DE CURA PRO TUIS. con Doubtful whether themselves or Angels are employed. 539 God Almighty, Who is every where present, neither bounded in' with us nor remote from us, hearing and granting the Martyrs' prayers, doth by angelic ministries every where MORdiffused afford to men those solaces, to whom in the misery, of this life He seeth meet to afford the same, and, touching cretus His Martyrs, doth where He will, when He will, how He will, and chiefest through their Memorials, because this He knoweth to be expedient for us unto edifying of the faith of Christ for Whose confession they suffered, by marvellous and ineffable power and goodness cause their merits to be had in honour. A matter is this, too high that I should have power to attain unto it, too abstruse that I should be able to search it out; and therefore which of these two be the case, or whether perchance both one and the other be the case, that sometimes these things be done by very presence of the Martyrs, sometimes by Angels taking upon them the person of the Martyrs, I dare not define; rather would I seek this at them who know it. For it is not to be thought that no man knows these things: (not indeed he who thinks he knows, and knows not,) for there be gifts of God, Who bestows on these some one, on those some other, according to the Apostle who says, that to each one is given the mani-1 Cor. festation of the Spirit to profit withal; to one indeed, saith 2 alii, he, is given by the Spirit discourse of wisdom; to another 2λģ discourse of science according to the same Spirit; while to another3 faith in the same Spirit; to another3 the gift of3 alteri, healings in one Spirit; to one workings of miracles; to Στερῷ one prophecy; to one' discerning of spirits; to one kinds of tongues; to one interpretation of discourses. But all these worketh one and the same spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will. Of all these spiritual gifts, which the Apostle hath rehearsed, to whomsoever is given discerning of spirits, the same knoweth these things as they are meet to be known. 12,7-10. 21. Such, we may believe, was that John the Monk, whom xvii. the elder Theodosius, the Emperor, consulted concerning the issue of the civil war: seeing he had also the gift of prophecy. For that not each several person has a several one of those gifts, but that one man may have more gifts than one, I make no question. This John, then, when once DE PRO TUIS. 540 Appearance of John, the Monk, in a dream, foreknown. a certain most religious woman desired to see him, and to CURA obtain this did through her husband make vehement intreaty, MOR- refused indeed this request because he had never allowed this to women, but Go,' said he, tell thy wife, she shall see me this night, but in her sleep.' And so it came to pass : and he gave her advice, whatever was meet to be given to a wedded believing woman. And she, on her awaking, made known to her husband that she had seen a man of God, such as he knew him to be, and what she had been told by him. The person who learned this from them, reported it to me, a grave man and a noble, and most worthy to be believed. But if I myself had seen that holy monk, because (it is said) he was most patient in hearing questions and most wise in answering, I would have sought of him, as touching our question, whether he himself came to that woman in sleep, that is to say, his spirit in the form of his body, just as we dream that we see ourselves in the form of our own body; or whether, while he himself was doing something else, or, if asleep, was dreaming of something else, it was either by an Angel or in some other way that such vision took place in the woman's dream; and that it would. so be, as he promised, he himself foreknew by the Spirit of prophecy revealing the same. For if he was himself present to her in her dream, of course it was by miraculous grace that he was enabled so to do, not by nature; and by God's gift, not by faculty of his own. But if, while he was doing some other thing or sleeping and occupied with other sights, the woman saw him in her sleep, then doubtless some such thing took place, as that is which we read in the Acts of the Apostles, where the Lord Jesus speaks to Ananias concerning Acts 9, Saul, and informs him that Saul has seen Ananias coming unto him, while Ananias himself wist not of it. The man of God would make answer to me of these things as the case might be, and then about the Martyrs I should go on to ask of him, whether they be themselves present in dreams, or in whatever other way to those who see them, in what shape they will; and above all when the demons in men confess themselves tormented by the Martyrs, and ask them to spare them; or whether these things be wrought through angelic powers, to the honour and commendation of the Saints for 12. Testimonies of demons. Content in uncertainty. 