5. Good food for all is Christ, good food too is faith, sweet food is mercy, pleasant food is faith. These are the meats whereon are fed the people of holy Church. Good food too is the Spirit of God, good food is the remission of sins. But very hard food is the rigour of the Law, and the terror of punishment; and very coarse food is that observance of the letter which is preferred to the grace of pardon. The Jews again are under a curse, we included in a blessing. A ready food too is faith: The word is nigh thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart: the food of the Law is more tardy. For while waiting for the Law the people fell into transgression.
6. Thus it was on the son who was diligent and faithful that the father bestowed his blessing, but he reserved one, for he was a good father, for his elder son also, in that he made him servant to his brother. For he did this, not as wishing to subject his family to any unworthy bondage, but because he who cannot rule and govern himself ought to serve and be subject to one more prudent; that so he may be governed by his counsel, and not fall through his own folly, nor stumble from walking rashly. It is as a blessing then that such a state of service is given. Moreover it is numbered among blessings, together with the gift of the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above. Having said, By thy sword thou shalt live, lest he should be harmed by the confidence arising from strength or power, he added, and thou shalt serve thy brother: that thou mayest thus obtain both the rich fruits of the flesh, and the dew of Divine grace, and mayest follow him who is able to direct and govern thee.
7. But it shall come to pass, when thou shalt have broken his yoke from off thy neck, that thou shalt have the reward of thy willing servitude, and not undergo the evils of a compulsory bondage. For that kind of bondage is dishonourable which is the result of necessity, that is honourable which is offered by piety. Hence the Apostle says, For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward, but if against my will, a dispensation is committed unto me. Better then is it to reap a reward, than to obey a dispensation. Wherefore let us not be restrained by the yoke of bondage, but let us serve in the spirit of charity, for the Apostle says, By love serve one another. The fear of the Law becomes the love of the Gospel. Again, To fear the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but the fulness of the Law is charity. And the Law itself says, For all the Law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
8. This therefore is what we asserted, for although bondage is by the Law, liberty is by the Law also, for charity belongs to liberty, fear to bondage. There is therefore both a charity of the Law, and a service of charity, but the Law is the forerunner of charity, the charity of the Gospel is the free giver of a pious service.
9. The Law then is not superfluous; for like a schoolmaster, it attends upon the weak; and by weakness I mean weakness of character not of body; for they are infants who know not how to declare the word of God, who receive not His works. For if an unspotted life is old age, a life full of stains is the time of youth. The Law then, that is, No&moj, was our schoolmaster, until faith came. We were kept, it is said, under the Law, as being weak, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. But afterwards faith came; he does not say the Gospel, but faith, for that only is faith which is in the Gospel. For although the righteousness of God is revealed therein which is from faith to faith, still this of the Law is faith indeed when it attains to the fulness thereof. Rightly therefore is this faith spoken of as single and alone; because without it the former is not faith, and in it alone it has its confirmation. Finally, when this faith came, fulness and the adoption of sons came with it, infirmity ceased, infancy was at an end, we grew into a perfect man, we put on Christ. How then can any one be weak or childish, in whom Christ is the power of God? Thus we have arrived at perfection, and have been instructed in its precepts.
10. You heard read to-day, Of Mine own Self I can do nothing, as I hear, I judge. You heard read, I accuse you not, I judge not. I accuse you not, it is Moses that accuseth you, in whom ye trust. You heard read, If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. Thus I have learnt what kind of judge, what kind of witness I ought to be. For it is not as being weak that He says, Of Mine own self I can do nothing, he rather is weak who so understands it. The Father does nothing without the Son, for between them there is a community of operation and an unity of power; but in this place He speaks as Judge, that we men may learn that, when we judge, we ought to form our sentence equitably and not according to our mere will and power.
11. When a criminal is set before him proved guilty and convicted of crime, who does not frame for himself pleas of defence, but prays for pardon, and prostrates himself at the knees of his judge, the judge answers him, Of myself I can do nothing, it is my justice not my power which I exercise in judgment. It is not I but your own deeds that judge you, they accuse, and they condemn you. The Laws are your tribunal, and I as judge do not alter but keep the Laws. Of myself I originate nothing, but the judicial sentence against you proceeds from yourself. I judge as I hear, not as I will, and my judgment is true because I consult what is agreeable to equity not to my own will.
12. Let us next consider what is the Divine rule of judgment. The Lord of heaven and earth and the Judge of all says, of Mine own self I can do nothing, as I hear I judge; and man says to his Lord, Knowest Thou not that I have power to crucify Thee, and have power to release Thee? But why is not the Lord able? Because, He says, My judgment is just, because I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father Who hath sent Me, that is, not the will of man, whom ye see, not the will of man, whom ye only judge as man, not the will of the flesh, (for the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak,) but the Divine will, which is the Origin of law, and the Rule of judgment. So likewise that witness is true, who bears witness not to himself but to another, for it is written, Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth.
13. In a mystical sense it is well said to the Jews: I judge you not, that is, I, the universal Saviour, I, who am the Remission of sins, judge you not, for ye have not received Me. I judge you not, I freely pardon you. I, who by My Blood redeem sinners, judge you not. I judge you not, for I would not the death but the life of a sinner. 1 judge you not, for I condemn not but justify those who confess their sins. Moses accuses you, he in whom you trust convicts you. He can accuse you, he cannot judge you, this is reserved to his Creator. He then in whom ye trust accuses you, He in Whom ye would not trust absolves you.
14. O great folly of the Jews! Rightly are they accused of their crimes, for they have chosen one who accuses them, and have rejected a merciful Judge; and therefore they are without absolution, but not without punishment.
15. Well therefore, my son, have you begun by the Law, and been confirmed in the Gospel, from faith to faith, as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Farewell; love me for I also love you.
> > LETTER LXXVIII. > > In this letter S. Ambrose shews, that we, like Abraham, are justified by faith, through which we are sons of the freewoman; that circumcision derived all its efficacy from Christ, and was abolished, after He had undergone it in His own person, by Him. Righteousness is therefore only to be looked for from faith, which if it be perfect, is never destitute of charity.
AMBROSE TO HORONTIANUS.
1. If Abraham believed God, and it was accounted unto him for righteousness, and that which is accounted for righteousness passes from unbelief to faith, then are we justified by faith, not by the works of the Law. Now Abraham himself had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac, one of the bondwoman, the other of the freewoman; and it was told him that he should cast out the bondwoman and the son of the bondwoman, for that the son of the bondwoman should not be his heir. We therefore are children not of the bondwoman but of the free woman, in that liberty wherewith Christ has made us free. Hence it follows that they are specially Abraham's sons, who are so by faith, for the heirs of faith excel heirs by natural birth. The Law is our schoolmaster, faith is free; let us therefore cast away the works of bondage, let us preserve the grace of liberty, let us leave the shade, and follow the Sun, let us desert Jewish rites.
2. The circumcision of one member is of no avail. For the Apostle says, Behold I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised Christ shall profit you nothing, not because He cannot, but because He judges those unworthy of His benefits who desert His ways.
3. And Zipporah of old had circumcised her child, and driven off the danger which hung over him; but then Christ profited while perfection was still deferred. While the people of believers were small, the Lord Jesus came, not as small, but as perfect in all things. He was circumcised first, according to the Law, that He might not break the Law, afterwards by the Cross, that He might fulfil the Law. Thus that which is in part has ceased, because that which is perfect has come; for in Christ the Cross has circumscised not one member only, but the superfluous pleasures of the whole body.
4. But perhaps it may still be asked why He Who had come to declare to us perfect circumcision should choose to be circumcised in part. Concerning this however we need not deliberate long. For if He was made sin that He might expiate our sins, if He was made a curse for us that He might annul the curses of the Law, for the same reason He was also circumcised for us, that being about to bestow salvation by the Cross, He might abolish the circumcision of the Law.
5. The Apostle therefore declares that it is from faith that our hope of righteousness in the spirit is to be derived, and that though called to liberty we are not to use our liberty for an occasion to the flesh. For neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. And therefore it is written, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God. Now he who loves also believes, and in believing each man begins to love. Abraham believed, and so began to love, and he believed not in part, but entirely. For otherwise he would not have perfect charity, for it is written, Charity believeth all things. If it believe not all things, charity does not seem to be perfect. Perfect charity then has all faith.
6. But I would not lightly assert that all faith has immediately perfect charity, for the Apostle says, Though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. A Christian man has three principal virtues, faith hope and charity, but the greatest of these is charity.
7. On the other hand I conceive the Apostle was led to say this by the tenor of his argument, for I cannot see how he who has all faith, so that he could remove mountains, can be destitute of charity; nor how such can be the case with that man who understands all mysteries and all knowledge; especially as John says, Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and the same Apostle had said before, Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin. Whence we infer that if he who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and he who is born of God sins not, then he who believes that Jesus is the Christ sins not. But if any man sin, he believes not, and he that believes not loves not, and he that loves not is subject to sin. So then he who sins loves not, for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. But if charity exclude the desire of sin, it excludes also fear, charity then is full of perfect faith.
8. The Apostles too, who came to be His friends, said, Increase our faith, begging the good Physician to strengthen their failing faith. Their faith must indeed still have been weak, when even to Peter it could be said, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? Thus faith as the herald of charity preoccupies the mind, and prepares the ways of coming love. Thus where is the perfection of charity there is also all faith.
9. For this reason I conceive it is said that charity believeth all things, that is, leads faith to believe them all, and that a soul of this kind possesses all faith; and hence wherever is perfect charity there is all faith. Moreover, as it believes all things so also it is said to hope all things. And it is on this account the greatest, because it includes the other two.
10. He that has this charity fears nothing, for charity casteth out fear; and fear being thus banished and thrown aside, charity beareth all things, endureth all things. He who by charity endures all things, cannot fear martyrdom; and so in another place he speaks as a conqueror at the end of his course, The world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
Farewell, my son; love me for I also love you.
> > LETTER LXXIX. > > S. Ambrose here assures Bellicius, whose recovery from sickness had occurred just at the time when he professed himself a believer in Christ, that both his sickness and recovery were to be ascribed to his so doing, and exhorts him to endeavour to keep Christ near him, and to prepare himself with all diligence for the other Sacraments.
AMBROSE TO BELLICIUS, GREETING.
1. You have sent me word that while you were lying afflicted by a severe sickness you believed in the Lord Jesus, and straightway began to recover. This sickness therefore was unto salvation, bringing greater pain than danger, for you had long deferred your promise. This is the meaning of the text, I wound, and I heal. He wounded by sickness, He healed by faith. For He saw that the inward affection of your mind was not without pious desires, but that they were shaken and unsettled by delays, and so He thought fit to admonish you, in a way which while it did not injure your health, excited your devotion.
2. For how should He do an injury to health Who is wont to say, as we read in the Gospel, I will come and heal him. Being invited by your friends to visit your house He doubtless said, I will come and heal him; Although you heard Him not, He, as God, spoke to you imperceptibly, and although you saw Him not, still beyond doubt He visited you in spirit.
3. But in truth you have seen Him, for you have believed in Him, you have seen Him, for you have received Him into the dwelling of your mind, you have seen Him in the Spirit, you have seen Him with your inward eyes. Take care then not to let this new Guest depart, long expected, late received, even Him in Whom we live and move and have our being. You have tasted the first beginnings of faith, let not the word be hidden in your heart. Herein lies all grace and every gift. For no man judges of the secret recesses of a house by its entrance, since all the fruit is within; nor is it the part of a wise man to look from the window into the house, and it is folly for a man to listen at the door.
4. The mysteries of the more perfect Sacraments are of one kind; for the Scripture says, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. Of another kind are the things which the prophets have announced concerning future glory, unto whom it was revealed, and to whom the saints have preached the Gospel with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, which things the Angels desired to look into. Of another kind again are those mysteries wherein is the redemption of the world, the remission of sins, the distribution of graces, the participation of the Sacraments: when you receive these you will wonder that a gift so transcendent should have been bestowed on man, as to make the manna which we wonder should have been rained down from heaven on the Jews seem to you to have possessed neither so much grace nor so much efficacy towards salvation. For all who received this manna in the wilderness died, save Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb, whereas he who tastes this Sacrament shall never die.
May the Lord Jesus send you restoration. Farewell.
> > LETTER LXXX. > > S.Ambrose here shews that the ease of the man who was blind from his birth was the work of Divine power, and censures the question which the disciples asked about him; and dwells on some of the details of the miracle.
AMBROSE TO BELLICIUS.
1. You have heard, my brother, the lesson of the Gospel, wherein it is narrated that as the Lord Jesus passed by He saw a man which was blind from his birth. Now if the Lord saw him He did not pass him by, neither ought we to pass him by whom the Lord overlooked not; especially since he was blind from his birth, which is not mentioned without reason.
2. Now there is a blindness in which by the operation of illness the sight of the eyes is obscured, and this by the help of time is mitigated; there is a blindness also which is caused by the entrance of humours, and this, when the defect is removed, is cured by the aid of medicine; and this I say that you may know that it was not by skill but by Divine Power that he who was blind from his birth was healed. For the Lord gave him health as a free gift, not by any medicinal skill, for they whom the Lord Jesus healed were they whom no one could cure.
3. But how foolish was the inquiry of the Jews, Who did sin this man or his parents? ascribing bodily diseases to the score of sin. Wherefore the Lord said, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents, but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. That which nature created, the Creator, being the Author of nature, was capable of remedying. He added therefore, As long as I am in the world I am the light of the world, that is, all who are blind may see whether they need Me Who am the Light. Approach ye, and be enlightened, that ye may see.
4. In the next place why did He Who restored life at command, Who gave health by His word, saying to the dead, Come forth, and Lazarus came forth from the grave, saying also to the sick of the palsy, Arise and take up thy bed, and the sick of the palsy rose and himself began to carry his bed, whereon, when all his limbs were paralyzed, he had been wont to be carried; why, I say, did He spit on the ground and make clay, and anoint the eyes of the blind man, and say to him, Go, wash in in the pool of Siloam, which is by interpretation, Sent. He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing----What is the reason of this? Great indeed is the reason, if I mistake not, for he who is taught by Jesus comes to see more clearly.
5. Observe at the same time both His Divinity and His sanctity; as being Himself Light He touched and so communicated light to others; as being a Priest He fulfilled by the figure of Baptism the mysteries of spiritual grace. He spat, that you might learn that the inner parts of Christ are light; and clearly indeed does he see who receives cleansing thereby. His spittle cleanses, and so does His discourse, as it is written, Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
6. But His making clay and anointing the eyes of the blind was intended to signify to us that the Same Who made man of clay, restored him to health by anointing with clay, and to signify also that this flesh of our clay must receive the light of eternal life by the Sacrament of Baptism. Do you also draw near to Siloam, that is, to Him Who was sent from the Father, as it is written, My doctrine is not Mine, but His that sent Me. Let Christ wash you that you may see. Come to Baptism, the time itself is at hand, make haste and come that you may say, I went, and washed, and I received sight; that you may also say, whereas I was blind, now I see, that you may say, as that man on whom light was poured said, the night is far spent, the day is at hand.
7. The night was blindness. It was night when Judas received the sop from Jesus, and Satan entered into him. To Judas, in whom the Devil was, it was night; to John, who lay on the breast of Christ, it was day. To Peter also it was day, when he saw the light of Christ on the mount. To others it was night, but to Peter it was day. To Peter himself however it was night when he denied Christ. But the cock crowed, and he began to weep, that he might correct his error, for now the day was at hand.
8. The Jews enquired of the blind man, How were thine eyes opened? What signal folly! They enquired concerning what they saw; they enquired into the cause, seeing the effect.
9. Then they reviled him, and said, thou art His disciple. Their curse is a blessing, for their blessing is a curse. Thou, they say, art His disciple. They confer a benefit, while they think they are doing an injury.
Farewell, my son; love me as you do, for I also love you.
[Footnotes moved to end and renumbered. Marginal biblical references and running headers omitted]