Book XIII.
Liber Tertius Decimus
He Calls Upon God, and Proposes to Himself to Worship Him.
Chapter I.—He Calls Upon God, and Proposes to Himself to Worship Him.
Caput I.
1. I Call upon Thee, my God, my mercy, who madest me, and who didst not forget me, though forgetful of Thee. I call Thee into my soul, which by the desire which Thou inspirest in it Thou preparest for Thy reception. Do not Thou forsake me calling upon Thee, who didst anticipate me before I called, and didst importunately urge with manifold calls that I should hear Thee from afar, and be converted, and call upon Thee who calledst me. For Thou, O Lord, hast blotted out all my evil deserts, that Thou mightest not repay into my hands wherewith I have fallen from Thee, and Thou hast anticipated all my good deserts, that Thou mightest repay into Thy hands wherewith Thou madest me; because before I was, Thou wast, nor was I [anything] to which Thou mightest grant being. And yet behold, I am, out of Thy goodness, anticipating all this which Thou hast made me, and of which Thou hast made me. For neither hadst Thou stood in need of me, nor am I such a good as to be helpful unto Thee, my Lord and God; not that I may so serve Thee as though Thou wert fatigued in working, or lest Thy power may be less if lacking my assistance nor that, like the land, I may so cultivate Thee that Thou wouldest be uncultivated did I cultivate Thee not but that I may serve and worship Thee, to the end that I may have well-being from Thee; from whom it is that I am one susceptible of well-being.
1. Invoco te, deus meus, misericordia mea, qui fecisti me et oblitum tui non oblitus es. Invoco te in animam meam, quam praeparas ad capiendum te ex desiderio quod inspirasti ei. Nunc invocantem te ne deseras, qui priusquam invocarem praevenisti et institisti crebrescens multimodis vocibus, ut audirem de longinquo et converterer et vocantem me invocarem te. Tu enim, domine, delevisti omnia mala merita mea, ne retribueres manibus meis, in quibus a te defeci, et praevenisti omnia bona merita mea, ut retribueres manibus tuis, quibus me fecisti, quia et priusquam essem tu eras, nec eram cui praestares ut essem, et tamen ecce sum ex bonitate tua praeveniente totum hoc quod me fecisti et unde me fecisti. Neque enim eguisti me aut ego tale bonum sum quo tu adiuveris, dominus meus et deus meus, non ut tibi sic serviam quasi ne fatigeris in agendo, aut ne minor sit potestas tua carens obsequio meo, neque ut sic te colam quasi terram, ut sis incultus si non te colam, sed ut serviam tibi et colam te, ut de te mihi bene sit, a quo mihi est ut sim cui bene sit.
All Creatures Subsist from the Plenitude of Divine Goodness.
Chapter II.—All Creatures Subsist from the Plenitude of Divine Goodness.
Caput II.
2. For of the plenitude of Thy goodness Thy creature subsists, that a good, which could profit Thee nothing, nor though of Thee was equal to Thee, might yet be, since it could be made of Thee. For what did heaven and earth, which Thou madest in the beginning, deserve of Thee? Let those spiritual and corporeal natures, which Thou in Thy wisdom madest, declare what they deserve of Thee to depend thereon,—even the inchoate and formless, each in its own kind, either spiritual or corporeal, going into excess, and into remote unlikeness unto Thee (the spiritual, though formless, more excellent than if it were a formed body; and the corporeal, though formless, more excellent than if it were altogether nothing), and thus they as formless would depend upon Thy Word, unless by the same Word they were recalled to Thy Unity, and endued with form, and from Thee, the one sovereign Good, were all made very good. How have they deserved of Thee, that they should be even formless, since they would not be even this except from Thee?
2. Ex plenitudine quippe bonitatis tuae creatura tua substitit, ut bonum quod tibi nihil prodesset nec de te aequale tibi esset, tamen quia ex te fieri potuit, non deesset. Quid enim te promeruit caelum et terra, quas fecisti in principio? Dicant quid te promeruerunt spiritalis corporalisque natura, quas fecisti in sapientia tua, ut inde penderent etiam inchoata et informia quaeque in genere suo vel spiritali vel corporali, euntia in immoderationem et in longinquam dissimilitudinem tuam, spiritale informe praestantius quam si formatum corpus esset, corporale autem informe praestantius quam si omnino nihil esset, atque ita penderent in tuo verbo informia, nisi per idem verbum revocarentur ad unitatem tuam et formarentur et essent ab uno te summo bono universa bona valde. Quid te promeruerant, ut essent saltem informia, quae neque hoc essent nisi ex te?
3. How has corporeal matter deserved of Thee, to be even invisible and formless, since it were not even this hadst Thou not made it; and therefore since it was not, it could not deserve of Thee that it should be made? Or how could the inchoate spiritual creature deserve of Thee, that even it should flow darksomely like the deep,—unlike Thee, had it not been by the same Word turned to that by Whom it was created, and by Him so enlightened become light, although not equally, yet conformably to that Form which is equal unto Thee? For as to a body, to be is not all one with being beautiful, for then it could not be deformed; so also to a created spirit, to live is not all one with living wisely, for then it would be wise unchangeably. But it is good for it always to hold fast unto Thee, lest, in turning from Thee, it lose that light which it hath obtained in turning to Thee, and relapse into a light resembling the darksome deep. For even we ourselves, who in respect of the soul are a spiritual creature, having turned away from Thee, our light, were in that life “sometimes darkness;” and do labour amidst the remains of our darkness, until in Thy Only One we become Thy righteousness, like the mountains of God. For we have been Thy judgments, which are like the great deep.
3. Quid te promeruit materies corporalis, ut esset saltem invisibilis et incomposita, quia neque hoc esset nisi quia fecisti? Ideoque te, quia non erat, promereri ut esset non poterat. Aut quid te promeruit inchoatio creaturae spiritalis, ut saltem tenebrosa fluitaret similis abysso, tui dissimilis, nisi per idem verbum converteretur ad idem a quo facta est atque ab eo inluminata lux fieret, quamvis non aequaliter tamen conformis formae aequali tibi? Sicut enim corpori non hoc est esse quod pulchrum esse (alioquin deforme esse non posset), ita etiam creato spiritui non id est vivere quod sapienter vivere: alioquin incommutabiliter saperet. Bonum autem illi est haerere tibi semper, ne quod adeptus est conversione aversione lumen amittat et relabatur in vitam tenebrosae abysso similem. Nam et nos, qui secundum animam creatura spiritalis sumus, aversi a te, nostro lumine, in ea vita fuimus aliquando tenebrae et in reliquiis obscuritatis nostrae laboramus, donec simus iustitia tua in unico tuo sicut montes dei. Nam iudicia tua fuimus sicut multa abyssus.
Genesis I. 3,—Of ‘Light,’—He Understands as It is Seen in the Spiritual Creature
Chapter III.—Genesis I. 3,—Of “Light,”—He Understands as It is Seen in the Spiritual Creature.
Caput III.
4. But what Thou saidst in the beginning of the creation, “Let there be light, and there was light,” I do not unfitly understand of the spiritual creature; because there was even then a kind of life, which Thou mightest illuminate. But as it had not deserved of Thee that it should be such a life as could be enlightened, so neither, when it already was, hath it deserved of Thee that it should be enlightened. For neither could its formlessness be pleasing unto Thee, unless it became light,—not by merely existing, but by beholding the illuminating light, and cleaving unto it; so also, that it lives, and lives happily, it owes to nothing whatsoever but to Thy grace; being converted by means of a better change unto that which can be changed neither into better nor into worse; the which Thou only art because Thou only simply art, to whom it is not one thing to live, another to live blessedly, since Thou art Thyself Thine own Blessedness.
4. Quod autem in primis conditionibus dixisti, 'fiat lux, et facta est lux,' non incongruenter hoc intellego in creatura spiritali, quia erat iam qualiscumque vita quam inluminares. Sed sicut non te promeruerat ut esset talis vita quae inluminari posset, ita nec cum iam esset promeruit te ut inluminaretur. Neque enim eius informitas placeret tibi si non lux fieret, non existendo sed intuendo inluminantem lucem eique cohaerendo, ut et quod utcumque vivit et quod beate vivit non deberet nisi gratiae tuae, conversa per commutationem meliorem ad id quod neque in melius neque in deterius mutari potest. Quod tu solus es, quia solus simpliciter es, cui non est aliud vivere, aliud beate vivere, quia tua beatitudo es.
All Things Have Been Created by the Grace of God, and are Not of Him as Standing in Need of Created Things.
Chapter IV.—All Things Have Been Created by the Grace of God, and are Not of Him as Standing in Need of Created Things.
Caput IV.
5. What, therefore, could there be wanting unto Thy good, which Thou Thyself art, although these things had either never been, or had remained formless,—the which Thou madest not out of any want, but out of the plenitude of Thy goodness, restraining them and converting them to form not as though Thy joy were perfected by them? For to Thee, being perfect, their imperfection is displeasing, and therefore were they perfected by Thee, and were pleasing unto Thee; but not as if Thou wert imperfect, and wert to be perfected in their perfection. For Thy good Spirit was borne over the waters, not borne up by them as if He rested upon them. For those in whom Thy good Spirit is said to rest, He causes to rest in Himself. But Thy incorruptible and unchangeable will, which in itself is all-sufficient for itself, was borne over that life which Thou hadst made, to which to live is not all one with living happily, since, flowing in its own darkness, it liveth also; for which it remaineth to be converted unto Him by whom it was made, and to live more and more by “the fountain of life,” and in His light to “see light,” and to be perfected, and enlightened, and made happy.
5. Quid ergo tibi deesset ad bonum, quod tu tibi es, etiamsi ista vel omnino nulla essent vel informia remanerent quae non ex indigentia fecisti sed ex plenitudine bonitatis tuae, cohibens atque convertens ad formam, non ut tamquam tuum gaudium compleatur ex eis? Perfecto enim tibi displicet eorum imperfectio, ut ex te perficiantur et tibi placeant, non autem imperfecto, tamquam et tu eorum perfectione perficiendus sis. Spiritus enim tuus bonus superferebatur super aquas, non ferebatur ab eis tamquam in eis requiesceret. In quibus enim requiescere dicitur spiritus tuus, hos in se requiescere facit. Sed superferebatur incorruptibilis et incommutabilis voluntas tua, ipsa in se sibi sufficiens, super eam quam feceras vitam. Cui non hoc est vivere quod beate vivere, quia vivit etiam fluitans in obscuritate sua; cui restat converti ad eum a quo facta est, et magis magisque vivere apud fontem vitae, et in lumine eius videre lumen, et perfici et inlustrari et beari.
He Recognises the Trinity in the First Two Verses of Genesis.
Chapter V.—He Recognises the Trinity in the First Two Verses of Genesis.
Caput V.
6. Behold now, the Trinity appears unto me in an enigma, which Thou, O my God, art, since Thou, O Father, in the Beginning of our wisdom,—Which is Thy Wisdom, born of Thyself, equal and co-eternal unto Thee,—that is, in Thy Son, hast created heaven and earth. Many things have we said of the heaven of heavens, and of the earth invisible and formless, and of the darksome deep, in reference to the wandering defects of its spiritual deformity, were it not converted unto Him from whom was its life, such as it was, and by His enlightening became a beauteous life, and the heaven of that heaven which was afterwards set between water and water. And under the name of God, I now held the Father, who made these things; and under the name of the Beginning, the Son, in whom He made these things; and believing, as I did, that my God was the Trinity, I sought further in His holy words, and behold, Thy Spirit was borne over the waters. Behold the Trinity, O my God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,—the Creator of all creation.
6. Ecce apparet mihi in aenigmate trinitas quod es, deus meus, quoniam tu, pater, in principio sapientiae nostrae, quod est tua sapientia de te nata, aequalis tibi et coaeterna, id est in filio tuo, fecisti caelum et terram. Et multa diximus de caelo caeli et de terra invisibili et incomposita et de abysso tenebrosa secundum spiritalis informitatis vagabunda deliquia, nisi converteretur ad eum a quo erat qualiscumque vita et inluminatione fieret speciosa vita et esset caelum caeli eius, quod inter aquam et aquam postea factum est. Et tenebam iam patrem in dei nomine, qui fecit haec, et filium in principii nomine, in quo fecit haec, et trinitatem credens deum meum, sicut credebam, quaerebam in eloquiis sanctis eius, et ecce spiritus tuus superferebatur super aquas. Ecce trinitas deus meus, pater et filius et spiritus sanctus, creator universae creaturae.
