Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series • VOLUME 10
Ambrose — Selected Works and Letters
SECTION 41
Chapter VI.
Chapter VI. On what is useful: not that which is advantageous, but that which is just and virtuous. It is to be found in losses, and is divided into what is useful for the body, and what is useful unto godliness. 22. In the first book we made our division in such a way as to set in the first place what is virtuous and what is …
898 wordsSECTION 42Chapter VII.
Chapter VII. What is useful is the same as what is virtuous; nothing is more useful than love, which is gained by gentleness, courtesy, kindness, justice, and the other virtues, as we are given to understand from the histories of Moses and David. Lastly, confidence springs from love, and again love from confidence. 28. There i…
1,752 wordsSECTION 43Chapter VIII.
Chapter VIII. Nothing has greater effect in gaining good-will than giving advice; but none can trust it unless it rests on justice and prudence. How conspicuous these two virtues were in Solomon is shown by his well-known judgment. 40. Two things, therefore, love and confidence, are the most efficacious in commending us to oth…
1,035 wordsSECTION 44Chapter IX.
Chapter IX. Though justice and prudence are inseparable, we must have respect to the ideas of people in general, for they make a distinction between the different cardinal virtues. 48. It is clear also, according to the sacred Scriptures, which are the older, that wisdom cannot exist without justice, for where one of these two…
1,025 wordsSECTION 45Chapter XI.
Chapter XI. A third element which tends to gain any one's confidence is shown to have been conspicuous in Moses, Daniel, and Joseph. 56. But a third point seems also to have been noted in the case of those who were thought worthy of admiration [467] after the example of Joseph, Solomon, and Daniel. For what shall I say of Mose…
827 wordsSECTION 46Chapter XIII.
Chapter XIII. The beauty of wisdom is made plain by the divine testimony. From this he goes on to prove its connection with the other virtues. 64. Is there any one who would like to be beautiful in face and at the same time to have its charm spoilt by a beast-like body and fearful talons? Now the form of virtues is so wonderfu…
1,545 wordsSECTION 47Chapter XVI.
Chapter XVI. Due measure must be observed in liberality, that it may not be expended on worthless persons, when it is needed by worthier ones. However, alms are not to be given in too sparing and hesitating a way. One ought rather to follow the example of the blessed Joseph, whose prudence is commended at great length. 76. It …
1,669 wordsSECTION 48Chapter XVII.
Chapter XVII. What virtues ought to exist in him whom we consult. How Joseph and Paul were equipped with them. 86. Such, then, ought he to be who gives counsel to another, in order that he may offer himself as a pattern in all good works, in teaching, in trueness of character, in seriousness. Thus his words will be wholesome a…
1,051 wordsSECTION 49Chapter XVIII.
Chapter XVIII. We learn from the fact of the separation of the ten tribes from King Rehoboam what harm bad counsellors can do. 93. Justice, then, especially graces men that are set over any office; [513] on the other hand, injustice fails them and fights against them. Scripture itself gives us an example, where it says, that w…
1,233 wordsSECTION 50Chapter XXI.
Chapter XXI. To defend the weak, or to help strangers, or to perform similar duties, greatly adds to one's worth, especially in the case of tried men. Whilst one gets great blame for love of money; wastefulness, also, in the case of priests is very much condemned. 102. The regard in which one is held is also very much enhanced…
1,211 wordsSECTION 51Chapter XXII.
Chapter XXII. We must observe a right standard between too great mildness and excessive harshness. They who endeavour to creep into the hearts of others by a false show of mildness gain nothing substantial or lasting. This the example of Absalom plainly enough shows. 112. Moreover, due measure befits even our words and instruc…
800 wordsSECTION 52Chapter XXIV.
Chapter XXIV. We must strive for preferment only by right means. An office undertaken must be carried out wisely and with moderation. The inferior clergy should not detract from the bishop's reputation by feigned virtues; nor again, should the bishop be jealous of a cleric, but he should be just in all things and especially in …
790 wordsSECTION 53Chapter XXV.
Chapter XXV. Benefits should be conferred on the poor rather than on the rich, for these latter either think a return is expected from them, or else they are angry at seeming to be indebted for such an action. But the poor man makes God the debtor in his place, and freely owns to the benefits he has received. To these remarks i…
1,272 wordsSECTION 54Chapter XXVII.
Chapter XXVII. In contempt of money there is the pattern of justice, which virtue bishops and clerics ought to aim at together with some others. A few words are added on the duty of not bringing an excommunication too quickly into force. 133. To come to an end; we know that contempt of riches is a form of justice, therefore we…
1,573 wordsSECTION 55Chapter XXIX.
