9. Turn thy attention to that word. Thou canst have a word in thy heart, as it were a design Jjorn in thy mind, so that thy mind Imngs forth the design; and the design is, so to speak, the offspring of thy mind, the child of thy heart. For first thy heart brings forth a design to construct some fabric, to set up something great on the earth; already the design is conceived, and the work is not yet finished: thou seest what thou wilt make; but another does not admire, until thou hast made and constructed the pile, and brought that fabric into shape and to completion; then men regard the admirable fabric, and admire the design of the architect; they are aston- ished at what they see, and are pleased with what they do not see: who is there who can see a design? If, then, on account of some great building a human design receives praise, do you v,'ish to see what a design of God is the Lord Jesus Christ, that is, the Word of God? Mark this fabric of the world. View what was made by the Word, and then thou wilt understand what is the nature of the world. Mark these two bodies of the world, the heavens and the earth. Who will unfold in words the beauty of the heavens? Who will unfold in words the fruitfulness of the earth? Who will worthily extol the changes of the seasons? Who will worthily extol the power of seeds? You see what things I do not mention, lest in giving a long list 1 should perhaps tell of Jess than you can call up to your own minds. From_this fabric, then, judge the nature of the Word by which it was made: and not it alone; for all these things are seen, because they have to do with the bodily sense. By that Word angels also were made; by that Word archangels were made, powers, thrones, dominions, principalities; by that Word were made all things. Hence, judge what a Word this is.
ID. Perhaps some one now answers me, "Who so conceives this Word? " Do not then imagine, as it were, some paltry thing when thou hearest " the Word," nor suppose it to be words such as thou hearest them everyday — "he spoke such words," "such words he uttered," " such words you tell me: " for by constant repetition the term 7c>ord has become, so to speak, worthless. And when thou hearest, "In the beginning was the Word," lest thou shouldest imagine some- thing worthless, such as thou hast been ac- customed to think of when thou wert wont to listen to human words, hearken to what thou must think of: " The Word was God."
1 1. Now some unbelieving Arian may come forth and say that*' the Word of God was made." How can it be that the Word of God was made, when God by the Word made all things? If the Word of God was itself also made, by what other Word was // made? But if thou sayest that there is a Word of the Word, I say, that by which zV whs made is itself the only Son of God. But if thou dost not say there is a Word of the Word, allow that that was not made by which all things were made. For that by which all things were made could not be made by itself. Believe the evangelist then. For he might have said, "In the beginning God made the Word:" even as Moses said, " In the begin- ning God made the heavens and the earth; " and enumerates all things thus: "God said, Let it be made, and it was made."' If "said," who said? God.^ And what was made? Some creature. Between the speak- ing of God and the making of the creature, what was there by which it was made but the Word? For God said, " Let it be made, and it was made." This Word is unchangeable; although changeable things are made by it, the Word itself is unchangeable.
12. Do not then believe that that was made by which were made all things, lest thou be not new-made by the Word, which makes all things new. For already hast thou been made by the Word, but it behoves thee to be new-made by the Word. If, however, thy ^ Gen. i.
Tractate L] ON THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN.
1 1 belief about the Word be wrong, thou wilt not be able to be new-made by the Word, And although creation by the Word has happened to thee, so that thou hast been made by Him, thou art unmade by thyself: if by thyself thou art unmade, let Him who made thee make thee new: if by thyself thou hast been made worse, let Him who created thee re-create thee. But how can He re-create thee by the Word, if thou boldest a wrong opinion about the Word? The evangelist says, " In the begin- ning was the Word;" and thou sayest, "In the beginning the Word was made." He says, "All things were made by Him;" and thou sayest that the Word Himself was made. The evangelist might have said, " In the be- ginning the Word was made: " but what does he say? " In the beginning was the Word." If He was. He was not made; that all things might be made by it, and without Him .nothing be made. If, then, "in the begin- ning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; " if thou canst not imagine what it is, wait till thou art grown. That is sLrong meat: receive thou milk that thou mayest be nourished, and be able to receive strong meat.
