Sermon Studies

Reviewed in: BUKSZ--Budapesti Könyvszemle (Beatrix F. Romhányi), Catholic Historical Review (Katherine L. Jansen), Collectanea Franciscana (Aleksander Horowski), Deutsches Archiv für Erforschung des Mittelalters (Veronika Lukas), Hungarian Historical Review (Dorottya Uhrin), Il Santo (Eleonora Lombardo), Quellen und Forschungen aus italienischen Archiven und Bibliotheken (Ralf Lützelschwab), Revue d’histoire ecclésiastique (Michael Robson), Speculum (Thomas F. Luongo)

Augustine’s Sermon 4 on Esau and Jacob is long (860 lines) and consists of a complex division in 37 chapters. This division makes it difficult to identify quickly and easily the rhetorical arrangement which must have been an important factor in making this sermon a success in the context of Augustine’s struggle against Donatism. This same division has been handed down through the centuries. Once the existing, complex division into 37 chapters is relinquished, it is possible, on the basis
of linguistic and Scriptural indications, to establish the existence of a new, simple division into 3 parts. A frame exists in these three parts that runs from creation (Gen. 1) to judgement (Mt. 25), in which Augustine discusses the stories of (the blessings of) Esau and Jacob (Gen. 25 and 27) in the context of the absence or presence of love (for which he employs 1 Cor. 13). Seen from this perspective, Esau represents the bad people who consciously permit themselves to be separated from the Church through the absence of love (a reference to the Donatist schism), while Jacob stands for the good people, who highlight the unity of the Church by availing themselves of love: by not acting on their own authority and expelling sinners, but by leaving judgement to God and by accepting them lovingly. The new division clearly reveals this message.

Przedmiotem rozważań jest sześć kazań pogrzebowych z lat dwudziestych i trzydziestych XVII wieku jezuity Jakuba Olszewskiego upamiętniających Samuela Paca, Annę Sapieżankę Radziwiłłową, biskupa Eustachego Wołłowicza, ks. Jana Karola Białłozora, Krzysztofa Mikołaja Sapiehę oraz Gryzeldę Wodyńską Sapieżynę. Kaznodzieja żegnał osoby obu płci, w różnym wieku, duchowne i świeckie. Celem studium jest ukazanie, w jaki sposób i na ile kaznodzieja włącza biografię zmarłego w koncepcję kazania pogrzebowego, ustalenie tego, w jakim stopniu interesuje go autentyczny życiorys, a na ile postawa oraz – szczególnie – realizacja zamysłu moralistycznego. Na ile Olszewski korzysta ze schematu pochwały opracowanego przez Kwintyliana, a na ile czerpie z modelu znanego z hagiografii. Chwaląc zmarłych, Olszewski odwołuje się do symboliki heraldycznej, wykorzystuje też miejsca (loci) podane przez Kwintyliana. Za istotne uznaje kaznodzieja także przywołanie świadectw heroicznej wiary, które czerpie od spowiedników zmarłych. Kreując wzorce osobowe, dąży do osiągnięcia celu parenetycznego. W praktyce kaznodzieja podaje informacje mówiące o: genealogii, indywidualnych doświadczeniach życiowych (a w przypadku mężczyzn o ich działalności publicznej), praktycznej pobożności, cnotach moralnych, jałmużnie, działalności fundatorskiej i pobożnej śmierci. Kaznodzieja więc nie stawia sobie za cel przedstawienia biografii osoby zmarłej, lecz nakreślenie wzorców osobowych reprezentatywnych dla modeli, jakie podsuwa dola zmarłego. Mówca uczy słuchaczy sztuki dobrego życia, ukazuje godne naśladowania postawy. Olszewski łączy schemat podany przez Kwintyliana z elementami schematu znanego z hagiografii. Ukazuje model świętości dostępny dla każdego. Jego biografie mają zatem profil laudacyjno-parenetyczny.

Le cardinal Eudes de Châteauroux (1190 ?-1273) a laissé près de douze cents sermons, encore largement inédits. Certains d’entre eux possèdent des rubriques très précises, montrant les liens étroits qu’entretenait ce fameux prédicateur avec les évènements politiques et religieux de son temps. Au sein de cette masse de sermons, de nombreux textes méritent encore l’attention, tels les sermons sur saint Pierre et saint Paul. Le contenu de ses sermons et son principium biblique montrent que le célèbre cardinal a une prédilection certaine pour le sens littéral et surtout pour le sens allégorique, le premier annonçant le second par préfiguration. Les rois préfigurent Pierre et Paul. Pierre et Paul sont des figures du pape. Les renseignements fournis par notre corpus sont donc plus riches, puisqu’ils concernent non seulement le pouvoir pontifical, mais aussi le pouvoir royal.

I wish I would first have checked to see what the Gospel reading was for this Sunday before I volunteered to preside at this service. The Gospel reading is a doosey of a text.
“Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! …” All this talk of fire and division and households deeply divided. All this against stuff in a family. Its as if Jesus some kind of divine family arsonist instead of the Prince of Peace.

2021 Best Book Award, John Whitmer Historical Association.
Finalist for Best Book in "Excellence in the Study of Religion, Textual Studies" by the American Academy of Religion.
Finalist for Best Book in Religious Non-Fiction, the Association for Mormon Letters.

Publishers Weekly, Starred Review: https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-46965-566-6

Publishers Weekly, Top Ten Pick for the Week of May 25, 2020: https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/tip-sheet/article/83347-pw-picks-books-of-the-week-may-25-2020.html

Roundtable Reviews by Dr. Elizabeth Fenton, Dr. Brian Hauglid, and Dr. Michael Austin, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought:  https://www.dialoguejournal.com/2020/05/dialogue-roundtable-william-l-davis-visions-in-a-seer-stone-joseph-smith-and-the-making-of-the-book-of-mormon/

The Association for Mormon Letters, review by Andrew Hamilton: http://associationmormonletters.org/blog/reviews/current-reviews/davis-visions-in-a-seer-stone-joseph-smith-and-the-making-of-the-book-of-mormon-reviewed-by-andrew-hamilton/

The University of North Carolina Press (2020).
https://uncpress.org/book/9781469655666/visions-in-a-seer-stone/ 

In this interdisciplinary work, William L. Davis examines Joseph Smith's 1829 creation of the Book of Mormon, the foundational text of the Latter Day Saint movement. Positioning the text in the history of early American oratorical techniques, sermon culture, educational practices, and the passion for self-improvement, Davis elucidates both the fascinating cultural context for the creation of the Book of Mormon and the central role of oral culture in early nineteenth-century America.

Drawing on performance studies, religious studies, literary culture, and the history of early American education, Davis analyzes Smith’s process of oral composition. How did he produce a history spanning a period of 1,000 years, filled with hundreds of distinct characters and episodes, all cohesively tied together in an overarching narrative? Eyewitnesses claimed that Smith never looked at notes, manuscripts, or books—he simply spoke the words of this American religious epic into existence. Judging the truth of this process is not Davis's interest. Rather, he reveals a kaleidoscope of practices and styles that converged around Smith's creation, with an emphasis on the evangelical preaching styles popularized by the renowned George Whitefield and John Wesley.

This paper argues that the recent trend in early modern studies occasionally referred to as the “new humoralism”, which lays heavy emphasis on the physiological and humoral significance of the emotions in seventeenth-century Renaissance literature, pays insufficient attention to the theological traditions of Christian humanism in the sixteenth century. In particular, the article traces a trajectory of the use of metaphors of clean versus muddy and calm versus turbulent water in Erasmus, John Calvin, John Donne and Edward Reynolds to illustrate the complexity of literary-theological discourse revolving around affectivity in sermons, treatises and biblical commentaries in the period, while simultaneously establishing the continuity of an exegetical tradition concerning Christ’s emotions.