Chapter XXIX. The property of widows or of all the faithful, that has been entrusted to the Church, ought to be defended though it brings danger to oneself. This is illustrated by the example of Onias the priest, and of Ambrose, bishop of Ticinum. 144. Great care must be taken that the property entrusted by widows remains invi…
1,042 wordsSECTION 56Chapter XXX.
Chapter XXX. The ending of the book brings an exhortation to avoid ill-will, and to seek prudence, faith, and the other virtues. 152. My sons, avoid wicked men, guard against the envious. There is this difference between a wicked and an envious man: the wicked man is delighted at his own good fortune, but the envious is tortur…
1,638 wordsSECTION 57Chapter II.
Chapter II. The discussions among philosophers about the comparison between what is virtuous and what is useful have nothing to do with Christians. For with them nothing is useful which is not just. What are the duties of perfection, and what are ordinary duties? The same words often suit different things in different ways. Las…
1,049 wordsSECTION 58Chapter III.
Chapter III. The rule given about not seeking one's own gain is established, first by the examples of Christ, next by the meaning of the word, and lastly by the very form and uses of our limbs. Wherefore the writer shows what a crime it is to deprive another of what is useful, since the law of nature as well as the divine law i…
1,465 wordsSECTION 59Chapter IV.
Chapter IV. As it has been shown that he who injures another for the sake of his own advantage will undergo terrible punishment at the hand of his own conscience, it is referred that nothing is useful to one which is not in the same way useful to all. Thus there is no place among Christians for the question propounded by the ph…
774 wordsSECTION 60Chapter V.
Chapter V. The upright does nothing that is contrary to duty, even though there is a hope of keeping it secret. To point this out the tale about the ring of Gyges was invented by the philosophers. Exposing this, he brings forward known and true examples from the life of David and John the Baptist. 29. To lay down here already …
1,418 wordsSECTION 61Chapter VI.
Chapter VI. We ought not to allow the idea of profit to get hold of us. What excuses they make who get their gains by selling corn, and what answer ought to be made to them. In connection with this certain parables from the Gospels and some of the sayings of Solomon are set before our eyes. 37. Let not, therefore, expediency g…
1,193 wordsSECTION 62Chapter VII.
Chapter VII. Strangers must never be expelled the city in a time of famine. In this matter the noble advice of a Christian sage is adduced, in contrast to which the shameful deed committed at Rome is given. By comparing the two it is shown that the former is combined with what is virtuous and useful, but the latter with neither…
1,157 wordsSECTION 63Chapter VIII.
Chapter VIII. That those who put what is virtuous before what is useful are acceptable to God is shown by the example of Joshua, Caleb, and the other spies. 53. When could our fathers ever have thrown off their servitude, unless they had believed that it was not only shameful but even useless to serve the king of Egypt? 54. J…
1,705 wordsSECTION 64Chapter X.
Chapter X. We are warned not only in civil law, but also in the holy Scriptures, to avoid fraud in every agreement, as is clear from the example of Joshua and the Gibeonites. 66. In everything, therefore, good faith is seemly, justice is pleasing, due measure in equity is delightful. But what shall I say about contracts, and e…
761 wordsSECTION 65Chapter XI.
Chapter XI. Having adduced examples of certain frauds found in a few passages of the rhetoricians, he shows that these and all others are more fully and plainly condemned in Scripture. 70. I shall say nothing of the snapping of fingers, or the naked dancing of the heir, at entering on an inheritance. [670] These are well-known…
857 wordsSECTION 66Chapter XII.
Chapter XII. We may make no promise that is wrong, and if we have made an unjust oath, we may not keep it. It is shown that Herod sinned in this respect. The vow taken by Jephtha is condemned, and so are all others which God does not desire to have paid to Him. Lastly, the daughter of Jephtha is compared with the two Pythagorea…
1,036 wordsSECTION 67Chapter XIII.
Chapter XIII. Judith, after enduring many dangers for virtue's sake, gained very many and great benefits. 82. See! Judith presents herself to thee as worthy of admiration. She approaches Holophernes, a man feared by the people, and surrounded by the victorious troops of the Assyrians. At first she makes an impression on him by…
1,071 wordsSECTION 68Chapter XV.
Chapter XV. After mentioning a noble action of the Romans, the writer shows from the deeds of Moses that he had the greatest regard for what is virtuous. 91. It is related as a memorable deed of a Roman general, [695] that when the physician of a hostile king came to him and promised to give him poison, he sent him back bound …
796 wordsSECTION 69Chapter XVI.