Why the Holy Ghost Should Have Been Mentioned After the Mention of Heaven and Earth.
Chapter VI.—Why the Holy Ghost Should Have Been Mentioned After the Mention of Heaven and Earth.
Caput VI.
7. But what was the cause, O Thou true-speaking Light? Unto Thee do I lift up my heart, let it not teach me vain things; disperse its darkness, and tell me, I beseech Thee, by our mother charity, tell me, I beseech Thee, the reason why, after the mention of heaven, and of the earth invisible and formless, and darkness upon the deep, Thy Scripture should then at length mention Thy Spirit? Was it because it was meet that it should be spoken of Him that He was “borne over,” and this could not be said, unless that were first mentioned “over” which Thy Spirit may be understood to have been “borne?” For neither was He “borne over” the Father, nor the Son, nor could it rightly be said that He was “borne over” if He were “borne over” nothing. That, therefore, was first to be spoken of “over” which He might be “borne;” and then He, whom it was not meet to mention otherwise than as having been “borne.” Why, then, was it not meet that it should otherwise be mentioned of Him, than as having been “borne over?”
7. Sed quae causa fuerat -- o lumen veridicum, tibi admoveo cor meum, ne me vana doceat; discute tenebras eius et dic mihi, obsecro te per matrem caritatem, obsecro te, dic mihi, quae causa fuerat, ut post nominatum caelum et terram invisibilem et incompositam et tenebras super abyssum tum demum scriptura tua nominaret spiritum tuum? An quia oportebat sic eum insinuari, ut diceretur superferre? Non posset hoc dici nisi prius illud commemoraretur cui superferri spiritus tuus posset intellegi. Nec patri enim nec filio superferebatur nec superferri recte diceretur, si nulli rei superferretur. Prius ergo dicendum erat cui superferretur, et deinde ille quem non oportebat aliter commemorari nisi ut superferri diceretur. Cur ergo aliter eum insinuari non oportebat, nisi ut superferri diceretur?
That the Holy Spirit Brings Us to God.
Chapter VII.—That the Holy Spirit Brings Us to God.
Caput VII.
8. Hence let him that is able now follow Thy apostle with his understanding where he thus speaks, because Thy love “is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us;” and where, “concerning spiritual gifts,” he teacheth and showeth unto us a more excellent way of charity; and where he bows his knees unto Thee for us, that we may know the super-eminent knowledge of the love of Christ. And, therefore, from the beginning was He super-eminently “borne above the waters.” To whom shall I tell this? How speak of the weight of lustful desires, pressing downwards to the steep abyss? and how charity raises us up again, through Thy Spirit which was “borne over the waters?” To whom shall I tell it? How tell it? For neither are there places in which we are merged and emerge. What can be more like, and yet more unlike? They be affections, they be loves; the filthiness of our spirit flowing away downwards with the love of cares, and the sanctity of Thine raising us upwards by the love of freedom from care; that we may lift our hearts unto Thee where Thy Spirit is “borne over the waters;” and that we may come to that pre-eminent rest, when our soul shall have passed through the waters which have no substance.
8. Iam hinc sequatur qui potest intellectu apostolum tuum dicentem quia caritas tua diffusa est in cordibus nostris per spiritum sanctum, qui datus est nobis, et de spiritalibus docentem et demonstrantem supereminentem viam caritatis et flectentem genua pro nobis ad te, ut cognoscamus supereminentem scientiam caritatis Christi. Ideoque ab initio supereminens superferebatur super aquas. Cui dicam, quomodo dicam de pondere cupiditatis in abruptam abyssum et de sublevatione caritatis per spiritum tuum, qui superferebatur super aquas? Cui dicam? Quomodo dicam? Neque enim loca sunt quibus mergimur et emergimus. Quid similius et quid dissimilius? Affectus sunt, amores sunt, immunditia spiritus nostri defluens inferius amore curarum et sanctitas tui attollens nos superius amore securitatis, ut sursum cor habeamus ad te, ubi spiritus tuus superfertur super aquas, et veniamus ad supereminentem requiem, cum pertransierit anima nostra aquas quae sunt sine substantia.