Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series • VOLUME 6
Augustine — Sermon on the Mount & Gospel Harmony
SECTION 41
Chapter XIX.
Chapter XIX. 63. And inasmuch as the Lord is admonishing us in this passage with respect to rash and unjust judgment,--for He wishes that whatever we do, we should do it with a heart that is single and directed toward God alone; and inasmuch as, with respect to many things, it is uncertain with what intention they are done, reg…
1,110 wordsSECTION 42Chapter XX.
Chapter XX. 67. But inasmuch as the word "guileless" may mislead some who are desirous of obeying God's precepts, so that they may think it wrong, at times, to conceal the truth, just as it is wrong at times to speak a falsehood, and inasmuch as in this way,--by disclosing things which the parties to whom they are disclosed are…
1,726 wordsSECTION 43Chapter XXI.
Chapter XXI. 71. Since, therefore, a command had been given that what is holy should not be given to dogs, and pearls should not be cast before swine, a hearer might object and say, conscious of his own ignorance and weakness, and hearing a command addressed to him, that he should not give what he felt that he himself had not y…
919 wordsSECTION 44Chapter XXII.
Chapter XXII. 74. Moreover, a certain strength and vigour in walking along the path of wisdom ties in good morals, which are made to extend as far as to purification and singleness of heart,--a subject on which He has now been speaking long, and thus concludes: "Therefore all good [453] things whatsoever ye would that men shoul…
1,087 wordsSECTION 45Chapter XXIII.
Chapter XXIII. 77. But because this belongs to few, He now begins to speak of searching for and possessing wisdom, which is a tree of life; and certainly, in searching for and possessing, i.e. contemplating this wisdom, such an eye is led through all that precedes to a point where there may now be seen the narrow way and the st…
1,903 wordsSECTION 46Chapter XXV.
Chapter XXV. 82. But seeing that, however pure an eye one may have, i.e. with however single and sincere a heart one may live, he yet cannot look into the heart of another: whatever things could not have become apparent in deeds or words, are disclosed by trials. Now trial is twofold; either in the hope of obtaining some tempor…
2,018 wordsSECTION 47St. AUGUSTIN:
St. AUGUSTIN: the harmony of the gospels translated by the rev. s. d. f. salmond, d.d., free college, aberdeen edited, with notes and introduction, by the rev. m. b. riddle, d.d., professor of new-testament exegesis, western theological seminary, allegheny, pa. Introductory Essay. By Professor M. B. Riddle, D.D. ------…
2,223 wordsSECTION 48A number of works, aiming to consolidate into one narrative the four accounts, have been passed over.
A number of works, aiming to consolidate into one narrative the four accounts, have been passed over. The Harmony of Dr. Robinson, which has held its ground for more than forty years, has been recently revised by the present writer. The text of Tischendorf has been substituted for that of Hahn; all the various readings material…
1,852 wordsSECTION 49Book I.
Book I. The treatise opens with a short statement on the subject of the authority of the evangelists, their number, their order, and the different plans of their narratives. Augustin then prepares for the discussion of the questions relating to their harmony, by joining issue in this book with those who raise a difficulty in th…
798 wordsSECTION 50Chapter II.--On the Order of the Evangelists, and the Principles on Which They Wrote.
Chapter II.--On the Order of the Evangelists, and the Principles on Which They Wrote. 3. Now, those four evangelists whose names have gained the most remarkable circulation [501] over the whole world, and whose number has been fixed as four,--it may be for the simple reason that there are four divisions of that world through th…
754 wordsSECTION 51Chapter III.--Of the Fact that Matthew, Together with Mark, Had Specially in View the Kingly Character of Christ, Whereas Luke Dealt with the Priestly.
Chapter III.--Of the Fact that Matthew, Together with Mark, Had Specially in View the Kingly Character of Christ, Whereas Luke Dealt with the Priestly. 5. For the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the one true King and the one true Priest, the former to rule us, and the latter to make expiation for us, has shown us how His own figure b…
769 wordsSECTION 52Chapter IV.--Of the Fact that John Undertook the Exposition of Christ's Divinity.
