Книга 2

7 (Maur. 37). Ambrose Simplicianu 177 1. Recently, when you and I, according to the custom of old friendship, were having a conversation, you, to my joy, said that you liked how I chose to preach to the people something from the writings of the Apostle Paul, first of all, because the depth of his thoughts is difficult to understand, and its judgments elevate the listener and inflame the preacher, and also for the reason that to what Paul himself said in most of his epistles, the interpreter has nothing left to add of himself, and if he wants to say something, one must feel more like a grammarian than a preacher. 2. However, in this I recognize both the affection of old friendship, and, what is even more valuable, the grace of fatherly love, for old friendship can be shared by many, but fatherly love cannot be divided, and also since you considered that I have already fully fulfilled your wishes, I intend to obey your will, exhorted and prompted by my own example, which is not at all difficult for me, for I will not imitate someone great, but myself and follow not someone’s great examples, but your own habits. 3. And since in our word the appearance and image of a blessed life will emerge, 179 we think that our story may please many and, of course, you, who sincerely love us, although it is more difficult to earn your approval than anyone else; however, the severity of your judgment is softened by love and therefore it is lenient towards me. 4. This same letter, addressed to you, who is absent, is dedicated to the judgments of the Apostle Paul, who calls us from slavery to freedom, saying: You were bought with a price, do not become slaves of men (1 Cor. 7:23), showing that our freedom is in Christ, that our freedom is in the knowledge of wisdom. Philosophers have expressed this idea many times, heatedly discussed and disputed it, because if “every wise man is free,” 180 then every foolish person remains in slavery. 5. However, much earlier, Solomon said that a fool changes like the moon (Sirach. 27.11). After all, neither fear will break a wise man, nor power will change, nor prosperity will exalt, nor sorrow will drown. For where there is wisdom, there is virtue of the spirit, there is constancy and courage. 181 Consequently, in spirit the wise man remains the same, does not decrease or increase from the vicissitudes of fate, and is not tossed around like a child carried away by every wind of doctrine (Eph. 4:14), but remains perfect in Christ, established in love, rooted in faith. 182 So, the wise man does not know poverty and does not know fickleness in spirit, but he who shines in the kingdom of his Father 183 will shine like the sun of righteousness (Mal. 3:20). 6. However, let's take a closer look at where philosophy got this idea from, from what paternal teaching and wisdom. Wasn’t it Noah, after noticing that his son Ham foolishly ridiculed his naked father, who was the first to curse him, saying: Cursed is Ham, he will be a house slave to his brothers (Gen. 9:25), and made his brothers masters over him, who wisely believed that his father’s old age should be honored? 7. And was it not that glorious giver of 184 all teachings, Jacob, who was preferred to his elder brother for the dignity of wisdom, who poured out this reasoning in abundance into the hearts of all? Finally, that pious father, 185 who shared fatherly love between his two sons, but hesitated in his decision, for family ties give rise to love, and judgment is guided by merit, - when he gave grace to one, and compassion to the other: grace to the wise, compassion to the foolish, for he could neither rise to virtue by his own strength, nor take an independent step - commanded the foolish to serve his brother and be his brother. servant, 186 thereby showing that foolishness is worse than slavery, so that slavery becomes a cure for him, for a fool cannot control himself and, if he does not have a mentor, plunges into the abyss of his own desires. 8. And so his father, prudent and caring, gave him into slavery to his own brother, so that he would guide his will. Therefore, for peoples to make decisions, wise rulers are given, who, by their own willpower, direct the unreasonableness of the crowd, in order to dominate them and to decisively subjugate them, even against their will, to obedience to the most reasonable laws. 187 Therefore, he humbled the foolish one, like a wild bull, with a yoke, and the one about whom he had said that he would live by his sword, 188 denied freedom and, so that he would not act rashly, he appointed his brother as his head, so that he, submitting to brotherly authority and moderation, would take the path of conversion. And since slavery can be different: slavery by inevitability is weaker, slavery by free will is stronger, for the most beautiful good is that which occurs not through coercion, but through free will, that is why he first placed the yoke of inevitability on him, and then gave him a blessing for voluntary submission. 9. Therefore, it is not nature that creates the slave, but unreason, and accordingly the free one is not manumission, but learning. After all, Esau was born free, but became a slave. 189 Joseph was sold into slavery and invested with power, so that he commanded those who bought him. 190 He did not neglect his troublesome duties, but remained at the pinnacle of virtue, retained the freedom of innocence, the power of purity. 191 Therefore the Psalmist says beautifully: Joseph was sold into slavery. They bound his feet with shackles (Ps. 104.17-18). “He was sold into slavery,” it is said, “he did not “become a slave”; they bound his feet with chains, not his soul. 10. After all, how can the soul be oppressed, about which he says: His soul has passed through iron (Ps. 104.18)? For if sin passes into the souls of others - and iron is a sin that easily penetrates, however, the soul of Saint Joseph was so closed to sin that it itself passed through sin, and even the intrigues and seduction of its mistress did not overcome it. 192 It was no coincidence that he did not feel the flame of passion - after all, he was burning with a much stronger heat of divine grace. Therefore, it is beautifully said about him that the word of the Lord burned him (Ps. 104.19), and with it he extinguished the fiery arrows of the devil. 193 11. How can one be a slave who instructed the leaders of the people in the distribution of grain, so that they could foresee and provide for the future crop failure? 