In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. The homily of the priest Autbert begins with the Gospel reading according to Matthew, in which the Lord is presented transfigured on the mountain before the three disciples.

In nomine Domini nostri Jesu Christi. Incipit homilia Autberti presbyteri de lectione evangelica secundum Matthaeum, qua Dominus in monte coram tribus discipulis transfiguratus perhibetur.

At that time Jesus said to his disciples: There are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. And after six days Jesus took Peter and James and John, etc. (Matthew 16:28) . The entire gospel of the Transfiguration is reported.

In illo tempore dixit Jesus discipulis suis: Sunt quidam de hic stantibus qui non gustabunt mortem, donec videant Filium hominis venientem in regno suo. Et post dies sex assumpsit Jesus Petrum et Jacobum et Joannem, etc. (Matth. XVI, 28). Integrum refertur Transfigurationis evangelium.

An explicit reading of the gospel according to Matthew.

Explicit lectio evangelii secundum Matthaeum.

Begins the homily of the same lesson given to the monks in the monastery of St. Vincent.

Incipit homilia ejusdem lectionis habita ad monachos in monasterio S. Vincentii.

1. It sometimes happens, nay, it almost always happens, that in the houses of kings and princes any one, however cheap, cleans and despises gold or silver vessels. But what are the hearts of the elect in the holy Church but some, so to speak, royal vessels, testifying to Paul, who says: In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and earthenware: and some indeed in honor, and some in insult (Rom. 9, 21 ) Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel sanctified in honor and useful to the Lord, prepared for every good work. You, therefore, dearest brothers, are the vessels of the eternal king, who shine as with precious metal in the worship of sacred religion; but remember that as long as you live here, you cannot possibly be without the stains of vice.

1. Solet nonnunquam evenire, imo pene semper evenit ut in domibus regum ac principum vasa aurea vel argentea quilibet et vilis emundet atque despectus. Quid autem sunt corda electorum in sancta Ecclesia quam quaedam, ut ita dixerim, vasa regalia, Paulo attestante, qui ait: In domo magna non solum sunt vasa aurea et argentea, sed et lignea et fictilia: et quaedam quidem in honorem, quaedam autem in contumeliam (Rom. IX, 21). Si quis ergo se emundaverit ab istis, erit vas in honorem sanctificatum et utile Domino ad omne opus bonum paratum. Vos igitur, fratres charissimi, vos estis vasa regis aeterni, qui sacrae religionis cultu velut pretioso metallo fulgetis; sed mementote quandiu hic vivitis, sine maculis vitiorum esse nequaquam potestis.

Hence also John, whom the Lord especially loved, says in his Epistle: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8) . So that the vessels of God may not be consumed by the rust of transgressions, it is necessary that the hands of this holy preaching should be daily wiped. But please, let not the abomination of man offend you, as long as, on every occasion, he wipes away the filth of sins from your hearts. I therefore undertake to expound the reading of the holy Gospel, in which our Lord is transfigured before the three disciples on the mountain, and I discuss its secret secrets as best I can; not where it was not revealed before me, but where something about it that had not yet been said was reserved for me to say. As your fraternity has now heard, before

Unde et Joannes, quem praecipue Dominus amavit, in Epistola sua ait: Si dixerimus quia peccatum non habemus, ipsi nos seducimus, et veritas in nobis non est (I Joan. I, 8). Ne ergo vasa Dei rubigo delictorum consumat, necesse est ut manus haec sanctae praedicationis quotidie tergat: quod videlicet emundationis officium mihi omnium servorum Dei indigno creditum fuisse nemo vestrum ignorat. Sed quaeso, ne vos homuncii foeditas offendat, dummodo qualibet occasione, de cordibus vestris peccatorum sordes abstergat. Lectionem itaque sancti Evangelii, qua Dominus noster coram tribus discipulis in monte transfiguratus perhibetur, exponendam assumo, et ejus, prout possum, secretorum arcana discutio; non quo et ante me enodata non fuerit, sed quo aliquid de ea quod necdum fuerit dictum, mihi ad dicendum fuerit reservatum. Sicut igitur nunc vestra fraternitas audivit, priusquam

Our Redeemer, about to be transfigured, ascended the mountain, and said to the apostles: There are those standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom (Matthew 16:28) . Some of the treatises on the state of the Church after a little while understood what was said. But the following course of the reading makes it clear that the Lord said this about his transformation, when the Evangelist added:

Redemptor noster transfigurandus montem ascenderet, dixit ad apostolos: Sunt de hic stantibus, qui non gustabunt mortem, donec videant Filium hominis venientem in regno suo (Matth. XVI, 28). Quod quidam tractatorum de statu Ecclesiae post modicum futuro dictum intellexit. Sed sequens lectionis decursus declarat hoc Dominum de sua transformatione dixisse, cum Evangelista subjunxit:

 2. And after six days Jesus took Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them apart on a high mountain, and was transfigured before them (Matthew 17:1) . Certainly these are the three apostles, whom he said would not taste death until they saw him transformed in glory, in which, however, his transformation showed what kind of future the church of the saints will be in the heavenly country. But first we must ask what it is that the aforementioned transfiguration of the Savior took place in Matthew after six days, and Luke after eight. Does each of these disagree with the truth, while agreeing with each other as if neither? But we must know that both Matthew, in mentioning the days, expressed the whole from the whole, and Luke a part from the whole.

^[1306A] 2. Et post dies sex assumpsit Jesus Petrum et Jacobum, et Joannem fratrem ejus, et duxit illos in montem excelsum seorsum, et transfiguratus est ante eos (Matth. XVII, 1). Certe hi sunt tres apostoli, quos dixit non gustaturos mortem, donec eum viderent in gloria transformatum, in qua tamen ejus transformatione demonstratum est, qualis in coelesti patria futura sit sanctorum Ecclesia. Sed primum nobis quaerendum est quid sit quod praedictam Salvatoris transfigurationem Matthaeus post sex dies, Lucas vero post octo factam perhibuit. Nunquidnam horum quilibet a veritate dissentit, dum sibi invicem quasi neuter consentit? Sed sciendum nobis est, quia et Matthaeus, dierum facta mentione, a toto totum, et Lucas a toto partem expressit.

For it was the evening of the day when the Lord spoke these things, which of course Matthew did not touch at all. But Lucas counted for the whole day. And it was in the morning when the same was transfigured on the mountain, which, as Matthew left it entirely, so Luke assumed it entirely. Matthew, then, signifying the whole by the whole, inserted only six whole days in the middle; Luke, however, showing the whole from one side, and counted the evening of the first and the morning of the eighth day; where is meant the trope of a great speech, which is called by the Greek expression synecdochen, which may be said in Latin, either in part the whole, or again in part from the whole, and which through the sacred pages by frequent inculcation solves most questions, according to which even that is particularly unlocked, by which the Lord of heaven in three days and it is declared that he lay three nights in the sepulchre, when it is evident that he breathed his last on Friday, at the ninth hour, and rose before dawn on Sunday.

Vespera enim diei erat, quando ista Dominus locutus est, quam utique Matthaeus minime tetigit. Lucas vero pro tota die computavit. Mane autem fuit quando idem in monte transfiguratus est, quod sicut Matthaeus ex toto reliquit, sic Lucas pro toto assumpsit. Matthaeus ergo totum a toto significans, solos in medio sex dies integros inseruit; Lucas vero a parte totum ostendens, et vesperam primi et mane octavi diei supputavit; ubi tropus magnae locutionis intelligitur, qui Graeca locutione synecdochen appellatur, quod Latine dici potest, vel a parte totum, vel rursum pars a toto, quique per sacras paginas frequenti inculcatione plurimas absolvit quaestiones, juxta quem etiam illa praecipue reseratur, qua Dominus coeli tribus diebus et tribus noctibus in sepulcro jacuisse declaratur, cum manifestum sit quod sexta feria inclinata jam die, hora videlicet nona, spiritum emiserit, et Dominica ante lucem surrexerit.

 Therefore faith in Peter, the operation of virtues in James, but charity in John is shown to the apostle. Wherefore it is not unfitting that only these three ascend the mountain with the Lord, who bear in their persons the image of all the saints. But having already set forth the words of the lesson itself, let us discuss each one.

Ergo fides in Petro, operatio virtutum in Jacobo, charitas vero in Joanne monstratur apostolo. Quamobrem non inconvenienter hi tantum modo tres in monte cum Domino ascendunt, qui figuram omnium sanctorum in suis personis gerunt. Sed jam ipsius lectionis verba ponentes, singula disseramus.

