SermonsCCLXXVI CCXCIII PDF

Qui per Spiritum Sanctum semet ipsum Obtulit*
(“ Who by the Holy Spirit Offered Himself”)1

[April 4, 1457; preached in Brixen]
PART ONE
[1] “ By the Holy Spirit He offered Himself.” (Hebrews 9)
At an earlier time you heard sufficiently how it is that Christ—
not by another’s [blood] but by His own blood—entered once into the
Holies, having obtained eternal redemption.2 Animals are found to
have been offered in sacrifice to God—namely, those animals which
were worshiped in Egypt as representing God. [Note] Exodus 8, where
Moses says: “For we shall sacrifice the abominations of the Egyptians
to the Lord our God. But if in the Egyptians’ presence we kill those
things which they worship, they will stone us.” 3
[2] I have read that the Egyptians abominate the sheep that were
supposed to be sacrificed to God. But Nicholas of Lyra says that the
Jews designate as abominations sacrifices that are made to idols.4 And
note that before the Israelite people went out from the land of Egypt,
the sacrificing of animals was [already] established [as a practice]. But
after this people took up [the practice of] these sacrifices (in order to
show that the Lord their God was a Great-God-above-all-gods, to
whom the gods of the Egyptians were presented [by them] as an offer-
ing), there arose at length [among the heathen] a sacrifice in which
even human beings were sacrificed to the gods of the Gentiles—[sac-
rificed] against their will by others. St. Augustine and Eusebius
Pamphyli [write about this practice].5
[3] But because God the Father is so great that even man is sup-
posed to offer himself to God by the Holy Spirit: the consummate sac-
rifice, through which the God of gods is made known, is the sacrifice
of Christ, who offered Himself by the Holy Spirit in order to show the
glory of God. [He offered Himself] by the Holy Spirit, not by the spir-
it of error, as those were deceived (1) who offered human beings to
Saturn in order to placate an evil [spirit] or in order to obtain a victory
or (2) who hurled themselves toward death in order to have an immor-
tal memorial.
By the Holy Spirit Christ offered Himself unspotted unto God—
[unspotted] because by means of this [deed] He did not seek anything
except God’s glory. He was unspotted [by sin]; and so, [He was] a
198
Who by the Holy Spirit Offered Himself 199
Holy Sacrifice pleasing to God. Therefore, God the Father is shown to

be so great that Christ, who alone is immaculate and most high, taught
by His own example that one is to be obedient to God even unto
death.6
[4] The Apostle asserted that “if the blood of goats and of oxen
and the ashes of a heifer, being sprinkled, sanctify (i.e., cleanse) the
defiled, for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more shall the blood
of Christ, who by the Holy Spirit offered Himself unspotted unto God,
cleanse our conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” 7
Under penalty of excommunication it was forbidden [under the Law of
Moses]8 that anyone who touched something dead, thereby becoming
defiled, should associate with others before being sprinkled with the
ashes of a heifer—as if he were being bathed with water. This [sprin-
kling] was done for the cleansing of the flesh. Much more will the
blood of Christ, which is more efficacious, cleanse our conscience
from the dead works of mortal sin.
[5] Indeed, every sacrifice is for the cleansing either of the flesh
(i.e., of the outer man) or of the conscience (i.e., of the inner man).
There is a sole sacrifice for the cleansing of the conscience, namely,
the sacrifice of the Immaculate Christ by the Holy Spirit. In this [sac-
rifice] all [other] sacrifices are enfolded. For the variety of baptisms
and sacrifices for the cleansing of the flesh do not cleanse the spirit;
and so, [this] variety does not have perfection, because it cleanses only
temporarily the temporal body and because it [only] frees the one who
has been excommunicated (namely, the one who was cast out of the
synagogue). But [Christ’s] perfect sacrifice cleanses and frees from
Satan and causes [one] to enter into the Holies after [his] having
obtained eternal redemption.9 The Apostle says “having obtained.” For
these holy things were lost, but by means of Christ’s death they were
obtained.
[6] Note: the conscience is cleansed by the blood of Christ, i.e.,
by a spiritual and invisible sprinkling (just as by the visible sprinkling
of the ashes of a heifer the defiled flesh [is cleansed]). The sprinkling
is the application of the merit, or payment, of Christ’s death. For when
the priest under the Law applied his intention to the cleansing of the
defiled-one, then the unclean-one was made clean by the shedding of
the blood [of animals]. Likewise, the application of the intention of
Christ, who wills to cleanse, makes clean the conscience by means of
the shedding of His own blood.
200 Qui per Spiritum Sanctum semet ipsum Obtulit
[7] Consider the fact that [the Apostle] says “by the Holy
Spirit”—as if the Holy Spirit (namely, Love) had offered up Christ but
yet Christ gave Himself over [to death]. The Father delivered Christ up
[to death] for us; Christ Himself offered Himself; and Christ was
offered up by the Holy Spirit. These [occurrences] are nothing other
than that the will of the Father that [Christ] would die was also the
Son’s [will], which is [also] the Holy Spirit’s [will].
The text says that [Christ] offered Himself. Thus, Christ’s death
was not a natural death or a forceful death but, as Augustine says (in
De Trinitate 9),10 was, rather, a miraculous death.
The text says “… [offered Himself] unspotted unto God.” For the
lamb that at Passover was commanded to be offered was to be without
blemish. Therefore, Christ, who was befigured in all the sacrifices, had
all the virtues. For He was the innocent and immaculate Lamb, etc.
[8] [The text] says “ … from dead works.” For the death of an
incinerated animal [served to] cleanse from the contamination that was
contracted from contact with the dead. Similarly, Christ’s death frees
from dead works, i.e., from the infection-of-soul contracted from dead
works. Contact with the unclean defiles, just as it is said “He who
touches pitch is defiled from it.”11 The case is similar as regards
[touching] someone leprous or [touching] a corpse. So this defilement
comes from a conjoining, i.e., a union, of a healthy body with a leprous
body and of a living body with a corpse. Similarly, the soul is defiled
from its union with an unclean spirit and with a spirit of death. From
this infection [the soul] works dead works, which are without the
[presence of the] enlivening Holy Spirit, who is called Love.
Therefore, by the death of Christ the soul is freed from this union by
which a man’s spirit clings to the spirit-of-death, through which his
works are dead.
[9] The Savior said: “I saw Satan fall as lightning from heav-
en.”12 Likewise understand that with Christ’s intervening merit, or
with the power of His suffering or the power of the shedding of His
innocent blood, Satan quickly falls as lightning from the sky. [10] The
physicians say that the blood of innocent children cures leprosy of the
body. Similarly, the power of the merit of Christ’s blood [cures] lep-
rosy of the soul. The Prophet told the leper Naaman the Syrian to bathe
seven times in the Jordan River and he would be cleansed.13 If by
means of water the word [of the Prophet] cleanses the believer from
leprosy of body, why is it strange that also [the Word of God], by
means of the merit of His death, cleanses the believer from leprosy-of-
soul? If Naaman, once bathed, obtained living flesh as of a clean and
lively child in order that he might serve his king, then why is it strange
if a living soul is made, by the washing of the merit of Christ’s blood,
[such] that he may serve the Living God?
[11] Moreover, note the text of Leviticus 16, how it is that the
priest under the Law dipped his finger into the blood of a sacrificed
lamb and sprinkled it with his finger seven times against the propitia-
tory to the east.14 These [actions] signified, by means of the befigure-
ment made, that Christ, the true Priest, sprinkled—with the Finger of
God (i.e., with the Holy Spirit), anointed with, or dipped in, the merit
of [Christ’s] blood, or death—seven times against the propitiatory of
the Paternal graciousness. It is as if [Christ] showed that by the Spirit
of Love His blood was shed in order to move the Father to be propi-
tious to sinners, for whom the blood of His Beloved Son was shed,
with the Father thus ordaining it. Now, [Christ] sprinkled seven times,
so that we may understand by the number seven (whereby all things
are signified) that all those sins are washed away which are understood
to be present in the septenary of sins15—just as Mary Magdalene is
read to have been freed by Christ from seven demons.16 In this septe-
nary, according to the saints, all transgressions are understood [to be
included].
[12] The Apostle says that Christ is the Mediator of a New
Testament.17 The Law of Moses and the sayings of the Prophets are
said to be the Old Testament, i.e., to be a befiguring of the New
[Testament].18 Lactantius said19 that the Testament is called Old
because it was a closed testament until the death of the Testator. Hence,
before the death of the Lawgiver, namely, the Incarnate Word, it
remained concealed; but by means of the death, that which was hidden
was revealed. And so, the veil of the temple was rent when Christ
died.20 It is as if someone were to bequeath to someone else an almond
with an outer-hull and a nut-shell. The whole [almond] is as the testa-
ment, or bequest, of a testator. But in the outer-hull there is bitterness;
in the nut-shell, hardness. [13] But when the outer-hull is removed and
the nut-shell broken open, there is found the new bequest, previously
unknown; and it is the fruit of life. Similarly, there is a word hidden
within the outer-hull of the written form. Or again, [the Word is hid-
den] in the humanity of Christ. Finally, by means of the breaking open
of the nut-shell the power of God appeared in the Resurrection. Note
that in Numbers 17 it is said that the rod of Jesse bloomed; and the
blossoms, with leaves spread out, were formed into almonds.21 Hence,
the almonds signify Christ; the rod of Aaron [signifies] the birth of
Christ, with respect to which [the rod] symbolizes.
[14] Pay attention also to one [more] thing: [namely,] that
when—after the nut-shell has been broken open, and after the veil has
been rent—one comes to the inner coverings: the nucleus still has a
[surrounding] husk. The visible outer-hull is [i.e., symbolizes] the
[alphabetical] letter. The nut-shell hidden within the outer-hull is the
corporeal seed of blessing, i.e., the human nature of Christ. The [sur-
rounding] husk that adheres to the nucleus is Christ’s inner man. The
pure nucleus is the Word, or Divinity.
Moreover, those who seek the deliciousness of the fruit in its
purity discard the inner husk. For just as our outer man is related to our
soul, so Christ’s inner man [is related] to His divinity, which furnishes
the delicious and immortal life that united to itself the husk [and that]
deliciously nourishes. Christ’s soul contains the divine deliciousness
that nourishes the entire living spirit.
[15] It seems to me that the [New Testament] is called a testament
because it contains the decree of the adoption of sons,22 who are to
obtain the inheritance so that they are true co-heirs of the Son.23 And
of such a thing it is written-about in the book which no one can read
except Christ, who through His voluntary death was made worthy to
open the book and to loose its seven seals.24 Therefore, the Son opens
the book, because He explains the hidden meaning and declares that
He is the true Heir and that by means of His death He has many broth-
ers and co-heirs.
[16] Zacharias [Zachariah] the Prophet called this merit-of-blood
a testament-of-blood, saying “You also by the blood of Your testament
have sent forth Your prisoners from the pit wherein is no water,”25
namely, from Limbo. For those who were imprisoned because of trans-
gressions, [and] who have been sent forth by grace, came to the inher-
itance of God. Now, the New Testament is that which God proclaimed
for our sake, that which Christ foretold, that which the Holy Spirit
wrote in the hearts of His believers, that which renews us by means of
true sacraments, of just precepts, and of eternal promises. Augustine in
his book of Eighty Three Questions, Chapter 16, marks the difference
between the two Testaments.26 For in the Old [Testament] there are the
burdens of servants; in the New [Testament] there is the glory of chil-
dren. In the former the prefiguring of our possession is known; in the

latter that possession is contained. In the former there is fear; in the lat-
ter, love. The former pertains to the old man; the latter, to the new man.
In the former rigorousness restricts; in the latter love delights.
Nevertheless, by the most merciful dispensation of the one God [the
New Testament] was set forth and confirmed.
[17] I rightly understand, in accordance with the Gloss on
Hebrews 9, that the [New] Testament was confirmed by [Christ’s]
death.27 The Gloss says: Christ, in the declaration of the things to
which He attested, willed to give Himself up to die, lest someone
would have doubt about those [declarations]. He Himself who is Truth
deceives no one with respect to that which He promises. But He prom-
ised an eternal inheritance; and by means of His death [believers]
receive the promise of an eternal inheritance.28 [The text] says “by
means of His death” because unless it were true [that He died], no one
would be saved. For the suffering of the Lord is the payment for the
world. Understand [this statement] always in a spiritual sense—name-
ly [in the sense that] the merit of [Christ’s] suffering justifies us, as
regards the justifying and enlivening fruit that restores and heals and
strengthens and vitalizes our souls. We arrive [at the promised inheri-
tance] by means of the despoiling of [Christ’s] Body and by means of
the breaking open of the shell of Christ’s humanity. And thereupon we
taste of the payment of the enlivening merit—according as we set forth
in the example of the almond.
Let these points have been stated in the foregoing way with
regard to the first part of the sermon.
PART TWO
[18] “Verily, verily I say unto you, if anyone keeps my word, he shall
never see death” (from the Gospel).29 These words, for now, I have
taken up to be reflected upon separately [from the others]. Earlier [the
text] said: “If you do not believe that I am [the Messiah], you will die
in your sin.” 30 For as you have quite often heard, this belief is neces-
sary: [namely,] that Jesus be believed to be the Messiah, or Son of God.
For he who does not believe this [tenet] does not receive Christ’s word
as [the word] of the Son of God; and so, he does not heed [it]. For no
disciple who is taught by a man so heeds [that man’s] word as if he
were being taught by the Son of God. With regard to the Son of God’s
doctrine all doubt, dispute, opinion, [and] surmise cease; instead, there
is undoubted certitude and very firm faith, because each [follower of

Christ] naturally knows that Christ’s word is the truth.
[19] Therefore, we must note the fact that our Teacher says that
one who keeps His word will never see death. Earlier He said to the
Jews who believed Him: “If you continue in my word, you shall truly
be my disciples, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make
you free.”31 Those who believe are said to keep [Christ’s] word when
they continue in [His] word. Those who continue in the word of the
Son of God will be His true disciples. The disciples of Truth32 will
know the truth. This knowledge is knowledge of the Word, or Son, of
God. For there follows immediately [in the text] that it is the Son who
truly makes free. Therefore, the Son and Truth are the same thing.
[20] “And the truth shall make you free,” i.e., shall free [you] for-
ever from a vision of death, as the theme-verse says. When I was
preaching, it occurred to me that the vision of death—in terms of an
acquaintance with [death]—is the consummate punishment. Now,
Christ’s death was a consummate [death] because He saw death in
terms of an acquaintance with [death], which He had chosen to under-
go. {Job 38: “Have the gates of death been opened to you, or have you
seen the darksome doors?” 33—as if to say not “you” but “I, Christ” (as
[in his work] On the Creed Albert expounds [the text])}. Therefore, the
soul of Christ descended unto the lower regions, where there is a vision
of death. For in Apocalypse 29 death is called Hell.34 And [His soul]
was freed from the Lower Hell.35 For the Prophet states that Christ
said to the Father that He had delivered His soul from the Lower
Hell.36
[21] The lower and deeper Hell is where death is seen. When God
raised up Christ, He delivered Him from the Lower Hell. In Acts 2 it
is said: “The sorrows of Hell having been loosed ….”37 And the
Prophet [writes]: “He did not leave my soul in Hell.”38 Therefore, if
you rightly consider [the matter], Christ’s suffering, than which there
cannot be a greater [suffering], was as [the suffering] of the damned
who cannot be more greatly damned—i.e., was [suffering] all the way
to punishment in Hell. As the Prophet said in Christ’s name: “The sor-
rows of Hell have encompassed me.”39 From these [sorrows the
Prophet] says that his soul was freed, stating: “You have brought forth
my soul from Hell.”40
[22] But it is [Christ] alone who through such a death entered into
glory. He willed to suffer that punishment-of-the-senses like that of the
damned in Hell, [doing so], surely, for the glory of God His Father. [He
did so] in order to show that one must be obedient to God even unto
the ultimate torment. For this [obeying] is to magnify and glorify God
in every possible manner and is for the sake of our justification. In such
a way it was done by Christ. For in and through Christ we sinners dis-
charge the debt of infernal punishment that we rightly merit, so that in
this way we may arrive at resurrection of life.
[23] But those who are not Christ’s remain in [the state of] death
[and] do not arise with Christ; and they shall see death eternally. And
this seeing of death is the second death, for it follows after the tempo-
ral death of which John [speaks] in the Apocalypse.41And, in the same
text, it is called the pool of fire. And so, you [now] have a deeper
understanding of that which is read: [namely,] that Christ descended
unto the lower parts of Hell and overcame the power of death.42
[24] “You have redeemed my soul from the hand of Hell,” says
the Prophet,43 taking [the word] “hand” for “power”. This power of
death retains all other captives who descend unto the inner regions of
Hell. Only [Christ] Himself, the Victor, has broken open the enclosure
and its gates, as says the Prophet in Osee 13: “O Death, I will be your
death! O Hell, I will be your bite!”44 For there would not be the death
of future death if death were able to have dominion [over Christ]. Nor
would [Christ] have bitten Hell if Hell had truly been able to bite His
members. [This fact] accords with that canticle of gladness: “O Death,
where is your victory? O Death, where is your sting?”45
[25] See to it that you understand that (1) in and through Christ
believers dispel the punishments of Hell and that (2) in and through
Christ all sinners can be freed from these infernal punishments. The
eternal vision of death is nothing but being knowingly in [the state of]
death; from this death the one who views [it] will never be set free.
Truth frees from such a death. Therefore, the seeing of truth is being
knowingly in [the state of] inalienable and immortal life. And so, else-
where [Christ] says that eternal life consists of a knowledge of God
and of Himself, who calls Himself Truth.46 [26] With an attentive mind
consider that the seeing of truth frees from surmise and from the sym-
bolizing of truth, [both of which are present] as long as the intellect
does not see truth, which it desires alone to see. [The intellect] cannot
conform itself to truth, because it cannot by its own means conceive of
the form of truth, which it has not seen. But when truth shows itself
face to face as it is, then the intellect will attain conformity. John the
Evangelist said this: that when the Son of God, namely, Truth, appears
to us, then we shall be like Him.47 Just as the imagination becomes like
the figure seen, so the intellect becomes like the truth that is seen.
Therefore, truth is a form that turns unto itself the formable intellect,
just as what is visible turns unto itself the imaginative power.
[27] Because Truth frees, i.e., offers eternal freedom, it is called
the Son. Hence, the intellect passes over into conformity with the Son
of God when He appears, because [the intellect then] becomes true.
This is that which Christ promised the Apostles as the greatest gift,
namely, that He would show Himself to them. But Judas the Apostle
did not understand. However, Philip began to understand; [and] he
said: “Lord, show us the Father and it is enough for us.”48 Accordingly,
truth as it is is taught only by Him who is our Teacher, whom by
assured faith we believe to be the Son of God. Only this truth frees. For
all handing-down-of-truth that is done by human procedures can be
truer and clearer. And so, it does not set free. For although we believe
that someone is learn-ed and hence believe him, surely we would
believe to a greater degree one who was more learn-ed. But no one is
as perfect as is Christ, who is the Son of God.
[28] Moreover, note that if one with whom Christ’s teaching
remains is a believer, then he will know there to be truth in [Christ’s]
word. Faith will pass over into knowledge. [It is] not [the case] that he
will know by means of hearing (i.e., by means of faith); rather, [he will
know] by means of understanding, i.e., of seeing, which is a light vital-
ly illumining the intellective soul. And if he cannot reproduce the rea-
sons and revelations in order to disclose to others his viewing, never-
theless it is not the case that for this reason he is the less certain. (By
way of illustration, he who sees the New Jerusalem,49 which he does
not know how to describe so as to disclose to others his viewing just
as it is, [is not for this reason less certain of what he has seen] ). [29]
The wise of the world think that Christ’s true disciples are ignorant
because they cannot reveal divine things in a human manner. Yet,
[Christ’s disciples] are wiser the less they know that human things
serve them for a disclosing of divine things. This fact is shown to us
sufficiently in the Gospel, where the Jews, who were of this world,
were unable to understand Christ, who was not of this world and who
spoke of the Spirit of another world. Now, according as [the Jews]
were of this world they [so] understood the words regarding the other
world. And because [these words] did not fit with their world, they said
that the words were false and were set forth by one who had a
demon.50
[30] Jesus said: “Who among you will accuse me of sin?”51 See
how Christ manifests Himself—[manifests] that He is the Son of God
and is Truth! Every sinner is a servant [of sin], as [Christ] stated.52
Does not a licentious man serve licentiousness [and] a greedy man,
greed? But sin is from darkness and from the Prince of error.
Therefore, the sinner serves his father, the Devil, i.e., [serves] the
Prince of error and of the lie. But the one who is free was freed from
this servitude to the Prince of the lie—[freed] by the Son of God, i.e.,
by the Prince who is Truth [and] who is more powerful than the lie
because the Lord’s eternal Truth remains forever.53 Accordingly, it is
more powerful than the lie, which has no permanence in itself. Hence,
every man can be accused of sin to the extent that sin is characteristic
of his nature—[every man] except for Him alone who is the Son of
man in such a way that He is also the Son of God. Therefore, if Christ
could not have been [rightly] accused of sin, it followed that He was
the promised Messiah, in whom there was to be (1) fullness of grace
and of truth and (2) a blessing for all, as Scripture attests. 54
[31] Hence, there rightly follows [in the text]: “If I speak the
truth, why do you not believe me?”55 [It is] as if He were to say:
“Since no one can [rightly] accuse me of sin either in my deeds or in
my words, and since my word is truth, whereby you can know that I
am the Son of God: why do you not believe me?” For there can be no
reason that truth is not believed. Now, words of truth are from God,
and those persons who are from God hear [these words]. And so, sin-
ners do not hearken to [these words] since sinners are not from God.56
(They are, qua sinners, from the Devil.) Hearing is hearing intellectu-
ally, with relish. Sinners hear but are unwilling to understand in order
to act rightly.
[32] The Jews said: “You have a demon.” Whatever displeases is
called a demon. And the Devil’s cunning is so great that he deceives no
one under his own name but [does so] under the name of God. And so,
that deceiver claims for himself a domain in the name of the true
King—as if he were an angel or a messenger of light and of truth.57
When error is believed to be truth, then it is accepted as truth. For oth-
erwise—were it not believed to be truth—it would not be accepted. So
the one who believes error errs and has a demon. From that demon
truth as it is sets free. For since man in accordance with his intellectu-
al nature naturally loves truth, Truth that is Christ is rightly [identical

with] Mercy itself, which works with maximal love to the end that
every man be justly rescued from error and from the Deceiver-Prince.
[33] Accordingly, note that the Jews—polluted by the letting-in of
error [and] judging a spirit, contrary to its works, to be evil—teach us
that everyone possessed by a demon-of-error judges his adversaries to
be possessed by a demon. And [the Jews teach us] that an evil spirit,
because it is evil, is not appealing; and so, in order to be appealing, it
puts on the form of light (which is desired), i.e., the form of truth,
because it knows that that [form] is appealing. In this way [Satan]
deceived our first parents. And this is what [the text] said earlier,
[namely], that from the beginning [Satan] was a killer and murderer.58
And he did not remain standing in the truth, for he enters deceptively
with the poison of death. But when he is given entrance, then the
Prince of this world is given entrance under the guise of the Prince of
the other world, i.e., of Truth. Against error Truth can prevail; and
Truth shows mercy to those who have been deceived because of their
love of Truth.
[34] And this is a sin of ignorance: where those who believe that
they are acting rightly are deceived. For them Christ pray[ed] when
they offended against Him, i.e., against Truth. And He said that they do
not know what they are doing. For example, certain ones, as also [the
Apostle] Paul, out of zeal for the Law rushed against Christ in the
belief that it was pleasing to God that they remove from the earth Him
who took upon Himself divinity. For these men [Christ] surely did all
things so that they would not in good faith remain deceived. But if
someone out of wickedness—[and] not, as premised, being deceived
under the guise of truth but, rather, knowing the truth—turns away
from the truth on account of his wickedness and turns against his own
nature: this [action] is the sin against the Holy Spirit,59 who is the
Spirit of truth.60 And Christ does not, in the end, assist them through
mercy, since there is no reason that He ought to be merciful to them.
Such ones do not desire grace. They go against the known truth, as, for
example, do those who do not believe in eternal life.
[35] The faithful Lord [Jesus Christ]61— who with all His might
did all things so that no one [would be] deceived because of Him [and]
would perish—does not have a demon. As He says: “I do not have a
demon, but I honor my Father.”62 Truth does not have a demon as He
said, because Truth is not present therein,63 i.e., in a demon. For Truth
does not put on the form of a deceiver. For why would [Truth put on
this form] when thereby it would be diminished? For if Truth could
appear in the form of a deceiver it would be abominable—just as
[would be] a lamb if it appeared in the form of a wolf for the purpose
of deceiving the sheep. Thus, no rational thought thinks that Truth can
have a demon, because a demon deceives.
[36] Truth honors its Father. Truth’s Father has honor because of
Truth, just as an honorable father has honor because of an honorable
son but has disgrace because of a dishonorable [son]. The Devil has,
because of his dishonorable sons, not honor but contempt. The Devil’s
wickedness is strange: that because of his sons he receives contempt
and has greater torment in Hell; and, yet, he does not for this reason
cease deceiving and multiplying his sons [but continues to do so] so
that he can make his wickedness complete by means of his injury to
himself.
[37] [Christ] adds: “And you have dishonored me.”64 From the
fact that someone honors God, he should receive back only honor.
Every worshipper of God has to reckon the honor bestowed on God as
if it were bestowed on himself and on more than himself. Thus, we are
obliged to honor those who are devoted to God. God is honored by him
who ascribes nothing good to himself but ascribes all [good things] to
God. Such did Christ, who says earlier in the same chapter: “Of myself
I do not do anything,” etc.65 [38] Hence, He adds: “I do not seek my
own glory.”66 Consider those who are to be reckoned as Christlike,
namely, those who seek not their own glory but God’s glory—[seek it]
even to the point of self-contempt. But those who are Satanic seek not
the glory of God but their own glory—[seek it] to the point of con-
tempt for God. The first ones [i.e., the Christlike] prefer God to them-
selves; the second ones [i.e., the Satanic] prefer themselves to God.
Since at other times you have heard me [preaching] on this Gospel-
text, I will pass over [it now]. [39] Note only that Abraham saw the day
of Christ and rejoiced.67 For he saw [it] by faith, since the promise was
made to him that Christ—i.e., He who is the blessing for all people—
would come from his seed; and Abraham did not doubt this [promise]
to be true. So he saw the day of Christ’s future advent, and he rejoiced.
Assuredly, [for Abraham] to see Christ, namely, the Word of God, in
human nature and [descended] from Abraham’s own seed according to
the flesh, is an inexpressible joy. It is a most joyous thing (1) to see the
Wisdom through which all things are that [which they are] and (2) to
see, [as present] in a creature, one’s own Creator, who bestowed exist-
ing and living and in whose power it is to perpetuate joyful living,
[and] (3) to see Graciousness itself, which withholds nothing, [and] (4)
to see the Sun,68 whose rays enliven eternally.
[40] Likewise, note that [Christ] says: “Before Abraham was
made, I am.”69 Christ exists always; Abraham was once in the process
of being made; but Christ was not [made], inasmuch as all things exist
through Him. Therefore, says Christ, there is a time when Abraham is
not; but, nevertheless, Christ took His origin from Abraham’s seed.
Thus, it is evident that no other Word was incarnated from Abraham’s
seed than that [Word] through which all things exist.
As if Christ had blasphemed, the Jews “took up stones to cast at
Him. But He hid Himself and went out from the Temple.”70 [41] Anal-
ogously, if a rose did not permit a multiplying of its images to be made,
it would be hidden; for it is not seen unless it presents itself to sight by
means of its images. Similarly, if the sun did not cause a multiplying
of its rays, it would not be seen, because it is visible only by means of
the images that arrive at sight. Were the sun to go through the middle
of the sky as Christ went out through the midst of the Jews, it too
would not be seen. He who had the power of laying down his life and
of taking it up again71 also was able to prevent or to permit the natural
multiplying of the sensory images—just as if a piece of fruit were
intellectual, it could spread its odor or keep it within itself.
[42] From Christ, when He wanted, there went out power that
healed all men. When He willed to, He did not permit this power to
flow forth. In Christ His nature obeyed His will, because He was inno-
cent. In us [the nature] is not subject to the will’s authority; for the
nature retains its laws and multiplies images having its likeness
whether or not we will [for it to do so]. For we lost the command over
our nature when the sensory appetite in and through the first sin of our
parents [Adam and Eve] dominated reason.
PART THREE
[43] “ They took up stones to cast at Him.”72 Since it is known

that Christ is Virtue—i.e., is Justice, Truth, Holiness, Love, Mercy,
Repose, and other things of this kind—then we rightly understand
those who endeavor to destroy the virtues to be like the Jews who
wanted to stone Christ and, as best they could, did stone Him. Vices
are to be stoned, because they lead unto death; and virtues are to be
cherished, because they furnish life to the soul.
[44] In Leviticus 24 it is commanded that a blasphemer be led
away and stoned by all the people. Likewise, it is commanded that dis-
obedience be stoned, as (in Numbers 15) was he who collected wood
on the Sabbath. Likewise, the adulterer is commanded to be stoned;
and so on. Hence, note that blasphemy, disobedience (especially as
concerns the precept about the sabbath), and adultery exceedingly pol-
lute the Christian common good. [45] Blasphemers rage against divine
godliness; and as best they can they destroy all worship of God; and
they rain down stones on the Giver of life. A blasphemer by [the instru-
ment of] his tongue, as if by a strong arm, hurls a stone in order to abol-
ish honor to, and reverence for, God. This diabolical spirit often comes
from a game in which one plays because of a mind greedy to have
another’s goods. And so, assuredly, the game of dice (and any other
game that proceeds from greediness) ought to be eliminated from all
Christian common affairs—lest blasphemy be nourished and God’s
wrath provoked.
[46] Disobedience is the sin of idolatry; and it too destroys all
orderliness and all religion; and it confuses all things. Adultery dis-
turbs peacefulness and inheritance and is a very bad poison, since it
contains within itself all evils.
Every religion and all laws and all sects condemn the foregoing
vices. But, alas, because we know that these extremely evil vices pre-
vail today, we know that Christ is stoned daily. In our Gospel-passage
Christ says: “I honor my Father.” That is, is not Christ indeed that
Virtue by means of which the Heavenly Father is known and honored?
But where [the Father] is dishonored and blasphemed, stones are cast
at Christ as often as this [dishonoring] is done. [47] Christ said that He
is the Son of the sabbath.73 For all paternal movement finds rest in
Him. Christ, who is our Day of rest,74 is cast out and stoned when the
precept of the sabbath is violated. Is it not violated daily? For from all
physical work one is to cease in order that there can be time for spiri-
tual [activities]. But we see that the holy days have—not Christ and
virtue [but]—vices. Men use this time for guzzlings, deceptions, busi-
ness transactions, amusements, carousings, trivial conversations and
all [other] vices. [48] Observance of the sabbath is ordained by God for
the public benefit as concerns both this world and the next. A man and
his animal ought to rest on the eighth day (which is also the first day
through the rolling over [of the days of the week])75 so that he does not
become weary but, by resting, recovers his strength in this way. And,
so too, the donkey and the ox [should] do. This [recuperating] is use-
ful and is for the common good. By means of this rest a man is made
wise, because his spirit is free for contemplation. Sermons are heard,
the ignorant are instructed, the church assembles, one person listens to
the other, friendships are contracted, and the pleasantness of the next
life (which is a life of peacefulness) is foretasted. Accordingly, he who
does not keep the sabbath commits a sin.
[49] Christ is the unity and sanctity and truth of the sacrament of
marriage, as says the Apostle: [matrimony] is a great sacrament with
respect to Christ and the Church.76 But adultery is an infringement of
the sacrament. Therefore, Christ is cast out and stoned [by adultery].
What about injustice? Is there not a public injustice where
favoritism and hatefulness and avarice and worldly fear reign and cast
out justice? There Christ is cast out and stoned. What about false wit-
nesses, who prefer a lie to truth? What about usurers,77 who prefer the
mammon of iniquity to eternal life? What about sinners who harbor
hate or anger or schism or defiance in their soul and expel Christ? They
choose not to approach the eucharist rather than to embrace peace with
their neighbor. What about those who resist the word of God and speak
against the prelate who endeavors to care for them? They surely are
worse than those perverse Jews who, on account of their teaching
about life, wanted to stone the Word of life. I say that they are worse,
insofar as a Christian who rages against Christ is worse than a Jew. He-
who-is-knowing commits a greater sin than one-who-is-unknowing.
[And he commits a greater sin] when he goes against his own religion
and against the father, [or prelate], of his spiritual life. All such indi-
viduals who cast out Christ and as best they can endeavor to deprive
the Christian public good, and the mystical Body of Christ, of its own
life, which is Christ—are not all such ones of their father, the Devil?78
And so, [are they not] to be cast outside the camp of the Church as ones
who are unclean and possessed [of an evil spirit]? Are they not to be
ostracized as lepers, lest they pollute [others]? For unless these are cast
out of the temple, Christ departs from the temple as one who is hidden
[from their sight].79
So, then, my brothers, let us see to it that we not be Jews, con-
fessing Christ with our mouth but, nevertheless, picking up stones
[and] working in concert toward the death of Him under whose banner
we promised to fight. Rather, let us abide by His word, so that within

us He may speak and command and live very greatly. Then we shall
not see death. This seeing is a tasting, as the Jews, rightly rephrasing,
understood.80 We shall never taste of the pangs of death, because we
shall be sons of immortal life by the grace of the ever-blessed God.
NOTES TO Qui per Spiritum Sanctum semet ipsum Obtulit*
* Sermon CCLXXVI.
1 . Hebrews 9:14: “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who by the
Holy Spirit offered Himself unspotted unto God, cleanse our conscience from dead
works, to serve the living God?”
2 . Hebrews 9:12.
3. Exodus 8:26.
4. Nicholas of Lyra, Postilla super Exodum 8:26.
5. Augustine, Quaestiones in Heptateuchum, Book VII (XLIX, paragraph
13). [PL 34:815].
6. Philippians 2:8.
7. Hebrews 9:13-14.
8. Numbers 19.
9. Hebrews 9:12.
10. The passage referred to is not found.
11. Ecclesiasticus 13:1.
12. Luke 10:18.
13. IV Kings (II Kings) 5.
14. Leviticus 16:14.
15. Nicholas here is referring to the seven deadly sins.
16. Luke 8:2.
17. Hebrews 9:15.
18. I Corinthians 10:6.
19. The editor of the Latin text finds Nicholas’s allusion not in Lactantius
but in Isidor of Seville, Etymologiae V, c. 24. n.2.
20. Matthew 27:51.
21. Numbers 17:8, which mentions the rod of Aaron, not the rod of Jesse.
22. Romans 8:15.
23. Romans 8:17.
24. Apocalypse (Revelation) 5:1-10.
25. Zacharias (Zchariah) 9:11 .
26. The editor of the Latin text finds this passage in Augustine, Contra
Adimantum, Chapter 16 (PL 42:157).
27. Glossa Ordinaria ad Hebraeos 9:17. [Biblia Latina cum Glossa ordinaria.
Facsimile reprint of the Editio Princeps (Adolph Rusch of Strassburg 1480/81).
Turnhout: Brepols, 1992.]
28. Hebrews 9:15.
29. John 8:51.
30. John 8:24.
31. John 8:31-32.
32. John 14:6.
33. Job 38:17.
35. Psalms 85:13 (86:13).
36. Loc. cit.
214
Notes to Qui per Spiritum Sanctum … 215
37. Acts 2:24.

38. Psalms 15:10 (16:10).
39. Psalms 114:3 (116:3).
40. Psalms 29:4 (30:3).
41. Apocalypse (Revelation) 20:14.
42. Cf. Hebrews 2:14.
43. Psalms 48:16 (49:15).
44. Osee (Hosea) 13:14.
46. John 17:3 and John 14:6.
47. I John 3:3.
48. John 14:8.
50. John 8:48.
51. John 8:46.
52. John 8:34.
53. Psalms 116:2 (117:2).
54. Colossians 1:19 & 2:9.
55. John 8:46.
56. I John 4:6.
57. II Corinthians 11:13-15.
58. John 8:44.
59. Mark 4:29.
60. I John 4:6.
61. Psalms 144:13.
62. John 8:49.
63. John 8:44.
64. John 8:49.
65. John 8:28.
66. John 8:50.
67. John 8:56.
68. (Psalms 84:11). Apocalypse (Revelation) 1:16.
69. John 8:58.
70. John 8:59.
71. John 10:17-18.
72. John 8:59.
73. Cf. Matthew 12:8.
74. Hebrews 4:9.
75. Cf. Leviticus 23:39.
76. Ephesians 5:32.
77. In the Latin text at 4 9: 11 I am reading “usurariis” with ms. L.
78. Cf. John 8:44.
79. John 8:59.
80. John 8:51-52.
Hoc Sentite in Vobis*
(“Let This Mind Be in You”)1
[1] “Let this mind be in you which [was] also in Christ Jesus.”
My intention is to speak very briefly about the Epistle and the

Gospel. I will expound the text of the Epistle: “Let this mind be in you
….” By the example of Christ the Apostle teaches that humility and
obedience are necessary for the soul that is Christlike. From this
[teaching] let us note [that] if we have such virtues in us by the exam-
ple of Christ, then Christ is the Exemplar of our soul’s virtues. And so,
in us [we have] Christ, to whom we are made like, just as Christ—who
is the Figure of His Father’s substance2—said that the Father was in
Him.3 Then Christ speaks and works within us, and God [speaks and
works] within Christ. For we shall be disciples of Christ, whose teach-
ing, as He says,4 is of God His Father.
[2] But [the Apostle] says: “Let this mind be in you.” I under-
stand “sentire” [“to have [this] mind”] in the way in which Dionysius
[understands it in] On the Divine Names, in the chapter on wisdom and
the senses where he says the following:5
If in our customary way we accepted those things that are above us and
examined them in terms of our usual meanings [and] compared divine
things with our things, then we would be deceived. We would be pur-
suing that divine secret in accordance with visible image[s],
although, assuredly, we ought to know that our soul partly has a power
of understanding, through which it views intelligible things, [and]
partly has a power that [altogether] surpasses affinity with the nature
of the senses. Through this [latter power the soul] is joined to those
things that are above it. And so, we must understand divine things by
means of this [latter union and] not in a human manner.
These things [Dionysius says] there.
[3] Hence, note that one power-of-sensing is a brute-power;6
another [power-of-sensing] is human; another, angelic; another, divine.
By means of a brute-animal’s sensing, things human that are seen in
accordance with the inner man, i.e., reason, are not attained. Nor in
accordance with this [human power] are things divine attained. And so,
the Apostle rightly said that the sensual man (animalis homo), who is
brute-like, does not perceive, or sense, those things which are of
God7—just as the sense of touch does not perceive visible images. But
216
Let This Mind Be in You 217
just as every sensing is a certain touching, so too every perceiving is a

certain sensing. [4] But in our intellectual sight we have (1) a certain
lower power by means of which we see intelligible things and (2) a
higher power than this one, by means of which [higher power] we are
joined, above nature, to those things that are above us. By means of
this excellent power we see not in a human manner, but in the manner
of the one to whom the mind is joined. By way of illustration: a
Christian’s mind, united to Christ, views Christ’s gospel in one way,
but the intellect of a heathen or of a Jew [views it] in another way.
[5] Hence, sentire [i.e., having [this] mind], as the Apostle here
puts it, is viewing by means of the mind’s deep intuition the virtues
insofar as they are Christ—[viewing them] , i.e., in the manner that
within oneself one senses and experiences that Christ lives.
Analogously: one person in one way reads a moral story perfunctorily
and without comprehension, but [another] reads it in another way, so
that he comprehends it and imitates it. The case is similar with one who
at this [Easter] season hears the story of Christ’s suffering and who,
commiserating [with Christ], senses within himself pain and takes up
his own cross and follows Christ.8 This person has a Christlike sens-
ing, and his soul’s higher power is united with Christ.
[6] The Apostle says “in us”. For the feeling [of commiseration]
ought not to be in the foliage of words or in the outward shape, or sur-
face, of the lettering but within in the heart, where the Prophet har-
bored the word of God as hidden. As he says to God: “In my heart I
have hidden Your words”9—as if the infixed arrows10 and the stigma-
ta11 of Christ were harbored [there].
[7] [The Apostle] says: “in Christ Jesus,” i.e., [in Him who is]
God and a man. Since He was in the Form of God,12 (for He dwelt
among men, and God appeared in the workings of His signs), He was
called the Form of God and the Image of God,13 so that He was under-
stood not to be God the Father; rather, He is that which God is. The
Form of God is unmultipliable; thus, Christ, [who is] in the F orm of
God, is God. [In the text the word] “image” is added in order that it
might be understood that Christ is God in such a way that He is the
Image, or Son, of God the Father. [8] Note that [the Apostle] says:
“who since He was in the Form of God, i.e., of [God] the Father ….”
To be in the Form of God is to be God. And although He was God, He
received the form of a servant.14 [The Apostle] does not say that
[Christ] was transformed into a servant but that, with His prior Form
218 Hoc Sentite in Vobis
remaining, He put on, externally, another [and] visible form—as if a

king were to put on the weapons of an underling to the end of waging
warfare.
[9] Therefore, the divine person did not put on another person but
put on, over [the divine person], a human form in order for the human
nature to attain to Christ’s glory. By way of illustration: Wisdom put
on the man King Solomon in order to manifest itself in and through
him and in order to make Solomon a partaker of Wisdom’s glory. For
Solomon, because of the wisdom that was in him,15 had a glory that
was common to the Wisdom that alone is the splendor of God’s
glory.16 [10] And the Doctor Solemnis17 said in his Quodlibeta that
glory is the perfection of wisdom.18 (For example, a king who lacks all
wisdom is neither a king nor does he have glory.) But the difference
between Christ and Solomon is the following: The wisdom of Solomon
supervened by God’s gift and grace after the kingdom was assumed
[by Solomon], so that Solomon was a man before he was wise. But in
the case of Christ, Wisdom eternally preceded the human nature which
He put on within time. Moreover, Solomon likewise leads us to the
knowledge that wisdom (1) is the splendor of immortal glory from on
high and (2) glorifies him who possesses it.
[11] “He thought it not robbery to be equal to God”19—[equal]
not in magnitude but in power and might. (For that person thinks it rob-
bery who makes himself equal to him than whom he is inferior.)
Rather, He emptied Himself.20 In the Form of God He was equal to
God; but in order to teach the law of humility to the Jews, He not only
shunned [equality] but even emptied Himself. That is, He withdrew
His own power from His work[s], taking on the form of a servant (i.e.
a human form), being made in the likeness of men and being found in
appearance as a man. [12] Take note of (1) His equality with God with
respect to power [and] (2) His oneness with God with respect to the
Form. And [note] that He took on the form of a servant, i.e., [the form]
of humanity. Thus, the Form of God in the Image of the Father, which
Image is called the Son of God, took on the form of a servant (i.e., of
humanity) and was made like a man; and so, He is called the Son of
man.21 And note also that the Form of Divinity in an Image [namely,
in the Son of God], put on the form of humanity in a likeness; and He
was found in appearance as a man—i.e., as one leading the common
life among human beings. (Luke 7: “The Son of man came eating and
drinking,” etc.)22
[13] He humbled Himself when He endured the shame of suffer-

ing like a man who is a sinner, becoming obedient to the Father (to
whom He knew Himself to be equal) unto death, even to the death of
the Cross23—i.e., to the most horrible of all horrible [deaths]. There-
fore, He teaches us to imitate this suffering and humility. [14] “For this
reason God has exalted Him.”24 [Christ] shows how much [one’s]
humility merits; [and He does so] in order that we may imitate humil-
ity, with pride trodden under foot. But [God] has exalted [Him]—i.e.,
has made [Him] to be understood as exalted, i.e., has exalted the
human nature that was in Christ. And [God] gave Him a name that is
above every name.25 The gift of the Father qua Father is to beget the
Son. And this gift is the name that is above every [other] name, so that
[Christ] is called God and is God.
[15] “… so that in the name of Jesus every knee would bow.”26
The creature bows the knee not to an adoptive [Son] but to the true
God. For the heretics say that Christ is an adoptive Son but is not a true
Son. Elsewhere I have touched upon this [theme of] how it is that
adoption has a likeness to sonship because an adoptive son inherits,
just as does a natural son. However, with respect to the fact that Christ
was a man in such a way that He was also God, someone could [right-
ly] say that Christ was an adoptive Son in such a way that He was also
the natural Son of God. For He was the Son of man in such a way that
He was the Son of God.
[16] “… [every knee would bow] of those that are in Heaven, on
earth, and under the earth”27—that is, of those who are in Heaven and
in the sky and on earth and in Hell. “And every tongue would con-
fess,”28 if not willingly, then of necessity. Understand the knees and
tongues to be [those] of rational creature[s], who alone can confess
these things in their own manner, namely, by affirming [them] and by
reverently manifesting the affirmation.
“… that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the
Father.”29 Glory is the brightness of majesty. Hence, the Father is said
to be Glory by the Apostle to the Romans,30 and the Son is said to be
the Brightness of Glory.31 A single Brightness of the majesty of God
the Father and of the Son is present in God the Father and His Son. By
the praise and adoration of all tongues and by bending-the-knee, [this
one Brightness] is given adoration.
[17] The intent of the Apostle is to instruct the Philippians to be
obedient in such a way that Christ, who is perfect obedience,32 lives in
them. Hence, he adds: “Do all things without murmurings and hesita-
tions so that you may be blameless and sincere children of God.”33
And later [he adds]: “… holding forth the word of life.”34 Lo, those
who are true obeyers hold forth the word of life. And there is no obe-
dience without humility (Jesus said: “Learn from me, for I am humble
and meek in heart”35) or without suffering (“He was lead as a sheep to
the slaughter,” etc.36). [18] The obedient soul is like clay that is tem-
pered for the receiving of the form that the potter fashions. Christ is the
Potter who fashions from an obedient soul a precious vessel, in which
manna is placed (Exodus 16). For this is the word-of-life of which Paul
[writes] in this chapter37—[and] which is contained in the obedient
soul. Clay bespeaks humility; and its tempered flexibility is obedience.
[The clay] is trodden under foot and pounded-out in order to be made
suitable for the receiving of form. And by this [example] “suffering” is
[symbolically] shown, without which [the clay] would not obtain a
form. The firmness [of the clay] is, [symbolically], perseverance.
Hence, from the mud of the earth the inner man is made, and into him
is breathed the breath of life.38
[19] With regard to the mud’s (or soul’s) being made suitable to
receive the divine in-breathing of eternal life, let us consider how we
are instructed by the example of Christ. God the Father willed to make
suitable Christ’s humanity so that it would be capable of supreme
glory. By His own Word, [God the Father] made the humanity to be
subject [to Himself] and worked, as by the Hand of His own power, in
a contrary way to the Devil’s deception.
The First Adam,39 since he was a man who willed to be God,40
knowingly departed from obedience; and in the beauty41 of the fruit of
the tree he sought the nourishment of the knowledge of good and evil
but found death. He accepted the authority of one fashioning a lie,
whom the man obeyed; and he acquired the form of error. That
[human] clay, infected with pride, became as stiff and unpliable as cold
wax that is hard [and] did not obey its trace of eternity. And it was not
able to be softened without a spiritual fire, which is not found in this
present world.
[20] Christ came. Although He was God, He took the form of a
servant; and being in that form He emptied Himself, humbling Himself
to the point of [a likeness to] what is empty and devoid of every use-
less form. Such a thing happens when clay-that-is-formed, e.g., a pot,
is reduced to formless clay, so that it becomes obedient to all [manip-
ulations]. For the [formed] clay must be emptied and must become
completely formless. [Only] then will it be fit for obeying every com-
mand of the potter. And in a similar way it happened that Christ—hav-
ing been emptied, so that in Him there remained neither form nor
life—entered into the glory of the Father by means of the Cross, i.e.,
the Tree of death. Adam by means of the fruit of the Tree of knowledge
finds ignorance and death; Christ by means of the Tree of death finds
life. [21] Hence, in and through Christ, human nature is assuredly all
these things. Whether [human nature] is the mud from Adam or the
cold wax, it is freed from its cold nature by the warmth of the Heavenly
fire, which is called love (caritas), and is made obedient to the gover-
nance of God. Therefore, the more a soul is more suited for [receiving]
the noble impression of the Divine form, the more brightly there shines
forth in it the glory of God. For by means of the Divine Art [the soul]
is made to be, from that [impressing], a living vessel in accordance
with its own capability. It is first of all freed from all worldly desires
and is filled with the moisture of grace in order that it can be drawn
upward by the Son of Justice42—in the way in which, when an emp-
tied eggshell is filled with moisture and is sealed with wax, it is drawn
upward by the [heat of] the sun.
[22] Note [the following]: We who are inhabitants of this world
have a soul that is transformable, as if it were intellectual wax that con-
forms itself to its desires and to forms that are pleasing to it. And
because [the soul] is ignorant of divine forms, which are Heavenly and
everlasting, it conforms itself not to them but to temporal [forms],
which cannot give it what they do not have. But if [the soul] subjects
itself unqualifiedly to the Potter who has fashioned the hearts of all
beings individually, so that He forms [them], then [the soul] obtains,
according to God’s word or concept, a Heavenly and immortal form,
which is not of this world [and] which [the soul] did not know prior to
its reception [of the form]. Nor does anyone know [this form] except
the one who receives it. And after the receiving, [the soul] recognizes
that it is conformed to the Word of God, to whom it has been obedient.
[23] Moreover, note [the following]: Because the soul conforms
itself to that which it loves, and [because] when it loves itself it con-
forms itself to itself, and because it does not have from itself its exist-
ing and being alive: it does not love itself when it loves itself. But if it
loves God—from whom it has its existing and living [and] of whom it
is an image—and does not love itself, in order to love Him the more:
then it loves itself (as Augustine beautifully concludes in his Homily

on John ([Tractatus] cxxiii).43 But the soul cannot love God unless in
it there is the form of Christ, who alone instructs us by His word and
example as to how it is that we can love God the Father, namely, by
means of the form of Christ and the imitating of Christ. And so, if we
sense within ourselves that which we believe to be in Christ, namely,
obedience unto death, then Christ is formed in us and we receive the
form of the Son of God, through which form we attain to the glory of
the Father.
[24] But how do we sense within ourselves Christ on the Cross?
Pay attention to the statement of Cassian in Book IV, Chapter 35, of his
De Institutis Monachorum.44 For he says: ‘One who is fastened to the
gibbet of a cross does not reflect upon things present, nor does he think
about his own affections. He is not filled45 with worry about, and con-
cern for, tomorrow. Nor is he perturbed by lust. Nor is he inflamed with
pride, with rivalry, with strife. He is not grieved because of present
wrongs, nor does he recall past [wrongs]. But while he still has breath
in his body, he believes that there is a failing that is present in all his
elements, [and] he advances his heart’s viewing to the place where he
does not doubt that he is going to come.’ Lo one who thus senses
[death] together with the crucified Christ—being crucified with Christ
and [being delivered] not only from vices but also from the elements
of this world—has his eyes fixed on the place to which he hopes at any
moment to depart. Such a person obeys fully; and this obedience is
perfect. [25] He ought to have seven stages of obedience. First, he
ought willingly to obey his prelate—[who stands] in the place of
God—in all intermediate matters. These [are matters that] are neither
forbidden nor commanded in the Law of God. Rather, they are things
in-between, with which or without which eternal salvation can be had.
Examples are [the following]: fasting on the sixth day of the week with
bread and water; wearing a hair-shirt; praying extendedly; and so on.
In these matters the prelate or the confessor is to be obeyed just as
would be the divine precepts or the divine prohibitions.
[26] The second stage [of obedience] is to obey unqualifiedly and
without murmuring or complaint. For he who walks without misgiv-
ings walks confidently. The people of Israel murmured,46 longing for
the melons and garlic and cucumbers and flesh pots that they had left
behind in Egypt.47 And so, they were overthrown in the desert.48
Moses and Aaron murmured against the Lord at the waters-of-strife;49
wherefore, they did not merit to enter into the land of promise.50 Hear
what the Lord said: “A people whom I did not know served me; at the
hearing of the ear they obeyed me.”51
[27] The third stage is to obey with gladness. For the Lord loves
a cheerful giver.52 For where a sick countenance is discerned, this
place of obedience is left behind. Indeed, a sick face signals a sick
mind; and sadness of the outer appearance indicates a frightened mind.
The fourth [stage is] to obey swiftly. One must beware lest a
delay bring danger. For the word of the Lord runs swiftly, and [the
Lord] desires a swift hearer. [The Psalmist] said: “I have run the way
of Your commandments”53 and “ I have loved Your Law.”54 The obe-
dient believer does not know delays, nor does he put off [doing] what
is commanded. For he prepares his eyes for seeing, his ears for hear-
ing, his tongue for speaking, his hands for working, his feet for jour-
neying. He gathers himself as a whole, inwardly, in order to acquire the
will of one who, outwardly, gives commands.
[28] The fifth [stage] is to obey manfully. “Act manfully,” [the
Psalmist] says, “and let your heart be strengthened, all you who hope
in the Lord.”55 Likewise: You have reached your hand out for [doing]
strong works. You are to be insistent and to act courageously. If trou-
ble resounds, if persecution results, if the enemy impedes your journey,
then say, nonetheless: “I am prepared, and I am not perturbed.”56
The sixth [stage] is to obey humbly, because “He was mindful of
us in our humility.”57
The seventh [stage] is to obey perseveringly. “He who perseveres
unto the end will be saved.”58 And the end-result, not the struggle,
brings the reward. It is characteristic of many people to begin but of
few to persevere.
Because of the shortness of time, let the foregoing [points] now
suffice for the first part of the sermon.
PART TWO
[29] “Behold, your King—[as one who is] meek—comes to you.”59