13. Give good heed to what follows, brethren, " All things were made by Him, and without Him was nothing made," so as ' decaying flesh, thou mightest have found I fault: and yet God almost does this, and He I is not to be found fault with. For all men 1 born of flesh, what are they but worms? and of these worms God makes angels. For if the Lord Himself says, " But I am a worm and no man," = who will hesitate to say what is written also in Job, " How much more is man rottenness, and the son of man a worm? "^ First he said, " Man is rottenness; " and after- wards, " The son of man a worm: " because a worm spi-ings from rottenness, therefore "man is rottenness," and "the son of man a worm." Behold what for thy sake He was willing to become, who " in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God!" Why did He I for thy sake become this? That thou mightest suck, who wert not able to chew. [Wholly in this sense, then, brethren, under- j stand " All things were made by Him, and without Him was nothing made." For every [creature, great and small, was made by Him: by Him were made things above and things beneath; spiritual and corporeal, by Him were they made. For no form, no structure, no agreement of parts, no substance whatever that can have weiglit, number, measure, exists but by that Word, and by that Creator ^\■ord, to whom it is said, "Thou hast ordered all not to imagine that " nothing" is something. I things in measure, and in number, and in For many, wrongly understanding "without Him was nothing made," are wont to fancy that " nothing " is something. Sin, indeed, was not made by Him; and it is plain that sin /; is nothing, and men become nothitjg^,wh_en they sin. An idoPalso was not made by the Word; — it has indeed a sort of human form, but man himself was made by the Word; — for the form of man in an idol was not made by the Word, and it is written, "We know that an idol is nothing.'" Therefore these things were not made by the Word; but what- ever was made in the natural manner, what- ever belongs to the creature, everything that is fixed in the sky, that shines from above, that flies under the heavens, and that moves in universal nature, every creature wiiatso- ever: I will speak more plainly, brethren, that you may understand' me; I will say, from an V angel even to a worm. NVhat^more excellent rt^AjkVlhan an angel among cremated things? what lower than a worm? He who made the angel made the worm also; but the angel is fit for heaven, the worm for earth. He wliQ created iM{aho arranged. If He had placed the worm ^ in heaven, thou mightest have found fault; if He had willed that angels should spring from I I Cor. viii. 4.
weight.
14. Therefore, let no one deceive you, when perchance you suffer annoyance from flies. For some have been mocked by the devil, and taken with flies. As fowlers are accustomed to put flies in their traps to de- ceive hungry birds, so these have been deceived with flies by the devil. Some one or other was suffering annoyance from flies;.i ^Lanichiean found him in his trouble, and when he said that he could not bear flies, and hated them exceedingly, immediately the Maniclu^Mn said, " Who made them? " And since he was suffering from annoyance, ami hated them, he dared not say, " God maile them," though he was a Catholic. Tue otlicr immediately adtleil, "If God did not make them, who made them?" "Truly," rcplieil the Catholic, " I believe the devil made them." And the other immediately s.iid, " If the devil made the fly,;is I see you allow, becnuse you understand tiie matter well, wiio made the bee, which is a little larger than the fly?" The Catholic dared not say that Ciod made the bee and not the fly, for tlie case was much the same. From tlie bee he led him to the locust; from the locust to the ' Ps. xxii. <■.
3 Job XXV. 6.
* Wind. xi. ji.
12 THE WORKS OF ST. AUGUSTIN.
[Tractate I.
lizard; from the lizard to the bird; from the bird to the sheep; from the sheep to the cow; from that to the elephant, and at last to man; and persuaded a man that man was not made by God. Thus the miserable man, being- troubled with the flies, became himself a fly, and the property of the devil. In fact, Beelzebub, they say, means " Prince of flies; " and of these it is written, "Dying flies de- prive the ointment of its sweetness." ' 15. What then, brethren? why^have I said these things? Shut the ears of your hearts against the wiles of the enemy. Understand that God made all things, and arranged them in their orders. Why, then, do we suffer many evils from a creature that God made? Because we have offended God? Do angels suffer these things? Perhaps we. too, in that life of theirs, would have no such thing to fear. For thy punishment, accuse thy sin, not the Judge, For, on account of our pride, God appointed that tiny and contemptible creature to torment us; so that, since man has become proud and has boasted himself against God, and, though mortal, has oppressed mor- tals, and, though man, has not acknowledged his fellowman, — since he has lifted himself up, he may be brought low by gnats. Why art thou inflated with human pride? Some one has censured thee, and thou art swollen with rage. Drive off the gnats, that thou mayest sleep: understand who thou art. For, that you may know, brethren, it was for the taming of our pride these things were created to be troublesome to us, God could have humbled Pharaoh's proud people by bears, by lions, by serpents; He sent flies and frogs upon them,= that their pride might be sub- dued by the meanest creatures.
16. "All things," then, brethren, "all things were made by Him, and without Him was nothing made." But how were all things made by Him? " That, which was made, in Him is life." It can also be read thus: " That, which was made in Hmi, is life;" and it we so read it, everything is life. For what is there that was not made in Him? For He is the Wisdom of God, and it is said in the Psalm,^ " In Wisdom hast Thou made all things." If, then, Christ is the Wisdom r of God, and the Psalm says, "In Wisdom hast Thou made all things:" as all things '^'^ were madeQ)y Him, so all things were made ^A (|n; Him. I^then, all things were made in Him, dearly beloved bretliren, and that, which was made in Him, is life, both the earth is life and wood is life. We do indeed say wood is life, but in the sense of the wood of ' Eccles. X.
2 E.\.
3 Ps..
24.
the cross, M'hence we have received life. A stone, then, is life. It is not seemly so to understand the passage, as the same most vile sect of the Manichaeans creep stealthily on us again, and say that a stone has life, that a wall has a soul, and a cord has a soul, and wool, and clothing. For so they are accus- tomed to talk in their raving; and when they have been driven back and refuted, they in some sort bring forward Scripture, saying, "Why is it said, 'That, which was made in Him, is life'? " For if all things were made in Him, all things are life. Be not carried away by them; read thus "That v/hich was made; ' " here make a short pause, and then go on, " in Him is life." What is the mean- ing of this? The earth was made, but the very earth that was made is not life; but there exists spiritually in the Wisdom itself a certain reason by which the eartn was made: this is life.
17. As far as I can, I shall explam my meaning to you, beloved. A carjaenter makes a box. First he has the box in (design ^ for if he had it not in design, how could he pro- duce it by wprkrnan^hjp? But the box in theory is not the very box as it appears to the eyes. It exists invisibly in design, it will be visible in the work. Behold, it is made in the work; has it ceased to exist in design? The one is made in the work, and the other remains which exists in design; for that box may rot, and another be fashioned according to that which exists in design. Give heed, then, to the box as it is in design, and the box as it is in fact. The actual box is not life, the box in design is life; because the soul of the artificer, where all these things are before they are brought forth, is living. So, dearly beloved brethren, because the Wisdom of God, by which all things have been made, contains everything according to design before it is made, therefore those things which are made through this design itself are not forth- with life, but whatever h^s been made is life in Him. You see the earth, there is an earth in design; you see the sky, there is a sky in design; you see the sun and the moon, these also exist in design: but externally they are bodies, in design they are life. Under- stand, if in any way you are able, for a great matter has been spoken. If I am not great ' by whom it is spoken, or through whom it is spoken, still it is from a great authority. For ( these things are not spoken by me who am small; He is not small to whom I refer in saying these things. Let each one take in what he can, and to what extent he can; and he who is not able to take in any of it, let him nourish his heart, that he may become able.
1 Tractate II.]
ON THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN.
How is he to nourish it? Let him nourish it with milk, that he may come to strong meat. Let him not leave Christ born through the flesh till he arrive at Christ born of the Father alone, the God-Word with God, through whom all things were made; for tnat is life, which in Him is the light of men.
i8. For this follows: " and the life was the light of men;" and from this very life are >'men illuminated. Cattle are not illuminated, because cattle have not rational minds capa- ble of seeing wisdom. But man was made in the image of God, and has a rational mind, by which he can perceive wisdom. That life, then, by which all things were made, is itself the light; yet not the light of every animal, but of men. Wherefore a little after he says, " That was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." By that light John the Baptist was • illuminated; by the same light also was John the Evangelist himself illuminated. He was filled with that light who said, " I am not the Christ; but He that cometh after me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose."' By that light he had been illuminated who said, " In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Therefore that life is the light of men.
I John i. 26, 27.
19. But perhaps the slow hearts of some of- you cannot yet receive that light, because they are burdened by their sins, so that they cannot see. Let them not on that account think that the light is in any way absent, because they are not able to see it; for they themselves are darkness on account of their sins. " And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not." Accordingly, brethren, as in tiie case of a blind man placed in the sun, the sun is present to him, but he is absent from the sun. So every foolish man, every unjust man, every irreligious man, is blind in heart. Wis- dom is present; but it is present to a blind man, and is absent from his eyes; not because it is absent from him, but because he is absent from it. What then is he to do? Let him become pure, that he may be able to see God. Just as if a man could not see because his eyes were dirty and sore with dust, rheum, or smoke, the physician would say to him: " Cleanse from your eye whatever bad tiling is in it, so that you may be able to see the light of your eyes." Dust, rheum, and smoke are sins and iniquities: remove then C^ all these things, and you will see the wisdom '•> that is present; for (iod is that wisdom, and it has been said, " Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God." ' = Matt. V. 8.
} TRACTATE il.
Chapter L 6-14.