Chapter IV.--Of the Fact that John Undertook the Exposition of Christ's Divinity. 7. These three evangelists, however, were for the most part engaged with those things which Christ did through the vehicle of the flesh of man, and after the temporal fashion. [518] But John, on the other hand, had in view that true divinity of th…
1,071 wordsSECTION 53Chapter VI.--Of the Four Living Creatures in the Apocalypse, Which Have Been Taken by Some in One Application, and by Others in Another, as Apt Figures of the Four Evangelists.
Chapter VI.--Of the Four Living Creatures in the Apocalypse, Which Have Been Taken by Some in One Application, and by Others in Another, as Apt Figures of the Four Evangelists. 9. For these reasons, it also appears to me, that of the various parties who have interpreted the living creatures in the Apocalypse as significant of t…
2,496 wordsSECTION 54Chapter IX.--Of Certain Persons Who Pretend that Christ Wrote Books on the Arts of Magic.
[544] Instead of de illo nuntia fama est, fourteen mss. give de illo fama nuntiata est = is it a more trustworthy report that has been announced.--Migne. [545] Quibus eum prædicantibus ipsa per totum mundum fama fragravit? [546] Fama. [547] De catholica ecclesia. [548] Celebris. [549] The words stand, as above, in the great…
896 wordsSECTION 55Chapter XI.--In Opposition to Those Who Foolishly Imagine that Christ Converted the People to Himself by Magical Arts.
Chapter XI.--In Opposition to Those Who Foolishly Imagine that Christ Converted the People to Himself by Magical Arts. 17. Moreover, let those who madly fancy that it was by the use of magical arts that He was able to do the great things which He did, and that it was by the practice of such rites that He made His name a sacred …
953 wordsSECTION 56Chapter XIII.--Of the Question Why God Suffered the Jews to Be Reduced to Subjection.
Chapter XIII.--Of the Question Why God Suffered the Jews to Be Reduced to Subjection. 20. Hence also they cannot meet us fairly with this question: Why, then, did the God of the Hebrews, whom you declare to be the supreme and true God, not only not subdue the Romans under their power, but even fail to secure those Hebrews thems…
1,186 wordsSECTION 57Chapter XV.--Of the Fact that the Pagans, When Constrained to Laud Christ, Have Launched Their Insults Against His Disciples.
Chapter XV.--Of the Fact that the Pagans, When Constrained to Laud Christ, Have Launched Their Insults Against His Disciples. 23. But what shall be said to this, if those vain eulogizers of Christ, and those crooked slanderers of the Christian religion, lack the daring to blaspheme Christ, for this particular reason that some o…
884 wordsSECTION 58Chapter XVIII.--Of the Fact that the God of the Hebrews is Not Received by the Romans, Because His Will is that He Alone Should Be Worshipped.
Chapter XVIII.--Of the Fact that the God of the Hebrews is Not Received by the Romans, Because His Will is that He Alone Should Be Worshipped. 26. In fine, they may think of Him as they please. Still, we may ask whether it is the case that the Romans refuse to consider evil deities as also proper objects of worship,--those Roma…
1,064 wordsSECTION 59Chapter XX.--Of the Fact that Nothing is Discovered to Have Been Predicted by the Prophets of the Pagans in Opposition to the God of the Hebrews.
Chapter XX.--Of the Fact that Nothing is Discovered to Have Been Predicted by the Prophets of the Pagans in Opposition to the God of the Hebrews. 28. Or let them aver, if they are able, that some Sibyl of theirs, or any one whatever among their other prophets, announced long ago that it would come to pass that the God of the He…
923 wordsSECTION 60Chapter XXII.--Of the Opinion Entertained by the Gentiles Regarding Our God.
Chapter XXII.--Of the Opinion Entertained by the Gentiles Regarding Our God. 30. But why do I interrogate men whose native wit has deserted them in answering the question as to who this God is? Some say that He is Saturn. I fancy the reason of that is found in the sanctification of the Sabbath; for those men assign that day to …
2,253 wordsSECTION 6136. The Romans, however, who have founded a Capitol in honour of Jupiter, but none in honour of Saturn, as also these other nations whose op
36. The Romans, however, who have founded a Capitol in honour of Jupiter, but none in honour of Saturn, as also these other nations whose opinion it has been that Jupiter ought to be worshipped pre-eminently and above the rest of the gods, have certainly not agreed in sentiment with the persons referred to; who, in accordance wi…
2,060 wordsSECTION 62Chapter XXVI.--Of the Fact that Idolatry Has Been Subverted by the Name of Christ, and by the Faith of Christians According to the Prophecies.
