7. But He explains whence this should be- fall them: " For if ye believe not that I am [He], ye shall die in your sins." I believe, brethren, that among the multitude who listen- ed to the Lord, there were those also who should yet believe. But against all, as it were, had that most severe sentence gone forth, " Ye shall die in your sin; " and there- by even from those who siiould yet believe had hope been withdrawn: the others were roused to fury, they to fear, yea, to more than fear, they were lirought now to despair. But He revived their hope; for He added, " If ye believe not that I am, ye siiall die in your sins." Tiierefore if ye do believe that I am, ye shall not die in your sins. Hope was re- stored to the desponding, the sleeping were aroused, their hearts got a fresh awakening; and thereafter very many believed, as the Gospel itself attests in the se(iuel. For mem- bers of Christ were there, who Imd not yet become attached to the body gf (Mirist; and among that people by whom He was crucified, ' There is a play here on the words mitm/us, thv wurlcl.nnd tnuniius, cle.Tn, with its compound imiinindus, and its r<i«iiate verb iitu)iitar,\ Sui:h pl.lys are frequent in St..-XuKHStin. Ik.
by whom He was hanged on a tree, by whom when hanging He was mocked, by whom He was wounded with the spear, by whom gall and vinegar were given Him to drink, were the members of Christ, for whose sake He said, "Fatiier, forgive them, for they know not what they do." And what will a convert not be forgiven, if the shedding of Christ's blood is forgiven? What murderer need despair, if he was restored to hope by whom even Christ was slain? After this many be- lieved; they were presented with Christ's blood as a gift, that they might drink it for their salvation, rather than be held guilty of shedding it. Who can despair? And if the thief was saved on the cross, — a murderer shortly before, a little afterwards accused, convicted, condemned, hanged, delivered, — wonder not. The place of his conviction was that of his condemnation; while that of his conversion was the place also of his deliver- ance.- Among this people, then, to whom the Lord was speaking, were those who should yet die in their sin: there were those also who should yet believe on Him who spake, and find deliverance from all their sin.
8. But look at this which is said by Christ the Lord: "If ye believe not that I am, ye shall die in your sins." What is this, " If ye believe not that I am?" "I am" what? There is nothing added; and because He added nothing, He left much to be inferred. For He was expected to say what He was, and yet He said it not. What was He ex- pected to say? Perhaps, " If ye believe not that I am " Christ; " if ye believe not that I am " the Son of God; " if ye believe not that I am" the Word of the Father: "if ye be- lieve not that I am" the founder of the world; " if ye believe not that I am " the form- er and re-former, the creator and re-creator, the maker and re-maker of man; — " if ye be- lieve not that I am " this, "ye shall die in your sins." There is much implied in His only saying "I am;' for so also had God said to Moses, " I am who am." Who can adecpiately express what that am means? God by His angel sent His servant Moses to deliver His people out of Egypt (you have read and know what you now hear; but I re- call it to your minds); He sent him trem- bling, self-excusing, but obedient. And while thus excusing himself, lie said to God, whom he understood to be speaking in the person of the angel: If tlu- people say to me. And who is the God that hath sent thee? what shall I say to them? And the Lord answered him, "I am wiioam;" and added, "Thou shalt .uk e.win. 34 4j.
2 20 THE WORKS OF ST. AUGUSTIN.
[Tractate XXXVIII.
say to the children of Israel, He who is hath sent me to you." There also He says not, I am God; or, I am the framer of the world; or, I am the creator of all things; or, I am the multiplier of the very people to be deliver- ed: but only this, "I am who am;" and, " Thou shalt say to the children of Israel, He who is." He added not. Who is your God, who is the God of your fathers; but said only this: " He who is hath sent me to you." Perhaps it was too much even for Moses him- self, as it is too much for us also, and much more so for us, to understand the meaning of such words, " I am who am; " and, " He who is hath sent me to you." And supposing that Moses comprehended it, when would those to whom he was sent comprehend it? The Lord therefore put aside what man could not comprehend, and added what he could; for He said also besides, "I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."' This thou canst comprehend; for " I am who am," what mind can compre- hend?
9. What then of us? Shall we venture to say anything on such words, "I am who am; " or rather on this, that you have heard the Lord saying, "If ye believe not that I am, ye shall die in your sins "? Shall I ven- ture with these feeble and scarcely existing powers of mine to discuss the meaning of that which Christ the Lord hath said, " If ye be- lieve not that I am "? I shall venture to ask the Lord Himself. Listen to me as one ask- ing rather than discussing, inquiring rather than assuming, learning rather than teaching, and fail not yourselves also to be asking with me or through me. The Lord Himself, who is everywhere, is also at hand. Let Him hear the feeling that prompts to ask, and grant the fruit of understanding. For in what words, even were' it so that I compre- hend something, can I convey to your hearts what I comprehend? What voice is ade- quate? what eloquence sufficient? what pow- ers of intelligence? what faculty of utter- ance?
10, I shall speak, then, to our Lord Jesus Christ; I shall speak and may He be pleased to hear me. I believe He is present, I am fully assured of it; for He Himself has said, " Lo, I am with you even to the end of the world. ' ' ^ O Lord our God, what is that which Thou saidst, " If ye believe not that I am"? For what is there that belongs not to the things Thou hast made? Does not heaven so be- long? Does not the earth? Does not every- thing in earth and heaven? Does not man himself to whom Thou speakest? Does not the angel whom Thou sendest? If all these are things made by Thee, what is that exis- tence 3 Thou hast retained as something ex- clusively Thine own, which Thou hast given to none besides, that Thou mightest be such Thyself alone? For how do I hear "I am who am,^' as if there were none besides? and how do I hear " If ye believe not that I am "? For liad they no existence who heard flim? Yea, though they were sinners, they were men. What then can I do? What that exis- tence is, let Him tell my heart, let Him tell, let Him declare it within; let the inner man hear, the mind apprehend this true existence; for such existence is always unvarying in character.'* For a thing, anything whatever (I have begun as it were to dispute, and have left off inquiring. Perhaps I wish to speak what I have heard. May He grant enlarge- ment to my hearing, and to yours, while I speak); — for anything, whatever in short be its excellence, if it is changeable, does not truly exist; for there is no true existence wherever non-existence has also a place. For whatever can be changed, so far as changed, it is not that which was: if it is no longer what it was, a kind of death has therein taken place; something that was there has been eliminated, and exists no more. Blackness has died out in the silvery locks of the patri- arch, comeliness in the body of the careworn and crooked old man, strength in the body of the languishing, the [previous] standing pos- ture in the body of one walking, walking in the body of one standing, walking and standing in the body of one reclining, speech in the tongue of the silent; — whatever changes, and is what it was not, I see there a kind of life in that which is, and death in that which was. In fine, when we say of one deceased, Where is that person? we are answered. He was. O Truth, it is thou [alone] that truly art! For in all actions and movements of ours, yea, in every activity of the'^creature, I find two times, the past and the future. I seek for the present, nothing stands still: what I have said is no longer present; what I am gomg to say is not yet come: what I have done is no longer present; what I am going to do is not yet come: the life I have lived is no longer present; the life I have still to live is not yet come. Past and future I find in every creature-movement: in truth, which is abid- ing, past and future I find not, but the pres- ent alone, and that unchangeably, which has no place in the creature. Sift the mutations of things, thou wilt find was and will be: I Ex. iii. 13-15.
- Matt, xxviii. 20.
3 Esse.
4 Eo'icni inoiio.
Tractate XXXVIIL] ON THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN.
22 1 think on God, thou wilt find the is, where WAS and will be cannot exist. To be so then thyself, rise beyond the boundaries of time. But who can transcend the powers of his being? May He raise us thither who said to the Father, " I will that they also be with me where I am." And so, in making this promise, that we should not die in our sins, the Lord Jesus Christ, I think, said nothing else By these words, " If ye believe not that I am; " yea, by these words I think He meant nothing else than this, " If ye believe not that lam" God, "ye shall die in your sins." Well, God be thanked that He said, " If ye believe not," and did not say. If ye compre- hend not. For who can comprehend this? Or is it so, since 1 have ventured to speak and you have seemed to understand, that you have indeed comprehended somewhat of a subject so unspeakable? If then thou com- prehendest not, faith sets thee free. There- fore also the Lord said not. If ye compre- hend not that I am; but said what they vcere capable of attaining, " If ye believe not that I am, ye shall die in your sins."
II. And savoring as these men always did of the earth, and ever hearing and answering according to the flesh, what did they say to Him? "Who art thou?," For when thou saidst, "If ye believe not that I am," thou didst not tell us what thou wert. Who art thou, that we may believe? He answered "■ The Beginning." Here is the existence that [always] is. The beginning cannot be changed: the beginning is self-abiding and all-originating; that is, the beginning, to which it has been said, "But thou Thyself art the same, and Thy years shall not fail." ' " The beginning," He said, " for so I also speak to you." Believe me [to be] the beginning, that ye may not die in your sins. For just as if by saying, "Who art thou?" they had said nothing else than this. What shall we believe thee to be? He replied, "The beginning;" that is. Believe me [to be] the " beginning." For in the Greek expression we discern what we cannot in the Latin. For in Greek the word "beginning'' {^princlpiuin, '//»/■/;'), is of the feminine gender, just as with us "law" {lex) is of the feminine gender, wliile it is of the masculine (vo//«s-) with them; or as " wis- dom" {jsapientia, trixpia) is of the feminine gender with both. It is the custom of speech, therefore, in different languages to ' Ps. cii. 27.
vary the gender of words, because in things themselves there is no place for the distinc- tion of sex. For wisdom is not really female, since Christ is the Wisdom of God,- and Christ is termed of the masculine gender, wis- dom of the feminine. When then the Jews said, " Who art thou?" He, who knew that there were some there who should yet believe, and therefore had said, Who art thou? that so they might come to know \vhat they ought to believe regarding Him, replied, " The be- ginning: " not as if He said, I am the be- ginning; but as if He said, Believe me [to be] the beginning. AVhich, as I said, is quite evident in the Greek language, where begin- ning {apyjj) is of the feminine gender. 3 Just as if He had wished to say that He was the Truth, and to their question, "Who art thou?" had answered, l^eriiatevi'^ [the Truth]; when to the words, " Who art thou? " He evidently ought to have replied, Veritas^ [the Truth]; that is, I am the Truth. But His answer had a deeper meaning, when He saw that they had put the question, " Wlio art thou?" in such away as to mean. Having heard from thee, "If ye believe not that I am,' what shall we believe thee to be? To this He replied, " The beginning: " as if He said, Believe me to be the beginning. And He added " for [as such] I also speak to you; " that is, having humbled myself on your account, I have condescended to such words. For if the beginning as it is in itself had re- mained so with the Father, as not to receive the form of a servant and speak as man with men; how could they have l)elieved in Him, since their weak hearts could not have heard the Word intelligently without some voice that would appeal to their senses? Therefore, said He, believe me to be the beginning; for, that you may believe, I not only am, but also speak to you.* But on this subject I have still much to say to you; may it therefore please your Charity that we reserve what re- mains, and by His gracious aid deliver it to- morrow.
- I Cor. i. 24.
The (ireek is tiji- ap;^^)ji-, which to some has here the sound of ail adverb, like the Latin /;/«r//*/() and /<yiiiiii in. So at least it sounded to Chrysostom. liut Augustin's interpretation is fav- ored by Ambrose, Uernard, etc.
4 in the accusative case. 5 In the nominative case.
6 Aujfustin here makes Christ's speakini; — His use of human lanKua^e — the means whereby they sliould lie able to know ami believe Him to be the bcirinninv;, the Kternal Alpha. Had He not become man and spoken to them, but renuuned always hidden with tlie Father, and silent^ they could never have had the means of knowing that He personally was the beginning, or believing 1 1 iin such. — Tk.
2 2 2 THE WORKS OF ST. AUGUSTIN.
[Tkactatk XXXIX.
TRACTATE XXXIX.
Chapter VIII. 26. 27.
1. The words of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He had addressed to the Jews, so reg- ulating His discourse that the bhnd saw not, and believers' eyes were opened, are these, which have been read to-day from the holy Gospel: "Then said the Jews, Who art thou?" Because the Lord had said before, " If ye believe not that I am, ye shall die in your sins." ' To this accordingly they re- joined, "Who art thou?'' as if seeking to know on whom they ought to believe, so as not to die in their sin. He replied to those who asked Him: " Who art thou?" by saying, " The beginning, for [so] also I speak to you." If the Lord has called Him.self the beginning, it may be inquired whether the Father also is the beginning. For if the Son who has a Father is the beginning, how much more easily must God the Father be under- stood as the beginning, who has indeed the Son whose Father He is, but has no one from whom He Himself proceedeth? For the Son is the Son of the Father, and the Father certainly is the Father of the Son; but the Son is called God of God, — the Son is called Light of Light; the Father is called Light, but not, of Light, — the Father is called God, but not, of God. If, then, God of God, Light of Light, is the beginning, how much more easily may we understand as such that Light, from whom the Light [cometh], and God, of whom is God? It seems, therefore, absurd, degrly beloved, to call the Son the be- ginning, and not to call the Father the begin- ning also.
2. But what shall we do? Are there, then, two beginnings? Let us beware of saying so. What then? if both the Father is the begin- ning and the Son the beginning, how are there not two beginnings? In the same way that we call the Father God, and the Son God, and yet say not that there are two Gods; and yet He who is the Father is not the Son, He who is the Son is not the Father; and the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Father and of the Son, is neither the Father nor the Son. Although, then, as Catholic ears have been taught in the bosom of mother Church, neither He who is the Father is the Son, nor He who is the Son is the Father, nor is the Holy Spirit, of the Father and of the Son, either the Son or the Father, yet we say not that there are three Gods; although, if we are asked of each apart, we must, of whichever we are questioned, confess that He is God.
3. But all this seems absurd to those who drag up familiar things to a level with things little known, visible things with invisible, and compare the creature to the Creator. For unbe- lievers sometimes question us and say: Whom you call the Father, do you call him God? We answer, God, Whom you call the Son, do you call him God? We answer, God. Whom you call the Holy Spirit, do you call him God? We answer, God. Then, say they, are the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit three Gods? We answer. No. They are confounded, because they are not enlightened; they have their heart shut up, because they want the key of faith. Let us then, brethren, by an antecedent faith that heals the eye of our heart, receive without obscurity what we understand, — and what we understand not, believe without hesitation; let us not quit the foundation of faith in order to reach the sum- mit of perfection. The Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God: and yet He is not the Father who is the Son, nor He the Son who is the Father, and the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Father and the Son, is neither the Father nor the Son. The Trinity is one God. The Trinity is one eter- nity, one power, one majesty; — three, but not [three] Gods. Let not the reviler answer me: " Three what, then? For," he adds, " if there are three, you must say, three what? " I r«ply: The Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. ''See," he says, " you have named three; but express what the three are?" Nay, count them yourself; for I make out three when I say, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. For the Father is God as respects Himself, but [He is] the Father as respects the Son; the Son is God as respects Himself, but He is the Son as regards the Father.
4. What I say you may gather from daily analogies. So it is with one man and an- other, if the one be a father, the other his son. He is man as regards himself, but a father as regards his son; and the son man as respects himself, but a son as respects his father. For father is a name given relatively, and so with son; but these are two men. And certainly God the Father is Father in a Tractate XXXIX.]
ON THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN.
22 ^ ** *" V?
relative sense, that is, in relation to the Son; and God the Son is Son relatively, that is, in relation to the Father; but not as the former are two men are these two Gods. Why is it not so here? Because that belongs to one sphere and this to another; for this is divine. There is here something ineffable which cannot be ex- plained in words.that there should both be, and not be, number. For see if there appear not a kind of number. Father, and Son, and Holy Ghost — the Trinity. If three, three what? Here number fails. And so God neither keeps apart from number, nor is comprehend- ed by number. Because there are three, there is a kind of numlier. If you ask three what, number ceases. Hence it is said, " Great is our Lord, and great His power; and of His understanding there is no number.''' When you have begun to reflect, you begin to num- ber; when you have numbered, you cannot tell what you have numbered. The Father is Father, the Son. is Son, the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit, What are these three, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? Are They not three Gods? No. Are They not three Almighties? No. Not three Creators of the world ' No. Is the Father then almighty? Manifestly almighty. And is the Son then not almighty? Clearly the Son is also almighty. And is the Holy Spirit then not almighty? He, too, is almighty. Are there then three Almighties? No; only one Almighty. Only in Their relation to each other do They suggest number, not in Their essential existence. For though God the Father is, as respects Himself, God along with the Son and the Holy Spirit, there are not three Gods; and, though as respects Him- self He is omnipotent, as well as the Son and the Holy Spirit, there are not three omni- potents; for in truth He is the Father not in respect to Himself, but to the Son; nor is the Son so in respect to Himself, but ' to the Father; nor is the Spirit so as regards Him- self, in as far as He is called the Spirit of the Father and of the Son. I have no name to give the three, save the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one God, one Almighty. And so one beginning.
5. Take an illustration from the Holy Scrip- tures, whereby you may in some measure comprehend what I am saying. After our Ix)rd Jesus Christ rose again, and was [)leased to ascend into heaven, at the end of ten days He sent from thence the Holy Spirit, by whom those who were present in that one chamber were filled, and began to speak in the languages of all nations. The Lord's » Ps. cxlvii. 5 (marg.).
murderers, terrified by the miracle, were •pricked to the heart and sorrowed; sorrowing, w^ere changed; and being changed, believed. There were added to the Lord's body, that is, to the number of believers, three thousand people. And so also by the working of an- other miracle there were added other five thousand. A considerable community w^as created, in which all, receiving the Holy Spirit, by whom spiritual love was kindled, were by their very love and fervor of spirit welded into one, and began in the very unity of fellow- ship to sell all that they had, and to lay the price at the apostles' feet, that distribution might be made to every one as each had need. And the Scripture says this of them, that " they were of one soul and one heart toward God."- Give heed then, brethren, and from this acknowledge the mystery of the Trinity, how it is we say. There is both the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and yet there is one God. See! there were so many thou- sands of these, and yet there was one heart; there were so many thousands, and one soul. But where? In God. How much more so God Himself? Do I err at all in word when I call two men two souls, or three men three souls, or many men many souls? Surely I speak correctly. Let them approach God, and one soul belongs to all. If by approach- ing God many souls by love become one soul, and many hearts one heart, what of the very fountain of love in the Father and Son? Is it not still more so here that the Trinity is one God? For thence, of that Holy Spirit, does love come to us, as the apostle sa3''3: " The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us." 3 If then the love of God, shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us, makes many souls one soul, and many hearts one heart, how much rather are the Father and Son and Holy Spirit, one God, one light, and one beginning?
6. Let us hear, then, the Beginning who speaks to us: "I have," said He, ''many things to say of you and to judge." You re- member that He said, " I do not judge any one."'' See, now He says, "I have many things to say of you and to judge." But, " I do not judge" is one thing: " I have to judge" is anotlier; for He had come to save the world, not to judge the world. ^ In say- ing, " I have many things to say of you and to judge," He speaks of the future judgment. For therefore did He ascend, that He may come to judge the living and tlie dead. No one will judge more justly than He who was ' Acts ii. and iv. 32, etc. 4 Ver. 15.
224 THE WORKS OF ST. AUGUSTIN.
[Tractate XXXIX.
unjustly judged. " Many things," said He, " have I to say of you and to judge; but He that sent me is true." See how the Son, His equal, gives glory to the Father. For He sets us an example, and says as it were in our hearts: O believer, if thou hearest my gospel, the Lord thy God saith to thee, when I, in the beginning God the Word with God, equal with the Father,co-eternal with Him that begat, give glory to Him whose Son 1 am, how canst thou be proud before Him, whose servant thou art?
7. " I have many things," He said, " to say of you and to judge: but He that sent me is true; " as if He had said, Therefore I judge the truth, because, as the Son of the True One, I am the truth. The Father true, the Son the truth, — which do we account the greater? Let us reflect, if we can, which is the greater, the True One or the Truth.' Take some other instances. Is a pious man, or piety, the more comprehensive? Surely piety itself; for the pious is derived from piety, not piety from the pious. For piety may still exist, though he who was pious be- came impious. He has lost his piety, but has taken nothing from piety itself. What also of comely and comeliness? Comeliness is more than comely; for comeliness gives ex- istence to the comely, not the comely to comeliness. And so of chaste and chastity. Chastity is clearly something more than chaste. For if chastity had no existence, one would have ao ground to be chaste; but though one may refuse to be chaste, chastity remains entire. If then the term piety im- plies more than the term pious, comeliness more than comely, chastity than chaste, shall we say that the Truth is more than the True One? If we say so, we shall begin to say that the Son is greater than the Father. For