4. Jesus took Peter and James and his brother John, and led them separately up a high mountain. and he was transfigured before them (Matthew 17:1) . Therefore everyone who is transfigured is changed into another form. Whence also Luke, expressing this very thing, says: While he was praying, another appearance of his countenance took place (Luke 9:29) . Where the madness of the heretics must be avoided, who think that after the day of judgment human bodies can be converted into another nature. And certainly the same mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who, according to the Apostle, reformed the body of our humility, conformed to the body of his glory, after his resurrection appearing to the disciples in the room, says: Feel and see that the spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see me having (Luke 24:39 ) In what words, what else was given to be understood, except that it was a body of another glory, and not of another nature, which it both offered to be touched, and which, through closed doors, introduced into true flesh and true bones? Therefore, what is said: He was transfigured (Matthew 17:2) , that is, changed into another form, is not of nature, but of glory; whence it is immediately subsumed:

4. Assumpsit Jesus Petrum et Jacobum et Joannem fratrem ejus, et ducit illos in montem excelsum seorsum; et transfiguratus est ante illos (Matth. XVII, 1). Omnis igitur qui transfiguratur, in alteram figuram mutatur. Unde et Lucas hoc ipsum exprimens ait: Facta est, dum oraret, species vultus ejus altera (Luc. IX, 29). Ubi prorsus cavenda est haereticorum insania, qui putant post diem judicii humana corpora in alteram posse converti naturam. Et certe idem mediator Dei et hominum homo Christus Jesus, qui secundum Apostolum reformavit corpus humilitatis nostrae, configuratum corpori claritatis suae, post resurrectionem suam in conclavi discipulis apparens, dicit: Palpate, et videte quia spiritus carnem et ossa non habet, sicut me videtis habere (Luc. XXIV, 39). In quibus verbis, quid aliud dabatur intelligi, nisi quia et alterius gloriae, et non alterius naturae corpus erat quod et palpandum praebebat, et januis clausis in vera carne, verisque ossibus introducebat? Quod ergo dicitur: Transfiguratus est (Matth. XVII, 2), hoc est in alteram figuram mutatus, non est naturae, sed gloriae; unde et protinus subinfertur:

5. And his face shone like the sun (Ibid.) . Surely this other figure, this other aspect of the countenance, as if he who was visible in the flesh, suddenly appeared shining in majesty. But what wonder if this is said of such a sudden shining majesty in the body, when we are accustomed to say it every day of any one, when we see him either washed after dirt, or happy after grief. He is not what he was, he is different from what he was. And it should be noted that the prayer preceded the glorification of the Redeemer, who, as Luke says, therefore ascended the mountain to pray; inasmuch as by this deed he would show that all who are concerned with his majesty should pray unceasingly, not in the lowest places, but always on the mountain. Which, of course, those who succumb to no earthly desires through the pleasures of vices can continually do; but fixed in love above, let them look upon the heavenly things. Whence also Paul, bound by the bonds of pressure, said: Our conversation is in heaven (Phil. 3:20) . The Lord also reminds us in other places by his example, who, when he had no rest during the day or to eat, spent the night on the mountain, exhausted; he will interrupt, so that no tumult of men surrounds him. But what shall we say to these wretches? If God and our Lord, conceived without sin, and born without sin, led to an untimely death, indulged in some nights a little, and some not a little, sleep, thus setting in himself an example to sinners, often bending his knees with frequent sighs and groans, he passed the vigils of the night full of tears , as if he himself were subject to mortal vices, and although it would not be surprising if he did this for us, he who came to die for us. For he bore our sins, and therefore interceded with the Father as a sinner, yet he set in himself an example of imitation, whereby we should learn to intercede with the Father for us, and not to cease from prayers, when even now, appearing before the face of God, he intercedes for us. Let us therefore discuss the laziness of torpor, and let us at least challenge ourselves to imitate the example of the Redeemer. . He became, says the Evangelist, in agony, and he prayed more profusely, and his sweat became like blood running down to the ground (Luke 22:44) . Lest, therefore, we should be more negligent towards the sacred vigils and prayers, beckoned by indolence, let us always call these things to mind, dearest brethren. Surely such strong labor must be put forth, by which the entrance of temptation is closed, and every attack of evil is avoided. Pray, says the Lord, that you do not enter into temptation (Ibid. 46) . And again: Keep watch at all times when you pray, that you may be deemed worthy to flee from all these things that are to come, and to stand before the Son of Man (Luke 21:36) . And again: It is necessary always to pray, and not to fail (Luke 18:1) .

5. Et resplenduit facies ejus sicut sol (Ibid.). Haec certe altera figura, haec vultus species altera, ut qui erat in carne conspicuus, subito appareret in majestate coruscus. Quid autem mirum si hoc de tanta subito in corpore coruscante dicitur majestate, cum nos quotidie de quolibet dicere soleamus, cum eum vel post sordes ablutum vel post moestitiam laetum aspicimus. Non est ipse qui erat, alius est quam erat. Et notandum quod glorificationem Redemptoris oratio praecessit, qui, ut Lucas ait, propterea in montem ascendit, ut oraret; quatenus scilicet per hoc factum ostenderet, omnibus qui ad ejus pertinent intuendam majestatem indesinenter esse orandum, nec in imis, sed in monte semper orandum. Quod nimirum illi continue possunt, qui nullis terrenis desideriis per oblectamenta vitiorum succumbunt; sed in superna amore defixi, coelestia respiciant. Unde et Paulus pressurarum vinculis colligatus dicebat: Nostra autem conversatio in coelis est (Phil. III, 20). Quod etiam aliis in locis exemplo suo Dominus nos admonet, qui cum nullam in die vel ad manducandum quietem haberet, in monte etiam fatigatus pernoctabat: quo nimirum in facto si licentia tribuatur, et ipsa exterior solitudo ad orandum inquirenda docetur, ut eo familiarius quis Deum interpellet, quo nullus hunc hominum tumultus circumegit. Sed quid nos miseri, quid ad haec sumus dicturi, qui innumeris delictorum ponderibus gravati, primum vespertinae lucubrationis tempus somno praevenimus. Si Deus ac Dominus noster sine peccato conceptus, et natus sine peccato usque ad indebitam mortem perductus, quibusdam noctibus parvum, quibusdam nec modicum sibi somnium indulsit, sicque peccatoribus in se praebens exemplum, crebris suspiriis atque gemitibus saepius genua flectens, plenas lacrymis vigilias noctis peregit, tanquam et ipse mortalium vitiorum obnoxius esset, et quanquam mirum non esset, si id ageret pro nobis, qui mori venerat pro nobis. Peccata enim nostra portabat, et ideo Patrem quasi peccator interpellabat, tamen exemplum imitationis in se praebebat, quo disceremus et ipsi Patrem interpellare cum illo pro nobis, nec a precibus cessandum, cum etiam nunc usque, idem vultui Dei apparens, interpellat pro nobis. Discutiamus ergo torporis ignaviam, et ad tantum Redemptoris imitandum exemplum, saltem illud nos provocet, quo idem ipse nullis, ut diximus, propriis interpellantibus vitiis, imminente sua beata passione, crebrius orans atque prolixius, ita certavit, ut pro sudore carnis, guttas proflueret sanguinis. Factus est, inquit Evangelista, in agonia, et prolixius orabat, et factus est sudor ejus sicut sanguinis decurrentis in terram (Luc. XXII, 44). Ne igitur, inertia suadente, negligentiores erga sacras vigilias et orationes existamus, haec, fratres charissimi, semper ad memoriam revocemus. Appendendus certe tam validus labor, quo tentationis introitus clauditur, omnisque malorum incursus vitatur. Orate, inquit Dominus, ne intretis in tentationem (Ibid. 46). Et rursum: Vigilate omni tempore orantes, ut digni habeamini fugere ista omnia quae futura sunt, et stare ante Filium hominis (Luc. XXI, 36). Rursumque: Oportet semper orare, et non deficere (Luc. XVIII, 1).

6. But when we know what is written about the saints: Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father (Sap. 3, 7) ; How in this place is the face of Christ compared to the brightness of the sun? or will they only, which is wrong to say, have a glory in the kingdom of the righteous Father, such as he who justified them? who said this but a heretic? which seems to me to have been done for four reasons, namely, either because he was still mortal, and the very mortality of his flesh did not allow him to display the brightness of his divinity as it was, or because before the eyes of the seers, so that it could be looked at, he moderated the very magnitude of his brightness, or even the form he only pretended that he would show himself on the day of judgment to both the elect and the reprobates, or at least as truer and more wholesome, because the figure of his members such as, as has been said, will shine in the future, he showed in his brightness. It follows:

6. Cum autem de sanctis scriptum noverimus: Tunc justi fulgebunt, sicut sol in regno Patris eorum (Sap. III, 7); quomodo hoc loco facies Christi solis claritati comparatur? aut nunquid tantum, quod nefas est dicere, in regno Patris justi claritatem habebunt, quantam habet is qui illos justificavit? quis hoc nisi haereticus dixerit? quod quatuor ex causis factum fuisse mihi videtur, scilicet vel quia adhuc mortalis erat, et ipsa carnis mortalitas claritatem divinitatis ejus, ut erat, ostendere non sinebat, vel quia ante videntium oculos, ut intueri posset, ipsam fulgoris sui magnitudinem temperabat, vel etiam formam illam tantummodo praetendebat, quam in die judicii et electis et reprobis ostensurum se esse praesciebat, vel certe, ut verius atque salubrius, quia figura membrorum suorum qualia, ut dictum est, in futuro fulgebunt, in sua claritate monstrabat. Sequitur:

7. His clothes became white as snow (Mt.17:2) . That brightness, brethren, which flowed outward through the garments of Christ, proceeded from that inner light of his, which no corporeal eye of the human race can behold, as it is written: No one has seen God at any time (1 Jn.4:12) ; and again: For man shall not see me, and live (Ex. 33:20) ; and as she sees herself, neither do the angels see her, who see her every day, as it is given to them. For they, as the Holy Scripture both testifies, see the face of the Father every day, and desire to be able to see it. A great force indeed, and a great power of inner light, which sheds such a light outwardly, that even the clothes themselves would give the glory of sparkling majesty. From that light, dearest to us, from it all things that shine are illuminated, that is to say the outer sun, the moon, and the stars; angels, on the other hand, inwardly and of the human soul. We therefore marvel at the Lord shining outwardly on the mountain with the brightness of the sun; let us rather marvel at this one shining with divinity inwardly. Let us worship such as appeared on the mountain before the three disciples, let us long for such as will appear in heaven to all pure hearts. And indeed, such as appeared on the mountain outside, such shall the wicked themselves see in the future; but such as remained within, none but the blessed will see.

7. Vestimenta autem ejus facta sunt alba sicut nix (Matth. XVII, 2). Claritas ista, fratres, quae foras per vestimenta Christi manavit, ab illa ejus interiore luce processit, quam nullus humani generis corporeus oculus intueri potest, sicut scriptum est: Deum nemo vidit unquam (I Joan. IV, 12); et rursum: Non enim videbit me homo, et vivet (Exod. XXXIII, 20); quamque, sicut ipsa se videt, nec ipsam angeli cernunt, qui eam quotidie, prout illis datum est, cernunt. Ipsi enim, sicut utrumque sacra Scriptura testatur, et faciem Patris quotidie cernunt, et ut cernere possint concupiscunt. Magna certe vis, magnaque lucis interioris potentia, quae tantam lucem profudit exterius, ut ipsis etiam vestibus gloriam tribueret coruscae majestatis. Ab illa luce, dilectissimi nobis, ab illa illuminantur cuncta quae lucent, sol videlicet exterius, luna atque stellae; angeli vero interius atque animae humanae. Miramur itaque Dominum in monte solis claritate fulgentem exterius; miremur potius hunc divinitate micantem interius. Veneremur talem qualis in monte coram tribus discipulis apparuit, desideremus talem qualis in coelo cunctis mundis cordibus apparebit. Et revera qualis in monte foris apparuit, talem hunc in futurum et ipsi impii videbunt; sed talem qualis intus permansit, non nisi beati videbunt.

