Chap. IV.
And again I asked him, saying, "Sir, since you have been so patient in listening to me, will you show me this also?" "Speak," said he. And I said, "If a wife or husband die, and the widower or widow marry, does he or she commit sin?" "There is no sin in marrying again," said he; "but if they remain unmarried, they gain greater honour and glory with the Lord; but if they marry, they do not sin. [179] Guard, therefore, your chastity and purity, and you will live to God. What commandments I now give you, and what I am to give, keep from henceforth, yea, from the very day when you were entrusted to me, and I will dwell in your house. And your former sins will be forgiven, if you keep my commandments. And all shall be forgiven who keep these my commandments, and walk in this chastity."
[165] This thought. [Matt. v. 28. See, further, Simil. ix. cap. II.] The thought of another man's wife or of fornication.
[166] Questions. "I charge you," said he, "to guard your chastity, and let no thought enter your heart of another man's marriage (i.e., wife), or of fornication, for this produces a great transgression. But be always mindful of the Lord at all hours, and you will never sin. For if this very wicked thought enter your heart, you commit a great sin, and they who practice such deeds follow the way of death. Take heed, therefore, and refrain from this thought. For where chastity remains in the heart of a righteous man, never ought there to arise any evil thought." I said to him," Sir, permit me to say a few words to you." "Say on," said he.--Vat.
[167] Matt. v. 32, xix. 9.
[168] [Not frequently ... one repentance. True penitence is a habit of life. An apparent safe-guard against the reproaches of Montanism, and a caution not to turn forgiveness into a momentary sponge without avoiding renewed transgression.]
[169] Who ... actions. But he who makes an image also commits adultery.--Vat.
[170] Any one. She.--Vat. [2 Thess. iii. 14; 2 John 11.]
[171] There ... cure. God, who has power to heal, will provide a remedy.--Vat. [This whole passage seems to refer to the separation of penitents under canonical discipline. Tertullian, Pudicit., capp. 5, 13, and De Penitent., cap. 9. 2 Thess. iii. 14.]
[172] Bear ... words. Give me a few words of explanation.--Vat.
[173] Repentance ... wisdom. For he who repents obtains great intelligence. For he feels that he has sinned and acted wickedly.--Vat. ["Wisdom and understanding;" spiritual gifts here instanced as requisite to true penitence and spiritual life.]
[174] [Matt. xix. 17. Saint-Pierre, Harm. de la Nature, iii. p. 150.]
[175] [Immersion continues to be the usage, then, even in the West, at this epoch.]
[176] For ... them. Since God knows the thoughts of all hearts, and the weakness of men, and the manifold wickedness of the devil which he practices in plotting against the servants of God, and in malignant designs against them.--Vat.
[177] In ... life. These words occur only in Pal. [Can the following words be genuine? They reflect the very Montanism here so strictly opposed. Wake has followed a very different text. The Scriptures, it is true, use very awful language of the same kind: Heb. x. 26, 27; xii. 16, 17; 1 John iii. 9.
[178] With ... live. With difficulty will he live to God.--Vat. And Pal.
[179] [1 Cor. vii. 39; Rom. vii. 3. See my note on Simil. ix. cap. 28. Here are touching illustrations of the new spirit as to the sanctity of marriage, to which the Gospel was awakening the heathen mind.]
Commandment Fifth.
Of Sadness of Heart, and of Patience.
Chap. I.