Chapter XVI. After saying a few words about Tobit he demonstrates that Raguel surpassed the philosophers in virtue. 96. Tobit also clearly portrayed in his life true virtue, when he left the feast and buried the dead, [708] and invited the needy to the meals at his own poor table. And Raguel is a still brighter example. For he…
1,088 wordsSECTION 70Chapter XVIII.
Chapter XVIII. In the narration of that event already mentioned, and especially of the sacrifice offered by Nehemiah, is typified the Holy Spirit and Christian baptism. The sacrifice of Moses and Elijah and the history of Noah are also referred to the same. 102. We form the congregation of the Lord. We recognize the propitiati…
952 wordsSECTION 71Chapter XIX.
Chapter XIX. The crime committed by the inhabitants of Gibeah against the wife of a certain Levite is related, and from the vengeance taken it is inferred how the idea of virtue must have filled the heart of those people of old. 110. What regard for virtue our forefathers had to avenge by a war the wrongs of one woman which ha…
988 wordsSECTION 72Chapter XX.
Chapter XX. After the terrible siege of Samaria was ended in accordance with Elisha's prophecy, he relates what regard the four lepers showed for what was virtuous. 117. Why need we wonder that the people of the Lord had regard for what was seemly and virtuous when even the lepers--as we read in the books of the Kings--showed …
802 wordsSECTION 73Chapter XXI.
Chapter XXI. Esther in danger of her life followed the grace of virtue; nay, even a heathen king did so, when death was threatened to a man most friendly to him. For friendship must ever be combined with virtue, as the examples of Jonathan and Ahimelech show. 123. Why did Queen Esther [749] expose herself to death and not fear…
2,200 wordsSECTION 74Introduction to the Three Books of St. Ambrose on the Holy Spirit.
[766] Dan. iii. 16 ff. [767] 2 Sam. [2 Kings] i. 23. [768] Cic. de Off. III. 10, § 44. [769] Cic. de Amic. 19, § 69. [770] Cic. de Amic. 14, § 50. [771] Cic. de Off. I. 38, § 137. [772] Cic. de Amic. 21, § 80. [773] Cic. de Amic. 15, § 51. [774] Cic. Lact. 15, § 53. [775] S. Luke xvi. 9. [776] S. John xv. 14. [777] S.…
868 wordsSECTION 75Book I.
Book I. The choice of Gideon was a figure of our Lord's Incarnation, the sacrifice of a kid, of the satisfaction for sins in the body of Christ; that of the bullock, of the abolition of profane rites; and in the three hundred soldiers was a type of the future redemption through the cross. The seeking of various signs by Gideon …
2,239 wordsSECTION 76Chapter I.
17. This is the special excellence of Thy loving-kindness, wherewith Thou hast redeemed the whole world one by one. Elijah was sent to one widow; [813] Elisha cleansed one; [814] Thou, O Lord Jesus, hast at this day cleansed a thousand. How many in the city of Rome, how many at Alexandria, how many at Antioch, how many also at C…
1,479 wordsSECTION 77Chapter II.
Chapter II. The words, "All things were made by Him," are not a proof that the Holy Spirit is included amongst all things, since He was not made. For otherwise it could be proved by other passages that the Son, and even the Father Himself, must be numbered amongst all things, which would be similar irreverence. 27. This seems,…
731 wordsSECTION 78Chapter III.
Chapter III. The statement of the Apostle, that all things are of the Father by the Son, does not separate the Spirit from Their company, since what is referred to one Person is also attributed to each. So those baptized in the Name of Christ are held to be baptized in the Name of the Father and of the Holy Spirit, if, that is,…
2,242 wordsSECTION 79Chapter IV.
54. But observe carefully why the Lord said: "He who shall blaspheme against the Son of Man it shall be forgiven him, but he who shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost shall never be forgiven, either here or hereafter." [849] Is an offence against the Son different from one against the Holy Spirit? For as their dignity is one, a…
1,363 wordsSECTION 80Chapter V.
Chapter V. The Holy Spirit, since He sanctifies creatures, is neither a creature nor subject to change. He is always good, since He is given by the Father and the Son; neither is He to be numbered amongst such things as are said to fail. He must be acknowledged as the source of goodness. The Spirit of God's mouth, the amender o…
1,701 wordsSource & rights
Historical text source: Christian Classics Ethereal Library. The downloaded text itself records Public Domain.