Tractate on the Gospel of Matthew

The baptism of Christ, therefore, is the washing away of our transgressions, and the renewal of a life of salvation. Hear the Apostle himself showing this very thing, when he says: For as many of you as have been baptized in Christ, have put on Christ. And he added: For you are buried with him by baptism into death: that as Christ rose from the dead, so you also may walk in newness of life. Through baptism, then, we die to sin, but we live together with Christ: we are buried to our former life, but we rise again to a new life: we put off the error of the old man, but we take up the garments of the new man. The Lord therefore fulfilled all justice even in baptism, because he willed to be baptized for this reason, that we might be baptized; he received the washing of regeneration for this, that we might be reborn into life.

And John indeed baptized our Lord and Savior, but rather he himself was baptized by Christ: because the one sanctified the waters, the other was sanctified by the waters; the one bestowed grace, the other received it; the other laid down sins, the one remitted them; because the other was man, the one God: for it belongs to God to forgive sins, as it is written: Who can forgive sins, but God alone? And therefore John says to Christ: I ought to be baptized by thee, and thou comest to me? For John needed baptism, because he could not be without sin: but Christ could not need baptism, because he had committed no sins. Whence in that baptism our Lord and Savior cleansed first the sins of John, then of the whole world. And therefore he says: Suffer it to be so now; for thus it behooves us to fulfil all justice. The grace of this baptism was long ago mystically prefigured, when the people were led through the river Jordan into the land of promise.

Just as then the way for the people going to the land of promise was through the Jordan, with the Lord going before: so now, through those same waters of the river Jordan, the first way of the heavenly path has been opened, by which we are led to that blessed land of promise, that is, to the promise of the heavenly kingdom. For them, Jesus the son of Nave was the leader in the Jordan: but for us, the Lord Jesus Christ has stood forth as leader of eternal salvation through baptism; the only-begotten Son of God, who is blessed forever and ever. Amen.

Then follows: And Jesus being baptized, forthwith came up out of the water. And lo, the heavens were opened to him: and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove. And lo, a voice from heaven, saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. As in the Lord's bodily nativity, so also in his baptism, things worthy of all admiration and befitting his majesty came to pass. The heavens therefore, as the Lord ascended from the waters after baptism, were opened: the Holy Spirit descended in the likeness of a dove, in bodily form, bearing the Father's testimony concerning the Son: the voice of the Father also is heard immediately from heaven, saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. David also had foretold beforehand the hearing of this sacred voice over the waters, saying: The voice of the Lord is upon the waters, the God of majesty hath thundered.

In this, surely, in which the voice of paternal majesty, bearing testimony to the Son, sounded as it were a certain thunder.

What place, then, is there here against the faith for heretics? What occasion for blasphemy has been left in this profession of the Father, since even by the express propriety of the words the sacrament of the perfect Trinity is shown forth? For in the mystery of baptism, both the Son is seen remaining in the body, and the Holy Spirit descends in the form of a dove, and the voice of the Father is heard from heaven, so that the unity of the Trinity might be declared; because neither can the Father be understood without the Son, nor can the Son be known without the Holy Spirit. See then what a testimony of the Father concerning the Son this is, saying: This is my Son. His own indeed, not by the adoption of grace, nor by the religion of a creature, as the heretics would have it, but by the propriety of his own kind and the truth of nature.

For many of the saints are called sons of God, and are so: but he, without comparison, is the one only-begotten Son to God the Father, and true, and proper, born of none other than the Father. Because as truly as the Father is Father, so truly is he also God: just as the Son, as truly as he is Son, is also truly Lord. The perfect faith of the Trinity, then, has been shown; since both the Father testifies that Christ our Lord and God is his Son; and the Holy Spirit, that is the Paraclete, in so great a sacrament of faith is joined to the Father and the Son: so that we might believe in a true Father, a true Son, and also a true Holy Spirit: three persons, but one divinity of the Trinity, and one substance. These things have been said in passing concerning the mystery of the Trinity.

But because we know that all things which the Lord did for us have been shown forth as a sacrament of our salvation: in the fact that the heavens were opened when the Lord was baptized, this same thing is shown, that the kingdoms of heaven would be open to those reborn in baptism, which the Son of God, ascending in the body to heaven, first opened for us. Whence also immediately in the fact that the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove, and the voice of the Father is heard from heaven, saying: This is my Son; in this the heavenly mystery, and the order of our salvation is revealed also; because through the saving water of baptism, we would both become future sons of God, and be endowed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit: through whom is praise and glory to the Father and the Son forever and ever. Amen.

And seeing, it says, the multitudes, Jesus went up into a mountain: and when he was set down, his disciples came unto him, and opening his mouth, he taught them, saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, and the rest that follows. The Lord, about to lead his disciples from earthly and lowly things to high and lofty things, ascended a mountain: and indeed the Mount of Olives, that by the meaning of that very name he might show forth the gift of his divine mercy. The Lord therefore ascended the mountain, so that to his disciples, now leaving earthly things and seeking things above, as if already placed on high, he might hand down the precepts of heavenly commandments: and might bestow long-provided blessings by divine gift, according to what David had testified beforehand, saying: For he who gave the law will give a blessing.

And that he might more openly show both the grace of the apostles, and the author of so great a blessing, he added, saying: They shall go from strength to strength, the God of gods shall be seen in Sion: namely the Son of God, who bestowed blessings on the apostles in Sion. For the same one gave blessings to the apostles on this mountain, who long before had delivered the law to Moses on Mount Sinai, proving himself to be the author of both laws, according to what the Lord himself declares through Jeremiah, saying: And I will give them a new covenant: not such as I gave long ago to their fathers, when I led them out of the land of Egypt; but this is the covenant which I will give them: I will write my laws in their hearts, and in their mind I will write them.

And indeed long ago, when the law was given, the people were forbidden to approach the mountain: but now, when the Lord speaks on the mountain, no one is forbidden; rather all are invited to listen: because in the law there is severity, in the Gospel grace: there terror is struck into unbelievers, here the gift of blessings is poured out upon believers. If you also wish to receive a blessing from the Lord, leave earthly conversation, seek the life above; ascend the height of faith as a mountain, that you may deserve rightly to be blessed by the Lord. But let us now see what the very words of the blessings are.

Blessed, he says, are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. We indeed know many poor people: but not because they are only poor are they therefore blessed: for it is not the necessity of poverty that makes each one of us blessed, but the faith of devout poverty. For we know many to lack indeed the means of the world, and yet nonetheless not to cease from sins, and to be strangers to the faith of God; and it is manifest that such cannot be called blessed. And therefore we must inquire who those blessed ones are, of whom the Lord says: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. He surely means those poor to be blessed who, having despised the riches of the world, and having scorned the means of the age, in order that they might become rich toward God, willed to be poor to the world.

Such as these, though they seem poor to the world, are rich toward God; needy in the world, but wealthy in Christ. The first Apostles gave us in themselves an example of this blessed poverty: who, having despised all means, immediately followed the voice of the Lord, and deserved to be His disciples. Such poor as these we find also in the times of the Apostles, who, being the first believers, having sold all their goods and possessions, sought the riches of the Lord under this devout poverty. Whence the Apostle also shows that heavenly riches are contained in such poverty, saying: As having nothing, and possessing all things. Hence too Peter, when going up into the temple he was asked for alms by the lame man, said: Silver and gold I have none: but what I have, I give thee: In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, rise up and walk. O truly blessed poverty, which, though it has nothing of worldly means, bestows so much from heaven!

It gives indeed no silver or gold, but what is more than all riches, it restores health to the body. It had not the image of Caesar on a coin to give; but it reformed the image of Christ in a man. Of such poor as these the Lord speaks in the present passage, of whom David also testifies in many places, saying: The poor shall eat and be filled, and their heart shall live for ever and ever. And again: He shall judge the poor of the people, and he shall save the children of the poor. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him. Of such poor, then, the Lord teaches that the kingdom of heaven belongs, who have impoverished themselves toward the world for the sake of religion and faith, that they might possess the rich Holy Spirit. Or certainly he calls blessed those poor who are puffed up by no pride of the devil, are exalted by no ambition of the world, but keep humility of spirit with devotion of faith.

Whence it is said by David in the Psalm: A sacrifice to God is a troubled spirit: a contrite and humbled heart God does not despise. Such, then, are the poor in spirit who are blessed before God.

Then he says: Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Just as above concerning the poor, so here also he speaks of those who mourn: not calling blessed those who grieve heavily over the loss of some beloved spouse, or the loss of dear children and offspring; but rather he shows those to be blessed who either strive to expiate their own committed sins by continual weeping of tears, or who, out of zeal for the law, do not cease to mourn the iniquity of the world and the offenses of sinners. To these, then, mourning so holily, the consolation of eternal exultation is not undeservedly promised by the Lord. This indeed holy David, awaiting it, watered even his couch with continual weeping of tears, saying: I will wash my bed every night, I will water my couch with my tears. And again: My tears have been my bread day and night, while it is said to me daily: Where is thy God?

And again: For I did eat ashes as bread, and mingled my drink with weeping.

And again: Thou shalt feed us with the bread of tears, and give us drink in tears in measure. Do you wish to know the holy grief of the saints? Hear it said of Samuel the prophet, that even to the day of his death he mourned for King Saul. Jeremiah too, when he wept over the sins of the people, spoke thus: My eyes have run down like rivers of water, for the destruction of my people. And again: Who will give water to my head, and to my eyes a fountain of tears, and I will weep for this people day and night? Daniel also is afflicted with grave mourning for the sins of the people, according to what he himself testifies, saying: And I was, he says, mourning three weeks of days, eating no bread, and drinking no wine.

The holy Apostle also weeps over certain of the Corinthians with a similar mourning, saying: And I will come to you, that I may mourn for many of those who have sinned before, and have not repented of the uncleanness which they committed, and fornication. Such mourning, then, the Lord recompenses with the consolation of perpetual joy, according to what Isaiah relates, saying: Give to them that mourn in Sion glory instead of ashes: the oil of joy to them that mourn: the garment of glory for the spirit of grief. David says: Thou hast turned my mourning into joy for me; thou hast torn off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness.

Then he says: Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the land by inheritance. The graces of the divine promises are diverse, because the degrees of merit are diverse. He says therefore: Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the land. The meek are men gentle, humble and modest, simple in faith, and patient under every injury, who, instructed by the evangelical precepts, imitate the example of the Lord's meekness, who says in the Gospel: Learn of me, for I am meek and humble of heart. Thus Moses long ago found the greatest favor before God for this reason, because he was meek. For this is written of him: And Moses was meek above all men that were upon the earth. Whence David says in the Psalm: Remember, O Lord, David, and all his meekness.

Such meek as these, then, he shows to be blessed, to whom he promised the possession, not in the present life but in the future, of that happy land, of which we read it said in the Psalm: But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight in abundance of peace. And again: They that wait upon the Lord shall inherit the land. Of which also, through Solomon, the Holy Spirit testifies, saying: For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the saints shall remain in it. These meek, then, the Lord shows to be blessed, who, following the gentleness of the Lord's meekness, will enjoy the perpetual possession of the inheritance of that blessed land. Yet he speaks most of all of the land of our body, in which the saints, transfigured into glory, according to the Apostle, will reign in eternal felicity.

Then he says: Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall be filled. He taught that justice is not to be sought by us with an easy desire, nor with a light ardor of craving. For he means those to be blessed who, in order to attain it, burn with the desires of inner longing after the manner of hungering and thirsting: because if each one of us should crave it with the desire of one hungering and thirsting, he cannot always think of anything else but justice, seek anything else but justice: because one who hungers and thirsts must necessarily crave that which he thirsts and hungers for. Deservedly, then, to those thus hungering and thirsting he who is the bread of heaven and the fountain of living water promises the satiety of that perpetual refreshment, saying: Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall be filled.

That justice of faith, surely, which is of God and of Christ, of which the Apostle also related: But the justice of God by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all that believe in him. Or certainly the Lord and our Savior Himself, who was made unto us, according to the Apostle: both justice, and sanctification, and redemption; with desire for whom, as with food and drink, the blessed ever burn, according to what the Lord Himself testifies through Solomon, saying in the person of Wisdom: They that eat me shall yet hunger; and they that drink me shall yet thirst. This justice, then, we too must always hunger and thirst for, that we may deserve to be filled with the food of perpetual refreshment.

And it is well said with an addition in the present passage: Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall be filled: because those who hunger not for justice but for injustice—namely those who desire gold and silver, who covet the riches or honors of the world, and who are never satisfied with earthly wealth or the desires of the flesh—such as these are not blessed but unhappy; because to them is owed not the hope of promised glory, but the penalty of damnation.

Then he says: Blessed are the merciful, for God will have mercy on them. Indeed, by very many testimonies, both in the Old Testament and also in the New, we are urged by the Lord to show mercy: but for the sake of brevity in faith we judge it fully sufficient, that which in the present passage the Lord Himself utters with His own voice, saying: Blessed are the merciful, for God will have mercy on them. The Lord of mercies says the merciful are blessed, showing that no one can merit the mercy of God unless he himself has been merciful. Whence also in another place he says: Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also who is in heaven is merciful. Then he says: Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God.

He shows those to be clean of heart who, having put off the filth of sin, have purged themselves from every defilement of the flesh, and have pleased God through works of faith and justice, according to what David testifies in the Psalm, saying: Who shall ascend into the mountain of the Lord, or who shall stand in his holy place? The innocent in hands, and clean of heart, who hath not taken his soul in vain. Deservedly also David, knowing that God can be seen only by the clean of heart, thus prays in the Psalm, saying: Create a clean heart in me, O God, and renew a right spirit in my bowels.

Such clean of heart as these, then, the Lord shows to be blessed, who, living under the faith of the Lord with a pure mind and an untainted conscience, will deserve to behold the God of glory in the future heavenly Kingdom: no longer through a glass, in a dark manner, but face to face, as the Apostle related. For now, although we contemplate God with the eyes of faith, yet by reason of the weakness of the flesh we cannot see His brightness: but then we shall see Him, having received immortality, transformed into heavenly glory, when we shall have begun to behold the immortal God with immortal eyes: and then truly will be fulfilled in us that which is written: As we have heard, so have we seen, in the city of the Lord of hosts. Not undeservedly the same David, when he was showing the glory of the future time in which the saints will dwell with God, related thus: Nevertheless the just shall give glory to thy name, and the upright shall dwell with thy countenance.

Then he says: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. The peacemakers are those who, separated from the scandal of dissension and discord, keep the love of brotherly charity and the peace of the Church under the unity of the catholic faith: which peace the Lord specially commends to his disciples in the Gospel to be guarded, saying: Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Which peace David bore witness beforehand that the Lord would give to his Church, saying: I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me, for he will speak peace to his people, and to his saints, and to those who are converted to him. Concerning the keeping of which peace the Apostle also admonishes, saying: In all things keeping the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. And again: The peace of God which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and your bodies from evil.

For nothing is so necessary to the servants of God, nothing so salutary to the Church, as to keep charity, to love peace, without which God cannot be seen, as the Apostle teaches to the Hebrews, saying: Above all things love peace, without which none of us shall be able to see God. Wherefore it behooves us with all zeal and devotion to keep the peace of the Church, and to recall, as far as is in us, those who dissent from peace to the charity of the Church, by zeal for peace and faith, after the example of the Prophet who says: With those who hated peace I was peaceable; when I spoke to them, they fought against me without cause. Deservedly also in the Gospel, in the exultation of the angels announcing the nativity of the Lord, this holy voice is found: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will.

Of which peace David also relates: Much peace, he says, have they that love thee, and there is no stumbling block for them. And Isaiah likewise: And I will make your children abound in peace, and you shall be built up in righteousness. For if to this end the Son of God deigned to take on flesh and to suffer, that he might reconcile us to God through the blood of his cross; certainly, according to what the Apostle relates, we ought in all things to be peaceable, that we may truly deserve to have in ourselves the very God of peace: for it is written: His place has been made in peace, and his dwelling in Zion. And so we shall truly be not only children of God, but also heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. For this the Apostle relates: If children, he says, of God, then heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ.

Then he says: Blessed are they who suffer persecution for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Not without reason did the Lord above mention that righteousness must be hungered and thirsted for: with such desire for it we ought to thirst that for its sake we ought to disdain both the persecution of the world, and the punishments of the body, and death itself. In this meaning the martyrs are especially signified, who for the sake of righteousness, faith, and the name of Christ endure persecutions in the world, to whom great hope is promised, that is, the possession of the kingdom of heaven. Of which blessedness the chief Apostles stood forth as examples, and all the just who, afflicted with various persecutions for the sake of the righteousness of the law, by the merit of their faith arrived at the heavenly kingdoms.

Then he says: Blessed shall you be when men shall persecute you, and reproach you, and speak all manner of evil against you. Rejoice on that day and be glad: for I say to you, your reward is great in heaven: for so did their fathers do to the Prophets. Whatever unspeakable perfidy the persecutors may devise in the time of persecution, for the sake of the name of Christ, against the righteous, whether to heap up various reproaches, or to inflict punishments upon the body—not only ought we to bear it patiently, but even to receive it with the joy of exultation, on account of the future glory. For this he says: Rejoice on that day and be glad: for I say to you, your reward is great in heaven. How glorious is the endurance of this persecution, whose reward the Lord says is laid up in heaven!

And therefore, considering the reward of the glory set before us, we ought to be prepared with devout faith for every endurance of suffering: that we may deserve to be made partakers of the glory of the Prophets and Apostles, through Christ our Lord, who is blessed forever.

Then he says: You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its savor, it is good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden underfoot by men. The Lord names his Apostles the salt of the earth. Let us see what the Lord wishes to be understood concerning his Apostles by comparison with this name. That we may be able to grasp this more fully, we must first carefully inquire what this salt is, and of what earth, and to what use and benefit it then contributes. We must now also treat of the nature and use of salt itself, so that, these things being known, we may more easily grasp by spiritual understanding the force of the Lord's saying. Now the nature of salt is formed by water, by the heat of the sun, by the breath of the wind; and from what it was, it is generated into another form.

So too the Apostles and all believers, through the water of baptism, through the faith of Christ (who is by comparison called the sun of righteousness), and through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, being reborn to God, have passed from earthly to heavenly birth. Wherefore not without reason are the holy Apostles called the salt of the earth by the Lord. And of what earth? It is easy to know: that is, of the earth of our body, which for a long time, unwise and made insipid by the senselessness of vanity, they seasoned with the wisdom of evangelical preaching. For they became the salt of our earth, because through them we received both the words of wisdom, and through heavenly birth we were transformed into a spiritual nature.

Therefore, just as this salt, that is, the salt of the earth, is indiscriminately necessary to all—to kings and to the powerful, to the rich and to the poor, to servants and to masters—so also the word of heavenly wisdom, which was preached through the Apostles, is necessary to all for life: For all, according to the Apostle, need the grace of God. Because just as we do not have this present life without the use of salt: so also we cannot attain that eternal life without the gift of divine wisdom.

But since concerning the nature or grace of salt according to spiritual understanding it has already been said above, let us now also treat of the power of salt itself. You, then, he says, are the salt of the earth. Thus, just as salt, when it acts upon any flesh, does not permit corruption, removes foul odors, cleanses filth, and does not allow worms to be generated: so also the heavenly grace and faith which was given through the Apostles works in us by a similar example. For it removes the corruption of carnal concupiscence, cleanses the filth of sins, excludes the stench of bad conduct, does not allow the worms of sins to be generated, that is, the arising of lustful and death-bearing pleasures from the body: preserving our bodies also from that immortal worm, which torments sinners with unwearied punishment, of which it is written: Their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched.

And just as salts indeed are applied from without, but work within by the power of their own nature, so also heavenly grace penetrates the exterior and interior of a man, and keeps the whole man, entire and uncorrupted, from sin. That those are worthy of God who are seasoned with the salt of heavenly wisdom was also shown long before by a preceding figure of the Law, because every sacrifice offered to God was seasoned with salt. This the Evangelist also recorded, saying: Every sacrifice, he says, shall be seasoned with salt: showing that man is truly made a worthy sacrifice to God who is infused with the power of heavenly wisdom. Wherefore not without reason, when through the prophet Ezekiel the Lord rebuked Jerusalem, or rather the Synagogue, he says among other things: You were not washed with water, nor salted with salt; foretelling that she was neither to receive the grace of saving baptism for the washing away of her sins, nor to receive the faith of heavenly wisdom.

If, therefore, anyone makes use of this heavenly salt, he shall be seasoned; but whoever refuses shall lose his savor. Not without reason did the Apostle also admonish that our speech ought always to be seasoned with the salt of grace.

We find the grace and power of this salt further prefigured also in the books of Kings. When in Jericho there were bad waters which made things barren, holy Elisha the prophet was petitioned to provide a saving remedy for these waters. Then holy Elisha, not ignorant of the heavenly mystery, said that an earthen vessel should be brought to him, and salt put into it. And he came, and cast the salt at the outflow of the waters; and so the barren nature of the waters was healed, and changed into fruitfulness: which act, performed as a sacrament of a future truth, we recognize by a clear reasoning. For that by waters the Gentiles are signified is plainly related by the Apocalypse, saying: The waters which you saw are peoples, and nations, and multitudes, and tongues. Which could not otherwise be healed, or receive a saving remedy, unless salt were placed in an earthen vessel, that is, unless the wisdom of God should take a human body.

Which, after it had, for the sake of our salvation, come to the outflow of the waters, that is, to the outflow of human death, then the nature of all believers, which had been barren of the fruit of the seed, was changed into the fruitfulness of faith and righteousness. Wherefore not without reason does the Lord call his Apostles the salt of the earth, whom he filled from himself with divine and heavenly wisdom. And thus he testified that they were the salt of the earth just as also the light of the world. For although he himself professed that he was the light of the world, yet he also wished his disciples to be called by this name, not taking away from himself what is his own light, but bestowing it: because the true and eternal light, which is his own, bestows without any diminishment of its own nature. We know indeed that some salts are generated from the earth: but this comparison also fits the person of the Apostles.

Because although they seemed to be born of the earth of the human body, yet through the faith of Christ they had already begun to be something else: so that they should no longer be regarded as earth, but as the salt of the earth; because from carnal they were made spiritual, fit to be able by faith to season the tasteless hearts of believers.

You, then, he says, are the salt of the earth: but if the salt loses its savor, with what shall it be seasoned? It is good for nothing, but to be cast out, and trodden underfoot by men. He shows that those lose their savor who, though once instructed by faith and heavenly wisdom, and though they ought to remain faithful and steadfast, having abandoned faith and divine wisdom, either rush into heresy or return to the folly of the Gentiles. And therefore he says: But if the salt loses its savor, with what shall it be seasoned? Because men of this kind, made foolish by the deceit of the devil, having lost the grace of faith, vanish away. Though they could have seasoned even others who did not believe, still estranged from the faith, with the word of divine preaching, they became useless even to themselves.

Indeed Judas Iscariot had been of such salts: but after he rejected divine wisdom, and from an Apostle became an apostate, not only could he not benefit others, but he also became, wretched man, useless to himself. And therefore the Lord added, saying: It is good for nothing, but to be cast out, and trodden underfoot by men: because such men are no longer faithful and members of the household; but, cast out from the Church, are to be regarded as strangers and enemies of the faith. Wherefore Judas, from being a member of the household of faith, became an enemy of the truth. Such men, therefore, cast out of the Church, must necessarily be trodden underfoot by the various vices of the flesh and the various pleasures of the world: and this is what he says: it is good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden underfoot by men.

What it is to be trodden underfoot by men, Solomon also relates in his book, when he speaks of a harlot woman: A harlot woman, he says, is trodden underfoot like dung in the road by passers-by. Since, therefore, we have already been seasoned with apostolic salt, we ought to remain in such and so great a seasoning of spiritual grace, that we too may deserve to be called the salt of the earth by Christ our Lord, who is blessed forever, Amen.

THEN he says: You are the light of the world. A city set upon a mountain cannot be hid, neither do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, that it may give light to all that are in the house. The Lord called his disciples the salt of the earth: because the hearts of the human race, made foolish by the devil, were seasoned by them through heavenly wisdom. Now also he names them the light of the world, because, being illuminated by him who is himself the true and eternal light, they too became light out of darkness. For since he himself is the Sun of Justice, not without reason does he also call his disciples the light of the world; because through them, as through certain shining rays, he poured forth upon the whole world the light of the knowledge of himself: for they put to flight the darkness of error from the hearts of men, once the light of truth had been shown forth.

For through them we too, being illuminated, have been made light out of darkness, as the Apostle says: For you were sometimes darkness, but now light in the Lord: walk then as children of light. And again: You are not children of the night, nor of darkness, but you are children of the light and children of the day. Rightly also has holy John testified in his Epistle, saying: God is light, and he who abides in God is in the light, as he himself also is in the light. Whence, since we rejoice to have been freed from the darkness of error, we ought always, as children of light, to walk in the light.

And he added: A city, he says, set upon a mountain cannot be hid. Here by "city" he signifies the Church, concerning which divine Scripture testifies in many places, and of which David chiefly speaks, saying: Glorious things are said of thee, O city of God. And again: The stream of the river makes the city of God joyful. And again: As we have heard, so also have we seen, in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God: God has founded it forever. And that the Holy Spirit might clearly show that he speaks of this city, he even made mention of the mountain itself, saying: In the city of our God, in his holy mountain. Of which the Lord speaks through Isaiah, saying: Behold, I will prepare for you a carbuncle stone, and your foundations of sapphire, and your bulwarks of jasper, and your gates of crystal stone, and your borders of choice stones, and all your children taught of God.

And many similar passages which we have passed over, lest we cause weariness to the readers; especially since these things which have been said suffice fully and abundantly for the proof of this city. Therefore the city set upon a mountain shows the Church, established upon the faith of the Lord and our Savior in heavenly glory; which, by spiritual activity rising above all the moisture of earthly weakness, has been made glorious and visible to the whole world; which is no longer overshadowed by the proclamation of the Law, but is beheld in open preaching through the evangelical doctrine.

And he added: Neither do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, that it may give light to all who are in the house. Let us look also at the reason of this saying of the Lord. We know that a lamp is lit for this purpose, that it not be covered by a bushel or any covering; for if this were done, its use would profit nothing: but it is lit and set upon a candlestick for this reason, that, placed in a lofty spot, it may cast off the blindness of the dark night, and impart the use of its light to those in the house.

This the Lord recalls for this reason, that we might know that we too, kindled by the grace of faith and illuminated by the light of the Spirit, ought ourselves, through the works of faith and righteousness, to shine spiritually like a lamp; and that we should enlighten with the light of truth itself those who are set in the darkness of error, driving away the night of ignorance. Whence the Apostle says: Among whom you shine as lights in this world, holding forth the word of life. But if we do not do this, we shall seem, to our own harm as well as that of others, to cover and overshadow with a kind of veil the usefulness of so necessary a light through our unfaithfulness. Wherefore we know and read that the one who chose rather to hide the talent received for the gain of heavenly business than to give it to the bankers incurred the deserved punishment.

And therefore that spiritual lamp, which has been lit for the use of our salvation, ought always to shine in us. For we have the lamp of the heavenly commandment and of spiritual grace, of which David has related: Your commandment is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my paths. Of which also Solomon says: For the commandment of the law is a lamp. Of which the Lord also testifies through the prophet Zephaniah: And I will search Jerusalem with a lamp. For in this lamp he shows forth the inextinguishable light of his law and of his grace, which is not to be covered or obscured by any veil of a blind mind, as the Jews or heretics do, who strive to cover and hide the clear light of divine preaching with perverse interpretations, preaching faithlessness in place of faith, and veiling the light of truth with the darkness of error.

Whence this lamp of the law and of faith is not to be hidden by us, but is always to be set up in the Church, as upon a candlestick, for the salvation of many; that we ourselves may enjoy the light of truth itself, and all believers may be enlightened. To the contemplation of which light the Holy Spirit exhorts us also through Isaiah, saying: Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord. For he has cast off his people of the house of Israel. Of which light blessed Peter also testified in his Epistle, saying: Who has called us out of darkness, and called us into his marvelous light. Whence also the prophet Zechariah, that he might manifest the mysteries of this spiritual light and of the heavenly candlestick which was shown in a figure of the Church, testified that among the other things shown to him according to the merit of prophecy, he also saw a golden candlestick with its lamps.

For in the tabernacle of testimony, too, as an example of the future truth, the candlestick with its lamps gave light to the people with unwearied light. The reason of which thing is indeed hidden to the Jews, just as all the sacraments of the Law, but is now manifest to us. For we know that in that candlestick a type of the true and eternal light was shown: that is, of the Holy Spirit, who through manifold grace always illuminates the whole body of the Church. Whence the Lord also in the Gospel, among other things, exhorts his disciples to have burning lamps in their hands, saying: Let your loins be girded, and your lamps burning. This the Lord commanded, to be understood not in a bodily sense but in a spiritual reasoning.

For since by the lamp the commandment of God, or the light of the law, is signified, we are therefore commanded to carry the lamp in our hands, that, illuminated by the grace of the Holy Spirit, we may shine by works of righteousness and faith, according to what Solomon related: The paths of the just, he says, shine like the light; they go forward and shine, until the day be perfect.

Rightly therefore, when in the present passage the Lord had made mention of the lamp, saying: Neither do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, that it may give light to all who are in the house, he added, saying: So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. For God is magnified in us before unbelievers and the faithless, if we live according to the divine precepts, if we shine by good works. Whence the holy Apostle also says: Magnify and bear God in your body. And blessed Peter in his Epistle likewise admonishes: That when they speak against you, they may, by your works of righteousness, glorify our God. But it can also be understood otherwise, since the spiritual understanding is manifold, so that we may recognize that by the lamp the Lord himself is signified, on account of the humility of the assumed body.

He indeed is called not only, according to the glory of his divinity, the Sun of Justice, but is also shown, according to the sacrament of the assumed body, as a lamp; because, though he was God of eternal glory and majesty, he appeared humble in this world as a lamp. And not without cause as a lamp: because a lamp is accustomed to shine through the night. Therefore he appeared humble in this world as a lamp for this reason: that he might drive away the darkness of error from our hearts and the night of ignorance; we who live in this world as if set in the night. This lamp, then, that is, the incarnation of Christ shown forth by the Law and the Prophets, is no longer covered as by a bushel through the obscure preaching of the Law, nor is it covered as by a vessel of faithlessness through the unbelief of the Scribes and Pharisees: but, set up upon the cross as upon a candlestick, it illuminates the whole house of the Church.

According to the mystery of the incarnation, then, he is a lamp; but according to the glory of the Divinity, he is the Sun of Justice. Finally, upon that very candlestick of the cross, he shone forth as the Sun, when through the preaching of the Apostles, as through certain rays, our Lord and Savior brought the most brilliant light of the knowledge of himself into the whole world—he who is blessed forever.

Then he says: Do not think that I have come to destroy the Law or the Prophets: I have not come to destroy, but to fulfill. The Son of God did not come to dissolve the Law or the Prophets, he who is the author of the Law and the Prophets; because he himself gave Moses to hand down the Law to the people, and cleansed the Prophets by the Holy Spirit for the preaching of things to come: Therefore, he says, I have not come to destroy the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill them. Now he fulfilled the Law and the Prophets in this way; in that he himself brought to completion the things that were written in the Law and the Prophets. Whence, when he had drunk the vinegar offered to him on the cross, he said: It is finished: so as to show clearly that all the things written of him in the Law and the Prophets, even down to the drinking of the vinegar, had been fulfilled.

He fulfills the Law in every way, in that he completed the mystery of the passover or of the lamb, once shown in figure, by the sacrament of his passion. Whence the Apostle says: For Christ our passover is sacrificed. He fulfills the Law, in that he completed the sacrifices of the Law and all the types prefigured in himself, by taking a body, according to the reason of truth. Or indeed he fulfills the Law, in that he confirms the precepts of the Law which he had given, by the supplement of his evangelical grace. But what Law he came to fulfill, he shows in what follows, saying: Till heaven and earth pass, one iota or one tittle shall not pass from the Law, till all be fulfilled. How true, then, and divine is the proclamation of the Law, we recognize from this very fact, that the Lord declares that not even one iota or one tittle of it can pass away.

Although in this iota or tittle of the Law, even the sacrament of the cross can be understood, since the iota and the tittle show forth in themselves a certain image of the cross, which, proclaimed by the Law and the Prophets, could by no reasoning be passed over.

Then he says: Whoever, he says, shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. Since it is impious to break the least commandments, much more so the great and greatest ones. Whence through Solomon the Holy Spirit attests this very thing, saying: He who despises small things shall gradually fall. And therefore nothing of the divine precepts is to be relaxed, nothing curtailed, but the whole is to be kept and taught with a faithful and devoted mind, lest the glory of the heavenly kingdom be lost: because those things which in the judgment of unbelievers or worldly men are thought least and small, these are not small before God, but necessary. But whoever shall teach and do, the Lord shows that he shall be great in the kingdom of heaven. Wherefore one must act not only in words but also in deeds; nor should you only teach, but do what you have taught.

And let us hear the Lord himself rebuking teachers of this kind, who say and do not, in the Gospel: Woe, he says, to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you burden men with burdens which cannot be borne, but you yourselves do not touch the burdens with your finger. Whence also the Apostle says: Not the hearers of the Law, he says, are just before God, but the doers of the Law shall be justified. If he says this even of hearers, what must be understood of teachers? Whence also Solomon says: Be not hasty in your tongue, and slack and remiss in your works. And therefore it is fitting that he who teaches should furnish from himself an example of pure faith through the uprightness of his manner of life, as the Apostle writes to Timothy: Be, he says, a model of the faithful. And again: Showing yourself an example of good works, in righteousness, in chastity, in sobriety, through sound doctrine.

Whence also the Son of God himself, who is the master and lord of the law, for our example, willed to fulfill in deeds themselves all that he taught.

And he added: Unless your righteousness abounds more than that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. The righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees is reproved, because they sought not faith in the divine promise, but human praise and worldly glory, just as we have the example of that proud and puffed-up Pharisee; who, as it seemed to him, preferring the merits of his own righteousness, shamelessly boasted of himself, with a lifted-up spirit and proud words, in the sight of God. The Scribes and Pharisees, therefore, kept up the appearance of righteousness, not that they might please God, but that they might seek the fame of human glory, so that they might earn earthly gains and temporal advantages. And therefore the Lord exhorts us to surpass this notorious righteousness of human praise by works of heavenly righteousness and the merits of faith, through Christ our Lord.

Then follows: You have heard that it was said to the ancients: You shall not kill: and whoever shall kill shall be liable to judgment. But I say to you: If anyone is angry with his brother, he shall be liable to judgment. This is what the Lord said, I have not come to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it. This is what was lacking, to add: namely, to reform the precepts of the Law for the better. Whence also the holy Apostle says: Do we then destroy the Law through faith? By no means: but we establish the Law. To the rude and hard people were handed down the commandments of righteousness of the Law; but to the perfect and faithful people are handed down the evangelical precepts of consummate faith and heavenly righteousness. The Law commanded not to kill, but the Gospel commanded not even to be angry: that it might remove every root of sin from our hearts; because through wrath one can arrive even at homicide.

Whence not without reason blessed Job in his book thus testifies, saying: Wrath kills the foolish man, and envy slays the seduced. David also thus says: Be angry, and sin not; say in your hearts, and be pierced with compunction on your beds. Which testimony the holy Apostle interpreted, saying: Let not the sun go down upon your wrath, neither give place to the devil. Since therefore it is not permitted to be angry, much less to commit the crime of homicide. And since wrath is held liable in the future judgment; what punishment do we suppose the doer of that very crime will have?

But whoever shall say, he says, to his brother, raca, shall be liable to the council. But whoever shall say, fool, shall be liable to the fire of hell. Thus the Lord teaches us to be perfect in all things, that we may not be held liable in the future judgment even for light or vain words. For he forbids saying to a brother, raca, that is, empty and vain: for he ought not to be called empty and vain, who is full of faith and the Holy Spirit. Nor should he be called foolish, who by believing in Christ has attained the grace of divine wisdom. Whence also when the Holy Spirit spoke through Solomon concerning the evangelical man, he thus testified, saying: Blessed is he who has not slipped in the word of his mouth, and has not been stung by the sorrow of sin. And therefore in another place the same Solomon says: Make bars for your mouth, and a balance for your tongue and your words.

And again: Remove from you a perverse mouth, and put wicked lips far from you. And again: Let not your mouth become accustomed to undisciplined speech; for in it is the sorrow of sin. Whence also David says: Set, O Lord, a watch upon my mouth, and a door of circumstance about my lips. And again in another psalm he said: I said, I will guard my ways, that I sin not with my tongue. Because, as Solomon says: The lips of the imprudent shall utter foolish things; but the word of the prudent is weighed in a balance. And therefore the Lord in the Gospel, testified that we shall render an account even for an idle word. Hence also the Apostle thus exhorts, saying: Let no evil speech proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good for the edification of faith. And again: Let your speech be always seasoned with the salt of grace, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

For this reason it is fitting that we be cautious in all things, lest through familiarity with useless words we acquire harm to our salvation.

Then he says: If you offer your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you; leave your gift there, and go first to be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. From this very thing we know how much the Lord values fraternal love; since he shows that a gift offered to God is not acceptably offered, unless the offerer of the gift first, having set aside wrath, be reconciled to his brother. We find, finally, that the gifts of Cain the offerer were for this reason rejected by God, because, not observing the laws of charity, he held wrath in his mind against his brother. Whence not without reason does the Lord in the Gospel in many places intimate that the love of fraternal charity is especially to be guarded, saying: A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. And again: By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

Not without reason also through Zachariah the prophet the Lord thus speaks: Judge true and peaceful judgment, and do not retain the malice of your brother in your hearts. Through David likewise he similarly testifies: Cease from anger, and forsake indignation. In like manner also the Holy Spirit speaks through Solomon, saying: Man keeps up wrath against man, and seeks healing from God? He himself has no mercy on a man like himself, and does he pray to God for his sins? And he himself, though he is flesh, retains wrath, and asks propitiation from God? And who shall pray for his sins. And he added further, saying: Remember your last end, and cease from enmity. Whence also holy David, not ignorant of the evangelical precept through the Holy Spirit, thus testified concerning himself, saying: If I have regarded iniquity in my heart, he says, the Lord will not hear.

For what is so pleasing to God, so necessary to our salvation, as that which the Lord commands, not to retain wrath, to offer a gift to God with a peaceful mind and simple conscience, as Abel first offered? And therefore his gifts were accepted by God, Cain's rejected: because Abel offered gifts to the Lord with a pure and simple mind; but Cain held wrath against his brother in his heart. Wherefore if we wish our gifts to please God, we must exclude wrath from the heart, put to death malice conceived against a brother, but hold fast to fraternal peace, preserve charity, love unanimity, guard concord, that we may deserve to appease the Lord, who is blessed forever.

After this follows: Be, he says, agreeing with your adversary quickly, while you are with him on the way, lest perhaps the adversary deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be cast into prison: Amen I say to you, you shall not go out from there until you have paid the last farthing. Concerning this saying of the Lord some think it should be understood thus, asserting that an adversary of this kind, who has become an enemy by his own fault or another's, should be swiftly recalled to peace and friendship, while we are with him on the way; that is, in the course of the present life: lest, when we have departed from the world, each one, as forgetful of charity and guilty of enmities, begin to be offered up to God the judge, and be delivered by the judge to the officer; that is, to the overseer of torments; so that, cast into the prison of hell, he may pay the due penalties of sin.

But this assertion does not seem to have full reason. For what? If any one of the brethren becomes an adversary for the cause of the faith, is consent to be lent to his faithlessness, lest a religious discord remain with such a one? We have adversaries also among the gentiles who oppose our faith, who at times in the season of persecution compel us to nefarious sacrifices: must this also be done on account of adversaries of this kind, that we lend sacrilegious consent to their will, lest they remain our enemies? To whose sacrilegious persuasion we ought not only not to consent, but even to resist with unconquered faith.

Some also think it should be understood here plainly that the adversary is the devil; by what reasoning they support this, I do not perceive. For in what should consent be lent to the devil; whose work it is to persuade, exhort, and extort everything against the faith, against salvation, against divine religion? Unless perhaps it ought to be understood in this sense: that if perchance some persecutor, becoming an enemy, or the devil (since he is the author of persecution) should wish to inflict death on a Christian for the sake of the name of Christ, he should willingly lend his consent, that he be delivered to death for Christ, lest that same devil, who is our accuser, establish us as guilty before God of prevarication of the faith, and make us liable to punishment: because the devil, although he is the author of every crime, is himself also the accuser.

For we read this said of him in the Apocalypse: And the Dragon was cast down, he says, the accuser of our brethren, who accused them in the sight of God day and night. He himself the persuader, he himself the accuser, persuades that he may deceive; accuses, that he may condemn.

But others, whose assertion seems to me more straightforward, suppose that the adversary here is to be understood as the Holy Spirit, who is opposed to the vices and desires of the flesh, according to what the Apostle declares, saying: The flesh, he says, lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh: for these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do whatever you wish. For the Spirit desires heavenly things, the flesh lusts after earthly things; the Spirit rejoices in spiritual gifts, the flesh delights in bodily vices. Whence also the Apostle says: Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you have been sealed unto the day of redemption. It is this adversary of sin and human error, I believe, urging what is just and holy, whom the Lord commands us to obey in all things, while we are with him on the way, that is, in the company of the present life, so that we may be able to have eternal peace and everlasting fellowship with him.

But if anyone shall be disobedient and contrary to the will of the Holy Spirit, there is no doubt that such a person, after the departure of life, must be presented to the Son of God, who is judge of the living and the dead, by whom he will be handed over to the officer, that is, to the angel of torments, to be sent into the prison of Gehenna; from which he will not be released until he pays the very last farthing, that is, until he pays off the whole penalty of debt even to the last sin. Concerning this adversary, then, the Lord is understood to be speaking in the present passage, who, opposing our sins, desires our salvation, who therefore wishes us to be in agreement with him, that we may deserve to escape the punishments of hell and attain the kingdoms of heaven.

Of this Solomon also seems to bear witness in his book, when he says: There is one, and there is not a second, and indeed he has neither son nor brother, and there is no end to all his labor. And: Two are better than one, for they have a good reward for their labor; for if one falls, the other lifts up his companion. Woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to lift him up: showing that the flesh which has deserved to have the concord and fellowship of the Holy Spirit, when it has fallen into death, is raised up by that same Spirit into life and everlasting glory.

And therefore he said, Woe to that one; because when he falls he has no one to raise him up: that is, because the flesh which through its unbelief has not deserved to have the fellowship of the Spirit is not raised up into eternal life, but is raised up unto perpetual punishment by him who is judge of the living and the dead: to whom is praise and glory, forever and ever. Amen.

Then he says: You have heard that it was said to them of old: You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you: Whoever looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Not without reason did holy David say: You have commanded your commandments to be kept exceedingly. Exceedingly indeed, because not only adultery but also concupiscence is charged as a crime. The Law condemns adultery, but the Gospel also punishes concupiscence, which is the root of adultery. Whence through Solomon, in many places, the Holy Spirit bears witness to this same thing, saying: Go not after your lusts, and turn away from your own pleasure; for if you give to your soul its desire, it will make you a joy to your enemies and those who envy you. And again: Give not your soul to harlots in any way, lest you destroy yourself and your inheritance. Do not look around in the streets of the city, nor wander in its squares.

Turn away your face from an adorned woman, and do not look upon the beauty of another. And afterward he added: Many admiring the beauty of another's wife have been rejected; for her conversation burns like fire. Well did he say, it burns like fire: because in the conversation of such a woman the desire of lust is kindled as if by fire. Whence you ought to avoid such a woman, lest the flame of desire consume you. Therefore Solomon also says: Let not the desire of beauty overcome you, neither be captured by your eyes, nor be carried away by your eyelids. And again he says: Take from me the lusts of the belly, and concupiscence, and let not the lust of concupiscence seize me, and do not give me over to a shameless and unbridled soul.

Let us also hear blessed Job, who in all things showed himself to be an evangelical man, and fulfilled the Lord's commandment before he heard it, bearing this same witness of himself, when he says: If my foot has turned aside from the way, and my heart has followed my eye, if I have touched gifts with my hands, let others eat my fruits: if my heart has gone after another man's wife, or if I have lain in wait at her door, let my wife also be pleasing to another. For it is the wrath of fury and of an unclean spirit to defile another man's wife: it is a burning fire. Whence, because adultery is a grave sin, in order to root out the very origin of the sin, lest our conscience be stained, he also forbade concupiscence, which is the origin of adultery, according to what blessed James relates in his Epistle: Concupiscence, he says, brings forth sin, and sin, when it is completed, brings forth death.

Therefore also through David the Holy Spirit speaks of this same thing thus: Blessed, he says, is he who shall seize and dash his little ones against the rock. Showing this to be the blessed and truly evangelical man, who, as soon as the desires and lusts of the flesh arising through human weakness begin, before they grow, at the very outset of their birth, kills them through faith in Christ, who is called the rock.

Then he says: If your eye scandalizes you, pluck it out and cast it from you: for it is better for you that one of your members perish, than that your whole body go into Gehenna. And if your hand, he says, scandalizes you, cut it off and cast it from you: for it is better for you that one of your members perish, than that your whole body go into Gehenna. He does not signify to me the eye or hand of the human body, but the eye or hand of the heart: that is, he commands that the sense of evil concupiscence and carnal desire be cut off from our hearts, whence the Lord himself in the Gospel declares that all evils proceed, saying: For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, blasphemies, false witness, and the other things which defile a man. But indeed, to mutilate the body profits nothing toward the correction of an evil mind, in which is the whole flood of vices.

In fact we see many who, though deprived of eyes or debilitated in body, do not cease from vices for all that. Whence the Lord commands us rather to cut off these members of vices, of an evil mind and of depraved thought, for the sake of the kingdom of heaven: lest, with the vices reigning, both body and soul, that is, the whole man, be made guilty of eternal fire. Some, however, think that this should be understood of sons or of those close to us, who are dear and beloved to us like the eyes of the head; so that if perchance any such persons, becoming contrary to our faith and hope, should generate scandal, they should be cast off from us, and held as enemies of salvation: lest each one of us, being joined to such faithless and blaspheming men, be condemned to equal punishment.

But since mention has been made of the body, this can more rightly be understood of the body of the Church: in which the eye, as a precious member, is recognized to signify the bishop, who illumines the whole body with the light of the divine commandment. Of him, then, this saying is rightly understood: If your eye scandalizes you, pluck it out and cast it from you: for it is better for you that one of your members perish, than that your whole body go into Gehenna: that is, if perchance such an eye, that is, a bishop, should become a scandal to the Church through depraved faith and shameful conduct, he commands that he be plucked out, that is, cast off from the body of the Church, lest the people be held guilty of his sin. For it is written that a little leaven corrupts the whole lump. And again: Put away the evil one from among yourselves.

By the hand, moreover, is understood to be signified the presbyter: who, if he too, holding depraved faith or not living rightly, should cause scandal to the people, the Lord commands him to be cut off; that is, cast away, lest the Church be stained by his sin, since the Church, according to the Apostle, ought to be holy and unblemished, through Christ our Lord, who is blessed forever. Amen.

Then follows: You have heard that it was said to them of old: Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a bill of divorce. But I say to you: Whoever shall put away his wife, except for the cause of fornication, makes her commit adultery. In all things the Lord and our Savior reforms for the better the ordinances of the old law. Long before, indeed, to the Jewish people living unlawfully and serving their own pleasures, license to give a bill of divorce for any cause whatever seemed to have been granted through Moses; not because the reason of the law so required, but because the unbridled pleasure of the carnal people could not keep the justice of the law according to the rigor of discipline. Therefore this permitted allowance was made, according to what the Lord himself, in another place, in his own answer, still to their inquiry, makes clear.

For when they said, why then did Moses permit a bill of divorce to be given, the Lord answered saying: Because of the hardness of your heart Moses wrote this, that a bill of divorce be given; but from the beginning it was not so. Whence now, not without reason, the Lord and our Savior, having taken away that license, restores the precepts of his ancient institution. For he commands that the chaste union of marriage be kept by an indissoluble law, showing that the law of marriage was originally instituted by himself. For he himself says: What therefore God has joined together in one, let not man separate.

By this saying he condemned, by the pronouncement of this sentence, both the lax license of the Jews and the foolish and wretched presumption of the Manichaeans, who deny that marriages are from God, saying that it is not lawful to put away a wife except for the cause of fornication: clearly showing that he acts against the will of God who presumes to violate, by an unlawful separation of divorce, a marriage joined by God. Whence let them not be ignorant how grave a crime of condemnation before God they incur, who, through unbridled lustful pleasure (without cause of fornication), having put away their wives, wish to pass over into other marriages. Which they believe they may commit with impunity for this reason, that it seems to be permitted by human and worldly laws, not knowing that in this they sin the more gravely, because they prefer human laws to divine ones; so that what God has established to be unlawful, they believe to be lawful because it has been freely permitted by man.

But just as it is not lawful to put away a wife living chastely and purely, so it is permitted to put away an adulteress, because she herself has made herself unworthy of her husband's fellowship, who by sinning against her own body has dared to violate the temple of God.

Then he says: You have heard that it was said to them of old: Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt render to the Lord thy oaths. But I say to you, not to swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King; neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your speech be: yes, yes; no, no; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. By the grace of the evangelical teaching the law given through Moses received its advancement. In the law it was commanded that one should not forswear himself; but in the Gospel one should not even swear. This very thing the Holy Spirit was long ago meditating to command through Solomon, saying: Let not thy mouth be accustomed to swearing.

And again: As a servant continually scourged is not free from bruises, so he that sweareth and is always transacting business shall not be cleansed from sin. Whence it is not fitting for us to swear at all. For why should it be necessary for any one of us to swear, since it is not lawful for us to lie at all; whose words ought always to be so true, so most faithful, that they may be held as an oath? And for this reason the Lord forbids us not only to forswear ourselves, but even to swear; lest we should seem to speak the truth only when we swear; lest those whom he has established to be truthful in every word should think it lawful to lie without an oath. For this is the reason for an oath, that everyone who swears, swears to this end, that he may utter what is true.

And therefore the Lord wills that there be no distance between our oath and our speech: because, just as no perfidy ought to occur in an oath, so too there ought to be no lie in our words, since both perjury and lying are condemned by the penalty of divine judgment, as Scripture says: The mouth that lieth killeth the soul. Whoever, therefore, speaks the truth, swears; for it is written: A faithful witness will not lie. Whence not without reason does divine Scripture often record our God as swearing, because whatever is said by God, who is truthful and knows not how to lie, is held as an oath, since all that he speaks is true. We indeed find God swearing at times, but on account of the perfidy of Jewish unbelief, who think that every truth consists only in the assurance of an oath. For this reason, therefore, God too willed to swear, so that those who did not believe God speaking might believe him at least swearing.

The Lord therefore says: You have heard that it was said to them of old: Thou shalt not forswear thyself. But I say to you, not to swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. In these words of the Lord, by which he forbids us to swear by elements of this kind, there is a twofold understanding. For first he wished to take away from us both the practice of swearing and the custom of human error; lest each of us, by swearing by these elements, should hold the creature in the honor of divine veneration; or should believe himself to have impunity for perjury, if he swore by the elements of the world, since it is written: Nor hath he sworn deceitfully to his neighbor.

In this he condemns the error both of Jewish unbelief and also of the human race, who, having abandoned the Creator, held the creature in divine veneration, according to what the Apostle relates: And they worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator. Then it can also be understood in this way; that when one swears by heaven and earth, one swears by him who established heaven and earth, according to what the Lord himself declared in another place, saying: He that sweareth by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things that are upon it; and he that sweareth by the throne of God, sweareth by it, and by all things that are upon it; and he that sweareth by the throne of God, sweareth by it, and by him that sitteth thereon. Nor, he says, shalt thou swear by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King: that is, a type of the body of Christ, which is that spiritual and heavenly Church.

Nor, he says, shalt thou swear by thy head, because according to the Apostle: The head of the man is Christ. Whence he who swears by these things, swears by him who is the author of all of them. Let your speech, therefore, he says, be: yes, yes; no, no; for what is more than these is of evil: teaching that every word we utter should contain nothing other than what is true; since every lie (that is, what is more than this) is traced back to its author the devil, who has always been a liar from the beginning, as also is his father. Whence we ought always to speak and meditate what is true, that we may show ourselves to be disciples of him who is the Truth, who is blessed forever.

Then follows: You have heard that it was said to them of old: An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you: Do not resist evil; but if any one strikes thee on thy right cheek, offer him the other also; and to him who wishes to contend with thee at law and take away thy tunic, let go thy cloak also. The Lord conforms us through the evangelical precepts to every example of patience and humility. It had long ago been commanded in the law, that if anyone, moved by the fury of wrath, had put out another's eye or tooth, he himself should be subject to a similar penalty and the same loss. In this precept both the justice of the law was shown, and the rashness of the insolent people was restrained under this terror: so that, since they had no fear of the future judgment, at least the penalty of present vengeance might restrain them from crime.

But those who live according to evangelical faith do not seek retribution of that kind of vengeance, for whom all hope of retribution and vengeance is reserved for the future. And for this reason the Lord in the Gospel not only does not command us to return the injury in kind, but even commands those struck on the right cheek to offer the other also, if the anger of the striker requires it. For this he says: He who strikes thee on the right cheek, offer him the left also. For this is truly to live by faith, to seek not present retaliation, but future vengeance from him who says: Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. Jeremiah clearly shows such an evangelical man as this, who, struck on the cheek, willingly offers the other, when he says: It is good for a man when he has borne the yoke from his youth. He shall sit alone and hold his peace, because he has borne the yoke.

He shall give his cheek to him that striketh him, he shall be filled with reproach. In this he plainly shows that man to be blessed indeed, who, living under this yoke of the evangelical law, does not turn away from any injury of the one persecuting him. For meditation of this kind of endurance leads to the passion of martyrdom. For he will easily be able to bear even the punishments of the body in time of persecution, if, having been trained beforehand in peace, he receives injuries of this sort with equanimity and willingness. Nor indeed is it fitting for a Christian to return injury in kind, lest he be judged like the one to whom he returns it. For if it is evil to do injury, he is not free from fault who repays a bad turn in kind, and for this reason he cannot be considered good who imitates evil.

The Lord commands not only that the cheek be offered to the one who strikes, but also that losses be submitted to. For he added this: And he who wishes to contend with thee at law and take away thy tunic, let go thy cloak also to him. For after the endurance of bodily injury, the Lord wishes us to have contempt also for worldly things: and to be so far removed from every dispute or contention at law, that if perhaps some calumniator or tempter, in order to test our faith, should raise a suit wishing to take away what is ours, the Lord commands us to offer freely not only what he unjustly demands, but even that which he does not ask. For if each one, on account of the calumny of the litigant, holds in contempt these small things, being trained by such an exercise, he will easily be able to hold in contempt even all such things in the time of persecution.

For that is perfect faith and perfect victory against the one doing injury, if even the things he does not demand are offered.

Then he says: And whosoever shall force thee to go a thousand paces, go with him another two. The Lord commands us to be tireless and ready for every work of devotion. For he wishes our good to belong not so much to necessity as to our own will; so that, while we do more from ourselves than is asked of us by others, we may obtain the glory of a greater reward. For it is the duty of complete charity and perfect devotion to offer more of one's own accord than has been asked.

Some have believed this sense should also be understood spiritually, that whoever has been forced to go a thousand paces should go with him another two: that is, that whoever, being unbelieving, or not yet having attained the knowledge of the truth, makes mention of the one God the Father, creator of all things, as though entering by the way of the law, you should go with him another two; that is, that after the profession of the Father, you should lead this same person, by the way of truth, on as far as the knowledge of the Son and the Holy Spirit, showing him that not only the Father, but also the Son and the Holy Spirit are to be believed.

Then follows: And to him who asks of thee, give. That is, that after the knowledge of the Trinity, we should bestow the gift of heavenly grace with a ready mind. Or certainly let us give mercy to those asking, according to what we are able; that we ourselves may more easily obtain what we ask of God, with merit having gone before, from him who says: Ask, and it shall be given to you. But if we despise those who ask of us, with what confidence do we believe that God will grant us what we ask? As Scripture says: See that thou turn not away thy face from any poor man; thus it will come to pass that the face of God will not be turned away from thee either. And to everyone, he says, who would borrow of thee, turn not away.

We are commanded to keep in every respect the religion of piety and faith, so that we may reckon the need of another's tribulation as our own, and value our substance no more than our brother. And therefore, whether to brothers asking, or to those requesting a loan in need, we ought to share with a religious mind and pious affection, awaiting the reward of eternal retribution, according to what David says: A pleasant man is he who shows mercy and lends, he will order his words with judgment. And again: He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his justice remaineth for ever and ever.

Whence also holy Job, whose example it is fitting for us to follow, thus records himself as having fulfilled these very evangelical precepts, saying: If I have sent away the needy empty, if I caused the eyes of the widow to wait; if I have eaten my morsel alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof; if the poor have gone from my door empty; if I have kept my bread to myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten of it. All these things Job faithfully fulfilled, because he awaited the reward from him who is the rewarder of eternal goods: to whom be praise and glory forever. Amen.

Then follows: You have heard that it was said to the ancients: Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thy enemy. But I say to you: Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that calumniate and persecute you; that you may be children of your Father, who commands his sun to rise upon the good and the bad, and rains upon the just and the unjust. In all things the Lord wills us to be perfect in his precepts. Indeed, long ago in the Law it was commanded: Thou shalt love thy friends, and hate thy enemies; but these precepts were given to a worldly and carnal people according to the times, just as also that: An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

But now to the evangelical people are handed down the precepts of heavenly and perfect justice, that we should love our enemies, love those who hate us, pray for those who calumniate and persecute us, that we may truly deserve to be sons of God, who out of his mercy bestows without distinction upon the good and the bad, the just and the unjust, the heavenly benefits and gifts of the present life. To the keeping of such evangelical precepts the Holy Spirit also exhorts us through Isaiah: Hear the word of the Lord, you that fear his name: say, You are our brothers, to those who hate and abominate you; let the name of the Lord be magnified, and let it appear to them in their gladness, and let them be confounded. Whence not without cause David testifies thus in the Psalm, saying: O Lord my God, if I have done this thing: if I have rendered evil to them that repaid me evil, let me deservedly fall empty before my enemies.

The blessed Job also records this same thing thus, saying: If I have rejoiced at the ruin of him that hated me: if I have said in my heart, well done: let my ear hear a curse. Now these precepts of evangelical grace, which are now given for the salvation of men, we find shaped beforehand through the commandments of the Law with regard to animals, when it is said: If, he says, thou see the ox of thy enemy fallen under his burden, thou shalt not pass by, but shalt lift him up with him: so that already then, in the law of Moses, each one might learn concerning animals what he would one day, according to the Gospel, have to do concerning man.

And rightly follows: If you love them that love you, what reward shall you have? Do not even the publicans do this? And if you salute your brethren only, what do you more? Do not even the heathens do this? Be you therefore perfect, as also your Father who is in heaven is perfect. The Lord shows that we cannot have the merit of perfect love if we love only those from whom we know a return of mutual love will be repaid to us, since we know such love to be common even among the gentiles and sinners. Whence the Lord wills that we surpass the common law of human love by the law of evangelical love; so that not only toward those who love us, but even toward enemies and those who hate us we may show the affection of our love, that in this we may imitate the example of true piety and paternal goodness.

And he added: Take heed that you do not your justice before men, to be seen by them: otherwise you shall not have a reward of your Father who is in heaven. The Lord wills us to be alien from all boastfulness of vain glory and human desire, so that we may do the work of our justice not with the aim of pleasing men, but of God alone, from whom we expect the reward of our merit. For he loses the merit of justice before God who wishes to live justly for the sake of acquiring the glory of human praise. Whence the Apostle says: If I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

Then he says: When therefore thou dost alms, sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do, who love to stand in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be honored by men: Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. But when thou dost alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth: that thy alms may be in secret; and thy Father who sees in secret will repay thee. In all things the Lord conforms us by heavenly teaching to the glory of perfect faith.

Above he taught that the work of justice must be done not for the sake of men, but for the sake of God. Now also we are commanded, when giving alms, not to sound a trumpet: that is, not to publish what we do; because it is not the mark of a devout mind to do something in the things of God for the sake of expecting the glory of human praise. For many bestow something for the use of the poor in order to purchase for themselves, from their wealth, the vain praise of men and worldly renown: of these the Lord declares that they have received the reward of their work in this present age; because while they seek this worldly glory, they lose the reward of the promise to come.

And therefore the Lord added: That thy alms may be in secret; and thy Father who sees in secret will repay thee: willing that the work of mercy should not be public, but hidden; that is, that we should act not for the praise of men, but for God alone, from whom we expect glory and the reward of the future blessing. Of this faithful work of almsgiving, under the silence of religious taciturnity, Solomon, praising the Church, once testified, saying: Thy cheeks are beautiful, besides thy silence. That is, this silence of which the Lord speaks: Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth. But here the Lord does not speak of the hands of the human body, which have no sense of seeing or speaking; but by the right hand or the left, either the work or men are signified. We read written in the books of Kings that men are signified by "hand," when it is said: Have I not ten hands in Israel? That is, the ten tribes of Israel.

Whence it is not doubtful that by the right hand the just are signified; and by the left, sinners are understood, according to what Solomon relates: The Lord knows the ways on the right hand; but those on the left are perverse. This meaning of right and left the Lord most clearly manifests in the Gospel, when he declares that the just are to be placed on the right, but sinners on the left. This right hand of the just, then, if it does anything according to the Lord's precept, is commanded that the left hand should not know it: that is, that what we do religiously and faithfully we should not flaunt in the sight of sinners and unfaithful men. But if we should do something, not from a desire for human praise, even in the presence of religious brothers faithfully, the work of devotion and faith cannot be judged as boastfulness by the brothers before the Lord and our Savior, who is blessed forever, Amen.

Then he says: And when you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, that love to stand and pray in the synagogues and corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men: Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. But thou when thou shalt pray, enter into thy chamber, and having shut the door, pray to thy Father, and thy Father who sees in secret will repay thee. The Lord instructs us to every perfection of heavenly justice and faith. For he wills that we fulfill every work of divine religion without hypocrisy, and without any desire for human praise. For we are forbidden, after the manner of hypocrites, to display our prayers boastfully to all, lest we lose the merit of grace. For the Lord requires not a feigned and boastful prayer, but a simple and faithful one.

And therefore, with the door shut, that is, within the secret of the heart and of conscience itself, we are commanded by the Lord to pray, that from him who is the knower of secrets and hidden things, we may receive the reward of hidden prayer.

For it is the mark of a religious mind to pray to God, not by clamor or the sound of the voice, but by devotion of the soul and faith of the heart, according to what David testifies in the Psalm, saying: Say in your hearts, and be pricked with compunction upon your beds. We find, moreover, in the books of Kings, that most holy Anna fulfilling the precepts of this evangelical teaching. For when, without any sound of voice, in the secret of her heart, praying faithfully in the sight of the Lord, she poured out the prayers of her desire, she immediately deserved to be heard by the Lord. So also to Daniel, together with the three youths always praying secretly, the Lord granted to know the interpretations of the dream and the secrets of revelations. Cornelius too, not yet instructed in the evangelical precepts, while praying secretly and faithfully in his chamber, deserved to hear the voice of a holy angel speaking.

What shall we say of Jonah, who, shut not merely in a chamber but in the belly of a beast, praying so deserved to be heard, that he escaped safe and alive from the depth of the sea and the belly of so monstrous a beast? He was heard by God, not because he cried out with his voice, but because he cried out with faith. And therefore there is no need in prayer to God of the clamor of the voice, since we know he beholds the secrets of the heart; but of the clamor of faith, and the devotion of a religious mind.

Whence not without reason the Lord says in what follows: And when you are praying, speak not much, as the heathens do; for they think that in their much speaking they may be heard. Be not you therefore like to them: for your Father knows what is needful for you, before you ask him. For the heathen think that by much speaking of words they may more easily obtain from the Lord what they ask; but the Lord does not expect this of us. He wills rather that we commend our prayer not by wordiness of speech, but by faith of heart and merits of justice; to him, indeed, who better knows all things necessary for us, and who recognizes all the things we are about to ask, before we speak. How great, then, is the distance between wordy and humble and simple prayer, we have an example in the Pharisee and the Publican.

For the prayer of the Pharisee, boasting in wordiness of speech, is reproved; but the Publican, humble and submissive, asking pardon for his sins, went down more justified than the boasting Pharisee. In which we find fulfilled what is written: The prayer of the humble penetrated the clouds, reaching to God, who is accustomed to hear the prayer of him that prays, who is blessed forever. Amen.

Then he says: Thus therefore shall you pray. Our Lord, who is wont to hear those who pray to him, shows with what words we ought to pray. O how faithful and blessed for us is this prayer, whose order the teacher of life and heavenly master has established for us! How blessed also can we ourselves be, if we keep these words of the Lord's prayer not only by the duty of the mouth, but by the most faithful act of our conduct! This form of praying, then, the Lord established for his disciples unto the hope of human salvation, saying: Our Father who art in heaven. How great is the Lord's love toward us! How great his mercy and loving-kindness, which granted us the gift of so great a grace, that we, servants, might dare freely to call our Lord and God Father! By which word he shows that we are now not merely servants, but even sons of God.

And whereas it would have been sufficient and more than sufficient for grace that we should deserve only to be called servants, the charity of God has so overflowed that we are called not only servants, but even sons of God by adoption. The grace of this name, given through faith to those who believe in Christ, John shows in the Gospel, saying: As many as received him, to them he gave power to become the sons of God, to them that believe in his name: who are born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Whence also the Apostle says: And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

Since therefore we have obtained the grace of so great a gift, that we might become not only servants but also sons; we ought to act and to conduct ourselves as sons of God: so that we may prove by spiritual deed that we are what we are called, according to what John says in his Epistle: He who is born of God does not sin, because the birth of God keeps him, and the devil does not touch him. But he who commits sin is not of God, but is of the devil, because the devil sins from the beginning. And therefore, keeping the sacrament of our heavenly birth, we ought to be free from every sin, so that we may truly deserve to be called or to be sons of God.

The holy Prophets too knew the grace of this divine mercy, by which it has been permitted us to call God Father, Isaiah saying: For thou art our Father: for Abraham has not known us, and Israel has not acknowledged us, but thou, O Lord, art our Father; thy name has been upon us from the beginning. Likewise Malachi too testifies in his book, saying: For there is one Father of us all. How great is the mercy of the Lord! We who long ago by our own will had taken the devil for our father, now, reborn through water and the Holy Spirit, have begun to have God as Father. For God himself the Father is one to us, who regenerates by his Spirit those whom he makes sons unto an eternal inheritance. And therefore we ought to walk as sons of God, lest, acting otherwise than befits sons of God, we be held guilty by the usurpation of so great a name.

He says therefore: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Not that the name of God can be sanctified by anyone, since he himself sanctifies all, who says through the Prophet: Be holy, as I also am holy, says the Lord. But we ask that his name be sanctified for this reason, that it may be sanctified in us through works of righteousness, through the merit of faith, through the grace of the Holy Spirit. That we may be able to receive this sanctification through such gifts, the help of his mercy is necessary. But he who is the fount of eternal holiness needs no sanctification.

Then he says: Thy kingdom come. Likewise here too we do not wish for God to reign, who is the King of eternal ages; whose kingdom has neither beginning nor end: but that that kingdom, that is, the heavenly one which he has promised us, may come. But it belongs to great confidence and a sincere conscience to hope confidently that this kingdom of the Lord may come. And therefore, since we always pray that the kingdom of God may come, we ought to conduct ourselves in the faith of the Lord and in his commandments in such a way that we may be worthy of the kingdom to come.

Next he says: Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. Here too the reasoning of understanding is similar. For there is no one who can resist and oppose God, so that he should not do what he wills; since by his will all things, both in heaven and on earth, subsist: but we pray that his will be done in us. Now the will of God is that, believing in him with our whole heart, we fulfill those things which he commands to be done. Of which will of God the Apostle testifies, saying: This is the will of God, your sanctification, that you abstain from carnal desires. Of this the Lord also spoke in the Gospel, saying: This is the will of my Father who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life.

When therefore we say: Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth; we pray this, that is, that just as the will of God is faithfully kept by the angels in heaven, so too it may always be kept by us on earth with religious and faithful devotion. That this will may rightly be fulfilled in us, the help of the divine condescension must be asked without ceasing. Or certainly: Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth: that is, as the will of God is fulfilled in heaven, that is, in holy and heavenly men; so too we pray that God's will be done on earth, that is, in those who have not yet believed, through the belief of faith and the knowledge of truth.

Next he says: Give us this day our daily bread. We understand this saying of the Lord in a twofold way. First, that we ask for nothing other than our daily sustenance: for we are not bidden to ask for riches or an abundance of worldly things, but for daily bread, which is necessary only for the present life for Christians living by faith, the Apostle saying: Having food and covering, with these we are content. Solomon too shows this same thing plainly: The use of man, he says, is bread, water, and clothing. But when we say today, we are taught to think only of the present day, not of the whole time of life, lest our mind be occupied with worldly anxiety: according to what the Lord himself openly shows elsewhere, saying: Take no thought for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.

But we ought to note that this is a spiritual precept given to us, that we ask for daily bread: that is, that heavenly and spiritual bread, which we receive daily for the healing of the soul and the hope of eternal salvation, of which the Lord says in the Gospel: The heavenly bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of this world. This bread, then, we are bidden to ask for daily: that is, that by the Lord's mercy prevailing, we may deserve to receive daily the bread of the Lord's body. For the holy Apostle says: But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread of the Lord, and drink of the cup. And again: He who eats the bread of the Lord unworthily, and drinks the cup, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

Whence we ought not unjustly always to pray that we may deserve to receive this heavenly bread daily: lest, through the intervention of some sin, we be separated from the body of the Lord.

And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. This word is plainly just and necessary for all. First, that we confess ourselves to be sinners: then, that we pray that sins be forgiven us by God in the same manner as we ourselves forgive those who sin against us. And if we do not do this, we ourselves make ourselves guilty before God by our own words, the Scripture saying: A strong snare for a man is his own lips. Whence not without reason Solomon too, not ignorant through the Holy Spirit of the form of this dominical prayer, forewarned beforehand, saying: Speak not a false word in your prayer. For who would dare, or how can anyone, lie to God in prayer? Unless perhaps he who, asking pardon of sins from God according to the Lord's prayer, does not himself forgive those who sin against him, not heeding the divine saying: Man keeps wrath for man, and seeks pardon from God?

And you yourself have no mercy on a man like yourself, and you entreat God for your sins? This the Lord himself shows most plainly elsewhere, bringing forth the example of that servant, a debtor, to whom, though he owed very much, his lord, being entreated, had forgiven the whole debt; who, when after the debt had been forgiven him he himself was unwilling to forgive his fellow servant who owed him, was handed over to prison, and condemned to punishment.

Then he says: And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. The reasoning of this temptation is twofold, and the cause is diverse: because to some temptation is brought through sin for correction, to others for the testing of faith, to others it is brought for glory, according to what blessed James testified in his Epistle, saying: Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been proved he shall receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. For we do not so pray that we utterly refuse the temptation which we know to be useful, holy David saying: Prove me, O Lord, and try me, burn my reins and my heart. Since we also know that holy Abraham obtained through temptation the glory of perfect faith; and we read that the blessed Apostle was handed over to temptations for the advancement of his faith.

When he asked that the author of the temptation be driven from him by the Lord, it was answered him: My grace is sufficient, for virtue is perfected in weakness. We do not therefore pray that we not be tempted at all; but that we not be handed over to temptation beyond what the strength of faith can bear: which very thing is clearly shown in another book of the Gospel: for thus it is written: And do not bring us into temptation, which we cannot bear. The Apostle also, to show this same thing, testified thus, saying: But God is faithful, who does not permit you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation also makes a way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. And therefore we do not beg that that temptation be taken from us which can be useful; but that one which exceeds the measure of our weakness unto the overthrow of our faith.

And therefore fittingly and necessarily at the end of the prayer we also ask to be delivered from evil, which does not cease daily to assail our faith with diverse temptations, from which we not undeservedly beg in daily prayer, lest, hindered by its assaults, we be unable at all to fulfil the divine precepts. All things, then, which are necessary for our faith and salvation, are contained in this brevity of the Lord's Prayer, while we confess the profession of the Father's name, while we ask that the signification of that name be present in us, while we petition that the kingdom of God come, while we beg that his will be done in us; while we daily entreat bread, whether earthly or heavenly, for the hope of our salvation, while we implore pardon of sins, while we pray that grievous temptation be taken from us; and finally while we unceasingly ask of the Lord that we be delivered from evil, who is the author of all sin.

This very thing the Holy Spirit had once foretold through Isaiah, saying: For the Lord will make a shortened word over the whole earth. Whence not undeservedly there follows: If you forgive men their sins, your Father who is in heaven will forgive you your sins: but if you do not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you your sins. In this that we pray: Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors: there follows the Lord's just sentence, in which he says: If you do not forgive men their sins, neither will your Father forgive you, who is in heaven. And therefore, that we may be able confidently to pray the Lord for the forgiveness of our sins, let us first forgive those who sin against us. Whence also Solomon says: Forgive your neighbor his sins, and then your sins shall be loosed when you pray.

But if with faithless soul and hardened mind we hold the sins of those who sin against us, the Lord plainly manifests that we too do not deserve to receive pardon of our sins; to whom is honor, praise, and glory, together with the Holy Spirit, before all ages, and now, and always, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Then he says: When you fast, he says, do not become sad, as the hypocrites are: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear to men to be fasting. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face, that you may not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in secret: and your Father, who is in secret, will repay you. Just as in the foregoing precepts, so also concerning the observance of fasting, the Lord instructs us by the commands of his teaching unto the merit of perfect faith; that we might fast not for human glory (as the hypocrites do), but for future hope, to the Lord alone, from whom we await the reward of this devout humility.

But those who fast in such a way that they please men rather than God, indeed have the labor of the body's affliction, but through vain glory they cannot have the reward of their labor before God: because, whereas they ought to do this only for the sake of religion and faith, they prefer rather to seek the glory of human praise; and therefore the Lord says: Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. And indeed the purpose of fasting seems to be one and the same, both for him who fasts with devout mind to God alone, and for him also who fasting desires to please men: but the grace of those who fast differs; because although the purpose of each seems similar and the labor of fasting the same, nevertheless the fruit is not the same, nor is the reward of merits the same.

For he who fasts for God's sake differs greatly from him who proposes to fast for men's sake: because for the latter, in place of a reward for his labor, human praise is his recompense; for the former, on account of the devotion of his humility, the merit of glory is kept for the future. So too the demeanor of those who pray does not seem to differ according to purpose; but according to the faith of the soul and the affection of the mind, there is a great difference of merits. For it is one thing (as was said above) to pray under expectation of human praise; another to pray only for this, that one may await from God, the rewarder, the recompense of his prayer. A like reason holds concerning every observance of divine religion.

Whence not undeservedly the Lord, wishing that all pursuit of praise and human boasting be absent from us, teaches us how we may please him with a religious spirit and devout mind, saying: But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face, that you may not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in secret: so that, if it can be done, we may veil the work of fasting, and the affliction itself of body and soul, with cheerfulness of countenance. Examples of this matter, even according to the history, we read were shown forth in the saints of former time. For most holy Judith, when she was afflicted with great grief for the people, after the solemnity of a three-day fast, with head anointed and face washed, so covered the sadness of her inward affliction, that with feigned joy she seemed to rejoice to her enemies: and thus, while through the joy of her countenance she veiled her fast, she brought back the triumph of victory over the enemy.

Likewise most holy Esther, while with washed face and anointed head, after a three-day fast, she was able to be recognized by the king, slew Haman, that most wicked enemy of her people. What shall we say of Daniel and the three youths, who in so great abstinence, among so many young men who were fed with royal food, alone were found more pleasing in countenance than the rest?

But since we have said this according to the letter, we must also note what is to be understood according to spiritual meaning. We know that in the anointing of the head mercy is signified. Whence to anoint the head is to show mercy to one's neighbor; which mercy shown to the poor man is referred to the Lord, who according to the Apostle is understood as the head of man, the Lord himself saying: As long as you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me. In return for this mercy, by divine recompense, we are, as it were, poured over with a certain heavenly oil, by him who says: Blessed are the merciful, for God will have mercy on them. Holy David also knew this anointing of heavenly oil upon the head, when he says: Like the ointment on the head, which runs down upon the beard. But in the washing of the face is known to be signified the cleansing of the body and the purity of a sincere conscience.

Whence to wash the face is this: to keep both the face of our heart and the conscience itself clean from every filth of sins and squalor of guilt, so that we may truly have in ourselves the gladness of heavenly joy and the cheerfulness of the Holy Spirit. And thus it comes about that, while under this devotion of faith we fast to God rather than to men, we receive the reward of recompense from God, who is the knower of hidden things. For this the Lord says: That you may not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in secret: and your Father who is in secret will repay you. If then you wish always to bear an anointed head, and to have a clean face of heart, according to the saying of the Lord, persevere faithfully in works of mercy, persevere in the devotion of fasting; that you may deserve to please the Lord, to whom is glory unto ages of ages, Amen.

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where rust and moth destroy, and where thieves dig through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither rust nor moth destroys, and where thieves do not dig through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. The Lord forbids us to lay up treasure on earth, where all things are weak and perishable. For it is contrary to faith and salvation to seek these earthly treasures, to seek the riches of the world, to pursue the resources of the world, which both moths can corrupt, and rust can consume, and thieves can seize. Because whoever would rather lay up treasure on earth than in heaven cannot have those treasures of eternal and heavenly life, the Lord himself saying: For a rich man will with difficulty enter the kingdom of heaven. Likewise also the Apostle: For those who wish to become rich fall into temptation and the snare of the devil.

Let us remember that rich man, who placed all his glory in the treasures of this world and in the abundance of his produce: who, when because of the overflow of his crops he thought of enlarging his barns, and promised his soul the delights of wealth and the security of a long life; I will not say he lost what he had gathered by a thief stealing it, but he lost his very soul on that same night in which he was laying up treasure. Whence not undeservedly David himself testified, saying: He lays up treasure, and knows not for whom he will gather it. Let us think also of that young man, who, though he had fulfilled almost all the precepts of the law, because he had earthly treasures rather than heavenly ones, could not obtain the treasures of eternal life. And therefore David rightly says: Trust not in iniquity, and covet not plunder: if riches abound, set not your heart upon them.

Wherefore the Lord wishes us to lay up our treasures not on earth, where they can perish, but in heaven, where no adversities hold dominion, where thieves do not dig through, that is, the devil and his angels, nor does rust destroy, that is, sins hold dominion. But how we ought to lay up this treasure in heaven the Lord himself makes plain in the Gospel, saying to that young man: Go, sell all that you have, give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Treasures of this kind, then, which are eternal and incorrupt, which cannot perish, we are bidden to lay up in heaven through works of righteousness, through the merits of piety and mercy. For whatever (according to the faith of Scripture) is faithfully spent for the use of the poor is laid up in heaven, Scripture saying: He who gives to the poor lends to God.

Whence we find that believers under the Apostles, mindful of this precept of the Lord, laid up treasure for themselves in heaven; because, having sold all their possessions, they transferred their earthly treasures to the heavenly kingdoms.

And therefore the Lord added, saying: Where thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also. We who lay up treasure always in heaven by good works, where all our hope and salvation is, where eternal life is stored up for us, though placed on earth, nevertheless always have our heart in heaven. But he cannot have his heart in the heavens who, taken captive by worldly desire, has preferred rather to lay up treasure for himself on earth.

Rightly also does the holy Apostle exhort even the rich of this world, as to how they may attain this heavenly treasure, saying: Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in the uncertainty of riches, but in the living God, who giveth us all things abundantly to enjoy: that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate, laying up in store for themselves for the future, that they may lay hold of true life, from him who is the author of life and eternal immortality: to whom be praise and glory, world without end. Amen.

Then he says: The lamp, he says, of thy body is thine eye: if thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be lucid; but if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be dark. If then the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness itself? The lamp of the body is understood as the sense of the mind and the faith of the heart: which, if it be pure and lucid in us, without doubt illumines our whole body. And the lamp is set forth here in comparison to faith for this reason, that just as a lamp illumines the steps of those walking in the night, lest, as they walk, they fall into pits or stumbling-blocks: so in this night of the world, the splendor of faith illumines all the steps of our life, with the light of truth going before, lest we fall either into the pits of sins, or the stumbling-blocks of the devil.

This, then, is what the Lord says: The lamp of thy body is thine eye: if thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be lucid; but if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be dark: showing that if this faith of ours, which is signified by the lamp of the body or the eye, be blinded in us either by the darkness of sins or by the obscurity of faithlessness, without doubt our whole body is rendered obscure and dark. This same thing St. John shows, saying: God is light: And: He that loveth his brother abideth in the light; but he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because darkness hath blinded his eyes.

Although this is understood, according to the saying of John, of him who hates his brother; we ought to consider in what darkness the heretic dwells who, having lost the light of catholic truth, becomes faithless and blasphemous. And therefore the Lord says: If the light, he says, that is in thee, be darkness; how great is that darkness itself? Namely, in him who has changed truth into falsehood, faith into faithlessness.

But in another sense we perceive that the eye of the body, which is more beautiful and precious than all the other members, signifies the bishop, who, by the clear preaching of his faith and teaching, illumines the body of the Church like a certain eye. Who, if through simple faith and holy conduct he prove a catholic and faithful teacher, can enable the people over whom he presides, by the example of his teaching and manner of life, to remain always in the light of truth. But if he who seems to offer light to others, through depraved faith or shameful conduct, prove a wicked and faithless teacher; without doubt, by the example of his life and faithlessness, he can render the whole body dark. Whence not undeservedly does the Lord say of such an eye: If the light that is in thee be darkness; how great is that darkness itself!

That is, if such a teacher, who ought of himself to furnish the light of faith to others, become blinded by heresy and dark; we ought to consider how great the darkness of sins can be in that people!

And he added: No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other: or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. The Lord clearly declares that none of us can serve two masters, that is, God and the devil. And God indeed, although he is Lord of all, because all things were created by him and he rules in all things by power, by virtue, by nature; yet he deigns to be Lord especially of those who, recognizing him as their Lord and God, the founder of the universe, keep his commandments in faithful servitude. But the devil is understood to be lord of those whom, seducing them through sin from the true Lord and Father, he most wickedly subjects to his servitude, and over whom, through the works of his iniquity, he rules by unlawful right.

For this reason, then, he too in his own place is called lord, because he lords it over such foolish men through sin. And therefore it is written: He who commits sin is the servant of sin. But since, through the mercy of God, having now been visited, freed from the dominion of the devil, we have recognized the true Lord, by whom we were created and redeemed; we are forbidden to serve our former lord, that is, the devil, who ruled over us in tyrannical fashion: or rather, we are forbidden to serve avarice and cupidity, which he calls mammon, which is wont at times to take even religious minds captive. Whence we ought to flee and avoid the desire for money, the avarice of the world, lest we subject ourselves to its unworthy servitude, or to the devil, who is the author of avarice.

And this is what the Lord says: No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or he will endure the one, and despise the other: because whoever loves the Lord his God with his whole heart must necessarily hate the devil along with his works; because it is clear that in the love of God the devil is always held in execration. But he who, through the wicked works of sins, loves mammon or the devil by doing his will, cannot love God, whose commandments he despises. And therefore he who loves God cannot be called a servant of the devil; for now God himself rules over him through the faith of heavenly grace. Likewise, he who, serving sins, submits himself to diabolical domination, such a one does not deserve to have God as his Lord.

And therefore the Lord says: You cannot serve God and mammon: showing that we cannot serve both God and the devil, that is, both God the author of mercy, and the devil, the ruler of mammon and avarice. This the Apostle also shows, when he says: What fellowship hath light with darkness? Mammon, that is, the devil, who is the author of mammon. The one calls us to mercy, the other to avarice; the one to life, the other to death; the one to salvation, the other to perdition. Which of the two ought we to obey? Surely him who invites us to life, not him who delivers us over to death. [lacuna] The rest is wanting.