257 Augustine's sermon along with his other interpretations of Ps. 115.2

As in St. Augustine's other sermons dealing with Ps. 115:2 ("Every man is a liar"), in Sermon 257 Augustine interprets this verse as a statement of the fallen state of human nature, which can only be overcome by grace. The peculiarity of sermon 257 is that as an example of deceitfulness and truthfulness, the actions of the same person are cited - the Apostle Peter - speaking either from himself, or by inspiration from above (Matthew 16:16-23). Sermon 257 of Augustine of Hippo is published in connection with the circumstances and time of its delivery (Sunday, the eighth day after Easter) as one of the Easter sermons. In this aspect it is examined by Suzanne Poch, who prepared its latest critical edition in the 115th volume of the Sources chrétiennes and described its place in the liturgical context 1 . In the following essay we will consider the exethetical content of this short homily of Augustine. Sermon 257 is just one of several that focus on the interpretation of this verse, Ps. 115:2 (“Every man is a liar”). This verse was repeatedly discussed by Augustine. Places from Augustine's sermons where Ps. 115:2 is subject to special consideration were cited by I. Fransen in his commentary on a fragment of the sermon, which was initially assigned the number 28A 2 in Augustine's corpus. Among these places are sermons 81.5–6, 254.7, 257.2, 328.2, as well as the actual interpretation on Ps.115:3. The Bishop of Hippo understood the words of the Psalmist “every man is a liar” as a statement of the weakness of human nature and its alienation from the truth after the Fall. The categorical nature of this statement is not softened for Augustine by the fact that the prophet said his words “in his frenzy,” that is, as he understands these words, “in anxiety, in anxiety” 3. On the contrary, anxiety and restlessness, from Augustine’s point of view, reveal a person’s helplessness, his inability to rely on himself. This is how Augustine comments on this verse in his interpretation of Ps. 115 (paragraph 3), where he puts these words into the mouths of the martyrs: “I said in my frenzy: every man is a liar. He called frenzy the fear that human weakness experiences when it is threatened with persecution or when it has to go through torture and death. We understand this from the fact that the voice of the martyrs sounds in the psalm. Frenzy can also have another meaning: when a person does not lose his mind from fear, but when some divine inspiration takes possession of his mind. I said in my frenzy: every man is a liar. Frightened, he looked at his weakness and saw that he could not rely on himself. For since he is a man, he is deceitful, but by the grace of God he became truthful, otherwise he would have yielded to the onslaught of his enemies and would not have said what he believed, but would have renounced. This happened to Peter because he relied on himself and had to understand that you cannot rely on a person. And since it was impossible to rely on a person, it means that one could not rely on oneself, since he is a person. And so, in his fear, he clearly saw that every person is deceitful; for those who do not melt away from fear and do not begin to lie to their persecutors have become such not by their own strength, but by the gift of God. And therefore it is truly said: every man is a liar. But God is truthful, who said: I said: you are all gods and sons of the Most High, but you, like people, die and, like one of the leaders, you fall (Ps. 82:7). He comforts the humble and fills them not only with the ability to believe in the truth, but also with firmness in preaching it, if they constantly entrust themselves to God and do not imitate “one of the leaders,” the devil, who did not stand in the truth and fell. For if every person is a liar, then people will not be liars as much as they will cease to be people, because they will be gods and sons of the Most High.” The quoted commentary paragraph on Psalm 115 sets out the essence of Augustine's understanding of this verse. In his interpretation of Ps. 115, he does not resort to semantic contrasts between biblical verses, but compares Ps. 116:2 with Ps. 82:6–7 as being close in meaning. However, in other cases, when it was necessary to explain the meaning of the verse Ps. 115:2, Augustine almost always confronts it with another verse of Scripture that apparently contradicts it, or even with several such verses. The most complete set of quotations with which Ps. 115:2 is contrasted and contrasted appears to be found in Sermon 28A. Another striking example is Sermon 81. Here, quotations from Scripture prohibiting lying are selected as a series of counter-arguments addressed to an imaginary seducer who would dare to use the statement “every man is a liar” as a justification for his deceit: So, if someone says to you: “You can lie, for it is written: Every man is a liar,” answer him: “I do not lie, for it is written: Lying lips kill the soul (Wis. 1:10). I do not lie, because it is written: You will destroy all who practice iniquity (Ps. 5:7). I do not lie, because it is said: “Do not bear false witness” (Deut. 5:20) 4. But in other cases, the path that Augustine prefers to follow when interpreting this verse is the path of contrasting with it places that clearly do not agree with it. Let's take as an example sermon 166 (after 409), which we analyzed in another study. Here Ps. 115:2 collides with Ephesians verse Eph. 4:25 (“Putting aside lies, speak the truth”) 5 . As in other places where Ps. 115:2 is quoted, in sermon 166 this exclamation of the Psalmist, in Augustine’s understanding, reflects the state in which fallen man finds himself, not yet renewed by grace. As in all similar cases, it is shown here that a person has only one way to get rid of the lies inherent in his fallen state - to cease being a fallen person and, in this sense, a person in general in the usual sense of the word for a fallen person and to join the nature renewed by Christ. A person ceases to be a liar insofar as he ceases to be a fallen man and perceives deification. In a collision with such a categorically understood exclamation of the prophet, the demand of the Apostle Paul to “put aside lies and speak the truth” acquires (or rather, begins to clearly reveal) a deeper meaning. Now this is no longer just a moral rule, but a call to renew one’s nature: after all, without such renewal, remaining in one’s old nature, a person, no matter how hard he tries, will remain a “liar.” This is exactly how, if you look closely, you should read the statement of the Apostle Paul, in the context of the requirement put forward in the fourth chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians (vv. 17 ff) to “put off your old way of life, the old man” (vv. 22) and “put on the new man” (vv. 24). Thus, sermon 166 presents us with an instance where Psalm 115:2 is brought to bear on another passage of Scripture, in this case a verse from Ephesians. Apparently, the psalm verse, which contradicts the statement of the message, if understood correctly (i.e., as a description of a fallen, unrenewed person), makes it possible to emphasize some shades of the meaning of the interpreted verse of the Epistle that are not so noticeable at first glance. The situation is different with sermon 257. Here the focus is on Ps. 115:2, and the second quotation is chosen precisely in contrast to this verse. To see this more clearly, consider the context in which the expression “every man is a liar” is used in Sermon 257. This sermon was preached on the first Sunday after Easter at the tomb of the twenty martyrs revered in Hippo (the so-called Memoria sanctorum 6), in the presence of the newly baptized. Some quotes and memories in the sermon are explained precisely by these liturgical circumstances of delivering the sermon. Before the sermon, Ps. 115 was sung, usual for this situation and especially associated with it with two verses: 1) “I believed, and therefore I spoke” (because the Creed was to be read); 2) “The death of his saints is precious before the Lord” (because the meeting took place at the tomb of the martyrs). After singing the psalm, Augustine probably considered it necessary to pay special attention to verse 2, not only because of the importance of a correct understanding of this verse, but also in view of the fact that soon after this the Gospel concept about the assurance of Thomas was still to be read. According to Augustine’s explanation, Thomas did not believe his fellow disciples because he was afraid to believe people, because “every man is a liar,” and he needed assurance from Christ himself. Having thus come to consider the meaning of Ps. 115:2, Augustine considered it necessary to determine the main direction in which this verse should be understood, or rather, the direction in which it cannot be interpreted: he warns listeners that they cannot use this verse to justify their falsity. Whoever intends to rest in his lies, considering the psalm verse to legitimize human deceitfulness, comes across the underwater rock of another psalm statement: “You will destroy all those who speak lies” (Ps. 5:7). Unlike sermon 166, which was probably designed in advance as a special treatment of the contradiction between two pre-selected verses, here Ps. 116:2 is set by all circumstances as subject to interpretation. The quotation of Ps. 5:7 is given in order, firstly, to strengthen the expectation of the exegesis itself, and secondly, to determine its right direction. The solution is offered immediately, and it is the same as always with Augustine: man’s truth comes from God, his lie comes from himself, from his fallen state. “If we want to be truthful, we must resort to the Lord. By his power we can be truthful; in ourselves we are false.” But the illustration chosen for this position is special: two cases are given with the Apostle Peter (and not one, as in the interpretation on Ps. 115): 1) his confession, in which Peter spoke by revelation from above, and 2) his attempt to dissuade Christ from the upcoming suffering: here Peter spoke “as a man.” By resolving the contradiction between Ps. 116:2 and Ps. 5:7, Augustine thus explains another apparent contradiction: the contradiction between Peter's two actions and Christ's response to them. So, sermon 257 is one of the cases of interpreting Ps. 116:2 with the help of another verse that does not agree with it at first glance. Familiarity with this sermon is necessary to obtain a complete understanding of how the Hippo Teacher understood and interpreted this verse. It is unique precisely because it gives an example of the “lie” that is characteristic of man in contrast to the “truth” received from God, taken from the life of the same person in different states - the Apostle Peter. The text of the sermon was preserved among a series of Easter sermons in the 8th century homilary. from Fleury, reproducing one of the oldest collections of Augustinian homiletics. It was first published in the 5th volume of the Benedictine edition of the works of Augustine in 1683, then republished in Migne's Latin Patrolology (Vol. 38). The latest, critical edition is in the collection of Augustine's Easter sermons, prepared by Suzanne Poke (Augustin d'Hippone. Sermons pour la Paque. (SC; 116) P.338–342). The translation was made from this edition. St. Augustine, bishop. Gipponsky. Sermon 257. Homily delivered on Sunday at the tomb of the saints. 1. What the word “Hallelujah” means in Hebrew is “praise the Lord” in our language. Let us praise our Lord not only with words, but also with our hearts, because he who praises with his heart praises the inner man with words. A word addressed to a person is a sound, a word addressed to God is a movement of the soul. 2. Someone said “in his frenzy,” as you read, as you heard: “Every man is a liar” (Ps. 116:2). And so one man refused to believe until he touched the body of the Lord. The truth that his fellow practitioners spoke seemed to him to be a lie. And it was not enough for him to hear the truth, he wanted to touch it. And the Lord allowed him: this is stated further in the Gospel, which we will read later. But whoever hears the words “every man is a liar” should not take root in lies and not want to rise out of it, indulge in empty reasoning, like a deceitful person, and say to himself: “I will not cease to be a man; it means that while I am a man here, I am a liar; and it would be better for me to be a liar than for the Scripture to be false, which says, “Every man is a liar.” For if I am truthful, the Scripture will be found to be false; but since Scripture cannot be false, it means that I will be false.” In such idle talk, he believes, he finds peace, as if in a harbor of lies that threatens him with ruin. You hoped to rest in this, so to speak, harbor, but look what an underwater rock you stumbled upon: “You will destroy all those who tell lies” (Ps. 5:7). This means you will destroy everyone, because “every man is a liar.” But why are these words spoken to us? What do they teach us? Because we are all deceitful on our own. And if we want to be truthful, we need to resort to the Lord. By His power we can be truthful; in ourselves we are false. 3. Listen to one example of this, brief and significant, brief because it does not take long to tell, significant if you weigh its meaning. Everything I want to say can be seen in Petra. When Peter said to the Lord Christ: “You are Christ, the Son of the Living God,” what did Christ answer him? – “Blessed are you, Simon bar-Jonah, for it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 16:16-23). You told the truth, but it doesn't come from you. From whom? “My Father who is in heaven has revealed it to you.” You are blessed because of what is given by God, you are unhappy only because of yourself. After the Lord said to him: “Blessed are you, for it was not flesh and blood that revealed it to you, but my Father who is in heaven,” after these words the Lord began to talk about the suffering and death ahead of him. And then Peter says: “Let this not happen to you, Lord!” Every person is deceitful. Look: one moment Peter was truthful, and now Peter is lying. But why was Peter truthful? “Flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” Why is Peter lying? “Get behind me, Satan, for you think not about the things of God, but about the things of men.” Every person is deceitful. So, for this reason we are told: “Every man is a liar,” so that we may flee ourselves and strive for God, who alone is truthful. St Augustine’s Interpretation of Ps.115:2 and His Sermo 257 S. A. Stepantsov In Sermo 257, as well as in the rest of his sermons considering Ps.115:2 (“All men are liars”), St Augustine reads the verse as referring to the fallen state of man, which can be cured by the divine grace only. In Sermo 257 he cites as examples of “human” (i.e. fallen) lie and divinely inspired soothsaying two sentences of the same character, apostle Peter (Mt.16:16–23). Dedicated to Wolf Moscovitch Augustin d'Hippone. Sermons pour la Paque / S. Poque, ed. P., 1966. (SC; 116) P. 108–116. Fransen I. Fragment inédit d’un sermon perdu de saint Augustin sur le Psaume CXV // A la rencontre de Dieu. Memorial Albert Gelin. Le Puy, 1961, pp. 375–395. Subsequently, the full text of this sermon was discovered, and F. Dolbeau, who published it, proposed assigning the number 28A according to the general numbering of the sermon as a whole, and not as a fragment. In the Dolbeau collection it is listed as number 9 (Dolbeau 9). See first edition: Dolbeau F. Sermo de versu psalmi: Ego dixi in pavore meo // Revue Benedictine. 1991. Vol. 101. P. 249–256. In quotations from Ps. 115, Augustine uses three variants of the Greek rendering en ecstasei mou in different sermons: in pauore meo, in ecstasi mea (most often) and in excessu mentis meae. In relation to Ps. 115, Augustine always understands ecstasis (frenzy) in the sense of pauor (fear, anxiety, trembling, anxiety), although he is aware of another possible meaning of this word (see below the quote from the interpretation on Ps. 115). Hoc ergo ei responde, qui dicit, Mentire, quia scriptum est, Omnis homo mendax: Non mentior, quia scriptum est, Os quod mentitur, occidit animam (Sap 1. 10). Non mentior, quia scriptum est, Perdes omnes qui loquuntur mendacium (Ps 5.7). Non mentior, quia scriptum est, Falsum testimonium non dices (Deut 5.20) – S. 81.2 (PL 38. Col. 502–503). Stepantsov S. A. Three sermons of Blessed Augustine on contradictions in Scripture (towards an understanding of one exegetical technique) // Bulletin of history, literature, art. M., 2008. T. 5. P. 72–73. Poque S. Introduction // Augustin d’Hippone. Sermons pour la Paque... P. 108–109.