8. But through the garments of our Redeemer, shining with the whiteness of the snow, the Church of the righteous can be expressed, not as it is now, because it is not without sin here, but as it will be in the future, when it will no longer be able to sin. That is to say, that the brightness of the snow, and the brightness of cleanliness, may be shown, and the heat of vices be shown to be completely abolished. For snow has the whiteness of snow, and receives no heat at all. Thus it will sometimes happen to God's chosen ones, so it will sometimes happen to those who have reached the glory of God, they will obtain the whiteness of purity, and they will never feel any heat from the corruption of the flesh. It follows.

8. Potest autem per vestimenta Redemptoris nostri nivis candore fulgentia, exprimi justorum Ecclesia, non qualis nunc est, quia hic sine peccato non est, sed qualis in futurum erit, quando jam peccare non poterit. Ut scilicet per nivis claritatem, et munditiae claritas designetur, et vitiorum calor funditus abolendus monstretur. Nix enim et candorem nivium habet, et calorem omnino non recipit. Sic sic electis Dei, sic quandoque continget his qui pervenerint ad claritatem Dei, obtinebunt munditiae candorem, nullumque sentient aliquando de carnis corruptione calorem. Sequitur.

9. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them talking with him (Matthew 17:3) . Some think that Moses and Elijah foreshadowed the last coming of Christ, on account of the fact that both of them appeared in this transfiguration of his. But others understood better, who said that Enoch would come with Elijah, that they would then come to die for Christ, who had not yet paid the debt of death in the flesh. Like Enoch, who, as the Apostle teaches, was translated so as not to see death, and Elias was lifted up to heaven, so that he was sent down to a certain region of the earth from there, and remained alive until that time. For it was not for this reason that Moses appeared with Elijah in that glorification, that he might come with him to suffer, but that the gospel might have a witness of eternal salvation from the law and the prophets. For behold, Moses fasted forty days, Elijah fasted forty days, and the Lord also fasted forty days. But since it is not to be wondered at in the Lord that he preceded any servant, let us see whether a great sacrament is hidden in this number of forty days. For did it seem difficult for the Lord to extend the fast to a hundred or a thousand days, who had given his servants to pass forty without payment of bodily food? Who, then, does not stumble in the fact that he can fast more than a servant, unless by the same number of days, not so much a miracle of virtue, as a sacrament of virtue is expressed? Who, then, does not know that the Mosaic law is a twin, and that in the spiritual decalogue it is at the same time sub-distinguished by the obedience of victims? For since it is a legal precept that is twin, it is most clear from this, since both seem to be fulfilled by one and are by no means fulfilled by the other. Indeed, David says to the Lord: I have run the way of your commands (Ps. 118, 32) . And again: I have not deviated from your commands (Ibid. 157) . Behold the fulfillment of the law, but of course the spiritual decalogue, according to which the apostle also says: The holy law, and its commandment, holy and just, and good according to what and he who does them shall live in them (Rom. 7:12) . Peter, on the other hand, said: Why are you tempting God to put a yoke on the necks of the disciples, which neither we nor our fathers were once able to bear (Acts 15:10) ? Behold, the diminution of the law, but certainly of carnal obedience, according to which it is also said: I have given them commandments which are not good, in which they shall not live. And that of the Apostle: The law brought no one to perfection (Heb. 7:19) . It should also be known that from that part which is a spiritual law and can be observed, namely in the ten commandments, when the fullness of time arrived, it passed to the New Testament to be kept. On the other hand, from that which is carnal and cannot be carried, namely, in the obsequies of the victims, dying on the cross to the Lord, he lost his observation. Therefore, if in the Ten Commandments there is a spiritual law, in the carnal observances of the victims it shows, on the one hand the sacred fasting, on the other the crass feast. As for us, since we have already completely rejected the temptation of carnal victims, it remains for us to speak something about the fasting of the spiritual law.

9. Et ecce apparuit eis Moyses et Elias cum eo loquentes (Matth. XVII, 3). Quidam putant Moysem cum Elia novissimum praevenire Christi adventum, pro eo quod in hac ejus transfiguratione uterque apparuit. Sed alii melius intellexerunt, qui Enoch cum Elia venturum dixerunt, ut illi tunc pro Christo morituri adveniant, qui necdum in carne mortis debitum exsolverunt. Sicut Enoch, qui, ut Apostolus docet, translatus est, ne mortem videret, et Elias ad coelum elevatus, ut in quadam terrae regione inde submissus, usque ad illud tempus vivus permaneret. Neque enim propterea Moyses cum Elia in illa glorificatione apparuit, ut cum illo passurus adveniat, sed ut Evangelium aeternae salutis testimonium habeat a lege et prophetis. Ecce enim quadraginta diebus Moyses, quadraginta Elias jejunavit, quadraginta et Dominus. Sed quia non est mirandum in Domino quod praecessit quolibet in famulo, videamus utrumne magnum lateat sacramentum in hoc quadragenario dierum numero. Nunquid enim difficile videbatur Domino ad centum vel mille dies extendere jejunium, qui dederat servis ut quadraginta transirent sine corporalis cibi stipendio? Quis ergo non offendit in facto plus se posse jejunare quam servus, nisi quia per eumdem dierum numerum, non tam virtutis miraculum, quam virtutis exprimitur sacramentum? Quis igitur nesciat geminam esse legem Mosaicam, atque in spirituali decalogo simul et victimarum obsequio subdistinctam? quia enim gemina sit legalis praeceptio, hinc maxime claret, cum et ex uno perfici videtur et ex altero nequaquam perficitur. David quippe Domino dicit: Viam mandatorum tuorum cucurri (Ps. CXVIII, 32). Et rursum: A mandatis tuis non declinavi (Ibid. 157). Ecce adimpletio legis, sed nimirum decalogi spiritalibus, secundum quod et Apostolus dicit: Lex sancta, et mandatum ejus sanctum, et justum, et bonum secundum quod et qui fecerit ea vivet in eis (Rom. VII, 12). Petrus e contra ait: Quid tentatis Deum, imponere jugum super cervices discipulorum, quod neque nos, neque patres nostri portare potuimus aliquando (Act. XV, 10)? Ecce diminutio legis, sed utique obsequii carnalis, juxta quod et illud dicitur: Dedi eis praecepta non bona, in quibus non vivent. Et illud Apostoli: Neminem ad perfectum adduxit lex (Heb. VII, 19). Sciendum etiam quia ex ea parte qua spiritalis est lex et observari potest, in decem videlicet praeceptis, cum plenitudo temporis advenit, ad Novum Testamentum custodienda transivit. Ex ea vero qua carnalis est et portari non potest, in victimarum scilicet obsequiis, moriente in cruce Domino, observationem amisit. Quapropter si in decalogi mandatis spiritalis est lex, in victimarum quoque obsequiis carnalis, hinc sacratum jejunium, illinc crapulatum ostendit convivium. Nos vero quia jam carnalium victimarum ingluviem ex toto respuimus, superest ut de spiritalis legis jejunio aliquid loquamur.

10. For what else is it to say, You shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, you shall not covet your neighbor's property, and you shall not covet his wife, nor manservant, nor maidservant, nor ox, nor sheep, nor ass, nor all that is his , except to impose a kind of fasting on the soul? Does he not really fast who, in order to cling to good things, turns away from bad things? But in order for this fast of the decalogue to rise to the age of forty, it is necessary that, from afar, boasting the commandments of the New Testament, he sometimes runs to the Gospel. Let Moses and Elijah therefore come to the Lord as law and prophecy to the Gospel, let the decalogue be quaternized, conclude within the scope of their preaching the whole world through the four hinges of heaven in the chosen world, and in both Testaments from beginning to end a forty-day fast appears consecrated. Indeed, he fasts mystically for forty days, who spiritually observes the law through the four books of the holy Gospel, who preserves the laws of charity in loving God and his neighbor. Whence it is written: The fullness of the law is love (Rom. 13:10) . To this also when the Lord said in the Gospel: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. This, he says, is the first and greatest commandment in the law, but the second is similar to this: Love your neighbor as yourself, he immediately submitted: On these two commandments the whole law hangs and the prophets (Matthew 22:37) . Those who abhor all that leads the soul to the desires of the flesh must keep these two highest and most important commandments. of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:15) . Well, then, in his transformation, the Lord presented Moses and Elijah, whom he made similar to himself in fasting in order to signify the grace of the future thing, namely, inasmuch as the agreement made by both Testaments, according to the rule of intelligence set forth above, would show that all were preordained to life, during this hardship of pilgrimage, fasting for forty days according to the breviary the law, by which the twin and evangelical love was shown, must always be observed, which, of course, causes him to adhere unceasingly to the good, and to turn away from the bad at all times.