"Be patient," said he, "and of good understanding, and you will rule over every wicked work, and you will work all righteousness. For if you be patient, the Holy Spirit that dwells in you will be pure. He will not be darkened by any evil spirit, but, dwelling in a broad region, [180] he will rejoice and be glad; and with the vessel in which he dwells he will serve God in gladness, having great peace within himself. [181] But if any outburst of anger take place, forthwith the Holy Spirit, who is tender, is straitened, not having a pure place, and He seeks to depart. For he is choked by the vile spirit, and cannot attend on the Lord as he wishes, for anger pollutes him. For the Lord dwells in long-suffering, but the devil in anger. [182] The two spirits, then, when dwelling in the same habitation, are at discord with each other, and are troublesome to that man in whom they dwell. [183] For if an exceedingly small piece of wormwood be taken and put into a jar of honey, is not the honey entirely destroyed, and does not the exceedingly small piece of wormwood entirely take away the sweetness of the honey, so that it no longer affords any gratification to its owner, but has become bitter, and lost its use? But if the wormwood be not put into the honey, then the honey remains sweet, and is of use to its owner. You see, then, that patience is sweeter than honey, and useful to God, and the Lord dwells in it. But anger is bitter and useless. Now, if anger be mingled with patience, the patience is polluted, [184] and its prayer is not then useful to God." "I should like, sir," said I, "to know the power of anger, that I may guard myself against it." And he said, "If you do not guard yourself against it, you and your house lose all hope of salvation. Guard yourself, therefore, against it. For I am with you, and all will depart from it who repent with their whole heart. [185] For I will be with them, and I will save them all. For all are justified by the most holy angel." [186]
Chap. II.
"Hear now," said he, "how wicked is the action of anger, and in what way it overthrows the servants of God by its action, and turns them from righteousness. But it does not turn away those who are full of faith, nor does it act on them, for the power of the Lord is with them. It is the thoughtless and doubting that it turns away. [187] For as soon as it sees such men standing stedfast, it throws itself into their hearts, and for nothing at all the man or woman becomes embittered on account of occurrences in their daily life, as for instance on account of their food, or some superfluous word that has been uttered, or on account of some friend, or some gift or debt, or some such senseless affair. For all these things are foolish and empty and unprofitable to the servants of God. But patience is great, and mighty, and strong, and calm in the midst of great enlargement, joyful, rejoicing, free from care, glorifying God at all times, having no bitterness in her, and abiding continually meek and quiet. Now this patience dwells with those who have complete faith. But anger is foolish, and fickle, and senseless. Now, of folly is begotten bitterness, and of bitterness anger, and of anger frenzy. This frenzy, the product of so many evils, ends in great and incurable sin. For when all these spirits dwell in one vessel in which the Holy Spirit also dwells, the vessel cannot contain them, but overflows. The tender Spirit, then, not being accustomed to dwell with the wicked spirit, nor with hardness, withdraws from such a man, and seeks to dwell with meekness and peacefulness. Then, when he withdraws from the man in whom he dwelt, the man is emptied of the righteous Spirit; and being henceforward filled with evil spirits, [188] he is in a state of anarchy in every action, being dragged hither and thither by the evil spirits, and there is a complete darkness in his mind as to everything good. This, then, is what happens to all the angry. Wherefore do you depart from that most wicked spirit anger, and put on patience, and resist anger and bitterness, and you will be found in company with the purity which is loved by the Lord. [189] Take care, then, that you neglect not by any chance this commandment: for if you obey this commandment, you will be able to keep all the other commandments which I am to give you. Be strong, then, in these commandments, and put on power, and let all put on power, as many as wish to walk in them." [190]
[180] It will be noticed that space is attributed to the heart or soul, and that joy and goodness expand the heart, and produce width, while sadness and wickedness contract and straiten.
[181] But ... himself. But rejoicing he will be expanded, and he will feast in the vessel in which he dwells, and he will serve the Lord joyfully in the midst of great peace.--Vat. He will serve the Lord in great gladness, having abundance of all things within himself.--Pal.
[182] For ... anger, omitted in Vat.; fuller in Pal.: For the Lord dwells in calmness and greatness of mind, but anger is the devil's house of entertainment. [Eph. iv. 26, 27.]
[183] [Jas iii. 11.]
[184] Patience if polluted. The mind is distressed.--Vat.; omitted in Pal.
[185] I ... heart. I, the angel [or messenger] of righteousness, am with you, and all who depart from anger, and repent with their whole heart, will live to God.--Vat.
[186] Are justified. Are received into the number of the just by the most holy angel (or messenger).--Pal. [i.e., As the instrument of justification; but the superlative here used seems to indentify this angel with that of the covenant (Mal. iii. 1); i.e., the meritorious cause, "the Lord."]
[187] Hear ... away. "Hear now," said he, "how great is the wickedness of anger, and how injurious, and in what way it overthrows the servants of God. For they who are full of faith receive no harm from it, for the power of God is with them; for it is the doubters and those destitute [of faith] that it overturns."--Vat. [The philosophic difference between anger and indignation is here in view.]
[188] [Matt. xii. 45; Luke xi. 26.]
[189] You ... Lord. You will be found by God in the company of purity and chastity.--Vat.
[190] And put ... them. That you may live to God, and they who keep these commandments will live to God.--Vat. [The beauty of this chapter must be felt by all, especially in the eulogy on patience. A pious and learned critic remarks on the emphasis and frequent recurrence of scriptural exhortations to patience, which he thinks have been to little enlarged upon in Christian literature.]
Commandment Sixth.
How to Recognise the Two Spirits Attendant on Each Man, and How to Distinguish the Suggestions of the One from Those of the Other.
Chap. I.
"I gave you," he said, "directions in the first commandment to attend to faith, and fear, and self-restraint." "Even so, sir," said I. And he said, "Now I wish to show you the powers of these, that you may know what power each possesses. For their powers are double, and have relation alike to the righteous and the unrighteous. Trust you, therefore, the righteous, but put no trust in the unrighteous. For the path of righteousness is straight, but that of unrighteousness is crooked. But walk in the straight and even way, and mind not the crooked. For the crooked path has no roads, but has many pathless places and stumbling-blocks in it, and it is rough and thorny. It is injurious to those who walk therein. But they who walk in the straight road walk evenly without stumbling, because it is neither rough nor thorny. You see, then, that it is better to walk in this road." "I wish to go by this road," said I. "You will go by it," said he; "and whoever turns to the Lord with all his heart will walk in it."
Chap. II.
"Hear now," said he, "in regard to faith. There are two angels [191] with a man--one of righteousness, and the other of iniquity." And I said to him, "How, sir, am I to know the powers of these, for both angels dwell with me?" "Hear," said he, and "understand them. The angel of righteousness is gentle and modest, meek and peaceful. When, therefore, he ascends into your heart, forthwith [192] he talks to you of righteousness, purity, chastity, contentment, and of every righteous deed and glorious virtue. When all these ascend into your heart, know that the angel of righteousness is with you. These are the deeds of the angel of righteousness. Trust him, then, and his works. Look now at the works of the angel of iniquity. First, he is wrathful, and bitter, and foolish, and his works are evil, and ruin the servants of God. When, then, he ascends into your heart, know him by his works." And I said to him, "How, sir, I shall perceive him, I do not know." "Hear and understand" said he. "When anger comes upon you, or harshness, know that he is in you; and you will know this to be the case also, when you are attacked by a longing after many transactions, [193] and the richest delicacies, and drunken revels, and divers luxuries, and things improper, and by a hankering after women, and by overreaching, and pride, and blustering, and by whatever is like to these. When these ascend into your heart, know that the angel of iniquity is in you. Now that you know his works, depart from him, and in no respect trust him, because his deeds are evil, and unprofitable to the servants of God. These, then, are the actions of both angels. Understand them, and trust the angel of righteousness; but depart from the angel of iniquity, because his instruction is bad in every deed. [194] For though a man be most faithful, [195] and the thought of this angel ascend into his heart, that man or woman must sin. On the other hand, be a man or woman ever so bad, yet, if the works of the angel of righteousness ascend into his or her heart, he or she must do something good. You see, therefore, that it is good to follow the angel of righteousness, but to bid farewell [196] to the angel of iniquity."