved. In this precept we note that purity of life should precede prayer. Therefore, he says, Confess, etc., and prayer follows, etc. And note that he says one for another, so that each should pray one for another; you should not pray only for yourself, but each one for the other. For blessed Ambrose in Exaudon, in the last book, says: “If you pray for yourself, you alone will pray for yourself; but if you pray for all, all will pray for you,”4 as if to say, if you only pray for yourself, then your charity does not extend to others; therefore, the charity of others does not bend back towards you, that is, for your salvation. So let each one pray for every person, indeed also for your enemy, for according to John Chrysostom in Opus imperfectum [homily 13], “When we pray for enemies, we commend not only them but ourselves to God, and we are heard more praying for our enemies than for ourselves.”5 And he gives the reason: “For whoever prays for himself does not perform a work of grace, but of nature, but whoever prays for his enemies is heard more worthily because he performs a work of grace.”6 In addition, because to pray is a work of virtue, and a virtue is more powerful the more difficult it is, since it may be more difficult to pray for your enemy than for yourself or for a friend, it is more virtuous to pray for your enemy than for yourself or for a friend. Furthermore, now is the opportune time for praying because now the Church calls for a fast, but, according to John Chrysostom, in Opus imperfectum, homily 14: “A fast is an aid to prayer because prayer without fasting is thin and weak, and that prayer is strong which is made with a humble spirit and contrite heart […]; but someone who eats and drinks excessively and enjoys pleasures cannot have a humble and contrite spirit.”7 And it follows a little after: “Whence the virtue of prayer and fasting are never separated from each other, but are always placed together.”8 And he gives an example: “Just as a knight without arms is nothing, or arms without a knight [are nothing], so there can be no prayer without fasting or fasting without prayer.”9 And here he notes that he not only understands by fasting bodily fasting but also spiritual fasting, namely, abstinence from sins: “Whoever prays and sins does not pray to God but mocks God. Moreover, whoever sins and fasts does not fast for the praise of God but only to be economical with his property.”10 And he understands a fast not in the narrow sense but in a wide sense as the moderate abstinence from food. For although many sick and weak people eat three times a day out of necessity, yet they fast well and pray while they abstain from the gluttony of food and from mortal sin.

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Latin Text (RY37)

Dixi vlterius quod iam specialiter orandum est quia iam oracio est necessaria ex duobus. Primo quia vita ista non potest duci sine victu corporali cuius victus materia iam oritur super terras. Ideo pro eis seruandis et nobis dandis est oracio necessaria. Secundo quia ex superfluitate humoribus oriuntur vicia carnalia qui humores iam maxime habundant, et ideo iam est necessaria oracio vt possumus eorum temptacionibus resistere et sic vicia euitare. Obsecro igitur oraciones fieri pro regibus et omnibus potentibus, pro domino papa, etc., et generaliter pro omnibus hominibus, pro amicis et inimicis. Obsecro oraciones fieri pro omnibus hominibus, vbi supra. Apostolus in epistola hec tria nomina oranti pertinencia, scilicet deprecaciones, oraciones, et postulaciones in quibus, secundum glossam, ostenditur ordo misse que est specialissimum genus oracionis. Nam obsecraciones sunt omnia que fiunt ante consecracionem; oraciones sunt quas fundit sacerdos in ipsa consecracione; postulaciones sunt que sequuntur consecracionem, et cum populus ab episcopo benedicitur qui super eum inuocat2 nomen Domini, vel postulaciones sunt quando quasi ex debito quid postulatur, vt quod hic geritur, in eterna vita perficiatur. Cum specialius pro nostro breui processu, obsecraciones sunt pro difficilibus vt pro conuersione impii vel pro malis remouendis; oraciones sunt pro conuersis, vt scilicet virtutes et bona operentur; postulaciones sunt quando iam iustis gloria celestis oratur. Que tres species orandi generaliter in hoc nomine oracio includuntur. Similiter, secundum beatum Bernardum, et ponitur 9 Florum, capitulo 23, sunt quatuor genera hominum in quibus generibus omnes homines tam boni quam mali includuntur, pro quibus si debite oremus tunc secundum verba thematis exoramus. Quidam (inquit) sunt qui non sequ[u]ntur Christum set fugiunt; quidam non sequ[u]ntur set preeunt; quidam sequ[u]ntur, set non assequ[u]ntur; quidam sequ[u]ntur et consequ[u]ntur. Illi (inquit) non sequ[u]ntur set fugiunt qui peccare non desistunt, et sub isto genera hominum includuntur omnes mortaliter peccantes, omnes heretici, et omnes infideles. Illi (inquit) non sequ[u]ntur set preeunt qui magistrorum sentenciis suas preferunt. Sub isto genere hominum includuntur omnes superbi, omnes presumptuosi, et omnes consimiles qui preponunt terrena celestibus. Illi (inquit) sequ[u]ntur set assecuntur qui remisse agunt vel vsque ad finem non perseuerant, et in isto genere hominum i­ntelliguntur accidiosi. Illi autem sequ[u]ntur et consequ[u]ntur Christum qui viam humilitatis 2

 inuocat] inuocant



English Translation (RY37)141

I said last that we should especially pray now because prayer is necessary at this time for two reasons: first, because this life cannot be led without bodily nourishment, the material for which comes from the land. Therefore, it is necessary to pray for those who preserve it and give of it to us. Secondly, because from the excess of [bodily] humors carnal vices arise—humors which are now greatly abundant—and so now it is necessary to pray that we can resist their temptations and thus avoid vices. I desire therefore prayers to be made for the rulers and all those in power, for the lord pope, etc., and generally for all people, for friends and enemies. I desire prayers be made for all men (see above). The Apostle in today’s epistle [uses] three nouns relevant to prayer—“supplications,” “prayers,” and “intercessions”— by which, according to the gloss, the order of the mass is shown, which is the most special kind of prayer.11 For supplications are all the things done before the consecration; prayers are what the priest utters during this consecration; intercessions are the things which follow the consecration and when the people are blessed by the bishop, who invokes over them the name of the Lord; or intercessions occur when, as it were, something is duly interceded for, so that what is carried out here may be perfected in eternal life.12 Although more specifically for our brief development, supplications are for difficult things such as for the conversion of the impious or for the removing of evil; prayers are for the opposite, that is, that virtues and good things may be performed; intercessions occur when we pray now for the glory of heaven for the just. All three kinds of praying are included generally in this word “prayer.” Similarly, according to blessed Bernard (and this is in book 9 of Flores, chapter 23), there are four kinds of people, which include all people, both good and bad, for whom we pray if we pray as we ought, following the words of the theme. “Some (he says) are those who do not follow Christ but flee; some do not follow but go before; some follow but do not imitate; some follow and imitate. Those who do not follow but flee are the ones who will not stop sinning,” and under this kind of people all are included who sin mortally, all heretics, and all infidels. “Those who do not follow but go before are those who prefer their own opinions to those of the masters.” Under this kind of people all the proud are included, all the presumptuous, and all those like them who put worldly things before heavenly things. “Those who follow but do not imitate are those who act half-heartedly or do not persevere until the end,” and under this kind of people are the slothful. “But those who follow and

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Latin Text (RY37)

eius deuote mentis affectu perseueranter imitantur, cuius imitacionis 3 fructus eterne beatitudinis. In isto genere hominum sunt omnes sancti et fideles ecclesie. Vnde breuiter coniunctim omnia ista genera hominum ad duo genera reducuntur. Sunt enim homines mali et viciosi; sunt eciam homines boni et virtuosi. Obsecro igitur primo obsecraciones fieri pro omnibus mali hominibus et viciosis vt ab iniquitate desistant; obsecro secundo oraciones fieri pro omnibus bonis hominibus et virtuosis vt in virtute et bonitate persistant; et tercio obsecro postulaciones fieri vt tandem in perpetua iocunditate consistant. Hec materia collacionis. Sic inquam obsecro cum Apostolo oraciones fieri pro omnibus hominibus.

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Dico primo quod obsecro obsecraciones fieri pro omnibus malis hominibus et viciosis vt ab iniquitate desistant. Isto modo orauit Moyses pro populo Israel qui transgrediens preceptum Domini fecit sibi viculum conflatibilem, Exodi 32. Inquit Moyses: [Et procidi] ante Dominum sicut prius, quadraginta diebus et noctibus panem non comedens, et aquam non bibens, propter omnia peccata vestra que gessistis contra Dominum, et eum ad iracundiam prouocastis, Deuteronomi 9. Ad cuius oracionem populus fuerat liberatus et a peccato mundatus. Set reuera diuersi homines diuersimode faciunt. Istam speciem oracionis quidam orant per medias personas et quidam | per seipsos quandoque orant solomodo pro seipsis vt deleantur peccata sua vel vt preseruentur a mortali peccato. Isto modo orauit Dauid, Miserere mei, Deus. Ista oracio est bona et meritoria, tamen, vt predixi, magis meritorium est orare pro seipso et pro aliis, verum quia orando pro aliis, oras pro teipso quod monstro per exemplum. Ymaginare fontem in clausura tua propria qui fons sit communis toti ciuitati. Cuius clausure habeas vnum hostium proprium tibi et familie tue et sit aliud hostium versus ciuitatem, cuius hostii dominus ciuitatis habeat vnam clauem ad extra et tu aliam ad intra. Ymaginare eciam magnam partem ciuitatis tibi aduersariam sine qua parte ciuitas non stat, tamen non sint aduersarii tui tibi noti. Et fiat lex quod nullus accedit ad fontem ad hauriendum aquam nisi cum vase mundo, et hoc sub pena perdicionis priuilegii huius fontis. Et sint certe hore limitate ad hausionem aque. Tunc pro saluacione ciuitatis oportet quod tam amici quam aduersarii habeant iuuamen de fonte. 3  sunt] The word written above fructus and marked to be inserted in front of it appears to be sunt, but it is unclear, and, while fructus may be taken as a plural noun, the sense of the clause suggests that it is singular.



English Translation (RY37)143

imitate Christ are those who emulate the way of his humility with devout affection of the mind perseveringly; the fruit of this imitation is eternal beatitude.”13 Under this kind of people are all the saints and faithful of the Church. So, briefly, all these kinds of people together can be reduced to two kinds. For there are wicked and vicious people; there are also good and virtuous people. So first, I desire supplications to be made for all wicked and vicious people to desist from their wickedness; secondly, I desire prayers to be made for all good people so that finally they may rest in eternal joy. This is the material of the collation. Thus I say with the Apostle, I desire prayers be made for all people. I say first that I desire supplications be made for all wicked and vicious people to desist from evil. In this way Moses prayed for the people of Israel who, transgressing God’s commandment, made for themselves a bronze calf (Exodus 32[:1–4]). Moses said, [And I fell down] before the Lord as before, forty days and nights neither eating bread nor drinking water, for all your sins which you had committed against the Lord and had provoked him to wrath (Deuteronomy 9[:18]). Because of this prayer the people were freed and cleansed from sin. But indeed, different people act in different ways. Some pray this kind of prayer by means of go-betweens and some by means of themselves whenever they pray only for themselves that their sins be wiped out or that they be preserved from mortal sin. In this way David prayed, Have mercy on me, God [Ps. 50:3]. This prayer is good and meritorious, yet, as I said, it is more meritorious to pray for yourself and for others, indeed because by praying for others, you pray for yourself—which I will show by an example. Imagine a well in your own cloister, a well that is common to the entire city. For this cloister you may have one door for yourself and your religious community, and another door towards the city, to which door the ruler of the city has a key to the outside and you [have] another to the inside. Imagine also that a great part of the city is hostile to you, a part without which the city cannot stand, yet the adversaries are not known to you. And let a law be made that none can approach this well to draw water except with a clean vessel, and this under penalty of loss of the privileges of this well. And let there be certain limited hours for drawing water. Then for the salvation of the city, it is necessary that both friends and adversaries have assistance from the well.

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Moraliter clausura tua est corpus tuum in quo est fons, scilicet anima tua, cuius aqua est virtus oracionis. Clauis tua est voluntas tua. Ciuitas est ecclesia in qua sunt multi reprobi mixti cum bonis. Dominus huius ciuitatis est Deus Dominus omnium qui habet aliam clauem clausure tue, scilicet graciam suam, nam in illa stat si ciuitas hauriet aquam de fonte tuo necne. Tamen si clauis tua, id est voluntas tua, sit libera, et si ciues attulerint vasa munda, Dominus statim apparit cum claui sua, id est dat graciam suam. Quomodo distribuenda est ista aqua? Certe primo tibi deinde amicis et tunc inimicis vt hauriant si velint. Et non dubium si hauserint, fient tibi amici, et perpendes in fine dierum, in Die Iudicii, qui4 optulerint corda munda et qui non. Iam igitur est hora in qua ciues conueniunt ad haurendum aquam fontis tue. Igitur aperi hostium tuum quia certe Dominus est paratus aperire hostium suum, id est dare tibi graciam suam. Set certe si vis haurire aquam de hoc fonte et seruare aquam mundam in hoc fonte, oportet quod iste fons habeat clausuram propinquam et cooperturam et vias ad hunc fontem. Moraliter clausura propinqua est circularis. Primo oportet quod oracio sit congrua tam a parte petentis quam a parte recipientis: a parte petentis quod sit talis interius qualem se exhibet exterius. Non sit ypocrita apparens deuotus in conspectu hominum et intrinsecus lupus rapax. Quales sunt qui veniunt ad ecclesias et pretendunt deuociones et tamen magis cogitant de terrenis et de luxuria et superbia et aliis vanis quam de Deo. Congruitas a parte rei petite est quo nichil petatur nisi quod est ad honorem Dei et saltem anime. Non petantur diuicie, non honores, non vindicte. Immo nullum bonum temporale petatur nisi pro quanto iuuat hominem ad honorandum Deum vel pro quanto est necessarium ad sustentacionem corporis competentem. Est eciam congruitas in ipsa oracione vt scilicet quis dicat oraciones ad quas tenetur. Verbi gracia: Si laicus sis, congruissima oracio est tibi tua oracio dominica, salutacio angelica, et simbolum tuum. Nam iste oraciones sunt ordinate a Christo et Ecclesia, et ideo sunt magis tibi meritorie quam alie oraciones speciales. Si ecclesiasticus sis, dicas istas oraciones, eciam horas precipue canonicas in locis et temporibus oportunis. Sit deuocio tua maxime in istis et in celebracione missarum, nam ad ista ex officio obligaris sub pena peccati. Set nonnulli sunt in horis dicendis vel cantandis modicam habent deuocionem set transcurrunt, set alias habent certas deuociones quas tractim et deuote dicunt. Set certe modica erit eis merces quia omittunt vel remisse dicunt et 4

 qui] que



English Translation (RY37)145

Morally, your cloister is your body in which there is a well—namely, your soul— whose water is the virtue of prayer. Your key is your will. The city is the Church, in which there are many reprobates mixed with good people. The lord of this city is God, the Lord of all, who has one key to your cloister, specifically, his grace, for on that it depends whether the city draws water from your well or not. Yet if your key—that is, your will—is generous, and if the citizens carry clean vessels, the Lord at once appears with his key, that is, he gives his grace. How should this water be distributed? Certainly first to yourself, then to your friends, and then to your enemies so that they may draw if they wish. And no doubt if they draw they will become your friends, and you will weigh carefully in the end of days, that is, at the Day of Judgment, who offered clean hearts and who did not. Now, therefore, is the hour in which the citizens come together to draw water from your well. So open your door because certainly the Lord is ready to open his door, that is, to give you his grace. But certainly if you wish to draw water from this well and to protect the clean water in this well, it is necessary that this well have a cloister, neighboring and covered, and [that there be] paths to this well. Morally, the neighboring cloister is circular. First, it is necessary that prayer be harmonious both on the part of the seeker and on the part of the recipient: on the part of the seeker that it may be such on the interior as it shows itself on the exterior. Let him not be a hypocrite, appearing devout in the sight of people and within a rapacious wolf. Such are those who come to church and affect devotions and yet think more about worldly things and about lust and pride and other vanities than about God. Harmony on the part of the thing sought is that nothing be sought that is not for the honor of God and the salvation of the soul. Let us not seek riches, nor honors, nor vendettas. Indeed, let us not seek any temporal good except to the extent to which it helps a person to honor God or to which it is necessary to sustain the body sufficiently. Harmony is also in this prayer when whoever prays, prays in the way he ought to. For example, if you are a layperson, the most harmonious prayer for you is the Lord’s Prayer, the angelic salutation [i.e. the Hail Mary], and the Creed. For these prayers were ordained by Christ and the Church and are therefore more meritorious for you than other special prayers. If you are a cleric, you may say those prayers and the Hours, especially the canonical ones, in the appropriate places and at the appropriate times. Let your greatest devotion be in these and in the celebration of masses, for to this you are obligated by your office under penalty of sin. But there are some who have little devotion in saying or singing the Hours; instead they rush through them. Yet they have other particular devotions over which they linger faithfully. But certainly there will be little reward for them because they omit or say and

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cantant illa ad que tenentur. Vnde verba congrua in oracione et congrue dicta sunt lapides circumcludentes hunc fontem que debent esse coniuncta et non interrupta nec intercisa per sincopaciones vel fabulaciones vel alias occupaciones. Debet (inquam) esse circulare quia sicut circulus in eodem puncto terminatur in quo incipit, debet oracio in eodem puncto terminari in quo incipit. Debet enim incipere in Domino et in Domino terminari. Debes eciam habere situlam ad hauriendum hanc aquam, que situla fit ex tribus, scilicet ex deuocione et compuccione et tue misere consideracione, que tria debent circumligari cum fide et spe et bono desidero orandi. Ad litteras. Situla ligata est perseuerancia que cum fide et spe et bono desiderio debent attrahere virtutem oracionis in corde ad oracionem in verbo et opere, ita | quod continentur omnino cordis, oris, et operis. Coopertura huius fontis est caritas Dei et proximi que superexcellit omnes virtutes. Vie ac hunc fontem sunt 7 virtutes que precedunt oracionem. Prima via est mundicia tam cordis quam corporis. Vnde Sapiens, Sapiencie vltimo: Homo sine querela, scilicet peccati, accedat ad te deprecari pro populis. In cuius signum precipiebatur in Leuitice Aaron et filiis eius quod quodcumque offerrent esset immaculatum non cecum, non fractum, non cicatricem, habens aut papulam vel scabiem vel linguam amputoriam. Moraliter sacrificia nostra sunt oraciones nostre, teste Bernardus super Cantica: Credimus (inquit) sanctos angelos astare orantibus et offerre Deo preces et vota hominum. Vnde maculosum et varium animal est in quo est varietas et macule diuersorum peccatorum. Cecus est qui non cognoscit Deum nec mandata eius obseruat. Fractus est ille qui in se diuisus est cuius corpus in choro set cor in foro. Cicatrices habet cuius peccata fuerunt in quadragesima sanata, set iam redierunt. Plusculam et scabiem habet qui habet in carne gulam vel luxuriam. Amputatam linquam habet qui sua peccata non confitetur vel qui praua vana verba, mendacia, periuria, et inhonesta loquitur. Igitur ante oracionem prepara cor,5 Ecclesiasici 18, scilicet per vite mundiciam. Secunda via ad hunc fontem est mandatorum obseruancia quia racionabile est quod Deus illum exaudiat clamantem qui prius ipsum audiuit mandantem. Vnde Iohanne in epistola sua prima, capitulo 3: In hac (inquit) fiduciam habemus ad Dominum quod quicquid pecierimus, accipiemus ab eo quia mandata eius custodimus. Tercia via ad hunc fontem est ieiunium de quo predixi. 5

 cor] animam tuam Vulg.



English Translation (RY37)147

sing half-heartedly those things to which they are obligated. Thus harmonious words in prayer and harmonious sayings are rocks surrounding this well which should be joined and not interrupted or severed by gaps or idle talk or other occupations. It should, I say, be circular because, as a circle begins and ends at the same point, so should our prayer begin and end at the same point. For it should begin in the Lord and end in the Lord. You should also have a basin for drawing this water, a basin that is made from three things—devotion and compunction and consideration of your wretchedness— which three should be encircled or bound with faith and hope and the good will to pray. To the point: This basin is connected with perseverance, which, along with faith and hope and good will, should draw the virtue of prayer in the heart to the prayer in word and deed, so that they are kept together entirely by the heart, the mouth, and the deed. The covering of this well is the love of God and neighbor, which surpasses all virtues. The paths to this well are the seven virtues, which precede prayer. The first path is purity of both heart and body. Thus Wisdom, last chapter [18:21]: A man without blame (namely, sin) approaches you to pray for the people. In a sign of this it was taught in Leviticus [22:22] to Aaron and his sons that whatever they offered should be immaculate—not blind, not broken, not scarred, not having pustules or scabs or an amputated tongue. Morally, our sacrifices are our prayers, as Bernard testifies on Canticles: “We believe that the holy angels stand when praying and offer God the people’s prayers and wishes.”14 Thus he in whom there is a mottled appearance and spots of various sins is a spotted and variegated animal. He is blind who does not know God or observe his commandments. He is broken who is divided in himself, whose body is in the choir but whose heart is in the marketplace. He has wounds whose sins were healed during Lent but now return. He has pustules and scabs who has gluttony or lust in the flesh. He has an amputated tongue who does not confess his sins or who speaks perverse empty words, lies, perjuries, and dishonest words. Therefore, before prayer prepare your heart (Ecclesiasticus 18[:23]), namely, by means of the purity of life. The second path to this well is the observance of the commandments because it is reasonable that God hears the one crying out to him who first heard the one commanding him. Thus John in his first epistle (3[:21–22]) [says]: In this we have trust in God that whatever we seek, we will receive from him because we kept his commands. The third path to this well is fasting, about which I spoke before.

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Quarta via est elemosinarum largicio que nedum existit in bonorum temporalium donacione, verum eciam in bone vite exemplacione et bona instruccione. Qualem elemosinam possunt pauperum in rebus dare. Vnde ieiunium habet secum comitem sobrietatem que est necessaria vigilantibus in custodia castri, et nedum hoc set quando ex necessitate dormiunt vel comedunt et suum castrum continue subsidetur, habent necessitatem de aliis defensoribus pro seipsis. Moraliter castrum corporis nostri et anime continue obsidetur per diabolum et spirituales inimicos qui continue nituntur subuertere istud castrum. Ideo ad custodiendum istud castrum nedum necessarium est nobis ieiunium cum sobrietate ad vigilandum, ne scilicet dormiamus in accidia, luxuria, siue gula, set si quandoque necessario dormiamus, oportet nos habere alios defensores, scilicet conductos, cum bonis nostris temporalibus, que largiemur in elemosinas quoniam oracio bona est cum ieiunio et elemosina magis quam thesaurum auri recondere, quoniam elemosina a morte liberat et ipse purgat peccata et facit inuenire vitam eternam, Thobias 3. Quinta via est mentis attencio ad illud quod orantes loquimur. Est dublex attencio, vna precedens, alia concomitans, scilicet deuocioni, de qua predictum est. Attencio precedens est homini naturalis, nam homo debet naturaliter omnia que facit cum deliberacione facere, ne ex inprouiso sicut animal brutum procedat6 ad opus. Debet ergo ante oracionem attendere quid et qualiter sit oraturus. Sexta via est iusticia quo ad proximum ne scilicet neminem ledat in fama vel in corpore vel in rebus, nam iniustum est quod aliquis optineat aliquid a patre qui suo filio iniuriatur. Omnes sumus filii Dei per adopcionem et similitudinem secundum animam. Qui ergo iniuriatur proximo iniuriatur filio Dei et sic est indignus exaudiri a Deo. Vnde Prouerbiorum 15: Longe est Deus ab impiis et oraciones iustorum exaudiet Dominus. Septima via est humilitas quia quantumcumque predictas vias habuerit, via tamen humilitatis est quasi omnibus coniuncta et omnes conueniunt in illa. Vnde Luce 23: Oracio humiliantis se penetrat nubes. Exemplum de sagitta in altum volante, quanto corda arcus demissius7 trahitur ad terram, tanto sagitta alcius volat. Ita quanto maior humilitas est in corde, tanto oracio alicius ascendit. Hee sunt 7 vie precedentes ad fontem oracionis. Set iam videamus clausuram harum viarum ad fontem. Quatuor sunt que anteclaudunt vias. Vnum est si via sit in imo et plano et viator sit in monte excelso a 6 7

 procedat] procedant  demissius] demissiuius



English Translation (RY37)149

The fourth path is generosity with alms, which consists not only in the giving of temporal goods, but also in the example of a good life and good teaching. Such alms the poor can give. Thus fasting has with it an associate, sobriety, which is necessary for those keeping vigil in guarding the castle, and not only this but when they sleep or eat out of necessity and their castle is continually neglected, they have need of other protectors for themselves. Morally, the castle of our body and soul is continually besieged by the devil and spiritual enemies, who continually try to sack this castle. Therefore, to guard this castle not only is fasting along with sobriety necessary for us for keeping vigil lest we sleep in sloth, lust, or gluttony, but if at some time we must sleep, we need to have other defenders—namely, hired men—along with our temporal goods, which we will give generously in alms, since it is better to store good prayer along with fasting and alms than to hide treasure of gold, for alms deliver from death, and the same is that which purges away sins and makes to find eternal life (Tobit 3 [12:9]). The fifth path is attention of the mind to what we say when praying. This is a twofold attention—one preceding, the other concomitant—specifically to devotion, about which we talked earlier. The attention preceding is natural to man, for man should naturally do everything he does with deliberation, lest without foresight he proceed to his work like a brute animal. Therefore, before prayer he should attend to what he should pray for and how he should go about it. The sixth path is justice as far as one’s neighbor is concerned lest one harm anyone in reputation or in body or in his possessions, for it is unjust for anyone who has injured a son to obtain something from the father. We are all children of God through adoption and likeness according to the soul. So whoever injures his neighbor injures a child of God and is thus unworthy to be heard by God. Whence Proverbs 15[:29]: God is far from the wicked, and the Lord will hear the prayers of the just. The seventh path is humility because, however much one has [grasped] the aforementioned paths, yet the path of humility is, so to speak, connected to them all and all come together in it. Thus Luke 23: The prayer of him that humbles himself shall pierce the clouds [Eccles. 35:21]. [Take the] example of an arrow flying through the air: however much lower the string of the bow is drawn to the earth, by that much higher the arrow flies. So however much humility is in the heart, by that much higher a prayer ascends. These are the seven paths which lead to the well of prayer. But now let us see what blocks these paths to the well. There are four obstacles that block the paths. One is if it is a low and level path, and the traveler is on a high

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qua nolit descendere. Secundum si ante viam sit aliqua spinosa sepes. Tercium est si ante viam sit aliqua profunda fouea. Quartum est si in introitu vie sint latrones siue predones. Nonne | multi sunt in summo monte superbie, quidam propter habundanciam diuiciarum, quidam propter pulcritudinem seu fortitudinem corporalem, quidam propter scienciam, quidam propter parentelam? A quo monte nolunt descendere ad viam humilitatis ad senciendum suam corporis fragilitatem, omnium predictorum instabilitatem, quia abhominacio est superbo humilitas, nisi forte coacto vel per infirmitatem vel per bonorum iacturam vel aliquod aliud infortunium. Tunc primo incipiunt orare et rogant alios pro se orare, similes Pharaoni qui, dum sensit plagas, rogauit Moysem et Aaron vt pro se orarent. Set plagis recessis, rediit ad priorem obstinaciam. Sic reuera faciunt superbi dum infirmantur vel iacturam bonorum paciuntur vel aliquid habemus, tunc fingunt se esse humiles et velle humiliari, set recuperata sanitate vel bonorum possessione, statim redeunt ad montem superbie, qui nuncquam veniunt ad fontem oracionis quia Job 35 scribitur: Clamabunt et non exaudiet8 propter superbiam malorum. Secundum impedimentum vie est spinosa sepes auaricie que precludit viam elemosine que est via necessaria ad oracionem, vt predixi, et iusticiam que est alia via. Set certe cupidi et auari nuncquam contentantur de propriis set omnibus viis et modis inhiant aliena. Tales vtique non exaudiuntur. Nam oracio secundum Damascenus est ascensus mentis in Deum, set mentes cupidorum et auarorum descendunt penitus ad terrena. Tercium impedimentum est profunda fouea gule vel luxurie quibus annexa est accidia que impedit viam attencionis et deuocionis, et gula impedit ieiunium, et vite mundiciam destruunt. Ideo tales quantumcumque multiplicent oraciones non exaudiuntur, nam dicit Ysaias, 1 capitulo: Cum multiplicaueritis oraciones vestras non exaudiam vos, quia manus vestre (id est potencie vestre) sanguine (id est peccatis predictis) plene sunt. Que enim deuocio potest esse cum per gulam omnes sensus hebetantur et que discrecio potest esse cum per luxuriam homo fiat quasi totaliter bestialis. Ergo oracio luxuriosi vel gulosi nichil valet. Quartum impedimentum obsessus latronum in introitu vie, scilicet mundi, carnis, et diaboli, que tria maxime impediunt et retardant ab obseruancia mandatorum Dei. Mundus enim, id est homines mundiales, non amant deuocionem nec oracionem, set orantes aliquociens derident, vocantes deuotes homines stultos Dei vel ypocritas, et reuera timeo quod nimis multi sunt tales 8

 exaudiet] exaudient



English Translation (RY37)151

mountain and is unwilling to descend. The second is if there is any thorny hedge before the path. The third is if there is a deep ditch before the path. The fourth is if there are robbers or thieves at the entrance of the path. Are not many on the high mountain of pride, some by reason of abundance of riches, some because of beauty or bodily strength, some because of knowledge, some because of their parentage? From this mountain they are unwilling to descend to the path of humility to feel their own bodily fragility, the instability of all the aforementioned, because humility is an abomination to pride, unless perhaps [they are] forced by illness or the loss of goods or any other misfortune. Then they first begin to pray and ask others to pray for them. [These are] similar to Pharaoh, who, while he experienced the plagues, asked Moses and Aaron to pray for him, but, when the plagues receded, returned to his former stubbornness.15 Thus indeed do the proud while they are sick or suffer the loss of goods or anything they have: then they pretend that they are humble and wish to be humble, but when they recover their health or possession of goods, at once they return to the mountain of pride, and they never come to the well of prayer because it is written in Job (35[:12]): They shall cry out and he will not hear because of the pride of evil men. The second impediment to the path is the thorny hedge of avarice which obstructs the path of alms, which is a necessary path to prayer, as I said, and justice, which is another path. But certainly the greedy and avaricious are never satisfied with their own things but in all paths and ways they covet the belongings of others. Such people are by no means heard. For prayer, according to Damascus, is the ascent of the mind to God,16 but the minds of the greedy and avaricious descend fully to earth. The third impediment is the deep ditch of gluttony or lust with which sloth is connected, which impedes the path of attention and devotion, and gluttony impedes fasting, and they destroy the purity of life. Therefore such people, however much they multiply their prayers, are not heard, for Isaiah says, chapter 1[:15]: When you multiply your prayers, I will not hear you because your hands (that is, your powers) are full of blood (that is, the aforementioned sins). For what devotion can exist when all the senses are deadened through gluttony, and what discretion can exist when a man becomes, as it were, completely bestial through lust? Therefore the prayer of the lustful or gluttonous avails nothing. The fourth impediment [is] the blockade of thieves at the entrance of the path, namely, the world, the flesh, and the devil; these three greatly impede and keep us from observing God’s commandments. For the world, that is, worldly men do not love devotion or prayer, but they ridicule those who pray often, calling devout men fools of God or hypocrites, and indeed I fear that there are a great many such

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mundiales qui desiderio, loquela, et opere impediunt orantes. Desiderio (inquam) impediunt, nam etsi sint quidam desiderantes pacem interiorem et exteriorem, alii sunt qui nolunt pacem interiorem sicut inuidi et iracundi. Alii nolunt pacem exteriorem sicut predones et latrones de marchia. Alii desiderant bonam temperiem et habundanciam fructuum et bonum precium victualium. Alii habentes blada et victus ad vendendum optinent carisciam. Quantum ad loquelam, vnus orat, alius garulat; vnus stat et audit deuote missam vel verbum Dei, alius circumvagatur; vnus cantat, alius eum deridet. Quantum ad opera, vellent aliqui de suis bonis fideliter viuere et pauperes per elemosinas recreare, alii per rapinas, per falsitates, per iniustas exacciones bona eorum diripiunt et consumunt. Insuper caro impedit, id est carnales cogitaciones impediunt, oracionem dum os vnum dicit et caro aliud cogitat, et talis non veraciter orat. Ille enim, secundum beatum Gregorium, veraciter orat qui talem in anima habet sanctitatem qualem in ore ostendit, quando videlicet opera precibus conformantur, vt sint opera sancta sicut et preces sancte. Contrarium vero habentes non audiuntur quia sunt similes crucifixoribus Christi qui inclinantes capita salutabant eum linguis dicentes, Aue Rabi, set manibus ei alapas dederunt et ipsum cruci affixerunt. Sic et isti de quibus in Psalmo: Ore suo benedicebant, corde autem maledicebant. Tales, inquam, non exaudiuntur, teste Propheta: Iniquitatem si aspexi in corde meo, non exaudiet Dominus. Diabolus eciam impedit oracionem, vidi[t] enim suam maliciam oracionibus expugnari. Ideo impedit oracionem quantum potest sicut patet in gestis Iuliani Apostate qui nigromantice fecit demonem ire in negocio ad partes distantes qui non rediit per decem dies post terminum sibi prefixum qui quesitus quare non rediit scilicet respondit se impeditum per oracionem cuiusdam monachi. Igitur, karissimi, oremus specialiter pro predictis impedimentis remouendum | et hoc est quod dixi in principio, obsecro obsecraciones fieri pro malis hominibus vt ab iniquitate desistant, verum quia quando tales mali homines conueniunt cum bonis ad orandum non audiuntur; vnus solus bonus per se orans prodest quam centum tales. Exemplum ad hoc est, Regum 18, de Helias qui viuentibus prophetis Bual non impetrauit quod peciit set ipsis interfectis statim impetrauit. Oremus igitur vt mali homines corrigantur vel si nolint corrigi quod confundantur. Oremus eciam vt possimus resistere diabolo et carni nostre qui nos ab oracione impediunt, et vt predicta peccatorum impedimenta totaliter ab ingressu dictarum viarum ad fontem supradictum moueantur.



English Translation (RY37)153

worldly people who impede those praying through desire, speech, and deed. They impede, I say, through desire, for although there may be some who desire interior and exterior peace, there are others, such as the envious and angry, who do not want interior peace. Others do not want exterior peace, such as robbers and highway thieves. Others desire good weather and abundance of produce and a good price on provisions. Others who have grains and provisions to sell ask a high price. As to speech, one prays, another chatters; one stands and listens devoutly to the mass or the word of God, another walks about; one sings, another mocks him. As to deeds, some are willing to live faithfully concerning their own goods and to help the poor with alms; others seize and consume their goods through theft, through counterfeiting, through unjust taxes. In addition, the flesh impedes, that is, carnal thoughts impede prayer when the mouth says one thing and the flesh thinks another, and someone like that is not really praying. For, according to blessed Gregory, someone truly prays who shows in his mouth what he has in his soul, that is, when his works conform to his prayers so that the works may be holy just as the prayers are holy.17 Those who have the opposite [in their souls] are not heard because they are similar to the ones who crucified Christ who, bowing their heads, saluted him with tongues, saying, Hail, rabbi, but with hands gave him slaps and nailed him to a cross. So also are those concerning whom the Psalm says [Ps. 61:5]: They bless with their mouths, but they curse with their hearts. Such, I say, are not heard, as the Prophet testifies [Ps. 65:18]: If I have looked at iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. The devil also impedes prayer, for he sees that his wickedness is conquered by prayer; therefore, he impedes prayer however much he can, just as we see in the deeds of Julian the Apostate, who, by means of black magic, made a demon go in trade to distant lands who did not return for ten days after the time fixed for him. When asked why he did not return, he responded that he was prevented by the prayer of a certain monk.18 Therefore, dearly beloved, let us pray especially for the removal of the aforementioned impediments, and this is what I said in the beginning: I desire prayers be made for the wicked people so that they desist from their iniquity; [this is] true because when such wicked people live together with the good, their prayers are not heard. One good man alone praying for himself does more good than one hundred such people. There is an example of this in Kings 18 [3 Kings 18], concerning Elijah, who, when the prophets of Baal were living, could not obtain what he sought, but when they were killed, obtained [it] at once. Let us pray therefore that wicked men are corrected or if they are not willing to be corrected that they are defeated. Let us pray also that we may be able to resist the devil and our flesh which impedes us from prayer, and, as I say, that the impediments of sins are completely moved from the entrance of the mentioned paths to the well that I described above.

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Latin Text (RY35)

Insuper obsecro secundo oraciones fieri pro bonis hominibus vt in virtute et bonitate persistant et continuent procedendo in viis predictis. Et tunc indubie optinebimus effectus aqua huius fontis. Nam secundum Bernardum in summa sua, capitulo de oracione, per oracionem diabolus effugatur, secundo per ipsam9 hostes spirituales timidi efficiuntur, tercio per ipsam omnia impetrantur bona tam presentis vite necessaria quam future. Quam nobis concedit, etc.

9

 ipsam] ipsas



English Translation (RY37)155

In addition, I secondly desire prayers be made for good people so that they persevere in virtue and goodness and continue by proceeding along the paths mentioned, and then undoubtedly we will obtain the effects of the water of this well. For according to Bernard in his Summa,19 in the chapter on prayer, the devil is put to flight by prayer; secondly, spiritual enemies are made timid by prayer; thirdly, all good things are obtained by prayer, both those necessary in the present life and in the future. That he may grant us, etc.

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Sermo sextus in rogacionibus

Luce XI, Prologus

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Pueri mei mecum sunt in cubili. Scitis quod huc venimus processionaliter ad orandum. Ideo super materia oracionis sunt quatuor questiones vestre audiencie declaranda. Primo quare oramus, secundo pro quibus orabimus, tercio quibus modis orabimus, et quarto qua oracione orabimus. Que quatuor sunt in nostro themate inclusa. Vnde pro primo horum est notandum quod oramus precipue istis tribus diebus quia vocantur dies rogacionum seu letaniarum quod idem est. Vnde due excercentur in ecclesia letanie, scilicet dies sancti Marci, qui vocatur maior letania quia Magnus Gregorius Papa ipsam instituit pro sedanda clade igniuaria que vrbe Romana Pelagianum Papam cum maxima multitudine ciuium extinxit. Minor letania vocantur hii tres dies rogacionum instituti a quodam episcopo propter certa infortunia statim inferius recitanda. Prima autem letania, scilicet dies Sancti Marci, in nonnullis locis cessauit tam a ieiunio quam a processione forsan quia causa institucionis | cessauit, scilicet pestilencia antedictam. Et per idem videtur quod ista minor letania cessaret quia causa eius cessauit, videlicet incursus leonum, vrsorum, et luporum in ciuitate dicti episcopi, que animalia homines, pueros, et pecudes occiderunt. Set hic respondetur quod non tantum ista letania est instituta et in ecclesia vsitata pro euasione incursus dictorum animalium, set eciam pro remocione omnium aliorum malorum contingencium, puta pestilencie, famis, bellorum, et huiusmodi ceterorum que quasi singulis annis contingunt. Immo si dicta maior letania esset adhuc vniuersaliter obseruata multum proficeret, et si non nos inuadunt talia animalia in se, tamen sunt quidam homines ipsis animalibus peiores qui inuadunt ecclesiasticos et mediocres seculares in personis et bonis secundum proprietates ipsarum bestiarum. Leo enim famelicus circuens querens quod deuoret. Ideo diabolus comparatur leoni quia habet eandem proprietatem. Tales leones sunt omnes cupidi et auari qui omni versucia et hastucia querunt bona. Item secundum naturales leo quando sibi deficit preda vadit ad certum locum prope cubile suum ibique facit circulum cum cauda sua et fortiter rugit, quo rugitu audito concurrunt ad eum multi alii

Sixth Sermon for Rogation Days (RY42) Theme: My children are with me in bed (Luke 11:7). Luke xi, Prologue My children are with me in bed [Luke 11:7]. You know that we came to this place in procession to pray. Therefore, four questions on the subject of prayer should be brought to your attention. First, why we pray; secondly, for what we will pray; thirdly, in what ways we will pray; and fourthly, by which prayer we will pray. These four are included in our theme. So for the first of these we should note that we pray especially during these three days because they are called days of Rogations or of litanies, which is the same thing. There are two litanies observed by the Church, namely, the day of Saint Mark, which is called the greater litany because Pope Gregory the Great instituted it for restraining a plague spreading like fire in Rome which killed Pope Pelagius along with a great multitude of citizens.1 These three Rogation Days are called the minor litany, which was instituted by a certain bishop for certain misfortunes immediately named below.2 However, the first litany—Saint Mark’s Day—has ceased in some places, both the fasting and the procession, perhaps because the cause for which it was instituted has ceased, that is, the aforementioned plague. And by the same reasoning it seems that this minor litany should cease because its cause ceased, that is, the raid of lions, bears, and wolves on the city of the mentioned bishop—animals that killed adults, children, and livestock. But here we can respond that not only was this litany instituted and used in the Church to evade the raid of said animals, but also to remove all other evils that happen: plagues, famines, wars, and the rest of this sort of thing, which happen nearly every year. Indeed if the mentioned greater litany were still universally observed, it would accomplish much, and if such animals do not attack us as such, yet there are certain people worse than those animals who, in likeness to the qualities of those beasts, attack clerics and commoners in their persons and goods. For the hungry lion circles, seeking what he can devour [roughly 1 Pet. 5:8]. The devil is thus compared to a lion because he has the same quality. Such lions are all the greedy and avaricious, seeking goods with every cunning and trick. Likewise, according to scientists, when he cannot obtain prey for himself, the lion goes to a certain place near his lair and makes a circle there with his tail and roars powerfully, and when this roar is heard, many other lions run to him along with their own, and

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leones cum suis eciam alia animalia concurrunt ad eum naturaliter tamquam eorum regem, qui rapit et deuorat sicut sibi placet et tam ipse quam alii leones tunc presentes cum suis catulis saciantur. Leo iste est moraliter dominus potens in patria qui esurit aliena bona, cuius cauda est circuitus patrie quam inhabitat. Vel cauda eius qui sequitur sicut cauda corpus est eius praua familia et eius fortitudo et potencia que cum illo de alienis bonis eciam saciantur, non curantes quid et qualiter per fas vel nephas rapere possunt, decimas ecclesiasticorum violenter capientes ad placitum et nichil vel modicum et hoc tarde soluentes quasdam eorum possessiones iniuste vendicantes. Tales leones in regno sunt prothdolor nimis multi et quilibet talis dicit illud Osee 3: Quasi leo consumam eos. Similiter vrsus est animal rapax et super omnia diligit mel per quod intelligitur dulcedo bonorum temporalium. Vrsus moraliter ille est qui publice rapit bona pauperum. Tales sunt vrsi in patriis prothdolor nimis multi de quibus verificatur illud Regum 2: Egressi vrsi de saltu laniauerunt xlii pueros, id est homines pauperes. Insuper lupus est rapax quando pastores et canes sunt absentes. Ideo congrue comparatur latroni qui latenter furatur, et vtinam omnes tales de patria delerentur. De tali lupo scribitur Ieremie 4: Lupus ad vesperam vastabit eos, ad vesperam quia tunc incipit aier esse tenebrosus. Pro horum igitur remocione specialiter est orandum et pro statu vniuersalis ecclesie, pro pace omnium regnorum Christianorum et precipue huius regni Anglie, pro fructibus terre, et pro omnium aliorum malorum delacione vt est superius intimatum. Tercio restat ostendere quibus modis est orandum. Vnde Gorham super principium euangelii vbi thema recitat multas causas quare homines orant inter quas ponit causam precipuam esse necessitatem et allegat Augustinum dicentem: Nullum (inquit) credimus ad salutem venire nisi Deo inuitante (hoc est inspirante), nullum inuitatum nisi Deo auxiliante et Deo adiuuante bona operari et nullum nisi orantem auxilium promereri. Hec Augustinus. Hoc presupposito de modis orandi habetur exemplum a Christo qui pro salute multorum orauit sicut patet multipliciter in euangeliis. Immo ante passionem suam sumens secum Petrum, Iacobum, et Iohannem, dimittens reliquos apostolos per se et ipse recedens a Petro, Iohanne, et Iacobo orauit prolixius vt Pater celestis, si fieri posset, auferret passionem suam futuram. Et quare orauit quod passio sua cessaret ex quo sciuit quod eam euadere non potuit? Respondent doctores quod hoc fecit ex natura humana que sicut



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other animals run to him naturally as to their king; he then seizes and devours as it pleases him, and both he and the other lions then present, along with their young, are filled.3 Morally, this lion is a powerful lord in the country who hungers for another’s goods, whose tail is the circumference of the country which he inhabits. Or his tail, which follows his body like a tail, is his corrupt household and its strength and power, which along with him are also filled by other people’s goods, not caring what and how, by lawful or unlawful means, they can seize, violently taking the tithes of the clergy as they please and paying back nothing or little and this [little] slowly, [and] unjustly selling certain possessions. There are, alas, too many such lions in the kingdom, and each one says that [verse] of Hosea 3 [13:8]: As a lion I will devour them. Similarly, the bear is a rapacious animal and loves honey over all things,4 by which is understood the sweetness of temporal goods. Morally, this bear is the one who publicly seizes the goods of the poor. There are such bears in the country, alas, exceedingly many, about whom the truth is confirmed of this [text] of Kings 2 [4 Kings 2:24]: The bears came forth from the forest and tore of them 42 boys, that is, poor men. In addition, the wolf is rapacious when the shepherds and dogs are absent. So the one aptly compared to a wolf is he who steals secretly, and would that all such people were wiped out from the country! Concerning such a wolf it is written in Jeremiah 4 [5:6]: The wolf in the evening will spoil them, in the evening because then the sky begins to grow dark. Therefore, we should especially pray to remove these [predators] and for the state of the universal Church, for peace for all Christian kingdoms and especially for this kingdom of England, for the fruits of the land, and for the denunciation of all other wicked people, as was mentioned above. Thirdly, it remains to show in which ways we should pray. Hence Nicholas of Gorran, [writing] on the beginning of the Gospel from where the theme comes, recites many reasons why people pray, among which he notes an especially needed reason, and he cites Augustine, who said, “We believe that no one comes to salvation except the one invited by God (this is to say, inspired), no one [is] invited except the one aided by God and the one aided by God to do good works, and no one earns this aid except the one who prays.”5 So says Augustine. For this assertion concerning the ways to pray, we have an example in Christ, who prayed for the salvation of many, as appears many times in the Gospels. Indeed, before his Passion, taking with him Peter, James, and John [and] dismissing the other apostles, retreating from Peter, John and James, he prayed for a long time that the heavenly Father, if it were possible, would take from him his future Passion.6 And why did he pray that the Passion should end since he knew that he could not evade it? Theologians respond that he did this because of human nature, which, just as every other nature, hates

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omnis alia natura odit mutaciones subitas et appetit naturaliter conseruari in esse. Et secundum Gorham Christus orauit non tantum pro se set pro nobis et in nostrum exemplum. Set quomodo orauit? Certe sicut dicit Lucas, cum lacrimis et clamore | valido. Factus, inquit Lucas, in agonia prolixius orauit, et factus est sudor eius sicut gutte sanguinis decurrentis in terram. Et statim posterius dixit discipulis suis, Orate ne intretis in temptacionem. Quod quia in consimili agonia cum Christo orare non possumus guttas sanguinis effundendo, tamen lacrimari valemus et clamare sono cordis et si non vocis. De quo clamore dicit Psalmista, Psalmo 118: Clamaui in toto corde meo, etc. Aliam formam orandi dat Christus, Matthei sexto: Cum oraueris (inquit) intra in cubiculum tuum et clauso hostio ora Patrem tuum, etc. Hoc potest fieri ad litteram sicut dicit venerabilis Anselmus, tamen secundum eum altius accipitur. Cubiculum (inquid) est secretum consciencie in quo cubili oportet non sit litigiosa vxor, id est carnalitas, que inquietet et faciat foras vagare mentem et clauso hostio ne in cubiculum intret turba fantasmatum. Hec Anselmus. Hostia moraliter sunt quinque sensus, quorum duo, scilicet visus et auditus, sunt hostia principalia nostre mentis, que clauduntur quando temptaciones extrinsece per eas non intrant. Sic unquam in cubiculo est secrete orandum. Vel potest cubiculum dici ecclesia materialis in qua oramus que est locus secretus in comparacione ad angulos platearum in quibus orant ypocrite vt ab hominibus videantur, sicut Mathei, vbi supra: Sic orabitis, Pater noster, etc. Nam secundum Gorham hec oracio est omni alia dignior eo quod Christus Deus eam edidit, et ideo cicius ipsam exaudit. Est eciam copiosior quia omnia petenti necessaria includit, et remouet cuncta mala. Ideo in principio huius collacionis, ipsam deuote dicamus habentes recomendatos, etc. Sermo vi dierum rogacionum Pueri mei, etc. Notandum quod hoc nomen puer siue pueri nedum accipitur pro puero vel pueris in infantili etate seu statura puerili, quin eciam puer dicitur cuiuscumque fuerit etatis si habeat proprietates pueri infernis recitandas. Vnde scribitur, Regum 21, quomodo sacerdos Abimalech vocauit homines Dauid pueros licencians comedere de panibus proposicionis, dicens, Si mundi sunt pueri a mulieribus, etc. Secundo notandum quod Christus, immo et quilibet sanctus et iustus habens secum consimiles comites, potest



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sudden changes and naturally desires to live. And according to Gorran, Christ prayed not only for himself but for us and as our example.7 But how did he pray? Certainly just as Luke says, with tears and a loud cry. Being in agony, Luke says, he prayed the longer. And his sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground [Luke 22:43–44]. And immediately afterwards he said to his disciples: Pray lest you enter into temptation [22:46]. Because we cannot pray with Christ in similar agony, by shedding drops of blood, we can still prevail by shedding tears and crying out with the sound of the heart, if not of the voice. Concerning this cry the Psalmist says (Psalm 118[:145]): I cried out with my whole heart, etc. Christ gives another form of praying (Matthew 6[:6]): When you pray, enter into your chamber and with the door closed pray to your Father, etc. This can be done literally, as the venerable Anselm says, yet, according to him, it is understood in a deeper way: “The chamber is the private place of the conscience, in which chamber there should be no quarrelsome wife—that is, worldliness—who disturbs and makes the mind wander out, and the doors [should be] closed lest a crowd of whims enters into the chamber.”8 So says Anselm. Morally, the doors are the five senses, two of which—specifically sight and hearing—are the principal doors of our mind, which are closed when external temptations do not enter through them. So at any time we should pray privately in our chamber. Or the chamber can be called the material church in which we pray, which is a private place in comparison to the corners of the streets where the hypocrites pray that they may be seen by men, as in Matthew (see above [6:5]). Thus shall you pray: Our Father [6:9], etc. For according to Gorran the prayer which Christ God taught is worthier than all others, and he therefore hears it more quickly.9 It is also more plentiful because it includes all things necessary to ask for, and it removes all evil. Therefore in the beginning of this collation, let us say it devoutly, commending those for whom we are obliged to pray, etc.

Sixth sermon for Rogation Days My children, etc. Note that this noun “child” or “children” is not only taken for a child or for children at the infant age or of youthful stature, but one is also called a child at any age if he has the qualities of a child, which are recited below. Thus it is written in Kings 21[1 Kings 21:4 (1 Sam. 21:4)], how the priest Abimalech called the men of David children licensed to eat from the shewbread, saying, If they are children clean of women, etc. Secondly, note that Christ, indeed also each holy and just person having similar associates with him, can say, My children, etc.

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dicere, Pueri mei, etc. Tercio quilibet malus cum suis complicibus potest quodammodo dicere, Pueri mei, etc. Diuisio collacionis Quibus presuppositis in isto themate ad nostrum propositum insunt tria: primo scilicet oratorum siue orancium summa habilitas cum dicitur pueri mei; secundo congregatorum in caritate pura societas cum additur mecum vel cum simul dicitur pueri mei mecum; tercio locus requiei in quo est gloria et iocunda felicitas cum apponitur sunt in cubili. Pueri itaque mei sunt in cubili. Hec materia collacionis, et allegabitur pro partibus in processu. [Primum principale] Dico igitur primo quod in themate inest oratorum siue orancium summa habilitas cum dicitur pueri mei. Nam ad hoc quod quis sit habilis ad orandum necesse est quod habeat proprietates bonas puerorum, et hoc ad similitudinem Iesu Christi. Vnde quinque sunt hee proprietates. Prima est quod quis sit proprie puer tam statura quam etate, et hoc ad instar Christi de quo scribitur Ysaie 9: Paruulus, id est puer, natus est nobis, sicut canitur in officio magne misse in festo natalis Domini. Nam Christus fuit nedum parulus set minimus in statura, nam quamcito angelus Beatam Virginem salutasset et illa consensisset, dicens, Fiat michi, etc., in ipso responsionis puncto corpus Christi formatum est in suo vtero et anima hominis est inducta et ipse Christus pleniter incarnatus, et extunc creuit sicut ceteri homines per xl septimanas preter tres dies. Necnon canit ecclesia de eo: Puer autem Iesus crescebat sapiencia et etate apud Deum et homines. Item scribitur de eo, Luce 1: Crescebat puer Iesus etate et confortabatur spiritu sancto. Et vtinam nostri pueri sicut crescunt etate crescerent cum Iesu in sapiencia diuina, non in sapiencia humana que est stulticia apud Deum, sicut communiter contingit in nonnullis nostris pueris qui prius loqu[u]ntur maledicciones quam benedicciones, prauum quam bonum, nec discunt oracionem ­dominicam ante septeminum et sic sunt inhabiles ad orandum et dare cum innocentibus laudem Deo. Quocontra pueri



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Thirdly, each wicked person with his accomplices can in a certain way say, My children, etc. The division of the collation These [points] having been laid out in advance, for our purpose three [aspects] are contained in this theme: first, the highest fitness of those praying or of pray-ers when it says, my children; secondly, the pure society of those gathered in charity when it adds, with me, or likewise when it says, my children with me; thirdly, the place of rest in which there are glory and delightful happiness when it adds, are in bed. And thus: My children are with me in bed. This is the material of the collation, and it will be treated by development of the parts. [First principal part] So I say first that inherent in the theme is the greatest fitness of those who pray or pray-ers when it says, my children. For to the extent that anyone may be fit to pray, it is necessary that he have the good qualities of children, and this in the likeness of Jesus Christ. There are five of these qualities. The first is that the person be properly a child both in stature and in age, and this in the image of Christ, about whom is written (Isaiah 9[:6]): An infant (that is, a child) is born to us, as is sung in the office of the Great Mass10 on the feast of the Nativity of the Lord. For Christ was not only an infant but the smallest one in stature, for as soon as the angel saluted the blessed Virgin and she consented, saying, Let it be done unto me [Luke 1:38], etc., at the moment of this response, the body of Christ was formed in her womb and the soul of man was brought in, and this Christ was fully incarnate and from then on grew just as the rest of men for forty weeks except three days. And also the Church sings about him: The child Jesus moreover grew in wisdom and age before God and men [roughly Luke 2:52].11 Likewise it is written about him (Luke 1[:80]): The child Jesus grew and was strengthened by the Holy Spirit. And if only our children, as they grow in age, would grow with Jesus in divine wisdom, not in human wisdom, which is foolishness before God [1 Cor. 3:19], just as commonly happens in some of our children who first utter curses rather than blessings, depravity rather than goodness, nor do they learn the Lord’s Prayer before seven years old and are thus unfit for praying and giving praise to God with the innocent. On the other hand, children endowed with divine praise and

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debiti1 | in laude diuina et confortati in Spiritu Sancto sunt habiles ad orandum iuxta illud Psalmi: Ex ore infancium et lactencium perfecisti laudem. Secunda proprietas pueri est quod sit purus similis Christo qui fuit purissimus quia sine omni peccato. Vnde Petri 2: Peccatum non fecit nec est inuentus dolus in ore eius. In hac auctoritate apostolus excludit omne peccatum, scilicet tam cordis quam oris quam operis, nam cum dicit peccatum intelligit cordis in quo oritur peccatum, subdens non fecit. Subaudit peccatum operis addens nec inuentus est dolus in ore eius (suple locucionis). Vnde Apostoli Hebreos 7 dicitur de eo quod erat sanctus, innocens, impollutus, a peccatoribus segregatus. Set quomodo? Non in corporali conuersacione set in morum qualitate seu variacione, nam idem dicit Apostolus Philipenses 2: In similitudine hominum factus, habitu inuentus est vt homo. Glossa habitus dicitur de habeo habes, quasi diceret se habuit vt homo in communi conuersacione cum peccatoribus in hiis que sunt homini naturalia vt comedere, bibere, vigilare, dormire, et huiusmodi. Ad cuius similitudinem debet quilibet orans esse purus in cogitacione, in locucione, in opere. In cogitacione iuxta preceptum Apostoli Iacobi 4: Purificate corda vestra. De locucione dicitur de quolibet iusto, Prouerbiorum 15: Purus sermo firmabitur in illo. Et signanter dicit firmabitur, id est non mutabitur in vaniloquium, stultiloquium, aut multiloquium in quibus est mala proprietas puerorum quorumdam vaniloquium ex peccato infecte nature quia secundum Apostolum, Hebreos 5: Omnis lactis particeps (id est leuis doctrine) expers est sermonis iusticie quia paruulus est. Set pueris adultis hoc prohibetur Thimothei 2: Vaniloquium deuita. Stultiloquium prohibetur Ephesianos 5: Stultiloquium, etc. non nominetur in vobis. Multiloquium vetatur, Prouerbiorum 10 quia in multiloquio peccatum non deerit. Talium puerorum non auditur oracio, teste Propheta, Psalmo 16: Auribus percipe oracionem meam non in labiis dolosis. Ipse rogauit in persona ecclesie in qua miscentur mali cum bonis, vnde pro bonis dixit auribus percipe domine oracionem meam, et pro malis addidit non in labiis dolosis, quasi diceret non exaudiuntur. Ceterum inter omnes non puros luxuriosi sunt impurissimi et consequenter maxime inhabiles ad orandum. Nam diabolus licet diligat fetorum et turpitudinem anime, tamen maxime odit corporis turpitudinem quia plerumque se transmutat in angelum lucis. Vnde legitur de quodam nigromantico cum demone 1

 debiti] debite



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strengthened by the Holy Spirit are fit for praying, according to the Psalm [8:3]: Out of the mouth of infants and of sucklings you have perfected praise. The second quality of a child is that he may be pure like Christ, who was the purest because [he was] without any sin. Thus Peter 2 [1 Pet. 2:2]: He did not sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth. In this authoritative text, the apostle excludes every sin, of heart and of mouth and of work, for when he says, sin, he understands [sin] of the heart in which sin arises, adding, he did not. He understands sin of work, adding, nor was deceit found in his mouth (supply: of his speech). Thus the Apostle (Hebrews 7[:26]) says about him that he was holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners. But how? Not in bodily living but in the quality of or difference in his morals, for likewise the Apostle says (Philippians 2[:7]): He was made in the likeness of men, in habit found as a man. The gloss [says that] “habit” comes from “I have, you have” (habeo habes), as if to say that he conducted himself as a man in a way of life common with sinners in those activities which are natural to man, such as eating, drinking, staying awake, sleeping, and other activities of this sort.12 In his likeness each one who prays should be pure in thought, in speech, in work. In thought according to the precept of the apostle James 4[:8]: Purify your hearts. Concerning speech it is said about each just person (Proverbs 15[:26]): A pure word will be made firm in him. And it is significant that it says, will be made firm, that is, it will not be changed into vain babbling, foolishness, or a multitude of words. In such as these lies the wicked quality of certain kinds of children babbling vainly from the sin of corrupted nature, because, according to the Apostle (Hebrews 5[:13]): Everyone that is a partaker of milk (that is, of easy doctrine) is unskillful in the word of justice, for he is a little child. But with grown-up children this is prohibited (Timothy 2 [2 Tim. 2:16]): Shun vain babbling. Foolishness is prohibited in Ephesians 5[:4]: Foolish talking, etc. let it not be named among you [5:3]. A multitude of words is forbidden (Proverbs 10[:19]), because in the multitude of words there shall not want sin. The prayer of such children is not heard, as the prophet testifies (Psalm 16[:1]): Give ear unto my prayer which proceeds not from deceitful lips. He prayed in the person of the Church in which the wicked are mixed with the good. So for the good he said, Give ear unto my prayer, Lord, and for the bad, he added, not in deceitful lips, as if to say, they are not heard. Moreover, among all the impure, the lustful are the most impure and consequently the most unfit for praying. For although he loves the stench and filth of the soul, the devil nevertheless greatly hates the filth of the body because he often changes himself into an angel of light. Thus we read of a certain necromancer with a familiar demon [who was] much connected [to him] that this necromancer took

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familiari et multum communicatiuo qui nigromanticus accepit concubinam. Quo facto demon non sibi sicut solite comparuit. Vnde super hoc admirans, rogauit suum socium nigromanticum vt causam inquireret quam esse. Demon respondit, quia cum concubina suum corpus maculauit, set demon in suis ministris corporis mundiciam peroptauit. Iccirco de tali luxurioso quo ad anime inmundiciam dici potest illud Psalmi: Iniquitatem meditatus est in cubili suo. Tercia proprietas puerilis est quod sit humilis, vnde quidam philosophus: puer nescit superbire. Christus Iesus fuit humilimus qui, secundum Apostolum Philipenses 2: Humiliauit se vsque ad mortem. Et de quolibet humili in tipo pueri dicitur Matthei 18: Qui humiliauerit se sicut paruulus iste maximus vocabitur in regno celorum. Et talis paruulus, id est puer, est habilis ad orandum quia Deus non despexit oracionem humilium, in Psalmo. Quarto puer dicitur propter subieccionem suis patri et matri. Sic Christus fuit subiectus Ioseph suo patri putatiuo et gloriose Virgini sue matri, Luce 2. Pater celestis noster pater est creacione et Christus honore et informacione. Qui igitur subditus est legi diuine et matri sue ecclesie est habilissimus ad orandum. Vnde precipit Psalmista: Subditus esto Domino et ora eum. Quinta proprietas pueri est quod modicum reputat de seipso et quod de aliis est minime reputatus seu commitatus. Christus inter Iudeos in sua passione fuit pro minimo reputatus. Vnde Ysaie 53 dicitur de Christo in personis Iudeorum: Despectus est vultus eius, quando videlicet conspuerunt in faciem eius et \dixerunt/ pro minimo eum reputauimus. Sic quilibet vere humilis reputat se minimum in oculis propriis, et si talis reputetur ab aliis modicum inde curat. | Iste due vltime proprietates pueri pertinent eciam ad humilem. Vnde Psalme 101 scribitur: Respexit oracionem humilium, et Iudith 9: Humilium et mansuetorum tibi placuit, scilicet Deo patri et Christo deprecacio. Ecce recitaui proprietates puerorum tam bonas quam malas ex quibus sequitur quod hii qui habent proprietates bonas orando exaudientur, qui vere malas sunt inhabiles exaudiri. Secundum principale Et ex proprietatibus puerorum bonis sequitur secundum principale, videlicet congregatorum in caritate grata societas, de qua societate scribitur Iohanne primo: Quod vidimus [et] audiuimus annunciamus vobis vt et vos societatem habeatis nobiscum vt societas nostra sit in Patre et Filio eius Iesu Christo. Ecce



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a mistress. When he did this, the demon would not appear to him as usual. So wondering about this, he asked his associate necromancer to inquire about the cause. The demon responded [that it was] because he had stained his body with a mistress, but the demon desired purity of body in his ministers.13 So about such a lustful person, as far as concerns the impurity of his soul, that [verse] of the Psalm [35:5] can be said: He has devised iniquity on his bed. The third youthful quality is that one be humble, whence a certain philosopher [says]: “A child does not know how to be proud.”14 Christ Jesus was the most humble, who, according to the Apostle (Philippians 2[:8]), humbled himself unto death. And about each humble person as a type of child it is said in Matthew 18[:4]: He who humbles himself as a little child, he will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And such an infant, that is, a child, is fit for praying because God does not despise the prayer of the humble, in the Psalm [Ps. 21:25 or 101:18]. Fourthly, someone is called a child because of his submission to his father and mother. Thus Christ was submissive to Joseph, his putative father, and to the glorious Virgin, his mother (Luke 2[:51]). The Father of heaven is our father by creation, and Christ by honor and instruction. Therefore, whoever submits to the divine law and to his mother, the Church, is the most fit for praying. Whence the Psalmist teaches [Ps. 36:7]: Be subject to the Lord and pray to him. The fifth quality of a child is that he consider himself least and consider himself the least among others. Christ during his Passion was considered the least among the Jews. Thus in Isaiah (53[:3]) it is said about Christ among the persons of the Jews: His look was despised, namely, when they spat in his face, and they said, we esteemed him not. Thus every truly humble person considers himself the least in his own eyes, and if he is considered such by others, he cares little about it. These two last qualities of a child pertain also to the humble. Thus in Psalm 101[:18] it is written: He has had regard to the prayer of the humble, and Judith 9[:16]: The prayer of the humble and the meek has pleased you, that is, God the Father and Christ. Note that I have recited the qualities of children both good and bad, from which it follows that the ones who have the good qualities for praying are heard, those indeed with the bad are unfit to be heard. Second principal part And from these qualities of good children the second principal part follows, namely, the agreeable fellowship of those gathered in charity. About this fellowship it is written in John 1 [1 John 1:3]: That which we have seen and heard, we declare unto you that you also may have fellowship with us, and our fellowship may be with the Father

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congregatorum in caritate grata societas quia Deus caritas est. De ista eciam societate loquitur Psalmista, Psalmo 100, qui incipit: Misericordiam et iudicium cantabo tibi, Domine. Cuius psalmi sensus est secundum glossam Magistri de saluandis et dampnandis, videlicet quod saluandi habebunt misericordiam quomodocumque peccauerint si resipuerint et misericordiam petierint. Quocontra, qui non resipuerint nec misericordiam rogauerint presertim in suo fine non habebunt misericordiam set iudicium dampnacionis perpetue. Pro primo, dicit Propheta: Oculi mei ad fideles terre vt sedeant mecum (suple in societate caritatiua). Que verba exponuntur dupliciter, secundum Magistrum. Primo, scilicet de quolibet iusto generaliter vt ipse dicat, Oculi mei (id est intenciones mee) sunt ad fideles terre (id est alios iustos degentes in mundo) vt sedeant mecum (hoc est in mea societate in vnitate fidei Christiane). Aliter exponuntur dicta verba specialiter de Christo vt ipse dicat in persona ecclesia militantis in qua miscentur boni cum malis: Oculi mei (id est mea desideria) sunt ad fideles terre (id est ad iustos principaliter) vt sedeant (id est permaneant) mecum hic et finaliter in gaudio sempiterno. Et nedum oculi mei ad istos, quin eciam ad malos istis conmixtos vt resipiscant et petant misericordiam et saluentur. Quam ecclesiam sic conmixtam notauit societas apostolorum et discipulorum Christi in qua fuerunt discipuli per tempus abierunt retro non sequentes Christum amplius et Iudas Scarioth Christi traditor, fur et latro, ad quos omnes erat Christi desiderium vt saluarentur si veniam postulassent. Et querit Magister: quare Christus tolerauit malos in sua societate? Respondet: quia modo est tempus misericordie et quasi nox est et nondum sunt omnia manifesta, et in hac nocte habundant temptaciones. Et sequitur paucis interpositis: In hac nocte dicit Christus: Parco, tolero, corrigo. Parco peccantibus quia sum longanimis et multum misericors et prestabilis super maliciam. Tolero eos (suple diu viuere) vt corrigantur. Et corrigo per infirmitates et alias tribulaciones quos prescio conuertendos finaliter et saluandos. Et nota quid sequitur de dampnandis. In matutino, inquit propheta, vice Christi interficiebam (id est interficiam, quia frequenter in propheciis tempus preteritum ponitur futuro) omnes peccatores terre qui scilicet tunc erunt infecti peccatis et desperdaui de ciuitate Domini (id est de ecclesia saluandorum) omnes operantes iniquitatem. Ex quibus patet qui habebunt misericordiam et qui iudicium. In quorum exemplum narratur quod in diocosi Norwacensi erant duo socii mercatores quorum vnus fuit bonus et fidelis Christianus et alter in ­conuersacione



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and his son Jesus Christ. Note the agreeable fellowship of those gathered in charity, because God is charity. About this fellowship the Psalmist also speaks [in] Psalm 100[:1], which begins, Mercy and judgment I will sing to you, Lord. The meaning of this psalm, according to the gloss of the Master, has to do with those who are going to be saved and those who are going to be damned, that is, that those who will be saved will have mercy, however much they have sinned, if they repent and seek mercy. On the other hand, those who do not repent or ask for mercy, especially at the end, will not have mercy but a sentence of perpetual damnation. For the first the Prophet says [Ps. 100:6]: My eyes were upon the faithful of the earth, to sit with me (supply: in charitable fellowship). These words are explained in two ways, according to the Master15: first, concerning each just person generally, that he should say, My eyes (that is, my intentions) are upon the faithful of the earth (that is, on other just people living in the world) to sit with me (that is, in my fellowship in the unity of the Christian faith). Another way the mentioned words are explained specifically concerns Christ, who may speak in the person of the Church militant, in which the good are mixed with the wicked: My eyes (that is, my desires) are on the faithful of the earth (that is, on the just principally) to sit (that is, to remain) with me here and finally in eternal joy. And not only [are] my eyes on the just, but also on the wicked mixed with them, so that they may repent and seek mercy and be saved. The fellowship of the apostles and disciples of Christ signified this Church thus mixed, in which there were disciples who after a time went away, not following Christ farther, and Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Christ, a robber and thief, for all of whom Christ’s desire was that they be saved if they asked for forgiveness. And the Master asks: “Why did Christ tolerate the wicked in his fellowship?” He responds: “Because now is the time of mercy and it is night, as it were, and all things are not yet clear, and during this night temptations abound.” And it follows a bit later: “During this night Christ says, ‘I spare, I allow, I correct. I spare sinners because I am generous and most merciful and superior to malice. I allow them (supply: to live longer) so that they can be corrected. And I correct those who I foresee will be converted in the end and be saved by sending them infirmities and other tribulations.’” And note what follows concerning the damned: “In the morning, the prophet says in place of Christ, I put to death (that is, ‘I will put to death’ because frequently in the prophecies the past time is used for the future) all sinners of the land, those who will then be infected by sins, and I might cut off from the city of the Lord (that is, from the Church of the saved) all the workers of iniquity [Ps. 100:8].”16 From these [statements] it is clear who will have mercy and who will have judgment. In an exemplum about these points, it is told that in the diocese of Norwich there were two merchant companions, one of whom was a good and faithful Christian and

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pessimus fingens se in multis operibus esse bonum ad ecclesiam veniendo et quedam opera meritoria, tamen ypocritice, faciendo, quem suus socius sepe ad correccionem incitauit proponens sibi de misericordia et iudicio Dei. Qui respondit se vtrumque cognoscere et inquit: Ante finem meum petaui misericordiam, set adhuc me oportet seruire mundo. Et ex post creuit in malicia semper a malo in peius cui frequens mortificio siu socii ad correccionem non profecit. Tandem cecidit in infirmitate per quam statim postea est defunctus. Ad quem accedens dictus socius ipsum confiteri consuuerit et petere misericordiam. Qui dixit: possim adhuc expectare et satis tempestiue confiteri misericordia. Non sencio grauitatem tantam infirmitatis que compellat seu faciat me de vita | desperare. Perinde \morbo/ ingrauescente sensit se in proximo moriturum. Ad quem veniens suus socius persuasit se de venia postulanda. Cui ille desperans de misericordia respondit: Sicut Chaymo maior est iniquitas mea quam vt veniam merear. Et \alleuauit/ sibi argumentum diaboli, ita dicens: Qui perseuerauerit vsque in finem in bona vita saluus erit. Ergo per idem, qui durauerit in mala vita vsque tempus mortis dampnatus erit. Set talis ego sum, ideo dampnabor. Similiter Deus sicut est summe misericors, ita est summe iustus; ergo tanta est sua iusticia sicut sua misericordia. Ergo sicut bonus ex sua misericordia saluabitur, ita eciam finaliter malus qualis ego sum de iusticia dampnabitur. Hec audiens suus socius cum merore optinuit oratores pro eo necnon et ipsemet instantissime misericordiam implorauit. Iccirco Deus oracionem humilium respiciens signum sue misericordie statim ostendit. Nam ille bonus socius ipsemet habuit in sompnis visionem quod quidam homo speciosissimus clamide purpureo indutus ipsi infirmo apparuit consolans eum. Et infirmus non eum cognoscens quis aut vnde esset. Qui respondit: Ego sum Christus Iesus qui pro te et pro toto genere humano passus sum mortem, et ad rogatum socii tui michi predilecti et aliorum pro te orancium ad te veni vt ex mea misericordia si penitueris et pecieris veniam consequaris. Cui infirmus recitauit argucias diaboli supradictas. Qui Christus respondit, primo ad primam: nondum es in fine; adhuc potes resipiscere si velis. Ad secundum arguciam: tibi dicam concedendo quod sum tam iustus quam misericors, vnde iustum et iusticia mea est quod sim misericors, et sic si volueris ex mea iusticia te saluabo, quod si dampnaberis defectus tuus erit, et non meus. Set ipse infirmus obstinatus in malo noluit resipiscere. Et Iesus extendit ­clamidem et ostendit illi sua vulnera cruenta. Ecce, inquit, hec passus sum pro te, et in signum michi et tibi et omni populo hoc signaculum. Et proiecit



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the other living in the worst way, pretending that he was good in many works by coming to church and by doing some meritorious works yet [doing them] hypocritically. [The latter] his associate often exhorted to correct [himself] by telling him about God’s mercy and judgment.17 He responded that he knew of both and said, “Before my end I will seek mercy, but I still need to serve the world.” And from then on he grew in wickedness from bad to worse; his associate’s frequent admonition to correct himself got nowhere with him. Finally he fell into an illness from which he would very soon die. Coming to him, his associate counseled him to confess and seek mercy. He said, “I can still wait and confess fully at an opportune time. I do not feel that this illness is so grave that it would drive me to or make me despair of life.” In like manner, when the sickness grew worse, he felt himself to be close to dying. Coming to him his associate strove to convince him that he should seek forgiveness. Despairing of mercy, he responded, “Just like Cain, my iniquity is too great to merit forgiveness.” And he raised for his associate the devil’s argument, thus saying, “Whoever persevered until the end in a good life will be saved; therefore, in the same way, whoever lived a wicked life until the time of death will be damned. But such am I; therefore I will be damned. Similarly, just as God is the most merciful one, so he is also the most just one; therefore, his justice is as great as his mercy. So as a good man will be saved by his mercy, so also in the end a wicked man of the kind I am will be damned by justice.” Hearing this with grief, his associate found people to pray for him, and he himself also begged urgently for mercy. Therefore God, rewarding this humble prayer, showed a sign of his mercy immediately. For this good associate himself had a vision in a dream that a certain very handsome man clothed in a purple cloak appeared to the sick man to console him. And the sick man, not recognizing him, asked who he was or where he came from. He responded, “I am Christ Jesus, who suffered death for you and for all the human race, and at the prayer of your associate, who is dearly loved by me, and the prayers of others, I came to you so that from my mercy, if you do penance and seek forgiveness, you may pursue indulgence.” To him the sick man recited the devil’s sophistry above mentioned. Christ responded, “First to the first [sophistry]: you are not yet at the end; you can still recover if you are willing. As to the second sophistry, I say to you by conceding that I am both just and merciful, so it is a just thing and my justice that I be merciful, and so if you are willing, I will save you by my justice, so that if you will be damned, the failure will be your own, and not mine.” But this sick man, stubborn in wickedness, was unwilling to repent. And Jesus extended the cloak and showed him his bloody wounds. “Behold,” he said, “these I suffered for you and in a sign to me and to you and to all people [is] this seal.” And he threw into his face a portion of the blood and left. Then suddenly awakened, his associate

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­ artem sanguinis in suam faciem et recessit. Tunc subito expergefactus, suus p socius ipsum statissime adiuit et optanti secum loqui et de visione inquirere; dixerunt ministri quod dormiret. Cuius veritatem probare volens inuenit eum mortuum eiusque faciem sanguine recenti conspersum. Vnde narrata visione omnes circumstantes eum, censuerunt eum iusto Dei iudicio condempnatum, qui tamen ante de Dei misericordia saluari potuit si voluisset. Et vlterius est notandum quod Psalmista recitat specialiter certos peccatores qui nisi resipuerint finaliter dampnabuntur, videlicet secretos detractores: detrahentem (inquit Christus) proximo suo hunc persequebar. Secundo superbos, tercio auaros, id est auarus2 qui numquam implebitur pecunia, Ecclesiastici 5. Superbo oculo et insaciabili corde. Vnde sicut quilibet iustus cum suis pueris, id est sociis bonis, potest dicere verba thematis, scilicet pueri mei sunt, etc., sic et potest quilibet malus dicere, Pueri mei, scilicet complices in malo, mecum sunt in cubili. De quo cubili dicitur Ysaie 34: Erit cubile draconum, scilicet predictorum peccatorum. Draco enim spumat venenum mortiferum et euomit ignem consumentem. Sic quilibet detractor et superbus spumat venenum malicie et ignem inuidie que secundum Magistrum super dicto textu est cibus superbi, quod si talis quandoque se simulet emittere fumum ignis oracionis, non tamen ascendit in celum cum secundum Iohannem Damacenum oracio sit ascensus in Deum. Set cum superbo cuius superbia ascendit semper secundum Psalmistam: Superbia eorum ascendit semper. Set solum ascendit ad speram ignis ad quam speram ascendit naturaliter ignis et non vltra, in quo igne forsan demones cruciantur, et sic anime superborum vsque diem Iudicii cruciabuntur, et post iudicium in corpore et anima eternaliter in inferno. Insuper vt dicit Ysaias, vbi supra, cubile talis draconis erit pascua strucionis, que est animal pennatum, set propter grossitudinem corporis volare non potest licet sepius ad hoc nitatur. Quod cubile siue pascua congrue competit cupido et auaro cuius mens est semper in terrenis, et si aliquando velit orando ascendere nequit, tamen quia propter grauitatem cogitacionum mundalium reprimitur versus terram. | Quocontra oraciones iustorum habencium proprietates bonas Christi et puerorum ascendunt in celum quamuis ipsi corporaliter sint hic in terris in cubilibus suis in gloria et quiete consciencie, dicentes cum Apostolo, Corintheos 1: Hec est gloria nostra testimonium consciencie nostre (suple pure). 2

 auarus] auaro



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immediately visited him wishing both to speak to him and to inquire about his vision; the assistants said that he was sleeping. Wanting to prove the truth of this, [his associate] found him dead and his face recently sprinkled with blood. So after narrating the vision to all those standing around him, they supposed that [the dead man] was condemned by the just judgment of God, yet before that, through God’s mercy, he could have been saved if he were willing. And in addition we should note that the Psalmist [Ps. 100:5] speaks especially about certain sinners who, unless they repent, will be damned in the end, namely secret detractors: The man that in private (says Christ) detracted his neighbor, him did I persecute. Secondly, the proud. Thirdly, the avaricious, that is, an avaricious man who shall never be satisfied with money (Ecclesiasticus 5[:9]). With a proud eye and insatiable heart [Ps. 100:5]. So as each just man with his children, that is, his good associates, can say the words of the theme, namely, My children are with me, etc., so also can each wicked person say, My children, that is, “my accomplices in evil” are with me in bed. It is said concerning this bed in Isaiah 34[:13]: It shall be the bed of dragons, that is, of the aforementioned sinners. For a dragon foams deadly venom and spits out consuming fire. Thus each detractor and proud person foams the venom of malice and the fire of envy. This, according to the Master on this text, is the food of the proud,18 so that if such a one ever pretends to emit the fume of the fire of prayer, it does nevertheless not ascend to heaven, since, according to John of Damascus, “prayer is the ascent to God.”19 But with the proud man, whose pride always ascends, according to the Psalmist [Ps. 73:23]: Their pride ascends always. But fire only ascends to the sphere to which fire naturally ascends and not beyond. In this fire perhaps the demons are tormented, and thus will the souls of the proud be tormented until Judgment Day, and after judgment in body and soul eternally in hell. In addition, as Isaiah says [34:13] (see above): The bed of such a dragon will be the pasture of ostriches. This is a winged animal who, because of the largeness of its body, cannot fly although it very often tries. That bed or pasture aptly applies to the greedy and avaricious person whose mind is always on earthly things, and if at some point he wishes by praying to ascend, he cannot, yet because of the heaviness of his worldly thoughts, he is pressed down again to the earth. On the other hand, the prayers of the just who have the good qualities of Christ and of children ascend to heaven, although they are here bodily on earth in their beds in the glory and peace of conscience, saying with the Apostle (Corinthians 1 [2 Cor. 1:12]): This is our glory, the testimony of our conscience (supply: pure). And our third principal part will be made true concerning them, that is, that bed denotes the

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Et verificabitur de illis nostrum tercium principale, scilicet quod per cubile notatur locus perpetue requiei, scilicet in loco celi, de qualibet cubili scribitur in Psalmo: Exultabunt sancti in gloria, letabuntur in cubilibus suis vbi Christus dicet eternaliter Pueri mecum, etc. Ad quam.



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place of eternal rest, that is, the place of heaven. Concerning each bed it is written in the Psalm [149:5]: The saints will exult in glory, they will rejoice in their beds, where Christ will say eternally, My children, etc. For which …20

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Sermo dominice ix de Trinitate

Redde racionem villicacionis tue, Luce 16. Dicunt doctores super euangelio vbi thema quod Dominus per parabolam villici excitauit suos apostolos, immo et singulos Christianos, ad elemosinam nedum corporalem set eciam spiritualem. Vnde processus parabole et euangelii talis est quod quidam diues habebat villicum quem diffamatum de dissipacione bonorum domini sui vocauit, dicens verba thematis, Redde racionem villicacionis tue, iam enim non poteris villicare. Tunc ait villicus intra se, Quid faciam quia dominus aufert a me villicacionem? Fodere non valeo, mendicare erubesco. Scio quid faciam vt cum amotus fuero recipiant me in domos suas (scilicet illi quibus iam in villicacione communico). Conuocatis itaque singulis debitoribus domini sui, dicebat primo, Quantum debes domino meo? At ille dixit, 100 cados olei. Dixit ille, Accipe caucionem tuam et scribe quinquaginta. Deinde alio dixit, Tu vero quantum debes? Qui ait, Centum chorus tritici. Ait illi, Scribe triginta. Et laudans dominus villicum quia prudenter fecisset, etc. vsque ibi: Et ego dico vobis, facite vobis amicos de mamona iniquitatis. Hec est parabola et processus euangelii. Moraliter ad propositum, diues iste est Dominus Deus Iesus Christus de quo scribitur in Psalmo, Gloria et diuicie in domo eius, qui habuit villicum, scilicet naturam humanam vel hominem primum, ad dispensandum triplex bonum, scilicet nature, fortune, et gracie. Villicus enim dicitur custos ville vel ponitur hic secundum glossam pro dispensatore domus, vnde breuiter secundum istud triplex bonus est triplex villicacio, scilicet in bonis gracie et in bonis fortune et in bonis nature. Villicacio in bonis gracie est spiritualis, villicacio in bonis fortune est temporalis, villicacio in bonis nature est partim spiritualis et partim temporalis. Prima villicacio, scilicet in bonis gracie, saltem ministerialiter pertinet spiritualiter ad ecclesiasticos, secunda ad laicos, tercia tam ad hos quam | ad illos, vt dicit Gorham in summa super illo textu, Qui habebat villicum.

Sermon for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity (RY44) Theme: Give an account of your stewardship (Luke 16:2). Give an account of your stewardship (Luke 16[:2]). The theologians say on the Gospel from which the theme comes that, by means of a parable about a steward, the Lord urged his apostles, and indeed every Christian, to [give] not only corporeal but also spiritual alms.1 Thus the development of the parable and of the Gospel is such that a certain rich man had a steward who was accused of squandering his lord’s goods, and [the lord] summoned him, saying the words of the theme: Give an account of your stewardship, for now you can be steward no longer. And the steward said within himself, What shall I do, because my lord takes away from me the stewardship? I am not able to dig; I am ashamed to beg. I know what I will do, so that when I am removed from my stewardship, they may receive me into their houses (that is, those with whom I now share my stewardship). Therefore, calling together every one of his lord’s debtors, he said to the first, How much do you owe my lord? But he said, An hundred barrels of oil. He said, Take your bill and write down fifty. Then he said to another, How much do you owe? who said, One hundred quarters of wheat. He said to him, Write thirty [Vulg. 80]. And the lord commended the steward because he acted wisely, etc. until this point, And I say to you, make for yourselves friends of the mammon of iniquity [Luke 16:2–9]. This is the parable and the development of the Gospel. Morally to the point: this rich man is the Lord God Jesus Christ, about whom it is written in the Psalm [111:3]: Glory and riches shall be in his house. He had a steward (namely, human nature or the first man) for dispensing a threefold good: of nature, of fortune, and of grace. For a steward is called the guardian of an estate or he is placed here, according to the gloss, as the bursar of the house,2 so, briefly, according to this threefold good is a threefold stewardship: of the goods of grace and of the goods of fortune and of the goods of nature. The stewardship of the goods of grace is spiritual; the stewardship of the goods of fortune is temporal; the stewardship of the goods of nature is part spiritual and part temporal. The first stewardship of the goods of grace, at least ministerially, pertains especially to the clergy; the second to the laity; the third to both, as Gorran says in his discussion on that text, Whoever had the stewardship [Luke 16:1].3

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Diuisio thematis De istis (inquam) bonis, reddet homo quilibet racionem cui dicentur verba thematis, Redde racionem villicacionis tue. De bonis gracie reddet racionem in consciencia et cogitacione; de bonis fortune et nature, reddet racionem tam locucione quam operacione. Singula ergo singulis combinando dico quod est villicacio siue dispensacio spiritualis in bonis gracie, et hec pertinet ad ecclesiasticos de qua reddetur racio in consciencia et cogitacione; secundo est villicacio temporalis bonorum fortune pertinens ad laicos; et tercio est villicacio bonorum nature partim temporalis et partim spiritualis de quibus reddetur racio tam in locucione quam in operacione. Hec materia collacionis. Primum principale Dico primo quod est villicacio spiritualis bonorum gracie, etc. Ista bona gracie sunt large loquendo illa bona per que homo habet virtutes theologicas, fidem, spem, et caritatem, eciam ipsum Deum, vel breuiter aliqua bona que disponunt hominem ad graciam. Et sic possunt omnia bona homini collata expensa ad vsum pro quo sunt homini a Deo collata, scilicet ad veniendum ad Deum, dici bona gracie, que gracia, secundum Lincolniensis, est bona voluntas Dei qua hominem et eius opera graciose acceptat ad meritum vite eterne. Set specialiter illa bona per que homo deuenit ad graciam sunt sacramenta ecclesie quorum dispensacio specialiter pertinet ad ecclesiasticos de quorum dispensacione reddetur racio districtissima in consciencia et cogitacione, nedum ab ipsis dispensatoribus, set eciam ab ipsis quibus fuerint dispensata. Reddetur, inquam, racio a villicis ecclesie tribus secundum doctores, scilicet de ingressu, de progressu, de egressu. De ingressu, scilicet intrando in beneficium secundum illud Matthei 22, Amice, quomodo huc intrasti, etc., id est quis te introduxit, veritas vel dolus, Deus vel diabolus, gracia vel munus, caro vel spiritus? Redde ergo racionem si intrasti per fraudulenciam in locum sinceritatis, si per violenciam in locum libertatis, si per carnalem lineam in locum spiritualitatis, si per pecuniam in locum gratitudinis. De progressu, scilicet in viuendo in prelacione vel beneficio secundum illud Ysaie 21: Tu quis hic aut quasi quis hic? Qualiter ergo vixisti? sicut sacerdos vel sicut rusticus? sicut homo vel sicut pecus? Tercio de congressu,



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Division of the theme Concerning these goods (I say) each person to whom the words of the theme, Give an account of your stewardship, are said will give an account. Concerning the goods of grace he will give an account in his conscience and thought; concerning the goods of fortune and of nature, he will give an account both in speech and in work. Therefore by combining each part to each, I say that there is a spiritual stewardship or dispensation of the goods of grace, and this pertains to the clergy, concerning which an account will be given in conscience and in thought; secondly, there is a temporal stewardship of the goods of fortune pertaining to the laity; and thirdly, there is a stewardship of the goods of nature partly temporal and partly spiritual, concerning which an account will be given both in speech and in work. This is the material of the collation. First principal part I say first that there is a spiritual stewardship of the goods of grace, etc. These goods of grace, speaking liberally, are the goods by means of which man has the theological virtues—faith, hope, and charity—and God himself, or briefly any goods which dispose man to grace. And thus all the goods bestowed on man expended for the use for which they are bestowed on man by God, that is, for coming to God, can be called goods of grace, grace which, according to Grosseteste, is “the good will of God” by which he graciously accepts man and his works for the merit of eternal life.4 But the sacraments of the Church are especially those goods through which man comes to grace, the dispensation of which pertains particularly to the clergy, concerning whose dispensation the most detailed account will be given in conscience and thought, not only by the dispensers, but also by those to whom they will have been dispensed. An account will be given (I say) by the stewards of the Church concerning three things according to the theologians: “concerning the entry, concerning the progress, concerning the departure. Concerning the entry (that is, entering into a benefice) according to Matthew 22[:12]: Friend, how did you come here?, etc., that is to say: Who led you in, truth or fraud, God or the devil, grace or bribes, flesh or spirit? Give therefore an account if you entered through fraud into a place of sincerity, if through violence into a place of freedom, if through carnal lineage into a place of spirituality, if through money into a place of grace. Concerning the progress, that is, in living in a prelacy or benefice, according to Isaiah 21 [22:16]: What do you do here, or as if you were somebody here? In what manner therefore do you live? As a priest or as a peasant? As a man or as a sheep? Thirdly, concerning the engagement,

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scilicet regendo subditos secundum illud Ieremie 13: Vbi est grex qui datus est tibi? Qualiter ergo rexisti? sicut pastor vel sicut mercenarius? sicut vir vel sicut lupus? Hec Gorham. Insuper quam ad illos quibus dispensantur sacramenta reddetur racio in consciencia et cogitacione, vnde dicit glossa super verbis thematis, dum viuis cogita qualiter debes operari. Oportet enim reddere racionem aut in vita aut in morte. Vnde si ministrentur tibi quiscumque fueris debite sacramenta, si temporibus oportunis predicetur tibi verbum Dei, si cetera debite fiant que pertinent ad officium tui curati, certe si eis non vsus fueris secundum doctrinam ecclesie vel abusus fueris per peccata, sicut, verbi gracia, matrimonium per adulterium, continenciam per incontinenciam; sicut per stuprum, fornicacionem, et alias abhominabiles species luxurie, dileccionem proximi per iram et inuidiam, et sic de aliis peccatis, non dubium quin tu sicut et curatus predictus reddetis consciencie racionem teste Apostolo, Romanos ii: Testimonium reddente illis consciencia ipsorum et cogitacionum inuicem accusancium. Bona gracie a vestro curato sunt vobis debite dispensata, set reddit testimonium consciencia. Numquid illa bona sunt debite custodita? Vtinam sit ita quod omnes qui receperunt sacramenta ecclesie ad pascha iam cum iniquo villico minime dissipassent. Non dubium quin plures diffamati sunt, et si non quo ad mundum tamen quo ad Deum et omnes sanctos eius. Vnde dicitur in euangelio de quolibet tali: diffamatus est apud eum quasi bona eius dissiparet. Set que diffamant? Reuera clamor operum malorum, querela praue locucionis. Quo ad opera, nonne tot sunt iam luxuriosi, tot adulteri, tot cupidi, tot auari, tot fures, tot raptores malefici, tot extortores, | tot gulosi sicut fuerant ante pascha? Experiencia satis docet. Immo non dubium quin tot et tan peccata iam regnant sicut regnabant in illis 5 ciuitatibus Sodome et Gomorre, que, vt dicunt doctores, propter luxuriam, et precipue contra naturam, et auariciam fuerunt destructi. Immo et propter eadem peccata fuerunt diuersa regna translata de gente in gentem. Immo secundum sentenciam Iosephi in primo libro belli Iudaici, in principio nobilis ciuitas Romana propter predicta peccata fuit destructa, quin eciam et populus Israel propter peccatum ydolatrie fuit per 70 annos in Babilonia captiuatus sicut patet primo Esdre, primo capitulum. Numquid eciam diffamat villicum querela praue locucionis? Nonne tot periuria, tot mendacia, tot detracciones, tot conspiraciones, tot vaniloquia modo vsitantur sicut ante pascha? Verum vt estimo longe plura quia malicia



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that is, in ruling those subjected to you, according to Jeremiah 13[:20]: Where is the flock that is given you? Therefore, in what way have you ruled? As a pastor or as a mercenary? As a man or as a wolf?” So says Gorran.5 In addition, as to those to whom the sacraments are dispensed, they will give an account in conscience and thought. Thus the gloss says on the words of the theme: “While you live, think about how you should work. For it is necessary to give an account either in life or in death.”6 So if the required sacraments are ministered to you, whoever you were, if at opportune times the word of God is preached to you, if the rest of what is owed is done which pertains to the office of your curate, certainly, if you did not use them according to the doctrine of the Church or abused [them] through sins—so that, for example, [you abused] matrimony through adultery; chastity through incontinence, illicit sexual intercourse, fornication, and other abominable species of lust; love of neighbor through anger and envy; and so on concerning the other sins—no doubt but that you, just as the mentioned curate, will give an account of your conscience, as the Apostle testifies (Romans ii [2:15]): Their conscience bearing witness to them and their thoughts between themselves accusing. The goods of grace from your curate were appropriately dispensed to you, but the conscience gives testimony. Were these goods appropriately cared for? If only it were thus that all who received the sacraments of the Church at Easter would have now, with the unjust steward, squandered very little. No doubt but that many are accused, if not as far as the world is concerned, yet as far as God and all his saints are concerned. Thus it is said in the Gospel about each of this sort [Luke 16:1]: He was accused unto him that he has wasted his goods. But of what do they accuse [him]? Indeed, [they make] an accusation of wicked works, a plaint of depraved speech. As far as works are concerned, are there not now as many who are lustful, as many adulterers, as many greedy people, as many avaricious people, as many thieves, as many wicked plunderers, as many extortionists, as many gluttons, just as there were before Easter? Experience fully teaches [that there are]. Indeed no doubt but that as many and as great sins reign now as reigned in those five cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which, as the theologians say, were destroyed because of lust (and especially against nature) and avarice. Indeed, also because of those same sins various kingdoms were transferred from one people to another. Indeed, according to the opinion of Josephus, in the beginning of the first book of War of Judea, the noble city of Rome was destroyed for the aforementioned sins;7 in fact for the sin of idolatry the people of Israel were also held captive for seventy years in Babylon, as appears in the first book of Ezra, chapter 1. Does not also the plaint of depraved speech accuse the steward? Are there not as many perjuries, as many lies, as many slanders, as many conspiracies, as many boastings now just as before Easter? Indeed, by my estimation, a lot more because

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continuata semper crescit. Quam ad maliciam vacui iuramenti est notandum quod dicit beatus Gregorius de puero infra septennium quem dicit fuisse dampnatum pro vacuis iuramentis. Et si talis infans fuit sic dampnatus, quomodo erit de adultis communiter inuanum iurantibus? Certe timendus est de dampnacione illorum. Insuper verisimile est quod parentes dicti infantis vtentes consimilibus iuramentis fuerunt in causa quare ille infans tam solito sic iurauit. Si igitur ille fuit dampnatus, a forciori et illi. Vnde timeant parentes infantum ipsis audientibus iurare ne forsan ipsos infantes ad periuria assuescant, verum quia de omni verbo ocioso reddetur racio, et a forciori de periuriis et friuolis iuramentis. Vbi reddetur racio? Certe aut hic aut in iudicio finali de qua racione dicam posterius. Set bonum est quod quilibet ponat cum seipso racionem, scilicet in consciencia et cogitacione, quomodo bona gracie dispensauit et vocante Domino sit paratus reddere racionem et precipue quilibet ecclesiasticus qui nedum de seipso set de qualibet anima sue cure commissa reddet racionem, ita quod verificetur de vobis ecclesiasticis illud Hebreorum 13: Peruigilant tamquam racioni pro animabus vestris reddituri. Et hoc est quod dixi in principio quod villicacio spiritualis in bonis gracie pertinet ad ecclesiasticos de qua reddetur racio in consciencia et cogitacione. Secundum principale Dixi secundo principaliter quod est villicacio temporalis bonorum fortune pertinens ad laicos, et tercio combinaui cum isto quod est villicacio partim spiritualis, partim temporalis pertinens tam ad clericos quam ad laicos de quibus reddetur racio tam in locucione quam in operacione. Et quia bona nature sunt pociora bonis fortune, ideo de illis loquar primo. Bono igitur nature, scilicet humane, de quibus est sermo, sunt corpus et anima et potencie naturales vtriusque que constituunt spiritualem villam vel domum ad exemplum ville vel domus materialis. Nam in villa materiali sunt domus, vici, et vulgus inhabitans, dominus et domina que habent principaliter regere villam illam, speciales famuli et ministri sunt villici dicte ville. Tali ville vel domui comparatur Lincolniensis hominem cuius corpus est quasi villa in quo membra corporis sunt quasi domus; os, oculus, et aures quasi porte huius ville, per quas portas ingrediuntur et egrediuntur populus, aliquando bonus, aliquando malus. Et vtinam ille porte bene custodirentur! Dominus huius ville



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­ ninterrupted evil always multiplies. As for the evil of an empty oath, we should u note what blessed Gregory says about a boy under seven who he says was condemned for vain oaths.8 And if such a child was thus condemned, how will it be for adults who commonly swear vain oaths? Certainly they should fear their damnation. Furthermore, apparently the parents of the mentioned child habitually used similar oaths, which is why this child was in the habit of swearing like this. So if he was condemned, much more so will those [parents] be also. Therefore parents should be afraid to swear in the hearing of their children lest perhaps they accustom their children to swearing, indeed because for every idle word an account will be given and more so for swearing and frivolous oaths. Where will an account be given? Certainly either here or at the Last Judgment, about which account I will speak later. But it is good that each person sets within himself an account in conscience and thought of how he dispensed the goods of grace, and when the Lord calls, he may be prepared to give an account, and especially each clergyman who will give an account not only of himself but of each soul committed to his care, so that it will be made true concerning you clergymen what it says in Hebrews 13[:17]: They watch as being to render an account of your souls. And this is what I said in the beginning, that a spiritual stewardship regarding the goods of grace pertains to the clergy, [a stewardship] concerning which an account will be given in conscience and thought. Second principal part [and third combined] I said for the second principal part that there is a temporal stewardship of the goods of fortune pertaining to the laity, and I combined the third with that which is the stewardship partly spiritual and partly temporal pertaining both to the clergy and to the laity, a stewardship of which an account will be rendered both in speech and in action. And because the goods of nature are superior to the goods of fortune, I will speak of those first. Therefore, the goods of nature—that is, human nature—with which this sermon is concerned are body and soul and natural powers of both, which constitute a spiritual estate or house in the example of a material estate or house. For in a material estate there are houses, streets, and the common people who live there, the lord and lady who principally rule that estate, [and] special servants and officials [who] are the stewards of the estate. To such an estate or house Grosseteste9 compares man, whose body is, as it were, an estate in which the members of the body are, as it were, the houses; the mouth, eye, and ears [are] the gates of this estate, through which gates people enter and leave, some good, some wicked. And if only these gates were well guarded! The lord of this estate is the soul or the understanding; the lady is the

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est anima vel intellectus, sua1 domina est voluntas, que secundum beatum Augustinum, est regina in regno anime. Memoria est aula vel camera in quam hospites introducuntur. Capitalis dominus huius ville est ipse Deus qui residet in racione sicut dominus in principali loco ville sue. Officiarii et famuli huius ville sunt sensus interiores et exteriores. Que sunt horum officia? Certe ministrare singulos omnes simul in gradu suo, domino capitali principaliter, et secundario suum locum tenenti, scilicet anime. Immo et dispensare ista bona nature ad honorem et voluntatem domini capitalis cui indubie reddetur racio de dispensacione predicta. Ministeria que debent suo domino capitali est primo custodire habitaculum suum mundum, | secundo ipsum pre omnibus diligere, tercio exquo diligit mundiciam omnem populum inmundum a suo conspectu excludere. Vnde officium visus est videre honestum, officium auditus audire bonum, officium locucionis loqui vtile et edificatorium, officium gustus gustare mensurate, officium manuum operari bonum ad omnes, vt precipit Apostolus. Set reuera quod dolendum est, isti operarii non bene faciunt officia sua set permittunt populum inmundissimum intrare atrium regis, scilicet memoriam. Nam visus permittit intrare concupiscenciam cum populo turpissimo cogitacionum luxurie, adulterii, incestus, peccati contra naturam, et populum superbie, auaricie, inanis glorie, et omnium sequacium suorum, scilicet presumpcionis, curiositatis in vestibus et alio apparatu. Sequaces auaricie sunt falsitates, doli, periuria, falsa pondera, falsa mercimonia, rapina, vsura, extorsiones, detencio decimarum, oblacionum, et aliorum ad ecclesias debitorum, false et infideles decimaciones, false ascise, furta, sacrilegia. Auris auditus permittit intrare mendacia, detracciones, verba scurilia, inhonesta, luxuriosa, periuria, vanas fabulas, accusaciones, conspiraciones in malo, falsa testimonia, calumpnias, falsa et ficta consilia. Auditus et loquelas per os permittunt ista intrare in aulam dicti domini capitalis, immo inuidias, iras, contumelias, obprobria, et omnes sequaces ire et inuidie permittunt intrare. Gustus et olfactus permittunt intrare populum gulosum, scilicet nimias commesaciones, ieiunii fracciones, votorum violaciones, vomitus, ebrietates, serotinas potaciones. Et tunc sequitur alius populus, scilicet accidiosus, scilicet sompnolencia, tristicia faciendi vel operandi aliquod bonum. Postquam ergo isti populi turpissimi intrauerint dictam villam, tunc certe dominus capitalis, scilicet Deus, in quem iste populus non potest nec audet respicere, recedit, et iste populus inhabitat aulam regis, scilicet memoriam, et 1

 sua] seu



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will, which, according to blessed Augustine, is the queen in the kingdom of the soul.10 Memory is the court or chamber into which guests are led. The chief lord of this estate is God himself, who resides in reason as a lord in the principal place of his estate. The officers and servants of this estate are the interior and exterior senses. What are their offices? Certainly to minister to each and all together in his rank, to the chief lord principally, and secondarily to his place of residence, namely, the soul. Indeed, also to dispense these goods of nature for the honor and will of the chief lord, to whom undoubtedly they will give an account of the aforementioned dispensation. The ministry which they owe to their chief lord is first to keep his residence clean; second, to love him beyond all things; third, since he loves purity, to exclude all impure people from his sight. Whence the office of sight is to see an honest thing; the office of hearing is to hear a good thing; the office of speaking to speak a useful and edifying thing; the office of taste to taste moderately; the office of the hands to work good for all, as the Apostle preaches [Gal. 6:10]. But, indeed, we should lament that these workers do not perform their offices well but permit the most unclean people to enter the hall of the king, namely, the memory. For sight permits concupiscence to enter with the most shameful people of lustful thoughts, of adultery, of incest, of sin against nature, and people of pride, avarice, vainglory, and of their followers, specifically, presumption, extravagance in clothing and other trappings. The followers of avarice are falsehoods, deceits, perjuries, false weights, false merchandise, theft, usury, extortions, holding back tithes, oblations, and other things owed to the Church; false and unfaithful tithing; false appropriation; robberies; sacrileges. The ear for hearing permits lies to enter, scurrilous, dishonest, [and] lustful slanders, perjuries, vain tales, accusations, conspiracies in evil, false testimonies, subterfuge, false and fictive counsels. Hearing and discourse by mouth permit these to enter into the hall of the mentioned chief lord, specifically, grudges, provocations, insults, abuses, and they permit all the followers of anger and envy to enter. Taste and smell permit the gluttonous people to enter, specifically, excessive eating, breakings of fasts, violations of vows, acts of vomiting, drunkenness, and late-night drinking. And then other people follow, specifically, the slothful, that is, somnolence, sadness in doing or working anything good. So after these most shameful people enter the said estate, then certainly the chief lord—namely, God—whom these people cannot or dare not see, recedes, and these people inhabit the court of the king—the memory—and they take captive the vice-lord and the lady of this estate—the understanding and the will—and consequently the entire household subjected to them, and then after these wicked

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captiuant subdominum et dominam huius ville, scilicet intellectum et voluntatem, et ex consequenti totam familiam sibi subiectam. Et tunc postquam iste populus malus inhabitauerit istam villam, tunc certe operarios extrincecos, scilicet manus, mittit ad opera illicita, scilicet ad opera auaricie, luxurie, gule, inuidie, atque ire. De isto populo pessimo verificatur illud Ieremie 50: Grex perditus factus est populus. De isto populo fuit ille qui vocatus ad cenam excusauit se dicens, Luce 14, Emi villam; habeo necesse \habeo/ exire videre illam. Super quo Gorham per emptorem ville intelligit cupidum. In empcione (inquit) ville intelligitur vinctus vinculis cupiditatis racione possessionum. Eciam (inquit) in empcione ville intelligitur superbia dominacionis, scilicet racione habitancium ad quam habet necesse exire. Vere (inquit) necesse quia viciosa consuetudo necessitatem facit. Vnde beatus Augustinus in libro Confessionibus dum consuetudini non resistitur fit necessitas. Exire (inquit) scilicet a cura interiorum spiritualium, scilicet a bonis gracie, per abusum bonorum nature ad videndum temporalia et mundialia. Vnde Gregorius: Villam exit videre qui sola exteriora cogitat, et totum studium ad illa implicat, et non dubium quin quilibet talis reddet racionem. Romanos 14: Vnusquisque pro se reddet racionem. Vlterius pro villicacione bonorum fortune que pertinet tam ad clericos quam ad laicos et est partim spiritualis et partim temporalis constat que sunt bona fortune, scilicet diuicie, pecunie, possessiones agrorum, domorum, et aliarum rerum temporalium, que bona secundum philosophos et doctores debent esse quasi media et instrumenta ad fortificandum et iuuandum bona nature, ad perquirendum bona gracie et glorie, et pro quanto appropriantur ecclesie sunt quodammodo spiritualia quia spirituali annexa vt dicit canon. Et reuera ista bona sunt collata ecclesie non vt ecclesiastici ex illis superbiant2 et nimis lasciuiant, nec vt se reputent tanquam dominos temporales, non vt expendantur in excessiuis et pomposis apparatibus, in conuiuiis nimis lautis, in concubinis, | in cognatis, et aliis insolenciis, set vt ecclesiastici ex illis habeant victum et vestitum suis gradibus competentes et vt ex alia parte prouideatur suis ecclesiis et residuum pauperibus erogetur. Et sic debent occupari in villicacione istorum bonorum ita quod ab officiis suis et a curis ad que tenentur per nimias sollicitudines temporales minime abstrahantur. Secunda vero villicacio istorum bonorum pertinet ad laicos quibus licet querere et quesitis vti cum iusticia sine fraude. Vnde largius ad propositum loquendo 2

 superbiant] supbiant



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people inhabit this estate, then certainly they put the exterior workers—the hands—to illicit works, to works of avarice, lust, gluttony, envy, and anger. Concerning these debased people it is verified in Jeremiah 50[:6]: The people have been a lost flock. Of these people was the man who, called to the supper, excused himself saying (Luke 14[:18]): I have bought a farm, and I need to go out and see it. On this [text] Gorran interprets the buyer of the farm as a greedy person: “In the buying of the farm someone bound in the fetters of greed by reason of possessions is understood. Also in the buying of the farm the pride of lordship is understood, specifically on account of the inhabitants, for which reason he needs to go out. Truly [it is] necessary because a vicious habit creates a necessity.”11 Thus blessed Augustine, in the book of Confessions, [says that] when a habit is not resisted it becomes a necessity.12 “To go out ([Gorran] says), namely from the care of interior spiritual things,”13 that is, the goods of grace through the abuse of the goods of nature by seeing temporal and worldly things. Thus Gregory: “He leaves the estate to see, the one who thinks only of exterior things,”14 and he applies all his zeal to those things, and no doubt but that each of this sort will render an account. Romans 14[:12]: Everyone shall render an account. Finally, for the stewardship of the goods of fortune, which pertains both to the clergy and to the laity and is partly spiritual and partly temporal, everyone knows that the following are the goods of fortune: riches, property, possessions of land, houses, and other temporal things. These goods, according to the philosophers and theologians, should be like means and instruments for fortifying and assisting the goods of nature, for seeking the goods of grace and glory; and to the extent that they are appropriated by the Church, in a certain way they are spiritual, because they are annexed to the spiritual, as the canon law says.15 And indeed these goods are amassed by the Church not so that the clergy can become proud and excessively licentious because of them, nor so that they can consider themselves temporal lords, nor so that [the goods] are expended in excessive and pompous trappings, in excessively elegant feasts, in concubines, in kinsmen, and other extravagances, but so that from these goods the clergy may have provisions and vestments corresponding to their ranks and so that from another part their churches may be provided for and the rest may be expended on the poor. And thus they should be occupied with the stewardship of these goods so that they are least dragged away by excessive temporal concerns from their offices and from the tasks for which they are responsible. However, the second stewardship of these goods pertains to the laity, for whom it is licit to seek and use what is sought with justice [and] without fraud. Thus it

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de villa. Potest villa vocari quecumque communitas in qua sunt tercia genera villicorum, scilicet oratores, milites, et coloni sicut dicit venerabile Anselmus in De similitudinibus. Oratores sunt ecclesiastici de quibus dictum est. Secundum Wallensis in suo Communiloquio, parte 1, distinctione 9, capitulo 1, vbi comparat militem manui. Vnde (inquit) sicut manus sunt in corpore naturali ad repellenda nociua (et precipue a capite), ad percucienda infestancia, ad attrahenda necessaria, ad conseruanda omnia alia3 membra et defendenda, sic et milites sunt in re publica, et precipue ad protegendum capud, scilicet Christum, qui est capud ecclesie, non Christum in se, set in membris suis, scilicet defendendo principaliter ecclesiasticos et bona sua et deinde patriam et tandem pauperes et viduas et alias iustas causas saltem in curia temporali. Quod si sint exactores bonorum ecclesie, detentores vel vastatores, percussorum et oppressorum pauperum manutentores, mercatores falsi lucri, questores, procul dubio solum nomine sunt milites et non re. Secundum villicacionem colonum, intelligo per colonos omnes alios bonorum dispensatores, puta agricolas, mercatores, operarios, artificies. Villicacio agricole est colere terram suam, non vsurpare alienum, fructus terre culte metere et congregare congregatos, fideliter decimare non subtrahere et nichil de pessimis decimas dare, sicut multi faciunt et reuera tales peccant mortaliter quia committunt sacrilegium, in diebus festinis ad diuinum seruicium venire, non ire ad nundinas, ad fora, ad seruisiam, et spectacula et vanos ludos. Immo et debent suis ministris sua stipendia in prefixis terminis fideliter soluere. Qui ministri debent sua ministeria sicut et omnes alii operarii fideliter exhibere verum quia si non fecerint ipsi furantur victum et stipendia sua. Debent eciam si vendant blada et terre nascencia habere mensuras fideles et non emere cum vna et vendere cum alia. Immo breuiter debent facere cuilibet alii quod vellent fieri sibi ipsis, verum quia vt predixi vnusquisque reddet racionem. Set vbi, quando, et quomodo et de quibus? Certe hic in terra vel iam pro vita ista vel tandem in finali iudicio. Quando verum pro vita ista est in tua propria voluntate reddere racionem. Set quomodo? Dicam [vt] predixi, scilicet in cogitacione, locucione, et operacione. Vbi (inquam) reddes racionem de quibus? Item de bonis gracie, nature, et fortune. Vbi (inquam) reddes racionem? Dixi pro vita ista et tempus reddendi est in tua voluntate. Quomodo reddes? Certe respondet factum villici in euangelio cum dicit, ait ­villicus 3

 alia] ad. John of Wales has alia.



English Translation (RY44)189

is more to the point to speak of an estate. An estate can be called a certain community in which there are three kinds of stewards, namely, those who pray, knights, and farmers, as the venerable Anselm says in De similitudinibus.16 Those who pray are the clergy, about whom we spoke [earlier]. John of Wales in his Communiloquium, part 1, distinction 9, chapter 1, compares a knight to a hand: Whence “as hands are in the natural body for repelling harmful things (and especially from the head), for striking back attacks, for drawing in necessities, for protecting and defending all other members, so also knights are in the republic,”17 and especially for protecting the head, that is, Christ, who is the head of the Church, not Christ in himself but in his members, specifically by defending principally the clergy and their goods and then the homeland and finally the poor and widows and other just causes, at least in the temporal court. So that if they are exactors of the goods of the Church, detainers or ravishers, maintainers18 of those who strike down or oppress the poor, merchants of false profit, pardoners, no doubt they are knights only in name and not in fact. The second stewardship [is that] of farmers: I understand by farmers all other dispensers of goods, namely, plowmen, merchants, laborers, craftsmen. The stewardship of the plowman is to cultivate his land, not to usurp another’s; to reap the fruits of the cultivated land and to gather it; to tithe faithfully that which is gathered, not to subtract [anything from harvest subject to tithes]; and not to give from the worst tithes, as many do, and indeed such people sin mortally because they commit a sacrilege; to come to the divine service on feast days, not to go to fairs, markets, the tavern, and to plays and vain games. Indeed, also in their trades they should faithfully pay their taxes in the set terms. Those who are tradesmen should faithfully carry out their trades as also [should] all other laborers; indeed because if they do not, they steal their provisions and wages. They should also, if they sell grain and the produce of the earth, use honest measures and not buy with one [measure] and sell with another. Indeed briefly, they should do to one another what they would want to be done to them because, as I said, each one will render an account. But where, when, and how, and about which things? Certainly here on earth either now for this life or finally at the Last Judgment. When: indeed on behalf of this life it is up to you to render an account. But how? I will say [as] I said before, namely, in thought, speech, and deed. Where, I say, will you render an account and about which things? Again, concerning the goods of grace, nature, and fortune. Where, I say, will you render an account? I said on behalf of this life, and the time for rendering is up to you. How will you render it? Certainly the steward’s deed in the Gospel gives an answer when it says, The steward said within himself (that is, in

190

fol. 171v

Latin Text (RY44)

intra se (scilicet in cogitacione), Quid faciam quia dominus aufert a me villicacionem? Fodere non valeo, mendicare erubesco. Tota dispensacio bonorum presencium auferetur in morte que forsan est in ianuis quando certe non poteris fodere et erubesces mendicare. Fodere operis est, mendicare confusionis, et quando quis fodit illud quod apertum erat oculis tegit sub terra, et econtra eciam mendicans petit cum rubore illud quo indiget. Vnde per fossionem terre notatur confessio secundum Ieronymum super eodem euangelio, quia peccatum quod occultum fuit sub terra, id est humane anime que terre comparatur, per confessionem denudatur. Et econtra peccatum quemcumque apertum per confessionem detegitur et suffoditur penes ecclesiam, eciam penes Deum si debita fuerit contricio in cogitacione et consciencia. Deliberes in tua consciencia quomodo dispensaueris bona gracie, sacramentorum ecclesie, et omnium virtutum tibi collatorum sicut4 memoria, intellectus, et racio. Auditores in hoc compoto sint computatoria tua: quociens, quando, vbi, quibus peccatis et quibus modis peccasti. Hoc facto | reddas racionem in locucione, scilicet in exteriori confessione, dicendo vbi, quando, quociens, et quibus modis peccasti dissipando bona gracie, nature, vel fortune. Qua racione reddita reddes racionem in opere et satisfacione sciens indubie quod ablata villicacione non poteris fodere, id est confiteri quia a mortuo perit confessio, et erubesces mendicare, id est petere vel orare pro misericordia. Ideo exemplo villici sis prudens pro vita ista. Ipse quesiuit amicos cum bonis domini sui qui post ablacionem villicacionis ipsum reciperent et sustentarent. Vnde de hac prudencia, non de fraude, commendatus est a domino suo. Sic et nos de bonis Domini Dei nostri cuius sunt omnia bona debemus facere nobis amicos de mammona iniquitatis; id est de diuiciis nostris, que vocantur mammona iniquitatis non quia inique sunt set quia vt plurimum pauci eas sine iniquitate querunt, debemus elemosinas largas dare. Pro quo notandum quod elemosina est duplex, scilicet spiritualis et corporalis. Spiritualis est de bonis gracie; corporalis est de bonis fortune, et vtramque elemosinam ministrandum iuuant bona nature. Elemosina ergo spiritualis pertinet principaliter ad ecclesiasticos. Que secundum beatum Augustinum, Enchiridion 52, 53, 55, 56, in quibus tractat de vtroque genere elemosine, elemosina nichil maius est quam ex toto corde dimitte illi qui in nos peccauit. Item elemosina est quando non solum dimittit set orat vt dimittatur ei. E ­ lemosinam dat qui alium 4

 sicut] sint



English Translation (RY44)191

thought), What shall I do, because my lord takes away from me the stewardship? I am unable to dig; I am ashamed to beg [Luke 16:3]. The entire dispensation of present goods will be taken away in death, which perhaps is at the door, when you certainly will be unable to dig and you will be ashamed to beg. To dig involves work, to beg involves shame, and when anyone digs, that which was disclosed to the eyes, he hides under the earth, and on the other hand, the one who begs seeks with shame that which he needs. Thus digging of the earth denotes confession, according to Jerome on this Gospel,19 because sin that was hidden under the earth—that is, in the human soul, which is compared to the earth—is laid bare through confession. And on the other hand sin, however much it is laid bare through confession, is covered and dug under in the power of the Church and God if there had been appropriate contrition in thought and conscience. You should consider in your conscience how you have dispensed the goods of grace, of the sacraments of the Church, and of all of the virtues given to you, such as memory, understanding, and reason. The auditors in this account may be your counting tables: how often, when, where, through which sins and in which ways did you sin? When you have done this, you may render an account in speech, that is, in exterior confession by saying where, when, how often, and in which ways you have sinned in the dispensing of the goods of grace, nature, or fortune. When you have given this account, you will give an account in deed and satisfaction, knowing undoubtedly that when the stewardship has been taken away, you cannot dig—that is, confess—because by death confession dies, and you are ashamed to beg, that is, to ask or pray for mercy. So by the example of the steward, you should be prudent for this life. He sought friends with the goods of his lord, [friends] who, after his stewardship was taken away, would receive and sustain him. Thus for this [act of] prudence, not for fraud, he was commended by his lord. So also concerning the goods of the Lord our God, to whom all goods belong, we should make for ourselves friends of the mammon of iniquity; that is, we should give great alms from our riches, which are called the mammon of iniquity, not because they are iniquitous but because far too few seek them without iniquity. Note that alms are twofold: spiritual and corporeal. The spiritual are from the goods of grace, the corporeal are from the goods of fortune, and the dispensing of both kinds of alms assists the goods of nature. Therefore, spiritual alms pertain principally to the clergy. According to blessed Augustine, Enchiridion 52, 53, 55, 5620 (in which he treats of both kinds of alms), alms are nothing more than to forgive with the whole heart the one who has sinned against us. Likewise these alms occur when he not only forgives, but he prays that he is forgiven by the other. He gives alms who teaches another or corrects him when he errs. Also, according

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Latin Text (RY44)

informat vel corripit quando delinquit. Eciam secundum Gregorium, omelia 6, elemosina est distribuere verbum Dei. Ista racio elemosine pertinet ad ecclesiasticos. Ista elemosina figurari potest in centem cadis olei quos remisit villicus ad 50. Sic moraliter per cados olei designantur opera misericordie in quibus possumus remittere vsque ad 50, hoc est, quantum est in nobis quia numerus quinquagentarius signat apud nos plenam remissionem. Alia species elemosine, hec est remittere ex toto corde, id est ex totis viribus. Immo et ista elemosina spiritualis est hominis penes seipsum vt misereatur anime sue placens Deo. Alia species elemosine est temporalis que omnino facienda est de bonis licite adquisitis, et illa est de bonis fortune, que non dubium bona est cum oracione et ieiunio. Cum oracione, id est cum bona vita quia, secundum beatum Augustinum, non deficit orare qui non deficit bene viuere. Item bona est cum ieiunio nedum corporali set pocius abstinencia a viciis et peccatis et breuiter cum condicionibus predictis. Sicut aqua extinguit ignem, ita elemosina extinguit peccatum. Igitur, amore Iesu Christi, exquo Dominus vocat nos in exemplo villici ad racionem, vocat (inquam) nos inspiracionibus interioribus, predicacionibus exterioribus, euidentibus beneficiis, multiplicibus flagellis et aliis vocacionibus innumeris, paremus nos ad reddendum racionem. Verum quia si expectemus diem iudicii, habebimus auditores qui nichil nobis condonabunt vel allocabunt, scilicet Deum, omnes sanctos, demones, et totum mundum, et computatoria erunt verba horribilia iudicis qui accusabit nos specialiter, quia non fecimus opera misericordie que consistunt maxime in elemosine tam spiritualis quam corporalis exhibicione. Et causa est, secundum doctores, quare iudicabit nos de illis operibus quia propter misericordiam fuit incarnatus, passus, et crucifixus. Immo propter misericordiam omnia bona alia nobis fecit. Vnde quasi omnia opera caritatis quo ad proximum que coniungunt nos Deo sunt opera misericordie et ideo specialiter de illis reddemus racionem. Reddamus igitur hic racionem pro vita ista capientes formam de modo computandi. Constat quod computando ponuntur denarii vsque ad sex, et tunc si super excrescant vltra sex, ponitur vnum computatorium supra illa sex quod computatorium per se translatum ad superiorem locum efficit solidum, scilicet xii dinarii. Moraliter ad propositum. Numerus senarius est numerus primus perfectus et signat totum tempus in quo viuimus et operamur. Computemus bene illud tempus primo apud nosmet ipsos in quadrantibus et obulis, id est in minoribus factis et maioribus, et illa que sunt superflua, puta peccata, resecemus, et ea que sunt vera nostro compoto inseramus, scilicet



English Translation (RY44)193

to Gregory, homily 6, alms are to disseminate the word of God.21 This reason for [giving] alms pertains to the clergy. These alms can be represented by the one hundred jars of oil which the steward reduced to fifty. Thus morally the jars of oil designate the works of mercy, which we can reduce by up to fifty, that is to say, however much is in us, because the number fifty signifies full remission [of debts] on our part. Another type of alms is to forgive from all the heart, which is to say, with all your strength. And indeed, this kind of spiritual alms is also in man’s power so that he may have mercy on his soul, being pleasing to God. The other type of alms is temporal, which should be given entirely from legally acquired goods, and this is from the goods of fortune, which goods no doubt are [given] with prayer and fasting—with prayer, that is, with a good life because, according to blessed Augustine, he who does not fail to live well will not fail to pray.22 Likewise goods are [given] with fasting, not only corporeal but rather with abstinence from vices and sins, and, briefly, with the previously noted conditions. As water extinguishes fire, so alms extinguish sin. Therefore, for the love of Jesus Christ, since in the example of the steward the Lord calls us to an account—he calls us (I say) with interior inspirations, exterior preaching, clear benefits, manifold scourges, and other innumerable summons—let us prepare ourselves to render an account. Indeed because if we wait until Judgment Day, we will have auditors who will not pardon nor allow us anything—namely, God, all the saints, demons, and the entire world—and the counting-tables will be the horrible words of the Judge, who will accuse us especially because we did not do works of mercy, which consist most greatly in the dispensing of alms, both spiritual and corporeal. And according to the theologians, the reason why he will judge us concerning these works [is] because for mercy he became incarnate, suffered, and was crucified; indeed for mercy he did all other good things for us. Thus, nearly all works of charity for our neighbor which join us to God are works of mercy, and therefore we will render an account especially concerning those. Let us therefore here render the account for this life using the method of accounting.23 It happens that, when accounting, pence are placed up to six, and then if they grow beyond six, one counter24 is placed above that six so that the counter transposed to a higher place by means of itself makes a shilling, namely twelve pence.25 Morally to the point, the sixth number is the first perfect number, and it signifies all the time in which we live and work. Let us count that time well, first among ourselves in farthings and halfpennies, that is, in lesser deeds and greater ones, and those which are superfluous—namely, sins—let us clip, and let us insert into our calculation those which are true, namely, insofar as they are well paid out. Because in the counting of the first six pence stands, as it were, the foot of our calculation, on which are held the good works that we have done; let us place a counter above

194 fol. 172r

Latin Text (RY44)

dumtaxat | bene expensa. Quia in computacione primorum sex denariorum stat quasi pes compoti nostri quibus operibus bonis habitis; superponamus vnum computatorium, scilicet pro vi denariis, quod translatum valebit 12 denariis, id est solido. Qui solidus est fides que fides cum bonis operibus vna est et solida, immo omnium bonorum spiritualium fundamentum secundum Apostolum. Iam solido habito, scilicet fide cum bonis operibus, fiat vlterior compotus, scilicet solidorum, id est articulorum fidei, per 5, scilicet per 5 sensus, id est per fidem cum bonis operibus, tota racio nostri compoti continuetur, et tunc supponatur vnum computatorium illis 5 a parte dextra et equiparat illis 5; hoc est, equiparentur 5 sensus interiores ad 5 sensus exteriores in fide et operacione bonorum operum ad honorem Dei in quo est nostra dextra. Et transferantur ad sinistram, scilicet ad proximum, et tunc efficiunt x solidi, scilicet implecionem x preceptorum, quod computatorium translatum facit libram que compositur ex duobus equalibet, scilicet ex x et x, et congrue signat partes iusticie, scilicet quod reddat Deo que debet de bonis nature: actum cordis, dileccionem et fidem; actum oris ipsum laudando et peccata tua confitendo; actum corporis ipsi seruiendo et preceptis eius obediendo. Reddendo eciam Deo de bonis fortune et gracie, vt omnia recepta et data in eius honorem et reuerenciam expendantur; secundo vt omnia promissa ei reddantur, siue promissa sint de bonis fortune sicut oblaciones siue de bonis nature sicut peregrinaciones et ieiunia et huiusmodi; tercio si in aliquo istorum defeceris reddas racionem petendo misericordiam. Pro secunda parte iusticie reddat homo proximo que debet, scilicet dileccionem in corde; informacionem et bonam loquelam in ore; succursum si indigeat in opera. In istis equidem et predictis stat racio villicacionis quod si boni Christiani talem racionem fecerint tunc verificabitur de illis illud Petri 4, Reddent racionem (scilicet bonam et fidelem) ei qui paratus est iudicare viuos et mortuos, et hoc specialiter de elemosina tam spirituali quam corporali, et verificabitur de quolibet tali quod legitur de beato Laurencio et habetur in Psalmo: Dispersit, dedit pauperibus iusticia eius, etc. Iusticia (inquam) in presenti et corona iusticie in seculum seculi, scilicet imperpetuum. Quam iusticiam nobis concedat qui, etc.



English Translation (RY44)195

to stand for six pence, so that the one transposed will be valued at twelve pence, that is, one shilling. This shilling is faith; this faith together with good works is one and also unalloyed, indeed the foundation of every spiritual good, according to the Apostle [Hebr. 6:1?]. When we now have this shilling, that is, faith with good works, let there be a further calculation, namely, of shillings—that is, of the articles of faith— by five, that is, the five senses; that is to say, the total reckoning of our calculation may be put in line by faith with good works, and then one counter may be substituted for the five on the right side and made equivalent with these five; that is, the five interior senses may be made equivalent with the five exterior senses in faith and the working of good works for the honor of God, who is at our right hand. And let them be passed over to the left side—to our neighbor—and then they make ten shillings, that is, the fulfillment of the Ten Commandments, so that the transferred counter makes a pound,26 which is composed from two equal things, namely, from ten and ten, and which aptly signifies the [two] parts of justice. [The first part is] that one should render to God what one owes from the goods of nature: the activity of the heart, [which is] love and faith; the activity of the mouth, by praising him and confessing your sins; the activity of the body, by serving him and obeying his commandments. [You should] render also to God from the goods of fortune and of grace so that [first] all things received and given are paid out in his honor and reverence; secondly, so that all things promised may be given back to him, whether they are promised from goods of fortune, such as offerings, or from goods of nature, such as pilgrimages and fasting and things of this sort; thirdly, if in any of these you fail, you should give an account by seeking mercy. For the second part of justice, let a man render to his neighbor what he owes: in the heart, love; in the mouth, teaching and good speaking; in works, aid if [his neighbor] is in need. In these ways, along with the aforementioned, the account of stewardship truly stands so that if good Christians make such an account, then that [verse] of Peter 4 [1 Pet. 4:5] will be made true about them: Who shall render an account (namely, a good and faithful one) to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead, and this especially concerning alms both spiritual and corporeal. And what is written about blessed Lawrence27 and is found in the Psalm [111:9] will be made true about each such person: He has distributed; he has given to the poor; his justice, etc.—justice, I say, in the present and the crown of justice in the ages to come, that is, eternally. Which justice may he concede to us who, etc.

fol. 172r

Sermo de Sancto Iohanne Baptista

Prologus

fol. 172v

Erat Iohannes, Iohannes 1. Vbicumque dicuntur ista verba in Scriptura Sacra notantur de Sancto Iohanne Baptista cum certis addicionibus quas recitabo posterius in processu, tamen quo ad intellectum sunt vsibilia, immo necessaria in omni bono actu facto vel iam in fiendo vel faciendo. Iohannes enim interpretatur gracia, vnde sine gracia que per Deum et Iesum Christum data est, vt dicit sentencialiter Apostolus, non possumus aliquid facere, immo nec esse, teste ipso Christo, Iohannis 15, Sine me nichil potestis facere, et Apostolus, Corintheos, Gracia Dei sum id quod sum. Immo sicut sine gracia nichil est, ita sine gracia nichil bene est, vnde secundum Apostolum, Corintheos 12, ista gracia quam ad hominem bene esse multipliciter est diuisa secundum diuersa dona Spiritus Sancti: Divisiones (inquit) graciarum sunt idem autem Spiritus. Hic vocat glossa gracias potestates gratis a Deo datas que gracia generaliter, secundum Apostolum, diuiduntur in duo, et specialiter in nonem. Diuiduntur (inquam) generaliter in duo, scilicet in ministracionem et operacionem: Diuisiones (inquit) ministracionum sunt idem vero Dominus, et diuisiones operacionum sunt idem vero Deus qui operatur omnia in omnibus. Vnde secundum glossam gracie vel potestates ministracionum sunt quo ad Deum et proximum et gracie operacionum sunt quo ad se ipsum hominem in signum quod quamcumque potestatem siue nature siue gracie, siue corporalem siue spiritualem, Deus dederit homini, ipsam debet excercere in vtilitate et bonitate quo ad Deum, quo ad proximum et seipsum. Ideo sequitur in textu vnicuique datur manifestacio (scilicet Spiritus) ad vtilitatem. Et tunc sequ[u]ntur speciales diuisiones graciarum datarum per Spiritum Sanctum. Alii (inquit) per Spiritum datur sermo sapiencie, alii sermo sciencie, alii fides, alii gracia sanitatum, alii operacio virtutum, | alii prophecia, alii discrecio spirituum, alii genera linguarum, alii interpretacio sermonum. Set quid tollit istas species graciarum? Reuera mors. Quomodo? Certissime mors corporis tollit omnem administracionem et operacionem. Mors

Sermon for St. John the Baptist1 (RY45) Theme: John was (John 1:6 and 1:28) Prologue John was (John 1[:6 and 28]). Wherever these words are said in Sacred Scripture they denote St. John the Baptist with certain additions, which I will relate later in the development, yet for our understanding, these [two words] are usable, indeed necessary, for every good act done either now or in the future. For “John” means “grace,”2 so without grace, which was given through God and Jesus Christ, as the Apostle says in essence, we cannot do anything, indeed nor even be, as is testified by Christ himself (John 15[:5]): Without me you can do nothing; and the Apostle (Corinthians [1 Cor. 15:10]): By the grace of God I am that which I am. Indeed, just as without grace nothing is, so without grace nothing is well; so according to the Apostle (Corinthians 12 [1 Cor. 12]), this grace, which is good for man, is divided in many ways according to the diverse gifts of the Holy Spirit. There are divisions (he says) of grace but one Spirit [12:4]. Here the gloss calls graces powers freely given by God,3 graces which generally, according to the Apostle, are divided into two and specifically into nine. They are divided, I say, generally into two: ministry and operation. There are divisions (he says) of ministries, but truly the same Lord, and there are divisions of operation, but truly the same God who works all in all [12:5–6]. Thus, according to the gloss, graces or powers of ministries are those pertaining to God and neighbor, and graces of operations are those pertaining to man himself4 in a sign that, whichever power, whether of nature or of grace, whether bodily or spiritual, God may have given to man, he gives [so that man may] cultivate in usefulness and goodness what pertains to God, to neighbor, and to man himself. Therefore, it follows in the text: The manifestation is given to every man (namely, the Spirit) unto profit [12:7]. And then follow the specific divisions of graces given through the Holy Spirit: To one by the Spirit is given the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge […], to one faith, to another the grace of healing […], to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discerning of spirits, to another diverse kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of speeches [12:8–10]. But what removes these kinds of graces? Indeed death. How? Most certainly death of the body removes every administration and operation. Death [of the spirit]

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Latin Text (RY45)

[spiritus]1 tollit omnes ceteras species graciarum, saltem ad vtilitatem. Verbi gracia: accidia tollit operacionem hominis ad seipsum et sic fidem quia [fides] sine operibus mortua est. Et vix in aliquo est qui facit quod debet. Cupiditas tollit ministracionem tam ad Deum quam ad proximum, quasi enim quilibus querit que sua sunt nonque Dei nec proximi. Superbia tollit discreciones spirituum. Superbus enim semper erronee discernit de seipso. Gula et luxuria tollunt graciam sanitatum spiritualium et operacionem virtutum. Tot enim sunt in huiusmodi viciis consueti quod operacione virtutum aut de sanitate anime nichil curant. Ira et inuidia tollunt sapienciam et scienciam quia impedit ira animam ne possit cernere verum. Immo et tollit genera linguarum ad vtilitatem. Nonnulle enim lingue ex ira et inuidia peruertuntur ad detracciones, ad mendacia, periuria, vana iuramenta, et discordias. Et sic interpretacio sermonum Dei quasi totaliter est oblita. Et sic reuera tam quo adesse gracie verificantur verba thematis, scilicet erat Iohannes, id est gracia erat Iohannes. Erant quasi infiniti homines, iam non sunt. Tolluntur per mortem, alii ad bonum, alii ad malum. Erat eciam Iohannes quo adesse gracie. Set prothdolor iam nimis tollitur per mortem culpe. Set quomodo potest Iohannes qui sic tollitur reduci? Certe nisi per illud quod signatur per Iohannem, scilicet per graciam. Vnde pro resuscitacione Iohannis, id est cuiuslibet hominis perditi cui dabatur gracia, rogandus est largitor gracie vt resuscitet Iohannem mortuum non adesse nature set adesse gracie spiritualis a morte peccati pro viuis et a reatu illius mortis pro defunctis. Sermo de Iohanne Baptista Diuisio principalis Erat Iohannes. Vbi supra. Isti verba recitantur in tribus locis scripture, scilicet Marce 1 et bis Iohanne. Primo cum addicionibus istis Marci 1 dicitur, Erat Iohannes vestitus pilis cameli, et zona pellica circa lumbos eius, et locustas et mel siluestre edebat. Iohanne 1, Fuit homo missus a Deo, cui nomen erat Iohannes, et infra, Erat Iohannes baptizans. Et Matthei 3 ponitur summa verborum thematis cum addicione vbi sic dicitur fuit Iohannes in deserto. Vnde in verbis thematis 1

 This word is missing in the text, but context requires a word parallel with corporis.



English Translation (RY45)199

removes all the rest of the kinds of graces, at least for usefulness. For example, sloth removes the operation of man for himself and thus faith because [faith] without works is dead [James 2:20]. And there is scarcely anyone who does what he should. Greed removes the ministry both to God and to neighbor, for almost everyone seeks that which is his and not God’s or his neighbor’s. Pride removes the discerning of spirits, for a proud man always discerns incorrectly about himself. Gluttony and lust remove the grace of spiritual healing and the working of miracles. For so many are habitually in these vices that they take no care for the working of miracles or the health of the soul. Anger and envy remove wisdom and knowledge because anger impedes the soul from discerning truth. Indeed, it also removes the kinds of tongues for usefulness. For out of anger and envy some tongues are perverted to detractions, to lies, perjuries, empty oaths, and dissensions. And thus the interpretation of God’s words is almost entirely forgotten. And so indeed, to the degree to which the graces are present, they are verified in the words of the theme, namely, John was, that is, John was with grace. There used to be a nearly infinite number of people; now there are not. They are taken away by death, some to good, some to bad. John also was as far as the presence of grace is concerned. But sadly now he is greatly taken away through the death of sin. But how can John who is thus taken away be brought back? Certainly only through that which is signified by “John,” namely, through grace. Thus for the resuscitation of John, that is, of each lost person to whom grace was given, we should ask the Giver of grace to revive the dead John, not by the aid of nature but by the aid of spiritual grace, from the death of sin for the living and from the guilt of that death for the dead. A sermon for John the Baptist The principal division John was (see above). These words are recited in three places in Scripture: once in Mark and twice in John. First in Mark 1[:6], it says with these additions, John was clothed in camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And in John 1[:6]: There was a man sent by God whose name was John, and lower down, John was baptizing [1:28]. And in Matthew 3[:1] we find all the words of the theme with an addition where it says [that] John was in the desert. So in the words of the theme, I will first describe man’s way of life, which is transient and

200

Latin Text (RY45)

describitur primo hominis conuersacio que est transiens et instabilis; secundo describitur modus sue conuersacionis per quem ad beatitudinem fiet habilis. [Primum principale]

fol. 173r

Primo dico quod describitur hominis conuersacio que est transiens et instabilis. Hec notatur in verbo preteriti inperfecti temporis erat. Notatur eciam per hoc quod dicitur, Fuit Iohannes in deserto, scilicet in mundo qui semper est instabilis. Notatur eciam in cotidiano experimento. Transitus (inquam) huius conuersacionis et instabilitas nota[n]tur in verbo preterito imperfecto. Eciam experimentum docet idem. Dicitur de re preterita ad mille vel c annos quod fuit vel fuerat. Set de re que nunc non est et immediate ante hoc fuit dicitur quod erat. Certe ad hoc verbum erat conuenit vita hominis: iam nunc erat hic, iam non est hic. Vnde vt dicit beatus Gregorius in Registro, libro 7, quod vita nostra est similis nauiganti. Is namque qui nauigat, siue stet siue sedeat siue iaceat, semper vadit quia impulsu nauis ducitur. Sic et nos, siue vigilantes siue dormientes, per momenta temporum ad finem tendimus. Ad idem Seneca epistola 100, vita humana est sub fragilitate defectiua et ad resistendum defeccioni vel corrupcioni invalida. Vnde beatus Gregorius, 17 Moralium, comparat vitam humanam fumo nebule et spume deficiente igne. Fumus transit, sic deficiente calore naturali vita vanescit. Nebula semper transit. Spuma statim in suam primam materiam dissoluitur. Sic et corpus hominis mortui in materiam terre cito dissoluitur. Item Iob 7: Ventus est vita mea. Set vento nichil instabilius et eius mutacione nichil incercius. Sic vtique est de vita. Exquo igitur vita hominis est ita instabilis, ita breuis, et dies transiti irreparabilis,2 immo vite exitus quasi momentanea et punctalis, quam certitudinem habebit homo in hac vita? Certe de vita sua longa nullam. Vbi ergo erit stabilitas et certitudo sua? Numquid in pulcritudine vel fortitudine corporis? Numquid | in generositate? Numquid in diuiciarum multitudine? Nonne pulcritudo, fortitudo, et cetere species corporis transiunt vita trans­ eunte, immo sepius per egritudinem, senectutem vita adhuc manente? Numquid contingit quandoque generosum esse pauperem captum ab hostibus, immo maximis tribulacionibus obnoxium? Immo homines passi sunt quandoque in reputacione, in generosi, sic et diabolus generossimus in natura sua. 2

 irreparabilis] irreparabiles



English Translation (RY45)201

unstable; second, I will describe the manner of living by which he will be made fit for beatitude. [First principal part] First I say that man’s way of life is described, which is transient and unstable. This is noted in the word[s] of the past imperfect time, “has been” (erat). It is also noted because it says, John was (= fuit) in the desert, that is, in the world, which is always unstable. It is also noted in daily experience. We note the passage, I say, of this way of living and [its] instability in the past imperfect word. Experience also teaches the same. We say about a past event of 1000 or 100 years ago that it “was” (fuit) or “had been” (fuerat). But about an event that is not [happening] now and was immediately before this, we use the word[s] “has been” (erat). Certainly these word[s] “has been” (erat) are consistent with the life of man: now it has been here, now it is not here [i.e. here today, gone tomorrow]. Thus as blessed Gregory, in the Registrum, book 7, says: “Our life is similar to one sailing, for he who sails, whether he stands or sits or lies down, always moves because he is led by the impulse of the ship. So also we, whether keeping awake or sleeping, through moments of time move to the end.”5 Likewise, Seneca, letter 100: “Human life is under a defective fragility and weak to resist this defect or corruption.”6 Whence blessed Gregory, book 17 of the Moralia, compares human life to the mist of a cloud and to the froth of a dying fire. The mist passes away; thus with the failing of natural warmth, life vanishes. The cloud always passes away. The froth is immediately dissolved into its first matter. So also the dead body of a man is quickly dissolved into the matter of the earth.7 Likewise Job 7[:7]: My life is but wind. But nothing is more unstable than wind and nothing more uncertain than its alterations. Certainly it is this way concerning life. Since, therefore, man’s life is so unstable, so brief, and the day of passing irrecoverable, indeed the end of life [is], as it were, quick and full-stop, what certitude will a man have in this life? Certainly, concerning a long life, none. Where, therefore, will his stability and certitude be? Can it be in beauty or bodily strength? Can it be in nobility of birth? Can it be in a multitude of riches? Do not beauty, strength, and the rest of these bodily splendors pass with the passing life, indeed more often by sickness [than] old age even with life still remaining? Does not a nobleman become poor whenever he is taken by enemies, [and] indeed liable to the greatest tribulations? Indeed, men have suffered when in good reputation, in nobility, as also the devil [who was] most noble in his nature.