([Passage] from the Gospel; originally from the Prophet Zacharias). As
was prophesied of Him, Christ the King and Messiah willed to enter
the city [of Jerusalem], where there was the Temple and House of His
Father. And He came as God’s Emissary. He did not come on foot; but
so that the whole city would be moved with wonderment, He came on
the foal of an ass, upon which no man had previously sat.60 And by
means of suitable signs divine reverence was paid to Him by the
Apostles, the children, and the people, who went before Him and who
followed Him.61 And they acknowledged Him to be the Emissary of
God—blessing Him as such [an Emissary] and acknowledging Him as
Savior, while crying out “Hosanna in the highest.”62
[30] After He had entered [Jerusalem] as God’s Emissary and
Envoy, He entered the Temple. And as one powerful in works and in
word—[one] to whom all power had been given by His Father—He
rectified the things that needed to be rectified.63 And as the Gospel-
writer says,64 the whole city was moved by this coming of His, and
each person asked the other who He was. And in this way, by means of
questions and answers, the King whose Kingdom was not of this world
was known; i.e., [it was known] that His Kingdom was with the Father,
from whence He was sent.
[31] Consider that Christ, after the resurrecting of Lazarus65
wanted to enter Jerusalem as the Emissary of God, because He came
in the name of the Lord. For already by means of that miracle, which
was known to all—of whom many were present who had heard Him
cry out “Lazarus, come forth!”—He showed that He was sent by the
Father. [And He showed it also] to many others by His works and
power. For He said: “If you do not believe me, believe [my] works,
because the Father, who abides in me, does the works.”66 And these
were authoritative signs that engendered belief in His power of bind-
ing and loosening67 and belief that He had the full authority of His
Father. [32] In the province to which He had been sent, He had exhib-
ited authoritative signs of His mission, and He had adduced witnesses:
Moses, the Prophets, John the Baptist, shepherds, the Magi, those
restored and set free by Him from various infirmities, and the Apostles,
whom He transformed from a state of ignorance to a state of preaching
the gospel of life. Hence, when in this way He manifested Himself to
the world and proclaimed Himself sufficiently as Overseer and as both
Pastor (or Priest) and King-of-the-inner-man: He wanted to fulfill His
ministry and to enter into the Holy of Holies at the feast of Passover
by [the shedding of] His own blood so that he would effect the purifi-
cation of souls, as Paul refers to [in his letter] to the Hebrews.68
[33] But the time had come. For there had already happened the
events which according to the foretellings of the Prophets were sup-
posed to precede [His advent]. And there had arrived the time of
Zacharias, who spoke of the manner in which Christ would come as

Savior and Just One. For in Chapter 9 he says: “Rejoice greatly, O
daughter of Sion; shout for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold your
King will come to you, the Just One and Savior. He is poor and riding
upon an ass and upon a colt, the foal of an ass.”69 According to all the
rabbis of the Jews this authoritative text speaks literally of the
Messiah. But the Gospel-writers say “Fear not, O daughter of Sion”70
where here in [Zacharias] there is put “Rejoice greatly!” For the
Prophet [Zacharias] had indicated many future tribulations; but he adds
that the Messiah would come as Savior. And so, the Gospel-writers say
that the Prophet by the words “Rejoice greatly …” wanted to indicate
“Fear not, O daughter of Sion.”
[34] [Zacharias] says “Jerusalem,” which was built near the
Fortress of Sion, the mother of [all] defense[s]—[i.e., a major strong-
hold]. He says “Behold, your King—the Just One and Savior—will
come to you.” The Jews understood salvation, or liberation, to be [lib-
eration] from the oppression of the Romans, so that they would not
[any longer] be forced into tribute and other forms of servitude. And
the first disciples of Christ seem to have understood [the matter] simi-
larly, at the beginning. And so, because they did not see in the case of
Christ things useful to this end—i.e., [did not see] riches, an army, and
a military spirit—they spurned Him, as if it were not possible that He
be that King-Messiah. Yet, the Prophet spoke clearly; for he said that
[the Messiah] was to be just and poor and that he was to be riding upon
an ass and its colt and was thus to come. [35] By means of these
[prophetic] judgments [the Jews] could have understood the Messiah,
King, “Savior” (who for this reason is named “Jesus”)71 to be the King
of the salvation of souls. For He was the King of Justice,72 i.e., the
King of divine religion, which was to be spread to the ends of the earth,
so that His Kingdom would thus be very full, according as the Prophet
subsequently says in that passage.73 Hence, [the Prophet] speaks of the
Church (whose Head is Christ), which is the kingdom of justice. This
is the true and immortal kingdom that will not at all fail,74 to which the
kings of the world are subject. Hence, we read that God said, in Exodus
19, that His Kingdom is priestly and that the inhabitants of His
Kingdom are a holy nation.75 [God] handed over this Kingdom to be
governed by the Son, whom He sent. Therefore, Christ the King and
Priest thus came to Jerusalem on that fifth day before the day of the
Passover—i.e., on the tenth day of the month76—when, in Exodus 12,
the lamb-to-be-slain is commanded to be taken. And the Immaculate
Lamb, [i.e., Christ],77 entered the Temple, or House of Sacrifice.

[36] Let us note that our Christ was received with palms, branch-
es of trees, garments, etc., and with a song: “Hosanna to the Son of
David. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.”78 We must
take note of each of these [phrases]. With the branches of palm trees
and of olive trees [the people] paid honor to a triumphant and peace-
making King, according as in ancient times victory was signified by a
palm branch; peace, by an olive branch. That the Apostles took off gar-
ments and spread them over the donkey and made Him sit thereupon
(perhaps because there was no saddle), and that the children of the
Hebrews strewed garments in His pathway—[these things] were done
for the sake of great reverence to Him. If nowadays reverence is shown
by uncovering the head, how much greater reverence it was to take off
one’s garments and to place them on the King’s donkey. Accordingly,
they acknowledged that the poor King was the Lord of [all] things,
who was to be served even to the point of [one’s own] nakedness.
[37] [The multitude] shouted: “Blessed is He who comes!” They
acknowledged that the Promised One would come (in whom all are
blessed) to bless the children of Abraham and of David. As [Nicholas
of] Lyra79 interprets this in [his Postilla] on John: [to say “Blessed
…”] is to say words of praise with which those-who-are-blessing
praise Him who is worthy of all praise. The word “confessio” is used
in place of “laus”—as the Golden Gloss80 interprets the word of the
Apostle to the Romans: “I will confess to You (confitebor tibi) among
the nations”—i.e., “I will make the nations praise You” (laudare te).81
And Christ says in the Gospel: “I will confess to You (confitebor tibi),
Father of Heaven and earth”—i.e., “I praise You (laudo te), Father.”82
[38] About Christ it is written: “[The Lord] gave Him the bless-
ing of all nations and confirmed His covenant upon His head.”83 For
[Christ] is the Fount-of-blessing of Living water. For Christ was the
Rock84 from whose Living water all drink spiritually. He is the Light-
of-understanding, who says: “I am the Light of the world.”85 Hence,
He is the Sun of Justice86 and is Enlivening Life.87 For everything that
is blessed has from Him the fact that it is blessed. For His speaking—
inasmuch as it is the Word of God—can only be blessed, because His
speaking is being (“He spoke and they were made”).88 And they shall
be made to be exceedingly good because they are from the Good.
[39] With regard to their saying “Hosanna in the highest” (i.e.,
“Hosianna,” namely, “Save …”): This can have reference to the shout,
so that there is meant that the shouts were in the highest [volume], i.e.,
that [the people] shouted very loudly. However, the doctors [of the
Church] explain that [the expression] was a prayer that [Christ] would
save in the highest degree, so that we may understand [from the text]
that the people were moved by the Holy Spirit to signify that Christ is
King and Savior and is the Giver of Heavenly goods and is not of this
world. Ambrose in his sermon for today says the following: to say
“Hosanna in the highest” is to say as much as if it were said “Save us
on earth, You who89 also save in Heaven.” And because they said this
with great devotion, they doubled their volume so that they said a sec-
ond time “Hosanna” in the highest [volume]. (Ambrose [says] these
things.)90
[40] The Prophet Zacharias91 said that [Christ] is King who is
also Priest—of whom Melchisedech, who is king of justice, was a
type. I recall that I once stated [that] since Christ is Wisdom and Justice
and Gentleness and the Power of powers92—yea, rather, is the King of
powers93—then He is the One through whom kings rule. He is that
Word of God through whom God created, and rules over, all things.
Every ruler, insofar as he is a ruler, partakes of this Imperial Word of
God; for all power is from God. Thus, all that wisdom of ruling is from
God and was always with Him. Therefore, all kings partake of the
power of the Word, through which Word they rule. But not all [kings]
who rule through the Word rule in Christ. Now, if they are not
Christlike—i.e., just, truthful, merciful—they are not ruling in Christ.
They rule through power given from on high, but [they do] not [rule]
in Christ.
[41] Hence, no one is a true king unless he rules in Christ, i.e.,
unless he is so indued with Christ that Christ rules him and, through
him, his subjects. We who confess that Christ is our King and Lord
ought to pay attention to the Golden Gloss on the word of the Apostle
to the Romans: “For if you confess …,” etc., “you will be saved.”94
The Gloss says the following: Whoever confesses that Christ is his
Lord: it is necessary that Truth, Peace, and the other virtues that are
identical with the Lord, govern him. If these govern him, and if he
endeavors to profess these with his mouth, and if he believes that
Christ was raised from the dead, and if he adorns so healthful a faith
with [good] works, then without doubt he shall be saved. “With the
heart we believe unto justice.”95 For, first of all, justice is to be origi-
nated by means of the heart’s belief; then it is to be professed with the
mouth; but later, as was said, it is to be adorned with worthy works. He

who in this way believes shall not be confounded.96
That brief exposition [in the Golden Gloss] has the foregoing
points.
[42] Hence, let us reflect upon [these points] lest we who invoke
the name of the Lord be liars. For as the same expositor says: He
invokes the name of the Lord who in all that he does strives to fulfill
the will of the Lord. (In this way one who invokes [the name of the
Lord] can fulfill the Apostolic precept which says: “Pray without ceas-
ing.”97 ) This [expository] teacher, who assuredly is reliable and clear,
teaches us that unless the will of Christ prevails in us, we do not right-
fully say that Christ is our Lord and King. For [in that case] He does
not move us but our own will does. Likewise, here in the example
[from the Gospel-text] Christ was seated on the donkey, and He moved
it to compliance with His [will]. [43] Hence, the Christian must say: “I
became like a beast-of-burden in Your presence.”98 (Enough is said
about this [topic] in the other part of the sermon.)99 Therefore, our
King, who is the Word of God and is called Logos, or Ratio, is seated
upon the donkey (i.e., upon the soul), covered with, and adorned with,
the Apostles’ garments—in particular, when the soul by imitating the
Apostles puts on [Christ] and when [Christ] leads the soul into His
Holy City, where with Him it dies and rises.
NOTES TO Hoc Sentite in Vobis*
* Sermon CCLXXVII.
1. Philippians 2:5. In Part One Nicholas speaks of this text in the Epistle
to the Philippians. In part Two he speaks of a Gospel-passage in Matthew 21.
2. Hebrews 1:3.
3. John 14:20 and 14:9-11 .
4. John 7:16.
5. Dionysiaca (Paris: Desclée de Brouwer, 1937), I, 3842 -3854 . Nicholas
follows the translation of Ambrose Traversari—though he does not follow it exact-
l y. For example, at 2 :6 (of the present Latin text of Cusa’s sermon) he writes “qui”,
although Traversari has “quia”.
6. That is, the power is such as brute animals have.
8. Luke 9:23.
9. Psalms 118:11 (119:11).
10. Psalms 37:3 (38:2).
11. Galatians 6:17.
12. Philippians 2:6.
13. II Corinthians 4:4. Colossians 1:15.
15. III Kings 3:28 (I Kings 3:28).
16. Hebrews 1:3.
17. “Doctor Solemnis” is the title given to Henry of Ghent.
18. The editor of Cusa’s printed Latin text cites Henry of Ghent’s Quodlibeta
I, q. ix.
21. John 5:27.
22. Luke 7:34.
25. Loc. cit.
27. Loc. cit.
28. Philippians 2:11 .
29. Loc. cit.
30. Cf. Romans 6:2.
31. Hebrews 1:3.
32. Hebrews 5:8-9.
33. Philippians 2:14-15.
35. Matthew 11:29.
36. Acts 8:32.
37. Namely, in Philippians, Chapter 2.
38. Genesis 2:7.
229
230 Notes to Hoc Sentite in Vobis
39. The second Adam was Christ. I Corinthians 15:45-47.

40. Genesis 3:5.
41. Genesis 3:6.
42. Malachias (Malachi) 4:2.
43. Augustine, In Johannis Evangelium Tractatus CXXIV. See Tractatus
CXXIII, section 5 (PL 35:1968).
44. Joannes Cassianus, De Coenobiorum Institutis Book IV, Chap. 35 (PL
49:196A).
45. Here at 2 4:7 I am reading, with the Latin mss. and with the Paris edition,
“distenditur” and not “discenditur”, an error in the printed edition of the Latin text
of this sermon.
46. Exodus 16:2-3.
47. Numbers 11:5.
49. Exodus 17:2-7.
50. Deuteronomy 32:49-52.
51. Psalms 17:45 (18:43-44).
52. II Corinthians 9:7. Ecclesiasticus 35:11 .
53. Psalms 118:32 (119:32).
54. Psalms 118:163 (119:163).
55. Psalms 30:25 (31:24).
56. Psalms 118:60 (119:60).
57. Psalms 135:23 (136:23).
58. Matthew 10:22 and 24:13.
59. Matthew 21:5. Zacharias (Zechariah) 9:9.
60. Luke 19:30.
61. Matthew 21:8-9.
62. Matthew 21:15. Mark 11:10.
63. Matthew 21:12.
64. Matthew 21:10-11 .
65. John 11:43-44.
66. John 10:38.
67. Matthew 16:19.
68. Hebrews 9:12.
69. Zacharias (Zechariah) 9:9.
70. John 12:15.
71. Matthew 1:21.
72. Hebrews 6:20–7:2.
73. Zacharias (Zechariah) 9:10.
74. Matthew 16:18.
75. Exodus 19:6.
76. Exodus 12:3.
77. I Peter 1:19.
78. Matthew 21:8-9.
79. Nicholas of Lyra, Postilla super Iohannem 12:13.
80. Glossa Ordinaria ad Romanos 15:9.
81. Romans 15:9.
Notes to Hoc Sentite in Vobis 231
82. Matthew 11:25.

85. John 8:12.
87. John 14:6.
88. Psalms 32:9 (33:9).
89. Here at 3 9: 11 the mss. have “qui” (as does Ambrose) and not “quia”, as
found in the printed Latin text.
90. Pseudo-Ambrose, Sermo XXXI, section 3 (PL 17:668A).
91. See Zacharias (Zechariah) 6:11 & 13. Nicholas in the passage above
misremembers this text in Zacharias, which speaks not of Melchisedech but of the
son of Jehozadak. See Hebrews 5:6 & 7:1 and Psalms 109:4 (110:4) and Malachias
(Malachi) 4:2.
92. The phrase “virtus virtutum” can also be translated (depending upon the
context) as “Virtue of virtues”—as it is translated in Sermon CCLXXIV (Loquimini
ad Petram coram Eis), n. 33, lines 22-23.
93. Psalms 67:13
94. Romans 10:9: “For if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and
believe in your heart that God has raised Him up from the dead, you shall be saved.”
95. Romans 10:10.
96. Romans 10:11 .
97. I Thessalonians 5:17.
98. That is, I became compliant to Your will.
99. Re compliance to Christ’s will, see sections 20-28 of the present ser-
mon.
Crucifixus etiam pro Nobis*
(“Moreover, for our sake He Was Crucified”)1
[1] “Moreover, for our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate; He
suffered and was buried” is the fourth article-of-faith, which is
ascribed to St. John. John, who alone among the Apostles was present
[at the Crucifixion] and saw all the things that happened with regard to
Christ’s suffering, rightly added this article of faith to the Apostle’s
Creed. Let us pray, then, to the Apostle beloved by God2 and implore
him earnestly to convey to us what he means by these words. And let
us appoint the Mother of Mercy, Mary, as our advocate in order that
she may speak in our name and that when John answers her, we may
be informed about each of the things that happened on this day.3
[2] Let us, then, with a devout prayer beseech Mary to accept the
task, saying: “Since you are that Mother who is named theotokos—
namely, the Mother of God, or the God-Bearer—and since you are a
human being (so that your Son Jesus has His name from you), and
since He frequently called Himself the Son of man in praise of you
(whom you did not abandon even at His burial), and since you know
that today we are celebrating the anniversary of your Son’s death, and
since you know that, unto His glory, we wish to be able, with our inter-
nal eye, to see Him in His suffering (which He endured for our
redemption): take upon yourself this task, O saintly Mother, so that
when you ask, then your John4 may describe to us all the things [that
transpired].
[3] Mary: This request is worthy of voluntary accommodation.
For I desire this: that there be known my Son’s love (caritas), which
He at that time very greatly manifested when He preferred this [love]
to His own life.
Church in Brixen: You know, O most merciful Mother, how nec-
essary it is for our salvation that [we] be acquainted with the Life of
your Son, in whose Life is the life of all living beings. We fear lest the
remembrance that is necessary for us summon up again in you the
wounds of empathetic-suffering. We wish for things that are for our
salvation; we do not wish that because of us the very bitter pain of a
penetrating sword once again take possession of your virginal and
maternal heart.
[4] Mary: The memory of the pain of giving birth is joyous when
232
Moreover, for our sake He Was Crucified 233
the living child is seen. It is not grievous to me to hear the voices of

compassion which you devout ones emit—yea, rather, it delights [me]
above all [other] things when this [love of yours] results in your sal-
vation and in my Son’s glory. By the gift of my Son I am henceforth of
an impassible nature. For He (who through His death brought to
impassability the nature that He had from me) made my nature in itself
to be impassible. And so, as long as you do not lay aside that mortal
nature through death, you are passible and can commiserate with my
Son, by means of whose suffering you who suffer empathetically with
Him will—when freed from the body of death—arise after the likeness
of Him and will put on with an impassible nature. The death of my Son
will cause this [result] in you if you will be found [to participate] in His
death through compassion.
[5] Church: We understand, O mother of godliness, that the
remembrance of the death of Jesus (so that [in this remembrance] we
die with Him) is necessary for all people for obtaining impassibility.
Mary: You understand rightly. For although my Son died once,
nevertheless He wills that this very bitter death be present to the eyes
of believers in order that it always merit life for those who [thus] die
with Him. For he who dies with the Son of God lives with Him; they
are associates in His suffering and associates in His consolation. No
death merits this eternal life except the death of the Immaculate
Christ—[a death] which is designed by Him to the end that He share
life with all who die with Him. For eternal life, which is spiritual,
enlivens all partakers of it, even as justice justifies all partakers of it
and enlivens and renders flavorful all meritorious works. For even as
all food, although [it may be] valuable, is tasteless without salt, so too
my Son, the Salt of the earth,5 underwent a death that is the Salt that
saltifies every martyr’s death and makes it flavorful.
[6] Church: O Mother of grace, tell [us], we ask, how we are sup-
posed to suffer with, and die with, the Savior.
Mary: First, you ought to believe that my Son is also God’s Son,
who by His death merited life for everyone coming to Him and uniting
himself to Him in highest faithfulness. For those who are bound to
Him in highest faithfulness pass over into a union of merit, because
they are His faithful members. For the sons rejoice over their having
been acquired by the merit of their Father. But faithfulness demands
that [the faithfulness] be whole and true until death. Therefore, if the
Son of God was faithful unto death and by means of that death merit-
234 Crucifixus etiam pro Nobis
ed for those believing in Him deliverance from eternal death, then His
death is rightly imprinted on all those who have been delivered, so that
they carry in the memory of their bond this most excellent work of
faithfulness. [They carry it] with great affection, so that they desire to
be able to show their faithfulness to their Deliverer in every manner
possible to them; and [they desire] to regard as the highest grace the
fact that Christ’s death is renewed in them for His honor.
[7] Church: Accordingly, the empathetic-suffering ought to be
joyous.
Mary: Assuredly, that which is voluntary is not without cheerful-
ness. Although the flesh is weak, the readiness that is present in the
spirit displays gladness. In my Son’s suffering, supreme gladness-of-
spirit was present together with supreme pain-of-the-senses. [In Him]
the will of the flesh did not want to die but abhorred dying more than
did any will of any man who was going to die. For [my Son] had
knowledge of His [impending] death. [His] rational will had a supreme
desire to die the death, because He knew that through death He could
supremely please God and neighbor. For the senses, which are of this
world, are at rest here below; the spirit, which is of Heaven, can be at
rest only in Heaven.
[8] But the spirit, which gives noble and vital being to man’s
senses, brings about death by means of its separation from the body—
[death] with respect to the body, which is deprived of life, which is the
spirit’s delight. Therefore, the sensitive soul is very greatly saddened
[by death of the body]; but the spirit, which by means of that death,
passes on to its own Life, [very greatly] rejoices. And because no one
is certain that his spirit passes from death to life except that person in
whom is present the Spirit of God’s Son, who is Victor over death:
death is bitter to all except to those who have the pledge of certainty.
[9] Church: What things lead us to a remembrance of Jesus’s
death?
Mary: All things instituted on the part of the Church: for exam-
ple, baptism, the eucharist, [and] the other sacraments (which have
within them the death of Christ as regards their merit and their power),
the Scriptures, pictures, the image of the Crucified One ([present] in
every church [and present] at crossroads [and] in oratories), the story
of the Passion, the living sermon of the preacher (who transfers what
is set forth in a perceptible form to the intellectual capability of the
soul, where it infixes the power of the Redeemer’s merit). And the soul
is inflamed toward love of the Savior and is made Christlike, so that in

the soul there is a continual, joyous memory of the Crucified One’s
love [amor].
[10] Church: Therefore, so that this memory may be begotten in
us, John preaches; and by guiding you, [Mary], he impresses on us [the
memory of] the Crucified One. For we stand as attentive—as being
very eager to grasp, through hearing—the word of salvation.
Mary: Speak, then, O beloved John.
John: Tell [me], Mother, what you wish.
Mary: First, say some things about the mysteries of the Cross so
that the story may become more relishing.
John: O saintly Mother, in a few [words] you have touched upon
all the mysteries of the Cross. But because it pleases [you] that I reit-
erate this, I will gladly comply in such a way that you who are the
Mother of the Incarnate Word may guide [me] and may clarify things
that are unclear to me. [11] First of all, know, you Believers, that there
is a twofold kingdom of the rational nature, which alone rules, because
it enjoys free will. The one kingdom is of this world, and it is seated in
wickedness,6 because the Devil has dominion over it. The other is the
Kingdom of Heaven, which was unknown in this world; but it was
preached of by Christ. In the first kingdom this world is the end-goal
of all religion and virtue, and there is temporal life. In the second
Kingdom, namely, of Heaven, the end-goal is God, and there is eternal
life. In the first kingdom, only perceptible things and perceptible
delights are promised. In the second, only intellectual things and intel-
lectual delights are promised.
[12] But when He came from the Kingdom of Heaven, the Word
made flesh7 revealed those things that were altogether unknown to the
world: namely, the fact that rational nature does not have its goal and
its beauty in the delights of this world but in the delights of the
Paradise of the Heavenly Kingdom. [And He revealed] that the king-
dom of this world is, in comparison to the Heavenly [Kingdom], to be
regarded as bondage and unhappiness; for the difference between this
world and that Kingdom [is the difference of] what is visible and tem-
poral in contrast to what is invisible and eternal. This [message] was
new to the entire human race and was previously unheard. [13] But the
Teacher said many things for understanding this [message]—admon-
ishing that this world and the things in it not be loved, since the goods
that appear in it are only apparent and erroneous goods lacking truth
and eternity. But the goods of the Heavenly Kingdom are eternal and
true goods; and they furnish everlasting happiness and gladness. And
since this world could not grasp His preaching (because the world did
not understand the things that are of the spirit, inasmuch as they are
things which it had not heard of nor seen nor could conceive of), then
He, being moved by mercy, wanted to introduce faith, through which
what is not known is attained. And He said that faith pertains to all
things and that He Himself had come from Heaven and that the things
which He had there seen with God His Father He declared here below
and that, assuredly, He was to be believed because He was Truth and
was the Son, or Word, of God
[14] Moreover, He showed with regard to His power and might
that He was God, the Son of God—[showed it] by means of wondrous
works that are beyond human capability. As He said: If you do not
believe me, believe the works which God the Father (who is in me and
who has sent me to you) accomplishes for your salvation.8 [And He
said] that nothing was impossible for one who believes,9 because He-
who-believes-God cannot be deceived, since [God] is truthful and is
trustworthy with respect to His promises. And the fact that [Jesus] was
the Giver of life [Jesus] showed in His resurrecting of the dead, and
especially of Lazarus10—promising that He would give immortal life
to those who believed Him, since He was the Word of God through
whom God made all things that are in Heaven and that are on earth.11
And so, since He is the Art and Knowledge of the Omnipotent God,
there is no doubt that He can effect that life in believers.
[15] But He declared that just as the perceptible life consists of
the perceptible refection of food and drink, so the spiritual, intellectu-
al life [consists of] spiritual refection, which is the refection of wis-
dom. For wisdom enlivens the intellect vitally ; and [He said] that He
was this Wisdom, or Word, of the Father-who-enlivens-all-things.
Accordingly, He affirmed that the happy life consists in a knowledge
of God and of God’s Word and that only the Word, or Son, knows the
Father.12 And no one else besides the Son reveals [the Father], even as
no one knows the wisdom of any teacher unless the teacher’s mental
concept (or [mental] word) and his [expressed] word (or begotten con-
cept that takes on a perceptible voice) reveals its “father”. Christ’s
every endeavor was the following: to transfer man from perceptible
delight to a tasting of the pleasantness which the spirit has in appre-
hending the enlivening truth. And He opened the divine Scriptures,
which have in their perceptible words the spirit of truth that nourishes
the soul immortally. [16] And [He said] that only on the surface and
outer-hull [of the Scriptures] is there error13 that seductively conduces
to death of the spirit but that with spiritual understanding [of the texts]
there is truth and pleasantness. And [He said] that one can be freed
from the error in which this world is situated, far from the truth, only
by receiving His word as the word of the Son of God, i.e., of the Word
sent from God, in order to illumine the darkness of the world. And [He
said] that the spirit of error—which is also the spirit of spiritual dark-
ness—which has held captive the human race can be expelled only by
the spiritual Light of the Word of God. And only the Word of God has
the power of banishing death (which is darkness of spirit) by mani-
festing Himself and His Father. For the manifesting of the Light that is
present in the Fount of truth drives out of the intellect the mortal dark-
ness of ignorance, just as the sun’s light [drives away] perceivable
darkness. [17] And this [expelling] makes a difference because the illu-
mination that enlivens the spirit remains; for it turns the spirit toward
itself, just as wisdom, or savory knowledge, turns the soul toward itself
[and] nourishes the soul appetizingly with its own flavor—[nourishes
it] not [just] temporarily; for [wisdom] is a food that does not perish.
Hence, from this [illumination’s] power the [human] spirit is more and
more strengthened and enlivened: and so, [the illumination] furnishes
immortality. Such is not the case with temporal, perceptible food; and
so, the animal nature ages and dies.
[18] But human souls, because of the infection contracted from
their origin and because of [the infection’s] long continuance, were not
suited (1) for expelling the spirit of error from their formerly acquired
passion and (2) for cleansing themselves. For they lacked justice,
which alone justifies the spirit with regard to its being capable of pos-
sessing that immortal beauty; for the spirit of wisdom will not enter
into a malevolent soul. And so, to the end that He would complete His
mission as legate in accordance with the Father’s desire, [Christ] estab-
lished Himself as a Purifier of souls by the merit of His death, so that
He was able to impart to purified souls His divine life of the Kingdom
of Heaven.
[19] But for obtaining this purification, which consists of a wash-
ing away of sins (i.e., [a washing away] of spiritual infirmities), He
preached that it is necessary that the [human] spirit adapt itself for
receiving purification. And He taught that this preparedness would
come about if one would imitate Him—if, that is, one would look to
Christ’s virtues (which He preached by word and showed by deed) and
would imitate them by pursuing meekness, humility, patience, truth,
mercy, peace, faith, love, justice, and other things of this kind, which
are fruits of the Spirit.14 [20] For then the will which is the spirit’s
would—by conforming itself to Christ’s will and by exhibiting this
[conforming] through its works of virtue—prepare itself for receiving
the merit of deliverance and for union with the Spirit of Christ’s Life.
For moral virtues that are habituated in the soul dispose the soul for the
receiving of immortal life. For when the spirit comes to have such obe-
dience that in the spirit there lives only virtue and the will of God, and
when the spirit’s own will is dead (a will which is of the flesh and of
this world), then [the human spirit] is fit for the motion of the Divine
Spirit’s Life. And [He said] that the man who in this way would arrive
at the Spirit would keep God’s commandments15 with respect to lov-
ing God and neighbor and would prefer the love of God and neighbor
to his own perceptible life.16 And he would be [so] disposed that the
Divine Spirit would dwell within him everlastingly.
[21] Hence, [Christ], being willing to show in Himself all these
evidences of love of God and of neighbor, chose death (while being
innocent) in order to manifest how much He loved God (on account of
obedience to whom He willed to die) and how much he loved man (on
account of whose salvation He died). Therefore, all the Divine myster-
ies are enfolded in the crucifixion of innocent Christ. For thus is God
to be loved with entire strength of soul, so that all things—even life
itself—are to be regarded as nothing, for the sake of showing God’s
glory. The salvation of the neighbor’s spirit is to be cherished in such
a way that [even one’s own] temporal [and] most contemptible death
is to be deemed as nothing on account of the neighbor’s very great
good. The death of most innocent Christ merited eternal life, which
rightly is bestowed on Him. For [Christ] suffered only on account of
His love of God and of neighbor—not in order to wash away sin, of
which He had nothing in Him.
[22] As [Christ] drew near to suffering [on the Cross], He said
(1) that He would sanctify and sacrifice Himself for the Apostles and
for all believers17 and (2) that the Prince of the world who was in pos-
session of man, would be cast out.18 And it would be made clear how
great is the goodness of the Father, who created man in order to show
to man His own glory. And [the Father] did not spare His own Son19
but delivered Him up for the freeing of man. And [it would be made
clear] how great is the goodness of the Son, who for man’s sake gave
Himself [over to death] , whereby He showed Himself to be the Son of
God.
[23] Therefore, the power over all life is given to the Son because
of the merit-of-love of His lost life. Hence, by means of this death,
which was occasioned by love alone, Christ was given eternal life as a
reward. This [life] can eternally enliven in body and spirit all the dead
who are prepared by faith and virtue. Thus, the very life of the spirit
was given to Him as a reward. By way of illustration: if God had given
to someone our visible sun as a reward, such a person would have in
his possession and in his power the power of illumining and enliven-
ing every sensory nature capable of light and of life.
[24] Therefore, Christ—as being the just Possessor and Heir of
the Kingdom of Life—has the life of the [human] spirit in His power.
For He alone fulfilled the Law, which promises life. And within this
Law Christ Himself was promised. For the fact that someone could
love God and neighbor as perfectly as the Law commands was not pos-
sible except for the Son of God, who has knowledge of, and who
knows by acquaintance, the Father and eternal life. Therefore, within
the Law the Messiah was promised, as Christ said that in the Law and
the Prophets He was written of.20 Hence, Christ is the Spirit of the
Law. And because the Law promises life to one who observes it, Christ
is the one to whom the Kingdom of Life is promised.
[25] Therefore, so great is the intensity of love that is shown in
Christ’s death that no greater [love] is possible as concerns God and
neighbor. And so, since [Christ’s love] includes within itself all possi-
ble love, it includes the complete fulfillment of the Law21 and includes
every promise [of reward made] for [anyone’s] observance of the Law.
Therefore, Christ is the Bridegroom who has the bride and the delights
of the spirit.22 Hence, it is evident that just as no soul can be just with-
out Justifying-Justice, so no [soul can be] alive without that Enlivening
Life. And justification is not anything other than enlivening. Thus,
Christ, through the merit of His death, is Justice that justifies—and
Life that enlivens—all Christlike believers. Hence, those who walk in
light, as did Christ—these He cleanses by His blood from all sin. For
they are His neighbors, for whom He died [and] for whose salvation
He gave Himself over unto death.
[26] Now, no one’s death can cleanse that same one, because no
one has given himself being. And no one who has died can resurrect
himself and be the cause of his own salvation or can cause himself to
live again. For no dead sinner has [any basis] whereby he merits life.
And no one can say truly that he is without sin; rather, he who says that
he has no sin is a liar.23 Therefore, only the death of innocent Christ,
who offered Himself on the Cross for us, justifies those who are capa-
ble [of being justified]—those who are in Christ and who remain in
Him, those who walk as He [walked]. In Him the perfect love shown
in His death teaches that those who walk in love by following Him are
sons of God.24 Here below [we are sons of God] in expectancy; but
when [Christ] appears after our death, [then we shall be sons of God]
in reality, because we shall be like Him.25
[27] The death of Christ teaches mysteries—in particular, that
God’s commandments (namely, [the commandment regarding] love of
God and, similar to it, [the commandment regarding] love of neighbor)
are to be kept, in order that love may be perfect. And [Christ’s death
teaches] that one who thus keeps and does [the commandments] will
live and is not far from the Kingdom of Heaven but is on the way
[there] because he imitates Christ, who leads him to the Kingdom. No
one has ever fulfilled the Law, which consists in love26—[no one]
except Christ, who came not to destroy [the Law] but to fulfill [it].27
This is the perfect love that appeared in Christ’s death [and] which
merits the Kingdom of Eternal Life.
[28] But no one can attain to that perfect love, which promises
eternal life. For there is no one who does a good than which there is
not a [still] better good—[progressively better] all the way to one man,
namely, Christ. Therefore, Christ is He alone who supplies and perfects
that which is lacking in all [others]. And from His fullness all
receive.28 And because the merit of His suffering is this [eternal] life
and [this] treasure, we must say that all who are saved are saved
through the mystery of the Cross. And so, in the Apostle’s Creed I stat-
ed that Christ was crucified for us.29
[29] Maria: Tell [me], John: How does life abide in believers
who follow my Son?
John: Eternal Life is the Father’s Kingdom that He gave to the
Son. And [the Father] is the Living Light of Wisdom and is Love. One
who abides in the Son abides in the Light, and in the Life, of the Father.
For this is the promise: that he who abides in love abides in God;30
[and] he who is in the form of Christ’s love abides in Christ. Christ is
the Son of the Father. He who abides in Christ is a son of God through
the form of Christ in which He abides. And so [he abides] also in the
Father (because the Son is in the Father), and the Father is in him
(because the Father is in the Son).31 And this is eternal life.
[30] He who acknowledges the Son has the Father. He who
denies the Son denies the Father. Formed faith32 is the acknowledge-
ment that furnishes life. For the love that forms faith is Christ’s love,
which alone is perfect. It is the perfect forming-Form.
Hence, in order that I, [John], may conclude this section, [I will
add]: We know that the Son of God has come; and He has put on flesh
and has died for us and arose for us from the dead and has taken us up
and given us an understanding in order that we may know the true God
and in order that we may be in His true Son, Jesus Christ.33 He is the
true God and is Eternal Life.
[31] Mary: You have now explained sufficiently, Beloved John,
(1) the reason for my Son’s coming into the flesh and (2) His path unto
death. And [you have explained sufficiently] that His death on the
Cross makes clear that He is the One who is promised in the Law and
the Prophets—[the One] in whom all [human beings] are blessed and
enlivened. And [you have explained] that by means of His intercesso-
ry death He is the Mediator34 who pacifies35 all things and leads unto
that which is perfect. He is the Justice36 of God and of men; and so,
[He is] the Mediator who makes peace. He is the Justice of God the
Father, for all the Father’s promises are fulfilled in Him. He shows the
Father to be just, trustworthy, and truthful. He is the Justice of men, in
and through whose Justice all are justified. And this justification is
consummated by His death on the Cross. [32] But how He arrived at
death, the devout people expect to hear from you.
John: But I fear greatly that my account—which is cooler than
the warmth of love as regards Christ, who suffered, and which is
milder than the spitefulness of those who persecuted Him—will not
satisfy [both] the fervor of your desire and the spiritual welfare of an
expectant people unless your love supplements [my account].
Maria: I will remain present and will assist.
[33] John: First, I ask my hearers that in this faith they note that
Christ, the Emissary of Love, performed all the foreordained things
without defect, so that it is impossible that [those things] could have
been done better. If, then, the Father intended [i.e., foreordained] that
the Son would free from death the human race, then the Son underwent
such a [brutal] death. In its intensity of pain [His death] enfolded with-
in itself the penalty of death of all those who were to be freed [from
eternal death]. Thus, each individual who was rightly supposed to suf-
fer death because of his transgression of, or disobedience to, the Law
makes satisfaction in and through the death of Christ, even if [that indi-
vidual] ought to have suffered the penalty of torment in Hell. There-
fore, the intensity of the sorrow of Christ (who bore our sorrows36 and
who took upon Himself the sentence of condemnation and who fas-
tened the handwriting to the Cross,38 where He made satisfaction) was
so great that no one could have suffered it except Him in whom there
was most perfect love—which love was able to be present only in the
Son of God. Hence, whatever punishment is either written about or
thought of is less than that satisfaction-making punishment that Christ
suffered.
[34] Therefore, [Christ] had knowledge of His death and of all
the punishments of all those who can suffer punishments. And with
respect to His sensory nature [He had] such a noble body that He could
suffer more intently [than others]. And in that kind of punishment—
than which no [other kind] was more bitter, more contemptible, and
more shameful with regard to place and time and in the gathering of all
those who were present at the spectacle so as to increase the painful-
ness, and [with regard to] whatever [other] such things can be imag-
ined for increasing the pain, so that the death would be a consummate
death—there was no mercy, no kindness on the part of the Jews and the
accomplices and the tormentors. Isaias had written these things about
Him: in particular, that He is a man most steeped in sorrows, experi-
encing infirmity, being innocent, [and] bearing our sins.39 And this is
the belief of those who hear [this description], so that they know that
the bitterness of the punishment is not expressible. And when one per-
son attempts to express the bitterness in one way and another person,
in another way, [the hearers know] that in this [attempt] there is no
error on the supposed ground that [the description] is exaggerated but
that always less is said than ought to be said.
[35] Mary: John speaks excellently. For how could my co-suf-
fering—which was suffering in and through my Son—be expressed by
someone else, since not even I could express it? But it suffices that
each person in proportion to his devotion and love for [my] Son
make—as best he can—a conception that is approximately conforma-
ble to [that] most bitter suffering.
So, continue on, [John].