541 DE CURA TUIS. men's profit, while those are in supreme rest, and wholly free for other far better sights, apart from us, and praying for us. PRO For it chanced at Milan at (the tomb of) the holy Martyrs MORProtasius and Gervasius, that Ambrose the bishop, at that time living, being expressly named, in like manner as were the dead whose names they were rehearsing, the demons confessed him and besought him to spare them, he being the while otherwise engaged, and when this was taking place, altogether unwitting of it. Or whether indeed these things are wrought, somewhiles by very presence of the Martyrs, otherwhiles by that of Angels; and whether it be possible, or by what tokens possible, for us to discriminate these two cases; or whether to perceive and to judge of these things none be able, but he which hath that gift through God's Spirit, dividing unto every man severally as He will: the same 1 Cor. 12, 11. John, methinks, would discourse to me of all these matters, as I should wish; that either by his teaching I might learn, and what I should be told should know to be true and certain; or I should believe what I knew not, upon his telling me what things he knew. But if peradventure he should make answer out of holy Scripture, and say, Things Ecclus. higher than thou, seek thou not; and things stronger than 3, 22. thou, search thou not; but what the Lord hath commanded thee, of those things bethink thee alway: this also I should thankfully accept. For it is no small gain if, when any things are obscure and uncertain to us, and we not able to comprehend them, it be at any rate clear and certain that we are not to seek them; and what thing each one wishes to learn, accounting it to be profitable that he should know it, he should learn that it is no harm that he know it not. 22. Which things being so, let us not think that to the xviii. dead for whom we have a care, any thing reaches save what by sacrifices either of the altar, or of prayers, or of alms, we solemnly supplicate: although not to all for whom they are done be they profitable, but to them only by whom while they live it is obtained that they should be profitable. But forasmuch as we discern not who these be, it is meet to do them for all regenerate persons, that none of them may be passed by to whom these benefits may and ought to reach. For better it is that these things shall be super 1 DE CURA 29. PRO gerat 542 How far we can be of use to the departed. fluously done to them whom they neither hinder nor help, than lacking to them whom they help. More diligently MOR- however doth each man these things for his own near and TUIS. dear friends, in order that they may be likewise done unto him by his. But as for the burying of the body, whatever is bestowed on that, is no aid of salvation, but an office of Eph. 5, humanity, according to that affection by which no man ever hateth his own flesh. Whence it is fitting that he take' what care he is able for the flesh of his neighbour, when he is 2gerebat gone that bare it. And if they do these things who believe not the resurrection of the flesh, how much more are they beholden to do the same who do believe; that so, an office of this kind bestowed upon a body, dead but yet to rise again and to remain to eternity, may also be in some sort a testimony of the same faith? But, that a person is buried at the memorials of the Martyrs, this, I think, so far profits the departed, that while commending him also to the Martyrs' patronage, the affection of supplication on his behalf is increased. 23. Here, to the things thou hast thought meet to inquire of me, thou hast such reply as I have been able to render : which if it be more than enough prolix, thou must excuse this, for it was done through love of holding longer talk with thee. For this book, then, how thy charity shall receive it, let me, I pray thee, know by a second letter: though doubtless it will be more welcome for its bearer's sake, to wit our brother and fellow-presbyter Candidianus, whom, having been by thy letter made acquainted with him, I have welcomed with all my heart, and am loath to let him depart. For greatly in the charity of Christ hath he by his presence consoled us, and, to say truth, it was at his instance that I have done thy bidding. For with so great businesses is my heart distraught, that had not he by ever and anon putting me in mind not suffered me to forget it, assuredly to thy questioning reply of mine had not been forthcoming. S. AUGUSTINE ON PATIENCE. DE PATIENTIA. i. 1. THAT virtue of the mind which is called Patience, is so great a gift of God, that even in Him who bestoweth the same upon us, that, whereby He waiteth for evil men that they may amend, is set forth by the name of Patience, [or longsuffering.] So, albeit in God there can be no suffering',' pati and patience' hath its name a patiendo,' from suffering, yet a patient God we not only faithfully believe, but also wholesomely confess. But the patience of God, of what kind and how great it is, His, Whom we say to be impassible, yet not impatient, nay even most patient, in words to unfold pati this who can be able? Ineffable is therefore that patience, as is His jealousy, as His wrath, and whatever there is like to these. For if we conceive of these as they be in us, in Him are there none. We, namely, can feel none of these without a Erasmus infers from the style and language of this piece, that it is not S. Augustine's, putting it in the same category with the treatises' On Continence,' On substance of Charity,' On Faith of things invisible.' The Benedictine editors acknowledge that it has peculiarities of style which are calculated to move suspicion; (especially the studied assonances and rhyming endings, e. g. "cautior fuit iste in doloribus quam ille in nemoribus... consensit ille oblectamentis, non cessit ille tormentis." chap. 12.) yet they feel themselves bound to retain it among the genuine works by Augustine's own 2 2 nihil testimony, who mentions both this piece entem |