It is fitting, brethren, that as far as possi- ble we should treat of the text of Holy Scrip- ture, and especially of the Holy Gospel, without omitting any portion, that both we ourselves may derive nourishment according to our capacity, and may minister to you from that source from which we have been nourish- ed. Last Lord's day, we remember, we treated of the first section; that is, " In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was nothing made. Thatjvhich was made, in HimJsJife; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." So lar, I believe, had I advanced in the treatment of the passage: let all who were present recall what was then said; and those of you who were not present, believe me and those who chose to be present. Now therefore, — because we cannot always be repeating everything, out of justice to those who desire to hear what follows, and because repetition of tlie former thought is a burden to them and de- prives them of what succeeds,— let t'nosc wiio were absent on the former occasion refrain from demanding repetition, but, togetlier A'ith tlu)se who were here, listen to the present e.xposition.
2. It goes on, " There was a man sent from God whose name was Joiui." 'I'nily, brethren beloved, those thiiij^s which were said before, were said regartling tiie ineffable ilivinity of Christ, and almost incffal)Iy. Fc.r who siiall comprehend " In tlie beginning w.is the Word, and the Word was with God"?
[Tractate II.
And do not allow the name word to appear mean to you, through the habit of daily words, for it is added, " and the Word was God." This Word is He of whom yesterday we spoke much; and I trust that God was present, and that even from only thus much speaking something reached your hearts. "In the beginning was the Word," He is the same, and is in the same manner; as He is, so He is always; He cannot be changed; /f- that is, He<7i-) This His name He spoke to ^iiis servant Moses: " I am that lam; and He that is hath sent me." ' Who then shall comprehend this when you see that all mortal things are variable; when you see that not only do bodies vary as to their qualities, by being born, by increasing, by becoming less, by dying, but that even souls themselves through the effect of divers volitions are dis- tended and divided; when you see that men can obtain wisdom if they apply themselves to its light and heat, and also lose wisdom if they remove themselves from it through some evil influence? When, therefore, you see that all those things are variable, what is that which is, unless that which transcends all things which are so that they are not? Who then can receive this? Or who, in what man- ner soever he may have applied the strength of his mind to touch that which is, can reach to that which he may in any way have touched with his mind? It is as if one were to see his native land at a distance, and the sea inter- vening; he sees whither he would go, but he has not the means of going. So we desire to arrive at that our stability where that which is, is, because this alone always is as it is: the sea of this world interrupts our course, even although already we see whither we go; for many do not even see whither they go. That there might be a way by which we could go. He has come from Him to whom we wished to go. And what has He done? He has appointed a tree by which we may cross the sea. For no one is able to cross the sea of this world, unless borne by the cross of Christ. Even he who is of weak eyesight sometimes embraces this cross; and he who does not see from afar whither he goes, let him not depart from it, and it will carry him over.
3. Therefore, my brethren, I would desire to have impressed this upon your hearts: if you wish to live in a pious and Christian man- ner, cling to Christ according to that which He became for us, that you may arrive at Him according to that which is, and accord- ing to that which was. He approached, that 'Ex.
14.
14.
for us He might become this; because He "^ l)ecame that for us, on which the weak may be borne, and cross the sea of this world and reach their native country; where there will be no need of a ship, for no sea is crossed. Itjs_bett£r^tiien not to see with the mind tiiat -X which js, and yet not to depart from the cross of Cjirist, than to see it with the mind, and despise the cross of Christ. It is good beyond this, and best of all, if it be possible, that we both see whither we ought to go, and hold fast that which carries us as we go. This they were able to do, the great minds of the mountains, who have been called mountains, whom the light of divine justice pre-eminently illuminates; they were able to do this, and saw that which is. For John seeing said, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.'' They saw this, and in order that they might arrive at that which they saw from afar, they did not depart from the cross of Christ, and did not despise Christ's lowliness. But little ^ ones who cannot understand this, who do not depart from the cross and passion and resur- rection of Christ, are conducted in that same ship to that which they do not see, in which they also arrive who do see.
4. But truly there have been some philoso- phers of this world who have sought for the Creator by means of the creature; for He can be found by means of the creature, as the apostle plainly says, " For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and glory; so they are without excuse." And it follows, "Because that, when they knew God;" he did not say. Because they did not know, but " Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened." How darkened? It follows, when he says more plainly: " Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools." ^ They saw whither they must come; but un- grateful to Him who afforded them what they saw, they wished to ascribe to themselves what they saw; and having becorne proud, they lost what they saw, and were turned from it to idols and images, and to the worship of demons, to adore the creature and to despise the Creator. But these having been blinded did those things, and became proud, that they might be blinded: when they were proud they said that they were wise. Those, therefore, concerning whom he said, "Who, 2 Rom. i. 20-22.
Tractate II.]
ON THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN.