have us to be passing, and out of that wherein He would not that we should perish. Let Peter therefore love Him, that we may obtain deliverance from our i)resent mortality; let John be loved by Him, that we may be preserved in the immortality to come.
6. But by this line of argument we have shown why Christ loved John more than Peter, not why Peter loved Christ more than John. For if Christ loveth us more in the world to come, where we shall live unendingly with Him, than in the present, from which we are in the course of being rescued, that we may be always in the other, it docs not follow on that aLCOunt that we shall love Him less when better ourselves; since we can in no possible way be better ourselves, save by loving Him more. Why was it, then, that John loved Him less than Peter, if he signified that life, wherein He must be more abundantly loved, but because on that very account it was said, " I will that he tarry," that is wait, " till I come; " for we have not yet the love itself, which will then be greater far, but are expecting that future, that we may have it when He shall come? Just as in his own epistle the same apostle declares, " It has not yet appeared what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is." ' Then accordingly shall we love the more that which we shall see. But the Lord Himself, in His predestinating knowledge, loveth more that future life of ours that is yet to come, such as He knows it will be hereafter in us, in order that by so loving us He may draw us onward to its possession. Wherefore, as all the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth,- we know our present misery, because we feel it; and therefore we love more the mercy of the Lord, which we wish to be exhibited in our deliverance from misery, and we ask and experience it daily, especially in the remission of sins: this it is that was signified by Peter, as loving more, but less beloved; because Christ loveth us less in our misery than in our blessedness. But the contemplation of the truth, such as it then shall be, we love less, because as yet we neither know nor possess it: this was signified by John as loving less, and therefore waiting both for that state itself, and for the perfecting in us of that love to Him, to which He is entitled, till the Lord come; but loved the more, because that it is, which is symbolized by him, that maketh him blessed.
7. Let no one, however, separate these distinguished ai)ostles. In that which was signified by Peter, they were both alike; ami in that which was signified by John, they will both be alike hereafter. In their representative character, the one was following, the other tarrying; but in their personal faith they were both of them enduring the present evils of the misery here, both of them expecting the future good things of the lilessedness to come..And such is the case, not with them alone, but with the holy universal Church, the spouse of Christ, who has still to be rescued from the present trials, and to be preserved in the future happiness. And these two states of life were symbolized by Peter and John, the one by the one, tiie other by ■ I John iii. 2.
3 Ps. XXV. 10.
[Tractate CXXIV.
the other; but in this life they both of them walked for a time by faith, and the other they shall both of them enjoy eternally by sight. For the whole body of the saints, therefore, inseparably belonging to the body of Christ, and for their safe pilotage through the present tempestuous life, did Peter, the first of the apostles, receive the keys of the kingdom of heaven for the binding and loosing of sins; and for the same congregation of saints, in reference to the perfect repose in the bosom of that mysterious life to come, did the evangelist John recline on the breast of Christ. For it is not the former alone, but the whole Church, that bindeth and looseth sins; nor did the latter alone drink at the fountain of the Lord's breast, to emit again in preaching, of the Word in the beginning, God with God, and those other sublime truths regarding the divinity of Christ, and the Trinity and Unity of the whole Godhead, which are to be yet beheld in that kingdom face to face, but meanwhile till the Lord's coming are only to be seen in a mirror and in a riddle; but the Lord has Himself diffused this very gospel through the whole world, that every one of His own may drink thereat according to his own individual capacity. There are some who have entertained the idea — and those, too, who are no contemptible handlers of sacred eloquence — that the Apostle John was more loved by Christ on the ground that he never married a wife, and lived in perfect chastity from early boyhood.'
There is, indeed, no distinct evidence of this in the canonical Scriptures: nevertheless it is an idea that contributes not a little to the suitableness of the opinion expressed above, namely, that that life was signified by him, where there will be no marriage.
8. "This is the disciple who testifieth of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true. And there I Jerome, Book I., Against Jovinian.
are also," he adds, " many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written." We are not to suppose that in regard to local space the world would be unable to contain them; for how could they be written in it if it could not bear them when written? but perhaps it is that they could not be comprehended by the capacity of the readers: although, while our faith in certain things themselves remains unharmed, the words we use about them may not unfrequently appear to exceed belief. This will not take place when anything that was obscure or dubious is in course of exposition by the setting forth of its ground and reason, but only when that which is clear of itself is. either magnified or extenuated, without any real departure from the pathway of the truth to be intimated; fof the words may outrua the thing itself that is indicated only in such a way, that the will of him that speaketh, but without any intention to deceive, may be apparent, so that, knowing how far he will be believed, he, orally, either diminishes or magnifies his subject beyond the limit to which credit will be given. This mode of speaking is called by the Greek name hyperbole, by the masters not only of Greek, but also of Latin literature. And this mode is found not only here, but in several other parts also of the divine literature: as, " They set their mouths against the heavens; " ^ and, " The top of the hair of such as go on in their trespasses; " 3 and many others of the same kind, which are no more wanting in the sacred Scriptures than other tropes or modes of speaking. Of these I might give a more elaborate discussion, were it not that, as the evangelist here terminates his Gospel, I am also compelled to bring my/ discourse to a close. ' * Ps. Ixxiii. 9.
3 Ps. Ixviii. 21.
TEN HOMILIES ON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN TRANSLATED BY REV. H. BROWNE, M.A., CANON OF WALTHAM AND PRINCIPAL OF THE CHICHESTER DIOCESAN COLLEGE.
REVISED, WITH ADDITIONAL NOTES, HV REV. JOSEPH H. MYERS, D.D INTRODUCTION.
This first Epistle of John, probably written at Ephesus near the close of the first century, the last utterance of the Spirit of inspiration, breathes the calmness of an assured hope, and that fullness of joy of which the Apostle would have his readers to be made partakers. While strongly refuting error, it is not so much an argument as an intuition, an open vision of the divine truths announced.
It was evidently written in a time of external quiet for the Church, but of special exposure to errors and perils from within. The nature of the principal error is plain, — the denial that Jesus is the Christ (i John ii: 22). Precisely this heresy was taught at Ephesus by Cerinthus in the old age of the Apostle; he alleged that Jesus was a man eminent for wisdom and holiness; that after his baptism Christ descended into him, and before the crucifixion left Jesus and returned to heaven. Over against this cardinal error, the Apostle announces the manifestation of the Son of God in the flesh, — the Incarnation of that Eternal Life which was with God from the beginning. This divine fact is shown in its own selfevidencing light, and is so presented as to render the epistle a "possession forever," of incalculable value to the Church. In our day, also, by separating Jesus the Son of Man from Christ the Son of God, the one Divine-Human Lord and Saviour of man is denied and rejected. The great words, fellowship, light, life, love, so often recurring in the Epistle, are filled with new meanings as vehicles of the message of God, as conveying the thoughts of God.
As regards the plan of the Epistle, it has been often asserted till lately that it was supposed to be but fragmentary, a series of aphorisms. Augustin, however, without formally announcing a plan as discovered by him in the Epistle, not only frequently affirms in his exposition that charity or love is the Apostle's main theme, but so conducts the discussion, gathering his arguments and illustrations around this central thought, as to render it evident that in his view the purpose and plan of the Apostle is to set forth love in its essence and its scope, and that he intends to make this thought dominant in every part. Westcott, in his admirable commentary (2nd edition, 1886), does not draw out a plan, but gives striking and comprehensive views of the object and scope of the Epistle.
Braune, in Lange's commentary, makes two main divisions, besides the introduction and conclusion: chief topic for the first division: i. 5-ii. 28, God is Light; for the second part: Whosoever is born of God doeth righteousness.
Huther (4th edition, 1880) suggests a three-fold division, first: i. 5-ii. 12-28, against indifference to truth and love of the world; second: ii. 29-iii. 22, a life of brotherly lo-oe alone is in agreement 7vith the nature of the child of God; third: iii. 23-v. 17, pointing to /"<///// in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as the foundation of the Christian Life. As thus distributed (by Huther) "the conclusion of each part points to the joy of which the Christian partakes in fellowship with God.''
Objections have been urged to any division projiosed, as being inadequate; but the 456 INTRODUCTION.
great divine facts oi fellowship with God, fullness of Joy in Him, and an Eternal Life of love through the Son of God, are leading topics. Tliis is obvious; they are often recurred to, are frequently conjoined, and in their grandeur surpass our range and reach of thought, vvliile satisfying the aspirations of the soul.
In these discourses of Augustin, on the first Epistle of John, we have a nearly complete text of the Epistle, — the exposition of the last i8 verses not being extant. He followed the old Itala, one of the most ancient (Latin) versions of the New Testament. Variations between the text on which he comments and the best Greek text (as given by Westcott and Hort), when of importance, are indicated in this revised edition of the translation of his homilies. In comparing the Oxford translation, word by word, with the original, — Benedictine (Migne's) edition, — several omissions, twelve at least, have been discovered; and though brief, some of them are of considerable importance: these are supplied in the present edition.
The translator copied, only too faithfully, the very form of the Latin sentences: to change them throughout and to remove all the archaisms in his English, might have seemed an undue reflection on a work executed for the most part with extraordinary fidelity.
After many alterations in phraseology, probably enough still remains in the translation of the original antique flavor to satisfy the taste of those who are ever disposed to say: "the old is better."
As regards any allegorizing tendency here and there manifested in the exposition, it may suffice to say that it is small in Augustin, as compared with very many of great fame.
If now and then he seems to mistake in interpretation (as in Homily VII.), not considering that in the Greek such propositions as "God is love," are not convertible, the subject 6 Oz()^ being marked by the article, and the predicate indicated by not having the article, let it be remembered that some exegetical canons of the kind were unknown in his time.
These expository discourses by the most illustrious of the Fathers of the Western Church, while often exhibiting great critical acumen, were not intended to be models in exegesis. They are familiar, homiletical talks, racy and vivid in style, couched in the plainest and most pointed language, and all aglow with the most fervent love.
Whatever St. John was in this respect. Augustin was clearly a polemic; but where can be found a more ardent lover of the brethren, nay of all men, even the worst? Not the least striking and touching of his utterances are those in which he discloses the breadth and depth of his charity toward enemies, and affirms such principles and such conduct to be necessarily and invariably found in all those who are Christians indeed. — J. H. M, CONTENTS OF HOMILIES.
Prologue Homily I. Homily H. Homily HI. Homily IV. Homily V. Homily VI. Homily VII. Homily VIII. Homily IX. Homily X.
III. 0-18, III. 19— IV. 3, IV. 4-12, IV. 12-16, IV. 17-21.
V. 1-3, TEN HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLE OE JOHN TO THE PARTHIANS.
The Prologue.
Ye remember, holy brethren, that the Ciospel according to John, read in orderly course of lessons, is the subject on which we usually discourse: but because of the now intervening solemnity of the holy days, on which there must be certain lessons recited in the Church, which so come every year that they cannot be other than they are:* the order which we had undertaken is of necessity for a little while intermitted, not wholly omitted. But when I was thinking what matter of discourse upon the Scriptures, agreeably with the cheerfulness of these days, I might undertake with you, as the Lord shall vouchsafe to grant, during the present week, being such an one as might be finished in these seven or eight days; the Epistle of blessed John occurred to me: that whereas we have for a while intermitted the reading of his Gospel, we may in discoursing upon his Epistle not go from his side: the rather, as in this same Epistle, which is very sweet to all who have a healthy taste of the heart to relish the Bread of God, and very meet to be had in remembrance in God's Holy Church, charity is above all commended He has spoken many words, and nearly all are about charity.3 He that hath in himself that which he is to hear, must needs rejoice at that which he heareth. For so shall this reading be to that man, as oil upon flame; if that be there which may be nourished, it is nourished and groweth and abideth. Again, to some it ought to be as flame to fuel; that if he did not burn, by added discourse he may be ' In this designation of St. John's first Kpistle, the manuscript copies of St. Augustin all agree, both here and in the incidental mention, Quicst. Evang. ii. 39, of St. John's Epi.-:tola ad J\irtltos; and that there is no error of transcription is further proved by the fact, that the present work appears in the Indiciiliis of I'ossidius under the title, In Ef>istolam Joannis ad Parthos Tractat us decent. And yet St. Augustin neither in these Tractates nor in any other of his extant works explains or comments upon this peculiar address. In the Latin Church, since Augustin, it fri favor of this explanation it may be remarked, that Griesbach's Codex, 30, has for the superscription of the.-Xpocalypsc, Tou oyioK €t'6ofoTaTOi' aTTOOToAou Kat f uayytAicTToO rrap^ei'ou i^yaTr»j^c't'ou eTTttTTTjftiou 'luiai rou ScoAoyou: " 1 he Apocalypse of the holy, most glorious Apostle and Kvangelist, 'the \'irgin,' the lieloved, who lay m the bosom (of the I.ord>, John the I'heologus."
[Most recent critics antl conuuentators adopt the plausible conjecture of Gieseler that the title originated in the mistake of a transcriber for toO irapcftrou. Other conjecturers: Ad Sf>,iitt>s, Ad quently occurs in authors and in Mss. of the Vulgate. According, I'aitiiiiioSy Ad Sf<iirsos, are not worth considering. See the com to Venerable Hede, " Many ecclesiastical authors, and among them St. Athanasius, f'ishop of the Church of Alexandria, witness that the first Epistle of St. John was written nd l\irtlios." (Cave, H ist. Lit. I. 614). ISut there is no indication elsewhere that.Si. Athanmentaries of Huther, Haupt, Hraune, Westcott, and I'luinmer.- P. SJ '-' From S. Aug. Serut. ccxxxii. i, and ccxxxi.x. i, it appears to have been the custom, that during seven or eight days after Faster asius was acquainted with this superscription, and with the ex(ep- ' Sunday, the history of the Resurrection from all four Kvangelists tion of a few very modern mss. which have n-pbt irap^out in the should furnish tlie Gospel lessons: but not always in the same orsubscription to the second Epistle, it seems to be unknown to the der, St. Luke being sometimes read before St..Mark. And in fact Greek Church. 'I'he tradition according to which St. John preached ^ the second of these Homilies, which one of the oldest mss. assigns the Gospel in Parthia rests (so far as appears) on no ancient to Faster.Monday, appears from the opening of it to have been authority, and perhaps has no other foundalion than the super- preached on the day which had for its Lesson the narrative of St. scnption itself: which may have originated either, as some critics Luke ( uncerning thi' two disciples to whom C hrist appeared on the have supposed, in an abbreviated form of irpoi; rrapOtiov<;, " Id the way to Enimaus. — I'k.s'. Id.
Virgins,' or, as ( o< seler sugt'ists, in toO rrapfltroi/, as the designa- 1 Some Mss. have in the title of these Homilii'S the a<Id.tion, tion of St. John himself, " The Kpistle of John the Virgin;" an De CaritaU. epithet which has gone with his name from very early times. In [Homily I.
set on fire. For in some that which is there, is nourished: in some it is kindled, if it be not there: that we all may rejoice in one charity. But where charity, there peace; and where humility, there charity. Now let us hear himself: and at his words, what the Lord suggests, that let us speak also to you, that ye may well understand.
HOMILY L "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, and which we have seen with our eyes, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life: and the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us: the things which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and that our fellowship maybe' with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son shall cleanse^ us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and He is the propitiation for our sins: not for our's only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And in this we do know Him, if we keep His commandments. He that saith he knoweth Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth His word, in him verily is the love of God perfected. In this we know that we are in Him, if in Him we be perfect. He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked. Beloved, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had fi'om the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard. Agam, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in Him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. For he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because the darkness hath blinded his eyes."
I. " That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, 3 and our hands have handled, of the word of life.^' Who is he that with hands doth handle the Word, except because S'O i9ea(TatieSa. " Which we have looked upon." Vulg. quod pe7-spcxiinus. Aug. on.
" The Word was made flesh, and dwelt in us "? Now this Word which was made flesh that it might be handled, began to be flesh, of the Virgin Mary: but not then began the Word, for the Apostle saith, " That which was from the beginning." See whether his epistle does not benr witness to his gospel, where ye lately heard, "In the beginning was Homily I.]
Homily I.]
the Word, and the Word was with God.' Perchance, "Concerning the word of Ufe " one may take as a sort of expression concerning Christ, not the very body of Ciirist which was handled with hands. See what follows: "And the Life was manifested." Christ therefore is "the word of life." And whereby manifested? For it was "from the beginning," only not manifested to men: but it was manifested to angels, who saw it and fed on it as their bread. But what saith the Scripture? " Man did eat angels' bread." ^ Well then, " the Life was manifested " in the flesh; because it exhibited in manifestation, that that which can be seen by the heart only, should be seen by the eyes also, that it might heal the hearts. For only by the heart is the Word seen: but the flesh is seen by the bodily eyes also. We had wherewith to see the flesh, but had not wherewith to see the Word: " the Word was made flesh," which we might see, that so that in us might be healed wherewith we might see the Word.
2, "And we have seen and are witnesses." ^ Perhaps some of the brethren who are not acquainted with the Greek do not know what the word "witnesses" is in Greek: and yet it is a term much used by all, and had in religious reverence; for what in our tongue we call " witnesses," in Greek are " martyrs." Now where is the man that has not heard of martyrs, or where the Christian in whose mouth the name of martyrs dwelleth not every day? and would that it so dwelt in the heart also, that we should imitate the sufferings of the martyrs, not persecute them with our cups!* Well then, "We have seen and are witnesses," is as much as to say. We have seen and are martyrs. For it was for bearing witness of that which they had seen, and bearing witness of that which they had heard from them who had seen, that, while their testimony itself displeased the men against whom it was delivered, the martyrs suffered all that they did suffer. The martyrs are God's witnesses. It pleased God to have men for His witnesses, that men also may have God to be their witness. "We have seen," saith he, " and are witnesses." Where have they seen? In the manifestation. What meaneth, in the 4 Kdd. Nan cakibus fi^rseqtiamur: "not virtually tnimple upon, or kick at them, pcrsecutint; the martyrs afresh by turninitr thtir festivals into luxurious orgies;" or " not merely walk after them." Morel. Klem. Crit. p. 208, cited by Kd. Tar, proposes calicibus pcrsi'nuamur: Complaining of these excesses. S. Aug. says, Enarr. in /'sa. 6<), sec. 2: Adituc illi iniiiiid iiiartyrnm quia vorc ct /erro non possunt, fos sua luxiiria /ii-rMi/iiiintii>-. Atque utinntii I'nganos tantimi <iolirci>tus!...I'idiiiius vtiain poytntites in /ronte sif^num Ejus, siiiiul in ipsa /tonte poiture iitifiiitii'ittinin iuxuriaruiii, diibiisqiie t't solviiinitatibits innrtyruiii non t.xru/tarc\ sfti insiiltayc. < )n!*s. 59 (al. 60) sec. is. he has, »ii>i/i> ivs ebriosi calicibiis pi-rsvqtnintur, and one Oxford M.S. reads so here. Compare infra, Horn. iv. 4.