194 And how was he a slave who bought all the land and brought the entire Egyptian people into slavery, 195 not in order to convert them into a shameful state of slavery, but to establish a tax for everyone, with the exception of the possessions of the priests, 196 which he exempted from tax, so that the priestly piety of the Egyptians would remain inviolable? 12. Thus, being sold into slavery did not make him a slave. Of course, it was sold to merchants, but if you think about the price, you will find many who bought themselves young girls of outstanding beauty and, overwhelmed by love, betrayed themselves to shameful slavery. 197 And Apena, the concubine of King Darius, who sat on his right hand, appeared to his eyes, took the crown from his head and placed it on her head, struck him on the cheeks with her left hand, and the king looked at her with his mouth open, rejoiced when the woman smiled at him, and if she was angry, he considered himself an outcast and unhappy and, forgetting about power, caressed her and begged her to be reconciled with him. 198 13. But is it worth going on about this for a long time? Do we not see that, as a rule, children give ransom for parents who are captured by pirates or carried away captive by ferocious barbarians? Are the laws of money more powerful than the laws of nature? 199 Is godliness acquired through slavery? Many buy lions, but do not behave like masters with them, but, on the contrary, feel their superiority so much that as soon as they see how the muscles on the neck, under the mane of the angry ones begin to play, 200 - they immediately run away and hide. 201 Consequently, money, at the price of which people often buy their masters, does not decide anything; market tables mean nothing, 202 by which the buyer himself is often condemned and doomed to slavery. The bill of sale does not change the origin and does not take away the sage’s freedom. Finally, as it is written, many free people serve a wise servant, and there is also a wise slave who rules foolish masters. 203 14. So who do you consider freer? Only wisdom is free, which prefers the poor to the rich and which causes servants to lend to their own masters, a loan not of money, but a loan of gifts, makes them lend that talent of the eternal treasure of the Lord, which does not know incorruptibility, 204 which even to use temporarily is precious; to lend that clever silver of heavenly words, 205 about which the law says: And you will lend to many nations, but you yourself will not borrow (Deut. 15:6). They themselves did not receive the teaching that the Jews lent to the pagan tribes, but they passed them on to those to whom the Lord opened His treasury, in order to water the pagan tribes with His word 206 and become the Lord of the nations, and not have any Lord over them. 15. So, the one who is wise is free, he is bought at the price of 207 heavenly prophecies, with the same gold, with the same silver of the word of God, bought with the price of blood, 208 for it is no small thing to recognize one’s Redeemer, bought with the price of grace, the one who heard and understood the one who said: You who are thirsty, come to the water; and you who have no silver, go and buy and drink and eat (Isa. 55:1). 16. Free is the one who, having gone to war and seen a woman beautiful in appearance (Deut. 21. 10-11), and then, having seized the property of his enemies, having received her and desiring her, when she gets rid of the excess, he takes off her clothes of slavery and takes her as his wife, no longer a slave, but free, 209 for he understands that reason and teaching are not subject to slavery. That is why the law says: Do not sell it for silver (Deut. 21.14), because it is more expensive than gold and silver. And Job says: Draw wisdom within; Ethiopian topaz cannot compare with it, for it is more valuable than gold and silver (Job 28:18–19). 17. However, not only is he free who has never been put up for sale and who has never seen the master raise his finger, 210 but even more free is he who is free within himself, who is free according to the laws of nature, who knows that the law of nature is written for morals, and not for external conditions, and the measure of duties corresponds not to human judgment, but to the institutions of nature. And what, does he seem to you just a free man or also a censor and prefect of morals? Therefore the Scripture says truly that the poor are placed over the rich 211 and the common people over the rulers. 18. Or does it seem to you that the one who buys votes for himself with money, who seeks more the applause of the crowd than the judgment of reasonable people, is free? Is he really free who is swayed by the winds of the people, who is afraid of the whispers of the mob? But no, freedom is not what a freedman receives, nor is it what one who is struck by a lictor seeks. 212 For I do not call freedom the gift of someone's generosity, but a virtue that is not acquired with the help of other people's electoral votes, but is won and maintained by the own greatness of the soul. For the wise man is always free, always honorable, always master of the laws. In fact, the law is not made for the righteous, but for the lawless (1 Tim. 1.9), for the righteous is a law to himself; 213 he does not need to call from afar the image of virtue, which he carries enclosed in his heart, for the law is written on the tablets of his heart, 214 this is the one to whom it is said: Drink water from your vessels and from the sources of your wells (Proverbs 5:15). For what is so close to us as the Word of God? This is the Word in our hearts and on our lips. 215 We don’t see him and we hold him back. 19. So, the wise man is free, because the one who does what he wants is free. But not every will is good, but it is common for a wise man to desire what is good; for he hates evil, for he has chosen what is good. Consequently, if he has chosen what is good, he is the legislator of election, and the one who chooses this or that action is free, because he does what he wants; therefore the sage is free. Everything a sage does, he does well. And the one who does everything well does everything right. The one who does everything right, with good will. Where there is good will, there is a reward for voluntariness; where there is inevitability, there is obedience to the inevitability. So, good will is better than inevitability. So, it is the nature of a wise man to desire, and for a foolish man to obey and serve. 22. And there is also this apostolic definition when the apostle says: For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; and if it is involuntary, then I have only been entrusted with the ministry (1 Cor. 9.17). Therefore, the wise man is entitled to a reward, but the wise man acts of his own free will, therefore, according to the apostle, the wise man is free. Therefore, he himself proclaims: You are called to freedom, if only your freedom is not a reason for [pleasing] the flesh (Gal. 5:13). Having freed the Christian from the law, so that it does not seem that he is obeying the law against his will, he calls him to the Gospel, so that he can both preach the gospel and fulfill it of his own free will. Jew under the law, Christian according to the Gospel. Slavery is in the law, freedom is in the Gospel, where is the knowledge of wisdom. So, everyone who accepts Christ is wise, and whoever is wise is free, therefore, every Christian is both free and wise. 23. The Apostle taught me that what is higher than freedom itself is that service should also be freedom. Being free, he says, I enslaved myself to everyone in order to gain more (1 Cor. 9:19). So what is higher than freedom, if not the possession of the Spirit of grace (Heb. 10.29), the possession of love? After all, freedom makes a person free for people, love makes a friend for God. Therefore Christ says: I have called you friends (John 15:15). Good is the love about which it is said: With spiritual love serve one another (Gal. 5:13). Christ also served to make everyone free. His hands served the basket (Ps. 80.7), Him Who did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but took the form of a servant (Phil. 2.6-7) and became all things to all (1 Cor. 9.22), in order to bring salvation to all. Imitating Him, Paul was as one under the law, and lived as free from the law for the benefit of those whom he sought to help, and for the weak, of his own free will, he became weak in order to strengthen them, 216 and fled to receive a reward, and enslaved his body, 217 so that in Christ he might triumph over the powers of the air. 218 24. Thus, for a sage, even to serve is freedom. It follows from this that for a fool to even command is slavery, and what is even worse is that, although he rules over a few, he has even more masters, and much more severe ones. After all, he serves his own passions, serves his own lusts, from the tyranny of which he cannot hide either night or day, for within himself he has masters, within himself he drags out unbearable slavery. For slavery is twofold: one is to the body, the other is to the soul. People dominate the body, and vices and passions dominate souls, from which the sage is protected only by freedom of spirit, so that he can escape from this slavery. 219 25. So, let's find that truly wise, truly free one, who, although he spends his life in submission to many people, nevertheless freely says: Who will argue with me (Job 13:19)? Only You remove Your hand from me, I will not be able to hide from Your gaze, and let not Your horror shake me (Job 13:20-21). 26. And, echoing him, King David says: You alone have I sinned (Ps. 50:6). For, clothed in royal majesty, himself being, as it were, the lord of the laws, he did not obey the laws, but was answerable only to God, the Lord of hosts (Ps. 23:10). 27. And I heard one more, free: It means very little to me how you judge me or how other people judge me; I don’t judge myself. For although I know nothing about myself... the Lord is my judge (1 Cor. 4.3-4). True freedom is inherent in a spiritual person, for he judges everything, and no one judges him (1 Cor. 2.15), who participates in creation, but he knows that he obeys one God, Who alone is without sin, of whom Job says: As the Lord lives, He who judges me in this way (Job 27.2), for He alone can judge the righteous, He is the one before whom the heavens are not pure (Job. 15.15) and the light of the stars is not pure and clear. 220 28. Who pronounces Sophocles’ verses that say: “Jupiter rules over me, but not one of men”? 221 How much older than Job, how much older than David! So let them know that all the best things they said came from us! 29. Therefore, who is the sage if not the one who has comprehended the very secrets of the Divine and to whom the secrets of wisdom have been revealed? 222 Only he is wise who, under the guidance of God, rushed to where the truth lies, and mortal man became the heir and successor of the immortal God, 223 by grace having tasted sweetness, as it is written: Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of joy more than Your fellow partakers (Ps. 44:8). 30. So, if anyone takes a closer look at the state of affairs itself, he will understand what an advantage the wise man has and what obstacles the foolish one has, so that this one has the advantage of freedom, while the other has the disadvantage of slavery. After all, the sage rises like a winner, having defeated and trampled on lust, fear, laziness, sadness and other vices. He does this until he expels them from the domains of his mind and expands and strengthens all the borders, for a prudent leader knows how to beware of banditry raids and all sorts of military tricks, 224 which the worst enemies of our soul often dare, armed with fiery arrows. 225 For even in the midst of peace we have battles, 226 and in war there is peace. That’s why he says: On the outside there are attacks, on the inside there are fears (2 Cor. 7.5), but we overcome all this through the power of Him who loved us (Rom. 8.37), he says, because neither hardships, nor persecution, nor hunger, nor danger, nor death frighten him. 227 31. Isn’t he who is afraid of this, who is afraid of death, a slave? Of course, he slaves, and a miserable slavery, because nothing condemns the soul to complete slavery more than the fear of death. For how can a rejected, low and ignoble feeling rise up if it is mired in the abyss of weakness due to addiction to this life? 228 See how the servant says: I will hide myself and groan and tremble on the earth; and everyone who meets me will kill me (Gen. 4:14). And so, as a slave, he accepted the seal of 229 and, however, could not avoid death. 230 So, the sinner is a slave to fear, he is also a slave to passion, he is a slave to greed, he is a slave to lust, he is a slave to anger, he is a slave to anger, and at the same time he seems to himself to be free, but he is more a slave than a subject of the tyrant. 231 32. But those who live according to the laws are free. The true law is a right word, 232 the true law is not carved on tables and not minted in copper, but imprinted in the minds and stamped on the feelings, when the sage is not under the law, 233 but is a law unto himself, and holds the work of the law in his heart, 234 like an inscription written by the hand of nature. So are we really so blind that we do not see the obvious imprints of things and images of virtues? And how unworthy it is if entire nations obey human laws and are involved in freedom, while the wise despise and abandon the true law of nature, created in the image of God, 235 and true reason, which means freedom, 236 although freedom in it is such that, being children, we know no vices, are alien to anger, are not involved in greed, are unfamiliar with lust. 237 And what a pity that we, born in freedom, die in slavery! 33. But all this happens due to frivolity of spirit and instability of morals, for we have desired empty worries and are busy with useless things. The heart of a sage, his deeds and work must be firm and unshakable. Moses taught this when his hands became heavy, so that Joshua could hardly hold them, and therefore the people conquered, 238 when deeds were accomplished not momentarily, but filled with importance and virtue, emanating not from an unsteady spirit or from a shaky feeling, but established in the steadfastness of the mind. 239 So, the wise man stretches out his hands, but the fool folds them, as it is written that the fool folded his hands and devoured his insides (Eccl. 4:5), thinking more about the physical than about the spiritual. But that is not what that daughter of Judah did, 240 who, stretching out her hands, exclaimed to God: You know that they testify falsely against me (Dan. 13:43), considering that it is better not to sin and fall under the accusations of slanderers than to commit a sin with impunity. And she, despising death, retained her innocence. And Jephthah’s daughter did the same, who, with her own consent and approval, confirmed her father’s vow to sacrifice her. 241 34. I will not talk about contempt for death in the books of philosophers or Indian gymnosophists, 242 among whom they especially praise Calanus’ answer to Alexander when he ordered him to follow him. “What kind of praise,” he says, “will I be worthy of, having arrived at your request in Greece, if I can be forced to do what I do not want?” And truly this is a speech full of dignity, or rather a soul full of freedom. Finally he wrote a letter: 35. Friends convince you to use force and coercion against the Indian philosopher, without even dreaming of our deeds. In fact, by moving bodies from place to place, you will not force souls to do what they do not want, just as you will not force rocks and trees to speak with a voice. Fire brings severe pain to bodies, burning and bringing destruction, but we are above it, for we are burned alive. There is neither a king nor a ruler who would force us by torture to do what we ourselves did not want. We are not like the philosophers of Greece, who prefer words to deeds for the sake of their fame and glory. For us, deeds are akin to words, and words are akin to deeds: deeds are glorious, but speeches are short. In virtue for us there is blissful freedom.” 243 36. Glorious words - but these are words, glorious firmness - but this is the firmness of a husband, a glorious letter - but this is the letter of a philosopher. And among us, even young virgins, ready for death, rushed to the sky with the majestic tread of virtues. What can I say about Thekla, 244 about Agnes, 245 about Pelagia, 246 who, like noble shoots of vines, hastened to death as to immortality? 247 In the midst of the lions, the maiden rejoiced and fearlessly looked at the roaring beasts. 37. And in order to compare our deeds with the deeds of the Indian gymnosophists: what he boasted in words, Saint Lawrence experienced in practice, when he was burned alive and, still alive in the fire, he said: “Turn and eat!” 248 - in no way inferior to the descendants of Abraham and the Maccabean youths, some of whom sang in the fire, others, when they were burned, did not beg for mercy, but teased the persecutors so that they would become even more incensed. 249 So the sage is free. 38. And what is more sublime than the act of Saint Pelagia, who, surrounded by pursuers, even before appearing in their eyes, said: “I die of my own free will, no one will touch me with his hand, 250 no one will defile me with an insolent glance, with me I will take away a girl’s shame, with me - inviolable modesty, the robbers will not find profit for their insolence.” Pelagia follows Christ, no one will take away freedom, no one will see captive free faith, outstanding chastity and the receptacle of wisdom. Slavery will remain here, there is no other use for it. So great is the freedom of pious virginity, which, surrounded by crowds of persecutors, in the midst of the greatest dangers, did not suffer the slightest damage either to its purity or to its life. 39. But the one who is in the power of anger is not free, for he bows under the yoke of sin, because an angry person dug up sin (Proverbs 29.22), and everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin (John 8.34). But he who is a slave to greed is not free, for he cannot own his vessel. 251 He is not free who, enslaving to passions and pleasures, is carried along the waves of delusions. The one who is bent over by servility is not free, because he is a slave to someone else's power. But he is free who can say: Everything is permissible for me, [but not everything is beneficial to me; everything is permissible to me], but nothing should possess me. Food is for the belly, and the belly is for food (1 Cor. 6:12–13). He is free who says: Why should our freedom be judged by an untrue conscience (1 Cor. 10:29)? 40. Consequently, freedom befits a wise man, and not a foolish one, for he who gives honor to a fool is like one who puts a stone into a sling (Proverbs 26:8) wounds himself and, when he throws a dart, he threatens himself with danger, and of course, just as the danger from a throwing machine is twice as great and terrible as from the collapse of a rock, so the collapse of a foolish man who has received freedom is much more rapid. Therefore, the power of the unreasonable must be limited, he should not be given more freedom, for he is entitled to slavery. That is why it was added: In the hand of a drunkard thorns are born, slavery in the hand of a fool (Proverbs 26.9), for he is wounded by his own drinking, and the foolish by his deeds. This one fell into sin due to drunkenness, this one, through his actions, incurs accusations and is carried away into slavery. Paul saw that he was being dragged into slavery by the law of sin, 252 and therefore, in order to free himself, he resorted to the grace of freedom. 