10. Quid enim aliud est dicere, Non occides, non furaberis, non falsum testimonium dices, non concupisces rem proximi tui, nec desiderabis uxorem ejus, non servum, non ancillam, non bovem, non ovem, non asinum, nec omnia quae illius sunt, nisi quoddam animae jejunium imponere? Annon vere jejunat, qui ut bonis inhaereat, a malis declinat? Sed ut hoc decalogi jejunium in quadragenarium surgat, oportet ut a longe Novi Testamenti jussa praestolans, quandoque ad Evangelium currat. Veniat ergo Moyses et Elias ad Dominum tanquam lex et prophetia ad Evangelium, fiat decalogum quaternatum, concludat intra suae praedicationis ambitum totum per quartuor cardines coeli in electis orbem terrarum, et in utroque Testamento a principio usque ad finem quadraginta dierum jejunium appareat consecratum. Ille etenim quadraginta diebus mystice jejunat, qui per quatuor sancti Evangelii libros spiritaliter legem observat, qui in diligendo Deo et proximo charitatis jura conservat. Unde scriptum est: Plenitudo legis est dilectio (Rom. XIII, 10). Huic et Dominus cum in Evangelio diceret: Dilige Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo, et ex tota anima tua, et ex tota virtute tua. Hoc est, inquiens, primum et maximum mandatum in lege, secundum autem simile est huic: Diliges proximum tuum tanquam te ipsum, continuo subjecit: In his duobus praeceptis tota lex pendet et prophetae (Matth. XXII, 37). Custodit vero haec duo summa atque praecipua mandata, quisquis totum abhorret quod animam inducit ad carnis desideria, quia, ut Joannes ait: Si quis diligit mundum, non est charitas Patris in illo, quoniam omne quod in mundo est, concupiscentia carnis est, et concupiscentia oculorum, et superbia vitae (I Joan. II, 15). Bene ergo Dominus in sua transformatione Moysen et Eliam exhibuit, quos ob significandum gratiam rei futurae in jejunando sibi similes fecit, quatenus scilicet utriusque Testamenti facta concordia, juxta praemissam intelligentiae regulam, ostenderet omnes ad vitam praeordinatos, in hac peregrinationis aerumna quadraginta dierum jejunium per breviarium legis, quo gemina atque evangelica demonstraretur dilectio, semper observare debere, quae utique et bonis indesinenter inhaerere, et a malis omni tempore facit declinare.

11. But I do not think that we should pass over in silence that Moses in the desert, Elijah in the desert, and the Lord fasted in the desert, by which, of course, the pilgrimage of this life is designated, in which, as the blessed Job indicates, man's life is proved to be a temptation. This is why there are serpents in the wilderness of bitter and fiery waters. Hence the fact that the children of Israel, after a period of forty years, like forty days, having fasted in the wilderness, arrive at a land flowing with milk and honey. Hence we, too, having been kept in abstinence forty days before the resurrection, reach the jubilee, which is a year of remission and full of joy.

11. Sed nec illud silentio praetereundum existimo quod in eremo Moyses, in eremo Elias, in eremo jejunat et Dominus, per quod nimirum hujus vitae peregrinatio designatur, in qua, sicut beatus Job indicat, vita hominis tentatio esse probatur. Inde est quod in eremo aquae amarae et igniti sunt serpentes. Inde quod filii Israel post tempus quadraginta annorum, tanquam quadraginta dierum, in solitudine peractum jejunium, ad terram lacte et melle manantem perveniunt. Inde quod nos quoque quadraginta diebus ante resurrectionem in abstinentia custoditis, ad jubilaeum, qui est annus remissionis plenusque jocunditatis, pertingimus.

12. But I would like to look at what the bitter water and the fiery serpents mean in the desert: first, we can not estimate it inappropriately, because like the manna with which the Jewish people were fed, as the holy authority testifies, it did not provide one and the same taste to those who ate it, and this others for the increase of salvation. but others to the expense of salvation; so also those waters existed sweet to some, and bitter to others: namely, the bitterness of which those who could not understand the salutary remedies of the tree did not feel at all, but those who without faith only ventured the water felt it. Thus also these could only be healed from the bites of serpents who, looking at the brazen serpent, attended more faithfully to the mystery, as the sacred Scriptures declare, that it was not by this that every one who saw was healed; was hidden in the sacrament. What, then, do the bitter waters signify, if not the adversities of this age? Of which, of course, he alone tasted unduly, who, sitting at the right hand of the Father, drank from the stream on the way to reign. It is from this that he was fed, from this that he drank vinegar, from this that the pious seasoned and thirsts for what is bitter, and tasting the bitter says: It is finished (John 19:30) . And whence the bitter waters were turned into sweetness, except by the admixture of salutary wood. Finally, when the people of Israel grumbled because of the bitterness of the water, Moses cried out to the Lord, who showed him a stick, which, when he had thrown into the waters, had turned to sweetness. It is indeed the tree of life in the garden of God, the very one that was planted by the waters, namely the Lord Jesus Christ, God and perfect man, of whom Solomon also says: " Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, a tree of life to those who lay hold of it and who keep it." blessed (Prov. 3:18 ) When, therefore, a tree was sent into bitter waters, whatever seemed to drink bitterness soon turned into sweetness; for indeed, while the passion of the blessed Mediator is mingled with our tribulations, the weight of their gravity is lifted. But it must be known that, according to the premised understanding of our smallness, they continue to be bitter to others, and supply the sweetness of water to others; hence it is that some desire the same cup of passion, and others shun it. Of course, those who like the bitterness of that sweet thing are appetizing: but they shun those whose bitterness is displeasing; those who take the narrow path are eager; those who travel the wide and spacious roads of the world with pleasure take refuge. For he alone does not feel the bitterness of the water, who draws the sweetness of the wood into the rotation of the water from the depths, and instead of the sweetness of that which is put in, the bitterness of this which was inherent is not felt: for that is to say, he who fully tastes what and how much is hidden within the secret of the sweetness of the cross, all that is on the cross adjacent, even bitter, he thinks sweet. Wherefore also the Holy Scripture pronounces: To the hungry soul even bitter sweets appear (Prov. 27:7 ) For who is so ungrateful, who, even if not by open martyrdom, at least secretly, does not willingly follow the master of the cross, when he retains the scripture: If we do not sympathize, we will not repent (II Tim. 2, 12) , and Peter reminds us: Christ suffered for us, leaving an example for you to follow in his steps (2 Pet. 2, 21) . For Paul had found such among the Hebrews, to whom he said: Looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of the faith, who, with the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despised with confusion (Heb. 12:2) . He desired to become such as those, to whom, in order to turn the bitterness of suffering into sweetness, he spoke, saying: Knowing that as you are companions of suffering, so you will also be of consolation (2 Cor. 1:7) . But when we say these things, we must distinguish between the two Testaments, and see how bitter waters existed there, and here sweet waters. Indeed, the waters were bitter to those of whom Moses said: They hated the children of Israel of Egypt, and afflicted them by mocking them, and brought their lives to bitterness with the works of hard clay and brick, and with all the servitude by which they were oppressed in the works of the earth (Exod. 1:12) . Of the bitter and of those from whose person Jeremiah spoke under the type of a woman, saying: My belly is troubled, my heart is turned upside down within itself, because I am full of bitterness (Thren. 1, 20) . And above: He surrounded me with fury and labor (Thren. 3, 15) . And again: He filled me with bitterness, and made me drunk with absinthe (Ibid. 15) . But already by the admixture of the saving tree they were converted into sweetness, of whom Luke bore witness, saying: And the apostles went away rejoicing from the sight of the council, because they were considered worthy to suffer reproach for his name (Acts 5:41) . Even Moses himself was bitter, when he complained in sorrow: Why, said he, Lord, hast thou afflicted thy servant? why do I not find favor before you? Why hast thou laid the weight of all this people upon me? I cannot support all these people alone, because it is too heavy for me. If it seems otherwise to you, I beg you to kill me, so that I may find favor in your eyes, so that I may not be affected by so many evils (Exodus 17:4) . And again: I am a little one and they will stone me. Elijah was also bitter, when, fleeing the persecutions of Jezebel through the deserts, and suffering violence, he cried: It is enough for me, Lord; take away, please, my soul, for I am no better than my fathers (3 Kings 19:4) . But by the admixture of the remedial wood Paul was already turned into sweetness, when he said the same thing to the faithful: Now I rejoice in tribulations for you (Rom. 5:3) . And again: To me to live is Christ, and to die is gain (Phil. 1, 21) . Again: I am not only ready to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 21:13) .