Enrico di Castiglia è un caso emblematico di cavaliere e principe alla ricerca di una signoria. Dopo aver guidato senza successo una ribellione nobiliare contro il celebre fratello Alfonso X el Sabio (1252-1284) re di Castiglia, prese la via dell’esilio. Barcellona, Londra e Tunisi furono le mete dei suoi viaggi. In Africa guadagnò grandi onori e ricchezze combattendo con i suoi cavalieri al servizio del sultano di Tunisi, che nel 1258 si era proclamato califfo. Venuto a sapere della spedizione angioina volta alla conquista del regno di Sicilia, il principe castigliano prestò la somma di 40.000 once d’oro a Carlo d’Angiò chiedendo come interesse in caso di vittoria la concessione di una signoria. La vittoria angioina di Benevento tuttavia lo lasciò a mani vuote e, dopo alcuni incontri, infruttuosi, con il papa e con Carlo d’Angiò, Enrico accettò l’elezione a senatore di Roma. Governò il comune capitolino sostenendo il “popolo” contro le aspirazioni nobiliari e angioine. Sottomise all’autorità comunale diversi centri del Patrimonium Beati Petri con la diplomazia o con la forza delle armi. Nel 1267 si schierò dalla parte di Corradino che scendeva in Italia per reclamare l’eredità paterna del regno di Sicilia, e utilizzò l’arma della propaganda politica (poesia di argomento politico, cerimonie pubbliche, laudes regiae) per sostenere la sua causa, denigrare Carlo d’Angiò e trovare nuovi alleati. Nel frattempo anche la corte papale metteva in atto una propaganda contraria al principe Enrico e favorevole a Carlo d’Angiò, in particolare con i sermoni del cardinale francese Odo da Châteauroux, che dipingeva Enrico di Castiglia, Corradino e il sultano di Babilonia come i tre spiriti immondi dell’Apocalisse e presentava invece il fratello del re di Francia come campione e difensore della Chiesa e del popolo cristiano. I due piani si intersecano in occasione della battaglia di Tagliacozzo presentata dalla propaganda di Enrico come una facile vittoria per Corradino e tutti coloro che avessero militato sotto le sue bandiere, e vissuta invece momento per momento dal cardinale francese a causa delle notizie, ora cattive, poi confuse e infine buone, che man mano arrivavano alla corte papale. Giustiziato Corradino nella pubblica piazza, Enrico fu condannato all’ergastolo. Dopo 23 anni di prigionia verrà liberato da Carlo II lo Zoppo e, tornato prima a Tunisi e poi in patria, divenne principe-reggente al trono di Castiglia-Leon per il nipotino Fernando IV.

Todas las personas tienen las mismas necesidades sin importar su condición social, económica. Una de esas necesidades es la que tiene que ver con el aspecto espiritual. Hoy les propongo que echemos un vistazo a un personaje que de seguro cautivara nuestra atención porque aunque aparentemente tenía todo, en realidad se sentía tan vacío como el más miserable de los mortales. Me estoy refiriendo al legendario personaje llamado Saqueo.

This work is part of a broader analysis of ad status sermons and their link to pedagogic handbooks and texts that were in use during the thirteenth century. The complete paper was published on «I quaderni del m.ae.s. – Journal of m.ae.s.» 1 by AlmaJournal, the Bologna University's platform for digital open access publishing.

On 23 May 1498 Girolamo Savonarola, one of the most spell-binding figures of the Italian Renaissance, was publicly burned at the stake on the main piazza of Florence on trumped-up charges of heresy and sedition. Thus ended the friar’s meteoric rise to power and his unprecedented influence over Florentine society. Though his ashes were unceremoniously dumped into the River Arno the moment the cinders had died away, the fire of his teachings could not be extinguished, nor could Florentines forget the rivetting preacher from Ferrara who, in four short years, had turned their city upside down. Neither could Italians nor, more generally, European reformers, for they soon turned Savonarola into a prophet of renewal and into a symbol of the struggle against corruption. Whether he was one or the other or neither, is still very much under debate.

This collection of texts from Savonarola’s extensive body of works seeks to provide the English reader with a variety of entry points into this controversial figure. With samples from his letters to his poems, from his sermons to his pastoral works, it more than doubles the number of Savonarola’s works currently available in English. In so doing, it makes his teachings that much more accessible to wide range of scholars and students alike.

Includes:
Letters

    To his father explaining why he became a friar (25 Apr. 1476)
    To his mother explaining that a prophet is not listened to in his own country (25 Jan. 1490)
    To Elena Savonarola consoling her on the death of her brother Borso (5 Dec. 1485)
    To Giovanna Carafa Pico, congratulating her for wishing to die rather than sin (15 Dec. 1495)
    To Beatrice Savonarola with a copy of his lauda for St Mary Magdalene (3 Nov. 1496)
    To Giovanna Carafa Pico and Eleonora Pico della Mirandola telling them not to worry about venial sins (3 Apr. 1497)
    To Polissena Petrati and Lucrezia de’ Rana (?) congratulating them on entering a convent (24 May 1497)
    To Angela Sforza d’Este encouraging her to listen to God’s call (24 May 1497)
    To Caterina Sforza, duchess of Imola and Forlì, in answer to her request for advice (18 June 1497)
    To Giovanna Carafa Pico saying tribulations merely prepare the way to heaven (13 Aug. 1497)
    To the nuns of Annalena instructing them on how to read sacred texts (17 Oct. 1497)
    To Giovanna Carafa Pico advising her to set aside scruples of conscience and live more cheerfully (6 Nov. 1497)

Poems

    Canzone I. On the Ruin of the World
    Canzone II. On the Ruin of the Church
    Canzone III. Song to St Catherine of Bologna
    Sonnet I. On the Lord’s Ascension
    Sonnet II. On the Assumption of the Virgin Mary
    Sonnet III. to the Virgin
    Lauda I. Omnipotent God
    Lauda II. Song of Praise to the Crucifix
    Lauda III. My heart, why linger here?

Sermons

    On Haggai, Sermon No. 1 (1 Nov. 1494) `Do penance’
    On the Psalms, Sermon No. 3 (13 Jan. 1495) `Behold the sword of the Lord’
    On Ruth and Micah, Sermon 28 (2 Nov. 1496) `On the Art of Dying Well’
    On Exodus, Sermon No. 1 (11 Feb. 1497) `Renovation Sermon’

Pastoral Works

    Ten Rules to Observe in Time of Great Tribulations
    On the Prudent and Judicious Way of Living in the Order
    A Guide to Righteous Living
    The Book on the Life of the Widow
    Exposition on the Prayer to the Virgin

חיבורו של יהוידע עמיר קול דממה דקה הוא חוליה בשרשרת ארוכה של ספרי הגות פילוסופית דתית בישראל. שורשיהם של ספרים אלה נטועים בתורה שבכתב (התנ"ך) ובתורה שבעל-פה לדורותיה. השיטה העיונית שהם מעוגנים בה היא הפילוסופיה הכללית והיהודית בת זמנם.  במציאות של זמננו יש העזה, חדשנות וחלוציות בכתיבתו של חיבור המבקש להמשיך את הגויותיהם של פרנץ רוזנצוויג, מרטין בובר ואהרן דוד גורדון. זאת הן בזכות האתגרים החדשים שהספר מתמודד אתם הן בשל המקום המוגבל שהתרבות הפוסט-מודרנית מייעדת לעיון פילוסופי בכלל ולעיון פילוסופי-היסטורי בנושאי אמונה ודת בפרט. קול דממה דקה אינו תובע מהקורא הסכמה. האתגר שהוא מציג רצוף הסכמה וביקורת השלובות זו בזו. הספר מבקש לעורר שיח ביקורתי ומצפה לתהודה שמכוחה מצטרפים לדרך ומראים אותה לרבים, לא על ידי הטפה או פקודה, תוכחה או שידול – כי אם בעצם ההליכה בה יחד.
אליעזר שביד

המחבר מעיד: "שאלות האמונה פתוחות לי עדיין, יהיו פתוחות כנראה עד יום מותי. התשובות שניתנו להן כאן הן זמניות, נכונות להיום, לשמיעת קול האל הקורא אליי היום הזה. הן ישובו ויתנסחו לי בכל אשר אלך, ככל שחוויית האמונה שלי תתפתח ותשתרג. כל מה שמאגד אותן, כל מה שמוליך אותי בדרך האמונה הנפרשת לפניי מחדש כל יום ויום, הוא הידיעה שאני נושא עמי במלוא ישותי: אכן, יש ה' במקום הזה - ואנוכי ידעתי".

יהוידע עמיר הוא חוקר המחשבה היהודית בעת החדשה ורב ביהדות המתקדמת (רפורמית) בישראל. בעת פרסומו של הספר עמד בראש בית הספר להכשרת רבנים ישראלים של תנועתו ב"היברו יוניון קולג'" בירושלים. מחקריו, המשמשים יסוד חשוב לספר זה, מציבים תמונה רחבה ומעמיקה של ההגות היהודית בעת החדשה בישראל, באירופה ובצפון אמריקה. מפרי עטו דעת מאמינה – עיונים במשנתו של פרנץ רוזנצוויג (2004), ובעריכתו בשנת 2005 נצח בעתות של שינוי – אנדרה נהר וההגות היהודית הצרפתית לאחר השואה, דרך הרוח – ספר היובל לאליעזר שביד, הספרון על השכל הבריא והשכל החולה מאת פרנץ רוזנצוויג.

La Biblia nos enseña que Dios estableció el matrimonio. Si el matrimonio es una maravillosa idea que nació en el corazón de Dios, entonces sólo el Señor puede mostrarnos cómo tener un hogar feliz. Nuestro Dios, el gran terapeuta familiar de todos los tiempos, ha revelado en su Palabra los principios eternos de la felicidad en la vida familiar. Hoy examinaremos los “Secretos para un Hogar Feliz” que presenta la eterna y siempre sabia Palabra de Dios.

Este estudio breve (1250 palabras) aborda los temas de la justicia e injusticia en el libro de Proverbios. Los tres matices principales que se tratan son la justicia como fruto de la sabiduría, la justicia como beneficio social y la justicia como atributo moral personal. Al final se plantean diferentes aplicaciones al contexto del autor.

This Canadian study qualitatively analyzed the texts of 35 conservative and 34 mainline Protestant
Easter Sunday sermons. With the goal of indentifying similarities and diffferences between
the conservative and mainline texts, the sermons were examined to determine 1) what they said
about the purpose and meaning of Jesus’ resurrection and 2) the degree to which those explanations
more broadly reflected adherence to the doctrine of Biblical authority. Among other fijindings,
it was determined that sermons in both groups linked Jesus’ resurrection to supernatural
boons for believers (i.e., eternal life, divine power in this life, or both). However, when referencing
these supernatural gains the two groups difffered in terms of proportion and manner of explication.
All the conservative Protestant sermons referenced one or more supernatural benefijits but
less than two-thirds of the mainline sermons did so; the remaining mainline texts posited that the
resurrection’s theological meaning was metaphorical and served to reveal a key existential lesson.
Furthermore, conservative Protestant sermons always supported their theological claims
with scriptural proof-texts while the vast majority of mainline sermons did not (the exception
being sermons preached in rural mainline churches). Overall, strong adherence to the doctrine of
Biblical authority was evidenced in the conservative Protestant sermons while the mainline sermons
did not evidence strong adherence to that doctrine. Implications and possible explanations
of these results are discussed.
Keywords
sermons, content analysis, Protestant,

 Psalm 139 is an interesting Psalm in this time of Social Media and the big Internet Companies, who know very much of their users and are almost everywhere accessible.
 Psalm 139 is also relevant for Christians who live in countries, where the government wants to track its citizens everywhere and keeps a record of their (online) behaviour.
 But, first of all, we need to appreciate this beautiful psalm, expressing thoughts, which are so wonderful.
o “Any small thoughts that we may have of God are magnificently transcended by this psalm; yet for all its height and depth it remains intensely personal from first to last.”
 The Psalm speaks of God’s omniscience, his omnipresence, his proximity and intimacy, his personal care in the creation and formation of the individual, and every of our lifetime has been written in his book.
 There is also a tension in this Psalm. The author is threatened by wicked and bloodthirsty men. How does his situation relate to the omnipresence of the Lord?
o There are also many pastoral questions to be asked.
Where was God when I needed him most?
Where was God when I cried out to him for help?
o How does the hatred of the author relate to the “love your enemies”, which Jesus taught (Mt 5:43, 44)?
 This Psalm teaches the believer, not to be silent about his or her anxieties and pain.
 In the end, the author prays: “lead me in the way everlasting,” which is equal to: “walk with the Lord” and to: “live in communion with God (Jn 17:3).

La obra que ha llegado a nosotros de Juan de Espinosa Medrano (1628?-1688), apodado en su tiempo el Lunarejo, abarca una diversidad de géneros (teatro, oratoria sagrada, debate académico, curso filosófico) y ha sido elaborada en diferentes lenguas (español, quechua, latín). Toda su producción se desarrolla en relación con el ámbito eclesiástico, ya sea como predicador o, particularmente, como estudiante y luego maestro en el Seminario de San Antonio Abad del Cuzco. Su autoridad como miembro de la cultura letrada se sustenta y se teje sobre esta adscripción, la cual le permite también construir su imagen como intelectual criollo capaz de participar activamente en la formulación de los discursos que sostienen los valores del Imperio y, al mismo tiempo, entrar en debate con los prejuicios europeos sobre el desarrollo de la vida intelectual en el Nuevo Mundo. Por ello, un eje de su producción tiene el propósito de mostrar no solo la capacidad para imitar los modelos a partir de los cuales se gesta la cultura letrada, sino también, en el caso de los textos religiosos, la posesión y preservación de esos modelos, o incluso, en el caso de los textos profanos, la posibilidad de superarlos. En este trabajo se revisan los fundamentos documentales que permiten trazar su biografía y entender así el proceso de su formación intelectual, y se estudian las relaciones entre modelos e imitación, y adscripción a los ideales del Imperio y defensa de los criollos en sus obras más significativas: la Panegírica declamación por la protección de las ciencias y estudios, algunas de las obras teatrales, el Apologético en defensa de don Luis de Góngora y los sermones de La novena maravilla.

About the Dissertation:  I wrote this thesis during what might best be described as "the information gathering stage" for my research on nineteenth-century oral culture and Joseph Smith's rhetorical skills.  It represents a portion of the work that I am still pursuing and developing for a book manuscript.

Rhetoric and religious imagery were often coupled during the Renaissance: the first resorted to the second in order to move and excite the emotions of the public; and the image, for its part, benefited from the direction and commentary provided by sermons. Of the three aims of classical rhetoric, movere was the most sought after by orators and art theoreticians alike. Through this ‘emotive rhetoric’ (in Aby Warburg’s words) that appealed to the senses, the preacher interacted with altarpieces and individual images with the aim of provoking feelings, and some devotional texts taught the devout to compose mental images to the point of visualising themselves as witnesses. This proposal aims to underline the existence of this cross-breeding Hispanic-Italian theory of the sacred image, which can explain the mechanisms of the invention, control and reception of religious art in the Roman Catholic Church in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.

[EN]: It is a documentary study on the use of alchemy as an exemplum in the theological literature of the thirteenth century, especially in sermons and homilies.I have found a lot of references in Servasanto de Faenza, Robert Grosseteste, John Wycliffe, Nicolas de Lyra, Tomás Cantimpré, Giovanni da San Gimignano, Pierre Auriol, Pierre Bersuire, Johann Herolt, Helvicus Theutonicus, etc. Contrary to the thesis defended so far, I have found textual evidence that the metaphorical integration between alchemy and Christian religion, by way of exemplum, is earlier in the pastoral of Europe (13th century) than that in the treatises of alchemy (14th century). For example: The elimination of sin in baptism and penance, as well as its purgative effects on the human soul, are related to alchemical elixirs. Eucharistic transubstantiation is represented by alchemical transmutation. It is urged to see Christ in the sacred host just as precious metals are extracted from vile minerals. Tomás de Cantimpré makes an exemplary story where alchemy is an extraordinary tool, put by God himself for people who want to help the needy: poor, sick and pilgrims. For Grosseteste, already from the first half of the thirteenth century lapis signat Christum, long before the alchemists made such an analogy. For Servasanto the Virgin Mary is pure as the quintessence and is a means for God in regard to Pater luminum; for he sends his gifts over men through her, just as natural virtue descends on earth through the quintessence. The alchemical transmutation and the prodigious conception of Christ in the Virgin Mary are compared by the grace of the Holy Spirit. We are told that a good preacher works as extraordinary changes in sinners as an alchemist who makes gold with lead. The action of the fire of the final judgment in the souls is assimilated to the alchemical subtilitatio. In another exemplum Mary, who conceives Jesus, is exemplified by the purest gold that participates in the composition of the "elixir magno" of the alchemists. The passion of Christ is like an alchemical examination by fire, like a calcination or copellation of mineral matters. We find preaching about the way in which the soul descends to the body, described as the quintessence that descends on metals. There are sermons where we are told that God would form the world and enrich it by diversifying it, just as an alchemist starts with a matter to elaborate new ones, some purer (rectified exhalations) and some more gross (corrupt humidities). This alchemical interpretation of the genesis is much earlier than that of the paracelsists or the christian kabbalists of the Renaissance. Other exempla propose that the first light appointed by God in Genesis is analogous to the spirits of alchemy, "sicut in alchimia sunt quaedam corpora quae vocantur spiritus", which form and invigorate metals in the earth's bosom. God is described as an agent, an alchemist or aurifaber, who purifies and brings hearts to perfection, as if they were metallic. He cleanses them by the water of baptism and purifies them by the fire of the final judgment. That influence of God in the spiritual life of man is confronted with the alchemical operations of washing, calcination, waxing, dissolving and freezing. Even some of these homilies and sermons include quotes from alchemical texts: De aluminibus et salibus, De anima in arte alchimiae, Ad Hasen Regem de Re Recta, Hermes Trismegisto, etc.

[ES]: Se demuestra documentalmente la utilización de metáforas alquímicas en sermones religiosos de los siglos XIII y XIV. Contrariamente a la tesis defendida hasta ahora, veremos que la integración metafórica entre alquimia y religión cristiana, a modo de exemplum, es anterior en la pastoral de Europa (s. XIII) a la que se da en los tratados de alquimia (s. XIV). Centraremos la atención en un predicador franciscano llamado Servasanto de Faenza (ca.1220-ca.1295), que nos ha dejado en sus sermonarios un buen número de temas alquímicos propios de época. No obstante, veremos que no es un caso único. Tomándolo a él como referencia, y a lo largo de más de cien páginas, citaremos homilías, sermones y comentarios teológicos de Robert Grosseteste, John Wycliffe, Nicolas de Lyra, Tomás de Cantimpré, Giovanni da San Gimignano, Pierre Auriol, Pierre Bersuire, Johann Herolt, Helvicus Theutonicus y otros muchos. El nivel figurativo es en ocasiones muy complejo y hasta ahora se atribuía a alquimistas paracelsistas o cabalistas cristianos muy posteriores. Por ejemplo: La eliminación del pecado en el bautismo y la penitencia, así como sus efectos purgantes en el alma humana, son relacionados con los elixires alquímicos. La transubtanciación eucarística es representada por la transmutación alquímica. Se insta a ver a Cristo en la hostia sagrada igual que se extraen metales preciosos de minerales viles. Tomás de Cantimpré hace una historia ejemplar donde la alquimia es una herramienta extraordinaria, puesta por Dios mismo para las personas que quieren ayudar a los necesitados: pobres, enfermos y peregrinos. Para Grosseteste, ya desde la primera mitad del siglo XIII lapis signat Christum, mucho tiempo antes de que los alquimistas hiciesen tal analogía. Para Servasanto la Virgen María es pura como la quintaesencia y es un medio para Dios en cuanto a Pater luminum; pues él envía sus dones sobre los hombres a través de ella, al igual que la virtud natural desciende sobre la tierra por medio de la quintaessentia. Se compara la transmutación alquímica y la concepción prodigiosa de Cristo en la Virgen María por la gracia del Espíritu Santo. Se nos dice que un buen predicador obra cambios tan extraordinarios en los pecadores como un alquimista que hace oro con el plomo. - La acción del fuego del juicio final en las almas se asimila a la subtilitatio alquímica. En otro exemplum María, que concibe a Jesús, es ejemplificada por el oro más puro que participa en la composición del “elixir magno” de los alquimistas. La pasión de Cristo es como un examen alquímico por el fuego, como una calcinación o copelación de materias minerales. Encontramos prédicas sobre el modo en el que el alma desciende al cuerpo, descrito como la quintaesencia que desciende sobre los metales. Hay sermones donde se nos dice que Dios formaría el mundo y lo enriquecería diversificándolo, igual que un alquimista parte de una materia para elaborar otras nuevas, unas más puras (exhalaciones rectificadas) y otras más groseras (humedades corruptas). Otros exempla nos proponen que la luz primera nombrada por Dios en el Génesis es análoga a los espíritus de la alquimia, “sicut in alchimia sunt quaedam corpora quae vocantur spiritus”, que forman y vigorizan los metales en el seno de la tierra. Se describe a Dios como un agente, un alquimista o aurifaber, que purifica y lleva a perfección los corazones, como si fueran metálicos. Los limpia por el agua de bautismo y purifica por el fuego del juicio final. Esa influencia de Dios en la vida espiritual del hombre se confronta con las operaciones alquímicas de lavado, calcinación, encerado, disolución y congelación. Se cita incluso de manera explícita en estas homilías, sermones dominicales o festivos el De aluminibus et salibus, el De anima in arte alchimiae, el Ad Hasen Regem de Re Recta, a Hermes Trismegisto, etc.

Syriac manuscripts feature several systems of numerals, and earlier studies have identified three based on the Syriac alphabet. Marginal notes found in the manuscript London, British Library, Add. 14587 preserve a fourth and previously undescribed alphabetic numeral system. After presenting this system and discussing the evidence that led to its identification, this article argues on palaeographic grounds that the late eighth century forms a terminus post quem for the numerals found in this manuscript. Analyses of a donation note and another manuscript further suggest that the numerals were added by a monk or monks from the Syriac tradition residing in Egypt, associated with either a monastery in Upper Egypt or the Monastery of the Syrians (Dayr al-Suryan) in Wadi al-Naṭrun. In either case, the alphabetic numeral system found in the margins of this manuscript reflects the efforts of Syriac monastic communities in Egypt to curate the Syriac literary heritage and shape the way others encountered it.

Philip Michael Forness, “Curating the Syriac Literary Heritage in Egyptian Monasteries: A Newly Identified Numeral System in Syriac (British Library, Add. 14587),” Journal of Semitic Studies 67, no. 1 (2022): 151–68.