41. So, the foolish are not free, to whom it is said: Do not be like a horse and like a mule, who have no understanding. Rein their jaws with bridles and bits, so that they do not come near you. Many blows to sinners (Ps. 31.9-10), because many blows are needed to restrain their folly. This is required by order, not cruelty: after all, whoever spares his rod hates his son (Proverbs 13:35), also because everyone is hit more painfully by his own sins. For the burden of wrongdoing is heavy, the scourge of crime is heavy, as if it were a heavy burden, they inflict wounds on the soul and bring the ulcers of the mind to fester. 42. So, let us lay down such a heavy bag of slavery, let us renounce the luxury and pleasures that bind us with certain shackles of passions and fetter us with chains. Pleasure does not bring any benefit to a fool, and the one who has indulged in pleasure since childhood will remain in slavery, he is like the living dead. 253 So let luxury be rejected, pleasures cut off, and if someone has been given over to luxury, let him say goodbye to the past. After all, a pruned vineyard bears fruit, a half-pruned one goes into foliage, and an untended vineyard grows luxuriously. That is why it is written: Like a field a man without understanding, and like a vineyard a man devoid of meaning: if you leave it, it will be desolate (Proverbs 24:30). So, let us cultivate our body, let us tame it, force it into slavery, 254 let us not neglect it. 43. For our members are instruments of righteousness (Rom. 6:13), they are also instruments of sin: if they strive upward, then they are instruments of righteousness, so that sin does not dominate in them. If the body is dead to sin, 255 guilt will not reign in it 256 and our members will be free from sin. So, let us not obey his lusts and let us not give our members over to sin as weapons of unrighteousness. 257 If you looked at a woman with lust (Matthew 5:28), then your members became an instrument of sin; if you spoke to attract her, then your tongue and lips became members of sin. 258 If you have violated the boundaries set by your fathers, 259 your members have become instruments of sin. If you hurried with swift feet to shed the blood of innocents, 260 your members became instruments of unrighteousness. 44. On the contrary, if you saw the poor and brought him into your house, 261 your members became instruments of righteousness. If you saved someone who was wronged 262 or led to death, 263 if you tore up the handwriting of a debt, your members became instruments of righteousness. If you confessed Christ - after all, wise lips are an instrument of understanding (Proverbs 14:7) - your lips became righteous members. Who can say: I was the eye of the blind, the foot of the lame, the father of the weak (Job 29:15-16), whose members are righteous members. 264 45. So, freed from sin - as purchased at the price of the Blood of Christ, 265 let us not give ourselves into slavery either to people or passions, let us, without blushing, confess our sin. Look how free is the one who could say: I was not afraid of the multitude of people, so as to confess my sin before them all (Job 31:34). For whoever confesses to the Lord removes slavery from himself, because the righteous, when he begins to speak, accuses himself (Prov. 18:17), not only free, but also righteous. But righteousness is in freedom and freedom is in confession, for whoever confesses is immediately released; finally: I said: I confess my untruth about myself to the Lord, and You have forgiven the wickedness (Ps. 31.5) of my heart. Consequently, delay in liberation depends only on confession; confession is immediately followed by remission of sins. So, the wise man is the one who confesses, the one whose sin is forgiven is free, he no longer has sinful debts. Forgive and love us, which is what you are doing, for I love you too. 8 (Maur. 39). Ambrose Favstinu 266 wishes salvation 1. It was no secret to me that you would mourn the death of your sister with bitter grief, however, not in order to move away from us, but in order to return to us. After all, although consolations do not bring joy to the saddened, they are sometimes necessary. You have retired to the mountains and live among the dens of wild animals, 267 refusing communication with all people, and, what is most difficult of all, of your own free will. 2. Did your sister deserve this, so that because of her, thanks to whom you should glorify human nature, which gave birth to such an outstanding wife, this nature became worthless to you? Undoubtedly, when your sister passed away, she consoled herself with the thought that she was leaving you as the parent of her nephews, the protector of children, and the helper of the abandoned. You have withdrawn so much from both your nephews and us that we do not feel the fruit of this consolation. They, these dear children, do not expect sorrow from you, but consolation, so that when they see you they can believe that their mother is not dead, so that they can recognize her in you, feel her presence in you, feel the continuation of her life in you. 3. But you mourn that she died suddenly, at such a flourishing age. However, this is the common fate not only of people, but even of cities and countries. In fact, returning from the city of Bononia, you left behind Claterna, 268 Bononia itself, Mugina, 269 Regium, 270 on the right you could see Brixillus, 271 in front approaching Placentia, 272 in whose very name the ancient grandeur still sounds, on the left you saw the abandoned lands of the Apennines, regretting them and with a heavy feeling, again and again thinking about about how many fortified settlements and prosperous peoples there once were. And so many corpses of dilapidated cities 273 and countries prepared for burial that appeared before your eyes, do not convince you that the departure of one, albeit holy and amazing woman, should be considered a comparatively lesser evil, especially when you consider that they are crushed and destroyed 274 forever, while she, who was taken from us for a time, is spending a better life there? 4. So, I think that you should not mourn her so much as accompany her with prayers; I believe that you should not grieve her with tears, but rather entrust her soul to the Lord in offerings 275. 5. But perhaps you will add that you do not doubt her piety and faith, but to endure the anguish that you will never see her again in the flesh is the highest torment for you. Even the apostolic word does not touch you, which says that from now on we know no one according to the flesh; Even if we knew Christ according to the flesh, now we no longer know (2 Cor. 5:16)? For our flesh cannot be eternal and lasting. She must die in order to be resurrected, she must be resolved in order to rest, 276 in order to put an end to sin. And therefore we knew many in the flesh, but now we no longer know. We knew the Lord Jesus Himself, says the apostle, in the flesh, but now we no longer know. After all, He had already taken off the garments of the flesh, was no longer invisible in the form of man, 277 had already died for all, and all in Him died, but so that through Him those renewed and quickened by the Spirit would no longer live for themselves, but for Christ. 