202

Latin Text (RY45)

Insuper quantum ad diuicias instabilitas est in eis, videtur multis quod sic quia diuites habent mundum ad placitum; habent dominaciones et famulatus et ceteras pompas mundi. Set cogitet talis diues, numquid suas diuicias per licita media, non per falsitates, extorsiones, rapinas, furta, et per alia illicita adquisierit? Si sic, tunc indubie aut hic vno modo vel alio restituet aut tot quot male quesierit hiis a quibus abstulit, si supersint reddendo, aut pro peccatis eorum per elemosinas et alia penitencie \opera/ satisfaciendo aut certe quia deliquit contra preceptum domini, et non satisfecit penas in futurum centuplum luet. Cogitet diues vlterius qualem sollicitudinem habuit in querendo, qualem timorem in retinendo, qualem dolorem in perdendo, et iudicet in se ipso numquid plus sollicitus fuerit circa questum diuiciarum quam circa sue anime lucrum. Numquid plus timuit mundum quam Deum? Numquid plus doluit de perdicione anime quam de perdicione mammone? Et reuera estimo quod hiis bene ruminatis3 inueniet maximam inconstanciam in se ipso. Adhuc cogitet diues vlterius quomodo suas diuicias expendit, vel magis ad suum vsum necessarium et ad subuencionem pauperum, reddendo eciam secundum regulas iusticie vnicuique quod suum est, vel aliena bona, vtpote debita que aliis debet, eciam decimas et bona ecclesie iniuste retinendo, quod si sic fecerit et non que debet reddiderit, procul dubio tradetur tortoribus quousque reddiderit vniuersum debitum sicit dicit Christus in euangelio. Cogitet tandem diues vel in seculo potens quod quotquot diuicias habuerit velit nolit eas dimittet et forsan talibus executoribus qui nullum aut modicum bonum facient pro eo. De quibus omnibus dicit Seneca et Bromȝard in quadam Summa: Qui (inquit) sic circa diuicias errat, non est dominus diuiciarum nec eas possidet set magis ab eis tenetur. Et allegat Seneca 5 quadam epistola sic dicentem: Sic (inquit) diuicias habent sicut febrem habere dicuntur cum illa eos habeat. Vnde et communiter dicitur febris eum tenet eodem modo dicendum est diuicie eum tenent sicut hamus piscem. Quis ergo est dominus diuiciarum? Reuera nullus. Sic est dominus quin habet superiorem dominum, scilicet Deum? Et hoc probat Seneca in quadam epistola isto modo: Si homo tantum debet quantum habet non est dominus nec diues set pocius pauper. Set quantum habes, debes Deo tuo, ergo, etc. Ex quibus omnibus patet quod in diuiciis non est stabilitas. Quid ergo si diuicie affluant vel ex hereditate vel 3

 ruminatis] ruistis with probable missing macron over ui



English Translation (RY45)203

In addition, as far as riches are concerned, they are unstable, and we see this in many people because the rich have the world at their command; they have territories and households and the rest of the displays of the world. But such a rich man should consider whether his riches were acquired through legal means, not through falsehoods, extortions, plunder, theft, or through other illegal means. If yes [by illegal means], then undoubtedly either here in one way or another he will make good either by paying back as much as he wickedly obtained from those from whom he stole (if there is anything left over), or by making satisfaction for his sins through alms and other works of penance; or certainly, because he failed against the command of the Lord and did not make satisfaction, he will suffer punishments one hundredfold in the future. The rich man should think further what sort of anxiety he had in seeking, what fear in retaining, what sorrow in losing, and he will conclude within himself whether he was not more anxious in the quest for riches than for the profit of his soul. Was he not more afraid of the world than of God? Did he sorrow more for the loss of his soul than the loss of wealth? And, indeed, I think that, when he has ruminated over these things, he will find the greatest inconstancy in himself. Still, if the rich man thinks further how he expended his wealth, whether mainly for his own necessities and for the subvention of the poor and by paying back according to the rules of justice to each what is his, or by unjustly retaining another’s goods— that is, the debts which he owes to others and the tithes and the goods of the Church—that if he did the latter and did not return what he owed, no doubt he will be handed over to torturers until he returns all that he owes, as Christ says in the Gospel [Matt. 18:34]. Finally, the rich man or the one in secular power should think that, however many riches he may have had, he will lose them willy nilly and perhaps to such executors who do no or little good for him. Concerning all of which Seneca and Bromyard say in a certain text: “He who errs in this way concerning riches is not the lord of the riches nor does he possess them but rather they possess him,” and he [i.e. Bromyard] cites Seneca ([in section] 5) in a certain letter where he said: “They have riches in the way that they are said to have a fever, although the latter has them. Thus it is also commonly said that a fever possesses a person in the same way it is said that riches possess him, as a hook holds a fish.”8 So who is the lord of riches? Indeed no one. Even if he is a lord, does he not have a higher lord, namely God? And Seneca proves this in a certain letter in this way: “If a man owes as much as he has, he is not lord nor rich but rather poor.”9 But however much you have, you owe to your God, therefore, etc. From all of this it appears that there is no stability in riches. So what should be done if riches should flow from inheritance or fortune

204

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Latin Text (RY45)

ex fortuna sine iniusta adquisicione faciendum est? Respondet Brumȝard in Summa sua, scilicet de diuiciis: Sic (inquit) possideantur quod cor non lacerent. Spine (inquit) extra bladum4 crescentes non nocet, set in bona sepi posite bladum protegunt, set intra bladum crescentes ipsum destruunt. Sic diuicie que spine sunt, si extra cor per elemosinas plantentur, bene conseruantur. Si intra per nimium amorem crescant, illud destruunt. Hec ille. Insuper \tempus/ humane conuersacionis nota in hac quod dicitur, fuit Iohannes in deserto, id est mundo qui semper est transiens et sic instabilis. Iacobi: Transit mundus et concupiscencia eius. Item Corintheos 7: Preterit figura huius mundi. Vnde mundus dicitur tripliciter, scilicet maior et minor et multitudo hominum in mundo. Maior mundus est tota machina mundialis. Minor mundus dicitur microcosmus, scilicet homo mundus. Tercio modo dictus est congregacio vel bonorum et malorum simul vel tantum congregacio malorum vel tantum congregacio bonorum. Et mundus tercio modo cum suis diuisionibus dictis assimilatur mundo maiori in multis secundum varias descripciones | quibus antiqui mundum descripserunt. Quidam ipsum descripserunt in formam pauonis cum cauda recuruata faciem ornantes et posteriora turpiter denudantes, quia mundus in principio hominem ornat, ditat, honorat, et in fine spoliat et denudat. Item ostendebatur similitudo mundi in sompnis cuidam in similitudine pulcherime domine quam credidit esse Beatam Virginem cui illa: Non sum (inquit) Beata Virgo. Vide posteriora mea que apparuerunt turpissima. Sic indubie est de mundo qui est ecclesia Christianitatis tam bonorum simul quam malorum: in primitiua ecclesia fuit illa pulcra virtutibus ornata, set iam est in posteriori tempore quasi turpissimis viciis maculata \quia/ quasi maior pars hominum pretendit speciem honestatis in habitu, in vultu, in gestu, et simplices credunt viciosissimos esse honestissimos. Verbi gracia: habere diuicias, habere pulcritudinem corporis, eloquenciam, fortitudinem, mundi sapienciam, generositatem, hec et huiusmodi sunt species honestatis et quicquid tales faciunt videtur simplicibus hominibus esse bonum. Set quales sunt pro magna parte diuites et seculi potentes? Certe superbi, cupidi, exactores, pauperum oppressores. Pulcriores sunt luxuriosiores. Forciores sunt violenti percussores, non patrie defensores. Eloquentes et mundi sapientes sunt per ficticias, mendacia, subtilitates, suorum proximorum maximi deceptores. Generosi sunt iam maxime ribaldie frequentatores. Sunt enim aliatores, periuratores, turpissima loquentes. 4

 bladum] fruges in 1596 edition



English Translation (RY45)205

without unjust acquisition? Bromyard responds in his Summa, specifically on “riches”: “They may be possessed in a way such that they do not destroy the heart: thorns growing outside of blades do not harm but protect the blade placed in a good hedge, but those growing beneath the blade destroy it. Thus, if riches which are thorns are planted outside the heart by means of alms, they are well protected. If they grow beneath through excessive love, they destroy it.”10 So says Bromyard. Furthermore, [about the] time of the way of human life, note what is said: John was in the desert, that is, in the world, which is always transient and thus unstable. James [says] [1 John 2:17]: The world passes away and the concupiscence thereof. Likewise Corinthians 7 [1 Cor. 7:31]: The fashion of this world passes away. Thus the world is called three things: the greater and the lesser and the multitude of people in the world. The greater world is the entire worldly machine. The lesser world is called a microcosm, that is, the world “man.” In the third way it is called a community of the good and bad together or only a community of the bad or only a community of the good. And in this third way the world with its mentioned divisions is assimilated to the greater world in many ways according to various descriptions with which the ancients described the world. Some described it in the form of a peacock with a tail bent back, adorning the face and disgracefully exposing the back, because the world in the beginning adorned, enriched, and honored man, and in the end robbed and exposed [him]. Similarly, a likeness of the world was shown in the dreams of a certain person as the likeness of a most beautiful lady whom he believed to be the Blessed Virgin; she said to him, “I am not the Blessed Virgin. See my backside which appears most disgraceful.”11 Thus undoubtedly it is concerning the world which is the Church of Christianity, [the Church] of both the good together with the bad: in the primitive Church she was beautiful, adorned with virtues, but now she is in these latter times as it were stained with the most shameful vices because almost all people put on an appearance of honesty in appearance, in face, [and] in gesture, and the simple believe the most vicious to be the most honest. For example, having riches, having physical beauty, eloquence, strength, worldly wisdom, nobility, these kinds of thing are semblances of honesty, and whatever such people do appears to simple people to be good. But for the most part what sort are the rich and powerful? Certainly proud, greedy, unjust tax collectors,12 oppressors of the poor. The more beautiful are the more lustful. The stronger are violent murderers, not defenders of their homeland. The eloquent and worldly wise are, through fictions, lies, [and] ruses, the greatest deceivers of their neighbors. The nobles are now chiefly engaged in riotous living. For they are gamesters, perjurers, [and] speakers of the most shameful things.13

206

Latin Text (RY45)

Vnde iste mundus bene comparatur scaccario et familie scaccarii quia sicut in scaccario sunt diuersa puncta in quibus vna pars ludens que plus scit de decepcione et cautelis ludi aliam partem decipit, ita est in mundo. Sunt enim diuersa peccata et pericula vel diuersa genera hominum, et ille qui plus scit de decepcione et cautelis alios contra se agentes in mundo decipit. Vnde ipse qui est principalis lusor in ipso scaccario, cum quocumque luserit, ipsum decipit nisi assidens ludentem signo premuniat. Set videamus quomodo vna familia nititur aliam decipere. Rex in scaccario vadit recte et oblique et capit vndique per tres partes, scilicet ante, retro, et a latere, quod latus partitur dupliciter, ad dexteram scilicet et sinistram, et capit quod capere bene potest, nichil dimittens. Sic nonnulli qui habent alios regere capiunt ex cupiditate et ex omni parte quicquid capere possunt, et hoc de assistencia malorum ministorum vel regine. Omnes enim familie in scaccario prope regem sunt quasi ministri regis et regine ipsos defendentes et quos poterunt capientes. Sic et illi. Regina vero capit oblique et signat malam mulierem que quandoque excitat maritum plusquam oporteret et vbi emende fient ipsa vult partem habere. Milites vero vadunt directe per 2 puncta et obliquant in tercio. Sic reuera milites et armigeri scutiferi directe vadunt per duo puncta quando scilicet accipiunt redditus eis debitos et emendas a delinquentibus. Set in tercio puncto obliquant quando extorsiones faciunt vel bona ecclesie detinent et vsurpant. Alphini vero cornuti signant ecclesiasticos qui dicuntur esse moraliter cornuti, scilicet habere scienciam vtriusque testamenti. Capiunt in tercio puncto transeuntes per angulos punctorum. Anguli qui non multum apparent sunt secrete cautele; vnde per secretas cautelas per secunda5 puncta, scilicet per preces et litteras dominorum, et quandoque in tercio puncto, scilicet in dacione munerium, capiunt beneficia ecclesie et totum oblique quia simoniace. Rokus directe transit per totum scaccarium et non oblique, et signat iudices siue ecclesiasticos siue seculares siue senescallos dominorum, qui debent rectam viam veritatis tenere, et non obliquare propter munera, odium, vel fauorem. Set certe quandoque rokus creditur tendere versus dexteram, scilicet ad iusticiam, et tendit ad sinistram, scilicet ad iniusticiam, vbi posset tendendo 5

 secunda] secundo



English Translation (RY45)207

Thus this world is well compared to a game of chess14 and the game’s set of chessmen because, just as in chess there are different squares on which one player—the one who knows more about deception and the tricks of the game—deceives the other, so it is in the world. For there are various sins and perils or various kinds of people, and the one who knows more about deception and tricks deceives others working against him in the world. Thus he who is the principal player in this game of chess, with whomever he has played, deceives the other unless someone assisting the other player forewarns him with a sign. But let us see how one set of chessmen tries to deceive the other. The king in a game of chess moves straight and sideways and takes [chessmen] on every side for three squares, that is, before, behind, and from the side, a side which is divided in two ways, to the right and to the left, and he takes what he is well able to take, giving up nothing. Thus some who have others to rule take whatever they can out of greed and from every side, and [they do] this with the assistance of wicked officers or of the queen. For all the chessmen in a game of chess are near the king, just like officers of the king and queen, defending them and taking those they can. So also those [officers do]. The queen indeed takes sideways and signifies a bad woman who wants to have part [of the spoils] whenever she stirs up her husband more than necessary and where there are amends to be made. The knights indeed move straight for two squares and sideways on the third. Thus indeed knights and squires and esquires move straight for two squares when they receive revenue owed to them and fines from those who were delinquent. But in the third square they move sideways when they extort or hold back and usurp the goods of the Church. The horned bishops15 certainly signify clerics who are said to be morally horned, that is, to have knowledge of both Testaments. They take in the third square passing by means of the corners of the squares [i.e. diagonally]. The corners, which are not that noticeable, are secret tricks; thus by means of secret tricks [they move] through two squares, specifically through requests and letters of lords, and whenever [they move] into the third square, that is, by giving bribes, they take benefices of the Church, and all obliquely because [they do so] by way of simony. The rook crosses straight through the entire game of chess and not sideways, and it signifies judges, whether ecclesiastical or secular, or stewards of lords, who should hold to the straight path of truth and not deviate because of bribes, hatred, or favor. But certainly, whenever the rook is believed to move towards the right, that is, towards justice, and he moves towards the left, that is, towards injustice, where he

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fol. 174r

Latin Text (RY45)

ad vnam partem vel stando in vno puncto saluare pedinum, permittit ipsum perdi et vadit ad aliam ad capiendum militem vel alphinum. Sic reuera nonnulli iudices permittunt pedinos, id est | simplices et pauperes, periculis exponi, set potenciores et eorum causas defendunt. Immo certe aliquando dimittunt viam veritatis quam intendebant in causas pauperis et retrocedunt vel aliam viam capiunt propter causam militis vel potentis, et certe pedinis, id est pauperibus, non succurrunt nisi sint prope regem, scilicet dominum suum vel quos crediderint postmodum pro futuris. Reuera omnes tales non considerant fragilitatem vite humane que transit velut ludus. Non considerant quod sicut omnes scaccarii de vno saculo procedunt et in eundem saculum redeunt, sic omnes homines de terra quo ad corpus exierunt et iterum in terram redibunt. Et timendum est quod nonnulli tales maiores quo ad animas in fine ludi in saculo, id est morte, inferiores ponentur, sicut quandoque rex et milites reponuntur in fundo saculi. Sic tales potentes ponentur in inferno inferiori. Sic inquam cum Apostolo, Corintheos 7: Preterit figura huius mundi. Vbi ergo erit stabilitas in hoc mundo? Secundum principale Certe in secundo quod principaliter premisi, scilicet in modo conuersacionis per quem homo ad beatitudinem fiet habilis, et hoc inuenitur in hoc nomine Iohannes, id est in gracia, quod possit dici post finem ludi, scilicet mortis: Erat Iohannes, scilicet immediate ante hoc erat iste cui dabatur gracia. Set quomodo requiritur ista gracia si perdatur? Certe per modum bone conuersacionis. Ad quam rehabendam oportet verificare illas tres auctoritates premissas in principio de Iohanne. Primo oportet quod dicatur de quolibet, Erat Iohannes baptizans. Secundo, Erat Iohannes vestitus pilis, etc. Et tunc tandem dicetur de esse, Fuit homo missus a Deo cui nomen erat Iohannes. Prima gracia cuilibet nostrum gratis data post bona nature fuit gracia baptismalis in qua dabatur nobis remissio peccatorum et renunciauimus diabolo et omnibus pompis eius, quam graciam perdidimus, nisi dumtaxat secundum caracterem, quando incidimus in mortale peccatum. Et in illo baptismo fuit sacerdos minister et habuimus compatrem et commatrem et intincti fuimus in aqua. Sic indubie ad hoc quod aliquis peccator sit Iohannes, id est cui datur gracia, oportet quod regeneretur lauacro penitencie que est secundus ­baptismus



English Translation (RY45)209

could have saved a pawn by moving to one side or by standing in one square, he allows the pawn to be lost and moves to another to take a knight or bishop. Thus indeed some judges permit pawns, that is, the simple and poor, to be exposed to dangers, but they defend the more powerful and their lawsuits. Indeed, certainly they sometimes abandon the path of truth on which they had brought legal action in the lawsuits of a poor man, and they fall backwards or take another path because of a lawsuit of a knight or powerful person, and truly they do not lend aid to the pawns, that is, the poor, unless the pawns are near the king, that is, their lord, or those they trust to be [their lords] in the future. Indeed, all such people do not consider the fragility of human life, which passes away like a game. They do not consider that, as all games of chess proceed from one bag and return to the same bag, so all people emerged from the earth, as far as their body is concerned, and will return again into the earth, and it is to be feared that not a few such greater ones, as concerns their soul, at the end of the game will be put lower in the bag, that is, in death; just as whenever a king and knights are put back into the lowest part of the bag, so such powerful people will be put into the lowest hell. Thus I say with the Apostle, Corinthians 7 [1 Cor. 7:31]: The fashion of this world passes away. Where therefore will there be stability in this world?16 Second principal part Certainly [it will be found] in the second principal part, which I mentioned earlier— that is, the way of life by which a man will become fit for beatitude—and this is found in this name “John,” that is, in grace, so that it can be said after the end of the game, that is, after death: John was, that is, immediately before this he was the one to whom grace was given.17 But how is this grace sought if it was lost? Certainly by means of a good way of life. In order to have this again, it is necessary to verify those three authoritative texts mentioned earlier in the beginning concerning John. First it is necessary that it may be said of each person: John was baptizing [John 1:28]. Second: John was clothed in camel’s hair [Mark 1:6], etc. And then finally it will be said concerning existence: There was a man sent by God whose name was John [John 1:6] The first grace given freely to each of us after the goods of nature was baptismal grace, in which we were given remission of sins and we renounced the devil and all his retinue. We lost this grace, retaining only its impressed mark, when we fell into mortal sin. And in that baptism the priest was the minister, and we had a godfather and godmother and were dipped in water. So undoubtedly, to the extent that any sinner may be John, that is, one to whom grace is given, it is necessary that he be reborn through the bath of penance, which is a second baptism or a second plank

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Latin Text (RY45)

siue secunda tabula post naufragium peccatorum. Sacerdos baptizans erit confessor tuus. Compater tuus erit Christus Deus qui dabit tibi graciam resurgendi, et sancta ecclesia et fides eius erit commater tua, et tu abrenunciaberis corde, ore, et opere omnia peccata mortalia et omnes pompas diaboli, et tunc sacerdos baptizabit te in nomine Trinitatis, scilicet Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti, in fonte penitencie submergendo te in contricione, confessione, et operis satisfaccione. Et tunc bene dicetur de te auctoritas supradicta, scilicet Erat Iohannes baptizans, scilicet te. Oportet secundo quam ad modum tue conuersacionis quod dicatur de te, Erat Iohannes vestitus pilis cameli et zona pellicea circa lumbos eius et locustas et mel siluestre edebat. Per vestimentum pilorum cameli notatur, secundum doctores, vilitas vestis. Secundum Iohannem Crisostomum, vestis anime corpus est. Recole quam vile corpus tuum fuit et erit; quemcumque iam speciosum fuerit vermibus tradetur, et per hoc habes exemplum ad deponendum superbiam omnem exteriorem in habitu vel in gestu. Nam certe sumptuosus siue preciosus ornatus vestimentum signum est superbie saltem in paupere. Per zonam pelliceam circa lumbos notatur continencia. Pellis enim capitur de mortuo animali, et signat quod sicut in mortuo animali non est motus nec concupiscencia ad luxuriam, sic in quolibet nostrum. Sint corpora nostra et membra mortua ad concupiscenciam luxurie que est in lumbis. Per locustas et mel siluestre intelligitur parcitas ciborum, id est abstinencia contra gulam et in mellis dulcedine intelligi potest dulcedo caritatis et amoris contra iram et inuidiam. Insuper tercio dicatur de te, Fuit Iohannes in deserto. Desertum dicitur locus in quo non est habitacio hominum. Sic oportet quod deseras mundum et non habites, saltem in affectu, inter homines mundiales communicando operibus | eorum malis quo ad auariciam et cupiditatem, et si sis in mundo non sis de mundo set cogita quod mundum derelinques et ibis ad desertum vel purgatorii vel inferni vel celi. Si ineris ad desertum inferni, ibi a bestiis deuoraberis, scilicet a demonibus. Si ineris ad desertum purgatorii, ibi certe tribulaciones et dolores varios pacieris. Ideo prouide quod vadas ad desertum celi et dispone pro teipso sicut legitur de quodam imperatore in cuius imperio vsus6 erat quod solum regnaret per annum et in fine mitteretur in desertum ad inhabitandum. Qui imperator hoc preuidens premisit bono et edificauit sibi palacium in quo pro sua vita in habundancia et leticia habitauit. Sic facias et tu 6

 vsus] vnus



English Translation (RY45)211

after the shipwreck of sins. The priest baptizing will be your confessor. Your godfather will be Christ-God who will give you the grace to be reborn, and the Holy Church and her faith will be your godmother, and you will renounce with heart, mouth, and work all mortal sins and all the retinue of the devil, and then the priest will baptize you in the name of the Trinity, namely, of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit, in the font of penance by submerging you in contrition, confession, and works of satisfaction. And then the above named authority will be well said about you, that is, John was baptizing, namely, you. It is necessary, secondly, as to the manner of your way of life, that it be said about you: John was clothed in camel’s hair and a leathern girdle around his loins, and he ate locust and wild honey [Mark 1:6]. The garment of camel’s hair, according to the theologians, denotes the worthlessness of clothing. According to John Chrysostom, the body is the clothing of the soul.18 Consider how vile your body was and will be; however beautiful it is now, it will be given to worms,19 and in this you have an example to put aside all external pride in appearance and in bearing. For certainly sumptuous or costly ornate clothing is a sign of pride, at least in the poor. The leathern girdle around the loins denotes continence. For leather is taken from a dead animal, and it signifies that, as there is neither motion nor desire for lust in a dead animal, just so in each of us. Let our bodies and limbs be dead to lustful desire, which is in the loins. By the locusts and wild honey, we understand frugality in food, that is, abstinence in contrast to gluttony, and in the sweetness of honey we may understand the sweetness of charity and love in contrast to anger and envy. Furthermore, thirdly, let it be said about you: John was in the desert [Mark 1:4]. A place in which there is no human habitation is called a desert. So it is necessary that you desert the world and do not dwell—at least in affection—among worldly people by sharing in their wicked deeds as far as avarice and greed are concerned, and if you are in the world, do not be of the world but consider that you will abandon the world and will go to the desert either of purgatory or of hell or of heaven. If you will be in the desert of hell, there you will be devoured by beasts, that is, demons. If you will be in the desert of purgatory, there certainly you will suffer various tribulations and sorrows. Therefore, make provisions so that you may go to the desert of heaven and arrange it for yourself as we read about a certain emperor in whose empire it was the custom that he reigned for only a year and in the end was turned out to live in the desert. Foreseeing this, the emperor sent his goods ahead and built for himself a palace in which he lived his life in abundance and happiness.20 Thus you should do. You have here the name of emperor while you rule

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hic habes nomen imperatoris dum regis teipsum vel alios. Certe post finem imperii cuius7 ibis ad desertum. Ideo premitte thesaurum in celum. Thesaurizate vobis thesauros, etc. Et tunc securus eris de leticia sempiterna, et tunc dicetur de te, Fuit homo missus, etc.

7

 cuius] cui



English Translation (RY45)213

yourself and others. Certainly after the end of this rule, you will go to the desert. Therefore send ahead your treasure into heaven. Lay up to yourselves treasure [Matt. 4:20], etc., and then you will be sure of eternal happiness, and then it will be said about you: There was a man sent [John 1:6], etc.

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Sermo primus de beata Maria Magdalene

Antethema Fortitudo et decor indumentum eius. Prouerbiorum vltimi. Sanctus Beda dicit super hunc textum quod hec verba concordant in sentencia cum illis verbis dictis de Domino per prophetam: Dominus regnauit, decorem induit; induit Dominus fortitudinem. Que verba exponit de predicacione Christi ita dicens: Cum Dominus euangelium predicaret, aliis placebat, aliis displicebat, alii bene loquebantur de eo, alii male, alii ipsum laudebant, alii ipsum conuiciabantur. Vnde quo ad illos quibus placebat induit decorem, quo ad illos quibus displicebat, induit fortitudinem. Hec sentencia doctoris. Conformiter contingit de predicatoribus modernis. Non dubium quin quandoque predicator aliis displicet, aliis placet. Illi quibus placet bene loqu[u]ntur de eo; alii quibus displicet, male loqu[u]ntur vel sibi detrahentes vel aperte ipsum reprobantes et ipsi conuiciantes. Set notandum quod predicator aliis bene placet, et aliis licet placeat, tamen eius placencia est illis mala, et aliis bene displicet et aliis male. Bene placet hiis qui intenta aure audiunt verbum Dei et illud cum deuocione reportant et illud in opere custodiunt, de quibus loquitur Christus in euangelio Luce: Beati qui audiunt verbum Dei et custodiunt illud, scilicet in opere. Aliis placet, set certe illa placencia est illis mala vt si predicator peccata ecclesiasticorum publice reprehendat, tunc rident laici, non tamen quia reprehendit, set quia ecclesiastici sunt rei in eisdem peccatis quibus et ipsi, verum quia tales quibus peccata delectantur, puta gula et luxuria, quanto plures habent complices, tanto amplius delectantur. Vnde si predicetur eis peccata talium ecclesiasticorum, bene reportant illa et rident et de eis confabulantur dicentes quod verum dixit, vbi tamen de racione verecundarentur et dolerent tam de sua quam de proximorum tali miseria. Insuper predicator aliquando displicet aliis bene, aliis sua displicencia mala est. Illis mala est qui audientes sua facinora obstupescunt et murmurant, et ex hoc predicatori conuiciantur aut clam aut publice obloqu[u]ntur. Aliis bene displicet quando audientes sua facinora, statim compunguntur et penitent et sua peccata relinquere intendunt sicut fecit hec benedicta mulier Maria Magdalena que cognoscens peccata sua per predicacionem Christi, penituit et

First Sermon for Blessed Mary Magdalene1 (RY46) Theme: Strength and comeliness are her clothing (Prov. 31:25). Protheme Strength and comeliness are her clothing (Proverbs, the last chapter [31:25]). Saint Bede says on this text that these words are the same in meaning as those words said by the Lord through the Prophet: The Lord reigns, he is clothed in comeliness; the Lord is clothed in strength [Ps. 92:1]. He relates these words to the preaching of Christ, saying: “When the Lord preached the Gospel, he pleased some, he displeased others; some spoke well of him, others ill; some praised him, others reviled him. So to those he pleased he was clothed in comeliness; to those he displeased, he was clothed in strength.”2 This is the opinion of the theologian. Likewise it happens for modern preachers. No doubt that whenever a preacher displeases some, he pleases others. Those whom he pleases speak well of him; those whom he displeases speak ill, either by disparaging him or by openly rejecting him or reviling him. But note that a preacher pleases some well, and although he may please some, yet their pleasure is bad for them, and he displeases some well and some badly. He pleases those well who hear the word of God with an attentive ear and carry it back and keep it in [their] work, about whom Christ spoke in the Gospel of Luke [11:28]: Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it, specifically in [their] work. He pleases others, but certainly that pleasure is bad for them—as when a preacher publicly reprimands the sins of the clergy, then the laity laugh, yet not because he reprimands, but because the clergy are guilty of the same sins as they are; because the more allies such people who take pleasure in these sins (namely, gluttony and lust) have, the more pleasure they take. So if one preaches to them the sins of such clergy, they recount that well and laugh and talk about them, saying that [the preacher] spoke truly, yet in truth they should be ashamed and grieve both for their own wretchedness and for the wretchedness of their neighbor. In addition, when a preacher displeases some well, this displeasure is bad for them. It is bad for those who are astonished and grumble when they hear their own crimes, and they either jeer at this preacher in private or interrupt him publicly. He displeases others well when those who hear their own crimes are immediately full of remorse and are penitent and intend to give up their sins as this blessed woman Mary Magdalene did who, learning her sins by means of Christ’s preaching, was penitent

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humilem se prosternens ad pedes Christi, veniam postulauit et optinuit. Vnde de quolibet tali cui per predicacionem displicent sua peccata bene verificantur verba statim post thema sequencia que dicuntur de qualibet anima penitente: Considerauit semitas domus sue et panem ociosa non comedit. Domus est consciencia vnde quilibet vere penitens considerat in sua consciencia semitas, id est omnes vias et circumstancias quibus peccauit et ipsas penitencia digna luit sicut fecit predicta mulier sancta. Hic notetur in quibus peccauit et quibus | modis penituit, vnde bene dicitur de ea: panem ociosa non comedit. Panis est verbum Dei. Non audiuit, non intellexit ociose set assidue cum effectu. Et consimiliter de qualibet anima vel de omnibus qui bene audiunt verbum Dei vel per ipsum proficiendo in virtutibus vel vicia dimittendo, bene dicitur, panem (id est verbum Dei) ociosa non comedit. Vnde proficientibus in virtute est decor et bene penitentibus fortitudo dicitur indumentum, et predicator hiis quibus bene placet dat, vel est indumentum decoris et pulcritudinis spiritualis, et hiis quibus displicet et ei conuiciantur sit indumentum fortitudinis, nec propter conuicia aut obloquia, set a predicacione et a viciorum reprehencione cessare. Igitur principio huius collacionis, etc. Sermo primus Marie Magdalene Fortitudo et decor indumentum eius, vbi supra. Ista verba dicuntur ad litteram de ecclesia quam propheta comparat mulieri forti, et quare mulieri? Propter duplicem causam. Primo quia sicut mulier fragilis est in natura, sic eciam ecclesia, id est multitudo fidelium est ex prima infeccione fragilis ad peccandum. Secundo quia sicut mulieris est ex conmixtione viri naturaliter gignere et parere, sic eciam ecclesie est spirituales filios gignere per fidem Christi et in bonis operibus parturire. Mulier autem dicitur fortis quia aduersarium fortissimum, scilicet diabolum, sui viri adiutorio superauit. Est igitur fortitudo propter aduersarii victoriam; est et decor propter virtutum excellenciam indumentum eius. Sicut enim indumentum corporis est homini necessarium post peccatum ad tegendum sue verecundiam nuditatis, sic et fortitudo resistendi iaculis diaboli, et decor virtutum est ecclesie peccatori necessarium ad salutem. Fortitudo igitur etc.



English Translation (RY46)217

and, humbly prostrating herself at Christ’s feet, asked for and received forgiveness. So concerning any such person who, by means of preaching, is displeased with his sins, the words following immediately after the theme are well made true which say about any penitent soul: She has looked well to the paths of her house and has not eaten her bread idle [Prov. 31:27]. The house is the conscience; so each truly penitent person considers the paths in his conscience—that is, all the paths and circumstances in which he sinned—and he atones for those with worthy penance as did the aforementioned holy woman. Here let us note in which ways she sinned and in which ways she was penitent, whence it is well said about her, She has not eaten her bread idle. The bread is the word of God. She did not hear, she did not understand idly but perseveringly with effect. And likewise it is aptly said about each soul or all who hear the word of God well, either by progressing through that [word] in virtues or by putting aside vices: bread (that is, the word of God) she did not eat idle. Thus for those who progress in virtue it is comeliness and, for those who are well penitent, strength is called clothing, and the preacher gives this to those whom he well pleases, or it is clothing of comeliness and spiritual beauty, and to those he displeases and [who] reproach him, may it be clothing of strength, not for jeering at or interrupting, but, by the preaching and the condemnation of vices, [strength] to stop [sinning]. Therefore, in the beginning of this collation, etc. The first sermon of Mary Magdalene Strength and comeliness are her clothing (see above). These words are said literally concerning the Church, which the prophet compares to a strong woman, and why to a woman? For two reasons. First, because as a woman is weak in nature, so also the Church; that is, because of the first infection, the multitude of the faithful is weak in relation to sinning. Secondly, because as it is natural to a woman to bear and give birth from intercourse with a man, so also it is for the Church to bear spiritual children through the faith of Christ and to give birth through good works. Moreover, a woman is called strong because she conquered the strongest adversary, that is, the devil, with the assistance of her husband. She is therefore strong because of victory over her adversary, and she is comely because of the excellence of virtues, her clothing. For as the clothing of the body is necessary to man after sin for covering the shame of his nakedness, so also strength [is necessary] for resisting the javelins of the devil, and the comeliness of virtues is necessary for the salvation of the Church’s sinner. Strength, therefore, etc.

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Diuisio principalis Ista verba dicantur specialiter de ecclesia, possunt tamen applicari ad quemlibet Christianum cuius indumentum debet esse fortitudo et decor. Pro quo notandum quod est fortitudo et decor naturalis, est et fortitudo et decor artificialis. Est et fortitudo et decor virtualis vel spiritualis. Istis (inquam) modis fortitudinis et decoris continetur duplex indumentum. Debet enim quilibet Christianus indui fortitudine et decore naturali et artificiali vt per ea induatur fortitudine et decore virtuali, ita quod iste est sensus diuisionis: quod quilibet Christianus debet indui fortitudine et decore virtuali per speciem fortitudinis et decoris naturalis; debet secundo indui virtute spirituali per speciem et formam fortitudinis et decoris artificialis. Primum principale

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Debet (inquam) primo quilibet Christianus indui fortitudine et decore virtuali per speciem fortitudinis et decoris naturalis. Primo loquimur de fortitudine naturali, postea de decore naturali. Fortitudo naturalis est potestas in membris animalis per quam opus facit quod naturaliter conuenit ipsi membro sicut, verbi gracia, videre conuenit oculis, audire auribus, loqui lingue, manibus operari opera extrinceca, pedibus ambulare, et de ceteris membris corporis animalis. Quanto igitur aliquod membrum melius potest in suum officium naturale, tanto forcius est dicendum. Vnde si non potest in suum officium, tunc dicitur esse debilis eius operacio naturalis vt si sit defectus in oculis, tunc dicitur esse debilus visus, et quando quis non potest bene laborare vel operari manibus, tunc vocatur communiter homo debilis, et quando homo non potest bene ambulare, tunc dicitur debilis pedester. Moraliter ad nostrum propositum, quando visus anime, scilicet racionis vel intelligencie, non videt vel saltem obscure videt, id est intelligit ea que intelligenda sunt, vtpote articulos fidei, diuina precepta, et alia que sunt necessaria ad salutem anime, tunc certe vas anime caret sua fortitudine naturali. Similiter quando auris tepescit in audicione verbi Dei, tunc certe deficit fortitudo auditus. Item si lingua non loquitur que tenetur, videlicet principaliter laudes Dei et secundario vtilitatem proximi vt tenetur, tunc moraliter debilis est, scilicet | in virtute.



English Translation (RY46)219

Principal division These words are said especially about the Church, yet they can be applied to each Christian who should be clothed in strength and comeliness. For which [point] note that there is a natural strength and comeliness, and there is an artificial strength and comeliness. There is also a virtuous or spiritual strength and comeliness. In these modes (I say) of strength and comeliness two kinds of clothing are contained. For each Christian should be clothed in natural and artificial strength and comeliness so that by means of each he may be clothed in virtuous strength and comeliness, so that this is the meaning of the division: that each Christian should be clothed in virtuous strength and comeliness by means of a kind of natural strength and comeliness; secondly, he should be clothed in spiritual virtue by means of a kind and form of artificial strength and comeliness. First principal part First (I say) each Christian should be clothed in virtuous strength and comeliness by means of a kind of natural strength and comeliness. First we will speak of natural strength, afterwards of natural comeliness. Natural strength is the power in an animal’s members by means of which that member does the work that is naturally appropriate to it, just as, for example, to see is appropriate for the eyes, to hear for the ears, to speak for the tongue, to do external works for the hands, to walk for the feet, and thus concerning the rest of the members of an animal’s body. So however much better any member can [perform] its natural office, that much stronger it is called. So if it is unable [to perform] its office, then its natural operation is said to be weak: if there is a defect in the eyes, then it is said to have weak vision, and when a person cannot work well or work with [his] hands, then he is commonly called a weak man, and when a person cannot walk well, then he is said to be a weak walker. Morally to our point: when the vision of the soul, that is, of the reason or understanding, does not see or at least sees only faintly, that is, [does not] understand those things which should be understood—namely, the articles of the faith, the divine commandments, and other things which are necessary for the soul’s salvation—then certainly the vessel of the soul lacks its natural strength. Similarly, when the ear becomes lukewarm in hearing the word of God, then certainly the strength for hearing fails. Likewise if the tongue does not speak that which it ought—principally the praises of God and secondarily usefulness for its neighbor as it ought—then morally it is weak, that is, in virtue.

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Ceterum quodlibet officium naturale est visui videre honesta et delectari in eis pro quanto sunt accepta penes Deum et necessaria ad sustentacionem nature; quo contra si delectetur in eis contra prohibicionem Dei et vltra vtilitatem nature, tunc indubie debilitatur officium naturale visus, quando scilicet videt quis rem honestam dumtaxat propter concupiscenciam carnalem, sicut vidit Eua fructum ligni vetiti et delectata in pulcritudine ligni comedit de fructu contra prohibicionem Dei et non propter necessitatem set propter concupiscenciam. Et isto modo homines mundiales videndo pompam mundi incidunt in superbiam et auariciam. Consimiliter quis videns mulierem ad concupiscendum eam incidit in luxuriam. Similiter naturale est auditui hominis audire voces et sonos, set in suaui voce et dulci sono naturaliter delectatur; quo contra in vocibus dissonantibus et sonis excessiuis et horribilibus naturaliter tristatur et debilitatur. Que vox suauior quam vox verbi Dei que est vox leticie et exultacionis secundum prophetam? Qui sonus dulcior quam sonus predicatorum quorum sonus exiuit in omnem terram? Quo contra que vox dissonancior quam vox mundi mixta cum voce verbi Dei? Vox verbi Dei, immo et cuiuslibet boni Christiani est abrenuncio Sathane et omnibus pompis eius. Michi mundus crucifixus est et ego mundo. Vox mundi et Sathane est: affer, affer, affer diuicias, affer carnales delectaciones. Immo in hiis si bene inspiciantur non est dulcis sonus set tumultus fluctuancium cogitacionum, periuriorum, mendaciorum, et huiusmodi. Primi parentes audiuerunt vocem Dei: de omni ligno Paradisi comede, de ligno autem sciencie boni et mali, etc. dominamini volatilibus celi, etc. Ecce quam dulcis vox, quam suauis sonus hominem esse dominum et habere vsum omnium creaturarum sibi inferiorum sine tumultu, sine tristicia qualicumque. Set ecce statim Sathan produxit sonum tumultuosum mendacii in auribus mulieris dicens Nequaquam moriemini, videlicet comederitis de fructu illius ligni, cuius mendacio mulier applaudens statim decepta est, et audiuit tunc sonum discrepantem a primo sono Domini, In dolorem paries filios tuos […] maladicta terra in opere tuo. Sampson fortissimus audiens fraudulencem vocem Dalide mer[e]tricis perdidit totam fortitudinem suam que consistebat in 7 crinibus. Sampson interpretatur sol fortis vel solis fortitudo, et bene nominat naturam humanam vel quamlibet animam Christianam que bene dicitur fortitudo solis iusticie quia opus manuum Domini Dei nostri. Dalida interpretatur stulta que bene notat sapienciam huius mundi vel mundum que est meretrix quia cum omni falsitate adulteratur, immo cum diabolo fornicatur principe falsitatis. Et spoliat Sampson 7 crinibus, id est 7 donis Spiritus Sancti in quibus includuntur omnes virtutes necessarie ad



English Translation (RY46)221

Moreover, any natural office for sight is to see honest things and to delight in them to the extent to which they are accepted before God and necessary for the sustenance of nature; on the contrary, if it delights in those things that are against God’s prohibitions and beyond usefulness for nature, then undoubtedly the natural office of sight is weakened, such as when a person sees a dishonest thing only for carnal desire, as Eve saw the fruit of the forbidden tree and, delighting in the beauty of the tree, ate of the fruit against God’s prohibition and not for necessity but for desire. And in this way, by looking on the pomp of the world, worldly people fall into pride and avarice. Similarly, anyone looking at a woman to desire her falls into lust. Likewise, it is natural to a person’s hearing to hear voices and sounds, but [the hearing] naturally delights in a sweet voice and charming sound; on the contrary, it is naturally saddened and weakened in [the presence of] dissonant voices and excessive and horrible sounds. What voice is sweeter than the voice of the word of God, which is a voice of joy and exaltation, according to the prophet [Jer. 33:11]? What sound is sweeter than the sound of preachers whose sound goes out into all the earth [Ps. 18:5]? On the contrary, what voice is more dissonant than the voice of the world mixed with the voice of the word of God? The voice of the word of God, indeed also of each good Christian, is to repudiate Satan and all his retinue: The world is crucified to me and I to the world [Gal. 6:14]. The voice of the world and of Satan is “take, take, take riches, take carnal pleasures.” Indeed, if one examines them well, there is no sweet sound in these [words] but a commotion of fluctuating thoughts, perjuries, lies, and things of this sort. The first parents heard the voice of God: Eat from every tree of Paradise, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, etc. [Gen. 2:16–17]; Rule over the birds of the sky, etc. [Gen. 1:28]. Note how sweet the voice, how charming the sound to man to be lord and to have the use of every creature inferior to him without disturbance, without any sadness. But note that immediately Satan produced a tumultuous sound of lies in the ears of the woman, saying, You shall not die [Gen. 3:4] if you eat from the fruit of that tree. The woman, who immediately welcomed his lie, was deceived, and she heard then a sound out of tune with the first sound of the Lord: In sorrow you shall bring forth children […] cursed is the earth in your work [Gen. 3:16, 17]. When the very strong Samson heard the fraudulent voice of the harlot Delilah, he lost all his strength, which was dependent on seven locks of hair.3 Samson means “the strong sun” or “the strength of the sun,”4 and it well names human nature or each Christian soul, which is well called the strength of the sun of justice because of the work of the hands of the Lord our God. Delilah means “a foolish person,”5 which well denotes the wisdom of this world or the world itself, which is a harlot because it commits adultery with every fraud; indeed it fornicates with the devil, the

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s­alutem. Et traditur Philisteis qui interpretantur cadentes vel ruina. Traditur (inquam) potestati diabolorum qui ceciderunt de celo in precipitis viciorum, et post hanc vitam nisi resipuerit in inferni profundum. Immo sicut Sampson recrescentibus crinibus creuit in fortitudine et tandem se ipsum cum maxima multitudine Philistiorum interfeciti, sic reuera talis qui claudiens in stulticia huius mundi cecidit in malicia peccatorum, recrescentibus in ipso 7 pilos, id est 7 peccatis mortalibus tandem seipsum cum multis prauis Philisteis, videlicet cum ipsis qui per ipsum in maliciam ceciderunt, spiritualiter punit et occidit. Vnde de talium malorum fortitudine loquitur notabiliter beatus Gregorius, 8 Moralia: Reproborum (inquit) fortitudo est transitoria sine cessacione diligere, sub flagellis conditoris | insensibiliter perdurare, ab amore rerum temporalium nec ex aduersitate quiescere, ad inanem gloriam et cum vite detrimento peruenire, malicie augmenta exquirere, bonorum vitam non solum verbis vel morbis, set eciam gladiis expugnare, in semet ipsis spem ponere, iniquitatem cotidie perpetrare. Hec Gregorius. Hec est vtique fortitudo mundialis que reuera pocius debilitas quam fortitudo dicenda est. Quis enim non diceret eum debilem qui ad omnium ventorum impulsum caderet? Multo magis infirmior et debilior dicendus est qui, vt predictum est, omnis temptacionis tactu de via recta propellitur et omni vento portatur sicut fauilla, de qua fortitudine scribitur, Ysaie 1: Fortitudo vestra sicut fauilla. Insuper fortitudo naturalis linque est loqui vtilia et honesta. Nam loqui inhonesta et invtilia, vtpote verba ociosa, mendacia, scurilitates, detracciones et huiusmodi, sunt contra naturam. In cuius signum, vt dicit Ianuensis, in lingua Hebrea homini concreata non erat aliquod verbum sonans turpe vel inhonestum; est igitur innaturale talia recitare. Set illud quod est contra naturam ipsam debilitat, igitur maliloquia fortitudinem lingue debilitant et eneruant. Tandem fortitudo manuum et brachiorum in quibus est propriissima excercitacio fortitudinis naturalis est ad operandum vtilia tam ipsimet homini quam suo proximo. Pro ista operacione positus est homo in Paradisum vt operaretur. Set quomodo? Certe cum beneplacito et amore, non cum tedio et labore. Cum quali tedio et labore homo excercuit suam fortitudinem in sudore vultus sui. Et reuera illi qui gloriantur in fortitudine corporali letantur in tedio et labore sicut faciunt luctatores, lapidum pulsores, ponderum leuatores et huiusmodi, in quibus quidam inaniter gloriantes de fortitudine corporali ipsam in huiusmodi excercent. Quid enim habent in fine nisi tedium et laborem? Nam sua corpora lassantur et quandoque multum debilitantur et



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prince of fraud. And it robs Samson of his seven locks of hair, that is, the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit in which all the virtues necessary for salvation are included. And he is handed over to the Philistines, which means “those falling” or “catastrophe.”6 He is handed over (I say) to the power of the devils, who fell from heaven into the abyss of vices, and after this life, unless he comes to his senses, [he will fall] into the depth of hell. Indeed, just as, when his hair grew again, Samson grew in strength and finally killed the greatest number of Philistines along with himself, so indeed [it is with] someone who, limping in the folly of this world, falls into the evil of sins: when his seven hairs grow again—that is, the seven mortal sins—finally he punishes and kills himself spiritually along with many depraved Philistines, specifically those who fall into evil through him. Thus blessed Gregory, in book 8 of the Moralia, speaks notably about the strength of such wicked people: “The strength of the reprobate is to love transitory things without cease, to endure without feeling the scourges of the Creator, not to rest from the love of temporal things even in the face of adversity, to reach for vainglory even with harm to life, to seek out increases of evil, to conquer the life of good men not only with words or afflictions but also with swords, to place hope in themselves, to perpetrate iniquity daily.”7 So says Gregory. This is certainly worldly strength, which indeed should be called weakness rather than strength. For who does not call the one weak who falls at the impact of every wind? Much more infirm and weak is called the one who, as I said before, is propelled from the straight life by the touch of every temptation and is carried by every wind like ashes, concerning which strength is written (Isaiah 1[:31]): Your strength shall be as the ashes. In addition, the natural strength of the tongue is to say useful and honest things. For to say dishonest and useless things—idle words, lies, scurrilities, detractions, and things of this sort—is against nature. In a sign of this, as Jacopo da Varazze says, there was no word meaning “shameful” or “dishonest” in the Hebrew language, [which was] created together with man;8 it is therefore unnatural to say such things. But what is against nature weakens it; therefore, evil-speaking cripples and weakens the strength of the tongue. Finally, the strength of hands and arms, which is the most characteristic physical exercise of natural strength, is for bringing about things that are useful both for a man himself and for his neighbor. For this work man was placed in paradise so that he could serve. But how? Certainly with pleasure and love, not with tedium and exertion. With such tedium and exertion man exercises his strength in the sweat of his brow [Gen. 3:19]. And indeed, those who glory in bodily strength delight in tedium and exertion—as do wrestlers, hurlers of rocks, throwers of weights and these sorts of people—in which activities some, vainly glorying in their bodily strength, exercise it in this way. For what do they have in the end but tedium and exertion?

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nichil in fine nisi ventum inanis glorie reportant. Et sunt similes candele ardenti que aliis spectaculum \prebet/ et seipsam continue consumit. Sic reuera talis prebet se aliis spectaculum et quanto magis suam fortitudinem sic excercet, tanto amplius per processum temporis fit debilior et consumptus, et que maior fatuitas quam vt quis consumat et debilitet voluntarie semet ipsum? Si tamen talis fortitudo excerceri debet, hoc in armis bellicis maxime expediret, et hoc laicis dumtaxat, set non clericis quibus non est licitum nisi in maxima casu necessitatis, vtpote mortem sibi imminentem vel inuasionem hostilem in locum quem inhabitant repellere. Set debent arma spiritualia, scilicet oraciones, in monte sancte conuersacionis cum Moyse principaliter excercere. Vnde solum officium militum et armigerorum et laicorum eis subditorum est bellare et hoc solum iusto bello, scilicet pro defensione ecclesie et patrie, eciam iuste cause pauperis proximi si oporteat, non per fortitudinem opprimendo pauperes, sicut quidam faciunt quandoque in hiis partibus que tenent secum fortes non vt iustis causis bellent set vt circumhabitantes pauperes in foris et in vicis debellent. Isti non sunt de stirpe regis Dauid qui tenuit secum 36 viros fortissimos sicut patet Regum, non ad opprimendum iustos set ad debellandum populi Dei aduersarios. Et videat historias qui voluerit et inueniet quod quilibet illorum qui fuerunt cum Dauid et aliquem violenter et iniuste depressit, quin postea fuit interfectus. Non mirum igitur et cum illi qui fuerunt cum rege iustissime, pro maiori parte vacauerunt bellis iustis, fuerunt pro vna iniusta violencia illata proximo interfectu, et si illis qui non cum regibus set cum aliis vulgaribus commorantes cum suis proximis superbe bellantes vel alios ad pugnandum excitantes, accidat malus casus. Quamobrem non est | confidendum nec gloriandum in tali fortitudine corporali. Exemplum ad hoc de Golia gigante qui confidens in fortitudine corporali deuictus est a puero Dauid et de multis aliis sunt exempla propter fortitudinem multi perierunt, Ethicorum 1. Immo pro maiori parte experiencia est quod illi qui forciores sunt corpore, infirmiores sunt mente quia occasione fortitudinis sue communiter sunt superbi, luxurie, et ire dediti, et vere fatui sunt qui gloriantur pocius de fortitudine corporali quam de sue anime viuaci racione cum quedam bestie in fortitudine eos excellant. Vt igitur per speciem fortitudinis corporalis induamini fortitudine virtuali, oportet omnia membra corporum nostrorum ad sua officia naturalia secundum legem et preceptum Dei, et non aliter ad sua officia naturalia premissa dirigere, et hoc secundum effectus naturales ipsa officia naturaliter consequentes. Et tunc indubie vestrum indumentum virtuale erit fortitudo moralis et virtuosa que



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For their own bodies are fatigued and at some time or other much weakened, and they gain nothing in the end except the wind of their empty glory. And they are like a burning candle which offers a show for others and continually consumes itself. In this manner, indeed, such a person offers himself as a show for others, and to the extent to which he exercises his strength in this way, through the process of time, he becomes weaker and exhausted, and what is more foolish than that anyone devours and weakens himself voluntarily? Yet if such strength should be exercised, this is most expedient in military arms, and this only for the laity but not for clerics, for whom it is not permitted except in the greatest case of necessity, namely to ward off imminent death from themselves or a hostile invasion in a place where they live. But they should principally exercise spiritual arms, that is, prayers on the mountain of the holy way of life with Moses. So it is only the office of knights and of squires and of the laity subordinate to them to fight, and this only in a just war, that is, for the defense of church and country, also for a just cause of a poor neighbor if necessary—not to oppress the poor by means of strength, as some do whenever they keep strong men with them in this region, not to fight for just causes, but to subdue the poor who live in markets and villages. These are not from the stock of King David, who kept with him thirty-six of the strongest men, as appears in Kings [2 Kings 23:8–29], not for oppressing the just but for subduing the enemies of God’s people.9 And let him who wishes consider the account, and he will find that each of those who were with David and subdued anyone violently and unjustly was in fact afterwards killed. It is no wonder, therefore, that those who were with the most just king, for the most part unoccupied with just wars, were killed for one case of unjust violence towards their neighbor, and that bad things happen to those who, dwelling not with kings but with other commoners, arrogantly fight with their own neighbors or incite others to fight. On this account one should not rely on or glory in such bodily strength. An example of this is the giant Goliath, who, trusting in his bodily strength, was conquered by a boy David,10 and there are many examples of those who perished because of strength. (Ethics 111). Indeed, for the most part experience shows that those who are stronger in body are weaker in mind because, on account of their strength, they are commonly given to pride, lust, or anger, and truly those who glory more in their bodily strength than in the vigorous reason of their soul are fools, when certain beasts are stronger than they are. Therefore, in order to clothe yourself with virtuous strength by means of a kind of bodily strength, it is necessary for every member of our bodies to direct itself to its natural offices mentioned earlier according to God’s law and command, and not otherwise, and [to do] this according to the natural effects that naturally follow these offices. And then undoubtedly your virtuous clothing will be moral and virtuous

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secundum sentenciam philosophorum est animi paciencia et longanimitas in bonis operibus et victoria contra viciorum genera. Si occurrant ad auditum per malam loquelam, detracciones, mendacia, obprobria, tunc assit animi paciencia et in causa infamie non secundum malencoliam set secundum iusticiam peragatur. Christus enim infinita obprobria pro nobis passus est. Si retardet accidia corporalis ad bene operandum, sit longanimitas, scilicet perseuerans animi intencio ad bene operandum, et tunc non dubium quin erit victoria contra omnia genera viciorum quia nunquam inquinabitur corpus sine consensu mentis. Et sic per speciem fortitudinis naturalis induetur Christianus fortitudine virtuali et verificabitur de illo illud Prouerbiorum 5: Domus iusti plurima fortitudo. [Secundum principale] Insuper dixi in eodem quod per speciem decoris naturalis debet quilibet Christianus indui decore virtuali. Decor siue pulcritudo naturalis est in homine quocumque debita compaccio siue coniunctio membrorum cum statura et colore tam etati quam complexioni competentibus. Istum decorem naturalem habuerunt primi parentes in statu innocencie. Set statim post peccatum decor anime deperiit. Quia licet coniungebatur adhuc anima cum corpore, tamen statim caro anime rebellabat, et sic non fuit debita compaccio eorumdem, et vbi ante peccatum corpus nudum fuit sine verecundia naturali, statim peracto peccato corpus totum nudum nuditatis verecundia circumdabat ita quod indigebat indumento. Vnde primo fiebat ei tunica pellicia in signum quod propter peccatum similis factus est homo iumentis qui solis tunicis pelliciis naturaliter vestiuntur. Set posterius crescente superbia vtebantur homines vestibus de lana factis, tercio propter ampliorem nutricionem voluptatis carnalis vsi sunt vestibus factis de herbis terre, scilicet lineis, et quarto vestibus sericis que fiunt de visceribus vermium. Que omnia vestum genera iam pocius ad inanem gloriam et seculi pompam quam ad nature necessitatem sunt quasi infinitis modis dispariter decorata, et certe vt plurimum tam in viris quam in mulieribus ad luxuriam excitandam. In cuius signum nonnulli viri habent vestes tam curtas quod vix sua pudenda operiunt, et certe vt apparet ad ostendendum mulieribus membra sua vt sic ad luxuriam prouocentur. Similiter et quedam mulieres artificialiter se decorant pingendo facies suas vt placeant oculis virorum. Reuera quecumque tales sint, habent veram similitudinem meretriciam. Plus enim letantur in ­pulcritudine artificiali quam in



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strength, which, according to the opinion of the philosophers, is patience in mind and forbearance in good works and victory against all kinds of vices. If [such vices] occur to the hearing by means of evil speech, detractions, lies, opprobrium, then patience is present in the soul, and [the hearing] may be disturbed in the case of infamy, not because of spite but because of justice. For Christ suffered infinite reproaches for us. If bodily sloth delays [us] from working well, let there be forbearance, that is, the steadfast intention of the mind to do good, and then no doubt there will be victory against every kind of vice because the body will never be defiled without the consent of the mind. And thus through a kind of natural strength a Christian will be clothed in virtuous strength, and that [verse] of Proverbs 5[:6] will be made true concerning him: The house of the just is very much strength. [Second principal part] In addition, I said in the same place that, by means of a kind of natural comeliness, each Christian should be clothed in virtuous comeliness. Comeliness or natural beauty is in a person in whom [there is] an attractive composition or union of his members corresponding with his stature and complexion, appropriate both to age and to temperament. The first parents had this natural comeliness in the state of innocence. But immediately after sin the comeliness of the soul was lost. For, although the soul was still joined to the body, yet immediately the flesh rebelled against the soul, and thus the same attractive composition was no longer in them, and whereas before sin the body was naked without natural shame, immediately after they sinned, shame enveloped the whole naked body so that it needed clothing. So first a tunic of [animal] skin was made for it, in a sign that because of sin man was made similar to beasts of burden who are naturally clothed only in tunics made of skin. But later, when they grew in pride, people made use of garments made of wool; thirdly, for more ample nourishment of carnal desire, they made use of garments made of vegetation of the earth, namely, linen; and fourthly, [they made use of] silken garments made from the entrails of worms. All these kinds of clothing are now embellished in almost infinite ways more for vainglory and worldly ostentation than for the necessity of nature, and certainly to excite many to lust, among both men and women. As an example of this, some men have garments so short that they scarcely cover their private parts and certainly, as it is clear, for showing women their members so that they are incited to lust in this way. Similarly also some women artificially adorn themselves by painting their faces so that they please the eyes of men. Indeed, women of this sort truly resemble harlots. For they rejoice more in artificial beauty than in natural beauty, and whether

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pulcritudine naturali, et bene comparantur tales, seu viri seu mulieres qui se vel vestibus vel aliquo alio decore artificiali se decorant vt alterutrum sibi luxuriose complaceant sepulcro depicto in quo iacet cadauer fetidum vel sterquilinio niue cooperto. Sic certe sub tali decore nedum artificiali set et naturali saltem corporis latet | fetor vilissimus, immo et anima peccatis vilissimis deturpata. Inter omnia enim peccata luxuria est vilissima quia vbi cetera peccata inquinant solam animam, ipsa luxuria contaminat tam corpus quam animam. Vnde viri vel mulieres se decorantes ad excitandum luxuriam procul dubio sunt turpiores et fetidiores ante Deum quam cadauera seu sterquilinia fetidissima. Vnde cuilibet tali bene conuenit illud propheticum Ezechieli 16 ad mulierem fatuam dictam: Abhominabilem (inquid) fecisti decorem tuum. Reuera abhominabilis est decor naturalis cum occasione illius vbi \vir/ vel mulier incidit in turpitudinem peccati. Vnde Salamon comparat talem mulierem circulo aureo in naribus suis: Circulus (inquit) aureus in naribus suis mulier pulcra et fatua, Prouerbiorum 11. Mulier pulcra et fatua, id est pulcritudo mulieris fatue est circulus aureus, etc. Constat sus semper volutat nares suos in turpissimo luto, sic tales fatue mulieres volutant suam pulcritudinem in turpissimo luto luxurie. Non sic, boni viri, qui habetis aut fortitudinem aut decorem naturalem, aut bone mulieres, que habetis pulcritudinem corporalem, non sic. Sitis quasi sepulcra depicta nec sterquilinia niue cooperta nec circuli aureo in naribus suum, scientes indubie quod continget de talibus sicut est de vermibus qui splendent in nocte, set in die videntur turpissimi; sic indubie adueniente die iudicii apparebit de tali qualis fuerit. Immo apparebit de tali si de foliis que primo virescunt, postea marcescunt et postremo in lutum cadunt et putrescunt et conculcantur. Sic indubie tales superbientes vel luxuriantes pro fortitudine vel decore, licet iam videantur virescere, tamen postea marcescent, et tandem cadent per infirmitatem et mortem, et tunc corpora eorum putrescent et in vilissimum lutum cadent. Immo si non hic penituerint verificabitur de illis illud Ysaie 3: Pulcherimi tui gladio cadent. Tam corpora quam anime talium cadent gladio vindicte iusticie Dei in baratrum infernale. Simus igitur sicut dicitur Ecclesiastici 44: In virtute pulcritudinis, scilicet spiritualis, et hoc per speciem decoris naturalis vt premissum de fortitudine naturali, non desperantes de venia licet forsan principaliter tam nostra fortitudine quam pulcritudine naturali abusi fuerimus, capientes exemplum de ista benedicta muliere Maria Magdalene que licet abusa fuerit sua pulcritudine naturali in viciis et peccatis, tamen conuersa est ad Dominum. Et notate suum modum



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[they are] men or women who adorn themselves in garments or any other artificial adornment so that they may please each other in lust, such are well compared to a painted tomb in which the cadaver lies stinking or to a dung heap covered with snow. But certainly the vilest stench lies hidden under such comeliness, not only artificial but also natural, at least bodily; indeed, the soul is also stained by the vilest sins. For among all sins lust is the vilest because where the rest of the sins stain only the soul, lust contaminates both body and soul. Thus men or women who adorn themselves to excite lust are without doubt more ugly and foul-smelling before God than cadavers or the most foul-smelling dung heap. So Ezechiel’s prophecy (16[:25]) said to the foolish woman is perfectly appropriate for each such person: You have made your comeliness to be abominable. Indeed, natural comeliness is abominable when a man or a woman falls into the ugliness of sin because of it. Thus Solomon compares such a woman to a gold ring in a swine’s snout: A golden ring in a swine’s snout, a woman fair and foolish (Proverbs 11[:22])—a woman fair and foolish, that is, the beauty of a foolish woman is a golden ring, etc. Everyone knows that a swine always rolls its snout in the dirtiest mud; so such foolish women roll their beauty in the dirtiest mud of lust. Not thus, good men, you who have either natural strength or comeliness, or good women, you who have bodily beauty, not thus. Do not be thus like a painted tomb or a dung heap covered with snow or a golden ring in a swine’s snout, knowing undoubtedly that what happens concerning such is just as what happens concerning the worms which glow at night but in the day seem the most ugly; thus undoubtedly it will appear at the coming of Judgment Day concerning people of this kind. Indeed, such people will be just like the leaves which first turn green, afterwards wither, and finally fall into the mud and rot and are trampled upon. Thus undoubtedly such people who are proud or lustful because of strength or comeliness, even though now they seem to be green, afterwards will wither, and finally they will fall through sickness and death, and then their bodies will rot, and they will fall into the vilest mud. Indeed, if they are not penitent here, that [verse] of Isaiah 3[:25] will be made true about them: Your fairest men shall fall by the sword. Both the bodies and the souls of such shall fall by the vengeful sword of God’s justice into the infernal hell. Therefore, let us be as it is said in Ecclesiasticus 44[:6]: In the virtue of beauty (namely, spiritual), and this by means of a kind of natural comeliness, as was discussed earlier about natural strength, not despairing of forgiveness even if perhaps we initially squandered both our strength and our natural beauty, taking an example from this blessed woman Mary Magdalene, who, although she squandered her natural beauty in vices and sins, yet was converted to the Lord. And note the way she was converted. First, she reached Jesus in the home of a certain Simon.

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conuertendi. Primus intrauit ad Iesum in domum cuiusdam Simonis. Afferens secum vnguentum preciosum et lacrimata, rigauit lacrimis pedes Christi capillis tergebat et osculabatur et vnguento vngebat. Sic moraliter faciet quilibet peccator. Intret ad Iesum in domum Symonis qui interpretatur obediens. Intret (inquam) in domum obediencie obediens scilicet preceptis prophete qui dicit: Conuertimini ad Dominum Deum vestrum in toto corde vestro, et hoc lacrimantes, scilicet cordialiter contricionem habentes in tantum, si potest fieri quod corporales oculi lacrimentur. Et vestre lacrime cadant spiritualiter super pedes Christi, scilicet pauperes, ita quod eis compaciamini et capillis tergite, id est habundanciis diuiciarum vestrarum per elemosinas eorum inopiam remouete. Et tunc ipsos pedes Christi, scilicet pauperes, immo et omnes vestros proximos osculamini, scilicet habentes specialem affeccionem ad eos. Et tunc vnguento eos vngatis. Vnguentum mollit et languorem depellit atque membrorum dolorem, sic et vos habeatis ad proximos molliciem loquele; non detraccionis, mendacii, inhonestatis vel iracundie vestros proximos in nullo opera ledatis. Set quantum in vobis est omnem ab eis molestiam propellatis. Et sic certe vera signa dileccionis cum ipsa Maria ostendetis et dicetur de quolibet vestrum sicut dicebatur de Maria, Dimissa | sunt ei peccata multa quem dilexit multum. Et tunc indubie verificabitur de quolibet vestrum: confessionem et decorem, confessionem peccatorum et decorem virtutum induisti et per consequens Dominum Iesum Christum de quo precipit apostolus: Dominum Iesum Christum. Et tunc verificabitur de Christo illud Psalmi: Dominus regnauit, decorem induit, Dominus fortitudinem. Dominus (inquam) regnauit, scilicet in anima peccatoris conuersi, et sic induit decorem et fortitudinem spiritualem quia cum decore et fortitudine spirituali corpus suum misticum in homine circumvestit, dicens ei illud Psalmi: Specie tua et pulcritudine tua spirituali intende prospere in mundiciam tam mentis quam corporis et procede virtualiter conuersando et finaliter perseuerando et tunc regna eternaliter iubilando. Quod nobis concedat …



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­ ringing with her precious ointment and weeping, she moistened Jesus’s feet with B tears and wiped them with her hair, and kissed them and rubbed them with ointment.12 Morally each sinner should act in this way. Let him reach Jesus in the home of Simon, which means “obedient.”13 Let him enter (I say) into the home of obedience, obedient namely to the commandments of the prophet who says, Be converted to the Lord God with all your heart [Joel 2:12], and [let us do] this weeping, that is, with wholehearted contrition to such a degree, if it is possible for the bodily eyes to weep. And let your tears fall spiritually on Christ’s feet, that is, on the poor, so that you have compassion for them, and wipe them with hair, that is, remove their need with the surplus of your riches through alms. And then kiss these feet of Christ, that is, the poor, indeed also all your neighbors, specifically by having a particular affection for them. And then rub them with ointment. Ointment mitigates and removes weakness as well as pain in the limbs; so also you should have tenderness of speech for your neighbors; do not wound your neighbors in any works with detractions, lies, degrading speech, or anger. But to the extent you can, you should drive away all of their troubles. And thus certainly you will show true signs of love with this Mary, and it will be said of each of you as it was said of Mary: Many sins are forgiven her for she has loved much [Luke 7:47]. And then undoubtedly it will be made true concerning each of you that you clothed yourself in confession and comeliness, confession of sins and comeliness of virtues, and consequently in the Lord Jesus Christ, concerning whom the Apostle preached: The Lord Jesus Christ.14 And then what it says in the Psalm [92:1] will be made true about Christ: The Lord has reigned, he is clothed in comeliness, the Lord is clothed in strength. The Lord (I say) has reigned, namely, in the soul of the converted sinner, and thus he is clothed in spiritual comeliness and strength because his mystical body is clothed in man with spiritual comeliness and strength, saying to him that [verse] of the Psalm [Ps. 44:5]: With your splendor and your spiritual beauty set out, proceed prosperously in purity both of mind and of body, and proceed virtuously by living and persevering until the end, and then reign eternally by rejoicing. That he may concede to us …

Sermo Secundus Marie Magdalene

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Antethema Confidit in ea cor viri sui, Prouerbiorum vltimo. Salamon in suis prouerbiis vbi thema comparat ecclesiam mulieri forti dicens, Mulierem fortem quis inueniet? Procul et de vltimis finibus precium eius, et subdit verba thematis, Confidet in ea, etc. Quare autem comparat ecclesiam mulieri forti cuius precium est? Dicunt doctores in sentencia quod, sicut mulier corporaliter parit filios atque nutrit, ita sacra ecclesia parit filios spiritualiter in fide et partos nutrit pane verbi Dei. Et signanter dicitur ecclesia mulier fortis, mulier enim a natura fragilis est et debilis in comparacione viri quod si mulier fuerit viro forcior, est debilitas nature in viro et superfluitas nature in muliere, et vtrumque est vicium nature quia natura secundum Philosophum non deficit in necessariis nec habundat superfluis. Set illud quod superfluum est et viciosum in natura coporali bonum est in natura spirituali. Vnde communitas saluandorum que est ecclesia de se fuit fragilis et debilis per peccatum que tamen fortis facta est per graciam Iesu Christi, superhabundante gracia Iesu Christi. Nam secundum Apostolum, Romanos 5: Vbi habundauit peccatum1 superhabundauit et gracia. Que super­ habundancia est vtilis atque bona. Huius autem mulieris vir est Christus. Sicut enim creata est prima mulier de costa lateris viri dormientis cui viro illa mulier fuit carnaliter copulata, ita de latere Christi dormientes in cruce fluxerunt sanguis et aqua, vnde formata fuit vnica et inmaculata ac virgo sancta mater ecclesia, coniunx Christi, per totum orbem diffusa. Ideo vere dicitur et de vltimis finibus precium, id est valor eius, vel de vltimis finibus, id est de celo et terra qui sunt fines vltimi. Est Christus qui est precium et valor ecclesie qui secundum deitatem est de celo, secundum humanitatem est de terra. Insuper sicut in fideli coniugio corporali vir specialiter confidit in coniuge et econtra, quod videlicet sua coniux vult semper esse prompta et parata vt placeat viro, sic et econtra, sic est in coniugio spirituali: vir confidit in sua coniuge et 1

 peccatum] delictum Vulg.

Second Sermon for Mary Magdalene (RY47) Theme: The heart of her husband trusts in her (Prov. 31:11). Protheme The heart of her husband trusts in her (Proverbs, the last chapter [Prov. 31:11]). Solomon in his Proverbs, [in the chapter] where the theme comes from, compares the Church to a strong woman, saying, Who shall find a strong woman? Far and from the uttermost coasts is the price of her [31:10], and he adds the words of the theme: Trusts in her, etc. And why does he compare the Church to a strong woman of great price? The theologians say on this text that, as a woman bodily brings forth children as well as nourishing them, so the holy Church spiritually brings forth children in faith and nourishes those she brings forth with the bread of God’s word. And it is significant that the Church is called a strong woman, for by nature a woman is fragile and weak in comparison to a man, and if a woman were stronger than a man, there would be weakness of nature in the man and an excess of nature in the woman, and both are vices of nature because nature, according to the Philosopher, is not deficient in necessities nor overabundant in surpluses.1 But what is superfluous and vicious in bodily nature is good in spiritual nature. Thus the community of the saved, which is the Church, was through sin fragile and weak on its own, yet was made strong through the grace of Jesus Christ when it was made abundant with the grace of Jesus Christ. For according to the Apostle (Romans 5[:20]): Where sin abounded, grace did more abound. This abundance is useful as well as good. Moreover, the husband of this woman is Christ. For as the first woman was created from the rib of a sleeping man’s side, to which man that woman was carnally joined, so from the side of Christ sleeping on the cross flowed blood and water, from which the unique and immaculate and virgin holy mother Church was formed, the spouse of Christ, spread out through all the world. Therefore, it is truly said, from the uttermost coasts is the price of her, that is, her value, or from the uttermost coasts, that is, from heaven and earth, which are the uttermost coasts. It is Christ who is the price and value of the Church, [Christ] who, with respect to his deity, is from heaven, with respect to his humanity, is from the earth. Furthermore, just as in a faithful bodily marriage a husband especially trusts his spouse, and vice versa—namely, that his wife desires always to be ready and prepared

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econtra. Christus ergo confidit in sua ecclesia quod vult sibi placere et sua precepta perficere et conformiter debet ecclesia in Christo confidere quod velit sibi omnia necessaria largire et modo optimo gubernare. Talem ergo confidenciam debent tam predicatores quam auditores verbi Dei habere in capite suo Christo. Vir enim est capud mulieris secundum Apostolum, ita Christus est capud ecclesie. Sicut enim in capite vigent omnes sensus corporis per quos sensus totum corpus debite gubernatur, ita in Christo sunt omnes thesauri sapiencie et sciencie per quos tota ecclesia gubernatur. Et quamquam omnium credencium sit cor vnum et anima vna, vt dicitur Actus 4, tamen oratores, scilicet ecclesiastici, sunt specialiter cor corporis mistici Iesu Christi. Et dicit signanter Iohannes Crisostomus super illo Matthei 6, Intra in cubiculum tuum: | Qui (inquit) euisdem sunt cordis, et si multorum fuerint oratores vnus sunt quia vnus spiritus in omnibus erat. Set reuera, vt dicit ibidem sanctus in sentencia: Quando cor vnius orantis cogitat de vxore et familia, cor alterius de pecoribus, lucris et causis sordidis, friuolis, atque vanis, perditur tempus oracionis. Si igitur exaudiri velimus, oportet nos habere tres condiciones que in verbis thematis includuntur. Primo oportet nos virtuose viuere; secundo oportet nos affectuose petere; tercio oportet nos petendo securose credere. Oportet (inquam) volentem in sua oracione exaudiri virtuose viuere, et hoc innuitur in vltimo verbo thematis, scilicet viri sui. Vir enim dicitur a virtute, qui ergo vir est virtuosus? Set quis est virtuosus? Certe ille cuius cor seipsum non reprehendit de macula mortalis culpe. Talis (inquam) secure potest petere quod innuitur in primo verbo thematis cum dicitur confidit. Vnde Iohannes 3: Si cor nostrum non2 reprehenderit nos fiduciam habemus ad Deum. Quia quicquid pecierimus accipiemus. Saltem si affectuose petamus, quod includitur in secundo verbo thematis cum dicitur cor. Set quis affectuose et cum corde petit, certe qui vir est et virtuose viuit bona vita, et bona opera exteriora ostendunt affectum cordis, quod vere exemplatum est in beata Maria Magdalena. Nam assiduitas exterioris operacionis, scilicet in locucione et vnccione et tersione pedum Christi, ostendebant in ea affectum interioris dileccionis et deuocionis erga Christum. Ideo cum fiducia cordialiter petens remissionem peccatorum optinuit quod petebat. Cui Christus dixit, Fides tua te saluam fecit. Igitur principio huius collacionis oremus cordialiter et fiducialiter pro statu vniuersalis ecclesie, etc. 2

 non] nos



English Translation (RY47)235

to please her husband, and vice versa in the same manner—so it is in a spiritual marriage: the husband trusts in his spouse and vice versa. Therefore Christ trusts in his Church, that she desires to please him and fulfill his commandments, and similarly the Church should trust in Christ, that he desires to lavish on her all things necessary and to rule her in the best way. Therefore, both preachers and listeners to God’s word should have such trust in Christ, [who is] their head. For the husband is the head of the wife, according to the Apostle [Eph. 5:23], so Christ is the head of the Church. For as in the head all the senses of the body flourish, through which senses all the body is appropriately governed, so in Christ are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge through which the whole Church is governed. And although all believers may be one body and one soul, as it is said in Acts 4[:32], yet those who pray, that is, the clergy, are especially the heart of the mystical body of Jesus Christ. And John Chrysostom says expressly on that text of Matthew 6[:6], Enter into your chamber: “The ones who are of the same heart, even if those who pray are numerous, are one because one spirit was in all.”2 But indeed, as the holy man says in the same place in a statement: “When the heart of someone praying thinks about his wife or family, the heart of another about flocks, profits, and unclean, frivolous, and vain situations, the time of prayer is lost.”3 Therefore, if we wish to be heard, we need to meet three conditions which are included in the words of the theme. First, we need to live virtuously; secondly, we need to ask affectionately; thirdly, when we ask, we need to believe trustingly. If we want to be heard in prayer, we need (I say) to live virtuously, and this is implied in the last word[s] of the theme, of her husband. For “husband” (vir) is derived from “virtue” (virtus). So who is a husband unless he is virtuous? But who is virtuous? Certainly he whose heart does not blame itself for the stain of mortal sin. Such (I say) can securely seek what is implied in the first word[s] of the theme when it says, he trusts—whence John 3 [1 John 3:21–22]: If our heart does not blame us, we have confidence towards God. Because whatsoever we shall ask, we shall receive—at least if we seek affectionately, which is included in the second word of the theme when it says, heart. But the one who seeks affectionately and with [his] heart is the one who is certainly a husband and lives a good life virtuously, and [his] good external works reveal the affection of his heart, which is truly exemplified in blessed Mary Magdalene. For her constant attention to exterior works, namely in speech and anointing and washing Christ’s feet, showed the affect within her of interior love and devotion towards Christ. Therefore, when she with confidence wholeheartedly sought the remission of sins, she obtained what she sought. To her Christ said, Your faith has made you safe [Luke 7:50]. So in the beginning of this collation let us pray wholeheartedly and confidently for the state of the universal Church, etc.

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Sermo secundus Marie Magdalene Divisio thematis Confidit in ea cor viri sui, vbi supra. Licet ista verba vt predixi dicantur specialiter de ecclesia, possunt tamen ad istam sanctam mulierem de qua ecclesia memorat isto die et consequenter ad quamlibet fidelem animam pertinere. Cuius mulieris vir est Christus qui merito dicitur cordialiter in ea confidere propter duos que causant fiduciam inter notos, scilicet experiencia mutue et continuate amicicie et vehemencia assidue et probate confidencie. Experiencia mutue et continuate amicicie consistit in operum exteriorum exhibicione; vehemencia assidue et probate confidencie existit in beneuola benefactorum redonacione. Dico ergo quod cor Christi siue Christus cordialiter confidebat in hac sancta muliere propter experienciam continuate amicicie que consistebat in operum exteriorum exhibicione. Secundo Christus cordialiter confidebat in ea propter vehemenciam in beneuola benefactorum redonacione. Et sic dico de illa muliere pro tempore quo hic viuebat verba thematis que assumpsi, scilicet Confidit in ea, etc. Primum principale Dico primo quod cor Christi siue Christus cordialiter confidebat in ea propter experienciam continuate amicicie que consistebat in operum exteriorum exhibicione. De experiencia huius dileccionis loquitur Christus in euangelio hodierno dicens, Dilexit multum. Non dicit solum dilexit set dilexit multum. Dileccio enim momentanea non est multa set si sit multa est longa et continuata, nam semper diligit qui amicus est, Prouerbiorum 17. Et idem testatur Philosophus, 8 Ethicorum, capitulo 4: Amicicia (inquit) virtus est vel saltem cum virtute. Et ideo est habitus permanens et non de facili transiens vnde signanter dicitur in themate, Confidit in ea cor viri sui. Vir enim dicitur a virtute vt predixi vnde confidencia amicicie debet esse cum virtute, et cor, secundum philosophos et experienciam naturalem, prebet vitam et motum omnibus membris corporis, et hoc continue. Nam quando cor cessat ab huiusmodi ministracione deficit et moritur animal vel in parte vel in toto. Sic indubie est in amicicia morali oportet quod continuetur, saltem si sit virtuosa, quod si non continuetur deficit et vanescit. Istud fedus amicicie iniuimus cum Christo ad pascha, set vtinam non sit in aliquibus nostrum interrupta! Set reuera timeo



English Translation (RY47)237

The second sermon for Mary Magdalene The division of the theme The heart of her husband trusts in her (see above). Although these words, as I said before, may be said especially about the Church, yet they can pertain to this holy woman whom the Church commemorates on this day and consequently to each faithful soul. The husband of this woman is Christ, who is rightly said to trust in her wholeheartedly for the two reasons which create trust among friends: mutual experience and uninterrupted friendship, and constant eagerness and proven confidence. Mutual experience and uninterrupted friendship consist in the performance of external works; constant eagerness and proven confidence exist in the benevolent giving in return of favors. Therefore, I say that the heart of Christ (or Christ wholeheartedly) trusts in this holy woman because of the experience of uninterrupted friendship, which consists in the performance of external works. Secondly, Christ wholeheartedly trusts in her because of eagerness in the benevolent giving in return of favors. And so I say about this woman, for the time in which she lived here, the words of the theme which I have taken, namely, He trusts in her, etc. First principal part I say first that the heart of Christ or Christ wholeheartedly trusted in her because of the experience of uninterrupted friendship, which consisted in the performance of external works. About the experience of this love, Christ speaks in today’s Gospel, saying, She loved much [Luke 7:47]. He does not say only she loved, but she loved much. For love is not momentary, but, for it to be much, is long-lasting and uninterrupted, for [h]e that is a friend loves at all times (Proverbs 17[:17]). And the same is testified by the Philosopher, in [book] 8 of Ethics, chapter 4: “Friendship is a virtue or at least with virtue.”4 And therefore it is a permanent habit and not easily fleeting; thus it is said significantly in the theme: The heart of her husband trusts in her. For “husband” (vir) is taken from “virtue” (virtus), as I said before; so the trust of friendship should be with virtue, and, according to the philosophers and everyday experience, the heart provides life and motion to all the members of the body, and does this without interruption. For when the heart ceases from ministration of this kind, the living thing fails and dies, either in part or entirely. So undoubtedly it is necessary that, in an ethical friendship, it be uninterrupted, at least if it is virtuous, because if it is not uninterrupted, it fails and fades. We enter into this bond of friendship with Christ at Easter, but if only it were not interrupted in any of us! But

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quod sic, tum primo, quia amicus secundum virtutem non conmanet nec conuiuit delectabiliter cum vicioso, quia virtuosi amici semper delectantur in operibus virtuosis, viciosi | autem in contrariis operibus delectantur. Tum secundo quia corda multorum infirmantur vel saltem deordinantur in natura sua ita quod non ministrant membris et sensibus naturaliter sicut debent. Pro quibus ad humanum animam applicandis est notandum quod superior pars racionis in homine, secundum doctores, dicitur vir et inferior pars, scilicet sensualitas, dicitur mulier. Vnde cor humanus viri est sua operacio perfectissima, scilicet discernere et intelligere. Vnde quando racio regit sensualitatem et ipsa sensualitas sibi subicitur modo debito, tunc est inter eos dileccio siue amicicia virtuosa. Pro quo sciendum quod in corde est principium sensuum tactus et gustus set in capite est principium aliorum sensum, tactus itaque et gustus sunt omnino necessaria ad sustentacionem et gubernacionem corporis naturalem, tres autem alii sensus in capite sunt quodammodo spirituales, scilicet olfactus, visus, et auditus. Olfactus dignior est quam gustus quia subiectum suum, scilicet odor, est nobilior quam dulcedo nam dulcedo aliquando tristari facit set odor nuncquam. Vnde officium olfactus est olfacere ea que sunt odorifera, primo animam delectancia et posterius capud et corpus iuuancia. Obiectum visus est lux que perfectissima est corporalium qualitatum. Obiectum auditus est sonus vel vox qui spiritualior est quam dulcedo vel odor. Set cum quilibet horum sensuum sit in natura sua honestum, tunc in obiectis honestis naturaliter delectaretur. Tactus ergo non tangeret nec gustus gustaret nec olfactus olfaceret nec visus videret nec auris audiret delectabiliter nisi honesta nec saltem aliqua sentiret aliquis horum sensuum quod ipsum faceret inhonestum. Set quid peccato inhonestius siue vilius? Vere nichil, quia deturpat et deturpauit creaturam quacumque corporali creatura incomparabiliter pulcriorem. Quando ergo luxuriaris contra permissionem legis diuine, tactus tuus dehonestatur. Quando peccas in ebrietate vel in gula, tuus gustus et olfactus deturpantur. Quando vides rem proximi quamcumque illicite concupiscendo, visus tuus obscuratur. Quando audis detracciones et huiusmodi vana, tuus auditus peioratur. Nec indubie cor viri tui, scilicet intellectus racionis tue, confidit in muliere sua, scilicet in sensualitate tua. Set est pessima diffidencia in eisdem. Cuius eciam alia causa est in defectu cordis viri. Philosophus recitat tres condiciones cordis. Prima est magnum cor in animali est timidum et causa est quia in magno corde est calor modicus. Secunda condicio cordis est quod in nullius animalis corde est os preterquam in corde cerui, equi, et vacce.



English Translation (RY47)239

indeed I fear that it is so, first, because a friend in accordance with virtue does not remain constantly or live together pleasurably with vice, because virtuous friends always delight in virtuous activities, but the vicious delight in contrary activities; then secondly, because the hearts of many are weakened or at least are disordered in their nature, so that they do not minister to the members and the senses naturally as they should. To apply this to the human soul, we should note that the superior part of reason in a person, according to the doctors, is called “husband” and the inferior part, that is, sensuality, is called “wife.” Thus the human heart of the husband is his most perfect activity, specifically to discern and to understand. So when reason rules sensuality and this sensuality is subjected to it in the appropriate way, love or virtuous friendship obtains between them. Know also that the beginning of the senses of touch and taste is in the heart, but the beginning of the other senses is in the head, and thus touch and taste are altogether necessary for the natural sustenance and governing of the body, but the three other senses in the head—smell, sight, and hearing—are in a certain way spiritual. Smell is more worthy than taste because its object, namely, odor, is more noble than sweetness. For sweetness sometimes makes one sad, but odor never does. Whence the office of smell is to smell those things which are fragrant, first delighting the soul and afterwards the head and afterwards gratifying the head and body. The object of sight is light, which is the most perfect of bodily qualities. The object of hearing is sound or the voice, which is more spiritual than sweetness or odor. But when any one of these senses is honest in its nature, it naturally delights in honest objects. Therefore touch does not touch, nor taste taste, nor smell smell, nor sight see, nor the ear hear with pleasure unless the objects are honest, or at least any one of these senses does not sense anything that makes it dishonest. But what is more dishonest or vile than sin? Indeed nothing, because it disfigures, and it disfigured a creature that was incomparably more beautiful than any corporeal creature. So when you lust against what is permissible by divine law, your touch is dishonest. When you sin in drinking or in the appetite, your taste and smell are disfigured. When you see a thing of your neighbor’s and illicitly desire whatever it is, your sight is darkened. When you hear slanders and vain things of this sort, your hearing is injured. Nor undoubtedly does the heart of your husband, that is, the understanding of your reason, trust in his wife, that is, in your sensuality. But there is the worst distrust between them. The other cause of this [distrust] is in a defect of the husband’s heart. The Philosopher recites three conditions of the heart. The first is that an animal with a large heart is timid, and this is because a large heart has a small amount of warmth.5 The second condition of the heart is that no animal has a bone in its heart except

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Tercia cordis condicio est quod homo non loquitur post incisionem cordis. Quarta condicio est quod corda animalium habencium sensum sunt mollia, set corda carencium sensum sunt dura. Moraliter quo ad primam condicionem cordis, corda multorum sunt prothdolor nimis magna, hoc est nimis carnea super delectacionibus carnis posita, eciam super pompis mundi plus timencia iacturam bonorum fortune quam virtutum, magis timencia mundum quam Deum. Immo nonnulla corda sunt qualitatiue magna, scilicet magnitudine malicie, ire, scilicet et inuidie, in quibus est modicus calor[is] et dileccionis fraterne. Quia homines mundiales nullos diligunt nisi propter bonum vtile in qua dileccione cessante dono cessat dileccio. Nec in talibus est experiencia continuate amicicie set verius pro tempore simulate. Quo ad secundam condicionem cordis quod scilicet in nullo corde animalis est os nisi in corde cerui, equi, et vacce, reuera in cordibus multorum sunt ossa contra naturam hominis. Per os quod durum est intelligo obduracionem et obstinaciam in malicia. Corda multorum sunt iam plus obdurata in malicia peccatorum, plusquam vmquam fuit cor Pharaonis vel Iude proditoris. Pharao enim videns plagas in Egipto timuit et pro tempore populum Israeliticum dimisit. Iudas de prodicione Christi penituit et saluatus fuisset nisi desperasset. Set nulle plage superuenientes neque guerrarum neque pestilenciarum possunt corda | modernorum saxea siue ossea emollire ad dimittendum maliciam peccatorum. Item nota de ceruo, equo, et vacca. Ceruus secundum philosophos habet istam proprietatem quod sanguis eius est incoagulabilis. Vita animalis consistit in sanguine et calore sanguinis. Reuera vita talium obstinatorum in malicia numquam coagulatur vel coniungitur in calore caritatis, set semper dissoluitur per motum impietatis. Insuper comparantur tales habentes dura corda equo et vacce quia, secundum Aristotelem, equus et equa plus diligunt coitum quam cetera animalia. Immo et vacce tempore coitus multum desiderant mares. Quantum aliqui obstinantur in luxuria hiis diebus vere horribile est dicendum. Quo ad terciam condicionem cordis quod non loquitur homo post incisionem cordis, nonne multa corda sunt incisa gladio vindicte per inuidiam atque iram quod non locuntur? Locucio data est soli homini inter alia animalia propter dignitatem nature sue vt ex intellectu suo formet verbum quod pronunciet ad laudem Dei vel ad vtilitatem proximi. Verbum ergo quod nec est ad laudem Dei nec vtilitatem sui ipsius vel proximi non est verbum nisi fictum. Detracciones ergo, mendaces, periuri et huiusmodi non vere loqu[u]ntur quia corda eorum sunt incisa. Vlterius quo ad quartam condicionem cordis quod



English Translation (RY47)241

a deer, horse, and cow.6 The third condition of the heart is that, after an incision of the heart, a person does not speak.7 The fourth condition of the heart is that the hearts of animals which have senses are soft, but the hearts of those which lack senses are hard.8 Morally, as far as the first condition of the heart is concerned, the hearts of many are, sadly, excessively large, that is, excessively carnal concerning delights of the flesh, also concerning the splendors of the world, fearing more the loss of good fortunes than [the loss] of virtues, fearing more the world than God. Indeed, some hearts are qualitatively large, that is, in the magnitude of malice, ire, and envy, in which there is a small amount of warmth and of fraternal love because worldly people love no one unless he is useful, so when the gift ceases, love ceases. Nor is there uninterrupted friendship among such people, but it is rather pretended for a time. As far as the second condition of the heart is concerned, that there is no bone in an animal’s heart except in the hearts of a deer, horse, and cow, indeed there are bones in the hearts of many, against human nature. By the bone that is hard, I understand hardness or stubbornness in malice. The hearts of many are already more hardened in the malice of sins than the heart of Pharaoh or of Judas the traitor ever was. For Pharaoh, seeing the plagues in Egypt, feared and for a time let the Israelites go. Judas was penitent for betraying Christ and would have been saved if he had not despaired. But the coming of any plagues, either of wars or pestilences, cannot soften the rocky and bony hearts of these modern people to let go of the malice of sins. Likewise, note [further] about deer, horses, and cows. According to the philosophers, a deer’s blood does not clot.9 Animal life consists in blood and the warmth of blood. Indeed, the life of such people who are stubborn in malice is never clotted or united in the warmth of charity, but is always dissolved by the movement of impiety. In addition, such people who have hard hearts are compared to a horse and a cow because, according to Aristotle, a stallion and mare love to have intercourse more than all other animals. Indeed, cows also at the time of intercourse greatly desire bulls.10 How much some are hardened in lust these days is truly horrible to say. As to the third condition of the heart—that a person does not speak after an incision of the heart—are not many hearts cut with the sword of vengeance by means of envy and anger so that they do not speak? Speech is given only to man among other animals for the dignity of his nature, so that from his understanding he may form words to speak for the praise of God or usefulness of his neighbor. So the word that is neither for the praise of God nor of use for himself or his neighbor is a word only feigned. Therefore, slanders, lies, perjuries, and things of this sort are not truly spoken because [the speakers’] hearts are cut. In addition, as to the fourth condition of the heart—that the hearts of those lacking senses are hard and the hearts of those

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scilicet corda carencium sensum sunt dura et corda habencium sensum sunt mollia, obdurati in peccatis carent sensu verum quia non senciunt neque sapiunt ea que Dei sunt. Set econtra illi qui sapiunt ea que Dei sunt habent mollia corda per compassionem proximorum, misericordiam, et pietatem et deuocionem. Igitur, amore Iesu Christi, dicat vnusquisque illud Ecclesiastici 26: A tribus timuit cor meum et a3 quarto facies mea metuit. Et caueat vnusquisque primo ne cor suum sit nimis magnum in malicia, ire, et inuidie, ne sit os in corde suo, id est ne sit in malicia induratus, ne cor suum incidatur per fraternum odium quod perdat loquelam suam, et tandem non sit cor suum adeo durum quod perdat sensum suum non senciendo nec sapiendo que Dei sunt. Set habeat cor molle et mediocre. Nam tale cor, secundum Aristotolem, optime ministrat membris in vitam et motum. Cor molle et mediocre est cor humile et virtuosum quia quod molle est cito flectitur, quod mediocre non declinat ad superhabundanciam vel defectum set se tenet in medio cum virtute, et in tali corde erit bona confidencia viri ad mulierem, scilicet racionis ad sensualitatem. Immo in tali corde erit experiencia continuate amicicie que consistit in bonorum operum exteriorum exhibicione. Cor enim, vt predixi, omnibus membris amministrat, et econtra omnia membra seruant cor, immo totus homo seruat cor. Ideo precipit Sapiens, Prouerbiorum 4: Omni custodia serua cor tuum quoniam ex ipso vita procedit. Conformiter est in continuacione honeste amicicie. Nam boni amici semper mutuo sese iuuant et diligunt et omnia exteriora opera sibi vtilia comministrant. Istud signum dileccionis Maria Magdalena ostendit ad Christum virum suum, et Christus econtra ad eam. Primum opus quod exhibuit fuit humilitas confessionis quando se prostrauit ad pedes Christi quia in illa prostracione fatebatur se ream saltem corde et si non ore, quia non fuit necesse quod confiteretur ore quia Christus nouit abscondita cordis sui. Insuper quia pudor debet communicare confessionem, non venit directe coram facie Christi, set stans retro secus pedes eius cepit eos cum lacrimis irrigare. Et hoc fuit signum vere contricionis in nostrum exemplum quod nos confiteremur peccata nostra cum lacrimis et pudore. Et secundum beatum Gregorium super euangelio hodierno: Oculis (inquit) terrena concupierat, set hos per penitenciam conterens flebat. | Et pro penitencia contra peccata oris, scilicet mendacii, vaniloquii, periurii, osculabatur pedes Christi. Eciam quia osculum est signum amoris osculando pedes Christi penituit de ira et inuidia que opponuntur amori. In hoc quod tersit pedes Christi capillis 3

 a] in Vulg.



English Translation (RY47)243

who have senses are soft—those hardened in sins truly lack sense because they do not feel or taste those things which are of God. But on the contrary, those who taste those things which are of God have soft hearts through compassion for their neighbor, mercy, and piety and devotion. Therefore, for the love of Jesus Christ, let each one say that [verse] of Ecclesiasticus (26[:5]): Of three things my heart has been afraid, and at the fourth my face has trembled. And let each beware first lest his heart may be excessively large in malice, ire, and envy; or there may be a bone in his heart, that is, it may be hardened in malice; or his heart may be cut by means of brotherly hatred so that he loses his speech; and finally, lest his heart not be even harder so that he loses his senses by not feeling or tasting the things which are of God. But let each have a soft and moderate heart. For such a heart, according to Aristotle, ministers best to the limbs in life and movement.11 A soft and moderate heart is a heart humble and virtuous because what is soft is quickly bent, what is moderate does not descend to excess or defect but holds itself virtuously in the middle, and such a heart will experience uninterrupted friendship, which consists in the performance of external good works. For the heart, as I said, ministers to all the limbs, and, on the other hand, all the limbs serve the heart; indeed, the entire person serves the heart. Therefore the wise man preaches (Proverbs 4[:23]): With all watchfulness keep your heart because life issues out from it. Similarly [trust] is in the continuation of honest friendship. For good friends always help and love each other and serve each other in all external useful works. This sign of love Mary Magdalene showed to Christ her husband, and Christ on the other hand to her. The first work that she showed was humility of confession when she prostrated herself at Christ’s feet, since in that prostration she confessed herself a sinner at least by heart if not by mouth, because she did not need to confess by mouth because Christ knew what was hidden in her heart. In addition, because shame should join with confession, she did not come directly before the face of Christ, but remaining behind, alongside his feet, she began to wash them with her tears [see Luke 7:38]. And this was a true sign of contrition in an example for us that we should confess our sins with tears and shame. And according to blessed Gregory on today’s Gospel, “With the eyes she had coveted earthly things, but wearing out these things by penance she wept,”12 and as penance for the sins of the mouth—specifically lies, vain words, [and] perjuries—she kissed the feet of Christ. Also, since a kiss is a sign of love, by kissing Christ’s feet she repented for anger and envy, which are opposed to love. When she wiped Christ’s feet with her

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Latin Text (RY47)

suis penituit de cupiditate nam capilli sunt superbia capitis, per quos signantur superbia diuiciarum quam debemus dare pedibus Christi qui sunt infimi partes corporis Christi, id est pauperibus qui sunt infimi inter homines. In hoc quod vnxit pedes Christi vnguento ostendit signum penitencie contra gula quia per vnguentum signatur deuocio, vnde vnccio pedum signat deuocionem oracionis. Set oracio non valet sine abstinencia et ieiunio contra gulam. Immo breuiter, vt dicit beatus Gregorius: Quot habuit in se peccati delectamenta, tot de se fecit holocausta, que semel conuersa numquam recidiuauit. Set vt narrat de ea Iosephus post Ascencionem Domini pro ardenti quam erga eum habuit caritate, numquam virum voluit videre set in heremum recessit et ibi mansit 40 annis omnibus incognita, cibum humanum minime sumens. Et omnibus horis canonicis angeli Domini de celo veniebant eam in aere secum ducebant vt ibi cum eis suam oracionem impleret. Hec Iosephus. Ita quod post penitenciam peractam numquam in peccatum recidiuauit. In cuius signum dixit ei Christus, Vade in pace. Super quo Gregorius: In viam pacis ire, precipitur vt a via veritatis in viam scandali vlterius non deriuetur. Igitur, amore Iesu Christi, peniteamus de peccatis nostris cum ista sancta muliere, post penitenciam non recidiuantes, dicentes cum Apostolo, Hebreas 4: Non habemus pontificem qui non possit compati infirmitatibus nostris. Adeamus ergo cum fiducia ad thronum gracie eius vt misericordiam consequamur et graciam inueniamus in auxilio oportuno. Et faciamus precepta Christi, et tunc erimus sui amici quibus, dicit Iohannes 15: Vos amici mei estis si feceritis que precipio vobis. Et tunc vere dicentur de anima cuiuslibet vestrum que dicuntur de ista muliere: cor Christi siue Christus cordialiter confidebat in ea propter experienciam continuate amicicie que consistebat in operum exteriorum exhibicione. Secundum principale Dixi secundo quod Chirstus cordialiter confidebat in ea propter vehemenciam in beneuola benefactorum donacione, que benefacta Christo redonauit dixi prius, et quomodo exemplo suo nos Christo opera penitencie et misericordie solueremus, et diceret quilibet nostrum illud Psalmi 24: Deus meus in te confido; non erubescam, dicentes eciam cum Apostolo, Corintheos 3: Fiduciam talem habemus per Christum ad Deum. Quod non simus sufficientes cogitare aliquid a nobis quasi a nobis set sufficiencia nostra ex Deo est, exemplum dat nobis



English Translation (RY47)245

hair, she repented for greed, for the hair is the pride of the head, signifying the pride in riches which we should give to Christ’s feet, which are the lowest parts of Christ’s body, that is, to the poor who are the lowest among people. That she anointed Christ’s feet with ointment shows a sign of penance for gluttony because devotion is signified by ointment; hence the ointment of the feet signifies the devotion of prayer. But prayer has no effect without abstinence and fasting against gluttony. Indeed, briefly, as blessed Gregory says, “Just as many delights of sin she had within herself, so many sacrifices did she make of herself,”13 so that once converted she never backslid. But as Josephus narrates about her, after the Ascension of the Lord, for the burning love which she had towards him, she was never willing to look at a man, but she withdrew into the desert and remained there unknown for forty years, eating the smallest amount of human food. And at every canonical hour angels of the Lord came from heaven and led her into the air with them, so that she could fulfill her prayer there with them. So says Josephus.14 Thus, after her completed penance, she never relapsed into sin. In a sign of this Christ said to her, Go in peace [Luke 7:50]. On this Gregory [says], “Into the way of peace go: she is taught no longer to be diverted from the way of truth into the way of scandal.”15 Therefore, for the love of Jesus Christ, let us repent for our sins with this holy woman, not backsliding after penance, saying with the Apostle, Hebrews 4[:15–16]: We have not a high priest who cannot have compassion on our infirmities. […] Let us go therefore with confidence to the throne of his grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace in seasonable aid. And let us follow Christ’s commands, and then we will be his friends, about which he says (John 15[:14]): You are my friends if you do the things that I command you. And then truly it will be said about the soul of each of you what is said about this woman: the heart of Christ, or Christ wholeheartedly, trusts in her because of the experience of uninterrupted friendship, which consists in the performance of external works. Second principal part I said secondly that Christ trusted in her wholeheartedly because of her eagerness in the benevolent giving of favors, favors which she gave back to Christ, [as] I said previously, and how by her example we should pay to Christ works of penance and mercy, and each of us should say that [verse] of Psalm 24[:2]: In you, O my God, I put my trust; let me never be put to shame, and say also with the Apostle (Corinthians 3 [2 Cor. 3:4]): Such confidence we have through Christ to God. In order that we may not consider ourselves self-sufficient, imagining that anything we have, we have,

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Latin Text (RY47)

Apostolus quod si quid boni facimus totum diuine misericordie referamus. Vnde signanter dicit Apostolus, habemus fiduciam talem, in signum quod talis debet esse fiducia nostra in Deo qualis nec esse potest in aliquo alio. Set certe plures habent maiorem confidenciam in aliis rebus quam in Deo. In hoc enim quod quis maxime diligit, maxime confidit. Forte cogitas in te ipso: Diligo maxime Deum meum. Tunc dico tibi cum beato Gregorio: Probacio dileccionis exhibicio est operis. Si dicis, diligo Deum, et ei per opera contradicis, vere mendax es. Si magis sollicitus es placere mundo quam Deo, vere magis diligis mundum quam Deum et maiorem fiduciam habes in seculo quam in Deo. Tria sunt in quibus homines confidunt inordinate, scilicet in homine, in bonis nature, in bonis fortune. De confidencia in homine scribitur Ieremie 17: Maledictus homo qui confidit in homine et ponit carnem brachium suum. In homine confidit qui, sub spe manutencionis alicuius hominis, liberius peccat in se vel in proximum. Quales nimis multi sunt prothdolor hiis diebus. Ille confidit in homine qui magis credit superare hostes per humanam potenciam quam per graciam. Ille ponit carnem brachium suum, id est fortitudinem suam | secundum glossam, qui dicit se non posse vincere carnem propriam quin cadat in luxuriam et in gulam et huiusmodi peccata carnalia. Alii confidunt in bonis nature, vtputa in fortitudine, in corporali pulcritudine sub qua fiducia incidunt in varia peccata. Nam multi sunt dum se senciunt aliis forciores super hoc inaniter gloriantur, excercitantes se fortiter in luctis, in ponderum et lapidum leuacionibus et pulsionibus. Set in seruiciis dominorum suorum, immo quod peius, in Domino seruicio, sunt nimis debiles at segnes. Que vtique fiducia vana est cum corpus corruptibile indies tendat ad defectum senectutis. Alii confidentes in sua pulcritudine corporali et precipue mulieres superfluis ornatibus se exornant; immo cum natura eis dederit pulcritudinem sufficientem, non sunt super hac contente quin eciam addant aliqua que faciant suos colores nitere in facie et certe ad nullum alium finem nisi vt attrahant homines ad concupiscenciam atque luxum. Tali mulieri congrue potest dici illud Ezechiel 16: Perfecta es in decore meo quem posueram, dicit Dominus, et habens fiduciam in fortitudine et pulcritudine tua fornicata es et exposuisti fornicacionem tuam transeunti vt eius fieres. Prouerbiorum vltima: Fallax gracia et vana est pulcritudo. Vere vana est quia non habet stabilimentum, deficit enim aut per senectutem aut per infirmitatem, immo vtrumque. Vbi patet pulcritudo in facie, latet multa spurcicia sub cute. Si tales cogitarent quam viles fuerunt in suo principio et quod viliores erunt in suo fine, non tam inaniter de sua fortitudine vel pulcritudine gloriarentur.



English Translation (RY47)247

as it were, from ourselves, but that our sufficiency is from God, the Apostle gives an example to us that if we do anything good, we assign all to divine mercy. So the Apostle says expressly, Such confidence we have, in a sign that such should be our confidence in God that it cannot be in anything else. But truly many have greater trust in other things than in God. For it is the case that anyone who greatly loves, greatly trusts. Perhaps you think to yourself, “I greatly love my God,” then I say to you with blessed Gregory, “The proof of love is in the performance of work.” 16 If you say, “I love God,” and you contradict that with works, truly you are a liar. If you are more concerned to please the world than God, truly you love the world more than God, and you have greater confidence in the world than in God. There are three things in which people trust in too much: man, the goods of nature, [and] the goods of fortune. Concerning trust in man it is written in Jeremiah 17[:5]: Cursed be the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his arm. A person trusts in man who, with the hope of support from another man, sins more freely against himself or his neighbor. Sadly, of such kind there are very many nowadays. A person trusts in man who believes that he will conquer his enemies by means of human power more than by grace. He makes flesh his arm, that is, his strength according to the gloss,17 who says that he cannot conquer his own flesh so that he does not fall into lust and into gluttony and carnal sins of this kind. Others trust in the goods of nature, that is, in strength [or] in bodily beauty, under which trust they fall into various sins. For many are vainly proud as long as they feel themselves stronger than others, exercising themselves vigorously in wrestling, in lifting and throwing weights and rocks. But in services to their lords—indeed what is worse, in service to the Lord—they are very weak and sluggish. This is certainly a vain trust when from day to day the corruptible body gravitates to the weakness of old age. Others who trust in their bodily beauty, and especially women, adorn themselves with excessive ornaments; indeed, although nature gave them enough beauty, they are not content with this without also adding other things which make their colors shine on their faces, and certainly for no other end except to attract men for desire and lust. That [verse] of Ezechiel 16[:14–15] can aptly be said to such a woman: You were perfect through my beauty which I had put upon you, says the Lord, and having trust in strength and beauty you played the harlot and prostituted yourself to every passerby to be his, [and] Proverbs the last chapter [31:30]: Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain. Truly it is vain because it lacks stability, for it fails either through old age or through illness, indeed through both. Where beauty appears in the face, great filth is hidden under the skin. If such people think how vile they were in their beginning and that they will be viler in their end, they would not so vainly take pride in their strength or beauty.

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Alii confidunt in bonis fortune, scilicet in diuiciis, de quibus et de aliis dicitur in Psalmo: Qui confidunt in virtute sua et in multitudine diuiciarum suarum gloriantur. Multi enim, immo nimis multi, tante confidunt in habundancia diuiciarum quod dicunt realiter intra se illud Sapiencie secundo: Fruamur bonis que sunt et vtamur creatura tamquam in iuuentute celeriter. Vino precioso et vnguentis nos impleamus et non pretereat nos flos temporis. Et sequitur paulo post: Nemo nostrum exsors sit luxurie nostre; vbique relinquamus signa leticie quoniam hec est pars nostra, hec est sors nostra. Tales diuites dum se senciunt sanos corpore, non cogitant de morte, nec de illo quod dicitur de homine in Psalmo: Tamquam flos feni sic efflorebit, quoniam spes pertransibit in illo et non subsistet. Hec fiducia vtique nedum vana est, set stulta. Stultus est qui ponit spem suam in vmbra que subito vanescit. Nonne quamcumque habundaueris hic diuiciis, in articulo mortis quasi in momento illas deseres? Et certe nisi de eis tunc reddideris bonam racionem, traderis tortoribus quousque reddideris vniuersum debitum. Et quia numquam habebis vnde reddas, semper torqueberis et tu et alii dampnati dicetis simul illud Sapiencie 5: Quid nobis profuit superbia? Aut diuiciarum iactancia quid contulit nobis? Transierunt omnia tamquam vmbra, et tamquam nauis que pretransit fluctuantem aquam, cuius cum pertransierit non est vestigium inuenire. Igitur non confidamus in homine nec in bonis nature seu fortune, set confidamus in Domino Deo nostro nam benedictus vir qui confidit in Domino et erit Dominus fiducia eius. Ieremie 17. \Confiteamur/ quod habemus omnia bona a Deo et nichil a nobis. Si ergo dedit alicui nostrum bona exteriora et interiora, non superbiamus nec inaniter gloriemur in illis. Set expendamus illa in Dei seruicio et ad finem pro quo dantur nobis. Si habundemus bonis fortune, consideremus quod ipse Deus est capitalis Dominus eorumdem et nos solum subdomini vel dispensatores. Parciamur ea inter pauperes indigentes, non ea auare tenentes aut in superfluitate expendentes, memores mortis nostre et nostre vite labilis continuo tendentis ad defectum. Et si mali fecimus, peniteamus cum ista sancta muliere, et tunc indubie dicetur cuilibet nostrum illud Isaie 52: Qui habet fiduciam mei hereditabit et possidebit montem sanctum meum, scilicet celum, etc.



English Translation (RY47)249

Others trust in their goods of fortune, that is, in riches, concerning which and concerning others it is said in the Psalm [48:7]: They that trust in their own strength and glory in a multitude of their riches. For many, nay exceedingly many, trust so greatly in the abundance of riches that they say in reality within themselves that [verse] of Wisdom, second chapter [2:6–7]: Let us enjoy the good things that are present, and let us speedily use the creatures as in youth. Let us fill ourselves with costly wine and ointments, and let not the flower of the time pass by us. And it follows a little later [2:9]: Let none of us go without his part in luxury; let us everywhere leave tokens of joy; for this is our portion, this is our lot. While such rich people feel themselves whole in body, they do not think about death, nor about that which is said about the man in the Psalm [102:15–16]: As the flower of the field so shall he flourish, for the spirit shall pass in him, and he shall not be. This trust certainly is not only vain but foolish. Foolish is the one who places his hope in shadows which vanish suddenly. Isn’t it true that however much you abound in riches here, at the point of death, as it were in a moment, you will leave them? And certainly, unless you will at that time render a good account concerning them, you will be handed over to the torturers until you return all that you owe. And because you will never have what you owe, you will always be tortured, and you and the other damned will say together that [verse] of Wisdom 5[:8–10]: What has pride profited us? Or what advantage has the boasting of riches brought us? All those things are passed like a shadow, and as a ship that passes through the waves, whereof when it is gone by, the trace cannot be found. So let us not trust in man nor in the goods of nature or fortune, but let us trust in the Lord our God, for blessed the man who trusts in the Lord and the Lord will be his trust (Jeremiah 17[:7]). Let us confess that we have all goods from God and nothing from ourselves. Therefore, if he gives to any one of us exterior and interior goods, let us not be proud or vainglorious about them. But let us expend these in God’s service and to the end for which they are given to us. If we abound in goods of fortune, let us consider that God himself is the chief Lord of these and we only underlords or stewards. Let us distribute them among the needy poor, not holding them greedily or spending them in excesses, mindful of our death and our life slipping continually towards the end. And if we do evil, let us repent with this holy woman, and then undoubtedly that [verse] of Isaiah 52 [57:13] will be said of each of us: He who puts his trust in me shall inherit and shall possess my holy mount, namely, heaven, etc.

[Sermo Tercius Marie Magdalene]

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Prologus Mulier erat in ciuitate peccatrix, Luce 7. Ista verba scribuntur in euangelio sancti Luce quod legitur isto die in sacra ecclesia et dicuntur specialiter de Maria Magdalena que bene dicebatur peccatrix quia, vt dicit sanctus Marcus, capitulo vlterius, quod Christus eiecerat ab illa 7 demonia, id est vniuersa vicia secundum glossam. Set hic potest aliquis dicere quod non est sibi commendacio dicere quod fuit peccatrix quia apparet quod cum iam sit sancta in celo et Deus remiserit sibi, sua peccata non essent recitanda. Concedo quod solum dicere de illa quod fuit peccatrix non est sibi commendacio, set recitare actus penitencie quos fecit pro peccatis, quos non possum recitare de ea nisi dicam quod fuit peccatrix, est sibi in laudem et honorem propter duas causas. Primo quia misericordia Dei ostenditur in hoc quod misertus est sibi et remisit peccata sua. Secundo in hoc quod quilibet peccator habet fiduciam remissionis peccatorum suorum si penituerit; habet eciam ab illa exemplum penitendi. Ideo dicere quod fuit peccatrix, et cum hoc dicere quod penituit de peccatis et quod penitus conuersa fuit est sibi magna commendacio. Ideo ex processu sacre scripture et ex causis quas predixi audeo dicere quod Maria Magdalena fuit peccatrix in ciuitate. Set aliter ad propositum meum possum vocare ciuitatem totum mundum vel specialiter istud regnum et specialius istam patriam et specialissime istam ciuitatem in qua sumus, mulierem, peccatricem in ciuitate ista. Possum generaliter quo ad mundum multitudinem omnium hominum, quo1 ad angliam omnes homines et mulieres anglie, quo ad ciuitatem istam omnes viros et mulieres eius vocare mulierem aut propter fragilitatem nature aut propter disposicionem ad peccata. Ita quod possum vere dicere de omnibus istis quod mulier erat in ciuitate peccatrix. Set vtinam possem vere dicere de istis mulieribus sicut dico de Maria Magdalena quod penituit de peccatis! Vtinam possem dicere de illis sicut de illa quod non minus erubescerent penitere quam erubescerent peccare! Immo quod non minus erubes1

 quo] quod

[Third Sermon for Mary Magdalene]1 (RY24) Theme: A woman was in the city, a sinner (Luke 7:37). Prologue A woman was in the city, a sinner (Luke 7[:37]). These words are written in the Gospel of Saint Luke which is read on this day in holy Church,2 and they are said especially about Mary Magdalene, who was well called a sinner because, as Saint Mark says in the last chapter [16:9], Christ cast out seven demons from her, that is, all the sins, according to the gloss.3 But here someone can say that it does not commend her to say that she was a sinner because she is now a saint in heaven and God has forgiven her, so surely her sins should not be repeated. I grant that only to say of her that she was a sinner does not commend her, but to repeat the acts of penance which she performed for her sins, which I cannot repeat unless I say that she was a sinner, is in her praise and honor for two reasons: first, because God’s mercy is shown in the fact that he was merciful to her and forgave her her sins; secondly, in order that each sinner trusts that his sins will be forgiven if he does penance, he also has from her an example of doing penance. Therefore, to say that she was a sinner, and along with this to say that she did penance for sins, and that, repentant, she was converted, is the greatest commendation of her. So based on the development of Sacred Scripture and for the reasons that I said before, I dare to say that Mary Magdalene was a sinner in the city. But in another way for my point, I can call the city the entire world, or especially this kingdom, and more especially this country, and most especially this city in which we are: the woman, the sinner in this city. I can generally call a woman, either because of the fragility of nature or the disposition to sin, the multitude of all people, as far the world is concerned; as far as England is concerned, all men and women of England; as far as this city is concerned, all its men and women. Thus I can truly say about all these that a woman was in the city, a sinner. But if only I could truly say about these women as I say about Mary Magdalene—that she did penance for her sins! If only I could say about them as about her that they were not less ashamed to do penance than they were to sin! Indeed, that they were not

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cerent loqui de peccatis quam peccare. O quanta malicia peccare! Omnino malum est. Penitere voluntarie de peccato bonum est, immo et loqui de peccato pro correccione eciam bonum est. Set prodolor quasi maior pars nostre ciuitatis non pudet peccare, set penitere pro peccatis est sibi odibile et tristabile, immo audire loqui de illis est sibi maxime odiosum. Ideo velim nolim si loquar | de condicionibus istius ciuitatis, nisi menciar quod michi non licet, oportet me dicere quod mulier nedum erat in ciuitate peccatrix, set quod mulier est in ciuitate peccatrix. Set in qua ciuitate est mulier peccatrix? Beatus Augustinus in Enchiridion, 79, loquitur de duabus ciuitatibus, scilicet ciuitate Dei et ciuitate diaboli. In ciuitate Dei sunt omnes qui sunt extra peccatum mortale. Sunt tamen peccatores necessario saltem peccato veniali pro vita ista. In ciuitate diaboli sunt omnes peccatores mortaliter, et de illis dicuntur specialiter verba mei thematis, scilicet mulier erat, etc. Ideo ad educendum eos de ciuitate diaboli et ad inducendum eos in ciuitatem Dei, oportet facere oracionem quam ecclesia testatur istam sanctam mulierem fecisse: O Domine Iesu clementissime, qui omnia scis et cordium scrutator es verus, qui non vis mortem peccatoris, set vt magis conuertatur et viuat, tu ipse intelligis quid mei deposcant singultus, quid lacrime ab imo erupte flagitant, quid meus amarus exorat gemitus. Peccatrix sum, inmunda sum, omnium nephandorum criminum labe polluta. Set quia meam ab annis prioribus contaminaui vitam, ad te Dominum meum, qui es vita eterna, confugio vt male perditam. Restituas vitam et me de baratri faucibus clementer eripias, et misericorditer libenter liberes et potenter abstrahas, qui solus laborem et dolorem consideras. Et post istam specialem oracionem quam quilibet sibi conscius de peccato faciet pro seipso, faciamus generalem oracionem, primo pro salubri statu ecclesie sancte Dei, pro domino summo pontifice, etc. Divisio thematis: Triplex ciuitas Mulier erat in ciuitate peccatrix. Pro processu huius breuis collacionis reperio in sacra scriptura de triplici ciuitate. Prima ciuitas, vt predixi, potest dici totus mundus generaliter et quodlibet regnum vel ciuitas singularis mundi specialiter. Mulier in ista ciuitate potest dici generaliter tota multitudo hominum vel personarum habitancium in ista ciuitate propter causas quas predixi, videlicet propter fragilitatem nature aut disposicionem ad peccata. Secunda ciuitas est ciuitas humani corporis in qua potencia anime, scilicet voluntas, est mulier quia dicit



English Translation (RY24)253

less ashamed to speak about their sins than to sin! O how great [is] the evil to sin! It is entirely evil. To do penance willingly for sin is good, and to speak about sin for correction is also good. But sadly, almost the greater part of our city is not ashamed to sin, but to do penance for sins is for it hateful and tiresome; indeed, to hear someone speak about them is to it the most hateful. So willy nilly if I speak about the conditions of this city, unless I lie, which I am not permitted to do, it is necessary for me to say that a woman not only was in the city, a sinner, but that a woman is in the city, a sinner. But in which city is the woman a sinner? Blessed Augustine, in Enchiridion, [chapter] 79, speaks of two cities: the city of God and the city of the devil.4 In the city of God are all those who are without mortal sin. Yet there are necessarily sinners, at least in venial sin, during this life. In the city of the devil are all mortal sinners, and about these especially the words of my theme are said, namely, there was a woman, etc. Therefore to lead them out of the city of the devil and into the city of God, it is necessary to make a prayer which the Church testifies that this holy woman made: “O Lord Jesus most merciful, you who know all things and are the true searcher of hearts, you who do not desire death of the sinner,5 but rather that he be converted and live, you yourself know what my sobbing asks for earnestly, what the tears breaking out from my inmost being entreat, what my bitter groan begs. I am a sinner, I am unclean, polluted by the stain of all wicked sins. But because I have infected my life from the years past, to you my Lord, who are eternal life, I appeal so that [my life] is not badly lost. May you restore life and snatch me from the jaws of hell, and mercifully freely free me and powerfully remove me, you who alone observe my labor and sorrow.”6 And after this special prayer, which each conscious of his own sin will make for himself, let us make a general prayer, first for the healthy state of the holy Church of God, for the highest lord pope, etc.

The division of the theme: the threefold city A woman was in the city, a sinner. For the development of this brief collation, I find a threefold city in Sacred Scripture. The first city, as I said, can be called the entire world generally, and each kingdom or individual city of the world specifically. For the reasons which I mentioned, that is, for the fragility of nature or the disposition to sins, the woman in this city can be said generally to be the entire multitude of people or of persons living in this city. The second city is the city of the human body, in which the power of the soul—the will—is a woman, because blessed

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beatus Augustinus quod voluntas est regina in regno anime. Tercia ciuitas est ciuitas glorie cuius ciuitatis mulier est multitudo sanctorum que multitudo dicitur mulier quia, sicut mulier a natura habet molles carnes ideo dicitur a mollis, ita in illa ciuitate est mollicies sine vlla asperitate. Prima ciuitas, scilicet mundi, est plena malicie et instabilitatis in qua diabolus est quasi vir. Secunda ciuitas est plena debilitatis et vanitatis in qua racio est vir. Tercia ciuitas est plena pacis et sanctitatis in qua Christus Deus est vir. Et in istis ciuitatibus est vel fuit duplex genus peccati, scilicet nature et moris, vel originalis et actualis, per quod mulier cuiuslibet ciuitatis potest dici peccatrix in ciuitate. Tunc sic combino partes diuisionis mee dicens quod tam peccato nature quam moris erat mulier peccatrix in ciuitate mundi plena mali et iniquitatis; eciam in eisdem peccatis erat mulier peccatrix in ciuitate humana plena vanitatis et debilitatis; eciam [in] eisdem peccatis erat mulier peccatrix in ciuitate glorie vbi iam non est peccatum, set perseuerancia perpetue sanctitatis. Et hec materia collacionis. [Primum principale]

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Dico ergo primo quod tam peccato nature quam moris quod aliis terminis dicitur quod tam peccato originali quam actuali, erat mulier peccatrix in ciuitate mundi plena mali et iniquitatis. Ista ciuitas est plena mali et iniquitatis quia omne quod est in mundo aut est concupiscencia oculorum aut concupiscencia carnis aut superbia vite. Iohannis secundo. In concupiscencia carnis intelliguntur peccata carnalia, vtpote luxuria, accidia, et in concupiscencia oculorum intelligitur cupiditas et ambicio, et in superbia intelliguntur generaliter omnia alia peccata mortalia. Prima mulier que specialiter fuit peccatrix in ista ciuitate tam peccato nature quam moris fuit Eua que postquam consenserat suggestioni diabolice peccauit primo in superbia affectans esse sicut dii, et ex isto affectu forisfecit contra preceptum Dei, et peccauit in gula comedendo pomum vetitum, et hoc ex concupiscencia oculorum quia vidit lignum quod pulcrum erat visu, et sicut in illa habuit ortum illud dictum Iohannis vbi supra: Omne quod est mundo, etc. Et nedum peccauerat | in persona propria set suggessit Adam vt comederet qui comedit et sic peccauit tam peccato nature quam moris. Et si dicatur hic quod Eua plus peccauit quam Adam quia Eua peccauit tot modis quot et Adam et plus peccauit quia preter illa peccata fecit Adam peccare, concedo quod Eua pluribus modis peccauit quam Adam. Tamen peccatum Ade fuit maius quia Adam fuit sciencior et potencior ad resistendum quam Eua. Set quando quis est



English Translation (RY24)255

Augustine says that the will is a queen in the kingdom of the soul.7 The third city is the city of glory; the woman of this city is the multitude of saints. This multitude is called a woman because, as a woman (mulier) has soft flesh by nature and so is named from “soft” (mollis), thus in that city there is softness without any roughness. The first city, that is, [the city] of the world, in which the devil is, as it were, the husband, is full of malice and instability. The second city, in which reason is the husband, is full of weakness and vanity. The third city, in which Christ God is the husband, is full of peace and holiness. And in these cities there are or were two kinds of sin—namely, [sins] of nature and of practice, or original and actual—by means of which the woman of each city can be called a sinner in the city. Then I thus combine the parts of my division saying that, by the sin of nature and of practice, the woman was a sinner in the city of the world full of evil and iniquity; also in the same sins the woman was a sinner in the human city full of vanity and weakness; also [in] the same sins was the woman a sinner in the city of glory where there is no sin now, but the steadfastness of everlasting holiness. And this is the material of the collation. [First principal part] First I say, therefore, that through sin of nature as much as of practice, which in other terms we call original and actual sin, there was a woman a sinner in the city of the world full of evil and iniquity. This city is full of evil and iniquity because all that is in the world is of concupiscence of the eyes or concupiscence of the flesh or pride of life (John 2 [1 John 2:16]). By concupiscence of the flesh we understand carnal sins, specifically lust [and] sloth, and by concupiscence of the eyes, we understand greed and ambition, and by pride we understand generally all mortal sins. The first woman who was especially a sinner in this city, by the sin of nature as much as by that of practice, was Eve, who, after consenting to the diabolical suggestion, sinned first in pride, desiring to be as the gods [Gen. 3:5], and from this desire, she acted against God’s commandment and sinned in gluttony by eating the forbidden fruit, and this from the concupiscence of the eyes because she saw that the fruit was beautiful to the sight [Gen. 3:6]. From her that saying of John’s (see above) had its origin: All that is in the world, etc. And she sinned not only in her own person, but she suggested to Adam that he should eat, and he ate, and she thus sinned as much by a sin of nature as by one of practice. And if someone were to say here that Eve sinned more than Adam because Eve sinned in as many ways as Adam and more, because beyond those sins, she made Adam sin, I concede that Eve sinned in more ways than Adam. But the sin of Adam was greater because Adam was wiser and more powerful

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sciencior et potencior ad resistendum, tunc peccatum suum est maius quam eius qui est minus sciens et potens. Et hinc est quod peccata superiorum dicuntur esse maiora quam inferiorum eo quod superiores presumuntur esse scienciores. Set videte penam peccati Ade et Eue. Natura sua que ante peccatum fuit integra et sana per illam prauam carnalem concupiscenciam fuit grauissime vulnerata. Et hoc est quod dicunt doctores quod primi parentes fuerunt vulnerati in naturalibus et quia in illis fuit tota natura humana a qua tamquam a radice processit tota posteritas humani generis, ideo tota posteritas, saltem per concupiscenciam, fuit infecta illa concupiscencia quia naturale est quod fructus sapiat naturam radicis. Insuper perdiderunt bona gracie quia vbi ante peccatum habuerunt sanitatem sine infirmitate, fortitudinem sine debilitate, copiam victus sine labore, viuacitatem sensus sine obliuione, scienciam sine ignorancia saltem illorum que ad sciendum fuerunt sibi necessaria, immo habuerunt in se excitacionem ad peccandum. Immo breuiter habuerunt omnes creaturas sibi subiectas; statim postquam peccauerant, habuerunt omnem horum opposita, immo omnes creaturas sibi rebelles et maxime suam propriam carnem. Immo et totam vitam suam duxerunt in luctu et penitencia. Iste fuerunt pene originalis peccati. O Domine Deus, quam penam meremur nos qui cotidie peccamus nedum peccato nature set moris, et nullam vel modicam penitenciam agimus, ita quod de quolibet nostrum verificantur verba thematis, scilicet Mulier, etc. Reuera digni sumus tanta vel maiori penitencia nisi misericordia Dei nos flagellaret, quia flagellat omnem filium quem recipit, et ad penitenciam nos traheret per timorem, foret valde timendum de nostra dampnacione. Ideo quecumque tribulaciones nobis contingerunt, sciamus pro certo illas nobis contingere pro peccatis et regraciemur Deo nostro fatentes nos esse dignos duplo maiori pena. Verum quia magna teneritas patris est erga filium quando videt ipsum delinquere, scilicet primo retrahat ipsum a delicto per amorem quod si sic non recesserit a delicto, et tunc retraxerit ipsum per timorem. Retrahit nos per amorem quando dat nobis bona nature et bona fortune ad votum et quando habemus illa tunc sumus insolenciores et peccatis proniores. Ideo nolens nos perdi per peccata retrahit nos per timorem, puta per guerras, pestilencias, et alias tribulaciones indies contingentes. Et hec est magna pietas summi Patris. Vnde ad docendum nos noscere peccata per que nostra mulier, scilicet multitudo ciuitatis nostre, est infecta, discurram breuiter per 7 peccata mortalia et suas species, de quibus possum dicere illud Exechieli 7: Terra plena est iudicio sanguinum et ciuitas plena iniquitate.



English Translation (RY24)257

to resist [sin] than Eve. But when someone is wiser and more powerful to resist, then his sin is greater than one who is less wise and powerful. And so it is that the sins of superior people are said to be worse than those of inferior people, for the reason that the superior ones are presumed to be wiser. But note the penalty for Adam and Eve’s sin. Their nature, which was whole and healthy before sin, was most gravely wounded by that depraved carnal concupiscence. And this is what the theologians say: that the first parents were wounded in nature, and because the entirety of human nature was in them from whom, as from a root, all the posterity of humankind proceeded, therefore all posterity, at least through concupiscence, was infected with that concupiscence because it is natural that fruit shares the flavor of the nature of its root. In addition, they lost the goods of grace because, where before they had health without sickness, strength without weakness, an abundance of sustenance without labor, active senses without forgetfulness, [and] knowledge without ignorance (at least of those things which were necessary to know), they had instead within themselves the incitement to sin. Indeed, briefly, they had had all creatures subjected to them; immediately after they sinned, they had every one of these opposed [to them]; indeed all creatures [were] like rebels to them and most especially their own flesh. And truly, they led their whole life in grief and penance. These were the punishments of original sin. O Lord God, what punishment we merit who daily sin not only by the sin of nature but of practice, and who do little or no penance, so that the words of the theme are made true about each of us, that is, A woman, etc. Indeed, we are worthy of such great or greater penance if God’s mercy does not scourge us, because he scourges every child whom he receives, and draws us to penance by means of fear, for we should greatly fear our damnation. Therefore, whatever tribulations happen to us, let us know for certain that they happen to us for our sins and thank our God, confessing ourselves worthy to receive twice the punishment. Indeed, because the tenderness of a father towards his child when he sees him misbehave is great: first he draws him back from his offense through love, but if [the child] does not withdraw from his offense in this way, then [the father] draws him back through fear. He draws us back through love when he gives us goods of nature and goods of fortune as a pledge, and when we have these, we are more insolent and more prone to sin. So not wanting us to be lost through sins, he draws us back through fear, that is, through wars, plagues, and other tribulations happening from day to day. And this is the great tenderness of the highest Father. So to teach us to know the sins by which our woman—the multitude of our city—was infected, I will briefly proceed through the seven mortal sins and their species, concerning which I can say that [verse] of Ezechiel 7[:23]: The land is full of the judgment of blood and the city full of iniquity.

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Superbia est amor excellencie proprie quia superbire, id est superire. Ideo quilibet superbit, superit semet ipsum. Et radicaliter est in corde, set eius species apparent in exterioribus, vtpote aut in vestibus aut alio ornatu; apparet sepe in verbis et in ostensione factorum. Exempli gracia: quando quis male facit aut dicit, si suus superior vel sibi equalis hoc sibi caritatiue dicat, statim murmurat et iustificat quem in ipso est dictum vel factum suum. Ista species vocatur elacio cordis. Ex alia parte si bene fecerit et alius ipsum de hoc iactet, statim iudicat de seipso quod est discretissimus et quod nullus alius sciat tam bene facere sicut ipse. Et de facto proposito se ipsum commendat, et hoc vocatur vana gloria. Quandoque eciam iactat se et sepe asserit suum dictum vel factum est aliter dictum vel factum quam est vel fuit dictum vel factum, aut asserit se scire quod non scit vel posse quod non potest vel habere quod non habere, et hec vocatur iactancia. Et ex huius exaltacione cordis frequenter in vultu et gestu et incessu se nimis lenem ostendit, et hec vocatur insolencia. Eciam si quis | discommendum sua dicta vel facta statim ad iram excitatur, et per grandia et contumeliosa verba vult sua dicta vel facta sustinere et omnino sustinere et omnia defendere siue sint vera siue falsa. Et hec vocatur contencio. Est et alia species superbie que nimis regnat hiis diebus quando scilicet aliquis habundat diuiciis aut terris aut est de nobili parentela: licet fuerit vicosissimus in vita, reputat tamen se meliorem omnibus aliis, nec vult facere pauperiori proximo quod debet. Immo si exigat suum debitum vel conqueratur de sua iniuria, statim ostendit proteruum vultum et minatur sibi et suis aut damp­ num in corpore aut in bonis, et hec species vocatur tirannides. Immo nec facit ecclesie quod debet set reputat suum rectorem aut alium suum patrem spiritualem omnino se inferiorem nec vult obedire preceptis suis et consiliis quam ad curam anime sue, set pocius contempnit et sic incidit in istas species superbie, scilicet contumaciam, inobedienciam, et irreuerenciam. Iste sunt omnes species superbie et radices omnium malorum in quibus nostre mulieres nimis multe quod dolendum est inueniuntur peccatrices in ciuitate mundi plena iniquitatis quia superbi inique agebant vsquequaque, Psalmus 118. Insuper quo ad auariciam et cupiditatem regnantes inter mulieres huius ciuitatis, timeo quod possum vere dicere illud Ieremie 6: A maximo vsque ad minimum, omnes student auaricie. Cuius species sunt nimia sollicitudo in adquirendo, nimia parcitas in retinendo, furtum, rapina, et nedum furtum rapina in latibulis viarum, set maius furtum est quando aliquis causidicus seu iurator siue alius facit pauperem perdere bona sua per falsas conspiraciones et cautelas siue aliis quibuscumque modis illicitis. Item maius furtum est quando aliquis falsus artifex false



English Translation (RY24)259

Pride is the love of our own excellence because “to be proud” (superbire) is “to go beyond” (superire). So everyone who is proud goes beyond himself. And it takes root in the heart, but its species appear externally, either in clothing or another ornament; it appears often in words and in ostentatious deeds. For example: when anyone acts or speaks wickedly, if his superior or his equal points this out to him out of charity, he immediately grumbles and justifies to himself whatever he said or did. This species is called conceit of the heart. On the other hand, if he did well and another boasts about him concerning this, he judges at once himself the most distinguished, and [imagines] that no one else knows now how to act as well as he does. And he praises himself for this noted deed, and that is called vainglory. And when he also boasts about himself and often asserts that his word or deed is another sort of word or deed than it is or was, or he asserts that he knows what he does not know or can do what he cannot do or has what he does not have, this is called boasting. And from this conceit of the heart, he frequently shows himself excessively haughty in face or gesture or walking, and this is called insolence. Also, if anyone criticizes his words or deeds, he immediately gets angry, and by lofty and abusive words wants to champion his words and deeds and champion and defend all things entirely whether they are true or false. And this is called contention. There is also another species of pride which rules excessively nowadays, when anyone abounds in riches or lands or is of noble parentage: although he may be the most vicious in life, yet he considers himself better than everyone else, nor does he wish to do for his poor neighbor what he ought. Indeed, if [his poor neighbor] exacts his debt or complains about his injury, at once [the proud man] looks violently at him and threatens him and what belongs to him with damage either to his body or to his goods, and this species is called tyranny. Indeed, nor does he do by the Church as he should, but he considers his rector or any spiritual father altogether inferior to himself. Nor does he want to obey their commandments and counsels, which are for the care of his soul, but rather he condemns [them] and thus falls into these species of pride: obstinacy, disobedience, and irreverence. These are all species of pride and the roots of all evil in which our women—and this should grieve us very much—are found sinners in the city of the world full of iniquity because the proud did iniquitously altogether (Psalm 118[:51]). In addition, as far as avarice and cupidity are concerned which reign among the women of this city, I fear that I can truly say that [verse] of Jeremiah 6[:13]: From the greatest to the least, all are given to covetousness. Its species are excessive care in acquiring, an excessive stinginess in retaining, theft, plunder, and not only theft or plunder in hidden alleys, but it is a greater theft when any advocate or witness or another causes a poor man to lose his goods through false conspiracies and securities or through any other illicit methods. Likewise, it is a greater theft when any false

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operatur artificium suum aut res artificii sui, et tantum capit pro mercede siue precium pro re quantum caperet fidelis artifex pro re fideliter facta. Item furtum est quando falsi mercatores vendunt falsa et ficta mercimonia, et tantum capiunt sicut pro bonis mercimoniis. Item fures sunt sacrilegi qui false decimant aut caute subtrahunt bona debita ecclesie. Item pessima rapina est quando potens vel diues facit pauperem proximum quouismodo iniuste perdere bona sua. Item furtum est quando falsi ministri false et infideliter expendunt bona dominorum suorum. Alie species sunt simonia, vsura, falsus questus bonorum siue per fraudem siue dolum siue adulacionem siue ypocrisim et sanctitatis simulacionem. Insuper quo ad iram et inuidiam, que quasi in omnibus specibus conueniunt, credo cum sapiente, Ecclesiastici 25, quod non est ira super iram mulieris. Et vtinam hoc non verificetur de muliere, id est multitudine huius patrie! Reuera ista peccata inter omnia alia forent in ciuitate cauenda, verum quia maxime dissoluunt ciuitatem quia vnitas ciuitatis nedum est in domibus et in vicis, set vt omnes pluraliter testantur, est in consensu animorum ciuitatis ita quod omnes ciues consenciant ad bonum regimen ciuitatis. Immo sic est inter infideles; ergo foret a forciori inter fideles quia scribitur Actum 4: Multitudinis credencium erat cor vnum et anima vna. Cuius vnitatis forma est mutua dileccio siue caritas. Set constat quod ira et inuidia maxime destruunt caritatem et sic ciuitatem quarum species sunt odium, malicia, mala voluntas, iniuria, malediccio, dissimulacio, scilicet quando quis scit aliquem machinare proximo suo malum et non ipsum premunit, beneficii subtraccio propter odium, inpaciencia, detraccio, deprauacio proximi siue fame sue, silencium bonitatis proximi, ingratitudo, percussio, maliciosa, homicidium, discordia, lis, siue contencio. Hec2 sunt species ire et inuidie. Quantum ad accidiam possum vere dicere illud Ecclesiastici 28: Mulieres fortes deiecit et preuauit eas laboribus suis. Immo non est qui faciat bonum, non est vsque ad vnum. Quomodo quidam ecclesiastici celebrunt seruicium diuinum vere dolorosum est dicere set dolorosius est audire. Quomodo multi laici delectantur in seruicio diuino docet experiencia. Quomodo in diebus festinis, quando irent ad ecclesiam, plus occupantur in seruicio diaboli, puta in mercacionibus falsis aut in vagacionibus et ludis aut in potacionibus et aliis huiusmodi friuolis quam in ferialibus diebus. | Cuius species sunt negligencia et dimissio boni quod quis tenetur facere, fastidium in faciendo bonum, sompnolencia et 2

 hec] hee



English Translation (RY24)261

artisan falsely works his craft or an object of his craft, and takes as much money or price for the object as a true artisan takes for an object made truthfully. Likewise, it is theft when false merchants sell false and fake merchandise, and take as much as for good merchandise. Likewise, those are thieves who are sacrilegious, those who tithe falsely or deviously draw away the goods owed to the Church. Likewise, the worst plunder occurs when a powerful or rich person makes his poor neighbor in any way unjustly lose his goods. Likewise, theft occurs when false stewards falsely and untruthfully expend the goods of their lords. Other species are simony, usury, false pursuits of goods, either through fraud or treachery or flattery or hypocrisy and the simulation of sanctity. In addition, as far as anger and envy are concerned, which share almost all the same species, I believe with the wise man (Ecclesiasticus 25[:23]) that there is no anger greater than the anger of a woman. And if only this were not made true about the woman, that is, the multitude of this country! Indeed, among all others these sins should be avoided in a city, truly because they greatly destroy a city because the unity of a city lies not only in houses and in streets, but as everyone testifies many times, it lies in the consensus of the city’s souls so that every citizen consents to the good rule of the city. Indeed, it is thus among infidels; therefore, it should be all the more among the faithful because it is written in Acts 4[:32]: The multitude of believers had but one heart and one soul. The form of this unity is mutual love or charity. But it happens that anger and envy greatly destroy charity and thus the city. Its species are hatred, malice, ill will, injury, cursing, dissimulation (that is, when anyone knows that someone is plotting evil against his neighbor and does not warn him), the taking away of goods out of hatred, impatience, detraction, slander of a neighbor or of his reputation, silence about a neighbor’s goodness, ingratitude, malicious striking, homicide, discord, lawsuits, or contention. These are the species of anger and envy. As far as sloth is concerned, I can say truly that [verse] of Ecclesiasticus 28[:19]: He has cast out valiant women and deprived them of their labors. Indeed, there is not one person who does good, not even close to one. How some clergy perform the divine services is truly sorrowful to say, but more sorrowful to hear. How many members of the laity delight in hearing divine services, experience teaches. How on feast days when they go to church, they are more occupied than on weekdays in the service of the devil: in false merchandise or in strolling about and in games or in drinking and other frivolities of this kind. Its species are negligence and the neglect of the good thing that one is expected to do; aversion in doing what is good;

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nimia quies, ociositas, et generaliter quando quis facit quod non debet vel aliter quam debet vel non prouidet quid et qualiter debet facere aut indiscrete seu inique facit, cogitat, aut loquitur, peccat in accidia. Et sic generaliter accidia concomitatur quodcumque peccatum cuius. Eciam sunt species verba ociosa. Verbum ociosum, secundum Gregorium in Pastoralia, capitulo 38, est quod aut racione iuste necessitatis aut intencione pie vtilitatis caret, mendacia, iuramenta vana, ypocrisis simulacio. Ideo accidiosus bene dicitur mulier de qua loquitur scriptura, Ecclesiastici 25: Manus debiles et genua dissoluta, mulier que non beatificat virum suum. Vir ecclesie que dicitur mulier est Christus, vnde illud beatificatur quod habet quicquid vult et nichil mali vult. Ideo mulier, id est ecclesia, beatificat Christum quando facit voluntatem eius de qua dicitur ibidem 28: Gracia mulieris sedule delectabit virum suum. Set ex opposito mulier que habet manus debiles, id est opera debilia et praua, eciam que habet genua dissoluta. Quando genua incuruantur totum corpus tendit ad ima. Ideo per genua signantur dispositiones et inclinaciones vel potencie anime que disponunt opera. Ideo quando genua sunt dissoluta, puta cogitacio in malum, loquela in mendacium et vana verba, tunc mulier non beatificat virum suum, id est talis multitudo ecclesie vel persona non beatificat Christum set quantum in ipso est, si foret possibile, ipsum dampnit. Isto modo dicta mulier peccat in accidia. Insuper quo ad gulam possum dicere quod hec est [tenera]3 mulier et delicata de qua Deuteronomii 28, que super terram ingredi non valebat (scilicet terram viuencium) nec vestigium pedis figere propter molliciem et teneritudinem nimiam, et sequuntur4 ibidem pene gulosi. Prima pena est quod inuidebit viro suo. Inuidere est tristari de bono alterius. Tristabitur in inferno (nisi se hic emendauerit) quod vmquam Christus fuit. Immo et habebit penam temporalem quia inimici comedent carnes filiorum et filiarum suarum, et opprimet eum5 intra portas in obsidione et vastitate propter penuriam omnium rerum. (Hec est sentencia ibidem.) Et vtinam hec non contingant ciuitati isti, immo toti Anglie propter peccatum gule et alia predicta! Gula est mater luxurie cuius species sunt superfluitas, delectacio, festinancia in comedendo et bibendo, comestio in tempore indebito, ebrietas, inhonestas.  tenera] om. Supplied from the Vulgate.  sequuntur] sequitur 5  The Vulgate switches to second person singular here. It is not clear what the antecedent of eum is intended to be. 3 4



English Translation (RY24)263

s­omnolence and excessive sleep; idleness; and generally when anyone does what he should not or otherwise than he should or does not consider beforehand what he should do and how he should act; or [when] he acts, thinks, or speaks unwisely or hostilely, he sins in sloth. And thus sloth generally accompanies many a sin. Idle words are a species of it as well. An idle word, according to Gregory in the Pastoral Care, chapter 38, is “that word which lacks either a just reason of necessity or a pious intention of utility,”8 lies, empty oaths, the simulation of a hypocrite. So the slothful person is well called the woman about whom Scripture speaks (Ecclesiasticus 25[:32]): Feeble hands and disjointed knees of a woman who does not make her husband happy. The husband of the Church, which is called “a woman,” is Christ; therefore, a thing is made happy when it has whatever it desires, and he desires nothing evil. So the woman, that is the Church, makes Christ happy when she does his will, concerning which it is said in the same place (28 [Eccles. 26:16]): The grace of a diligent woman shall delight her husband. But on the other hand, a woman who has feeble hands, that is feeble and small works, also has disjointed knees. When the knees are crooked, the entire body tends to the lowest point. So knees signify the dispositions and inclinations or powers of the soul which dispose one to works. So when the knees are disjointed—that is, thought [bathed] in wickedness, speech in lying, and vain words—then the woman does not make her husband happy, that is to say, such a multitude of the Church or a person does not make Christ happy, but to the extent that [the multitude or person] is in [Christ], if it were possible, condemns him. In this way the said woman sins in sloth. In addition, as far as gluttony in concerned, I can say that this is a [tender] and delicate woman, concerning whom Deuteronomy (28[:56]) says, who could not go upon the ground (that is, on the ground of the living), nor set down her foot for over much niceness and tenderness. And the punishment of the glutton follows in the same place. The first punishment is that she will envy her husband. To envy is to be saddened by the good of another. She will be sad in hell (unless she were to better herself here) that Christ ever existed. Indeed, she also will have temporal punishment because her enemies will eat the flesh of her sons and daughters, and he will oppress him within doors in a siege and devastation for want of all things. (This statement is in the same place [Deut. 28:57].) And if only this does not happen to this city, indeed to all of England because of the sin of gluttony and others mentioned earlier! Gluttony is the mother of lust; its species are excess, pleasure, haste in eating and drinking, eating at an inappropriate time, drunkenness, dishonor.

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Tandem quo ad luxuriam reuera abhominabilis loqui ea et precipue quomodo preciosa vasa corporis dominici maculantur per eam. Immo non legitur in scriptura quod tociens fuit vindicta capta pro peccato sicut pro luxuria. Ideo possum dicere illud Ecclesiastici 26: Dolor cordis et luctus mulier zelotipa. Istud peccatum concomitantur oscula inmunda, amplexus illiciti, verba inhonesta, cogitaciones turpissime, facta inhonestissima quorum species ipsi nouerunt qui illis diuersis modis vtuntur preter legem ecclesie. Et reuera si non regnaret aliud peccatum, sufficeret destruere totum regnum. Tamen Beda in Gestis angelorum, libro tercio, narrat de quodam nobili vocato Furceo qui exiitus a corpore fuit ductus ab angelis in altum a quibus ei dictum est vt aspiceret deorsum, quod cum fecisset, vidit vallem tenebrosam que statim ­succensa est 4 ignibus. Cum interrogasset que esset vallis et qui ignes, fuit ei dictum quod vallis est mundus et quatuor ignes 4 peccata que mundum consumunt quorum primus est ignis mendacii quia homines non implent quod in baptismo promiserunt. Secundus cupiditatis quia mundi diuicias preponunt homines amori celestium. Tercius discordie et dissencionis. Quartus impietatis quia vix aliquis dolet de peccatis propriis vel alienis. Ista (inquit) 4 peccata destruunt totum mundum. Cum ergo ista peccata regnent in ciuitate nostra, vere timenda est destruccio nostre mulieris nisi se emendauerit. Ideo propter amorem Christi Iesu capiamus exemplum de ista muliere de qua sermo et inueniemus in factis eius remedium contra omnia peccata predicta. Primo id est exemplificauit confessionem, et quando venit ad Christum et prostrauit se ad pedes eius et in hoc fatebatur se esse ream, et si non verbo, tamen corde quia non fuit necesse quod exprimeret verbis peccata sua eo quod Christus Deus nouit abscondita sui cordis. Vnde illa humilitas quando sic se prostrauit | fuit remedium contra superbiam. Et in signum pudoris pro peccato, non venit directe coram facie Christi, set stans retro, secus pedes eius cepit rigare lacrimis pedes Christi. Et id fuit signum vere contricionis in nostrum exemplum quod nos confiteremur peccata nostra cum lacrimis. In ista lacrimacione ostendit remedium contra luxuriam et gulam quia in luxuria et gula est maxima carnis delectacio, set in lacrimacione fuit dolor cordis cum qua non stat delectacio carnis. Tamen beatus Gregorius super euangelio vbi thema dicit in lacrimis esse remedium contra auariciam. Oculis (inquit) terrena concupierat, set hos per penitenciam conterens flebat. Et in remedium peccatorum oris, puta mendacii, vaniloquii, periurii, osculabatur pedes Christi, et osculum signum est amoris, vnde in osculo datur remedium contra iram et inuidiam. In hoc eciam quod pedes Christi capillis tersit, dedit remedium



English Translation (RY24)265

Finally, as far as lust is concerned, truly it is hateful to speak of it, and especially how the precious vessels of the Lord’s body are chewed by it. Indeed, I do not read in Scripture that vengeance was taken as often for a sin as it was for lust. So I can say that [verse] of Ecclesiasticus 26[:8]: A jealous woman is the grief and mourning of the heart. This sin is attended by unclean kisses, illicit sexual embraces, dishonorable words, extremely dirty thoughts, extremely dishonorable deeds, whose species those know who enjoy these different ways contrary to the law of the Church. And, indeed, if no other sin ruled, this one would suffice to destroy the entire kingdom. Yet Bede in De gestis Angelorum, book three, narrates that there was a certain nobleman called Furceus who, having left his body, was led by angels on high, who said to him that he should look down, and when he did, he saw a dark valley that at once was set on fire with four fires. When he asked what the valley was and what the fires were, he was told that the valley is the world and the four fires are the four sins which consume the world, the first of which is lies because men do not fulfill their baptismal promises. The second is greed because men put the riches of the world before the love of heaven. The third is discord and dissension. The fourth is impiety because scarcely anyone sorrows for his or another’s sins. These four sins, he said, destroy all the world.9 So when these sins reign in our city, truly the destruction of our woman should be feared unless she betters herself. So, for the love of Jesus Christ, let us take an example from this woman whom the sermon is about, and we will find in her deeds remedies against every sin mentioned.10 First, that is, she exemplified confession, when she came to Christ and prostrated herself at his feet and in this way confessed that she was a sinner, if not in word, yet in her heart, because it was not necessary to express her sins in words because Christ God knew what was hidden in her heart. Therefore, when she thus prostrated herself in this way, that humility was a remedy against pride. And in a sign of shame for sin, she did not come directly before Christ’s face, but standing behind him, she took hold of his feet to wash Christ’s feet with her tears. And that was a sign of true contrition as an example to us that we should confess our sins with tears. In this weeping she revealed a remedy against lust and gluttony because the greatest carnal delight lies in lust and gluttony, but in weeping there was a sorrow of the heart with which carnal delight does not remain. Yet blessed Gregory, on that Gospel from which the theme comes, says that tears are a remedy against avarice: “With the eyes one desires earthly things, but she wept, wearing these out through penance.”11 And as a remedy for sins of the mouth—namely, lies, vain words, perjuries—she kissed Christ’s feet, and this kiss is a sign of love; so this kiss is a remedy against anger and envy. By also washing Christ’s feet with her hair, she gave a remedy against

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contra cupiditatem quia capilli sunt superflua capitis per quos signatur superfluitas terrene substancie quam debemus dare pedibus Christi qui sunt infimi partes corporis, id est pauperibus qui sunt infimi inter homines. In hoc eciam quod vnxit pedes eius vnguento datur remedium contra gulam quia per vnguentum signatur deuocio, vnde vnctio pedum signat deuocionem oracionis que fit cum humilitate cordis. Set oracio non est efficax sine abstinencia et ieiunio quia pleni ventres non disponuntur deuote orare, set ieiunium est remedium contra gulam. In omnibus istis simul habetur remedium contra accidiam quia in omnibus hiis fecit sicut debuit. Immo totam vitam suam posterius duxit in penitencia et dolore. Immo inter omnia que fecit precipue noto quod postquam penituerit, numquam reuersa est ad peccata. In cuius signum dixit ei Christus, Vade in pace. Glossa beati Gregorii, In viam pacie ire precipitur vt a via veritatis in viam scandali vlterius non deriuetur. Et sic de peccatrice facta fuit iusta et sancta illa quod dicitur de illa vere illud Ecclesiastici 40: Edificio ciuitatis confirmabit nomen et super hanc mulier immaculata computabitur. Sic (inquam) confirmauit nomen sanctitatis in ciuitate quod numquam rediit ad peccatum. Conformiter faciamus nos postquam penituerimus de peccatis non redeamus ad peccata, ideo quod licet dicatur de nobis quod mulier erat in ciuitate peccatrix, set dicatur de nobis illud Ecclesiastici 26: Gracia super graciam mulier sancta atque pudorata. Primo (inquam) gracia penitendi, secundo gracia perseuerandi in sanctitate. Et tantum de primo membro. Secundum principale Dixi secundo quod tam peccato nature quam moris erat mulier peccatrix in ciuitate humana plena vanitatis et debilitatis. Bene dicitur ciuitas plena vanitatis quia vniuersa vanitas omnis homo viuens. Homo dicitur ciuitas quia sicut ciuitas componitur ex domibus et ex vicis in quibus residet dominus ciuitatis et alii ciues secundum diuersos gradus, ita homo componitur ex diuersis partibus in quibus residet racio tamquam dominus in corde et domina, scilicet voluntas, quam beatus Augustinus vocat reginam in regno anime. Memoria est thalamus domini et domine. Cogitacio est camerarius, sensualitas constabularius qui sub domino regulat ciuitatem. Ministri domini et domine sunt alie potencie corporis et anime qui multociens faciunt precepta constabularii sensualitatis. Quinque sensus exteriores sunt quinque ianitores huius ciuitatis



English Translation (RY24)267

greed because hair is superfluous on the head and signifies the surplus of earthly substances which we should give to the feet of Christ, which are the lowest parts of the body, that is, to the poor who are the lowest among men. By also anointing his feet, she gives a remedy against gluttony because oil signifies devotion; therefore, the oil on the feet signifies devotion in prayer which may be performed with humility of heart. But prayer is not efficacious without abstinence and fasting because full stomachs are not disposed to pray devoutly, but fasting is a remedy against gluttony. In all these together we have a remedy against sloth because in all things she did as she ought. Indeed, she led her entire life afterwards in penance and sorrow. Truly among all the things that she did, I note especially that after she repented, she never turned back to sin. In a sign of this Christ said to her, Go in peace [Luke 7:50]. [According to] the gloss of blessed Gregory: “In the way of peace go is said so that she may not be further turned aside from the way of truth into the way of scandal.”12 And so from a sinner she was made just and holy, so that the [verse] of Ecclesiasticus 40[:19] is said truly about her: The building of a city shall establish a name, and above this a blameless wife shall be counted. Thus, I say, the name of holiness was established in a city that never returned to sin. Let us behave similarly after we repent from sins; let us never return to sin, so that, although it may be said about us that a woman was in the city, a sinner, that [verse] of Ecclesiasticus 26[:19] may also be said about us: A holy and shamefaced woman is grace upon grace—first, I say, grace for doing penance; second, grace for persevering in sanctity. And so much for the first principal part. Second principal part I said secondly that by the sin as much of nature as of practice, the woman was a sinner in the human city full of vanity and weakness. It is well called a city full of vanity because all things are vanity, every man living [Ps. 38:6]. A person is called a city13 because, as a city is composed of houses and streets in which the lord of the city resides along with the other citizens according to their different ranks, so a person is composed of different parts in which reason resides as the lord in the heart along with the lady, that is, the will, which blessed Augustine calls the queen in the kingdom of the soul.14 The private chamber of this lord and lady is memory. Thought is the chamberlain, sensuality the constable who rules the city under the lord. The ministers of the lord and lady are the other powers of the body and soul who many times do the commands of the constable, sensuality. The five exterior senses are the five gatekeepers of this city who, receiving the visitors who come,

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qui hospites venientes ad ciuitatem recipiunt et presentant constabulario qui ipsos presentat camerario vt introducantur ad dominum et ad dominam. Set in ista ciuitate est vna communis meretrix, scilicet carnalis concupiscencia, que est nunc ibi nunc hic vt attrahat et excitet ciues huius ciuitatis ad peccata. Exempli gracia: veniunt ad principalem portarium ciuitatis, puta ad visum, pompa mundi, pulcher apparatus, aurum, argentum, et alia mundi ornamenta decora, extrinsecus ad oculum et delectabilia. Statim ianitor, scilicet visus, naturaliter in illis delectatur quia natura eius est delectari in pulcris que dictam turbam intrare permittit et presentat constabulario6 cui adest illa praua meretrix, scilicet concupiscencia, dicens: Hec sunt necessaria huic ciuitati, immo et facta propter illa. Bonum est et racionabile vt omnes illis vtantur. Statim constabularius consentit et omnes ciues cum presentet illa camerario, scilicet cogitacioni, vt introducantur ad dominum et ad dominam, cui adest eciam dicta meretrix concupiscencia, et suggerit cogitacioni sicut suggessit sensualitati, que cito consenciens introducit illam maledictam | turbam in memoriam, scilicet ad dominam, videlicet voluntatem, quia illa cicius flectitur ad consensum quam dominus. Vnde camerarius et constabularius vna cum omnibus ciuibus et dicta meretrice suggerunt domine vt capiat in suam familiaritatem illam turbam, que deuicta statim consentit et suggerit racioni vt consentiat. Que consentit. Sic ista ciuitas traditur capitalibus inimicis, scilicet superbie, auaricie. Conformiter veniunt luxuria, accidia, et gula cum turba sua ad alium ianitorem, scilicet tactum, gustum, vel auditum, et mediante illa meretrice concupiscencia ista ciuitas est capta, et tota ciuitas fit peccatrix. Et sic verificatur illud Prouerbiorum 29: Pestilentes dissipant ciuitatem. Et attrita est ciuitas vanitatis. Vbi ergo est resistencia contra istas prauas turbas peccatorum? Reuera constabularius resistere posset si tamen ianitores claudere portas compelleret. Immo si ipsa non resisteret, adhuc posset cogitacio, scilicet camerarius, resistere ne intraret illa turba in cameram domini et domine que principaliter venit vt caperet dominum quod si deficiat a proposito statim cum verecundia exit ciuitatem. Igitur cum veniret, diceret cogitacio: Sunt alii hospites cum domino et domina, scilicet recordacio beneficiorum Dei, memoria passionis Christi et mortis future et pene iehenne. Dum ista sunt in camera non potestis intrare. Et si non sint ibi precipiant dominus et domina vt introducantur quia semper pulsant ad hostium. Et sic non erit mulier in ciuitate peccatrix nec erit ciuitas vanitatis set ciuitas veritatis, Zacarie 8. 6

 constabulario] constubulario



English Translation (RY24)269

present them to the constable, who presents them to the chamberlain so that they can be introduced to the lord and lady. But in this city there is one common harlot, namely, carnal concupiscence, who is now there now here to attract and incite the citizens of this city to sin. Some examples: To the principal gatekeeper of the city—that is, to sight—come the pomp of the world, beautiful apparel, gold, silver, and other pretty ornaments of the world, external to the eye and delightful, [and] at once the gatekeeper, sight, naturally delights in them because his nature is to delight in beautiful things, and he permits this crowd to enter and presents it to the constable, who is with that corrupt harlot concupiscence, who says, “These are necessary to this city, and indeed because these things have been made, it is good and reasonable for all to use them.” At once the constable consents, and all the citizens with him, and he presents them to the chamberlain, that is, to thought, to be introduced to the lord and lady; he too is with the said harlot concupiscence, and she urges thought, just as she had urged sensuality, who, agreeing quickly, introduces that cursed crowd into the memory, that is, to the lady, the will, because she is persuaded more quickly to consent than the lord. Whence the chamberlain and the constable together with all the citizens and the said harlot suggest to the lady that she take into her intimacy that crowd, to which, conquered, she immediately consents and suggests to reason that he should consent, and he consents. Thus this city is handed over to its mortal enemies: pride [and] avarice. Similarly, lust, sloth, and gluttony come with their crowd to another gatekeeper—namely, touch, taste, or hearing—and by means of that harlot concupiscence this city is taken over, and all the city becomes a sinner. And thus that [verse] of Proverbs 29[:8] is made true: Corrupt men bring a city to ruin. And [t]he city of vanity is broken down [Isaiah 24:10]. So where is the resistance against these depraved crowds of sins? Indeed, the constable can resist if he can compel the gatekeepers to shut the gates. And if he does not resist, thought, the chamberlain, can still resist, lest that crowd enter into the palace of the lord and lady, a crowd that mainly comes to seize the lord, so that if he fails from his intention, at once he leaves the city with shame. Therefore, when [the crowd] comes, thought should say, “There are other visitors with the lord and lady, namely, the recollection of the Lord’s blessings, the memory of Christ’s passion, and of the future death and the pains of hell. While these are in the chamber, you cannot enter.” And if these [visitors] are not there, the lord and lady should order that they be led in because they are always beating at the door. And thus a woman will not be in the city a sinner, nor will it be a city of vanity but a city of truth (Zachariah 8[:3]).

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[Tercium principale] Et tantum de tercio, tunc dico finaliter vnum verbum de tercio, quod est ciuitas glorie plena pacis et sanctitatis vbi quondam mulier \erat/ peccatrix, scilicet natura angelica que cecidit, set iam est ibi gaudium sine fine, eternitas sine labe, serenitas sine nube, eterna requies sine labore, stabilitas sine vanitate, sanitas sine infirmitate. Ad quod gaudium nos perducat qui sine fine viuit et regnat.



English Translation (RY24)271

[Third principal part] And so I say finally one word about the third principal part, which is the city of glory full of peace and holiness, where the woman was once a sinner, that is, angelic nature which fell, but now there is “joy without end, eternity without blemish, serenity without anxiety,”15 eternal rest without labor, stability without vanity, health without illness. To that joy let him guide us who lives and reigns without end.

fol. 183r

Sermo primus de Sancto Oswaldo

Antethema In breui expleuit tempora multa, Sapiencie 4. Dicit commentator Phisicorum et experiencia docet idem quod ille qui facit opus delectabile apparet tempus breue quia ipsa delectacio prohibet comprehendere motum temporis determinatum. Econtra est de hiis qui laborant et sunt in angustia. Vnde de primo dicitur in Psalmo: Mille anni ante oculos tuos tamquam dies hesterna que preteriit. Econtrario dicitur de reprobis: Erit tempus eorum in secula quia tempus dampnatorum est infinitum. Licet hoc videatur esse contra naturam, scilicet quod tempus non deficiat cum sua natura sit mobile et instabile, set dicit Philosophus primo De celo et mundo, quod licet infinitum duratione non sit determinatum, est tamen completum, quia non potest ei fieri addicio cum nullum tempus esse poterit maius eo. Vnde ad propositum reducendum delectaciones, secundum Philosophum, 4 Ethicorum, quedam sunt corporales, quedam animales. Corporales sunt que consummantur in quadam passione corporali exterioris sensus. Animales sunt que consummantur ex sola apprehencione interiori. Terminus est amor honoris et discipline et gaudium ortum. Ex hiis delectaciones animales, id est que sunt solum in anima, dicuntur dupliciter. Vno modo sunt delectaciones que habent speciem honestatis; terminus est amor honoris. Alio modo est delectacio animalis quando quis delectatur in dictis vel factis hominum non necessariis nec vtilibus, et sic delectantur illi qui amant audire vel narrare fabulas. Hec sentencia Philosophi. Reuera istis delectacionibus diuersi diuersimode delectantur. Quantum enim ad delectaciones corporales constat quod precipue sunt in sensibus exterioribus, et secundum Philosophum, in visu precipue et in tactu et consequenter in aliis sensibus. Et vtinam tempus nimis longum in huiusmodi delectacionibus non appareret nimis breue! Nonne quamplures videntes fastus seculi statissime delectantur? Immo et appetunt ex industria et studio huiusmodi delectaciones consequi et habere, immo eciam vt videantur talia videre et habere. Nonne multi videntes mulieres speciosas eas mechando concupisciunt contra Christi euangelium vt ex visi illicito sequatur tactus inhonestus? Nonne quasi omnium auditus

First Sermon for Saint Oswald1 (RY49) Theme: In a short space, he fulfilled a long time (Wisdom 4:13). Protheme In a short space, he fulfilled a long time (Wisdom 4[:13]). The Commentator on Physics says, and experience teaches the same, that for the one “who does pleasing work, time appears to be brief because that pleasure prevents him from comprehending the limited movement of time. The reverse is true for those who labor and are in difficulties.”2 So concerning the first point it is said in the Psalm [89:4]: A thousand years in your sight are as yesterday which is past. On the other hand, it is said concerning reprobates, Their time shall be for ever [Ps. 80:16], because the time of the damned is infinite. Although this seems to go against nature—that time may not run out when its nature is shifting and inconstant—in the first part of Of Heaven and Earth, the Philosopher says that, although a time that is infinite in its duration has no end, it is nevertheless complete; nothing can be added to it, since no time span can be greater than it is.3 Thus to bring the point back to the pleasures, according to the Philosopher, [book] 4 of the Ethics, some are bodily, some are intellectual. Those are bodily which are achieved in a certain physical state of an external sense. Those are intellectual which are achieved from an interior comprehension alone. The end is the love of honor and of learning and the joy that arises from them. These intellectual pleasures—that is, those which are only in the mind—are said to be twofold. In one way they are pleasures which have a kind of integrity; the end is the love of honor. In the other way an intellectual pleasure occurs when someone takes pleasure in people’s words or deeds that are not necessary or useful, and thus those take pleasure who love to hear or tell tales. This is the statement of the Philosopher.4 Indeed, different people delight in these pleasures in different ways. For as far as bodily pleasures are concerned, everyone knows that they are especially in the external senses, and according to the Philosopher, especially in sight and in touch and as a result in the other senses.5 And if only the exceedingly long time [spent] in these kinds of pleasures did not seem exceedingly short! Do not very many who see the pride of this world immediately take pleasure? Indeed, they also desire with diligence and zeal to pursue and have these kinds of pleasures, and even that they may appear to regard and have such pleasures. Do not many who regard beautiful women desire to commit adultery with them, contrary to Christ’s Gospel, so that dishonorable touching follows from illicit sight? Does not the hearing of almost everyone delight

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delectantur in vanis et truffis, et vtinam non in detraccionibus? Nonne gustus et olfactus delectantur in superfluis et intemporaneis gustabilibus? Experiencia est tempus valde longum; apparet in tabernis, ludis, vagacionibus satis breue. Isti pertranseunt tempora multa, set certe non explent quia tempora sua perdunt. Insuper delectaciones interiores consistunt, vt predixi, in apprehencione honoris et discipline et in gaudio orto ex hiis vel in dictis factis non necessariis nec vtilibus. Apprehencio autem honoris est vel esse potest dupliciter, aut vere aut ficte, vere secundum descripcionem honoris cum honor sit premium virtutis et nullus appetat honorem nisi qui ei debetur secundum virtutem vel qui secundum gradum suum. Set certe , secundum Philosophum, honor sit in honorante non in honorato, magis et pocius exhibetur diuiciis quam virtutibus vel gradibus, nisi eciam cum illis gradibus concurrant diuicie. Vbi enim honorantur pauperes quantumcumque scientes vel virtuosi? Reuera a paucis vel a nullis. Igitur talis honor exhibitus propter diuicias sine virtutibus est honor fictus, et quiscumque appetens talem honorem est plenus ambicionis et inanis glorie que est gaudium ortum ex huiusmodi honore. Quin tamen diuites debeant honorari nullus debet negare, set non solum propter diuicias set eciam propter virtutes concurrentes quod si concurrant tunc, secundum Philosophum, 4 Ethicorum, honore | dignior est qui habet tam virtutem quam bona fortune. Insuper dixi quod delectaciones interiores consistunt in apprehencione discipline et illa apprehencio est dupliciter sicut et apprehencio honoris. Est enim disciplina de temporalibus et de spiritualibus. Disciplina de temporalibus est multipliciter, eciam multiplex delectacio consequens ex eadem. Est enim disciplina de temporalibus artificiis per quorum excercicium homines viuunt. Que artificia vt constat discuntur per multa tempora et cum multo labore. Quia tamen quilibet delectatur viuere et finis huiusmodi artificiorum est propter viuere, ideo delectat homines ea discere. Et vtinam intencio omnium discencium foret tantum propter victum et vestitum querendum! Set certe vsus quorumdam artificiorum probat quod nonnulli didicerunt nedum vt victum et vestitum quererent, set vt diuiciis habundarent. In cuius signum tot falsitates, tot cautele excercentur ad populum decipiendum sicut possem singillatim de singulis artificiis si tempus permitteret explicare. Vnde generaliter experimur1 quod tales falsi artifices, immo et quam plures alii mundanam scienciam habentes senciunt tempora longa satis breuia dummodo 1

 experimur] experimus



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in vanities and trifles? And if only they did not delight in hearing slanders! Does not the taste and smell delight in excesses and inopportune appetites?6 The experience is that the time is very long; in taverns, plays, and strolling about it appears short enough. These kinds of people pass through much time, but certainly they do not fill [it] because they lose their time. Furthermore, as I said before, internal pleasures consist in acquiring honor and learning and in the joy born from these or in words and deeds not necessary or useful. Moreover, the acquisition of honor is or can be twofold, either true or false, true according to the definition of honor that honor is a reward for virtue, and no one should desire honor except the one to whom it is owed according to virtue or according to his rank. But certainly, according to the Philosopher, when honor exists in the one honoring not in the one honored, it is to a greater extent and rather displayed in riches than in virtues or in ranks, unless riches also coexist with these ranks.7 For who honors the poor, however wise or virtuous they are? Indeed, few or no one. Therefore, such honor displayed because of riches without virtues is false honor, and whoever desires such honor is full of ambition and vainglory, which is the joy born from this kind of honor. But no one should deny that riches should be honored, but not only because of riches but also because of the coexisting virtues so that if they do coexist, then, according to the Philosopher, [book] 4 of Ethics, the one with honor is more worthy who has both virtue and good fortune.8 Furthermore, I said that internal pleasures consist in the acquisition of learning, and that acquisition is twofold as is the acquisition of honor. For we learn temporal things and spiritual things. The learning of temporal things is manifold, also manifold the pleasure following from it. For there is the learning of temporal crafts through whose practice people live. As everyone knows, these crafts take a great deal of time and much labor to learn. Yet because each person desires to live and the end of crafts of this kind is for living, people therefore delight in learning them. And would that the intention of all those learning would be only to seek provisions and clothing! But certainly the practice of these crafts proves that some learn not only to seek provisions and clothing, but to abound in riches. Proof of this are the many falsities, the many tricks, that are practiced to deceive people, which I could set forth one by one about every craft if time permitted. So we generally experience that such false craftsmen, and indeed more than many others who have worldly knowledge, feel that a long time is sufficiently brief provided that they may be in gains, and, on the other hand, they deem the brief times as

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sint in lucris, et econtrario iudicant tempora breuia nimis longa dum occupantur in hiis que eos retardant a questu lucrorum et diuiciarum. In cuius signum tedet multos expectare dimidiam horam in auditu misse vel sermonis, vbi tamen non tedet aliquos per totum diem et noctem expectare in mercimoniis faciendis et alios in sagittacionibus et potacionibus et in aliis factis et dictis non necessariis nec vtilibus, vtpote in ludis scaccorum et tabularum et huiusmodi et in fabulis et in truffis. Set certe de disciplina spiritualium, vtpote de excercendis virtutibus et cauendis viciis, sunt maxime tediosi, et ideo certe perdunt vel non habent gaudium ortum ex huiusmodi disciplina, scilicet delectacionem contemplandi, orandi, diuinum seruicium dicendi, vel aliquod bonum opus aliud excercendi. De quibus dicit Psalmista, Psalmo 118: Tempus faciendi, Domine; dissipauerunt legem tuam. Tales (inquam) habent tempus faciendi et excercendi legem Domini set quantum in eis est dissipant. Quocontra delectantes in lege Domini habent gaudium ex hinc ortum, scilicet deuocionem interdum contemplandi, interdum missas et sermones audiendi, legendi, et cetera virtuosa opera excercendi. De quolibet tali verificantur precipue verba thematis premissi cum dicitur, In breui expleuit tempora multa. Verum quia dum quis in fide incepta et virtutibus perseuerat pro omni cursu sue vite omnia sua tempora preterita bene explet. In cuius signum omne tempus preteritum vsque nunc in hoc breui nunc expletur. Igitur vt tempus nostrum in hoc breui tempore prolacionis huius sermonis ad laudem Dei et ad salutem vestram et meam laudabiliter expleatur orabimus, etc. Sermo primus Beati Oswaldi

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In breui expleuit tempora multa. Tota materia epistole vbi thema in verbis thematis breuiter continetur. Nam materia epistole est de vita iusti et de morte et de premio post mortem. De hiis omnibus fit mencio in primo clausula epistole cum sic dicitur, Iustus si morte preoccupatus fuerit in refrigerio erit. In primo enim termino facit mencionem de vita cum dicit iustus, id est in iusticia viuens; in secundo verbo memorat de morte; in tercio de premio post mortem cum dicit in refrigerio erit. Vnde vt dicit quidam postillator, et idem euidet ad verba, idem respicit quod dictum est in breui expleuit tempora multa, et cum dicitur iustus si morte, etc., vnde secundum vnam exposicionem sic exponuntur ista verba, In breui expleuit tempora multa, id est maturitas morum expleuit diuturnitatem | temporum. Quantumcumque enim breui tempore vixerit homo, si fuerit m ­ aturus in moribus quod



English Translation (RY49)277

exceedingly long when they are occupied with those things which delay them from the quest for money and riches. Proof of this is that it wearies many to spend half an hour in hearing a mass or of a sermon, yet it does not weary some to spend all day and night dealing in merchandise and others in archery and drinking and in other deeds and words not necessary or useful, namely in games of chess and checkers and this sort of thing and in stories and in trifles. But certainly, concerning the study of spiritual things, that is, practicing virtues and guarding against vices, these are extremely weary, and therefore they certainly lose or do not have the joy born from study of this kind, that is, pleasure in meditating, praying, saying the divine service, or practicing any good work. Concerning this the Psalmist says (Psalm 118[:126]): It is time, O Lord, to do; they have dissipated your law. Such (I say) have the time to do and practice the law of the Lord, but they squander as much as is in them. On the other hand, those delighting in the law of the Lord experience the joy born from this, that is, devotion, sometimes in meditating, sometimes in hearing masses and sermons, in reading, and in practising the rest of the virtuous works. Concerning each of such kind the words of the theme mentioned earlier are especially made true when it is said, In a short space, he fulfilled a long time. Indeed, because as long as anyone who began in faith and virtues perseveres for the entire course of his life, he fulfills all his past time well. As a sign of this all time past until now is fulfilled now in this brief space. Therefore, that our time in this brief moment in the setting forth of this sermon may be fulfilled praiseworthily, for the praise of God and for your and my salvation, let us pray, etc. The first sermon for blessed Oswald In a short space, he fulfilled a long time. All the material of the epistle9 whence the theme comes is briefly contained in the words of the theme. For the material of the epistle is about the life of the just man and about death and about the reward after death. Of all these the first sentence of the epistle makes mention when it says: The just man, if he is prevented with death, shall be in rest [Wisd. 4:7]. For the first term mentions life when it says just, that is, living in justice; the second word10 mentions death; the third, the reward after death when it says, shall be in rest. Therefore, as a certain exegete says (and the same is evident in the words), it is the same thing when it says, In a short space, he fulfilled a long time, and when it says, the just man if with death, etc., so according to one explanation, these words—In a short space, he fulfilled a long time—are as if to say, the maturity of character fulfilled a long duration of time.11 For however brief a time a man lived, if he were mature in character, which is the same as being just, then certainly he fulfilled a long time,

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idem est quod esse iustum, tunc certe explet tempora multa, id est ita bene explet vitam breuem temporalem ac si vixissit per multa tempora. Ecce secundum istam exposicionem verba thematis faciunt mensionem de vita iusti. Secundo modo taliter exponitur nostrum thema, In breui expleuit tempora multa, scilicet in breui tormento, scilicet mortis, expleuit multa tempora. Glossa Bede: Bene inquit multa qui vniuersa complectitur. Quomodo enim (inquit) non2 expleuit omnia tempora, qui transiit ad eternitatem? Quanta enim tempora non longeuitate, set longanimitate, hoc est non annorum serie vel dierum numero, set mentis deuocione et inex[s]tinguibili proficiendi desiderio percurrere potuit, tanta sibi in meritis non inmerito vendicauit. Tenuit quippe virtute quod amiserat tempore. Hec Beda. Divisio principalis Ecce quod in verbis thematis secundum istam exposicionem memoratur de morte et de premio post mortem. Ex quibus eciam patet quod vita hominis debet esse pura et virtuosa; patet secundo quod mors hominis est dura et tediosa; patet tercio quod felicitas hominis est eterna et gloriosa. Combino ergo et dico quod nostrum thema memorat de vita hominis iusti que est pura et virtuosa; secundo memorat de morte que est dura et tediosa, tercio memorat de felicitate que3 est eterna et gloriosa. [Primum principale] Dico ergo primo quod nostrum thema memorat de vita hominis que debet esse pura et virtuosa. Istud probant multa. Primo illud quod predixi in prima exposicione thematis quando dixi quod quantumcumque breui tempore vixerit homo, si fuerit maturus in moribus, tunc est iustus et per consequens virtuosus. Est enim iusticia generaliter, secundum Philosophum, omnis virtus. Secundo probat de glossa illius textus epistole, Senectus enim venerabilis est non diuturna, et textus deinceps vsque raptus est ne malicia, . Vnde taliter habet glossa 2 3

 non] nono. Corrected from Bernard.  que] quod



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that is to say, he thus fulfilled well a brief temporal life as if he had lived for a long time. Note that according to this explanation, the words of the theme make mention of the life of the just man. In a second way our theme is explained in this way: In a short space, he fulfilled a long time, that is, in a brief torment, that is, death, he fulfilled a long time. Bede’s gloss [on this text]: “Well it says long, which includes all [times]. For how did the one not fulfill all time who passed over to eternity? For however much time he was able to pass through, not in a long life but in forbearance, that is, not in a series of years or number of days, but in the devotion of mind and with the unquenchable desire for advancing, by that much he claimed for himself in merits, not undeservedly. Indeed, he possessed in virtue what he lost in time.” So says Bede.12 The principal division Note that, according to this explanation, the words of the theme mention death and the reward after death. It is also clear from these that man’s life should be pure and virtuous; secondly, it is clear that man’s death is long and tedious; thirdly, it is clear that man’s happiness is eternal and glorious. Therefore I combine [these] and I say that our theme mentions the life of the just man, which is pure and virtuous; secondly, it mentions death, which is hard and tedious; thirdly, it mentions happiness, which is eternal and glorious. [First principal part] Therefore, I say first that our theme mentions man’s life, which should be pure and virtuous. Many things prove this. First is what I said before in the first explanation of the theme when I said that however brief a time a man lived, if he is mature in character, then he is just and consequently virtuous. For justice in general, according to the Philosopher, is every virtue.13 Secondly, [the point] is proven from the gloss on that text of the epistle, For venerable old age is not that of a long time [Wisd. 4:8], and the text following until He was taken away lest wickedness [4:11], etc. Thus the gloss of a certain exegete puts it this way: “Venerable old age, that is, in the presence of God, is not that of a long time, that is, a long duration of time, nor counted by the

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cuiusdam postillatoris: Senectus (inquit) venerabilis, scilicet apud Deum, est non diuturna, scilicet diuturnitate temporis, neque numere annorum computata, quia non etas corporis moraliter facit senem set maturitas mentis et morum. Vnde (inquit) vita hominis se habet vt fabula que non quam longa, set qualis sit attenditur. Sic (inquam) est de vita vt non attendatur quam longa sit set qualis in mundicia et moribus. Et quia secundum Philosophum, 2 Ethicorum, capitulo tercio, virtuosus debet scire quid facit, ideo sequitur in text epistole, cani sunt sensus hominis. Glossa: sensus hominis reputantur pro canicia et senectute qui habet sensum, id est scienciam, ad bene operandum secundum virtutem et cum hoc actualiter operatur, certe ille est canus et senex venerabilis. Quocontra, vt dicit beatus Augustinus, libro 4, Contra Iulianum: Voluptatis motus inimicissimus est philosophie. Congruere enim cum cognicione magna voluptas corporis non potest. Vnde voluptuosi non habent sufficientem scienciam ad virtuose operandum nec per consequens ad habendum virtutem nec puram vitam. Quod probatur per exemplum in natura. Sicut enim durante calore naturali in robore iuuentutis nullus canescit nec senescit, set durant pili, id est suum pristinum colorem retinent et conseruant, sic durante calore voluptatis in carne durant et generantur superfluitates viciorum que per pilos signantur. Quocontra frigescente calore naturali nascitur canicies, ita frigescente voluptate, que est viciorum incentiuum, nascetur canicies interior, id est sensus mentis et sapiencia que excercet virtuosa opera, et est vita sua immaculata, nam etas senectutis vita immaculata, quasi diceret, dicit glossa, ille bene senex est qui est sine peccati macula. Ex quibus omnibus sequitur quod senectus venerabilis. | Immo et vita venerabilis consistit in duobus, scilicet in sensu sapiencie et in mundicia vite. Vnde Tullius in libro De senectute: Summa laus senectutis est, quod ea voluptates nullas nullo opere desiderat, caris epulis exstructisque mensisque sequentibus4 poculis. Set heu, vt dicit beatus Augustinus in quodam sermone, incipiente sine intermissione orate: Tantus5 est in malis senibus (scilicet in malicia inueterans), tanta gurgitas auiditatis (quo ad superfluum corporis apparatum), et insaciabilis vorago ventris (quo ad gulam), vt quanta boni senes prudencia et temperancia seruantur incolumes, tanta isti vinolencia sepeliantur,  sequentibus] This may be a scribal error for frequentibus.  tantus] Corrected from Augustine. In the MS. this word appears to be tantas or possibly necessitas. It appears to be a correction in Rypon’s hand and is barely legible. 4 5



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number of years [4:8], because no age of the body morally makes old age but ­maturity of the mind and of character. Thus man’s life is like a story which is listened to not for length but for its quality.”14 So (I say) it is concerning life: that it should not be attended to for its length but for its quality in purity and character. And because, according to the Philosopher, in [book] 2 of the Ethics, chapter three, the virtuous man should know what he does,15 it therefore follows in the text of the epistle: The understanding of man is grey hairs [4:8]. [According to] the gloss: man’s understanding is reflected by means of grey hair and old age, which has understanding16 (that is, knowledge) for working well according to virtue, and when this is done actively, certainly it is grey hair and venerable old age. On the other hand, as blessed Augustine says, in book four, Contra Iulianum: “The impulse to pleasure is most hostile to philosophy. For great pleasure of the body cannot be in harmony with knowledge.”17 Thus those given to pleasures do not have sufficient knowledge to act virtuously or consequently to have virtue or a pure life. This is proven by an example in nature. For as no one grows hoary or old as long as the natural warmth of youthful vigor lasts, but his hair remains—that is, it retains and conserves its pristine color—so as long as the warmth of fleshly desire lasts, the excesses of vices, which are signified by the hair, last and are engendered. On the other hand, when natural warmth cools, grey hair is born; so also when desire, the thing that incites vices, cools, internal greyness is born, that is, the understanding of the mind and wisdom, which practices virtuous works, and this is the spotless life, for old age [is] the spotless life [Wisd. 4:9], as if to say, according to the gloss, that the good old man is the one who is without the stain of sin.18 From all this it follows that venerable is old age. Indeed, the venerable life also consists in two things: in the understanding of wisdom and in the purity of life. Thus Cicero, in the book On Old Age, [says]: “The highest praise of old age is that it does not desire any pleasures in any work, and expensive feasts and piled up tables and accompanying drinks.”19 But alas, as blessed Augustine says in a certain sermon, beginning Pray without ceasing [1 Thess. 5:17]: “So much is in bad old men (that is, the one who grows old in wickedness), so great a flood of vehement desire (as pertains to superfluous bodily adornment), and insatiable abyss of the belly (as pertains to gluttony), so that by however much good old men are protected unharmed by prudence and temperance, by that much these [bad ones] are buried in wine-drinking, almost to the extent that in them the internal

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quasi ad hoc in eis arida viscera et suto6 exhausta curuentur, vt ad vigorem pristinum reparandum in ebrietatis inundacione sint riganda. Quod est contra naturam quia contrariis contraria curantur in natura. Set in istis siccitas generata per gulam curatur per eandem gulam. Set reuera anima extenuata per famem sapiencie et virtutis tendit semper de peiore in penis ad interitum. Et certe sepe predicatum est vobis de discipulis Chaym et Antichristi. Set vere regnant pocius modernis temporibus discipuli Machometi qui quidem inter omnes hereticos et aduersaries legis Christi fuit maxime deditus cum suis sequacibus ad corporis voluptates sicut vidi in quodam tractatu compilato de vita sua vbi dicitur sparsim in summa quod in principio iuuentutis sue cuidam vidue ditissime seruiebat suas merces vendendas ad opida circumstancia deportando. Cui vidue propter sue vendicionis lucracionem erat tam carus quod cum ea concubuit. Postea tamen cum ea matrimonium publice contraxit et copiosissimam pecuniam de ea accepit ex qua subito et inopinate ditatus, cepit in suis oculis extolli et apud se inaniter gloriari. Et quia, iuxta Psalmista, superbia talium ascendit semper, optabat per suas diuicias super illas gentes et super tribus proprias dominari. Quod quia non posset sine magna familia et complicum multitudine, congregauit in familiam et manutenenciam quam plurimos latrones, predones, homicidas, exules, et ere aliene obligatos, qui sibi assisterent, contradicentes sibi opprimerent, et sibi diuicias per violencias et rapinas multiplicarent. Super hoc, vt in dicto tractatu habetur, erat luxuriosus et libidinis ardore succensus super omnes homines illius regionis adeo quod se iactabatur super 40 homines habere a Deo virtutem generatiuam. Et in tantum adulterio vtebatur vt vbique quascumque sibi placentes \mulieres/ habere poterat, adulterio polluebat, ita quod propter turpitudinem adulterii a quam pluribus odiretur. Quod perpendens ipse ad sui excusacionem, cum tunc esset potentissimus et quasi legislator et maximus propheta reputatus, cum tamen esset pure laicus, legem promulgauit que inter Saracenos, vt dicitur, adhuc obseruatur de adulteris puniendis, videlicet quod quecumque mulier adultera occidatur, tamen sibi soli dixit esse concessum a Deo, Gabriele archangelo nunciante, quod aliorum posset habere vxores vt prophetas et filios virtutis generaret. Et breuiter tante erat deditus voluptati quod propter excusacionem sue libidinis dixit omni genti sue: Si vxores vel ancillas habetis ipsas modo vestro ad vestram voluntatem parate. Aliam eciam opinionem falsissimam 6

 suto] probable error for succo as it is in Augustine.



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organs, dry and drained from sap, are made to bend, so that to revive their former vigor, they must be moistened in a flood of drunkenness.”20 This is against nature because contraries in nature are cured by contraries. But in these people the dryness generated by gluttony is cured by the same gluttony. But indeed the soul, weakened by a dearth of wisdom and virtue, tends always from worse to worse to ruin. And certainly you are often preached to about the disciples of Ham and the Antichrist, but truly the disciples of Mohammed reign more in modern times. Indeed, among all the heretics and adversaries of Christ’s law, Mohammed was most devoted, along with his followers, to the desires of his body, as I saw in a certain tract21 compiled about his life where it is said in a scattered way, in sum, that in the beginning of his youth, he served a certain very rich widow by conveying her merchandise to sell to the surrounding towns. He was so dear to this widow because of how much he gained from his selling that he cohabited with her. Yet afterwards, when he publicly joined with her in marriage and received from her the most abundant wealth, by which he was suddenly and unexpectedly made rich, he began to extol himself in his own eyes and to boast vainly about himself. And because, according to the Psalmist [Ps. 73:23], Pride of such kind ascends always, he desired to rule over those peoples and over his own kinsfolk. Because he could not do that without a great household and a large number of accomplices, he gathered into his household and maintenance22 as many robbers, thieves, murderers, exiles, and those bound to foreign masters as possible, who would assist him, oppress those who speak against him, and multiply his riches through violence and theft. Beyond this, as the mentioned tract says, he was lustful and on fire with the ardor of sexual desire beyond all men of that region, to the extent that he boasted to have from God the power to beget children, more than forty men [taken together]. And he committed adultery so often that everywhere, he dishonored with adultery whichever women pleasing to him he could have, so that because of the shame of adultery, he was hated by many. So weighing carefully how to excuse himself, when he was then most powerful and like a legislator and considered the greatest prophet, although he was merely a layman, he promulgated a law, which among the Saracens, as it is said, is still observed concerning the punishment for adultery, namely, that any adulterous woman should be killed, yet he said only he was permitted by God, because the archangel Gabriel had announced to him that he could have the wives of others in order to beget prophets and sons of virtue. And briefly, so much was he devoted to lust that, as an excuse for his libido, he said to all his people, “If you have wives or handmaids in your rule, prepare them in your way for your will.” He

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affirmauit quod Saraceni omnes quantumcumque pessime egerint ad preces eius quem Deus in omnibus exaudiet saluabuntur ex quo verbo timorem peccandi omnibus suis abstulit. Insuper Saraceni sequaces Machometi multum de antiquo testamento recipiunt; euangelium Christi legunt set non intelligunt; dicta apostolorum qui cum Christo personaliter conuersati sunt vera esse dicunt; set dicta Sancti Pauli et doctrinam eius eciam aliorum doctrinam qui post ipsum fuerunt vilipendunt et blasphemant. Vlterius | quia luxuriam concomitatur gula, attendens Machometus, quod Iudei diem sabbati, Christiani diem dominicam sollempnizant, ipse singulum diem veneris precepit sollempniter obseruari et ieiunia non nisi semel in anno per mensem integrum instituit obseruari. Qui taliter ieiunabant nichil prorsus per diem manducantes vel bibentes, set nocte quantumcumque vellent deuorantes. Hec et multa similia peruersa docuit ipse nequissimus Machometus cuius causa fuit quia maxime fuit deditus voluptati et carnis concupiscenciis et lucris terrenis quorum omnium lex Christi prohibet contrarium. Docet enim terrena contempnere, concupiscencias fugere, curam in desideriis non perficere, non mechari, non furtum facere et huiusmodi. Set iam breuiter videamus secundum facta moderna \an/ sint aliqui discipuli Machometi. Nonne quam plures iuuenes seruiunt mundo qui dicitur vera vidua quia sponso Christo viduata? Et tandem cum ea adulterantur in tantum quod derelinquunt sponsam suam, scilicet fidem ecclesie Christi, saltem opere si non verbis, et coniugio insollubili ipsi mundo quasi totaliter copulantur. Nonne quasi omnes tales sic ditati et mundo copulati appetunt, si posset fieri, super omnes vicinos populos dominari? Immo quidam pompam seculi, quidam vt amplius ditentur, quidam vt fideles depredentur, quidam vt vicinos sibi congregant et viuunt familiam prauam. Nonne instar ipsius Machometi sunt nonnulli luxuriosissimi letantes et se iactantes de concubitu illicito? Mulieres tamen, et precipue proprias adulteras, iudicant occidendas vel maxime puniendas, set se ipsos per Gabrielem nuncium qui dicitur angelus fortis excusant, cogitantes propter suam potenciam sibi licere facere quod voluerint. Immo in sui excusacionem permittunt omnes suas familias habere ad placitum concubinas. Immo quod presumptuosius est, quidam cum Saracenis opinantur quod quantumcumque voluptuose vixerint, si dent elemosinas pauperibus ecclesiasticis et certis temporibus anni secundum morem ecclesie fecerint sacramenta suscipiendo ad visum tantum, non tamen curant de sacramentorum virtute. Multi reuera istorum sunt qui legunt et recipiunt testamentum vetus et euangelium Christi,



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affirmed another very false opinion that all Saracens, however wickedly they behaved, would be saved at his request because God would always listen to him. By saying this he removed the fear of sinning from all his people. In addition, the Saracens, followers of Mohammed, accept much of the Old Testament; they read but do not understand the Gospel of Christ; they say to be true the writings of the apostles who personally lived with Christ; but the writings of Saint Paul and his teaching and the teaching of others who were after him they despise and blaspheme. In addition, because gluttony accompanies lust, Mohammed, noting that the Jews observe the day of the Sabbath, the Christians observe the day of the Lord, alone preached that every Friday be solemnly observed, and he instituted fasts to be observed only once during the year for a month. They fast in such a way that they eat or drink nothing at all throughout the day, but at night they devour as much as they want. These and many similar perverse things the most wicked Mohammed taught, who was motivated by his great devotion to desire and carnal concupiscence and earthly riches, all of which Christ’s law forbids. For it teaches to disdain earthly things, to flee concupiscences, not to take pains to bring about one’s desires, not to commit adultery, not to steal, and things of this sort. But now, briefly, let us see according to modern deeds whether there are some who are disciples of Mohammed. Do not many youths serve the world, which is called a true widow because it is widowed of its spouse, Christ? And in the end they commit adultery with her so much that they abandon their spouse—that is, the faith of Christ’s Church—at least in works if not in words, and they as it were join themselves completely in an indissoluble marriage with the world. Do not almost all such people, thus enriched and joined to the world, desire, if it were possible, to dominate over all the neighboring peoples? Indeed, some [desire] worldly splendor, some to become richer, some to plunder the faithful, some to gather their neighbors to them and live in a depraved household. Are not the most lustful people, in the likeness of this Mohammed, rejoicing and boastful about their sexual prowess? Yet they judge that women, and especially their own mistresses, should be killed or greatly punished, but they excuse themselves by the messenger Gabriel, who is called the angel of strength, thinking that their own power allows them to do what they want. Indeed, in order to excuse themselves, they allow all their household to have concubines for pleasure. And what is more presumptuous, some along with the Saracens suppose that however lustfully they have lived, [they will be saved] if they give alms to poor clerics and, at fixed times of the year according to the custom of the Church, perform the sacraments by receiving by sight only, yet they do not care about the power of the sacraments. Indeed, there are many of these who read and accept the Old Testament and the Gospel of Christ, but they do not understand because they

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set non intelligunt quia intelligere nolunt nec credere dictis Pauli. Paulus interpretatur medicus. Intelligere (inquam) nolunt paruos et simplices predicatores sequaces Pauli qui contraria omnium predictorum et7 errorum eis predicant. Et si ad tempus credunt et intelligunt, tamen statim obliuiscuntur dediti voluptatibus consuetis. Hii ad tempus credunt et in tempore temptacionis recedunt. Insuper vltimo diem veneris, id est luxurie, cum Saracenis et Machometo obser­ uant quia luxuriosi et gulosi libenter non ieiunant et si plerique ieiunent vno die tota, tamen ebdomada posterius vacant gule et ebrietatibus. Abstinent autem in diebus forsan \a/ vanis occupacionibus, vtpote venacionibus, aucupacionibus, vel sagittacionibus impediti, noctes tamen ducunt insompnes superfluitatibus et quandoque voluptatibus insudantes. De hiis omnibus sequacibus Machometi, eciam de pluribus aliis, et de eorum temporibus memorat Apostolus, Thimotheum 3, In nouissimis (inquit) diebus instabunt tempora periculosa, et erunt homines seipsos amantes, cupidi (id est pecunie), elati ad diuinum, superbi de honoribus sibi impensis, blasphemi in Deum per hereses, parentibus inobedientes tam carnalibus quam spiritualibus, ingrati non reddentes bona pro bonis set mala pro bonis, scelesti in grauibus perpetrandis peccatis, sine affeccione ad proximos, sine pace (id est inquietantes alios), criminatores (id est crimina aliis imponentes), incontinentes gule vel libidinis, inmites (id est crudeles), sine benignitate (id est8 | largitate dum nesciunt subuenire aliis), proditores qui secreta non reuelanda produnt, proterui scilicet habitu vel verbis pudorem non seruantes, tumidi inflato corde, voluptatum amatores magis quam Dei (id est carnales leticias, spiritualibus preponentes), habentes speciem pietatis religionis Christi quia eadem sacramenta habent cum piis, virtutem autem pietatis abnegantes (scilicet factis). Et hos (inquit) tales deuita. Isti vtique in breui explent tempora multa, set non in maturitate morum secundum primam thematis exposicionem. Set vt dicitur Iob 20: Gaudium ypocritarum ad instar puncti quia in puncto ad inferna descendunt, ibidem 21. Igitur indubie quiscumque voluerit in breui explere tempora multa, id est habere maturitatem morum et vitam mundam, oportet dicta mala vitare et precipue voluptates et placere Deo. Propter \quod/ dicitur immediate in epistola post verba thematis: Placita enim erat Deo anima illius. Glossa postillatoris: que placencia in tribus maxime consistit, scilicet in voluntaria ­tribulacionum 7 8

 et] vt  id est] id est | id est (repeated)



English Translation (RY49)287

are not willing to understand or believe the sayings of Paul. Paul means “physician.”23 They are not willing (I say) to understand humble and simple preachers, the followers of Paul, who preach to them the opposite of the aforementioned and of errors. And if they do believe and understand at the time, they forget immediately, devoted as they are to their habitual lusts. They believe at the time and backslide in a time of temptation. In addition, finally they observe the day of Friday, that is, of lust, along with the Saracens and Mohammed because the lustful and gluttonous do not fast gladly, and if many fast on one whole day, yet for seven days after they disregard [it] with gluttony and drunkenness. Moreover, they abstain perhaps by day from vain occupations, inasmuch as they are prevented from hunting, fowling, or archery, yet they prolong sleepless nights in excesses and at any time toil away in pleasures. Concerning all these followers of Mohammed, also concerning many others, and concerning their times, the Apostle recounts (Timothy 3 [2 Tim. 3:1–5]): In the last days shall come dangerous times, and men shall be lovers of themselves; covetous (that is, of money); haughty for the divine; proud of the honors bestowed on them; blasphemers of their God through heresies; disobedient to their parents both natural and spiritual; ungrateful, not returning good things for good things, but evil things for good ones; accursed in perpetrating grave sins; without affection for their neighbors; without peace (that is, disturbing others); slanderers (that is, attributing crimes to others); intemperate with gluttony or lust; inexorable (that is, cruel); without kindness (that is, liberality, when they are unwilling to help others financially); traitors who betray secrets not to be revealed; violent in demeanor or in words, not preserving modesty; swollen with an inflated heart; lovers of pleasures more than of God (that is, carnal delights, putting them before spiritual things); having the appearance of the piety of Christ’s religion because they have the same sacraments along with the pious; but denying the virtue of piety (namely, in deeds). And such as these, avoid. These certainly in a short space fulfill a long time, but not in the maturity of character according to the first explanation of the theme. But as it is said in Job 20[:5]: The joy of the hypocrites is but for a moment, because in a moment they go down to hell (the same place [i.e. Job] 21[:13]). So undoubtedly whoever wishes in a short space to fulfill a long time—that is, to have maturity of character and a pure life—it is necessary to avoid these said evil things, and especially desires, and to please God. Because of this, it is said in the epistle immediately after the words of the theme: For his soul pleased God [Wisd. 4:14]. [According to] the exegete’s gloss,24 this pleasing most consists in three things: [first,] in the voluntary suffering of tribulations

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perpessione (scilicet voluntarie punis temetipsum pro peccatis tuis), aut si Deus te puniat per infirmitatem vel iacturam bonorum, aut ab aliis te permittat puniri, quod si ita fuerit oportet te regraciari Deo et non murmurare, set fateri te esse multo plure digniorem, quod si feceris, secundum beatum Augustinum in omelia de igne purgatorii, illa punicio solum erit tibi pro pena peccati et non pro merito. Quod enim aliquis ducat vitam continue in prosperis et voluptatibus, et tunc transeat ad leta et prospera est contra naturam. Omnis enim motus rectus in natura est contrario in contrarium, set vita cuiuslibet pro presenti est in continuo motu ad terminum contrarium. Ergo si hic fuerit motus vite incontinuatus in prosperitate, non dubium quin tendit ad terminum oppositum, scilicet ad tribulacionem et penam, et econtra si vita Christiani fuerit hic in tribulacione et angaria et cum hoc libenter sustineat pro Christi nomine sicut sancti martires fecerunt, tunc indubie transit ad gaudium et leticiam. Figura huius habetur de diuite et Lazaro, Luce 16, vbi Abraham dixit diuiti, Fili, recordare quia recepisti bona in vita tua, Lazarus similiter mala. Nunc autem hic consolatur, tu vero cruciaris. Secundo dicta placencia consistit in discreta suorum distribucione, scilicet indigentibus. Quod quia non fecit diues ille ideo dampnabatur; ideo habundantes diuiciis et eas indigentibus subtrahentes, certe non sunt de numero iustorum. Nam iustorum est tribuere vnicuique quod ei debetur, set inter discipulos Christi in tempore necessitatis omnia essent communia, subtrahens ergo elemosinam indigenti subtrahit illud quod ei debetur, et sic non est iustus. Vnde Prouerbiorum 21: Facere misericordiam et iudicium magis placet Deo quam victime. Tercio stat ista placencia in deuota oracione, vnde in Psalmo: Laudabo nomen Dei cum cantico et magnificabo eum cum laude et placebit Deo, etc. In istis tribus predictis placuit Sanctus Oswaldus Deo. Primo in malorum perpessione, nam quasi toto tempore vite sue fuit in bellorum periculis pro defensione patrie, immo et tandem fuit occisus. Secundo placuit Dei in bonorum distribucione, nam vt habetur ex processu vite sue erat pauperibus satis largus vnde sicut patet quando fecit discum argenteum frangi et cum epulis distribui inter multitudinem pauperum. Tercio de sua deuota oracione patet quia tendens ad bellum contra paganos primo genuflectendo cum toto excertitu suo orauit et sic victoriam optinuit; immo quando occubuit, orauit pro animabus omnium secum occumbencium. Sic (inquam) iste sanctus in breui expleuit tempora multa nedum in maturitate morum, verum eciam secundum



English Translation (RY49)289

(that is, you who voluntarily punish yourself for your sins), or if God punishes you through sickness or the loss of goods, or if he permits you to be punished by others. So if this were to happen, you should thank God and not complain, but acknowledge yourself to be worthy of much more, and if you have done so, according to blessed Augustine in a homily concerning the fire of purgatory, that punishment will only be for you the penalty of sin and not for merit.25 For it is against nature that anyone here should lead a life always in prosperity and pleasures, and then pass over to joy and prosperity. For every right movement in nature is from the contrary to the contrary, but the life of each person is now in continuous motion toward a contrary end. So if here the movement of life were to be continually in prosperity, no doubt indeed it would tend to an opposite end, that is, tribulation and suffering; on the other hand, if the life of a Christian were here in tribulation and service, and along with this he willingly suffered for the name of Christ as the holy martyrs did, then undoubtedly he would pass over to joy and happiness. A figure of this is in the story about Dives and Lazarus (Luke 16[:20–31]), where Abraham said to Dives, Son, remember that you received good things in your life, Lazarus likewise evil things, but now he is comforted and you are tormented [16:25]. Secondly, the said pleasing [of God] consists in the wise distribution of one’s own [goods], specifically to the needy. Because Dives did not do this, he was damned; therefore, those who abound in riches and take them away from the needy certainly are not among the number of the just. For it is [characteristic] of the just to bestow on each person that which is owed to him, but among Christ’s disciples in a time of necessity all things were held in common, so taking alms away from the needy person takes away that which is owed to him, and therefore this is not just. Thus Proverbs 21[:3] [says]: To do mercy and justice pleases the Lord more than victims. Thirdly, this pleasing [of God] resides in devout prayer, whence [it is said] in the Psalm [68:31–32]: I will praise the name of God with a song, and I will magnify him with praise, and it shall please God, etc. Saint Oswald pleased God in these three mentioned ways: first, in the suffering of evils, for during almost the entirety of his life he was in perilous battles for the defense of his homeland, even until he was finally killed. Secondly, he pleased God in the distribution of goods, for as is known from the story of his life, he was very generous to the poor, as it appears when he made a silver dish to be broken and to be distributed with food among the multitude of the poor.26 Thirdly, his devout prayer is apparent because, when approaching war against the pagans, he first prayed by genuflecting with his entire army and thus obtained victory; indeed when he lay dying, he prayed for the souls of all who lay dying with him.27 Thus (I say) this saint in a short space fulfilled a long time, not only in the maturity of character, but also, according to the other explanation, in the short torment of death. He fulfilled a long

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aliam exposicionem in breui tormenta | mortis. Expleuit multa tempora bellorum et peruenit ad tempus pacis eterne quia congrue tempus belli sequitur tempus pacis. Vnde Ecclesiastici 3: Tempus belli et tempus pacis. Continue est hic bellum spirituale inter corpus et animam, et certe post hoc bellum sequitur pax vel pro presenti vel pro futuro. Si corpus vincat est pax pro presenti in voluptatibus. Set reuera anima luet illam pacem quia non facit debitum suum. Debuit enim et satis potens fuit vicisse aduersarium suum, scilicet carnem, quod si fecisset tunc tempus belli secutum fuisset pacis, scilicet eterne. Set indubie post tempus false pacis sequitur tempus belli. Sic in proposito post tempus false pacis inter corpus et animam sequetur bellum et continuus conflictus inter corpus et animam. Igitur ad instar huius sancti aggrediamur hic ista bella capientes ex parte nostra virtutes, et homines virtuosos et pauperes quibus nos iuuantibus ad vincendum, tribuamus larga dona elemosinarum sicut faciunt principes qui strenuis bellatoribus conferunt larga dona, et quia non possumus vincere excercitum viciorum et maliciam malorum sine Dei adiutorio, igitur simus deuoti et vnanimes in oracione et indubie in breui explebimus tempora multa, scilicet in maturitate et pace morum, perficiemus multa tempora bellorum nedum corporalium set spiritualium. [Secundum principale] Dixi secundo quod thema nostrum memorat de morte que est dura et tediosa. Istud patet penes secundum exposicionem thematis cum dicitur in breui, etc., id est in breui tormento mortis expleuit tempora multa. Set constat quod est mors anime et repletur miseriis. Iob, videlicet: Si proficiat de virtute in virtutem, non dubium quin videbit Deum deorum in Syon, id est in celo, et precipue quando Deus resuscitabit eum in nouissimo die quando corporaliter resurget, quando scilicet exaltabitur et eleuabitur et sublimis erit valde, Ysae lii. Exaltabitur (inquam) a viciis ad virtutes, ad stabilitatem perpetuam, et eleuabitur ab inquietudine ad felicitatem omnium bonorum, et sublimis erit valde cum choris angelorum in celesti gloria sine fine. Ad quam, etc.



English Translation (RY49)291

time of war and reached the time of eternal peace, because the time of war is ­appropriately followed by a time of peace. Thus Ecclesiastes 3[:8] [says]: A time of war and a time of peace. Here there is continually a spiritual war between body and soul, and certainly after this war peace follows, either at present or in the future. If the body wins, there is peace at present in pleasures. But indeed the soul will atone for that peace because it did not pay what it owed. For it should have, and was powerful enough to have, conquered its adversary—that is, the flesh—and if it had done this, then a time of peace (namely, eternal) would follow the time of war. But undoubtedly after a time of false peace a time of war follows. Thus to the point: after the time of false peace between the body and soul, war will follow and a continuous conflict between the body and soul. Therefore, in the likeness of this saint, let us undertake here these wars by seizing for our part the virtues, and let us give large gifts of alms to the virtuous and poor who can assist us in conquering, as the leaders do who bestow large gifts on strong warriors. And because we cannot conquer an army of vices and the wickedness of bad men without God’s help, let us therefore be devout and unanimous in prayer and undoubtedly in a short space we will fulfill a long time, that is, in the maturity and peace of character, we will accomplish a long time of wars, not only corporeal but spiritual. [Second principal part] I said secondly that our theme mentions death, which is hard and tedious. This is apparent in the second explanation of the theme when it is said in a short space, etc., that is, in a short torment of death he fulfilled a long time. But it is evident that this is the death of the soul and is filled with miseries (Job [14:1]), that is,28 if he advances from virtue to virtue, no doubt indeed he will see the God of gods in Zion [Ps. 83:8], that is, in heaven, and especially when God revives him on the last day [see John 6:40, 6:44, 6:55], when he will rise again bodily, when he shall be exalted and extolled and shall be exceeding high (Isaiah 52[:13]). He will be exalted (I say) from vices to virtue, to perpetual stability, and he will be extolled from disquiet to the happiness of all good things, and he will be exceedingly high with the choirs of angels in the celestial glory without end. For which, etc.

Sermo secundus beati Oswaldi

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Hic homo cepit edificare, Luce 14. Sanctus Lucas in isto euangelio loquitur secundum doctores spiritualiter de edificacione sancte conuersacionis. Quam edificacionem huius turris recitat euangelium duo necessaria, videlicet quod edificaturus hanc turrim habeat sumptus necessarios; secundo oportet quod habeat iuuamen sibi expediens. Oportet (inquam) quod habeat sumptus necessarios ne incepta edificacione deficiatur; oportet eciam quod habeat iuuamen expediens vt suum opus bene perficiat. Primo (inquam) oportet quod edificaturus turrim sancte conuersacionis habeat sumptus necessarios ne deficiat in sua operacione. Vnde querit euangelista in isto euangelio: Quis enim ex vobis volens turrim edificare, nonne prius sedens computat sumptus qui necessarii sunt si habeat ad perficiendum; ne postea quam posuerit fundamentum et non potuerit perficere, omnes qui viderint incipiant illudere ei, dicentes quia hic homo cepit edificare et non potuit consummare. Moraliter ad meum propositum, quilibet predicator verbi Dei congrue dicitur homo qui edificare incipit istam turrim quia secundum sentenciam beati Gregorii, 20 Moralia, capitulo 29: Predicandum est vt homines procreentur ad vitam. Et nedum predicator verbi Dei dicitur homo edificans istam turrim, verum eciam auditor verbi Dei est homo edificans hanc turrim, teste Sancto Luce in euangelio, Luce 6: Omnis (inquit) qui venit ad me et audit sermones meos et facit eos similis est | homini edificanti domum qui fodit in altum et posuit fundamentum supra petram. Inundacione autem facta infusum1 est flumen domui illi et non potuit eam mouere fundata enim erat supra firmam petram. Sic moraliter qui audiendo verbum Dei vult edificare turrim vel domum conuersacionis, oportet quod fodeat in altum ponendo, scilicet audita, in profundo cordis sui et intellectus sui. Oportet eciam quod ponat fundamentum supra firmam petram, id est supra firmum propositum faciendo opere quod audit sermone. Et hoc est quod dicit Sanctus Lucas quod 1

 infusum] inlisum Vulg.

Second Sermon for Blessed Oswald (RY50) Theme: This man began to build (Luke 14:30). Protheme This man began to build (Luke 14[:30]). According to the theologians, Saint Luke in this Gospel speaks spiritually about the building of a holy way of life. The Gospel recites that two things are necessary for building this tower: [first,] that the one who will build this tower has the necessary funds; secondly, that he has ready aid for it. It is necessary (I say) that he has the necessary funds lest the building once started fail; it is also necessary that he has ready aid so that his work is finished well. First (I say) it is necessary that the one who will build the tower of a holy way of life has the necessary funds lest he fail in his work. Thus the Evangelist asks in this Gospel [Luke 14:28–30]: For who among you wishing to build a tower does not first sit down and reckon the funds1 which are necessary, whether he has wherewithal to finish it; lest, after he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish it, all who see it begin to mock him, saying that this man began to build, and was not able to finish? Morally to my point, each preacher of God’s word can aptly be called the man who began to build this tower, because, according to the opinion of blessed Gregory, in book 20 of the Moralia, chapter 29: “Preaching is to beget people into life.”2 And not only is the preacher of God’s word called the man who builds this tower, but also the hearer of God’s word is the man who builds this tower, as Saint Luke testifies in the Gospel (Luke 6[:47–48]): Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them is like to a man building a house, who digged deep and laid the foundation upon a rock. And when a flood came, the river beat vehemently upon that house and it could not shake it, for it was founded on a firm rock. Thus morally it is necessary that the one who, by listening to God’s word, wishes to build a tower or house of a way of life, dig deep, namely, by putting what he heard into the depths of his heart and his understanding. It is also necessary that he lay his foundation on a firm rock, that is, on a firm intention, by doing the work that he heard in the sermon. And this is what Saint Luke says, that the one wishing to build a tower first, while sitting, reckons the funds that are necessary. And note that he says, sitting, for

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volens turrim edificare, prius sedens computat sumptus qui necessarii sunt. Et noto quod dicit sedens, quando enim quis sedet tunc corpore quiescit. Sic enim spiritualiter oportet auditorem verbi Dei quiescere a vanis cogitacionibus seculi et carnis, et tunc computat sumptus quando audit cordialiter et facit effectualiter, nec potest flumen concupiscencie mundi, carnis, aut diaboli ipsum mouere. Qui autem audit et non facit, secundum Lucam, vbi supra, similis est homini edificanti domum suam supra terram sine fundamento, in quam infusus est fluuius et continuo cadit et facta est ruina domus illius magna. Constat quod qui vult bene fundare domum suam, primo eicit terram superfluam quousque deuenerit ad fundum solidum quod si posuerit domum suam super terram instabilem vel lutosam, statim corruit domus illa. Sic indubie qui audit verbum Dei cum instabili corde et nimis affectante terrena vel infecto cogitacionibus luxuriosis, statim corruit sua domus, vel saltem domum inceptam non potest perficere. Et tunc, vt dicit euangelium, illi qui vident incipiunt illudere ei, id est demones in morte quia, secundum beatum Ambrosium, patimur irrisores quos ad malum huiusmodi persuasores, dicentes verba thematis, scilicet hic homo cepit edificare set non potuit consummare. Quare? Quia non habuit sumptus necessarios. Hoc est non audiuit verbum Dei cordialiter nec perfecit effectualiter. Ideo non consummauit turrim sancte conuersacionis quam incepit edificare aut in baptismo aut in penitencia. Oportet ergo quod edificaturus habeat sumptus necessarios ne incepta edificacione deficiat. Oportet secundo quod habeat iuuamen expediens vt suum opus bene perficiat. Principalis adiutor in edificacione nostre turris certe est Deus, quia secundum glossam super illo textu apostoli, Corintheos 3, Neque qui plantat neque qui rigat aliquid est, set qui incrementum dat Deus, frustra operatur \licet/ omnia moliretur extrinsecus nisi creator intrinsecus latens operaretur. Et apostolus vocat ibidem predicatores adiutores Dei, et auditores vocat agricultura Dei et edificacio Dei. Secundum graciam (inquit) Dei que data est michi vt sapiens architectus fundamentum posui, id est in predicacione fidem Christi. Ita quod nemo potest ponere fundamentum edificii spiritualis, immo nec aliquid boni facere, sine gracia Dei. Ideo dicitur in euangelio quod volens turrim edificare computat sumptus si habeat ad perficiendum. Non dicit, secundum Gorham, si possit perficere, set si habeat ad perficiendum quia posse perficere est a natura, set habere ad perficiendum est gracia. In cuius signum ponitur talem exemplum in euangelio vbi thema de rege commissuro bello aduersus alium regem occurrentem sibi cum xx milibus. Tunc primus rex sedet et cogitat, si possit occurrere ei cum decem milibus; quod si



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when anyone sits, then he rests his body. For thus spiritually, it is necessary for the one hearing God’s word to rest from vain thoughts of the world and the flesh, and then he reckons the funds when he listens wholeheartedly and works effectively, nor can the flood of the concupiscence of the world, the flesh, or the devil move him. But he who listens and does not do according to Luke [6:49] (see above) is like to the man who built his house on earth without a foundation, against which the flood beat violently, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great. Everyone knows that someone who wishes to build his house well first removes the excess earth until he arrives at a solid foundation, because if he places his house on unstable or muddy earth, that house will topple at once. So undoubtedly for someone who hears God’s word with an unstable heart and who aspires too much to earthly things or who is infected with lustful thoughts, his house topples at once, or at least he cannot complete the house he began. And then, as the Gospel says, those who see will begin to mock him, that is, the demons in death, because, according to Blessed Ambrose, we endure mockers who are persuaders to evil of this kind,3 saying the words of the theme, This man began to build, but he could not finish. Why? Because he did not have the necessary funds. This is to say, he did not hear God’s word wholeheartedly nor carry it out effectively. Therefore, he did not complete the tower of a holy way of life which he began to build either in baptism or in penance. It is therefore necessary that someone who will build have the necessary funds lest the building, once begun, fail. Secondly, it is necessary that he have ready aid, so that he completes his work well. The principal helper in building our tower is certainly God, because, according to the gloss on that text of the Apostle (Corinthians 3 [1 Cor. 3:7]): Neither he who plants is anything nor he who waters; but God who gives the increase, a person works in vain, even if he builds all things on the outside, unless the Creator works hidden from within.4 And in the same place the Apostle calls preachers God’s helpers, and the hearers he calls the husbandry of God and the building of God. According to the grace of God (he says) which is given to me, as a wise architect, I have laid the foundation [1 Cor. 3:10], that is, in preaching the faith of Christ. Thus no one can lay the foundation of a spiritual building, or indeed do anything good, without God’s grace. Therefore, it is said in the Gospel that the one wishing to build a tower reckons if he has the funds to complete it. It does not say, according to Nicholas of Gorran, if he can complete it, but if he has [enough] for completing because to be able to complete is from nature, but to have what you need to complete is from grace.5 In a sign of this there is an example found in the Gospel whence the theme comes [Luke 14:31–32] concerning a king engaged in war against another king advancing against him with twenty thousand [soldiers]. Then the first king sits and considers

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non possit, tunc mittit legacionem ad alium regem ad huc longe agentem et rogat ea que pacis sunt. Moraliter quilibet predicator verbi Dei, immo quilibet homo, dicitur rex qui regnum sue anime debet regere. Alius rex cui | occurrit est Deus qui est Rex regum. Predicator committit bellum cum Deo et occurrit ei cum decem milibus quando predicando decem mandata Domini presumit ex sua predicacione conuertere populum. Eciam homo occurrit Deo cum decem milibus quando ex sola implecione decem mandatorum credit se mereri celum. Set certe Deus occurrit tam predicatori quam auditori quam cuicumque alteri homini cum viginti milibus quia vere potest nobis dicere, quecumque bona pro me feceris feci in duplo plura pro te. Immo sicut dicitur 19: Si volueris contendere mecum, non potes respondere vnum pro mille. Immo Deus occurret nobis obiciens omnia peccata que fecimus corde, ore, et opere, que indubie in duplo plura sunt quam omnia bona opera que fecimus. Igitur dum Deus longe est, id est dum differt mortem et iudicium, mittamus ei lagacionem, scilicet, secundum Goram, lacrimarum, bonorum operum, purorum affectuum, elemosinarum, oracionum. Quia secundum ipsum, oracio est optima legacio quia tanta est virtus pure oracionis quod quasi quedam persona ad Deum ingreditur et illic legacionem peragit vbi caro peruenire nequit. Istam igitur legacionem mittamus in principio nostri collacionis pro gracia et auxilio Dei optinendo ad consummacionem edificacionis dicte turris orantes, etc. Sermo Secundus beati Oswaldi Hic homo cepit edificare. Pro processu collacionis est notandum quod homo quandoque sumitur pro natura humana generaliter, aliquando pro persona hominis specialiter. Vtroque modo sumitur Genesis in principio quando dicitur, Creauit Deus hominem, etc., quia in primo homine creauit tam naturam quam personam. Nunc autem diuersitas in hominibus et in eorum statibus et gradibus est in personis non in natura, quia natura in singulis est communis et vna. Eciam si homo non peccasset, omnia bona fuissent communa, saltem bona fortune necessaria ad sustentacionem humanam. Set post peccatum incepit proprietas, nedum in bonis temporalibus, verum eciam in statibus et in gradibus hominum. Vnde status hominum siue gradus quadripliciter fuerunt, et adhuc sunt diuisi, quorum tres gradus recitat venerabilis Anselmus in De ­similitudinibus, capitulo 130: Tres (inquit) sunt hominum gradus, scilicet oratores, agricultores,



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whether he can advance against him with ten thousand [soldiers], and if he cannot, then he sends a legation to the other king who is as yet a long way away, and asks that there be peace. Morally, each preacher of God’s word, indeed each person, is called a king who should rule the kingdom of his own soul. The other king advancing against him is God, who is the King of kings. The preacher engages in war with God and advances against him with ten thousand when, by preaching the Ten Commandments of the Lord, he presumes to convert the people by his own preaching. Also a person advances against God with ten thousand when he believes that he merits heaven by only fulfilling the Ten Commandments. But certainly God advances against both the preacher and the hearer and any other person with twenty thousand because truly he can say to us, “Whatever good you have done on my behalf I did doubly more on your behalf.” Indeed, as it is said in Job 19 [9:3]: If you will contend with me, you cannot answer me one for a thousand. Indeed, God opposes us by objecting to every sin that we have done in heart, word, or work, which undoubtedly are twice more than the good works we have done. Therefore, while God is far off, that is, while he puts off death and judgment, let us send to him a legation, that is, according to Nicholas Gorran, “[a legation] of tears, good works, pure affections, alms, prayers. For,” according to [Nicholas], “prayer is the best legation because the strength of pure prayer is so great that, like some person, it advances toward God and completes the legation in a place where the flesh cannot reach.”6 Therefore, let us send that legation in the beginning of our collation to obtain God’s grace and help for the completion of the building of the mentioned tower, praying, etc. The second sermon of Blessed Oswald This man began to build. For the development of this collation we should note that “man” is sometimes understood as human nature generally, at other times as the person of a man specifically. It is understood in both ways in Genesis in the beginning [1:27] when it is said, God created man, etc., because in the first man he created both nature and person. Now, however, the diversity among people, in both their estates and their ranks, is in persons not in nature, because nature in individuals is common and the same. And if man had not sinned, all goods would be in common, at least the goods of fortune necessary for human sustenance. But after sin particularity began, not only of temporal goods, but also of estates and of the ranks of men. Thus the estates of men or the ranks were fourfold, and are still thus divided; the venerable Anselm recites three of these ranks in De similitudinibus, chapter 130: “There are three ranks of men: those who pray, those who farm,

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et defensores. Et ibi comparat Anselmus istum mundum vni domo et istos tres gradus hominum comparat secundum sua officia ad oues, boues [et canes]: Et hos (inquit) ordines sic ad diuersa Deus officia in hoc mundo disposuit. Quomodo paterfamilias oues, boues, canesque maximos in sua domo distribuit? Oues (inquit) ad hoc habet vt lac sibi et lanam ferant; boues vero vt terram excerceant; canes vt tam oues quam boues a lupis defendant. Si ergo horum quodcumque animalium suum gerat officium, illud dominus ad vitam seruat quia eius sibi vtilis est vita. Si vero suum officium non egerit, morte iudicatur dignum quia eius vita nullum fert fruitum. Sic (secundum Anselmus) Deus de omnibus illis ordinibus agit quos ad officia diuersa in hoc mundo disposuit. Quosdam namque, vt clericos monachosque, ad hoc ipsum disposuit vt pro aliis orent mitesque, vt oues, lacte predicacionis eos imbuant, lanaque sui boni exempli feruentes in Dei amore faciant. Agricultores ad hoc disposuit, vt de suo labore, velut boues, ipsi viuant et alii. Milites ad hoc instituit, cum necesse fuerit, tam orantes quam agricultores a diuersis gentibus, velut a lupis, defendant. Et tunc concludit Anselmus: Si ergo (inquit) quisque suum officium impleat, longam promeretur vitam quia ceterorum viuit ad vtilitatem. Si vero id agere noluerit, vita ipsa indignus existit. Hec Anselmus. Quartum gradum hominum, | scilicet ciuium, ponit Aristoteles 2, primo Politicorum, inter quos generaliter, secundum processum suum ibidem, continentur omnes predicti gradus hominum. Et secundum ipsum ciuitas est communitas perfectissima continens in se secundum diuersos vicos et domos et personas omnia que necessaria sunt ad viuendum. Ita quod in ciuitate sunt vici, domus, et persones et breuiter omnia alia necessaria ad viuendum. Set ciuitas stricte loquendo est communitas artificum et mercatorum qui preter tres primos gradus hominum sunt necessarii in hoc mundo. Et sic isti 4 gradus hominum, scilicet oratores, defensores, agricultores, et ciues edificare incipiunt domum mundi, qui 4 gradus componunt naturam humanam. Et sic hic homo generaliter cepit edificare. Hic per domum mundi non intelligo totum mundum set partem mundi que est ecclesia sancti Dei, que ecclesia est congregacio omnium fidelium a principio mundi vsque in finem. Que ecclesia est domus quadrata edificata ex quatuor muris, scilicet ex quatuor gradibus hominum predictis. Primus murus versus austrum est communitas oratorum, id est ecclesiasticorum que orat pro populo  exemplum] Above the word primo appears to be an abbreviation for exemplum, which appears to be intended to be inserted before primo. It is not clear what its function is within the sentence. 2



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and those who fight.” And there Anselm compares this world to one house and these three ranks of men according to their offices to sheep, oxen, [and dogs]: “And God thus assigned these orders to various offices in this world. How does a head of a household divide the sheep, oxen, and the largest dogs in his household? The sheep he has for this reason: to produce milk and wool for him; oxen to work the land; the dogs to defend both the sheep and the oxen from wolves. So if each of these mentioned animals performs its office, the lord watches over its life because its life is useful to him. But if it does not perform its office, it is judged worthy to die because its life does not bear fruit. In this way (according to Anselm) God acts concerning all the orders which he assigned to different offices in this world. For certain ones, like clerics and monks, he assigned to pray for others, and mild as sheep, to imbue them with the milk of preaching, and with the wool of a good example, to make them fervent in the love of God. The ones who farm he assigned for this reason: that, like oxen, they and others may live by their labor. The knights he instituted for this reason: when it is necessary, they defend both those who pray and those who labor from various people just as from wolves.” And then Anselm concludes: “So if each fulfills his office, he is promised a long life because he lives for the usefulness of the rest. But if he is not willing to do that, his life exists unworthily.”7 So says Anselm. In the first part of the Politics, Aristotle asserts a fourth rank of men, that is, [the rank] of citizens, among whom generally, according to the development in the same place, all the aforementioned ranks of men are contained.8 And according to him the city is the most perfect community, containing in itself, along with diverse streets and houses and persons, all things that are necessary for living.9 Thus in a city there are streets, houses, and persons, and briefly all other things necessary for living. But the city strictly speaking is a community of craftsmen and merchants who, besides these first three ranks of men, are necessary in this world. And thus these four ranks of men—those who pray, those who defend, those who farm, and the citizens— begin to build the house of the world, which four ranks make up human nature. And thus man generally began to build. Here by the house of the world I do not understand the whole world but the part of the world which is the Church of holy God. This Church is the congregation of all the faithful from the beginning of the world until the end. This Church is a square house, built with four walls, namely, with the four ranks of men mentioned before. The first wall towards the south is the community of those who pray, that is, of clerics who pray for the people and enlighten them with doctrine.

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et ipsum illuminat doctrina. Secundus murus versus boriam est communitas defensorum que populum defendit a ruina conseruat. Et tercius et quartus murus versus orientem et occidentem sunt communitates omnium agricultorum [et ciuium] quorum vtrumque populum in vita corporali sustentant. Fundamentum huius domus est homo Christus Iesus de quo dicit Apostolus Corintheos: Fundamentum aliud nemo potest ponere quam positum est, scilicet homo Christus Iesus qui similis est elephanti portanti castrum quod castrum ad ereccionem elephantis erigitur, et ad eius deueccionem deuehitur, sic moraliter ecclesia. Quando Christus et eius opera exaltantur in membris suis, communitas fidelium exaltantur, et quando Christi membra deiciuntur, Christus elephas deicitur, saltem in membris suis. Cementum iungens muros cum fundamento est vera fides, et cementum iungens parietes ad inuicem est spes et caritas, et iungunt muros ad inuicem, quasi trabes ex transuerso. Nunc autem ista domus est incompleta in hoc mundo, set muri erecti erunt vsque ad domum Dei que est celum. Que domus quasi solarium supra edificabitur ad quam domum ascendunt predicti gradus hominum per gradum3 de inferiori domo, scilicet de ecclesia militante ad ecclesiam triumphantem et pro tempora huius vite operiunt dictos muros cum tabulis, scilicet bonis operibus, que tabule coniunguntur ad trabes transuersas cum clauis penitencie. Diuisio sermonis Dico ergo sic combinando partes materie quod hic homo, scilicet gradus oratorum, cepit edificare domum ecclesie orando pro populo, et ipsum doctrina illuminando, et iste est murus versus austrum. Secundo hic homo, scilicet communitas defensorum, scilicet militum, cepit edificare domum ecclesie ipsum populum defensando, et iste est murus versus boriam. Tercio hic homo vel verius hii homines numero set vnus homo fide et baptismate, scilicet communitas ciuium et agricultorum, cepit edificare domum ecclesie ipsum Dei populum corporaliter sustentando, et hii sunt duo muri versus orientem et occidentem.

3

 gradum] gradus



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The second wall towards the north is the community of those who defend, which protects the people and keeps them safe from ruin. And the third and fourth walls towards the east and west are the communities of all the farmers [and citizens], both of which support the people in bodily life. The foundation of this house is the man Christ Jesus, concerning whom the Apostle says (Corinthians [1 Cor. 3.11]): Other foundation no man can lay, but that which is laid, that is, the man Christ Jesus, who is similar to an elephant carrying a castle; that castle is lifted up when the elephant is lifted up, and it is carried away when [the elephant] is carried away: thus morally the Church. When Christ and his works are lifted up in his members, the community of the faithful is lifted up, and when the members of Christ fall, Christ the elephant falls, at least in his members. The cement joining the walls to the foundation is true faith, and the cement joining the walls to each other is hope and love, and they join the walls to each other like beams from the transverse beam. Now, however, this house is incomplete in this world, but the walls will be built up to the house of God, which is heaven. This house will be built like a terrace above, to which house the aforementioned ranks of men will ascend by rank from the lower house, namely, from the Church militant to the Church triumphant, and for the times of this life they cover the mentioned walls with panels, that is, with good works; these panels are joined to the transverse beams with the nails of penance. The division of the sermon Therefore, I say by thus combining the parts of the material that this man—namely, the rank of those who pray—began to build the house of the Church by praying for the people and by enlightening them with doctrine, and this is the wall towards the south. Secondly this man—namely, the community of those who defend, that is, the knights—began to build the house of the Church by defending the people, and this is the wall towards the north. Thirdly this man, or more accurately, these men in number but one man in faith and baptism—namely, the community of citizens and farmers—began to build the house of the Church to provide bodily for the people of God, and these are the two walls towards the east and west.

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Dico ergo primo quod hic homo, scilicet gradus oratorum, cepit edificare domum ecclesie orando pro populo et ipsum doctrina illuminando. Dico signanter hic homo ad faciendum distinccionem inter alios gradus hominum, et consimiliter dico de aliis gradibus hic homo. Quomodo ista edificacio ecclesie incepit habetur figura in historia de Abel qui fuit pastor ouium secundum scripturam Genesis. Vnde a similitudine dicuntur moderni prelati et curati ecclesie pastores; immo et populus Christianus comparatur ouibus, vt scilicet sicut oues ducuntur a pastore, sic populus simplex ducatur a curato suo. Set quo? Certe non ad pascuam alienam, scilicet diabolicam, | vbi veniet inclusarius, scilicet diabolus, vt includat eum in carcere peccatorum, set vt ducatur a curato ad pascuam propriam, scilicet ad celum, quod est proprius locus omnium fidelium. Et vbi nesciunt viam ad celum, scilicet viam mandatorum Dei, debet eos sua doctrina informare et illuminare; debet eciam pro populo orare, vt scilicet Deus sit sibi propicius de peccatis et sibi concedat declinare a malo et proficere in bono. Figura edificacionis huius partis ecclesie habetur in Genesis de Enos, filio Seth, qui cepit inuocare nomen Domini. Sicut ergo possum dicere de Abel et de Seth quod vterque illorum secundum sua officia cepit inuocare nomen Domini, sic possum dicere de quolibet curato siue alio ecclesiastico qui debite officium suum facit. Et tunc vere ponitur in muro ecclesie versus austrum in quo muro sunt porte et fenestre domus ecclesie, quia per ecclesiasticos tota ecclesia debet illuminari exemplo bone vite et pasci lacte doctrine, quod si fenestre et porte claudantur, tunc indubie populus in domo intrinsecus est velud in maxima obscuritate peccatorum. Et bene ponitur iste murus versus austrum. Constat quod in austro est maxima claritas solis, sic moraliter ecclesiasticus illuminaret maximum lumen sciencie et intellectus per quos alios simpliciores illuminaret. Quod si deficiat eis lumen vite et doctrine, non mirum si grex eos sequens demergat in precipicium peccatorum. Verumptamen vere spero quod nostri ecclesiastici hic presentes sua officia debite orando et docendo perimplent. Et ideo non amplius loquor de suo officio in presenti set de gradibus, quomodo quilibet illorum personaliter ascendet ad solarium huic domui supra positum. Vnde venerabile Anselmus, in De similitudinibus, capitulo 3, docet quomodo edificium spirituale, scilicet virtutum, est construendum, et probat per assimile de edificio corporali. Qui (inquit) edificium facere vult stabile prius soliditatem considerat terre, quomodo scilicet



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First principal part Therefore I say first that this man—namely, the rank of those who pray—began to build the house of the Church by praying for the people and enlightening them with doctrine. I say expressly, this man, to make a distinction among other ranks of men, and similarly I say this man concerning the other ranks. How this building of the Church began is found figuratively in the story of Abel, who was a shepherd of sheep, according to Scripture (Genesis [4:2]). So by resemblance modern prelates and curates of the Church are called “shepherds,” and indeed the Christian people are compared to sheep, so that, as sheep are led by a shepherd, so the simple people are led by their curate. But to where? Certainly not to a foreign pasture, that is, a diabolical one, where a hayward10 will come—namely, the devil—to enclose them in the prison of sins, but [they should be] led by a curate to their own pasture, that is, to heaven, which is the more proper place for all the faithful. And when they do not know the way to heaven, specifically the way of God’s commandments, he should inform and enlighten them with his teaching; he should also pray for the people, so that God may be well-disposed towards them for [their] sins and allow them to turn away from evil and accomplish good. A figure of the building of this part of the Church is found in Genesis concerning Eve’s son Seth, who began to invoke the name of the Lord [Gen. 4:26]. Therefore, just as I can say about Abel and about Seth that both, according to their offices, began to invoke the name of the Lord, so I can say about each curate or any other cleric who does what is appropriate to his office. And then truly he is set in the wall of the Church towards the south, in which there are the doors and windows of the house of the Church, because by means of clerics all the Church should be illuminated by the example of a good life and fed by the milk of doctrine, and if the windows and doors are shut, then undoubtedly the people in the house within are, as it were, in the greatest darkness of sins. And it is appropriate that this wall is set towards the south. Everyone knows that the greatest brightness of the sun is in the south, so morally the cleric should have set alight the greatest light of knowledge and understanding, by means of which he should have set alight the more simple people. For if they lack the light of life and doctrine, it is no wonder if the flock following them plunges down the precipice of sins. But truly I hope that our clerics here present, by praying and teaching, will carry out what belongs to their offices. And therefore I will not speak any further concerning this office at present but concerning the steps by means of which each of them personally will ascend to the terrace to this house placed above. Thus the venerable Anselm, in De similitudinibus, chapter 3, teaches how the spiritual building, specifically [the building] of virtues, should be constructed, and he demon-

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f­undamentum firmum supponere, parietem erigere, tectum superponere, tutusque \quomodo/ possit inhabitare. Sic qui virtutum vult facere edificium in quo securus inhabitet ab insidiis demonum, quo in loco construat illud sibi prius est previdendum. Si enim locus non fuerit firmus, nec edificium diu subsistere poterit. Hec (inquit) terra est humilitas cuius cunctis virtutibus congruit natura. Cuius primus gradus est cogitacio sui, vt scilicet vnusquisque aliis inferiorem iudicet esse, non in natura set in virtute, imitans Apostolum qui se omnium coapostolorum dixit esse minimum. Et ponit notabile exemplum ad inducendum hominem in hunc gradum humilitatis: Nam (inquit) si esset aliquis homo qui ita peccasset quod dominus eius sibi iusto iudicio \vellet/ pedes et manus amputare, oculos4 eruere, et totum dilaniare, set ex sua misericordia illum toleraret, vehementer debitorem domini sui se cognoscere deberet et eo magis humiliari quo se minus meruisse perpenderet a suo domino sic tolerari. Set nos (inquit) Domino nostro tantum offendimus quod nos ex iusticia sua posset membratim dilaniare, aut iugi languore in presenti affligere, vel postmodum eternis penis tradere. Ex qua offensione non solum iram Dei promeruimur, set eciam totam Dei creaturam aduersum nos excitauimus. Quod probat per exemplum: Nam (inquit) si seruus alicuius a domino suo recederet et inimico sui domini adhereret, non solum ipsum dominum exacerbaret, set eciam totam eius familiam irritaret. Cum igitur Dominum creatorem cunctorum offendimus, aduersum nos omnem creaturam quantum spectat ad nostrum meritum, in iram commouemus. Primo ergo potest terra iuste nobis dicere: Non debeo vos sustinere, | set pocius absorbere, quoniam a Domino creatore meo non timuistis peccando recedere et inimico eius diabolo adherere. Possunt eciam vestri cibus et potus dicere: Non est iustum vt vos pascere debeamus, immo pocius vt confusionem et necem vobis preparemus, ab illo enim peccando recessistis, per quem nec ales esurit. Sol quoque dicere potest: Vobis ad salutem non debeo lucere, set ad vindictam veri Domini, qui est lux lucis et fons luminis, comburere. Et sic singula creata possunt contra nos insurgere. Proinde (vt dicit doctor) expedit nobis humiliari, ne diu dilata vindicta tanto acrius veniendo mala nostra puniat quanto diucius tolerauit, quod iuste punire poterat. Vt ergo (inquit) humiliemur, quid sumus, quid nati sumus, et quid fecerimus, mente pertractemus, et nos viles peccatores multoque supplicio dignissimos fore cognoscemus. Qui se talem iudicat, iam in primo gradu humilitatis stat. 4

 oculos] eculos



English Translation (RY50)305

strates [this] by a resemblance to a corporeal building: “The one who wishes to make a building stable first considers the solidity of the earth, how to place a firm foundation underneath, [how] to erect the wall, [how] to place the roof on top, and how he can live safe. So the one who wishes to build the house of virtues in which he can dwell secure from the ambushes of the devils should first envision where he should erect it. For if the place is not firm, the building cannot stand long. This earth is humility, whose nature agrees with all the virtues.” 11 “The first step of humility is thought of himself, that each one judges himself to be inferior to others, not in nature but in virtue, imitating the Apostle, who said that he was the least of all the apostles.” And he uses a notable example of leading a person to this step of humility: “For if there is any person who had sinned in such a way that his lord by just judgment wished to amputate his feet and hands, to pluck out his eyes, and to mutilate all, but from his great mercy [his lord] bore with him, he should greatly know himself to be a debtor to his lord, and he should be all the more humbled the less he considered himself to merit to be thus supported by his lord. But we have offended our Lord greatly, so that out of his justice he can tear us to pieces limb by limb, or afflict [us] with a yoke of weakness now, or afterwards hand us over to eternal pains. Not only do we merit the wrath of God from this offense, but we also excite all of God’s creatures against us.”12 He proves this by example: “For if someone’s servant withdraws from his lord and adheres to this lord’s enemy, not only would he enrage his lord, but he would also provoke his entire household. So when we offend the Lord, creator of all, we excite every creature to anger against us in relation to our merit. Therefore, first the earth can justly say to us, ‘I do not have to sustain you, but rather devour you, because you did not fear to withdraw by sinning from my creator Lord and to adhere to his enemy, the devil.’ Also your food and drink can say, ‘It is not just that we should feed you; indeed, we should rather prepare disorder and death for you, for by sinning you have withdrawn from him through whom the bird does not hunger [see Matt. 6:26].’ The sun also can say, ‘I do not have to shine for you for health, but burn you with the vengeance of the true Lord, who is the light of light and the source of light.’ And so every created thing can rise against us. In the same manner (as the theologian says) it is expedient for us to be humbled lest, having long delayed his vengeance, he punish our evil deeds that much more keenly the longer he puts up with the deeds that he could justly punish. So that we should thus be humbled, let us consider in our mind what we are, for what we were born, and what we will do, and let us judge ourselves vile sinners and most worthy of great punishment. The one who judges himself stands now on the first step of humility.”13

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Secundus gradus est dolor pro delictis, quia non valet ad salutem vt se cognoscat quis peccatorem nisi inde doleat. Si quis enim domino suo peccaret et inde dolorem non haberet, ridiculum esset domino si inde veniam peteret. Tercius gradus est humilis peccatorum confessio nedum Deo in corde set sacerdoti cum ore. Quartus gradus est persuasio, vt scilicet si fuerit publicus peccator vtpote cupidus, luxuriosus, hoc aliis referat cum dolore, eis persuadendo ne in consimilia peccata incidant. Set multi referunt sua peccata cum iactancia et cum risu. Quintus gradus est concessio, vt scilicet qualem se cognoscit confiteretur et doleret, eciam aliis persuadet; non murmuret iudicari et dici talis ab aliis. Sunt enim multi qui licet sciant se ipsos publice peccasse, nollent tamen dici tales aut iudicari ab aliis, et si eis dicatur sunt inpacientes. Ideo sextus gradus est paciencia vt videlicet peccator libenter paciatur obprobria et redarguciones pro peccatis suis. Et tunc est septimus gradus, scilicet amor, vt scilicet habeat amorem et desiderium puniri et redargui pro peccatis suis. Istis vii gradibus humilitatis debent omnes Christiani ascendere vsque ad eminenciam sante vite, que est octauus gradus attingens vsque ad solarium, scilicet celum, id est beatitudinem. Et precipue hos gradus debent ecclesiastici ascendere per quos, sicut per hostia, debet esse introitus populi Christiani in domum ecclesie; per quos eciam, sicut per fenestras, debet lux solis iusticie, scilicet bone doctrine, irradiare, vnde dicit Dominus in euangelio omnibus ecclesiasticis, Matthei 5: Vos estis lux mundi. Eciam dicit Apostolus, Colossenses 2: Radicati et superedificati in Christo in fide. Et tunc vere dicetur de quolibet vestrum personaliter quod dixi in principio et generaliter quod hic homo, scilicet gradus oratorum, vel hic homo, scilicet quiscumque de illo gradu qui debite facit officium suum [et] ascendit gradus predictos humilitatis, cepit edificare domum ecclesie orando pro populo et ipsum doctrina illuminando. Secundum principale Dixi secundo quod hic homo, scilicet gradus defensorum, cepit edificare domum ecclesie Christianum populum defensando, et iste est murus versus boriam. Iste murus bene ponitur versus boriam quia ex boria oritur maxima frigiditas, scilicet refrigerans caritatem multorum, vtpote inuidie et dissencionis guerre que iam eueniunt per Scottos. Ideo oportet milites et defensores viriliter eis resistere ne infestent habitantes in ecclesia Anglicana. Vnde institucione milicie



English Translation (RY50)307

The second step is sorrow for sins “because it does not avail for salvation to know oneself a sinner unless one is sorry about that. For if anyone sinned against his lord and was not sorry about it, it would be a joke to his lord if he then sought forgiveness.”14 The third step is the humble confession of sins not only to God in one’s heart but to a priest with one’s mouth. The fourth step is persuasion, that if there is a public sinner—that is, greedy, lustful—let him talk about this to others with sorrow, persuading them lest they fall into similar sins. But many talk about their sins with boasting and laughter. The fifth step is admission, that he confesses and is sorry for the sort he knows himself to be and also persuades others; he does not complain about being judged and being called such by others. For there are many who, although they know themselves to have sinned publicly, are not willing to be called such or to be judged by others, and if [their sin] is mentioned to them, they are impatient. So the sixth step is patience, that the sinner willingly suffers opprobrium and reproofs for his sins. And then comes the seventh step, love, that he may have love and the desire to be punished and reproved for his sins.15 By these seven steps of humility all Christians should ascend to the excellence of a holy life, which is the eighth step, which reaches the terrace, specifically, heaven, that is, beatitude. And clerics should especially ascend these steps by means of which, as through a door, the entrance of the Christian people into the house of the Church should come about; by means through which also, as through windows, the light of the sun of justice, that is, of good doctrine, should radiate. Thus the Lord says in the Gospel to all clerics (Matthew 5[:14]): You are the light of the world. Also the Apostle says (Colossians 2[:7]): Rooted and built up in Christ in faith. And then indeed it will be said concerning each of you personally what I said in the beginning and generally, that this man—the rank of those who pray—or this man—anyone from this rank who dutifully performs his office [and] ascends the mentioned steps of humility—began to build the house of the Church by praying for the people and illuminating them with doctrine. Second principal part I said secondly that this man—namely, the rank of those who fight—began to build the house of the Church by defending the Christian people, and this is the wall facing north. This wall is well placed towards the north because great coldness arises from the north, that is, the chilling of the love of many, specifically by envy and by the conflicts of war, which now issue from the Scots.16 Therefore, it is necessary for knights and defenders strongly to resist them lest they harass the inhabitants of the English Church. Thus about the institution of the military, it is said in the beginning

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dicitur in principio x5 historie Romanorum, quod condita ciuitate a Romulo quam ex nomine Romam vocauit, mille pugnatores de populo elegit quos a numero appelauit milites. Dicitur enim miles, id est vnus ex mille, et sicut miles est nomen laboris, ita est nomen honoris. Et vt scribitur in Politractico, libro 6, capitulo 5, duo precipue faciunt militem, | scilicet eleccio et sacramentum. Electi fuerunt ad miliciam, secundum Vigecium in De re militari, tales qui fuerunt corporibus et animis prestantissimi. In hiis stetit sacramentum iuramenti sui. Aliquando inter se iurabant certi milites quod numquam fugerent propter timorem in causa petendi teli vel hostis feriendi vel causa ciuis seruandi. Aliud iuramentum prestabant coram principe per Patrem, Filium, et Spiritum Sanctum et per maiestatem principis semper se facturos quem in ipsis foret omnia que precepit princeps. Iurabant eciam se numquam deserturos miliciam vel mortem recusaturos pro republica cui seruande et defendende deputati sunt. Ita quod sine hiis duobus, scilicet eleccione et iuramento, non fieret aliquis miles. Insuper Policratico, vbi supra, miles debet esse strenuus, audax, impauidus, expertus, prouidus, moribus preditus. Debet esse strenuus et audax ad feriendum hostem nichil metuens nisi turpem famam; hyemem et estatem pati; humi requiescere; eodem tempore inopiam et laborem tolerare. Set vere certum est hodie quod dicit Valerius, libro 4, capitulo 3, hodie multi milites vacant lasciuiis et ociis et aleis et aucupiis; plus student multi ornamentis vestimentorum quam armorum et excerciciis et industriis bellorum et toleranciis laborum. Vnde gradus per quos milites ascendent ad celum sunt isti: primus gradus est virtus fortitudinis, vt scilicet sit strenuus et audax defendere ecclesiam et rem publicam. Secundus gradus est iusticia, vt scilicet in iusta causa pugnet, eciam nulli iniuriam aut calumpnam faciat. Tercius gradus est prudencia, ne scilicet sit nimis capitosus et voluntarius, set omnia facienda preuideat et deliberet. Quartus gradus est moderancia nedum in cibariis, verum eciam in cupiendo bona racionabiliter, vt sint contenti stipendiis suis non rapientes aut destruentes bona proximorum suorum. De hiis gradibus scribitur Luce: Neminem concuciatus (scilicet iniuste) neque calumpniam faciatis, contenti estote stipendiis vestris. Et inter cetera debent milites honorare sanctam ecclesiam, non spoliare. In cuius exemplum dicit Valerius, libro 3, capitulo 3, quod Iulius Cesar prohibuit spoliare templa. Eciam Alexander semper pepercit ecclesia. Vnde secundum Valerium, vbi supra, milites non excercentes suum officium debito modo vel contra5

 x] It is unclear what this x signifies.



English Translation (RY50)309

of the history of the Romans that in the city built by Romulus, which he called “Rome” from his name, he chose a thousand (mille) fighters from the people, from which number he called them “knights” (milites). For he is called miles, that is, one from the thousand,17 and as miles is a name of labor, thus it is a name of honor.18 And as it is written in the Policraticus, book 6, chapter 5, two things make a knight: election and an oath of allegiance.19 Such men were chosen for the military, according to Vegetius in De re militari, who were most superior in body and mind.20 In these the allegiance of their oath stood firm. Sometimes certain knights swore among themselves that they would never flee out of fear in the case of an attack of the spear or the slaying of an enemy or in the case of protecting a city. Another oath, which they made good before the leader in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and in the name of the leader’s majesty, [was] always to do all deeds that the leader ordered them to do. They swore also that they would never desert the army or refuse death for the republic which they are assigned to protect and defend. 21 Thus, without these two things—election and an oath—one could not become a knight. In addition, the Policraticus (see above) [says that] the knight should be vigorous, bold, fearless, skilled, prescient, gifted in character.22 He should be vigorous and bold in engaging an enemy, fearing nothing except shameful ill-repute; suffer in winter and summer; sleep on the ground; at the same time endure dearth and labor. But indeed what Valerius says in book 4, chapter 3 is certain today: today many knights are idle with sports and spare time and gambling and hunting; many put more effort into the ornaments on their clothing than into armor and exercises and activities of battle and the adversities of labor.23 Thus the steps by which knights will ascend to heaven are these: the first step is the virtue of fortitude, that he may be vigorous and bold to defend the Church and the state. The second step is justice, that he may fight in a just cause, also that he do no injury or slander to anyone. The third step is prudence, lest he be excessively headstrong and willful; he should rather foresee and consider all things that should be done. The fourth step is moderation not only in food, but also in desiring goods rationally, so that they may be content with their pay, not seizing or destroying the goods of their neighbors. Concerning these steps it is written in Luke 3[:14]: Do violence to no man (that is, unjustly), neither calumniate any man; and be content with your pay. And among other things, knights should honor the holy Church, not rob it. In an example of this Valerius says in book 3, chapter 3, that Julius Caesar prohibited robbing temples.24 Also Alexander always spared churches. Thus according to Valerius (see above), knights not exercising their office in the appropriate way or

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rium facientes puniebantur redigendo illos ad ordinem peditum vel eos interficiendo. Est alia milicia spiritualis de qua Iob 7: Milicia est vita hominis super terram. Item Ephesios dicit de ecclesiasticis quod non est nobis colluctacio aduersus carnem et sanguinem (id est aduersus carnales homines visibiles) set aduersus principes tenebrarum (id est demones) et aduersus rectores mundi (id est malos homines), scilicet resistendo quantum in nobis est ne vincamur peccatis eorum. Propterea, inquit Apostolus, accipite armaturam Dei, id est virtutes, secundum glossam, ascendentes per gradus virtutum. Vtraque igitur species militum siue defensorum domum ecclesie edificat lapidis quadris quando scilicet edificantur, vt predicitur, in virtutibus, et ascendit per gradus virtutum 4 cardinalium et per alias virtutes eis annexas. De quo Amos 5. Tercium principale

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Dixi tercio quod hic homo vel verius hi homines, scilicet communitas ciuium et agricultorum, cepit edificare domum ecclesie Dei populum corporaliter sustentando. Et hii sunt duo muri versus orientem et occidentem. Vnus murus, scilicet agricultorum, congrue dicitur versus orientem quia, sicut ab oriente incipit dies, ita a primo agricola, scilicet Adam, cui dicebatur, In sudore vultus tui, etc., tam eciam Chaim incepit genus humanum, [saltem6] secundum | modum generacionis post peccatum, quia ille fuit primus homo qui fuit natus in peccato et fuit agricola vt testatur scriptura. Et veresimile est quod omnes mali descenderunt ab eo, et genus humanum quo ad bonos et numero saluandorum incepit ab Abel a quo, secundum beatum Augustinum, dicitur ecclesia incepisse. Alius murus ponitur versus occidentem, scilicet ciuium, in signum quod in occidente est finis diei et apparent stelle in firmamento congregate. Sic in fine mundi apparebunt omnes predestinati ciues sanctorum et domestici Dei. Agricultores (inquam) primo debent populum sustentare. In cuius signum doctores comparant ecclesiam nedum vni domui set corpori humano. In quo corpore partes superiores comparantur partibus superioribus corporis, manus comparantur militibus, ciues ventri, agricole et alii laborarii pedibus. Ideo dixi quod, sicut pedes sustentant corpus, sic est agricultorum officium corpus ecclesie sustentare necessaria vite preparando et obsequendo. Horum igitur 6

 saltem] This is my best guess; there is a small hole in the MS.



English Translation (RY50)311

acting in a contrary way were punished by being demoted to the rank of foot-soldier or by being killed. There is another spiritual warfare, concerning which [it is said in] Job 7[:1]: The life of man upon earth is warfare. Likewise Ephesians [6:12] says about the clergy that our wrestling is not against flesh and blood (that is, against visible carnal men) but against principalities of darkness (that is, demons) and against rulers of the world (that is, evil men), namely, by resisting inasmuch as is in us lest we be conquered by their sins. Therefore, the Apostle says, Take unto you the armor of God [6:13]—that is, the virtues, according to the gloss25—ascending by means of the steps of virtue. So both types of knights or defenders build the house of the Church with square stones [Amos 5:11] when they are built, as said before, with virtues, and they ascend by the steps of the four cardinal virtues and by other virtues joined to them. Concerning which [see] Amos 5[:11].26 Third principal part I said thirdly that this man, or more truly these men—namely, the community of citizens and farmers—began to build the house of the Church of God by sustaining the people bodily. And these are the two walls facing east and west. One wall, specifically that of the farmers, can aptly be said to face east because, as the day begins in the east, so also the farmer, that is, Adam, about whom it was said, In the sweat of your face [Gen. 3:19], etc. So also Cain began the human race, at least according to the mode of generation after sin, because he was the first man who was born in sin, and he was a farmer, as Scripture testifies. And it is very true that all wicked people descend from him, and the human race, as far as the good and the number of the saved are concerned, began from Abel, from whom, according to blessed Augustine, the Church is said to have begun.27 The other wall is placed facing west, specifically [the wall] of the citizens, in a sign that in the west is the end of the day and the stars appear gathered in the firmament. So at the end of the world all the predestined citizens of the saints and household members of God will appear. The farmers (I say) first should sustain the people. In a sign of this the theologians compare the Church not only to a house but to a human body. In this body the superior parts are compared to the superior parts of the body, the hands are compared to knights, the citizens to the stomach, the farmers and other laborers to the feet. Therefore, I said that, as the feet sustain the body, so it is the farmers’ office to sustain the body of the Church by preparing and providing those things that are

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officium est laborare fideliter, fortiter, et vtiliter. Iste triplex modus laborandi pertinet tam ad ciues quam ad agricultores secundum dispares gradus officiorum suorum. Quia secundum Hugonem in Didascalico, parte tercia, artes mechanice sunt septem, inter quas numerat agriculturam et lanificium sicut et alias artes communes ciuibus et agricolis. Vnde quomodo isti edificabunt domum ecclesie docet Wallensis, parte 1, distincio 10, capitulo 1: Primo (inquit) sint a peccatis immaculati, id est furtis, fraudibus et mendaciis, et voluptatibus, et ordinata intencione laborent, vt malint laborare quam ociose viuere vel mendicare. Et laborando Deum orent, ecclesie soluant decimas suas et oblaciones, elemosinas prout possunt faciant. Si hec (inquit) fecerunt, vere sunt Deo accepti, et magis accepti in gradu suo quam quidam ecclesiastici. In cuius signum narratur libro 7 Collaciones, collacione secunda, quod cum ad oracionem et preceptum abbatis, demon nollet7 exire de demoniaco, adueniente seculari qui ei primicias detulit, discessit demon a quo. Cum quereret abbas ordinem vite, respondit se nichil esse conscium et quod manibus quereret victum vnoquoque mane antequam ad rura iret prius in ecclesia Deo gracias ageret de omnibus fructibus, Deo decimas et primicias fideliter dedit, numquam sua animalia per aliene messis duxit confinium nisi eorum ora clausisset ne dampnum facerent, et (inquit) compulsus ante xii annos imperio parentum, cum vellem fuisse monachus, duxi sponsam quam adhuc virginem nomine sororis custodiebam. Que audiens abbas dixit, non inmerito demonem in eius presencia impulsum. Isti ergo sunt gradus per quos agricultores et ciues ascendent ad celum. Primo videant ne sint sibi conscii de peccatis, vtpote furtis, fraudibus, mandaciis, voluptatibus. Hic figant primum gradum. Secundo videant quod fideliter, fortiter, et vtiliter laborent et querant victum. Tercio cum habuerunt bonum finem de labore cotidiano, immo quod permissi sunt incipere laborem suum Deo gracias agant. Quarto decimas et primicias fideliter soluant. Quinto de bonis superfluis elemosinas faciant. Sexto suos proximos non offendant. Septimo castitatem coniugalem aut virginalem obseruent. Talibus agricolis indubie, vt dicit Wallensis, vbi supra, Deus adauget et lucrum et res temporales, et merentur benediccionem Dei et hominum. Quia benediccio Dei diuites facit, Prouerbiorum 10. 7

 nollet] nollut



English Translation (RY50)313

necessary for life. So their office is to labor faithfully, vigorously, and usefully. This threefold mode of laboring pertains as much to citizens as to farmers according to the disparate ranks of their offices. For, according to Hugh in the Didascalicon, part three, there are seven mechanical arts, among which he counts agriculture and weaving along with the other arts common to citizens and farmers.28 In part 1, distinction 10, chapter 1, John of Wales teaches how these will thus build the house of the Church: “First let them be free from sins, that is, from thefts, frauds, and lies, and pleasures, and they should labor with a well-ordered purpose, so that they prefer to labor than to live idly or to beg. And by laboring they pray to God, they pay back their tithes to the Church, and they make their donations [and] alms according to how much they are able. If they do these things, truly they are accepted by God,”29 and more accepted in their rank than some clerics. In a sign of this it is narrated in book 7 of the Collations, in the second collation,30 that when by the prayer and command of an abbot, a demon was not willing to leave a possessed person, when a layman approached who brought to him his first fruits, the demon did withdraw from the possessed person. When the abbot asked [the layman’s] rule of life, he said that he was guilty of nothing and that he sought a living with his hands, and each morning before he went to the farm, he would go first into the church to give thanks to God for all his produce; he gave faithfully his tithes and first fruits; he never led his animals through the boundary of another’s field unless he had closed their mouths lest they cause damage; and he said, “When I wished to have become a monk, I was compelled by parental authority before I was twelve years old to take a wife, whom I still keep as a virgin like a sister.” Hearing this, the abbot said, “Not without cause did the demon withdraw in [this man’s] presence.” These are therefore the steps by which the farmers and citizens will ascend to heaven. First, they should make certain that they are not guilty of sins, specifically of thefts, frauds, lies, pleasures. Here they set up the first step. Secondly, they should see that they labor and seek their livelihood faithfully, vigorously, and usefully. Thirdly, they should thank God that they have a good end from their daily labor, indeed that they were permitted to begin their labor. Fourthly, they should faithfully pay their tithes and first fruits. Fifthly, they should give alms from their surplus goods. Sixthly, they should not offend their neighbors. Seventhly, they should observe conjugal or virginal chastity. “For such farmers,” as John of Wales says (see above), “God increases both profit and temporal things, and they merit the blessing of God and men. Because the blessing of God makes men rich (Proverbs 10[:22]).”31

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Vnde narratur in vita cuiusdam Sancti Iohannis Elemosinarii ante finem de duobus calciamenta facientibus, quorum vnus habebat magnam familiam, vxorem et filios, patrem et matrem, quos alebat de arte propter Deum, et vacabat ecclesie sine intermissione. Alius erat eo doccior nec multum venit ad ecclesiam, et quando venit, non diu in ea permanebat, set et diebus festis laborabat, nec tamen seipsum vix nutrire valuit. Inuidens | ergo alteri dixit cum ira: Vnde tu sic diues factus es? Ego vero te sciencior et plus te laborans deueni in paupertatem. Cui alius: Inueni bonum precium in vendicione rerum, et inde factus sum diues. Et si vis, veni mecum et quicquid inuenerimus accipe dimidium. Qui adquiescens secutus est eum ad ecclesiam sine intermissione et benedixit ei Deus et diues factus est. Cui dixit alter: Nichil inueniebam in terra vt estimasti gracia precii, set quoniam Deus dixit, primum querite regnum Dei, etc., ideo omnia alia adiciebantur michi sicut iam tibi quia primum queris regnum Dei, id est bonam vitam et sacram ecclesiam. Istis (inquam) modis edificabunt dicti quatuor gradus hominum generaliter ecclesiam sanctam Dei et singule persone eorumdam graduum specialiter suo gradu, et tunc Dominus Deus noster consummabit edificium spirituale, quia nisi Dominus edificauerit domum, in uanum laborauerunt qui edificant eam. Ideo dixi hic homo cepit edificare, set non potuit consummare, set consummacio est Dei omnipotentis. Igitur iuxta consilium Apostoli, Romanos 15: Vnusquisque nostrum proximo placeat ad edificacionem, scilicet huius domus ecclesie. Hoc est iuuet proximum in gradu suo, et vbi iam sumus in ecclesia, sicut dicit Apostolus Ephesios 2: Erimus ciues sanctorum et domestici Dei et non hospites et aduene siue peregrini sicut sumus pro vita presenti. super edificati super fundamentum apostolorum et prophetarum, ipso summo lapide angulari in Christo Iesu, in quo omnis edificacio constructa crescit in templum sanctum in domino, in quo et vos edificamini (scilicet vos gradus hominum predicti) in habitaculum Dei in Spiritu Sancto etc.



English Translation (RY50)315

Thus it is narrated in the life of a certain Saint John the Almsgiver,32 before the end, concerning two shoemakers, one of whom had a large family, a wife and children, father and mother, whom he supported by his craft for the sake of God, and he allowed time for church without fail. The other was more skilled than he was, but he did not come much to church, and when he came, he did not stay long, but he also worked on feast days, and he was scarcely able to nourish himself. Envying the other, therefore, he said angrily, “How are you so rich? To be sure I, who know more than you and work more than you, live in poverty.” The other said to him, “I found a good price in the selling of things, and from that I was made rich. And if you wish, come with me, and whatever we find, take half of what we acquire.” He agreed and followed him to church without fail and God blessed him, and he became rich. The other said to him, “I have found nothing on earth that you valued as precious as grace, but since God said, Seek first the kingdom of God, etc. therefore all these things will be added unto me [see Matt. 6:33 and Luke 12:31], just as now unto you, because you first seek the kingdom of God, that is, the good life and the holy Church.” In these ways (I say) the said four ranks of men will generally build the holy Church of God, and each person in these same ranks [will build] individually in his own rank, and then our Lord God will complete the spiritual building, because unless God has built the house, in vain do they labor who build it [Ps. 126:1]. Therefore I said, this man began to build, but he could not complete [it], as the completion belongs to God Omnipotent. Therefore, according to the counsel of the Apostle (Romans 15[:2]): Let every one of us please his neighbor to edification, that is, of the house of the Church. That is, he should help his neighbor in his own rank, and where we are now in the Church, as the Apostle says (Ephesians 2[:19]), we will be fellow citizens with the saints and the domestics of God and not strangers and foreigners or pilgrims just as we are for this present life, but built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom all the building, being framed together, grows up into the holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are built (that is, you ranks of aforementioned men) in the habitation of God in the Holy Spirit [Eph. 2:20–22], etc.

Sermo tercius beati Oswaldi

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Antethema

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Etas senectutis vita inmaculata, Sapiencie 4 capitulo. In istis verbis duo video necessaria nedum predicatoribus set auditoribus verbi Dei, videlicet fidelitatem et honestatem. Fidelitas est vel esse debet in senectutis etate, honestas est in vite inmaculate puritate. Quod autem fidelitas sit necessaria predicatoribus verbi Dei, racio est ista: expugnacio diaboli est predicacio veritatis, secundum Iohannem Crisostomum in De opere imperfecto, omelia 8, set omnis predicacio debet esse ad expugnandum diabolum, igitur fidelitas siue veritas est necessaria predicatoribus. Similiter omnis predicacio debet esse solius Christi, set Christus est veritas, ergo etc. Et quod fidelitas debet esse in senectutis etate probant racio et auctoritas. Racio est quia omnis vita est veritas quia viuere viuentibus est esse et esse est1 verum, et sic entitas et veritas conuertuntur, et omnis veritas est bonitas, ideo omnis vita est bonitas. Set omnis bonitas quanto diuturnior, tanto melior, et per idem omnis vita quanto diuturnior, tanto melior. Cum ergo senum vita sit diuturnior, si sit vita est melior et sic verior et sic patet quod fidelitas debet esse in senectutis etate. Auctoritas ad idem est Wallensis in suo Communiloquio, parte 3, distincione 2, capitulo 5: In senibus (inquit) debet esse predicacio veritatis. Similiter predicatoribus verbi Dei necessaria est honestas que est in vita inmaculata. Sicut enim predixi, vita est veritas; sicut ergo veritas non est pura cum suo contrario conmixta, scilicet cum falsitate, ita nec vita est honesta, immo nec vita, si sit mixta cum turpitudine viciorum. Et vt dicit Ambrosius super Lucam: Sermo sine vita non est sermo. Igitur honestas vite inmaculate est necessaria predicatori verbi Dei. Tunc sequitur ex istis collectis quod fidelitas siue veritas non potest esse sine honestate vite, et non est vita honesta nisi sit vita inmaculata, ideo fidelitas est vita inmaculata. Set per supradicta fidelitas | est forcior in senectutis etate; immo capiendo etatem senectutis, pro ipsa vita senectutis sequitur quod fidelitas est etas senectutis, et vltra cum 1

 est] et

Third Sermon for Blessed Oswald (RY51) Theme: Old age a spotless life (Wisd. 4:9). Protheme Old age a spotless life (Wisdom, chapter 4[:9]). In these words I see two things necessary not only for preachers but for hearers of God’s word: faithfulness and honesty. Faithfulness is or should be in old age; honesty resides in the purity of a spotless life. Moreover, this is the reason why faithfulness is necessary for preachers of God’s word: the preaching of truth is an assault on the devil, according to John Chrysostom in Opus imperfectum, homily 8,1 but all preaching should be to assault the devil; therefore, faithfulness or truth is necessary for preachers. Similarly, all preaching should be of Christ alone, but Christ is truth [1 John 5:6]; therefore, etc. Reason and authority also prove that faithfulness should be in old age. The reason is that every life is truth, because “to live for those living is to be,”2 and to be is true, and thus existence and truth are convertible,3 and every truth is goodness, so every life is goodness. But every goodness is all the better the longer it lasts, and in the same way every life is all the better the longer it lasts. So when the life of the aged lasts longer, if it is life, it is better and thus truer, and so it appears that faithfulness should be in old age. The authority for this is John of Wales in his Communiloquium, part 3, distinction 2, chapter 5: “Among the aged should be the preaching of truth.”4 Similarly, for preachers of God’s word, honesty is necessary, which consists in a spotless life. For as I said before, life is truth; therefore, just as truth is not pure when mixed with its contrary—that is, with falsity—so neither is life honest—indeed it is not life—if it is mixed with the foulness of vices. And as Ambrose says on Luke: “A sermon without life is not a sermon.”5 Therefore, the honesty of a spotless life is necessary for the preacher of God’s word. Then it follows from these collected sayings that faithfulness or truth cannot be without honesty of life, and it is not an honest life unless it is a spotless life, so faithfulness is a spotless life. But following what is said above, faithfulness is stronger in old age; indeed, by reaching old age, it follows for this life of old age that faithfulness is old age, and further, when

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fidelitas siue veritas sit vita inmaculata, sequitur quod etas senectutis est vita inmaculata, \verumtamen verbi thematis non sonant quod etas senectutis est vita inmaculata,/ set dicit sine verbo etas senectutis vita inmaculata. Glosa per etatem senectutis ad moralem sensum intelligit maturitatem morum et mentis que precipue debet esse in senibus, vt posterius suadebo, et hec senectus est venerabilis non diuturna neque numero annorum computata in signum quod vita honesta et virtuosa non limitatur ad aliquem certum numerum dierum vel annorum, set pro omni tempore debet vita esse honesta et virtuosa. Ideo signanter profert Sapiens verba thematis sine verbo alicuius temporis, dicens, Etas senectutis, etc. Non dicit fuit, est, vel erit. Dixi eciam quod fidelitas et honestas sunt necessaria audientibus verbum Dei. Nullis enim proficit verbum Dei nisi hiis qui custodiunt illud quia beati qui custodiunt verbum Dei, etc. Set nulli custodiunt verbum Dei nisi illi qui habent fidelitatem predictam et honestatem vite. Igitur audientibus verbum Dei fidelitas et honestas sunt necessaria. Item fidelitas et honestas sunt necessaria tam predicatoribus quam auditoribus verbi Dei. Est enim eis necessarium vt in inicio predicacionis verbi Dei orent Deum pro auxilio salutari. Set secundum beatum Augustinum, cum oras cum Deo loqueris qui est summa fidelitas et honestas. Est igitur sibi contraria omnis infidelitas aut inhonestas. Igitur necessaria sunt tam predicatori quam auditori verbi Dei fidelitas et honestas. Istam fidelitatem in maturitate et morum et mentis et honestatem vite inmaculate habuit iste fidelissimus rex et martir Osuualdus qui totam gentem huius prouincie conuertit ab infidelitate ad fidelitatem, et habuit vite purissime honestatem prout eius miracula satis montrant. Habuit eciam ita feruentem amorem pro fide Christi amplianda quod, cum ingrederetur bellum contra hostes fidei Christiane, non confidebat armis bellicis nec multitudini armatorum, set confidebat deuotis oracionibus. Vnde faciebat totum suum excercitum flexis genibus vna secum dominum deprecari vt ipsos contra hostes defenderet. Quo facto incipiente diluculo in hostem progressi victoriam sunt adepti. In cuius exemplum nos iam progressuri ad pugnandum contra hostes spirituales flectamus genua. Quando quis flectit genua corpus tendit ad ima; conformiter tendat ad ima spiritualiter mens nostra, id est humilietur. Quia quanto magis humiliatur in se, tanto sublimior est apud Deum. Et roget quilibet nostrum vt nos ab hostibus defendat, et sicut iste deuotissimus rex incipiente diei diluculo sic orauit, ita et nos in principio istius sermonis oremus Dominum.



English Translation (RY51)319

f­aithfulness or truth is a spotless life, it follows that old age is a spotless life, ­notwithstanding the fact that the words of the theme do not express that old age is a spotless life, but it says without the word: old age a spotless life. The gloss on old age, for the moral sense, understands it as the maturity of character and of mind,6 which especially should be in the aged, as I will urge later, and this old age is venerable, not that of a long time nor counted by the number of years [Wisd. 4:8], in a sign that an honest and virtuous life is not limited to any certain number of days or years, but at all times a life should be honest and virtuous. Therefore, Wisdom expressly puts forward the words of the theme without [saying] a word about any time frame, saying, Old age, etc. It does not say “was,” “is,” or “will be.” I said also that faithfulness and honesty are necessary for those hearing God’s word. For God’s word profits no one except those who keep it because blessed are those who keep the word of God [Luke 11:28], etc. But no one keeps God’s word except those who have the aforementioned faithfulness and honesty of life. Therefore, for those hearing God’s word, faithfulness and honesty are necessary. Likewise, faithfulness and honesty are necessary both for preachers and for the hearers of God’s word. For it is necessary for them so that in the beginning of preaching God’s word they pray to God for salvific aid. But according to blessed Augustine, “when you pray, you speak with God,”7 who is the highest faithfulness and honesty. Every faithlessness and dishonesty are therefore contrary to him. So faithfulness and honesty are necessary for both the preacher and the hearer of God’s word. This most faithful king and martyr Oswald, who converted all the people of this province from infidelity to faithfulness, had this faithfulness in maturity both of habits and of mind and the honesty of a spotless life, and he had the honesty of the purest life, just as his miracles fully demonstrate. He also had so fervent a love for increasing the faith in Christ that, when he would undertake a battle against the enemies of the Christian faith, he did not place his trust in military arms or a multitude of soldiers, but he put his trust in devout prayers. Thus he made his entire army kneel together with him to pray to the Lord that he would defend them against their enemies. When they had done this at the break of day, they advanced on the enemy to obtain victory.8 By this example let us now kneel to advance on our spiritual enemies. When anyone kneels he brings his body to the lowest point; similarly, our mind should be brought spiritually to the lowest point, that is, it should be humbled. Because the more it is humbled in itself, the more it is exalted before God. And each of us should ask that he defend us from our enemies, and just as this most devout king prayed at the beginning of the break of day, so also we, at the beginning of this sermon, should pray to the Lord.

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Sermo tercius Beati Oswaldi Divisio thematis

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Etas senectutis vita inmaculata. Vbi supra. In quibus verbis ecce duo, videlibet duracio venerabilis et stacio glorificabilis. Duracio venerabilis persistit in etate senectutis, stacio glorificabilis consistit in puritate salutis que est vita inmaculata. Primo dico quod duracio venerabilis persistit in etate senectutis. Dicit Iohannes Crisostomus super epistolam ad Hebreos: Canicies tunc est venerabilis quando ea egerit que caniciem decent. Set que decent caniciem docet Ambrosius in Exaudon, libro 1: Senectus (inquit) ipsa in bonis moribus dulcior est, in consiliis subtilior, ad constanciam subeunde mortis paracior, ad reprimendas libidines forcior. Vt dicit Philosophus sentencialiter in libris Ethicorum: Nemo potest esse virtuosus nisi a longa consuetudine nec bonus consiliarius nisi a longa experiencia in agendis. Igitur vt senex sit dulcis in moribus et subtilis in consiliis, videlibet ad consulendum iunioribus de modo viuendi, necesse est vt ante senectutem, videlibet in etatibus precendentibus, habuerit2 longam consuetudinem in moribus et diuturnam | experienciam in bono modo viuendi. Et quia non peruenitur ad senectutem nisi per etates medias, oportet ad hoc quod senectus sit bona et venerabilis quod etates precedentes sint bone et venerabiles, vt per bona media perueniatur ad bonum finem. Iccirco pro processu collacionis vt per istas etates perueniatis ad venerabilem senectutem, recitabo etates seriatim, et ad que vicia homines disponuntur in illis etatibus secundum complexiones earumdam, et que sunt remedia in natura contra illa vicia. Que remedia si debite apponantur, indubie peruenietur ad senectutem venerabilem, scilicet vitam inmaculatam. Vnde prime due etates sunt infancia et puericia. Hiis etatibus correspondet complexio flenmatica que est complexio frigida et humida, que qualitates disponunt ad accidiam et ad gulam. Et causa naturalis est quia frigiditas naturaliter conprimit et congelat, et sic ponderositatem causat, que ponderositas corpus molestat et disponit ad sompnolenciam, que est precipua species accidie. Humiditas vero superhabundans nititur calorem naturalem destruere, et ideo per crebram sumpcionem alimenti appetit naturaliter restaurari, que crebria sumpcio vt constat aliquociens causat gulam. Set numquid solum pueri qui habent a natura sunt pigri et gulosi. Immo quod dolendum est, multe complexiones tam adoles2

 habuerit] habuerint



English Translation (RY51)321

The third sermon for Blessed Oswald The division of the theme Old age a spotless life (see above). In these words note two things: a venerable duration and a glorified state. The venerable duration persists in old age, the glorified state consists in the purity of salvation, which is a spotless life. First, I say that the venerable duration persists in old age. John Chrysostom says, on the letter to the Hebrews: “Grey hair is venerable when it carries out those things which are fitting to grey hair.”9 But Ambrose teaches in book 1 of the Hexameron what is fitting to grey hair: “This old age is sweeter in good morals, wiser in counsels, more prepared for the steadiness of an approaching death, stronger in repressing the passions.”10 So that, as the Philosopher says in essence in the books of the Ethics: No one can be virtuous except out of long habit, nor a good counselor except from long experience in conducting himself.11 Therefore, so that an old man may be sweet in habits and wise in counsels—specifically for counseling the young in the way of living—it is necessary that before old age (that is, in the ages preceding), he has had a long habit in morals and long-lasting experience in the good way of living. And because old age will not be reached except by means of the intermediary ages, for old age to be good and venerable, it is necessary that the preceding ages are good and venerable, so that, by means of good intermediary ages, one may reach a good end. Therefore, for the development of this collation, so that by means of these ages you may reach a venerable old age, I will recite the ages successively, and the vices to which people are disposed in these ages according to the complexions [of humors] belonging to these ages, and the remedies in nature against these vices. By these remedies, if they are appropriately applied, undoubtedly one will reach a venerable old age, that is, a spotless life. Thus, the first two ages are infancy and childhood. To these ages the phlegmatic complexion corresponds, which is a cold and moist complexion; these qualities dispose a person to sloth and gluttony. And the natural cause is that coldness naturally suppresses and hardens, and thus it causes heaviness; this heaviness troubles the body and disposes it to somnolence, which is especially a species of sloth. Excess moisture, however, strives to destroy natural heat, and therefore it naturally desires to be restored by the frequent consumption of nourishment; this frequent consumption, as is well known, often causes gluttony. But surely not only children, who have this from nature, are lazy and gluttonous. Indeed, what is to be regretted, many complexions—those of adolescents and young people as much as

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centum quam iuuenum quam senum peruertuntur in complexiones pueriles, immo, vt estimo, in peiores. Vbi enim pueri a suis complexionibus disponuntur ad accidiam et ad gulam, isti ex pessimis consuetudinibus et fedissimis voluptatibus disponunt, immo verius indisponunt, seipsos ad gulam per nimis auidas, immoderatas, et intempestiuas commessaciones et potaciones. Isti comedunt et bibunt non ad restaurandum calorem naturalem set pocius ad mitigandum calorem innaturalem, qui ex nimio excessu in suis gutteribus generantur. Mos enim talium potatorum est quandoque media nocte aut cito de mane potare et constat vlterius quod tales sunt vt communiter sompnolenti, et per consequens pigri et accidiosi non a natura vt pueri set ex nimio excessu vt porci. Vnde quia naturalis complexio talem disposicionem confert pueris, ideo ordinauit natura remedium quod videlibet parentes puerorum ex amore naturali desiderant eos in sanitate corporis custodire, vnde boni parentes non permittunt suos filios ociari set eos excercent in aliquo artificio, opere, seu labore contra accidiam, et moderant eos in cibis et potibus contra gullam; eciam informant eos in bonis moribus iuxta consilium sapiencie Ecclesiastici 7: Filii (inquit) tibi sunt? Erudi illos et incurua a puericia eorum. Et preter hec remedia contulit Deus pueris ad remedium in natura, videlibet duo dona Spiritus Sancti, scilicet timorem et pietatem. Sunt enim pueri naturaliter timidi et pii, quia pro quantulacumque aduersitate terrentur, et sunt pii quia cito mouentur ad misericordiam. Et ideo lene est informare eos in timore Domini et in amore proximi. Set certe modernis temporibus quales patres, tales filii. Multi patres sunt accidiosi et gulosi et tales sunt sui filii. Nam vt communiter patrem sequitur sua proles et quia non timent Deum, non informant filios suos ipsum timere, set pocius iuramenta et mendacia blasphemare, ideo tales filii sicut nec eorum patres perueniunt ad etatem venerabilem senectutis, que est vita inmaculata, set certe moriuntur et deficiunt in via. Et causa est quia sua vita, que foret via ad senectutem, est ita lutosa et deuia in adolescencia et aliis etatibus quod sic figuntur in luto viciorum vel deuiant a via mandatorum Dei quod non | possunt vel nesciunt vlterius progredi, et hec est via adolescentis. De qua loquitur Salamon, Prouerbiorum 30: Tria (inquit) sunt michi difficilia, et quartum penitus ignoro. Quod quartum est via hominis in adolescencia sua. Eciam dato quod permittente Deo tales progrediantur in etate temporis, adhuc cum fuerint centum annorum erunt nisi pueri. Set certe sunt maledicti. De quibus dicitur Ysaie vlterius: maledictus puer 100 annorum. Tales sunt pueri per antifrasim sicut niger bos vocatur cignus.



English Translation (RY51)323

those of the elderly—are corrupted by childish complexions, indeed, by my estimation, worse ones. For where children are disposed by their own complexions to sloth and gluttony, these [others], by the worst habits and most atrocious desires, dispose themselves—rather more accurately indispose themselves—to gluttony through excessively greedy, immoderate, and ill-timed eating and drinking. These people eat and drink not to restore their natural heat but rather to mitigate their unnatural heat, which is generated in their gullets by too great excess. For it is a practice of such drinkers to drink at any time, in the middle of the night or early in the morning, and it is further evident that such are commonly sleepy, and consequently lazy and slothful, not by nature like children, but from excess beyond measure, like pigs. So because this natural complexion gives to children such a disposition, nature ordained a remedy, specifically that parents of children, out of natural love, wish to preserve them in health of body. So good parents do not permit their children to be idle but keep them busy in some craft, work, or labor against sloth and control them in food and drink against gluttony; they also instruct them in good morals according to the counsel of the wisdom of Ecclesiasticus 7[:25]: Do you have children? Instruct them and bow down their neck from their childhood. And besides these remedies God conferred on children a remedy in nature, namely, two gifts of the Holy Spirit: fear and piety. For children are naturally fearful and pious, because they are afraid in the face of the smallest adversity, and they are pious because they are quickly moved to mercy. And therefore it is easy to instruct them in fear of the Lord and in love of their neighbor. But certainly in modern times, like father like son. Many parents are slothful and gluttonous, and such are their children. For as his offspring commonly follow the father and because [the fathers] do not fear God, they do not instruct their children to fear him, but rather to blaspheme with oaths and lies, so such children along with their parents do not reach a venerable old age, which is a spotless life, but certainly they die and falter along the way.12 And the cause is that their life, which should be the way to old age, is so muddy and erratic in adolescence and the other ages that they are thus stuck in the mud of vices or they stray from the way of God’s commandments, so that they cannot or do not know how to proceed further, and this is the way of adolescence. Concerning this Solomon says (Proverbs 30[:18]): Three things are hard for me, and of the fourth I am utterly ignorant. That fourth is man’s way in his adolescence. Also granted that, God permitting, such people advance in age in terms of time, still even if they were to reach one hundred years, they would only be children. But certainly [these people] are accursed. Concerning them Isaiah says (last chapter [65:20]): Accursed the child of one hundred years. Such are children, by antiphrasis,13 as a black bull is called a swan. Children (pueri) are called such

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Pueri dicuntur quia puri et sunt paruo saciati. Set isti econtrario sunt impuri et non sine multo vel nimio saciati. Vnde, vos patres, caueatis pro amore Iesu Christi ne filii vestri sint tales. Set informetis eos iuxta disposicionem nature sue in timore Domini et in operibus misericordie, secundum \preceptum/ beati ­Ieronimi in epistola 95, sic dicentis: Nichil aliud (inquit) discat puer audire vel loqui nisi quod pertinet ad timorem Dei. Turpia non intelligat, cantica inmunda ignoscat; adhuc tenera lingua prius dulcibus imbuatur. Procul sit etas lasciua. Et subdit: Pueri (inquit), puelle et pedisseque a secularibus consorciis arceantur. Et intelligit per secularia consorcia illos malos qui in toto sunt seculo dediti et non Deo. Si pueri sic informentur indubie peruenient ad etatem senectutis venerabilis, et si forte non temporis tamen morum. Tercia etas est adolescencia que incipit 14 anno et durat vsque 28 annum, cui correspondet complexio sanguinea que est calida et humida. Que qualitates naturaliter disponunt ad luxuriam. Caliditas enim naturaliter est in continuo motuo et maxime cum suo contrario, et ideo caliditas dominans mouet humiditates aut humores corporis, et prouocat ad luxuriam. Quomodo tales prouocantur a natura non est turpe referre, set quomodo voluntarie et ex proposito deliberato se ipsos prouocant hiis diebus turpe est dicere, et sua opera testantur. Set certe verum3 dico quod respiciendo antiquas historias et vindictas captas pro illo vilissimo vicio, miror quod regnum Anglie tam diu durat. Ideo vere quilibet bonus et zelans prosperum statum regni quemlibet talem luxuriosum reprehenderet velut conspiratorem in perdicionem regni. Set contra istud vicium est remedium in natura. Vehemenciam calorum repellit, vt predixi, constriccio frigiditatis. Si igitur caro nimis superbiat et humores nimis habundent constringantur per frigiditatem abstinencie, per ieiunia, vigilas, et alia opera penitencie. Docet enim ars medicine remedium contra reuma in capite, ieiunes, vigiles, scicias, sic reumate[m]4 cures. Et excerceatur in laboribus, et ista inducent continenciam que est precipua virtus reprimens motus carnis illicitos. Et est speciale remedium contra luxuriam. Ista (inquit)5 virtus comparatur muro cuius fundamentum est munda c­ ogitacio. Lapides sunt opera penitencie. Cementum est continuacio mundicie; eciam gracia Dei propugnacula. In summitate muri  verum] There is one too many minum for verum, but vnum does not make sense in this context, so it may be a scribal error. 4  reumatem] Final letter is hard to read. It appears to be an e, but there appears to be another letter over which this e is written. 5  inquit] It is not clear whom Rypon has been citing; this may be an error for inquam. 3



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because they are pure (puri) and satisfied by little (parvo). But these, on the other hand, are impure and are not satisfied without much or without excess. Thus, you fathers, beware for the love of Jesus Christ that your children not be such as these. But teach them, according to their natural disposition, the fear of the Lord and works of mercy, according to the precept of blessed Jerome in epistle 95, who says thus: “Nothing other should a child learn to hear or speak except what pertains to the fear of God. Let him not understand shameful things; let him not indulge in dirty songs; let the still young tongue first be given instruction in sweet things. May the lustful age be far away.” And he adds: “Boys, girls, and their attendants should be kept away from worldly fellowship.”14 And by “worldly fellowship” he understands those bad people who are wholly devoted to the world and not to God. If children are thus instructed, undoubtedly they will come to a venerable old age, and if perhaps not of time, yet of character. The third age is adolescence, which begins at fourteen years and lasts until twentyeight, to which corresponds the sanguine complexion, which is hot and moist. These qualities naturally dispose one to lust. For heat is naturally in continuous motion and especially with its contrary, and therefore heat, when it is dominant, agitates moistness or the humors of the body and provokes them to lust. How such people are provoked by nature is not shameful to mention, but how they provoke themselves willingly and with deliberate intention in these days is said to be shameful, and their works attest to this. But certainly I say truly, that when we consider the old stories and the vengeances taken for that most vile vice, I marvel that the kingdom of England has lasted so long. Therefore, truly let every good person [who is] zealous for the prosperous condition of the kingdom seize each such lustful person as if he were a conspirator in the ruin of the kingdom. But there is a remedy in nature against this vice. The compression of coldness, as I said, repels the strength of heat. So if the flesh is too domineering and the humors overflow too much, let them be compressed by the coldness of abstinence, by fasting, vigils, and other works of penance. For the art of medicine teaches the remedy for a rheum in the head: fasting, vigils, thirsts; thus you may cure a rheum. And let [the flesh] be occupied with works, and these will induce continence, which is the special virtue for repressing the illicit movements of the flesh. And it is the special remedy against lust. This virtue (he says)15 is compared to a wall

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sunt custodia quinque sensum: visus videlicet ne videat vanitates, auditus ne audiat malum, gustus et olfactus ab excessibus et delectacionibus cibariorum, tactus ab omnibus fedis et illicitis. Pro habenda defensione istius muri orat ecclesia dicens: Muro tuo inexpugnabili circumcinge nos, Domine. Notabiliter dicitur circumcinge, quia homines circumcinguntur communiter circa renes vbi maxime prouocantur ad luxuriam in signum quod illa pars foret per continenciam circumcincta. Set quid? Iam certe de zonis fiunt balderice: collum in nonnullis circumcinguntur et non renes; colla et humeri ornantur \plus/ communiter in signum lasciuie quam continencie. Vtinam tales aduerterent quod donum Spiritus Sanctus eis contulit ad naturam, verum quia contulit eis spiritum consilii cuius doni specialis vsus est discernere inter bonum et malum. Tunc enim incipit homo discernere inter bonum et malum quando tunc homo relinquitur in manibus consilii sui, vt dicitur Ecclesiastici 15. Vtinam | discerneret quam horribile est illud peccatum! Est vtique ita horribile quod abhorreo illud loqui, set hortor quemlibet adolescentem in visceribus Iesu Christi vt faciat iuxta preceptum Apostoli Thimotheo 4: Nemo (inquit) contempnat adolescenciam suam: set exemplum (inquit) esto fidelium in verbo, in conuersacione, in caritate, in fide, in castitate. Si istud donum consilii habueris, indubie ad etatem senectutis venerabilis peruenies. Quarta est iuuentus que durat a 28 anno vsque annum 50 post quam sequitur quinta etas que vocatur etas senium vel declinacio iuuentutis in senectutem. Et durat a 50 anno vsque 70 annum. Hiis etatibus correspondent complexio colerica que est calida et sicca et disponit ad iram. Cuius causa est quia calor habundans velocitat et perturbat spiritus et quia deest humiditas et frigiditas constringens. Ideo tales colerici leniter sunt irati. Et ex eisdem causis generatur inuidia. Vnde ira est odium patens et inuidia est odium latens. Et communiter eadem peccata que sequuntur ex ira sequ[u]­ntur ex inuidia, puta detraccio bone fame, subtraccio, calumpnia, homicidium, rixe, discordie, et huiusmodi. Et reuera inter omnia peccata ista duo sunt maxime \sunt/ contra naturam cuius racio est quando iratus vel inuidus videt hominem cui irascitur vel inuidet, statim accenditur nimius calor circa cor quia, vt dicunt naturales, ira est ignis accensus circa cor. Et ille calor excessius quanto in ipso est extinguit et corrumpit humorem sanguineum circa cor in quo humore consistit vita. In cuius signum iracundi sunt vt tunc sicci et ad modum sitibundi. Alia racio ad idem est ista: omnis anima humana creatur ad ymaginem et similitudinem Dei, ita quod omnes anime sunt quasi vna anima in ymagine et similitudine in signum quod omnes essent quasi vna



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whose foundation is clean thought. The stones are works of penance. The cement is the uninterrupted practice of purity. Also the rampart is God’s grace. In the highest parts of the wall there are the guardians, the five senses: sight lest it see vanities; hearing lest it hear evil; taste and smell from excesses and delights in food; touch from all shameful and illicit things. To defend this wall the Church prays, saying, “With your invincible wall gird us, Lord.”16 Notably it says “gird,” because people are commonly girded near the kidneys, where they are most greatly provoked to lust, in a sign that this part should be girded by continence. But what? Now certainly concerning these belts that are made as baldrics:17 in some they gird the neck and not the kidneys; necks and shoulders are more commonly adorned in a sign of lust than continence. If only such [people] would perceive that the Holy Spirit gave them a gift for [their] nature because truly he gave to them the spirit of counsel; the special use of this gift is to discern between good and evil. For a person begins to discern between good and evil when he is left in the hand of his own counsel, as Ecclesiasticus says (15[:14]). If only he would discern how horrible that sin is! It is certainly so horrible that I shudder to speak of it, but I urge each adolescent sincerely that he do according to the precept of the Apostle (Timothy 4 [1 Tim. 4:12]): Let no one despise your youth, but be an example of the faithful in word, in conversation, in charity, in faith, in chastity. If you have this gift of counsel, undoubtedly you will reach a venerable old age. The fourth age is youth, which lasts from twenty-eight years until fifty, after which follows the fifth age, which is called the decay or the decline from youth into old age. And it lasts from fifty years until seventy. The choleric complexion, which is hot and dry and disposes one to anger, corresponds to these ages. This is because abundant heat excites and disturbs the spirit and because moisture is lacking as well as coldness which restrains [it]. So such choleric people are easily angered. And envy is born from the same causes. Hence anger is open hatred and envy is hidden hatred. And commonly the same sins that follow from anger follow from envy, namely, slander of a good reputation, detraction, calumny, murder, brawls, discords, and the like. And indeed, among all sins, these two are the most greatly against nature because when an angry or envious person sees a person at whom he is angry or whom he envies, at once excessive heat is inflamed around his heart, because, as scientists say, anger is a fire inflamed around the heart. And that heat, the more excessive it is in itself, quenches and corrupts the blood around the heart, in which humor [i.e. the blood around the heart] life consists. In a sign of this the angry are then as those who are dry and thirsty. Another reason for the same is this: every human soul is created in the image and likeness of God, so that all souls are, as it were, one soul in image and likeness in a sign that everyone is, as it were, one soul in harmony and love of charity. But among all sins anger and envy most greatly destroy this unity—and not only this

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anima in concordia et caritatis amore. Set inter omnia peccata ira et inuidia maxime istam vnitatem dissoluunt, et nedum istam vnitatem, set eciam consorcium naturale quod foret inter homines. Quia vt dicit Philosophus, 1 Politicorum, homo est naturaliter communicatus et appetit aliis conuiuere. Set superbi, luxuriosi, cupidi, gulosi, auari, et pigri possunt conuiuere, inuidi vero et iracundi nequaquam. O quam misera hec peccata! Set remedium in natura contra ista est hoc: temperetur superhabundans calor cum frigiditate et siccitas cum humiditate. Scitis quod quando aliquis terretur, frigescit cor suum, et causa naturalis est quia quando aliquis terretur, calor circa cor in parte dispergitur, et recedente vno contrariorum, succedit reliquum. Cogitet talis in se quis est et qualis est. Quis est, quia secundum animam ymago qui est summa pax et inueniet quod anima sua est a natura principium concordie et vnitatis. Cogitet eciam qualis est quia postquam per peccatum primi parentis factus fuerat filius ire, factus est filius pacis preciosi Christi sanguine. Temperet hec humiditas siccitatem. Cogitet intimius de Christi passione, et non timeo quin terrebitur. Et sic frigescet recedetque iracundie calor vrens. Hiis plene pensatis. Temperabitur eius calor virtute paciencie contra iram, et eius siccitas mitigabitur pietatis humiditate contra inuidiam. Et in remedium contra ista vicia, dedit Deus hiis etatibus donum fortitudinis iuuentuti quia tunc est homo corporaliter fortis in signum quod corresponditer foret moraliter fortis ad aggrediendum terribilia et ad resistendum viciis et peccatis. Et contulit donum sciencie medie etati inter iuuentutem et senectutem. Si enim ad instar Christi quis profecerit in sapiencia et etate in prioribus etatibus, tunc in illa etate habebit perfectam scienciam qua sciat se et alios debite regulare. Sexta etas est senectus cui correspondet complexio malencolica que est frigida et sicca. Et disponit | ad auariciam quia, vt predixi, frigiditatis est naturaliter congregare et siccitatis humiditates consumere. In signum cuius ydropici propter nimiam siccitatem appetunt frequenter bibere quibus comparantur auari. Ideo dicit beatus Augustinus in quodam sermone: Cum cuncta vicia in sene senescunt, sola auaricia inuenescit. Set numquid soli senes sunt auari? Timeo certe verificari illud Ieremei 6: A minore (inquit) vsque ad maiorem omnes student auaricie, et propheta vsque ad sacerdotem cuncti faciunt dolum. Et ideo timendum est decretum Domini ibidem: Cadent (inquit) super corruentes in die visitacionis, id est in die iudicii. Vnde natura ordinauit generale remedium contra istud vicium, scilicet misericordiam, que est virtus per quam mouetur animus super calamitatem afflictorum et sub ista virtute



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unity, but also the natural fellowship that should be among people. Because as the Philosopher says, in [book] 1 of the Politics, man is naturally social and desires to live with others.18 But [while] the proud, lustful, greedy, gluttonous, avaricious, and lazy can live together, the envious and the angry cannot [live together] at all. Oh how wretched are these sins! But the remedy in nature against these is the following: superabundant heat is tempered with coldness, and dryness [is tempered] with moisture. You know that when anyone is frightened, his heart grows cold, and the natural cause is that when anyone is frightened, the heat around his heart is in part dispersed and when one of its contraries has receded, the remainder follows. Let such a person ponder within himself who he is and what sort he is. Who he is—because, with regards to the soul, [he is] the image of God, who is the highest peace—and he will find that his soul is by nature the beginning of harmony and unity. Let him ponder also what kind he is because after he was made the son of anger by the sin of the first parent, he was made the son of peace by the precious blood of Christ. This moisture tempers dryness. Let him ponder Christ’s passion more intimately, and I have no doubt that he will be frightened. And thus he will become cold and the heat of burning anger will recede. Ponder these things fully. Its heat will be tempered by the virtue of patience against anger, and its dryness will be mitigated by the moisture of piety against envy. And as a remedy against these vices, God gave the gift of fortitude to these ages: to youth because then a man is bodily strong in a sign that, in turn, he will be morally strong for approaching frightful things and for resisting vices and sins. And he conferred the gift of knowledge to the middle age between youth and old age. For if in the likeness of Christ anyone progresses in wisdom and age in the prior ages, then in that age he will have perfect knowledge, by which he will know how to rule himself and what is owed to others. The sixth age is old age, which corresponds to the melancholic complexion, which is cold and dry. And it disposes one to avarice because, as I said before, it is natural for coldness to gather and for dryness to consume moisture. In a sign of this the dropsical, because of excessive thirst, desire frequently to drink, which is compared to avarice.19 Therefore blessed Augustine says in a certain sermon: “When all the vices in an old man grow old, only avarice grows young again.”20 But is it possible that only the old are avaricious? I fear certainly that Jeremiah 6[:13] is right: From the least of them to the greatest, all are given to avarice, and from the prophet even to the priest all are guilty of deceit. And so the decree of the Lord should be feared (in the same place) [Jer. 8:12, loosely]: They shall fall among them that fall on the day of their visitation, that is to say, the Day of Judgment. Thus nature ordained a general remedy against this vice, specifically mercy, which is the virtue by which the mind is disturbed by the misfortune of those who are afflicted, and under this virtue alms

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c­ omprehenditur elemosina. Vnde illa est nature hoc facias alii quod tibi vis fieri si fores in casu consimili. Set si indigeres, naturaliter appeteres releuamen; ideo naturaliter sic faceres proximo indigenti. Et hec virtus foret maxime naturaliter in senibus quia de natura habent graues defectus in seipsos. Dicit enim beatus Gregorius, omelia prima: In senili (inquit) etate statura curuatur, seruix exsiccata deponitur, frequentibus suspiriis pectus vrgetur, virtus deficit loquentis verba, frequenter anelitus intercidit, et si lang[u]or defit senibus, ipsa salus egritudo est. Isti defectus senibus naturales facerent eos cogitare de breuitate et memorare nouissima et compati pauperibus habentibus defectus consimiles vel maiores, nam non restat eis spes de vita diutina, immo impossibile est eis diuturna dilacio mortis. Quid ergo est senibus nisi vt studea[n]t bene mori in senecta vberi et plena virtutibus? Et hoc precipit Seneca, epistola 24: Nedum senibus set omnibus aliis moriantur (inquit) in te vicia priusquam tu moriaris. Numera (inquit) annos tuos, et pudebit te eadem velle que volebas puer. Ideo scribit Apostolus, Corintheos 13: Cum factus sum vir, euacuaui ea que paruuli sunt. Et a forciori cum aliquis factus est senex debet ea euatuare que sunt paruuli. Item beatus Gregorius exponens illud 65 maledictus puer 100 annorum: Nichil (inquit) turpius quam senex incipiens viuere. Et nedum debent senes isto modo viuere, set quiscumque habens vsum racionis in quacumque fuerit etate. Dicit enim Ieronimus in De continencia virginali: Crescat (inquit) in te etas cum annis et cum etate iusticia, et fides (inquit) eo perfeccior videatur quo senior. Et sequitur: Tempus in quo te meliorem non senseris hoc te estima perdidisse. Ex ista auctoritate sequitur quod quisque quanto amplius crescit in etate, tanto amplius cresceret in moribus. Et ideo senes maxime crescerent in moribus. Et ideo eis appropriatur donum sapiencie que est circa res altissimas et diuinas quia, vt ait Seneca, epistola 95: Si (inquit) queris quid sit amplissimum vite spacium, respondet vsque ad sapienciam venire. Non enim gloriandum est seni de etate senectutis nisi assit senectus sapiencie et virtutis. Pro hiis omnibus etatibus scribit beatus Augustinus in quodam sermone: Infancia (inquit) sit innocencia, puericia reuerencia, adolescencia virtus, iuuentus paciencia, senium meritum. Senectus nichil aliud quam canus, sapiens, et intellectus. Et si senex vel quiscumque alius habeat ista bona, tunc certe habet permanenciam venerabilem, et paratus est mori in senectute bona. Et ista permanencia venerabilis includit secundum membrum primo acceptum, videlibet persistenciam glorificabilem que est vita inmaculata. Post has



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are included. So it is natural that you should do for others what you wish to be done for yourself if you were in a similar situation. If you are in need, you naturally desire relief, so naturally you would do thus for your neighbor in need. And this virtue is especially natural in the aged because they naturally have serious weaknesses in themselves. For blessed Gregory says in the first homily: “In old age the height is bent, the dried-up neck is falling, the breast is beset with frequent sighs, the strength for speaking words fails, the breath frequently ceases, and if feebleness is lacking in old people, this health is a disease.”21 These natural defects in old people make them think of the brevity of life and remember their last days and have compassion on the poor, who have similar defects or greater, for no hope is left for them for a long life; rather, a lenghty postponement of death is not possible for them. Therefore, what is there for the old but to take pains to die well in an old age that is fruitful and filled with virtues? And Seneca teaches this in letter 24: “Not only in old age but in all other times let vices die in you before you die. Count your years, and you will make yourself ashamed to wish for the same things that you wished for when you were a child.”22 Therefore the Apostle writes (Corinthians 13 [1 Cor. 13:11]): When I became a man, I put away the things of a child. And more so when anyone becomes an old man, he should put away those childish things. Likewise, blessed Gregory, expounding on [this text of Isaiah] 65[:20], Accursed the child of one hundred years, [says] : “Nothing is more unseemly than an old man starting to live.”23 And not only should old people live in this way, but whoever has the use of reason at whatever age he is. For Jerome says in De continencia virginali: “Let age grow in yourself with years, and with age justice, and let faith seem more perfect the older you are.” And it follows, “The time during which you do not feel yourself improving you should judge to have lost.”24 From this authority it follows that each one, the more he grows in age, the more he should grow in character. And therefore, old people especially should grow in character. And therefore the gift of wisdom is appropriate to them, which is [wisdom] concerning the highest and divine things because, as Seneca says in letter 95: “If you ask what may be the most distinguished time of life, the response is: when you come to wisdom.”25 For an old man should not boast of old age unless he reaches an old age of wisdom and virtue. About all these ages blessed Augustine writes in a certain sermon: “Infancy may be innocence, childhood reverence, adolescence strength, youth patience, old age merit. Old age is nothing other than grey hairs, wisdom, and understanding.”26 And if an old man or anyone else has these goods, then certainly he has venerable stability, and he is prepared to die in a good old age. And this venerable stability includes the second member [of the theme] first introduced, that is, glorified persistence, which is a spotless life. For after these ages have been passed through in

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enim etates sic pertransitas sequitur septem etas, que est permanencia sine fine in vita inmaculata in triumphante ecclesia vbi non est macula neque ruga. Et huic etate correspondet septem donum, scilicet beatitudo que est sufficiencia omnium bonorum sine indigencia, vbi corpus habebit septem dotes, beatitudines et anima totidem. In corpore erit claritas quia fulgebit vt sol, agilitas quia erit vbi voluerit sine difficultate, subtilitas quia fiet spirituale quod prius fuit animale, firmitas sine flexibilitate, fortitudo sine debilitate, immortalitas sine mortalitate, voluptas premiorum quia quilibet delectabitur de delactacione alterius; in anima sapiencia, amicicia, concordia ad proximum, potencia proporcionata voluntati, honor, securitas et de hiis omnibus erit \gaudium/ inenarrabile in animabus bonorum, et istud gaudium vere vocari potest persistencia glorificabilis in vita inmaculata. Iocunditas enim cordis vita hominis, Ecclesiastici 30. Quam vitam nobis concedat, etc.



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this way, the seventh age follows, which is stability without end in an immaculate life in the Church triumphant, where there is neither spot nor wrinkle. And to this age corresponds the seventh gift—namely, beatitude—which is the sufficiency of all goods without need, where the body will have the seven gifts—that is, the beatitudes—and the soul just as many. In the body there will be clarity because it will shine as the sun, agility because it will travel wherever it wishes without difficulty, fineness of texture because what before was animal will be made spiritual, firmness without pliability, strength without weakness, immortality without mortality, pleasure of rewards because each will be delighted in the delight of another; in the soul, wisdom, friendship, harmony with one’s neighbor, power corresponding to purpose, honor, security, and, for all these, there will be indescribable joy among good souls, and this joy can truly be called glorified continuance in a spotless life. For the joyfulness of the heart is the life of man (Ecclesiasticus 30[:23]). Which life concede to us, etc.

Notes Abbreviations and Frequently Cited Sources Corpus scriptorum ecclesiasticorum latinorum, 97 vols. to date, ed. Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften (Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1866ff.) CCCM Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio Mediaevalis, 346 vols. to date (Turnhout: Brepols, 1966ff.) CCSL Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina, 213 vols. to date (Turnhout: Brepols, 1953ff.) DCL Durham Cathedral Library GO Glossa ordinaria [on Scripture]: Biblia latina cum glossa ordinaria, 4 vols. (Strasbourg: Adolf Rusch, 1480/1481; repr. Turnhout: Brepols, 1998) [ad loc. = at location; interl. = interlinear] PG Patrologia graeca, cursus completus, ed. J.-P. Migne, 161 vols. (Paris: J.-P. Migne, 1857–66) PL Patrologia latina, cursus completus, ed. J.-P. Migne, 221 vols. (Paris: J.-P. Migne, 1844–65) CSEL

MS. Baltimore, Walters, W.51. This is an example of a “Paris” Bible which has been digitized and made available at http://www.thedigitalwalters.org/Data/WaltersManuscripts/html/W51/description.html. For its significance, see n. 6 on p. 338 below. Avicenna, Liber de anima seu sextus de naturalibus, ed. S. Van Riet, 2 vols., Avicenna latinus (Louvain: Peeters, 1968, 1972) Gregory the Great, Homiliae in Evangelia, ed. Raymond Étaix, CCSL 141 (Turnhout: Brepols, 1999) John Bromyard, Summa praedicantium, pars prima (Venice: Dominicus Nicolinus, 1586) —, Summa praedicantium, pars secunda (Venice: Dominicus Nicolinus, 1586) John Trevisa, On the Properties of Things: John Trevisa’s Translation of Bartholomaeus Anglicus, De Proprietatibus Rerum, ed. M. C. Seymour et al., 3 vols. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1975–1988) John of Wales, Communiloquium sive summa collationum Johannis Gallensis (Cologne: Ulrich Zell, c. 1470). An unpaginated transcription based on the Augsburg 1475 edition can be found on The Electronic Manipulus florum Project (www.manipulusflorum.com) under “Auxiliary Resources.” Nicholas of Gorran, In evangelium S. Lucae, in Enarratio in quatuor evangelia: Tomus secundus continens evangelium Lucae, et Joannis (Lyon: Anissonios, Joan. Posuel, & Claud. Rigaud, 1692) Pseudo-John Chrysostom, Incomplete Commentary on Matthew, trans. James A. Kellerman, ed. Thomas C. Oden, 2 vols. (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2010) Robert Grosseteste, Dicta, transcribed by Edwin J. Westermann and Joseph Goering, based on MS. Oxford, Bodleian Library, Bodley 798 (s.c. 2656), in The Electronic Grosseteste (http://www.grosseteste.com/dicta.htm) The Sarum Missal, ed. J. Wickham Legg (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1916) Tubach, Frederic C., Index Exemplorum: A Handbook of Medieval Religious Tales, Folklore Fellows Communications 204 (Helsinki: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, 1969)

336 Notes First Sunday of Advent, First Sermon (RY1)  1. Ps.-John Chrysostom, Opus imperfectum, homily 37 (PG 56:836; Kellerman, 2:296). Migne’s edition has corporali, not carnali.  2. Robert Grosseteste, Dictum 51, fol. 37ra.  3. See John Halgrin of Abbeville, Sermones in epistolas et evangelia de tempore hiemali, MS. DCL B.III.25, fol. 3ra. This is John of Abbeville’s second homily for 1 Advent, which uses the same theme. Rypon is not citing him verbatim, but the basic ideas come from John.  4. While the Vulgate’s word castellum can be translated as “village,” which is the word used by the Douay-Rheims translators, Rypon seems to be picturing a castle as is evident by his later discussion in which he speaks of the castellum’s five doors and compares them to the five senses. See below, p. 45.  5. Rypon is here engaging in textual criticism, consulting different texts of the Vulgate and telling his hearers of the variant readings.  6. Cf. Robert Grosseteste, Dictum 7, fols. 8rb–va. For a discussion of Rypon’s use of this image here and in several sermons, see Holly Johnson, “The Imaginative Landscape of an English Monk-Preacher: Robert Rypon and the Court of Memory,” Mediaeval Studies 75 (2013): 177–204. This example is discussed on 195–6.  7. For the laziness of asses, see Isidore of Seville’s Etymologies, 12.1.38 (PL 82:429), where Isidore describes the ass as tardum et nulla ratione renitens, or John Trevisa’s fourteenth-century Middle English translation of Bartholomaeus Anglicus’s description of the ass in De proprietatibus rerum, book 18, where he speaks at length of the ass’s vileness (On the Properties of Things 2:1120).  8. Alexander Neckam, De natura rerum libro duo, ed. Thomas Wright, Rerum britannicorum medii aevi scriptores 34 (London: Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, and Green, 1863), chap. 74 (De palma), p. 172.  9. This prayer is part of the opening collect for the first Sunday of Advent according to the Use of Sarum. According to the Use of York, this verse is sung on the third Sunday of Advent—further evidence that Durham priory used the Sarum Missal. See The Sarum Missal, 14. For York, see Missale ad usum insignis Ecclesiae eboracensis, ed. William George Henderson, 2 vols. (Durham: Andrews & Co., 1874), 1:5. For a fourteenth-century illuminated Durham missal that contains the Sarum Rite and was used by the monks during Rypon’s lifetime, see MS. London, British Library, Harley 5289. Manuscript images can be found via the British Library online Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts. 10. See Augustine, La Genèse au sens littéral en douze livres (Latin title: De Genesi ad Litteram Libri Duodecim), ed. Paul Agaësse and Aimé Solignac, Œuvres de saint Augustin 48–49, Bibliothèque augustinienne, 2 vols. (Bruges-Paris: Desclée de Brouwer, 1972), book 12, section VI, 2:346–60. 11. See Augustine, De Trinitate libri XV, ed. W. J. Mountain, CCSL 50–50A, 2 vols. (Turnhout: Brepols, 1968), book 13, chap. 13, 2:404–06. 12. GO, ad loc., 4:1178r. 13. Perhaps Galatians 4:4: At ubi venit plenitudo temporis, misit Deus Filium suum factum ex muliere (“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent his Son, made of a woman, made under the law”). 14. These precise words are not in Malachi 3, but the general sense is. 15. This etymology is from Aquinas’s homily for the Sunday before Ash Wednesday (Dominica in Quinquagesima) on Luke 18:35: Caecus sedebat secus viam; see Thomas Aquinas, Opera omnia iussa impensaque Leonis XIII. P. M. edita (Rome: Ex Typographia Polyglotta S. C. de Propaganda Fide, 1882–), 44:1. 16. Aristotle, Politics, III.4, 1277a1–4. 17. Ps.-Bernard of Clairvaux, Liber florum Bernardi Claraevallensis (Paris: Philippe Pigouchet, 1503), book 6, chap. 33, fol. 55r–v. These verses are assembled from genuine works by Bernard. 18. Isidore of Seville, Sentenciae, book 1, chap. 29: de poenis impiorum (PL 83: 598–599).



Notes337

19. Ps.-Bernard of Clairvaux, Liber florum Bernardi Claraevallensis, book 6, chap. 34, fol. 55v. For the text from which the compiler derived this “flower,” see Ps.-Bernard of Clairvaux, Meditationes piissimae, in Sancti Bernardi Opera omnia (Paris: Gaume Fratres, 1839), vol. 2, part i, cols. 661–91 (at col. 670). 20. This is the conventional closing to medieval sermons; the text needs only to indicate the beginning of the formula and then add “etc.” See Siegfried Wenzel, Medieval Artes Praedicandi: A Synthesis of Scholastic Sermon Structure (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2015), 85–6. Second Sermon, for the Fourth Sunday of Advent (RY2)  1. Gregory the Great, Homiliae in Evangelia, homilia VII, p. 46.  2. For lions roaring to revive their offspring, see Isidore of Seville, Etymologies 12.2.5 (PL 82: 434). Bartholomaeus Anglicanus, in De proprietatibus rerum, book 18, gives the second reason the lion roars. See John Trevisa, On the Properties of Things, 2:1216.  3. See GO, ad loc., 4:1113v.  4. See ibid., interl., but this appears to be Rypon’s amplification of this gloss.  5. GO, ad loc., interl., 4:1113v.  6. This may be a reference to Priscian. For a discussion of Priscian on pronouns, see E. J. Ashworth, “Singular Terms and Singular Concepts: From Buridan to the Early Sixteenth Century,” in John Buridan and Beyond: Topics in the Language Sciences 1300–1700, ed. Russell L. Friedman and Sten Ebbesen (Copenhagen: C. A. Reitzel, 2004), 121–52 (at 129–32).  7. No analogs of this exemplum are known to me. It is not recorded in Tubach.  8. Ps.-John Chrysostom, Opus imperfectum, homily 20 (PG 56:745; Kellerman 1:162).  9. The transition to the second principal part seems to be missing. 10. I am unable to locate the source for this quotation. 11. Ps.-John Chrysostom, Opus imperfectum, homily 5 (PG 56:662; Kellerman 1:62–3). 12. Ibid., homily 5 (PG 56:663; Kellerman 1:63). Sermon for the Sunday after Epiphany (RY3)  1. See The Sarum Missal, p. 39, the first reading for the Octave of Epiphany, which is, as Rypon says, a composite of verses from Isaiah chaps. 25, 35, 41, 52, and 12.  2. GO, ad loc., interl. (not word for word), 2:592r.  3. Probably Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics II.1, 1103a23–25.  4. Avicenna, Liber de anima seu sextus de naturalibus, 1:100.  5. Augustine, De Trinitate Libri XV, ed. W. J. Mountain, CCSL 50–50A, 2 vols. (Turnhout: Brepols, 1968), vol. 2, book XV, chap. 2, p. 462.  6. The Latin word virtus can be translated as “virtue” or “power.” While I have been using “virtue,” I think that “power” works better when translating this section in which Rypon uses Avicenna.  7. See Avicenna, Liber de anima seu sextus de naturalibus, 1:90.  8. See ibid., 94.  9. See ibid., 92–3. 10. See ibid., 94. 11. See ibid., 87–90. 12. See Robert Grosseteste, Dictum 7, fols. 8rb–8va. For a discussion of Rypon’s use and transformation of this Dictum, see Johnson, “The Imaginative Landscape of an English Monk-Preacher: Robert

338 Notes Rypon and the Court of Memory,” Mediaeval Studies 75 (2013): 177–204. This example is discussed on pp. 184–6. 13. A medieval commonplace. See C. M. Joris Vansteenkiste, “‘Versus’ dans les œuvres de saint Thomas,” in St. Thomas Aquinas 1274–1974: Commemorative Studies, ed. Armand A. Maurer, 2 vols. (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1974), 1:77–85 (at 82). 14. For Augustine’s triad of intellect, will, and memory, see book 10, chap. 12 of De Trinitate in De Trinitate Libri XV, ed. W. J. Mountain, 2 vols. (Turnhout: Brepols, 1968), 1:332. 15. See Avicenna, Liber de anima seu sextus de naturalibus, 1:100–02. Rypon does not seem to be quoting verbatim but summarizing the entire section in one sentence. 16. Robert Grosseteste, Dictum 101, fol. 82rb. 17. Robert Grosseteste, Dictum 91, fol. 71vb. 18. A paraphrase of 1 Cor. 6:15: Nescitis quoniam corpora vestra membra sunt Christi? 19. The commentator here is Hugh of Saint-Cher, although Rypon does not cite him verbatim. See Biblia latina cum postillis Hugonis de Sancto Caro, 4 vols. (Basel: Johann Amerbach, 1498–1502), vol. 3, ad loc. (n.p.). 20. This is a probable paraphrase from a section of Robert Grosseteste, Dictum 101, fol. 82va. 21. Robert Grosseteste, Dictum 101, fol. 83rb. 22. Augustine, De moribus ecclesiae catholicae et de moribus Manichaeorum libri duo, ed. Johannes B. Bauer, CSEL 90 (Vienna: Hölder-Pichler-Tempsky, 1992), book 1, chap. 15, sec. 25, p. 29. 23. Aegidius Romanus (Giles of Rome), De regimine principum libri III (Rome: apud Antonium Bladum Pont. Max. Excursorum, 1556), book 1, part 2, chap. 5, fol. 36r. First Sermon for Easter (RY35)  1. Ps.-John Chrysostom, Opus imperfectum, homily 33 (PG 56:805; Kellerman 2:258).  2. See Ezechiel 9:4. “Thau,” the last letter in the Hebrew alphabet, is the shape of a cross and means “mark” or “sign.” Jerome and other exegetes understood this passage in Ezekiel to mean that those whose foreheads were marked with the form of the letter “thau” were saved from destruction.  3. Ps.-John Chrysostom, Opus imperfectum, homily 33 (PG 56:805; Kellerman 2:258).  4. See Bede, Paraenetica, part III (PL 94:536) for this idea: Pascha dicitur, non Graecum, sed Hebraeum est; nec a passione, quomodo paschiu Graece dicitur pati, sed a transitu Hebraeo verbo Pascha appellatur. See also GO, ad loc., 4:1077v.  5. See Ambrose, De Cain et Abel I, 8 (PL 14:451), and GO, ad loc., 4:1077v. Rypon may have been using the gloss for both of these definitions of “pasch.”  6. While the ultimate source for the meanings of Hebrew names is Jerome’s Liber de nominibus Hebraicis (PL 23:771–858), Rypon was most certainly using one of the adaptations of Jerome’s work, adaptations which, beginning in the thirteenth century, were often attached to single-volume bibles, most notably the “Paris Bible.” For a discussion of the development of these glossaries, see Eyal Poleg, “The Interpretations of Hebrew Names in Theory and Practice,” in Form and Function in the Late Medieval Bible, ed. Poleg and Laura Light (Leiden: Brill, 2013), 217–36. Poleg also discusses the ways preachers used these interpretations, ways exemplified by Rypon. There are no modern editions of these glossaries. Durham priory owned at least four bibles that include the glossary of Hebrew names. For an example of an elegantly illuminated Paris Bible (MS. DCL, A.II.3) owned by Durham during Rypon’s time there, see Richard Gameson, Manuscript Treasures of Durham Cathedral (London: Durham Cathedral and Third Millennium Publishing Limited, 2010), 104–07. This bible includes the Aaz adaptation (based on the first word in the glossary) discussed by Poleg. An example of a Paris Bible,



Notes339

MS. Baltimore, Walters, W.51, has been digitized and made available at http://www.thedigitalwalters. org/Data/WaltersManuscripts/html/W51/description.html. This bible includes the Aaron adaptation. The meaning of “Israel” can be found in MS. Walters, W.51, fol. 527r.  7. See MS. Baltimore, Walters, W.51, fol. 524v.  8. Ibid., fol. 524r.  9. The second quotation is still in Christ’s words but is no longer from Hosea. 10. See Robert Grosseteste, Dictum 7, fols. 8rb–8va. For a discussion of Rypon’s use and transformation of this dictum, see Johnson, “The Imaginative Landscape of an English Monk-Preacher: Robert Rypon and the Court of Memory,” Mediaeval Studies 75 (2013): 177–204. This reference to Grosseteste’s court of memory has more to do with Rypon’s subsequent transformations than it does with Grosseteste’s original. 11. Apparently, two ways of dividing chapters in certain of Augustine’s works had been devised, one dividing the works into shorter chapter (de parvis) and the other into longer chapters (de magnis). In the fourteenth century it became the practice to cite the chapter numbers from both systems. See E. L. Saak, Creating Augustine: Interpreting Augustine and Augustinianism in the Later Middle Ages (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), 35–6. 12. See Augustine, De Trinitate Libri XV, ed. W. J. Mountain, CCSL 50–50A, 2 vols. (Turnhout: Brepols, 1968), vol. 1, book XII, chaps. xii–xiii, pp. 373–74. Augustine also expresses some of these ideas earlier in book XII. 13. A medieval commonplace which Rypon usually attributes to Augustine. 14. See n. 10 above. Rypon clearly has his own transformations in mind here, even if the image is not as elaborately worked out as in other examples. This is almost a summary version. 15. See Tubach, Index Exemplorum, p. 243 (no. 3111). Tubach labels this Macarius, St., and pagan skull. 16. See MS. Baltimore, Walters, W.51, fol. 529v. 17. It is not clear to what work Rypon is referring here. This idea is expressed in both Jean Beleth’s Summa de ecclesiasticis officiis and Guillaume Durandus’s Rationale divinorum officiorum. For Jean Beleth, see Summa de ecclesiasticis officiis, ed. Herbert Douteil, CCCM 41–41A, 2 vols. (Turnhout: Brepols, 1976), vol. 2, chap. 113, p. 212. For Guillaume Durandus, see Rationale divinorum officiorum V–VI, ed. Anselm Davril and T. M. Thibodeau, CCCM 140A (Turnhout: Brepols, 1995–2000), book 6, chap. 86, sec. 2, p. 441. 18. See MS. Baltimore, Walters, W.51, fol. 531r. 19. GO, ad loc. interl., 4:1063r. 20. See Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics VIII.3, 1156b26–27. 21. GO, ad loc., 4:1139v–1141r. 22. I have been unable to identify this source. 23. GO, ad loc. interl., 4:1083v. 24. GO, ad loc., 4:1083v. 25. In Rypon’s second Easter sermon, he uses a more developed version of this bread-making image. See Holly Johnson, “The Divine Dinner Party: Domestic Imagery and Easter Preaching in Late Medieval England,” Traditio 67 (2012): 385–415 (at 390–3). 26. GO, 1 Cor. 11:24, interl., 4:1083r. 27. Cf. Nicene Creed. 28. See Compendium theologicae veritatis, in Opera omnia Sancti Bonaventurae, ed. A. C. Peltier, 15 vols. (Paris: Vives, 1864–71), vol. 8, p. 212. This is book 6 (De sacramentorum virtute), chap. 15, of the Compendium. The Compendium theologicae veritatis is actually by Hugh Ripelin of Strassburg (1205–1270), a Dominican, but it was attributed to several different authors, including Thomas and Bonaventure. It is attributed to Thomas in the 1395 Durham catalog. Rypon is apparently summarizing; Hugh expands on each good, offering authorities for each. The second part is a bit different. Hugh

340 Notes does follow the good things with the bad things which those will receive who take communion unworth­ily, but then the two diverge. Either Rypon’s source was different, or he went his own way. 29. See MS. Baltimore, Walters, W.51, fol. 525v. 30. GO, ad. loc., 4:1068r. First Sermon for Rogation Days (RY37)  1. GO, ad loc., 4:1123v.  2. Ibid.  3. Ibid.  4. There is no work by Ambrose called Exaudon. The quoted text appears in De Cain et Abel, book 1, chap. 9, sect. 39 (PL 14:354).  5. Ps.-John Chrysostom, Opus imperfectum, homily 13 (PG 56:703; Kellerman 1:112).  6. Ibid.  7. Ibid., homily 15 (PG 56:715–16; Kellerman 1:127).  8. Ibid. (PG 56:716).  9. Ibid. 10. Ibid. (PG 56:716; Kellerman 1:128). 11. GO, ad loc., 4:1123v. 12. See GO, ad loc., 4:1123v. 13. Ps.-Bernard of Clairvaux, Liber florum Bernardi Claraevallensis (Paris: Philippe Pigouchet, 1503), book 9, chap. 22, fol. 96r. 14. Sancti Bernardi Opera, ed. Jean Leclercq et al., 8 vols. (Rome: Editiones Cistercienses, 1957–74), vol. 1, Sermon VII, para. 4, p. 33. 15. The plagues are recounted in Exodus 7–11. 16. John Damascene, De fide orthodoxa, book III, chap. 24 (PG 94:1090). 17. I am unable to locate the source for this quotation. 18. Tubach, Index Exemplorum, p. 255 (no. 3276) and p. 226 (no. 2880). Tubach labels the first Messenger-demon delayed and the second Julian the Apostate sends messenger. 19. Rypon may here be referring to the Summa super decretales of Bernard of Pavia (Bernardus Papiensis, d. 1213), several copies of which were in the Durham priory’s library. But I am unable to locate a section on prayer in this text. Sixth Sermon for Rogation Days (RY42)  1. Pelagius II (520–590) was pope from November 26, 579 through 590, when he died in a plague that swept through Rome. He was Gregory’s predecessor.  2. The minor litanies were a series of processions begun around 470 by the bishop of Vienne to pray for protection against the recurrence of an earthquake. The custom spread in France and eventually came to Rome. These processions were held on each of the three days immediately preceding Ascension Thursday. See J. H. Miller, “Rogation Days,” in The New Catholic Encyclopedia, 2nd ed., 15 vols. (Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America, 2003), 12:283.  3. This idea is explained in Bartholomaeus Anglicanus, De proprietatibus rerum, book 18. See John Trevisa, On the Properties of Things, 2:1216.  4. The bear’s love of honey is also in book 18 of De proprietatibus rerum, but may have been well known. See Trevisa, On the Properties of Things, 2:1262.



Notes341

 5. Nicholas of Gorran, In evangelium S. Lucae, p. 225a, and Ps.-Augustine (attributed to Gennadius), De ecclesiasticis dogmatibus, chap. 26 (PL 42:1218).  6. See Matt. 26:39; Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42.  7. Nicholas of Gorran, In evangelium S. Lucae, p. 225a.  8. Anselmus Laudunensis (Anselm of Laon), Enarrationes in Matthaeum, chap. 6 (PL 162:1304).  9. Nicholas of Gorran, In evangelium S. Lucae, p. 226b. 10. According to the Sarum Rite, Puer natus est nobis, et Filius datus est was chanted at the very beginning of the Great Mass on Christmas prior to the procession. See The Sarum Missal, 29. 11. According to the Sarum Rite, this verse comes at the end of the Gospel pericope (Luke 2:42–52) for the first Sunday following the Octave of Epiphany (The Sarum Missal, 41). 12. GO, ad loc., 4:111v. 13. I have not found a source for or any analogs of this exemplum. 14. I am unable to find to whom Rypon is referring. 15. Peter Lombard, Commentarium in Psalmos (PL 191:903). This discussion is based on Peter Lombard’s explication of Psalm 100. It is especially close when Rypon discusses verse 6. 16. Ibid., PL 191:904–05. Here Rypon is citing Peter almost verbatim. 17. For another version of this exemplum, see Tubach, Index Exemplorum, p. 255 (no. 3276) and p. 232 (no. 2960), although this is a story of a knight unrepentant at death, not a merchant. In a sermon for the first Sunday of Lent, John Mirk also tells this story about two merchants from Norwich. See John Mirk’s Festial, Edited from British Library MS Cotton Claudius A.II, ed. Susan Powell, Early English Text Society, Original Series 334 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), vol 1, sermon 34 (1 Lent (2)), pp. 135–6, ll. 191–227. Mirk’s version is much shorter and simpler than Rypon’s. It does not include the long discussion between the wicked man and Christ nor the sophistries of the devil (except the simple point that God will not save the unrepentant man), nor the vision to the good man. In Mirk’s version, two men are sleeping in the room with the wicked man and see Christ appear with bloody wounds. 18. Peter Lombard, Commentarium in Psalmos (PL 191:903). This is Peter Lombard’s commentary on Psalm 100:5. While Peter speaks of the food of the proud being envy, he does not use the dragon image from Isaiah. 19. John Damascene, De fide orthodoxa, book III, chap. 24 (PG 94:1090). 20. Here Rypon begins the final prayer which asks for eternal life for himself and his audience. See the discussion of this sermon’s seeming abrupt ending in the introduction to this volume, p. 19. Sermon for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity (RY44)  1. See GO, ad loc., 4:1019r.  2. Ibid.  3. Nicholas of Gorran, In evangelium S. Lucae, p. 304a.  4. Robert Grossteste, Dictum 134, fol. 108rb. This is not verbatim; Rypon probably remembered the general idea.  5. Nicholas of Gorran, In evangelium S. Lucae, p. 305a.  6. Ibid.  7. See Josephus, The Jewish War, vol. 1: Books I–II, trans. H. St. J. Thackeray, The Loeb Classical Library 203 (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1927; repr. 1967), 7ff.  8. Gregory the Great, Dialogues, ed. Adalbert de Vogüé, Sources Chrétiennes 251, 260, 265, 3 vols. (Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 1978–1980), vol. 3, p. 72.

342 Notes  9. Robert Grosseteste, Dictum 7, fol. 8rb–va. See Johnson, “The Imaginative Landscape of an English MonkPreacher: Robert Rypon and the Court of Memory,” Mediaeval Studies 75 (2013): 177–204 (at 186–8). 10. This appears to be a medieval commonplace attributed to several authors. 11. Nicholas of Gorran, In evangelium S. Lucae, p. 285a. 12. Quoted by Nicholas of Gorran, fol. 285a. Rypon is following Nicholas, who appears to be paraphrasing Augustine, Confessions 8.5.10: “Quippe ex voluntate peruersa facta est libido, et dum seruitur libidini, facta est consuetudo, et dum consuetudini non resistur, facta est necessitas” (Confessionum libri XIII, ed. Lucas Verheijen, CCSL 27 [Turnhout: Brepols, 1990], 119). 13. Nicholas of Gorran, In evangelium S. Lucae, p. 285a. 14. Gregory the Great, Homiliae in Evangelia, CCSL 141 (Turnhout: Brepols, 1999), homily 36, p. 335. 15. See Decretals 3.38.16, in Corpus iuris canonici, ed. Emil Friedberg, 2 vols. (Leipzig: Bernhard Tauchnitz, 1881), 2:614–15. 16. Anselm (or Eadmer?), Liber de Sancti Anselmi similitudinibus, chap. 127 (PL 159:679). 17. John of Wales, Communiloquium, part 1, distinctio 9, chapter 1. 18. This is a reference to the old common-law doctrine of “maintenance” (manutentatio), which is the encouragement of a frivolous lawsuit. 19. I have found this idea in Haymo Halberstatensis, Homiliae, homilia CXX: Dominica nona post Pentecosten (PL 118: 648). Haymo may be repeating an idea from Jerome. 20. Augustine, Enchiridion ad Laurentium, de fide et spe et caritate, ed. M. P. J. van den Hout, CCSL 46 (Turnhout: Brepols, 1969), chaps. 72 (p. 88), 73 (pp. 88–89), and perhaps 75 and 76 (pp. 89–91). 21. Gregory the Great, Homiliae in Evangelia, homily 6, pp. 43–44. Rypon is not quoting Gregory verbatim. 22. I have not found where Augustine says this. It may be a medieval commonplace. 23. Rypon had firsthand experience with accounting, both as almoner of Durham priory and prior of Finchale, one of Durham’s cells. Account rolls written in Rypon’s hand are extant at the Durham University Library. 24. Dummy used for a coin. 25. For a discussion of medieval counting boards, see Karl Menninger, Number Words and Number Symbols: A Cultural History of Numbers, trans. Paul Brenner (Boston: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press, 1969; repr. New York, N.Y.: Dover Editions, 1992), 340–9. Menninger includes a drawing in a manuscript of a checkered counting board and a brief explanation of how it works (348). He notes that dummy coins were necessary in computation because there were no pound or shilling coins; these were only “computational units, not actual monetary values” (343). Counting money in England was made more complex because the “English coinage system was built not upon the number 10, but upon the inconvenient numbers 4, 12, and 20” (348), a reality Rypon exploits in the connections he draws between the placing of coins and counters and living a Christian life. 26. A shilling was twelve pence and a pound was twenty shillings. 27. St. Lawrence’s feast day is August 10. This verse (Ps. 111:9) was sung in the liturgy at the beginning of the vigil of St. Lawrence. While August 10 did not fall on a likely Sunday when Rypon preached this sermon for the ninth Sunday after Trinity, it did fall on Monday, so Rypon may well have been preaching this sermon on the vigil of St. Lawrence’s feast day. See The Sarum Missal, 303. August 9 falls on a Trinity 9 Sunday in 1411. Sermon for St. John the Baptist (RY45)  1. John the Baptist’s nativity was celebrated on June 24. John 1:6 was used for the gradual during the vigil of his nativity, so it is possible that Rypon preached this sermon the afternoon or evening before the nativity. See The Sarum Missal, p. 280.



Notes343

 2. See MS. Baltimore, Walters, W.51, fol. 527r.  3. GO, ad loc., 4:1084r.  4. Ibid.  5. Gregory the Great, Registrum epistolarum, Libri I–VII, Monumenta Germaniae historica: Epistolae I.2, ed. Paul Ewald and Ludwig M. Hartmann (Berlin: Weidmann, 1891), book VII, Letter 26 (Gregorius ad Andream), 471.  6. I am unable to locate this quotation in Seneca, nor does Gregory quote this letter.  7. Gregory the Great, Moralia in Iob, ed. Marcus Adriaen, CCSL 143, 3 vols. (Turnhout: Brepols, 1979–1985), vol. 2, book XVII, sec. viii, pp. 856–7. Gregory is discussing wicked men, not life in general.  8. John Bromyard, Summa praedicantium pars prima, sec. 5, fol. 204v. This is in his section on diuitiae. Bromyard cites Seneca in quadam epistola.  9. Ibid., on diuitiae, sec. 6, fol. 205r. Bromyard cites Seneca’s epistle 8. Rypon seems to be paraphrasing this part. 10. Ibid., on diuitiae, sec. 34, fol. 209r. 11. Both the peacock and the vision are in Bromyard’s Summa praedicancium pars secunda, under mundus, fol. 90r–v. Bromyard also cites the antiqui and names Fulgentius. The section on the peacock is almost word for word, but Rypon cuts some of Bromyard’s examples. Bromyard also cites 1 Cor. 7:31. 12. According to the Middle English Dictionary, an exactor is “(a) one who imposes or collects (unjust or oppressive) taxes; (b) an officer of justice who extorts confessions and executes sentences.” 13. Bromyard has a long section comparing the world to a woman (fol. 90v), which Rypon does not include, nor does he include Bromyard’s discussion of the wheel of fortune (fols. 90v–91r). Rypon’s lament about the misuse of good things is an idea Bromyard discusses at some point, but this seems to be Rypon’s own elaboration. 14. The chess analogy is also in Bromyard, Summa Praedicancium pars secunda, sec. 7, fols. 91v–93r, under mundus. Rypon borrows much from Bromyard while cutting a great deal, changing some of the emphases, and leaving out the section on the pawns. 15. Alphinus comes from the Arabic word for “elephant” (al-fīl); in the Middle Ages “alphin” was the word used for the chess piece which became the bishop. 16. The instability of the world is not Bromyard’s point when using this metaphor; he uses chess to demonstrate the deception in the world. 17. Rypon is here answering the question he posed at the end of the first principal part. 18. Perhaps Ps.-John Chrysostom, Opus imperfectum, homily 45, at the beginning (PG 56:885; Kellerman 1:45). This is certainly is not word for word; Rypon is likely quoting from memory. 19. This idea is in Ps.-John Chrysostom, Opus imperfectum, homily 45 (PG 56:885; Kellerman 1:45). 20. This is a variant of Tubach, Index Exemplorum, pp. 227–8 (no. 2907) which Tubach labels, King, for a year. First Sermon for St. Mary Magdalene (RY46)  1. Mary Magdalene’s feast day was celebrated on July 22. Rypon takes his theme for this and the next sermon from the first reading, Proverbs 31:10–31, used during the liturgy for her feast day. See The Sarum Missal, 293.  2. Bede, De muliere forti libellus, section Ain (PL 91:1049).  3. See Judges 16.  4. See MS. Baltimore, Walters, W.51, fol. 530r.  5. Ibid, fol. 524r. The Walters MS. has situla vel paupercula, but situla is likely a scribal error for stulta.

344 Notes  6. Ibid., fol. 525v.  7. Gregory the Great, Moralia in Iob, ed. Marcus Adriaen, CCSL 143, 3 vols. (Turnhout: Brepols, 1979–1985), vol. 1, book VII, chap. xxi, p. 349.  8. See Jacopo da Varazze, Sermones de tempore et de sanctis (Basel: Iohann Amerbach, not after 1485), Dominica in Quadragesima, sermo III (no foliation): “Et dicit Rabbi Moyses quod in illa lingua nullum vocabulum est ad nominandum aliquid inhonestum; ex quo tria notabilia eliciuntur. Unum quod vocabula turpitudinum non fuerunt ab institutione divina, sed ab inventione humana. Secundum quod multum displicent Deo verba scurrilia, quia ea ponere noluit in linqua quam homini concreavit. Tertium, quod ille habet linguam cælestem, qui a talibus sese servat immunem.” My thanks to Paolo Maggioni for identifying this source for me.  9. David’s strong or valiant men are named in 2 Kings (2 Sam.), but the number given is 37, not 36. 10. See 1 Samuel (1 Kings) 17. 11. In book 1, chapter 3 of the Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle explains how imprecise knowledge of ethical goods is; some people, he remarks, have been undone by their courage. It is a major theme of Aristotle’s in the Ethics that virtue is a mean, so that falling short and exceeding a mean both miss the mark. 12. See Luke 7:37–38. The sinful woman who anointed Christ’s feet was often conflated with Mary Magdalene, as was Mary of Bethany, Martha’s sister. 13. See MS. Baltimore, Walters, W.51, fol. 531r. 14. Rypon may have several passages from the Pauline epistles in mind, perhaps Galatians 3:27 or Romans 13:14. Second Sermon for St. Mary Magdalene (RY47)  1. See Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics II.2 (1104a11–12) for this general idea.  2. Ps.-John Chrysostom, Opus imperfectum, homily 13 (PG 56:709; Kellerman 1:120).  3. Ibid. (PG 56:710; Kellerman 1:120).  4. Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics VIII.4, 1157b2–3.  5. See Aristotle, Parts of Animals III.4, 667a15–19.  6. See ibid., 666b18–19  7. I have not found this point in Aristotle’s discussions of the heart. It may be Rypon’s addition derived from a different source.  8. See Aristotle, Parts of Animals III.4, 667a14–15.  9. See, for example, Aristotle, History of Animals III.6, 516a1–4. 10. See Aristotle, History of Animals VI.18, 572a10–14. 11. See Aristotle, Parts of Animals III.4, 667a14–17. 12. Gregory the Great, Homiliae in Evangelia, homily 33, p. 289. 13. Ibid. 14. See the Legenda aurea of Jacopo da Varazze, although Jacopo says that she went into the desert for thirty years, not forty. The scribe likely misread an abbreviation for Januensis, which indicated Jacopo, who was archbishop of Genoa, as Josephus. See Jacopo da Varazze, Legenda aurea, ed. Giovanni Paolo Maggioni, 2 vols. (Tavarnuzze: SISMEL/Edizioni del Galluzzo, 1998), 1:628–42 (at 636–7). 15. Gregory the Great, Homiliae in Evangelia, p. 291. 16. Ibid., homily 30, p. 256. 17. GO, ad loc. interl., 3:136v.



Notes345

Third Sermon for St. Mary Magdalene (RY24)  1. This sermon is labeled the ninth sermon for the second Sunday of Lent. See introduction, p. 30.  2. See The Sarum Missal, p. 293.  3. GO, ad loc., attributed to Bede, 4:988v.  4. This point is actually made in chapter 29 of Enchiridion according to one system of capitulation and chapter 111 according to another. The scribe may have written 79 in error. See Augustine, Enchiridion ad Laurentium, de fide et spe et caritate, ed. M. P. J. van den Hout, CCSL 46 (Turnhout: Brepols, 1969), chap. 111, p. 109.  5. Paraphrase of Wisdom 1:5.  6. Drawn from the Vita santae Mariae Magdalenae by St. Odo, Abbot of Cluny. See Monuments inédits sur l’apostolat de sainte Marie-Madeleine en Provence et les saintes Maries Jacobé et Salomé, par l’auteur de la dernière vie de M. Olier, ed. Etienne Michel Faillon and J -P Migne, 2 vols. (PetitMontrouge: aux ateliers catholiques, 1848), 2:562.  7. Medieval commonplace, attributed to several authors.  8. Gregory the Great, Règle pastorale, ed. Bruno Judic et al., Sources Chrétiennes 381–382, 2 vols. (Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 1992), vol. 2, part III, chap. 14, p. 348.  9. See Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People, ed. Bertram Colgrave and R. A. B. Mynors (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969), book III, chap. 19, p. 272. 10. This is recounted in Luke 7:37–38. 11. Gregory the Great, Homiliae in Evangelia, homily 33, p. 289. 12. Ibid., p. 291. 13. For a discussion of this image, which Rypon derived originally from Grosseteste’s Dictum 7, but which he has transformed considerably, see Johnson, “The Imaginative Landscape of an English MonkPreacher: Robert Rypon and the Court of Memory,” Mediaeval Studies 75 (2013): 177–204 (at 192–5). 14. Medieval commonplace attributed to several authors. 15. Augustine, In Ioannis euangelium tractactus CXXIV, ed. D. Radbod Willems, CCSL 36 (Turnhout: Brepols, 1954), tractatus 28, sec. 8, p. 281. First Sermon for St. Oswald (RY49)  1. Oswald’s feast day is celebrated on August 5.  2. This is Averroes, known as the Commentator on Aristotle. See book 4, chapter 3 of Aristotelis Stagiritae de Physico Auditu libri octo cum Averrois Cordubensis variies in eosdem commentariis (Venice: apud Juctas, 1550), vol. 4, fol. 82va.  3. Rypon may be referring to Aristotle’s On the Heavens I.7 (275b2–3), or he may have been relying on Averroes’ commentary on this work, at least two copies of which were in the Durham priory library. See Aristotelis Stagiritae de coelo, de generatione et corruptione, meteorologicum, de plantis libri, cum Averrois Cordubensis variis in eosdem commentariis, 2nd ed. (Venice: apud Juctas, 1562), summa 7, fols. 23raff.  4. Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics III.10, 1117b28–34. Aristotle is here discussing temperance.  5. See ibid., near the end of the section.  6. By intemporaneis gustabilibus Rypon is likely referring to eating late at night or during times of fasting, two activities he and other preachers condemned. See the third sermon for St. Mary Magdalene, p. 263 in this volume.  7. Perhaps Rypon is referring to Aristotle’s discussion of magnificence in Nicomachean Ethics IV.2, 1122b29–35.

346 Notes  8. See Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics IV.3, 1124a14–17.  9. By epistola Rypon is referring to the liturgical epistle, or first reading, of the Mass for St. Oswald. 10. In the Latin word order. 11. Nicholas of Lyra on Wisdom 4:8: Senectus enim venerabilis est non diuturna. See Bibliorum sacrorum cum glossa ordinaria, 6 vols. (Venice: apud Iuntas, 1603), 3:1900. 12. In fact, this is Bernard of Clairvaux, Epistola CCLIV, ad abbatem Guarinum Alpensem, S. Bernardi Opera, ed. Jean Leclercq and Henri Rochais, 8 vols. (Rome: Editiones Cistercienses, 1977), 8:157. 13. See Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics V.1, 1129b28–30. 14. See Postilla Hugonis de Sancto Charo, ed. N. Pezzana, 8 vols. (Venice: apud Nicolaum Pezzana, 1703), vol. 3, chap. 4, fol. 144v. The gloss attributes the second sentence to Seneca. 15. This point is implicit in Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics II.3, 1104b9–1105a17. 16. GO, ad loc. interl., 3:38r. 17. Augustine, Contra Iulianum Pelagianum, book 5, chap. 10 (PL 44:808). Augustine is here quoting Cicero. 18. See Postilla Hugonis de Sancto Charo, ed. N. Pezzana, 8 vols. (Venice: apud Nicolaum Pezzana, 1703), vol. 3, chap. 4, fol. 144v. Also GO, ad loc. interl., 3:38r. 19. Cicero, De senectute, ed. J. G. F. Powell, Cambridge Classical Texts and Commentaries 28 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988), chap. 13, sec. 44, p. 73. 20. Augustine, Sermon 391 (Ad iuvenes), section 2 (PL 39:1707). 21. While I do not know what specific tract Rypon had in mind, there are several possibilities, both in Latin and in Middle English. 22. For this use of “maintenance,” see the Oxford English Dictionary, the latter part of def. 4: “The action of upholding or keeping in being a cause, right, state of things, government, etc.; the state or fact of being upheld or sustained; †that which upholds, means of sustentation (obs.).” 23. This is not the meaning of “Paul” given in the Aaron adaptation of the Interpretation of Hebrew Names. It may have been the one given in the Aaz adaptation, of which the Durham priory did have at least one copy. See p. 338, n. 6 in this volume. 24. This idea does not seem to be in the glosses of Hugh of Saint-Cher, Nicholas de Lyra, or the GO. Hugh just has martyris vel cuiuslibet iusti. It is possible that Rypon is here just expanding on this idea. 25. This idea is expressed in Augustine, Sermones de Scriptures, sermon 172, chap. 2 (PL 38:936–37). The biblical text which the sermon explicates is 1 Thess. 4:12. 26. See Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People, ed. Bertram Colgrave and R. A. B. Mynors (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969), book III, chap. VI, p. 230. 27. See ibid., book III, chap. II, p. 214. 28. There seems to be a transition missing between these two thoughts. Second Sermon for St. Oswald (RY50)  1. The Douay-Rheims Bible translates this word as “charges.”  2. This is possibly a paraphrase of Gregory’s discussion in Moralia in Iob, ed. Marcus Adriaen, CCSL 143, 3 vols. (Turnhout: Brepols, 1979–1985), vol. 3, book XXIX, sec. xxvi, part 52, pp. 1469–70.  3. I have not been able to locate this among Ambrose’s works.  4. GO, ad loc., 4:1075v.  5. Nicholas of Gorran, In evangelium S. Lucae, p. 288b.  6. Ibid., p. 177ra.  7. Anselm (or Eadmer?), Liber de Sancti Anselmi similitudinibus, chaps. 127–8 (PL 159:679).



Notes347

 8. Rypon may here be referring to Aristotle, Politics II.8, 1268a30–34.  9. This idea is generally expressed in Aristotle, Politics II.2, 1252b27–1253a2. 10. During the fifteenth century, the Latin word inclusarius referred to a hayward, who is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary in these terms: “An officer of a manor, township, or parish, having charge of the fences and enclosures, esp. to keep cattle from breaking through from the common into enclosed fields.” 11. Anselm (or Eadmer ?), Liber de Sancti Anselmi similitudinibus, chap. 98 (PL 159:664). 12. Ibid., chaps. 101–02 (PL 159:665–666). 13. Ibid, chap. 102 (PL 159:666). 14. Ibid., chap. 103 (PL 159:666–667). 15. Steps three through seven are largely paraphrased. See PL 159: 667–668. 16. The Scots were a threat to the north of England throughout the late medieval period and especially during the Hundred Years’ War (1337–1453). Scotland was an ally of France, an alliance created when France supported Scotland in its wars of independence from England, which began in the late thirteenth century. The Battle of Neville’s Cross, which took place in 1346 during the second of the wars of Scottish independence, occurred just one-half mile to the west of Durham. Durham’s geographical position made it an important defense for the English against the Scots, but the residents of Durham must have felt themselves vulnerable to Scottish raids and skirmishes between the Scots and English. Durham priory also received revenue from churches in Northumberland, an area even more vulnerable to Scottish raids and counter-raids. In a sermon for the second Sunday of Lent (to be edited and translated in volume 2), Rypon rejoices for the English victory over the Scots at the Battle of Homildon Hill in 1402, but this victory did not end the hostilities between Scotland and England. 17. Paul the Deacon, Historia romana (Historia miscella), part 1 (PL 95:747). For a newer edition, see Marek Thue Kretschmer, Rewriting Roman History in the Middle Ages: The ‘Historia Romana’ and the Manuscript Bamberg, Hist. 3 (Leiden: Brill, 2007), p. 70, ll. 83–4. 18. See John of Salisbury, Policraticus, book 6, chap. 8 (PL 199:600). 19. See ibid., book 6, chap. 5 (PL 199:597). 20. This is cited ibid., book 6, chap. 5 (PL 199:597) and is likely the source Rypon was using. 21. See ibid., book 6, chap. 7 (PL 199:599). 22. See ibid., book 6, chap. 5 (PL 199:597). 23. According to Beriah Botfield in the preface to the Catalogi veteres librorum ecclesiae cathedralis Dunelmensis, The Publications of the Surtee Society 7 (London: Nichols and Son, 1838), p. liv, Valerius Maximus’s Factorum et dictorum memorabilium libri novem was a popular text with Durham monks. Rypon appears to be paraphrasing book 4, section 3, not quoting verbatim. Valerius does not list the vices Rypon lists, but he begins this section, which is on abstinence and continence, by saying that lust and greed are repelled by good sense and reason from the “hearts of famous men.” He continues, “For a household or a community will hold its ground easily and for all time where and only where the desire for carnal pleasure and for money asserts for itself a minimum of strength.” See Valerius Maximus, Memorable Doings and Sayings: Books 1–5, ed. and trans. by D. R. Shackleton Bailey, Loeb Classical Library 492, 2 vols. (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2000), 1:366–67. 24. I am unable to locate this idea in Valerius. 25. GO, ad loc., 4:1110r. 26. The image of houses built with square stones comes from Amos 5:11: Therefore because you robbed the poor, and took the choice prey from him: you shall build houses with square stone, and shall not dwell in them: you shall plant most delightful vineyards, and shall not drink the wine of them. 27. See Augustine, Enarrationes in Psalmos LI–C, ed. Eligius Dekkers and Jean Fraipont, CCSL 39 (Turnhout: Brepols, 1956), Psalm 90, sermon 2, section 1, p. 1266, where Augustine proposes that the Church

348 Notes began with Abel. See also Augustine, Enarrationes in Psalmos I–L, ed. Eligius Dekkers and Jean Fraipont, CCSL 38 (Turnhout: Brepols, 1956), Psalm 48, sermon 2, p. 574, where he sees Cain as the father of the wicked and Abel as the father of the just. For a discussion of these texts and the idea’s origin with Augustine, see Scott H. Hendrix, Ecclesia in Via: Ecclesiological Developments in the Medieval Psalms Exegesis and the Dictata super Psalterium (1513–1513) of Martin Luther (Leiden: Brill, 1974), 106–08. 28. See Hugh of Saint-Victor, Didascalicon, ed. Charles Henry Buttimer (Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 1939), book 2, chap. 20, pp. 38–9. 29. See John of Wales, Communiloquium, part 1, dist. 10, chap. 3, fol. 98r. 30. See ibid., part 1, dist. 10, chap. 3, fols. 98r–v, where it is also cited as being from book 7 of the Collations, second collation. 31. See ibid., part 1, dist. 10, chap. 3, which includes the reference to Proverbs. 32. John the Almsgiver was a seventh-century patriarch of Alexandria. Rypon is here still using as his source John of Wales, Communiloquium, part 1, dist. 10, chap. 3, fols. 98v–99r, and following this source very closely. This exemplum is in Tubach, Index Exemplorum, p. 222 (no. 2823), titled John the Almoner, St., and two shoemakers. Third Sermon for St. Oswald (RY51)  1. Ps.-John Chrysostom, Opus imperfectum, homily 8 on preaching as an assault on the devil (PG 56:677; Kellerman 1:80).  2. Aristotle, On the Soul II.4, 415b13.  3. This is a reference to the doctrine of the convertibility of the transcendentals. Following a common scholastic teaching, whatever has being, also has truth, goodness, and beauty.  4. See John of Wales, Communiloquium, part 3, dist. 2, chap. 5, fol. 146v.  5. Ambrose, Expositio in Lucam, book 5, section 52 (PL 15:1733).  6. GO, ad loc., interl., 3:38r.  7. Augustine, Enarrationes in Psalmos LI–C, ed. Eligius Dekkers and John Fraipont, CCSL 39 (Turnhout: Brepols, 2004), Psalm 85, sec. 7 on verse 5, p. 1182.  8. See Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People, ed. Bertram Colgrave and R. A. B. Mynors (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969), book 3, chap. 2, p. 214.  9. This quotation is in Thomas of Ireland’s Manipulus florum under the word senectus (n). See The Electronic Manipulus florum Project (www.manipulusflorum.com). It is attributed there to Chrysostom, Super epistolam ad Hebreos, sermo VII. 10. This quotation is also listed under senectus (f) in the Manipulus florum, where it is attributed to Ambrose, Exameron, book 1. See Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Exameron, in Sancti Ambrosii Opera, ed. Karl Schenkl, CSEL 32.1 (Vienna: Tempsky, 1897), p. 32, ll. 6–11. 11. See, for example, Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics II.1, 1103a14–1103b26. 12. Siegfried Wenzel translates and transcribes the preceding section, beginning with the discussion of the first two ages, in “Preaching the Seven Deadly Sins,” in In the Garden of Evil: The Vices and Culture in the Middle Ages, ed. Richard Newhauser (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 2005), 145–69 (at 167–8). He says of this sermon: “None of this natural science is necessarily original to Rypon, yet his way of connecting the vices to what, at that period, must have been state-of-the-art psycho-physiology could have easily found its way into a fifteenth-century equivalent to Time or Psychology Today” (169). 13. Oxford English Dictionary, def. 1: “A figure of speech by which words are used in a sense opposite to their proper meaning.”



Notes349

14. This is letter 107, section 4 to Laeta (Ad Laetam de institutione filiae). See Saint Jérôme, Lettres, vol. 5, ed. and trans. Jérôme Labourt (Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1955), 147. 15. Rypon has here not been quoting anyone, so it is possible that this is a scribal error for inquam, or Rypon intended to name an authority and has forgotten to include it. 16. This was apparently a reponsorial used for the minor prophets. See Gregory the Great, Liber responsalis (PL 78:837–38). 17. The Middle English Dictionary defines bauderik as “a sash or girdle, worn over the shoulder or around the waist, for carrying a sword, a hunting horn, a pouch.” 18. See Aristotle, Politics I.2, 1253a30. 19. According to the Middle English Dictionary, “dropsy” in Middle English texts is figuratively connected to the “insatiable” vices of pride and lechery, for each of which the MED offers one attestation. Avarice seems an even more apt vice to be associated with dropsy, and Rypon is not original in making this connection. For another example, see Holly Johnson, “A Fifteenth-Century Sermon Enacts the Seven Deadly Sins,” in Sin in Medieval and Early Modern Culture: The Tradition of the Seven Deadly Sins, ed. Richard G. Newhauser and Susan J. Ridyard (York: York Medieval Press, in association with Boydell & Brewer, 2012), 107–31 (at 115–19). 20. Ps.-Augustine, Œuvres complètes de saint Augustin, ed. Joseph-Maxence Péronne et al., vol. 23, Appendix (Paris: Librairie de Louis Vivés, 1873), sermon 48, p. 392. 21. Gregory the Great, Homiliae in Evangelia, homily 1, p. 9. 22. Seneca, Epistulae morales, ed. L. D. Reynolds, 2 vols. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1965), vol. 1, book 3, letter 27, p. 77 (not verbatim). 23. Gregory may be quoting Seneca, or Rypon may be misremembering where he read the quotation, but this is originally expressed by Seneca, Epistulae morales, vol.1, book 2, letter 13, p. 33. 24. This appears to be from the second letter of Sulpicius Severus to his sister Claudia concerning virginity, but may be spurious. See Sulpicius Severus, Libri qui supersunt, ed. Karl Halm, CSEL 1 (Vienna: Geroldus, 1866), 249–50. 25. Seneca, Epistulae morales, vol. 2, book 15, letter 93, p. 362. 26. This is under senectus (d) in the Manipulus florum, attributed to Augustine in quodam sermone (www.manipulusflorum.com). The text is from Augustine, sermon 216, chap. 8 (PL 38:1081), but Rypon may well have been consulting the Manipulus florum.

Index of Sources Scripture Old Testament Genesis 1:28, 221 1:27, 297 2:16–17, 221 3:4, 221 3:5, 81, 255 3:6, 255 3:16, 221 3:17, 221 3:19, 223, 311 4:2, 303 4:2–8, 57 4:26, 303 14:18–20, 131 18:20, 81 Exodus 10:6, 109 12, 107 12:8, 135 12:37–9, 119 32:1–4, 143 Leviticus 11:45, 83 22:22, 147 Numbers 9:1–5, 107 9:11, 135 Deuteronomy 9:18, 143 28:56, 263 28:57, 263 32:10, 83 32:24, 69

Joshua 5:11, 107 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 21:4, 18, 161 2 Kings (2 Samuel) 23:8–29, 225 3 Kings (1 Kings) 18, 153 4 Kings (2 Kings) 2:24, 159 Tobit 12:9, 149 Judith 9:16, 167 Job 7:1, 311 7:7, 201 9:3, 297 14:1, 291 20:5, 287 21:13, 287 35:12, 151 Psalms 8:3, 165 11:3, 97 16:1, 165 18:5, 221 24:2, 245 35:5, 167

352 36:7, 167 36:27, 123 38:6, 267 44:5, 231 48:7, 249 49:3, 63 49:14, 107 50:3, 143 61:5, 153 64:13, 83 65:18, 153 68:31–2, 289 73:23, 173, 283 76:15, 93 79:3, 49 80:16, 273 83:8, 291 89:4, 273 92:1, 215, 231 100:1, 169 100:5, 173 100:6, 169 100:8, 169 101:18, 167 102:15–16, 249 104:1, 85 111:3, 177 111:9, 195 117:15, 77 118:13, 97 118:43, 97 118:145, 161 118:51, 259 118:126, 277 118:172, 97 126:1, 315 135:1, 83 144:9, 55 149:5, 175 Proverbs 4:23, 243 5:6, 227 10:19, 165 10:22, 313 11:12, 229 15:26, 165

Index of Sources 15:29, 149 17:17, 237 20:28, 61 21:3, 289 27:4, 61–3 28:22, 59 29:8, 269 30:18, 323 31:10, 233 31:11, 233, 237 31:25, 215 31:27, 217 31:30, 249 Ecclesiastes 3:8, 291 Canticles 4:2, 97 Wisdom 2:6–7, 79, 249 2:9, 79, 249 2:12, 81 2:15, 81 2:20, 81 2:24, 57 4:7, 277 4:8, 279, 281, 319 4:9, 281, 317 4:11, 279 4:13, 273 4:14, 287 5:8–10, 249 18:21, 147 Ecclesiasticus 5:9, 173 7:25, 323 15:14, 327 18:23, 147 19:27, 91 25:23, 261 25:32, 263 26:5, 243 26:8, 265 26:16, 263



Index of Sources353 26:19, 267 28:19, 261 30:23, 333 35:21, 149 40:19, 267 44:6, 229

Isaiah 1:6, 93, 127 1:15, 151 1:31, 223 3:25, 229 9:6, 163 12:4, 17, 85 12:30, 85 22:16, 179 24:10, 269 33:15, 91 34:13, 173 35:4, 85 40:3, 69, 83 52:11–12, 61 52:13, 291 57:13, 249 62:11, 61 65:20, 323, 331 Jeremiah 5:6, 159 6:13, 259, 329

8:12, 329 10:7, 57 13:20, 181 17:5, 247 17:7, 249 29:7, 137 33:11, 221 50:6, 187 Ezechiel 7:23, 257 16:14–15, 247 16:15, 47 16:25, 229 Hosea 8:1, 99 11:10, 69 13:8, 159 13:14, 113 Joel 2:12, 231 Amos 5:11, 311 Zachariah 8:3, 269 9:9, 41, 51, 57 New Testament

Matthew 3:1, 199 3:2, 69, 79 3:3, 69 4:1, 83 4:2, 93 4:20, 213 5:14, 307 6:5, 161 6:6, 161, 235 6:9, 161 6:23, 315 6:26, 305

15:22, 30 18:4, 167 18:34, 203 21:2–4, 43 21:5, 41, 55, 61 21:8–9, 47 21:9, 49 22:12, 179 25:41, 63, 69 Mark 1:3, 69 1:4, 211

354 1:6, 199, 209, 211 5:24, 55 15:11, 127 15:34, 27, 81 16:9, 251 Luke 1:38, 163 1:80, 163 2:51, 167 2:52, 163 3:4, 69 3:14, 309 6:47–8, 20, 293 6:49, 295 7:37, 30, 251 7:38, 243 7:47, 231, 237 7:50, 235, 245, 267 11:7, 18 11:28, 215, 319 12:19, 81 12:31, 315 14:18, 187 14:28–30, 19, 293 14:30, 24, 293 14:31–2, 19, 295 16:1, 177, 181 16:2, 177 16:2–9, 177 16:3, 189–91 16:20–31, 289 16:25, 289 18:18, 79 22:19, 131 22:43–4, 161 22:46, 161 23:24, 61 John 1:6, 197, 199, 209, 213 1:14, 133 1:20, 75 1:21, 67 1:22, 67, 71 1:23, 69 1:28, 197, 199, 209, 211

Index of Sources 6:37, 65 6:40, 65, 291 6:44, 291 6:55, 291 7:37–8, 79 10:1, 95 10:11, 95 11:43, 79 13:35, 59 14:23, 43 15:4, 245 19:30, 135 Acts of the Apostles 4:32, 235, 261 Romans 2:15, 181 5:9, 127 5:20, 233 5:21, 123 10:4–5, 135 10:15, 45 14:12, 187 15:2, 315 1 Corinthians 3:7, 295 3:10, 295 3:11, 301, 331 3:19, 163 5:7, 105, 133 6:15, 97 7:31, 205, 209 11:13, 63–5 11:24, 131 11:25, 129 12:4–10, 197 12:25–7, 99 15:10, 197 2 Corinthians 1:12, 173 3:4, 245 Galatians 4:4–5, 53



Index of Sources355 6:10, 185 6:14, 221

Ephesians 2:17, 43 2:19, 315 2:20–2, 315 5:3, 165 5:4, 165 5:23, 235 6:12, 311 6:13, 311 Philippians 2:7, 165 2:8, 167 4:4, 71 4:5–6, 71 4:6, 71 Colossians 1:19–20, 127 2:7, 307 1 Thessalonians 5:17, 281 1 Timothy 2:1, 137 2:2, 137 4:12, 327 6:8, 49 6:15, 51 2 Timothy 2:6, 165

3:1–5, 287 4:2, 99 Titus 2:12–3, 65 Hebrews 4: 15–16, 245 5:13, 65 6:1, 195 7:26, 165 9–10, 127 9:28, 127 13:17, 183 James 2:19, 55 2:20, 199 4:8, 165 5:16, 139 1 Peter 1:18–19, 53 2:2, 165 4:5, 195 4:8, 47 5:8, 157 1 John 1:3, 167 2:16, 255 2:17, 205 3:21–2, 147, 235 5:6, 317 5:19, 105

Authorities Alexander Necham De naturis rerum, 49 Ambrose De Cain et Abel, 107, 139 Exameron, 321 Expositio in Lucam, 317

Anselm of Laon De similitudinibus, 189, 297–9, 303–07 Enarrationes in Matthaeum, 161 Aristotle History of Animals, 241

356

Index of Sources

Nicomachean Ethics, 87, 123, 225, 233, 237, 273, 275, 279, 281, 321 On the Heavens, 273 On the Soul, 317 Parts of Animals, 239–41, 243 Politics, 59, 299, 329 Augustine Confessions, 187 Contra Iulianum Pelagianum, 281 De moribus ecclesie, 99 De Trinitate, 55, 87, 95, 113 Enchiridion ad Laurentium, de fide et spe et caritate, 191, 253 Enarrationes in Psalmos, 311, 319 In Ioannis euangelium tractactus, 271 Sermons, 281–83, 331 Sermones de Scriptures, 289 Super Genesim ad litteram, 51 Ps.-Augustine De ecclesiasticis dogmatibus, 159 Sermon 48, 329 Averroes In Aristotelis Stagiritae de coelo, 273 In Aristotelis Stagiritae de Physico Auditu, 273

Cicero De senectute, 281 Decretals 3.38.16, in Corpus iuris canonici, 187 Egidius (Giles of Rome) De regimine principum, 101 Glossa ordinaria 57, 71, 85, 123, 125–7, 129, 131, 135, 137, 141, 165, 177, 181, 197, 247, 251, 281, 295, 311, 319 Gregory the Great Dialogues, 183 Homiliae in Evangelia, 67, 187, 193, 243, 245, 247, 265, 267, 331 Liber regulae pastoralis, 263 Liber responsalis, 327 Moralia in Iob, 19, 201, 223, 293 Registrum epistolarum, 22, 201 Guillaume Durandus Rationale divinorum officiorum, 119 Haymo Halberstatensis Homiliae, 191

Avicenna Liber de anima seu sextus de naturalibus, 87–9, 95

Hugh of Saint-Cher Biblia latina cum postillis Hugonis de Sancto Caro, 97–9, 279–81

Bede De muliere forti libellus, 215 Ecclesiastical History of the English People, 265, 289, 319 Paraenetica, 107

Hugh of Saint-Victor Didascalicon, 313

Bernard of Clairvaux Epistola CCLIV, ad abbatem Guarinum Alpensem, 279 Sermons on the Canticles, 147

Innocent, pope De officiis, 119 (dubious)

Ps.-Bernard of Clairvaux Liber florum Bernardi Claraevallensis, 63, 141–3 Bernard of Pavia Summa super decretales, 155

Hugh Ripelin of Strassburg Compendium theologicae veritatis, 133–5

Isidore of Seville Etymologies, 45, 69 Sentenciae, 63 Jacopo da Varazze Legenda aurea, 245 Sermones de tempore et de sanctis, 223



Index of Sources357

Jean Beleth Summa de ecclesiasticis officiis, 119 Jerome Letters, 325 Liber de nominibus hebraicis (via “The Paris Bible”), 111, 119, 123, 135, 197, 221–3, 231 John Bromyard Summa praedicantium, 203–09 John Chrysostom Super epistolam ad Hebreos, 321 Ps.-John Chrysostom Opus imperfectum ad Mattheum, 41, 75, 83, 105, 107, 139, 211, 235, 317

Nicholas of Gorran In evangelium S. Lucae, 159–61, 177, 179–81, 187, 295, 297 Nicholas of Lyra gloss on Wisdom 4:8, 277 Odo, Abbot of Cluny Vita santae Mariae Magdalenae, 253 Paul the Deacon Historia romana, 309 Peter Lombard Commentarium in Psalmos, 169, 173 Robert Grosseteste Dicta, 41, 89, 95–9, 113, 179, 183, 267

John of Damascus De fide orthodoxa, 151, 173

Sarum Missal 49, 85, 163, 195, 251

John Halgrin of Abbeville Sermones in epistolas et evangelia de tempore hiemali, 43

Seneca Epistulae morales, 331

John of Salisbury Policraticus, 309 John Trevisa On the Properties of Things (Middle English translation of Bartholomaeus Anglicanus, De proprietatibus rerum), 45, 69, 157–9 John of Wales Communiloquium, 189, 313, 315, 317 Josephus The Jewish War, 181

Sulpicius Severus Libri qui supersunt, 331 Thomas Aquinas Sermon for the Sunday before Ash Wednesday (Dominica in Quinquagesima), 59 Valerius Maximus Factorum et dictorum memorabilium libri novem, 309

General Index Aaron, 109, 115, 119, 147, 151 abbot, 313 Abel, 57, 303, 311 Abell, Robert, 4–5 Abimalech, 18, 161 Abraham, 289 abstinence, 91, 93, 193, 211, 245, 267, 325 account, 177–81, 189–95, 249 accounting, method of, 193–5, see also computation Adam, 43, 51, 113, 221, 223, 227, 233, 255, 257, 311, 329 adolescence, 321, 323, 325, 331 adultery, 181, 185, 221, 273, 285 of Mohammed, 283 Advent, 49, 71 First Sunday, 41 sermon for, 9, 22 n. 73, 23 n. 74 Fourth Sunday, sermon for, 10, 26–7 affections compared to feet, 135 age, old, 201, 247, 279–81, 317, 331 as spotless life, 281, 317, 319, 321, 323, 331 venerable, 319, 321, 325, 327 agriculture, 23, 313 Alexander the Great, 309 almonry school, 5 alms, 49, 149, 151, 153, 191, 203, 205, 231, 285, 289, 291, 297, 313, 329 compared to water, 193 corporeal, 177, 191, 195 spiritual, 177, 191, 193, 195 temporal, 193 almsgiving, 91, 93, 149, 289 almshouses, 5, 11 altar, 127 of the Cross, 127 ambition, 255, 275 Ambrose, 107, 295, 317 Hexameron, 321 Ancroft chapel, 5

angel, angels, 53, 55, 105, 147, 245, 265 of death, 111 anger, the angry, 45, 61–3, 65, 69, 79, 91, 185, 187, 199, 211, 225, 231, 241, 243, 265, 305, 327, 329 species of, 261, 327 animal brute, 149 dead, 211 spotted, 147 Annunciation, 163 Anselm, 151 De similitudinibus, 22, 23 n. 76, 27, 189, 297–9, 303–05 Antichrist, 283 appetite, carnal, 115, see also concupiscence apostles, 43, 93, 169, 177, 285, 315 archery, 277, 287 Aristotle, 21, 22, 123, 233, 239, 241, 243, 275, 279 Ethics, 87, 225, 237, 273, 275, 281, 321 Of Heaven and Earth, 273 Politics, 59, 299, 329 arms military, 225, 309, 319 spiritual, 225, 311 army, 309, 319 arrow, shooting of compared to humility, 149 ars praedicandi, 17, 22, 27 artisans, 24, 261 arts, mechanical, 313 Ascension, 107, 123, 125, 245 auditors, 191, 193 Augustine of Hippo, 21, 22, 159, 185, 255, 267, 281, 289, 311, 319, 329, 331 Confessions, 187 Contra Iulianum, 281 De moribus ecclesie, 99 De Trinitate, 55, 87, 113 Enchiridion, 191, 253 Super Genesim ad litteram, 50

360

General Index

authorities, 21–2, 28 avarice, the avaricious, 45, 61, 65, 69, 71, 79, 81, 91, 115, 117, 137, 151, 173, 181, 187, 199, 205, 209, 211, 221, 243, 255, 259, 265, 267, 269, 287, 307, 329 as a thorny hedge, 151 compared to a lion, 157 species of, 117–19, 185, 259–61 Averroes on Aristotle’s Physics, 273 Avicenna Liber naturalium, 87–9, 95 Baal, people of, 153 Babylon, 137, 181 baldric, 327 baptism, 26, 73, 75, 77, 85, 113, 117, 119, 121, 133, 209, 265, 295, 301 basin, 147 bear, bears, 157, 159 beasts of burden, 45, 227 beatitude, eternal, 143, 201, 209, 307, 333 beauty artificial, 227 natural, 227 physical, 151, 201, 205, 227, 229, 247 spiritual, 217, 229 Bede, 21, 107, 215, 279 Ecclesiastical History of the English People, 265 Bedlington, 4 belly, 281 as body’s receptacle, 79 benefice, 179, 207 Bernard of Clairvaux, 22, 81, 127, 147 Pseudo-Bernard of Clairvaux, Liber florum Bernardi Claraevallensis, 63, 141 Bernard of Pavia, 155 Bethphage, 43 Bible, 21 birds of hell, 69 bishop, bishops, 43, 141, 157 chess piece, 207, 209 blasphemy, 97, 285, 287, 323 blessing, 105, 107, 269, 313, as protection from evil, 107 see also sanctification blindness, 147

blood, 133, 151, 171, 241, 257 as seat of the soul, 131, 133, 327 of Christ, 329 blood-shedding, 53, 119, 121, 133 in Garden of Gethsemane, 161 boasting, 181, 249, 259, 283, 285, 307, 331 body as cloister, 145 as clothing of the soul, 211 beatified, 333 bookhands, 11–12 Anglicana, 11–12 Secretary, 11–12 bookmaking, 23 bread, 131 as word of God, 217, 233 Christ’s body as, 129, 131 breadmaking, 23, 131 British Library, 16 builder, builders, 293–7, 301–05 as hearer of God’s word, 293 bull, 323 bursar, 177 Bywell St. Peter, 4 cadavers, 229 Cain, 57, 171, 311 calf, bronze, 143 Canticles, 147 Carruthers, Mary, 26 n. 87 castle, 301 man’s body compared to, 113, 149 chamberlain, 267–69 character, maturity of, 277, 279, 281, 287, 289, 291, 331 charity, 43, 47, 49, 57, 59, 73, 101, 103, 139, 163, 167, 169, 179, 211, 241, 261, 327, see also love chastity, 137, 181, 313, 327 Chaucer, Geoffrey, 1, 26 checkers, 277 chess, 23, 24, 207–09, 277 child, children, 18, 161, 163, 323 good qualities of, 163–7 childhood, 321, 331 choir (part of church), 147 choir, angelic, 291



General Index361

Christ, 18, 25, 27, 41–9, 53, 55, 59, 65, 67, 69, 75, 79, 85, 93, 97, 99, 107, 109, passim as angel of counsel, 113 as cornerstone, 315 as door to sheepfold, 95–7 as foundation of a house, 301 as godfather, 211 as head of the Church, 189, 235 as holocaust, 129 as husband, 233–7, 243, 255, 263 as king, 51, 57, 61, 63 as physician, 61 as preacher, 93, 215 as rich man from parable, 177 as shepherd, 95 as spouse of the Church, 83 blood of, 129, 131 body of, 129, 131 compared to an elephant, 301 compared to a lion, 69 death of, 121 divinity of, 127, 233 fasting of, 93 given vinegar and gall, 93 humanity of, 127, 233 image of, 163 mystical body of, 231, 235 on cross, 81 thirsting, 93 wounds of, 123, 171 Christendom, 159 Christian, Christians, 73, 75, 77, 105, 117, 177, 195, 219, 221, 227, 285, 289, 307 compared to sheep, 303 Church, 26, 41, 43, 85, 97, 119, 121, 123, 129, 133, 137, 139, 143, passim as a city, 145 as a godmother, 211 as a house, building, 24–6, 299, 307, 311, 315 as a mother, 169 as a strong woman, 217, 233 as the mystical body of Christ, 75, 131, 133 as the spouse of Christ, 75, 83, 233, 263 compared to the body, 311 English, 307 militant, 169, 301

primitive, 205 triumphant, 301, 333 church building, 59, 91, 145, 161, 171, 187, 261 Cicero On Old Age, 281 circumcision, 53 citizens, 137, 267–9, 299, 301, 311, 313 as a stomach, 311 as saints, 137, 311, 315 city, 59, 61, 143, 251, 261, 267 as perfect community, 299 human body compared to, 113, 253, 255, 267–69 of glory, 255, 271 the world compared to, 253, 255 threefold, 253 Clark, James G., 4 n. 11 clergy, 25, 87, 91, 93, 95, 145, 157, 159, 177, 179, 183, 187, 189, 191, 193, 207, 215, 225, 235, 261, 285, 301, 303, 307, 311, 313 as heart in the mystical body, 235 as those who pray, 297 compared to sheep, 299 cloister, 143, 145 cloister library, 14 n. 42, 15 clothing, 227, 275 compared to the body, 211 ostentatious, 185, 211, 227–29, 259, 309 colt, 43–7 comeliness artificial, 219, 229 as clothing, 215, 219, 231 as progress in virtue, 217 natural, 219, 227, 229 spiritual, 219, 231 virtuous, 219, 227 commandments, 147, 219, 225, 231, 235, 245, 255, 303, 323, see also Ten Commandments common sense, 87, 91 compassion, 63, 93, 231, 243, 245, 331 complexions, see humors, four compunction, 147 computation, method of, 2, 23, 24, see also accounting conceit of the heart, 259

362

General Index

conceits, 23–6 concubine, concubines, 187, 285 concupiscence, 27, 185, 205, 221, 247, 257, 285, 295 as a court jester, 27 as a prostitute, harlot, 27, 269 of the eyes, 255 of the flesh, 255 confession, 81, 117, 119, 171, 195, 211, 231, 243, 265, 307 compared to digging in the earth, 191 tears of, 243 confessor, 119, 211 confirmation, 133 conscience, 119, 173, 179, 181, 183, 191 as a chamber, 161 as a house, 217 as a worm, 63 consecration, 141 conspiracy, 259 constable, 267–9 contention, 259, 261 continence, 49, 211, 325, 327 compared to a wall, 325–7 contrition, 43, 81, 117, 119, 191, 211, 231, 265, 307 compared to bitter lettuce, 135 conversion, 141 counsel, spirit of, 327 counsels, counselors, 321 counters, 193, 195 counting-tables, 191, 193 cow, cows, 241 crafts, 275 craftsmen, 189, 275, 299 creation, 105, 167, Creed, 145 cross, 27, 59, 69 as an oven, 131 sign of the, 107 crucifix, image of, 59, 91 crucifixion, 61, 93 curate, curates, 41–3, 87, 95–101, 181, 259 as Christ’s members, 97 compared to shepherds, 95–101, 303 offices of, 95–101, 181 Cuthbert, Saint, 5–6

damnation, 173, 183, 257 damned, the, 169, 249, 273 David, King, 18, 49, 143, 161, 225 d’Avray, David, 17 n. 50, 19 n. 57 death, 57, 81, 113, 119, 129, 181, 191, 197, 199, 201, 209, 225, 229, 249, 269, 277, 279, 289, 291, 295, 297, 305, 309, 321, 331 as firstborn of sin, 113 spiritual, 197–99, 223 decalog, see Ten Commandments deer, 241 Delilah, 221 meaning of, 221 demon, demons, 57, 63, 173, 193, 295, 311, 313 as devouring beasts, 211 familiar, 165–167 impeded by prayer, 153 legions of, 55 seven cast out, 251 desert, 81, 123, 245 as heaven, 211, 213 as hell, 211 as life on earth, 121 as purgatory, 211 of Christian faith, 119 of glory, 83 the world compared to, 69, 201, 211 despair, 171, 229, 241 detraction, 91, 199, 223, 231, 261, 327 detractors, secret, 173 devil, devils, 9, 43, 45, 47, 49, 53, 55, 57, 59, 61, 81, 105, 111, 119, 127, 133, 149, 153, 155, 165, 171, 179, 201, 209, 211, 217, 221, 223, 253, 295, 305, 317 as a hayward, 303 as a hunter, 69 as husband, 255 as serpent, 113 compared to a lion, 157 sophistry, 171 devotion, 133, 145, 147, 149, 151, 243, 277, 279 signified by oil, 245, 267 dialog, 27 disciples, 43, 47, 59, 93, 129, 161, 169, 289



General Index363

discord, 61, 77, 137, 261, 265, 327 disobedience, 259, 287 dissension, 199, 265 dissimulation, 261 Dissolution, 15 Dives of the parable, 289 Dobson, R. Barrie, 3 n. 8, 5 n. 18, 6 n. 20, 6 n. 22 doctrine, 99, 165, 181, 299, 301, 303, 307 as milk, 303 dog, dogs, 159, 299 the angry compared to, 69 the envious compared to, 59, 69 knights compared to, 299 doorkeeper, as imaginative power, 89 dormouse, the slothful compared to, 69 Doyle, A. I., 11 n. 34, 12 n. 36, 15 dragon, dragons, 173 drink, as man’s accuser, 305 drinking, 91, 165, 185, 239, 261, 263, 277, 281 excessive, 91, 323 dropsy, 329 drunkenness, 99, 185, 263, 283, 287 dung heap, 229 Durham, 3–6, 15–16 Durham College, Oxford, 2, 4, 21 n. 65 Durham priory, 2–3, 5–6, 11, 13, 15–16, 21 Dygon, John, 23 n. 75 earth, as man’s accuser, 305 Easter, 125, 181, 237 First Sermon for, 23 n. 74 sermons for, 30 Edlingham, 4 Egidius (Giles of Rome) De regimine principum, 101 ego, 73, 77 Egypt, 107, 109–13, 115, 117, 119, 121, 123, 241 meaning of, 111 Egyptians, 111 elephant, 301 Elijah, 67, 153 Elisha, 67 Elizabeth I, queen, 15 eloquence, 205

Emden, A. B., 3 n. 7 emperor, 211 England, 159, 251, 263, 265, 325 envy, the envious, 45, 57, 59, 61, 63, 65, 69, 79, 91, 185, 187, 199, 211, 241, 243, 263, 265, 307, 327, 329 as fire, 173 of Jews, 117 species of, 59, 261, 327 Epiphany, 85 sermon for the Sunday after, 10, 17 erat, 29, 201 esquires, 207 estate, 177, 189 human body compared to, 183 estates, 24, 189, 297 et, 24 Eucharist, 93, 113, 123, 125, 131, 133, 135 benefits of, 133–5 executors, 203 exempla, 2, 21, 22, 25, 26–7 demon exorcized in presence of holy layman, 313 drunk man dressed as a friar, 26–7, 75 emperor, for a year, 211 Furceus’s vision, 265 necromancer with mistress, 165–7 St. John the Almoner and two shoemakers, 315 St. Julian the Apostate sends messenger, 153 St. Macarius and pagan skull, 117 two merchants of Norwich and the refusal of mercy, 27, 30, 169–73 exiles, 283 Exodus, 109 extortion, 119, 181, 185, 203, 207 Eve, 113, 221, 227, 233, 255, 257, 303 Ezechiel, 229 Ezra, 181 fairs, 189 faith, 25, 47, 51, 59, 73, 75, 101, 103, 119, 123, 135, 137, 147, 169, 179, 195, 197, 199, 277, 301, 307, 319, 327, 331 articles of, 195, 219 as a desert, 119 as a shilling, 195

364

General Index

as a spouse, 285 as cement, 301 as living water, 79 faithful, the, 75, 133, 143, 169, 217, 261 faithfulness, 317, 319 Fall, the, 55, 113, 257 famine, 157 farm, 187 farmers, 189, 297, 301, 311, 313 as feet, 311 compared to oxen, 299 farthings, 193 fast, fasting, 93, 139, 147, 149, 151, 157, 193, 195, 245, 267, 285, 287, 325 breaking of, 185 remedy for gluttony, 267, 325 fear of the Lord, 323, 325 feast, feasts, 91, 107, 123, 187, 281 paschal, 123 feast days, 189, 261 fellowship, 165–9 Felton, John, 23 n. 75 fifty, meaning of, 193 Finchale priory, 5–6, 11, 13, 23 fire, 173 as consuming sin, 265 fish, satisfaction compared to, 117 FitzRalph, Richard, 2 five senses, 45, 89, 195, 239 as doors, 161, 185 as gatekeepers, 267 as guardians, 327 flattery, 261 flesh, the, 79, 105, 153, 241, 257, 291, 295, 325 florilegia, 21, 22 food, 49, 69, 79, 83, 91, 93, 97, 139, 211, 245, 289, 309, 323, 327 as man’s accuser, 305 as the word of God, 97 of the proud, 173 fools of God, 151 foot-soldier, 311 forbearance, 227, 279 forgiveness, 169, 171, 191, 193, 217, 229, 231, 251 fornication, 181, 221

fortitude, 101, 103, 309, 329 fortune, 203, 241 gifts of, 105 goods of, 177, 179, 183, 187, 189, 191, 193, 195, 247, 249, 257, 297 forty days, 123 number, 121, 123 years, 123 Fourth Lateran Council, 1 fowling, 287 fraud, 179, 187, 191, 221–23, 261, 313 free will, 47 friar, 75 Friar’s Tale, 26 Friday, 285, 287 friendship, 123–5, 237, 239, 241, 243, 245, 333 froth, life compared to, 201 fruit, forbidden, 113, 221, 255 fuerit, 29, 201 fuit, 29, 201 Furceus, 265 Gabriel, Archangel, 163, 283, 285 Galgala, 107 meaning of, 135 Galilee Chapel, 6 gambling, 309 gamesters, 205 Gentiles, 137 Gethsemane, Garden of prayer in, 159–61 sweating blood, 161 gifts of the Holy Spirit, 197, 223, 323, 327 girdle, leathern, 211 glory, 71, 135, 141, 173, 175, 177, 255, 271 celestial, 291 Glossa ordinaria, 21, 57, 71, 85, 123, 125–7, 129, 131, 135, 137, 141, 165, 177, 181, 197, 247, 251, 281, 295, 311, 319 glowworm, 229 gluttony, the gluttonous, 45, 49, 65, 69, 79, 81, 91, 97, 99, 119, 137, 139, 147, 149, 181, 185, 187, 199, 211, 215, 245, 247, 255, 263, 265, 267, 269, 281, 283, 285, 287, 321, 322, 329



General Index365

as deep ditch, 151 species of, 185, 263, 323 God, 25, 45, 53, 55, 57, 59, 71, 81, 83, 87, 95, 97, 99, 101, 103, 105, 109, passim as Judge, 193 as King, 129, 297 as lord of an estate, 185 kingdom of, 315 the Father, 49, 51, 53, 71–3, 75, 79, 81, 107, 111, 113, 127, 167, 257 the Holy Spirit, 51, 71–3, 81, 83, 107, 163, 165, 197, 315 the Son, 51, 53, 57, 65, 71–3, 79, 81, 107 godfather, 209 godmother, 209 gods, 255 Goliath, 225 Gomorrah, 181 good works, 73, 75, 77, 87, 99–101, 121, 123, 135, 153, 159, 193, 195, 197, 199, 227, 235, 237, 243, 245, 277, 281, 297, 325 as panels, 301 as proof of love, 247 good, the, 165, 169, 171, 205 goodness, 101, 103, 123, 155, 163, 197, 261, 317 goods exterior, 249 interior, 249 love of, 223 temporal, 149, 159, 249 Gorham, Nicholas, 22, see also Nicholas of Gorran grace, 47, 71, 79, 87, 125, 133, 135, 145, 179, 197, 199, 209, 211, 233, 245, 247, 267, 295, 315 as a garment, 111, 115 as a rampart, 327 baptismal, 121, 209 gifts of, 105, 197 goods of, 177–9, 181, 183, 187, 189, 191, 255 throne of, 245 work of, 139 grammar, 23, 29 grammarians, 73 Great Schism, 15

Greatrex, Joan, 1 n. 4, 3 n. 8, 4 n. 10, 6 n. 19, 6 n. 21, 14 n. 40 greed, the greedy, see avarice Gregory the Great, 21, 67, 153, 157, 183, 187, 243, 245, 247, 265 Homiliae in Evangelia, 193, 331 Moralia in Iob, 201, 223 Pastoral Care, 263 Registrum, 201 habit, habits, 89, 115, 117, 165, 187, 237, 321, 323 maturity of, 319 hair, 267, 281 camel’s, 211 grey, 281, 321, 331 pride of the head, 245 halfpenny, 193 Ham, 283 Harley, Edward, 16 Harley collection, 16 harlots, 227, 247, 269, see also prostitutes harmony, three parts of, 77 Harvey, Margaret, 2 n. 6, 6 n. 24 hatred, 207, 261, 327 fraternal, 59, 243 hayward, 303 health, 151, 257, 271, 305, 323 spiritual, 127, 199 hearing, 219, 227, 239, 273, 327 as door, 161, 185 as gatekeeper, 269 office of, 185, 221 heart, 237, 239–243, 327, 329 as spiritual receptacle, 79 compared to a blade, 205 conditions of, 239–243 heaven, 25, 61, 69, 107, 109, 113, 117, 125, 141, 173, 175, 223, 233, 251, 265, 291, 297, 307 as a desert, 211, 213 as a pasture, 303 as the house of God, 301 as the promised land, 123 kingdom of, 167 likened to holy mount, 249 Hebrew, 223 hedgehogs, the greedy compared to, 69

366

General Index

hell, 27, 117, 127, 173, 209, 223, 229, 253, 263, 287 as desert, 81–83, 211 torments of, 63, 269 heretics, heresies, 97, 141, 283, 287 history, 21, 23 holiness, 255, 267, 271 holocaust, 127, 129 Holy Island, 4–5 homicide, 61, 261 Homildon Hill, Battle of, 15 homily, 16 honesty, 135, 205, 317, 319 honey, 211 honor, 71, 81, 145, 195, 275, 309, 333 love of, 273 hope, 25, 73, 101, 103, 123, 147, 179 as cement, 301 Horner, Patrick, 2 n. 4, n. 6, 21 n. 63, 29 n. 98 horse, horses, 241 host, 127 hours canonical, 245 divine, 145 house, building of, 295 as world, 299 Hugh of Saint-Victor Didascalicon, 311 humility, 25, 49, 57, 143, 149, 151, 167, 243, 267, 305–07, 319 as first step of God’s building, 305 as remedy for pride, 265 compared to the earth, 305 humors, four, 123, 141, 321 choleric, 327 melancholic, 329 phlegmatic, 321 sanguine, 325 hunting, 97, 287, 309 hurlers, hurling, 223–25, 247 compared to a burning candle, 225 husband, 233–5 as reason, 239, 255 etymology of, 235, 237 hypocrisy, hypocrite, 145, 151, 161, 171, 261, 263, 287 hypostatic union, 123, 133

idleness, 263 idolatry, 181 illness, see sickness images, 21 image of God (imago Dei), 45, 73, 81, 327, 329, see also likeness of God imagination, 89, 91 impatience, 261 impiety, 241, 265 Incarnation, 51, 55, 57, 59, 61, 133, 163, 193 incest, 185 incontinence, 181 index (tabula), 7, 9–10, 13–14, 21, 29 infamy, 227 infancy, 321, 331 infidels, 141, 261 infirmity, 115, 169, 245 ingratitude, 261, 287 inheritance, 203 iniquity, 167, 169, 171, 223, 255, 257 mammon of, 177, 191 initials, illuminated, 7 injustice, 65, 207 innocence as garment, 111 state of, 227 Innocent, pope De officiis, 119 (dubious reference) innocent, the, 163 insolence, 91, 259 intemperance, 71 intercessions, 141 ire, see anger irreverence, 259 Isaiah, 61, 83, 85 Isidore of Seville, 63 Israel, meaning of, 111 Israelites, 93, 107, 109–13, 119, 121, 123, 143, 181, 241 Jacopo da Varazze, 223 Legenda aurea, 22 James the Apostle, 55, 57, 139, 159, 165, 205 Jeremiah, 57, 137 Jerome, 21, 191, 325 De continencia virginali, 331 Jerusalem, 49



General Index367

heavenly, 137 Jews, 43, 53, 61, 67, 81, 93, 107, 117, 135, 137, 167, 285 John, meaning of, 197, 209 John of Abbeville, 43 John the Almsgiver, 315 John the Baptist, 11, 67, 69, 71–75, 79, 197, 199, 209 sermon for, 22 n. 72, 24, 29 John of Bromyard Summa praedicancium, 22, 203–05 John Chrysostom, 321 Pseudo-John Chrysostom, 211 Opus imperfectum in Mattheum, 21–2, 41, 75, 83, 105, 107, 139, 235, 317 John of Damascus, 22, 151, 173 John the Evangelist, 133, 147, 159 John of Salisbury Policraticus, 309 John of Wales Communiloquium, 22, 189, 313, 317 Johnson, Holly, 2 n. 6, 10 n. 30, 11 n. 32, 13 n. 38, 14 n. 41, 17 n. 51, 21 n. 63, 23 n. 74, n. 77, 29 n. 98, 30 n. 100 Joseph, Saint, 167 Josephus, 245 The Jewish War, 181 joy, 275, 277 eternal or perpetual, 83, 107, 109, 143, 169, 213, 231, 289, 333 spiritual, 123 Judas Iscariot, 59, 135, 169, 241 judges, 207–09 judgment, 63, 169, 171, 173, 257, 297 Judgment Day, 51, 57, 63, 65, 69, 119, 145, 173, 183, 189, 193, 229, 329 Julian the Apostate, 153 Julius Caesar, 309 just, the, 141, 149, 165, 169, 173, 277, 279, 289 justice, 53, 55, 101, 103, 121, 123, 135, 149, 151, 165, 171, 187, 195, 203, 207, 221, 227, 229, 277, 279, 289, 305, 309, 331 sun of, 221, 307 two parts of, 195 kidneys, 327 Kienzle, Beverly Mayne, 1 n. 1

king, 41, 57, 59, 61, 129, 137, 295, 297 chess piece, 207, 209 virtues belonging to, 49–51 kiss as sign of love, 243, 265 remedy for anger and envy, 265 knight, knights, 139, 189, 301, 307–09 chess piece, 207, 209 compared to dogs, 299 compared to hands, 189, 311 office of, 225 virtues of, 309 knowledge, 85, 87, 197, 199, 235, 281, 303, 329 Koran, 21 Kyloe, 4–5 labor, 109, 111, 113, 257, 271, 273, 299, 309, 311–13, remedy for sloth, 323 laborers, 189, 311 lady, 267–9 laity, 29, 95, 145, 157, 177, 179, 183, 187, 215, 225, 261, 303 lamb paschal, 113, 129, 131, 135 sacrificial, 111, 119, 121 Langley, Thomas, bishop of Durham, 6 Last Supper, 107 law canon, 187, 265 divine, 167, 225, 239, 277, 283, 285 new, 107, 135 of nature, 131 old, 107, 135 Lawrence, Saint, 195 lawsuits, 209, 261 Lazarus, brother of Martha and Mary, 79 Lazarus of the parable, 289 learning, 273, 275 acquisition of, 275 legation, 297 Lent, 10, 15, 47, 81, 115, 147 sermons for, 24, 28, 30 Second Sunday, sixth sermon for, 28–9 Third Sunday, fourth sermon for, 26 n. 89, Third Sunday, third sermon for, 27 n. 92

368

General Index

lies, 79, 97, 117, 147, 181, 185, 199, 205, 221, 223, 227, 231, 241, 243, 263, 265, 313, 323 life, 181, 189, 241, 243, 253, 277, 279, 281, 289, 323 brevity of, 201, 331 compared to froth, 201 compared to a mist, 201 compared to a story, 281 compared to sailing, 201 compared to wind, 201 eternal, 65, 103, 141, 149, 279 fragility of, 209 holy, compared to a building, 293 instability of, 201 pure, 287 spotless, 317, 319, 321, 333 way of, 99, 201 likeness of God, 81, 327, see also image of God lion, lions, 157–9 as a king, 159 avaricious compared to, 157 Christ compared to, 69 devil compared to, 157 litany, litanies, 157 literature, 21 locusts, 211 London, 3, 16 British Library MS. Harley 4894, 2, 7–16, 28, 29 lord, lords, 45, 47, 53, 177, 183–5, 191, 203, 207, 247, 267–9, 299, 305, 307 powerful, 159 Lot, 81 love, 25, 57, 59, 97, 103, 123, 127, 147, 195, 211, 223, 231, 237, 239, 243, 245, 247, 257, 299, 307, 323 as cement, 301 excessive, 205 fraternal, 241 see also charity Love, John, 4 Luke the Evangelist, Saint, 161, 293 lust, the lustful, 45, 49, 65, 69, 79, 115, 119, 137, 145, 147, 149, 165, 167, 181, 187, 199, 205, 211, 215, 221, 225, 227, 229, 241, 247, 255, 263, 265, 269, 283, 285, 287, 295, 307, 325, 327, 329

as a deep ditch, 151 habitual, 287 species of, 181, 185, 265 Macharius, Saint, 117 maintenance, 283 Malachi, 57 malice, 57, 81, 105, 119, 169, 241, 243, 255, 261 as venom, 173 man, 217, 233, 297 creation of, 45, 81, 105, 223, 297 superior part of reason, 113, 115 Mark the Evangelist, 251 feast of, 157 marketplace, 147, 189, 225 Marley, Nicholas, 15–16 Marley, Stephen, 15–16 marriage, 181, 233–35 marshal as cogitative power, 89 martyrs, 289 Mary, Blessed Virgin, 127, 129, 163, 167, 205 Mary Magdalene, 11, 12, 215–17, 229–31, 235, 237, 243–5, 249, 251, 253, 265–7 almshouse, 5, 11 conversion of, 229–31, 251 first sermon for, 22 n. 69 second sermon for, 22 n. 71 third sermon for, 22 n. 70, 23 n. 74, 27 n. 92, 30 mass, the, 141, 145, 153, 277 Mass, Great (on Christmas), 163 medicine, 23, 325 meditation, 277 memory, 89, 95, 97, 123, 191, 269 art of, 26 as private chamber, 269 court of, 23, 27, 89–91, 183–7, 267–9 of Passion, 119, 129, 131, 133, 135, 269, 329 merchandise, 277, 283 false, 79, 185, 261 merchants, 24, 27, 59, 169, 189, 299 mercenary, 181 mercy, 27, 51, 61–3, 169, 171, 173, 191, 193, 195, 243, 245, 289, 305, 323 acts of, 2–3



General Index369

divine, 247, 251, 257 remedy for avarice, 329 works of, 193, 325 Michaelmas, 5 miles, 25, 309 military, 307, 309, 319 ministry, division of, 197 miracles, 61, 197, 199 mirrors, 23 mist, life compared to, 201 moderation, 309, see also temperance Mohammed, 21, 283–5, 287 adultery of, 283 disciples of, 283, 285 monk, 153 morals, 75, 165, 321, 323 Moses, 109, 115, 119, 143, 151, 225 moth, as concealed sin, 119 Mount Olivet, 43 murder, murderers, 205, 283, 327 Muslims, 2 Nebuchadnezzar, 137 Nativity, feast of, 163 nature, 71, 73, 197, 217, 227, 289, 295, 305, 321, 323, 325 angelic, 271 bodily, 233 corrupted, 165, 257 gifts of, 105 goods of, 177, 179, 183, 185, 187, 189, 191, 195, 209, 247, 249, 257 human, 159, 183, 221, 241, 257, 297, 299 sins against, 181, 185, 327 spiritual, 233 work of, 139 Neckam, Alexander, 49 necromancy, necromancer, 153, 165–7 negligence, 261 Nicholas of Gorran, 22, 159–61, 177, 181, 187, 295, 297 Nicholson, Peter, 26 n. 89 nobility of birth, 201, 205, see also parentage Norham, 4 Northumberland, 4 Norwich, 27, 169 numerology, 23

oaths, 79, 117 of allegiance, 309 unlawful, 63 vain, 183, 199, 263, 323, see also swearing obedience, 231 obedientiary roles, 3 almoner, 5, 13, 23 subprior, 5–6, 13 n. 39, 14 prior, 5–6, 13, 23 oblations, 185 obstinacy, 259 offering, 105 animate, 127, 129 inanimate, 127, 129 see also sacrifice operations, division of, 197 ostrich, ostriches, 173 Oswald, Saint, 11, 289–91, 319 second sermon for, 19–20, 23 n. 76, 24–6, 27 n. 94 Owst, Gerald, 1 n. 1, 2 n. 6, 22, 28 oxen, farmers compared to, 299 Oxford, 2–4 pagan, pagans, 117, 289 pains, eternal, 63, 127, 269, 305 Palm Sunday, 49 palm tree, 49 Pardoner, the, 26 pardoners, 189 paradise, 81, 111, 223 parentage, 151, 179, 259 parents, 183, 287, 323, 325 Parkes, M. B., 12 n. 35, 13 n. 37 pasch, 109, 111, 113, 119, 121, 123, 125, 129, 135 meaning of, 107 Passion, the, 49, 59, 73, 109, 119, 127, 129, 131, 133, 159, 167, 193, 269, 329 compared to making bread, 131 compared to making wine, 131 see also torments of the Passion passions, 101, 321 Passover, 107, 111 pastor, see curate patience, 227, 307, 329 patyn, meaning of, 107

370

General Index

Paul the Apostle, 43, 45, 49, 57, 63, 65, 71, 75, 97, 99, 125, 127, 129, 135, 137, 141, 165, 167, 173, 181, 185, 195, 197, 209, 231, 233, 235, 245, 247, 285, 295, 301, 305, 307, 311, 315, 327, 331 meaning of, 287 pawn, chess piece, 209 peace, 43, 57, 127, 137, 153, 159, 173, 245, 255, 267, 329 eternal, 83, 271, 291 false, 291 peacock, 205 the proud compared to, 69 the world compared to, 205 Peacock, Reginald, 2 peasant, 179 Pelagius II, pope, 157 penance, 3, 21, 47, 79, 113, 115, 117, 121, 171, 203, 211, 215, 217, 243, 245, 251, 257, 265, 267, 295, 325, 327 as a bath, 209 as nails, 301 as second baptism, 209 as stones in a wall, 327 three parts of, 81, 117, 119, 211 pence, 193, 195 penitentiary, 6 pericope, 19–20 perjury, perjurers, 147, 181, 185, 199, 205, 221, 241, 243, 265 perseverance, 147 Peter the Apostle, 53, 159, 165 Peter Lombard (the Master), 169, 173 Pharaoh, 109–11, 113, 115, 151, 241 as carnal appetite, 115 as hardened sin, 117 meaning of, 111 Pharisees, 67, 79 Philistines, 223 meaning of, 223 philosophy, 21, 281 piety, 91, 93, 137, 243, 287, 323, 329 pigs gluttons compared to, 69, 323 the lustful compared to, 69 pilgrim, pilgrims, 101, 315 pilgrimages, 195

Piper, Alan J., 3 n. 7, 5, 5 n. 16, 11 n. 33, 14 n. 40, 15 n. 44, 21 n. 64, 21–2 plagues, 111, 115, 157, 241, 257 in Egypt, 109, 151, 241 plays, 189, 275 pleasure, 91, 139, 215, 223, 239, 263, 273–75, 289, 291, 313 bodily, 221, 273, 281 intellectual, 273, 275 plowmen, 189 plunder, plunderers, 181, 203, 259, 261 poor, the, 55, 57, 149, 153, 159, 187, 189, 195, 203, 209, 211, 245, 249, 275, 289, 291, 331 as feet of Christ, 231, 267 oppression of, 205, 225 pope, 141, 253 porter, as common sense, 89 pound, 195 power, 51, 53, 55, 57, 65, 137, 141, 247 worldly, 67, 209 poverty, 57, 59, 315 praise, divine, 49, 83, 85, 107, 109, 135, 139, 163, 195, 219, 241, 277, 289 prayer, 3, 21, 53, 85, 99, 137–41, 143, 145, 147, 149–55, 157, 159–61, 163, 165, 173, 193, 225, 235, 245, 253, 267, 277, 289, 291, 297, 313, 319 as well, 145–55 Hail Mary, 145 Lord’s (Our Father), 145, 161, 163 preacher, preachers, 19, 49, 69–71, 79, 85, 91, 93, 95, 215–17, 221, 235, 287, 295, 297, 317, 319 as a man who builds a tower, 293 as voice crying in the desert, 69 as voice of Christ, 79 office of, 41–7 preaching, 59, 87, 97, 99–101, 215–17, 293, 295, 297 as sheep’s milk, 299 mendicant, 1 monastic, 1 preaching aids, 21 presumption, the presumptuous, 141, 185, 285, 297 pride, the proud, 45, 49, 55, 57, 61, 65, 71, 79, 119, 137, 141, 145, 151, 167, 173, 187,



General Index371

199, 205, 211, 221, 225, 227, 229, 245, 247, 249, 255, 269, 273, 283, 287, 329 as mountain, 151 species of, 185, 259 priest, high, 131, 245 priest, priests, 87, 91, 97, 179, 209, 307 processions, 6, 157 property, 139, 187 prophecy, 67, 83, 197, 229 prophets, 67, 283, 315 prosperity, 289 proverbs, English, 28–9 prowess, sexual, 285 prudence, 101, 191, 281, 309 punishment, temporal, 257, 263 purgatory, 83, 289 as desert, 211 purity, 97, 139, 147, 151, 165, 167, 185, 231, 281, 317 as cement in a wall, 327 queen chess piece, 207 the will compared to, 255, 267 Ramesse, 107, 111, interpretation of, 119 reading, 277 reason, 101, 113, 119, 185, 191, 219, 225, 331 as husband, 255 as lord of a city, 267–9 as superior part of soul, 239 rector, see curate Red Sea, 111, 113, 115–17 as baptism, 117 as hell, 117 as sacrament of penance, 119 Redemption, 59, 85, 105 repentance, 169, 245, 249 Repingdon, Philip, 23 n. 75 rest, eternal, 271 as bed, 175 Resurrection, 107, 121, 123, 125 reward, eternal, 277 rheum, 325 rich, the, 57, 203

riches, 81, 145, 151, 177, 187, 191, 201, 203, 205, 231, 245, 249, 259, 265, 275, 277, 283, 285, 289 compared to thorns, 205 instability of, 203 ring, gold, 229 Ripon, Yorkshire, England, 3 Rites of Durham, 6 Robert of Basevorn, 27 n. 95 Robert of Claxton, 5 Robert Grosseteste, 22, 179, 183 Dicta, 21, 23, 41, 89, 95–7, 113 Rogation Days, 139, 157 first sermon for, 23 n. 78 sermons for, 6 n. 25, 30 sixth sermon for, 18–19, 22 n. 69, 27 Romans, 309 Rome, 157, 181, 309 Romulus, 309 rook, chess piece, 207–09 Rypon, Robert, 2–3 involvement in extant sermon collection, 11, 13–15 monastic career, 3–7 sermons of, 17–29 Sabbath, 125, 285 everlasting, 125 Sacrament of the altar, 91, see also Eucharist sacraments, 109, 133, 179, 181, 191, 285, 287 sacrifice, 105, 107, 109, 119, 121, 127, 245 of praise, 107, 115 see also offering sacrilege, 185, 189 sailing, life compared to, 201 saints, 143, 175, 193, 251, 255 as citizens of heaven, 137, 311, 315 salvation, 61, 71, 81, 127, 139, 145, 219, 223 Samson, 221, 223 meaning of, 221 sanctification, 107 of food, 105 of infants, 105 Saracens, 283–5, 287 Sarum Missal, 17 Satan, 75, 221 satisfaction, 55, 81, 119, 191, 203, 211

372

General Index

saved, the, 169, 311 science, 21 Scots, 24, 26, 307 Scott, Kathleen L., 7 n. 28 Seneca, 201, 203, 331 senses exterior, 185, 273 interior, 27, 89, 93, 185, 195, see also soul (its powers) natural, 113 see also five senses senses (of Scriptural exegesis) allegorical, 41, 49 literal, 49 tropological, 41 sensuality, 115, 239 as constable, 267–69 sermon collections, 3 model, 10, 17, 21 sermon form, scholastic, 3, 16–21 division of the theme (divisio thematis), 16–19, 20, 28 protheme (prothema), 16, 19–20 theme (thema), 16–19, 20 sermons, 99, 277, 317 model, 11 synodal, 6, 6 n. 25, 7, 11 visitation, 4 serpent, 115 servant, servants, 45, 47, 53, 61, 109, 125, 183–5, 305 service, 117, 247, 249, 289 divine, 189, 261, 277 of the devil, 53, 261 shame, 63, 119, 191, 243, 265 postlapsarian, 227 she-ass, 43–7 sheep, 95, 99, 179, 299 clergy compared to, 299 sheepfold, 95 shepherds, 95, 101, 159, 303 Shilbottle, John, 4 shillings, 193, 195 shoemakers, 315 sickness, 61, 71, 115, 139, 151, 171, 201, 229, 247, 257, 271, 289 spiritual, 43

sight, 219, 273, 327 as door, 161, 185 as gatekeeper, 269 bodily, 51 intellectual, 51, 53, 61 office of, 185, 221 spiritual, 51, 61 Simon, 229 meaning of, 231 simony, 207, 261 sin, 47, 55, 61, 73, 83, 99, 105, 109, 113, 115, 117, 119, 121, 123, 127, passim as disease, 43 as prison, 303 circumstances of sin as paths, 217 mortal, 45, 59, 69, 75, 77, 79, 83, 105, 113, 115, 121, 125, 139, 141, 143, 189, 209, 211, 235, 253, 255 original, 43, 51–3, 55, 105, 113, 119, 217, 227, 255, 257 penalty for, 257, 289 venial, 133, 253 see also sins and vices Sinai, 107, 121, 123 meaning of, 123 sinner, sinners, 81, 119, 169, 209, 217, 243, 251 sins, 61, 65, 69, 139, 143, 181, 215, 217, 229, 251 actual, 255 as the firstborn, 117, 119 capital, 119 carnal, 247, 255 fires of, 265 of nature, 255, 257, 267 of practice, 255, 257, 267 of the tongue, 185, 199, 223, 241, 243, 265 remission of, 209, 235 seven deadly, 2, 21, 30, 69, 79–81, 199, 223, 257–65 see also sin and vices six, meaning of, 193 slander, 59, 91, 93, 181, 241, 261, 275, 309, 327 slavery in Egypt, 117 sleep, excessive, 263



General Index373

sloth, the slothful, 69, 81, 91, 141, 149, 151, 185, 199, 227, 255, 267, 269, 321, 323, 329 species of, 185, 261–3, 321 smell, 185, 239, 275, 327 sobriety, 149 Sodom, 47, 81, 181 Sodomites, 81 soldiers, 319, see also knights Solomon, 229, 233 somnolence, 185, 263, 321 soul, powers of the, 89, 253, 263, 267 active, 89 cogitative, 89, 91 common sense, 89, 91 contemplative, 89, 93–5 estimative, 89, 91 imaginative, 89, 91 memorative, 89 natural, 183 speech, speaking, 53, 97, 117, 153, 165, 179, 183, 185, 189, 191, 219, 241, 243 office of, 185 depraved, 181 Spencer, H. Leith, 1 n. 1, 17 n. 50 splendor, worldly, 241, 285 spume, confession compared to, 117 squires, 207 office of, 225 stability, perpetual, 291, 333 steward, stewards, 177, 179, 183, 207, 249 as estimative power, 89 false, 261 unjust, 177, 181, 189–91, 193 stewardship, 177, 187, 191, 195 spiritual, 179, 183 temporal, 179, 183 stigmata, 119 strength, 223, 231 artificial, 219 as clothing, 215, 217, 219 natural, 219, 227, 229 physical, bodily, 151, 201, 205, 223, 225, 247 spiritual, 219, 231 virtuous, 219, 225–7 worldly, 223

sun, as man’s accuser, 305 Sunday, 285 supplications, 141 Swalwell, Thomas, 11, 15, 16 swan, 323 swearing, 183, 261, see also oaths swine, 229 synods, 6 tabula, see index tale-telling, 273, 277 taste, 185, 239, 243, 275, 327 as gatekeeper, 269 office of, 185 taverns, 189, 275 tax collectors, unjust, 205 taxes, 189 tears, 243, 265, 297 as remedy for avarice, 265 as remedy for lust and gluttony, 265 spiritual, 231 teeth, as preachers, 97 temperance, 49, 91, 101–03, 281 Tempest, Thomas, 15–16 temple, temples, holy, 315 robbing of, 309 temptation, 49, 141, 161, 169, 223, 287 of devil, 113, 255 Ten Commandments, 3, 21, 24, 109, 121, 123, 125, 195, 297 ten (number), 123 testament (will), 129 Testament, New, 129, 207, 285 Testament, Old, 125, 129, 133, 207, 285 testimony, 63, 173, 181 thau, 107 Thayer, Anne, 11 n. 33 theft, 119, 153, 185, 203, 259, 261, 283, 313 theology, 21 thief, thieves, 151, 181, 283 compared to a wolf, 159 Thomas Aquinas, 59, 133 Thomas of Rome, 14 n. 42 thought, 95, 179, 181, 183, 189, 191 as chamberlain, 267–9 thoughts, carnal, 153

374

General Index

Three Enemies of Man (the world, the flesh, and the devil), 151, 295 time, 273–7, 279 tithes, 159, 185, 189, 203, 261, 313 tomb, painted, 229 tongue, 97, 147, 219 sins of the, 185, 199, 223, 241, 243, 265 strength of the, 223 torments of the Passion, 61, 131, 153 crown of thorns, 53, 93 Christ mocked, 61, 153 Christ nailed to the cross, 53, 93, 153 Christ offered vinegar mixed with gall, 93 Christ pierced with lance, 53, 93 Christ reproached, 227 Christ slapped, 153 Christ spat on, 93, 167 scourging at the pillar, 53 touch, 187, 239, 243, 273, 327 as gatekeeper, 269 office of, 185 tower, building of compared to a holy life, 293–7 tradesmen, 189 treasure, 213, 235 tribulations, 169, 201, 211, 257, 287–9 Trinity, 43, 51, 89, 107, 211 image of, 95 in the name of the, 309 Trinity Sunday Ninth Sunday after, sermon for, 22 n. 70, 23 n. 74, 24 n. 84 sermon for, 30 truth, 61, 71, 97, 179, 199, 207–09, 245, 317, 319 tyranny, 259 Uhtred of Boldon, 6 understanding, 95, 97, 191, 219, 241, 281, 293, 303, 331 compared to a lord of an estate, 183 usury, 185, 261 vainglory, 55, 67, 185, 223, 227, 249, 259, 275 Valerius, 309 vanity, vanities, 71, 91, 145, 255, 275, 327 Vegetius De re militari, 309

Vendettas, 145 vengeance, 241, 265, 305, 325 vestments, 43–9, 187 virtues compared to, 47 vice, vices, 49, 119, 121, 205, 217, 223, 227, 229, 233, 277, 281, 291, 317, 329, 331 as army, 291 carnal, 141 mud of, 323 see also sin and sins victim, 127 vigils, 325 villages, 225 violence, 62–3, 179, 283, 287, 309 virtue, 67, 99, 101, 111, 119, 123, 133, 139, 145, 155, 219, 231, 235, 237, 239, 283, 331 virtues, virtuous, 47, 49, 59, 83, 85, 119, 141, 143, 191, 205, 217, 223, 241, 275, 277, 281, 291 as arms, 311 as clothing, garments, 49, 119, 217 building of, 303–05 cardinal, 25, 101, 309–11 moral or ethical, 87, 95, 101, 103 natural or physical, 87, 91, 93, 95 seven, 147 theological, 3, 73, 87, 95, 101, 103, 179 visitations, 4 voice, 77, 221 as likeness of the Son, 79 crying in the desert, 81, 83 war, 71, 137, 157, 257, 289, 291, 295, 297, 307, 319 just, 225 spiritual, 291 warfare, 23, 225 spiritual, 311 warriors, 24–5, 291 Wear, river, 5 weaving, 313 well as the soul, 145 prayer compared to its water, 143–53 Wenzel, Siegfried, 1 n. 3, 2, 2 n. 4, 2 n. 5, 2 n. 6, 7, n. 27, 11 n. 31, 15 n. 43, 16, 17 n. 50,



General Index375

19 n. 58, 22 n. 68, 23 n. 75, n. 77, n. 79, 23–4, 29 n. 98, 30, 30 n. 99 Wessington, John, prior of Durham, 6 wheat, 131 wicked, the, 45, 69, 83, 117, 143, 149, 151, 153, 159, 163, 165, 169, 171, 173, 205, 291, 311 wickedness, 71, 101–03, 105, 109, 143, 153, 171, 263, 279, 281, 291, see also malice Widdrington, William, 16 widows, 189 wife, 233–5 as sensuality, 239 blameless, 267 of Mohammed, 283 Wife of Bath, 1 will, the, 95, 115 as key, 145 as lady or queen in the kingdom of the soul, 113, 183–5, 255, 267–69 compared to a woman, 253 William of Killerby, 4–5 wind, 201, 223 wine, 131 Christ’s blood as, 129, 131 winemaking, 131 wisdom, 51, 197, 199, 235, 281, 283, 329, 331, 333 divine, 163 human, 163 worldly, 205, 221 wolf, wolves, 145, 157, 159, 181

a thief compared to, 159 woman, 217, 233, 251 anger of, 261 compared to the will, 253 creation of, 233 etymology of, 255 feeble, 263 inferior part of reason, 113–15 world, the, 71, 79, 105, 151, 203, 205, 221, 241, 247, 251, 295 as a harlot, 221 as a house, 299 as a valley, 265 as a widow, 285 compared to a beautiful woman, 205 compared to a desert, 69, 201, 205, 211 compared to a game of chess, 207–09 compared to a house, 299 compared to a peacock, 205 instability of, 255 worldliness, as wife, 161 worldly, the, 71, 151–3, 211, 221, 241 worms, 211 wrath, divine, 305 wrestlers, wrestling, 223–5, 247 compared to a burning candle, 225 youth, 285, 327, 331 Zachariah, 57 Zion, 291

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