Chapter XXVI.--Of the Fact that Idolatry Has Been Subverted by the Name of Christ, and by the Faith of Christians According to the Prophecies. 40. For truly what is thus effected by Christians is not a thing which belongs only to Christian times, but one which was predicted very long ago. Those very Jews who have remained enemi…
783 wordsSECTION 63Chapter XXVII.--An Argument Urging It Upon the Remnant of Idolaters that They Should at Length Become Servants of This True God, Who Everywhere is Subverting Idols.
Chapter XXVII.--An Argument Urging It Upon the Remnant of Idolaters that They Should at Length Become Servants of This True God, Who Everywhere is Subverting Idols. 42. Let them now give their answer with respect to the God of Israel, to whom, as teaching and enjoining such things, witness is borne not only by the books of the …
1,219 wordsSECTION 64Chapter XXIX.--Of the Question Why the Heathen Should Refuse to Worship the God of Israel; Even Although They Deem Him to Be Only the Presiding Divinity of the Elements?
Chapter XXIX.--Of the Question Why the Heathen Should Refuse to Worship the God of Israel; Even Although They Deem Him to Be Only the Presiding Divinity of the Elements? 45. What do they say of this God of Sabaoth, which term, by interpretation, means the God of powers or of armies, inasmuch as the powers and the armies of the …
1,080 wordsSECTION 65Chapter XXXI.--The Fulfilment of the Prophecies Concerning Christ.
Chapter XXXI.--The Fulfilment of the Prophecies Concerning Christ. 47. Wherefore let those evil applauders of Christ, who refuse to become Christians, desist from making the allegation that Christ did not teach that their gods were to be abandoned, and their images broken in pieces. For the God of Israel, regarding whom it was …
1,656 wordsSECTION 66Chapter XXXII.--A Statement in Vindication of the Doctrine of the Apostles as Opposed to Idolatry, in the Words of the Prophecies.
Chapter XXXII.--A Statement in Vindication of the Doctrine of the Apostles as Opposed to Idolatry, in the Words of the Prophecies. 49. What, then, do these men, who are at once the perverse applauders of Christ and the slanderers of Christians, say to these facts? Can it be that Christ, by the use of magical arts, caused those …
1,015 wordsSECTION 67Chapter XXXIII.--A Statement in Opposition to Those Who Make the Complaint that the Bliss of Human Life Has Been Impaired by the Entrance of Christian Times.
Chapter XXXIII.--A Statement in Opposition to Those Who Make the Complaint that the Bliss of Human Life Has Been Impaired by the Entrance of Christian Times. 51. Finally, as to the complaint which they make with respect to the impairing of the bliss of human life by the entrance of Christian times, if they only peruse the books…
1,149 wordsSECTION 68Chapter XXXV.--Of the Fact that the Mystery of a Mediator Was Made Known to Those Who Lived in Ancient Times by the Agency of Prophecy, as It is Now Declared to Us in the Gospel.
Chapter XXXV.--Of the Fact that the Mystery of a Mediator Was Made Known to Those Who Lived in Ancient Times by the Agency of Prophecy, as It is Now Declared to Us in the Gospel. 53. Wherefore, seeing that Christ Himself is that Wisdom of God by whom all things were created, and considering that no rational intelligences, wheth…
1,035 wordsSECTION 69Book II.
Book II. In this book Augustin undertakes an orderly examination of the Gospel according to Matthew, on to the narrative of the Supper, and institutes a comparison between it and the other gospels by Mark, Luke, and John, with the view of demonstrating a complete harmony between the four evangelists throughout all these section…
1,180 wordsSECTION 70Chapter II.--An Explanation of the Sense in Which Christ is the Son of David, Although He Was Not Begotten in the Way of Ordinary Generation by Joseph the Son of David.
Chapter II.--An Explanation of the Sense in Which Christ is the Son of David, Although He Was Not Begotten in the Way of Ordinary Generation by Joseph the Son of David. 4. Thus, too, even if one were able to demonstrate that no descent, according to the laws of blood, could be claimed from David for Mary, we should have warrant…
1,970 wordsSECTION 71Chapter IV.--Of the Reason Why Forty Generations (Not Including Christ Himself) are Found in Matthew, Although He Divides Them into Three Successions of Fourteen Each.
Chapter IV.--Of the Reason Why Forty Generations (Not Including Christ Himself) are Found in Matthew, Although He Divides Them into Three Successions of Fourteen Each. 8. The matter next to be introduced, moreover, is one requiring, in order to its right apprehension and contemplation, a reader of the greatest attention and car…
2,206 wordsSECTION 72[701] Ut de peccato damnaret peccatum in carne. [Revised Version, "And as an offering for sin," etc.--R.]
[701] Ut de peccato damnaret peccatum in carne. [Revised Version, "And as an offering for sin," etc.--R.] [702] 2 Sam. xii. 1-14. [703] Expiavit. [704] In his Retractations (ii. 16) Augustin refers to this sentence in order to chronicle a correction. He tells us that, instead of saying that "Luke carries the genealogy upwards…
3,030 wordsSECTION 73Now [733] Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered, and she brought forth a son. And her neighbours and her relatives [734] h
Now [733] Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered, and she brought forth a son. And her neighbours and her relatives [734] heard that the Lord magnified His mercy with her; and they congratulated her. And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called [735] him Zacharia…
2,211 wordsSECTION 74Chapter VI.--On the Position Given to the Preaching of John the Baptist in All the Four Evangelists.
[714] Various editions insert ex te, of thee; but the words are omitted in three Vatican mss., and most of the Gallican. See Migne's note. [Omitted in the Greek text, according to the best authorities.--R.] [715] Luke i. 26-34. [Ver. 34 is differently rendered in the text of the Revised Version. The Latin of Augustin would perh…
1,693 wordsSECTION 75Chapter VII.--Of the Two Herods.
Chapter VII.--Of the Two Herods. 20. But with respect to the mention of Herod, it is well understood that some are apt to be influenced by the circumstance that Luke has told us how, in the days of John's baptizing, and at the time when the Lord, being then a grown man, was also baptized, Herod was tetrarch of Galilee; [777] wh…
2,152 wordsSECTION 76Chapter XII.--Concerning the Words Ascribed to John by All the Four Evangelists Respectively.
Chapter XII.--Concerning the Words Ascribed to John by All the Four Evangelists Respectively. 25. Moreover, Matthew makes up his account of John in the following manner:--Now in those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judæa, and saying, Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is He tha…
2,380 wordsSECTION 7729. With respect, then, to those comparisons which I have instituted between the several narratives of the evangelists, what do these presen
29. With respect, then, to those comparisons which I have instituted between the several narratives of the evangelists, what do these present that must be considered to be of a contradictory order? Are we to regard in this light the circumstance that one of them has given us the words, "whose shoes I am not worthy to bear," wher…
769 wordsSECTION 78Chapter XIII.--Of the Baptism of Jesus.
Chapter XIII.--Of the Baptism of Jesus. 30. Matthew then continues his narrative in the following terms: "Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbade Him, saying, I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me? And Jesus answering, said unto him, Suffer it to be so now;…
1,291 wordsSECTION 79Chapter XVI.--Of the Temptation of Jesus.
Chapter XVI.--Of the Temptation of Jesus. 33. Matthew proceeds with his narrative in these terms: "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted of the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered. And when the tempter came to Him, he said, If thou be the Son o…
2,254 wordsSECTION 8040. Besides, we ought certainly to note the fact that the evangelical and apostolical Scriptures do not confine this designation of His "dis
40. Besides, we ought certainly to note the fact that the evangelical and apostolical Scriptures do not confine this designation of His "disciples" to those twelve alone, but give the same appellation to all those who believed on Him, and were educated under His instruction for the kingdom of heaven. Out of the whole number of s…
739 wordsSource & rights
Historical text source: Christian Classics Ethereal Library. The downloaded text itself records Public Domain.