278 Therefore, in another place the same apostle says: And it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me (Gal. 2:20). 6. And it is natural that the one who previously knew Christ in the flesh 279 now recognizes Him in invisible actions, and no longer examines His flesh, but His power; he who was formerly a persecutor, 280 who with hatred and enmity oppressed the disciples of Man and the followers of the Flesh, subsequently became a teacher of the pagans 281 and began to preach the good news to those who worship the majesty of God and instruct them. And therefore he added: Whoever is in Christ is a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), that is, whoever is perfect in Christ is a new creation, for he who is flesh is imperfect. Finally, God Himself says: My Spirit will not abide in these people, because they are flesh (Gen. 6.3). So, the carnal is not in Christ, but if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, not by natural newness, but by grace. So, what was ancient, what was according to the flesh, has passed away, now everything is new (2 Cor. 5:17). What is this if not what the scribe, taught by the Kingdom of Heaven, and a master like him learned, who brings out of his treasury new and old (Matthew 13:52), and there is neither old without new, nor new without old? That is why the Church says: I have preserved the new and the old for you (Song. 7.14). But the ancient things have passed away, that is, the hidden mysteries of the 282 law; in Christ now all things are new. 7. This is the new creation about which the apostle speaks, turning to the Galatians: For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has power (Gal. 5:6), but the new creation, through which the already renewed flesh flourishes and acquires the fruit of grace, is the flesh that previously bore only the thorns of an old crime. So why should we grieve if it has already been said to the soul: Your youth will be renewed like that of an eagle (Ps. 102.5)? Why should we sigh for the dead, if through the Lord Jesus the reconciliation of the world 284 with God the Father has already been accomplished? 8. So, since we are in possession of the benefits of Christ, then both before everyone and before you we are messengers on behalf of Christ (2 Cor. 5:20), so that you know that His gifts are inalienable, so that you believe in what you have always believed, and do not lead your mind into doubt through immoderate sadness, for for this purpose the Lord Jesus was made sin, 285 so that you could take away the sin of the world 286 and so that we all became righteous before God in Him, 287 no longer subject to sin, but confident of a righteous reward. Forgive and love us, for we love you too. 9 (Maur. 79). Ambrose Bellicius 288 wishes salvation 1. You informed me that, stricken with a serious illness, you believed in the Lord Jesus and had already begun to recover. Consequently, this weakness was for salvation 289 and rather an incentive than a threat, for you have long delayed what you promised. This is exactly what the Lord says: I will strike and heal (Deut. 32.39). He struck with weakness, healed with faith, because He saw that your inner feeling is not devoid of pious aspiration, but it is driven out by procrastination. And so the Lord chose to give you a suggestion in such a way as not to harm your healing, but to arouse piety. 2. For how could He harm the healing, for Whom it is usual to say what we read in the Gospel: I will come and heal him (Matthew 8:7). Therefore, when you invited Him to visit your house, He, without a doubt, said: I will come and heal him. Even though you didn’t hear Him, He, like God, intangibly talked to you, even though you didn’t see Him. And there is no doubt that He visited you incorporeally. 3. But you saw Him when you believed in Him, you saw Him when you accepted Him under the roof of your soul, you saw Him with your spirit, you saw Him with your inner eyes. 290 So hold on to the new Guest, long desired, but late accepted, in whom we live, exist, and move (Acts 17:28). So, you have tasted the beginnings of faith: Until there is no secret word in your heart (Deut. 15:9). All this is grace, all this is a reward. After all, no one will judge the inner chambers of the house from the entrance, for all the fruit is in its depths; it is unusual for a wise man to look into a house from the door, 291 and it is foolish to listen to a person through the threshold (Sirach. 21.24). 4. The sacraments of the most perfect sacred rites are different, as the Scripture says: Eye has not seen, nor ear has heard, what God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Cor. 2.9), - the prophets to whom it was revealed announced their future glory, and the saints preached the gospel by the Spirit of God sent from heaven, even angels desire to see them, 292 as the Apostle Peter says. 293 These are the very sacraments that bring redemption to the world: remission of sins, sharing of gifts, communion of the sacraments. 294 Having accepted all this, you will be amazed at how much has been given to man, so that the manna, 295 marvelous for us, poured out from heaven for the Jews, 296 [neither such grace], 297 nor such effectiveness for salvation had. For those who ate it died in the wilderness, 298 except Joshua and Caleb; 299 whoever partakes of this same sacrament will never die (John 11:26). May the Lord Jesus heal you! Be healthy! 10 (Maur. 38). Ambrose Simplicianu 1. Recently, we began to have a real philosophical dispute when, taking the letter of the Apostle Paul as a starting point, 300 we began to argue that every wise man is free. However, later, when I read the epistle of the Apostle Peter, I noticed that every wise man is also rich, 301 and even the difference between the sexes was not considered significant by the one who wrote that the adornment of women is not precious necklaces, but good morals. Not external, - he says, braided hair, not gold jewelry or elegance in clothing, but that hidden person of the heart (1 Peter 3.3 4). 2. And so, two statements: there is a certain man in man, and he is rich who does not seek any wealth for himself. But he spoke beautifully about the man of the heart, because everyone who belongs entirely to wisdom is hidden, like wisdom itself, which is invisible, but comprehensible. Before Peter, no one used such an expression - about a man of heart. For the outer man is multi-component, but the inner man, the man of the heart, is entirely devoted to wisdom, full of grace, full of dignity. 302 3. In the incorruptibility of a meek and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God (1 Peter 3:4). And he is truly rich who is seen as rich in the eyes of God, for whom the earth is insignificant and the world itself is small. But God considers rich only those who are rich for eternity, who reap the fruits not of earthly goods, but of virtues. Who is rich before God if not a meek and humble spirit, never damaged? Doesn't it seem rich to you who has peace of soul, equanimity of calm, who does not passionately desire anything, who is not disturbed by storms of passion, who does not despise the old and does not seek the new, even with the greatest wealth, remaining poor and eternally dissatisfied? 4. That world is truly rich, which is above all understanding (Phil. 4.7), rich is peace, rich is meekness, 303 rich is faith - for the faithful have the whole world in their possession 304 (Prov. 17:6a) - rich is simplicity, for there are also riches of simplicity, which does not reason about anything, does not consider anything poor, suspicious or deceitful, but is filled with pure feeling. 5. Rich is the goodness that whoever preserves enjoys the riches of the 305 heavenly inheritance. And so that we can use more ancient examples of Scripture: Blessed is the man whom the Lord has rebuked, and do not reject the instructions of God... In times of famine He will deliver you from death, and in battle He will deliver you from the hand of iron, and from the scourge of the tongue He will hide you. Wild animals will be at peace with you, and you will know that your home is in peace (Job 5:17, 20, 21, 23, 24). For when the passions of this flesh, which usually rebel against the soul, are softened, 306 your tents will remain in peace, your house will not suffer damage, the seed will decrease, the offspring will be like the smell of a full field (Gen. 27.27), burial will be like a harvest. And while others are counting their losses, a heap of your ripe wheat is laid up in the storehouses on high. 307 6. Truly, the righteous always has gain, 308 but the unrighteous is in need. For him, the gain is righteousness, the gain is the commandment of God, addressed to the poor and needy, but the foolish never owns even what he considers his property. Or do you think that someone who, neither day nor night, leaving his treasures, 309 is tormented by greedy and pitiful anxiety, owns something? No, he is in great need, even if others seem rich, for himself he is poor - the one who does not use the wealth that he has, who still grabs more and more, wants more and more. For where there is no measure in desire, what is the use of wealth? No one is rich if he cannot take with him from here what he has, for what remains here is not ours, but someone else’s. 7. Rich was Enoch, who took with him what he had and transferred all the wealth of his goodness to the heavenly storehouses, 310 he was exalted so that malice would not change his mind (Wis. 4.11). Rich is Elijah, who carried the treasures of his virtues on a fiery chariot to the upper ethereal thrones 311. And at the same time he left considerable wealth to the heir, which he himself did not lose. 312 Who would call him poor even when, not having daily food, he was sent to a widow so that she would feed him, when, according to his word, the sky was shut and opened, 313 when, according to his word, the flour in the tub did not run out for three years and the oil in the jug did not decrease (1 Kings 17:16), but was in abundance, did not dry out from use, but was it replenished? Who will call the one poor, at whose will the fire descended, 314 who was not swallowed up by insurmountable rivers, but returned to their source, so that the prophet could cross them without getting his feet wet? 315 8. An ancient story tells about two neighbors: about King Ahab and about the poor man Naboth. Which of them, in our opinion, is richer, which is poorer? One, possessing royal riches, unable to be content and satisfied with his riches, coveted a small vineyard that belonged to the poor; the other, despising in his soul βασιλέων τὰς πολυχρύοους τύκας 316 and the imperial treasuries, was content with his garden. 317 Doesn’t he seem more rich, more like a king, for whom his own was in abundance, who ruled over his own desires so as not to desire anything of others, and does not he seem the last poor man to whom his own gold seemed cheap, and someone else’s garden - valuable? But for what reason is he the last poor man: because he vomits up the wealth accumulated unrighteously (Job 20:15), but the root of the righteous abides (Proverbs 12:12), and their palm blossoms. 318 9. Is he not poorer than the beggar who passes by like a shadow (Job 14.2)? Today the wicked is exalted, tomorrow he will not be (1 Macc. 2.63), and his place will not be found (Ps. 37.36). What does it mean to be rich if not to have abundance? But does the one who is oppressed in spirit abound? And whoever is oppressed in spirit is poor. So what is abundance in scarcity? So, he who does not abound is not rich. Therefore, David says beautifully: The rich became poor and were hungry (Ps. 33.11), for although they had the treasuries of the heavenly Scriptures, they became poor - those who did not understand, and those who did not taste the food of spiritual grace became hungry. 10. So, there is nothing richer than the soul of a wise man, nothing poorer than the soul of a foolish one. For if the Kingdom of God belongs to the poor, 319 what could be more abundant? And therefore the apostle says wonderfully: Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God (Rom. 11:33)! David also speaks wonderfully, who enjoyed the path of heavenly revelations, as in all riches (Ps. 119.14). And this was clearly expressed by Moses, who says: Naphtali is the saturation of those who receive 320 (Deut. 33:23). Naphtali literally means “abundance” or “expansion.” 321 So, there is abundance where there is satiety, where there is hunger of lusts, where there is insatiable desire, there is always poverty. But since the thirst for money and everything worldly can hardly be satisfied, he adds: And blessings will be fulfilled (Deut. 33:23). 