About patience

In the treatise “On Patience” (16 chapters, 203), Tertullian, admitting that he himself is deprived of this virtue, recommends it to himself and others. Patience is inseparably linked with duties to God. Philosophers, not knowing true patience, glorified it as the supreme virtue. Christian virtue is the imitation of God, who commands the sun to illuminate the good and the evil and patiently endures the ingratitude and crimes of nations. Impatience is fatal and comes from the devil. Christian patience is the true proof of Divine love. Without patience there is no obedience, no faith, no virtue. As other examples of patience, Tertullian points to the prophet Isaiah, the first martyr Stephen and the righteous Job. *The title of the essay in Latin is De patientia. Contents Chapter 1. That patience is the greatest virtue Chapter 2. About the long-suffering of God Chapter 3. That Christ gave us the most perfect image of patience Chapter 4. That patience has its root in obedience Chapter 5. That impatience has its source in the devil and is the mother of all sins Chapter 6. That patience is connected with faith Chapter 7. That patience teaches the correct use of earthly temporary goods Chapter 8. On patiently enduring insults Chapter 9. On patience in the death of neighbors Chapter 10. On vengeance. Chapter 11. About maintaining patience. Chapter 12. About the fruits of patience. Chapter 13. About the influence of patience on the body. Chapter 14. Examples of the greatest patience in bodily suffering. Chapter 15. Praise for patience. Chapter 16. Christian and pagan patience. Chapter 1. That patience is the greatest virtue. I confess before the Lord God that I quite boldly, if not outright impudently, dare to write about patience, the implementation of which, as a person who does not possess any good, I am completely incapable of, and meanwhile it is necessary that those who undertake the proof and explanation of any subject, themselves first mastered this subject in life and by the example of their own behavior reinforce the persistence of (their) instruction, so that words do not blush before the lack business And oh, if only this color of shame would serve (for us) as a medicine, so that shame, not to carry out what we intend to present to others to carry out, would become (our) teacher! Of course, there is an overwhelming greatness (magnitudo) of some virtues, as well as vices, so that their comprehension and implementation is accomplished by the grace of divine inspiration alone. For what constitutes good primarily is found primarily with God, and no one else communicates it, but only He who owns it, and to whom He is pleased to reveal it. Hence it is a kind of consolation to talk about what possession is not given, like the sick, who, although deprived of health, cannot remain silent about its benefits. Therefore, I, too, worthy of every pity, always suffering from outbursts of impatience, must, since I do not have the health of patience, sigh, and ask, and talk about patience, since I remember and, based on the contemplation of my weakness, I am convinced that good health in faith and health in walking according to the commandments of the Lord cannot be easily achieved by anyone unless patience comes to the rescue. The virtue of patience is so exalted above the works of God that without it no one can fulfill any commandment, no one is able to accomplish any deed pleasing to God. It is recognized as a blessing even by those who live like the blind, for they attach to it the title of “the highest virtue” (summae virtutis). At least, philosophers, who are considered to live solely for wisdom, attach such importance to it (subsignant) that, although they disagree among themselves due to various kinds of attachment to their schools and competition in their opinions, they, however, all remember only patience and only this, as the subject of (their) philosophical studies, they consider a peaceful area. In discussing it, they agree with each other, they are reconciled on it, they practice it unanimously, in a zealous pursuit of virtue, and they borrow every manifestation of wisdom from patience. It is a great testimony in his favor that even the vain teachings of this age prompt him to be praised and glorified. Or perhaps it is unfair that the divine is attached to everyday affairs (artibus)? But let those who should be ashamed of their wisdom, destroyed and debunked along with this age, find out for themselves. Chapter 2. About the long-suffering of God. What prompts us to strengthen patience is not the human state of cynical indifference, arising on the basis of some kind of numbness of feelings, but the divine distinctive feature of the living and heavenly Christian teaching, where God Himself is presented as a model of patience. For He equally spreads the dew of light (rorem lucis) over the righteous and the unjust, equally enables the worthy and the unworthy to enjoy the blessings of the times, the service of the elements of nature, the gifts of every productive force, tolerating the most ungrateful pagans, who honor the vain works of their art and the works of their hands, and persecute His name and His children, enduring their immoderation, greed, injustice, malice, increasing every day, so that, as a result of His long-suffering, He is deprived of what is due to Him. Many do not believe in the Lord because they have not known for so long about His anger towards the world. Chapter 3. That Christ gave us the most perfect image of patience. But this (they will say) is a kind of divine long-suffering that is, as it were, far away (from us), so that it can only be appreciated in the mountainous regions (de supernis). However, what is that type of patience that is clearly found among people on earth, so that it can be understood, as it were, by direct touch? God deigned to be conceived in the womb of the Mother and (according to the law of nature) was (as if) in an expectant state. Having been born, He was subject to growth, and, having grown, did not want to be recognized, but (as if) resisted His glorification, and He accepted baptism from His servant and repelled the attacks of the tempter with words alone. When the Lord becomes a Teacher who teaches a person how to come to salvation, therefore a Teacher who has already learned the patience associated with insult and gives (us) mercy; then He did not reproach, He did not cry out, no one heard His voice at the crossroads, He did not break the broken reed and He did not quench the smoking flax (Isaiah 42.1-4; Matthew 12.18-20). The prophet was not deceived, but found confirmation from God Himself, who gave the Son His Spirit, combined with all patience. He did not reject anyone who wanted to come to Him; He did not despise anyone’s food or shelter; He himself prepared water to wash the disciples’ feet. He despised neither sinners nor publicans. And He was not angry with that city that did not want to receive Him, while the disciples wanted to bring down divine fire on this place that had caused such offense (Luke 9.52-56). He healed the ungrateful and forgave those who persecuted Him. And not only that: He even had his traitor with Him, but did not always reveal him. When He betrayed Himself, when He was led like a sheep to the slaughter - for He opened His mouth no more, like a lamb before the shearers - then He - Who, if He had willed, legions of angels, at a single word, would have appeared from heaven - did not approve of the sword of vengeance even of one of the disciples. The patience of the Lord in Malchus was insulted (vulnerata est). Therefore, He condemned for the future the use of the sword and, through long-suffering - the mother of mercy, He, having restored health (Malchus), brought satisfaction to those whom He Himself did not harm. I am silent about the fact that He is crucified: this is what He came for. However, was it really necessary for the acceptance of death to be combined with reproach? But, intending to leave the world, He wanted to be satisfied with the joy of patience. He is spat upon, scourged, ridiculed, ingloriously clothed, and even more ingloriously crowned. A marvelous fortress combined with tranquility! He who decided to hide Himself (latere) in the form of a man did not imitate in any way the impatience of man. From here you, Pharisees, must especially know the Lord: none of the people has discovered such patience. Similar and so many testimonies, the sublimity of which serves, however, for the pagans to humiliate faith, and for us in truth - the basis and confirmation of it, show quite clearly - not in words only through teaching, but by the Lord's very enduring of suffering - quite clearly show to those to whom faith has been granted that the patience of God is an essential revelation (natura), action and advantage (praestantiam) of some natural (divine) quality (proprietatis). Chapter 4. That patience has its root in obedience. So, if we see that all slaves are honest and of good disposition, they act in accordance with the disposition (ingenio) of their master (since the means of making oneself pleasing to someone is obedience, and the essence of obedience is voluntary submission); then all the more should we be well-behaved according to God. That is, it is proper to be slaves of the living God, whose judgment over his own does not consist in the imposition of fetters, or (on the contrary) in the imposition of the head veil of freedom (pileo), but in eternal condemnation, or in eternal salvation. To avoid such severity or to be granted such mercy, diligent obedience is necessary, consistent with what severity threatens or what mercy promises. And yet we will express obedience not only like people enslaved by slavery, or obliged to obey under some other legal right, but like dumb domestic animals, like beasts, which, as we know, are determined by God and handed over for our needs. Is it possible that what God has subordinated to us will turn out to be better than us in the performance (disciplina) of obedience? This is precisely what they actually recognize and obey. Will we hesitate to listen to the One to whom alone we are subordinate, i.e. God? And how unfair it would be, what an ingratitude it would be if for what you received through the goodness of another, before others, you did not repay the same to Him through Whom you received it! Let us not talk any more about the need for obedience, which we must render to the Lord God. Knowing God sufficiently understands what duties are assigned to him. However, so that it does not seem that, speaking of obedience, we have introduced something irrelevant, (I note) that obedience itself follows from patience. The impatient always disobeys, but there is no patient who is not lenient. About that virtue that the Lord, the Bearer and Approver of every good, revealed in Himself - who needs to expand on its goodness in detail? For whom can it be doubtful that every kind of good, since it belongs to God, should be achieved with all thought by those who belong to God? So soon, in the likeness of an abbreviated judicial speech (in compendio praescriptionis), both praise and exhortation to patience are established. Chapter 5. That impatience has its source in the devil and is the mother of all sins. However, continuing to discuss the fundamental truths of faith (“de necessariis fidei”) will not be an idle task, for this task is not fruitless. Verbalism, although sometimes deserving of reproach, is not bad if edification is meant. Therefore, when we are talking about some good, the very essence of the matter requires that we also consider what is the opposite of good. It is better to clarify what must be done if you first consider what must be avoided. So, regarding impatience, let us consider whether it turns out that just as patience (has its basis) in God, so its opposite was born and introduced by our adversary - so that from here it becomes clear how impatience essentially contradicts faith. For what is conceived by a rival of God cannot, of course, be in harmony with the divine. There is as much disagreement between realities (“retum”) as there is between their culprits. If God is the most good being, then, by contrast, the devil is the most evil being. By their very opposite, they testify that one cannot provide any help to the other, so that it is impossible for us to say anything good about evil, or something evil about good. Therefore, I believe the beginning of impatience (natales impatientiae) is in the devil himself, who even then could not tolerate the fact that the Lord God subjugated all the creatures that he created to His image, i.e. man (Gen. 3.1) For he would not grieve if he could endure, and would not envy man if he were not consumed by sorrow. Thus, he deceived him because he was jealous, he was jealous because he was grieving, and he was grieving because, of course, he could not patiently bear it. What was this angel of destruction at first - whether evil or impatient, I do not consider it necessary to ask, for it is clear that either impatience began along with malice, or malice arose from impatience, and then they carried out their malicious plans together and grew inseparably in the single womb of (their) father. For (that impatience) which the devil himself was the first to feel and through this entered upon the path of sin - that (that very impatience) he, taught by his own experience, which contributes to sin, called for help in order to push a person to commit a crime. His wife, who immediately met him, was filled - so as not to express it somehow rashly - through the very conversation with him with an infectious spirit of impatience, so that she would never have sinned if she had remained patient, being obedient to the divine prohibition. But she is not content with this meeting alone, does not have the patience to remain silent before Adam, who was not yet her husband (nondum maritum) and was not obliged to obey her, and makes him the continuer of what she borrowed from the evil one. Thus, another person is also led to destruction through the impatience of his half; soon he himself perishes for his impatience, revealed in a twofold relationship: both in relation to the commandment of God and in relation to the deception (circumscriptionem) of the devil - when he could not resist preserving this one, and rejecting this one. From there the beginning of condemnation, from there the beginning of sin: from that time God begins to be angry when a person was tempted to offend (Him). Since then - the first patience of God, when the first disobedience was revealed. Having then limited himself to one curse, He pronounced it, in view of punishment, only on the devil. And before this crime, discovered in impatience, what vice was inherent in man? He was innocent, he is God's closest friend and a colonus of paradise. But as soon as he once fell into impatience, he ceased to find pleasure in God and lost the opportunity to be a bearer of heavenly things. From that time on, man, consigned to the earth and removed from the eyes of God, begins to easily be carried away, due to impatience, to everything that can offend God. For since the woman’s fertility, by virtue of the seed received from the devil, became evil, she raised a son of wrath and taught her offspring (editum) her cunning. And what subjected Adam and Eve to death, the same thing taught their son to begin with murder. I would in vain attribute the latter to impatience if Cain, this first murderer and first fratricide, had calmly and patiently endured God’s rejection of his offering, if he had not been angry with his brother, if, finally, he had not killed anyone. But since he could commit murder only in anger, and he could only become angry as a result of impatience; then by this he shows that what he did in anger must be attributed to what arouses anger. But it was like the cradle of impatience, which was then still in its infancy. It is not surprising, however, that it increased so quickly. For if it first leads to sin, then it is natural that, being the first, it also became the only mother of all sin, giving from its source various sinful waters. Murder has already been mentioned. Occurring initially as a result of anger, it, no matter what reasons it subsequently finds for itself, still comes down to impatience as its basis. Let someone commit this crime out of enmity, or for the sake of robbery (praeda), but, however, it precedes (prius est) that he becomes impatient in (his) hatred or greed. Whatever inflames, in the absence of impatience, it cannot turn into implementation. Who else will fall into fornication, if not with revealed impatience in relation to lust? And if it (i.e., fornication) is forced in women as a payment, then such a sale of chastity is conditioned (ordinatur), of course, by impatience: to treat (such) profit with contempt. This is how fundamental (principalia) sins arise before God. For, to put it briefly, every sin must be attributed to impatience. Evil is impatience towards good. Every dissolute person has no patience for chastity, and a dishonest person for honesty, and a wicked person for piety, and a restless person for tranquility. And everyone becomes evil because he could not resist goodness. Therefore, how can such a snake (excetra), (giving birth to) sins, not offend God, Who rejects evil? Isn’t it clear that Israel itself has always sinned before God due to impatience when, forgetting about the heavenly right hand, by which it was delivered from Egyptian suffering, it demands from Aaron gods - leaders (deos duces) and uses the gold it brought to (make) an image? He accepted the forced slowdown of Moses talking with the Lord with impatience. After the satiating rain of manna, after the flow of water from the stone, they doubted the Lord, unable to bear the three-day thirst. For this is also charged to them by the Lord as an expression of impatience. And so as not to get lost in the details (let's say): they always die only for the sin of impatience. How else would they have laid hands on the prophets, if not out of impatience with their words? And they killed the Lord Himself because of their impatience to see Him. If they had shown patience, they would have been freed from slavery (sin). Chapter 6. That patience is connected with faith. Patience itself both follows faith and precedes it. So, Abraham believed God and was imputed to Him as righteousness; but his faith was confirmed by patience when he received the command to slay his son, I will not say, for the temptation of faith, but for a typical (typicam) testimony of it. God generally knew to whom He imputed the truth (justitiae deputasset). Such a difficult command, the execution of which was not pleasing to the Lord, he patiently listened to, and, if God had willed, he would have carried it out. Therefore, he is truly (merito) blessed, for he believed, truly believed, for he turned out to be patient. Thus, faith, illuminated by patience - when it was spread among the pagans through the Seed, which is Christ (Gal. 3.16) and added (superduceret) grace to the law - for the expansion and fulfillment of the law, it made patience its assistant: it was precisely this that was still missing in the Old Testament teaching about righteousness. For they once demanded: “an eye for an eye,” and “a tooth for a tooth” (Ex. 21:24), and they repaid evil for evil; There was no patience yet on earth, for there was no faith, and impatience at that time used plausible pretexts presented by the law (occasionibus legis fruebatur) in its favor. It was easy, for the Lord and Teacher of patience had not yet come. And after He appeared and multiplied the grace of faith with patience, it is no longer permissible to insult with a word or call him “freak” without running the risk of condemnation (Matthew 5.22). Anger is forbidden, indignation is restrained, the self-will of the hands is curbed, the poison of the tongue is removed; the law has gained more than it has lost when Christ says: “Love your enemies, and bless those who curse, and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5.44–45) You see what a Father patience has gained us! This basic instruction contains the entire doctrine of patience, for it is not allowed to do evil even with good motives (ne digne quidem male facere concessum est). Chapter 7. That patience teaches the correct use of earthly temporary goods. If we now pay attention to the reasons for impatience, then other moral instructions will appear in their place. When our spirit is agitated due to the loss of property, then, after all, the divine scriptures, in almost every place, are commanded to despise this age; and there is no stronger admonition to despise gold than the fact that the Lord Himself was not at all found (living) in wealth. He always pleases the poor and condemns (praedamnat) the rich in advance. Thus He legitimized contempt for wealth, so that the loss of property could be patiently endured, showing by the rejection of wealth that their deprivation should not be taken into account. What we least need to desire - for the Lord did not want this either - we must endure the reduction of this or even its complete removal without complaint. The Spirit of the Lord through the Apostle said that “the love of money... is... the root of all evil” (1 Tim. 6.10). We believe that it does not consist in wishing only someone else’s; for what appears to be ours is actually someone else’s; nothing is ours, but everything is God’s, and we ourselves are also (God’s). Therefore, when, due to loss (of property), we become impatient; then, grieving over the deprivation of what is not ours, we are guilty, since we are in a state close to the love of money. We covet someone else’s property if we endure the loss of someone else’s property with sorrow. He who is restless with impatience as a result of loss sins against God by preferring earthly things to heavenly things. For the sake of the temporary, he confuses the spirit received from God. So, let us willingly lose earthly things in order to preserve heavenly things. Let this age perish, if only I acquire patience. Whoever is unable to calmly endure some insignificant loss, whether due to theft, or violence, or even (his own) inactivity, then I don’t know whether he can easily and from the heart lay his hand on his property for the sake of charity. For who, not being able to undergo an operation on the part of another, would put a knife into his own body? Patience in the event of loss (of property) is a preparation for generosity and giving to others. It is not a pity to give to those who are not afraid to lose. In general, who else, having two shirts, will give one of them to a naked person, if not the one who can also give the outer garment to the one who takes the shirt (Matthew 5:40)? How will we make friends from mammon (Luke 16.9), if we love her so much that we cannot bear her loss? We will perish along with the lost (property). What can we gain where we can only lose? It is common for pagans to show impatience with any losses - pagans who, perhaps, prefer money to (their) life. And indeed, they do this when, out of a passion for profit, they undertake profitable but dangerous trading voyages by sea; when, for the sake of money, even on a forum they do not hesitate to decide on something for which they need to be afraid of being judged; when they finally devote themselves to games and military service (castris); when they rob the roads like wild beasts. And we, due to the difference that exists between us and them, should not lay down our souls for money, but money for our souls, either voluntarily when they distribute (property), or with submission; when (it) is lost. Chapter 8. About patiently enduring insults. We have our very soul and body in this age, as if exposed to everyone for insult, and we are patiently subjected to these insults; can we therefore be saddened by the loss of much smaller things? Let it be far from the servant of Christ such a shameful action that (his) patience, tested in great temptations, disappears in insignificant things. If someone tries to provoke (provocare) you with violence (manu), then the Lord’s instruction is available: “to the one who strikes,” says Matthew 5.39, “turn to your face... and the other... cheek.” Shamelessness will be exhausted by your patience... Whatever this blow may be, combined with sorrow and reproach, it will be reflected even more strongly from the Lord. You strike this wicked one more with patience, for he will be punished by Him for whose sake you endure. If the bitterness of the tongue spews out slander or abuse, think about what was said: “When you... are slandered, rejoice!” (Matthew 5.12). The Lord Himself stood under the curse of the law (Deut. 21.23), and yet He alone is blessed (Gal. 3.15). So, we servants will follow the Lord, and we will patiently endure slander, so that we may be pleased. If I do not calmly enough bear something bad or shameful said to me; then it is necessary that I myself reciprocate with (some kind of) bitterness, or suffer from silent patience. Therefore, when I, being slandered, strike (the offender), do I follow the teaching of the Lord, who commanded that a person is not defiled by the uncleanness of vessels, but by what comes out of the mouth (Matthew 7.15-18). Also: for every empty and idle word an answer awaits us (Matthew 12.36). It follows from this that what the Lord prevents us (ourselves) from doing is the same thing He exhorts us to endure from others. Here it already (reminds) the joy (voluptate) of patience. For any offense caused by a word or a violent action, when it encounters patience, receives the same outcome as an arrow shot and hitting a rock of extraordinary strength. since it immediately falls, having no strength and remaining without action; and sometimes, returning back to the one who launched it, it hits him with a back blow. For this reason, after all, someone insults you so that you experience sorrow, for the intention of the insulter is the sorrow of the insulted. Consequently, when you destroy his intention by not grieving, then he himself necessarily grieves over the ineffectiveness of his intention. Then you depart, not only having not suffered an insult, which alone is enough for you, but in addition you are consoled by the enemy’s unfaithful blow and have received safety as a result of his grief. This is the benefit and joy of patience. Chapter 9. About patience during the death of neighbors. Nor is that kind of impatience excusable when, in the event of the loss of ours (i.e., Christians), a certain kind of mood (affectio) takes grief under its protection. For it is necessary to give preference to the command of the Apostle, who says: “Do not grieve at the death of someone, like the pagans, who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4.13). And it is true, since, believing in the resurrection of Christ, we also believe in the resurrection of us, for whose sake He suffered and was resurrected. Therefore, if the resurrection of the dead is certain, then there is no place (vacat) for sorrow about death, and there is no place for the impatience revealed in grief. And why do you grieve when you believe that you will not perish? Why do you impatiently endure the removal of (the one about whom you believe that he will be returned?) What you consider to be death, that is, only the transition (profectio). follow? In general, impatience in this kind of thing gives a bad omen to our hope and diverts our faith from the straight path. And we insult Christ if we impatiently accept those called by Him, considering them deserving of pity. “I wished,” says the Apostle, “to be resolved and to be with the Lord” (Phil. 1.23). How much better does he represent the object of Christian hope! Consequently, if, due to impatience, we grieve that others have achieved this object of hope, then we ourselves do not desire to achieve it. There is another strong urge to impatience - the passion for revenge, which serves either ambition or malice. But ambition, of course, is an empty matter, and malice is always hateful to the Lord, especially in the case when, excited by the malice of another, it surpasses (the other) in vengeance, and, repaying, aggravates the evil that has once been committed. Vengeance, with a false understanding, appears to be a consolation in grief, but, with a true view, only (its) evil properties are revealed. For what is the difference between the one who caused (evil) and the one caused (to evil), if not just that the one first, and the other after, is excited by evil. However, both of them are guilty of insulting a person before God, who both forbids and condemns everything unworthy. In evil actions, their ordinal count does not matter; and space does not separate what brings together (internal) similarity. Therefore, it is absolutely prescribed that evil should not be repaid with evil (Rom. 12.21). The same action has the same reward (meritum). Do we consider this if, while turning away (from evil actions), we do not have an aversion to vengeance? What honor will we give to the Lord God if we arrogate to ourselves the right of defense? We, insignificant (utres), earthen vessels, if our slaves arrogate to themselves the right of vengeance over (their) fellow slaves, we feel ourselves severely offended; and those who have shown their patience before us, we not only praise them as remembering (their) humiliation, slavery, and respecting the right of their master’s honor, but we also give them greater reward than they themselves had in mind. Is this doubtful for us in relation to the Lord, who is so fair in assessing (actions) and so powerful in carrying out (his) actions? How can we believe that He is the Judge if He is not also the Punisher? He Himself promises this to us, saying: “Vengeance is mine, and I will repay” (Heb. 10.30), that is, patience is mine, and I will give a reward for patience. For when He says: “Do not judge, lest... you be... judged” (Matthew 7.1), then does He not require patience? Who will not condemn another, if not the one who will have the patience not to defend himself? Who condemns in order to forgive? And if later he forgave, then, however, he harbored impatience, wanting to condemn, and delighted the honor of the only Judge, that is, God. And how many misfortunes of this kind are usually met with by impatience! How many times has it repented of its self-defense! How many times does stubbornness turn out to be worse than the reasons that caused it! For nothing conceived with impatience can be accomplished without impetuous impetuosity (impetus); and there is nothing that is done with swift impetuosity that does not either bump into something else, or overturn, or fly headlong down. If you defend yourself quickly, you will become furious; and if it lasts for a long time, you will become exhausted. What benefit is there to me from vengeance, the correct measure of which I cannot determine due to impatience caused by grief? If I maintain patience, then I will not grieve, and if I do not grieve, then I will not desire revenge. Chapter 11. About maintaining patience. After we have considered, as far as we can, the main reasons (materias) of impatience, why should we expand the discussion about other reasons that take place both within and without (foris) us? The action of evil is wide and extensive: the excitations of the (evil) spirit that throws arrows at us are varied, sometimes small, sometimes significant. But you, in your smallness, can despise the little ones, and in your proud invincibility you can yield to the big ones. Where the offense is small, there is no need to show patience. And where the resentment is greater, there the more necessary is the remedy against resentment - patience. So, let us try to endure what is caused by evil, so that the zeal of our patience will turn into nothing the (tempting) attempts of the enemy. If we ourselves have brought something upon ourselves, either foolishly or voluntarily, then we must patiently endure what we attribute to ourselves. And if we believe that something is sent (to us) by God, then to whom else, if not to Him, are we obliged to show patience? He, after all, teaches us to thank and rejoice in the fact that we have received divine punishment. “Whom he says I love... I punish” (Prov. 3.12; cf. Heb. 12.6; Rev. 3.19). Oh, blessed is that servant whose correction the Lord is present with (instat). He does not lead whom He has worthy of anger into temptation through the illusory nature of (His) admonition. Thus, we are encouraged from everywhere to practice patience. From whatever side the need (it) comes - whether in view of our delusions, or the machinations of evil, or the instructions of the Lord - the reward for its fulfillment is great, namely, bliss. For who, if not the patient ones, did the Lord call blessed, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for to them is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5.3)? Only the humble are truly poor in spirit. And who is humble but patient? For no one can submit unless there is the first stage of patience, which is to submit oneself. “Blessed,” he says, “are those who weep and mourn” (Matthew 5.4). Who will endure this if they lack patience? Therefore, such are promised help (advocatio) and joy (risus; cf. Lk 6.21). “Blessed are the meek” (Matthew 5.5). And this name cannot at all designate the impatient. Likewise, when he glorifies peacemakers with the same title: “blessed” and calls them “sons of God” (Matthew 5.9), then are the impatient close to peace? Only the unwise would think this. When, finally, he says: “Rejoice and be glad, no matter how much you are slandered and persecuted, for great is your reward in heaven” (Matthew 5.11–12); then, of course, it is not impatience that is promised a reward, for no one will rejoice in troubles if he does not recognize them as insignificant, no one will consider them insignificant if he does not have patience. Chapter 12. About the fruits of patience. As for the discipline of peacefulness, so pleasing to God, who (I ask), completely devoted to impatience, will forgive his brother at least once (“I do not say...: up to seven times and up to seventy times seventy times.” (Matthew 18.22))? Who, intending to sue his rival, will bring the matter to peace if he has not already suppressed anger, moral cruelty, malice in himself, that is, has not destroyed (amputaret) the poisons of impatience? How will you forgive and be forgiven if, in the absence of patience, you persist in causing offense? No one, whose spirit is indignant against his brother, can bring a gift to the altar, unless he first, having been reconciled with his brother, returns to patience (Matthew 5.23–24)? If the sun goes down on our anger, we are in danger (Eph 4.26). It is not permissible for us to remain without patience for even one day. If patience governs every kind of saving discipline, then what is surprising if it also helps repentance - this usual means of help for the fallen, in addition to another means - dissolution of marriage (for the reason, however, that either the husband or the wife must assume permanent widowhood). For those who wish to receive salvation, patience (so to speak) waits with hope for repentance, passionately longs for it, begs for it. How much benefit it brings to both half. One is not made guilty of adultery, the other is cleansed. And through the examples of the Lord’s parables we are convinced of the need for patience among the saints. The patience of the shepherd seeks and finds the lost sheep (Luke 15.4), for impatience would easily despise a single sheep. The work of searching is undertaken by patience, and the patient porter brings the abandoned sinful sheep on his shoulders (Luke 15.5). And this son, who has squandered his property, is accepted again by the patience of the father; it clothes, nourishes, and justifies, in view of the (revealed) impatience on the part of the irritated brother (Lk 15.22–32). Therefore, the one who “bent” is saved (Luke 15.32), for he has entered the path of repentance. Repentance does not perish, for it has found support in patience. Love is the greatest sacrament of faith, the treasure of the Christian confession - love, which the Apostle praises with all the powers given to him by the Holy Spirit - how is it acquired, if not through the discipline of patience? “Love,” he says, “is generous,” therefore, it uses patience. It is merciful: patience does not create evil. “Does not envy”: this is precisely characteristic of patience. “Does not boast”: in patience it draws modesty. “It is not proud, it does not behave outrageously,” for this does not fit into patience. “It does not seek its own,” when it gives its own if it is useful to another. “It does not become irritated,” otherwise it would be in it. a remnant of impatience. Therefore, he says: “love endures everything, endures everything,” obviously because it is patient. In fairness, this means that it “falls away no more” (1 Cor 13.4–8), since everything else is abolished and has an end. Tongues, knowledge, prophecy will be silent, but faith, hope, love will remain: the faith that the patience of Christ brought, the hope that the patience of man so passionately desires, and the love that, according to the teaching of God (Deo magistro), accompanies patience. Chapter 13. About the influence of patience on the body. Until now we have spoken of patience as a simple and uniform virtue (simplici et uniformi) and resting only in the spirit, while in many ways it benefits the body, which should be connected with the Lord. And in the Lord Himself it is given as a virtue of the body, for the spirit, as a manager (rector), easily imparts spiritual influences (invecta) to its dwelling. So, what is the matter of patience in the area related to the body? First of all, the exhaustion of the body, may it be a propitiatory sacrifice to the Lord through the feat of humiliation - when patience brings sad clothes to the Lord with scant food, being content with simple food and one drink of water, when it adds fast to fast (jejunia conjungit), when it remains in ashes and rags. Such patience of the body makes our prayers acceptable (precationes), confirms our petitions (deprecationes). It opens the ear of Christ God for us, turns away severity, and attracts mercy. So, this king of Babylon; Having offended God, he lived for seven years in dirt and uncleanness, outside the human form of existence. And, having made the sacrifice of patience in relation to his body, he again received the kingdom, and, which is much more desirable for a person, brought satisfaction to God. And if we pay attention to the higher and happier forms of bodily patience, then it is precisely this that promotes holiness through abstinence of the body. And it holds the widow, and preserves the virgin, and elevates the voluntary eunuch to the Kingdom of Heaven. What has its basis in the virtue of the spirit receives (its) fulfillment in the body and, thus, in persecution it is the patience of the body that decides the dispute. If flight threatens, then the flesh overcomes all the hardships of flight. If there is a prison ahead, then the body (caro) is in chains, the body is in treasures (cf. Acts 16.24), the body is on bare ground and in lack of light, and in this patient suffering (coming) from the world. And when one is brought to the final witness of Christian bliss, and when the occasion of the second baptism, the ascent to the divine womb, awaits, then something other than the patience of the body appears. When the spirit is willing, and the flesh is weak without patience (Matthew 26.41), where then is the salvation of the spirit and the body itself? And since the Lord says this about the flesh, recognizing it as weak, by this He shows what exactly is needed to strengthen it - it is necessary that patience firmly endure everything that is being prepared (by the enemies) for the uprooting of faith or for its punishment, such as: beating, fire, the cross, wild animals, the sword; By enduring this, the prophets and apostles gained victory. Chapter 14. Examples of the greatest patience in bodily suffering. Thanks to the strength that patience gives, Isaiah is sawn apart and does not keep silent about the Lord; Stefan is stoned and asks his enemies for forgiveness. Oh, blessed is also the one who showed every kind of patience against every kind of power of the devil - whom neither the stolen herds, nor these riches of small livestock, nor the death of children due to the fall of the church under the single onslaught of the wind, nor his own suffering from wounds of the body could deviate from patience and devoted faith in the Lord, whom the devil in vain beat with all (his) strength. For, under the influence of so many sorrows, he did not shy away from reverence for the harm of God, but stood firm to give us an example and testimony of how patience should be exercised in spirit and flesh, in soul and body, so that we would not fall due to the loss of temporary goods, or the loss of dear persons, or even the suffering of the body. What a trophy God has erected in this man over the devil! How He raised the standard of His glory above the enemy, when this man, at every sorrowful word of the messengers, utters nothing else from his lips except thanksgiving to God; when he cursed his wife, already depressed by disasters and advising him to resort to bad means of help (remedia)? How did God rejoice (ridebat), how did the devil grieve, when Job with great calm cleaned away the unclean deposits of his wounds, when, as if amused (ludento), he again returned the crawling worms (bestiolas) to the same ulcers and the same feeding places (worms) of his torn flesh? And thus, this accomplice (operarius) of God's victory, having blunted all the spears of temptation with the armor and shield of patience, again received from God the health of the body, and what he had previously lost, he took possession of in double quantity. And if he wanted the dead children to be returned, he would again be called (their) father. But he wished better that they were returned to him on the last day. Having placed his trust in the Lord, he put this joy aside. He voluntarily endured the lack of children, so as not to live without (discovering) patience. Chapter 15. Praise for patience. Therefore, the faithful guarantor of our patience is God. He is an avenger if you bring your offense to Him; He is the restorer if you have suffered damage; He is a healer in sorrow, He is a resurrector in death. How wide, therefore, is the scope of patience if it makes God Himself a debtor! And deservedly so! For it protects everything pleasing to Him, and is present with all His commandments. Strengthens faith, establishes peace, affirms love, teaches humility, passionately desires repentance, seals repentance (adsignat), governs the flesh, serves the spirit, bridles the tongue, restrains the hand, suppresses temptations (inculcat), drives out temptations, perfects martyrdom, comforts the poor, makes the rich moderate, shortens the time of the sick, does not harm the healthy, delights the believer, the pagan attracts and unites the slave with the master and the master with God, adorns the wife, elevates the husband; they love it in children, they boast about it in young men, they honor it in old men; it is beautiful in every gender, at every age. Now let’s define his image and his external features. His face is peaceful, meek; a clean forehead, not darkened by wrinkles of grief or anger; eyebrows are drawn together joyfully, with eyes lowered from humility, and not from misfortune; the mouth is imprinted with the beauty of silence; the complexion that happens to people who are serene in spirit and innocent of anything; a frequent movement of the head is directed against the devil, and a grin is a threat against him; clothing around the upper body, white and clinging tightly to the body; so that it does not swell (nec inflatur) and cause concern. Patience sits on the throne of its spirit - the meekest and quietest, which (i.e. the throne) is not covered by a whirlwind, not covered by a cloud, but is distinguished by gentle clarity, pure and simple, as Elijah saw it at the third appearance (1 Kings 19.11ff.). For where God is, there is His beloved child, that is, patience. Therefore, when the Spirit of God descends, patience always accompanies Him. And if we do not give, along with the Spirit, access and patience, then does He remain in us forever? I don't know how long He can stay. It must be admitted that without His companion and servant He feels as if squashed (angatur) in every place and at every time. Wherever his enemy strikes, he alone is unable to withstand, being deprived of a weapon to withstand (the blow). Chapter 16. Christian and pagan patience. Here is the teaching (ratio) about patience, here is its discipline (disciplina), here are the works of heavenly and true, that is, Christian patience - not like the patience of the pagans, which is false and shameful. For in this case, too, to appear as a rival to God, to stand on an equal line (although the very difference between good and evil is not equalized in magnitude through this), the devil taught his own special patience - that, I say, patience that subordinated the power of wives to husbands who were bribed with a dowry or engaged in pimping - that patience that, in order to catch the childless, endures, with feigned affection, all the hardships of forced obedience - to that patience which, in subordinating their freedom to shameful dependence, makes slaves of gluttony. The pagans know such exercises in patience, and in their vile deeds they have appropriated to themselves a word denoting such great blessings; they are patient with their rivals, with the rich, with those who invite them to meals, and have no patience only with God. underground fire. And let us love the patience of God, the patience of Christ; let us repay patience to Him who brought it for us. Believing in the resurrection of the flesh and spirit, let us offer as a sacrifice the patience of the spirit and the patience of the flesh. You might be interested in: