Chapter XV.--General Summary of the Virtues and Effects of Patience.
So amply sufficient a Depositary of patience is God. If it be a wrong which you deposit in His care, He is an Avenger; if a loss, He is a Restorer; if pain, He is a Healer; if death, He is a Reviver. What honour is granted to Patience, to have God as her Debtor! And not without reason: for she keeps all His decrees; she has to do with all His mandates. She fortifies faith; is the pilot of peace; assists charity; establishes humility; waits long for repentance; sets her seal on confession; rules the flesh; preserves the spirit; bridles the tongue; restrains the hand; tramples temptations under foot; drives away scandals; gives their crowning grace to martyrdoms; consoles the poor; teaches the rich moderation; overstrains not the weak; exhausts not the strong; is the delight of the believer; invites the Gentile; commends the servant to his lord, and his lord to God; adorns the woman; makes the man approved; is loved in childhood, praised in youth, looked up to in age; is beauteous in either sex, in every time of life. Come, now, see whether [9177] we have a general idea of her mien and habit. Her countenance is tranquil and peaceful; her brow serene [9178] contracted by no wrinkle of sadness or of anger; her eyebrows evenly relaxed in gladsome wise, with eyes downcast in humility, not in unhappiness; her mouth sealed with the honourable mark of silence; her hue such as theirs who are without care and without guilt; the motion of her head frequent against the devil, and her laugh threatening; [9179] her clothing, moreover, about her bosom white and well fitted to her person, as being neither inflated nor disturbed. For Patience sits on the throne of that calmest and gentlest Spirit, who is not found in the roll of the whirlwind, nor in the leaden hue of the cloud, but is of soft serenity, open and simple, whom Elias saw at his third essay. [9180] For where God is, there too is His foster-child, namely Patience. When God's Spirit descends, then Patience accompanies Him indivisibly. If we do not give admission to her together with the Spirit, will (He) always tarry with us? Nay, I know not whether He would remain any longer. Without His companion and handmaid, He must of necessity be straitened in every place and at every time. Whatever blow His enemy may inflict He will be unable to endure alone, being without the instrumental means of enduring.
[9177] Si. This is Oehler's reading, who takes "si" to be ="an." But perhaps "sis" (="si vis"), which is Fr. Junius' correction, is better: "Come, now, let us, if you please, give a general sketch of her mien and habit."
[9178] Pura; perhaps "smooth."
[9179] Compare with this singular feature, Isa. xxxvii. 22.
[9180] i.e., as Rigaltius (referred to by Oehler), explains, after the two visions of angels who appeared to him and said, "Arise and eat." See 1 Kings xix. 4-13. [It was the fourth, but our author having mentioned two, inadvertently calls it the third, referring to the "still small voice," in which Elijah saw His manifestation.]
Chapter XVI.--The Patience of the Heathen Very Different from Christian Patience. Theirs Doomed to Perdition. Ours Destined to Salvation.
This is the rule, this the discipline, these the works of patience which is heavenly and true; that is, of Christian patience, not false and disgraceful, like as is that patience of the nations of the earth. For in order that in this also the devil might rival the Lord, he has as it were quite on a par (except that the very diversity of evil and good is exactly on a par with their magnitude [9181] ) taught his disciples also a patience of his own; that, I mean, which, making husbands venal for dowry, and teaching them to trade in panderings, makes them subject to the power of their wives; which, with feigned affection, undergoes every toil of forced complaisance, [9182] with a view to ensnaring the childless; [9183] which makes the slaves of the belly [9184] submit to contumelious patronage, in the subjection of their liberty to their gullet. Such pursuits of patience the Gentiles are acquainted with; and they eagerly seize a name of so great goodness to apply it to foul practises: patient they live of rivals, and of the rich, and of such as give them invitations; impatient of God alone. But let their own and their leader's patience look to itself--a patience which the subterraneous fire awaits! Let us, on the other hand, love the patience of God, the patience of Christ; let us repay to Him the patience which He has paid down for us! Let us offer to Him the patience of the spirit, the patience of the flesh, believing as we do in the resurrection of flesh and spirit.
[9181] One is finite, the other infinite.
[9182] Obsequii.
[9183] And thus getting a place in their wills.
[9184] i.e. professional "diners out." Comp. Phil. iii. 19.
Elucidations.
------------------------
I.
(Unless patience sit by his side, cap. i. p. 707.)
Let me quote words which, many years ago, struck me forcibly, and which I trust, have been blest to my soul; for which reason, I must be allowed, here, to thank their author, the learned and fearless Dean Burgon, of Chichester. In his invaluable Commentary on the Gospel, which while it abounds in the fruits of a varied erudition, aims only to be practically useful, this pious scholar remarks: "To Faith must be added Patience, the patient waiting for God,' if we would escape the snare which Satan spread, no less for the Holy One (i.e. in the Temp. upon the Pinnacle) than for the Israelites at Massah. And this is perhaps the reason of the remarkable prominence given to the grace of Patience, both by our Lord and His Apostles; a circumstance, as it may be thought, which has not altogether attracted the attention which it deserves." He then cites examples; [9185] but a reference to any good concordance will strikingly exemplify the admirable comment of this "godly and well-learned man." See his comments on Matt. iv. 7 and Luke xxi. 19.
II.
(Under their chin, cap. iv. p. 709.)
The reference in the note to Paris, as represented by Virgil and in ancient sculpture, seems somewhat to the point:
"Et nunc ille Paris, cum semiviro comitatu.
Mæonia mentum mitra crinemq, madentem,
Subnixus, etc."
He had just spoken of the pileus as a "Cap of freedom," but there was another form of pileus which was just the reverse and was probably tied by fimbriæ, under the chin, denoting a low order of slaves, effeminate men, perhaps spadones. Now, the Phrygian bonnet to which Virgil refers, is introduced by him to complete the reproach of his contemptuous expression (semiviro comitatu) just before. So, our author--"not only from men, i.e. men so degraded as to wear this badge of extreme servitude, but even from cattle, etc. Shall these mean creatures outdo us in obedience and patience?"
III.
(The world's misusage, cap. xiii. p. 716.)
The Reverend Clergy who may read this note will forgive a brother, who begins to be in respect of years, like "Paul the aged," for remarking, that the reading of the Ante-Nicene Fathers often leads him to sigh--"Such were they from whom we have received all that makes life tolerable, but how intolerable it was for them: are we, indeed, such as they would have considered Christians?" God be praised for His mercy and forbearance in our days; but, still it is true that "we have need of patience." Is not much of all that we regard as "the world's misusage," the gracious hand of the Master upon us, giving us something for the exercise of that Patience, by which He forms us into His own image? (Heb. xii. 3.) Impatience of obscurity, of poverty, of ingratitude, of misrepresentation, of "the slings and arrows" of slander and abuse, is a revolt against that indispensable discipline of the Gospel which requires us to "endure afflictions" in some form or other. Who can complain when one thinks what it would have cost us to be Christians in Tertullian's time? The ambition of the Clergy is always rebellion against God, and "patient waiting" is its only remedy. One will find profitable reading on this subject in Massillon, [9186] de l'Ambition des Clercs: "Reposez-vous sur le Seigneur du soin de votre destinée: il saura bien accomplir, tout seul, les desseins qu'il a sur vous. Si votre élévation est son bon plaisir, elle sera, aussi son ouvrage. Rendez-vous en digne seulement par la retraite, par la frayeur, par la fuite, par les sentiments vifs de votre indignité...c'est ainsi que les Chrysostome, les Grégoire, les Basil, les Augustin, furent donnés à l'Église."
[9185] See--A Plain Commentary on the Four Gospels, intended chiefly for Devotional Reading. Oxford, 1854. Also (Vol. I. p. 28) Philadelphia, 1855.
[9186] OEuvres, Tom. vi. pp. 133-5. Ed. Paris, 1824.
Indexes
Index of Scripture References
Genesis
[1]1 [2]1:1 [3]1:1 [4]1:1 [5]1:1 [6]1:1 [7]1:1 [8]1:1 [9]1:1-2 [10]1:1-2 [11]1:2 [12]1:2 [13]1:2 [14]1:2 [15]1:2 [16]1:2 [17]1:3 [18]1:3 [19]1:3 [20]1:3 [21]1:6-7 [22]1:6-8 [23]1:7 [24]1:8 [25]1:9 [26]1:9 [27]1:10 [28]1:11 [29]1:11-12 [30]1:14 [31]1:14 [32]1:14 [33]1:16 [34]1:20-21 [35]1:21-22 [36]1:22 [37]1:24 [38]1:24 [39]1:26 [40]1:26 [41]1:26 [42]1:26 [43]1:26 [44]1:26 [45]1:26 [46]1:26 [47]1:26 [48]1:26-27 [49]1:27 [50]1:27 [51]1:27 [52]1:28 [53]1:28 [54]1:28 [55]1:28 [56]1:28 [57]1:28 [58]1:31 [59]2:7 [60]2:7 [61]2:7 [62]2:7 [63]2:7 [64]2:7 [65]2:7 [66]2:7 [67]2:7 [68]2:7-8 [69]2:15 [70]2:15 [71]2:16 [72]2:16 [73]2:16-17 [74]2:17 [75]2:17 [76]2:18 [77]2:21 [78]2:21 [79]2:21 [80]2:23 [81]2:23 [82]2:23 [83]2:23-24 [84]2:24-25 [85]2:27 [86]3:1 [87]3:1-7 [88]3:1-7 [89]3:2-3 [90]3:3 [91]3:5 [92]3:6 [93]3:7 [94]3:9 [95]3:9 [96]3:10 [97]3:11 [98]3:11 [99]3:16 [100]3:16 [101]3:18 [102]3:19 [103]3:19 [104]3:19 [105]3:19 [106]3:19 [107]3:19 [108]3:22 [109]3:22 [110]3:22 [111]3:24 [112]3:31 [113]4:1-7 [114]4:2 [115]4:2-14 [116]4:6-7 [117]4:10 [118]4:11 [119]4:15 [120]4:24 [121]5:22 [122]5:24 [123]5:24 [124]5:24 [125]6:1-4 [126]6:1-4 [127]6:2 [128]6:2 [129]6:2 [130]6:3 [131]6:6 [132]6:9 [133]6:18 [134]7:1 [135]7:23 [136]9:1-2 [137]9:3 [138]9:5 [139]9:5-6 [140]9:6 [141]9:7 [142]9:19 [143]11:31 [144]12 [145]12:5 [146]14 [147]14:18 [148]15:6 [149]15:13 [150]17 [151]17 [152]18 [153]18 [154]18:14 [155]18:21 [156]19 [157]19:1-29 [158]19:17 [159]19:23-29 [160]19:24 [161]21:5 [162]22:1-10 [163]22:1-14 [164]22:17 [165]22:18 [166]22:30 [167]23:4 [168]24:64-65 [169]25:7 [170]25:21-23 [171]25:22-23 [172]25:26 [173]25:26 [174]25:34 [175]27:25 [176]27:28 [177]27:39 [178]28:12-17 [179]32 [180]32:28 [181]32:30 [182]34:25-31 [183]35:8 [184]37 [185]45:24 [186]47:20 [187]49:5-7 [188]49:5-7 [189]49:6 [190]49:11 [191]49:27
Exodus
[192]1:18 [193]1:22 [194]2:13-14 [195]2:15-21 [196]3:2 [197]3:8 [198]3:8 [199]3:13-16 [200]3:17 [201]3:17 [202]3:21 [203]3:22 [204]3:22 [205]3:22 [206]4:2-9 [207]4:3-4 [208]4:6-7 [209]4:6-7 [210]4:6-7 [211]4:9 [212]4:10-12 [213]4:24-26 [214]4:25 [215]7 [216]7:12 [217]8:19 [218]8:25 [219]8:28 [220]10:2 [221]10:10-11 [222]10:24 [223]12 [224]12:1-11 [225]12:6 [226]12:16 [227]12:16 [228]12:16 [229]12:34-35 [230]12:40-42 [231]13:2 [232]14:15-31 [233]14:27-30 [234]15:22 [235]15:22-26 [236]15:24-25 [237]15:27 [238]16:3 [239]16:7 [240]17:8-16 [241]17:11-12 [242]18:23 [243]18:32 [244]19:1 [245]20:2 [246]20:4 [247]20:4 [248]20:4 [249]20:7 [250]20:7 [251]20:8 [252]20:8-11 [253]20:9 [254]20:9-10 [255]20:10 [256]20:12 [257]20:12 [258]20:12-17 [259]20:13-16 [260]20:14 [261]20:14 [262]20:15 [263]20:16 [264]20:17 [265]20:22-23 [266]21:24 [267]21:24 [268]21:24-25 [269]23:13 [270]23:13 [271]23:13 [272]23:20-21 [273]23:20-21 [274]24:8 [275]28:13-21 [276]29:7 [277]30:22-33 [278]32 [279]32 [280]32:1 [281]32:1 [282]32:1 [283]32:4 [284]32:6 [285]32:6 [286]32:10 [287]32:23 [288]32:32 [289]33:11 [290]33:11 [291]33:11 [292]33:13 [293]33:13 [294]33:13-23 [295]33:20 [296]33:20 [297]33:20 [298]33:20 [299]33:20 [300]33:20 [301]33:20 [302]33:23 [303]34:29 [304]34:35
Leviticus
[305]4:5 [306]4:16 [307]4:18 [308]6:30 [309]8:12 [310]10:9 [311]13 [312]13:2-6 [313]14 [314]15 [315]15:19 [316]16 [317]16:5 [318]16:7 [319]17:1-9 [320]18:8 [321]19:17 [322]19:17-18 [323]19:18 [324]19:18 [325]19:18 [326]19:18 [327]20:10 [328]20:13 [329]20:15 [330]21:1 [331]23:5 [332]24:2 [333]24:17-22 [334]25:4 [335]25:55 [336]26:1 [337]26:1
Numbers
[338]6:6-7 [339]11 [340]12:2 [341]12:5-8 [342]12:6-8 [343]12:6-8 [344]13:16 [345]14:27 [346]20:1-6 [347]21 [348]21:4-9 [349]21:4-9 [350]21:5 [351]21:8-9 [352]22 [353]22 [354]25:1 [355]33:9 [356]33:9
Deuteronomy
[357]5:8 [358]5:12 [359]5:15 [360]5:16-21 [361]5:26 [362]6:2 [363]6:4 [364]6:4-5 [365]6:5 [366]6:5 [367]6:12 [368]8:3 [369]8:4 [370]8:12-14 [371]8:12-14 [372]10:16 [373]10:16 [374]11:26 [375]11:27 [376]12:1-26 [377]12:2-3 [378]12:30 [379]13:1 [380]13:6 [381]13:6-10 [382]13:16 [383]14 [384]15:2 [385]15:4 [386]15:7-8 [387]16:10 [388]17:6 [389]18:1-2 [390]18:15 [391]18:19 [392]19:11-21 [393]19:15 [394]19:15 [395]19:15 [396]19:15 [397]21:21 [398]21:22-23 [399]21:23 [400]21:23 [401]21:23 [402]21:23 [403]21:23 [404]22 [405]22:5 [406]22:28-29 [407]23:3 [408]24:1 [409]24:12-13 [410]25:4 [411]25:4 [412]25:4 [413]25:4 [414]25:5 [415]25:5-6 [416]26:9 [417]26:15 [418]27:15 [419]28:65 [420]29:5 [421]29:5 [422]29:5 [423]30:11-13 [424]30:19 [425]32:2 [426]32:20-21 [427]32:21 [428]32:25 [429]32:35 [430]32:35 [431]32:35 [432]32:39 [433]32:39 [434]32:39 [435]32:39 [436]33:9 [437]33:9 [438]33:17 [439]33:17
Joshua
[440]3:9-17 [441]5:2-9 [442]6:1-20 [443]10:13 [444]23:7
Judges
[445]2:8-13 [446]2:20-21 [447]9:2 [448]13:12 [449]13:22
1 Samuel
[450]2:6 [451]2:6-8 [452]2:7-8 [453]2:8 [454]2:8 [455]9 [456]9:2 [457]10:6 [458]10:6 [459]10:11 [460]13 [461]13:14 [462]14:43-45 [463]14:45 [464]15:11 [465]15:28 [466]15:29 [467]16:7 [468]18:8-9 [469]21:2-6 [470]28:6-16
2 Samuel
[471]5:6-8 [472]5:8 [473]6:17 [474]7:12 [475]7:13 [476]11 [477]12:13 [478]12:13 [479]12:13 [480]12:14 [481]16:7 [482]22:44-45 [483]24:1
1 Kings
[484]1:39 [485]3:5-13 [486]4:25 [487]8:54 [488]11:4 [489]11:14 [490]11:29-39 [491]12:15 [492]12:25-33 [493]17:7-16 [494]18 [495]19:4-13 [496]19:8 [497]19:12 [498]21:27 [499]21:29 [500]21:29
2 Kings
[501]1 [502]1 [503]1:9-12 [504]2:11 [505]2:11 [506]2:11 [507]2:16 [508]2:23-24 [509]2:23-24 [510]4:23 [511]4:26 [512]4:29 [513]4:42-44 [514]4:42-44 [515]5:9-14 [516]6:1-7 [517]10:29-31 [518]14:9 [519]17:7-17 [520]17:15 [521]18:4 [522]19:14 [523]20 [524]20:3 [525]20:5
1 Chronicles
[526]17:12 [527]21:1
2 Chronicles
[528]13:11
Nehemiah
[529]9:21
Esther
[530]1:1 [531]8:9
Job
[532]1 [533]1:12 [534]2 [535]2:8 [536]5:12-13 [537]5:13 [538]10:10 [539]10:10
Psalms
[540]1:1 [541]1:1 [542]1:1 [543]1:1-3 [544]1:2 [545]1:3 [546]1:3 [547]1:4 [548]2:1 [549]2:1-2 [550]2:1-2 [551]2:1-2 [552]2:2 [553]2:2 [554]2:2 [555]2:2 [556]2:2-3 [557]2:3 [558]2:3 [559]2:3 [560]2:4 [561]2:7 [562]2:7 [563]2:7 [564]2:7 [565]2:7 [566]2:7-8 [567]2:8 [568]2:8 [569]2:8 [570]2:9 [571]3:1 [572]3:4 [573]4:4 [574]4:4 [575]4:7 [576]5:6 [577]7:9 [578]8:2 [579]8:4-6 [580]8:4-8 [581]8:5 [582]8:5 [583]8:5 [584]8:5 [585]8:5 [586]8:5-6 [587]8:5-6 [588]8:6 [589]8:6 [590]8:6 [591]8:6 [592]8:6 [593]8:6 [594]8:6 [595]8:7 [596]9:17-18 [597]9:18 [598]13 [599]16:4 [600]16:10 [601]18:26 [602]18:43-44 [603]19:4 [604]19:4 [605]19:4 [606]19:4 [607]19:5 [608]19:5-6 [609]19:7 [610]19:10 [611]19:11 [612]20:1 [613]20:7 [614]22 [615]22:1 [616]22:2 [617]22:6 [618]22:6 [619]22:6 [620]22:6 [621]22:7 [622]22:7 [623]22:8 [624]22:8 [625]22:9 [626]22:9-10 [627]22:10 [628]22:15 [629]22:16 [630]22:16 [631]22:16 [632]22:16 [633]22:16 [634]22:16 [635]22:16-17 [636]22:17 [637]22:18 [638]22:18 [639]22:18 [640]22:21 [641]22:22 [642]22:25 [643]24:1 [644]24:4 [645]24:4-5 [646]24:7 [647]24:8 [648]24:10 [649]26:9 [650]28:2 [651]29:1-2 [652]29:3 [653]30 [654]31:5 [655]32:1 [656]33:6 [657]33:6 [658]33:6 [659]33:6 [660]33:18-19 [661]34:13-14 [662]34:14 [663]34:19 [664]34:20 [665]34:22 [666]35:12 [667]38:8 [668]38:17 [669]38:17 [670]41:9 [671]44:1 [672]44:4 [673]44:5 [674]45:1 [675]45:1 [676]45:1 [677]45:1 [678]45:1 [679]45:2 [680]45:2 [681]45:2 [682]45:2-3 [683]45:3 [684]45:3 [685]45:3 [686]45:4 [687]45:4 [688]45:4 [689]45:5 [690]45:5 [691]45:5 [692]45:5 [693]45:5 [694]45:6-7 [695]48 [696]48:12 [697]49:11 [698]49:16-17 [699]49:18 [700]49:20 [701]49:20 [702]50:13 [703]50:13 [704]50:14 [705]51:12 [706]51:12 [707]51:17 [708]55:17 [709]55:23 [710]59:11 [711]59:11 [712]60:12 [713]61 [714]62:4 [715]62:11 [716]62:12 [717]64:7 [718]67:6 [719]68:18 [720]68:19 [721]68:25 [722]68:26 [723]69:4 [724]69:21 [725]69:21 [726]69:22 [727]70:8 [728]70:9 [729]70:11 [730]70:17 [731]70:17 [732]70:18 [733]70:19 [734]71:18 [735]72:1 [736]72:4 [737]72:6 [738]72:10 [739]72:10 [740]72:11 [741]72:12-14 [742]72:15 [743]72:15 [744]73 [745]74:23 [746]78:2 [747]78:24 [748]78:25 [749]82:1 [750]82:1 [751]82:1 [752]82:3-4 [753]82:6 [754]82:6 [755]82:6 [756]85:12 [757]86:15 [758]87:4-5 [759]87:5 [760]88:4-5 [761]88:30 [762]88:36 [763]88:37 [764]88:38 [765]89:3-4 [766]89:29 [767]89:35-37 [768]91:11 [769]91:13 [770]91:13 [771]92:12 [772]92:12-15 [773]94:1 [774]94:11 [775]95 [776]96:5 [777]96:7-8 [778]96:10 [779]96:10 [780]97:1 [781]97:3 [782]97:5 [783]97:5 [784]102:25 [785]102:25-26 [786]103 [787]103:22 [788]104:4 [789]106:19-22 [790]106:33 [791]107:16 [792]108:13 [793]109:8 [794]110 [795]110 [796]110 [797]110 [798]110:1 [799]110:1 [800]110:1 [801]110:1 [802]110:1 [803]110:1 [804]110:1 [805]110:1 [806]110:1-2 [807]110:3 [808]110:3 [809]110:3 [810]110:4 [811]110:4 [812]110:4 [813]110:4 [814]111:10 [815]111:10 [816]112:4 [817]113:5-8 [818]113:7 [819]113:7 [820]115:4 [821]115:4-8 [822]115:8 [823]116:15 [824]116:15 [825]117 [826]118:4 [827]118:8 [828]118:8-9 [829]118:9 [830]118:9 [831]118:9 [832]118:21 [833]118:22 [834]118:22 [835]118:26 [836]126:5 [837]126:5 [838]130 [839]131:1 [840]132:11 [841]132:11 [842]132:17 [843]133:1 [844]133:2 [845]135:15 [846]139:23 [847]140:3 [848]143:6 [849]145:8 [850]147:6 [851]150:4