John: Let us begin, then, and let us first consider that the resur-
recting made of Lazarus (a man well-known)—and made near
Jerusalem and on the fourth day [of his death] and in a marvelous man-
ner (with Jesus openly crying out “Lazarus, come forth!”)—stirred the
Jews to think about the execution of Christ. For they saw that many
people turned aside and believed that Christ is the Son of God and the
Messiah. And since they could not at all be persuaded that [that] man
was God, they ascribed to the art of magic and to the Devil the mighty
works which He exhibited.
[36] And so, when deliberation was undertaken—with Caiphas
the high priest prophesying that it was expedient that one man die for
the people so that the whole nation not perish40—the conclusion was
reached that Christ would die in Jerusalem, (outside of which [city
Caiphas] does not understand the prophet to die) when the occasion for
dying presented itself. Behold, a marvelous mystery: It was expedient
that Christ die in order to be glorified; and once known and glorified
in the exaltation of the Cross, He would draw all things unto
Himself.41 But the Jews, purposing to blot out the memory of Christ
from the earth [and] believing that the saying of Caiphas served their
purpose, followed his counsel. Christ willed to die—but in this way:
that He die as one condemned. [37] And since He was just, then when
He died as one condemned, Satan lost all the justice which he [had]
laid claim to over the descendants of Adam. For by sinning against jus-
tice he lost justice, even as abuse deprives the abuser of privilege.42
Christ permitted all these things to be thus done because they were not
opposed to His purpose. Rather, it was necessary that [they] be done in
that way, so that, indeed, He would be offered to God by the Jews and
the Gentiles as a sacrifice for the nations (as Caiphas prophesied), so
that the whole nation would not perish. These things are marvelous.
[The Jews] aimed to be free of deception; and so, they offered up
Christ. And the nation obtained freedom from the deception of the
Prince of the world.43 Satan deceived himself. He brought it about that
Christ died in order that he himself would not lose his dominion; but
through this [bringing about of Christ’s death] he did lose [dominion].
[38] Next, there followed another cause [of Christ’s death. It is
the reason] why Judas became a traitor: Six days before the Passover
Jesus came to Bethany, when Lazarus would be with Him at dinner and
when many [others would be present] who had gathered also for see-
ing Lazarus.44 Mary Magdalene45 brought a precious ointment of pure

spikenard; and, having broken open the alabaster vessel in which it
was contained, she poured [it] on His head,46 and the fragrance filled
the whole house. With Judas prompting, the [other] disciples were
indignant over the waste of so precious an ointment. For it could have
been sold for much [money] for use of the poor. Judas urged this
[viewpoint], so that the [other] disciples spoke about the poor.
Nonetheless, Judas himself did not care about the poor but was a
thief 47 and would have received a portion [of the money] if the oint-
ment had been sold. For he carried the purse.48 But he thought that he
would have had, of the tenth-part, thirty pieces of silver; and he deter-
mined to betray Christ to the Jews for those thirty pieces. Now, how
Christ acquitted Himself and Mary [of Bethany] I think to be clear to
you.
[39] Then on the next day when Christ, purposing to visit as King
and Priest, came to Jerusalem on a donkey and the crowd and His dis-
ciples, together with the children of the Hebrews, gave reverence to
Him as the Son of God: the indignant Pharisees approached Him [and
asked] that He would restrain His disciples and the others from [their]
praise [of Him]. Christ replied to them that if these people were to
remain silent, the stones would cry out [in praise of Him].49 And after
the money-changers were ejected from the Temple, because of
[Christ’s] zeal for the House of God, [and] after many sick ones were
healed, [Christ] returned to Bethany. From these [events] the envy of
the Scribes and the Pharisees was increased toward Him.
[40] On the next day, the second day of the week, when He
returned in the morning to the Temple, He was tempted by the bring-
ing in of the adultress.50 And He responded to the Disciples (who
reported to Him that there were Gentiles who had come to the feast
desiring to see Him) that the hour of His glorification had come;51 and
the Father in Heaven bore witness to this fact.52 But He said that He
was to be glorified through His death. He used the likeness of a grain
of wheat, which by its death multiplies its power.53 And [He said] that
He, if He were lifted up from the earth, would draw all things unto
Himself.54 That evening He once again returned to Bethany. For the
town of Lazarus and his sisters was at the foot of the Mount of Olives,
fifteen furlongs, or almost two Roman miles distance, from Jerusalem.
[41] Mary: Permit me to give a clarification of what my Son said
to His hearers.55 All things that make the soul happy are wisdom, or
savory knowledge. And so, the highest happiness consists in a knowl-

edge of the Best, i.e., of God and of His Emissary, my Son. And clari-
ty is clear knowledge; and [that knowledge is] such that it is accompa-
nied by praise; and it is called glory because of its clarity [or bright-
ness]. Therefore, the knowledge of God and of His Son that engenders
praise is what Christ came in order to reveal. And He especially
showed it in and through His death, wherein Love (caritas), which
God is, manifested it. And there [i.e., in His death] Christ glorified the
Father, on account of obedience-to-whom He underwent death. And
the Father made clear that [Christ] was His Son—[Christ] who, unless
He were the Son of God and [the Son] of Love, which is God, could
not have been of such great strength that He underwent such a death
out of love .
[42] Church: We thank you, O Virgin of virgins, who in accor-
dance with your name, which is Mary, have enlightened us.56 We ask
that you enlighten us more regarding how eternal life is present in
knowledge.
Mary: The intellectual nature is [a nature] which knows and
understands. To understand is to collect within oneself, or gather with-
in oneself. Therefore, when the intellectual nature understands those
things that are material, it does not gather into itself the material
objects, which cannot enter into a spirit; for the intellect is of an imma-
terial nature. Thus, when it understands the heat of fire, it is not made
hot; and when it understands coldness, it does not become cold—and
so on. For it is not altered by those things, as the senses are altered by
them when they sense. [For the intellect] does not gather into itself
these [material] objects, but it makes for itself images and sensible
forms in the likeness of the material objects; [and] by means of these
it understands the material objects. [43] But when [the intellect] under-
stands things divine, which are immaterial and can enter its nature,
then it has them, i.e., gathers them, within itself. For, as they are, they
can enter the intellectual spirit. And so, the intellect understands divine
wisdom not by means of sensory images or by means of a [sensory]
likeness to wisdom but by means of the wisdom itself, because [the
intellect] finds wisdom present within itself. And unless the intellect
has wisdom within itself, it cannot understand it; and by virtue of the
fact that it understands, it is wise. [The situation is] similar as regards
life [and] as regards love and the divine virtues. Therefore, the intel-
lect, because of the fact that it knows the divine life, has that life with-
in itself; and, likewise, because of the fact that it understands [that]

life, it is alive.
[44] Therefore, [the intellect] has God present within itself when
it understands Him; and [it has] Christ [present within itself] when it
understands truth, for He is Truth. And it has love [caritas] (which is
living, divine warmth) when it understands love. Hence, it is evident
that [the intellect’s] knowledge of God and of His Son is [for the intel-
lect] to have within itself the All-Desirable and Him who is better than
can be conceived of.57 And this [knowledge] constitutes a happiness
which, unless it is had, cannot be conceived of or understood.
Church: You are rightly called Mary and the Mother of light that
enlightens believers.
Mary: Let John now continue on with his account.
[45] John: On the third day of the week [Jesus] once again
returned to the Temple; and the chief priests asked Him by what power
He did that [which He did].58 But He, having put to them another ques-
tion, to which they did not respond, acquitted Himself in a similar way
[i.e., by not responding to their question]. And He set forth several
parables—in particular, [a parable] about two sons—the one of whom,
when ordered [by his father] to go into the vineyard, refused in word
[but] obeyed in deed; the other [son acted] in a contrary manner.59
[Jesus told] another [parable] about the cultivators of the vineyard; by
means of this [parable] He disclosed that He was not ignorant of the
fact they [the Pharisees and others] wanted to kill [Him], the Son-and-
Heir, in order to obtain His inheritance. But they did not understand
that because of the death of the Son-and-Heir many would be made co-
heirs.
[46] Moreover, [Jesus] spoke [a parable] about those who were
invited to a wedding.60 And then the Pharisees approached [Him and]
asked whether it was permitted to the Romans to take tribute from
them. After the coin was shown to Him, He answered them in such a
way that He kept for each one—God and Caesar—his own respective
rights uninfringed upon.61 Thereafter, He spoke of the great com-
mandment and of the love for neighbor.62 And [He said] that the neigh-
bor was the Samaritan—meaning that among all neighbors the one
who frees from death of the soul is unqualifiedly a neighbor. And here-
by He manifested Himself in the name of the Samaritan.
[47] Moreover, [Jesus] gave an understanding about Christ,
whom David calls his Lord.63 He disputed with the Pharisees about
false teaching, about desire for honor, about cruelty, hypocrisy, greed,
and pride.64 And departing from the Temple, He said to them: “You
shall not see me [again] until it is said [by you] ‘Blessed is He who
comes in the name of the Lord.’ ”65 And when, after departing, the
amazing work of the Temple was pointed out to Him, He foretold the
things that were going to happen: namely, that the day of the overthrow
[of the Temple] would come, on which day stone upon stone would not
remain.66
Returning to Bethany He said: “You know that in two days the
Passover will be made, and the Son of man will be betrayed,” etc.67
NOTES TO Crucifixus etiam pro Nobis*
* Sermon CCLXXVIII.
1 . Although the Apostles’ Creed is being discussed in this sermon, these
words come from the Nicene-Constantinople Creed of 381.
2. John 19:26 and 21:20.
3. April 15, 1457 was Good Friday, the day of commemoration of Christ’s
Crucifixion.
4. John 19:26-27.
5. Cf. Matthew 5:13.
6. I John 5:19.
7. John 1:14.
8. John 10:38 and 14:10.
9. Matthew 17:19.
10. John 11 .
11. John 1:3.
12. Matthew 11:27.
13. Cf. II Timothy 2:14-16. Luke 24:45. John 5:39 and 20:9.
14. Galatians 5:22-23.
15. John 14:15.
16. Cf. Romans 5:7-10.
17. Cf. John 12:32-33.
18. John 12:31.
19. Romans 8:32.
20. Luke 24:25-27. See also John 1:45.
21. Romans 13:10.
22. John 3:29. Canticle of Canticles (Song of Solomon) 7:6.
23. I John 2:4 and 1:10.
24. I John 4:16 and 3:1-2.
25. I John 3:2.
26. Romans 13:8-10.
27. Matthew 5:17.
28. John 1:16.
29. The Apostles’ Creed—in almost all of it variants—does not contain the
words “pro nobis” (“for us”).
30. I John 4:16.
31. John 14:10-11 .
32. Cf. Galatians 5:6. Faith formed by love is faith in-formed by love.
33. I John 5:20.
34. I Timothy 2:5. Hebrews 8:6 & 9:15 & 12:24.
35. Colossians 1:20.
36. “Justice” here as elsewhere means “Righteousness”.
37. Isaias (Isaiah) 53:4.
39. Isaias (Isaiah) 53.
40. John 11:47-53.
248
Notes to Crucifixus etiam pro Nobis 249
41. John 12:23 & 12:32.

42. Here Nicholas repeats the essence of Augustine’s “Devil-Ransom theo-
ry”. See Augustine’s De Trinitate XIII.16.21 and De Libero Arbitrio III.10.
43. The Devil is the Prince of this world. John 12:31.
44. Matthew 26:6-9. Mark 14:3-5. John 12:1-6.
45. Nicholas here identifies Mary of Bethany, the sister of Martha, with
Mary Magdalene. This view is controversial.
46. John 12:3 states that Mary anointed Christ’s feet. Matthew 26:7 and
Mark 14:3 state that she anointed Christ’s head. We may infer that she did both.
47. John 12:6.
48. Loc. cit.
49. Luke 19:39-40.
50. John 8:2-11. Nicholas is not here perfectly concerned with the chrono-
logical order of events—an order that is not consistent throughout the four syn-
optic Gospels.
51. John 12:20-23.
52. John 12:28.
53. John 12:24-25. & 12:33.
54. John 12:32.
55. Here the Paris edition has a different word-order and punctuation—two
variants that give a slightly different meaning: “Sine ut clarificationem de qua fil-
ius meus locutus est, gentilibus audientibus exponam”: “Permit me to give a clari-
fication, for the Gentile hearers, of what my Son said.”
56. Mary is called Illuminatrix. See Sermons XLII (3 :12). XLIX (5 :21-22).
LV (4 :23-24.
57. The description of God as Something better than can be thought of is
borrowed from St. Anselm’s Proslogion, Chapters 2 and 3.
58. Mathew 21:23-46. Luke 20:1-16.
59. Matthew 21:28-30. The other son said that he would go but then did not
go.
60. Matthew 22:1-14.
61. Matthew 22:15-21
62. Matthew 22: 34-40. Luke 10:25-37.
63. Matthew 22: 41-46. Mark 12:35-37. Luke 20:41-44.
64. Matthew 23:1-32. Mark 12:38-40. Luke 20:45-47.
65. Matthew 23:39.
66. Matthew 24:1-2. Mark 13:1-2. Luke 21:5-6.
67. Matthew 26:2.
Descendit ad Inferna*
(“He descended unto Hell”)1
[1] “He descended unto Hell; on the third day He arose.”
When Christ wept over the city of Jerusalem at His entrance on

the Day of Palms,2 He expressed the reason for His weeping: [name-
ly,] because [the city] did not know the time of His visitation.3
Therefore, He came for visiting the city of Jerusalem, [a visitation]
written about ahead of time by many prophets—indeed, by almost all
of them. For, as if everywhere [in Scripture], there is found [written]
about the coming of a Visitor. God the Father said through the Prophet
Jeremias: “I will visit you and will keep my word concerning you ….”4
[2] And if you search the Scriptures concerning the visiting of
Jesus, you will find in all of them manifest agreement. Moses says that
a prophet will be raised up …, etc.5 Another [writer] says: He will go
out from His holy place for visiting ….6 Another [says] that after
many days He will come for visiting7 and that this Visitor is to be
called Messiah, i.e., Christ, i.e., the Anointed King.8 The Prophet
Daniel expresses [this point] more specifically.9 Moreover, Christ
Himself spoke expressly enough about the visiting of the vineyard and
said that the son, who was sent last for visiting, was killed.10 The Holy
Spirit by the mouth of Zachary, the father of John [the Baptist], attests
that the Visitor had already come: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
because He has visited …,” etc.11 And subsequently [he said]: “…
through the bowels of mercy of our God, in which the Orient from on
high has visited us.”12
[3] Much earlier [Christ] had visited the Heavenly Jerusalem,
where God is seen. And He found wickedness in His angels,13 and He
purged Heaven and the Temple of God in Heaven; and the Dragon, the
Deceiver (namely, Lucifer), was cast out of Heaven. And salvation was
bestowed, and the power of Christ was shown (in accordance with
Apocalypse 12).14 Then because the Devil, with great wrath, descend-
ed to earth15 and into the abyss, or sea, and persecuted the Church:
Christ came for casting him off the earth. And this [casting off] could
not have been done unless [Christ] were to come as a Visitor who
would be able to die. Hence, when the time of His suffering drew near,
He said: “Now the Prince of the world shall be cast out.”16 And when
250
He Descended unto Hell 251
He visited the city of Jerusalem, entering on the Day of Palms, He vis-

ited for three days—namely, from the Day of Palms until Tuesday. And
He began with the purgation of the Temple; and He gave instruction to
those who were erring—as you know and have recently heard.
[4] Then, after His visit was finished, and after the purgation of
the Church (which [purgation] was accomplished by means of His
blood), He descended unto Hell. John the Baptist, when he was in
prison, had sent to Christ because he knew that he himself would die
before Christ. And so, he asked if Christ were going to come to Hell as
Visitor—i.e., whether He was [the Christ] who was going to come or
whether someone else was expected [to come].17 The doctors [of the
Church] interpret John to have been concerned about the coming of
Christ to Hell so that he, [John], could announce [it] to the dead. For
the Father in Heaven said through Isaias: “On that day the Lord will
visit Leviathan….”18 Therefore, Christ descended to the lower parts,
i.e., to Hell, in order to visit there; and He occupied Himself with that
visit even unto the third day, [at which time He arose].
[5] When the Word of God visited in Heaven, i.e., in the King-
dom of God, He was the Son of God and was, among the angels, a
Messenger of great counsel19 free from sin. When He visited in our
world, He was the Son of man and was, among men, free from sin.
When He visited the dead in Hell, He was dead; but among the dead
He was free of sin. The Word of God visits every rational creature,
whether in Heaven or on earth or beneath the earth. But He has always
made His visit in accordance with the law that He imparted to rational
nature; for He visits reason [so as to ascertain] whether it is living in
accordance with its own rational being. For He imparted to reason a
living law, which is the law present in living-obedience. For the ration-
al spirit is free and noble, created in accordance with the freedom of
Divine Reason. Hence, lest in its freedom it go astray, the law of liv-
ing-obedience was given to it. By means of this law [the rational spir-
it] is [both] kept from error and grows in nobleness. For it is charac-
teristic of reason [qua reason] that it obey the Word of God and believe
Him from whom it has that which it is.
[6] I am speaking of living-obedience. For obedience that results
from fear is not alive in a rational, free nature. In fear there is coercion
and servitude, not freedom. Living-obedience is only from love
[amor]. Accordingly, perfect obedience in the rational spirit is perfect
love. Hence, in one who obeys perfectly, the only reason found [for
252 Descendit ad Inferna
obedience] is love. Hence, the law of obedience is nothing but ration-

al love (rationalis amor seu dilectio).20 This law enfolds every ration-
al mode of living. For love (amor) is life that is delightful. That which
the rational spirit especially loves is life; that which especially lives
within the rational nature is love, which obedience manifests. [7]
Therefore, rational love is that there be loved that Fount from which
[the rational spirit] has life, reason, and love. For to love the Fount of
life is to live in gladness. And this love is manifested through maxi-
mum obedience, which all the virtues attain to. Hence, that rational
spirit that lives in love [caritas] is good and does only what is good. It
loves all things and hates nothing. And it wills no evil to anyone but
wishes to be able to devote itself to the well-being of each person, unto
the praise of its God.
[8] But the Word visits the rational spirit, which has received its
rational power from the Word. For the Word of God is Logos, i.e., is
the Rational Form of rational forms. Whether, then, [the rational spir-
it] lives reasonably and, by bearing fruit, grows and approaches to con-
formity to the Word of God, is ascertained by making inquiry. For if
the rational nature lives reasonably, it approaches ever more closely to
the Wisdom of God, or Word of God, whose image it is. For to live vir-
tuously instills a habit which perfects a potency—as if a living image
were continually to move itself so as to approach more and more con-
formably to its exemplar.
[9] Next, note that because of the merit of obedience the Word
was exalted above every rational spirit. And this merit John in the
Apocalypse (in the place already cited) calls the shedding of the blood
of the Lamb.21 According to our [human] way of thinking, [Christ],
through obedience even unto death on the Cross, merited that exulta-
tion [on the Cross] many years after the creation of the world, so that,
rightly, at His name every knee would bow, in Heaven and on earth and
beneath the earth (as Paul says to the Philippians).22 Nevertheless, as
concerns God: that day [of Christ’s obedient death], which was future
for Adam and is past for us, must be deemed to be neither future nor
past with respect to God. With God the certainty of [Christ’s] merit was
present tense. [That day of obedient death] relates to angels, who are
above time.23 And it relates to human beings—with the proviso that by
means of the aforesaid shedding of blood the Son as a man takes pos-
session of the firstfruits of the human beings who are to be saved by
the merit of His death.24
He Descended unto Hell 253
[10] Therefore, Absolute Obedience—which the Son of God, or

Word of God, is rightly called [and which] is exalted above every
rational spirit—has to examine the rational spirit with regard to the law
of obedience. And so, it is evident that the Son of God, who is
Obedience, is the Judge of all rational spirits—in particular, as to
whether they keep the law [of obedience]. And in comparison with His
obedience a judgment about all obedience is made. For His obedience
is the exemplar of obedience (i.e., is the Book of the law), so that in
accordance with it all men are judged. And so, He is the Judge of the
living and of the dead.25
[11] But how He visited in this present world and how He com-
pleted the purgation by means of His own blood was spoken of on the
day before yesterday. But how, with His body left behind in this world,
He visited the dead, who are deprived of a body, we would wish to
speak of if we knew [any details]. At an earlier time you heard how His
suffering had application to the punishments of Hell, so that He con-
quered death in Hell; but right now we state that there is justice even
in Hell. And so, the Judge who is Justice descended into26 Hell and vis-
ited, wanting the purgations of the souls to be justly made [and] want-
ing orderliness, so that the ghosts or shades or spirits that are not bound
to bodies would be either justly tormented or justly purged. [12]
Hence, there is one justice for punishing one sin, another for punishing
another sin, as even the philosophers have supposed. And Virgil in
Book VI [560 ff.] of the Aeneid makes [such] a surmise, as does also
Plato in the book that is called Axiochus27—and [as do] many others.
For the philosophers agree that the shades, or souls deprived of bodies,
are tormented by the gods (e.g., by Pluto, etc.) in accordance with the
variety of [the souls’] sins. [They are tormented by the gods] who are
positioned for [administering] these [torments]. And [the philosophers
agree that], at length, [these souls] are purged—some after the course
of many years, as Plato declared in the Phaedo.28
[13] Although those who spoke surmisingly by the light of rea-
son did not arrive at the correct conclusion, nevertheless these surmis-
es are not to be rejected. For reason dictates (1) that there ought to be
various torments in accordance with the variety of transgressions and
(2) that it is necessary that for that purpose executers be established by
the Supreme Judge, whom we call Christ. Therefore, Christ in that vis-
itation [of Hell] gathered many purged souls which could no longer
with just reason be detained, because of their returning virtue, which
254 Descendit ad Inferna
their suffering brought. [14] [Christ] gathered and took with Him this
holy booty snatched from Hell.29 And He left behind a regulation that
those who were redeemed by His blood and imprinted with sacramen-
tal characters should no longer be held captive except in case of pur-
gation (if it were needed), which He decreed was to be done merciful-
ly by imparting grace and—on the basis of merit—by granting indul-
gence. And He gave a regulation regarding those spirits that were to be
[further] purged and confined. And He visited Leviathan,30 the Prince
of death, whom He bound for a while in order that he would do no
harm, as he was accustomed to do; and [Christ] established another
day for judging fully all those who were visited.
[15] On that [future] day He intends to judge, without mercy, all
men in accordance with the laws handed down and then to separate the
sheep from the goats31 and to separate from the entire mixture light
from not-light and to place the light upwards [and] to send the not-light
toward the center. And at that time the light of fire will be upwards in
the Kingdom of the blessed; but fire’s heat [will be downwards] in the
Kingdom of the damned. Thus, the light of water and of snow will be
in the Kingdom of the blessed; coldness [will be] in the Kingdom of
the damned. [The case will be] similar regarding all other things,
according as Albert, following [St.] Basil, says in On the Creed.32
NOTES TO Descendit ad Inferna*
* Sermon CCLXXIX.
1. The words “descendit ad inferna” appear in several version of the
Apostles’ Creed, the first appearance being around 404 A.D. Cf. Ephesians 4:8-10.
2. Luke 19:41.
3. Luke 19:42.
4. Jeremias (Jeremiah) 29:10.
5. Deuteronomy 18:18.
6. Micheas (Micah) 1:3.
7. Ezechiel (Ezekiel) 38:8.
8. Habacuc (Habakkuk) 3:13.
9. Daniel 9:25-26.
10. Matthew 21:33-44.
11. Luke 1:68. See also Zacharias (Zechariah) 3:8 & 6:12.
12. Luke 1:78.
13. Job 4:18.
15. Ibid., 12:9.
16. John 12:31.
17. Matthew 11:2-3.
19. Ibid., 9:6 (in the Septuagint).
20. Nicholas in this sermon, as also elsewhere, makes no systematic dis-
tinction between his use of “amor” and his use of “dilectio”. Similarly, God’s love
is not routinely referred to by Nicholas as caritas rather than as amor or dilectio.
21. Apocalypse (Revelation) 12:11 (also cited in section 3 above).
23. Angels are above time in the sense of being everlasting, not in the
sense of being eternal. Only God is eternal, timeless.
25. Acts 10:42.
26. Here Nicholas writes “in infernum” and not his usual “ad infernum or “ad
inferna”.
27. Plato did not write a work called Axiochus. The editor of the printed
Latin text points to Codex Cusanus 177 in Nicholas’s library.
28. Phaedo 107 d-e.
29. Epesians 4:8. Psalms 15:10 (16:10). Acts 2:27 & 31.
30. Cf. Isaias (Isaiah) 27:1.
31. Matthew 25:32.
32. The editor of the printed edition of the Latin text cites Pseudo-Albertus
Magnus, Super Symbolo (Codex St.Gallen SB 974, f. 592b, lines 19 ff.).
255
Ego Sum Pastor Bonus*
(“I Am the Good Shepherd”)1
[May 2, 1457; preached in Brixen]
[1] The reading of the Holy Gospel, O Brothers, ministers to us suit-

able nourishment for this [our] sacred synodal meeting. Thus, there is
no need to seek elsewhere food by which we may be refected—[we]
who under Christ [our] Shepherd are led to the pastures-of-life and are
guided to the art of feeding by which art we feed [to] the sheep the
things entrusted to us.
[2] Christ said: “I am the Good Shepherd.” You have heard very
often that the nature which is nourished by wisdom is incorruptible
because of its capability for having wisdom. For the intellectual nature,
which alone is suited for being nourished by wisdom and truth, can
never be reduced to nothing. And in order that we may enter into the
wide and gladsome meadow-of-the-feast, where we find rich herbage,
let us note the fact that Christ, after the healing of the man born blind,
had said: “I came into this world in judgment, so that those who do not
see may see and those who do see may become blind.”2 The Word of
God enlightens ignorant and blind minds that recognize their blindness
and desire to be enlightened by Christ, who is Light.3 [3] But [the
Word of God] makes blind those who presume that they have the light
of understanding—because sin remains in them. For when they boast
that they are seeing, their presumption does not allow them to approach
in order to be enlightened. And since the Pharisees and the shepherds-
of-others who presumed themselves to be seeing attempted to lead oth-
ers by the light of their own understanding, Christ adds that ones-such-
as-they are seducers, because they do not enter by the door. [Christ]
gives the example of the shepherd of the sheep who enters the sheep-
fold by the door, but thieves and robbers climb up by another way.4
[4] [Christ] explains by what means the shepherd is recognized:
namely, because his voice is known to the sheep, and they obey [him]
and follow him.5 They flee from a stranger because they do not know
his voice. Thereafter, [Christ] reveals that He is the Door by which the
shepherds enter and that those who do not enter through Him are
thieves and robbers. He says, next, that He is the Door of the sheep
[and that] He does not come as do other shepherds, whose goal is only
to slaughter the sheep and destroy them; rather, [He comes] in order
256
I Am the Good Shepherd 257
that [the sheep] may live more abundantly.6 [5] Therefore, He spoke as
follows: “I am the Door. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved
and will go in and out and will find pastures. The thief comes only to
steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come in order that they might
have life and have it more abundantly.”7 Therefore, we know accord-
ing to the prophecy of Jeremias 3 that Christlike shepherds (pastores)
feed with knowledge and doctrine8 and that for this reason if we pas-
tors (pastores) seek to feed to our sheep [the knowledge and the doc-
trines] entrusted to us, we ought to lead our sheep into the meadows of
sacred Scripture—and [to do] this by the Door that Christ is. For the
true entrance is through Christ, of whom the Scriptures speak.
[6] For that which nourishes the soul in the meadow of the
Scriptures is the word of God contained beneath the alphabetic letters.
For just as beneath the different herbs the invisible nourishment for
sheep is contained, through which alone the sensory life is nourished,
so too beneath the various written-forms the spirit that nourishes the
mind is hidden. Hence, the immaterial, life-giving, and enlightening
nourishment is not discerned except by means of Christ, who is the
Living Door, opening itself to one who knocks and closing itself to one
who presumes. [7] And note that the rational mind that subjects itself
to Christ knows His voice and, by means of the voice, knows the word
hidden in the voice and follows it. So great is the pleasantness of God’s
word (to which the mind that subjects itself to Christ through faith
comes by means of knowledge) that [the mind] follows no one but
Him. (And the voice of him who speaks other words is strange-sound-
ing and unknown to the rational mind, and [the rational mind] flees
from him.) For when Christ asked Peter and the other Apostles whether
they would go away, [Peter] answered: “To whom shall we go? You
have the words of eternal life.”9 He who believed that Christ is the Son
of God knew His voice and, in the voice, the word. And He knew that
the word was the word of eternal life and that [he] could not go away.
[8] If, then, we seek to save those whose care we [pastors] have
undertaken, let us lead them by means of the Door. Thieves and rob-
bers teach [one] to enter by another way, so that they may destroy. For
he who spurns the doctrine of Christ is seduced away from the path-
way of Truth and of Life. Be aware that he alone will be saved who
enters by the Door that is Christ, who is the Way and the Life.10 If you
258 Ego Sum Pastor Bonus
are looking for the doorway to life, Christ is [the Doorway]; if you are
looking for life, Christ is [Life]; if you are looking for the pastures of
life, Christ is [the Pasture]. [9] But who is this Christ? Surely, Christ is
He who is the Giver of spiritual life, because He is Truth and Wisdom
and the Light-of-reason that enlightens every man. And He comes in
order that [human beings] may live and live more abundantly.11 By
way of illustration: The sun comes now in order that trees and animals
may live. And it comes closer for infusing its power in order that trees
which in winter were without fruit-bearing life (but, nevertheless, were
not altogether dead) may now live, and live even more abundantly, for
bearing fruit. Similarly, Christ the Sun of Justice,12 in whom is the
power of God, has come to us with the Light of understanding and the
Warmth of love.
[10] Moreover, [Christ] shows Himself to be the Door of
Paradise, i.e., of Sacred Scripture. For if by way of Christ you enter the
house-of-understanding by searching the Scriptures, you will find Him
in all [the Scriptural passages] to be the nourishment of life. If you go
out through this Door by explaining and interpreting the Scriptures,
you will find pastures. You enter into the Old Testament through
Christ; from the Old Testament you go out into the New Testament
through Christ.
Moreover, consider in another way how it is that Christ is a Door
in which going-in and going-out coincide, as [is the case] with a [mate-
rial] door. For a door is both for going-out and for going-in. Christ is
the Door through which every creature goes out into existence,
because [Christ] is the Form of things, through which Form all things
have been made and without which Form nothing [is made].13 He is
also the Door through which all things return unto their Cause, or
Form, as unto their own Beginning. He is the Door both of creation and
of salvation—i.e., of flowing-forth and of flowing-back.
[11] If someone considers deeply by means of his intellect (1)
that Christ is the Way through which every creature flows into being,
so that [the creature] is that which it is, and [if he] considers (2) that
Christ, who is the Way, is also the End-Goal of creation, because in
Him the creation is ended and perfected—and if together with this he
reflects carefully on (1) the fact that Christ is the Way through which,
necessarily, every creature completes the circle of [flowing-forth and]
flowing-back and (2) [the fact that every creature] returns by entering
into the First Cause and (3) [the fact] that [this Cause] is the End-Goal
of the return-flow: then he sees that Christ is the means of flowing-
forth and flowing-back in such a way that He is also the Beginning and
the End. [Those who reflect upon these matters] will always find such
pastures to be nourishing.
[12] Therefore, if Christ is known, all things are known in and
through Him. If Christ is possessed, all things are possessed in and
through Him. Therefore, it pertains to us to preach Christ in order that
He may be known; for salvation and life consist of His name and of a
knowledge of Him. And except for that [name and knowledge] there is
no other name or knowledge that saves the intellectual nature, which
lives from knowledge. Hence, Christ is that Truth which is sought by
every intellect in order to be known. When this Truth is possessed, the
uttermost fulfillment of our desires is possessed. And that joy of appre-
hended Truth is life eternal.
[13] Some one of the more simple people might ask: “How is it
that we ought to preach Christ in order that He be known? For He says
that no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the
Father except the Son.”
I answer that we ought to preach Him by means of the Door of
[His] humanity in order that we may lead our subjects to a knowledge
of Him. This knowledge is the faith in us that suffices for our salva-
tion. For although God the Father cannot be known as He is except
through the Son (for no one knows the Father as Father except the Son,
and no one knows the Son as Son except the Father), nevertheless the
Father and the Son are known by means of the revelation of faith. For
if we arrive at the point that we know by faith that Christ is the Son of
God, then Christ reveals to us the Father. Now, to this end we have the
Door of [His] humanity. For when we look to the things which Christ
the man performed, we will find in the man a divine power that
exceeds [the power of every other] man. From these [deeds] we believe
Him with respect to the fact that He said that He was the Son of God
and was sent by the Father. For He produced the most certain and most
efficacious evidences, so that no one who makes use of his reason can
have doubt about this matter. [14] Therefore, [when we preach], we
speak to the people of how it is that Christ came as one born of a
Virgin, of what miracles He worked, of what He taught, of what He

promised, of how He died in order to bear witness to the truth [taught]
by Him. Preach that He arose from the dead, that He appeared after His
resurrection, and that those to whom He appeared received the Holy
Spirit. Strengthened by the Holy Spirit, they bore witness to the
Resurrection, even unto [their own] death. And not only they [bore
such witness] but also countless others [did so too]. From these [con-
siderations] we ascend [in our preaching] unto the faith that, indeed,
that man was also the Son of God and that as the Son of God He is to
be believed and obeyed.
[15] Next, we turn to proclaiming the teaching and the precepts
of the Son of God and to proclaiming that He opened the Scriptures
because He showed Himself to be Him of whom the Scriptures speak.
And [we proclaim] that by receiving Him by means of formed faith,14
by obeying His teaching and His precepts, and by looking unto Him as
unto the Exemplar of our life, we are to look forward to being con-
formed to Him and to possessing happiness with Him. And so, Christ
is to be preached as is [here] set out. Then if He is believed to be the
Son of God, reason concludes that He must be believed [as to what He
taught] and that He must be obeyed in the way He taught and that His
way is the pattern for all those who are striving for eternal life.
[16] You might still ask: “How shall I preach to the people that
Christ is the Way, and the Door, to Paradise, i.e., to the Kingdom of
Life and of Delights?” [I answer]: Preach [the following]:Christ is the
Way, and Door, to immortality; for Christ was humble, meek, truthful,
just, merciful, obedient, and one loving the Father and keeping the
Father’s precepts even unto death—and so on, as regard each of the
virtues. Now, Christ says that He is the Way—[Christ] who had such
very lofty, and such immortal, virtues. Therefore, when we say that
Christ is the Way to immortality, we ought to understand that he who
keeps to the pathway of virtues imitates Christ and follows Christ and
enters with Christ into the Kingdom of Immortality. [17] If, then, you
reduce the Way to justice or to another virtue, you understand clearly.
For to say “I am the Door, or Way,” is as much as if He had said “I am
Justice or Truth or Humility or Virtue itself, which leads to the pastures
of life.” As the prophet says: “All Your ways are truth.”15 And else-
where: “All Your ways are mercy and truth.”16 And in Apocalypse 15:
“Just and true are Your ways.”17 These ways are eternal because [they
are the ways] of the never-failing virtues. Hence, he who has true jus-
tice has the Way (which is Christ) to salvation. [This fact holds true]
for all the virtues, since Christ, who is the Way, is every virtue—i.e., is
true Virtue, which enfolds within itself all virtues.
[18] You might ask: “Is, then, every just human being on the
Pathway, which is Christ?” I answer: Every just human being who is
truly just is on the Pathway, which is Christ. But true justice can be
present only with the Christian believer, who alone has justice that jus-
tifies. For Christ, who is believed to be the Redeemer and the
Justification for sins, is He who through grace justifies believers who
imitate Him. For our works do not justify us apart from faith; rather,
through grace Christ justifies those who follow Him. Hence, there is
no true virtue that is the way to supreme happiness except the Virtue
which is Christ. And so, although he who holds to Christ may seem just
and merciful, nevertheless he is not justified before God by means of
his own works. For there is only one Justice that justifies unto immor-
tal happiness, and it is the Form that gives being to one who is just. For
the Justice of the Son of God gives being to everyone who is just, in
order that he too may be a son of God and a son of Immortal Life. For
in the sight of God no living being is justified without that Justice
which Christ is [and] in which God takes delight.
[19] Subsequently now, let us continue on with the text of the
Gospel. For it says: “I am the Good Shepherd.” He who said that He is
the Door says that He is the Shepherd. Therefore, the Shepherd
through Himself leads His sheep to pastures. Let us reflect upon the
words. For He says: “ I am.” [The word] “ I” properly befits God. For
all rational substances refer to themselves by “ I”; but “ I” most prop-
erly befits God alone. For [this word] indicates mere substance prior to
any dependency [and] without accidents, genus, or species. Hence,
except for God there is no precise substance;18 rather, every such ‘sub-
stance’ can be more substantial. God alone is the Most Substantial
Substance, which cannot be more perfect or greater or lesser. And so,
“ I” befits God alone.
[20] Likewise, too, the word “am” befits God. For no creature
can properly say “I am.” For to say “I am” properly befits the
Beginning, from which all that which exists has the fact that it exists.
God, the Absolute Being, is the Cause of all being.
About these two things—namely, “I” and “am”—God speaks
through the Prophet: “I alone am.”19 And in Exodus 3: “I am I-Who-
Am” and “He-Who-Is has sent me.”20
God, who nourishes all things, is properly the Shepherd. And, like-
wise, He alone who is God can say that He is good. For “no one is good
except God ….” 21 God is unqualifiedly [and] essentially good; a crea-
ture is good by participation. Similarly, fire is unqualifiedly hot, [where-
as] other things are hot by participation. Christ is the Good Shepherd.
He is, indeed, Shepherd, because He is the Head of the Church.22 But He
is Good because He is the Son of Goodness, i.e., of God.
[21] Let us take note now of what is requisite for being a good
shepherd. For He says: “The good shepherd gives his life for his
sheep.”23 Assuredly, there cannot be a shepherd of such great goodness
except for the Son of God. For so [greatly] good is no one except that
one who cannot be a greater Good. Take note: He says that He gives His
life for [His] sheep. He allows Himself to be put to death in order to
feed His subjects. Wonderful is the goodness of the Shepherd who says:
‘You, my Subjects, do hunger and are altogether needy and lacking.
And there is no means of nourishing you unless I make myself to be
your Nourishment. Therefore, I shall die in order that you may be fed.’
[22] Let us note, Brothers, that we are obligated to feed the flock
that has been entrusted [to us]—[to feed them] not by seeking our own
life but by seeking their life. How are we who are shepherds good?—
[we] who not only do not give our life for our sheep but are unwilling
even to suffer harm for their sakes. Lest we offend men, we neglect the
flock. Who feeds our flock nowadays by word and example? And what
do we suffer for their life and nourishing? Do we not work all things
not in order that the sheep may live but rather in order that we may
live? Are we not hirelings?
[23] For Christ says: “But the hireling and he who is not the
shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and
leaves the sheep and flees. And the wolf catches and scatters the sheep.
And the hireling flees because he is a hireling and has no concern for
the sheep.”24 By means of this practical example it is manifestly evi-
dent how few are the shepherds nowadays and how many are the
hirelings! For when the Adversary25 comes, almost all flee, as being
those who seek their own [benefit]. But if they were shepherds, then
they would regard the sheep not as someone else’s but as their own.
[24] A pastor flees from his sheep less than a father flees from his chil-
dren or a mother from the infant of her womb. For a pastor ought to be
affected by the Christians entrusted to him, so that he watches over
them more than does a parent. How much concern that Pastor of ours
displayed, who said that He did not lose anyone entrusted to Him!26
Moreover, Brothers, not only are very many of those who have
the name of pastor hirelings, acting as if to them there were no concern
about the sheep, but they are [also] ravenous wolves: they do not feed;
rather, they devour. For they snatch away whatever they can get—they,
the very ones from whom their subjects are supposed to live. And as
much as they can, they deprive of life those whom they are supposed
to feed. [25] I speak also spiritually. For those whom [the pastors]
ought to nourish by word and teaching, [the pastors] slay by their evil
life and their [bad] example and their flatteries and ingratiating words.
What is more horrific, O Brothers, than the fact that very many [pas-
tors], seeking to please, absolve from serious wrong-doings—not
emphasizing the graveness but smoothing-over and excusing, with lit-
tle or no penance imposed, in order to curry favor and to profit illicit-
ly. Surely, they sacrifice souls in order greedily to consume earthly
[goods].
[26] Let us note, Brothers, what the comparative relationship is
between a pastor and his flock: it is surely [comparable to] that which
exists between a man and a sheep. So great ought to be the discernment
and wisdom in a pastor that he has authority over his subjects as a man
has authority over his sheep. The care-taking on the part of the shepherd
of sheep teaches what watchfulness, what persistence, what circum-
spection is required for someone to be a good pastor of souls. The shep-
herd is a guardian, a doctor, and a guide. Thereafter, is it not God who
nourishes substantially, who gives to the animals their food? Similarly,
a pastor, too, guides a flock of souls so that they may arrive at the inner
regions of the desert, where they are fed by the word of God.
I [will] pass over many point that each [of you] can readily
understand from the things [already said].
[27] Subsequently, we are taught [from the text] who a good pas-
tor is. For Christ says the following: “I am the Good Shepherd, and I
know my sheep, and they know me—just as the Father knows me, and
I know the Father.”27 Assuredly, there is only one Good Shepherd, who
is the Wisdom of God the Father,28 so that He does not err. And He is
a human being, so that He judges from His own [human] weakness
how to feed a weak human being. Christ is the Shepherd of shepherds.
He is the Law and the Light of the shepherds. He is the Way of feed-
ing and is the Life which is the goal of the feeding and is abiding Truth.
In all things He holds the pre-eminence.29 [28] And He was so Lord
and Teacher that He was the humble Minister of all people. Indeed, He
was Minister in such a way that He performed even the utmost minis-
tering by washing the extreme part of a human being, namely, the feet.
Only the Good Shepherd is He with whose supreme Superintendence
there coincides supreme Humility and with whose supreme Justice
there coincides [supreme] Mercy and with whose supreme Gentleness
there coincides [supreme] Discipline and reproof—and so on, as
regards the other [virtues]. Thus, in Him is present every virtue that
there is, [and these virtues exist] in a coincidence of extremes. And [in
Him] is equality of being, so that in Him all human beings have His
form. He conforms Himself to all, so that He attracts all [human
beings] to His own Equality.
[29] Let us pay attention to how it is that Christ says, first and
foremost, that He is the Good Shepherd and knows His sheep. Only
this Shepherd, who is the Giver of life, knows for whom the Kingdom
was prepared from the beginning and who are the predestinated. And
they, [in turn], know Him as Shepherd, because they hear Him as the
Son of God. (Other shepherds do not know [Him] in truth as Christ but
[know Him] surmisingly.) And the more eagerness they exhibit for
knowing [Him], the more Christlike [they are].
[30] Therefore, knowledge makes evident a good pastor. It is
necessary that a physician know the one who is under his care. It is
necessary that a pastor know his sheep in order to know how they are
to be fed. [A pastor must know] not with vague public and surmising
knowledge but with true and confidential knowledge—[must] know,
that is, as a father [knows his] child. And this knowledge implies a
[corresponding] knowledge on the part of the sheep, who indeed are
supposed to know the pastor as children [know] their father.

[31] In pastoral knowledge there is a coincidence to be consid-
ered. In the order of divine governance that is called hierarchy the
ascending of submission coincides with the descending of governance.
(For this coincidence is the means-of-union in which the Church
exists.) Similarly, [there is a coincidence] in the case of [pastoral]
knowledge. For to know the sheep [i.e., the congregants] in and
through the pastor as pastor is what it is to know the pastor in and
through the congregants as congregants. If the pastor knows paternal-
ly those who are to be fed, then they know filially the pastor-doing-the-
feeding.
[32] Who is a father who is so careless that he does not know his
children? And who is a child so careless that he does not know his own
father—[does not know], that is, him who has shown himself to the
child as father? From this [example] we are taught how great the
friendship ought to be between pastor and congregants. For the pri-
mary friendship is that of parent to child. It holds the pre-eminence
among friendships. But there is no such [friendship] if knowledge does
not precede [it]—namely, that [parent and child] know each other.
Therefore, the knowledge that initially precedes the friendship that is
supposed to be the primary and greatest friendship ought to be the
knowledge as between parent and child. Therefore, a pastor is the
father of a subordinate child; and the subordinate [children] ought to
be as one child, because they constitute one mystical body because of
the oneness of the pastor. For [the pastor] ought to regard each of the
congregants as a one-and-only child. [33] And how ought a pastor to
be a father? Surely, [he ought to be a father] as God is Father. God is
Father in such a way that no [other] fatherhood can be equal to [His]
Fatherhood. For all other fatherhood is less than that [Fatherhood]. For
from Himself and from His own Essence He begets a Son in such a
way that He imparts to the Son the whole Essence, holding back for
Himself [alone] nothing that He does not impart to the Son. Likewise,
the Son of God is Son in such a way that no [other] son can be equal
to Him. For every [other] son is less the son of his father than the Son
of God [is Son of God the Father]. Now, a pastor ought to be father in
such a way as is the Heavenly Father; and a congregant ought to be a
congregant in such a way as the Son of God [is submissive] to God.30
[34] But the Teacher said that the knowledge between the pastor
and his flock is a likeness of the knowledge between the Father and the
Son. For God the Father begets the Son by knowing. Likewise, a pas-
tor ought to beget a ‘son’ from the supremacy of knowledge, which is
faith. For just as the faith of the one baptizing and of the one baptized
is one faith, so in the spirit of the pastor there ought to be faith, in
which Christ is present. This [faith of the pastor] ought to beget spiri-
tual sons who are equal—i.e., [ought to do so] by begetting from the
pastor’s own faith a faith that is present in the spirit of the [believing]
subject, so that Christ is formed in the believer. Behold, a good pastor
has within himself by faith the Good Shepherd, namely, Christ;31 and
by faith [the pastor] begets in [him who is] the subject the [Good]
Shepherd, namely, Christ. [35] When the pastor by way of knowledge
begets Christ in the subject, he causes the subject to have within him-
self the Shepherd, who governs him and nourishes him. For the
[believing] subject always has the Shepherd with him. If he looks unto
Him [for guidance], he [will] not stray but [will] always come by
means of the Shepherd to pastures. The pastor ought not to cease from
begetting temporally but ought always to keep begetting Christ by his
word[s] of instruction until [the subject] is formed eternally in the res-
urrection. For as long as we live [the begetting] must not cease. For
just as God the Father in eternity is ever begetting the Son and does not
cease to be the Father-begetting-the-Son, so in this world in the course
of time the pastor ought not to cease [begetting].
[36] Consider attentively that Christ is all in all.32 In the pastor
He is present as pastor; in the subject [or congregant He is present] as
subject and as one who is obedient. In the pastor, Christ is the Word of
God teaching to preside; in the subject [He is] the Word of God teach-
ing to obey and to be submissive. In one who is wealthy [Christ is pres-
ent] teaching humility and mercy. In one who is infirm [He is present
teaching] patience. In a judge [He is present teaching] justice. And so
on, with respect to all [the virtues]. For whatever there is of virtue, this
the Word teaches. And as an example of teaching, [Christ] educes His
own humanity in order that a man may look unto it and in this way be
nourished by word and example.
[37] Let us next consider what [traits] are required for a pastor. First,
as was said, comes knowledge. Then comes doing, as follows [in the
text]. For Christ says: “And I lay down my life for my sheep.”33 I
understand “life” (anima) as having to do with the role of enlivening—
as a living animal takes its name from “anima”. [Christ] says “for my
sheep.” For necessary first of all is this: that the sheep belong to Christ
the Shepherd; otherwise, He would uselessly lay down His life for
them. And so, there follows [in the text]: “And I have other sheep
which are not of this fold. I must also bring them in; and they shall hear
my voice, and there shall be one fold and one Shepherd.”34 The
Shepherd increases His flock. And He has other chosen sheep which
He has not yet brought in but shall bring in. And they are brought in at
the time when they hear the voice of the Shepherd. For they follow His
voice if they hear it inwardly [calling]. And then there will be one fold
and one Shepherd of them all.
[38] Next, there follows [in the text]: “Therefore, the Father
loves me because I lay down my life for my sheep in order that I may
take it up again.”35 What is this [declaration] other than that no one
who is a pastor is loved by God the Father unless he is a true and good
pastor? God does not love lying and wickedness, because He is Good-
ness itself. But a true and good pastor has no life outside of pastoring,
[i.e., of feeding and caring for the flock], just as sight [has no life] out-
side of seeing and just as the intellect [has no life] outside of under-
standing. Hence, giving nourishment is the divine form that gives to
the pastor vital and delightful being. And so, nothing is dearer to him
than that form. Indeed, in order to remain a good pastor he counts as
nothing all sensory, animal life [vita sensibilis animalis sive anima]
and all being and whatever can be spoken of.
[39] But let us attend to the fact that Christ previously said, first,
“The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.” Then He adds:
“I am the Good Shepherd …,”36 etc., and “I lay down my life for [my]
sheep.” Now, thirdly, He adds: “ The Father loves me because I lay
down my life for my sheep—[lay it down] in order to take it up again.
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have the power
of laying it down and the power of taking it up again. This command-
ment I have received from my Father.”37
[Christ] is a wondrous Shepherd, from whom no one can remove
His life; and, nevertheless, because He is the most true, and the best,
Shepherd, He lays down His life in order to take it up again. And in

Him this power is the commandment of the Father. Take note of this.
[40] Since what is impossible is not commanded by God, God’s com-
mandment gives even the power to obey. For example, if He were to
command a man to fly, He would give, by this very fact [of com-
manding], the power by which [the man] could [fly]. Likewise,
because He gives the power that we can be sons of God by receiving
into ourselves Christ, who is the Form of sonship: He also commands
that we do so. For by the very fact that He gives the power, He also
orders and commands. For just as He would command in vain unless
He added the power of fulfilling [the command], so He would give
power in vain if He did not also command that the power be exercised.
[41] [But] God does nothing in vain.
The Father loves Christ because Christ lays down His life in
order to take it up again. John explains in his canonical letter, in I John
3, how he understands the laying down of one’s life. He says: “By this
we have known the love of God: that He has laid down His life for
us.”38 The goodness of a shepherd qua shepherd is to love his flock
more than himself; [and], for this reason, [for him] to give his life (i.e.,
all that he has) for his sheep is [for him] to prefer his flock to his life.
Hence, if a shepherd, [or pastor], does not do his utmost—namely, give
his life for the setting-free of his flock, even if they were in bonds [and]
subjected to Lucifer in Hell—he is not a good shepherd. [42] Christ
descended unto Hell in order to free His flock from Lucifer’s bonds—
as, recently, some of you have heard-about from me.39 Likewise, the
Shepherd Moses said: “Forgive them this trespass or else [in their
place] strike me out of the book in which You have written me.”40 And
David asked the angel to spare the innocent sheep and to turn against
him the sword because he had sinned, [not they].41 The Shepherd Paul
chose to be accursed for his brethren’s sake,42 as Christ was made
anathema, i.e., accursed, for us (because cursed is everyone who hangs
on a cross)43 in order to redeem us from the curse.
[43] And note that a good shepherd ought to nourish.
Just as a paschal lamb that gives its life so that the children of
Israel may live,44 so Christ, the true Lamb,45 gave His life [anima seu
vita sua] in order that we might live. Now, a lamb by means of its phys-
ical death passes over into a rational [nature] when in a human being
it is converted into the nature of the one who is fed. This is not the way
that Christ lays down His life (which He called His spirit) when He
died and said “Into Your Hands I commend my spirit.”46 [He does not
lay His life down] in order to take up another, better life (or better spir-
it) but in order to take up that [life] again. For He lays down His life
(or spirit-of-life) in order that by the life of His spirit souls may be fed
[and] not in order that he may pass over into the nature of the one who
is fed. Rather, He takes up His life again—into which [life] the one
who has received that [life] has passed over.47
[44] When the sun sends forth its bright ray into the air, [it does
so] not in order to be turned into the darkness of the air but in order to
turn the darkness unto itself so that in this way the sun may take again
into itself, with gain and embellishment, the bright ray that was sent
forth. A pastor acts similarly when he enlightens his subjects by instill-
ing into their hearts faith (which is the life of one who is just, for one
who is just lives by faith48) in order that the believers may be one with
him. And the taking up again [of the faith that is present in the believ-
ers] coincides with the instilling [of faith in the believers]. And in this
way a good pastor, who has put on Christ, instills life, or the spirit-of-
life, continually in order to take it up again, so that he may take it with
gain. And the Father loves him because he feeds his sheep.
[45] No one can confine this spirit of life, which is the spirit of
Christ and—what is the same thing—the spirit of Wisdom and of
Truth, [and] which a pastor has within himself. [No one can confine it]
because it is a spirit of liberty. And, [likewise, no one can] violently
remove it from the pastor. Rather, by means of his word a pastor can
put forth, and send forth, [this spirit] from himself by instructing his
disciples vitally; and he can take up [this spirit] again for vitalizing
himself. For he who teaches others by the word of God can also
instruct himself by the same word taken up again.
[46] Let us, Brothers, pay attention to the fact that the specifica-
tion of the good shepherd—who is described even in the Old
Testament [and] who was promised [aforetime]—could be affirmed
truly only of one shepherd, namely, Christ. For who is a shepherd so
good that he gives himself over unto death for his sheep?—[who] but
Him alone who cannot be more good? And this one is Christ. There-
fore, those err who do not think that the Scriptures speak about Christ
except where mention is made of a Messiah who is King and

Redeemer. To be sure, every Scriptural passage that promises a Visitor
and a Shepherd and a Redeemer and a Light-giver and a Life-giver and
a Savior speaks of Christ. [47] For Christ is the promised Shepherd
who knows those who are His own. And they perceive Him as Christ,
the Son of God. And He gives to them eternal life, and they shall never
perish—as follows in this same chapter [of our text].49 For there is no
power that can snatch the flock from the Hand of that Shepherd,
because what the Father has given to Christ is something greater than
all [else].50 If the Father has given wisdom to some individuals, the
wisdom that He gave to Christ is greater than all [other wisdom]
because it cannot be greater. If [the Father] has given virtue, the virtue
that He gave to Christ is greater. If [He has given] power, that [power]
which He gave to Christ is greater. For [Christ’s] being the Son of God
is something greater than all [other] things. Through Him the Father
reveals Himself.
[48] The Son is the Revelation of the Father. He is called the
image and the Form of the Father’s Substance because through Him
every intellectual nature has access to the Invisible God.51 For [the
Son] is the Knowledge or Way or Wisdom or Truth (and other things
of this kind that reveal God the Father). He is the Intermediary through
which the Father-Creator works all things, because [the Father] works
all things for the Father’s own sake, in order that His glory may be
manifested and known. And so, the Son is the Word through which the
Father shows Himself in creating and working. Hence, Christ says that
He is the Son because through Him the Father does the works.52 Since
these works are the Creator’s and are done through Christ, Christ con-
cludes that He is the Emissary of God and Son of God.
[49] Hence, from the foregoing, understand how you shall fash-
ion for yourself a conception of Christ. For Christ is He to whom the
Father has given that which is something greater than all [else]. For the
knowledge of God is something greater than all [else]. And so, as long
as there was expected a gift greater than anyone possessed (because no
one had a gift than which a greater gift could not be bestowed), so long
was Christ expected, in order that [in Him] the gift of God would come
to ultimate perfection. And this is the gift of the removal of ignorance-
of-God, as in Acts 17 Paul speaks of.53
[50] Consider the following things attentively: namely, that

Christ is the Knowledge of God [notitia sive scientia aut cognitio Dei],
and you will be able to understand the Gospel of John and be able to
understand Paul and the others. And then, too, you will understand
how it is that Christ says “I and the Father are one.”54 For the knowl-
edge and the known are one thing. And the knowledge is in the known,
and the known is in the knowledge. From the known and the knowl-
edge proceeds the knowing, which likewise, is one thing [with them].
The known, the knowledge, and the knowing are one thing in essence,
although the known is not the knowledge or the knowing. Yet, they
coincide in essence because, with regard to things intellectual, the
known is not anything other than the knowledge and than the knowing.
[51] Perhaps someone will entertain doubt about how to under-
stand that a pastor would give himself over unto death and the punish-
ments of Hell for the sake of his flock; for no one is obligated to give
over his own rational life unto death in exchange for [saving] the life
of another.
I reply that the foregoing [claim] must be understood in such a
way that the pastor ought not to look unto himself when, in minister-
ing, he does in whatever way those things which God commands a
good pastor [to do]—even if on this account he were to envision him-
self as going to be damned in Hell. For if someone were of such great
love, he would surely not be damned in Hell. For in Hell one who is
just does not receive the punishment of the unjust. Therefore, the
greater the love that a pastor has, and the more ready he is to suffer for
his flock, the greater the glory that he shall obtain.
[52] If, then, [the pastor] is not concerned that he himself live,
provided that his subjects, who are his mystical body, live: then the
truer this [characterization of him] will be, the better he will live. For
not only will he live in and through his subjects but [also] they will live
in and through him, who has offered his own life for them. {[The situ-
ation is] as if a head having all weak members [in its body] were to suf-
fer in order that its members would be healed, [and as if] then from the
members’ health (which because of the head’s suffering was recov-
ered) the man, even with respect to his head, would be improved in
health and vitality, and the head, through its pain and suffering, would
find only joy.} [53] For the more [the pastor] loses his life [anima sua
seu vita] because of his love [caritas], the more he finds it.55 For the
more he loses because of his love, the greater is [that] love. [And] the
greater the love, the greater is the life of the spirit (since love is the life
of the intellectual spirit). For the love proceeds from a knowledge of
God, [and] the love is a delightful movement, or delightful life—is,
indeed, a joy of apprehending.
[54] For he who knows God does not doubt that God is to be
obeyed completely; and he does all things out of love. Hence, an action
through which greater love is shown shows greater life in the spirit.
Thus, the spirit that, as best it can, gives itself to utmost humility is,
because of its love, reduced to nothing, [as it were]. [Yet,] when it
seems to pass into not-being, it crosses over into more perfect being.
And for this reason Christ said, above, that the [good] shepherd lays
down his life in order to take [it] up again. For to lay down, or give up,
[one’s] life is not to lose being but to find it—is not to decrease but to
increase—because one dies deliberately and willingly. Nevertheless,
such dying is living. Lo, [we see] the immortality of [that] spirit which
by dying finds life! Whatever, in dying, lives cannot perish but passes
from death unto life, i.e., unto conformity with God, who alone dwells
in immortality.56 [55] Wherefore, then, we experience in ourselves that
there is an intellectual spirit, which is inclined toward the absolutely
and essentially Good, True, and Just, (and whatever other things that
are names of God). And the more [the intellectual spirit] has a knowl-
edge [of God], the more it loves God. It loves because (by means of a
rational love) it has this knowledge, which is concreated with it and
natural to it. Thereby we know that our spirit is capable of receiving
eternal life—life which is only love for God.
[56] And note that since Christ is only the Word-of-God who
reveals the Father, it is He whose teaching instills the spirit of life. For
from our knowledge of God the Father—[a knowledge] that Christ
reveals in us—Love proceeds from the Father and from the Knowledge
of the Father. This Knowledge is the Word, or Son, of the Father; it is
infused into our spirit and enlivens it, because it moves our spirit by
means of a joyous movement that is life. For it is a heart-felt, or cen-
tral, loving-movement occasioned by God who is loved [and] who
makes His dwelling within our spirit.57 [57] Therefore, the Word that
enlightens the soul—so that it knows Justice and Truth (which are cer-
tain names, or [forms of] knowledge, of God)—is Christ, who is the

Knowledge that reveals the Father. And so, Christ prepares our spirit
for a reception of the Spirit of God, or Love of God, whom God the
Father sends (1) in the Name of Christ,58 (i.e., in the Knowledge-of-
the-Father, which the Son is) and (2) in the Name of the Son (i.e., in
the Knowledge of Knowledge)—[sends] into the intellectual spirit.
And Christ [too] gives this [Spirit]—just as a knowledge of the Good
infuses a love of the Good. Hence, it is evident—because the Father is
in the Son—that Christ, the Revealer of God, or Manifester of God,
sends the Spirit of life, i.e., sends Love, into the hearts of believers. In
the Knowledge that the Son is: the Father, who is known and revealed
is present. And Love arises both from the Known and from the
Knowledge.59
[58] [The situation is] as if absolute beauty (which is loved by the
rational spirit in those things that are beautiful not essentially but by
participation) were to send from its own essence its ‘only begotten son’
for revealing [absolute] beauty (i.e., its ‘father’) in the ‘father’s’ truth
and essence. This ‘son’ would turn the rational spirit from love of par-
ticipated and corruptible beauty toward love [amor seu caritas] of
absolute and immortal beauty, of whose nature it is that it can never be
loved enough, because it is always more lovable than it is loved. [59]
So, too, that [rational] spirit—which from [Divine] Love is strength-
ened, nourished and increased in loving—obtains unitively and perma-
nently eternal gladness. And just as I have illustrated with regard to
beauty, conceive similarly as regards wisdom or justice or truth. For
they are names of God, who is Absolute Lovability itself, which is also
called Goodness, Truth, Wisdom, and so on. These are loved by the
rational spirit. This rational love (rationalis amor) lives intellectually
and is called caritas, in differentiation from brute-love [amor brutalis].
Let these [remarks] now suffice.
NOTES TO Ego Sum Pastor Bonus*
* Sermon CCLXXX.
1. John 10:11. In this sermon Nicholas is addressing priests and others of
the religious.
2. John 9:39. Nicholas oftentimes alludes to the Latin Scriptures without
seeking to quote from them word-for-word.
3. John 8:12.
4. John 10:1-2.
5. John 10:4-5.
6. John 10:10.
7. John 10:9-10.
9. John 6:68-69.
10. John 14:6.
11. John 10:10.
13. John 1:3.
14. The words “formed faith” have to do with faith in-formed by love.
Galatians 5:6.
15. Psalms 118:151 (not present).
16. Psalms 24:10 (25:10).
18. I. e., there is no substance in the precise sense of the word.
19. Psalms 140:10 (not present in the King James version).
20. Exodus 3:14.
21. Luke 18:19.
22. Ephesians 5:23.
23. John 10:11 .
24. John 10:12-13.
25. I Peter 5:8.
26. John 17:12.
27. Cf. John 10:14-15.
30. The Son of God is not ontologically subordinate to God the Father. But
in the economy of the Divine plan of salvation, the Son is obedient to the Father
and is said to do the will of the Father. The obedience expresses the Son’s love of
the Father, even as the Father is said to love the Son and to be well-pleased with
Him (Matthew 3:17).
31. “Christ in you the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27.
33. John 10:15.
34. John 10:16.
35. John 10:17.
36. According to the text of John 10 Jesus twice says “I am the Good
274
Notes to Ego Sum Pastor Bonus 275
Shepherd”—once before and once after saying “The good shepherd gives his life
for his sheep.” See John 10:11 & 14.
37. John 10:17-18.
38. I John 3:16.
39. I.e., some had heard him preach Sermon CCLXXIX (Descendit ad
Inferna) on April 17.
40. Exodus 32:31-32.
41. II Kings (II Samuel) 24:17.
42. Romans 9:3.
43. Galatians 3:13. (See also Deuteronomy 21:23.)
44. Exodus 12.
45. John 1:29.
46. Luke 23:46.
47. Here Nicholas alludes to the new life that believers receive.
48. Romans 1:17.
49. John 10:28.
50. John 10:28-29.
51. Hebrews 1:3. Colossians 1:15.
52. John 5:19.
53. Nicholas alludes to St. Paul’s speech on Mars Hill in Athens.
54. John 10:30. Nicholas goes on to illustrate how the one God can be con-
ceived to be also three persons: namely, by conceiving of Him as Knowledge
(Father), Known (Son), and Knowing (Holy Spirit).
55. Matthew 10:39.
56. I Timothy 6:16.
57. John 14:23.
58. Nicholas here alludes to the Holy Spirit, who is sent to the believer in
Christ’s name. John 14:26.
59. I.e., love arises from the Father and from the Son. The Son is the
Knowledge of the Father. See note 54 above.
Obsecro Vos tamquam Advenas*
(“I Beseech You as Strangers”)1
[May 8, 1457; preached in Brixen]
[1] “I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims to abstain from carnal

desires, which war against the soul” (I Peter 2).
We shall very briefly speak about the Epistle, then about the
Gospel.
In many ways the Apostle Peter admonishes us to stay on the
pathway of salvation. And in this Epistle he brings up for our remem-
brance the fact that we were banished from Paradise [and] have entered
this world as strangers and pilgrims—i.e., as those who do not have
here a permanent city but are wayfarers en route toward the city from
which they were cast out.
It is the custom in Flanders that sinners are expelled from their
cities until they complete their penance and pilgrimage. Such ones
show all earnestness to complete their course as quickly as possible.
[2] And because those things which bind men to carnal desires
hinder men, [Peter] admonishes [them] to abstain from those [desires].
For the soul hastens to return [to that place] from which the man was
expelled. But carnal desires war against the soul. Hence, this present
world, in which carnal desires flourish (namely, the lust either of the
flesh or of the eyes or the pride of life),2 does not permit the pilgrim to
complete his course but holds him back and binds him. And worldly
human beings do not care about any world other than this one; and so,
they become inhabitants and citizens who fashion for themselves a par-
adise from these delights. [3] The Apostle exhorts Christians, who
know the truth—namely, [the truth] that this world is not to be settled-
down-in but is to be passed through—to abstain from those things
which make a man a citizen of this world and an exile from his native
country. For the native country of the intellectual nature is with its
Father and Creator, i.e., is where every desire is intellectual and spiri-
tual—as, for example, is (1) knowledge of the truth and (2) joy in
apprehending the true and divine life that consists in a knowledge of
God.
[4] Therefore, let us see to it that [each one of us] conducts him-
self as a stranger [to this world]; for we do not doubt that we are
strangers. Now, certain strangers are sent into exile—some in order to
276
I Beseech You as Strangers 277
acquire wealth, others in order to be instructed. Surely, we are

strangers sent thus into exile in order to learn and to acquire wealth—
but always in order to return as purified, perfected, and enriched. And
so, we are all pilgrims together. [5] Note especially that with respect to
our rational spirit, which is from Heaven, we are strangers. The inner
man is a stranger, and the [rational] spirit has come in order that [the
inner man] might learn. For man is the last and lowest [of rational
beings], as says our Savior,3 because a lower angel is greater than [a
man];4 and [a man] exists with the potency to become actually know-
ing and understanding. And so, he comes into the world and into an
animal body in order that by wonder he may be stimulated to reason-
ing and be brought from potency to actuality. God is pure Actuality.
Now, the more the [human] intellect is actualized, the more similar it
is to God and the more perfect it is. But it is enriched because it gath-
ers within itself a disposition for virtues and becomes rich with virtues
and merits.
[6] Let us be aware, then, that we are true pilgrims. And let us
attend to what those do who long for return [to their native country].
They do not seize upon something that strikes them as so appealing
that for this reason they fix upon it and cease moving. If they see things
which at first sight move [them] and amaze [them], they do not for this
reason change their purpose. They do not burden themselves with
superfluous things; rather, they put aside things that are scarcely nec-
essary, and they are content with food and clothing. They are not con-
cerned about adornment, because they are not seeking to be pleasing to
anyone. They have reverence for all things, and they abstain from all
vice, lest they be hindered [by it]. Their mind is always on Heavenly
things because they are hastening to get to Heaven. [7] Their behavior
among believers is good, and such ones establish a church. Men who
see you Christians conducting yourselves in this manner and not being
influenced by the world more than are strangers and pilgrims will
cease detracting from the faith and will glorify God in the day when
you visit with them. Behold, [note] that we are to walk [in such a way]
that those who speak of us as of evil-doers—[and] who observe, in the
end, our conduct and our works—give glory to God. For when they
find that in all matters we seek God’s praise and not our own vainglo-
ry and advantage, they will give glory to God because He has such ser-
vants.
[8] Next, Peter commends obedience, saying: “Be subject to
278 Obsecro Vos tamquam Advenas
every human creature for God’s sake—whether to the king as excelling

or to governors as sent by him …,” etc., “so that, doing well, you may
put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.”5 For that subjection by
which we are submissive to the Divine Will through obeying higher
powers removes reproach, since nothing commends us more than does
obedience. [9] And we ought to do this as free and not as making lib-
erty a cloak for malice but as the servants of God.6 That is, when we
are free from vice, then we obey as servants of God. For we do not
obey as does he who wickedly abases himself or as those who display
obedience as a cloak for their malice. “Honor all men. Love the broth-
erhood. Fear God. Honor the king. Servants be subject to your masters
with all fear, not only to the good and gentle but also to the froward.
This is thankworthy.”7
PART TWO
[10] “No one shall take your joy from you.”8 [A passage] in the Gospel.
Christ had foretold to His disciples that they were not going to
see Him because He was going to His Father.9 And [He said] that He
had many things to say to them which they could not bear but that the
Spirit of Truth was going to teach them all things. And [He said] that
the [Spirit of Truth, or Holy Spirit,] was going to glorify Him because
He would receive from Christ and would declare [it] to them. (About
this [topic] we shall perhaps speak next Sunday.) [Christ] added: “All
things whatsoever the Father has are mine; and for this reason I said to
you that [the Spirit of Truth] will receive of mine and will declare [it]
to you.” And there follows the Gospel-passage: “A little while and now
you shall not see me; and again a little while and you shall see me,
because I go to the Father.”10
[11] You have often heard that no one can know the Father except
the Son, because the Son is the Knowledge and Revelation of the
Father. We cannot know the Son unless the Holy Spirit declares [Him]
to us. Hence, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. Truth is Knowledge
and Revelation of God the Father. The Spirit conveys Knowledge. And
because the Father is present in the Knowledge-of-the-Father, [i.e., in
the Son], the Spirit conveys, together with Himself, the Word in which
the Father is present—just as when a man who is teaching breathes out,
he signifies, i.e., speaks. For without a breathing-out and a signifying,
there does not come to the student a knowledge of the teacher’s intel-
lect. Therefore, the word is in the spirit; in the word is the meaning
(intellectus). All the things that the intellect (intellectus) has are in its
word and knowledge. The intellect has nothing except the word, which
is its word,11 And so, the things that the Father-Intellect has are the
Son’s, [and] the Son is the Heir of all things.12 The Intellect begets,
from its own intellectual essence, Knowledge. The Intellect retains
nothing which it does not give to its Knowledge.
[12] Understand, then, [that] if we say that God has Wisdom, then
His Son is the Wisdom which God has. If we say that God has Power,
then the Son is that Power which God has—and so on as regards all
[other such] things. For since God is Father and Beginning, then He has
nothing from anyone else but begets from Himself whatever He has.
But whatever the Father begets from Himself is the Son. Hence, the
Son is all that which the Father has. Accordingly, in the Son the Father
has all that He has; and we cannot properly say that the Father has any-
thing besides the Son. For although it is said that the Father is all in
all,13 nevertheless He has, properly speaking, only the Son.
[13] “Whatever things the Father has are mine,” says the Son.14
Take note [of the following]: The Son has a Father; but He does not
have a Father as the Father has a Son. For that the Son has a Father—
this [fact itself] He has from the Father. The Son says to the Father:
“You are my Father.” And the Father says: “You are my Son; today
have I begotten You.”15 That the Father has a Son is His begetting; that
the Son has a Father is His being begotten by the Father. All things are
in the Father as in their Beginning; all things are in the Son insofar as
they are created by the Beginning; all things are in the Holy Spirit inso-
far as they are created. Similarly, time is in Eternity, or Father, as in its
beginning; and [time] is in the Son as in its begottenness and flow; and
it is in the Holy Spirit as in its completion, or end-point.
[14] Let us return now to the text: Christ said: “A little while, and
now you shall not see me; and again a little while and you shall see me,
because I go to the Father.”16 You will find various expositions of this
[passage] in [various] commentators. However, note in addition to
those [commentaries] that going to the Father is departing from the
world of the senses. He who departs from the world of the senses is not
seen in the world from which he departs. Rather, [he is seen] in the
world that is hidden from the senses—[the world] where the Father is.
Therefore, he who sees one departing from the manifest into the hid-
den: for a little while he does not see [him]; and for a little while he
does see [him]. For he sees there where the hidden coincides with the
manifest and where departure coincides with approach. Likewise,

when Christ ascended to the Father, He vanished from the eyes of the
Apostles; and when He departed from their perception, He came to
them intellectually—as elsewhere He says, “I go away, and I come to
you.”17
[15] Seeing is discriminating, and to see is to distinguish. Hence,
sight is to be considered discriminative insofar as a thing is seen in
regard to its shape or insofar as it is seen in regard to its form. Insofar
as it is seen in regard to its shape, it is seen outwardly, [as] in a mirror
and by means of a surmise—just as when it is seen by eyes that grasp
the shape or image, as do mirrors. But as it is seen in its form, it is seen
inwardly. In the first way [the object] is seen in an image and a shad-
ow; in the second [way it is seen] in light and in truth. [16] Human
sight, which indeed is animated by discriminating, has something out-
ward and something inward. What is outward are the senses; what is
inward is the intellect. By means of the outward a man attains to that
which is outer; by means of the inward [he attains to] what is inner.
When he departs from the outward, then he departs from the senses and
beholds the approximate truth; when he departs from beholding, he
goes to things that can be sensed. Between these—namely, the outward
and the inward—there is a certain coincidence, where the outward
coincides with the inward. This [coincidence] can be called opinion
that has (laterally with respect to what is outward) imagination and that
has (laterally with respect to what is inward) reason.
[17] Therefore, let it be the case that a man sees someone whom
he thinks that he has seen previously and knows. Then if he is not cer-
tain, he departs from the outward seeing and reflects within himself,
examining by means of intellectual sight, so that he arrives at the man’s
name and at a knowledge of him. And when he thus examines, he, in
turn, departs from the inner beholding and views with the outer eye, so
that from the man’s figure he [now] recalls him. Thus, he goes in and
goes out; and he departs from the one [kind of] seeing and embraces
the other [kind], so that he attains what was sought.
[18] Now, Christ in this present Gospel-passage tells of (1) the
brief time of His departure and of (2) His return to them. For He who
was the joy and consolation of His Apostles was going to depart from
them for a while. And with that departure there was to come upon them
wailing and lamenting and sorrow. Then after a little while He was
going to return and to see them [again], and then they were to rejoice
perpetually. In particular, in His suffering [on the Cross] He took away

His physical presence for a little while; and because of this the
Apostles were sorrowful. Then after His resurrection He manifested
Himself to them by means of evidences that He was alive; and He saw
them [again]. From that seeing [of His] they were made glad of heart.
And this joy remained always, so that with joy over His resurrection
they became witnesses as regards His [shed] blood.
[19] From the foregoing we can note that Christ permits the joy
of saints to lead them into sorrow for a short while in order that after
the sorrow they may come to eternal joy. For just as the Father ‘aban-
doned’ Christ in His suffering [on the Cross]18—as if He did not care
about Him—so that [Christ] suffered without consolation: so too
Christ ‘abandons’ His own [followers], so that they suffer; and [He
does] this in order that through suffering and death they may arrive at
life that is without suffering. The world rejoices when saints are made
sorrowful. For those are saints who oppose worldly joy; and there is
continual strife between the world and the saints. Hence, that which the
world abhors, it inflicts on its adversaries: namely punishment, so that
they lament, weep, and are saddened. But this [grief] is momentary in
comparison with eternal life.
[20] You might ask: “Why does God permit saints to be torment-
ed and made sorrowful?” The text answers: “Because of the fact that
the sorrow will be turned into joy”—just as with a woman who gives
birth. For since the saint suffers because of [his] love of justice and of
truth, he cannot fail to be rewarded on account of the justice for which
he suffers. Therefore, the sorrow will be turned into joy. For he will
rejoice that he has undergone punishments for the sake of justice.
[21] Note, too, that [the text] says that eternal joy will come from
a new seeing. [This statement] can also be understood as regards
Christ’s coming to His saints immediately after their death. For Christ
is going to come to every saint when he departs from this world—
[going to come] for seeing him. And this seeing by which Christ views
the soul is the infusion of eternal joy. Therefore, Christ comes as
Consoler—[comes] for seeing His saint, in order that, in seeing [him],
He may be seen [by him] and in order that the one seeing Him may be
consoled with perpetual joy—as Mary came to Elizabeth for visiting
her, so that Elizabeth was filled with joy by seeing Mary.19
[22] Consider carefully the example of a woman giving birth. For
[the text] says: “A woman when she is in labor has sorrow because her
hour has come; but when she has brought forth the child, she remem-
bers no more the anguish, because of the joy that a human being is born
into the world.”20 This likeness teaches many things. For just as in her
womb a woman conceives a seed from which an animal-[life] is begot-
ten, so too in the animal-life a seed-of-reason is created, from which a
rational spirit proceeds. Hence, in a vegetative power a mother con-
ceives an animal-seed; and in a sensitive power a rational seed is con-
ceived by way of creation; and in the rational power a seed of the Word
of God [is conceived] by way of grace and regeneration. For what is a
woman who harbors in her womb a male child except a soul who is a
bride of Christ [and] who is betrothed to Christ by faith and who has
conceived in the womb-of-faith a seed of the Word of God and who has
nourished [it] until Christ comes to perfection in that [soul]? [23] But
Christ, who is not of this visible world, cannot proceed from the
womb-of-faith into the Truth and Light except by way of death. For
this [worldly] region is not a region of truth and of intellectual light but
[is a region] of the senses and of corruption. Therefore, an offspring
goes out from the womb-of-the-sensory-life (which is a shadow of rea-
son), so that, once freed from the shadow of bedarkened ignorance, it
may be present in its living and lucid intellectual region. Similarly, an
animal-[life] goes out from the darkness of the maternal womb, from
the vegetative region, into the perceptible light, wherein, in its own
way, it makes progress and is delighted. [24] Hence, just as this sepa-
ration from the mother and from the place of darkness—when the fetus
goes out from the womb and enters into this perceptible light—occurs
with very intense pain, because the offspring is a part of the womb: so
too the separation of the rational soul from the body with which it was
united in a supposed oneness [occurs with very intense pain]. But the
sorrow is turned into joy. For the woman, as soon as she sees that a
human being has been born into the world, does not remember the
anguish. And as soon as the soul sees Christ born within itself in the
intellectual world, then on account of the joy it does not remember the
[previous] anguish and pain. And in the more Christlike way [the soul]
departs from this world through suffering and persecution—departs
into truth as a result of [its] faith—the more joy it has because of this.
For it is found to be so much more similar to Christ than gold is found
to be bright as the sun and incorruptible—[gold] that was conceived in
a black mine and hidden from the influence of the sun and which when
purged by fire leaves behind its slag of blackness.
[25] Let us consider that the promise that sorrow is turned into
joy is certain, because it is the promise of Truth and of the Son of God.
And so, we ought to bear sorrows patiently. And although there is sor-
row in the nature of the senses, nevertheless we ought to rejoice as
[did] the Apostles about whom we sing that they went from the pres-
ence of the council rejoicing that they were accounted worthy to suffer
reproach for the name of Christ.21 Let us, therefore, make useful to
ourselves this brief passage of our lifetime by enduring hardships
patiently [and] with a willing mind, so that we may be found to be rich
in joy, so that when Christ shall come and shall see us, and we Him,
our heart shall then rejoice with eternal joy. For no one will be able to
take this joy from us. For it is joy in the Kingdom of Life, where no
death shall reign.
NOTES TO Obsecro Vos tamquam Advenas*
* Sermon CCLXXXI.
1. I Peter 2:11 .
2. I John 2:16.
3. Cf. II Peter 2:11 .
4. Hebrews 2:7. Psalms 8:6 (8:5).
5. I Peter 2:13-14.
6. I Peter 2:16.
7. I Peter 2:17-19.
8. John 16:22.
9. John 16:10-14.
10. John 16:16.
11. Nicholas is attempting to elucidate the relationship between God the
Father and God the Son by using the analogy between the human intellect and its
word. The Latin term “intellectus” signifies, variously, intellect, meaning, under-
standing. Nicholas plays upon these different significations.
12. Hebrews 1:2.
13. I Corinthians 15:28. Ephesians 4:6. Colossians 3:11 .
14. John 16:15.
15. Psalms 2:7.
16. John 16:16.
17. John 14:28.
18. Matthew 27:46.
19. Luke 1:39-44.
20. John 16:21.
21. Acts 5:41.
284
Pater Vester Caelestis Dabit Vobis*
(“Your Heavenly Father Will Give to You”)1
[May 23, 1457; preached at Neustift Abbey]2
[1] “Your Heavenly Father will give from Heaven the good Spirit to
those who ask Him.” (Luke 11 and in the Gospel-reading for today’s
office).
Beloved Brothers in Christ, at different times you have heard that

without spirit there is no life. For so says our Savior in John 6: “It is
the spirit that enlivens.”3 For actions are done only through movement,
and movement is from the spirit. For the Creator of all things is pure
Intellect, who begets from Himself His own Word (or Concept, or
Idea) of creatable things. And from the Father, who is pure Intellect,
and His Word there proceeds the Spirit, or Will, who moves, so that
creatures are made. In a similar way, all the works of the intellectual
nature are done. [2] My pure intellect wills to form in you a likeness
of itself. It first conceives of itself by begetting from itself a word for
its understanding. By means of this [word] it views itself, and it fash-
ions this conception into a certain idea or exemplar-form in whose
likeness it wills to form the intellectual nature that is in your inner man.
And because this form is pleasing to [my intellect, my intellect]
embraces it as being good. And because the good is communicative of
itself, there arises in the will a motion, and [that motion] moves the
tongue and all the other [functions] so that there is formed the sound
which I breathe out. In this perceptible and formed sound there is pres-
ent the spirit of my desire. In this [spirit] there is present the word of
my conception; and in the conception there is [intellect’s] understand-
ing, which is the father of the word.
[3] Hence, in every work of the intellectual nature there shines
forth a likeness of God’s creation; and we see how it is that perfection
requires the Trinity: namely, the Father and the Son and the Holy
Spirit. Now, in all creatures (as says Dionysius)4 there is an essence,
from which a power is begotten. From these [two] there proceeds the
activity that is done through movement. Now, every movement is
called spirit, just as air is called wind, or spirit, as in the following [sen-
tence]: “The spirit has blown, and the waters will flow.”5 Accordingly,
there is one spirit of this world, another spirit of the Heavenly world,
or other world. There is one impulse in our rational nature; it motivates
285
286 Pater Vester Caelestis Dabit Vobis
us toward the activities of this world, [and] it is called desire (concu-

piscentia). There is another [impulse], which motivates us toward the
activities of the other world, [and] it is called love (caritas). But the
goal, [or final cause],6 is the cause of causes, because the goal is that
for the sake of which we act. With reference to the goal the spirit is
tested [as to] whether it is from God or from the world,7 which is seat-
ed in an evil spirit.8 [4] For example, if someone enters a religious
order so that he may acquire those things which are of this world—for
example, bodily comforts, peacefulness, and honor, and things of this
sort—he is motivated by an evil spirit. Similarly, he who is in a reli-
gious order and [then] endeavors to observe its regulations to the end
that he be called holy and be honored and not be reproved by his supe-
rior: he is moved by an evil spirit. For the goal of his observance is
self-love.
But those are led by the Spirit of God who separate themselves
from the world, so that they are dead to the world and alive unto God.9
They strive to please only God (whom they love) and not the corrupt-
ible world. They have a spirit that conveys them upwards toward God.
I say “upwards” in order that we may understand that the separation
[extends] from this perceptible and corruptible world [upwards] to the
immortal virtues, where the habitation of the Immortal God is [found].
[5] The spirit-in-the-saints which moves the inner man toward
Heavenly things is called love (caritas). For that love (amor) by which
the intellectual nature is moved toward its Primary Truth—namely,
toward its Beginning and Fount of Life—can never fail, because the
Goodness of the Creator can never be apprehended enough and can
never be loved (amari) enough. For the more God is apprehended
([although] never as He is comprehensible), the more He is loved; and
the more He is loved, the more He is comprehended, because He is
Love (amor seu caritas)10 that is tasted and seen by loving. To taste
and see11 is to comprehend. Caritas [i.e., God] is tasted by amor and
is loved by tasting. And this [loving-tasting] constitutes the immortal-
ity of the intellectual nature.
[6] But this spirit [which moves the inner man toward Heavenly
things and] which is not of this world, but is of that world toward
which it leads, cannot be possessed from any of the things that are in
the world. Nor is it elicited from our own nature, which is infected
because of the sin of disobedience of our First Parents, [Adam and
Eve]. On account of this infectedness and this spark-of-evil-desire we
Your Heavenly Father Will Give to You 287
are prone to evil from the time of our youth. This proneness results
from the motivation that comes from the Prince of this world.12
Therefore, it is necessary that this good spirit13 be [possessed] by the
gift and grace of the Creator of our intellectual nature. [7] Therefore, it
is only by a Divine gift when we who are living in this world despise
the world and when our entire effort is to oppose the delights of this
world and to put to death, triumphantly, those things which are of this
world and to offer [them] as a sacrifice. Indeed, if we were to have this
spirit, it would teach us all things; and we would not have need of
another teacher, because this [spirit] would lead us unto the right land
of eternal happiness. Accordingly, then, it is necessary that we have
[this] spirit, because without it we will not reach the haven of salvation.
[8] We are taught by the words of the theme-text that we will
have [a good spirit], i.e., that the Father of Lights will give it [to us],
since “every best gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming
down from the Father of Lights.”14 And the Teacher of truth teaches us
in the words of our theme-text that the Heavenly Father gives this spir-
it to those who ask. But the Gospel-passage explains how [the Father]
ought to be asked—namely, [He is to be asked] with an exhibiting of
desire than which there can be none greater. For it is necessary that
[our] petition be vital and pressing. [9] No soul is capable of receiving
that spirit unless the whole [soul] glows with a desire to obtain [it]. A
flame does not arise in green twigs unless the contrary humors have
been cast out and the twigs made intensely hot. For then an illumining
flame supervenes. For as long as the spirit which evaporates from the
twigs is watery and earthen, the flame does not descend into it. But
after those impure vapors are expelled, there arises in the warm ethe-
real, or aerial, spirit15 that is united to the twigs a flame sent, as it were,
from on high. And [the flame] tends upwards toward the sky, from
which it descended. Although this is a disparate likeness of the good
spirit’s descending into the soul, guiding it upwards and illumining it
with the light of wisdom and making it warm with the heat of love and
always remaining since its subject is incorruptible (as is said of an
asbestos-stone, which once lit is never extinguished). Without doubt, if
the heat is continuously applied to the twigs, then it becomes more
intense, and, at length, a flame arises.
[10] But it is necessary that persistent attentiveness precede in
order that the subject be made suitable. Hence, the reason is now
known why that spirit is not given to everyone. Surely, it is because a
flame does not arise in ‘green twigs’ when one ceases from a persist-
ent continuation [of heating, i.e., of loving and asking].
In a certain manner, God wills to be importuned. A certain Judas
said to Blessed Jerome—when Jerome stopped studying the Chaldean
language because it seemed exceedingly difficult to him—that enor-
mous (improbus) labor overcomes all [obstacles].16 Understand
“improbus” labor to be labor that is without shamefulness but is
dogged—according as here the Gospel-passage says that because of
the importunity [improbitas] of the one asking, his friend gets up from
repose [at midnight] to give him loaves of bread.17 Note that the text
indicates [that] if he persists, he will obtain.18 For persistence is what
shows that the seeker’s heart is not vacillating and inconstant. The text
says [that he will give him] as many loaves of bread as he has need of,
etc. Take note of that. For oftentimes one is asked for that which it is
not known whether it is necessary for health and life. But to one who
persists there are granted those things which are necessary. [11] To
Solomon as king, wisdom for ruling (which he asked for) was neces-
sary; and he obtained it. One wisdom is necessary for a religious:
[namely,] that he know that obedience is what makes one a religious.
And when he has this grace that he is certain that obedience is neces-
sary, and when he has obedience very completely, he has what he was
intent [on having]. For he will be judged only with respect to obedi-
ence. Therefore, if a religious asks both persistently and importunate-
ly for many things, then after he has obtained [the gift] that, without
murmuring, he is obedient: then he knows that he has obtained the
things he asked for.19
[12] Knowledge sometimes inflates20 and is not granted if it is
asked for. Likewise for eloquence and other such [excellences]. Hence,
[Christ] adds: “Ask, and it shall be given to you. Seek, and you shall
find. Knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks,
receives; and everyone who seeks, finds; and it shall be opened to one
who knocks.”21 But take note of where [Christ] says [that] therefore
everyone who truly asks or seeks or knocks [will] doubtlessly obtain.
But who is the one who asks except him who adapts himself for obtain-
ing? Someone asks to become a carpenter. He knows that by building
he becomes a carpenter. Likewise also, a religious who wishes to have
the virtue of obedience: by obeying, he asks for that [virtue] and seeks
it and knocks in order to arrive at it. And he then experiences that he
has received [it] when he is delighted with [his] obedience. Hence,
Your Heavenly Father Will Give to You 289
delight is a sign that a spirit of love indwells the soul. Murmuring is a

sign of indwelling pride and of a haughty spirit; but readiness-to-obey-
with-joy is a sign of a good spirit.
[13] One who wills to become a son of God22 follows Christ until
the point that he becomes Christlike and delights in Christ’s life. He
puts on Christ23 and asks in Christ’s name and receives—as [you
heard] in Sunday’s24 Gospel-reading. For no one except the Son—
whom the Father loves and to whom He gives all things—can obtain
anything from the Father. And so, it is necessary that one who wishes
to be heard [by the Father] be Christ by partaking of Christ’s form,
which is a form pleasing to God because it is the form of the virtues.25
St. Augustine had the form of Christ, and if you have the form of
Augustine, you will also have put on the form of Christ, just as the
Apostle Paul, who has the form of Christ, invited his hearers to [have]
his form.26 Behold, such ones are they who ask truly and who receive.
[14] Perhaps you might say: “I do not know what to ask for or
what to seek,” etc. It is enough for you that you ask that there be given
to you that which is necessary for you, even if you do not know what
that is. For the Father in Heaven knows that a good spirit is necessary
for you; and He will give it, [and that spirit will] suffice. For one who
has the spirit of God has goodness itself; and something other than
what is good cannot be desired. And so, the spirit of goodness suffices
for fulfilling your desire. David sought for a right spirit to be renewed
in his heart,27 knowing that the good spirit is the spirit, [or wind], that
leads to the port. [The situation is] as if someone who was located at
sea did not know where the port was. He would seek the wind (or spir-
it) leading to the unknown port.
[15] There might be many [questions] to be asked concerning
these words: “Ask, and you shall receive; seek, and you shall find;
knock, or inquire, and it shall be opened to you.”28 For all these
[imperatives] presuppose that the one who is asking, seeking, and
knocking is not altogether ignorant. Hence, we see that within our
rational spirit there is a certain living image of Divine Wisdom. When
we look unto this [image], we are moved by a certain Divine impulse
to ask, to seek, and to knock for those things which make perfect the
image and which bring the image into conformity with its exemplar.
For the tendency of an image qua image is this: [namely,] that it
approach to conformity with its exemplar.
[16] But the gift [of God] is faith.29 For the spirit of faith by
which we believe that Christ is the Son of God motivates us to seek a

way of arriving at sonship-with-God,30 which is the ultimate happi-
ness. And this [happiness] will occur when we arrive at conformity
with Christ. For this conformity, which by faith we hope we are going
to have, is nothing other than sonship with God. But the way [of son-
ship] consists in perfect obedience that has exalted Christ above all
[other] things. [17] Therefore, you Religious ought to ask that there be
given to you Christlike obedience, and [then] you [will] have whatev-
er you wish for.31 For as long as you do not follow Christ, who is the
Pathway of obedience, you will not come to true happiness and to eter-
nal life. But if you resolve to obey God, in and through your [local]
prelate ([i.e., obey him] even unto death—death upon the cross—i.e.,
unto the most horrible of horrible things), then you are perfect
Christlike and religious sons of the Blessed God. And you have
obtained a good spirit, namely, the spirit of Christ, whom the Father
gives in order that by means of this gift He may make [you] sons-of-
God who are conformed to Christ.
[18] Therefore, the gift of the Father qua Father is sonship; i.e.,
[the gift] is the spirit-of-the-Son-of-God, whereby we cry out “Abba,
Father.”32 Therefore, all who truly have God the Father as their Father
are sons [of God] because they have within themselves the spirit of
Christ, the Son of God. And their Christlike works show the motivat-
ing spirit. And this is the singular knowledge that gives us knowledge
characteristic of the sons of God, namely, Christlikeness. And the prac-
tices of every religion aim at leading to this [knowledge]. For religion
is only a way of arriving at the spirit of Christ, who is not of this world.
[19] Let these [thoughts] have been expressed with loving admo-
nition, so that you may be obedient to this religious Prelate whom (1)
love for your salvation and (2) obedience has led [here] from Vienna.33
He has determined to obey even unto death; and, as you see, he has
barely escaped death. [Obey him] as [you would obey] the Son-of-
God, our Savior. Reflect on his admonitions no less than if they were
acquired from the mouth of God. Thereupon you will doubtlessly be
conformed to Christ through obedience. And you will be like Him in
[your] eternal Native Land, [namely, Heaven]. And you will possess
with him the everlasting happiness that God—our God, [who is] the
Happiness of the saints [and who is] forever Blessed—grants to all of
us [believers].
NOTES TO Pater Vester Caelestis Dabit Vobis*
* Sermon CCLXXXII.
1. Luke 11:13. The King James Version and the Revised Standard Version
have “Holy Spirit” in place of “good Spirit”.
2. Kloster Neustift, or Abbazia di Novacella, is located in (what today is)
Vahrn, just outside of Brixen.
3. John 6:64.
4. Pseudo-Dionysius, De Caelesti Hierarchia, Chap. 11, (Dionysiaca II, p.
930, paragraph 2).
5. Cf. Psalms 147:18.
6. Aristotle’s ‘final cause’ is that for the sake of which something is done,
that for the sake of which the efficient cause works.
7. I John 4:1.
8. I John 5:19.
9. Cf. Colossians 2:20. Romans 6:11 .
10. Neither here nor elsewhere does Nicholas make a systematic distinction
between caritas and amor—although caritas is never a profane or sinful love.
11. Psalms 33:9 (34:8).
12. The Prince of this world is Satan. Cf. John 12:31.
13. This good spirit that a religious believer may have is a remote image of
the Good Spirit—or Holy Spirit—in God.
14. James 1:17.
15. Here I am reading, with the printed Paris edition, “in calido ethereo seu
aereo spiritu” in place of “in calidum ethereum seu aereum spiritum” in ms. V2 .
16. Virgil, Georgica I, 145-146.
17. Luke 11:5-8.
18. Luke 11:8.
19. He has obtained them anticipatorily, because he will some day have a
future life of eternal happiness. See n. 31 below. See also section 1 4 of the pres-
ent sermon.
21. Luke 11:9-10.
22. John 1:12.
23. Romans 13:14.
24. “Sunday’s Gospel-reading.” That is, in the preceding sermon of May 8
(= Sermon CCLXXXI). The Gospel-reading is from John 16.
25. See Section 4 3 of Sermon CCLXXVI.
27. Psalms 50:12 (51:10).
28. Luke 11:9-10.
29. Ephesians 2:8.
30. See Nicholas’s treatise De Filiatione Dei.
31. In having eternal happiness the obedient believer has all that he wish-
es for.
32. Romans 8:15.
33. See Hermann J. Hallauer, “Nikolaus von Kues und das Chorherrenstift
291
Sublevatis Oculis*
(“With Eyes Raised Upward”)1
[May 25, 1457; preached at Neustift Abbey]
[1] “ With eyes raised upward toward Heaven, [Jesus] said: ‘Father, the
hour has come. Glorify [Clarifica] Your Son so that Your Son may glo-
rify [clarificet] You.’ ” 2
You have heard elsewhere that “clarificare” is [the same in
meaning as] “glorificare”. Christ, in His discourse after the Last
Supper, indicated to His Apostles that in the world there would be dis-
tress but that they would have peace in and through Him. And, reas-
suring them, He said: “Have confidence, for I have overcome [the
world].” 3 Hence, from this [statement] we ought to understand that
Christ is the Triumph over the world. Therefore, he who wishes to have
peace and to be free from the distress of the world must flee for refuge
to Christ, the Vanquisher of the world. And He who forsakes the world,
has recourse to Christ. The world is the life of the senses. In the
[domain of the] senses are hardship and distress; in [the domain of]
truth, there is peacefulness.
[2] He who knows that true life is present in the intellectual
nature—which alone is capable of [apprehending] truth—knows that if
his inner, intellectual man puts on truth, which is eternal, then he has
immortal life. For in the truth, the intellect is present in its heaven and
its paradise of delights. For it lives enjoyably in truth, and truth is the
nourishment of its life. For to understand is, for the intellect, to live;
and to understand is only to apprehend truth, i.e., to know truth. Just as
for the external power-of-sight seeing is living, so for the intellect
understanding is living. If sight clearly and lucidly sees the visible, it
is in its heaven and its paradise, and it desires nothing more; for there-
in it is delighted vitally. The situation is similar with the intellect as
regards truth.
[3] However, the intellect that is of this world, i.e., that deems
itself to live here among the objects of the senses, suffers oppressions
and hardships. For [among such objects] there is nothing lasting; and
nothing nourishes the immortal intellect except that which is immortal.
Hence, things temporal and perishable oppress the intellect. Thus,
when the intellect deems itself to have apprehended its [true] life by
way of the senses—a life with which it is delighted—then after it expe-
292
With Eyes Raised Upward 293
riences that the form of this world and this world’s lusts perish,4 the
intellect is sorrowful, finding itself to have been deceived. Therefore,
if the intellect wishes to enjoy a peaceful state, it must esteem objects
of the senses as nothing. And if the intellect has [such possessions], the
intellect must remain without affection for them, so that it both pos-
sesses them and does not possess them—so that if riches abound, it
does not set its heart [on them].5 He who truly prefers God to the world
puts on Christ,6 the Vanquisher of the world. Such a one speaks as does
Peter: “It is necessary to obey God rather than men.”7 Hence, he has
peace, because for him to die [to the world] is for him to live [unto
God].
[4] There follows [in the Scriptural text]: “Jesus spoke these
words and with eyes raised upward toward Heaven said: ‘Father, the
hour has come. Glorify [Your] Son so that Your Son may glorify
You.’ ” Note the following coincidence: the Father glorifies the Son,
and this is the Son’s glorifying the Father. To glorify is—as is said
below—to manifest. The Father-Creator was not known to the world,
for “no one has seen the Father.”8 Quite reliable knowledge of this
world comes by means of sight. But sight can attain only to corporeal
objects and to objects visible to the senses. The Creator, however, is
none of these things that He created. Perceptible things are created
things. Both things visible and things invisible have been created.
Accordingly, God is none of all these things. Yet, the Son of God-the-
Father manifests the Father; for the Son is the Manifestation of the
Father.9 But this [manifesting] cannot occur unless the Father mani-
fests the Son.
[5] Hence, God the Father, who through Jesus worked divine
works,10 manifested that in Jesus there is the Creator’s power, which
is only where [the Creator’s] essence is. Therefore, the power that
appeared in and through the miraculous works of Christ manifested
that the power in Christ is co-essential with the Father. Therefore, God
the Father-of-Jesus showed—in the power through which Jesus
worked the divine works—that Jesus is His Son; and the Son mani-
fested that in Himself is the Omnipotent Father. Therefore, Christ
seeks to be glorified, i.e., manifested, by the Father not (a) in order to
seek His own glory and to glory in the fact that He is the Son of God
but (b) in order that the Father be glorified. Therefore, the purpose of
the creation and of the Incarnation is [to manifest] God the Father’s
glory—as you have heard elsewhere about this [topic].
294 Sublevatis Oculis
[6] There follows in the text: “… just as You have given to

Him power over all flesh in order that whatever You have given to Him
He may give to them as eternal life.” 11 Understand that Christ sought
glorification from the Father to the end that He might advance [in His
mission]. For the Father gave Him power over all flesh, i.e., over every
man. For with respect to the fact that He became a human being, every
human being is in His power. For if Divine Power is made a human
being, that human being has within Himself all things human. And
because that Power is absolute, it can bestow eternal life on every man.
[7] Hence, this is the strength of Divine Power: [namely,] that those
who are subject to it live more abundantly. For the Life that is also
Power gives itself as nourishment to those who are subject [to it]. So
law, commandment, precept, and all other such things, are the life of
this Power; and to obey [these laws, etc.,] is to live. Therefore, Christ
seeks to be glorified in relation to His power, i.e., in order that the
knowledge of Him may be so great that men may know of His
power—for example, in order that they may know that all who receive
Him as Son and Heir of the King-of-Life may know that they are made
eternally alive by Him.
[8] There follows: “ This is life eternal: that they may know
You, the only true God, and may know Jesus Christ, whom You have
sent.” 12 Here He discloses how it is that He will give eternal life,
namely, by virtue of the fact that He reveals the Father, in one’s knowl-
edge of whom there is eternal life. This knowledge—viz., that to know
that God the Father-of-Jesus is the only true God—is eternal life. For
this apprehension is understanding (i.e., is living) eternally. To know
eternal life is to comprehend it in one’s spirit. But because this com-
prehending cannot occur except through the Son’s being manifested, it
occurs through a knowledge of the Son. For one’s knowledge of the
Son is the means to this [knowledge of the Father], because the Son is
the knowledge of the Father.13 Analogously, the knowledge of a
teacher’s word is the means of arriving at the teacher’s intellect; and
whoever has no knowledge of the word does not attain to the “father”
of the word, namely, the intellect.
[9] Therefore, Christ, because He is the Son, is the Legate of
the knowledge of the Father. Therefore, it is necessary to know that
Jesus Christ was sent from God the Father. He has the power of
bestowing eternal life, i.e., of showing the Father to the intellect—a
showing which is knowledge. Take note of the fact that [Jesus] says
that eternal life is to know. Living is a very delightful movement that

does not occur without love. For delight is a product of love. Hence,
present in eternal life is knowledge that is love. [10] For by means of
a certain most natural love the intellect desires to know. And this
desire is that it have truth within itself; for he who desires to know
desires to know truth. Therefore, this desire to know is [the desire] to
apprehend the object desired with longing. Hence, he who conceives
that God is Love and is the Goal of desire, i.e., is Goodness, sees that
in love’s-apprehending the soul’s desire is satisfied. This desire is
[desire] on the part of [our] spirit, in which the powers of the rational
soul are united as they are present in the soul’s supreme [spirit]. (These
powers are separated from one another in discursive reason.)
[11] Hence, when I say that eternal life is the knowledge of
love and you consider only knowledge, there occurs to you that eternal
life is present in knowledge and, thus, in the intellect. And when you
consider love—i.e., consider that love (amor seu caritas) is present in
the will or the affections—there occurs to you that eternal life is pres-
ent in the will. For love qua love is known only by loving. But when
you elevate yourself to that simplicity where to understand and to love
are the same thing, then you conceive that these powers of our soul
(namely, understanding and loving) coincide in utmost happiness. And
so, insofar as a happy soul loves, it understands; and, conversely, inso-
far as it understands, it loves. For this happiness comes to a man from
the place where understanding and loving are the same thing, and in
making his soul happy, he communicates this fact about himself no
more through understanding than through loving.
[12] And in order that you may grasp this point more clear-
ly, consider how it is that in this world the rational soul has these two
different powers, [namely, understanding and loving], in order that
(1) through the one power it gathers all things unto itself (this is the
intellect, which gathers within itself inwardly, or binds within itself
inwardly, all things) and (2) through the other power through which it
proceeds outside itself to all things, it binds itself to all things (this is
the will, or love). Through this latter power it unites itself, and binds
itself, to all things. But when [the soul] is happy, it has God, through
whom it has within itself all things. And in and through Him it is unit-
ed to all things. And the following is [one and] the same fact: namely,
that all things are in the soul and that the soul is in all things; for the
soul has God in whom are all things and who, likewise, is in all
things.14
[13] There follows in the text: “I have glorified you on earth,”
etc.15 I understand [this to mean] that on earth, i.e., in this world, [the
Son] glorified the Father. For example, in the restoration of sight in the
case of the man born blind [Christ] showed the glory of God, as also
in all His works. “I have finished the work that You gave me to do.”16
There were other things that He was to do and other things that He was
to suffer for a manifesting of [the Father’s] glory. The things that He
was to do He finished when He spoke the foregoing [sentence] after
the meal was over.
[14] There follows [in the text]: “And now glorify me, O
Father, with Yourself—with the glory that I had with You before the
world was.”17 See that by means of these [words] Christ manifests to
us two things: namely, (1) that He existed before the world existed and
(2) that He existed then in glory together with the Father. And there is
the following difference between the rational creature and the Word of
God: [namely,] that prior to the perceptible world the rational creature
was in God as the Life that God was18 but did not have glorious per-
sonal being as did the Son of God-the-Father. For the Son was always
with God the Father and as true Son always had glorious being. But the
rational creature did not have, prior to the creation, glorious being with
the Father—i.e., personal, individual being. Rather, its being was the
Power of God. By way of comparison, [the situation is] as if God were
likened to Creative Power in which all creatable things are enfolded
[and] in which the created souls that later appear do not have person-
al, individual, and formed being but are the Power of God. Now,
through these words [in the Scriptural verse presently under consider-
ation] Christ sought to be free of the temporal and mortal mode of
being, so that He would be altogether present in eternity, as He was
before His assumption of temporal and mortal [human] nature.
[15] There follows: “I have manifested Your name to the men
whom You have given me from the world. They were Yours, and You
have given them to me; and they have kept Your word.”19 To manifest
is to reveal. To manifest a name is to manifest knowledge; for a name
manifests; and [Christ] says that He manifests a name. Hence, He is
this Name by which God the Father is manifested. Christ manifested
the knowledge that reveals the Father. In Himself He shows the Father,
as elsewhere He says to Philip: “He who sees me, sees the Father also,
because the Father is in me.”20 [16] Hence, Christ is said to be the
Knowledge of the Father not only in the way in which God is mani-
fested in creatures as Creator (for this is a distant and obscure show-
ing) but also insofar as someone is known through a name (this knowl-
edge is clear and certain). Hence, Christ is the Knowledge of His
Father’s name, because the Father is the Heavenly Father and ought to
be called such. He is the Father of His Son, Jesus, through whom He
created the world21 and redeemed us and accomplished the salvation
of men. And there is no other true and only God than the Father of
Jesus—not Saturn, the Father of Jove; not Jupiter; not Sol, the Father
of light and of sensory life; not the father of any saint, but only the
Father of Jesus. For Jesus has no other father than God the Father, the
Eternal God, of whom Jesus is the Eternal Son. None of the saints call
God their father, but only Christ says “my Father”. And Him whom
Christ names as His Father, He is God—whom we say to be our Father
because He is our Creator and is the Begetter of Jesus.
[17] And so, among all men the Father chose some who,
together with His Son, Jesus, will see the glory of the Father’s King-
dom. These men are called God’s own because they are His adoptive
sons22 chosen from the world to possess the inheritance of His
Kingdom. The Father gave them to His Son, Jesus, in order that they
might be His brothers and be subordinate to Him, who is the First-born
and who holds the preeminence in all respects.23 And they have kept
the word which God willed to be manifested unto them through Jesus.
[And] because they kept it, they were made Christlike and sons of God
through participation. The natural Son of God-the-Father is the
Father’s Word (verbum seu sermo), or Logos. Those who adhere to the
teaching of the Word are sons of adoption, or sons by participation. By
way of comparison, fire by nature is hot, and the objects that receive
its heat are hot by participation. And they pass over into conformity to
heat, which is common to them and the fire—although in the fire heat
is present as in its natural source, but in the hot objects heat is present
as beyond these objects’ own cold nature through the grace of its com-
munion with these objects that have been heated.
[18] There follows: “And now they know that all the things
that You have given me are from You, because the words that You gave
to me I gave to them. And they received [them] and know, assuredly,
that I have come from You. And they have believed that You sent
me.”24 Here, then, is that which on occasion you have heard from me
regarding him who receives the words of Jesus as the words of the Son
of God-the-Father—words which the Father speaks in Christ Jesus.

Such persons, after receiving [these words] by means of faith, arrive at
true, certain, and undoubted knowledge of their own faith, namely, that
Jesus is the Son of God, who went out from the Father and, having
been sent, came to us. Herefrom you know that understanding suc-
ceeds, [not precedes], faith.25 Therefore, he who has true, certain, and
undoubted faith that our Gospel is the Gospel of God’s Son—a Gospel
sent to us by the Father through the Son, in whom is a revelation of the
Kingdom of God and “in whom are all the treasures of wisdom”26—
such a one knows, according to the measure of his faith, that which he
believes.
[19] Therefore, a true theologian must be a true Christian and
must read the Scriptures in terms of that which he believes inwardly by
faith, and then he will understand. No one can read the Scriptures and
understand them unless he looks to his own internal understanding, in
accordance with which he interprets his understanding of the external
writing. Just as someone warms himself by means of clothing, in such
a way that if he were to lack all [body-]heat he could never keep warm
by means of clothing, so too someone instructs himself by means of a
book in such a way that he [already] has within himself some under-
standing. For were he altogether ignorant, he could never be instruct-
ed by means of the book. Therefore, with the enlightenment that he has
he enters into the book, and by means of his enlightenment he draws
the nourishment of wisdom from the book.
[20] See, then, the reason that an unbeliever can find in the
Gospel no nourishment for his spirit; [namely,] because he is lacking
all light. But the believer—having in himself the light of faith [and]
holding most assuredly [to the belief] that those words [in the Gospel]
are the concealed words of the Son of the Living God—comes by
means of the Gospel to a knowledge of the concealed [meanings]. For
he arrives at an insight, so that beneath the writing he sees most
assuredly the things which he was seeking by the light of faith. [He
sees these things] not in a discursive, rational manner or in an argu-
mentative or persuasive manner but in an intuitive and most assured
way.
[21] There follows [the sentence]: “I pray for them.”27 Jesus
prays that they will not be drawn away from the known truth. For after
they have tasted of the knowledge and have departed [from it], then
being sinners against the known truth, they will not return [to it]. For
this is the unpardonable sin, about which Paul [writes] to the

Hebrews.28 Note that the elect human beings stand steadfast in their
election only by grace obtained from Jesus, who has merited to be
hearkened to [by the Father] on their behalf.
There follows [the phrase]: “… not for the world.”29 Christ
does not pray for the world, because the world is not capable of hav-
ing a knowledge of God; for it neither knows nor can know [Him].
Moreover, the world cannot grasp the Spirit of truth,30 for that Spirit is
not of this world, nor does truth belong to this corruptible world.
Next comes: “… but for those whom You have given me,
because they are Yours.”31 [Christ] prays for Christian believers. They
are sons of God-the-Father and are members of Christ.
[22] Next comes: “And all things mine are Yours, and all
things Yours are mine.32 See that there is a single Kingdom of Father
and Son, in which all things are the Father’s and all things are the
Son’s. There [in that Kingdom] mine and yours do not differ. For the
Son is the most true Son of the Father, because [He is] from the essence
of the Father. [He is from the Father’s essence] not by way of partici-
pation in the essence; for the essence is altogether simple and is indi-
visible. Nor [is the Son from the Father’s essence] by way of an
extending and a multiplying of the essence, because the essence is infi-
nite, and “of its greatness there is no end.”33 Rather, [the Father] gives
His essence undividedly to the Son; and His Kingdom is His essence,
because there is no other Kingdom of God the Father than His essence.
Therefore, if the Father’s Kingdom and the Son’s are the same
Kingdom, then the things that are the Father’s are also the Son’s, and
the things that are the Son’s are also the Father’s. But the things that
are the Son’s are the Son’s by the Father’s bestowing.34 And so, the
Son has [these things] from the Father, who gives to the Son even the
Son’s own being and, in the being, all the Son’s own things.
[23] There follows [the statement]: “And I am glorified in
35
them.” The Father is glorified in the Son; and the Son is glorified in
the holy believers. For how glorious the Son is is shown by the saints,
who believe the Son to be the Son of God and who are obedient to Him
as the Son of God—[obedient even] unto death.36
Then comes [the statement]: “And now I am not in the world,
but these are in the world, and I come unto You.”37 For when He spoke
these words regarding the Kingdom of God, He was there in His intent
and was not in the world, from which He was going to depart immi-
nently. Understand [what He means] when He says “et iam”. He does

not say “nunc”.38 “Iam” indicates that He will come immediately, as
[when] we say “ iam iam veniet” [“now, forthwith, He will come”];
i.e., He will come exceedingly soon. Hence, understand [the words]
“and now I am not in the world” [to mean], namely, [“I am not] going
to remain [in the world].” And [understand the words] “but these are in
the world” [to mean], namely, that they will remain [in the world],
although they are not of the world,39 because they are Christians.
[Jesus] rightly concludes [His thought by saying]: “And I come unto
You,”40 namely, by way of death on the Cross. For He had to suffer in
this way and to enter into glory, as He declared to the two disciples on
the way to Emmaus after the Resurrection.41
[24] The foregoing [remarks] have been made at this time as
somewhat of an explanation of the Gospel-reading, until God will
reveal deeper [insights] at another time. But because we have come
together on this last day of Rogations and because no other sermon was
preached by me during this period, then in order that I may comply in
some way with [the duties of] my office, I will take up—from the three
Gospel-readings (for Sunday and for the second and the fourth days of
the week)42—a few teachings for our instruction. First of all, the
Gospel-reading for Sunday, [namely,] from John 16, says: “Ask and
you shall receive.”43 The Gospel-reading for the second day of the
week, [namely,] from Luke 11, says: “Everyone who asks receives.”44
Today’s Gospel-reading, from John 17, says: “I pray for them.”45
Accordingly, we are altogether assured that if we ask rightly, we shall
receive. This [asking rightly] is [asking] in the name of Christ, our
Savior. And then when we persist: because every such petitioner
receives, then He to whom God the Father denies nothing, namely,
Christ, intercedes for us.
[25] The Church instituted these rogations and litanies for rea-
sons often told you. Surely, it is oftentimes useful to turn away from
joys that begin from spiritual things but that veer toward temporal
joys—to turn toward a kind of renewal of our mindfulness of our
[future] passage from this world.46 But since in the [present] memori-
al service Christ is [viewed as] going to ascend out of this world, and
we willingly with Him, a certain being-made-suitable ought to precede
[the memorial service]—[precede it] by means of fasting (or absti-
nence) and pilgrimaging and prayer. Thereupon, with an increasing
mindfulness of the joyous ascension, [the participants] would stand
gazing continuously toward heaven as if astonished and amazed at the

receding of Christ.47 [They would stand gazing] at the hidden things
and at the place of the raptured Word of Life—until they received the
Comforter48 and were indued with power from on high,49 i.e., with the
Spirit of God, without whom no one can follow the ascending Christ.
By means of this Spirit, received once again with wondrous, gladsome
light, there is a return to fastings, lest these joys veer toward sensory
states of gladness. Thus, with the allurements of the world cut off in
this way, our spirit would be strengthened—to which spirit the delights
of this world are at odds.
[26] Let us speak, then, very briefly about the Gospel-texts. As
regards the first Gospel-reading ([the one] for Sunday): let us note that
before His death Christ, being willing to manifest Himself, to the extent
befitting the capability of the Disciples—did in their sight all things
through which to draw them unto the belief that He was the expected
Messiah, the Son of God. [He worked these works] in order to rend man
from the captivity of the Prince of this world50—not as the Jews com-
monly believed, namely, that He would rend them from the captivity of
the Romans (or of others who were holding world-dominion at that
time) so that they would be free and not be subjected. Rather, [Christ
meant] that the freeing would be with respect to the salvation of the
rational spirit, which Satan was holding captive.
[27] Hence, after the many signs and miracles that Christ
made, the Disciples still did not understand the things that were of the
Spirit. And so, after the Last Supper Christ revealed to them all con-
cealed matters: namely, that He was the Knower of hearts and that His
Father was God and was in Him, and that He had come into the world
to destroy Satan’s dominion, and that he was going to return to the
Father, from whom He had gone out, and that they too were to follow
Him, and that they could experience what manner of being there would
be with the Father. [They could have this experience] by asking in His
name. For hitherto they had not asked in His name. And they were to
be certain that they would obtain what they sought.
[28] Let us note, too, from the first Gospel-reading (the one
for Sunday) the assurance of the fact that he who asks in Christ’s name
is hearkened to [by God]. [Christ] says: “Verily, verily I say unto you:
if you ask the Father anything in my name, He will give it to you.”51
Here we must note that our asking is to be only substantial asking.
Indeed, we ought to ask for super-substantial bread, namely, for the
nourishment of incorruptible life. And [this incorruptible life] is wis-

dom, which is not an accident but is quiddity or is the Quiddity of quid-
dities. Hence, no such thing is to be sought that falls for us under a
kind, or a category, [of accident]. For the categories of accident do not
signify quiddity. Hence, neither things large or quantitative or qualita-
tive or relational or spatial or temporal or any [combination] of these
things are to be sought. Rather, [we are to seek] absolute quiddity,
which bestows being. Therefore, we are to seek that which we do not
have knowledge of,52 for quiddity is not known. Hence, lacking
knowledge, we seek knowledge that enlivens. For the intellectual spir-
it, which understands that it is alive with an incorruptible life, is happy.
[29] Secondly, let us note that [Christ] says: “Hitherto you
have not asked anything in my name. Ask and you shall receive, in
order that your joy may be full.”53 Accordingly, we are taught that
from the prayer that we make in the name of Christ we obtain full joy.
Therefore, in the name of Christ we are to seek sonship with God,54 or
utmost happiness, because we will obtain this. For full joy is happi-
ness, i.e., is sonship-with-God, which no one obtains except in and
through th Son’s name. For only the Son obtains from the Father all
that is asked for. And so, we who put on Christ55 and who ask will
obtain in and through His name. Moreover, note that our joy is full
when we experience that in and through the name of the Son the things
we have asked for are given to us. For to have God qua Son of God
present in the nature of our humanity—[the Son], whom we can obey
and through whom to obtain happiness—is full joy.
[30] Thirdly, let us note that [Christ] says: “These things have
I spoken to you in proverbs. The hour comes when [I shall] no longer
[speak] in proverbs,”56 etc. For all the words that Christ spoke in a
human manner for proclaiming to the [Disciples] the Father, the Fount
of Life, were only proverbs. Unless these words are stripped of their
human meaning, they do not show the Father; for the Father is not any
of the things which can be named. Nor does any human concept attain
to that which we are taught to seek.57 For example, the peace-that-
makes-happy exceeds all understanding.58 Therefore, [Jesus] was able
to speak to men only in a human manner. But the hour comes when He
will proclaim lucidly [truths] about the Father—namely, in a Face-to-
face vision that occurs by means of His proclamation. At that time an
entreaty will be made for the showing, by the Son, of the [Father’s]
Face. The Son will have no need to ask the Father to show [His Face];
but because [the Father] loves those who are Christlike, He will show
it. Now, “those who are Christlike”— to whom [the Father] will dis-
close [Himself]—He indicates to be those who love Christ and who
believe Him to be the Son of God. For to love Christ as the Son of God
unites the one-who-loves to the [Christ]likeness that the Father loves.
[31] Fourthly, let us note there [i.e., in the text]: “I came forth
from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the
world, and I go to the Father.”59 For in the perceptible world to exist
is to have come forth from the Father—i.e., to enter into an earthly
place of ignorance and to have left behind heavenly and lucid under-
standing. To depart from the world in such a way that the world is
entirely left behind is to approach unto the Father. For in the inner
recesses of our intellectual spirit we find the Word of Truth, in whom
is the Father.
[32] Fifthly, let us note there [i.e., in the text]: “Behold, now
You speak plainly ….”60 That is, [Jesus said] that He was going to go
back to the Father, from whom He was sent. And in [saying] this, He
used no proverb. And within themselves the Disciples thought, in this
regard, “Where is He going to go?” when He said “Yet a little while
and you will not see me” and when He responded to this [unexpressed
query of theirs]. Therefore, they said that it was not necessary that any-
one ask Him, because He knows all the things that are in men’s
thoughts. And for this reason they came to conclude that He had come
forth from God. See that up to that hour they did not understand Him
to have come forth from God as power comes forth from an essence.
But because they experienced Him to know all things, they began then
to believe that from God the Father He came forth as being the One
who has in His own power all the power of the Father, who sent Him.
Let the foregoing [remarks] suffice regarding this Gospel-pas-
sage [in John 16]. Regarding the other Gospel-passage, in Luke [11],
look earlier in the collection [of sermons].61 Likewise, as regards the
third Gospel-passage, [from John 17], look at [what was said] imme-
diately preceding [this present discussion of John 16].62
NOTES TO Sublevatis Oculis*
*Sermon CCLXXXIII.
1. John 17:1.
2. John 17:1.
3. John 16:33.
4. I Corinthians 7:31. I John 2:17.
5. Psalms 61:11 (62:10).
6. Romans 13:14. Galatians 3:27.
7. Acts 5:29.
8. John 1:18. I John 4:12.
9. John 12:45. John 14:9.
10. John 14:10.
11. John 17:2: Douay translation of these Latin words: “As thou hast
given him power over all flesh, that he may give eternal life to all whom thou hast
given him.”
12. John 17:3.
13. John 14:9-11 .
14. Colossians 3:11 .
15. John 17:4.
16. John 17:4.
17. John 17:5.
18. In God all things are God prior to their creation—as in a cause the
effects are the cause. See Nicholas’s Apologia Doctae Ignorantiae, end of margin
number 16.
19. John 17:6.
20. John 14:9-10.
21. John 1:3. Colossians 1:16.
22. Galatians 4:5. Ephesians 1:5.
23. Colossians 1:15 and 1:18.
24. John 17:7-8.
25. Here Nicholas stands in the Augustinian-Anselmian tradition of crede
ut intelligas and fides quaerens intellectum.
26. Colossians 2:3.
27. John 17:9.
28. Hebrews 10:26.
29. John 17:9.
30. John 14:16-17.
31. John 17:9.
32. John 17:10.
33. Psalms 144:3 (145:3).
34. Alternative translation: “… these are [by gift] of the Father such that
they are the Son’s.”
35. John 17:10.
36. Cf. Philippians 2:8.
37. John 17:11 .
304
Notes to Sublevatis Oculis 305
38. But in John 17:13 Jesus does say “nunc”.

39. I John 4:5-6.
40. John 17:11 .
41. Luke 24:13 and 25-26.
42. That is, for Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday.
43. John 16:24.
44. Luke 11:10.
45. John 17:9.
46. Nicholas is celebrating the Feast of the Ascension.
47. Cf. Acts 1:11 .
48. John 15:26.
49. Luke 24:49.
50. I.e., the Devil. John 14:30 and 12:31.
51. John 16:23.
52. See Nicholas’s treatise De Deo Abscondito.
53. John 16:24.
54. See Nicholas’s treatise De Filiatione Dei.
55. Romans 13:14.
56. John 16:25.
57. Here at 30:10 I am reading “petere” in place of “peti”.
59. John 16:28.
60. John 16:29.
61. Sermon CCLXXXII (279).
62. See, above, the sections with the margin numbers 21-23.
Assumptus Est in Caelum*
(“He Was Taken Up into Heaven”)1
[May 26, 1457; preached in Brixen]2
[1] “He was taken up into Heaven, and He is seated at the right hand
of God.” ( [Recorded] at the end of Mark’s [Gospel] ).
See the account of Christ’s assumption-into-Heaven [as
found] in the Scholastic History.3 And for an explication, see the exam-
ple recorded elsewhere, [namely,] in the sermon at Erfurt; for [that
example] is suitable enough.4
[2] Mark states that the Apostles did not believe those who
saw Christ after the Resurrection. Consequently, Mark adds: “At
length, He appeared to the eleven as they were at table.”5 Moreover,
Jesus, while eating and supping with them, etc., as Luke says,6
reproached [them for] their unbelief and hardness of heart, because
they did not believe those who had seen that He had risen from the
dead.7 Note that unbelief comes from hardness of heart. Now, that
heart is hard which is not pliable or soft or tempered-for-receiving-
influence.
[3] [Here the word] “heart” is taken to mean inner man.
Accordingly, the inner man must be teachable; otherwise, it does not
receive the form of wisdom. But why are the Apostles called unbe-
lieving and hard-[hearted]? Surely, [Christ] permitted them to be such
for the sake of their greater salvation. For readily to believe these
proofs8 by means of which Christ showed Himself to have arisen was
not suitable for our salvation. For the proofs ought to have been many
and varied, since no one proof, in its form, disclosed Christ as He was.
For the variety of God’s works—no one of which suffices to show His
omnipotence—occurs in order that [His omnipotence] may [thereby]
be better disclosed.
The text states: “ … those who saw that He had arisen from
the dead.”9 I understand that they saw—[saw] from the manner of the
dead, who remain motionlessly where they are placed—that He had
arisen when He appeared to them alive. [They recognized His alive-
ness] by means of the works that befit the living; for they saw Him
walking, speaking, eating, and so on.
[4] He made them to believe that just as from the womb of the
Virgin the Divine Nature assumed into a union with itself a true, a liv-
306
He Was Taken Up into Heaven 307
ing human nature, consisting of a body and a soul, so too—with [the

Divine Nature] retaining its same unitedness [with the human nature],
the soul (being still united to the Divine Nature by the power of the
divinity) assumed again the mortal body (which was separated from
the soul through death) from the sepulcher,10 once mortality had been
shaken off. Thereafter, He said: “Go into all the world and preach the
gospel to every creature.”11 That is, go at the time when this faith will
have been confirmed by the Holy Spirit, who will very soon descend
upon you, as Luke relates.12 For no one is fit for preaching the gospel
unless he has that Spirit, who causes the soul to be fervent with this
divine love, once all unbelief is cast off. As a result, the preacher’s
words are an eloquent fervor that is ignited—strongly ignited—by
God. For at that time [the Holy Spirit] by means of [the preacher’s]
word breathes such a fire into the hearts of the hearers. Regarding this
[occurrence] the Savior says: “I have come [in order] to cast fire upon
the earth. What will I but that it flame up?”13 And [this fire] is a fire of
love, when the whole man is ardent with yearning for the Kingdom of
eternal life.
[5] [Christ] says: “… into all the world”14 because He willed
that all men be saved.15 And so, He wrought salvation in the midst of
the world, so that [the Apostles] preached, going out circularly from
center to circumference. Likewise, we sing in church: “Go into the
world …,” etc. See how it is that our King established the extent of His
Kingdom; for He sent His law to the whole world. Therefore, God’s
Church—whose King, Head, and Teacher is Christ—is not limited to a
given place but is extended to the ends of the earth; and there is no end
of the King’s dominion. And if Christ is still not received in some loca-
tion in the world, surely He will be received, because the whole world
is His possession. Christ would not have commanded the Apostles—
and in and through them their successors—to go into all the world
unless He had foreseen in every part of the world that there would be
believers and those predestined for the Kingdom of God. And the rea-
son that the Catholic Church is said to be this Kingdom of Christ is that
“catholic” means universal, [and the Kingdom of Christ is universal].
[6] [Christ] says: “Preach the gospel.” Preaching can also be
called prophesying, for the preacher proclaims the nature of the future
Kingdom, i.e., of the forthcoming Kingdom. Elsewhere, [the preacher]
is called a prophet, because he manifests things concealed and
unknown. To preach the gospel is to evangelize; for to preach, to evan-
308 Assumptus Est in Caelum
gelize, and to prophesy are the same thing. For proclaiming immortal
life is the bringing of good news, or is a good proclamation. For the
fact that mortal men can deservedly—and by the teaching of the
Savior, the Son of God—pass from death to life is the best of news.
[Christ] says: “… to every creature.”16 This good news is to
be preached to every creature that is capable of understanding the lan-
guage. For no creature capable of understanding the language—
whether he be a barbarian, a Sythian, a Greek, or a Latin—is exclud-
ed, no matter where he is in the entire world.
[7] There follows [in the text]: “He who believes and is bap-
tized shall be saved.”17 This is the gospel: namely, believing in Christ
as the Son of God. And he who puts on Christ through baptism will
obtain that which he believes, namely, immortal life and salvation with
Christ. One who believes in Jesus becomes Jesus, i.e., becomes saved.
For Jesus is the Savior.18 Matthew adds other things: namely, that [the
Apostles] ought to teach the doctrine of Christ.19 But those who are
now baptized or those who come to faith through a struggle are imme-
diately saved. And so, this is properly the good news (evangelium) of
salvation, namely, that faith gives immortality in the Kingdom of
Christ.
[8] Next comes: “But he who does not believe shall be con-
demned.”20 [Jesus] does not say “he who does not believe or he who
believes but is not baptized shall be condemned.” For faith is a neces-
sity; baptism is the sacrament of faith. Therefore, he who has faith but
cannot obtain the sacrament (as, for example, the thief on the
cross)21—his faith suffices. But the fact that one who does not believe
in Christ (who promises eternal life to believers) is condemned (i.e., is
damned with eternal death) is evident from the following [considera-
tion]: Our spirit does not obtain that which it neither hopes for nor
loves. For love joins our spirit to the Beloved. But he who does not
believe—he neither hopes for nor loves. And so, he who does not
believe that he can obtain eternal life remains in eternal death.
[9] [Jesus] says “he will be condemned” because after the
gospel is preached and is scorned, [the unbeliever] will be justly con-
demned, because he has scorned the Son of God and has not believed
Him. He will be condemned by the word that speaks in the conscience
of the unbeliever, who says within himself: “I could have been alive
[through Christ], and I impute to myself the [eternal] death that I suf-
fer.” And so, he will be condemned by his own judgment; and he will
be eternally tormented; for by blaming on himself his [state of] death,

he brings torment on himself. And so, those to whom the gospel is not
proclaimed do not in this way bring torment on themselves and con-
demn themselves eternally. In comparison with unbelievers, these indi-
viduals—if at other times they have not acted against a nagging con-
science—are said not to have sin (even as Christ said to the Jews,
namely: “If I had not come …, they would not have sin.”22)
[10] Now, if you rightly consider the worm-of-conscience,
which does not die23 but always gnaws, you will find that it is the judg-
ment of the God’s word. For this word which judges within our reason
[and] whose judgment is called the dictate of conscience is only that
light which enlightens every man, namely, the [light of] God’s word.
And within himself [a man] reads the judgment in and through this
light [of conscience].
[11] Next comes: “These signs shall follow those who believe:
in my name they shall cast out devils,” etc.24 Christ willed these per-
ceptible signs to be sacraments of that Heavenly Spirit who is given to
believers. For one and the same Spirit shows Himself in different pow-
ers in different believers, just as one human nature shows itself to the
senses in different ways in different men. Hence, the power of the
nature that is intellectual and that is of the essence of human nature
shows itself in one man in one way—e.g., in the art of writing—[and]
in another man in the art of speaking; in another, in the art of building;
in another, in the art of governing. And so, in various ways the power25
of the intellectual nature shines forth. Likewise, in the various super-
natural gifts the Divine Supernatural Spirit, or Spirit of grace, who is
given to believers, shows His power. [12] For when the soul receives
this power from on high, then by means of signs that can only be made
by that Spirit, the soul shows that it has received this power. And for
this reason Paul said that when Christ ascended on high and led togeth-
er with Himself the captivity that was captive,26 He gave gifts to
men—[gifts] which he enumerated.27 And these are Divine gifts that
signify the presence of the Spirit [and] that assure that we are admitted
into fellowship with Christ because we have His Spirit.
[13] Moreover, note that just as the intellect by its presence
brings it about that the animal body is assumed into fellowship with the
intellect’s nature (i.e., that the ignorance and darkness of the animal
nature puts on the light of human wisdom), so too the rational soul
passes into fellowship with the Divinity by means of its union with the
Spirit of God. But recognize a difference. For the intellectual spirit is

created in the animal nature by a breathing-into, because what is animal
is prior to what is spiritual, as says the Apostle.28 But when the spirit is
breathed in, it is not created but is communicated. And so, there are dif-
ferent created spirits in different men; but the Uncreated Spirit is one
and the same. [14] And so, in Christians, in whom there is a single faith,
there is also a single Spirit, because faith is only a gift of the Spirit. For
when the intellectual nature is elevated beyond its own nature, so that it
beholds a truth which it does not understand—i.e., when beyond the
intellectual nature it apprehends in a more certain manner a truth which
it knows to be its own life, the [apprehending] must result from a high-
er power. And this power, which is higher than the created intellectual
power, must be Divine. For between the intellectual nature and the
Divine nature no other power can be intermediate.
[15] Now, regarding the signs which come to believers, the
following is certain: [namely,] that the Spirit of faith removes devils,
i.e., adversarial powers, and brings with it a new discourse, namely, a
heavenly and powerful discourse, which is contained in the Creed of
faith. It removes serpents, i.e., vain promptings, through which the old
man,29 having become worthless, was infected. It removes the poison-
ous things—such as erroneous doctrines—that are opposed to the life
of the spirit. [Such doctrines] when imbibed or heard will not harm the
spirit, because once that Heavenly Spirit has been tasted, He does not
permit the soul to vacillate so as to be inclined toward a different doc-
trine, since it [already] has the best doctrine. And by His powerful
Hand [the Heavenly Spirit] cures the sicknesses-of-soul contracted
from the flesh—[cures them] by reigning in the lasciviousness of the
senses and by chastising the body, so that the body obeys Him. The
Spirit accomplishes this in all believers. And in the name of Jesus some
believers, thus strengthened by faith, show these [gifts of the Spirit] by
means of external signs when they cast out devils, and so on. [16]
Accordingly, take note [of the following]: Because we find these
[actions] to have been done by believers who had this Spirit, we who
have this same Spirit of faith do not doubt that the Spirit works in all
of us, invisibly, these things which He shows perceptibly in others for
the manifesting of His power through believers. In this world we can
be led to things immaterial only by means of things perceptible.
[17] “And the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was
taken up into Heaven and is seated at the right hand of God.”30 I under-
stand that the human nature in Christ was taken up into Heaven, i.e.,
into Incorruptibility and Immortality. For Jesus said that no one would
ascend into Heaven except Him who descended from Heaven—indi-
cating that He is the Son of man, who is in Heaven (John 3).31 Hence,
when the Son of man spoke these [words], He had not yet ascended
into the Heaven of Incorruptibility in accordance with His human
nature. For His mortal nature had not then laid aside the possibility
of dying, a possibility which He proposed to lay aside, as was fitting,
by means of His death. However, the person who spoke was in
Heaven, to be sure, with respect to His Divine nature, which is
immortal. Likewise, the Heavenly Father dwells in Immortality, as
says Paul.32 [18] But Christ after His resurrection from death ascend-
ed unto the Heaven of His Father’s dwelling place, i.e., unto
Immortality. To rise again from death and from corruption is to put on
a [human] nature that is incorruptible and that cannot disintegrate into
[any] pre-existing material. In a similar way, in the general resurrection
good persons and evil persons arise. Then, from among these, certain
ones ascend more highly—unto happiness. And they ascend all the
way to Immortality, wherein the Heavenly Father dwells.33 And they
will enter into eternal life, while the others will remain in the lower
parts of the earth, namely, in Hell. But in Christ the human nature arose
from death, never again going to die. Then it ascended above all heav-
ens34 until it was seated (i.e., was at rest) at the right hand of the
Father35 (i.e., in the strength of the Immortal Power).
[19] Moreover, take note of why John the Evangelist and
Matthew do not speak of ascension: [namely,] because they saw that in
Christ resurrection is also ascension. To be sure, the other individuals,
in whom resurrection is not ascension, arise; and Christ, the Judge,
determines whether they are to ascend or to descend. But in Christ, the
Judge, resurrection and ascension occur together. And because the
[ascending] does not hold true for any except those who are Christlike:
[Christ] divulged, for our instruction, that He would prolong the proofs
of His ascension for forty days in order that in the meantime proofs of
His resurrection might be multiplied. Nevertheless, [the proofs were
multiplied] on different occasions, in order that they might be better
grasped. However, He did not determine that after forty days He would
not manifest that He had arisen. For, a little while thereafter, He
showed to the Apostle Paul that He had arisen. Therefore, it is evident
that the ascension was accomplished in and through perceptible signs
in order that by means of these perceptible signs we might arrive at the
truth of resurrection, which in Christ is also ascension.

[20] Someone might perhaps ask: “Because resurrection is
common to all, say in what manner this [resurrecting] occurs and
why.” I reply that the manner is not known. But according to some
people we can say that in man there is a corporeal nature that is quite
celestial, just as in man there is a spirit that is quite divine.
Furthermore, [it can be said] that this celestial nature—which is said to
be a fifth essence and which unites within itself the elemental
[nature]—remains after the elements have been corrupted. Similarly, if
there were gold that had lead united to itself, then the gold would
remain after the lead had been dissolved. And [I say] that the spirit of
man is inclined toward this its [elemental] nature and is joined to it at
the end of the world’s motion, so that the [Divine] judgment is made
about the spirit united to such a celestial and incorruptible body, of
both of which a man consists. And the man will receive ascent as his
reward or will receive descent as his penalty.
[21] You might ask, furthermore: “Why does the text say that
Christ was taken up …,” and so on?36 I reply: Because Christ fre-
quently calls Himself one who was sent from the Father and because
He now returns as Victor, He is taken up to the extent of being seated
beside the Father. [The situation is] as if our lord Pope Calixtus were
to summon up the returning legate of Holy Angel’s37 to sit beside him-
self (just as we read38 that Peter took Linus up in order that Linus,
together with him, would be in an equal position governing over, and
judging, all things), provided that (1) the legate had manifested faith in
God and had manifested the glory of God, and provided that (2) he had
conquered the adversary, namely, the Turk, and had freed the
Christians held captive by the Turk, and provided that (3) with victory
[in hand] he would return, leading the captivity that had been captive,
and would present the redeemed [to the Pope] after a triumphal parade.
[22] Understand, then, that [Christ’s] ascension occurs with
this likeness to the legate—although a remote likeness. For [in the
illustration] the Pope, serving as God’s representative, received a rela-
tively unimportant man, to whom he committed his own representative
authority, so that [that man] would be not just a private man but would
be also a man with the fullest power that belongs to a legate of the
Prince-of-the-religion. And then the Pope made him—in accordance
with the exalted level of the dignity and in accordance with the merits
of his fidelity—to ascend above all heavens and all hierarchical grada-
tions of the Church (i.e., above all orderings and dignities, all princi-
palities, powers, and other such things) unto fellowship with himself.
And the Pope made him to be a judge and gave to him all his own [pre-
rogatives]—as we read about Joseph, who ascended in this way in
Egypt,39 and read about Melchisedech, who came to an exaltation, so
that he was a king and a priest [and] who was a type of Christ.40
Hence, since Christ assumed a human nature into a union with His
Divinity [and] unto Immortality and unto the point of being God the
Father’s Right-Hand-of-Power, it is evident that His human nature was
elevated above all intellectual heavens (i.e., above all powers, thrones,
and forces) unto a being-seated-with-God-the-Father. Today is the
Feast of Christ’s ascension—a Feast that is deservedly gladsome to
every man.
NOTES TO Assumptus Est in Caelum*
*Sermon CCLXXXIV. May 26 was the Feast Day of the Ascension.

1. Mark 16:19.
2. Mark 16:19.
3. Peter Comestor, Scholastica Historia (PL 198:1644 B-C).
4. Sermon LXXXV.
5. Mark 16:14.
6. Luke 24:41-43.
7. Mark 16:14.
8. Acts 1:3.
9. Cf. Mark 16:14.
10. Here at 4:7-8 I am deleting the word “corpus” in accordance with Ms.
L.
11. Mark 16:15.
12. Acts 1:8.
13. Luke 12:49.
14. Mark 16:15.
15. II Peter 3:9.
16. Mark 16:15.
17. Mark 16:16.
18. Matthew 1:21.
19. Mark 28:19 re teaching all nations.
20. Mark 16:16.
21. Luke 23:39-43.
22. John 15:22.
23. This expression is borrowed from Mark 9:43 (9:44), for example.
24. Mark 16:17.
25. Here the one English word “power” translates the Latin “potentia seu
virtus” at 11:14-15.
26. Ephesians 4:8.
27. Romans 12:6-8. Ephesians 4:11-12.
29. Romans 6:6.
30. Mark 16:19.
31. John 13:13.
32. I Timothy 6:16.
33. I Timothy 6:16.
34. Ephesians 4:10.
35. Mark 16:19.
36. I.e., that Christ was taken up into Heaven.
37. The Spaniard Juan de Carvajal was Cardinal of the titular church
“Sant’Angelo in Pescheria” at Rome.
38. Liber Pontificalis, Chapter 1.
39. Genesis 41:39-46.
40. Hebrews 7:1-10. Genesis 14:18-20.
314
Alleluia. Veni, Sancte Spiritus*
(“Hallelujah. Come, Holy Spirit”)1
[June 5, 1457; preached in Brixen]2
[1] “Hallelujah. Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of those who believe
in You, and kindle in them the fire of Your love.”
To the sermons which you have oftentimes heard from me I
will now add a brief exposition of the foregoing prayer. On bent knees
the Church prays with a hallelujah, i.e., with a song of gladness, that
the Holy Spirit come. Let us consider each individual word [of the
prayer], because [the prayer] is a summoning of the Holy Spirit, who
governs the Catholic Church. [2] To begin with, the Holy Spirit does
the teaching, because He is most noble and best. And so, He wills to
be invited; accordingly, “Come” is said. For He presents Himself by
making His dwelling in our free spirit only if He is invoked. As says
the wise man: “I called, and the spirit of wisdom came upon me.”3
Behold, when He wills to be invited, He is already present. For how
would He be invited unless He moved the [human] spirit that desires
Him? But (as is added subsequently) He is invited by believers.
[3] Every believer has the spirit of faith,4 because of which he
calls out to God, who is Spirit. Now, faith can be received by our free
spirit because we can believe or not believe. Therefore, if we receive
faith, surely the spirit [of faith] is present in it. And this spirit teaches
us to ask for the Spirit. By way of illustration: At first, bread is
received from one’s father, to whom it is credited that he gives good
things to his son.5 Then the taste of the delicious bread teaches the chil-
dren to ask for bread in order to be refected. Accordingly, the tasting,
which comes after faith [in our father] has been undertaken, stimulates
us to seek the spirit of pleasantness. Bread refects; the pleasantness of
its taste whets the desire. [4] The sweet spirit of wisdom is that spirit
which proceeds from God the Father and from His Wisdom. And it
turns the soul toward Wisdom6 and toward Wisdom's Begetter. The
spirit is the sensing of the pleasantness of that Bread of Wisdom. This
sensing, or spirit, reveals the hidden features of Wisdom,7 i.e.,
[reveals] the pleasantness of the Bread of Life.8 And it glorifies9 the
Wisdom and its Omnipotent Begetter—just as the taste or aroma
reveals the excellent quality of the wheaten bread and of the wheat
from which the bread has taken its essence.
315
316 Hallelujah. Come, Holy Spirit
[5] Moreover, our affection calls out: “Come, Holy Spirit.”

When it names that Spirit “holy” [and] worships Him as its God, then
our spirit, which desires only that the Holy Spirit come to it, is surely
holy. One who is just, insofar as he is just, cherishes only justice; and
the Holy Spirit cherishes the spirit which is holiness itself. For [the
Holy Spirit] is the Holy of holies. But holiness is the simplicity that is
furthest removed from all defilement, because it is infinite purity and
cleanliness. [6] Therefore, the one who calls upon that Holy Spirit,
who is Holiness, to come to his own spirit will surely need to be capa-
ble of receiving so great a purity. Therefore, where that Spirit is asked
to be received, there must at least be such a preliminary disposition
that, with respect to the one issuing the invitation, all things are pre-
pared for the reception—i.e., that his will is prone for all things possi-
ble. Then the Holy Spirit ordains by His coming those things that befit
His own excellent nature. (Similarly, we say that a poor rustic, if he is
a [civilian] volunteer10 and does what he can, is the legal host of the
emperor, who on his arrival brings with himself whatever things are
needed.) But since the Holy Spirit is not visible and is not knowable in
this present world, which is situated in wickedness,11 the soul that is
capable of receiving the Holy Spirit must be free12 from this world’s
[entanglements].
[7] But from where does the [Holy] Spirit come? Certainly not
from some place, because He is non-spatial. But because we, by
nature, are only children of wrath,13 then by the gift of God we are
transferred from our natural condition unto the Kingdom of God-the-
Son’s-love. We do not doubt that the Spirit of God has come by
grace—just as the grace-of-adoption (which is non-spatial), if it comes
to the son of a rustic, transforms him into the son and heir of the
emperor, and just as the spirit of wisdom, if it comes to an ignorant
man, transfers him from his native state of ignorance unto intellectual
light.
[8] Now, the Spirit, who is Love, is sent from the Father and
the Son. For He is the primary and fontal Love and Friendship of the
Father and the Son. From this loving Natural Union—which is holy,
pure, and clean, with no defiling blemish—proceeds all holy love. But
why is He called Spirit ? (1) I think that it is because breathing-out is
emitting a spirit.14 (For He proceeds from the Father and the Son in the
fashion of their will. Moreover, (2) [He is called Spirit] because of the
fact that He breathes-out a vital motion, (for when the wind blows,
Alleluia. Veni, Sancte Spiritus 317
then the moved air seems to be alive; similarly, we speak of a living

fountain because of its motion). And (3) [He is called Spirit] from His
effect, because He makes men spiritual15 and holy.16 Someone can be
knowledgeable and intelligent but together with this can be carnal and
a sinner. But no one who has this [Holy] Spirit is of this world,17 i.e.,
is a sinner. Moreover, a union of love is immaterial.18 [9] He is called
Holy Spirit, who is ruha and who is pneuma—as if He were of every
gender and of no gender.19 (Similarly, someone who considers an
object in which there is heat [masculine gender] [will recognize that]
its hotness [feminine gender] and its being hot [neuter gender] are the
same thing [as its heat].20 And the case is similar with good [mascu-
line gender], goodness [feminine gender], and being good [neuter gen-
der]21). For the [Holy] Spirit is spiritual heat that makes the [human]
spirit alive with that loving and divine heat. And the [Holy] Spirit is a
good [Spirit] that leads [the human spirit] unto rest.
[10] There follows [in the text]: “Fill the hearts of those who
believe in You.” The coming of the [Holy] Spirit is the filling of the
hearts of believers, just as the coming of love is the filling of the hearts
of those who love. I understand the hearts of the believers to be their
[respective] inner man,22 which has the nature of intellectual life. For
believing is found to be present only in a living intellect. But when a
believer receives within his intellectual nature the divine seed of son-
ship with God and of conformity to his [Heavenly] Father, then that
seed of conformity can perfect the intellect only by a spiritual motion
that is given by the [Holy] Spirit.
[11] Faith is that power about which John the Evangelist
speaks: “As many as received Him, to them He gave the power to
become sons of God.”23 This power is the potentiality for the intellec-
tual nature to attain to that which it believes. Someone believes that
Christ is a man and is the Son of God and that he himself can be made
Christlike. [12] This assured faith is a power in the intellective soul,
and it has within itself the form of Christ in potentiality (just as in the
power of a seed there is enfolded the form of a tree). [The soul] aspires
to conformity with this [form of Christ]. Hence, this power of faith—
with respect to what is heard through the word of Christ—is received
in the intellect, i.e., is received as the seed of the word of God and of
the Tree of eternal life. Analogously, in a dove’s egg there is the power
of conforming itself to a dove. This power is present there determi-
nately, because it is inborn. But in the intellectual nature of free will
the power is free and is not determined by nature. Nevertheless, it can

determine itself through its choices, because it is of an intellectual
nature. And when one hears the word of Christ and believes, he choos-
es by faith the Divine Form, to which he wishes to be conformed. And
within himself he receives from the certitude of faith the power by
means of which he can attain to conformity to God.
[13] This power of the believer’s soul, a power which is from
the received faith, is divine and not innate; and it is immaterial, just as
the power in a dove’s egg is a celestial and invisible power (but is
innate). Now, if a dove’s egg is to reach the point at which the dove’s
form, which exists potentially, comes into actuality, then that egg must
be filled with perceptible and temperate warmth, by means of which
the seminal power proceeds from potency to actuality. Something sim-
ilar is necessary in the case of the [believer’s] intellectual nature,
where the divine form is received by faith, in the previously stated
way, and exists in potency there where it has been received. If [this
form] is to come into actuality, so that it is brought to conformity with
the Divine Form—brought from potency into actuality—then [the
intellectual nature] must be filled with divine warmth, so that thereby
the conceptus [i.e., the newly begotten faith] is changed and is per-
fected.
[14] Now, there is said [in the text]: “… of those who believe
in You.” For believers are taken into possession by the Holy Spirit. But
from the prayer [that is now under discussion] we must note that the
reason the Holy Spirit is said to fill hearts is that one’s spiritual per-
fections have nothing from the subject [in which they are present], but,
conversely, the subjects obtain everything from the perfections. The
situation is otherwise as regards physical objects, e.g., whiteness and
flavor and such things. For corporeal things become corrupted, and
they cease to exist when their subjects cease to exist; for from their
subjects they receive their existing and their existing as one thing.
Immaterial perfections exist in the opposite way. For from the subjects
[in which they are present] they do not receive either their being or
their differentiation or their number; rather, they give to their subject
the subject’s entire being insofar as the subject is a thing of such a
kind—as is evident in the case of justice and a just man. And so, [the
immaterial perfections] are things that are prior to their subjects, and
the subjects are in them. [15] A just man insofar as he is just receives
his entire being from justice, so that justice is truly the parent and
father of the one who is just. By analogy, the soul gives existence to
the body; and the body is, properly speaking, in the soul—and not vice
versa. And so, when a man’s body is destroyed, his soul is not
destroyed. Likewise, we [commonly] say that justice is everlasting and
immortal. It is obvious that justice and wisdom and other things of this
kind do not perish with the just man or with the wise man, even though
to the ignorant the contrary seems to be the case. Likewise, one Spirit
fills the hearts of believers, to whom He gives immaterial being. [This
Spirit] is one above oneness and number. And so, you know that jus-
tice is related in one way to a just man and that whiteness is related in
another way to a white object. For whiteness receives its being from
the white thing, but justice does not [receive its being] from the just
man (but vice versa).
[16] Strong dispositions of the virtues are present in those who
are virtuous. But [these strong dispositions] are certain conformities to,
and befigurings of, justice and of God Himself, from whom they are. I
say “befigurings” [but not in the sense of] something that is befigured
intrinsically and that has a permanent fixedness and a root in the virtu-
ous person but [in the sense that] they are in a continual state of
becoming—just as splendor is in a medium and just as an image is in
a mirror, according to the word of the Apostle where He says to the
Corinthians that we are “transformed into this same image as by the
Spirit of the Lord.”24 Similarly, he says of Christ, [who is] the fore-
most just man, that He is the figure of [God’s] substance and the
brightness of [God’s] glory …,” etc.25
[17] Moreover, note that the Holy Spirit, who is likewise God,
fills all things. “All things are full of Jupiter.”26 For fullness fills. But
filling is perfecting. A thing has its being from God; [and] it has its
being this thing [from God]. It has perfect, i.e., full, being [from God].
From God the Father [a thing] has being because it is a oneness; from
God the Son it has determinate being because it is an equality; from
God the Holy Spirit it has perfect being because is is a union.27 For
example, suppose that someone considers a hand: It has, in the first
place, being that is common to all existing things; next, it has determi-
nate being, so that it is no more or no less than a hand; next, it has per-
fect being, because it is the hand of a given man through a union. [18]
The union, or spirit, which is in the arm and in the hand is one [spirit,
or union]. It connects the hand and the arm. And just as all the mem-
bers of a man are connected by one spirit, so too the parts of the uni-
verse are connected by one spirit, so that there is one universe. Now,
in the universe there are various creatures—immaterial and corpore-
al—and they are connected through one Omnipotent Spirit, who fills
all things. Therefore, that Spirit—who is the loving bond of all crea-
tures, because in Him all things have peace and because by Him all
things exist—is also the union which in the intellectual nature unites
the concepts of all things. And He is that union, or that grace, which
unites the intellectual nature to the Cause of all things.
[19] Moreover, consider along the lines of what was said ear-
lier about the egg. The egg is, first of all, from the Creator; next, a bird
is formed; thereafter, [the bird] is perfected so that it is made capable
of flying. The case is similar with the intellectual nature, which is a
likeness to the Creator. For just as God, who is Being-itself, calls the
creature from not-being unto a likeness to Himself so that the creature
exists (and, thus, calling is understanding, and understanding is exist-
ing), so too the intellectual nature gathers into itself the likenesses of
things and makes itself to be like the things.28 Hence, man’s created
intellect, being instructed by the Word of God, conceives of God, so
that it makes itself to be like Him and puts on, through regeneration,
the Divine form of its Creator—just as the egg is reborn as a dove. But
[the intellect] does not yet come to perfection so that it is a spirit.
Rather, it is perfected from its vital movement until [the stage when] it
arrives at an equality—even as the dove, hatched from the egg without
yet having wings, is, at length, perfected, so that it flies and arrives at
a likeness to the bird from which it has its origin.
[20] Hence, in the species of the flying dove the Holy Spirit is
seen. The flying dove rightly befigures the simplicity of the Holy
Spirit.29 Like the dove our spirit becomes progressively spiritual, so
that it arrives at that Divine Form from which it went forth through cre-
ation. See how it is that the egg, whose natural movement is down-
ward, becomes alive, and after it has begun to eat life-sustaining food
is strengthened as regards its vital spirit, and acquires wings. And by
means of the wings it elevates itself and is moved upwards and
explores lofty things. [21] Similarly, our soul, inclined downwards
according to the generation of the flesh, is born anew and is made liv-
ing. After the food of immaterial life is tasted, the soul acquires wings
of love and of contemplation and soars to lofty things. [The situation
is] like [that of] those saints of whom the Prophet Isaias [speaks].30
And in church we sing: “These are they who fly as clouds …,” etc. And
Jeremias and Habacuc have compared that spirit, as it is present in

saints, to the flight of an eagle.31 Similarly, too, we read in the Book
of the Apocalypse that to the woman, i.e., to the Church, are given two
wings like an eagle’s, so that she may fly into the desert, namely, of
contemplation.32
[22] There follows [in the text]: “… and kindle in them the fire
of Your love.” Believers ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit and ask
that the Spirit kindle in their hearts the fire of His love. Accordingly,
the Holy Spirit is a Living Love and a Vital and Life-giving Warmth
who kindles the fire of His love in the spirit of a believing man. By
way of illustration, if absolute hotness is conceived as igniting a fire
containing its hotness, the fire will not be the hotness but will be hot
by the gift of, or participation in, the hotness. Similarly, the Holy Spirit
is Love who kindles in the spirit of a man’s desire a fire of His love, so
that the man glows with that Divine love. [23] However, this Divine
love that is present in the soul which has been warmed [by it] causes
not desiccation but liquifaction and life, not a consuming but a per-
fecting—even as a hot perceptible fire that has been received by gold
does not dry it out but liquifies it. And where[as] the gold was [previ-
ously] without movement, it is [now] released, so that it is moved, as
if alive, in accordance with the movement of the heat. And although in
the gold the heat does not appear to be moved when the gold is melt-
ed, nevertheless it is not for this reason less moved but is more moved.
Infinite motion coincides with rest, as we see in the case of a top which
appears to be the less moved the more, and more quickly, it is spun
around. And if it were spun so quickly that it could not be spun more
quickly, then in its movement there would be rest.33 Similarly, in work
that is the work of the Holy Spirit there is effortlessness. For love is a
vital movement in which there is a state of rest and of delight.
[24] But note that love kindles a fire of its own love. When
love kindles [in the soul] a fire of its own love, then the soul is ardent
with a living and incorruptible love, so that it attains to the Divine
Form. For [that Form] attracts the soul to conformity to itself. And if
the kindled fire were not to cease but were continually to increase
(because it desires more and more to be made like the Absolute Heat,
which is said to be a Consuming Fire),34 then the soul would be ardent
[with love], so that it would obtain the form of incorruptible life.
[25] Love is the form of the incorruptible virtues. It shines
forth in formed justice, in formed devoutness, in formed mercy, and in
individual virtues that have been perfected and formed. Hence, the soul
that has been kindled with the fire of Divine love is ardent, so that it
becomes just by means of true Justice, in whose Form, which is Love,
it seeks to be made happy. In this way, [the soul] is aglow with love for
wisdom, love for truth, and for all the virtues. For in them is the Form
that it seeks. [The situation is] as if the virtues were to name that one
Form in different ways in accordance with different aspects, since that
Form is not understandable by man in accordance with its one and infi-
nite aspect.
[26] By way of illustration, there is the vegetative life, which
seeks to be made happy but cannot be made happy as long as it does
not take on a higher form, namely, that of the sensory life. For as long
as any [given] vegetative life is not transformed into the sensory life,
it can [always] be a more perfect vegetative life. Therefore, the senso-
ry life kindles its fiery love in the vegetative life so that the sensory life
is desired as the final happiness of the vegetative life. This vegetative
life, being aglow with love for the sensory life, desires to see, to hear,
to scent, to taste, to touch, and whatever other [activities] there are in
which the form of the sensory life shines forth. For [these] are pow-
ers35 of the sensory life. They are formed by the form of the sensory
life in such a way that if they lacked this form, they would not exist.
For example, there is no seeing without sensing—and so on as regards
the other senses. [27] Therefore, the vegetative life takes on these pow-
ers in order to attain unto their form, in which to find rest. The case is
similar with regard to sensing, because sensing seeks to find happiness
in the act of understanding. For sensory discrimination cannot rest as
being happy before [attaining to] the intellective form—as was said
regarding the vegetative [life] prior to [its attaining to] the sensory
[life]. And so, [the sensory life] is aflame with love for the intellective
[life] and takes on the intellective powers—in particular, the cognitive
power, the power of remembering, the inferential power, the decision-
al power, and other such powers that are formed with the intellective
form—in order to attain in them unto the form in which to find rest.
Similarly, the intellective [power] finds happiness only in the Divine
Form; and it is ardent with love for that Form, putting on theological
and divine powers in order to attain thereunto.
NOTES TO Allelulia. Veni, Sancte Spiritus*
*Sermon CCLXXXV. June 5 was the Sunday of Pentecost.

1. See the Roman Missal for Pentecost.
2. See, for example, the Roman Missal of 1962. [The Daily Missal and
Liturgical Manual with Vespers for Sundays and Feasts (London: Baronius Press,
2004), p. 709.
3. Wisdom 7:7.
4. II Corinthians 4:13.
5. Matthew 7:9-11 .
8. John 6:48.
9. The one English word “glorifies” translates the Latin words “glorifi-
cat seu clarificat”.
10. Here at 6:10, I delete “esse”, which is omitted in mss. L and U1 .
11. I John 5:19.
12. Here at 6:16 the one English word “free” translates the Latin “liber-
am et absolutam”.
13. Ephesians 2:3.
14. Among the cognate meanings of the Latin the word “spiritus” are
both spirit and breath. I have altered the punctuation of the printed Latin text at
8:6-12 so as to correspond to my understanding of it.
15. Among the cognate meanings of the Latin word “spiritalis” (plural:
“spiritales”) are both spiritual and immaterial.
16. I have repunctuated 8:9-12.
17. John 8:23 and 17:14.
18. See n. 14 above.
19. “Ruha” (or “ruach”) is a feminine Syriac/Hebrew word for spirit ;
“pneuma” is a neuter Greek word for spirit.
20. The Latin words are “calor”, “caliditas”, and “calidum”.
21. The Latin words are “bonus”, “bonitas”, and “bonum”.
22. Ephesians 3:16.
23. John 1:12.
25. Hebrews 1:3.
26. See Augustine, City of God IV, 9.
27. Cf. Cusa, De Docta Ignorantia I, 9 (26).
28. Nicholas here alludes to the Aristotelian-Thomistic theory of percep-
tion.
29. Here at 20:2-3, I follow the reading of the Paris printed edition.
31. Habacuc (Habakkuk) 1:8. Jeremias (Jeremiah) 98:40 and 49:22.
These verses do not quite fit Nicholas’s expressed thought.
323
324 Notes to Alleluia. Veni, Sancte Spiritus
33. See Cusa’s De Possest, n. 18-19, where a similar example of the

spinning top is used.
34. Deuteronomy 4:24. Hebrews 12:29.
35. The one English word “powers” translates the Latin phrase “virtutes
sive potentiae”.
Pange, Lingua, Gloriosi Corporis Mysterium*
(“Sing, O Tongue, of the Mystery of the Glorious Body.”)1
[June 16, 1457; preached in Brixen]
[1] “Sing, O tongue, of the mystery of the glorious Body and of the
precious Blood that the Fruit of a noble womb, the King of the nations,
shed as a ransom for the world.”
I was thinking that something had to be said especially about
the Eucharist. And although it is not useless to repeat the things that
you have often heard, nevertheless I have chosen to expound a hymn
in order that our memory may be fixed on it and that this assuredly glo-
rious hymn may convey to me what to say.
First of all, let us consider that we are celebrating the solemn
feast of the institution of the Sacrament of the Eucharist, i.e., [the
Sacrament] of good grace. For [the Eucharist] is a vessel of grace, just
as a gomor is a sufficient measure of manna, for it was sufficient for
each person (Exodus 16).2 Likewise, this Sacrament contains fullness
of grace that suffices for all; and it is a golden urn that contains manna
(Hebrews 9)—an urn that is placed within the Holy of Holies.3
Everything that God in His gentle kindness has prepared for the poor
is a grace and is contained in this Sacrament. It is indeed a grace,
because it cannot be procured by any meritorious work or by any pay-
ment. Hence, since it is a Sacrament that contains within itself Christ,
who is the Treasure of goodness and of all desire,4 it is rightly called
eucharist.5 (Read Albertus [Magnus, who has written] extensively on
this topic, in his Summa de Sacramento Eucharistiae, at the begin-
ning.)
[2], The soul that is nourished by the Flesh of Christ and
uplifted by the wine of His blood says to the outer man:6 “O you
tongue of my physical flesh, sing7 of the mystery of the glorious Body
and of the precious Blood of Him, namely, who is present mystically
in the Sacrament. This is the Blood which the King of the nations (who
is the Fruit of the noble womb of the Virgin Mary) shed for the ransom
of the world.” [The hymn] says “mystery” (in Greek “mistirium”)
because the Blood is present in the Sacrament only mystically
(although truly); for it is not perceptible by any of the senses.
Therefore, it is exceedingly hidden, as if beneath the form of the wine
I were to see, [only] with my intellectual eye, the very noble Blood. [I
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326 Pange, Lingua, Gloriosi Corporis Mysterium
would see it] not because it is present in the potentiality of the wine (as
if I were seeing a dove in the potency of an egg) but because it is pres-
ent truly and actually by way of transubstantiation. Similarly, when
Christ turned water into wine: if we examine the ordering intellectual-
ly in a human manner, [we see that] the substance of the water was
transubstantiated into the substance of the wine before the odor, color,
taste, and the other accidents came to the substance. At that moment
the transubstantiation would have been recognized by faith alone,
because, in particular, He who is Truth had said so. Therefore, hypoth-
esize that Christ would not have allowed [the wine’s] own accidents to
have emanated from this substance but that just as the transubstantia-
tion was brought about prior to the accidents of the water having per-
ished through the order of nature, and thus the accidents would have
remained without fail, [so too] there would have been the substance of
the wine but [hidden] beneath the accidents of the water. [In this hypo-
thetical example] the senses, which reason a posteriori, would deny
this [occurrence] to be true; but the intellect—strengthened by faith
and believing the Word, i.e., the Son of God—would affirm that
beneath the accidents of the water there was the substance of the wine.
[3] But why is so hidden a mystery present in the Sacrament?
Surely, it is in order that we may be taught that through faith we attain
unto inner [realities] even if the senses gainsay this. For things out-
ward, which are of the perceptible world, continually deny the things
which are of faith. And so, faith has merit not only there where there
is no experience that supports faith but [even there where experience]
resists faith. (This faith overcomes the world.)8 Accordingly, because
of the merit of faith there are some things that are evident and other
things that are taken on faith. And when they are believed on the basis
of the authority of the speaker, then we believe Him who speaks to be
the Son of God and believe the [spoken] truth to be a truth which is not
of this world but is from on high.9
[4] Next, note [the place] where [the hymn] says that the
Blood was shed as a ransom for the world. In this [passage] we must
note that the merit of the shedding of Christ’s Blood is the payment
with which the [Heavenly] meal of refection is purchased. For the
shedding of the sensory life, which is in the blood,10 has merited eter-
nal life—as you know from elsewhere. Note, too, that a King has shed
[His Blood]. A king is a public person who enfolds within his royal
power all his subjects. Accordingly, there is merited, for all, as much
Sing, O Tongue, of the Mystery of the Glorious Body 327
as each one needs. [The situation is] as if all men were captives and
were condemned to death, and as if the king gave himself over to death
for the redemption of them all, and as if he instituted the sacrament of
this love as his final act of departing. Of such a kind is this Sacrament.
[5] There follows [in the hymn]: “Born for us, given to us,
from a chaste virgin, and having dwelt in this world, then once the seed
of His word was sown, He concluded in a wondrous way the period of
His sojourn.” Christ was born for us and given to us, as we sing: “Unto
us a Child is born; and unto us a Son is given”11—from a chaste Virgin.
For just as by Divine power the virginal substance was transformed
into the Son, so too by Divine power the substance of the bread is tran-
substantiated into the Son. Yet, the transubstantiation is wondrous
because although the appearance of the bread remains, along with the
[accidents] that accompany the bread’s substance, the bread’s sub-
stance passes over into the substance of the Son. But in the case of the
Virgin, the virginal substance did not preserve its [outward] form but
[did preserve] its substance, or essence. For the Son is of the same
essence, or humanity, as the mother; but, nevertheless, He has His own
form, into which the virginal flesh has been transformed.
NOTES TO Pange, Lingua, Gloriosi Corporis Mysterium*
*Sermon CCLXXXVI. Thursday, June 16 was the feast day of the Sacra-
ment of the Eucharist.
1. A hymn written by Thomas Aquinas.
2. Exodus 16:16 ff.
3. Hebrews 9:3-4.
4. Cf. Colossians 2:3, where Christ is said to be the Treasure of all wis-
dom and knowledge.
5. The Greek word “eucharistía” means thanksgiving.
7. The one word “sing” translates “canta et pange”.
8. I John 5:4.
9. John 8:23.
10. Leviticus 17:11 .
328
Beatus Es, Simon Bar Iona*
(“ Blessed Are You, Simon Bar-Jona” ) 1
[June 29, 1457; preached in Innsbruck] 2
[1] “ Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona.” [This text is contained] in the
Gospel whose reading you have just heard in a certain measure.
“Simon” means obedient; “Bar-Jona” means son of a dove. For
the soul that obeys with such obedience as results from dove-like sim-
plicity is blessed—even as is the rational soul that obeys out of faith.
That [soul] can be called Peter, i.e., knowing. For it is necessary that a
happy soul be a knowing soul; for a soul that cannot be knowing—as
[the soul] of a beast is [not knowing]—cannot obtain happiness. For
happiness consists in knowledge. For example, a stone, even if it had
incorruptible being, would not be happy, because it would not know
that it had [incorruptible being]. Only a nature whose being is to under-
stand and to know is capable of happiness.
[2] However, the knowledge that makes one happy does not
arise from perceptible things or from the power of the created nature.
For [the knowledge that makes one happy] is knowledge of the
Beginning. Nothing can know its own beginning—i.e., know whence
and how it came into existence—except by revelation. A child placed
on an island during infancy would not in and of himself come to
know his father and the manner in which he himself was born.
[Similarly,] the intellectual nature knows its own beginning [only] by
revelation. And its knowing is its being. And so, when it understands,
it has within itself the beginning of its being; and so, it exists amid
immortal happiness. By way of illustration: if a certain pond—being
established within its own limits [and] having arisen from a living
fount springing up within it centrally—were of an intellectual nature
and were to know that within it there was the living fount from which
it emanated, the pond would be happy, because it would know that it
had incorruptible being.
[3] Now, we know from the Gospel that Christ is the Revelation
of the Beginning, i.e., of the Father. [He is Revelation] not in the way
that ordinary people conceive of seers and prophets as making revela-
tions but in the way in which the Son, who is the Image and Form of
the Father’s substance,3 reveals. John [the Baptist], the last priest of
the Old Testament, first revealed Christ.4 Peter, the first [priest] of the
329
330 Beatus Es, Simon Bar Iona
New Testament, likewise revealed Christ but on the basis of revelation

from the Father.5 Accordingly, the whole of the Old Testament con-
cludes with the revelation of Christ; and the whole of the New
Testament begins with it. Hence, by means of John and of Peter, the
Heavenly Father first drew all men unto a revelation of His Son. Jesus
well said: “No man can come unto me unless my Father draw him.”6
However, no one can come to the Father except by the Son’s revela-
tion.7 Therefore, if we accept the fact that Peter’s confession (viz., that
Christ is the Son of the Living God)8 was revealed to him by the
Father, then we are blessed. For Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of the Living God; [and] Christ says that this is a revelation
from the Father.9 If we admit the former, then the latter is certain—
since the Son of God, who is Truth, has spoken it.10
[4] Now, if the Father reveals to Peter hidden truth, how is it that
He would not reveal to His Son all things? Consider, then, as you very
often have, [the following]: he who acknowledges that Christ is the
Son of God surely believes in Him and believes that He was sent by
God the Father and that He speaks God’s words. Surely, he does not
sin, because he keeps [Christ’s] commandments. Who would not keep
the Son of God’s commandments, which promise eternal life and
promise that to die to this world is to live in the Kingdom of God?11
Therefore, a sign that someone readily sins is that he does not believe
in Christ as the Word of God. But if someone truly believes, then he
has within himself the word of God, because there speaks in him only
Christ, whom he obeys [and] who is the King who rules him and leads
him to the promised inheritance of life.
Note that the Church is founded on Peter’s confession. For the
Church is the mystical Body of Christ,12 which has existing within
itself Christ the Son of the Living God. In this Body is the full power
of binding and loosening;13 this power in Christ is from the Father. For
just as Christ, the Incarnate Word of God, includes within Himself all
the power of the Father, so the word of Christ in Peter includes all the
power of Christ. I say “word of Christ” insofar as Christ is understood
as existing mystically and really. For insofar as “Christ” is construed
in a mystical sense, i.e., [is construed] as designating the Church,
which is the mystical Body of Christ: in this Body Peter, being the
Head, has all the power of the Body because [He is] the rector who
governs by means of the revelation from the Word of God. Moreover,
Peter has the full power of Christ in order to be able to build the
Blessed Are You, Simon Bar-Jona 331
Church, which is not yet [fully] built. Even as Christ said “Upon this
rock I will build my Church,” so by the word of Christ Peter builds and
governs the Church. This is to say that Christ builds the Church by
means of Peter and that by means of Peter He governs the Church once
it has been built. Furthermore, “Peter” stands for every believer, for
every believer has only Peter’s faith. Therefore, from Christ we are
called Christians; from Peter we are called believers. In Peter there is
the enfolding of all believers and there is every principality and there
is all power of binding and loosening. And so, he is called blessed. And
no one can be blessed unless he follows our patron saint Peter, who is
the patron saint of every church and of this church of ours in Brixen.
NOTES TO Beatus Es, Simon Bar Iona
* Sermon CCLXXXVII.
1 . Matthew 16:17.
2 . This was the feast-day of the Apostles Peter and Paul.
3 . II Corinthians 4:4. Colossians 1:15. Hebrews 1:3.
4 . Matthew 11:13 and 3:13-17. John 1:35-37.
5 . Matthew 16:15-17.
6 . John 6:44.
7 . John 14:6.
8 . Matthew 16:16.
9 . Matthew 16:17.
10. That is, if we acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God, then we will
admit that Peter’s revealing of this fact is from the Father, because Jesus (who is
the Son of God) tells us that the revelation is from the Father.
11 . See Romans 6:11 .
12. Ephesians 1:22-23.
13. Matthew 16:19.
332
Qui Me Invenerit (2)*
(“ He Who Finds Me” ) 1
[September 8, 1458; preached in Bruneck]
[1] “ He who finds me shall find life and shall acquire salvation from
the Lord.” (Proverbs 8 and in the reading of the office of the mass.)2
Solomon speaks of Wisdom,3 which he shows to have preceded
all created things. [He shows it] through the [consideration] that all
things were created by means of Wisdom.4 Therefore, [Wisdom] was
prior to all [other] things and, thus, was eternal. But he says that it was
conceived.5 I understand this conceiving to be in the way in which the
intellect conceives, and begets from itself, an inner word. By way of
illustration: If someone were first to invent a number and [then] were
to number all things by means of it, that number would have been a
conception of reason or of intellect. And because it would be prior to
everything numerable, it would not have been any of the numerable
objects. Accordingly, [it would not be] either time or an age or an era
or duration or substance or quantity or anything that is characteristic of
numerable objects. For the origin of things numerable is not any of the
numerable things, i.e., [is not any] of the things originated from itself.
To number is to think discursively. All things that are done well
are done by means of reason. Thus, Solomon here [in Proverbs 8] says
that God created all things by means of Reason, or Wisdom. For to
weigh (appendere seu ponderare), to measure, to determine, to
arrange, to put in place—[all of] which we experience, with regard to
creatures, as having preceded the positioning of the universe—were
conceived of beforehand in Reason. And when all things sprang into
being, they all existed by a singular law: namely, that heavy things are
at the center, light things are on the circumference, and in-between
things are in the middle. Heavy things were without heaviness in
Reason, and light things were without lightness; and all things were,
[in Reason], only Reason. But when they went forth by way of cre-
ation, so that they became creatures, some were made perceptible, oth-
ers intellectual, others living, and so on. For Reason required that it be
thus.
By way of illustration: In the simple conception of a painter’s
reason is a man. In this [conception] the foot does not exist expressly
as a foot or the head expressly as a head; rather, all things are one sim-
333
334 Qui Me Invenerit (2)
ple form. But when [the conceived man] is painted, then even though
he is copied from that immortal conception, nevertheless reason
requires (1) that the head have its own distinct form [and be] propor-
tioned to the body and (2) that the foot [have] its own [distinct form]—
and so on for each [visible body-part]. And if the painting is to be a
good one, then it is necessary that it be made in accordance with rea-
son, so that the wisdom and reason of the painter who has the complete
art [of painting] shine forth well both in the image as a whole and in
each part of it.
Therefore, Wisdom or Reason is that without which nothing is
made and in which all things are Life itself. For in that Reason time is
eternity, and, to be brief, [in that Reason] the creature is the Creator.6
But all things exist through that through which they come into
being. Hence, it is evident that everything that exists well exists by
means of Reason, as Solomon rightly states.7 For (1) the deliberations
of the wise and (2) the good governance that preserves the common
good have their goodness from nowhere else than from reason. For
when they would deviate from reason, they would go to ruin.
Therefore, Wisdom furnishes to all things life and duration.
[2] Now, among all created things which there are in the percep-
tible world, only man is capable of having true wisdom. Animals thrive
by means of great resourcefulness for living. For they hunt in order to
live. But that hunting is aimed at the perceptible life, to which it is
ordered. However, man has a twofold pursuit: one that is animal;
another that is intellectual. For he pursues in order to live in an animal
way and, likewise, in order to be delighted and to live in an intellectu-
al way. Delight is the motivating impulse of the [intellectual] life.
Thus, we experience that Aristotle rightly said8 that by nature we
desire to know and that we have sight not only in order to obtain the
things that conduce to the preservation of this present life but also in
order to know the differences among things. And contemplatives have
knowledge of how great a delight there is in the apprehension of the
true. Solomon says that Wisdom delights to be present with the chil-
dren of men.9 For all things were created with this purpose: that the
Creator be glorified. And so, Wisdom is delighted to be present with
the children of men because thereby [the Creator] is known and glori-
fied.
Therefore, the apprehension of Wisdom is the obtaining of [our]
goal and is happiness and eternal life, because it is the apprehending of
He Who Finds Me (2) 335
the Omnipotent Art and of the Art of Immortal Life—just as if some

mortal were to obtain an art that bestowed immortal life and immortal
gladness. Solomon rightly said: “He who finds me, [i.e., Wisdom],
shall find life and shall acquire salvation from the Lord.” Therefore,
[Wisdom] can indeed be found when it is sought as being life. For
unless it is thus sought, it is not found [to be present] as life. Wondrous
is the following: [that] Wisdom is found in the way in which it is
sought. Suppose, then, that you believe that you cannot live without
wisdom and that you would wish rather to die than not to obtain it (just
as a man would wish to be dead rather than to be deprived of reason or
to be a stone). [If so,] then you accept all advice about finding wisdom,
and you keep all the commandments, even if they seem very difficult.
And you abstain from all uncleanness and malice, because you know
that Wisdom does not enter a malicious soul;10 and you observe very
strictly all of the Gospel’s rules, the observance of which promises
indwelling wisdom.
[3] But who is that Lord about whom Solomon speaks in the
words of our theme-verse, when he says “and he shall acquire salva-
tion from the Lord”? Surely, it is He who is Savior and is called the
Lord Jesus. For Jesus the Savior saves. He who seeks salvation in and
through Wisdom acquires salvation from Jesus. For Jesus is Incarnate
Wisdom, or Humanified Wisdom. God made the world through Him
also.11 Jesus, the Son of God-the-Creator, has the same Creative Art
and Omnipotence as the Father has. Art is begotten from intellect. The
Father-Intellect had, eternally, Wisdom and the Creative Art. Through
the Ceative Art He created within time the man Jesus, [and] He called
Him to the Creative Art. All human beings partake of the Creative Art
in a likeness. But Jesus obtained the Art itself. And this gift which the
Father gave to Him is greater than all [other gifts], because [He gave
it] not in part and in a measured portion but in fullness, so that what-
ever [Jesus] saw the Father do, He too could do. Just as a fleshly father
naturally begets a son and herewith gives him the same nature of
begetting, so too God the Father created Jesus and therewith gave Him
the same Art of creating. For just as the Father enlivens whom He wills
to, so also He gave to the Son to be able to enliven whom the Son
willed to. And because [the Son] came in order to teach us the way to
an apprehending of His Spirit, namely, the Spirit of Wisdom and of
Immortality, then we are to obtain from the Son salvation, as from the
Lord of Salvation.
But we read the foregoing things [also] as regards the glorious

Virgin. For he who shall so find her as being the Mother of the Savior
shall find, in her, life and shall acquire salvation from the Lord Jesus,
[our] Savior [and] her ever-blessed son.
[4] Because it is maintained above that man is capable of having
wisdom, which furnishes immortality, you might perhaps want to
know how you can experience this fact. I answer: in many ways. For
you have a free spirit, and it does not pursue works of nature and of the
flesh out of necessity. [Our] animal body desires those things which
other animals also desire, namely, devouring, seeking inordinate pleas-
ures, etc. [Our] spirit forbids [these things] because (1) the works of
the flesh are oftentimes contrary to cleanliness and to religion and cus-
tom and (2) mortification and fasting [are contrary to those works of
the flesh] and (3) there is shame in the works of animality (for exam-
ple, in urinating in front of others and in behaving licentiously, etc.).12
And so, reason forbids that man follow animality. Moreover, in [our]
spirit, which abhors uncleanlinesses and sins, we experience that there
is the capability of having wisdom and immortality. For [our] spirit is
inclined toward those things that are incorruptible; and it embraces
them, as we see in the arts. For it grasps the immortal art, in particular,
of numbering (as [numbering] is handed down in mathematics) and of
measuring (in geometry), and so on. And this [mathematical reasoning
the human spirit] could not do if it did not have a soul that could turn
itself from the corruptible particulars of experience to the universal
form of such [particulars] and in this way acquire the art [of mathe-
matics]. Now, [for the soul] to be able to turn itself to the universal
form of particulars is a sign that the soul which can [do] this is not
bound to the corruptible corporeal instrument, as are the organs of the
senses. And so, [the soul] is capable of knowledge and of the arts and
of wisdom—[all of] which are separated from corruptible particulars.
And, hence, the soul does not perish when the body perishes (since it
does not depend on the body), as sight perishes when the eye, to which
it is bound, is destroyed. [But] since the power [of sight] still remains
in the soul, the soul could see if the eye were restored.
[5] Moreover, we experience that imagination is higher than the
senses, because we imagine more subtly (even with the object absent)
than we sense. But imagination often errs concerning the truth, as
when we imagine that persons living at the opposite end of the earth
from us fall off [the earth]. Hence, there is a more subtle power, which
corrects the imagination: namely, reason, which says that that falling
off would be for something heavy to ascend.13 And so, [reason] con-
cludes that they can no more fall off than we can ascend. Still, discur-
sive reason often errs; and this error [our] intellectual vision corrects,
as is touched upon in [my] short treatise De Beryllo. Moreover,
because our soul has an “eye” by means of which it looks unto the
Beginning, which precedes all contrariety and, thus, all corruption,
then [our soul] is incorruptible. For corruptible things [are attained] by
a corruptible eye, composite things by a composite [eye], material
things by a material [eye]; and like is attained by like. Similarly, incor-
ruptible things are seen by an incorruptible [eye], simple things by a
simple [eye], immaterial things by an immaterial [eye]. Hereby you
know that the intellect is simple and incorruptible because it sees the
simple and indivisible (in any manner of division) First Beginning of
creatures. And in the [First Beginning] are present all things origin-
able; but the First Beginning is none of all the originated things—about
which [topic you have heard] in this same [sermon].14
[6] Moreover, the soul—by means of the disposition of faith
[and] in accordance with the teaching of the Savior—sees beyond the
intellectual nature. And [this seeing] is the farthest point to which the
intellect can be elevated. And there are miracles, which confirm by
means of faith that the intellect is active and can proceed to all things
credible. [7] And so, there can be easily understood, by considering
that the intellect is not the senses, that we perceive many things which
we do not understand, and vice versa. And with eyes closed and when
we do not hear anything, we can [still] understand. And so, the soul by
virtue of the fact that it is bound to the body, perceives; but by means
of its essence [and] as it is in itself (i.e., as separated from animating
the body) it is in a certain way free from particular contractedness, and
it beholds universal beginnings as they are contracted, and it is capa-
ble of receiving wisdom and immortal life.
[8] When the intellect considers, with respect to the cognitive
power of the senses, how it is that this [power] insofar as it depends on
a failing organ [fails] but does not fail insofar as it is a power of the
soul (because when the organ is restored, [the power] senses as before-
hand, without there being created a new power (potentia seu vis) of
sensing), then [the intellect] also sees the following: (1) that there hap-
pens with regard to the imaginative power that in the case of a less suit-
ed organ the rational soul imagines less clearly and (2) that for a time
a man loses his memory (when the organ is hindered) and later recov-
ers it. So there remains in the rational soul the power-of-memory,
although it ceases from activity, which it cannot exercise without a fit
organ. Just as a writer without a pen cannot write, so the rational power
fails with respect to its activity when the organ fails; yet, [the rational
power] remains in the intellect. The intellect does not use, with respect
to its own “seeing,” the sensory organ when it views intelligible
objects. Rather, only when [it views] perceptible objects does it use the
sensory organ. The case is similar when [the intellect views] imagina-
ble objects, since they are of a perceptible nature. The situation is also
similar when the intellect is motivated and reasons inferentially, since
it moves between those [images] which it draws from perceptible
objects. (For with respect to these [perceptible] things [the intellect]
uses the sensory organs according as they are more or less subtle and
suited for being exercised.) But with regard to “seeing” intelligible
objects that are not signifiable by anything perceptible because of their
extreme simplicity and the incontractibility of their absolute nature,
[the intellect] does not use any sensory organ but uses only its own sim-
plicity—[a simplicity] that is conformable to the nature of intelligible
objects. Hence, since [the foregoing observations are true], the power-
of-sight does not fail in the intellect. And since [that power] does not
depend on the organ, nothing can prevent its always being able to see
freely. Similarly, if the eye and the soul’s power-of-sight were the same
thing, namely the soul itself, then sight would never suffer impairment
from old age or from the indisposition of a [bodily] member.
[9] Moreover, note that the intellect looks at rational considera-
tions and judges which consideration is true and which one establish-
es immortality and which one [is] not [true and does not establish
immortality]. Therefore, [the intellect] sees its own immortality when
it sees that one rational consideration comes closer to the apprehend-
ing of immortality than does another and sees that in one [considera-
tion] immortality shines forth, and is shown, more accurately than in
another. But the intellect could not make this judgment if it did not at
all see its own immortality. Therefore, the intellect sees itself to be
immortal when it sees that by no formable or expressible rational con-
sideration is immortality so explicable that it cannot be better and more
accurately explained and demonstrated. Therefore, [the intellect] from
its seeing of immortality judges the rational consideration and does
not, conversely, judge immortality on the basis of the rational consid-
eration. And if some rational consideration were to prove immortality,
still this [fact of immortality] would be unknown unless the intellect

judged it to be true. And the intellect, in making this judgment, would
look not only at the rational consideration but [also] at truth; according
to conformity-with-truth that is detected in the rational consideration
the intellect would judge the consideration to hold true. Therefore,
when all matters are rightly considered, we see that the intellect sees
within itself, not with respect to the rational consideration, the incor-
ruptible nature of its own simplicity.
[10] Next, consider that this intellectual power comes not at all
from procreation. For if it were from procreating, it would follow the
nature and condition of other things that are from procreating. For
example, just as the eye by nature stands in relation to color, and the
senses to objects, something similar would have to be said about the
intellect: namely, that it does not stand in relation freely to willing,
remembering, and understanding but that it is compelled by nature—
or that it could be compelled by another man. But we exprience the
opposite of this latter [alternative] because [the intellect] is free to love
and to will and to understand, etc. Moreover, [the intellect] does not
age as do the senses. And so, it is not of a mortal and corruptible
[nature]. For we see that the elderly, when their senses fail, flourish in
terms of intellect and wisdom. Moreover, a man is saturated by, and
comes to an end with respect to, those [faculties] that he has from pro-
creation, because sometimes he does not wish either to see or to hear
those things which he sees or hears. But [the situation is] not so with
respect to understanding and willing. For that which he understands he
would wish always to understand better; and that which he loves [he
would wish] to love more, etc. And the entire world does not suffice
for him, because it does not totally satisfy his desire to understand, in
the way that one object suffices for the sense [to be full]. Therefore,
nothing satisfies the intellect except God, from whom [the intellect]
has being and in whose image it is. For the living image, an intellec-
tive life, cannot find rest either within itself or in anything else but only
in its Exemplar, as in its Origin, Cause, and Truth.
[11] Moreover, if the soul were from procreation, then all its
works would be natural works, and it could have no moral work—e.g.,
justice, prudence. Hence, a father does not beget a prudent son by
means of his own prudence; and a son is not naturally prudent. Rather
he has from God a spirit that is capable of having immortal virtue
because it is from an Immortal Father. For if man were naturally virtu-
ous, then every man would be virtuous, just as every man is capable of
laughter. The intellectual nature is immaterial and thus is not procreat-
able. For if it were procreatable, then it would be also corruptible—just
as when flesh is made from bread, the species bread is corrupted,
[through digestion], and flesh is generated. However, the species of an
immaterial nature cannot thus be corrupted as can the species of a cor-
poreal nature, which nature has a subject and a matter that are capable
of receiving different species.
Moreover, the last and most potent reason that the rational soul
does not come from procreating is that it has an end-goal (for the sake
of which it exists)—namely, understanding and loving God, etc.—that
is higher than is man’s form of being. Therefore, the intellect comes
from creating, [not from procreating].
[12] But if the soul is created, how is it from God’s essence?
Solution: God, as Avicenna claims,15 does not act or create through
any accident,16 since [accident] does not befall Him, who is most sim-
ple. For [God] does not act as fire acts through heat; rather, He acts as
heat that makes hot from its own essence. However, He does not
impart Himself by way of contractedness, [or delimitedness, on His
part], since He is simple and unpartakeable and unintermixable—just
as the ray of the sun is not intermixable with any foulness. Therefore,
God remains absolute, and He creates by His will, just as a king cre-
ates officials by his will and moves all things by an immovable law.
And when he gives being to officials and rulers, he impresses by his
will a likeness of his authority on the rulers so that they are partakers
of his imperial likeness, while the unpartaken imperial reality remains
with the king. Similarly, if a seal were to impress its likeness on wax,
the letters in the wax would not be unpartakeably from the essence of
the letters of the seal but would be like the essential letters. For God
impresses likenesses of his forms. In a similar way He imparts to the
intellectual nature. Etc.
Moreover, note the fact that a likeness of God’s Infinity (in par-
ticular, since God is, actually, Infinite Strength) is found in [man’s]
intellect in the way in which a likeness of Infinity is capable of [par-
taking of] that Strength. Analogously, [there is in the intellect] a [par-
ticipatory] likeness of eternity, which exists at once as a whole in an
actual way. And so, to be able always to understand more and more
without end is a likeness of Eternal Wisdom. And from this fact, infer
that [the intellect] is a living image that conforms itself endlessly to the
Creator. And so, it is teachable [endlessly], etc., as you know from

elsewhere.17
NOTES TO Qui Me Invenerit (2)
* Sermon CCLXXXVIII. Distinguish from an earlier sermon (CCIII)

with the same title.
1 . Proverbs 8:35.
2 . Loc. cit.
3. Proverbs 8, throughout.
4. Proverbs 8:22 & 30.
5. Proverbs 8:24.
6. Nicholas holds the view that in God everything is God, so that although
all created things may be said to exist in God (as an effect exists in its cause), they
do not in God exist as themselves.
7. Proverbs 8:30.
8. Aristotle, Metaphysics I, 1 (980a21-27).
9. Proverbs 8:30-31.
10. Wisdom 1:4.
11. Hebrews 1:2.
12. The Latin passage at 4 :8-12 is malformed by Nicholas.
13. I.e., from the point of view of the people living at the bottom of the
earth, they would be ascending, whereas the people living at the top of the earth
would imagine them as falling.
14. See, above, the section marked by margin number 1 .
15. Albertus Magnus, Super Dionysii De Divinis Nominibus, Chap. 4.
16. Nicholas here refers to accident in the Aristotelian sense of accidents
that belong to substances.
17. E.g., Sermon CCLXXIX (8 ).
342
Sic Currite ut Comprehendatis (2)*
(“ So Run that You May Obtain” ) 1
[January 27, 1459; preached in Rome]
[1] “ So run that you may obtain.”2

Since the obligation befalls me to accomplish, with God guid-
ing, the visitation assigned to me by our Pontiff : the words of our
teacher Paul—[words] which he wrote to the Corinthians and which
are read in church today—furnish me with material for saying some
things about so holy a matter. Paul, through whom Christ speaks,
speaks to you Brothers through me, saying: “So run that you may
obtain.”
[2] In this world we are pilgrims and exiles with respect to the
inner man. We have no lasting city3 [but] we run toward some goal
determined for us—[a goal] which everyone who runs desires. For no
one runs [just] in order to be running. That which is moved is moved
for the sake of rest. But the movement of nature is one [kind of] move-
ment; the movement of the intellect is another [kind of] movement. For
example, both a horse and its rider are moved. The horse, under the
direction of the rider, is constrained; the rider [is moved] by choice.
But why does [the rider] force the horse to run? Surely, [it is] in order
to obtain [his goal]. Therefore, the goal is the cause of causes, for
whose sake all things occur.4
[3] Now, that which acts for the sake of a goal is called an intel-
lect, which thus is the beginning-of-movement that ordains, and dis-
poses, all things to its intent. Therefore, by means of the orderliness
that we experience in nature we see a First Intelligence, or First
Creator-Intellect, that is a Mover. It causes motion, [and] Paul calls it
God, who is the Cause of order. [Paul] says: The things that are from
God are ordained.5 Therefore, just as when we see a horse keeping to
the right way [that leads] to the city and not wandering off into a field
in accordance with its desires, we know that this [steadfastness] occurs
because a rider thus directs the horse to the place that the rider desires
[to go]: so too when we see that our animal body is moved toward the
lasting city of Heavenly citizens, we know that this movement occurs
because of the directing on the part of the intellectual spirit, which
directs the animal [body].
[4] But what directs the intellect? Assuredly, faith [does]. For
343
344 Sic Currite ut Comprehendatis (2)
unless a runner believed that the end of his race would be an obtaining,
and unless he hoped that his race would reach its goal, he would not
run. For he who sows sows in hope.6 But during a race what animates
the faith, and the hope, which we have? (For without soul or spirit
there is no motion.) Assuredly, love [does]. For love (caritas) is the
spirit of life, of faith, and of hope. [5] And note that that Divine power
which moves the intellect toward the incorruptible Divine goal is to be
seen by an elevation from the visible man to the invisible [man]—
according to the teaching of the Apostle [Paul] to the Romans (at the
beginning-section).7 In man we experience a body and experience that,
of itself, the body is not alive; for we see that the body lacks life when
it does not sense. Therefore, it has life from a sensing power. But in
man we [also] experience that the sensing power is directed toward
things—for example, toward chastity and abstinence—that are
opposed to its desires. Therefore, we know that there is that higher
power which the sensing power obeys. This [higher power] is free will.
But free will can be present only in an intellectual nature. For decision
presupposes understanding, since there is choosing. Choosing
involves comparing and discerning. Thus, I say that that lofty power
which directs the nature of free decision includes hope, which lives
from faith; [and it includes] faith, which is moved from love.
Therefore, [that lofty power] has love [caritas]. But just as in man the
intellect is a living form that forms and enlivens all things, so love is
present in this triune power.8 Hence, just as when the body dies and the
sensing power ceases, the intellect does not fail: so too love remains
when faith and hope cease.
[6] But what is that love? I answer: an obtaining, or a union, by
which a Christian is united to Divine Immortality;9 ultimate happiness
consists of this [union]. You might ask: Since the supreme [feature] of
man is free intellect, how does a man arrive at that Spirit which thus
directs the intellect to attainment of an End that is above intellect? I
reply that just as carnal man—being of his own nature corruptible and
mortal [and] altogether ignorant and blind—is made by the intellectu-
al power to be seeing and knowing, (like unto angels and gods, as
Moses calls them),10 and just as this [seeing and knowing] results from
intellectual teaching, so too our intellectual nature is made happy by
the Divine Spirit and by Divine Love. For the intellect’s happiness
does not consist of knowing, since to know admits of more and less.
For that which can be greater and lesser does not make happy. For it
can be abolished if it can be lesser; and it is not perfect if it can be
So Run that You May Obtain (2) 345
greater. But happiness is, without doubt, the final stage of perfection-
in-a-fixed-eternity. Hence, just as whenever we have not seen an
object, a degree of complete cognitive perception is lacking to us, so
too as long as we know only truth and do not behold it by means of that
seeing which is ultimate cognitive fruition, we have not yet attained
the goal of our desires. Therefore, happiness consists in the intellect’s
beholding of the Creator of all things.
[7] But it is evident what the teaching of that Divine Spirit is. For
it is the gospel, i.e., the good news. It is not philosophy or logic or dis-
cursive reasoning or rational persuasion or rational discourse. Rather,
it is the announcing of the Son of God—[an announcing] that is made
manifest by the power of [His] works. By means of this teaching one
comes to this Spirit who directs us to happiness and not to anything
else. Therefore, Paul says that he does all things in order to be made a
partaker of the gospel,11 wherein this Spirit is present, teaching us the
way to that life. Therefore, we know that we ought so to run as being
partakers of the gospel. For then we are certain that we will arrive at
the attainment of an immortal crown. We must consider intently the
fact that Paul did all things for the gospel’s sake, in order to be made a
partaker of the gospel. Therefore, the gospel is the Divine teaching of
Christ, the Son of God. This [teaching] can be understood in such a
way that someone is made a partaker of the teaching; and through par-
taking of the teaching his intellectual nature becomes knowledgeable
beyond [the capability of] its own nature. [It becomes knowledgeable]
by means of a Divine knowledge that is of a spiritual nature since it
moves the intellect; for a spirit is a mover.
[8] Therefore, love (caritas), which is the teaching of Christ, is
shed abroad in the hearts of the Christlike by the Holy Spirit, as says
the Apostle.12 Behold, what a difference there is between a ‘living’
Christian, who has the spirit of love, and a ‘dead’ [Christian], who
lacks the spirit [of love]! There are those who have Christ in their sen-
sory body, as it were. That is, [they partake of Him] with unformed
faith. They believe all the things that the Gospel says about Christ—
even as do the devils, who tremble.13 But they do not have the Living
Christ—[do not have] life which is receivable not by the senses but by
the rational spirit, or intellect.
[9] You might ask: “How do I experience that Christ’s Spirit
dwells in my heart, or inner man?” I reply: You will be able to experi-
ence [this Spirit] within yourself from the movement of your desire—
346 Sic Currite ut Comprehendatis (2)
namely, if the movement of your desire is Christlike. For example, [it

is Christlike] when the motion of desire is so greatly inclined toward
obedience to God (1) that you are ardent to obey the Divine precepts
even unto death and (2) that you rejoice in all hardship that you suffer
in order only to please God. [10] You might ask: “How, then, ought one
to act who does not sense within himself that Spirit?” I reply that he
ought to attend to his vocation and to run within it very attentively,
because, assuredly, he will arrive at attainment. For the Apostle says:
“So run that you may obtain.” He is speaking to a runner who is striv-
ing for the goal—just as a canon ought to run toward his goal in such
a way that he obtains [it]. In a Christian’s every race there is a pathway
that leads to attainment. You are called to run as canons. Run, then, as
such.
[11] If someone doubts how it is that a canon ought to run, let
him look to the meaning of the name: “canon” in Greek means regula
in Latin. A canon, thus called from “regula” [i.e., “rule”], ought to live,
to be moved, and to run with respect to an observance of rules, or
canons. The rule is the measure of uprightness and justice. Therefore,
let a canon measure whether [or not] he is rightly running his race—
[measure it] from his observance of the canons, [or rules]. If he finds
this to be so, then he may know that he is on the pathway of attainment.
[12] “But wherein does that uprightness consist?” I answer: in regulat-
ing the motion of concupiscence, which is animal. And [that motion]
is threefold: namely, of pride, of greed, and of licentiousness.14 This
[movement] is repressed by religion, which is clean and undefiled.15
Moreover, by means of the rule of obedience [a canon] obtains mastery
over pride and haughtiness; by means of the rule of poverty, mastery
over greed; and by means of the rule of chastity, mastery over licen-
tiousness. Every Christian is guided by the rule of the gospel, lest con-
cupiscence reign in him. But in their own order canons are more
[specifically guided]. They have bound themselves more particularly
to canons [i.e., to rules] by a vow; and in order to devote themselves
only to Divine lauds, they have decided to work in the sacrarium; and
so, they eat from the sacrarium.16
[13] Next, the Apostle says that this race of attainment ought to
be made as in the case of a contest and the pursuit of a prize, i.e., with
supreme vigilance and carefulness—as when someone struggles to
have what is better than gold and better than every desirable thing of
this world. An example is a crown of honor for the acquiring of which
So Run that You May Obtain (2) 347
one has left behind all hindrances. For a runner so unburdens himself
that he is not hindered even by the weight of gold. If, then, for glory
(which is a certain remembrance-of-praise even after death [and]
which has a certain image of immortality) certain people undergo even
physical death: what, then, ought one to do who is striving to obtain
immortality not in an image but in truth? Surely, he ought to struggle
as one who struggles with the world, which he strives completely to
overcome even if he must die [trying]. [14] But it is necessary that a
Christian by means of victory over this world become a king and a co-
heir with Christ. However, the world is not overcome except in the
Spirit of Christ, which is not of this world and which dwells not in one
who is slothful but in one who is zealous [and] obedient and most vig-
ilant unto death, even unto a most contemptible death on a cross.17
Therefore, a true combatant leaves behind all things, even his life
[anima seu vita], in order to obtain (1) the prize of true immortality and
(2) an incorruptible crown.
[15] And since not all individuals obey the gospel, visitation and
giving-guidance are necessary for me (as you hear from the reading of
the Apostolic bull). They were assigned to me for your salvation. I
accede to them in the name of God by means of these few [words] that
have been set forth for an exposition of the theme-text.
NOTES TO Sic Currite ut Comprehendatis (2)
* Sermon CCLXXXIX. Distinguish this sermon from an earlier ser-

mon (CCLXVIII) with the same title.
2. Loc. cit.
3. Hebrews 13:14.
4. Here Nicholas alludes to Aristotle’s notion of final cause as that for the
sake of which the efficient cause operates.
5. Cf. Romans 13:1.
6. Cf. I Corinthians 9:10.
7. Romans 1:20.
8. The intellectual power is trine insofar as it trusts, hopes, and loves—i.e.,
has faith, hope, and caritas.
9. I Timothy 6:16.
10. Cf. Genesis 3:5. See also Nicholas’s Apologia Doctae Ignorantiae, mar-
gin number 8 (in my translation).
12. Romans 5:5.
13. James 2:17-19.
14. Cf. I John 2:16.
15. James 1:27.
348
Dum Sanctificatus Fuero in Vobis*
(“ When I Shall Be Sanctified in You” ) 1
[February 10, 1459; preached in Rome]
[1] “ When I shall be sanctified in you, I will gather you together from
the whole earth, and I will pour upon you clean water, and you shall be
cleansed …,” etc.2
These are the words which the Word of the Lord spoke through
the Prophet Ezechiel, as is read in Ezechiel, Chapter 36. And we have
heard these [words] chanted in the introit of the mass. They will give
us an entrance to the obligation which now, with God guiding, we have
undertaken to be discharged. Very dearly beloved Brothers, these
prophetic words can, not inappropriately, be taken as having been pro-
claimed a long time ago about this synodal gathering of ours. That is,
our God has made known to us that at this sacred time when he will be
sanctified in us through [our] obedience of fasting and of penance, He
has determined to gather us together from this whole earth and to pour
upon us clean water. And [He has determined] that we shall be cleansed
from all our defilements and that He will give us a new spirit.
[2] These [words], O Brothers, we may hope to be for our salva-
tion when—with God alone (by whom every good is given) inspiring
[them]—we come together today with a holy purpose. God has fur-
nished to us these words in the introit of the office [of the mass] as
being a brief summary of things to be done. For when, wanting to fore-
see how I would guide the synod today, I opened the missal: these
words which I [now] set forth caught my eye at first glance, so that I
understood myself to be instructed by them. Likewise, to the
[Ethiopian] Eunuch, when opening the Book of Isaias, the words pre-
sented themselves [to him] as written for his salvation.3 Similarly, it
happened to Augustine when he opened the Apostolic codex, as he
writes in the Book of the Confessions.4 I think that if one who is seek-
ing God with all his heart asks by what pathway he is to reach God, he
will soon find [the answer] when Sacred Scripture is opened. [He will
find it] if he steadfastly believes that the words which present them-
selves contain the will of God which he desires to know in order to
comply [with them]. Johannes Climacus said that when a monk is in
doubt, he ought to ask someone else and ought to accept his response
as divine [i.e., as God’s]. For when with this faith he asks a man in
349
350 Dum Sanctificatus Fuero in Vobis
place of God, then not the man but God, through the man, answers.
The situation is similar as regards [a passage of] Sacred Scripture that
presents itself to the eyes when one opens5 the codex: it can be
believed. For God answers all those who inquire of Him for the sake
of their salvation—[answers] in the manner in which those who are
calling upon Him with steadfast faith expect to be answered.
[3] You might ask: “Is it not forbidden in the Book of Psalms to
seek responses by drawing lots?”6 I reply: Indeed! But there is a dif-
ference between matters of idle curiosity and matters related to salva-
tion of the soul. You might say: “Perhaps the gods were thought—by
the priests of the [Grecian] temples, [as is recorded] in the books of
Sibyl and of divinations—to answer in this way [i.e., by lot]. I reply
that the books-of-oracles were venerated as sacred in many temples;
and idolaters thought that answers were given there by the god of the
temple. These answers were frequently obscure, since those evil spir-
its had no certain knowledge of future events, which were only in the
power of God. About these matters [you may read] more extensively
elsewhere. Let it suffice to know that the Christian who is concerned
about the salvation of his soul is not abandoned by the Teacher, who is
the Word contained in Divine Scripture. For the things written there
were, assuredly, written for our learning.7 And so, [they were written]
for the instruction of each one, even if Scripture seems to have restrict-
ed itself to one particular individual. As the Teacher says: “That which
I say to one, I say to all.”8 Therefore, may our Christ grant that we may
truly be able to say, when we depart from here today (just as He said
when He opened the Book of Isaias, as we read in Luke 4): namely,
“today this Scripture is fulfilled in your eyes.”9
[4] Therefore, with the sacred words of the introit received as a
Divine response regarding things to be done, let us measure the weight
of the words carefully, paying attention to the things that are assumed
when there is said “When I shall be sanctified in you.” These words,
as they are read in Ezechiel 36, God spoke through Ezechiel to those
who of the Israelite people dwelt among the Gentiles as those of
Israel—i.e., as those seeing God.10 For God was known only to them,
as the Prophet David says: “God is known in Judea …,” etc.11 Through
sanctification they made God known to the Gentiles. But if they would
do this, [God] promised them that He would gather them together from
the whole earth and would pour …, etc.
First, let us note that the word was spoken to believers, and those
When I Shall Be Sanctified in You 351
chosen by God, [who were] dispersed among [their] enemies and

[their] strong and numerous persecutors. And it was the word about
God’s sanctification. [5] Here, at first, there is doubt as to how God can
be sanctified in a creature in time, since He is eternal and incompre-
hensible. For He says “When I shall be sanctified …,” etc. I think that
we must understand that He is sanctified temporally in believers when
He is received with formed faith as the Holy One of holy ones. For He
turns toward Himself a soul which, having been sanctified, sanctifies
the Sanctifier—just as when heat has been received in a heatable
object, [the heat] turns toward itself the heatable object, so that from
the object made hot nothing is emitted except the radiation (vis) of the
heat that was received. One who is cold [and] who is agreeably made
warm cannot praise warmth sufficiently. It has freed him from an
enemy of life, namely, cold, and has conserved him. And he is safe-
guarded by it for as long as it remains with him. These laudations of
warmth and the [recipient’s] concern for retaining warmth eternally by
his every effort—[retaining it] as a life-giver—are analogous to sanc-
tification. It is not the case that the sanctifier [i.e., the one in whom
God is sanctified] gives something; rather, he recognizes that he has
received from the Giver those [gifts] which sanctify him.
[6] See how it is that God is the Goal, [or Final Cause], of all His
works. He sanctifies in order to be sanctified; He instructs in order to
be understood; He justifies in order to be justified; He glorifies in order
to be glorified; He loves in order to be loved, and so on. Thus, con-
versely, those who love God are loved [by God]; those who know
[God] are known [by God]; those who discern are discerned; and those
who do not know are not known; those who disregard are disregarded.
[Found] in chapter Si, according to Distinctio XXXVIII.12 For he who
has seen that God is holy in all His works has seen that God is sancti-
fied in them all. But to sanctify is to give to oneself all honor of all
spiritual goods, by which the spirit is delighted—[the spirit] which
seeks things clean and undefiled and accurate and pure and perfect. For
such things we call holy. Therefore, nothing except the spirit of sanc-
tification is had by him who shows by his work that he loves these
things and who sanctifies only the Giver of these things.
[7] But sanctification comes about from undoubted knowledge,
which is present through assured faith. Therefore, the sanctifying of
God shows that the one who sanctifies has undoubted faith. Therefore,
if he who has such faith is a Jew who believes that the words of the
prophets are the words of God, surely he knows that he is obliged to

obey them; and by obeying, he sanctifies Him as being a Great God,
whose authority (proclaimed by the prophet sent by Him) he shows is
to be obeyed even unto [one’s own] death. Thus, Christ sanctified
above all [others] His own Father. He showed in and through Himself
that this [authority] is to be obeyed even unto death on the Cross. [8]
And if you consider carefully, you see that sanctifying and being sanc-
tified coincide—[you see] that, in the maximum, sanctifying coincides
maximally with being sanctified and that in the minimum [it coincides]
minimally [with the minimum]. Hence, we know that one who maxi-
mally sanctifies God is maximally sanctified by God. God is sanctified
with respect to the fact that we obey the words of Christ (which we
believe to be the words of God the Father) [and] esteem all [else] as
altogether nothing in comparison with that [obedience].
[9] You might say: “Christ taught us to ask in prayer for sanctifi-
cation of the name of God the Father.13 This is said with regard to
sanctifying God.” I reply: A name conveys knowledge, as Christ said
that Paul carries His name before kings14—i.e., [carries] knowledge
[of Him]. The Son is the Knowledge of the Father or the Name of the
Knowledge [of the Father]. No one knows the Father as Father except
the Son. And so, in sanctifying the Son, or Name of the Father, we
acknowledge that we have come to a knowledge-of-the-Father that was
revealed to us by the Son.15 This [revelation] is the cause of the sanc-
tification. Therefore, by means of sanctification of the Name-of-the-
Knowledge of the Word, or Son, who is God, we sanctify the Father in
the Son. For, otherwise, [the Father] is not rightly sanctified because
He is not known—just as it is not possible that fatherhood be sancti-
fied as fatherhood if it is not known. But [the fatherhood] is not known
when it is not revealed by a son. For whom I do not know to have a
son, I do not know to be a father. But in the Son, in whom I see the
works as the Son’s [works], I see the Father as Father, from whom the
Son has all things. Accordingly, the Son says that His works are His
Father’s, as well as being His own [works] as [works] of the Son. [For]
He says: “My Father works until now, and I work.”16
[10] You might ask: “How can it be understood that Jesus in
revealing the Father showed Himself to be the Son of God?” I answer
that Christ came as sent from God [and] with all the power (even the
creative power) of God [and] as universal Heir with all fullness [of the
Godhead], (as the Apostle conveys to the Hebrews).17 And [Christ’s]
works show this fact. But let a king send whatsoever legates: no one
[of them] has royal power that [makes him] in every respect equal to the
king with the result that there is no one left who is more closely joined
to the king [and] who can be sent. Now, no one is more closely united
to a father than is a son. Therefore, [the Son], who is sent with all the
fullness of power because of equality in every respect—than which
equality no [other] sonship can be greater—is rightly said to be, qua
being sent, a Son of equal essence and nature with the Sender. Similarly,
if a pope could send a legate with fullness of papal power, surely that
legate would be of the papal nature and would be nothing other in
essence and in nature and would not be lesser [in nature]; rather, there
would be one and the same dignity, authority, and undivided papacy in
both of them. This [sameness], because of its maximality, is unmulti-
pliable, although the person of the sender and that of the one sent would
be distinct. Hence, when Jesus dwelt in this world, but without any
stain, He manifested Himself as Son of God the Father—which Father
was unknown to all, as being Him whom no one had ever seen.18 [Jesus
manifested the Father] through [His own] works, which the Jewish faith
ascribes to the Father alone. [He manifested] Himself as the true Son;
[and] He revealed the Unknown Father, the Creator of all things, whose
Word and Power He showed Himself to be.
[11] Moreover, let us Christians apply the [afore-]said words of
the introit to Christ. We believe that Christ speaks to us in the follow-
ing way: “When I shall be sanctified in you as Son of God, I will gath-
er …,” etc. And this is the gist of the gospel: namely, to believe that
Jesus is the Son of God—[to believe it] with living and formed and
firmly-fixed faith in such a way that God the Son of God is sanctified
in us. Thereupon [a Christian] will, most assuredly, do those things that
follow in our theme-text. For in him in whom Christ is thus sanctified,
there lives only Christ. This [Christian], who is transformed into [the
image of] Christ,19 is moved by the Spirit of Christ toward fulfillment
of all the things that the Gospel commands. For he who believes the
words of Christ to be the words of the Son of God knows [them] to be
words of eternal life; and he does not turn back but follows Christ even
unto death. He is full of light, and when his works shine before men,
men glorify the Father who is in Heaven. And this glorifying is the glo-
rifying or sanctifying that God requires.
[12] You might ask: “Why does [God] require of us sanctifica-
tion?” I answer: because [He is] Light in which there is no dark-
ness20—namely, Spiritual Light, or Intellectual Light. For just as the

more noble perceptible light is, the better it is and the farther it diffus-
es itself because of the nature of its perfect goodness, so too regarding
intellectual light; for the intellect wants to be understood and known.
For just as a great king, if he is not known in his splendor, is no more
a king than is a non-royal, and so, his royal highness desires to be
known in his splendor, because he is a king: so too the intellect, which
is a king of kings (for that which governs in everyone who truly gov-
erns is the intellect) wants to be known. And the more noble [the intel-
lect is], the more [it wants to be known]—as we experience with regard
to the books of the teachers. Similarly, the Creator of the intellect—
since He is infinitely good [and] wills to be known because He is
Infinite Intellect—created all things in order to be known, or seen, in
His glory and in order to be sanctified. It is as if the sun produced vis-
ible light in order that it itself would be seen in its splendor and would
be glorified, or sanctified. Therefore, because God wills to be sancti-
fied, there exist all the things that He created. But because He is God,
He wills that which He wills.
[13] You might ask: “Since holiness is likeness to God, how is it
acquired?” I reply: in and through Christlikeness. For since God is
unknown to us: in order to draw us unto His likeness, He sent His Son
[endowed] with our nature. Since the Son is a human being, He can be
approached by us, so that just as He put on our mortal nature freed
from all sin, we might know (if we are freed from sin) that [we] can
put on Christ. And, thus, just as He became the Son of man, so we can
become sons of God. For once we have become free of sin, we are
[not] of the world. To be free of sin is to be holy and undefiled. And
this [condition] exists when we have the Spirit of Christ, who is not of
this world, because if He were of this world, surely the world would
love Him and He [would love] the things which are of the world.
[14] You might ask: “Whereby is the Spirit [of Christ] known?”
I answer: [It is known] in and through poverty with respect to the world
of the flesh—[poverty] which with respect to the world of the spirit is
abundance. For to possess nothing at all of this world as one’s own is
called poverty. This spirit [of poverty] is not infected with love either
of praise or of temporal goods or of things carnal; rather, it uses the
world as a ship by which it sails the sea in order swiftly and safely to
reach port. And this [renunciation of temporal goods] is a sign that that
spirit [of poverty], which is not without the motion of love, is turned
toward love of things eternal. Hence, as Dionysius says:21 since we

desire to pass over unto God, each [of us] endeavors to do this in order
to be made as like to God as he can be. [15] But God, who is Spirit, can
be approached only by a spirit. But our spirit—which has an intellec-
tive power and a volitive power—cannot pass over unto God by means
of the intellective [power], since He surpasses all understanding,22 nor
by means of the volitive [power], i.e., love, since what is unknown is
not loved.23 Therefore, it is evident that [our spirit] cannot by its own
means arrive at a passing over unto God. And so, [this passage can hap-
pen only] by means of a mediator. For God the Father by means of a
Mediator attracts our spirit, as what is desired [attracts] the desirer.24
For when [our] spirit receives the word and teaching of Jesus, and
observes His sayings, it loves Christ as the Son of God and, in Christ,
[loves] the Father. And the Father loves our spirit through the Son’s
love [for our spirit]—as the Gospel teaches.25 But God is Love (cari-
tas), which is known by love [amor], and is loved (amatur) by know-
ing.26 In this way the spirit arrives at God in and through a oneness of
the two aforesaid powers—[namely, the intellective and the volitive].
[16] Moreover, Brothers, let us note that Peter commands that the
Lord Jesus be sanctified in our hearts. He also [commands] that we be
prepared to give a reason for the hope and faith that are within us.27
Since this [commandment] is to be understood more with regard to us,
who are priests and teachers, let us add some [thoughts] about this
[topic]. Let us who are active in the legation of Christ ponder our very
holy office. For [Christ] said: “Just as the Living Father sent me, so
send I you.”28 For through the laying on of hand[s] we have received
the Spirit of Christ, i.e., [the Spirit] of truth, so that we are obligated to
preach the gospel and to give a reason for [our] faith. First, let us set
before [our] eyes [the question of] whether [or not] we have rightly
entered [our legation] and with what vow and what charge [we have
entered]. Next, [let us ponder] how it is that we who are endued with
Christ are obligated (1) to sanctify God in [our] heart (i.e., with all
strength of desire and of will) and thereafter (2) to give, in word and in
deed, a good reason for the faith and hope that are within us—[give it]
to everyone who asks for a reason. For he has clear reasons who under-
stands (a) his faith and (b) all the things pursuant to it and (c) the
Sacred Scriptures in such a way that he wills to sanctify God with his
whole heart.
[17] Note the following. For Peter our Patron speaks as follows:
“Sanctify the Lord Christ in your hearts, being ready always to satisfy
everyone who asks you for a reason for that faith and hope which are
in you. But [do so] with modesty and fear, having a good conscience
…,” etc.29 Priests represent Christ. For it is not they who work the
priestly mysteries, but it is Christ in and through them—[Christ] in
whom is the Father. Therefore, in and through the priests the Spirit of
the Father speaks, as Christ says: “For it is not you who speak but the
Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.”30 Who baptizes, who con-
firms, who consecrates, who preaches the gospel in and through the
legate qua legate? Surely, it is He who has sent the legate. What spirit
or what authority is there of the apostolic legate? Surely, it is Peter’s
[authority], because it is the pope’s authority, in which the apostolic
spirit is present—as Jerome says that the apostolic spirit is never lack-
ing in the see of Peter.31 For just as there is one authority of a see, so
[the see] is enlivened by one apostolic spirit. The apostolic spirit
belongs to the legation of Christ. Therefore, just as Christ was the
Legate of the Father with the full power of the Father (for [the Father]
gave all things into Christ’s power),32 so too Christ [gave] to Peter full
power. Likewise, Christ gave His own power to the other apostles; but
additionally he gave the preeminence to Peter by saying: “You are
Peter,”33 i.e., [You are] the Head of the household.
[18] For there is a certain lineage—but of a royal and priestly
house. Specifically, [the lineage] is called the House of God or the
Apostolic Church. It is present within the Kingdom of Christ, or the
Universal Church. It does not exist by natural propagation but is select-
ed by grace for the priesthood of God, so that in its administration it
has the gospel of Christ, to whom God gave all power. And Peter, and
he who by the gift of God succeeds him, is the Head of this House. But
he who is regarded and revered by that House as successor must be
held to be the successor. [19] All who are present in this House have
followed the Divine vocation, and they succeed to God’s heritage
which He has retained for Himself: namely, to tithes, sacrifices, and
first-fruits. And they dwell in the Apostolic House, or House of
Legation; and they live from the goods of Christ, for whom they dis-
charge the office of legate. For unless we are degenerate sons, we are,
assuredly, bound to sanctify Christ in our hearts, since without Him we
are nothing.34 Let us consider what Christ does through us, [consider]
that through us, His legates, He transports human beings unto Himself
so that in Christ they are as Christ.35 They are adoptive sons of God
and are Christ’s co-heirs. [Let us consider] that the children of Adam
arrive at conformity with Christ [and consider] that the eucharist is

sacramental truth where the substance of the bread is transubstantiated
into the Body of Christ, with the perceptible characteristics remaining.
And [the eucharist] signifies that believers thus pass over spiritually
into the mystical Body of Christ. Therefore, we can sanctify no one
except Christ, who works this [mystery] in us and of whom is our
priesthood. Therefore, this is sanctification (which is recited to every-
one who asks for a reason for our faith) when we give to Christ the
honor of all [our] priestly activities.
[20] Let us now take note of what things are promised to us who
sanctify God. First, there is a congregating from the whole earth.
“[H]agios" [in Greek] means sanctus [in Latin]; and it is said in the
sense of “[holiness] apart from the earth”. Saints are separated from
the earth, which is the dregs of light and so is obscure darkness and is
unclean with respect to light. Therefore, the elect are separated from
the earth and are gathered together into light which is light of the intel-
lect—i.e., [is light] illumining the intellect and giving enlivening wis-
dom to little ones, just as a famous intellect gathers students from the
whole earth in order to enlighten those gathered together for appre-
hending [that intellect]. [The famous intellect] pours forth, in words,
the water of wholesome wisdom,36 as in the case of dew coming down
from the sky there is the enlivenment of things born of the earth. And
in accordance with the nature of water there follows cleansing, or puri-
fying. For clean [water] cleanses; living [water] enlivens; wisdom-
filled [water] makes wise; and so, the word of God cleanses as being
most pure water. Hence, Christ said to [His] apostles: “You are clean
because of the word which you have heard.”37
[21] After the washing away of all contaminations from the soul,
which is made capable of receiving the Divine Spirit, a new spirit is
given. And it is called new because it will never be able to fail, since
it is always new. Thus, it is an incorruptible fire and sunray, because it
is always renewed—just as the spirit that is called love is always
renewed by an infinite lovable presence in the love-filled motion of a
delightful life. When this soul hears within itself Christ speaking, it
surges with a joyous hymn of praise, singing: “I will bless the Lord,
then, at all times. Praise of Him shall be always in my mouth.”38 And
after [the soul] has sung glory to the trine God, it repeats the words of
its Savior, saying: “O how good and sweet You are, O Lord”—saying
“when I shall be sanctified …,” etc.39
NOTES TO Dum Sanctificatus Fuero in Vobis
* Sermon CCXC.
1. Ezechiel (Ezekiel) 36:23.
2. Exechiel (Ezekiel) 36:23-25.
3. Acts 8:27 ff.
4. Augustine, Confessions VIII, 12. This is the famous “Tolle, lege” pas-
sage.
5. Here at 2 :24 I am reading, with ms. L “aperiente” in place of “aperienti”.
6. Cf. Micheas (Micah) 5:11 (5:12). Jeremias (Jeremiah) 27:9. There
appears to be nothing in the Psalms or in the Psalter.
7. Romans 15:4.
8. Mark 13:37.
9. Luke 4:21. Nicholas alludes and does not aim to quote exactly.
10. Nicholas regards “Israel” as meaning “one who sees God.” E.g.,
Sermons CCX (3 :7-8). CCXLIII (2 7:5). CCLXII (11 :12-13).
11. Psalms 75:2 (76:1).
12. Corpus Iuris Canonici (Pars Prior: Decretum Magistri Gratiani), edited
by Aemilius Friedberg & reprinted in Graz, Austria (Akademische Druck- u.
Verlagsanstalt, 1959). See Discreti Prima Pars, Distinctio XXXVIII, C. X
[Friedberg, p. 143]. Also found in PL 187:210B. Gratian quotes from Gregory’s
Pastorales.
13. In the Lord’s Prayer one prays: “Hallowed be Thy name.”
14. Cf. Acts 9:15.
15. Luke 10:22.
16. John 5:17.
17. Hebrews 1:2. See also Colossians 2:9.
18. John 1:18 and 6:46.
19. Cf. Romans 8:29. II Corinthians 3:18.
20. I John 1:5.
21. Pseudo-Dionysius, De Ecclesiastica Hierarchia, c. 1.75 & 77
(Dionysiaca 10911 - 10923 and 11052-3).
23. Nicholas here borrows from Augustine’s De Trinitate. E.g., DT X.1.1
and X.2.4.
24. Nicholas here makes the Aristotelian point that God moves the world
(and the things in the world) as the beloved moves the lover.
25. John 14:23.
26. See n. 10 of Sermon CCLXXXII (Pater Vester Caelestis Dabit Vobis)
and n. 20 of Sermon CCLXXIX (Descendit ad Inferna).
27. I Peter 3:15.
28. John 20:21.
29. I Peter 3:15-16.
30. Matthew 10:20.
31. This reference has not been found in Jerome.
32. Matthew 28:18.
358
Notes to Dum Sanctificatus Fuero in Vobis 359
33. Matthew 16:18. The Greek word “petro s,” from which Peter takes his
name, means rock.
34. Cf. John 5:15.
35. I John 3:2.
37. John 15:3.
38. Psalms 33:2 (34:1).
39. Nicholas has made clear that we sanctify God when we glorify Him,
obey Him, love Him, acknowledge His Holiness and act conformably to it.
Homo Erat Pater Familias*
(“There Was a Man, a Householder”)1
[February 23, 1459; preached in Rome]
[1] You have heard, Brothers, that Pius II, our holy and chief Pontiff,
committed to us the visitation of this leading church of the city.2 For
thus it pleased His Holiness, whom we are obliged to obey—at least
with a sign of effort and with every expenditure of effort—even in mat-
ters impossible for us. And according to the holy custom let us men-
tion at the outset the Gospel-passage3 of the divine office that was just
gone through. By this [text] we are taught (a) with what concern the
Church of the God of hosts4 was established, (b) why the husbandmen
are dismissed, and (c) to whom the cultivating will be committed.
[2] First, let us elicit from the text the fact that God is befigured
by a householder who plants a vineyard and leases it to husbandmen
for [cultivating] fruit. Let us note what the way is for ascending from
the householder to the Creator as from an image to the exemplar. In the
[figure of the] simple householder multiple [kinds of] fatherhood coin-
cide. For example, [the householder] is a father because he is the
begetter of a son; he is a father, [or head of household], because he is
in charge of all [the others] and because he is an overseer and an elder
to whom all honor is due. Now, all fatherhood that is found in Heaven
and on earth is from God the Father. But we are taught by Jesus, the
Son of God, that that one is Father whom the Jews call God. Therefore,
this God is Absolute Fatherhood that is also the Father. Hence, that
which every perfect householder is, he has from God the Father of
fathers. Therefore, God has a Son of the same nature [as Himself], an
Heir to all things.5 He has a special household and has providential care
for, and governance over, all [members]. To Him all honor is due.
Therefore, those who deny that God has a Son of the same Divine
nature, but who nevertheless believe that He takes care of all things,
profess (1) that He is a Householder of lesser perfection than is found
in the world and (2) that the Giver of fatherhood lacks the perfection
which He gives to others.
[3] [The text of the parable] says: “… who planted a vineyard.”
Consider how the First Planter of a vineyard stood in relation to plant-
ing. For the planting presupposes having vine-branches. So how did a
First [Planter] plant the first vineyard? Surely, planting is an act of the
360
There Was a Man, a Householder 361
intellect. Brute animals do not plant. [Planting] is done by an intellect

and is done in relation to a goal. However, the planting on the part of
the First Intellect is a creating, about which the Prophet says: “He who
planted the ear, shall He not hear? Or He who formed the eye, does He
not examine [with His eye]?”6 Therefore, that which the First Intellect
plants, forms, or creates He does not receive from someone else in
order to plant, but He has [it] with Himself. Therefore, He plants of
Himself [i.e., of His own resources] in another. Just as one who is wise
and who teaches students receives from himself that which he plants in
another, so too the First Intellect—which has within Itself (as in a
Cause or Beginning) every formable thing and which is an intelligible
and eternal world—receives from Itself, or from Eternity, that which It
has planted in the perceptible, temporal world.
[4] By way of illustration: The intellect of a mathematician has
within itself an intellectual, [or mental], circle which it plants, or
forms, in a perceptible object. But that intellectual circle is not a
[space-time] circle but is intellect. If a circle is to be seen, then it is
necessary that it be seen by means of a circle that is both a maximum
and a minimum circle. It is not the case that [these] are two formable
circles; rather, they are prior to all duality of formable circles. And so,
the intellect, which is the source of all formable circles, is not a circle.
But all formable circles have the fact that they are circles from that cir-
cle [which] is the exemplar-cause of them all. Therefore, if [that circle]
is to be named in accordance with those offshoots, or images, then it is
named both maximal [circle] and minimal [circle], since it is the ade-
quate exemplar and precise measure of them all. Hence, when a math-
ematician forms a circle in bronze, he plants an intellectual [circle] in
a perceptible material. And when he makes another larger or smaller
circle, he plants only the same intellectual [circle], which with respect
to all formable [circles] is simple and is both maximal and minimal.
Similarly, the First Intellect plants every creature. About this [topic you
may read] more extensively elsewhere.
[5] But why does the Teacher introduce [the parable about] the
planting of the vineyard? I answer: Because He wanted to teach about
the reason for creation. For the householder plants in order to obtain
fruit; and it is [his] fruit because it rises up into an association with
him. The case is similar with regard to the Creator. For wine, which is
the goal and perfection of the plant, is taken into an association with
the householder-planter, or with the intellectual nature, when it is
362 Homo Erat Pater Familias
turned into blood [via digestion] and is enlivened by the intellective

soul. [The intellective soul] rejoices and is gladdened because of the
fact that it senses that the wine has been turned into an association with
the soul. Similarly, the First Intellect plants the intellectual nature in
order that its perfection may pass over into an association with the
Intellect’s Divinity. [6] The Teacher adds that the householder sur-
rounded the planted vineyard with an exterior safeguard by means of
a hedge (as if he had custody of a noble plant), so that it would be a
protection from animals’ tearing it apart. And he dug in [the vineyard]
a [wine-]press, namely, for the separation of the earthliness and the
hidden expression of nobility that is the heavenly nature which has the
center of its motion upwards—as we experience in regard to the evap-
oration of wine. Hence, we experience to be hidden in the grapes the
spirit of the ethereal [and intoxicating] nature that descends from
above [and] that is formed by sunray[s]. And [we experience it] more
closely in the squeezed-out moisture of the grapes. But the tower [that
is mentioned in the parable] is the interior safeguard of the planted
vineyard. And so that the Teacher might apply this likeness more close-
ly to His purpose with respect to His hearers, He intended for the vine-
yard to be the royal city Jerusalem, surrounded by a wall [and having]
a temple and a summit. In this [city] He planted noble vines, [i.e.,] cho-
sen intellectual natures that were worshipping God—about which
[city] many prophets speak. And He leased out the vineyard to hus-
bandmen (i.e., to priests), who were cultivators of the Divine field, and
he went into a foreign country (i.e., by withdrawing himself from the
knowledge of perceptible things). For Sion, where the God of gods is
seen,7 is very far distant from perceptible Mount Sion, where earthly
Jerusalem is [located]. (Or you may explain the meaning in another
way, in accordance with St. Ambrose in his Homilies.8 He speaks not
of knowledge but of love. Nevertheless, the point is basically the
same.)
[7] There follows [in the text]: “And when the time of the [har-
vesting of] the fruit drew near, [the householder] sent his servants to the
husbandmen …,” etc. We can understand the husbandmen to be those
hirelings (about which [topic] Christ speaks elsewhere)9 to whom the
care of the vineyard was leased with an agreement about the making of
payment. But [we can understand] the servants to be those who are of
the household of God—as are saints and preachers and prophets—who
are sent for collecting the fruit [and] who, instead of a collecting of the
fruit, are beaten and killed. About these Christ [laments]: “O Jerusalem,
There Was a Man, a Householder 363
Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets …,” etc.10

There follows [in the text]: “Again he sent other servants, more
numerous than the earlier ones; and [the husbandmen] did similarly to
them.” And so, you have demands made two times. Luke says that
there were three times prior to the sending of the son; Mark [mentions]
several times successively.11 Matthew says that many servants were
sent in a group a first and a second time. (And there remains a third
sending, because everything trine is perfect.) And there follows: “Last
of all he sent his son to them, saying: they will reverence my son.”
Accordingly, you know that no one will come after Christ. For He is
the one who was sent last of all, after all [others]. [He was sent] not as
a hired servant, or servants, but as one who excels all others, collec-
tively, who are in the household—because He is the Son. But all those
who for the sake of truth suffered prior to Christ, suffered from hus-
bandmen and from those who were seen to have charge of the vine-
yard; and those [who were sent] were of the servants of God. But [the
husbandmen] did not spare the Son, whom they cast out of the vine-
yard and killed as Heir—as Paul, writing to the Hebrews, also clearly
attests that Christ, the Son of God, was crucified outside the gate of
Jerusalem.12
[8] But the three Gospel writers are seen to differ with regard to
this parable as concerns the things that follow. And St. Augustine in his
book De Concordantia Evangelistarum harmonizes them. But let it be
the case that to the question “What will the lord do? …,” etc., Christ
applied [the words] “He will bring those evil men to an evil end and
will rent out his vineyard to other husbandmen who shall give him the
fruit …,” etc.13 (In that case, this is a prophecy that the Church was to
be established among the Gentiles, with the Synagogue left behind.) To
this [statement], as Luke reports, certain [of the Apostles] said: “God
forbid”14—namely, that the son be cast out of the vineyard. For they
understood Christ to be speaking about them. To these things Christ
[said]: “Have you never read: ‘The stone which the builders rejected
…,’ ” etc,15 It is as if he were to say: ‘According to Scripture it is nec-
essary that the stone (about which Paul [said] that the Rock was
Christ)16 be rejected, and thereafter it will be the cornerstone joining
both walls—[that of] the Jews and [that of] the Gentiles. Note that the
Teacher clarifies the Scriptures, which are about Him.
[9] And [Jesus] adds: “Therefore, I say to you that the Kingdom
shall be taken from you and shall be given to a nation yielding the fruit
364 Homo Erat Pater Familias
thereof.”17 For as Matthew and Luke report, [Christ] added that

“everyone who falls upon this stone shall be broken, but on whom it
falls, it will grind him to powder.”18 It is as if He were to say: ‘Christ
the Judge will bring those evil men to an evil end; and from them the
Kingdom shall be taken because the Stone was rejected. It cannot be
crushed. Rather, the more it is despised, the more it is exalted.’
Therefore, all who will endeavor to kill the son and steal the inheri-
tance of the father shall perish, just as do a potter’s vessels that either
fall on a stone or on which a stone falls; for howsoever this happens,
the vessels (not the stone) will be broken, shattered, demolished, and
ground to powder. For when justice is condemned, it condemns; and
when it is provoked, it demolishes. Christ is Justice. Therefore, the
Kingdom of Christ, who is Justice, is incorruptible and eternal. The
Vineyard, or Kingdom of Christ, who is the King of Justice,19 is given
to the Gentile[s]. The Vineyard will bear the fruit of its Kingdom,
namely, [the fruit] of justice. For where the true justice of Christ reigns,
there immortality and incorruptibility reign.
[10] Let the foregoing [thoughts] suffice for our beginning, in
order that we may know that if we (who are not the Lord’s vineyards
but are His husbandmen, who by an assured agreement have received
the rental with regard to fruit that is to be paid for by a tax or with a
periodic payment) do not pay and humble ourselves [and] admonish
ourselves [but] even cast out the Word of God and, as much as we can,
crucify [Him] anew: then we shall be cast out by Him whom we have
cast out. And we shall be ruined and deprived of the honor of the royal
priesthood. And we shall be broken and ground to powder.
NOTES TO Homo Erat Pater Familias
* Sermon CCXCI.
1. Matthew 21:33.
2. This sermon was preached at St. John Lateran in Rome. In speaking of
‘us’, Nicholas is using the magisterial ‘we’, referring to himself alone.
3. Matthew 21:33-46.
4. Regarding “God of Sabaoth” see Jeremias (Jeremiah) 11:20. Romans
9:29. Isaias (Isaiah) 1:9.
5. Hebrews 1:2.
6. Psalms 93:9 (94:9).
7. Psalms 83:8.
8. Ambrose, Expositio Evangelii secundum Lucam (PL 15:1890D), re Luke
20:9. (See the 1887 Paris edition of PL.) Or see Corpus Christianorum Series
Latina, Vol. XIV, p. 339, lines 210-213.
9. John 10:12-13.
10. Luke 13:34.
11. Mark also mentions three times. Cf. Mark 12:1-9 with Luke 20:9-19.
12. Hebrews 13:12.
13. Matthew 21:41.
14. Luke 20:16.
15. Matthew 21:42. Luke 20:17. Psalms 117:22 (118:22).
17. Matthew 21:43.
18. Luke 20:18. See also Matthew 21:44.
19. Cf. Hebrews 7:2.
365
Iam autem Die Festo Mediante *1
(“ Now, about the Middle of the Feast, ….” ) 2
[March 6, 1459; preached in Rome]
[1] Just as recently3 when we held an assembly you heard the com-
mand given to me about making visitations, so now I am present and
will begin [my visitation] 4 with [some] prefacing remarks. Yet, noth-
ing more effective can be taken [as a text] than can the Gospel—which
was written for our learning.5 [Today] in the office of the mass we
read, from John 7, the Gospel-passage which goes as follows: “Now,
about the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and
taught.” 6 [2] We [ourselves] are taught that in the midst of the feast-
day we are to go up into the temple, surely a place of contemplation
and of prayer. Therefore, feast-days are reminders that urge [us] to go
up to the temple. And since very many people came together at that
time, Jesus taught [them]. Note that Jesus teaches the word of God.
And although [in the Gospel-passage] He does not indicate whom He
taught, nonetheless it is sufficiently understood that He taught those
who were going up into the temple—i.e., those who with an eagerness
to approach unto things divine sought out the place dedicated to God.
These are they who are teachable by God and who are eager to receive
divine and heavenly teachings, which no one was better able to convey
than was the Heavenly Teacher who is above all others. Jesus taught.
What except salvation was He who is Jesus, or Savior,7 able to teach?
What except meekness [was He] who is meek, [able to teach]?8 What
except deep humility, He who is humble in heart?9 What except an
understanding of all the Scriptures, He who is Truth?10 What except
life, He who is Resurrection and Life?11
[3] “And the Jews wondered, saying: ‘How does this man know
letters, when He has never learned?’ ”12 Surely it was wondrous and
unheard-of that someone knew writings who had not learned letters.
Here you have a text [that attests] that Christ naturally knew all the
things that other men scarcely at all attain with [much] study. Christ
was able to be known in and through this alone: viz., in and through
the excellence of all men. For everything that all men who thrive men-
tally can know, Christ was actually. Men can know languages, and one
man [knows] more of them than does another man; but Christ is the
Living Word of God.13 Men can be learned; Christ is Living
Wisdom.14 Men can live by rational life; Christ is Rational Life
366
Now, about the Middle of the Feast 367
itself.15 Men can put on immortal life; Christ is Immortal Life.16 Men
can put on incorruption; Christ is Incorruption.17 Men can arise from
the dead; Christ is Resurrection.18 The case is similar regarding every
perfection acquirable by man, since, as is true, Christ is actually every
perfection.19 And you know that no one is so perfect that he could not
be more perfect. And so, since the perfection of all men admits of more
and less, it is not proportional to the perfection of Christ. For Christ’s
perfection is very lofty; no perfection can be greater or higher than it.
Now, the maximum, than which there cannot be a greater, is in an actu-
al way all things. For in its maximality it enfolds in an actual way
whatever things can admit of more and less.20 Hence, all possibility of
perfection is derived from, and perfected from, that maximality and
fullness.
[4] Moreover, consider the following: viz., that we have a con-
created capability for perfection, in accordance with which we can dis-
pose ourselves to be more perfect. Yet, we cannot bring ourselves from
potency to actuality. For nothing that is in potency can bring itself into
actuality, since potency is actualized by means of the actual. For exam-
ple, that which is potentially hot is brought into actuality by that which
is actually hot. In particular, by fire, which is actually hot, that which
is capable of being made hot becomes actually hot. Now, the zenith of
a student’s perfection is that he be like his teacher. The zenith [of per-
fection] of the intellectual nature is that it be conformed to the Divine
Word and Divine Intellect. Therefore, no teacher whatsoever except
the Word of God can conduct our intellectual nature unto its own high-
est perfection. Therefore, no man can be happy except him who is
Christ-like. No spirit [can be] happy unless it is conformed to the Spirit
of Christ.
[5] Note that the text states that the Jews asked: “How is it that
He knows letters, when he has never learned?”21 Therefore, skill at let-
ters is both from art and by nature. For if the art [of reading and writ-
ing] is absent, [letters] are not known; and if intelligence is absent, [let-
ters] are not learned. Hence, in Christ—who is the Word22 and who is
the Omnipotent Art through which God made the world23—art and
nature are seen to coincide. Hence, [Christ] knew all things because [in
Him] art accorded with intelligence; He is Art itself and is the
Understanding of all things knowable. The Jews would not have been
amazed if they had believed that Christ was the Living Word of all
formable words. By way of analogy: if someone were to conceive of a
368 Iam autem Die Festo Mediante
certain piece of writing as alive with an intellectual life, he would not

be amazed if the writing understood itself without a teacher, since he
would notice that the writing’s being was a living intellectual word.
[6] “Jesus answered them and said: ‘My doctrine is not mine but
is His who sent me.’ ” 24 [It is] as if He were to have said: “You won-
der from where I know letters and have a learning that can be had only
from one who [already] has it and passes it along. But what if I have
been sent to you? In that case, my doctrine would not be mine but
would be the sender’s.” And note that Christ said to the Apostles, “It is
not you who speak but the Spirit of your Father.”25 Therefore, just as
someone omniscient who is sent by him of whom he speaks does not
need study in order to acquire an art—and, thus, he speaks on his own,
[apart from having learned]— so [Christ] dissolved wonder. [It is] as
if He were to have said: “God, who sends me, speaks through me, His
Emissary.” God, the Creator, who is Spirit, speaks through Under-
standing, or Wisdom.26 Christ is said to be the Right Hand of the
Father.27 For just as the hand is the organ through which a man does
all his works, so the intellect is related to the soul, because [the intel-
lect] is like [the soul’s] hand. For [the soul] does all its works by means
of the intellect. Analogously, God [works all things] through His
Wisdom, which is Christ.28
[7] And note that [Christ] says: “My doctrine is not mine.” [It is]
as if He were to say: “My [doctrine] is mine in such a way that it is not
mine, because I have been sent.” Similarly, the sending is of Himself 29
in such a way that it is not of Himself, since [the sending] is done not
by Himself but by the Sender. Therefore, Christ wanted to show that He
was sent by God, whom the Jews did not doubt to know all things. As
the Jews were claiming, no one, apart from any studying on his own
part, knows so much that he would be able to teach. And this [truth] has
its sole exception in the case of an envoy, who teaches not his own doc-
trine but the doctrine of the sender, who speaks through the envoy. If so,
then, [says Christ], I must have been sent and my doctrine must be the
doctrine of the Sender. Similarly, the doctrine of the Son is His own and
is not His own but is the Father’s. For insofar as He is the Son, all that
He has is of His Father. This fact is understood if the Son is conceived
to be the Sonship. Assuredly, this revelation of the divinity is great—
viz., [the revelation] that the begottenness by which God the Father
begets the Son must be conceived as the Supreme Power’s sending
Himself. For in that case the Sender sends from His whole essence and
nature Him who is sent. And so, [the one sent] is called the Son because
He has the rational being, and the co-essential being, of the Sender.
[8] Next, Christ shows that the Sender is God. And he shows this
fact not in any other way than on the basis of experience, which is a
teacher of things. And He says: “If anyone wills to do His will, [i.e., the
Father’s will], he knows, on the basis of the doctrine [itself], whether
it be from God or whether I speak [it] of myself.”30 Note both of these
points. The Word very simply and very clearly indicates the fact that
He is the Word of God. He says: ‘ If anyone [wills] to do the will of
Him who sent me, and if he purposes to do so in every respect, then
(with this fact presupposed) when he takes up the aforesaid doctrine,
he knows concerning the doctrine whether it is from God. For the doc-
trine is of such great efficacy that within it is contained a light that is
manifested to him who receives the doctrine. Therefore, he will know
whether [the doctrine] is from God or whether I speak [it] of myself as
a private individual and not as one sent from God.’ For the Jews, who
had already received God’s precepts that were revealed to them by
Moses, who was sent by God, were readily able to understand whether
[or not] Christ’s doctrine was from God, since Christ came [in order]
to fulfill the Law.31
[9] Moreover, [Christ] adds how it is that this [distinguishing of
doctrines] will be done: ‘He who speaks of himself seeks his own
glory. He who seeks his own interests speaks unto his own advantage
and makes himself the goal of his teaching. But he who seeks the glory
of him who sent him is truthful, and there is no injustice in him.’ 32
Now, since [Christ’s] every teaching was only unto the glory and man-
ifestation of God the Father and was the perfection of the teaching of
Moses and of the prophets, [Christ] could be adjudged only as a true
and just emissary. For a legate who gives all honor to his sender, and
who sticks to his commission, is truthful and just. For even if the com-
mand of the sender were unjust, there would be no injustice in the
legate, since he would not be arrogating anything to himself and would
in no respect fail in doing his duty. All of the foregoing pertains to the
fact that the Father, who sent Jesus, gave Him the commission to save
by showing at all times works of mercy, even on the day of the
Sabbath. And Christ, in curing a man on the Sabbath, wanted to show
that He was not a violator of the Sabbath, because God commissioned
[Him to act] in that way.
[10] There follows [in the Scriptural text]: “Did not Moses give
you the Law, and [yet] none of you keep the Law?”33—as is corrobo-
rated below. There follows: “Why do you seek to kill me—on the
grounds, namely, that I have not kept the law concerning the Sabbath?”
(For [in the Law of Moses] it was commanded that such a transgres-
sor be stoned.) Now, Christ, who willed to die, first took care to
remove all occasions [for dying. He did so] in order [later] to show
that He willingly, but unjustly, died [i.e., was put to death] for the sal-
vation of all men. “ The multitude answered and said: ‘ You have a
devil. Who seeks to kill You? ’ ”34—as if [Christ] worked miracles not
by means of a human art or by means of a divine art but rather by
means of a thousand contrivances of a lying devil and as if, nonethe-
less, it were not the case that [the Jews] were for this reason seeking
to kill Him. They denied this [intent] because of a fear of the people,
on account of whom they did not at that time dare to admit that they
sought His death.
[11] Jesus answered and said to them: “I have done one work,
and you all marvel.”35 He is speaking of the man whom He cured on
the Sabbath at the pond [called] Probatica—about which [one reads]
earlier, in Chapter 5.36 “Therefore, Moses gave you circumcision (not
because it is from Moses [himself ] but [because it is] from the
fathers); and on the Sabbath you circumcise a man.”37 Originally, cir-
cumcision arose from the fathers, or patriarchs; later it was given by
Moses, who also gave the law of the Sabbath. But the law of the
Sabbath did not preclude [the law of] circumcision, which was com-
manded to be done on the eighth day of birth, which was possible to
be the Sabbath. [12] “ If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath
in order that the Law of Moses not be broken, are you angry at me,
who have healed the whole man on the Sabbath?”38 God’s law, as well
as the law of nature (which preceded circumcision [and] which com-
mands that we do to another what we would want done unto us), was
not broken by the instigators of circumcision but was, instead, con-
firmed—just as circumcision [was confirmed] by Moses. Therefore,
the law of the Sabbath does not infringe upon the law of God that is
the eternal law. And no one ought to be angry about the fact that that
[eternal] law is obeyed [when one is circumcised on the Sabbath].
Now, in fulfilling the eternal law in regard to healing the whole man
on the Sabbath, Christ acted in accordance with the command of Him
who sent Him. Therefore, …, etc.
[13] Moreover, consider [the following]: Not without very great
mystery is mention here [in the Gospel] made of the law of circumci-
sion, of the law of the Sabbath, and of the healing of the whole man.
For circumcision and the Sabbath rest upon covenants and agreements.
But the healing of the whole man was mandated not by laws, etc., or
by sacred signs of a covenant and of agreements, but by Christ, who
alone healed the whole man. And [He did] this on the Sabbath because
the Sabbath was instituted so that Christ, the Son of the Sabbath, would
on His own day39 heal the whole man. Note [the expression] “the
whole man”: [Jesus healed] not with respect only to the soul or with
respect only to the body but with respect to both.
[14] “Do not judge according to the appearance, but make a just
judgment.”40 He who looks at what appears and at the surface, or outer-
covering, judges according to the appearance. But he makes a just judg-
ment who looks not at the letter but at the intent; for the intent is the
Law’s meaning and quiddity. Here [in the passage above] we are taught
that Christ revealed inward things and revealed the spirit of the letter;
for He was the Message that was hidden in Scripture. Likewise, then,
someone who according to the appearance judges that Christ is human,
surely does not know Him. Rather, he must turn from [Christ’s] teach-
ing and works unto inner matters in order to see the essence from which
this power derives; and in this way he apprehends the deity hidden
beneath the humanity. The case is similar, then, concerning the Law’s
surface-statements and its hidden life-giving message.
[15] “But certain ones from Jerusalem said: ‘Is this not He
whom the Jews seek to kill? And, lo, He speaks openly, and they say
nothing to Him.’ ”41 Note [that] He speaks openly, because [He
speaks] with the light of truth, which [the Jews] could not gainsay.
“Have the rulers truly known that this is the Christ ?”42 Yet, how
would they know? For if they knew, they also would not know. For
Christ cannot be known. “But we know this man, whence He is; but
when the Christ comes, no one [will] know whence He is.”43 In the
immediately succeeding chapter Christ answers, saying: “I know
whence I come and whither I go; but you do not know whence I
come.”44 For although they knew according to the appearance, they
nevertheless did not regarding this matter make a just judgment, in
accordance with the invisible nature.
[16] “Jesus therefore cried out in the temple, teaching and say-
ing: ‘You know me and know whence I am’ ”45—[you know it], that is,
in judging according to the flesh,46 as is [indicated] in the immediate-
ly succeeding chapter. “And I have not come on my own but I was sent,
as I showed earlier on the basis of your admission that I teach but have
not learned letters. But one who is sent is not sent from himself and
does not come on his own; rather, He who sent me is true; Him you do
not know.”47 Behold, [Christ] shows that God alone is true and that He,
from whom Christ comes originally, is unknown to the Jews. And so,
[Christ] infers again that what is known according to the flesh is not
opposed to the judgment that He is the Christ. [17] “I know Him.”48
The Son alone knows the Father.49 “And if I shall say that I know Him
not, I shall be a liar like you.”50 Note that the Jews who adhere to the
outward letter [of the Law] are liars and that those who are like them
are made liars. The father of the lie is the Devil.51 Therefore, all liars
pass over into a likeness of the Devil. One who is true can speak only
the truth in and through the true one sent by him, since [the one sent]
speaks the words of the sender. “But I know Him, since I am from Him
and since He sent me.” Note the conclusion that from Him-who-is-true
Jesus has, in an essential way, His being and His being sent. Likewise,
Paul says that God sent His Son.52
[18] “They sought, therefore, to apprehend Him; but no one laid
hands on Him, because His hour had not yet come. But of the people
many believed in Him.”53 I understand “his hour” to mean the time
when the consummation [of His mission] arrived. For Christ was first
supposed to show two things: viz., (1) that He who was the Son of man
was Son of God and (2) that He was going to undergo a voluntary
death for the sake of our salvation. He showed the first thing by His
words and by very true works of the kind that no people ascribe to any-
one other than to God. He showed, secondly, that, being without sin,
He was not justly worthy of condemnation but that [He underwent
death] voluntarily on account of obedience54 that redounded to our sal-
vation. As long as these [two] things were not sufficiently shown, the
time for undergoing death had not come.
[19] That He could be believed to be the Son of God had to be
shown, because this belief renders certain His teaching and His prom-
ises concerning future things that are supernatural. Since these [future]
things are such that they are not seen to be possible, it was necessary
that Christ teach them on the basis of unquestionably reliable55
authority. Now, no one doubts that God is truthful in His every word,
no matter what He is speaking of. Yet, because of false apostles and
prophets there can be doubt about whether or not someone is speak-
ing God’s words. But He who by His works shows that not only is He
a truthful prophet of God but also is the Son with the full power of
God the Father—assuredly, He provides a firm foundation for belief
in His teaching. [20] To one who reflects, a second thing shows itself
to be necessary: [viz.,] that since Christ, as God’s Son and Messenger,
taught that sonship with God can be obtained for those who are with-
out sin56 and who willingly obey God even to the point of [undergo-
ing] a most shameful death, then the reward for that death can be only
eternal life and a life than which none other is better—as is that life
which understands57 that it is alive. For how could it be that God
(who is just according to the unreserved belief of all men) would as a
reward give—to a believer-in-Him who dies for His sake—less than
immortal life?
[21] It was necessary that Christ display in regard to Himself the
following: viz., (1) that the Son of God is without sin and (2) that He
willingly was going to obey the Father even to the point of death on
the Cross and (3) that in this way He would obtain a glorious resur-
rection from the dead and would enter into glory and (4) that every
believer would be made a partaker of His death and a partaker of His
resurrection. But that believer who with consummate desire deter-
mines to will to be obedient (conformably to Christ) even to the point
of death—[he] has already become a participant in Christ’s death, even
if it would not happen that he suffer physical martyrdom, as [such mar-
tyrdom] is true of St. Martin and of other holy ones who profess
[Christ]. And I recall that elsewhere (with Christ teaching [through
me]) I said something analogous (1) regarding consummate hatred (on
account of which someone is a murderer [in his heart])58 and (2)
regarding consummate concupiscence of heart (on account of which
someone is an adulterer).59
[22] From the passage in the Gospel of John the Evangelist the
foregoing points are clearly manifested, especially to one who is intent
on finding them. Let these things—which have been said about the
Gospel in the foregoing way very briefly and preliminarily—suffice.
NOTES TO Iam autem Die Festo Mediante
* Sermon CCXCII.
1 . This title i s supplied b y the editors of the printed edition of the Latin text
since the manuscripts have n o title. The Paris edition uses the title “Sicut nuper
dum”, the first words of the text. In the Paris edition folio CXC i s mislabeled as
CLXXXVIII.
2 . John 7:14.
3 . “… recently”: i.e., in February of this same year (1459).
4 . Nicholas is making a pastoral visitation to Santa Maria Maior in Rome.
5 . Romans 15:4.
6 . John 7:14.
7 . “ Jesus” means Savior. Matthew 1:21.
8 . Matthew 11:29.
9 . Matthew 11:29.
10. John 14:6.
11 . John 11:25.
12. John 7:15. “… know letters” : i.e., know how to read and to write and
know certain texts and writings.
13. John 1:1.
15. Isaias (Isaiah) 1:18 (as applicable to Christ). I Corinthians 2:16.
16. I Timothy 6:16. Here (at 3 :16) I am reading “vita” with the Paris edi-
tion, in place of “virtus” with mss. V 2 and L.
18. John 11:25.
19. Matthew 5:48 as applicable also to the Son.
20. De Docta Ignorantia I, 5 and II, 1 (9 6).
21. John 7:15.
22. John 1:1.
23. Hebrews 1:2.
24. John 7:16.
25. Matthew 10:20.
27. Christ sits at the Right Hand of the Father. Matthew 22:44 and 26:64.
From this belief arose the reference to Christ as the Right Hand of the Father.
29. “ … is of Himself”: i.e., He is the one who is sent.
30. John 7:17.
31. Matthew 5:17.
32. This is a paraphrase of John 7:18.
33. John 7:19.
34. John 7:20.
35. John 7:21.
36. John 5:1-18.
37. John 7:22.
374
Notes to Iam autem Die Festo Mediante 375
38. John 7:23. The whole man (totus homo) is man qua both body and soul.
39. Matthew 12:8. Mark 2:28. Luke 6:5.
40. John 7:24.
41. John 7:25-26.
42. John 7:26.
43. John 7:27.
44. John 8:14.
45. John 7:28.
46. John 8:15.
47. John 7:28.
48. John 7:29.
49. Luke 10:22. John 8:55.
50. John 8:55.
51. John 8:44.
52. Galatians 4:4.
53. John 7:30-31.
55. Regarding Nicholas’s use of “ infallibilis” and its variants and cog-
nates, see pp. 10-12 of my Hugh of Balma on Mystical Theology: A Translation
and an Overview of His De Theologia Mystica (Minneapolis: Banning, 2002).
56. “ … without sin”: i.e., without sin because it has been forgiven.
57. Cf. Sermon CCLXXXVII (1 –2 ).
58. I John 3:15.
59. Matthew 5:27-28.
Sermo Montis Oliveti*
(Sermon at Monte Oliveto)1
[June 5, 1463; preached at the Abbey of Monte Oliveto]
PROLOGUE
[1] In order that there be rightly fulfilled that which is said in the
Psalms ([namely,] “My words shall not pass away”)2 for the usefulness
of our religion —so that those well-instructed ones who want to enter
our religion may obtain an increase of wisdom and understanding and,
as a result, an increase of fervor and devotion—it seemed to me good
and useful to record in a book the things written below. [It seemed use-
ful to do so] lest men’s weak memory experience a failure because of
the following: if one were to perceive such an admonition only orally.
Here ends the Prologue. Here begins the sermon of the most rev-
erend lord, Lord Cardinal Nicholas—[a sermon] held at the Monastery
of Monte Oliveto for a certain novice before [the Cardinal] invested
him.
SERMON
[2] Therefore, let it be known to all that the most reverend father and
lord in Christ, Lord Nicholas, Cardinal (by the grace of God and of the
Apostolic See) of the Holy Roman church [and] most worthy of the
title of St. Peter in Chains—came to this our Monastery of Monte
Oliveto on the third day of July, 1463. He was received with great
devoutness by the Father General and by all the other monks residing
here. And he traveled with two bishops (and their entire entourage)
attending him very praiseworthily until he was in this Monastery. For
they presented themselves humbly, devoutly, honorably, and modestly
(as if they were monks) by standing during the divine offices and being
silent, so that all the monks marveled. And [they amazed the monks]
by fasting on those days—on which days four times [for fasting]
occurred. And the most reverend Lord Cardinal celebrated [mass]
every day, even when he arrived and when he departed from us.
[3] Hence, on the [feast-]day of the Most Holy Trinity, which at
that time occurred on the fifth day of July, 1463, he assented (because
of his revered gentleness and humility) to the importunings of the
monks that he should celebrate high mass. And after he had sat
down—being already clothed in vestments befitting such a solemn
occasion—in front of the main altar in the seat prepared for him for
376
Sermon at Monte Oliveto 377
this purpose, he began to deliver his sermon in the following manner:

“What does this young man who has kneeled before us3 seek?” And a
monk to whom it was assigned answered: “Most reverend Lord, this is
a student who comes from Bononia and who strongly desires to
become a monk. Hence, he beseeches Your most reverend Lordship to
deign to give him the habit of novices.” And the Lord Cardinal asked:
“What say you, my Son?” And the young man answered: “My Lord, I
ask, I beseech, and I beg to be invested with the holy habit of the
novices of Monte Oliveto, although I am not worthy [of it]. But I hope
that by the grace of God and by the supporting prayers of these fathers
I will act in such a way that I may be made worthy.”
[4] The Lord Cardinal replied to him: “I am exceedingly amazed
at, and more than I am indicating I admire, the fact that you are asking
such things, if you know and understand what you are asking. And if
you do not know or do not understand, I am also amazed that you are
asking about things you do not know. And because we4 are ignorant
with what state of mind you are asking—whether [or not] you are led
by a good spirit (which is evident only to God, who is the Searcher of
hearts,5 as [is said] in the chapter Novit of the Judgments)—but
because I think that as unknowing you are asking what you are asking
(for if you did know, you presumably would not be asking), and
because it is necessary that you not be ignorant of this [information]: I
want to iterate, explain, and disclose to you what your request implies.
And when you understand your request, perhaps you will stop [having]
such a desire or will not ask so boldly and fervently. [5] Therefore, lis-
ten closely and understand well what your request implies. And after-
wards, when you have understood, you will tell me whether you [still]
wish to obtain what you asked for. For you have asked, if I rightly
understood, that there be given to you the habit of the novice monks of
Monte Oliveto because you have contemplated becoming a monk—a
monk of Monte Oliveto. So it is necessary that you know before all
things, if you wish to become a monk, what the name ‘monk’ entails,
so that you can be eager to become that which you will be called and
that which you are named. [It is necessary that you know,] so that you
do not make use of a false name, lest you be a hypocrite and have only
the name of holiness but are not holy. Indeed, it is better to be a monk
(or someone holy) in reality and not to be called, or named, [a monk]
than to be called and named [a monk] but not to be [a monk] in reali-
ty and in truth.
378 Sermo Montis Oliveti
[6] “Why, then, do you seek such a habit, since from it you are
not made better or holier, because ‘a habit does not make a monk’?
Rather, one’s prized and praiseworthy life and behavior do—as [is stat-
ed] in the Chapter Porrectum regarding those who are in religious
orders. And you know that from the habit, if you assume it, no small
burden will befall you, because it is necessary that each person strive
to be that which he is said to be and is called. And [it is necessary] that
he do what the meaning of his name conveys. For each person will be
judged in accordance with his name, i.e., the name of his office. For
the pope (who is called the ‘Father of fathers’) and the bishop (i.e.,
‘one existing above others’) and the presbyter (i.e., ‘one showing the
way to others’) and the Christian ([named] from ‘Christ’) and—in con-
cluding quickly—likewise about other [offices and their names]: all
persons ought to imitate what is signified by their name and to imitate
the designation of their office and ought to carry out [the office’s]
meaning and to have from the office an earnest desire of making
improvement in their deeds. [Such would be] in accordance with the
text of Cicero, who says in Book One of his De Officiis: ‘Every system
of thought that is engaged-in regarding any matter ought to set out
from a rational conception and a definition.’6 [7] That very Christian
Emperor Justinian imitated Cicero’s practice. When he wanted to deal
with justice and the right in the Book of his Institutes, he stated at the
outset what the right is. And, likewise, a lawyer who was going to write
about testaments in the law, showed at the beginning what a testament
is. Stimulated by their examples, we who are going to deal with the
monastic life want to state at the outset what a monk is.
[8] “Moreover, I say to you, my Son—you who wish to become
a monk: You ought to know what a monk is. As is contained in [Causa]
XVI, Question 1, Chapter 8 [of the Decretals]:7 the word ‘monachus’
[i.e., ‘monk’] is derived from ‘monos’, which means alone, and ‘chus’.
And so, a monk is supposed to be alone so that he can better devote
himself to God and can better pray to God. And he ought to remain in
solitude in order that he may be more unrestrictedly and more quietly
focused on contemplation of Heavenly things and may be in the com-
pany of the angels and may be devoted to the divine office. [9] From
the Lives of the Fathers8 we know what those holy fathers and ancient
monks did. And we know about our glorious Father Benedict, who
remained alone and remained separated from the commotions of
human beings and who did as is written in the Book of the Prophet
Jeremias: ‘He shall sit solitary and hold his peace and will raise him-
self above himself.’9 For the Lord God comes more quickly and more
willingly to a mind and to a soul which is at rest [and] separated from
the tumult, according to the word of the Prophet Osee in Chapter 2: ‘I
shall lead her unto solitude, and I shall speak to her heart.’10 And many
other [texts] could be adduced and indicated with regard to this topic.
We have these [texts] in the Old Testament and in the New Testament;
and [we know] conclusively that a monk ought to be solitary and ought
to be sorrowful, because (as is stated in the aforesaid chapter
Monachus, Question 1)11 he was given the office of lamenting.
[10] “Now, a monk ought to lament principally for three reasons,
although there are many others. First, he ought to lament over his
sins—past ones, present ones, and daily ones, and unavoidable ones
(for we all offend in many ways)12—in order that they be remitted, in
accordance with the text: ‘Every night I will wash my bed, I will water
my couch, with my tears’ (Psalms 6).13 Secondly, not only a monk but
all true Christians ought to lament in accordance with the text in the
Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 5: ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they
shall be comforted.’14 For those who mourn at present and do penance
shall rejoice in the future and shall be gladdened in Heavenly happi-
ness. Thirdly, a monk ought to lament because of the great love [cari-
tas et amor]15 which he ought to have toward his Creator [and] which,
in the present valley of tears and in this exile, he is lacking because of
the fall of our first parent.
[11] “And so, a sorrowful monk—indeed, each truly believing
soul—ought to say with the Psalmist: ‘My tears have been my bread
day and night, while it is said to me daily, “Where is your God?” ’16
And elsewhere [the Psalmist] says: ‘My soul refused to be comfort-
ed,’17 i.e., [comforted] from the consolation of the world. And after-
wards [the Psalmist] added: ‘I remembered God and was delighted’18
(Psalms 76). Therefore, a monk ought to be sorrowful as regards the
world and earthly things, which he has despised and vomited forth.
And so, he ought not to seek joy from these [earthly] things; rather, let
his spirit rejoice in God his Savior.19 [12] But be it that you do so
[rejoice]: it will not suffice you. For you asked not simply for the habit
of a monk but you also added: ‘of Monte Oliveto’. But because you
wish, and keenly desire, to become a monk of Monte Oliveto, I imag-
ine that you understand why this Monte Oliveto is needful [for you].
[13] “Pay close attention. We read in the Gospels—Matthew 26
and Mark 14—that the place to which the Lord Jesus was accustomed
to go for praying is called a farm, and a country place, [named]

Gethsemani.20 But Luke the Gospel-writer in his Gospel, Chapter 22,
calls the aforesaid place the Mount of Olives.21 But John in his Gospel
calls this place of the Mount of Olivet a garden, as is stated in Chapter
18 of this same Gospel.22 And, thus, we have three names for this
Mount of Olivet. I consider, too, that it is called Mount of Olivet and
not Mounts of Olivet. Although there are three peaks that are grouped,
nonetheless [the grouping] is said to be one [mount] and not more than
one. And although there are three [different] names, there is neverthe-
less a single reality and single essence and single substance.”
[14] Thereupon the most reverend Lord Cardinal turned his face
toward the Abbot General and the other monks who were seated and
standing, and he said: “O Fathers and O my Brothers, consider that
today is the glorious solemn feast-day of the most Holy Trinity, about
which Trinity we say that there is one Divinity, one Majesty, one
Essence, although there are three Persons: Father, Word, and Holy
Spirit. And if we were not prevented by the shortness of time, I would
most gladly say to you something about so great a solemn feast-day—
[something] to its praise and for your consolation. For this is the best
[illustrative] material for such an understanding [i.e., an understanding
of the Trinity]. [15] But since we are going to celebrate the solemn
components of masses and are going to hold a procession because of
the threatening war of the Italians, let us return at present (with such
material [about the Trinity] left aside) to our undertaking, and let us see
what this ‘Monte Oliveto’ signifies. It means, in truth, ‘rich and valu-
able mount,’ on which God is well-pleased to dwell. And although this
mount has three names, nevertheless it is one thing. Accordingly, there
is no need now to be concerned with this [topic], given that it is con-
tained in the Chapter Non Omittit on the meaning of words.23
[16] “I [will] say [something] about this [monastery] Monte
Oliveto. I [will] consider its three mounds. But only one [of them] has
a cross; the others do not. Two [of them] have an olive tree on the right
and on the left. This is what it seems to me that I saw (if I was able to
descry correctly) at the entrance of this place (as one looks upwards
toward the prominence of the cross) and within the monastery. In the
monastery I also saw a banner of the holy cross erected on the trine and
one mound with green olive leaves placed nearby. And these all signi-
fy, indicate, and convey something. But first I [will] say that in this
[grouping] I recognize that these our fathers, our former teachers, and
the founders of this holy religion were holy men, full of the Holy Spirit
and possessed of great prudence and endowed by God, and illuminat-
ed, with great intelligence, since they knew such deep mysteries.
[17] “But with all these [topics] set aside, let us speak about the
holy cross that is erected on the mount. Most dearly beloved Son: if
you wish to be a son of Monte Oliveto, then you must assume this
[cross] in order to act in accordance with the text: ‘He who wishes to
come after me, let [him] take up his cross and follow me.’24 So says
the Lord of Monte Oliveto in Chapter 9 of Luke. Therefore, since you
are a young man, do you not fear to carry the cross and, as it were, to
die? Indeed, it will be necessary both to die to the world and to live
unto God by being born again. For no one can enter the Kingdom of
Heaven unless he be born again25—according to the text of John 3
regarding Nicodemus. And elsewhere [we read]: ‘Unless a grain of
wheat falling into the ground die, it does not bring forth fruit’26 (John,
Chapter 12). And so, you ought to put to death your soul, if you love
it, by denying yourself27 and by carrying your cross. [18] If you wish
to be in Monte Oliveto, you should first become a good olive tree,
which, standing near the cross, has leaves that are always green and
that never fall off it even in the wintertime. Thus, it is necessary that
you be a good olive tree, although you were [once] a wild olive tree.
But according to the view of Blessed Ambrose regarding Luke 19
(where [Luke] deals with Zachaeus):28 you should now be grafted into
a good olive tree. And if hitherto you were a fruitless tree and were fit
[only] for being the food of brute animals, be now transformed and
ingrafted, so that you may bear the fruit of an olive tree, with a richness
of devoutness, by always having a greenness of unfailing fervor. And
in this way you will be a tree worthy to be placed in Monte Oliveto.
[19] “And so that you may always be green and alive with the
fervor of devoutness, you ought to consider how our Lord Jesus Christ
so persevered (on this Mount of Olivet with the fervor of devoutness
[and] with the richness of prayer) that when the time of His suffering
according to the humanity of His flesh came upon Him [and] He was
situated in agony because of His anticipation of the extremely harsh
death that He had to suffer: He continued in prayer and continued
with a good will for always fulfilling the will of the Father. And He
endured bloodlike sweat; [and] when he was so greatly distressed, he
never failed or fled, but, rather, He offered Himself to them head on,
saying: ‘Whom do you seek?’29 as you know from Chapter 18 of John.
[20] “So too ought you to be prepared and disposed always to do

the will of the Father who is in Heaven—even if He were to will to cru-
cify you.30 For if it was necessary that Christ suffer,31 then much more
is it necessary that we by means of many tribulations and difficulties
enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, as is stated in Chapter 14 of Acts.32
Suppose, then, that seeing and considering these [monastic] fathers
and brothers to be well-clothed and to be well-provided-for from the
yields of [the monastery’s] possessions, as if without hard work, you
were to say in your heart the following: ‘Lo, I too will do likewise and
will spend my life with them and with them will cease from labor.’ [In
that case,] you would err, my Son, very greatly and would be misled
and exceedingly deceived in thinking such things. For the Wise Man
says in Chapter 2: ‘Son, when you approach the service of God, pre-
pare your soul for temptation.’33 Note that he said ‘for temptation’ and
not ‘for rest’. And we cannot express in few [words] how many tor-
ments all the saints have suffered in order to arrive untroubled at a mar-
tyr’s prize. But there is a mistake on our part. For in a sermon Blessed
Augustine says of martyrs: ‘We want to rejoice with the saints, but we
do not want to undergo with them the tribulations of the world.’34
[21] “And so, my Son, see now whether you wholeheartedly
wish to go ahead with your request and to pursue your desire now that
you have understood—at least in some measure—what your request
entails. For there are still many things to be said, but let the foregoing
things suffice for now. Tell me, then, what you are thinking and
whether you wish to reflect still more [on this matter]. For perhaps,
since you are young, you have not well considered [the matter]. For if
you were not to have the virtues of which I spoke but were to have only
the name of virtue and holiness, you would not later obtain the reward
and the crown which are given to good monks. I have said nothing
about this reward and about the ineffable glory of the saints because I
presume—after seeing you so lively and fervent and devout with
respect to such burdens that are to be undertaken—that you are well
informed and well instructed [in this regard], as can be gleaned from
your words.
[22] “Nevertheless, I am not certain what you are thinking as a
result of what I have said to you. Perhaps you might say to me:
Lord, I have understood sufficiently the things that you have
said, and I know and acknowledge that at present I do not have
such virtues and cannot obtain in an instant my being someone
having mastery over such virtues and over the referents of such
names—the names “monk of Monte Oliveto”. But I hope to act

like the one who takes up the study of divine and mundane writ-
ings orccccccccccccs who professes [a knowledge of] other
([e.g.,] mechanical) arts. He does not suddenly (subito et
repente) obtain perfection of study and of knowledge [thereof]
or knowledge of another art which he is learning. Rather, he
makes progress little by little and from day to day. Similarly, I
too intend to advance from virtue to virtue after this beginning
and after the assumption of the holy habit. [And I intend] to
attack my studies with all my powers and with the enormous
effort of a new man, who has overcome all [obstacles]. [And I
intend] to slug away day and night as best I can, until with
God’s help I obtain, in timely fashion, the aforesaid virtues and
others that will be necessary for the status of a monk.
[23] “And I will answer you, O most beloved Son, that this
[intent of yours] pleases me exceedingly. And I praise your determina-
tion and greatly commend your requesting [to become a monk]. But
hear still a few things that remain [to be said]. If you wish to ascend to
the very top of Monte Oliveto, then you must do as our Lord Jesus
Christ did. When he wanted to go to the top of the Mount of Olivet, he
took with Himself Peter, James, and John. He did not go alone, but He
did pray alone—separated from them at a short distance. And they,
remaining without Him, very soon fell asleep. Hence, He later aroused
them, saying: ‘Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spir-
it is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak,’35 as is contained in Chapter
26 of Matthew.
[24] “And so, since you have to ascend the Mount of Olivet, see
to it that you have with you the aforementioned Apostles Peter, James,
and John; and do not in any way ascend this Mount without them. I
say: First have Peter, who is chief among all the Apostles [and] who
symbolizes obedience. And you ought to be obedient and ought always
in all respects to comply with those things which your holy rule dic-
tates, so that you never carelessly neglect anything. Yea, rather, I say
to you the more strongly that if you do some good work that is con-
tained in the rule of Saint Augustine or St. Francis but is against the
rule of St. Benedict, then you would be acting badly even though that
work in and of itself would be good; and you would not be obedient.
And so, you would not have Peter with you.
[25] “And so, strive always to observe your holy rule, namely,
that of Blessed Benedict. And [do so] especially because [this rule] is
especially praiseworthy and is approved and is foremost in the Church
of God. And this rule pleases me very greatly; and from the testimony
of Blessed Pope Gregory in his second book of Dialogues36 [this rule]
appears to be quite commendable. Therefore, O Son, strive to observe
it rightly. You will do this best if you do what the Psalmist says, name-
ly: ‘I have become to you as a beast of burden.’37 For when a load is
placed on it, the beast remains quiet, does not speak, does not judge
that hay or straw, wood or stones, is placed on it but patiently bears [the
load]. [The beast] does not complain or murmur about the size or the
type of the load, even if [the load] be immoderate; but [the beast]
patiently carries [the load] as best it can and as long as its strength
lasts. And you, similarly: always obey your superiors because the obe-
dience that is imposed by them is imposed by God. (For God says: ‘He
who hears you hears me,’38 as is contained in Chapter 10 of Luke. [26]
And, therefore, never resist these [superiors] unless something is
imposed upon you to be done that is expressly against the faith or
against God or God’s precepts. However, this [circumstance] is not to
be expected, because these prelates are duty-bound to render the
rationale for the obedience which they impose. But you, because of the
reason that had to be rendered, will be free [of fault] as regards works
that you shall do out of obedience. And so, always obey willingly,
calmly, and without delay. And know that because of someone else you
will be deprived of your own will, and you will not be permitted to be
either willing or unwilling—as is stated in the next to the last chapter
and in the last chapter of De Sepulturis.39 And let it suffice to have set
forth these [remarks] about Peter, i.e., about obedience.
[27] “And together with Peter, as I said, it is necessary that you
have James. This James40 symbolizes a supplanter, by which is under-
stood holy poverty and voluntary contempt for the riches of the world.
By these [two] things the world and everything in it are trod under foot.
And in this way the poor supplant the rich, i.e., [supplant] those who
desire to become rich. But even in this world the voluntary poor are
happier and more glad than are the rich. For the rich are always in dis-
tress because of the riches to be gained or because of the gained rich-
es that are to be safe-guarded. But the poor are mentally at ease as
‘having nothing and possessing all things,’41 as says the Apostle in II
Corinthians 6.
[28] “Likewise, it is necessary that together with Peter and James
you have John, because it is necessary that together with obedience
and poverty you have chastity, which is symbolized by John, who was
a virgin. Without doubt, you will have to preserve this chastity not just
for a time but continuously and even until death. For now you will be
made the temple of God; and the Apostle says (in I Corinthians 6): ‘He
who violates the temple of God, him will God destroy.’42
[29] “Moreover, you know that these three vows—of obedience,
of poverty, and of chastity—are so connected to one another that even
the pope, who can manage all things, does not have the power of dis-
posing over them. For he can give a dispensation that one not be a
monk and that he return to the world; but he cannot dispose that some-
one be a monk without obedience, poverty, and chastity—as is stated
about the status of monks in the Chapter Cum ad Monasterium.43 [30]
And so, if any of the aforenamed virtues which you will take with you
are ever assailed and you suffer hardship, do not be surprised and do
not fear but think and remember that the aforenamed Disciples Peter,
James, and John fell asleep when God withdrew from them. And this
[occurred] because, without doubt, neither they nor any others can do
anything without the Lord. So, then, when the Lord returned to them
He gave them a suitable and necessary remedy, saying ‘Watch and
pray, lest you enter into temptation.’ Therefore, my Son, do according
to the counsel of the Lord: pray that you not enter into temptation. And
pray earnestly that the Lord grant you the grace to obtain, and to
accomplish, that which you strongly desire to; for without Him we can
do nothing at all, nor are we sufficient of ourselves so as of ourselves
to think the good; rather, our sufficiency is from God44—as the
Apostle says in II Corinthians 6.
[31] “But note, my Son, that you must pray that, among other
things, God grant you the grace of persevering. For as Gregory says:
‘Perseverance is the strength of a good work.’45 And, therefore, the
Lord commanded, as is read in Leviticus 3, that the rump be placed in
the sacrifice.46 Otherwise, your work would not be accepted by God.
For a good beginning [and] a good middle are of little value if a good
end does not follow. And so, the glorious teacher Ambrose says in his
sermon regarding pontiffs: ‘Praise the happiness of the sailor, but [do
so] when he arrives at the port. Praise the strength of the leader, but [do
so] when he has been led to victory.’47 [32] Hence, my Son, if you
intend to fulfill the aforesaid [obligations], I also will fulfill your desire
and will give you the holy habit. But if you do not have such an intent,
do not put your hand to the plow,48 because if later you were to look
back, you would not be fit for the Kingdom of God (as [is read] in the
386 Sermon at Monte Oliveto
Chapter De Voto),49 since it is better not to know the way of the Lord
than after it is known to go back (as [is read] in the Chapter Dilectus
about apostates).50
[33] “Lastly, I say to you that, supposing that you have good
intent and a good will for living holily and devoutly with these fathers
in this holy place—with prayers, fastings, disciplines, divine offices,
and with all holiness—nevertheless, your goal ought not to be affixed
here but you ought to do all of the aforesaid things to the end of pleas-
ing God. [And your goal ought to be that] of obtaining God’s grace and
of coming into that glory and ineffable happiness for the sake of all of
which not only is the severity-of-penance of these fathers to be accept-
ed, but also martyrdom and all torments are to be counted as nothing
because the very brief sufferings of this present time are not worthy of
comparison with the perpetual and eternal future glory—as the
Apostle51 says [in his Epistle] to the Romans, Chapter 8. [34] And you
are wondering about the fact that I said to you nothing about that glory
and that Heavenly happiness. [I said nothing] because time does not
suffice for speaking of so many and such great things [and] because I
fully believe that you are well informed about this (as I said earlier)
and especially because I was told to speak to you only about the diffi-
cult and harsh [ways] through which one comes to God. You, then, my
Son, answer now. What do you say? Do you wish to think further about
this matter? Tell me what you are thinking as regards these things
which I have said to you. Speak bluntly; have no fear.”
[35] Thereupon, the young man, who was genuflexed before
him, answered with a cheerful countenance and a devout mien [and]
with seriousness and complete modesty: “Most reverend Lord, I have
thought about this matter for nearly a year and have deliberated now at
length for six months. And having considered the things to be consid-
ered, I have determined, and confirmed, my intention; and I have
decided that Divine inspiration commands my accomplishing [this
goal]—[commands it] to such an extent that if the Supreme Pontiff
wanted to promote me to the bishopric or the cardinalate in case I
would be willing to turn aside from my present purpose, I would nei-
ther on account of this [offer] nor on account of [any] other appealing
circumstance of the world desist [from my present intent]. And even if
it were said to me: ‘If you do not set aside this choice [of yours], your
head will be amputated,’ I would quickly extend my neck and say: ‘I
do not fear to die for God’s sake.’ Thus, by the grace of God I am
established in my good intent to serve God.”

[36] Thereupon, the Lord Cardinal turned to the Lord Abbot and
said: “I—by your commissioning, authority, and license, and in your
name—will give to him the holy habit of the novices of your order.”
And immediately the young man took off his secular garments and
devoutly received the holy habit from the hand of the most reverend
Lord Cardinal. After handing over the habit with tears because of [the
young man’s] devoutness of very great fervor: he kissed the young
man and said: “You are called by my name, in particular, Nicolaus, i.e.,
Brother Nicolaus. This [name] means victorious. Hence, be victorious
against Satan and his machinations, for our struggle is not against flesh
and blood but against powers and principalities …,” etc.52
[37] And afterwards the aforesaid young man lived exceedingly
devoutly, fervently, and praiseworthily for three months or there-
abouts, so that he was pleasing to all. And subsequently he was afflict-
ed by a very severe illness; and he quietly reached a blessed end and
died especially devoutly. Beforehand, he was comforted by a certain
glorious vision, and he disclosed it to his spiritual father, and it fore-
told the hour of his departure [from the world]. And thus he went glo-
riously into Heaven.
Praise to God for him forever. Amen.
Here ends the sermon of the most reverend lord, Lord Cardinal
of St. Peter in Chains—[a sermon] composed in the foregoing way in
our principal [Benedictine] Monastery of Monte Oliveto.
NOTES TO Sermo Montis Oliveti
* Sermon CCXCIII.
1. The Abbey of Monte Oliveto (named after the Mount of Olives) is locat-
ed in the Tuscany region of Italy. Nicholas went there to invest a novice monk. See
Gerda von Bredow, Cusanus-Texte IV. Briefwechsel des Nikolaus von Kues: das
Vermächtnis des Nikolaus von Kues. Der Brief an Nikolaus Albergati nebst der
Predigt in Montoliveto (1463). Heidelberg: Carl Winter, 1955 [Sitzungsberichte
der Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften. Philosophisch-historische
Klasse]. Nicholas arrived at the Monastery in June of 1463—not in July, as he
misstates at the beginning of the sermon. The Feast-day of the Trinity was also in
June, not in July.
2. Matthew 24:35. But note also Psalms 118:89 (119:89).
3. Nicholas, here but not always, uses the magisterial “we” while referring
to himself in this sermon.
4. See note 3 above.
5. Romans 8:27.
6. Marcus Tullius Cicero, De Officiis I.2.7.
7. Decretum Gratiani, Causa XVI, Quaestio I, C VIII (PL 187:993A).
Alternatively, see Aemilius Friedberg, editor, Corpus Iuris Canonici, Vol. I:
Decretum Magistri Gratiani, p. 763 [reprinted in Graz, Austria, 1959; see n. 23
below].
8. Here the editors of the printed Latin text cite Vitae Patrum (PL 73:818-
819 & 822-823).
10. Osee (Hosea) 2:14.
11. See n.7 above.
12. James 3:2.
13. Psalms 6:7 (6:6).
14. Matthew 5:5.
15. See n. 10 of Sermon CCLXXXII (Pater Vester Caelestis Dabit Vobis).
16. Psalms 41:4 (42:3).
17. Psalms 76:3 (77:2).
18. Psalms 76:4 (77:3).
19. Cf. Luke 1:47.
20. Matthew 26:36. Mark 14:32.
21. Luke 22:39. Here Nicholas uses the plural: Mons Olivarum, as does
Luke. At other times he uses the singular: Mons Oliveti.
22. Cf. John 18:1.
23. See Aemilius Friedberg, editor, Corpus Iuris Canonici, Vol. II:
Decretalium Collectiones (Graz: Akademische Druck -u. Verlagsanstalt, 1959
[reprint of the 1879 edition in Leipzig] ), Book V (of the decretals of Pope Gregory
IX), Title XL, Chapter VII. See Friedberg, column 913. The decretal refers one to
Augustine’s Harmony of the Synoptic Gospels.
24. Matthew 16:24.
25. John 3:5.
388
Notes to Sermo Montis Oliveti 389
26. John 12:24-25.

27. Matthew 16:24.
28. Cf. Romans 11:24.
29. John 18:4.
30. Cf. Galatians 2:19 (2:20).
31. Luke 24:26.
32. Acts 14:21.
34. The editors of the printed Latin text cite Pseudo-Augustine (Caesarius of
Arles), Sermon 223, n. 1 (Corpus Christianorum 104, p. 882).
35. Matthew 26:41.
36. The editors of the printed edition of the Latin text point the reader to
Gregorius Magnus, Dialogorum Libri (Sources Chrétiennes 260, p. 242, lines 6-
11).
37. Psalms 72:23 (73:22).
38. Luke 10:16.
39. See Aemilius Friedberg, editor, Corpus Iuris Canonici, Vol. II:
Decretalium Collectiones, op. cit., Third Book (of Book VI of the Decretals), Title
XII, Chapter V. See Friedberg, columns 1047-1048.
40. The Latin name ‘Iacobus’ translates both as James and as Jacob. The Old
Testament Patriarch Jacob supplanted Esau, by exploitingly taking over his
birthright.
43. Friedberg, Vol. II, op. cit., Book III (of Pope Gregory IX’s decretals),
Title XXXV, Chapter VI. See Friedberg, column 600.
45. Gregory the Great, Homiliae in Evangelia, Homily 25, n.1 (Corpus
Christianorum Series Latina, Vol. 141, p. 205, line 16)
46. Leviticus 3:9. See also the reference in n. 45 above, lines 18-21.
47. Pseudo-Ambrose (Eusebius Gallicanus), Homily LI, 3 (Corpus
Christianorum Series Latina 101A, p. 595, lines 29-31).
48. Luke 9:62.
49. Friedberg, Vol. II, op. cit., Book III (of Pope Gregory IX’s decretals),
Title XXXIV, Chapter VII. See Friedberg, column 592.
50. Friedberg, Vol. II, op. cit., Book V (of Pope Gregory IX’s decretals),
Title IX, Chapter IV. See Friedberg, column 791.
51. Romans 8:18.
52. Ephesians 6:12.

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Qui per Spiritum Sanctum semet ipsum Obtulit*

(“ Who by the Holy Spirit Offered Himself”)1

Holy Sacrifice pleasing to God. Therefore, God the Father is shown to

dren. In the former the prefiguring of our possession is known; in the

is undoubted certitude and very firm faith, because each [follower of

al nature naturally loves truth, Truth that is Christ is rightly [identical

[43] “ They took up stones to cast at Him.”72 Since it is known

we promised to fight. Rather, let us abide by His word, so that within

37. Acts 2:24.

My intention is to speak very briefly about the Epistle and the

just as every sensing is a certain touching, so too every perceiving is a

remaining, He put on, externally, another [and] visible form—as if a

[13] He humbled Himself when He endured the shame of suffer-

then it loves itself (as Augustine beautifully concludes in his Homily

[29] “Behold, your King—[as one who is] meek—comes to you.”59

Zacharias, who spoke of the manner in which Christ would come as

Lamb, [i.e., Christ],77 entered the Temple, or House of Sacrifice.

mouth; but later, as was said, it is to be adorned with worthy works. He

39. The second Adam was Christ. I Corinthians 15:45-47.

82. Matthew 11:25.

the living child is seen. It is not grievous to me to hear the voices of

is inflamed toward love of the Savior and is made Christlike, so that in

So, continue on, [John].

ing Lazarus.44 Mary Magdalene45 brought a precious ointment of pure

savory knowledge. And so, the highest happiness consists in a knowl-

in itself; and, likewise, because of the fact that it understands [that]

41. John 12:23 & 12:32.

[1] “He descended unto Hell; on the third day He arose.”

When Christ wept over the city of Jerusalem at His entrance on

He visited the city of Jerusalem, entering on the Day of Palms, He vis-

obedience] is love. Hence, the law of obedience is nothing but ration-

[10] Therefore, Absolute Obedience—which the Son of God, or

[1] The reading of the Holy Gospel, O Brothers, ministers to us suit-

Virgin, of what miracles He worked, of what He taught, of what He

supposed to know the pastor as children [know] their father.

Shepherd, He lays down His life in order to take it up again. And in

except where mention is made of a Messiah who is King and

[50] Consider the following things attentively: namely, that

tain names, or [forms of] knowledge, of God)—is Christ, who is the

[1] “I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims to abstain from carnal

acquire wealth, others in order to be instructed. Surely, we are

every human creature for God’s sake—whether to the king as excelling

manifest and where departure coincides with approach. Likewise,

perpetually. In particular, in His suffering [on the Cross] He took away

Beloved Brothers in Christ, at different times you have heard that

us toward the activities of this world, [and] it is called desire (concu-

delight is a sign that a spirit of love indwells the soul. Murmuring is a

which we believe that Christ is the Son of God motivates us to seek a

[6] There follows in the text: “… just as You have given to

that eternal life is to know. Living is a very delightful movement that

of God-the-Father—words which the Father speaks in Christ Jesus.

this is the unpardonable sin, about which Paul [writes] to the

nently. Understand [what He means] when He says “et iam”. He does

gazing continuously toward heaven as if astonished and amazed at the

nourishment of incorruptible life. And [this incorruptible life] is wis-

38. But in John 17:13 Jesus does say “nunc”.

ing human nature, consisting of a body and a soul, so too—with [the

be eternally tormented; for by blaming on himself his [state of] death,

Spirit of God. But recognize a difference. For the intellectual spirit is