11. This is why the Apostle Peter asserts that it is not silver or clothing that should be the adornment of women, but the secret of the heart and the hidden one. 322 Therefore, let not one of them take off the veil of piety, the garment of grace, the inheritance of eternal life. Farewell and love us, for we love you too! This letter is written after the work of Philo of Alexandria Quod omnis probus liber sit (“That everyone who is virtuous is free”) and follows his argumentation, St. Ambrose translates entire passages from Greek. A grammarian (grammaticus) is a teacher who teaches text analysis from a literary point of view. We are talking about the treatise of St. Ambrose “On Jacob and the Blessed Life” (386). Perhaps this letter was written around the same years. – Note. ed. The thesis itself goes back to Stoicism. Wed. The title of Philo’s work is “On the fact that everyone who is virtuous is free.” St. Ambrose here names four virtues of the soul, perhaps following Cicero (see: fin 1. 45–50, tusc. 3. 17). The set of virtues in this letter differs from that usual for St. Ambrose: abstinentia, fortitudo, iustitia, prudentia, which are mentioned in Isaac 8.65; lacob 2.10.43; bon mort 10. 44; loseph 13. 75. – Note. ed. Lit. “source” (fons), see: lacob 2. 4. 17. On Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as sources of faith, see: Isaac 4. 21. – Note. ed. Patriarch Isaac, see: Jacob 2. 2. 5–9. – Note. ed. Compare Philo, omn. prob. liber 5. 30. “So no one forces him to do anything, for he has despised pain, for he has despised death, and by the law of nature he holds in subjection all the foolish.” Wed. in Cicero (resp. 1.51). Wed: Gen. 25.27–34; 27. 29. Wed: Gen. 37.28; 41. 42–43. Wed. in Philo, omn. prob, liber 6. 38: “I, at least, often saw how slave girls, pretty and eloquent, with the help of these two means: beauty and the ability to speak beautifully, enslaved their masters.” St. Ambrose could also have had in mind a contemporary example: the poet Ausonius, who sang in poetry about his slave-mistress, the young German woman Byssula. Wed. in Philo (omn. prob, liber 6.37). Wed. in Virgil, Aen. 12, 6–7: gaudetque comantis / excutiens ceruice toros. Wed. in Philo (omn. prob, liber 6.40). Tabulae auctionales – registers of sales at auction. The gesture of raising a finger during an auction meant the buyer's decision to buy something. Compare: Proverbs. 22.7, However, the text cited by St. Ambrose, does not coincide with either the Vulgate or the Septuagint. This refers to the procedure of manumissio uindicta, when a slave being released was struck by the lictor with a praetor's baton, called uindicta. Wed: Rome. 10.8; Deut. 30. 14. Wed: Col. 2.15; Eph. 2. 2. Compare: Philo omn. prob liber: 3. 17–19. Wed. in Philo, omn. prob, liber 3. 19: “That Sophocles verse will sound, no different from the oracles of Apollo: Zeus rules over me, but none of mortals” (see: Sophocles, fr. 688. 3 - Aristot. Eth. Eud. Bekker, p. 1242a, 37). Wed. in Philo, onin. prob, liber 3. 19: “In fact, only he is free who puts one God as leader over himself, and, in my opinion, he himself is the leader for the rest, invested with earthly [power], as if the heir of a great king, a mortal - an immortal.” Wed. in Virgil, Aen. 11.515: turta paro belli. Wed. in Philo (omn. prob, liber 6.34). Wed. in Philo, omn. prob, liber 3. 22: “Nothing enslaves so much as the fear of death due to the thirst for life.” Wed. in Philo, omn. prob, liber 7. 45: “So among people, those who are ruled either by anger, or lust, or some other passion or malicious vice are complete slaves.” Wed. in Philo (omn. prob, liber. 7. 45–46). Wed. in Philo (omn. prob, liber. 7.47). Wed: parade. 6.31; expi. ps. 1, 30. Wed. in Philo, omn. prob, liber 5. 28–29: “Just as foolishness is something light and unstable, so prudence is something established, solid and having unshakable weight. And the lawgiver of the Jews says that the hands of the sage are heavy, with signs denoting actions that are not superficially, but reliably established by an unshakable reason.” This refers to Susanna (see: Dan. 13). See: Court. 11.36. Wed: off. 1.50.255. In ancient times, ascetic philosophers of India were called gymnosophists (“naked sages”). Plutarch talks about the gymnosophist Kalan (see: Alexandr. 64–65), but St. Ambrose relies on Philo of Alexandria or Apuleius (see: flor. 6). St. Ambrose translates the text of Philo (omn. prob liber. 14. 94–96); Wed also in Clement of Alexandria (ström. 4. 7. 50. 1). Wed. in Philo, omn. trial liber. 18.117: “strive towards death as towards immortality.” Oh martyr. Lawrence, see: Acta sanctorum, ad diem X Aug.; ofl. 1. 41. 205–207; hymn 10. 29–32. Wed. also in Prudentius (perist. 2); in Philo (omn. prob, liber 15.99). On the execution of the Maccabean youths, see: lacob 2. 11. 45–52. Wed. in Philo (omn. prob. liber. 17.116). This argumentation of St. Ambrose also cites in lacob 1. 3. 10. Wed: Rome. 6. 13, 19; lacob 1. 3. 10. Wed: 1 Cor. 7.23; 1 Peter 1. 19. Favstin was from Bononia (modern Bologna, Italy). See: epist. 38. The letter was probably written no earlier than November 394. Wed. in Virgil, ecl 10.52 in siluis inter spelaea ferarum. Now Quaderna, a city between Forum Cornelii (Imola) and Bononia. Nowadays the city of Reggio nel Emilia. A fortress on the right bank of the Pad (Po), near Parma. The entire paragraph is an imitation of a passage from a letter from Servius Sulpicius to Cicero (fain. 4. 5. 4), containing consolation on the occasion of the death of Cicero’s daughter Tullia - Note. ed. According to Faller (see: F aller. R. 68), the devastation on the territory of Cisalpine Gaul was the result of an earthquake in the fall of 394, about which see also: obit. Th. I. Banterle proposes to see here in the oblatio the sacrament of the Eucharist (see: Banterle. R. 101. n. 8). See: 2 Cor. 5.14; Rome. 5. 8. The addressee of the letter was a certain catechumen who was about to be baptized, but kept postponing baptism. Peccatorum remissio refers to Baptism, gratiarum diuisio to Confirmation (?) and sacramentorum participatio to the Eucharist (see: Faller. R. 72, not). Wed. sacr. 4.5.24; myst. 8.44. These words are contained in only one manuscript. See 1 Cor. 7 23 Letter 10 continues the theme of letter 7. Wed. in Philo (fug. et inu. 3. 16–18). On the outer and inner man, see: Isaac 2. 3. Cp.: expl. ps. 48, 17. 3: and also: epist. 36, II: epist. ex s. 14.86; Abr. I. 7. 37; Jacob I. 8. 37; off. 2.14.66; 3. 1. 7. Wed. y Virgil, georg. 2. 507: defossoque incubat auro (cf.: Iacob 2. 5. 23). “The Tsar’s multi-gold riches”: cf. in Philo (fug. et inu. 3.16). Not entirely correct quotation from Deut. 33. 23. In the Septuagint: Naphtali is full of pleasant things. – Note. ed. You might be interested in: