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| A Treatise Against the Heretic Novatian by an Anonymous Bishop.
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A Treatise Against the
Heretic Novatian by an Anonymous Bishop.
————————————
That the Hope of Pardon Should Not Be
Denied to the Lapsed.
1. While I was
meditating and impatiently tossing in my mind what I ought to do
concerning those pitiable brethren who, wounded, not of their own will,
but by the onset of a raging devil, have lived until now, that is,
through a long course of time, in the endurance of their punishment;
lo, there appeared opposed to me another enemy, and the adversary of
his own paternal affection—the heretic Novatian—who not
only, as it is signified in the Gospel, passed by the prostrate wounded
man, as did the priest or the Levite, but by an ingenious and novel
cruelty rather would slay the wounded man, by taking away the hope of
salvation, by denying the mercy of his Father, by rejecting the
repentance of his brother. Marvellous, how bitter, how harsh, how
perverse are many things! But one more easily perceives the straw
in another’s eye than the beam in one’s own. Let not
the abrupt madness of that perfidious heretic move or disturb us
however, beloved brethren, who, although he is placed in such great
guilt of dissension and schism, and is separated from the Church, with
sacrilegious temerity does not shrink from hurling back his charges
upon us: for although he is now by himself made unclean, defiled
with the filth of sacrilege, he contends that we are so. And
although it is written that the dogs should remain without, and the
apostle has taught that these same dogs must be shunned, as we read,
for he says, “Beware of dogs, beware of evil
workers,”5347
he does
not cease stirring up his frenzy with barkings, after the manner of
wolves seeking the gloomy darkness, where with his brutal cruelty he
may easily rend in his dark caves the sheep snatched away from the
Shepherd. Certainly he declares that he and his friends whom he
collects are gold. Nor do we doubt but that deserters of the
Church who have become apostates could now easily be converted into
gold, but it must be that gold in which the first sins of the people of
Israel were designated. But the gold and silver vessels which
were wrested from the Egyptians continue in the Lord’s power,
that is, in Christ’s Church; in which house if thou hadst
continued, Novatian, thou hadst perchance been also a precious vessel;
but now thou neither perceivest nor complainest that thou art changed
into chaff and straw.
2. Why, therefore, shouldst thou be lifted
up with vain things? Thou wilt gain loss rather than
profit. Why, from the very fact that thou art become poorer,
believest thou thyself rich? Hear in the Apocalypse the
Lord’s voice rebuking thee with righteous reproaches:
“Thou sayest,” says He, “I am rich, and increased
with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art
wretched, and miserable, and blind, and poor, and
naked.”5348
Let
him think for certain that he possesses these riches of poverty,
whoever he may be, that, forsaking the Church of Christ, with his
darkened reason does not shrink from being turned to those rash leaders
of schisms and authors of dissension, whom John calls antichrists, whom
the Evangelist likens to chaff, whom the Lord Christ characterizes as
thieves and robbers, as He Himself declares in the Gospel, saying that
“he who entereth not by the door into the sheep-fold, but goeth
down by some other way, the same is a thief and a
robber.”5349
Moreover, in the same He also says, “All who have come are
thieves and robbers.”5350
Who are such but the deserters
of the faith, and the transgressors of God’s Church, who strive
against God’s ordinance; whom the Holy Spirit rightly rebukes by
the prophet, saying, “Ye have taken counsel, but not by me; and
have made a confederacy, but not by my Spirit, to add sin to
sin.”5351
What now
can those most perverse friends of Novatian, even now the most
unhappy5352
| 5352
Infelicissimi. This is supposed to be a play upon the name
of Felicissimus, referred to in Cyprian’s letter, [xlviii. p.
325, supra]. | few, reply
to these things, who
have broken forth to such a folly of madness as to have no reverence
either for God or man? Among them, shamelessly, and without any
law of ordination, the episcopate is sought after; but among us in its
own Sees, and in those of the throne delivered to it by God, it is
renounced.5353
| 5353
[Ep. xl. p. 319, supra: et alibi.] | There
the Truth says, “They reject me, that they may sacrifice to me;
nor do they offer the holy oblations of the children of Israel, nor do
they approach to offer the holy of holies, but they shall receive their
ignominy in the error wherein they have erred.”5354
Let it be enough in a few
words to have proved what they are. Hear, therefore, O Novatians,
among whom the heavenly Scriptures are read rather than understood;
well, if they are not interpolated.5355
| 5355
[See p. 602, note 12, supra.] | For your ears are closed, and
your hearts darkened, seeing that ye admit no light from spiritual and
saving warnings; as Isaiah says, “The servants of God are
blinded.”5356
And
deservedly blinded, because the desire of schismatics is not in the
law; which law points out to us the one and only Church in that ark to
wit, which was fashioned, by the providence of God, under Noah before
the deluge, in which—to answer you quickly, O Novatian—we
find that there were shut up not only clean animals, but also unclean;
which ark was saved alone, with those who were in it, whereas the other
things which were not found therein perished in the deluge. From
that ark there were loosed two birds, a raven and a dove; and this
raven truly bore the figure or type of impure men, and men who would be
in perpetual darkness through the world’s broad road, and of
apostates who should arise, feeding on unclean things, and not turning
themselves eventually to the Church; and as we read, we find that it
was sent forth, and returned no more. Whoever should be found to
resemble this bird, then, that is, the impure spirit, will no more be
able to return to the Church, seeing that the Lord will forbid them,
even if they should wish it, as He commanded Moses, saying,
“Everything leprous5357
and impure, cast abroad outside the
camp.”5358
But
the dove sent forth that returned, is signified by the man who does not
delay, because he would have no rest for his feet. And Noah
received it into the ark; and when it was sent forth again on the
seventh day, received it, bearing in its mouth an olive
leaf.
3. And I, beloved brethren,—as I not
heedlessly meditate these things, and not in harmony with human wisdom,
but as it is permitted to our minds by the condescension of the
heavenly Lord, needfully and pertinently to conceive,—say that
that dove signifies to us of itself a double type. Formerly, that
is, from the beginning of the divine administration, it suggests its
own figure, the first indeed and chief—that is, the figure of the
Spirit. And by its mouth the sacrament of baptism which is
provided for the salvation of the human race, and that by the heavenly
plan it is celebrated in the Church only.5359
| 5359
This passage is altogether corrupt and unintelligible: some force
is necessary even to give it an appearance of meaning. | Moreover, three times sent
forth from the ark, flying about through the air over the water, it
already signified the sacraments of our Church. Whence also the
Lord Christ charges upon Peter, and moreover also upon the rest of His
disciples, “Go ye and preach the Gospel to the nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost.”5360
That
is, that that same Trinity which operated figuratively in Noah’s
days through the dove, now operates in the Church spiritually through
the disciples.
4. Let us now take the second character also
of the dove sent forth from the ark, that is to say, in the time of the
deluge, when all the abysses broke forth; when the cataracts of heaven
were opened upon the earth, on account of the wickedness of men which
they daily practised before the Lord; as said Moses, “And the
Lord God saw that the wickednesses of men were overflowing upon the
earth, and that all of them were remembering for evil from the
beginning of their days; and He said, I will destroy man whom I have
made from off the face of the earth, from man even unto cattle, and
from the creeping thing even unto the fowls of the air.”5361
Therefore in the time of the flood the dove is sent forth from the ark,
when the waters were violently rushing with all their force upon the
earth.
5. That ark bore the figure of the Church,
as we have said above, which was stricken hither and thither to such a
degree by the tumultuous waters. Therefore that deluge which
happened under Noah showed forth the figure of the persecution which
now lately was poured forth over the whole world. Moreover, by
the waters, the cataracts broken forth meeting together on all sides,
and growing, were signified the peoples which grew up for the
desolation of the Church; as the Apocalypse teaches, saying, “The
waters which thou sawest are peoples, and nations, and
kingdoms.”5362
Moreover, the dove which could not find rest for its feet, bore the
likeness of the lapsed, who fell forgetful of the divine announcements,
either ignorant in simplicity, or feigning in audacity. Of whom
the Lord had intimated the future destruction in the Gospel in
these words, saying,
“He who heareth my words and doeth them not, I will liken him to
a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand: the tempests
came and beat upon that house, and it fell; and great was its
destruction.”5363
And lest we should seem to
have made the comparison inconsiderately of that dove bearing the image
of the lapsed, the prophet rebukes the city as a dove, that is, the
character of the lapsed, saying, “The dove hearkens not to the
voice; that is, the illustrious and redeemed city receives not
teaching, and trusted not in the Lord.”5364
6. Moreover, that that dove could not find
rest for her feet, as we have said above, this signified the footsteps
of those who deny; that is, those, wounded by the poison of the shining
serpent, who sacrifice, turned towards their fall; which could not any
further step upon the asp and the basilisk, and tread upon the dragon
and the lion. For this power the Lord gave to His disciples, as
He says in the Gospel: “Lo, I give unto you power to tread
on all the power of the enemy, and upon serpents and scorpions; and
they shall not harm you.”5365
When, therefore, these so many
and such malignant spirits are attacking and bestirring themselves for
the destruction of the lapsed, a way of salvation is provided for the
wounded, that with whatever strength they have they may drag themselves
with their whole body, and betake themselves to their camp, wherein
being received, they may heal their wounds with spiritual
medicaments. Thus the dove received, after the intervention of a
few days, is again sent forth from the ark; and returning, not only
shows its firm footsteps, but moreover the signs of its peace and
victory, in those olive leaves which it bore in its mouth.
Therefore that twofold sending forth shows to us a twofold trial of
persecution: the first, in which they who have lapsed have fallen
conquered; the second, in which they who have fallen have come out
conquerors. For to none of us is it doubtful or uncertain,
beloved brethren, that they who in the first struggle—that is, in
the Decian persecution—were wounded; afterwards, that is in the
second encounter, persevered so bravely, that, despising the edicts of
the princes of the world,5366
| 5366
Scil. Gallus and Volusianus (Pamel.). | they maintained that unconquered; in
that they did not fear, after the example of the good Shepherd, to give
up their life, and to shed their blood, and not to shrink from any
barbarity of the raging tyrant.
7. Behold how glorious, how dear to the
Lord, are the people whom these schismatics do not shrink from calling
“wood, hay, stubble;”5367
the equals of whom, that is, those
who are even still placed in the same guilt of their lapse, they
presume must not be admitted to repentance. This they
judge from that utterance of the Lord, where He says,
“Whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I deny before my
Father which is in heaven.”5368
Oh grief! why do they strive
against the Lord’s precepts, that this offspring of Novatian,
following the example of his father the devil, should now endeavour to
put in force those things which Christ will do in the time of His
judgment? that is, when Scripture says, “Vengeance is
mine; and I will repay, saith the Lord.”5369
8. We will answer them as to that
utterance of the Lord, which they ill understand, and ill explain to
themselves. For that He says, “Whosoever shall deny me
before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in
heaven,” its meaning is assuredly with respect to future
time—to the time at which the Lord shall begin to judge the
secrets of men—to the time at which we must all stand before the
judgment-seat of Christ—to the time at which many shall begin to
say, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name, and in Thy
name cast out devils, and in Thy name done many wonderful
works?”5370
And
yet they shall hear the voice of the Lord saying, “Depart
from me, all ye that have worked iniquity: I know you
not.”5371
Then
shall it be fulfilled that He says, “I also will deny
them.” But whom will the Lord Christ chiefly deny, if not
all of you heretics, and schismatics, and strangers to His name?
For ye who were some time Christians, but now are Novatians, no longer
Christians, have changed your first faith by a subsequent perfidy in
the calling of your name. I should wish you to reply to your own
proposition. Read and teach: whom of those who had failed
or denied Him, while He was still with them, did our Lord deny?
Yet also to the others of the disciples who had remained with Him He
saith, “Will ye also go away?”5372
Even Peter, whom He had
previously foretold as about to deny Him, when he had denied Him, He
did not deny, but sustained; and He Himself soothed him when
subsequently bitterly bewailing his denial.
9. What sort of folly is thine, Novatian,
only to read what tends to the destruction of salvation, and to pass by
what tends to mercy, when Scripture cries, and says, “Repent, ye
who err: be converted in heart;”5373
and when the same prophet also
exhorts, and says, “Be converted unto me with all your heart, in
fasting, and weeping, and mourning; and rend your hearts, and not your
garments; be ye converted to the Lord your God: for He is merciful,
and one who pities with great compassion?”5374
10. Thus we have heard that the Lord is of
great compassion. Let us hear what the Holy Spirit testifies by
David: “If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my
commandments; if they should profane my righteousness, and should not
keep my precepts; I will visit their crimes with a rod, and their sins
with stripes. But my mercy will I not utterly disperse from
them.”5375
Words like to these we read that the Lord said also by Ezekiel:
“Son of man, the house of Israel has dwelt on its own land, and
they have defiled it by their crimes: their uncleanness has
become like that of a menstruous woman before my face. I have
poured out my anger upon them, and I have scattered them among the
nations; and I have judged them according to their sins, because they
have defiled my holy name; and because it was said of them, “This
is the people of the Lord, I have spared them, because of my holy name,
which the house of Israel despised among the nations.”5376
And
in conjunction with this he says, “Therefore say to the people of
Israel, Thus saith the Lord, I spare you not, O house of Israel; but I
will spare you on account of my holy name, which ye have defiled among
they nations: and ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall
be sanctified in you.” Also the Lord to the same:
“Son of man, say unto the people of Israel, Wherefore have ye
spoken, saying, We are pining away in our sins, and how shall we be
able to be saved? Say unto them, I live, saith the Lord:
for I do not desire the death of the sinner; but I desire that the
sinner should turn from his evil way, and live: therefore return
ye from your evil way: why do ye give yourselves over to death, O
house of Israel?”5377
So, too, by Isaiah the
prophet: “I will not be angry with you for ever, nor will I
abstain from defending you always.”5378
And because Jeremiah the
prophet, in the person of the sinful people, prays to the Lord, saying,
“Amend us, O Lord, but in judgment, and not in anger, lest Thou
make us few;”5379
Isaiah also added, and said,
“For his sin I have slightly afflicted him; and I have stricken
him, and have turned away my face from him: and he was afflicted,
and went away sadly in his ways.”5380
And because he labours, he
added and said, “I have seen his ways, and I have healed him; and
I have given him a true exhortation, peace upon peace;”5381
that to
those who repent, and pray, and labour, restoration is possible,
because they would miserably perish, and because they would decline
from Christ.
11. Moreover, this is proved in the Gospel,
where is described that woman who was a sinner, who came to the house
of a certain Pharisee whither the Lord had been bidden with His
disciples, and she brought a vessel of ointment, and stood at the
Lord’s feet, and washed His feet with her tears, and wiped them
with her hair, and pressed kisses upon them; so that that Pharisee was
provoked, and said, “If this man were a prophet, he would know
who and what sort of a woman this is who touches him; for she is a
sinner.”5382
Whence immediately the Lord, the remitter of sins and the receiver of
the penitent, says, “Simon, I have somewhat to say unto
thee. And he answered, saying, Master, say on. And the
Lord, There was a certain creditor which had two debtors; one who
had5383
| 5383 “Habebat,” but
probably “debebat”—owed. | five
hundred pence, and the other fifty. When they had nothing to pay,
he forgave both. And He asked, Which of these loved most?
And Simon answered, Assuredly he to whom he forgave most. And He
added, saying, Seest thou that woman? I entered into thy house,
thou gavest me no kiss; but she hath not ceased to kiss my feet; thou
washedst not my feet, but she has washed them with her tears, and wiped
them with her hair; thou didst not anoint my feet with oil, but she
hath anointed them. Wherefore I say unto thee, Simon, that her
sins are forgiven her.” Behold, the Lord grants the debt
with His liberal kindness to both debtors; behold Him who pardons sins;
behold the woman who was a sinner, penitent, weeping, praying, and
receiving remission of her sins!
12. And now blush if thou canst, Novatian;
cease to deceive the unwary with thy impious arguments; cease to
frighten them with the subtlety of one particular. We read, and
adore, and do not pass over the heavenly judgment of the Lord, where he
says that He will deny him who denies Him. But does this mean the
penitent? And why should I be taking pains so long to prove
individual cases of mercies? since the mercy of God is not indeed
denied to the Ninevites, although strangers, and placed apart from the
law of the Lord, when they beseech it on account of the overthrow
announced to their city. Nor to Pharaoh himself, resisting with
sacrilegious boldness, when formerly he was stricken with plagues from
heaven, and, turning to Moses and to his brother, said, “Pray to
the Lord for me, for I have sinned.”5384
At once the anger of God
was suspended from him. And yet thou, O Novatian, judgest and
declarest that the lapsed have no hope of peace and mercy, nor
inclinest thine ear to the rebuke of the apostle, when he says,
“Who art thou, who judgest another man’s servant? To
his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall stand.
God is mighty to establish him.”5385
Whence pertinently and
needfully the Holy Spirit, in the person of those same lapsed people,
rebukes you when He says, “Rejoice not over me, O mine
enemy: because if I have fallen, I shall also rise again; and if
I shall walk in darkness, the Lord is my light. I will bear the
indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against Him, until He
justify my cause, and execute judgment and justice, and bring me forth
to the light. I shall behold His righteousness; and she that is
mine enemy shall see me, and shall cover herself with
confusion.”5386
13. I beseech thee, hast thou not read,
“Boast not, and speak not loftily, and let not arrogancy proceed
out of your mouth: for the Lord lifteth the poor from the earth;
He raiseth up the beggar from the dunghill, and maketh him to sit with
the mighty ones of the people?”5387
Hast thou not read, that
“the Lord resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the
humble?”5388
Hast thou not read, “Whoso exalteth himself shall be
humbled?”5389
Hast thou not read, that
“God destroys the remembrance of the proud, and does not forsake
the memory of the lowly?” Hast thou not read, that
“with what judgment a man shall judge he must be
judged?”5390
Hast thou not read, that “he who hateth his brother is in
darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth,
because the darkness hath blinded his eyes?”5391
Whence, then, this Novatian has
become both so wicked and so lost, so mad with rage of discord, I
cannot discover, since he always in one household—that is, the
Church of Christ—would have bewailed the sins of his neighbours
as his own;5392
| 5392
This refers to Novatian’s letter in the name of the Roman
people. (See p. 308. Compare p. 320, note 6.] | would have
borne the burthens of his brethren, as the apostle exhorts; would have
strengthened the faltering in the faith with heavenly counsel.
But now, from the time when he began to practise that heresy of Cain
which only delights in slaying, he does not even of late spare
himself. But if he had read that “the righteousness of the
righteous shall not deliver him in the day on which he shall have
erred, and the wickedness of the wicked shall not harm him from the day
in which he shall have been converted,”5393
he would long ago have repented in
ashes, who is always opposed to penitents; who labours more readily in
the destruction of those things which are built and standing, than in
the building up of those which are prostrate; who has once more made
heathens of many most wretched brethren of ours, terrified by his false
oppositions, by saying that the repentance of the lapsed is vain, and
cannot avail them for salvation, although the Scripture cries aloud and
says, “Remember whence thou hast fallen, and repent, or else I
will come to thee except thou repent.”5394
And indeed, writing to the
seven churches, rebuking each one of them with its own crimes and sins,
it said, Repent. To whom but to them, doubtless, whom He had
redeemed at the great price of His blood?
14. O impious and wicked as thou art, thou
heretic Novatian! who after so many and great crimes which in past
times thou hadst known to be voluntarily committed in the Church, and
before thou thyself wast an apostate in the family of God, hadst
certainly taught that these might be abolished from memory if
well-doing followed; according to the faith of the Scripture which
says, “But if the wicked will turn from all his sins which he
hath committed, and will do righteousness, he shall live in eternal
life, and shall not die in his wickedness.”5395
For the sins which he has
committed shall be abolished from memory by the good deeds which
succeed. Thou reconsiderest now, whether the wounds of the lapsed
who have fallen, stripped bare by the devil, ought to be cured;
dashed down, as they are, by the “violence of the flood
which the serpent sent forth from his mouth after the
woman.”5396
But
“What shall I say?” says the apostle. “Do I
praise you? In this I praise you not; that ye come together not
for the better, but for the worse.”5397
For where there are
“rivalries and dissensions among you, are ye not carnal, and walk
according to man?”5398
Nor indeed ought we to wonder
why this Novatian should dare now to practise such wicked, such severe
things against the person of the lapsed, since we have previous
examples of this kind of prevarication. Saul, that once
good5399
man,
besides other things, is subsequently overthrown by envy, and strives
to do everything that is harsh and hostile against David. That
Judas, who was chosen among the apostles, who was always of one mind
and faithful in the house of God, himself subsequently betrayed
God.5400
| 5400
[A misconception of Judas, who seems to have been hypocritical from the
first. John vi.
64.] |
And indeed the Lord had foretold that many should come
as ravening wolves in the skins of sheep. Who are those ravening
wolves but such as conspire with treacherous intent to waste the
flock of Christ? As we
read it written in Zechariah: “Lo, I raise up a shepherd in
the land, who shall not visit that which is turned away, and will eat
the flesh of the chosen, and tear their claws in
pieces.”5401
Similarly also in Ezekiel he rebukes shepherds of this kind, to wit,
robbers and butchers (I will speak as he had thought5402
| 5402
This parenthesis is unintelligible. [i.e., not
shepherds, but “butchers,” in the prophet’s
thought, who speaks as follows, etc.] | ), saying, “O shepherds, wherefore
do ye drink the milk, and eat up the curdled milk, and have brought
that which is strong to nothing, and have not visited the weak, have
not healed the halting, and have not recalled the wandering, and have
permitted my people to wander among thorns and briers? For these
things, says the Lord, lo, I will come against the shepherds, and I
will require my sheep of their hands; and I will drive them away, that
they may not feed my sheep; and my sheep shall no more be for them to
devour, and I will seek them out as a shepherd his flock in the day in
which there shall be darkness and cloud. Thus I will seek out my
sheep, and I will seek them out in every place wherever they are
scattered; and I will seek out what had perished, and I will recall
what had wandered, and what had halted I will heal, and what is weak I
will watch over; and I will feed my sheep with
judgment.”5403
15. Who is it that says these things?
Certainly He who, having left the ninety and nine sheep, went to seek
that one which had wandered from His flock; as David says, “I
have gone astray like a sheep which was lost,”5404
which being found Christ brings back,
bearing on His shoulder the tender sinful one; and He, rejoicing and
exulting, having called His friends and domestics, says, “Rejoice
with me; for my sheep which was lost is found. I say,” says
He, “unto you, that there will be such joy in heaven over one
sinner that repenteth.”5405
And in continuation, He
says: “Or what woman, having ten denarii, if she
should lose one of the denarii, does not light a lamp, and all
the day long clean out her house, seeking till she finds it? And
when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbours,
saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the denarius that I had
lost. I say unto you, that such joy shall be in the sight of the
angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.”5406
But, on the other hand, they who
do not repent of their wickedness, let them know from the answer of the
Lord Himself what remaineth for them; for we read in the Gospel, that
“certain men came from the Galileans to the Lord, telling Him of
those whose blood Pilate mingled with their sacrifices; to whom the
Lord answered, saying, Think ye that those Galileans had been sinners
above other Galileans, because they suffered such things? No; for
I say unto you, unless ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Or those eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, think ye that
they were debtors to death above all men who dwell in Jerusalem?
No; I say unto you,” said He, “that unless ye repent, ye
shall all likewise perish.”5407
16. Let us then arouse ourselves as much as
we can, beloved brethren; and breaking away from the slumber of
indolence and security, let us be watchful for the observance of the
Lord’s precepts. Let us with all our hearts seek for what
we have lost, that we may be able to find; because “to him that
seeketh,” says the Scripture, “it shall be given, and to
him that knocketh it shall be opened.”5408
Let us cleanse our house with
spiritual cleanliness, that every secret and hidden place of our
breast, truly enlightened by the light of the Gospel, may say,
“Against Thee only have I sinned, and done this great evil in Thy
sight.”5409
Because the death of sinners is evil, and in hell there is no
repentance. Let us have in contemplation especially the day of
judgment and retribution, and what must be believed by all of us, and
firmly maintained, that “there is no acceptance of persons with
God;”5410
since He
commanded in Deuteronomy, that the person must not be accepted in
judgment: “Thou shalt not accept,” says He,
“the person, neither shalt thou judge according to the least nor
according to the greatest.”5411
Like words to these He also said
by Ezekiel: “All souls,” said He, “are mine; as
the soul of the father, so is the soul of the son: the soul that
hath sinned, it shall die.”5412
It is then He who must be revered
by us; He must be held fast; He must be propitiated by our full and
worthy confession, “who has the power of sending soul and body to
the Gehenna of fire,”5413
—as it is written, “Behold,
He cometh with many thousands of His messengers, to execute judgment
upon all, and to destroy all the wicked, and to condemn all flesh, for
all the deeds of the wicked which they have wickedly done, and for all
the impious words which sinners have spoken about God.”5414
17. Like things to these also says Daniel:
“I beheld a throne placed, and the Ancient of days sat upon it,
and His clothing was as it were snow, and the hairs of His head as it
were white wool: His throne was a flame of fire, its wheels were
burning fire. A river of fire came forth before Him:
thousand thousands ministered to Him, and thousand thousands stood before
Him: He sat to judgment, and the books were
opened.”5415
And
John still more plainly declares, both about the day of judgment and
the consummation of the world, saying, “And when,” said he,
“He had opened the sixth seal, lo, there was a great earthquake;
and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the whole moon
became as of blood; and the stars fell to the earth, even as a
fig-tree, shaken by a mighty wind, casteth her unripe figs. And
the heaven departed as a book when it is rolled up, and every mountain
and island were moved from their places. And the kings of the
earth, and all the great men, and the tribunes, and the rich men, and
the strong men, and every slave, and every free man, hid themselves in
the caves and in the caverns of the mountains; saying to the mountains
and to the rocks, Fall upon us, and hide us from the sight of the
Father that sitteth upon the throne, and from the wrath of the
Lamb: because the day of destruction cometh; and who shall be
able to stand?”5416
Also in the same Apocalypse John
says that this too was revealed to him. “I saw,” says
he, “a great throne, and one in white who sat upon it, from whose
face the heaven and the earth fled away; and their place was not
found. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the
sight of the Lord’s throne: and the books were opened; and
another book was opened, which is (the book) of life: and every
one was judged according to those things that were written in the book,
according to their own works.”5417
Moreover, too, the apostle,
giving good advice, thus exhorts us, saying, “Let no one deceive
you with vain words: for because of these things the wrath of God
cometh upon the children of disobedience. Be not partakers with
them.”5418
18. Let us, then, with the whole strength of
our faith, give praise to God; let us give our full confession, since
the powers of heaven rejoice over our repentance, all the angels
rejoice, and Christ also rejoices, who once again with full and
merciful moderation exhorts us, laden with sins, overwhelmed with
crimes, to cease from wickedness, saying, “Turn ye, and return
from your impieties, and your iniquities shall not be to you for a
punishment. Cast away from you all your impieties which ye have
committed against me; and make to yourselves a new heart and a new
spirit. And why do ye deliver yourselves over to death, O house
of Israel? For I do not desire the death of the
sinner.”5419
“I am He, I am He who blot out thy crimes, and I will not
remember them. But do thou have in mind, and let us judge; tell
thou thy wickednesses first, that thou mayest be
justified.”5420
While the way of mercy, brethren, is open,5421
| 5421 [A
virtual refutation of the dogma of purgatory, and all the trading in
Masses which it involves. The pious Hirscher, in his
Kirchlichen Zustände der Gegenwart
(Tübingen, 1849; a translation of which, by the American editor of
this series, was published, Oxford, 1852), bewails the corrupting
influences of this system, though he died in the Papal communion.] | let us entreat God with full
atonements; let us humble ourselves, that we may be exalted; let us
acquiesce in the divine exhortation, whereby we may escape the day of
the Lord and His anger. For thus He says: “Look, my
son, upon the nations of men, and know who hath hoped in the Lord, and
has been confounded; or has remained in His commandments, and has been
forsaken; or has called upon Him, and He has despised him. For
the Lord is loving and merciful, and forgiving in time of tribulation
their sins to all those that seek after Him in truth.”5422
Therefore He says, “First tell thou thy sins, that thou mayest be
justified.” Let there be first in your hand that prayer
full of confession.5423
| 5423
[The Lord’s prayer; p. 454, note 1,
supra.] | E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
|