12. Sed libet intueri quid significent in deserto aquae amarae, quidve serpentes igniti: primumque non inconvenienter aestimare possumus, quia sicut manna illud quo plebs Judaica vescebatur, ut sancta testatur auctoritas, non unum eumdemque saporem comedentibus praestitit, atque hoc alii ad salutis incrementum, alii vero ad salutis dispendium; sic etiam illae aquae aliis exstitere dulces, atque aliis amarae: quarum videlicet amaritudinem illi nequaquam senserunt qui salutaris ligni remedia intelligere potuerunt, illi autem senserunt qui sine fide aquam tantum auserunt. Sic quoque hi tantum a serpentum morsibus sanari potuerunt qui serpentem aeneum aspicientes, mysterium fidentius attenderunt, sacra Scriptura pronuntiante, quod non per hoc quisque qui videbat sanabatur: ac si aperte diceretur, non per hoc quod foris juxta litteram patebat, sed per illud quod intus in sacramento latebat. Quid ergo significant aquae amarae, nisi adversitates hujus saeculi? de quibus nimirum solus ille indebite gustavit, qui ut in dexteram Patris sedens regnaret, de torrente in via bibit. Inde est quod felle cibatus, inde quod aceto potatus, inde quod pius conditor et sitit quod amarum est, et amarum gustans ait: Consummatum est (Joan. XIX, 30). Unde autem aquae amarae in dulcedine versae, nisi ex admistione salutaris ligni. Denique cum murmuraret populus Israel propter aquae amaritudinem, clamavit Moyses ad Dominum, qui ostendit ei lignum, quod cum misisset in aquas, in dulcedinem versae sunt. Ipsum profecto est lignum vitae in paradiso Dei, ipsum quod plantatum est secus decursus aquarum, Dominus videlicet Jesus Christus Deus et homo perfectus, de quo etiam Salomon dicit: Beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam, lignum vitae est his qui apprehendent eam, et qui tenuerit eam beatus (Prov. III, 18). Misso igitur ligno in aquas amaras, mox in dulcedinem vertitur quidquid amaritudinis babere videbatur; quia videlicet dum nostris tribulationibus passio beati Mediatoris permiscetur, pondus gravitatis earum levatur. Sed sciendum quia juxta praemissam parvitatis nostrae intelligentiam aliis amarae perseverant, aliis dulcedinem aquae subministrant; hinc est quod unum eumdem passionis calicem alii appetunt, alii refugiunt. Appetunt scilicet quibus amaritudo illius dulcis est: refugiunt vero quibus amara displicent; appetunt qui angustum iter carpunt; refugiunt, qui lata et spatiosa mundi itinera voluptuose percurrunt. Solus enim ille amaritudinem aquae non sentit, qui dulcedinem ligni in aquae rotationem ab intimis trahit, et prae illius dulcedine quod immittitur, hujus quae inerat amaritudo non sentitur: quia videlicet qui plene degustat, quae et quanta intra secretum crucis dulcedo lateat, cuncta quae cruci adjacent, etiam amara, dulcia putat. Unde et sacra Scriptura pronuntiat: Animae esurienti etiam amara dulcia videntur (Prov. XXVII, 7). Quis enim tam ingratus, qui etsi non aperto martyrio, saltem occulto, non libenter sequatur crucis magistrum, cum scriptum retineat: Si non compatimur, nec conregnabimus (II Tim. II, 12), et Petrus admoneat: Christus passus est pro nobis, relinquens vobis exemplum ut sequamini vestigia ejus (II Petr. II, 21). Tales quippe apud Hebraeos invenerat Paulus, quibus dicebat: Aspicientes in auctorem fidei, et consummatorem Jesum, qui, proposito sibi gaudio, sustinuit crucem, confusione contempta (Heb. XII, 2). Tales et illos fieri cupiebat, quibus ut amaritudinem passionis in dulcedinem verteret, loquebatur dicens: Scientes quia sicut socii passionum estis, sic et consolationis eritis (II Cor. I, 7). Sed nos ista dicentes, debemus inter utraque Testamenta distinguere, et qualiter ibi amarae, hic autem dulces exstiterint aquae videre. Amarae siquidem fuerant aquae illis de quibus Moises dicebat: Oderant filios Israel Egyptii, et affligebant illudentes eis, atque ad amaritudinem perducebant vitam eorum operibus duris luti et lateris, omnique famulatu, quo in terrae operibus premebantur (Exod. I, 12). Amarae et illis ex quorum persona Jeremias sub typo mulieris loquebatur dicens: Venter meus conturbatus est, subversum est cor meum in memetipsa, quoniam amaritudine plena sum (Thren. I, 20). Et sursum: Circumdedit me felle et labore (Thren. III, 15). Rursumque: Replevit me amaritudinibus, et inebriavit me absynthio (Ibid. XV). Sed jam per admistionem ligni salutaris in dulcedinem illis conversae, de quibus Lucas testimonium perhibebat dicens: Ibant autem apostoli gaudentes a conspectu concilii, quoniam digni habiti sunt pro nomine ejus contumeliam pati (Act. V, 41). Amarae exstiterant et ipsi Moysi, cum moestus conquereretur: Cur, inquit, Domine, afflixisti servum tuum? quare non invenio gratiam coram te? Cur imposuisti pondus universi populi hujus super me? Non possum solus sustinere omnem hunc populum, quia gravis mihi est. Sin aliter tibi videtur, obsecro ut interficias me, ut inveniam gratiam in oculis tuis, ne tantis afficiar malis (Exod. XVII, 4). Rursumque: Pusillum et lapidabunt me. Amarae fuerant et Eliae, cum persecutiones Jezabelis per deserta fugiens, vimque patiens clamaret: Sufficit mihi, Domine; tolle, quaeso, animam meam, neque enim melior sum quam patres mei (III Reg. XIX, 4). Sed per admistionem ligni remedialis jam Paulo in dulcedinem versae, cum idem fidelibus diceret: Qui nunc gaudeo in tribulationibus pro vobis (Rom. V, 3). Et rursum: Mihi vivere Christus est, et mori lucrum (Phil. I, 21). Rursumque: Ego autem non solum alligari, sed et mori paratus sum in Jerusalem pro nomine Domini Jesu (Act. XXI, 13).

13. Now there is another sense frequently inculcated by our elders concerning bitter waters, the bitterness of which is rightly referred to in the pain of circumcision in the flesh, and the retribution of vengeance for crimes. But the bitterness of water is turned into sweetness by the wholesomeness of wood, because surely our Redeemer, taking upon himself the undue severity of the law, fulfilling the law, and at the same time voiding the decrees, exchanged all that was harsh in its precepts for the grace of the gentleness of the New Testament. What, too, do the fiery serpents signify, if not the deadly suggestions of the ancient enemy? to whom indeed Paul addresses the sentence, saying: Take up the shield of faith, in which you can extinguish all the weapons of the wicked by fire (Eph. 6:16) . To what extent, nay, it only succeeds, that those who are smitten, that they may not die, are ordered to look at the bronze serpent. In fact, it was not ours that wavered, but the Lord's exposition strengthens the opinion of the negotiator. For he said: As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have eternal life (Luke 19:14) . For behold, the secret adversary has suggested every deed in the mind; You have agreed, the serpent has bitten you: but do not be completely extinguished, look at the bronze serpent, this is the Lord hanging on the cross, whose passion, as long as it is well considered, is proven to extinguish all the evils of vice in us. But she is well regarded, while she tries to imitate her strength. Begin, then, to desire to imitate the passion of Christ, and there will be no mortal crime that can extinguish you. And when Paul says: But those who are Christ's have crucified their flesh with vices and lusts (Gal. 5:24) . What, I pray thee, shall the pleasures of sin steal from such? For he who has been crucified certainly does not feel the bite of a poisonous snake before the pain of his imminent death. Give me any dead man who can feel the bite of a snake. And certainly the same excellent preacher says to the faithful: You are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God (Col. 3:3) .

13. Est autem hic de aquis amaris et alius sensus frequenter a majoribus nostris inculcatus, quarum videlicet amaritudo jure refertur in circumcisionis in carne dolorem, ac pro reatibus vindictae retributionem. Sed aquae amaritudinem ligni salubritas in dulcedinem vertit, quia profecto Redemptor noster indebitam sibi legis severitatem in se suscipiens, legem implens, simul et decretis evacuans, totum quod in ejus praeceptis asperum erat, in lenitatis Novi Testamenti gratiam commutavit. Quid quoque designant igniti serpentes, nisi antiqui hostis mortiferas suggestiones? cui profecto sententiae Paulus concinit dicens: Assumite scutum fidei, in quo possitis omnia tela nequissimi ignita exstinguere (Eph. VI, 16). Ad quod maxime, imo tantum illud proficit, quod percussi ne moriantur, aeneum serpentem aspicere jubentur. Quo videlicet in facto, non nostra titubat, sed Domini expositio tractantis sententiam firmat. Ait enim: Sicut exaltavit Moyses serpentem in deserto, ita exaltari oportet Filium hominis, ut omnis qui credit in cum, non pereat, sed habeat vitam aeternam (Luc. XIX, 14). Ecce enim suggessit occultus adversarius quodlibet in mente facinus; consensisti, serpens momordit te: sed ne funditus exstinguaris, aspice serpentem aeneum, hoc est in cruce pendentem Dominum, cujus nimirum passio dum bene consideratur, omnia in nobis vitiorum mala exstinguere probatur. Bene autem consideratur, dum ipsa pro viribus imitari conatur. Incipe igitur passionem Christi imitari velle, et nullum erit mortale crimen quod te possit exstinguere. Et cum Paulus dicat: Qui autem sunt Christi, carnem suam crucifixerunt cum vitiis et concupiscentiis (Gal. V, 24). Quae rogo, oblectamenta peccati talibus poterunt subripere? Qui enim crucifixus est, utique prae dolore ipsius mortis imminentis morsum non sentit venenati serpentis. Da mihi quemlibet mortuum, qui sentire possit colubri morsum. Et certe idem egregius praedicator fidelibus dicit: Mortui estis, et vita vestra asbscondita est cum Christo in Deo (Col. III, 3).

14. Behold, as briefly as we could intimate, why the Lord exhibited Moses and Elijah in the transfiguration, whom he had as companions and concordant servants in the mystery of fasting. How well it also fits that Moses and Elijah were swallowed up by the looks of Peter and John, so that, of course, the agreement made between the Old and New Testaments, the two persons respected each other either in fact or in mystery. For Moses parted the sea in order that he might pass over to eat the manna; But Peter, in order to reach Christ, who is truth and heavenly manna, walked on the sea; Elias, however, in order to ask for superiors, ascended in a chariot of fire; But John, in order to penetrate the secrets of the Word, reclined on the flaming breast of Christ. But what do we do about James? Shall we divide him from this agreement, and judge the lesser Peter or John in prefiguration, whom we prove to be compatible with the persons of Moses and Elijah from another reason? For Jacob, as we have said, is interpreted as a supplanter, which is proved to be quite agreeable to Moses and Elijah: one of whom, having slain an Egyptian lying in wait for a Hebrew with a club, hid him with sand; but the other, deceiving Baal, killed the prophets in a torrent: all this is shown by the authority of the Fathers to be related to the extinction of vices. But let us see, if we can, what are the words of the lawgiver and the prophet to the Lord of both, which perhaps I would have thought rashly, nay, certainly a vain presumptuous man, unless I had learned what they were from another evangelist.

14. Ecce, ut quam breviter intimare potuimus, quare Dominus Moysen et Eliam in transfiguratione exhibuit, quos in mysterio jejunii socios atque concordes famulos habuit. Quam bene etiam congruit quod Petri et Joannis aspectibus Moysen et Eliam ingessit, ut scilicet, Veteris ac Novi Testamenti facta concordia, altrinsecus semet vel in facto, vel in mysterio binae respectarent personae. Moyses enim ut ad manna vescendum transiret, mare dividit; Petrus vero, ut ad Christum, qui verum coelesteque est manna, perveniret, super mare ambulavit; Elias vero ut superiora peteret, in curru igneo ascendit; Joannes vero ut secreta Verbi penetraret, in flammeo Christi pectore recubuit. Quid autem facimus de Jacobo? nunquid ab hac eum concordia dividimus, et minorem Petro vel Joanne in praefiguratione judicamus, quem Moysi et Eliae personis ex alia ratione congruere probamus? Jacob enim, ut diximus, supplantator interpretatur, quod omnino Moysi et Eliae satis convenire probatur: quorum unus insidiantem Hebraeo Aegyptium clancule interficiens, sabulo abscondit: alter vero Baal deludens, prophetas in torrente mactavit: quae cuncta ad exstinctionem vitiorum pertinere Patrum auctoritas demonstravit. Sed videmus, si possumus, quae sunt verba legislatoris et prophetae ad Dominum utrorumque, quod temere forsitan, imo certe vanus praesumptor autumare vellem, nisi quaenam illa essent ab alio evangelista didicissem.

15. Behold, he said, two men were talking with him. And there were Moses and Elias, and they said of his transgression, which he was about to complete in Jerusalem (Luke 9:31) . Which excess, if not for the life of the world, was an undue torture of suffering, which indeed had already begun, but had not yet finished, because he had already begun to suffer our miseries, and yet had not yet come to the execution of the cross. For from this it may be understood that the words of those who were now with him were such: You came, who were to be sent, born of a Virgin, you grew, you were hungry, you were thirsty, you sat down tired; but you have not yet given up your breath amid the tortures. You have begun, then, but have not yet finished, which you will then complete perfectly, when you hang on the cross as a pious founder. But this can be said to the intelligent, that the same excess began in the prophets, but was by no means completed in them, to be completed in the Lord of the prophets. Hence the Lord himself says to the Jews: And you shall fulfill the measure of your fathers (Matthew 23:32) , as if he had said plainly: They killed the prophets, but it was not the full measure; you kill the Lord of the prophets, and the measure of your fathers will be full. For all the passions of the righteous are fulfilled in the passion of their Lord. But where was he to complete this excess, except in Jerusalem? because he himself says: It is not necessary for a prophet to perish outside Jerusalem (Luke 13:33) . O wretched, O damned Jerusalem, which alone hast reached such a height of damnation, that none of the prophets shed blood besides thee, and there was no innocent blood shed on earth that did not come upon thee, from the blood of the righteous Abel to the blood of Zacharias, the son of Barachias, whom you, bloody beast, were trampled between the temple and the altar (Matt. 22:35) , namely because of him whom, before the face of Pilate, you denounced as coming upon you and your offspring: His blood, he says, upon us and upon our children (Matt. 27:25) . But as much good as you have procured for the world by your greatest evil and most evil crime, one of your own, ignorant and prophesying, cries out: It is expedient that one should die for the people, lest the whole nation should perish (John 18:14) . It follows:

15. Ecce, inquit, duo viri loquebantur cum eo. Erant autem Moyses et Elias, et dicebant excessum ejus, quem completurus erat in Jerusalem (Luc. IX, 31). Quem excessum, nisi pro mundi vita indebitum passionis tormentum, quod quidem jam inchoaverat, sed necdum compleverat, quia et miserias nostras pati jam coeperat, et tamen ad crucis supplicium nondum accesserat. Ut enim hinc detur intelligi quod verba eorum quae nunc apud illum fuerunt, talia erant: Venisti, qui mittendus eras, natus de Virgine, crevisti, esuristi, sitisti, lassatus sedisti; sed necdum inter supplicia spiritum tradidisti. Inchoasti ergo, sed nondum complesti, quod tunc perfecte complebis, cum pius conditor in cruce pependeris. Potest autem hoc ita dictum intelligenti, ut idem excessus in prophetis coeperit, sed nequaquam in illis completus, in Domino prophetarum esse complendus. Unde et ipse Dominus ad Judaeos dicit: Et vos implete mensuram patrum vestrorum (Matth. XXIII, 32), ac si aperte diceret: Illi prophetas occiderunt, sed non erat plena mensura; vos occidite Dominum prophetarum, et plena erit mensura patrum vestrorum. Omnes enim justorum passiones in Domini sui complentur passione. Ubi autem hunc completurus esset excessum, nisi in Jerusalem? quia ipse ait: Non oportet prophetam perire extra Jerusalem (Luc. XIII, 33). O misera, o damnanda Jerusalem, quae sola ad tantum damnationis cumulum pervenisti, ut nullus prophetarum extra te sanguinem funderet, nullusque innoxius in terra esset sanguis effusus, qui non super te veniret, a sanguine Abel justi usque ad sanguinem Zachariae, filii Barachiae, quem tu, cruenta bestia, inter templum et altare conculcasti (Matth. XXII, 35), propter illum scilicet quem ante faciem Pilati super te tuamque progeniem venturum expostulasti: Sanguis, inquiens, hujus super nos et super filios nostros (Matth. XXVII, 25). Sed quantum bonum hoc tuo maximo nefandissimoque scelere mundo procuraveris, unus tuorum nesciens et prophetans clamat: Expedit ut unus moriatur pro populo, ne tota gens pereat (Joan. XVIII, 14). Sequitur:

16. Peter answered and said to Jesus: Lord, it is good that we are here; if you wish, let us make three tabernacles here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah (Matthew 17:4) . I beseech you, blessed Peter the apostle, that the authority of the reprover of the humblest servant should not be displeasing to you, provided that there is no rashness in the reprover of the servant. For this I humbly ask of you, which I find that others have already asked before. Tell me, I pray thee, was it for this reason that thou wast taken up into the mountain, that thou mightest possess the Lord in fixed tabernacles alone with a few? Or is it because the glory of his body was seen, when after a little while it came to chains, to scourges, to spitting, to slaps, to the tortures of the cross, to the burial, do you deny that this man is God, or man fully God, and your teacher? It is good that you now so much like the suddenly glorified face of Christ, that you do not want to come down from the mountain: but wait a little, surely forgetting such things, before your life you will deny that you know this slave, when that hour is near, that it may be fulfilled, which is said of him through the prophet: No it is appearance to him, not beauty; and we saw him, and there was no appearance, and as if his countenance was hidden and despised, so that we did not regard him either (Isa. 53:2) . Rather than you should have said: Lord, hasten the time when all that has been written about you will be completed, and thus passing into your glory, show me your face, not what you are now; but present such as you are. But an indulgence must be granted to you: you suffer sleep when you say such things. For thus the evangelist speaks of you and your companions, saying: " But Peter and those with him were burdened at the top" (Luke 9:32) , that is to say, with sleep, not of the flesh, but of the mind. Wherefore, forgetting both you and your associates, you were concerned about the Lord, Moses, and Elijah: Let us make, he said, three tabernacles here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. For behold, the Lord shines with the brightness of the sun, a bright cloud overshadows Moses and Elijah; Who then needs a tabernacle, you to whom none of these things happen, or to those to whom such a task results? So what do you think of you and your roommates? Or do you perhaps want to associate two by each tabernacle, so that they may be the masters, and you in each tabernacle the servants of the masters? Which of you, then, will be the Lord's servant? Who is Moses? Who is Elijah? For it would have been more tolerable for him to have said: Lord, let us make here one tabernacle, that Moses and Elias, I, James and John, may serve thee in one tabernacle.

16. Respondens autem Petrus dixit ad Jesum: Domine, bonum est nos hic esse; si vis, faciamus hic tria tabernacula, tibi unum, Moysi unum, et Eliae unum (Matth. XVII, 4). Obsecro, beate Petre apostole, ne tibi displiceat humillimi servi reprehendentis auctoritas, dummodo nulla sit in reprehendente servilis temeritas. Hoc enim a te humilitate libera quaero, quod alios jam ante quaesiisse invenio. Dic ergo, quaeso te, propterea in montem assumptus es, ut fixis tabernaculis Dominum possideas solus cum paucis? an ideo ut visa gloria corporis ejus, cum post paululum ventum fuerit ad vincula, ad flagella, ad sputa, ad alapas, ad crucis tormenta, ad sepulturam, nequaquam hunc Deum esse, vel hominem Deum plenum, tuumque magistrum abneges? Bene quod tibi tantum nunc placet subito glorificata facies Christi, ut de monte nolis descendere: sed exspecta paululum, certe oblitus talia, ante vite mancipium hunc te scire negabis, cum hora illa propinquaverit, ut illud impleatur, quod de eo per prophetam dicitur: Non est species ei, neque decor; et vidimus eum, et non erat aspectus, et quasi absconditus vultus ejus et despectus, unde nec reputavimus eum (Isa. LIII, 2). Dicere quin potius debueras: Domine, accelera tempus quo cuncta quae de te scripta sunt compleantur, et sic in gloriam tuam transiens, ostende mihi, non qualis nunc es, faciem tuam; sed praebe talem sicuti es. Sed indulgentiam concedendum est tibi: somnum pateris, cum talia dicis. Sic enim de te tuisque sociis evangelista loquitur, dicens: Petrus vero et qui cum illo, gravati erant sommo (Luc. IX, 32), somno videlicet, non carnis, sed mentis. Unde et tui tuorumque sociorum oblitus, de Domino, Moyse atque Elia eras sollicitus: Faciamus, inquiens, hic tria tabernacula, tibi unum, Moysi unum, et Eliae unum. Ecce enim Dominus claritate solis emicat, Moysen et Eliam lucida nubes obumbrat; quibus ergo opus est tabernaculum, vobis quibus nihil horum contingit, an illis quibus tale munus provenit? Quid igitur de te ac tuis contubernalibus cogitas? An forte binos per singula vis sociare tabernacula, ut illi sint domini, vos in singulis tabernaculis dominorum servi? Quis ergo vestrum erit Domini servus? quis Moysi? quis Eliae? Tolerabilius quippe fuerat dixisse: Domine, faciamus hic unum tabernaculum, ut Moyses et Elias, ego, Jacobus et Joannes, tibi in uno tabernaculo serviamus.

17. But we, dearest brethren, as we do not follow the ignorance of Peter in this saying, so let us venerate his chief love for the Lord, which the most powerful executor of his love, not being able to conceal inwardly, has shown outwardly with very open indications. This is why the twelve asked the Lord himself: Who do you say that I am? he answered first: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matthew 10:15) . Hence he did not want the teacher to suffer, but rebuked the one announcing the suffering, saying: Far be it from you, Lord, this will not happen (Ibid. 22) . Therefore, at the approaching hour of the same Lord's passion, he himself saying: All of you suffer a stumbling block in me that night (Matthew 26:31) ; when the others were disturbed, this intrepid one answered: Even if all are offended in you, I will never be offended (Ibid. 33) . Again and again. If it is necessary for me to die with you, I will not deny you (Ibid. 53) . When he had already seized him, he drew his sword, and cut off the ear of his pursuers, directing an uncertain blow. Whence, having been placed in the boat, seeing Christ on the shore, as the first of all to come to him, he plunged himself into the waves for the second time. Proving this, when the Lord had risen from the dead, knowing what to ask, he said: Simon John, do you love them more? And he said: Lord, you know that I love you (John 21:15) . With this love, however, as the evangelist speaks, not knowing what to say, when he saw the brightness of the face of the Lord, he wished to remain on the mountain, and not to come down for a moment. He rejects the glory of the world, he despises all that is flattering in the world, he only likes the face of Christ shining with the brightness of the sun. What do we think? how pleased he would be, if he could then look upon such a man through a mortal body, such as he now sees, stripped of his mortality. Surely he despised not only the earth below, but also the very heaven above him, so much so that he would remain forever on the mountain with the Lord. But Peter must come down from the mountain, the poor Lord must be followed in the meantime, he must be imitated by Peter who said: Foxes have dens, and birds of the air have nests: but the Son of man has not where to lay his head (Matthew 8:20) . To be imitated in the torture of the cross, moreover, the footprint of the cross turned upward, and thus the face of Christ to be looked upon eternally, without any temporal defect: which even the blessed Peter himself then refused, who, although he wanted to stay with the Lord on the mountain, yet asked his will about fixing the tabernacles. For thus he said: Lord, if thou wilt, let us make three tabernacles here, where the consequent understanding is: if thou wilt not, let us not do it. If you will, then, let us stay; if you don't want to stay, let's go down. It follows:

17. Sed nos, fratres charissimi, sicut in hoc dicto ignorantiam Petri non sequimur, sic praecipuum amorem illius erga Dominum veneremur, quem saepissime apertis indiciis idem validissimus dilectionis ejus exsecutor intus celare non valens, foris ostendit. Inde est quod ipsi Domino duodecim interroganti: Quem me esse dicitis? primus respondit: Tu es Christus Filius Dei vivi (Matth. X, 15). Inde quod magistrum non vult pati, sed passionem denuntiantem redarguit dicens: Absit a te, Domine, non fiet istud (Ibid. XXII). Inde quod imminente hora ejusdem Domini passionis, ipso dicente: Omnes vos scandalum patiemini in me in ista nocte (Matth. XXVI, 31); cum alii turbarentur, intrepidus iste respondit: Etsi omnes scandalizati fuerint in te, ego nunquam scandalizabor (Ibid. XXXIII). Rursumque etiam. Si me oportuerit mori tecum, non te negabo (Ibid. LIII). Inde quod illo jam comprehenso, gladium educit, persecutorisque auriculam in incertum ictum dirigens abscidit. Inde quod in navicula positus, viso in littore Christo, ut primus omnium ad illum veniat, secundo semet fluctibus immergit. Quod probans Dominus cum resurrexisset a mortuis, sciens quid interrogaret, dixit: Simon Joannis, diligis plus his? Et ille: Domine, inquit, tu scis quia amo te (Joan. XXI, 15). Hac dilectione quanquam, ut evangelista loquitur, nesciens quid dicat, visa vultus Domini claritate, vult in monte manere, et nec ad momentum descendere. Respuit gloriam saeculi, totum quod in mundo blanditur contemnit, sola ei claritate solis emicans Christi facies placet. Quid putamus? quomodo placeret, si talem tunc posset intueri per corpus mortale, qualem nunc cernit exutus mortalitate. Certe non solum subterjacentem terram, sed et ipsum super se coelum contemneret, tantum ut in monte cum Domino in perpetuum maneret. Sed descendendum est Petro de monte, sequendus est interim Dominus pauper, imitandus a Petro ille qui dixit: Vulpes foveas habent, et volucres coeli nidos: Filius autem hominis non habet ubi caput suum reclinet (Matth. VIII, 20). Imitandus in crucis tormento, insuper verso sursum crucis vestigio, et sic aeternaliter intuenda facies Christi, sine ullo temporali defectu: quod nec ipse beatus tunc Petrus abnuit, qui etsi cum Domino in monte manere voluit, tamen de figendis tabernaculis voluntatem ejus quaesivit. Sic enim dixit: Domine, si vis, faciamus hic tria tabernacula, ubi consequens intellectus est: Si non vis, non faciamus. Si ergo vis, maneamus; si non vis manere, descendamus. Sequitur:

18. While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. And behold a voice from the cloud saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; listen to him (Matthew 17:5) . Come, blessed Peter, the care of fixing the tabernacles has been taken away, Moses has withdrawn, Elias has withdrawn, with whom you wanted to make tabernacles. They were slaves; not the masters; they had not come to give orders, but to fulfill just hearings. The only one who remained is the Lord, the only one whom you followed is the beloved Son. In this alone the Father was well pleased. And indeed Moses could be called the son of God, so could Elijah. Surely Moses was beloved of God, so was Elijah; God was pleased with Moses, and he was pleased with Elijah. However, in comparison with this one, who was born from the substance of the Father, neither Moses the son, nor Elias; neither Moses was beloved of God, nor Elias; neither Moses was accepted, nor Elias; but as a father's voice taught: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: therefore listen not to Moses, not to Elias, but to him. For Moses had commanded that tabernacles be made, but Christ commands that the Church be built. Hear therefore, venerable Peter, who appointed thee not a maker of tabernacles, but a shepherd of his sheep. But what do we think, brothers, expressed by a bright cloud, but the grace of the New Testament, and indeed before the coming of the Mediator, as it is written, the water was dark in the clouds of the air, this is the dark knowledge of the words in the law and the prophets: but it is no longer the doctrine of the New Testament in a dark cloud, but through the bright cloud thundering with a clear paternal voice. And it should be noted that the bright cloud holds and overshadows Moses and Elijah, takes them away and hides them. And when he holds Moses and Elijah and hides them, yet Moses and Elijah no longer sound out of the cloud in which they are hidden. But the Father alone speaks through the cloud. A single bright cloud expresses the paternal voice. Thus the grace of the New Testament overshadows and preserves, hides and holds the law and prophecy. It overshadows, of course, in the letter, it preserves in the spirit. It hides in figures, it holds in mysteries: so it happens that whatever the law and prophecy speak, even if it is to be observed spiritually, is received. Oh, how much of the future grace of the New Testament before the coming of the Redeemer in the flesh, when the water was dark in the clouds of the air, the law and prophecy were spoken. But when they came to the bright cloud, where the bright cloud overshadowed Moses and Elijah, Moses was silent, Elijah was silent. A paternal voice resounds through a single bright cloud: This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, hear him.

18. Adhuc eo loquente, ecce nubes lucida obumbravit eos. Et ecce vox de nube dicens: Hic est Filius meus dilectus, in quo mihi bene complacui, ipsum audite (Matth. XVII, 5). Age, beate Petre, ablata est cura figendorum tabernaculorum, recessit Moyses, recessit Elias, quibus tabernacula facere volebas. Servi erant; non domini; venerant non ut juberent, sed ut audientes justa complerent. Hic solus qui remansit est Dominus, hic solus quem estis secuti, dilectus est Filius. In hoc solo Patri bene complacuit. Et quidem potuit Moyses dici filius Dei, potuit et Elias. Fuit certe Moyses Deo dilectus, fuit et Elias, complacuit Deo in Moysen, complacuit et in Elia. Ad hujus tamen comparationem, qui natus est ex substantia Patris, nec Moyses filius, nec Elias; nec Moyses Deo dilectus, nec Elias; nec Moyses acceptus, nec Elias; sed ut paterna vox edocuit: Hic est Filius meus dilectus, in quo mihi bene complacui: Non ergo Moysen, non Eliam, sed ipsum audite. Jusserat quippe Moyses fieri tabernacula, sed Christus jubet aedificari Ecclesiam. Ipsum ergo audi, venerabilis Petre, qui te non tabernaculorum fictorem, sed ovium suarum constituit pastorem. Quid autem putamus, fratres, exprimi per nubem lucidam, nisi Novi Testamenti gratiam, et quidem ante adventum Mediatoris, ut scriptum est, tenebrosa erat aqua in nubibus aeris, hoc est obscura verborum scientia in lege atque prophetis: sed jam Novi Testamenti doctrina non est in nube tenebrosa, sed per nubem lucidam tonans paterna voce perspicua. Et notandum quod nubes lucida Moysen et Eliam tenet et obumbrat, aufert et occultat. Et cum Moysen et Eliam teneat et occultet, non tamen jam Moyses et Elias de nube sonant, in qua latent. Sed solus Pater per nubem loquitur. Sola nubes lucida paternam vocem exprimit. Sic sic Novi Testamenti gratia legem et prophetiam obumbrat et conservat, occultat et tenet. Obumbrat scilicet in littera, conservat in spiritu. Occultat in figuris, tenet in mysteriis: sicque fit ut quidquid lex et prophetia loquitur, quanquam spiritualiter observandum, recipiatur. O quam multa de futura Novi Testamenti gratia ante adventum Redemptoris in carne, cum tenebrosa esset aqua in nubibus aeris, locuta est lex et prophetia. At ubi ventum est ad nubem lucidam, ubi nubes lucida Moysen obumbrat, et Eliam, silet Moyses, tacet Elias. Per solam nubem lucidam paterna vox insonat: Hic est Filius meus dilectus in quo mihi bene complacui, ipsum audite.

19. And the disciples, hearing it, fell on their faces on the ground and were greatly afraid: but lifting up their eyes, they saw no one but only Jesus (Matthew 17:6) . That voice which struck the ears of the disciples, whether by himself or by an angelic creature, the Lord moved the merciful cloud; yet he rang through the cloud. But because he came out of the cloud, which had thus laid the disciples on the ground, it was made in the manner of thunder, just as then when, in imminent passion, the same Son said to the Father: Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say, Father? Save me from this hour; but that is why I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name. Then came a voice from heaven: And I glorified, and I will glorify again. The crowd, therefore, which stood and had heard it, said that it had thundered (John 11:27) . But what is the reason that there the crowd, hearing the thunder, does not fall, but here the disciples fall on their faces, unless it is because there pride, and here humility, frightens them? nor does he fear without cause, which has received the reward of so much fear. Hence the Lord goes directly, touches the disciples, commands them to stand up, commands them not to be afraid; however, these charisms hint at something of spiritual grace for us. As if the Lord were to say openly to the disciples: It was to be feared if Moses' voice cried out to be heard; if he advised us to imitate Elijah, one of whom killed twenty-three thousand sinners in one day, and did not spare him; the other Baal strangled the prophets without any mercy, and burned two fifty-year-olds with their fifty, that is to say, one hundred men, in heavenly fire. But because I preach to be heard, who justifies the publican who confesses in the temple, who accepts the denying apostle, who frees the harlot to be stoned, who sanctifies the penitent thief on the cross: why are you unusually afraid? Therefore let there be fear in the law, and love in the Gospel. For there is no fear in charity, but perfect charity casts out fear (1 John 4:18) . It follows:

19. Et audientes discipuli ceciderunt in facies suas super terram et timuerunt valde: levantes autem oculos, neminem viderunt, nisi solum Jesum (Matth. XVII, 6). Vox illa quae aures discipulorum percussit, sive per semetipsum, sive per angelicam creaturam clementum nubis Dominus commoverit; tamen per nubem sonuit. Quia vero de nube processit, quae discipulos in terram ita constravit, in modum tonitrui facta fuit, sicut tunc quando imminente passione idem Filius ad Patrem dixit: Nunc anima mea turbata est, et quid dicam, Pater? Salvifica me ex hac hora; sed propterea veni in horam hanc. Pater, clarifica tuum nomen. Venit ergo vox de coelo: Et clarificavi, et iterum clarificabo. Turba ergo quae stabat, et audierat, dicebat tonitruum factum esse (Joan. XI, 27). Sed quid est quod ibi tonitruum audiens, turba non cadit, hic autem discipuli in faciem cadunt, nisi quia ibi superbia, hic autem humilitas pavet? nec sine causa pavet, quae praemium tanti pavoris accepit. Unde et Dominus protinus accedit, discipulos tangit, ut surgant imperat, ne timeant jubet: quae tamen charismata aliquid nobis spiritualis gratiae innuunt. Ac si aperte Dominus discipulis dicat: Timendum erat, si Moysen audiendum vox clamaret; si Eliam imitandum moneret, quorum unus viginti tria millia peccantium una die interfecit, nec pepercit; alter Baal prophetas sine ulla miseratione jugulavit, duosque quinquagenarios cum quinquaginta suis, centum scilicet viros, coelesti incendio concremavit. At quia ego audiendus praedicor, qui publicanum in templo confitentem justifico, qui apostolum negantem recipio, qui meretricem lapidandam libero, qui latronem in cruce poenitentem sanctifico: cur pavetis insolito? Sit itaque in lege pavor, in Evangelio amor. Timor enim non est in charitate, sed perfecta charitas foris mittit timorem (I Joan. IV, 18). Sequitur:

20. And when they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying: Tell no one of the vision until the Son of Man rises from the dead (Luke 17:8) . Not as soon as Moses and Elijah were removed from the presence of the Lord and the apostles, they came down from the mountain; but as another evangelist relates, they remained there that same night, and on the following day, waiting for the multitudes, they came to the plains. But I do not know, brethren, whether they have felt the night, who have deserved to see such a light: which, though it was removed from the eyes of the flesh, as it was corporeal; it remained, however, in the hearts, where it suffered no incorporeal setting. In fine, even the blessed Moses, beholding the inner light within, for forty days and nights, felt no hunger, no thirst, no darkness, and the inspired light broadened the sight of the inner man so much that even that which God made in the beginning, before man was made, could be seen. It is that very light which shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it; so what is this? because men loved darkness rather than light (John 3:19) . The persecutors of Christ were unable to see this light, and therefore they came to the death of that blind man: for if they had known the Lord of glory they would never have crucified him (1 Cor. 2:8) . And they would have been able to know it, if they had been able to reach that which was done on the mountain: for if it had been done, Christ's having been born to us would have profited nothing. From there he also strongly threatens the disciples not to bring this vision to the knowledge of anyone before his resurrection. Finally, when the passion of his pious Redeemer was present at the gates, Pilate hearing from him, My kingdom is not from here (John 18:36) . And that: He who is of the truth hears my voice (Ibid. 37) , thinking by certain indications that this is the Son of God, often and often wants to rescue and let him go. This is why he commands him to be scourged, to be surrounded with a purple robe, and to be crowned with thorns, so that by this very sight full of mockery he may satiate the rage of the Jews, and call them back from his slaughter. He, then, having become concerned about his power with so few verbal signs, wants to release him with so many and so many arguments, what would he do if he could know what kind of person he appeared on the mountain before the three disciples? I believe that the very power of Caesar, which he fears, would lead to nothing. Therefore the pious Redeemer forbids the disciples not to recognize him as he is, to betray him to anyone, so that he may be despised, arrested, bound, scourged, spat upon, scourged, crowned with thorns, crucified, died, buried; so that the lost sheep is sought, found, and found laid on the shoulder of the pious shepherd, as the shepherd rising from the dead, the found sheep is taken to heaven with the shepherd, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, God, for all ages of ages. Amen.

20. Et descendentibus de monte, praecepit eis Jesus dicens: Nemini dixeritis visionem, donec Filius hominis a mortuis resurgat (Luc. XVII, 8). Non statim ut Moyses et Elias de conspectu Domini et apostolorum sublati sunt, de monte descenderunt; sed sicut alius evangelista narrat, eadem nocte ibi manserunt, atque in sequenti die turbis exspectantibus, ad plana venerunt. Sed nescio, fratres, utrum noctem senserunt, qui talem lucem videre meruerunt: quae etsi ab oculis carnis, ut erat corporea, sublata est; mansit tamen in cordibus, ubi nullum occasum incorporea passa est. Sic denique et Moyses beatus internam lucem intus conspiciens, quadraginta diebus et noctibus, non famem, non sitim, non tenebras sensit, tantumque lux afflata aspectum interioris hominis dilatavit, ut etiam illa videri posset, quae antequam homo fieret, in principio Deus fecit. Ipsa illa lux est quae in tenebris lucet, et tenebrae eam non compre henderunt; ut quid hoc? quia dilexerunt homines magis tenebras quam lucem (Joan. III, 19). Hanc lucem persecutores Christi videre nequiverunt, et ideo ad necem illius caeci pervenerunt: Si enim cognovissent nunquam Dominum gloriae crucifixissent (I Cor. II, 8). Cognoscere autem illam poterant, si ad istius quae in monte facta est, pervenire potuissent: quod si factum fuisset, Christus nobis quod natus fuerat nihil profuisset. Inde etiam vehementer discipulos comminatur, ne ante resurrectionem ejus ad cujusquam notitiam hanc visionem perducant. Denique cum passio ejus pii Redemptoris in foribus adesset, audiens Pilatus ab eo Regnum meum non hinc (Joan. XVIII, 36). Et illud: Qui est ex veritate, audit meam vocem (Ibid. 37), quibusdam indiciis Filium Dei hunc esse existimans, toties saepiusque vult eripere atque dimittere. Inde est quod eum flagellari jubet, veste purpurea circumdari, spinis coronari, ut hac ipsa derisionis plena visione Judaeorum rabiem satiet, eosque ab ejus interfectione revocet. Qui igitur tam parvis verborum signis de ejus potentia sollicitus factus, tot tantisque argumentis vult illum dimittere, quid faceret, si scire posset, qualis in monte coram tribus discipulis apparuit? Credo quia ipsam Caesaris potestatem quam pavet, pro nihilo duceret. Interdicat ergo pius Redemptor discipulis, ne eum qualem agnoscunt, cuiquam prodant, ut incognitus despiciatur, comprehendatur, alligetur, flagelletur, conspuatur, colaphizetur, spinis coronetur, crucifigatur, moriatur, sepeliatur; sicque ovis perdita quaeratur, inveniatur, inventaque humeris pii pastoris imponatur, ut pastore a mortuis resurgente, ad coelum ovis inventa cum pastore feratur, qui cum Patre et Spiritu sancto vivit et regnat Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

[1] Hint of Future Vision of Divinity [?theosis of faithfull?]

THE LIFE of ANTONY

 TABLE of CONTENTS

INDICE

THE LIFE of ANTONY

THE LIFE of ANTONY

THE LIFE of ANTONY

THE LIFE of ANTONY
(Chapters 1-7: Antony the young ascetic)

Youth and

Family

 The Mystical Meaning of

Baptismal Vows

 
ANTIRRHETIKOS: PROLOGUE
 

 
ANTIRRHETIKOS: PROLOGUE
 

 
ANTIRRHETIKOS: PROLOGUE
 

 
ANTIRRHETIKOS: PROLOGUE
 

THE LIFE of ANTONY

THE LIFE of ANTONY

THE LIFE of ANTONY

THE LIFE of ANTONY