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AMBROSE, ON THE MYSTERIES AND THE TREATISE ON THE SACRAMENTS

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ambrose is one of the four traditional Fathers
of the Christian church. While he was serving
as the governor of Milan, Ambrose was drafted
into ecclesiastical service. In his new role as
bishop of Milan he was a biblical and social
critic, fighter of heresy, and political theorist.
Both before and after assuming the bishopric,
Ambrose was strongly influenced by the
Neoplatonic tradition, and he carried those
ideas into his theology.
ABOUT THE BOOK
A volume with two of Ambrose’s most
influential writings: On the Mysteries, which
are addresses given by Ambrose, Bishop of
Milan, to the newly-baptised in Easter week on
the nature of the ceremonies and the doctrinal
significance of baptism based upon the Old
and New Testaments; and Treatise on the
Sacraments, which are six sermons, also given
during Easter week, on baptism, confirmation,
the Eucharist, the Lord’s prayer, and prayer.
THE EDITION USED
On the Mysteries and the Treatise on the
Sacraments by an Unknown Author, trans. T.
Thompson, ed. with Introduction and Notes by
J.H. Strawley (New York: Macmillan, 1919).
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
The text of this edition is in the public domain.
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freely for educational and academic purposes.
It may not be used in any way for profit.
Ilm__oxS oF
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PREFATORY NOTE
T_E translation of the two treatises contained in the
present volume was undertaken by the Rev. T. Thomp-
son at the request of the Society for Promoting Christian
Knowledge, and was in prepar_ttion at the time of his
death in the spring of i9x 7. Mr. Thompson had for
some years contemplated the 15reparation of an edition
•of the original textof the treatise On the Sacraments, and
had dealt with some of the liturgical problems involved
in both treatises, in his valuable little book On the O_es
o] Baptism.and Con_rmation, in the Cambridge Handbooks
o] Liturgical Study. To that book the present editor has
made constant reference in prspariug the Introduction
and Notes.
The manuscript of the translation left by Mr. Thomp-
son was complete as far as Book vi, ch. 2, §9 of
: the work On the Sacraments. The remaining sections
have been translated by Mr. F. H. Colson, late Fellow
of St. John's College, Cambridge, who has also assisted
in the revision of the whole translation and contributed
suggestions towards the interpretation of various passages.
Some no_es on the treatise On the Mysteries, which ap-
pear to have been intended for publication, have been
incorporated and bear the initial IT]. Use has also been
made of the materials collected by Mr. Thompson for
notes on the second of the treatises here translated. To
V
:%- •
vi PREFATORY NOTE

Mr. W. C. Bishop I am indebted for some helpful sug-

gestions, and for allowing me to consult him on some
points connected with the system of lessons at Milan.
To Dr. H. J. White, of King's College, London, I owe
a similar debt of gratitude for information with regard
t6 the text of the Biblical quotations in the treatises.
The Index has been prepared by Mrs. Thompson.
The task of preparing this litre volume for the
Press has been welcomed by the present editor as
enabling him to offer a small tribute of affection and
esteem for one whose friendship recalls, amid other
happy memories, a common association in those liturgical
and patristic studies with which the present volume is
concerned. J.H.S.
 CONTENTS
PAGB

PREFATORY NOTE V

INTRODUCTION iX

I. ON CATECKETICAL INSTRUCTION . iX

2. CHARACTER_ AUTHORSHIP`, AND DATE OF

THE TREATISE ON THE MYSTERIES° Y_IV

3" CHARACTER_ AUTHORSHIP, AND DATE OF

THE TREATISE ON THE SACRAMENTS XVi

4. THE RITES OF BAPTISM. AND CONFIRMA-

', TION XXi

5. THELESSONS
FROMTHESCRIPTURESxxvli
6. TH_ LITURGY XXX

7- EUCHARISTIC DDCTRINE xxxiv

8. THE BIBLICAL TEXT . X1

9.___UmONS xliii
m. TRANSLATION OF AMBROSE Ohr THE MYSTERIES 45

IV2 TI_SLATION OF THE TREATISE ON THE

SACRAMENTS . 75

V. INDEX I4X

vii
_f
 INTRODUCTION
I. ON CATECHETICAL INSTRUCTION

THE two treatises contained in the present volume,

_, apart
worship fromandtheir importance
doctrines, to thethisstudent
possess furtherof source
Christian
of
interest, that they illustrate the care of the ancient
Church for the adequate instruction of those who were
admitted to Christian baptism. Each of them consists
of addresses given in Easter week to those who had
been baptized on Easter Eve. But they presuppose a
longer course of instruction which had been carried
on throughout Lent, and to this previous instruction
Ambrose refers in the opening words of the treatise On
tt_e21_ystcrks. The origin of this system of instruction
goes back to the early days of the Church, and the word
"catechumen" applied to one who had attached him-
;; self to the Chtirch and was undergoing such instruction
"//' has its origin in the New Testament. x As the Church
Y grew in numbers and influence, and its converts were in
most cases adults, increasing importance was attached
to thi_ side of its activity. The famous school of Alex-
andria, of which Pantaenus, Clement, and Origen were
the most notable heads, represents that activity in its
most splendid and striking form. Under their leadership
it attracted the more tlioughtful and intelligent classes
1 The word Ka'rnXdv("to instruct")is found in Lk. L'4; Acts
xviii. 25 ; x Cor. xiv. I9 ; Gal. vi. 6. From it are derivedthe
wordsc_MJm, ca/eddse.
ix
 x INTRODUCTION

of converts, and developed into a school of Christian

philosophy and learning. But in a simpler form the same
kind of instruction was going on throughout the Church,
and the disciplflue and training to which converts were
subjected before they were admitted to baptism is
reflected not only in the series of Church Orders, which
give directions for the preliminaries of baptism, but also
in the liturgical books which deal with the ordering of
Christian worship. The central act of worship, the
Eucharist, was divided into two parts. The missa cate-
chumenomm, consisting of lessons, psalms, homily, and
prayers, was open to all, baptized and unbaptized, alike.
The missa flddium, or Eucharist proper, was the special
privilege of the baptized. The conversion of the Empire
flooded the Church with a number of converts, many of
whom were Christian only in name, and were unwilling
to take upon themselves the full obligations of the
Christian life involved in baptism. Crowds flocked into
the ranks of the catechumenate, but many stopped there,
and the evil custom became prevalent of postponing as
long as possible the reception of baptism. The Emperor
Constantine was baptized on his death-bed. Augustine,
though admitted to the catechumenate as a boy, is
another example of one whose baptism was long deferred.
Corresponding to these changed conditions we find that
the Church in the fourth century, unable to cope with
the great crowd of catechumens, reserved the full and
complete instruction to those catechumens who ex-
pressed their intention of "presenting themselves for
• baptism. The duration of this instruction, of which in
the earlier period we have no clear indications, became
generally fixed to the season of Lent, the baptism itself
taking place on Easter Eve. z The importance of this
z Easter and the season .betweenEaster and-Pentecost were
recognizedtimes for baptismin the days of Tertullian(de JBapt.,

• ; •?
 ON CATECHETICAL INSTRUCTION xi

work of instruction was such that leading bishops of

the Church" engaged in it themselves, and also wrote
treatises intended for the guidance of catechists. We
have examples of these latter in Augustine's work de
\ catechlzandis rudibus and in the Catechaical Oration of
Gregory of Nyssa. The best. known example of the
actual instruction given is the Catecheses of Cyril of
Jerusalem. Other examples may be found among the
sermons of Chrysostom, in those of Augustine to
candidates for baptism (ad competentes) and to the
newly-baptized (ad infanles), and in the addresses of
Gaudentins of Brescia to neophytes.
The names of those who expressed their intention of
offering themselves for baptism were given in at the
beginning of Lent (cp. de Sacram. iii. 2.x2), and hence-
forth they were known as compettntes, or at Rome
ekaF, while the corresponding term in the East was ol
4,_6/_twot ("those who are being illuminated"). At
Milaja, during Lent, Ambrose daily instructed the candi-
dates in Christian morals and the dements of religion
(de _yst. i. x), and many of his extant sermons, based
upon the books of Scripture read during Lent, are of
this character. Thus Ambrose tells us, in the passage
just cited, that in Lent the lives of the patriaxclm
(Genesis) and the precepts of Proverbs were read, and
his own sermons On Abraham contain references
whioh show that they were intended for candidates for
baptism, t

xg). In the East the Epiphany was also commonly set apart for
this purpose, and there are traces of the same custom in Gaul and
Spah. See W. C. Bishop in Joum. of T_oI. Studies (t909)
pp. 127 L On the connexion between the preparation for baptism
and the forty days of Lent see Thompson, Off_resof Ba2_tismand
Conf.'pp. 19L ' and Brightman in Esrays on Early Chur¢_ and
Ministry (ed. Swete), pp. 340£
• • See d_ Abraham. 1':4, _5 : rift, maxime qui ad gl_tlam domini
tendilis ; ?.59 : qui ad g0Afiam baptismatis tenditis ; eft.9. 89.
xii INTRODUCTION

The services at which these lessons were read and the

instructions were given were undoubtedly the missae
eateehumenorum, of which we find survivals in the later
Milanese books, L e. the Manuale (cent. x) and the Ordo
of Beroldus (cent. xii). From these sources we learn
that they were held at the third and ninth hours on
week-days in Lent, except on Saturday, when the
"scrutinies" were held. (See W. C. Bishop, Ch. Quart.
Reot'nn, lxxii (i9x x), pp. 56 f.)
Of these "scrutinies," or examinations of the candi-
dates to test their fitness for baptism, which find a place
in the references of Augustine and in the later liturgical
books of Rome and Milan, there is no mention in th'e
two treatises contained i'n this volume. Nor do they
refer in express terms to the "delivery of the Creed"
(traditio syrabali), which formed an important part of the
preparation of candidates in the West. Elsewhere, how-
ever (2_p. xx. 4. 6), Ambrose tells us that this delivery
of the Creed took place on the Sunday before Easter.
This ceremony .illustrates another feature in the disci-
pline of the early Church, its reserve in imparting the
most sacred, truths and mysteries of the Christian religion.
This reserve, to which in later times was given the name
disNplina arcan_ was partly due to motives of reverence,
and was suggested by Mr. vii. 6. It was also due to the
sound educational principle that truth must be conveyed
gradually and adapted to the circumstances and appre-
hension of the hearers, x At Rome, somewhat later, a
like reserve was practised with regard to the delivery
and exposition of the Gospels, for at Rome "the catechu-
mens were dis'missed before the reading of the Gospel
at Mass, though this was not the case at Milan. The
Lord's Prayer came under ,the same reserve, and was
delivered and expounded to the candidates, at Rome
1 Both principlesarestatedby Ambrose,.t_p./n Zuc. vi. zo5.
 ON CATECHETICAL INSTRUCTION xiii

before baptism, at Milan, if we may regard de Sacram.

as evidence, in Easter week. 1
Of the whole of this preparatory stage the two treatises
included in this volume supply only fragm6ntary evidence,
and of the rites which accompanied it they reveal little
or nothing. On the rites of baptism their information
is full, and on the lessons read, and the instructions
given, in Easter week, When the training of the candi-
dates was completed, they throw a flood of light. It was
during this period that the instruction on the Sacraments
and the Lord's Prayer was given. The Catec&ses Of .
Cyril of Jerusalem show a similar practice. On the
other hand, at Hippo in Africa in the time of Augustine
the instruction appears to have been completed in the
main before baptism, though Easter week was still
devoted to further addresses to the candidates, in
which they were exhorted to perseverance. See Aug.,
Sermons, ccxxiv.-ccxxviii. (ad Infan/es).
, This practice of postponing instruction on the Sacra-
ments until after Baptism and Communion is justified by
Ambrose on two grounds (de ._yst. i. 2). (i) To dis-
close the mysteries to those who were as yet uninitiated
would be the betrayal of a sacred trust. (2) .It is better
to let the light of the mysteries make its own appeal
to those who come fresh to them than to introduce them
by a discourse.
With the widespread growth of infant baptism this
elaborate system of catechetical instruction became un-
meaning, and after the sixth century it tended to disap-
pear, though traces of it survived, and the liturgical
books, both in the kites of Baptism and the Eucharist,
bear clear marks of its influence.

i On the practiceat Rome and in A_ica see T. Thompson,

O_/ices
of _albti_ and C_r_i_, pp. I I2 f
xiv INTRODUCTION

II. CHARACTER, AUTHORSHIP, AND DATE OF THE

TREATISE " ON THE MYSTERIES " (de Mysteriis)

The treatise On the Mysteries bears the-name of St.

Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, who played so large a part
in the history of the Western Church in the last quarter
of the fourth century. It consists of addresses to the
newly-baptized in Easter week. The author expounds
the ceremonies connected with Baptism, and illustrates
its doctrinal significance from the Old and New Testa-
ments. He next shows the superiority of the Eucharist
to the sacraments of the Old Testament, and attributes
the gift of Christ's Body and Blood to the operative
power of Christ's words of institution, finding illustrations
of his theme in the miracles of the Old Testament and
in the Incarnation. After dwelling on the benefits and
fruits of Communion he encourages the newly-baptized
to believe in the certainty and power of the new life
given in Baptism. At two points Ambrose introduces a
mystical commentary on certain chapters of the Song of
Songs, which is employed to illustrate the joy of the
Church presented to the Bridegroom in all the purity
and glory of baptismal grace (vii. 33-4I), and again, to
show the wonder and joy of the divine feast spread by
Christ (ix. 55-58). This use of the Song of Songs
Ambrose derived, like so much else in his teaching,
from Greek sources. The mystical interpretation of the
Song of Songs, which appears to have been the interpre-
tation giventoitby thosewho assigned ita placein the
JewishCanon of Scripture, first found deax expression
in the Church in Origen'scommentaryon the book.
Origenwasfollowed by MethodiusinhisJ?anqutt of th#
Firgins, and lateron by GregoryoftNyssa. Through
Ambrose itpassed-into theWest,and later on foundex-
p.reasioninthewritings of'St.
Bernard.To Origenalsois
 AMBROSE, ON THE MYSTERIES xv

due the idea that the imagery of the Song may be applied
either to the Church or to the individual soul (de Wlyst.
vii. 37 ; cf. de Sacram. v. 2. 7 f.). This mystical use of
the Song recurs constantly in the writings of Ambrose
(see e.g. de Isaac et anima (lbassim) ; de Inslitu_one
Virg4nis ; de Obigu Valen_'ni, cc. 59 f.).
The authenticity of the treatise On tlte #fysfenes
was vigorously contested in the controversy between
Catholics and Protestants during the Reformation period.
Some of the objections were trivial and dealt with the
author's interpretation of particular passages of Scripture
(e.g. Jn. v. 7 in de Afyst. iv. 24). Dailld (de Conflrma-
t:bne, 1659 ) maintained that Ambrose could not possibly
have attributed to the "feet-washing" the sacramental
significance given to it in de Alryst. vi. 32 (on this see
note on the passage). The teaching of the author on
the subject of the Eucharist was appealed to in support
of the doctrine of Transubstantiation, and this led to
the further objection by Protestant writers that such
teaching could not possibly have'come from Ambrose.
,_ This latter objection has been revived in recent times
', by Loofs, x who maintain.q that Ambrose in his genuine
works nowhere affirms the real presen.ce of the body and
blood of Christ in the Eucharist. But it cannot be
said that he has made out a convincing case, or that
th_ sharp contrast which he draws between the language
/ of Ambrose in this treatise and in de PMe (iv. Io. x24)
and Enarr. in Ps. xx.mviii. 25 is justified. 2

a L00fr,,art. "Abendmahl "in Hanck.Hertzog, Reakmy_;

also Leitfaden z. Studlum der Dogmengeseh., pp. 470 f.
• I_ the passage, de Fide Lc. Ambrose says: "As often as we
receive .the sacraments, which by the mystery of the sacred prayer
: axe transformed (gramflgurantur) into the flesh "and the Mood, we
proclaim the Lord's death." Here tramflgurare appears to be a
synonym of eonvertere, mutare, which are used in de Myst. to
• describe the "change" of the elements. Loofs would qualify this
language by refcren_ to the second r_,__ge cited above from the

r_
 xvi INTRODUCTION

On the other hand, there are many points of contact

between the present treatise and other works of Ambrose.
As we have seen, the mystical use of the Song of Songs
is found elsewhere in Ambrose, and the sacramental
efficacy which the author finds in the "feet-washing"
may be paralleled from other writings of' Ambrose (see
note on de zllyst, vi. 3z). There are also echoes in the
treatise of the two works of Ambrose de Spiritu sanclo
and de Institulione Virginis. 1 In the opening words
of the treatise the author refers to the daily sermons
which he had preached on "right conduct" during
Lent, when the lives of the patriarchs were read. The
sermons of Ambrose On Abraham (Book I.) correspond
exactly to this description.. They were addressed to
candidates for baptism, and they deal with questions of
conduct. The date of the treatise in that case would
: be about A.D. 387, to which year the treatise On
Abraham is assigned.

III. CHARACTER, AUTHORSHIP, AND DATE OF THE

TREATISE '_ ON THE SACRAMENa_S " (de Sacramentis)
The treatise On the Sacraments:_onsists of six sermons
delivered to the newly-baptized i0. :Easter week. They
deal with Baptism, .Confirmatign , the Eucharist, the
"Lord'sPrayer, and Prayer. The work isnearlyrelated i
• tode Mysteriis, which itclosely
follows,embodyingand
expandingmost of itscontents.Itsdescription of the
ritesof baptismis at timesmore exactthan thatof
de Mys/eriis, and it quotesseveral
ofthe actualformu-

Commentary on Ps. xxx-vii/, where Ambrose speaks of the offering i

of the body of Christ on earth (in the Eucharist) as a "symbol" t
(imago) of a heavenly reality.
a Cf. de Myst. v_t. 35, de S_'r. s. iL IO. 112 ; de Mysl. vfi. 41,
4_deSpir. s. i. 6. 7x, 72; de Myst. lx. 5l, de Splr. s. iii. 4- uz;
deMyst. vii. 37, deInst. Virg. L 4 ; de Myst. viL40, de Inst. FirK.
L 5 ; de Myst. vii. 4I, deImt. _irg. x_. I13. '
 j THE TREATISE ON THE SACRAMENTS xvii
laries employed, where they are either merely referred
to, or passed over, in the earlier work.1 The author
supplements the account of the "feet-washing" contained
in his source by a statement that it is not practised at
Rome, and while expressing his desire to follow in all
respects the pattern of the P,.6man Church, he vindicates
in this respect the custom of his own Church (iii. i. 5-6).
On the Eucharist he gives much fuller information
than Ambrose. Not only does he refer to the prayers
preceding the Canon (iv. 4. I4), but he quotes a con-
sidemble portion of the Canon itself, as well as the
doxology at the close of the Lord's Prayer (iv. 5. 2I-23 ;
iv. 6. 26-_ 7 ; vi. 5. 24). The exposition of the Lord's
Prayer in Book V. is not found in de _trysteriis, nor
is the description of the parts of prayer (vi. 5. 22 f.),
which is modelled on Ambrose, de Inst. Yirg. ii. 8-xo.
With these exceptions the treatise for the most part
reproduces the contents of de Myst. But though the
author has made free use of the materials of the earlier
work, his style is different from that of Ambrose. He
frequently introduces his point by a short question, a
rhetorical device very sparingly used by Ambrose. He
nowhere rises to the spiritual fervour exhibited by
Ambrose in de Myst. vl. 29 (with its personal address
to our Lord). Moreover, he shows occasionally his inde-
pendence of the earlier work, rearranging its material,
omitting or expanding particular points, and sometimes
developing the ideas suggested by a passage of Scripture
quoted in his source (cp. e.g. the application of Eccl. ii.
t¢ in de Myst. vi. 3o and de Sacram. iii. x. x). In the
treatment of the doctrinal significance of the "feet-
washing" he silently corrects the conclusions of Ambrose
x Cf. e.g.. de Myrt. ft. 5, de Sacr. i. 2 ; d, Myrt. iii. 8, d* Sacr.
i. 5. I8, iL 5. X4 ; de Myst. v. 28, de Soxr. ii. 7. 2o ; d* Myst.
_i. 29, a_ Sa*r. iL 7. 24 ; d* Myst. vii. 4 I, 4.2, de Sacr. iii. 2. 8o xo ;
vi. 2. 6-8.
B

i
xviii INTRODUCTION

(de Myst. vi. 32 ; de Sacram. iii. i. 7). In his eucharistic

teaching he follows Ambrose in his assertion of the
operative power of the word of Christ in changing the
elements into the body and blood of Christ. But he
goes further than Ambrose in his recoil from the material-
istic conclusions that might be drawn from this doctrine,
and in so doing he falls back on the earlier language
which speaks of receiving "the likeness of the death"
and "drinking the likeness of the blood," and comes
very near to conceiving of the presence of Christ in
the Eucharist as a presence of grace and power only
(iv. 4. 20 ; vi. z. 3. See further, p. xxxii below). In
the passage iii. u. I5 £ he may possibly have in view the
Pelagian denial of original sin, in which case we have
an indication that the author is later than Ambrose.
If, further, the reference to the Greek custom of come
munieating once a year (v. 4- 25) is due to acquaintance
with Chrysostom's homilies (see note, /.c.), we have a
further indication of late date. Lastly, it is improbable
that Ambrose would have so closely copied an earlier
work of his own.
Like de MysL, this treatise came prominently into
notice in connexion with the controversies between
Catholics and Protestants at the time of the Reformation.
Its authenticity was attacked by Bullinger, by Aubertin
(whose verdict was "He is the ape of Ambrose "), and
by Daill& Aubertin assigned it to the seventh century,
Dailld to the eighth. Doubts were also expressed on
the opposite side by Cardinal Bona and the Benedictine
editors. Various theories have been propounded as to
the authorship. Tillemont's suggestion of Maximu_ of
Turin has gained little credence. It has been revived
in recent times by Schermann (Rb'm. Quartalschrtjft, xviL
(I9o3), _54 f.), who points out that in the oldest MS. of
de Sacram. the book follows immediately the Hamilks
 THE TREATISE ON THE S_4CRAMENTS _(LX

of Maximus. Another theory, advanced by Probst (Lit.

des viert. Jahrh., p. 239) and Dora Morin (Revue b_n_d.
'(x894 ) xi. 343f.), is that the book was compiled from
notes taken by those who had heard the sermons of
Ambrose. But this theory fails to explain the peculiar
characteristics which distinguish it from the genuine
works of Ambrose. The question of authorship therefore
remains open.
As to date, the presence of the treatise in the St. Gall
MS. x88 of the seventh century, shows that it must be
earlier than that period. Other indications are supplied
by the fact that the treatise presupposes a condition of
Church life in which adult baptism was still the rule,
and in which baptism was normally celebrated at Easter
(see iv. x. 2, note), while other passages imply that
heathenism still flourished (vi. 4. x8 ; vi. 5- 2x). The
prayers quoted in iv. 5. 2x-23; iv. 6. 26--27 axe of an
earlier type than the Roman Canon in the Gelasian
Sacramentary (see below, pp. xxxii ft.). The writer refers
to Aria_ism (vi. 2. xo ; cp. v. x. i, note), and possibly to
pelagianism (iii. 2. x3f.), though the indirect character
of this lstter reference suggests a date at which the
controversy had not yet been fought out. A less certain
indication of date is afforded by the character of the
Scripture quotations, which present in the Old Testament
a form of the Latin Version earlier than the Vulgate
(see below, p. xlii). The writer shows respect for the
Church of Rome, whose pattern and rule heexpresses
a desire to follow (iiL x. 5), though he claims a certain
degree of independence in the matter of the usages of
his own Church. His attitude in fact suggests a position
of affairs like that revealed in the letter of Pope Inno-
cent I to Decentius (4x6 A.v.), in which the see of
Rome was advancing its claims over other churches in
the matter of liturgical conformity, no less than in
xx INTRODUCTION

matters of discipline. These indications suggest a date

in one of the earlier decades of the fifth century. The
affinity of the rites of baptism with those of Milan, the
resemblance of the Canon of the Mass to that of the
Roman rite, and the author's attitude to Rome, suggest
that he lived in some North Italian district closely
associated with Milan on the one hand and Rome
on the other. Duchesne (Christian Vforsk_, Eng. tr.,
p. i77 ) suggests Ravenna.
The author is acquainted with other works of Ambrose,
besides de Mysteriis. He makes use of the language of
de O_dis in describing the sevenfold gifts of the Spirit
(iii. 2. 9), and his discussion of the parts of prayer is, as
we have seen, based on de Inst_'tutione Virginis. His
treatment of prayer and the Lord's Prayer suggests that
he was acquainted with Origen's treatise de Ora/ione.
Elsewhere (ii. 6. x7, i9) his teaching echoes that of
Greek Church writers (see notes).
The addresses, six in number, appear to have been.
begun on Tuesday in Easter week and concluded on the
following Sunday. At the close of the fourth address
(iv. 6. u9) the author expresses his intention to continue
his discourses "to-morrow, Saturday, and on Sunday"
(cras/fna die, saSbato, et dominica),_,where "Saturday" is
in apposition to "to-morrow." But a misunderstanding
of the words led to the idea that there were three more
sermons to follow. Hence the St. Gall MS. divides the
last book into two parts, beginning a new book with
vi. 5. uS, obviously an unnatural division. Similarly,
,some MSS. of de Myste_4is describe that work as
Book I. of de Sacramentis, and rearrange the numbering
of th_ books of the latter treatise accordinglT; while in
one MS., after the present six books of the treatise, there
appears, under the heading" Book VII.," a sermon found
in the Appendix of Augustine's works [(Serm. u47 ;
 BAPTISM AND CONFIRMATION xxi

Migne, -P. L. xxxviii. 22oo), which is attributed to Ivo

of Chartres.

IV. THE RITES OF BAPTISM AND CONFIRMATION

Both treatises contain much valuable information as

to the baptismal rites current in the Churches from
which they proceed, though of the period before baptism
they say little. Reference has already been made to the
preparatory .instruction and the rites by which it was
accompanied. (See Introd. § I.) For a general com-
parison and discussion of the various Western rites
see T. Thompson, Offices of Bagblism and Confirma-
tion. Though the two treatises proceed from different
Churches, they present, with some slight divergences,
the same general type of rite, which exhibits many
points of contact with the later Milanese rite, though
the latter has been much transformed and reaxranged
(see Thompson, o#. tit., p. 133 L).
The order and contents of ,the rite represented in"
de Mysteriis and de Sacramentis may be summarised as
follows---
i. The Effeta or "opening of the ears "took #ace, as
at Rome, on Easter Eve. It was performed by touching
the ears and nostrils (there is no mention of the use of
saliva or oil), and was based upon the action of our Lord
recorded in Mk. vii! 34. It was intended to symbolise
the opening of the faculties to the fruitful reception of
the Sacraments (de MysL i. 3, 4 ; de Sa_ram. i. i. 2).
Later on, at Rome, this ceremony was connected with
the "delivery of -the Gospels," a rite which is not found
at Milan.
2. Unction at the font by priest and deacon (de
_aeram. i. _. 4 ; not mentioned in de Myst.). This, too,
is found in the Roman rite, but is not in the later
Milanese forms. As it is not mentioned by Ambrose,
xx_ INTRODUCTION

it is perhaps a feature which the Church of the author

of de ,._wmmentis had derived from Rome. It is found
in the Bobbio Missal, which also shows Roman influ-
ences. The author of de Sacram. describes it as the
anointing of the Christian athlete for "the contest of
the world." At Rome the .unction was made on the
hack and the breast.
3. The renunciations (de l_fysf, iL 5-7 ; ii/. 8 ; de
Sacram. i. 2. 5). The account of de Sao'am. is fuller
and more exact, and shows that the renunciations were
twofold, i.e. "Dost thou renounce the devil and his
works ? ", "Dost thou renounce the world and its plea-
sures? ", to each of which questions the answer was
given "I renounce." Then (oUows the admonition "Be
mindful of thy words, and never let the contents of thy
bond pass from thy memory "--which reappears as a
formula in substantially the same words in the later
Milanese books (see note). At Rome the renunciations
were threefold ; in the Galllcan books a single renunci-
ation is found. In this. respect the later Milanese
books remain faithful to the practice exhibited in. de
Sacramen/fs.
If we follow the reading suggested by Dora Morln in
de 21fyst. ii. 7 (see note) the renunciation of the devil
was accompanied at Milan by the dramatic ceremony
of "spitting in his face," a practice which is found in
some Eastern rites, though the evidence for the custom
is of much later date than Ambrose.
4- The consecration of the font by the bishop (de
_.A6,st.iii. 8, x4; of. iv. 2o; de Sacram. i. 5. x8; ii. 5-x4).
According to de Afyst. this appears to have followed the
renunciations, as Ambrose asserts that the bishop him-
self put the questions at the renunciation, though de
S._a.. implies that this was done by the presbyter, t
* For the ordersee de Myst. ill 8. "Wh.at sawestthou?...
 BAPTISM AND CONFIRMATION xxiii p

Our information as to the details of the consecration, is

derived almost entirely from de Sacrum., which speaks of
an exorcism (as in the later Milanese and Gallican forms),
and an invocation of the name of the Father and of the
presence of the Son and the Holy Spirit (ii. 5. 14). To
this latter feature there are no parallels in later forms.
In de Mryst. OiL x4) there is added to these details the
: signing of the water with the Cross. There is no men-
tion of'the pouring of chrism into the font, as in the
later Milanese and other Western rites.
5. The descent into the font ; the baptismal profession
and immersions (de 3fyst. ii. 7, iv. 2i, v. 28; de Sacrum.
ii. 7. 20). From de 2Wyst. ii. 7 we learn that the candi-
date turned to the east for the baptismal profession.
The form of the creed is given very fully in de Sacrum.
It consisted of three questions, "Dost thou believe
in God the Father almighty ? ", "Dost thou believe in
our Lord Jesus Christ and in His Cross f ", "Dost thou
believe also in the Holy Spirit ?" To each question the
candidate replied, "I believe,"and an immersion followed
each of the three responses. The immersion after each
question is a feature found in many early rites ; but the
addition of the words "and tfis Cross" to the second of
the two questions is peculiar to these treatises. In the
later Milanese books it has been replaced by the Roman
form "_ho was born and suffered."
6, Unction of the head with chrism (de #[yst. vi. 29, 3o; -
de Sacrum. ii. 7.24). This, too, was performed by the
bishop (sacerdas is used by both writers, See note de
Mryst. ii. 6, deSacram, i. x._). From de Sacr.am. iii. I. x
we learn that this was performed with chrism _t_pov).

the high priest questioning and consecrating." In de Sacrum. i.

_z.4 (the unction before baptism) the only ministers mentioned are
"levite n and "presbyter." The next section begins, without any
Iefereuce to tt change of subiect, *'When he asked thee Dost thou
reaomace the devil anti all his works ?" . . etc.

• ,':', L.
 xxiv INTRODUCTION

The same author quotes the prayer used by the bishop,

which resembles fairly closely the prayer found in the
Gelasian Sacramentary in connexion with the post-bap-
tismal unction at Rome, where, however, the minister
was the presbyter, not, as here, the bishop (see Wilson,
Gel. Sacr. p. 86). This unction of the head is inter-
preted in de Sacram. (iii. x. x) as the enrichment of-
man's faculties by divine grace, whereas Ambrose (de
_ryst. vi. 30) sees in it a consecration of the newly
baptized to their place in the priestly body of the
Church.
7. The washing of the.feet (de A0,st. vi. 31-33; de
Sacram. iii. x. 4-7). From de Sacram. it appears that
the washing was begun by the bishop and completed
by the presbyters. The author is aware that the rite
was not practised by the Roman Church. It was
current, however, in Africa, Spain, Gaul, and Ireland.
It is mentioned in a canon of the Council of EIvixa
(c. 48) at the beginning of the fourth century, and is
found in the service books of Gallican and Irish origin
(2Ifissale Gothiatra, Miss. Gallicanum velus, Bobbio and
Stowe Missals), as well as in the later Ambrosian rite,
represented in the 21Ianuale Ambrosianum and Beroldus.
To this ceremony Ambrose (de Myst. vi. 32) appears
to assign the same sacramental efficacy with regard to
inherited sin as he assigns to baptism with regard to
actual sin. The author of de Sacramentls silently cor-
rects this teaching by affm_ing that all sins are washed
away in baptism. He sees, however, in the rite a means
Of sanctification and a lesson in .humility. Augustine
(Ep. Iv. (ad'lranuar.) 33) was faced with the danger of
attaching to the rite an exaggerated value, and replied
that the ceremony was a type of humility, but formed
no part of the sacrament of baptism.
8. The vesting with white robes (de Myst. vii. 34 ;
 BAPTISM AND CONFIRMATION xx'v

alluded to in de Sacrum. iv. 2. 5-6; v. 3. 14 familia

candidafa). This custom is found both in East and West
during the fourth century. It appears in the earlier
Roman rite (John the Deacon), in Spain in the Ziber
Ordinum (which contains much ancient material), in the
Missale Gothicum and the Bobbio Missal. The memory
of the custom survives in the Roman books in the titles
of some of the prayers for Easter week and its octave
(e.g. totius albae oral'ones:.( Gelasian Saer., Wilson, p. 91);
/_m'a ii. in albas, die dominieo lOostalbas (Gregorian Suet.,
Wilson (H. B. S.), pp. 6o, 65) ).
9. The "spiritual seal" (de Arysl. vii. 4x-42 ; de
Sacrum. i_. 2. 8-io; vi. 2. 6-8). To this rite de
Sacrum. also gives the title perfeelfo, as being the
"completion" of baptism. Both writers speak of it as
"a signing, ''1 and connect with'it the sevenfold gifts
of the Holy Spirit. The evidence of de 3fys/. alone might
lead us to "suppose that the "spiritual seal" is identical
with the unction of vi. 29, and that Ambrose is led to
speak of it as "the spiritual seal "because of the order in
which the "seal" is mentioned in the Song of Songs
which he is _expounding (see vii. 4I); but the evidence
of de Sacramena's shows that the two are plainly distinct.
While the significance of the rite is plainly the sevenfold
gift of the Holy Spirit (and hence it may be said to
correspond to the rite of "Confirmation ") the connexion
of the rite with the preceding unction after baptism is
not clearly indicated, nor is its outward form described.
One view is that the unction after baptism marked th.e
beginning of the rite of confirmation, which was com-
pleted by the subsequent "signing" or "seal" (eZ Dora
de Punier, art. "Conlirmatio_" in Cabrol, Diet. _areK
1 The words used of it in a_ l_lyst, vii. 42 are : "God the
Fatherhath sealed thee, Christthe Lord hath confirmedthee, and
ha_ _iven the earnestof the Spiritin thy heart." This h based
on 2"L_or. i. 21, 2Z.
 xxvi INTRODUCTION

et de lit. chr_t., col. 2532 ). On the other hand, the

author of de Sacram. (iii. I. x) after referring to the
unction and explaining its significance, concludes : "This
is called regeneration," thus seeming to connect it with
the preceding rite of baptism.
As to the outward form of the rite, there is no mention
of unction or the laying on of hands, but only of a
"signing." Nor isAmbrose more explicit in de S_ir. s.
i. 6.72, where, referring to the "spiritual seal," he says,
"though we are signed on the body outwardly, in reality
we are signed in heart." At Rome, in the time of Pope
Innocent I. (about A.D. 4x6), the rite took the form of an
unction on the forehead made with chrism by the bishop,
while the previous unction after baptism was assigned to
the priest. The Ambrosian sacramentaries of the ninth
and tenth centuries exhibit only one unction after
baptism (for the later history at Milan see Thompson,
o_. cir. p. x37 ). As both de 21[yst. and de Sacram.
rehearse in full the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit when
speaking of the rite, it might be inferred that a prayer
was used resembling that in the Roman order of con-
firmation (Wilson, Gelasian Sacraraentary, p. 87) , but
there is no allusion to such a prayer in the latereV[anutde
Arabrosianum nor in Beroldus (cf. Thompson, o2_. tit.
p. I38).
io. The procession to the altar followed upon ,the
completion of the rites described above (de M'ysL viii. 43;
de Sacram. iii. 2. x3 ; iv. 2. 5, 7 ; iv. 3. 8). Both writers
refer in this connexion to Psalms xliii, and xxiii., which
may have been sung as introductory chants (though the
use of Psalm xliii, in the preparatory portion of the
Roman Mass (and of the Ambrosian) is of.later origin). 1
' x The treatise d, Lapsu I"irginis, which, though not probably ,
the work of Ambroset has been thought by Dora Morin to be
on addre_.s by Ambrose (Revue b/_dd. (i897) xiv. I96) speaks of
lights borne by the neophytes (v. 19).
 • _ LESSONS xxvii

From Ambxose (in Psalm cx_iii, prol. 2) it would appear

that, though the newly-baptized communicated along
with the faithful, they did not take part in the people's
offering of bread and wine before the octave of Easter.
During Easter week the instructions on the sacra-
ments were given. In the later Ambrosian books
mention is made of missae pro ba_tizatis, which were
celebrated during the week-days of Easter week; and
were distinct from the missae attended by the general
body of the faithful. These latter were celebrated in
a different church and at a later hour. But beyond
references to the lessons read at the services at which
the instructions were given, the present treatises throw
no light on the character of the services in Easter week.

V. THE LESSONS FROM THE SCRIPTURES

There are several, references to the lessons from

Scripture read in Church in both treatises. In the case
of de Sacrara. especially these are, often quite explicit,
and from them and the less clearly defined statements
in de Myst. we can form some idea of their order and
contents. Their evidence shows that certain books
were already assigned to particular seasons, and that the
beginnings of a fixed course of lessons for the more
important seasons of the Church had already been
made. It will be sufficient here briefly to indicate the
facts and ,to adduce parallels with the later system of
lessons exhibited in the Manuale Ambrosianum of the
tenth century, noting any approximations already made
in the two treatises to this later system. Such parallels
can o_y yield results of varying and unequal value. ,
"In some cases they point to a real connexion between
the .earlier and the-later practice. Others are merely

interesting "attestationS," while others again (e.g. some

_;.:..:'.'L:'\_=.
%.,
 xxviii INTRODUCTION

of those cited under III.) are of interest as showing the

kind of teaching which was associated with the passages
and led to their finding a place in the Milanese cycle of
lessons.
I. In de MysL i. x, Ambrose speaks of lessons from
the lives of the patriarchs and from Proverbs as being
, read during Lent. This corresponds to the later
Milanese practice found in the Manuale, in which
lessons from Genesis and Proverbs were read at the
missae catechumenorum at the third and ninth hours each
week-day in Lent, except Saturdays? From Ambrose,
.Ep. xx. I4, 25 we learn that in Holy Week it was the
established custom to read lessons from the books of
Job and Jonah, _ and both books find a plac e in the
course of lessons prescribed in the Manuale for the
first four days of Holy Week. 3 From de Myst. vi. 3 I
(cf. de Sacram. Ffi.i. 4) it would appear that John xiii. 4 f.
was read at the time of the washing of the feet of the
newly-baptized (in the 2Vlanuale it is appointed for the
mass of the newly-baptized on Saturday in Easter week).
For the services of Easter week, at which the addresses in
de Sacram. were given, the author supplies the following
facts. In the second address (ii. 3. 8 ; cf. de MysL iv. 32)
he speaks of John v. 4 f- as being read "yesterday_" In
the same book (ii. 7.23) he refers to Rom. vi. 3 as being
read in "the lesson for the day" (in lectiane 2Oratsenfi).
In the third address (iii. 2. 8) he Alludes .to the "' spiritual

I For details see footnotes to the services in Lent m Magistretfi's

edition of the Manual_ and on these missae catechum'enarum see
W. C. Bishop, Ch. Quart. R_, lxxii. (I9It), pp. 56f.
t The words of Ambrose are: audistis . .. librum Job legi,
_ui sokmni munere "est de_ura'ug et tem_re (§ 14) . . . Se_uenti
die lettu.r egt de mare li6er fonae (§ 25). ,
' Ambrose _ of the book of Job as read on the Monday,
Jonah (apparently) on the We_lnesday. In the M'anuale Job is
read, along'with Tobit, on ihe first three week-daysin Holy 3Areek_
"and the lesson from Jonah is on Maundy Thursday. - , .

t ' ff -
 TIlE LESSONS xxix

seal" of which they had heard in the lesson for the day.
The reference is to 2 Cor. i. 21 f., as is shown by the
parallel section de Afyst. vii. 42, where that passage
is spoken or as having been read "in the lesson from
the Apostle ".(apostoliea ketione). In the sixth address
(vi. 2. 9) the passage x Cor. xii. 4f. is said to have
been read "the day before yesterday" (nudius tertius).
As we have seen (§ iii. p. xx), the addresses contained
in de Sacram. began on Tuesday in Easter week, and
ended on the following Sunday. The following table
shows the lessons read on the first four days, and the
corresponding days on which the same chapters appear
in the system of lessons found in the .M'anuale.
de Sacram. 2Wanuale Ambros.
• (ed. Magistretti)
Taesday
John v. (the paralytic) Tuesday (mass for newly-baptized).
Rom. vi. 4f. Wednesday Monday
(mass for people).
2 Cot. i. 2t f. . Thursday --
(c£de Myst. viL 42)
x Cor. xii. Friday Feast of Pentecost.

II. Three other lessons referred to in these treatises

as read in Church, though the day is not indicated, find
a-place in the Manuale in connexion with the services
of Lent or Easter week.
Manuale .4mbros.
John ix.'(the man born blind) iii rd S. in Lent
(d_ Sucram. iii. 2. IX) (hence known as Dominion de
Ca_co).
Gem. xiv. (Melchlzedek) Friday'in Easter week
(o_ Myst. viii. 45) (mass for people).
2'Kings v. (Naaman) Tuesday in Easter week
(deMyst. iii. x6) for people).
(mass
IlL The following passages, commented on or alluded
_to, in illustration of the baptismal rites in these treatises,
xxx INTRODUCTION

though not referred to as actually read in Church, find

a place among the lessons contained in the Afanuak.

Ztt'anuale Mmbros.
Gem i. Easter Vigil.
(de 2Vfyst. iiJ. 9, de Sazram. iii.
t. 3)
Gen. vi., vii. (Noah) . xst Tuesday in Lent
(de Myst. iii. Io, de Sacrum. i. Easter Eve (missa cadec_um¢tt-
6. 23) orum at third hour).
Exodus xiv. (the Red Sea) Easter Vigil.
(de Sacrum. i. 6. 2o£; el. de
Myst. ix. 5 x)
Exodus xv. (Song of Moses) Easter Vigil.
(de Myst. iii. 12)
:z Kings vi. (the axe-head) Wednesday in Easter week
(de Sacrum. ii. 4- ! I ; ef. iv. 4- (mass for people)
I8 ; de Myst. ix. 5x)
Isaiah xi. (the sevenfold gifts) Vigil of Pentecost.
(de Myst. vii. 42, de Sacrum. iii.
2. 8)
ohn iii. 5 (the new birth) ,Easter Vigil
da #2ryst. iv. 2o) (mass for newly-baptized)
John vi. (the bread of life) Thursday and Friday in Easter
(de Sacra.re. vi. I. z-4) week
(mass for newly-baptized).
x Cor. x. z £ (Israel in the wil- Wednesday in Easter week
demess) (mass for people).
(de Myat. ill. xef., viii. 49; de
Sacrara. i. 6. 20)
I Tim. iL Saturday in Easter week
(deSacram. vi. 3. II; 5. :Zl--Z2) (mass for people).

VI. Trrz LITURGY

The interest of de Sacramen_'s is not limited to the
light which it throws upo n the baptismal rites of the
Church from which it proceeds. It also supplies us with
a series of prayers used in the Liturgy (see iv. 5. 21-z3;
26, 27), which, when read consecutively, will be seen
to exhibit a general correspondence in order and con-

, ' "' ,2 _' 4.'

.... > -"4-_;'4';-

 THE LITURGY xxxi

tents with those of the Canon of the Roman Mass

found in the Gelasian Sacramentary. According to
Mr. E. Bishop (jr. Th. St. iv. 568 f.), the text of the
Canon represented in the Vatican MS. of the Gelasian
Sacramentary is really "Gregorian," but for all practical
purposes it may be held to represent the text current at
Rome in the sixth century. When compared with this
latter the prayers of de Sacram. are shown to contain
much of the substance of the prayers Quam oblationem,
Qui lkridie, Unde el memores, Supra quae, and Surplices re,
with some omissions, and, in the case of the last two
prayers, with some transposition of order. There are
many exact parallels of language, but also striking
divergences.
r. The prayer (iv. 5- 21) corresponding to Quara
oblallonem (but beginning, "Make for us this oblation"
(t?ac nobis ham oblationem)) contains, like that prayer,
a petition that the oblation may be made "approved,
ratified, reasonable, and acceptable," but whereas the
Gelasian form goes on, "that it may become to us the
body and blood of thy dearly beloved Son," de Sacram.
has, "because it is the figure of the body and blood of
our Lord Jesus Christ."
u. The commemoration of the institution (iv. 5- 2i-u3)
begins, like the Gelasian form, with the words, "Who
the day before he suffered" (QuiiOridie quam lOateretur),
distinct from the Eastern and Mozarabic forms, which
follow x Cor. xi. 23. The actual recital of the institution
shews many divergences from the Gelasian form (though t
paxallels may be found to many of them in Easteana rites
and tim Ambrosian Sacramentary of Biasca (cent. x.))
r mad itlackssome of the characteristic features of the
laterRoman form.
$. The Ananmesis,corresponding
to g_fnde
etmemores,
_ shorterthan the Gelasianform,and exhibits
some
xxxii INTRODUCTION

notable differences of wording, including the phrases

"reasonable offering," "unbloody offering" (see notes).
4. In place of Supra quae and Supplices re, in de Sacram.
there is one prayer, in which the order of the contents of
these two prayers is reversed, the reference to the gifts
of Abel and the sacrifices of Abraham and Melchizedek
following, instead of preceding, the prayer for the recep-
tion of the oblation "on the altar on high." In this
latter petition in place of the single angel, by whose
hands it is asked in the Gelasian prayer that the oblation'
may be received on the altar on high, we find the plural
"angels," a feature which again has a parallel in some
Eastern sources, x
What is the origin of these prayers ? Are they, as
Duchesne suggests, * an adaptation of the Roman Canon
to the use of some North Italian Church, where the
Roman and Milanese uses were combined ? Or are they
an older form of the Roman Canon itself? As we have
seen, the earliest text of that Canon is found in the
Vatican MS. of the Gelasian Sacramentary, and that
text is really "Gregorian." The earlier Leonine Sacra-
mentary falls us here. We know of certain changes in
the Canon made in the period between the date of de
Saeram. and the date of the text found in the _elasian
Saeramentary. s Dora R. H. Connolly has recently
pointed out in the Domnside Review (Oct. 1917, pp. 58 £)
that a Post secreta prayer in the illrissak Gothicum con-
tains a continuous extract from the Anamnesis of the
Canon in a form which follows that of de Saeram. almost

a I_a'turgyof St. Mark (Brightman, ZEI,V. I29. 2o f. ; Coptic

/b_/'.I7x. z f.).
: Christian Warship(Eng.tr.),
The additions: p. I77. immaeulalam I_ortiam
sanu:tumsaeri_'ium,
(attributedto Pope Leo) ; diesquenostros. . . jubtas gregenum_
rat/ (attributed to Pope Gregory). See Lt3rr Pontificalis(ed.
Duchesae),pp. 239, 3t2.

o -
 THE LITURGY xxxiii

word for word (Missale Goth., ed. Bannister (H.B.S.),

p. r38, No. 527). This suggeststhat the compiler of the
prayer knew the Canon in a form different from that of
the Gelasian Sacramentary, while the constant use made
of Roman prayers in the Missale GotMcumlends support
- • to the view that it is here quoting from some Roman
source. Other traces of readings which occur in de
Sacram. are found in the Stowe Missal and the MissaIe
aVraneorum, both of _hieh contain the Roman Canon.
In both these books we find the addition etpen'mus after
the words sul_ioliceste rogamus, and the words in sublimi
ultarfo tuo (for in suMime altare tuum of Gel.). Both
readings occur in de Saeram. (with altari for altario).
Another parallel with the text of the prayers in de Saeram.
adduced by Dora Connolly is found in a rubric of the
Gelasian Sacramentaxy after the Hone igitur for Thursday
in Holy Week (Wilson, p. 67), where in place of the
Gregorian text, in sanctas ac venerabiles manus suas, we
find in sanaYs manibus suis, as in de Saeram.
Lastly, M. Batiffol (Eucharistie, 5*_"dd., pp. 357 f') has
called attention to a Posti_Hdie prah'er in the Mozarabic
Ziber Or&'num (ed. Fdrofin, pp. 321-322) where., amid
many echoes of the Roman Canon, we find a version of
the Quam oblationem which in one important respect
resembles the corresponding prayer in de ,5acram., While
the latter runs :
Make for us this oblation approved, ratified, reason-
able, and acceptable, seeing that it is the figure of the
' body and 'blood of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the _IOZarabie prayer is as follows : .
Whose oblation (_ui_rum oblalionem) do Thou deign
to bl_s, ratify, and make reasonable, which is (quae est)
the image and likeness (imago et similitude) of the body
a_d blood-of Jesus Christ thy Son, our redeemer, ,.
.. -In late'of this evidence, and the attitude of the writer
- xxxiv INTRODUCTION

to the usages of the Roman Church (iii. I° 5)' the view

that the Canon of de Sacram. is the Roman Canon of
the fifth century has much to commend it.
Other interesting features of the liturgy described in
de Sacrara. are the reference in iv. 4. x4 to the "praises"
and "prayers" which preceded the Canon ; the form in
which the concluding words of the recJtaJ of the institu-
tion (based on x Cor. xi. 25, 26) are given (iv. 6. 26);
and the presence of the doxology at the close of the
Lord's Prayer, an d not at the close of the Canon as in
the Ambrosian Sacramentary of Biasca and the Gelasian
Sacramenrary (de _aeram. vi. 5.24). On these see the
notes on the passages in question. Lastly, the author
refers to the words of administration, "The body of
Christ," and to the Amen with which the communicant
responded to them (iv. 5. 25).

VII. EUCHARISTICDOCTRINE
The two treatises de Mystedis and de Sacraraen_'s have
played an important part in the Et_chaxistic controversies
of the Western Church. This is due to their pronounced
teaching on the' Conversion of the elements into the
body and Blood of Christ, and the emphasis wl_ieh they
lay upon the words of institution as effeeting this "con-
secration" or "change." In both respects they mark
an epoch in the history qf the Western doctrine on
the subject, and they have profoundly influenced later
teaching. There is no_ing ,parallel to their language
•in'any Western wl'iter before their time. "the conception .
of a "conversion" of the elements into the body and
_blood of Christ was probably deived by Ambr6se, as
was so much else'in his theology, "from '(_reek sources.
It appears for the first time (apart from _.ome anticipa_
tions Of it in .Gnostic writers) in:the Cated_s_s of Cyril _..
of Jerusalem, and was elkbbrated _with k speciat _theo_' "
* EUCBARISTIC DOCTRINE 'xxxv

of his own by Gregory of Nyssa (Or. Cat..c. 37), with

whose language Ambrose exhibits occasional parallels. 1
Hitherto in the West, side by side with the tendency
in popular teaching to identify the elements with the
body and blood of Christ, we find, as in Tertullian, the
bread spoken of as the "figure" (figura) of the body of
Christ, or as "representing" (re_Oraesenlare)_ His body,
though such language has a more definite sense than
the corresponding English words, and suggests the idea
of exhibiting or making present the sacred realities
of which" they speak, as when Cyprian speak, of the
blood of Christ as "shewn forth" in the cup. 3 Similar
language is found in Jerome and Ambrosiaster. This stage
of reflection is exhibited in the prayers of de Sacrara.
(iv. 5. 2I), which speak 0f the oblation as "the figure
(f_gura) of the body and blood of Christ," and refer to
it in mystical language as "this holy bread and cup of
eternal life." Nor was such language peculiar to the
West. It finds a parallel in many Eastern sources during
the fourth century, knd it survives in the Liturgy of
St. Basil, _ which (in the words introducing the Invocation)
speaks of "offering the types (avr,'Twra)of the holy body
and blood of Thy Christ." Augustine is in the same
line of tradition as Tertullian and Cyprian, i:hough he
•advances upon their teaching and develops a theory of
sacraments characterized by the distinction between the
visible sign and th9 invisible reality.
"But in Cyril of Jerusalem in the East (A.D. 347) and
in Ambrose m the West, a new terminology appears,

x With the phrases in Ambrose, t_'u_am ¢omvtr/ere, _ttura_

•m_art, ¢p. Greg. N),as. Or. Ca. 37, #_r_¢otXd_¢_ ¢_v O_uyo-
• #wy _¢i_¢w, andwiththe use ofs_-,'_ in dt/dyst. 52 (att_s
mi_tet_.elmn_atoram) compmmthe me.of_I$os"mGregory,L¢.
. • _/_. Marc. iiL x9,£ x4. "
_ :_,_i0.,lxiii. a,,cp. _,H, I3,
,4: Se__atm_,/..a.E. V m 3_. 23 f._
...... . , , . , ¢

f-
 xxxvi INTRODUCTION

and the consecration of the Eucharist is represented

as effecting a mysterious change in the elements by
which they become the body and blood of Christ.
Cyril of Jerusalem had already appealed to the miracle
of Cana as affording a parallel to this change. 1 By
Ambrose such teaching is much developed. With him
the consecration, effected by the words of Christ recited
by the priest, is a miraculous act of God, to which
parallels may be found in the miracles of Moses, Joshua,
• Elish,% and in the Virgin Birth, as well as in the act of
creation itself. The word of Christ "which was able to
make out of nothing that which was not," is capable
of "changing things which exist into that which they
were not" (de .3[yst. ix. 5x, 52). The author of de
_cramenti$ (iv. 4. I5-I8) uses similar language. Like
Ambrose, he appeals to the original act of creation,
to the Virgin birth, to the crossing of the Red Sea, the
waters of Marah, and the incident of Elisha making the
axe-head to swim.
Ambrose does not hesitate to speak of the change
effected as a "change of nature." z But a closer ex.
amination of his language shows that he has not dearly
thought out all the "implications of such teaching.
Occasionally he falls back into the language still current
in the West, as when he says that the flesh of Christ,
which was crucified and buried, was certainly real flesh,
and that therefore the Eucharist "is truly a sacrament
of that flesh" (ix. 53), nor does he dearly face the
question, to which the Schoolmen of later days paid
so much attention, what becomes of the bread. On
the other hand, he conceives of the body of Christ as
t Ca/. xxii. 2.
t Notice the phrases "naturam mutate, naturam ¢onvertere,
2braetar natumm, which are of constant occurrence in d_ Myst. ix.
5t-53. In de F_e iv. to. xz4 Ambrose uses the word truns-
flgurar¢ to denote this "change."
 EUCHARISTIC DOCTRINE xxxvii

a "spiritual body," "the body of a divine Spirit, because

Christ is Sp!rit," and therefore capable of becoming "the
' spiritual food' of our souls" (de Myst. ix. 58).
The author of de Sacramentis shows a similar hesi-
tation, when faced with the implications involved in
this teaching of a miraculous change effected in the
elements by consecration. Though he does not affirm
so clearly as Ambrose the spiritual character of the
Eucharistic food, he is alive to the materialistic con-
clusions which may be drawn'from his teaching, and in
this connexion speaks of receiving "the likeness of the
death "and" drinking the likeness of the precious blood"
(iv. 4. 2o), or again he refers to the sacrament as being
received "in a likeness" (in sirailitudinem), though this
likeness bestows the "grace and virtue" of the reality
(vi. I. 3). Here again, as in Ambrose above, we see
how naturally the older language current in the West
reasserts itself. (See further, Introd. p. xviii, above.)
The train of thought opened up by Ambrose and
his successor, the author of de Sa_ram., exercised a
profound influence on later Western tffaching. It en-
countered a rival influence in the more spiritualizing
teaching of St. Augustine. In the Eucharistic contro-
versies of the ninth century aroused by the "converston""
doctrine of Paschasius Radbert, and again in the con-
troversies of the eleventh century, in which Berengar
combated the growing belief in Transubstantiation, the
rival schools of opinion appealed to the teaching of
Ambrose and of de SacramenKs, as well as to,that of
Augustine, and attempted to harmonize their language
in the fuller and more explicit treatment which was
given to the subject during the period. Both treatises
are appealed to as authorities by Ratramn (cent, ix.)
in his opposition to Paschasius_ by Berengar and his
opponents Lanfranc and Witmund of Aversa (cent. xi,)

,, 2, ....
xxxviii INTRODUCTION

and by Alger of Liege (cent. xii.). The teaching of

Ambrose is the starting-point of those who maintain
the identity of the elements with the body and blood of
Christ in virtue of the conversion miraculously effected
by consecration--the teaching finally formulated in the
doctrine of Transubstantiation at the Council of the
Lateran in 72x6. Augustine is the authority appealed
to by those who distinguished the visible sign from
the invisible reality, and who tended to maintain a
spiritual presence of power and efficacy--a view which
passes in its more extreme forms into a purely figurative
or commemorative idea of the sacrament.
A second feature in the Eucharistic teaching of
de 2hryst. and de Sacram. is the emphasis which they
lay upon the words of institution as effecdng the con-
seeration of the Sacrament. Speculation as to the
"moment of consecration" in the Eucharist received an
impulse from the very definite teaching of Cyril of
Jerusalem. In his Catedteses he attributes the conse-
cration to the operation of the Holy Spirit, Who is
invoked in the Eucharistic prayer to "make (_ro_;v) the
bread the body of Christ, and the wine His blood" ; and
he adds, "for whatsoever the Holy Spirit touches is
sanctified and changed." x How unfixed, however, were
the conceptions of the "form" of 'consecration even in
the latter part of the fourth century in the East is
shown by Chrysostom, who sometimes attributes the
corisecration to the operation of the Holy Spirit, and
elsewhere to the efficacy of the words of institution,
recited afresh by the priest at every Eucharist. _ In
Ambrose, however, and in the author of de Saeramentis,
we find clear expression given to the view that it is the
words of Christ "This is my body," "this is my blood_"
1Ca. a_diL T.
t de $acera[ iiL 4, in earn. a#_ellal. 3 ; d, Prod. Iud. i. 6.
 EUCHARISTIC DOCTRINE xxxix

recited by the priest, which effect the consecration of the

sacrament. The whole course of their argument rests
upon the operative power of this word to "change the
natures" of the sacramental elements into realities of
a higher order. While in the East the teaching found
in Cyril of Jerusalem became formulated later on in
the doctrine that the Holy Spirit, invoked by the prayer
of the priest, is the operative power which effects the
sacramental mystery, the teaching found in Ambrose
and de Sacramentis is the starting-point of the develop-
ment which led to the later Western view that the
"form" of .the Sacrament is the recital of the words of
Christ.
The authors of de IWysteriis and de Sacramentis,
though _they deal so fully with the nature of the
Eucharistic gift, do not dwell at all upon the conception
of the Eucharist as a sacrifice; though Ambrose in
other works develops this aspect at some length. But
in the prayers quoted in de Sacram., we have an
interesting indication of the kind of language in which
this idea found expression in the liturgical forms of the
period. It is marked by a primitive simplicity. The
oblation is spoken of as "a reasonable offering," "an
unbloody offering "--phrases common in early Christian
writings--and it is compared to the gifts of Abel and .
the sacrifices of Abraham and Melchizedek. The sacri-
fice, in fact, is conceived of as commemorative and
eucharistic, rather than as propitiatory. The Eucharist
is the "thank-offering" of priest and people alike. The
language of the Roman Cauon, when studied by itself,
and apart from later glosses and interpretations, exhibits
much the same conception, and the long continuance
at Rome, and in the West, of the practice of the people
mnklng their offerings of bread and wine served to
perpetuate this conception, which is reflected in so
xl INTRODUCTION

many of the Secrtta prayers in the later Roman service

books.

VIII. THE BIBLICALTEXT

The quotations from the New Testament found in

de Afysttriis appear to agree fairly closely on the whole
with the text exhibited in the Latin Version of Jerome
(the Vulgate), especially in St. Paul's Epistles. There
is, however, a considerable number of Old Latin read-
ings, and especially of readings found in the Irish
group of Vulgate MSS. Of the other readings found in
de Mysterfis some appear in other writings of Ambrose
and in the works of other Latin Fathers ; while others
again seem to be due to citations from memory, or free
quotations which paraphrase the passages referred to.
The New Testament text exhibited in de Sacramentis
presents much the same features as that of de Mysteriis,
and agrees on the whole with the Vulgate, with an inter- .
mixture of Old Latin readings, and a certain number of
free quotations due to lapse of memory or loose citafi9n.
Among the Old Latin readings found in these treatises
are the following:

de Mys/. iii. x3 = John i. x7 (grafia autem).

de Myst. iv. z4 ----John i. 33 (" descending from
hea_,en").
de 31yst. iii. 8 = John x. 38 (si mihi non ereditis
vel operibus eredite).

de Myst. vi. 3x } = John xiii. 8 ("if I wash not ray

de Sacram. iii. x. 4 feet'S.
de Saeram. iii. x. 6. = John xiii. 9 (non solum . . . sed
e_am).
de _a_ram. iii. x. 7, = John xiii. xo (qui lavit non ne-
eesse babeO.
 THE BIBLICAL TEXT xli

de 31ryst. vi. 33 -----

John xiii. I4 ("how much more
ought ye to wash ").

de Sacram.
de lltryst, viii.iv.442.25 ) = i Cor. ii. 9 (diligentibus).
de Sacram. vi. 2.9 = I Cor. xii. 4 (ministeriorum).
de Myst. iv. 25 = Phil. ii. 7 (specie inventus ut
homo ; frequent in Ambrose,
but also occurring in the Old
Latin speculum (m.)).

In the version of the Lord's Prayer found in de Sacram.

v. 4. x8 we 0nd the clause, "Suffer us not to be led into
temptation" (ne nos patiaris indud in tentationem).
This is probably due to Tertullian (de Or. 8), from whom
it passed to Cyprian, the African Old Latin, and some
MSS. of the Vulgate. ' The same author (v. 4. 29) shows
acquaintance with another reading in the same clause
("temptation which we are not able to bear"), which is
quoted by Jerome, I-Iilary, and Ps. Augustine, Serm. lxxiv.
The citation of the insertion in John v. 4 in de 21fyst.
iv. 22 and de Sacram. ii. 2. 3 exhibits several readings
which find support in one or other group of Vulgate
1VISS. Both have "qui aOrior descendisset," languore,
and tenebatur. The word natatorium in de 291yst.corre-
sponds to natatoria of some Vulgate MSS. Similarly
the readings in John xiii. 8 (" thou wilt have no part
with me "), and John xiii. xo (" needeth not save to wash
his feet") are found in some Vulgate MSS.
A certain ntjmber of readings in both treatises find
support in the works of Ambrose, e.K. x Cor. x. 4
(omission of "spiritual" before "rock"), de Myst. viii. 49
(so some MSS. in de Saeram. r. I. 3); x Cor. x. Ir
([acta sunt for ¢ona'nKebant),de Sacram. i. 6. o0 ; Eph.
v. x8 ("holy Spirit"), de Sacram. v. 3. x7 ; x John v. 7
(the order "water, blood, spirit"), de Myst._iv. so;
 xlii INTRODUCTION

Col. iv. 3 (a_eria/ur mihi ostium vtrbz_, de Saeram.

v. 3" I7" The reading in Mt. x. 16 (quoted de Myst.
iv. as) , "astuti sicut serpentes," is found in Augustine
(de Doetr. Chr. ii. x6. 24).
In the Old Testament both writers depend upon the
Latin Versions made from the Septuagint. Jerome's
work on the Old Testament occupied roughly the years
390-405 A.D. The greater part of it was based on the
Hebrew, and when published it gained acceptance slowly.
This explains the fact that the Old Testament quotations
in these treatises shew constant agreement with the
Greek Bible where they diverge from the Vulgate. On
the other hand, the quotations from the Psalms are in
constant agreement with the Vulgate. The reason for
this is that the Vulgate Psalter represents .}'erome's second
revision of the Psalter, x which was based on the Greek
Versions, and which his later version from the Hebrew
failed to supplant in general favour. Where the readings
in passages taken from the Psalms diverge from the
Vulgate they are generally found to be nearer to those
of the Septuagint, e.g. in the quotation of Psalm xxiii.
(de gyst. viii. 43, de Saeram. v. 3. I3) both writers read
in verse xpasdt for regit. In verse 5 of the same psalm
de Myst. has "thy" cup (though some MSS. read "my,"
as in de Saeram. and Vulgate). Similarly in de Sacrant. "
v. 3. x6 the reading "ex Aegypto _'(Psalm lxxx. 8 (lxxix. 9))
is nearer to the Septuagint than the Vulgate.
The text of the Song of Songs, for the Old Latin
Version of which we have tittle evidence beyond the
copious references in the writings of Ambrose, and a
few verses from "Jerome, Augustine, and others, presents
the same general features as the other Old Testament
citations. Its divergences from the readings of the
a From its early currency in Gaul this revision is generaJly known
as the Gallieau Psalter.

:_',
 t

EDITIONS xliii

Vulgate are generally explained by reference to the

Greek Bible, though in some cases the renderings are
due to the use of a different Latin word to represent the
same underlying text. The quotation of Cant. viii. 2 in
de/Ifyst, vii. 40 appears to be a conflation of two read-
ings,combining elements which are found separately in
the Septuagint and the Vulgate. If the quotation stood
alone it might be thought that the words, "there thou
shalt teach me" (ibi d.oce_is me), had been introduced
into the text from the Vulgate, but the words are found
also in Ambrose, .Ex_. in Ps. cxviii. 19. 25, which shows
that the reading was current in the time of Ambrose,
who died before the completion of Jerome's revision of
the Song of Songs.

IX. EDITIONS

The earliest printed texts of the works of Ambrose

appeared between the years 1474 and 15o6. Among
these the edition of Amerbach (Basle, 1492 ) claims chief
notice. These earlier texts were superseded by the
edition of Erasmus, published at Basle in four volumes
at Froben's press in 1527. This was followed in turn
by the editions of Costerius (published by Episcopius at
Basle), mad that of Gillot (Paris, 1568 ). By the desire of
Popes Pins IV and Pius V a fresh edition was under-
taken, and was .begun by the monk Felix de Montalto
(surnamed Peretti), who afterwards became Pope Sixtus V.
This was the famous Roman edition, which was l_ub-
fished in five volumes between the years 158o-i585, and
superseded all previous editions. In the latter part of the
seventeenth century the Benedictines of St. Maur, to whom
students owe so much for their labours on the MSS. and
texts of the Fathers, produced a fresh edition, based on
a considerable number of MSS., in two folio volumes,
published at Paris (J. du Frische and N. le Notary),
xliv INTRODUCTION

x686-i69o. This was reprinted at Venice in i748-i75i,

and again in x78i-x782. A further reprint appeared in
Migne's -Patrdogia Zatina (vols. xiv.-xvii.), published at
Paris in I845, and again in I866 and i88o-i882. Both
de 3fysteriis and de Sacramentis are included in vol. xvi.
of this work. Another edition, founded on that of
the Benedictines, but not displaying the same care or
critical acumen, appeared at Milan in six volumes in x875-
i883, under the editorship of P. A. Ballerini. An edition
of the works of Ambrose is in course of publication in
the Vienna Corpus scn'plorum eccl. laEnorum, but the
volumes published do not include the two treatises
translated in the present volume.
An English translation of selected works and letters of
Ambrose was published by H. de Romestin in vol. x
of the Zibrary of 2Vicene and Post-2Vt'eenet;athers (Parker,
Oxford and New York, x896). It includes de 3Iysteriis,
but not de SaeramenEs.
 CONCERNING THE MYSTERIES

CHAPTER I

After referring to his instructions given in lent, Ambrose pro-

doses togive an exl_sition of the sacraments and explains why
this was deferred till now. He expounds the meaning
the "o_Oeningof the ears."
I. O_ questions of right conduct we discoursed daily
at the time when the lives of the patriarchs or the pre-
cepts of the Proverbs were being read, 1 in order that,
trained and instructed thereby, you might become accus-
tomed to walk in the paths of our elders and to tread
in their steps, and to obey the divine oracles ; to the
end that you might, after being renewed by baptism,
continue to practise the life which befitted the regenerate.
2. Now the season reminds us to speak about the
mysteries, and to give a reasoned account of the sacra-
ments;for ff we had thought that such an account
should be propounded before baptism to the uninitiated,
we should be esteemed traitors rather than teachers ;
furtlaer, because it were better that the light of the mys-
teries should reveal itself unasked and unexpected than
preceded by some discourse3

1 Ambrose is referring to the lessons from Genesis and Proverbs

which at Milan were read in. Lent _ the reissue catechumenarum
attended by the ¢ompetentes or caudidates for baptism. We have
an example of the kind. of instruction given in the sermons of
•Ambrose, On Abraham, which deal with "right conduct" and
which twere addressed to candidates for baptism. See Introd.

P'_n this practice of withholding instruction on the Sacraments

fill after the Easter Communion, see Introd. p. xiii.
45
46 ST. AMBROSE

3. Open, therefore, your ears, and draw in the swee[

savour a of eternal life breathed on you by the office
of the sacraments : which we indicated to you when ha
performing the mystery of the "opening" 2 we said;
2_phpheta, mhiek is, .Be opened, that each one who is
coming to grace might know what he is asked, should
be bound to remember what he answered.
4. This mystery Christ performed in the Gospel, as
we read, when he cured a deaf and dumb man. s But
he touched his mouth, because he was curing one who
was dumb and also a man: on the one hand, that he
might open his mouth by the sound of the voice bestowed
on him, on the other hand, because to touch the mouth
was proper in the case of a man, but was not proper in
the case of a woman.

CHAPTER II

Ambroxe recalls the ba2Otismal20romisesand the witnesses in whost

l_resencethey were made.

5" AFTER this the /to/y of holies 4 was unbarred to

thee, thou didst enter the shrine of regeneration ; re-
member what thou wast asked, recollect what thou didst
answer. Thou didst renounce the devil and his works,
the world and its luxury and pleasuresP Thy answer
is kept, not in the tomb of the dead, but in the book of
the living.
6. Thou sawest there a levite, thou sawest a priest,
* 2Cor. ii. ,6.
i The ceremony of the .Efeta, to which at Milan the name
"opening of the cars" was given, was performed on Easter Eve.
See Introd. p. xxi.
J Mark viL 34, from which the ceremony t*k_ its name. It is
more fully described in de Sac:ram. i. I. _.
4 Heb. ix. 3. Here it refers to the baptistery.
s For'a fuller description see de Saffam_ti;, i. *.5.
 ON THE MYSTERIES 47

thou sawest the high priest. 1 Do not consider the bodily

forms, but the grace of the mysteries. Thou didst speak
in the presence of the angels, as it is written that the
p_esfs li_s keep knowledge, and they seek the law at
his mouth: for he is the altgel of the Zord Ahnigk_y. 2
There is no room here for deceit or denial ; he is the
"angel" who announces the kingdom of Christ and
eternal Life. He shall be to thee as one not to be
valued for his outward appearance, but for his office.
What he has delivered to you, consider ; ponder its use,
recognize its character.
7. Thou didst enter, therefore, to discern thine ad-
versary, and, by way of renouncing him, to spit in
his face;S thou dost turn to the east. For he who
renounces the devil, turns to Christ, looks at him with
direct gaze.

CHAPTER III
The operation of the Divine power in baptism is illustrated by Old
Testament types.
8. WHAT sawest thou? Water, to be sure, but not
water only; levites ministering there, the high priest
a The words are : levita, sacerdos, summus sacerdos. See note
on de Sacram. i. x.z. Here sacerdos(' priest ') is used in the same
sense as presbyter in de Sacram., though elsewhere in this book, as
in de Sacramentis, it denotes the bishop, who ,is here referred to a._
summus sacerdos, "high priest," by way of distinguishing him from
the presbyter.
I Malachi ii. 7. On the Biblical text_ of Ambrose see Introd.
pp. xlff. '
* The text translated is an emendation proposed by Dora G.
Morin (Revue btrddictine, xvi. (I899), pp. 414£). For thereading of
the MSS. "eui renuntiandum in os putares" [v.U. "putaris,"
" "sputaxis"] he suggests "cui renuntiando in os sputares." The
spitting finds a parallel in the Greek and Armenian rites. These
parallels, how.ever,belong to a later period, and there is no mention
of the practice elsewhere in the writings of Ambrose.
48 ST. AMBROSE

questioning 1 and consecrating. First of all, the Apostle

has taught thee that we must not lookat t/_ethings which
are seen, but at the things which are not seen : for the
things which are seen are ten, oral; but the t/u'ngs which
are not seen are eternal = For elsewhere too thou readest
that the invisible thing_ of God from the creaEon of the
worm are compre/wnded by the things whiclt are made;
his eternal power and divini<y also are understood from
his works,s Whence also the Lord himself says, frye
believe not me, beh'eve at least the works. 4 Believe, there-
fore, that the presence of the Divinity is there. Thou
b¢lievest the working, dost not thou believe the presence?
Whence would ertsue the working, did not the presence
precede ?
9. But consider how old the mystery is, prefigured in
the beginning of the world itself. In the very beginning,
when God made heaven and earth, the Spirit, it says,
moved upon the waters. _ He who moved upon _Aewaters,
did he not work upon the waters ? But why do I say
"work"? As regards presence, e he moved. Did not he
who moved work ? Admit that he was working in the
creation of the world, when the prophet says to thee, 7
JYy the word of the Zord were the Aeavens made, and
all the host of them by the Spimt of/us mouth. Each
rests upon prophetic testimony, both that he moved,
and that he worked. That he moved, Moses says : that
he worked, David testifies.
xo. Take another testimony. All flesh was corrupt
from its sins. My Spirit, said God, shall not aSide in

* In de San'am. i. 2. 5 the questionsare apparentlyput by the

presbyter,hereby the bishop.
s _ Con iv. I8. * Row. i. 2o.
Jn. x. 38. ' Gen. i. 2.
_e"quodad_araeseaHamspectat." The meaningis: "All that
wascertainlyvisiblewasthe moving."
7 Ps. Yx.x._il
6 (Vulg. xxxii.6).
 ON THE MYSTERIES 49

men, for they are flesh: Whereby God shows that by

carnal uncleanness and the stain of more serious sin
spiritual grace is alienated. Whence God, wishing to
repair what was wanting, made a flood, and bade righteous
Noah go up into the ark: He, as the flood abated, sent
forth first a raven, which did not return ; then he sent
forth a dove .which, we .read, returned with an olive
branch, s Thou seest the water, thou seest the wood,
thou beholdest the dove, and dost thou doubt the
mystery ?
xr. So the water is that in which the flesh is plunged,
to wash away every sin of the flesh ; every wrong act
is buried there. The wood is that whereon the Lord
Jesus was nailed when he suffered for us. The dove
is that in whose shape the Holy Ghost descended, as thou
hast learned in the New Testament, 4 who breathes into
thee peace of soul, calm of mind. The raven is a figure
of sin, which goes forth and does not return, if thou art
careful to guakd and conform to righteousness.
x2. There is also a third testimony, as the Apostle
teaches thee, that all our fathers were under Hte cloud,
and all passed through the sea, and were all baptized in
AIoses in the cloud and in the sea.s Thus, Moses him-
self also says in his Song, Thou didst send ray Spirit, and
the sea covered them: Thou observest that even then
was holy baptism prefigured in that passing through of
'the Hebrews, in which the Egyptian perished and the
Hebrew escaped. For what else are we taught in this
sacrament daily, but that guilt is drowned and error
destroyed, while goodness and innocence remained safe
to the end ?
I3. Thou hearest that our fathers were under the cloud;
x

1 Gemvi. 3- t Gen. vii. , sq.

* Gen.viii. 7f. • Lk. ili. u2.
s , C.or.x. x, 2 (Vulgate). 6 Ex. xv. Io (followingLXX).
D
5° ST. AMBROSE

and a good cloud which cooledthe firesof carnal

passions. The good cloudovershadows thosewhom the
Holy Spirit visits ; so he came uiOonthe virgin Mary and
t& power o/ t/re ttt'ghest oversAadowed her, 1 when she
bare redemption for the human race. And that miracle
was wrought by Moses in a figure. * If, then, the Spirit
was present in the figure, is he not present in the reality,
since the Scripture says to thee, For the law was given
by Moses, but grace and trutA came by fesus Christi a
• 4. The font of Marah was most bitter; Moses cast
wood into it, and it was made sweet.4 For water without
the proclamation of the Lord's cross serves no purpose
of future salvation ; but when it has been consecrated
by the mystery of the saving cross: then it is fitted for
the use of the spiritual laver and the cup of salvation.
As, therefore, Moses, that is, the prophet, cast wood into
that font, so also thepriest casts the proclamation of
the Lord's cross into this font, and the water becomes
sweet unto grace.
x5. Do not, therefore, trust only the eyes of thy body ;
that which is not seen is more truly seen. For the one
is temporal ; in the other the eternal is seen, which is
not apprehended by the eyes but is discerned by the
intellect and mind.
• 6. Thus again, let the lesson from the Kings, that
has been read teach thee. Naaman was a Syrian, and a
leper, nor could he be cleansed by any one. Then said
a maid, who was of the captives, that there was a prophet
in Israel who could cleanse him from the taint of leprosy.
Taking gold and silver, it says, he went his way to the
king of Israel. He, learning the cause of his arrival,
a Lk_.i. 35. * Ex. xiv. 2, ;f.
e Jn. i. *7. • Ex. xv. 23 sq.
Am allusionto the signingof the waterwith the Crossat the
consecrationof the font. Cp. iv. 20. ,
' 2 Kings v. *sq.
 ON THE "MYSTERIES 51

rent his clothes, saying that it was really a plot against

him, since demands were made of him which were
beyond royal power. But Elisha bade the king send
the Syrian to him, that he might know that there was a
God in lsrael.: And when he came, he commanded him
to dip seven times in the river Jordan.
x7. Then he began to think within himself that he
had the better waters of his own country, in which he
had often dipped without being cleansed flom leprosy,
and drawn away by this thought, he was minded to
disobey the prophet's commands; but he yielded to
the advice and solicitations of his servants, and dipped ;
and he was straightway cleansed, and understood that
it was due not to water, but to grace, that each one was
cleansed.
x8. Learn now who that young captive maiden is.
Of a truth she is the congregation from the Gentiles,
that is, the Church of the Lord once sunk in the
captivity of sin, when she did not as yet possess the
liberty of grace ; by whose counsel the vain people of
the nations beard the prophetic word. And this at first
and for long they doubted; afterwards, however, they
believed that it should be obeyed, and were washed
from all taint of faults. Now they doubted 2 before they
were healed; thou art already healed, and therefore
oughtest not to doubt.
x 2 l_dngsv. 8. Ambrose,by a slip of memory,substitutes"a
God in Israel" for "a prophet in Israel."
• ille quidem dubilavil. This probablyrefers to i)opulus rather
than Naaman.
5_ ST. AMBROSE

CHAPTER IV
The presence of the S_irit is necessary to the efficacy oy baptism.
Illustrations from the healing of the paralytic it* John v. and
from the operation of the Spirit in the baptism of Christ.

] 9. FOR this cause wast thou forewarned not to believe

merely what thou sawest, lest perchance thou too shouldest
say, "Is this that great mystery which eye hath not seen,
nor ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart o] man ? x
I see water which I used to see daily; can that cleanse
me into which I have often descended without ever
being cleansed?" Hence know that water does not
cleanse without the Spirit. / ,
20. And for this very reason thou"has_'read that the
three witnesses in baptism are o_,:, the _oal_ the blood,
and the Spirit, _ because, if thou takest away ode of these
the sacrament of baptism no longer remains. ' For what
is water without the Cross of Christ ? A eoni_on element
without any sacramental effect. Nor again is there any
mystery of regeneration without _ater, for except a man
be born anew o] water and o/ die Spirit he cannot enter
into the kingdom o/ God.n But even a catechumen
believes in the Cross of the Lord Jesus, wherewith he
also is signed ; 4 but unless he is baptized in the name
o] the Father, and o] the Sons and o] the Holy Ghost,5 he
cannot receive the remission of sins nor imbibe the gift
of spiritual grace.
I Cot. ii. 9 (Vulgate).
s t Jn. v. 7. The same order, "water," "blood,}' "Spirit,"
is found in the reference to this p___ge in Ambrose, Expos. in
Zucam x. 48/where the passage is similarly applied.
* Jn. iii. 5. A free quotation.
• This signing of the catechumen with the Cross is here dis-
tinguished trom the rite of baptism. It probably took place at
the beginning of the catechumenate. It m not mentioned in de
Sacrament*s, but is found in the Gelu_an Sacramentary in the
Ordo ad cattct_un_nura ex a_aganofackndum (Wilson, p. lI$).
6 Mt. xx_iii,t9.
 ON THE MYSTERIES 53

zr. So the Syrian dipped seven times 1 under the

Law. But thou wast baptized in the name of the
Trinity, thou didst confess the Father--remember what
thou didst--thou didst confess the Son, thou didst con-
fess the Holy Spirit. Do not forget the order of things in
this faith. Thou didst die to the world, and didst rise
to God. And as if buried together in this element of
the world, thou art dead to sin, 2 and raised to eternal
life. Believe, therefore, that the water is not without
power.
22. Therefore it was told thee how that an angel o]
the Lord went down at a certain season into the pool,
and the water was troubled : and whosoever ]_rst alter the
troubling o] the water descended into the pool was made
whole o] whatsoever disease he had. 3 This pool was in
Jerusalem, and in it one person a year was cured ; but no
one was healed before the angel had descended. For
a sign that the angel had descended, the water was
troubled beeau.se of the unbelieving. For them the
sign, for thee faith; for them an angel descended, for
thee the Holy Spirit ; for them the created element
was troubled, for thee Christ acts, the very Lord of
creation.
23. Then one was healed, now all are made whole ;
or, to be exact, one only--the Christian people ; for in
the case of some even the water is deceit]ul. 4 The
baptism of the unbelievers does not heal, does not

i 2 Kings v. x4. 2 Col. ii. 12, 13 ; Row. vi. 4.

s Jn. v. 4. The passage is an early interpolation, and was known
to Tertullian (deBapt. 5).
A ref. to Jer. xv. x8 (R.V. "wilt thou be unto me as a deceit-
ful brook, as waters that fail ?"). The Vulgate reads, facta est
mihi quasi mendacium aquarum infutelium. Ambrose, combining
this with the statement about the "baptism" of cups and pots in
Mk. vii. 4, sees in it a condemnation of unbelievers' baptism. He
is thinking of the baptisms practised by heathen and Jews. See
de Sacram. ii. x. 2.
 54 ST. AMBROSE

cleanse, but defiles. The Jew baptizes pots and cups,

as if inanimate, things were capable of sin or grace.
Baptize thou this animate cup of thine, in which thy
good works may shine, in which the splendour of thy
grace may glow. Therefore also that pool was as a
figure, that thou mayest believe that the divine power
descends into this font.
• 4. Thus again, the sick of the palsy was waiting for
a man. 1 Who was that but the Lord Jesus, born of the
Virgin ? At whose coming no longer would the shadow
heal men one at a time, but the truth would heal all. He,
therefore, it is who was expected to descend, of whom
God the Father said to John the Baptist, upon whom
thou shalt see the Spirit descending /row heaven, and
remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with
the Holy Ghost. 2 Of whom John bare ufftness, saying, I
taw the Spirit descending ]rom heaven like a do'oe and
remaining on him. 8 And why did the Spirit descend
here like a dove, but that thou mightest see, but that
thou mightest recognize that that dove too which
righteous Noah sent out of the ark was a likeness of
this dove, that thou mightest recognize a type of the
sacrament.
z 5. And perhaps thou mayest say, "Since that was a
real dove which was sent forth, here only as it were a
dove descended, how do we say that the likeness was
there, the reality here ?" _ For according to the Greeks
x jn. v. 7. = Tn.i. 33. s Jn. i. 3z.
• This section is very confused. The thought seems to be as
follows. Since in Lk. ill zz the Spirit descends in "bodily form"
(Gk. d_os, the regular equivalent of ._e.c_), it may seem perverse
to ascribe s_c/es to the dove ofGen, viiL rather than to the divine
dove. Still, in the ordinary sense, the word s/ecies, which implies
mutability, is properly used of the created and not of the divine,
though there is another sense in which it may be predicated even of
the divine. The argument is further confused by the interpolation
of the suggestion that the reason why the Spirit took the form of a
dove was to be a type of the simplicity of the true Christian. The
 ON THE MYSTERIES 55

it is written that the Spirit descended in the likeness of

a dove. But what is so real as the divinity which abideth
]or ever ? 1 The created thing, however, cannot be the
reality, but only a likeness, which is readily dissolved
and changed. At the same time because in those
who are-baptized there should be innocence, not in
appearance, but in reality (whence the Lord also says,
Be ye wise as serpents, and innocent as doves), 2 rightly,
therefore, did he descend like a dove, to remind us that
we ought to have the innocence of a dove. But that
the word "likeness" is to be taken also as meaning
reality is sho_aa by what we read both of Christ, And he
was/ound in likeness as a man, s and of God the Father.
Nor have you seen his likeness. 4

CHAPTER V

Further testimonies to the Divine working in baiOtism. The

baptismal profession offaith.
26. IS there stiU any reason why thou shouldst doubt,
when the Father clearly calls to thee in the Gospel and
says, This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased ; 5 when
the Son calls, on whom the Holy Spirit showed himself
as a dove : when the Holy Spirit also calls, who descended
as a dove : when David calls, The voice o/ the Lord is
upon the waters : the God o/ maiest 7 has thund_ed : the
Lord is upon many waters: e when the Scripture wit-
nesses to thee that at the prayers of Jerubbaal fire

sense is more dearly indicated if, as has been done in the translation,
we remove the full stops after simplicitas and tolumbae.
1 Jn. viii. 35. s l_t. x. 16.
a Phil. ii. 7. • Jn. v. 37 (Vulgate).
6 Mr. iii. x7 (freely quoted).
e "Ps,xxix. (Vulg. xxviii,) 3"
56 ST. AMBROSE

descended from heaven, 1 and again, on Elijah praying,

fire was sent which consecrated the sacrifice ? 2
27. Do not consider the merits of persons, but the
office of priests. And if thou lookest at merits, consider
the priest as Elijah; look at the merits of Peter, toe,
or of Paul, 3 who received this mystery from the Lord
Jesus, and handed it on to us. Visible fire was sent to
them, that they might believe; for us, who believe, one
who is invisible acts : to .them for a figure, to us for ad-
monition. Believe, therefore, that invoked by the prayers
of the priests the Lord Jesus is present who says, Where
there are two or three, there am I also; 4 how much more
where the Church is, where his mysteries are, does he
deign to bestow his presence!
28. Thou didst descend, then ; remember what thou
didst answer, that thou believest in the Father, thou be-
]ievest in the Son, thou believest in the Holy Spirit. 5
It is not a case of, I believe in a greater and a less and
a least ; 6 but thou art bound by the same pledge of thine
own voice to believe in the Son exactly as thou believest
in the Father, to believe in the Holy Spirit exactly as
thou believest in the Son ; with this one exception, that
thou confessest the necessity of belief in the Cross _ of
the Lord Jesus alone.

x A reference to Gideon (Judges vi. 21). The name Terabbaal

is found in Judges vi. 3z.
s I Kings xv.iii. 38.
• The meaning is : if we allow the thought of merit to enter
into our thought of the priest, it must be the merit of those whom
he succeeds and represents, Elijah, Peter, Paul. -
6 bit. xviii. 2o (freely quoted).
The interrogatory Creed at l_lilan is quoted more fully in de
Sucram. ii. 7- zo.
e Ambrose has in view the Arians, who denied the co.equality o_
the Persons of the Trinity.
Cp. de Sacrum. ii. 7. 20, where the formula runs : "Dost thou
believe in our LordJesus Christ and in His Cross ?"
 ON THE MYSTERIES 57

CHAPTER VI

The slg_dflcanre of the umNon after baptism and of the washing oJ

tke feet of tke balMfzed.

29. AFTER all this thou didst go" up to the priest, x

Consider what followed, was it not that which David
said, It is like the ointment upon the head, that ran down
unto the beard, even unto Aaron's beard f * This is the
ointment of which Solomon also says, Thy name is as
ointment poured ]orth, there]ore did the maidens love thee
and draw thee. 8 How many souls regenerated to-day
have loved thee, Lord Jesus, saying, Draw us alter thee,
toe run to the odour o] thy garments, 4 that they may drink
in the odour of the resurrection ?
3° . Understand why this is done, because the wise
man's eyes are in his head. 5 It flowed down unto the
beard--that is, unto the grace of youth--even unto
Aaron's beard, for this purpose, that thou mayest become
a chosen generation, priestly, precious 6; for we are all

i Ambrose is referring to the unction of the head after baptism.

The word sacerdos (translated " priest ") here refers to the bishop
(see note on ii. 6). The Brayer accompanying the unction is given
in de So.cram. ii. 7. 24. _ee Introd. p. xxiv.
I Ps. cxxxiii. (cxxxii. Vulg.) 2.
• Cant. i. _. The quotation agrees with the LXX in reading
exinanilum and attraxerunt re. On the mystical interpretation of
the Song of Songs, see Introd. pp. xiv ft.
• 'Cant. i. 3. The words " to the odour of thy ointments" are
found in the LXX and Vulgate. Ambrose substitutes "garments"
for "ointments," possibly because he has in mind Gen. xxvii. 27.
6 Eccl. ii. I4. The •awe passage is referred to in de Sazram. iii.
I. I, where the author has "the seJLres of a wise man," a reading
also found in Ambrose, Ex_. in ?salm exviii. 20. I. The meaning
of Ambrose is brought out more clearly if we render : "Understand
why this is done. It is because the wise man's eyes are in his head."
The head is anointed because it is the seat of intelligence. So it is
explained in de Sacram.
"I Pet. ii. 9. The word "precious" does not occur in the
passage, but was possibly suggested by the context (v. 6), or by
the words "a people for God's own po_ession." On this ussoci,a-
tion of the post-baptismal unction with the' priesthood of the whole
 58 ST. AMBROSE

anointedwith spiritual grace unto the kingdom of God

and the priesthood.
3*. Thou didstgo up from the font. Remember the
Gospel lesson. 1 For our Lord Jesus in the Gospel
washed the feet of his disciples. When he came to Simon
Peter, Peter said, Thou shalt never wash my ]eet. He
did not perceive the mystery, and therefore he refused
the ministry ; because he thought that it was an offence
against the humility of a servant, if he should patiently
allow the Lord's service to himself. To whom the Lord
answered, I] ! do not wash thy /eet, thou wilt have no
part with Me. _ Hearing this, Peter said, Lord, not my
]eet only, but also my hands and my head. The Lord
answered, He that is washed needetk not save to wash his
]eet, but is clean every whit. s
32. Peter was clean, but he needed to wash his feet;
for he still had sin by derivation from the first man,
when the serpent tripped him and led him into trespass, i
His foot is washed that hereditary sins may be remdved;
for our own sins are remitted by baptism. 5

body of the Church see T. Thompson, Offi_¢; of Ba/tism and

Confirmation, p. 222.
*-Jn. xlii 4 f. Apparently the Gospel lesson was read at the
time of the washing of the feet of the newly-baptized. The earliest
reference to the later custom of bishops washing the feet of their
subordinates on Maundy Thursday comes from Spain, and is found
in the third canon of the Seventeenth Council of Toledo (694 A.D.).
* Jn. xiii. 8 3 Jn. xiii. IO. _ A ref. to Gen. iii. x f.
s Ambrose here connects baptism with the removal of personal
or actual sin. But he also suggests that the "washing of the feet"
has a similar sacramental efficacy with regard to transmitted (or
hereditary) sin. This is one of the passages which led DaiU6 and
others to contest the ascription of the treatise to Ambrose. But
,the same teaching is found elsewhere in Ambrose's writings, e.g.
• JExy#.in F;alm xlviii. 8. 9 ; and a passage from a lost commentary
on Isaiah quoted by Augustine, c. duase_istolasJ_dag, iv. xI. Cf..
also de S_'r. ;ancto, i. prol. I6. The author of de Saeramtntfa
(iii. x. 7) silently corrects this teaching, by explaining that, while
every fault is washed away in baptism, the washing of the feet sup-
p!iea an increase of sanctifyingpower at the point wher_ the serpent
 ON THE MYSTERIES 59

33. At the same time recognize that there is a mystical

meaning in the actual ministry of humility ; for He
says, I] 1, your Lord and Master, have washed your ]eet,
how much more ought ye also to wash one another's ]eet ? t
For since the Author o/ salvation 2 Himself redeemed
us through obedience, how much more ought we, his
poor servants, to display the service of humility and
obedience ?

CHAPTER VII

7"he meaning oj the _vhite garments in which the baibti=g.dwere

clothed is expounded and illustrated bv a mystical exposition of
the Song of Songs. The "spiritual seal" und its interpretation.

34- THOr receivedst after this white raiment s for a

sign that thou hast put off the covering of sins, thou hast
put on the chaste garments of innocence, whereof the
Prophet said, Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I
shall be dean : thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made
whiter than snowA For he who is baptized is plainly
cleansed both according to the Law and according to
the Gospel ; according to the Law, because Moses with
a bunch o] hyssop s sprinkled the blood of the lamb:
according to the Gospel, because Christ's raiment was
white as" snow, when he showed the glory of his resur-
rection in the Gospel: He, then, is made whiter than
snow whose guilt is forgiven. Whence also the Lord
saith by Isaiah, 1] your sins be as scarlet, 1 will make
them as white as snowy
35. The Church, having received these garments by

made his treacherous attack. On the ceremony of the washing of

the feet, see Introd. p. xxiv.
x Jn. xiii. I4. 2 Heb. ii. Io.
I SeeIntrod. pp. xxivft. 4 Ps.li.7 (Vulg.L 9)-
6 Ex. xii. 2z. e Mt. xxviiL 3.
7 Is. i. 18. The quotation agrees with the LXX, and is found
in a corresponding form in Cyprian.
6o ST. AMBROSE

the laver o/ regeneration, 1 says in the Canticles, I am

black and comely, 0 ye daughters o] Jerusalem : 2--black
through the frailty of her human condition, comely
through grace; black, because consisting of sinners,
comely by the sacrament of faith. Seeing these garments
the daughters o] Jerusalem say in amazement, Who is
this that cometk up made white ? n She was black ; whence
is she now suddenly white ?
36. The angels also doubted when Christ rose, 4 the
powers of the heavens doubted seeing that flesh ascended
into heaven. So they said, Wko is the King o] glory ?
And when some said, Lilt up the gates o/ your Prince,
and be ye lift up, ye everlasting gates, and the King o]
glory shall come in; then others doubted saying, Who
is this King o] glory P 5 In Isaiah too thou readest that
the powers of the heavens doubting said, Who is this
that cometk up ]rom Edom, the crimson o] his garments is
]rom Bozrah, beauteous in white apparel Pe
37. But Christ seeing his Church in white garmentsm
the Church for whom he had put on [ilthy garments, as
thou readest in the book of the prophet Zechariah Y--or

1 Tit. iii. 5.
* Cant. i. 4- The passage is similarly applied in de Spit. sancto,
ii. IO. H_, which closely resembles the present passage.
* Cant. viii. 5 (following the LXX).
4 This illterpretation of Psalm xxir. (possibly suggested by such
passages as Eph. iii. Io, x Pet. i. x3) is found also in Ambrose, de
Inst. Virginis, v. 9. Cp. de Fide, iv. I. 5- In the former of these
passages, as here, Ambrose also refers to Is. Ixiii. x.
Ps. xxiv. (Vulg. xxiii.) 8, 9. The quotation differs from both
LXX and Vulgate. The text may be corrupt, and perhaps we
should read with the Vulgate tollite parta.r, principes, vestras
!'*Lift up your gates, ye princes "). The reading _estras is found
m some MSS. of de lltyst.
o Is. lxiii. I. The rendering given follows the LXX in the
earlier part of the quotation. Jerome once quotes the concluding
words in the form in stola candicla.
Zeeh. iii. 5. The name of J'oshua in that passage is represented
by "Jesu_" in the LXX and Latin versions ; hence the application
which Ambrose makes of the narrative.
 ON THE MYSTERIES 6I

seeing, it may be, the soul 1 clean and washed by the

laver of regeneration, saith, Behold, thou art /air, my
neighbour; behold, thou art /air; thine eyes are as a
dore's 2--in whose likeness the Holy Spirit descended /rom
heaven. 8 Beautiful eyes as of a dove--because in the
likeness thereof the Holy Spirit descended from heaven.
38. And further on, Thy teeth are like a _ock o/ the
shorn, which have come up /rom the laver; which all bear
twins, and none is barren among them. Thy lips are like
a thread o/ scarlet. _ No slight praise is this. First, in
' the pleasant comparison with the shorn. For we know
that goats both feed on high places without danger and
• get food on steep ascents securely s ; then when they axe
shorn, they are relieved of what is superfluous. With
a flock of these the Church is compared, having in
herself the many virtues of the souls who through the
laver lay down superfluous sins, who offer to Christ
mystic faith and the grace of right conduct, who tell of
the cross of the Lord Jesus.
39- In these the Church is beautiful. Whence God
the Word says to her, Thou art all /air, my lore; there
is no ]ault in thze--because guilt is sunk in the waters.
Come hither /tom Lebanon, my spouse, come hither /tom
Lebanon; thou shalt pass, and pass over ]rom the begin-
ning o] ]aith 6--because, in renouncing the world, she

I Similarly in d_ Sazram. v. 2. 7 f- it is suggested that the

imagery of Cantleles may be applied either to the Church as a
whole or to the iudividtml soul. This twofold application goes
back to Origen's Coramemary on Cantidcs, part of which is extant
in the Latin translation of Rufinus.
t Cant. iv. I. The reading proxlma ('neighbour') follows the
LXX. The passage is similarly applied in dt Inst. Virg. i. 4-
• Lk. iii. az. • Cant. iv. 2, 3.
s The reference to "goats feeding securely on steep ascents" is
suggested by the context of the preceding quotation. In Cant. iv. I
Mount Gilead is referred to as the abode of the goats.
6 Cant. iv. 7, 8 (following the LXK). Thepas_ge is quoted in
the same form in Ambrose, ak Isaac, v. 47.
 62 ST. AMBROSE

has passed this life, she has passed over to Christ. And
again God the Word says to her, How/air and pleasant
thou art become, 0 love, in thy delights I Thy stature has
become like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to dusters o]
grapes, a
4o. To whom the Church replies, Who will give thee
to me, my brother, that didst suck the breasts o/ my mother ?
Finding thee withou_'I will kiss thee; and indeed they
will not despise me. I will take thee, and bring thee into
my mother's house and into the chamber o] her who con-
¢eived me. Thou shalt teach me. _ Dost thou see how
she is delighted with the gift of graces, and desires to
enter into the inner mysteries and consecrate all her
senses to Christ ? Still she seeks, still she stirs up
love, and asks that it may be stirred up for her by the
daughters of Jerusalem, by the grace of whom, that is,
by the grace of faithful souls, she desires that the Bride-
groom be roused to fuller love ]'or her.
4x. Whence the Lord Jesus himself also attracted by
the zeal of such love, by the beauty of comeliness and
grace (since there is no longer the foulness of sins in
those who are washed), says to the Church, Set me as
a seal upon thine heart, as a signet upon thine arm, n that
is, thou art comely, my neighbours thou art all ]airs thou
lackest nothing. Set me as a seal upon thine hearts that
thy faith may shine with the fulness of the sacrament.
Let thy works also shine and display the image of God,

I Cant. vii. 6, 7.
s Cant. viii. I, 2. The words "into the chamber of her who
conceived me" are found in the LXX, but are not in the Hebrew
or Vulgate. The passage is quoted with these words in de Inst.
_ Virg. L 5, where the application closely resembles that found here.
On the'other hand, the words "thou shalt teach me " are absent
from the LXX, but are found in the Vulgate, and are _uoted by
Ambrose, _xp. in Ps. exviii. 19. _S. See Introd. p. xliil.
_..Cant. viii. 6. The passage is similarly applied in de Inst. Virg.
xvtt. II 3.
 ON THE MYSTERIES 63

in whose image thou wast made. Let no persecution

impair thy love, which much water cannot shut out, [loods
cannot
o er#ow.
1
4z. Wherefore recollect that thou hast received the
spiritual seal, 2 the spirit o] wisdom and understanding,
the spirit o/ counsd and strength, the spirit o/ knowledge
and godliness, the spirit o/ holy/ear, 8 and preserve what
thou hast received. God the Father hath sealed thee,
Christ the Lord hath confirmed thee, and hath given the
earnest o/ the Spirit in thy heart, as thou hast learned
from the apostolic lesson.* -_

CHAPTER VIII

The sacrament oJ the Eucharist preflffured in Psalm xxili., in

the incident of Meld*izedek, and in the manna and mater
miraculously su_OiMied
to Israel in tl_e wilderness.

43" RiCH with these adornments the cleansed people

hastens to the altar of Christ, saying, And I will go unto
the altar o/ God, even unto the God that maketh glad my

1 Cant. viii. 7. For a closely parallel application see de Inst.

l/irg, xvii. x13.
* For the "spiritual seal," el. de Sacram. iii. 2. 8, where the
rite referred to is called "the perfecting" (perfectio). It seems to
have consisted of a " signing" (whether with or without unction we
are not told), and is connected both here and in de Saeram. i_. 2.
8-io ; ,eL 2. 6 with the sevenfold gifts of the Spirit. It is referred
to in similar terms in Ambrose, de S20ir. sancto, i. 6. 72. See
further Introd. pp. xxv ft.
s Is. xL 2. The pas,age suggests that the "spiritual seal" may
have been accompanied with a prayer for the sevenfold girls, such
as we find mentioned in Spanish writers. There is a similar
prayer in the Gelasian SaeramentarF (Wilson, p. 87) , familiar to us
from its use in the Confirmation Service of the Book of Common
Prayer. The reading virtutis (" strength ") for Vulg. fortitudini_
is found in Novatian, de Trb*. 29.
"2 Cot. i. 21, 22, where the words conflrmat, s_ncrvit are
found in the Latin version. For a similar application see de
Spir. saucto, i. 6. 72.
 64 ST. AMBROSE

youth ; 1 for, putting off the slough of long-standing sin,

renewed in the youth o] the eagle, _ she hastens to approach
that heavenly banquet. She comes, therefore, and s_e-
ing the holy altar duly ordered, cries and says, Thou
hast prepared a table be]ore me. 3 She it is whom David
represents as the speaker, in the words, 4 The Lord is my
shepherd, and I shall not want. In a place o] pasture
there he hath placed me; by the water o] rest he hath
tended me. And below, For though I walk in the midst
o/the shadow o] death, I mill ]ear no evil; ]or thou art
with me : Thy rod and thy sta_, they have com]orted me.
Thou hast prepared a table be]ore me against them that
trouble me : Thou hast anointed my head with oil; and
Thy inebriating cup, how glorious it is 1
44. Now let us consider the following point, lest
" perchance any one, seeing the visible things (for those
that are invisible are not seen, nor can they be appre-
hended by human eyes) may say perchance, "For the
Jews God rained manna, B rained quails ; for the beloved
Church are these things which he has prepared, of which
it has been said, That which eye hath not seen nor ear
heard, and which hath not entered into the heart o] man,
the things whid_ God hath prepared ]or them that love
him." _
Therefore, that no one may say this, we wish with all

1 iPs. xliii. (xlii. Vulg.) 4. This psalm is often mentioned by

Ambrose in connexion with the Euchaxist, though the Intrail of
the Roman and Ambrosian rites belongs to a later date.
t Ps. eiii. (cii. Vulg.) 5.
s Ps, xxiiL (xxiL Vulg.) 5.
• Ps. xxiii. (xxii. Vulg.) I- 5. The rendering in verse 5 (" thy
inebriating cap . . ." )follows the LXX. There is a v.L "my
.cup" in this pa:s_ge, with which the text of de 3acram. v. 3. I3,
as m accord.
6 Ps. lxxviii. (kxvii. Vulg.)24; cf. Ex. xvL 4f. For the qnnil_
_ Ex. xvi. x3.
x Cot. iL 9- The reading diligentikus is Old Latin (Vulg.
eui diligunt), el. de Saeram. iv. 2, 25.
 ON THE MYSTERIES .65

earnestness to prove that the sacraments of the Church

are both older than those of the synagogue and more
excellent than manna is. "
45. That they are older is taught by the lesson from
Genesis which has been read. For the synagogue derived _"
its origin from the law of Moses. But Abraham is far
earlier ; who, when he had won the victory, defeating
the enemy and recovering his own nephew, was then
met by Melchizedek who brought /orth the gifts which
Abraham received with reverence: It was not Abra-
ham that brought them /orth, but Melchizedek, who
is represented as being without lather, without mother,
having neither beginning ot days nor end, but like unto
the Son o/ God; of whom Paul says in the Epistle to the
Hebrews that he abideth a priest continually, _ who in
the Latin version is called King o! righteomness, King o/
_e_e. 8
46. Do you not recognize who this is ? Can a man
be King o/ rigtaeousness, when he is hardly righteous
himself? Can he be King o/ peace when he can hardly
be peaceable ? It is he who is without ,nottwr, as touch-
ing his Godhead, because he was begotten of his Father
who is God, being o/ one" substance with the Father;
wi_n_t /atlwr, as touching his incarnation, for he was
born of the Virgin; not having beginning, and end,
because he is g_ beginning and the end 4 of all, the lirst

I Gem xlv. x7 f. The sacrifice of Melchizedek is constantly

referred to as a type of the Eucharist in Church writers from the
time of Cyprian onwards, and finds a place in the prayers of the
Canon of the Mass quoted in d¢ Sacram. iv. 6. z7. The incident
is also dealt with in de Sacram. iv. 3. xo, xz. Cf. also Ambrose,
_ Fitt¢, i_. IX. 87f.
a Heb. vii. 3. The attribution of the Epistle to St. Paul, which
first appears in Clement of Alexandria, became common ha the
East in the fourth century, and thence it spread into the West,
though doubts as to the authorship continued to be e.xptessed by
Western writers.
s Heb. vii. 2. • Rev. xxL 6.
E
66 ST. AMBROSE

and the last. 1 Therefore the sacrament which thou hast

received is not a human but a divine gift, brought ]arth 2
by him who blessed the father of faith, Abraham, whose
grace and actions thou admirest.
47- It has been proved that the sacraments of the
Church are older ; now learn that they are better. It
is indeed a wonderful thing that God should have
rained manna 3 for the fathers, and they were fed on
daily food from heaven. Whence it was said, Man did
eat angels' bread._ But yet all who did eat that bread
died in the wilderness; 6 this meat however, which thou
receivest, is the living bread which came down ]rom
heaven,e and furnisheth the substance of eternal life;
and whosoever eateth this, shall never die : _ and it is the
body of Christ.
48. Consider now whether the bread o] angels or the
flesh of Christ (which is indeed the body of life) is the
more excellent. That manna was "]rom heaven, this is
above heaven ; that was o] heaven, this is of the Lord
of the heavens; that was liable to corruption, if it was
kept for a second day ;s this is far removed from all
corruption, which whosoever shall taste devoutly, cannot
feel corruption. For them water flowed from the rock, °
for thee blood from Christ ; 10the water satisfied them for
a season, the blood cleanses thee for ever. The Jews
drank, and thirsted; thou when thou hast drunk, canst
not thirst. And that was in shadow, this is in reality.
49. If that which excites thy wonder is a shadow, how
great is that, the very shadow of which excites thy
wonder? Hear how that the things which happened

* Rev. xxii. 13. : An allusionto Gen. xiv. *8.

3 po. lxxviii. (lxxvii.Vulg.)_.4; ef. Ex. xvi. 4-
a Ps. lxxviii. (lxxvii.Vulg.) 25.
v ,9
_vi. 50, 5z.
• Ex. xvii.6. ,
: viEx. xvi. 2o.
s0Jm xix. 34..
 ON THE MYSTERIES 67

unto the fathers axe a shadow ; they drank, it says, o_ ,

the Rock that _ollowed them; and that Rock was Christ.
But with many o] them God was not well pleased : /or they
were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things
happened as a l_gure o] us.1 Thou hast learnt that
they axe more excellent. For the light is better than
the shadow, the reality is better than the figure, the
body of the Author and Giver is better than manna from
heaven.

CHAPTER IX
The changebywhich the elementsofbreadand wine becomethe Body
and Bloodof Christis effectedby Christ's wordsof insl_?ution.
Illustralionsfrom the miracles of the Old Testamentand the
Virgin Birth. The wonderandjoy of the Sacramentare set
forth in the languageof the Song of Songs.
50. PERCHANCEthou mayest say, "I see something
different; how dost thou claim that it is the body of
Christ which I receive?" It still remains for us to
prove this also. What precedents, then, shall we em-
ploy ? Let us prove that this is not what nature formed
but what the blessing consecrated, and that there is
greater force in a blessing than in nature, because by
a blessing even nature itself is changed.
5 x. Moses held a rod, he east it down, and it became a
serpent ; again ke took hold o/ the tail of the serpent, and
it returned to its natural state of a rod3 Dose thou, then,
see that both the serpent and the rod twice underwent
a change of nature by prophetic grace ? .The rivers of
Egypt ran with a pure flood of water ; suddenly blood
began to well out from the veins of their sources, and
there was naught that men could drink in the rivers.
• x Cor.x. 4-6. * Ex. iv. 3, 4.
68 ST. AMBROSE
P

Again at the prophet's prayer the blood in the rivers

ceased, the natural state of the waters came back.1 The
people of the Hebrews was everywhere surrounded, on
one side walled in by the Egyptians, on the other shut in
by the sea ; Moses lifted his rod, the water divided and
assumed the character of solid walls,a and a footway ap-
peared amid the waves. The Jordan tumed backward
contrary to nature and returnedto the source of its stream. 3
Is it not clear that the natural state both of the waves of
the sea and of the course of the river was changed?
The people of the fathers was thirsty, Moses touched
the rock, and water flowed from the rocE 4 Did not
grace act contrary to nature, so that the rock poured
forth water which it had not by nature. Marah was a
most bitter stream, so that the thirsty people could not
drink. Moses cast wood into the water, and the nature of
the water lost its bitterness which was tempered by a
sudden infusion of grace. 6 In the time of Elisha the
prophet one of the sons of the prophets had the iron
knocked off his axe, and straightway it sank. He who
had lost the axehead besought Elisha ; Elisha also cast
wood into the water, and the iron did swim. 6 Certainly
we know that this also took place contrary to nature ; for
iron is a heavier kind of thing than liquiil water._
52. We observe, therefore, that grace is of greater power
than nature; and yet it is only the grace of a prophet's
blessing of which we are so far taking account. But
if a human blessing was powerful enough to change
nature, what do we say of the divine consecration itself
i Ex. vii. 2o. The withdrawalof the plague is not recountedin
Exodus,but is addedby Ambroseon the analogyof Ex.viii. I2, 3o,
I "in murorumspecie congelavit." On Sl_eC_Ssee note on
ix. 52. The passagereferredto is Ex. xiv. 22. Ambrosemakesa
similarallusionto the inddent in a_ S2_ir.sancta,iii. 4. 22.
S'Josh.iii. 16. • Ex. xvii.6.
s F_,x.xv. 23-25. s _,Kingsvi. 4-6.
7 "graviorestenimferrispeciesquamaquarumliquor."
 ON THE MYSTERIES 69

where the very words of the Lord and Saviour act ? 1

For the sacrament which thou receivest, is consecrated _
by the word of Christ. But if the word of Elijah was
powerful enough to bring down fire from heaven, s will
not the word of Christ be powerful enough to change
the characters of the elements ? 4 Thou hast read of
the works of the whole creation that he spake the _ord,
and they _ere made; he commanded and they were created. 5
The word of Christ could make out of nothing that
which was not ; cannot it then change the things which
are into that which they were not ? For to give new
nat_es to things is quite as wonderful as to change their
natttres, a

x According to Ambrose and the author of de Saxramentis, the

consecration of the elements in the Eucharist is effected by the
recital of the words of institution. See Introd. p. xxxviii, and cf.
de Sacram. iv. 4. I4-x9.
s "Christi sermone conficitur." The word confwere is used in
classical Latinofthe "celebration" of sacred rites. In Latin Church
writers of the fourth century it is often used as a synonym of
consecrate. Strictly speaking, it is the elements which are "con-
secrated," but by a proleptic use that which the elements become
is made the object of the verb "to consecrate," and so Ambrose
speaks of "consecrating the body" of Christ (ix. 53, hoc quod
• ¢onf_imus ¢or_us ex virgine est),
• I Kings xix. 38.
"at species mutet elementorum." The word s_ecies denotes
the particular, special nature by which one kind of thing is dis-
tinguished from another. Cf. ix. 53, "in marorum specie conge-
lavit," "assumed the character of solid walls "; /b_., "gravior
est enim ferri species quam aquarum I quor, Iron is a heavier
kind of thing than liquid water" ; ix. 54, " alia species nomina-
tur," "another kind of thing is named." Ambrose probably in-
tends the words to represent the Greek term eIBos,which is used in
connexion with the change of the elements in the consecration of
the Eucharist by Gregory of Nyssa, Catec&tical Oration, ch. 37-
Elsewhere in this treatise _cies is used in the less technical sense
of _'form" or "appearance," see iv. 25, where Ambrose discusses
the application of the word to the dove at the Baptism ; and cf. de
•-,Cacram.iv. 4. 2o, "speciem saugul_is non v/deo," where sflecies
probably mem_ "the appearance" of blood.
• Ps. xxxiii. (xxxii. Vulg. ) 9.
s The argument, as in de Sacrara. iv. 4. 35, is that if it is pos-
bible for God to make something out of nothing, d forl/or/iris

.J
 70 ST. AMBROSE

,2 53. But why do we employ arguments ? Let us em-

ploy the proper examples, 1 and by the example of the
incarnation let us prove the truth of :the mystery. Did
the usage of nature precede when the Lord Jesus was
born of Mary ? If we look to the order of generation,
it usually results from the union of a woman with a man.
It is clear, therefore, that the Virgin gave birth contrary
to the order of nature. And this body which we conse-
crate is from the Virgin ; why do you seek the natural
order here in the case of the body of Christ, when the
Lord Jesus himself was born of the Virgin contrary to
nature ? It was certainly the true flesh of Christ which
, was crucified, which was buried ; truly, therefore, the
sacrament is a sacrament of that flesh.
54. The Lord _ Jesus himself cries, This is ray body. a
Before the blessing of the heavenly words another kind
of thing is named, 4 after consecration it is designated
"body." He himself speaks of his blood. Before
consecration it is spoken of as something else, after
consecration it is named "blood." And thou sayest,
"Amen," _ that is, it is true. What the mouth speaks let

possible for Him to make something into something else. By a

"new nature" then is meant one which does not succeed a former
or older nature, but is the first of its kind to exist.
i "suis utamur exemplis." Lit., "examples belonging to it-
self," or "examples belonging to the nature of the case." The
idea is that the mysteries of the Incarnation and the Sacrament
belong to the same order and are essentially the same.
• The word "Lord" (dorainus) before "Jesus" reflects the
Milanese practice of prefixing that title whenever the name of
Jesus was read in the Gospel The same practice prevailed in the
GalLicanrite and •till exists in the Ambrosmn rite at Milan.
• Mt. xxvi. 26 ; Mk. xiv. 22.
• "alia species nominatur." See note on ix. 5z for s_cies.
This response was probably made at the close of the Eucharistic
prayer (or Canon). Ambrose is writing at a time when the Canon
was recited aloud, and not silently, as was the later practice. In
de Sacram. iv. 5. 25 the .,,/men is ,that of the communicants on
reception of the sacrament.
 ON THE MYSTERIES 7I

the mind within confess ; what the speech utters let the
affections feel.
55. With these sacraments, therefore, Christ feeds his
Church ; by them the soul's very being is strengthened.
And, seeing her continuous growth in grace, he rightly
saith to her, How ]air are thy breasts become,my sister, my
spouse I how ]air are they become ]tom wine I and the
smell o] thy garments is better than all spices. Thy lips,
0 my spouse, are a dropping honeycomb ; milk and honey
are under thy tongue ; and the smell o/thy garments is like
the smell o] Lebanon. A garden endosed is my sister, my
spouse ; a garden enclosed, a ]ountain sealed,i Whereby
he signifies that the mystery should remain sealed with
thee, that it be not profaned by the works of an evil life
and the betrayal of chastity, that it be not divulged to
those for whom it is not meet, that it be not spread among
the unbelieving by babbling loquacity. Thou oughtest,
therefore, to keep a good watch over thy faith, that
an unblemished perfection of life and silence may be
mahatained.
56. Whence also the Church, guarding the deep and
heavenly mysteries, repels the fiercer storms of wind
and invites the sweetness of vernal grace ; and knowing
that her garden cannot displease Christ, she calls the
Spouse himself, saying, Arise, 0 north wind; and come,
thou south; blow upon my garden, and let my unguents
dot_. Let my brother come donm into his garden,
and eat the ]ruit o/ his ]ruit-trees._ For it hath good and
fi'uifful Uees, which have wet their roots with the stream
of the sacred fofit, arid have burst out into good fruit
from the bud of a new fertility, so that they are no

a Cant. iv. _to. Some MSS. readfar,urn distillant; others, as

in the text translatedabove,favus distillans. The latter Is the
"Vulgaterendering,to which the readingin the presentpassage
may have beenassimilated.
• Cant. iv. _6,v. x(Vulg.).
72 ST. AMBROSE

longer cut down with the axe of which the prophet

spoke,I but arefertilized with therichnessof the Gospel.
$7. Thus, too,the Lord, rejoicedby theirfruitfulness
answers, I have come into my garden, my sister, my spouse;
I have gathered my myrrh with my unguents ; I have eaten
fay ]ood _ith my honey ; I have drunk my drink with my
milk3 Why he speaks of food and drink, understand,
0 befiever. Nay, this is not doubtful. Thou hast read
that he tells us that in us he is in prison: even so in us
does he eatand drink, s
58. Whence also the Church seeing so great grace,
bids her sons, bids her neighbours come togetherto
the sacraments, saying, Eat, 0 my neighbours ; and drink
and be inebriated, my brethren. _ What we are to eat,
what we are to drink;the Holy Spirithath made clear
to thee els%where by the Prophet,saying,Tasteand see
that the Lord is good : blessed is the man that trustetk in
him. n Christ is in that sacrament, because it is the
body of Christ ; therefore it is not bodily food, but
spiritual. Whence also the Apostle says of the type of
it that our/others ate spiritual meat, and drank spiritual
drink, e For the body of God is a spiritual body ; the
body of Christ is the body of a divine Spirit, because
Christ is Spirit _ as we read, The spirit be/ore our/ace is
Christ the Lord. s And in the Epistle of Peter we have,

* Probably Ambrose has in mind Mt. iii. xo.

* Cant. v. I. The LXX. and Vulg. have "wine" t'or"drink."
* Mt. xxv. 36.
: Cant. v. x (following LXX).
Ps.xxxiv. 8 (xx,/ii. 9 Vulg.).
' *Cor. x. 3, 4.
7 In these wordsAmbrose wishes to guard against any materialistic
interpretation of the teaching given in the previous chapters. He
has in view such p_ges asJn. vi. 63, * Cot. xv. 44, z Cor. iiL x7.
Athanasius, 2_o. ad 5eraS. iv. :9, uses similar language.
s Lamentat{ons iv. _,o, which in'the LXX (here followed by the
Latin Versions)runs: "The Spirit of our fi/ce, Christ the Lord,
was taken in their destructions." The passage is frequently quoted
 ON THE MYSTERIES 73

Christ died ]or us. 1 Thus this meat strengthens our heart,
and this drink maketh glad the heart o/ man, _ as the
Prophet has declared.
59. Wherefore, having obtained all things, let us
recognize that we are regenerate. Nor let us say, " How
are we regenerate? Have we entered into our mother's
_omb, and been born again ? s I do not perceive the
usage of nature." But there is nothing of the natural
order here, where there is the excellency of grace.
Accordingly it is not always the usage of nature that
produces birth; we confess that Christ the Lord was
born of a Virgin, and we deny the order of nature. For
Mary did not conceive from a man; but she was with
child of the Holy Ghost, as Matthew says that she was
/ound with child o/ the Holy Ghost. 4 If, then, the Holy
Ghost, coming upon _ the Virgin effected conception, and
fulfilled the work of generation, surely we must not
doubt that, coming upon the font or upon those on
whom baptism is conferred, he effects the reality of
regeneration.

in early writers as Messianic. See Justin, .4p. i. 55 ; Iren., adv.

Haer. iii. Io. 2 ; Tertullian, adv. Marc. iii. 6 ; adv. Prct.x. 14.
a ! Pet. ii. zl, with "died" for "suffered." The link between
this _uotation and the preceding passage from Lamentations is
supphed by the reference to the Messiah being "taken in their
destructions" in that passage. This leads on to the thought of
the Passion.

,a Jn.
rs. _i,._ta.wig.)IsM
ill 4. t.i. I8. _ Lk. i. 35.
CONCERNING THE SACRAMENTS

BOOK I

CHAPTER I

W_y instrtution on the sacraments zvas deferred. Zhe "oyening

of the ears."

I. THE sacraments which you have received are the

theme of my discourse. To have given a reasoned
account of these earlier would not have been right; x
for in a Christian man faith is first. Therefore, at Rome a
the title of "faithful" is given to those who have been
baptized; and also our /uther Abraham was justified
by ]aith, not by works? So you received baptism, you
believed. For it is wrong for me to think otherwise ;
for thou wouldst not have been called to grace, had
not Christ thought thee worthy of his grace.
2. Therefore, what did we do on the Saturday ? What
but "the opening "? * Which mysteries of "opening"
were performed, when the priest s touched thine ears and
x C£ deAfyst. i. 2 (note).
• The reading "Romae" is found in most MSS. But the
obvious difficulty that the name "faithful" was not peculiar to
Rome suggests that there may be an error. Three MSS. read
rectonomine, and the Roman edition substitutes retie (" rightly").
: A summary of Rom. iv. 2, 3, 9.
C£ de 3ffryst.i. 3 (note).
s The following is the use of the titles of the ministry in this
work. "Deacon" is not used; its place is taken by "levite."
The word _Oresbyteris applied to the second order of the ministry.
The highest order is denominated alike "bishop" and "priest"
(sacerdos). In this chapter it is clear that "bishop" and
75
 76 THE TREATISE

nostrils. It is this which our Lord Jesus Christ indicates

in the Gospel, when a deal and dumb 1 man was brought
-to him, and he touched his ears and his mouth: the
ears, because he was deaf; the mouth, because he was
dumb : and said, Ephpheta. It is a Hebrew word, which
rendered into Latin is adaperire, that is, Be opened. The
reason, therefore, that the priest touched thine ears was
that thine ears might be opened to the discourse and the
address of the priest.
3- But thou sayest to me, "Why the nostrils?" In
that case, because he was dumb, he touched his mouth ;
that, since he could not speak heavenly mysteries, he
might receive utterance from Christ. Also, in that case
because it was a man ; in our case, because women are
baptized, and there is not the same purity in the servant a
as in the Lord (for what comparison can there be, when the
latter forgives sins, the former has his sins remitted ?), there-
fore, on account of the grace bestowed by his act and
office, the bishop touches not the mouth but the nostrils ;
that thou mayest receive a stoea savour of eternal godli-
ness, and that thou mayest say, For toe are a sweet savour
o/Christ unto God, 8 as the holy Apostle said; and there
may be in thee the full fragrance of faith and devotion.

cc priest
• ,, are the same person (c.f, § 3); and it appears that
throughout the book the word "priest" is applied only to the
bishop. This was the older practice (T.). We find, however,
occastonally in earlier times, e.g'. in Tertullian, an anticipation of
its later application to the presbyter, and this use of the term
became generally current in the West towards the close of the
fourth century. For the use of terms in d_ 2Ifyst. see note on iL 6.
I Mk. vii. 32 f. t Cf. de Myst. i. 4.
t _ Cot. ii. 15.
 ON THE SACRAMENTS 77

CHAPTER II

The unction before balMism. Of the renunciatlons_ and tt_edignity

of t_e offue of priests, mho were mitnesses of thn'r ba_tisnml
promi.res.
4. WE came to the font, thou didst enter. Consider
whom thou sawest; consider what thou saidst, recall it
carefully. A levite met thee, a presbyter met thee)
Thou wast anointed as Christ's athlete ; as about to
wrestle in the fight of this world, thou didst profess the
objects of thy wrestling. He who wrestles, has some-
thing to hope for ; where the contest is, there is the
crown. Thou wrestlest in the world, but thou art
crowned by Christ, and thou art crowned for contests
in the world ; for, though the reward is in heaven, yet
the earning of the reward is placed here.
5. When he asked thee, "Dost thou renounce the
devil and his works," what didst thou reply? "I re-
nounce." " Dost thou renounce the world and its
pleasures," what didst thou reply ? "I renounce." Be
mindful _ of thy words, and never let the contents of thy
bond pass from thy memory. If thou givest a man thy
note of hand, thou art held to be under acknowledgment
of receiving his money ; thou art held bound, and the
lender keeps thee to it, however unwilling thou mayest
be. If thou deniest, thou goest before the judge, and
there thou art convicted by thy bond.
• 6. Consider where thou didst promise, or to whom

a Cf. de Myst. ii. 6.

I This admonition is found in substance as a fomula in the
Milaoese Ordo of Beroldus (Magistretti, p. 9z), aJhd the Manuale
Ambrosianum (Magistretfi, II. 467). See Thompson, Offces oA
Bdptism and Confirmation, p. Iz9. It is not quoted in the
parallel passage, de Myst. ii. 5. Mr. W. C. Bishop suggests to me
that the words may have been introduced into the later Ambrosian
rite from de Sacrum. on the assumption that that work was com-
posed by Ambrose and that the words describe a part of the service.
78 THE TREATISE

thou didst promise. Thou sawest a levite. But he is

the minister of Christ; thou hast seen him ministering
at the altar. Therefore, thy note of hand is kept, not
on earth, but in heaven. Consider where thou receivest
the heavenly mysteries. If the body of Christ is here,
the angels are stationed here also. Where the body is,
there also are the eagles,1 hast thou read in the Gospel.
Where the body of Christ is, there also the eagles are
wont to fly, that they may shun earthly things, pursue
heavenly.
7. Why do I say this ? Because men also are angels,
whosoever proclaim Christ, and seem to be admitted
into the place of angels. How ? Take the case of the
Baptist. John was born of a man and a woman. Yet.hear
how even he is an angel : Behold, 1 send my angel be/_e
thy [ace_ and he shall prepare thy way be/ore thee: Take
another passage of the prophet Malachi : For the priest's
lips keep knmdSdge, and they seek the law at his mouth :
/or he is the angel o/ God Almighty. s These things are
said to extol the dignity of the priest, not to claim
anything for personal meritsA
8. Therefore, thou hast renounced the world, thou
hast renounced this life. Be careful. A man who owes
money is always considering his bond. And thou who
owest faith to Christ, keep faith, which is much more
precious than money; for faith is an eternal possession,
money a temporal. And, therefore, always remember
what thou hast promised, and thou wilt be. more cautious.
If thou keepest thy promise, thou wilt keep also thy
bond.
x Mt. xxiv.28 ; Lk. xvii.37.
s Mal.iii. I. There is a play on the word angeluswhich may
meaneither"messenger"or "angel."
t_Hal. ii. 7. Cf.de #fyst. ii, 6, • Cf. deMyst. v. 27.
 ON THE SACRAMENTS 79

CHAPTER III
In the bajOtlsmal rite there war more than a_O_Oeared
go the
outward eye.

9. THEir thou drewest near ; x thou sawest the font,

thou sawest also the priest above the font. Nor can I
doubt, that this may have occurred to your mind, which
occurred to the Syrian Naaman ; for, although he was
cleansed, yet he doubted previously. Why ? I will tell ;
listen.
xo. Thou didst enter, thou sawest the water, thou
sawest the priest, thou sawest a levite. Let not some
. one haply say, "Is this all ?" Yes, it is all. It is truly

,all is sanctification. Thou hast seen all that thou couldst

/_ all,z where all is innocency, all is godliness, all is grace,
,. see" with the eyes of thy body and with human vision.
Thou hast not seen the things which are effected, because
they cannot be seen. The things which are not seen
are far greater than those which are seen; since the
things which are seen are temporal, the things which are
not seen are eternal, s

CHAPTER IV
The sacraments o1e Christians are nwre divine, attd earlier, than
those of the Jews. The meaning of the Passover.

z z. THEREFOVa_,let us say this first (hold my words

as a pledge, and exact full payment). We marvel at
• With this and the following section cf. de Myst. iii. 8.
2 Mr. Colson suggests that, as the author in what follows con-
tends that what is visible to the eye is not all that is involved in
baptism, a negative answer is required. By removing the full stop
after Immo est totum we get the sense, "No, the whole, the true
whole, is where all is innoeeney."
Z Cor. iv. z8. For the quotation ef. de ,_fyst. iii. 8.
 8o THE TREATISE

the mysteries of the Jews, which were given to our

fathers, pre-eminent first in the antiquity of their sacra-
ments, then in their holiness. This I promise, that the
sacraments of Christians are more divine and older than
those of the Jews:
r2. What stands out so much as the fact that the
people of the Jews passed through the sea ? 2--to speak for
_e present of baptism. Yet the Jews who passed through
all died in the wilderness. But he who passes through
this font, that is from earthly to heavenly things--for
this is the "passing over, "3 therefore, pascha, that is,
his passover, a passing over from sin to life, from guilt
to grace, from defilement to sanctification--he who
passes through this font, d_es not, but rises again.

CHAPTER V
Thestory
ofNaamau,andthebalhtism
ofChrist.
x3" TO resume, Naaman was a leper:A certain maid
• said to his wife, "If my lord wishes to be cleansed, let
him go into the land of Israel, and there he will find
him who can take the leprosy from him." She spoke
to her mistress, the wife spoke to her husband, Naaman _
spoke to the king of Syria, who sent him as his favourit¢_,-1
to the king of Israel: The king of Israel heard that a
man had been sent to him to be cured of his leprosy,
t Cf.d_gyst. Yd.
9 (init.).
* I Cor. x. I. Cf.a_ Myst. Hi.x2,whichis here expanded,
• A referenceto Ex. xii. xt, where the Latin has "est enim
Phase(id eat tramitus)domini." Cf. also Ex. xii. 27, "vicfima
_itus dominieat, quandotzansivitsuper domos filiorumIsrael
in h_egypto." But the passagesin Exodus refer to a "passing
over" by "sparing" ; the author applies "pass-over" (transil_)
 ON THE SACRAMENTS 8I

and he rent his garment. Then Elisha the prophet

charges him : "Where/ore hast thou rent thy garment, as
if God were not able to cleanse a leper ? Send him to
me." He sent him, and, when he came, the prophet
said, "Go to Jordan, dip, and thou shalt be healed."
x4. He began to reflect and to say : "Is this all ? I
have come from Syria into the land of Judah, and I am
told, Go and descend into Jordan, dip, and thou shalt
be healed, as if there were not better rivers in my native
land." So his servants said to him, "My lord, why dost
thou not carry out the word of the prophet ? Do it
rather, and make trial." Then he went to Jordan,
dipped, and arose whole.
x5. What, then, does it mean? Thou sawest water.
But it is not all water that heals, but that water heals
which has the grace of Christ. "The element is one
thing, the consecration is another; the work is one
thing, the working another. The water is the work, x
the working is of the Holy Spirit. Water does not heal,
unless the Spirit has descended and consecrated that
water; as thou hast read that, when our Lord Jesus
Christ was giving the pattern of baptism, he came to
John; and John said to him, "l have need to be baptized
o] thee, and r.omest _ to me Y" Christ answered him,
"Buyer it now: /or thus it becoraetk us to /ullll all
righteo_ness." 2 See how all righteousness is based on
baptism.
x6. Why, then, did Christ descend, unless that that
flesh might be cleansed, the flesh which he took of our
nature ? For the washing away of his sins was not
necessary for Christ, who did no sin; a but it was neces-
sary for us who remain subject to sin. Thereforei if
I "Work" (o1_s) is here used, somewhat strangely, for the
"matter" of the s_rament (T.). The, sentence is omitted by
some MSS.
• Mr. iii. 14, iS. • I Pet. ii. 22.
F
82 THE TREATISE

baptism is for our sake, a pattern has been established

for us, the pattern of our faith has been set forth.
x7. Christ descended, John stood by baptizing, and,
lo, the Holy Ghost descended as a dove.t It was not a
dove that descended, but as a dove. Remember what
I said, Christ took flesh, not as it were flesh ; but it
was the reality of that flesh, real flesh, which Christ
took. The Holy Spirit, however, descended from heaven,
not in the reality of a dove, but in the likeness of a dove.
Therefore, John saw and believed.
i8. Christ descended, the Holy Spirit also descended.
Why did Christ descend first, the Holy Spirit afterwards,
since the form and practice of baptism provides that the
font should be consecrated first, and then the person to
be baptized should descend ? For as soon as the p.riest
enters, he makes an exorcism 2 over the element of water,
afterwards he offers an invocation and a prayer, that the
font may be consecrated, and the presence of the eternal
Trinity may come down. But Christ descended first,
the Spirit followed. For what reason ? That the Lord
Jesus might not seem himself as it were to need the
mystery of sanctification ; but that he might sanctify, and
the Spirit also sanctify.
x9. Therefore Christ descended into the water, and
the Holy Spirit descended as a dove. Also God the
Father spake from heaven. _ Thou hast the presence of
the Trinity. a

t Mt. iii. I6 ; Mk. i. Io ; Jn. i. 3z. Cf. de Myst. iv. 24, _5-
On the consecradonof the fontsee Introd. p. xxii.
* Cf. de gyst. v. 26.
 ON THE SACRAMENTS 83

CHAPTER VI
Ba:ti_n prefigured in the crossingof the Red Sea and in t'/testory
of the Flood.
uo. "AGAIn, that there was a figure of our baptism in
the Red Sea 1 is asserted by the Apostle, when he says
that our /athers were all baptized in the cloud and in the
sea? And he added, Now all these things happened unto
them by way o] _gure; 3 to them in a figure, but to us in
reality. Then Moses held his rod: the people of the
Jews had been shut in ; on one side the Egyptian
pressed on with arms, and on the other side the
Hebrews were shut in by the sea. They could neither
cross the seas, nor return to the enemy. They began to
nlurn-lnr. 4

2 L See that it tempt thee not, that they were heard.

Although the Lord heard, yet they are not without fault
who murmured. It is thy duty, when thou art in a strait,
to believe that thou wilt escape, not to murmur; to
appeal, to entreat, not to utter complaint.
22. Moses held his rod, and led the people of the
Hebrews at night in a pillar of light, and in the day in
a p///ar o! e/oud.5 What is the light but truth, since it
sheds a full and open brightness ? What is the pzT/arof
light but Christ the Lord, who scattered the shadows
of unbelief, and poured the light of truth and spiritual
grace on human hearts ? The tnTlar o] cloud, on the
other hand, is the Holy Spirit. The people was in the
sea, and the p///ar of light went on before ; then the
o[ doud followed, as if the shadowing of the Holy
Spirit. Thou see.st that by the Holy Spirit and by the
water he has shown a type of baptism.
C£ de Myst. ifi. x2.
• I Cor. x. 2. • I Cot. x. Ix.

• See Ex. xiv. 9L 5 Ex. xii/.ux f.; xiv. xg0uo.

= ,- . (
84 THE TREATISE ON THE SACRAMENTS

• 3. As early as the flood 1 there was also a figure-of

baptism, and, certainly, the mysteries of the Jews did
not as yet exist.. Therefore, if the figure of our baptism
preceded, thou seest that the mysteries of the Christians
are earlier than were those of the Jews.
24. But meanwhile, in view of the weakness of our
voice _ and the consideration of the time at our disposal,
let us content ourselves to-day with just having touched
the mysteries concerning the holy font. To-morrow, if
the Lord shall grant strength and ability to speak, I will
declare them more fully. It behoves your holiness a to
have your ears prepared, your mind the more ready,
that you may be able to retahl what we may gather from
the course of the Scriptures, and shall declare unto you,
that you may have the grace of the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Spirit, to which Trinity belongs an everlasting
kingdom, from all ages, both now, and always, and for
ever and ever.

• See for this ii. I. I below.

t There is a similar reference to "weakness of voice" in the
Al_Ologfad)az4d altera (v, 29). But the work is not a genuine
work of Ambrose, and bears (ace. to Bardenhewer, Ges¢_. do"
altMrcM. Zitt. III. 536) much the same relation to the genuine
A_ol. Z)azdd as de Sacran_. bears to de Myst.
• "Your holiness" (sanc¢ita__¢stra) is here a title addressed to
the congregation, not to an individual (T.).

I
 BOOK II

CHAPTER I
Further illustralion f_om the story of the Plaaa. Of the baptisms
of heathen atut fems.

x. YESTERDAYwe began to expound how in the flood

also there was a prefiguring of baptism. What is the
flood, but that in which the righteous is saved to be
a seed-plot of righteousness, while sin dies ? Therefore,
when the Lord saw that the transgressions of mankind
were multiplied, he saved the righteous one alone with
his offspring, but he bade the water rise even above the
mountains. And therefore, in that flood all corruption .
of the flesh perished, only the family and pattern of the
righteous survived. Is not the flood the same thing as
baptism, whereby all sins are washed away, only the
mind and grace of the righteous is revived ? 1
2. There are many kinds of baptisms : but the Apostle
cries, one baptism.* Why ? There are baptisms of the
Gentiles, but they are no baptisms. 8 They are baths,
baptisms they cannot be. The flesh is washed, but guilt
is not washed away ; nay, it is contracted in that bath.
There were, however, baptisms of the Jews, some super-
fluous, others figurative. And the mere figure helps us,
since it is the herald of reality.
a For this paragraph el. I Pet. iii. 2of., mad Gen. vi. vii. IT.).
Eph. iv. 5._. deMya¢.iv. _3, andnote.
Withthis
85
86 THE TREATISE

CHAPTER II
The healingo/the paralytic at thepool of Bethesda.
3. WHAT was read yesterday ? x An angel, it says,
went down at a certain season into the pool, and, so often
as the angel descended, the mater was troubled : and
whosoever _rst descended, was made whole o/ every disease
whatsoever he had. 2 Which signifies a figure of our Lord
Jesus Christ who was to come.
4. Why an angel ? Because he himself is the Angel
o/ Great Counsel s At a certain season, because he was
kept till the last hour, that he might catch the day at
its setting, and delay its setting. 4 Therefore, as often
as the angel descended, the water was troubled. Thou
sayest perchance: "Why is it not troubled now?"
Learn why. Signs for the unbelieving, faith for believers
5. Whosoever _rst descended, was made whole o/ every
sickness. What is the meaning of lgrst _ 5 Does it mean
in time, or in honour ? Understand in both ways. It
it means he who descended l_rst in time was made whole
first, it signifies the people of the Jews, as opposed to
the people of the Gentiles. If it means he who descended
/irst in honour, that signifies that he who had the fear of
God, the love of righteousness, the grace of charity,
and the desire of purity, he rather was made whole. Yet
at that time one only was made wkole ; at that time, I
say, by way of figure he who first descended was alone
x Cf. de lhryst,iv. 2s. On the system of lessonsindicatedin this
book see Introd.p. xxvik
Jn. v. 4- See note de Mryst.iv. u2, and Introd.p. xli.
A referenceto Isai_, ix. 6, accordingto the LXX.
t For this]dea cf. Ambros-.,de Abrahami. 50.
6 Readingquid eatprior. Some MSS. readgui for fuid. In
that case qui is relative,not interrogative,and the mean/ngwill
be "He who is first,is he firstin time or .inhonour?_'
 ON THE SACRAMENTS 87

healed. How much greater is the grace of the Church,

wherein all are saved, whosoever descend !
6. But observe the mystical sense. Our Lord Jesus
Christ came to the pool ; many sick were lying there.
And, naturally, there were many sick lying there, where
only one was healed. Then he saith to the sick of the
palsy, "Descend." He saith, "1 have no man." x Con-
sider where thou art baptized. _ What source can there
be for baptism, save the cross of Christ, the death
of Christ? Herein is the whole mystery, in that he
suffered for thee. In him thou art redeemed, in him
thou wilt be saved.
7. "1 have no man," he said: that is, since by man
came death, by man came also the resurrection o] the dead.3
He could not descend, he could not be saved, who did
not believe that our Lord Jesus had taken flesh of the
V'mgin. But this man who was looking for the mediator
between God and men, the man Jesus Christ, 4 waiting for
him of whom it was said, And the Lord shall send a man
who shall save them,S--he said, "I have no man" ; and
therefore he deserved to attain to health, because he
believed in one who was to come. Yet he mould have
been better and more perfect, if he had believed that
he whose coming he hoped for had already come.

CHAPTER IH
Theinier_Jrrttalion
of the "ra_Otivemaid" in the story of Naaman.
Summary of typesalreadyindicaled.
8. NOW look at the types one by one. We said that
baptism was prefigured in the Jordan, when Naaman
* Jn. v. 7. Thereis nothingin the Gospelparallelto the wo,d
"descend." The writeris quotingfrommemory.
* i. e. underwhat circumstances.
s z Cor. xv. ao. The reading"qu_ per hominem" is an Old
Latin rex_teringfor Vulg. quoniaraeniraper luwa.
t _tThn. ii. S. 6 Is. xix, 2o, followingthe LXX.

• , x

>.,,
88 THE TREATISE

the leper was cleansed. Who is that captive maid, but

one who had the likeness of the Church, and exhibited a
figure of it ? 1 For the people of the nations was captive.
It was captive: I do not mean a captivity under some
hostile people ; but I mean that captivity which is worse,
when the devil and his minions rule with cruel sway,
and subject to themselves the captive necks of sinners.
9. Therefore thou hast one baptism here, _another
in the flood ; thou hast a third kind when the fathers
were baptized in the Red Sea; thou hast a fourth kind
in the pool, when the water was troubled. Now I ask
thee whether thou oughtest not to believe that thou
hast the presence of the Trinity in this baptism which
is administered in the Church.

CHAPTER IV

Our I_rd's com_nd to balbt_e. JVurther 0.1. O'_esofbat_tism.

XO. IT is, then, the same baptism which our Lord

Jesus Christ speaks of in his Gospel to the Apostles:
Go, baptize all nations in the name o! the Father, and o/
the Son, and o/the Holy Ghost. s This is the word of the
Saviour.
x x. Tell me, O man. Elijah called fire from heaven,
and fire came down from heaven, s Elisha called on
the name of the Lord, and the axe-head which had sunk
came up out [of the water, i Here is another kind of
baptism. Why ? Because every man before baptism is
weighed down like iron, and sinks: when he has been

a For thls..a.pplicationsee de M'yst. i_. x8.

Nit. xxvm. x9.
x Kings xix. 38, quoted in tt different connexion in de l_yst.
ix. 52.
• 2. Kings vi. 4-6, quoted in a different conuexionj dc M'yst.
ix. 5I.
 ON THE SACRAMENTS 89

baptized he is no longer like iron, but now rises like

the fruit-bearing wood, which is a lighter kind of thing. 1
Therefore in this instance there is also another figure.
The axe was that with which wood was cut down. The
haft fell from the axe, that is, the iron sank. The son
of the prophet knew not what to do ; but this alone he
knew, to ask the prophet Elisha and to demand help.
Then he cast in wood, and the iron was raised. Dost
thou see, therefore, how the weakness of all men is
raised on the cross of Christ ?
12. Another example--though we are not keeping to
our order, for who can recount all the deeds of Christ, as
the Apostles said ?" When Moses came into the desert
and the people thirsted, and came to the spring of
Marah, and wished to drink water (because, as soon as
they drew, they tasted the bitterness, and began to be
unable to drink), therefore Moses cast wood into the
spring, and the water which previously was bitter began
to be sweet, s
x3. What does it mean, but that every creature is sub-
ject to corruption, that water is bitter to all. Although
it is sweet for a time, although it is pleasant for a time,
yet it is bitter, since it cannot take away sin. When
thou hast drunk, thou wilt thirst; when thou hast
imbibed the sweetness of the draught, thou wilt taste
its bitterness. Water, therefore, is bitter. But when
thou hast received the cross of Christ, 4 and the heavenly

z .,, sed tanquam iam levior ftuctuosi ligni species elevatur." On

sptcits see note, a_ Myst. ix. 5z.
: cf. jn. _. 25.
Ex. xv. 23 f. For this and the following section see d¢ Myst.
iii. x4.
t Probably a reference to the signing of the catechumen with the
cross, as in d_ Myst. iv. 2o (see note). In the passage of a_ Mj_st.
(iii. x4), parallel to this section, the symbolism of the inddent is
Plied to the signing of the water at the consecration of the font.
e note there.)
90 THE TREATISE

sacrament, it begins to be sweet and pleasant; and

rightly sweet, because guilt is thereby cancelled. There-
fore, if baptisms by way of figure could do so much, how
much more can baptism in reality do ?

CHAPTER V.
The _resenc¢ of ttte ttoly Trinity its baptism is vindicated. The
S20irit at tht Bahtism of Christ and on the day of 2Venteeost
manifested by outward signs to convince unbelievers.

x4. Now, then, let us consider. The priest comes ;

he says a prayer at the font ; he invokes the name of the
Father, the presence of the Son and of the Holy Ghost;
he uses heavenly words: What heavenly words ? They
are those of Christ, that we should baptize in the name o]
the Father, and o the Son, and o! the Holy Ghost.* If,
therefore, at the word of men, at the invocation of a saint,
the presence of the Trinity came down, how much more
does it come where the eternal word is acting ? Do you
wish to know that the Spirit descends? Thou hast
heard that he descended as a dove? Why as a dove
That unbelievers might be called to belief. In the begin-
ing there had to be a sign, later there ought to be the
fulfilment.
t5. Take another example. After the death of our
Lord Jesus Christ the Apostles were in one place, and
they were praying on the day of Pentecost. And suddenly
there came a great sound as i/ the Spirit were carried
along with great violence, and there appeared divided
tongues as o]l_re.4 What does this mean, but the descent
a Cf. with this the account of the eomeeration of the font in
Myst. iii. 8, _4- There is no mention of the exorcism, which
however is found in later Milaneseand in Gallican book_ See
Thompson,Off,teaof Baa_tismand Confirmatwu,p. x3o.
a Mt. xxviii, x9. 8 Mr.iii. z6; Mk. L ,o ; Jn. i. 32-
' Acn iL x-3.
 ON THE SACRAMENTS 9I

of the Holy Spirit, who wished to show himself to un-

believers in bodily form also ; that is in bodily form by a
sign, spiritually by a sacrament ? Therefore, there was
given an evident proof of his coming. But to us is now
offered the privilege of faith. For in the beginning
signs were shown for unbelievers ; now in the fulness of
the Church we must gather truth not by a sign, but by
faith.

CHAPTER VI
The Fall and its consequences. T_eredonaOh've
Kraceof baptism.
*6. Now let us examine what it is which is called
baptism. Thou camest to the font, thou wentest down
in it; thou didst watch the high priest, thou didst see the
levites and the presbyter in the font. 1 What is baptism ?
x7. In the beginning our God made man, so that, if
he did.not taste sin, he would not surely die. a He com-
mitted sin, he became subject to death, he was driven
out of Paradise. But the Lord, who wished his benefits
to endure, who wished to destroy all the wiles of the
serpent, and also to root out everything harmful, first
gave sentence upon the man, Earth thou art, and unto
ea_qh thou shall go ;_ and he made man subject to
death. It was a Divine sentence ; it could not]be paid
by human means. A remedy was granted that man
should die, and rise again. Why? In order that the
thing which had been previously counted as a condem-
nation, might be counted as a benefit. What is that
thing but death ? Thou askest how. Because death
interveming makes an end of sin. For when we die, we
certainly cease to sin. Therefore, the sentence seemed
satisfied, because man who had been made to live, on
• Cf.deM.rst. iL 6,8. • t Geff.L x; il. xT.
*-Gen.iii. 19.
92 THE TREATISE

condition that he did not sin,was beginning to die.

But, in order that the continual.goodness of God might
endure, man died, but Christ found the resurrection,
thatis,a way to restorethe heavenlybenefitwhich had
been lostby the serpent'sguile. Each, therefore, is
for our good, since death is the end of sins, and the
resurrection isthe refashioning of our nature. I
I8. Nevertheless, that the craft or guile of the devil
might not prevail in this world, baptism was devised.
Concerning which baptism hear what the Scripture saith,
nay, the Son of God, that the _Pharisees who would not
be balbgized with ghe baptism of John, rejeaed the counsd
of God. 2 Therefore, baptism is the counsel of God.
How great is the grace, where there is the counsel of God.
xg. Hear, therefore. In order that the bands of the
devil might be loosed in this world also, a means was
found that man might die while living, and while living
rise again. What is "living"? It is the living life of
the body, when it came to the font, and was dipped
into the font. What is water, but from the earth?
Therefore, the heavenly sentence is satisfied without the
insensibility which death brings. Thy dipping paid that
sentence, Earth lhou art, and unto earth thou shall go; a
the sentence fulfilled, there is room for the heavenly
benefit and remedy. So then, water is from the earth ;
Moreover the conditions of our life did not allow that we
should be covered with earth, and rise from the'ea_rth;
further, it is not earth, but water, that washes. There-
fore the font is, as it were, a burial. 4

• The teaching of this passage on the place of death and the

resurrection in the Divine economy •how• the influence of Greek
theology, and recalls the similar teaching of Methodius and Gregory
of Nyssa.
• Lk. vii. 3o. ' Gem iii. z9.
4 This exposition of the significance of baptism againfinds a
close parallel in Eastern theologians, e.g. Cyril of Jerusalem, Cat.
Myst. ii. 4- 5 ; Gregory of Nyssa_ Or. Cat. 35.
 ON THE SACRAMENTS 93

CHAPTER Vll
2"hethreefoldconfessionof faith and the threefold immersion in
ba_Otism
dvscribedand exsVlained. The unctionafter baptism.
20. Thou wast asked, 1 "Dost thou believe in God the
Father Almighty?" Thou saidst, "I believe," and '
didst dip, that is, thou wast buried. Again thou wast
asked, "Dost thou believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, and
in his Cross ?" Thou saidst, "I believe," and didst dip ;
therefore, thou wast also buried with Christ; 2 for he who
is buried with Christ, rises again with Christ. A third
time thou was asked, "Dost thou believe also in the
Holy Ghost ?" Thou saidst, "I believe," and didst dip
a third time, that the triple confession might absolve the
manifold fall of thy former life.
2x. Thus (that we may give you an example), after the
holy Apostle Peter seemed to have fallen during the
Lord's passion by the weakness of human nature, he who
had previously denied was afterwards thrice asked by
Christ if he loved Christ, that he might cancel and
annul that fall. Then he said, "Thou knowest, Lord,
that I love Thee." s He said it thrice, that he might be
thrice absolved, a
22. Therefore, the Father forgives sin, just as the
Son forgives ; likewise also the Holy Ghost. But he
bade us be baptized in one name, that is, in the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Wonder not that he spoke of one name, when there is
one Substance, one Divinity, one Majesty. This is the
a Withthis sectioncf. de Myst, v. 2I_28.
s Rosa. vi. 4; Col. ii. x2.
" ]n. xxi. xsf.
* There is a similarapplication in Ambrose,dc S_ir. sancto,
ii. xo.zos.
94 THE TREATISE

name of which it was said, Wherein all must be saved, x

In this name ye have all been saved, ye have been
restored to the grace of life. _
23. Therefore the Apostle cries, as you have heard in
the lesson just read, that whosoever is baptized, is bap-
tized .in the death of Jesus. s What is in the death ? It
is that, as Christ died, so thou also shouldst taste of
death; that, as Christ died unto sin, and liveth unto
God, t so thou also shouldst he dead unto the former
allurements of sins through the sacrament of baptism,
and shouldst rise again through the grace of Christ. It
is a death, therefore; but not a death in the reafity of
bodily death, but in the likeness. For when thou
dippest thou takest on the likeness of death and burial,
thou reeeivest the sacrament of that cross, because
Christ hung on the cross, and his body was pierced
with nails. Therefore, when thou art crucified, thou
clearest to Christ; thou clearest to the nails of our
Lord Jesus Christ; let not the devil be able to tear
thee away. Let the nail of Christ hold thee fast, seeing
that the weakness of human nature is seeking to call
thee back.
24. Therefore thou didst dip, thou camest to the
priest. 6 What did he say to thee ? "God the Father
Almighty," he saith, "who hath regenerated thee by water
and the Holy Ghost, and hath forgiven thee thy sins,
himself anoint thee unto eternal life." e See whereunto
thou art anointed ; "unto eternal life," he saith. Do
t Cir. Acts iv. 12. t An allu_ion to I Pet. iii. 7.
s Rom. vi. 3, freely quot ,ed. • Rom. vi. _o.
s On the word ".priest ' (s_erdos)i used here to denote the
bishop see note on i. x. 2. Cf. the parallel passagein de 3(Vst.
vl, 29.
• This prayer,with slightvariations,is foundin the two Roman
Sacramentaries,the Gregorian(Muratori,Lit. Ram. Yet. ii. 65 ;
Wilson, H.B.S., p. 57),and the Gelesian(Wil_n, p. 86); also in
the Missale Gallit_ _ttus (Mttmtori,ii. 74z),andin the Bobbio
Missal(Muratori,il. 85I).
 ON THE SACRAMENTS 95

not set this life before that life. For example, if any
foe arise, if he wishes to take away thy faith, if he
threatens death to make some one transgress, see what
thou choosest. Do not choose that wherein thou
wast not anointed, but choose that wherein thou wast
anointed, so as to prefer eternal life to temporal life,
through Christ our Lord.--AMEN.
 BOOK III

CHAPTER 1
Ttw signiflcane¢ of the unction u_on tke luad, and t_e raeaning
"regeneration." T_t¢ wasMng of ttie fect of grit nezoly-baptized
is defended and exj#laintd.

x. YESTERDAYwe discoursed on the font, whose

appearance is somewhat like that of a tomb in shape; x
into which, believing in the Father and the Son and
the Holy Ghost, we are received, and plunged, and
emerge, that is, we are raised up. Moreover, thou
receivest myron, _ that is, ointment upon the head. Why
upon the head ? Because the senses o] a wise man are
in his heads says Solomon. For wisdom is lifeless
without grace; but when wisdom has received grace,
then its work begins" to be perfect. This is called
regenerationA
e. What is regeneration? Thou readest in the Acts
of the Apostles that the verse which is found in the
second Psalm, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten
thee, appears to refer to the resurrection. For the holy
Apostle Peter in the Acts of the Apostles interpreted it
thus, that at the time that the Son rose from the dead,
a The font in early times, was sunk into the floor of the baptistery;
it was often square, and thus resembled one class of tombs (T.).
t #_pov; oil mingled with-balsam ; it is employed for the unction
after baptism (T.). For the quotation, cp. de Mysg. vi. 29.
i Eccl. il. 14. The passage is quoted more correctly,in de Myst.
vi. 3o. Here the writer, as often, develops the ideas su_ested by
de 2ttryster/is, and connects the unction with the gift of wisdom.
• On the relation of the unction to baptism and confirmation see
Introd. pp. xxv f.
96

.IE.."
 THE TREATISE ON THE SACRAMENTS 97

the Father's voice rang out, Thou art my Son, tMs day
have I begotten thee3 _Vhence he is also called the first-
born Item the dead. _ Therefore, what is resurrection,
but when we rise from death to life? So, therefore,
in baptism also, since there is a likeness of death, with-
out doubt when thou dost dip and rise again, there is
a likeness of the resurrection. Rightly, therefore, accord-
ing to the interpretation of the Apostle Peter, as that
resurrection was a regeneration, so also is this resurrection
a regeneration.
3. But what dost thou mean by this dipping in the
water ? Is it for this reason that thou art perplexed, 3
that hesitation possesses thee ? Certainly, we read, Let
the earth bring forth ]rein hersel] .]full that springs up.
Likewise also thou hast read of the waters, Let the waters
bring /orth h_ing creatures, and living• creatures were
born.4 And those, indeed, were in the beginning of
creation ; but for thee it has been reserved that water
should regenerate thee to grace, as it generated those
others to life. Imitate the fish, which, though it has
obtained less grace, yet shbuld fill thee with wonder. It
is in the sea, and above the waves; it is in the sea, and
swims over the billows. In the sea 'the storm rages,
the winds howl ; but the fish swims, it does not gink,
because it is wont to swim. Therefore this world is
a sea to thee also. It has divers billows, heavy waves,
fierce, storms. And do thou be a fish, that the wave
of the world sink thee not. Well, however, does the
Father say to the Son, This day have I begotten thee ;
that is, when thou didst redeem the people, when thou "

t The passage,hereattributedto St. Peter,is foundin St. Paul's

•speechat Antiochof Pisidia(Actsxiii. 33)-
t CoLi. x8.
• _regrinaris. Cf. I Pet. iv. x2 (Vulg.), nolite peregrinariin
fcrvol_;
* See Gen.i. xl, 20. Both passagesarequotedinexactly.
G
 98 THE TREATISE

didst call them to the kingdom of heaven, when thou

didst fulfil my will, thou didst prove thyself to be my
son.

4- Thou camest up out of the font. What followed ? z

Thou hast heard the lesson. The high priest was girt
up (for though presbyters also carried it out, yet the
ministry is begun by the-high priest), the high priest, I
say, was girt up, and washed thy feet. What is this
sacrament ? = Doubtless tliou hast heard that when the
Lord had washed the feet of the other disciples, He
cometh to Peter; a and Peter saith to him, Dost thou wash
my ]eet ? That is, Dost thou, the Lord, wash the feet of
the servant? Dost thou, the spotless, wash my feet?
Dost thou, the maker of the heavens, wash my feet?
Thou hast this in another place also. He cometh to
John, and John saith to him, "I have need to .be bap-
tized o] thee, and ¢omest thou to me ?" * I am a sinner,
and dost thou come to me a sinner, that thou mayest
as it were lay down thy sins who hast done no sin ? _ See
all righteousness, e see the humility, see the grace, see the
sanctification : v Unless I wash thy Jeer, he saith, thou wilt
have no part with me. s
5. We axe not ignorant that the Roman Church has
not this" custom. Her type and form we follow in all
things ; however she has not this custom of washing the

a With this section el. de Myst. vi. 3I, with note. See also
Introd. p. xxiv.
t The word used is $_sterium, which-is here equivalent to
"merament" ha the wider sense (T.).
• Jn. xiii. 6. 4 Mt. iii. x4.
= x Pet. ii. 22. e Mt. iii. x5.
The clause is somewhat compressed. The meaning is :--See
how "all righteousness" is fulfilled in both examples ; see the
humility displayed by our Lord ; see the grace and sanctifying
virtue of this sacrament. Santtiflcatio is used, as below in § 5, for
the virtue and effect of a sacrament (T.).
= Jn. xiii. 8. The form of the quotation agrees with that found
.in the parallel passage, de M2,sl. vi. 3I.

%
 ON THE SACRAMENTS 99

feet. See then, perhaps she has declined it on account

of the numbers. 1 There are, however, some who say
and try to urge that this ought to be done, not as a
sacrament, not at baptism, not at the regeneration ; but
only as we should wash the feet of a guest. The
• latter is an act of humility, the former a work of sancti-
fication. _ Accordingly, learn how it is a sacrament and
a means of sanctification: Unless 1 wash thy ]eet, thou
wilt have no part with me. This I say, not to find fault
with others, but to recommend my own usage, s In all
things I desire to follow the Roman Church. Yet we
too are not without discernment ; and what other places
have done well to retain, we too do well to maintain.
6. It is the Apostle Peter himself that we follow, to
his devotion we cling. What does the Roman Church
answer to this ? Certainly the Apostle Peter himself
supports us in this claim, he who was priest of the
Roman Church. Peter himself says, Lord, not my ]eet
only, but also'my hands and my head. 4 Look at the
faith. His demurring at first showed his humility ; his
offer afterwards showed his devotion and faith.
7- Because he had said my hands and my head, the
Lord answered him, He that hath washed needeth not to
wash again, save to wash his ]eel only) Why is this ?
Because in baptism all guilt is Washed away. 6 Guilt,

x If the number of candidates for baptism was very large, the

ceremony of washing the feet would be long and laborious (T.).
s Similarly_ Augustine (2_p. Iv. (ad /anuaw.) 33), maintained
that the "feet washing" was a type of humility, but not a part of
the saci'anaent of baptism. On the "feet washing" in Africa see
Thompson, Offwesof Baptism and Co,_rmation, p. 1o8.
• If _1 be read for sad, we should get a good sense, "or to
commend my own services."
• Ju. xiii. 9. On the text of this and the following quotation
see Introd. p. xl.
.s Jn. xiii. xo.
' .Of. with this d¢ Mj, st. vi. 32 (note). The writer here modifies
Ambrose's t_catment of the question.

4.' " , ","

 xoo' THE TREATISE

therefore, vanishes. But, because Adam 'was tripped

up by the devil, and poison was poured over his feet,
therefore thou washest thy feet ; that at that point where
the serpent made his treacherous attack a stronger re-
inforcement of sanctification may be applied, that he may
not be able to trip thee up afterwards. Therefore, thou
washest thy feet, to wash off the poison of the serpent.
It is a help towards humility also, that in a sacrament
we should not shrink from that which we scorn in an
act of service.

CHAPTER II
The "s_iritual seal" and the sevenfoldgifts of the Spirit. The
e_ect of ba_otismillustraledfront the healing of the blind nmn
znjrohnix. Thosewho deny the needof ba_Otism are refuted.
8. THERE follows the spiritual seal,x which you have
heard mentioned in the lesson to-day. For after the
font it remains for the "perfecting"* to take place,
when, at the invocation of the priest, the Holy Spirit is
bestowed, the spirit o/ wisdom and understanding, the
spirit o! counsel and strength, the spirit o] knowledge and
godliness, the spirit oI holy ]ear,s. as it were seven virtues
of the Spirit.
9. And, indeed, all virtues belong to the Spirit ; but
these are as it were cardinal, as it were principal.* For
what is so principal, as godliness ? What is so principal
' as the knowledge of God? What is so principal, as
strength ? What is so principal, as the counsel of God?
i Cf.de Myst. vii. 4x,42.
s _'Perfeetio"is almost a technicalterm for the rite followh_g
baptism,i. e. confirmation(T.).
Is. xi. 2, Cf. deMyst. vii. 42 (note).
t The wordsl_rinciI_Jes_irtutes recall Ambrose,de Off. i. _.4.
xI$. The term card_'nales virtutet is found in Ambrose,_.
Zuc. v. 49.
 ON THE SACRAMENTS IoI

What is so principal, as the fear of God? As the fear

of the world is weakness, so the fear of God is great
power.
xo. These are the seven virtues, "when thou art
sealed ; 1 for, as the holy Apostle saith, The wisdom o1
our God is mani]old. 2 And, as the wisdom of God is
manifold, so is the Holy Ghost manifold, who hath
divers and various virtues. Whence also we speak of
the God o] hosts; 3 which can be applied to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. But that
belongs to another" discourse" another time.
xx. After this what follows ? Thou hast to come to
the altar, 4 whither thou hast not come before ; thou hast
to see the things whidh thou didst not see before., that
is, the mystery which thou hast read in the Gospel ; s
" if, however, thou hast not read it, thou hast certainly
heard it. A blind man presented himself to the Saviour
to be healed. And he, who healed others merely by a
word and utterance, and brought back the light of the
eyes by a command, yet in the book of the Gospel
which is entitled "according to John,"--who truly beyond
the others saw great mysteries, and described, and de-
dared them :--he wished to prefigure this mystery e in
that miracle. All the Evangelists, indeed, were holy,
all the Apostles, except the traitor--all were holy; yet
Saint John, who wrote his Gospel last, having been
sought and chosen by Christ to be in a sense his kins-
mkn,7 uttered eternal mysteries with a louder trumpet.
Whatever he spoke is a mystery. Another Evangelist
told of the cure of a blind man ; Matthew did, Luke
1 ¢am..ig_narf,,r. • Eph. iii. Io.
• Deus vlrCutum,as oftenin the LatinPsalter.
Cf. de ACyst.43 (in/t.). i Jn. ix. xf.
e The word mysterlum in this passage,as elsewhere,is used in
va_oussenses. It is - "sacrameni," "a passageof Scripturewith
anTmnermeaning,"and*' a divinepurpose"('1".).
Possiblya referenceto In. xix. 26, _7.
 ro2 THE TREATISE

did, Mark did. What does John alone say ?--He took
clay, and anointed his eyes_ and said unto him_ "Go to
Siloam." And rising he went, and washed, and came
seeing, x
I2. Consider thou also the eyes of thine heart.
Formerly thou sawest only the things that are bodily,
with bodily eyes; but the things which pertain to the
sacraments thou wast not yet able to see with the eyes
of the heart. Therefore, when thou gavest thy name, _
he took clay, and anointed thine eyes. What does it
mean ? It means that thou shouldst confess thy sin,
recognize thy guilt, repent of thy trespasses, that is,
acknowledge the lot of human birth. For although he
who comes to baptism does not confess his sin, s yet he
makes a complete confession of all sins by the very fact
that he asks to be baptized, that he may be justified,
that is, pass from guilt to grace.
x3. Do not think it superfluous. There are some_--
I know for certain there was one who said so ; when we
said to him, "At thy time of life thou shouldest certainly
be baptized," he obje_ed, "Why should I be baptized ?
I have no sin. Have I contracted sin ?" He had no

1 Jn. ix. 6. This particular incident is not found in the, other

Evangelists, but similar cures of blind men are recorded in Mt. ix.
z7f.; xii. 2z; xx. 3of.; Mk. viiL 22f.; x. 46 f.; Lk. xviii.
f
35i'i. e. as a candidate for baptism (T.). See Introd. p. xi.
• • Ambrose, ExlL in Luc. vL 3, speaks of a "confession of sin"
m connexion with baptism, and some commentators see in the
present passage a further indication that da ,._'ramentis is not
the work of Ambrose, as the writer suggests that this confession
may be omitted, and that the very fact of seeking baptism is in
itselfa "confession" of sin. But the language of Ambrose, in the
Fassage cited above, is too vague and general to warrant the
deduction drawn from it.
• In th_ pa.ssage it has been thought that the writer has in view
the. Pe!ugum.denial of.origimfl sin. If so, the passage is a further
mm_tmn tlmt the work is later than Ambrose.. See Cabi'ol,
,Dict. d'arcMolagie etd¢ llt. airlf. I. x386, art. "Ambrosien (fit)." ,

/
 ON THE SACRAMENTS xo3

clay, because Christ had not washed, 1 that is, had not
opened, his eyes; for no mau is without sin.
x4. Therefore, he who takes refuge in the baptism of
Christ acknowledges himself a man. So on thee also
he has put clay, that is, modesty, prudence, reflection
upon thy weakness, and he has said to thee, "Go to
Siloam." What is Siloam ? Which is, it says, by inter-
pretation, Sent. That is, Go to that fount _ wherein the
Cross of the Lord is proclaimed ;3 go to that fount
wherein Christ redeemed the faults of all men.
15. Thou didst go, thou didst wash, thou camest to
the altar. Thou didst begin to see what thou hadst not
seen before ; that is, through the font of the Lord and
the preaching of the Lord's passion thine eyes were then
opened. Thou who seemedst before to be blinded in
heart, didst begin to see the light of the sacraments.
Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, we have arrived at
the altar, to a richer theme. And for the reason that
the time is advanced, we cannot begin a fresh subject ;
since it is a lengthier theme, let what has been said
to-day suffice ; and to-morrow, if it please the Lord, we
will treat of those sacraments.

t laverat. The Rom. edition and one MS. read liniverat. Pos-
sibly It'aerat, the reading of several MSS. is correct: i.e. "had
not anointed."
t Th_ word here, fontem, can mean either a "spring" or a
baptismal font ; the writer plays on the double meaning (T.).
t Cf. de Myst. iii, I4 (note).
 BOOK IV

CHAPTER I
The symbolism of the Tabernacle applied to Christian baptism.

x. UNDER the old covenant the priests used to enter

continually into the _rst tabernacle; into the second
tabernacle the high priest entered once in the year. Which
the Apostle Paul x clearly recalling in the Epistle to the
Hebrews, explains the tenor of the Old Testament.
Now there was in the second tabernacle the manna; there
was also the rod o/ Aaron which withered and afterwards
blossomed again ; there was likewise the censer.*
_. What is the purpose of this ? It is that you may
understand what is the second tabernacle, into which the
priest introduced" you, into which the high priest was
accustomed to enter once in the year, that is, to the
baptistery, s where the rod o/ Aaron blossomed; it was
withered before, afterwards it blossomed again. Thou
too wast withered, and dost begin to blossom again in
the streaming font. Thou" hadst withered through sins,
thou hadst withered through faults and trespasses; but

• For the ascription of the Ep. to the Hebrews to St. Paul see
de Afyst. viii. 45 (note).
• In the-above passage the author has in mind Heb. ix. 4-7.
The word t_ymiaterium (rendered "censer") is a transliteration bf
the Greek, which has been variously rendered "censer" or "altar
of incense." The Vulgate-has turibulum. That the writermeans
"censer" is shownby iv. I. 4.
• On the baptistery as "'the holy of holies"see de A_ryst.ii. 3.
The parallel to "once in the year," in the author's mind, is to be
found in the fact that Easter was the normal time for baptism.
Zo4

I
 THE TREATISE ON THE SACRAMENTS xo 5

now thou beginnest to bear fruit, planted by the rivers

o] water. 1
3. But perhaps thou sayest_ "What has this to do
with the people, if the priest's rod had withered and
blossomed again ?" What is the people itself but
priestly? To whom it was said, But ye are a chosen
generation,'a royal priesthood, a holy nation, z as saith
the Apostle Peter. Every one is anointed to the priest-
hood, is anointed to the kingdom also; but it is a
spiritual kingdom and a spiritual priesthood.
4. In the second tabernade is the censer also, which
is wont to diffuse a sweet savour. So you also are now
a sweet savour o] Christ ; s no longer is there in you any
share of sins, 4 aiay savour of ranker error.

CHAPTER II

The grace of innocence and "renewal of youth" resulti,g from

baptism.

5" Ix follows that you come to the altar. You began

to come ; the angels watched, they saw you approaching,
and that human nature, which before was stained with
the murky filth of sin, suddenly shone bright in their
sight. And accordingly they said, Who is this that
¢ometh up from the wilderness made white ? 6 The angels
,then also wonder. Wilt thou know that they wonder?
Hear then the Apostle Paul saying that those things
have been bestowed on us which even angels long to

t Ps. i. 3. g x Pet. ii. 9. s 2 Cor. ii. x5.

4.so_ delittorum. Sonae MSS. read sordes, "defilement."
• Cant. viii. 5. Cf. de Myst. vii. 35. Like Ambrose the author
reads dealbata ("made white"), following LXX. The words
" from the wilderness" are found in Heb. and Vulg., bat not
in LXX. "_-
Io6 THE TREATISE

see; x and again, What eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,
the things which God hath prepared /or them that love
him. _
6. Then recall what thou hast received. Holy David
the prophet saw this grace in a figure, and desired it.
Wilt thou know that he desired it ? Again hear him
saying, Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall
be clean; thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter
than snow. 3 Why ? Because snow, although it is white,
quickly turns black with any dirt, and is spoilt; this
grace which thou hast received, if thou hold fast that
which thou hast received, will be lasting and eternal.
7. Thou earnest thus with desire to the altar, since
thou hadst seen such grace. Thou earnest with desire
to the altar, to receive the sacrament; let thy. soul say,
And I _ill go unto the altar o] my'God, unto God who
maketh glad my youth. 4 Thou hast put off the old age
of sins, thou hast taken the youth of grace ; this the
heavenly sacraments bestowed on thee. Therefore,
again hear David saying, Thy youth shall be renewed as
the eagle's: Thou beginnest to be a good eagle, seeking
heaven, scorning earthly things. Good eagles are about
the altar; for where the body is, there also are the
eagles, e The altar is a type of the body, T and the body

x I Pet. i. x2. The writer, by a slip of memory, attributes the

words to St. Paul.
s I Cor. ii. 9. C£ de Myst. rift. 44, note. .
a Ps. li' 7 (1. 9, Vulg.). Cf. de Myst. vii. 34.
4 Ps. xliii. (xlii. Vulg.), 4, Cf. de Myst. viii, 43, where the
psalm is similarly quoted in connexion with the approach to the
altar. But the use of this psalm, as part of the preparation in the
Roman Mass, is of late date, and its appearance in some editions
of the Ambrosian Missal is due to borrowing from the Roman rite
(see Ceriani, Arotitia Lit. ambros, p. 24).
* Ps. ctli. (cii. Vulg.), 5.
6 Mr. xxiv. _.8 ; Lk. xvii. 37. "Cf. i. 2. 6.
v The sense of this expression is illustrated by the following
passage from the Glossa Ordiff_ia (Migne, P.Z., eL i;o5). The
Body of Christ "is called an altar in other places of the divine
 ON THg SACRAMENTS Io7

of Christ is on the altar; ye are eagles, renewed by the

washing away of sin.

CHAPTER III

Comparison of the Jewish and Chrisllan sacra.meats. Melchizedek

a ty_e of Christ.
8. THOU eamest to the altar, thou sawest the sacra-
ments laid upon the altar, and thou didst wonder at
those creatures ; x yet they are ordinary and familiar.
9. Perhap s some one will say: "To the Jews God
granted such grace, he rained down manna upon them _
from heaven; what more has he given to his faithful,
What more has he bestowed on those to whom he pro-
mised more ?"
xo. Hear what things I say, namely, that the mysteries
of the Christians are older than those of the Jews, s and
the sacraments of the Christians axe more divine than
those of the Jews. How ? Hear. When did the Jews
begin ? At the eaxliest_ with Judah, the great-grandson
of Abr_,ham ; or, if thou preferrest to take this view,
with the Law, that is, when the Jews were deemed
worthy to receive the Law. Therefore, they were eaUed
Jews from the great-grandson of Abraham, or since the
time of holy Moses. And if God rained down manna
from heaven then upon the murmuring Jews, still there

Scriptures also, because on it, that is, on faith in it, as on an altar,

our offered prayers and works become acceptable" (quoted by.
We_tcott on Heb. xlii. xo). (T.)
x creaturam. Cf. Book of Common Prayer, "these thy creatures
of bread and wine." The writer is thinking of the placing of the
elements upon the altar. From Ambrose (in Ps. cx'oiii, prol. z}
" it appears that at Milan, as elsewhere in the West, the people
3nade their offeringsof bread and wine for the Eucharist, bat the
newly-baptized did not partake in this "offering" before the
octave ofEaster.
* Ps,IxxviiL {lxxvli. Vulg.) 24. C£ de Myst. viii. 44.
* With this section c£ a_ Myst. viii. 45, 46.

%
 Io8 TI-IE TREATISE

was for thee a yet earlier figure of these sacraments,

when Abraham was alive, when he gathered the men
born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and then
pursued the adversaries, delivering his nephew out of
captivity ; then he came in triumph; Melchi_edek the
priest met him, and offered him bread and wine.1 Who
had the bread and _oine _ Abraham had not. But who
had? Melchizedek. He, then, is the author of the
sacraments. Who is Melchizedek? He who is indi-
cated as King o/ righteousness, King ot peace._ Who is
the King ol righteousness _ Can any man be King o/
righteousness I Who then is the King o/ righteousness,
but the Righteousness of,God, he who is the Peace ot God,
the Wisdom [o] God 8 3 He who could say, My peace I
give unto you, my peace I leave with youA
xx. Therefore, first understand that these sacraments
which thou receivest are older than are the sacraments of
Moses, whatever they are that the Jews say they have;
and that the Christian people began before the people of
the Jews--we, however, as predetermined, while they
actually bore the name.
x2. Melchizedek, therefore, offered bread and u_ine.
Who is Melchizedek ? Without /uther, it says, without
mother, without order o! generation, having neither begin-
ning o! days nor end o! li/e ; this is in the Epistle to the
Hebrews._ He is without /ather, it says, and ugtkout
mother. Like unto whom? The Son o! God. The Son
of God was born without mother in iris heavenly genera-
tion, because he was born of God the Father only. And

Gen. xiv. i4 L s Heb. vi;. 2.

s Eph. ii. ;4 ; I Cor.i. 24.
• Jn. xiv. 27. The variationin the order of the clausesis found
in some Old Latin and VulgateMSS.
i Heb. vii. 3. The reading generationi.rordie_ds apparently
peculiarto the writer ; but generalioni.r_enumerationeis found in
Ambrose,.EGO. Lviv.49.

t
 " ON THE SACRAMENTS 1o 9

again, he was born _iithout ]ather, when he was born of

the V!rgin; for he was not generated of the seed of a
man, but born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, x
brought forth from a virgin womb, in all things like to
the Son o] God. 2 Melehizedek was also a priest'; since
Christ too is a priest to whom it is said, Thou art a priest
/or ever alter the order o] Melchizedek. 8

CHAPTER IV
The bread attcl _oine of the Eucharist become Christ's body and
bloodin virtue of the words of consecration, which are Christ's
own words. Illustrations from the Virgin birth and miracles
of o.z:
x 3. WHO then is the author of the sacraments but the
Lord Jesus ? From heaven those sacraments came ; for
all counsel is from heaven. But it was truly a great and
divine miracle that God rained down manna from heaven,
and the people ate without toiling.
x4. Thou sayest perhaps, "My bread is 4 of the usual
kind." But that bread is bread before the words of the
sacraments ; when consecration has been added, from
bread it becomes the flesh of Christ. Let us therefore
prove this. How can that which is bread be the body of
Christ?' By consecration. But in what words and in
whose language is the consecration ? Those of the Lord
Jesus. For all the other things which are said in the
t

a The old Roman Creed, quoted by Ruiinus, similarly has the

words gui ha, us err de s_oiritu sa,cto et Maria virg_ne ; the words
in the text may be an echo of this (T.).
• Heb. vii. 3.
* Heb. vii. II, Cf. Ps. cx. (cix. Valg.) 4.
Some see in this a reference to the offering of bread and wine
_aythe people. But at Milan (see note ou iv. 3. 8) the newly-
prised did not "offer" before the octave of Easter. Possibly
the meani_ is quite general : "the bread which I see is ordinary
bread." V¢'ith,t_zissection cf, de l_Iyst, ix. 5o.

J
 Ho THE TREATISE

earlier parts of the service are said by the priest--

praises are offered to God, prayer is asked for the people,
for kings, and the rest ; i when it comes to the consecra-
tion of the venerable sacrament, the priest no longer
uses his own language, but he uses the language of Christ.
Therefore, the word of Christ consecrates this sacrament. _
x5. What is the word of Christ ? That, to be sure,
whereby all things are made. The Lord commanded,
and the heaven was made ; the Lord commanded, and
the earth was made ; the Lord commanded, and the seas
were made; the Lord commanded, and every creature
was produced. Thou seest, therefore, how effective is
the word of Christ. If, therefore, there is such power
in the word of the Lord Jesus, that the things which
were not began to be, how much more is it effective,
that things previously existing should, without ceasing to
exist, be changed into something else? 8 The heaven

x In this description Probst (Lit. des viert, drahrh, p. 249) sees

a parallel to the order of the prayers in the Roman Canon. In
the Gelusian Saeramentary the Sa,wtus, which corresponds to the
"praises," is followed by the prayers Te igitur (a prayer for the
Church and Pope) and 21Iemento,domine, a prayer for the congre-
gation "who offer this sacrifice, of praise.'" The letter of Pope
Innocent I to Decentius (416 A.D.) shows that at Rome in his time
the names of offerers were recited within the Canon. But it is
possible that the author of de Sacram. is not observing the strict
order and that the prayers referred to are "the prayers of the
faithful" earlier in the service. There is no prayer for kings in
the Gelasian Canon, but such a prayer is found in the Good
Friday prayers (Wilson, Gel. Sacram. p. 76), which are a survival
of the "prayers of the faithful."
" Cf. de Afj,st. ix. 5z (note).
a "ut sint quae erant et in aliud commutentur." The words
have also been rendered "that they should be what they were and
be changed into something else." Thus rendered the words have
been interpreted as an assertion, by the author of the continued
existence, after consecration, of the natures of the bre_d and wine.
The passage was discussed in the Eucharistic controversies of the
eleventlr and twelfth centuries. Lanfranc and Alger of Liege
appear to have interpreted the words in the above sense, but
' sought to evade the conclusiofis drawn from them by contending
that the words refer to the outwarclappearances of bread andwine.
 ON THE SACRAMENTS IIi

was not, the sea was not, the earth was not; but hear
David saying, He spake, and they were made : he com-
manded, and they were created. 1
x6. Therefore, that I may answer thee, it was not the
body of Christ before consecration; but after consecra-
tion, I tell thee, it is now the body of Christ. He spake,
and it was made: he comnmnded, and it was created.
Thou thyself didst formerly exist, but thou wast an old
creature; after thou wast consecrated, thou didst begin
to be a new creature. Wilt thou know how thou art a
new creature? Everyone, it says, in Christ is a new
creature. 2
17. Hear, then, how the word of Christ is wont to
change every creature, and changes, at will, the ordi-
nances of nature. In what way ? thou askest. Hear ;
and, first of all, let us take an example from his genera-
tion. It is usual that a man is not generated save from
a man and a woman and the use of marriage; but

One MS. omits the words altogether. The Roman edition reads
ut quae erant in aliud commutentur (" that the things which were
should be changed into something else "), and the same reading
was known to Lanfranc. The variations in reading reflect the
controversial use made of the passage. On the other hand, the
trmaslation given in the text, which is supported by Cardinal
Perronne, appears to be justified on two grounds :--
(t) The author has 'in mind the parallel passage in Ambrose, d_
2_fyst. ix_ 52. '"The word of Christ could make out of nothing
that which was not; cannot it then change the things which are
into that which they were not ? For to give new natures to things
is suite as wonderful as to change their natures" (see notes).
12} In the present passage the author is arguing that creation out
of nothing is an even greater miracle than the conversion of existing
things into something else. The greater implies the less. If the
wordof Christ can effect the one, it can effect the other. The
words ut tint are not intended to lay stress on the continued exist-
ence of bread and wine as bread and wine, but emphasize the fact
that the change effected in them does not involve destruction or
a new act of creation. That is probably all that is in the author's
, mind.
t Ps. xr.xili. (xxxii. Vulg.), 9. CL de Myst. ix. 52. -
t z Cot. v. t7 (freely quoted).
n2 THE TREATISE

because the Lord willed it, because he chose this mys-

tery,1 Christ was born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin,
that is, the mediator between God end men, the man Christ
Jesus. 2 Thou see.st, then, that he was born contrary to
the ordinances and course of nature, he was born as
man from a virgin.
xS. Hear another example, a The people of the
Jews were hard pressed by the Egyptians ; they were
shut in by the sea. At the divine command Moses
touched the waters with his rod, and the wave divided,
certainly not according to the use of its _wn nature,
but according to the grace of the he_.venly command.
Hear another.4 The people thirsted, they came to the
spring. The spring was bitter ; holy Moses cast _oood
into the spring, and the spring which had been bitter
was made sweet, that is, it changed the use of its nature,
it received the sweetness of _ace. Hear also a fourth
example. 5 The axe head had /allen into the waters; as
iron it sank by its own use. Elisha cast wood; straight-
way the iron rose, and swam upon the waters, certainly
confxary to the use of iron, for the matter of iron is
heavier than the element of water.
x9. From all these examples, then, dost thou not
understand how effectual is the heavenly word ? If the
heavenly word was effectual in the earthly spring, if it
was effectual in other things, is it not effectual in the
heavenly sacraments ? Therefore thou hast learnt that
what was bread becomes the body of Christ,e and that
wine and water are put into the chalice, but become
blood by the consecration of the heavenly word.
1 The mystery(sacratt_ntum) is the Incarnation. C£ x Tim.
iii. x6 (T.). For this parallelwith the Incarnation'seede ltfyst.
• t x Tim. ii. 5.
tx'°5_x,xiv. Cf. forthis sectionde Myst. ix. 5x.
• Ex. xv. 23-25. s 2 Kingsvi. 5-6.
* ex _e fit corp_ C_risli. With this section of. de 2_¢yst.
ix. 52.
 ON THE SACRAMENTS II 3

2o. But perhaps thou sayest, "I do not see the

appearance 1 of blood." But it has the likeness ; for as
thou hast taken the likeness of the death, 2 so also thou
drinkest the likeness of the precious blood, that there
may be no shrinking from actual blood, and yet the
price of redemption may effect its work. Thou hast
learnt, therefore, that what thou receivest is the body of
Christ.

CHAPTER V
The words _oith _vhich the priest consecrates the sao'ament are
quoted, and the sacrament is shown to be a greater gift than
that of the manna.

2 x. WXLT thou know that it is consecrated by heavenly

•words ? Hear what the words are. The priest speaks. 3
"Make for us," he says, "this oblation approved, ratified,
reasonable, acceptable, seeing that it is the figure of the
body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, who 4 the day
.before he suffered took bread in his holy hands, and
• looked up to heaven to thee, holy Father, almighty, ever-
lasting God, and giving thanks, he blessed, brake, and
having broken, delivered it to his apostles and to his
disciples, saying, Take, and eat ye all of this; for this
is my body, which shall be broken/or _nany.
22. Likewise also alter supper, the day before he suf-
fered) he took the cup, looked up to heaven to thee, holy
x s_eciem. Here, as video suggests, it denotes "appearance," as
in de Myst. iv. 25. See de Myst. ix. 52 (note).
• Rom. vi. 5.

th ex'pre_on "figurewhich
of thefollow
body see
. . Introd.
. of Christ," p. ft.,
xxxv.
On the
The prayers
recital of the institution is a contkationpp. xxx
of the and for
four aeeounts
in Mt. xxvi. 26,f. ; Mk. x-iv. 2z f. ; Lk. xxii. x9 f. ; x Cor. xi.
23 f., with additions from the accounts of the feeding of the multi-
tude in Mk. vi. 4I ("looked up to heaven") and Mk. viii. 6
(" gave to Ms disc_les "). Both additions are found in the Roman
Canbnandinseveral Eastern rites.
H
xr4 THE TREATISE

Father, almighty, everlasting God, and giving thanks,

blessed it and delivered it to his apostles and to his
disciples, saying, Take, and drink ye all o] this; ]or this
is ray blood." Observe all those expressions. Those
words are the Evangelist_' up to Take, whether the body
or the blood. After that they are the words of Christ ;
Take, and drink ye all o] this; ]or this is my blood.
And observe them in detail. "
z 3. Who the day be]ore he suffered, he says, in his holy
hands 'took bread. Before it is consecrated, it is. bread,
but when the words of Christ have been added, it is the
body of Christ. Therefore hear him saying: Take and
eat ye all o] this ; /or this is my body. And before the
words of Christ it is a cup f_all of wine and water.
When the words of Christ have operated then and there
it is made to be 1 the blood of Christ which redeemed
the people. Therefore, see in how many ways the word
of Christ is mighty to change all things. There the Lord
Jesus himself testifies to us that we receive his body
and blood. Ought we to doubt of his trustworthiness
and testimony ?
24. Now come back with me to the point which I
set out to prove. It is a great and awful thing that he
rained manna on the Jews from heaven. But distin-
guish. What is greater, manna from heaven or the
body of Christ ? Certainly the body of Christ who is
the maker of heaven. Then he who ate manna died.
Whosoever eats this body shall have remission of sins
and shall never die.2
25. "therefore [when thou reeeivest] s it is not super-
fluous that thou sayest Amen, already in spirit confessing
that thou receivest the body of Christ. The priest says

1 sanguis C)iristief_citur.
• A ref.to Jn. vi. 49, 5o.
a The wordsin bracketsare omittedby someauthorities.
 ON THE SACRAMENTS xI 5

to thee, The body of Christ. And thou sayest, Amen,

that is, True. 1 What the tongue confesses let the heart
hold fast.

CHAPTER VI
Tlze sacrament a memorial of Ch_qst's death and a t_roclamation o)
theforgiveness of sins.
36. BUT that thou mayest know that this is a sacra-
ment, it was prefigured beforehand. Then learn how
great is the sacrament. See what he says: As o/ten as
ye do this, so o/ten mill ye make a memorial o/ me until
I come again. 2
2 7- And the priest says : s Therefore having in remem-
brance his most glorious passion and resurrection from
the dead and ascension into heaven, we offer to thee
this spotless offering, reasonable offering,* unbloody
x The words "the body of Christ" are the words of the priest
at the administration, to which the communicants respond, Amen.
•Cf. de Myst. ix. 54 (note). There is good evidence of this custom
both in East and West. See e.g. Augustine Serm. 270 ; Cyril of
Ternsalem, Cat. xxiii. 2I.
* The words appear to be a liturgical formula, concluding the
recital of the institution. In that case " he says " refers to the
priest (cf. "the priest says" in § 25). The words are based on
x Cor. xi. 25, 26. The attribution to our Lord ("until I come")
is found in the Liturgy of the Apostolic Constitutions and several
Eastern rite% as well as in the Ambroslan Saeramentary of Biasea,
and it appears as an addition by a later scribe in the Stowe Missal.
The Roman Canon has the form /taec fuotiescumque fecerlti.t,
in mei memoriam facietis, and this appears to be attested about
the middle of the fifth century in a Commontary on the Psalms
attributed to Arnobius the younger (quoted by Dora Morin, Revue
btn. xxiv. (19o7), pp. 404 f.). As Dora Connolly has pointed
out to me, either the formula of de Scuram. represents a local
variation, or the Roman form must have ousted tn earlier form
some time before Arnobius, if the passage ascribed to him is
genuine.
s This 15rayer corresponds to the Atmmnesis of the Roman
C,I_.Uon.

4 Cf. Rom. xii. x. The word for "offering" (/ma_a) is that

used in the Latin version of Heb. xiii. 15 (_ostiam laudir, "sacrifice
of praise").
H6 TY_ TREATISE ON THE SACRAMENTS

offering,1 this holy bread and cup of eternal life: and

we ask and pray that thou wouldst receive this oblation
on thy altar on high by the hands of thy angels, _ as
thou didst vouchsafe to receive the presents of tlny
righteous servant Abel, and the sacrifice of our patriarch
Abraham, and that which the high priest, Melchiz_dek
offered to thee."
28. Therefore as often as thou receivest--what saith
the Apostle to "thee ?--as often as we receive, we show
the Lord's death ; if we show his death, we show remis-
sion of sins. If, as often as blood is poured forth, it is
poured for remission of sins, I ought always to receive
it, that my sins may always be forgiven me. I, who am
always sinning, ought always to have a remedy.
29. Meanwhile, we have explained to you to-day, also,
as much as we could. But to-morrow, Saturday, and on
Sunday s we will speak of the order of prayer as we are
able. May the I_rd our God preserve to you the grace
which he has given and may he deign to illumim.te
more fully the eyes which he has opened for you,
through his only begotten Son, our Lord God, king and
saviour, through whom and with whom to :him is praise,
honour, glory, majesty, power with the Holy Spirit from
all ages, both now and ever, and world without end.--
AMEN.
I This expressionis frequentlyfound in early Christianwriters,
and in Easternrites,as well as in someGallicanbooks.
The RomanCanon has the singular"angel," possiblya refer-
ence to the angelin Rev. viii. 3 f. Cf. Tertullian,de Orat. I6.
* On thissee Introd.p. xx.
 BOOK V

CHAPTER I

The wriler returns to the story of Melchizedek, and gives two reasons
why mulet is mixed with mine in the chalice.
I. YESTERDAY our sermon and discourse was carried
as far as the sacraments of the holy altar. And we
learn that those sacraments were prefigured in the times
of Abraham, when holy Melchizedek offered sacrifice,
having neither beginning nor end o/ days. Hear, O man,
what the Apostle Paul says to the Hebrews. Where
are those who say that" the Son of God is of time ? Of
Melchizedek x it was said that he had neither beginning
nor end o/ days. 2 If Melchizedek had not a beginn'mg
of days, could Christ have it? But the figure is not
greater than the reality. Thou seest therefore that he
himself is the first and last? First, because he is the
author of all things ; last, not because he comes to an
end, but because he concludes all things.
2. We said, therefore, that the cup and the bread are
set on the altar. What is poured into the cup? Wine.
And what else? Water.* But thou sayest to me:
• Another reading is esse de tempore Mekhlsedech, "that the
Son of God is of the time of Melchizedek," which the editors
explain as a reference to a sect mentioned by Epiphanius and
Augustine, who held that M. was a heavenly power, superior to
Christ. They appealed in support of their view to Heb. v. to.
The reading in the text seems preferable, the reference being to the
Arian denial of the eternal Souship.
• Heb. vii. 3. • Rev. k zT.
• The mixture of water with wine in the chalice is referred to by
many early writers, .b_'.'nning with Justin Martyr,and is commented
oabyCypri_,_,_.kiii.
xx7
 Ix8 THE TREATISE

" How then did Melchizedek offer bread and wine?

What means the mixture of water ? Hear the reason.
3. First of all, what does the type which was prefigured
in the time of Moses tell us ? That when the people of
the Jews thirsted and murmured because they could not
find water, God bade Moses touch the rock with his
rod. He touched the rock and the rock poured forth
a flood of water, 1 as the Apostle says, But they drank
o/ that spiritual Rock that ]ollowed them; and that Rock
was Christ. _ It was. not an 4mmovable Rock which
followed the people. Drink thou also, that Christ may
follow thee. Behold the mystery. Moses, that is to
say, a prophet ; the rod, that is the word of God. The
priest touches the rock with the word of God, and the
water flows and the people of God drink. Therefore
the priest touches the cup, the water streams in the cup,
springs up into eternal li]e,a and the people of God
drink, who have obtained the grace of God. This then
thou hast learned.
4. Hear also another reason. At the time of the
Lord's passion, when a great sabbath was nigh, because
our Lord Jesus Christ was alive, or the robbers, men
were sent to smite him ; coming they found the Lord
Jesus Christ dead ; then one of the soldiers touched his
side with his lance, and from his side water flowed arid
bloodA Why water? why blood? Water to cleanse,
"blood to redeem. Why from his side ? Because whence
the guilt, thence the grace ; guilt through woman, grace
through the Lord Jesus Christ.
a Ex. xvii. x-7 ; Numb. xx. I-II.
2 x Cot. x. 4. Cf. de Myst. viii. 49. In. iv. I4.
Jn. xix. 31-34. Cf. de_Iyst. viii. 48.

o
 ON THE SACRAMENTS ix 9

CHAPTER II

The blessings of Chesacrament illustrated from Canticles.

5" Taou hast come to the altar, the Lord Jesus calls
thee or thy soul or the church and says, Let her kiss me
with the kisses o] her mouth. 1 Wouldst thou apply it
to Christ ? Nothing sweeter. Wouldst thou apply it to
thy soul ? Nothing pleasanter.
6. Let her kiss me. He sees that thou art clean from
all sin because thy sins are purged away. Therefore
he judges thee worthy of the heavenly sacrament and
therefore he invites thee to a heavenly banquet. Let
her kiss me with the kisses o/her mouth..
7. Yet on aecount of what follows it is thy soul or
human nature' or the Church whieh, seeing itself cleansed
_om all sins, and worthy to be able to approach the
altar of Christ (for what is the altar but the type of
the body of Christ ?),2 has seen the wondrous sacraments
and says, Let him kiss me with the kisses o] his mouth_
that is, let Christ imprint a kiss on me.
8. Why? Because thy breasts are better than wine. a
That is, the sensations which thou suppliest are betterm
thy sacraments are better than wine :--than that wine
which, though it hath sweetness, joy, agreeableness, yet
therein is worldly joy, while in thee is spiritual plcasure_
Even in those days Solomon represents the marriage of
Christ and the Church or of the spirit and flesh and soul.

a Cant. i.t. In §§ 5-7 the author interprets this in two ways.

As the subject of escu/ttur (tier . . . kiss') is not expressed in
the Latin, it may be interpreted either of Christ as the speaker, or
of the Church (ormdiwdual
" "" soul, or mankind) as addressing Christ.
In § 6 he takes Christ as the speaker. In § 7 he says that/_rop/er
_l_uatt_ "to suit the words which follow," it is better to take
• soul (or human nature, or the Church) as the speaker. For the
application of the imagery of Canticles to the Church c¢" to the
individual soul of. de M'yst, vii. 37 {note).
s Cf. iv. 2.7 (note). s Cant. L i, ,
 I26 THE. TREATISE

9- And we have further: Thy name is an ointment

poured/orth, there/ore do the virgins love t_e. 1 Who are
those virgins but the souls of individuals which have put
off the old age of this body, being renewed through the
Holy Spirit ?
Io. Draw us; we will run after the /ragranee o/ thy
ointments, z See what he says. Thou eanst not follow
Christ unless he himself draws thee. Therefore, that
thou mayest know this: When I am lifted up, he says,
] will draw all unto me. s
x x. The king hath brought me into tu's chamber. 4 The
Greek text has "into his storehouse 5 and into his
cellar," where are good draughts, pleasant savours, sweet
honey, divers fruits, varied foods, that thy banquets may
be seasoned with numerous dishes.

CHAPTER III

Further illustrations of tke blessingsof Communion from Psalm xxiii.

and from Canticles.
x2. THEREFORE thou hast come to tlae altar, thou
has received the body of Christ. Hear again what
sacraments thou hast obtained. Hear holy David
speaking. He too foresaw these mysteries in the" spirit
and rejoiced and said that he lacked nothing. 6 Why?
Because he that hath received the body of Christ shall
never hungerY
x$. How often hast thou heard the twenty-second

1 Cant. L 2. Cf. de Myst. vi. 29.

z Cant. i. 3: Cf. de Myst. vi. 29.
Cant. i.
_ J n. xii. 32.
The LXX has _-o4_70_ , which the author renders ,,_ the two
wordsAhromptuarium and tellarium.
o Ps. xxih- (xxii. Vulg.) L
v Jn. vi. 35. Cf. de Mvst. viii. 48,
t
 ON THE SACRAMENTS I2I

Psalm 1 and not understood ? See how it is suited to

the heavenly sacraments. The Lord is my shepherd;
and I shall not want. In a green pasture, there hath he
made me to lie down. He hath tended me by the water
o/ corn/art, he converteth my soul. He hath led me in the
paths o] righteousness /or his name's sake. Yea, though
i[ walk through the valley o/ the shadow o/ death, I will
/ear no evil, ]or thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff,
they have com]orted me. 2 Rod is rule, staff is passion ;
, that is the eternal Divinity of Christ, but also his pas-
sion in the body. The one created, the other redeemed.
Thou hast prepared a table be/ore, me against them that
trouble me. Thou hast anointed my head with tnT, and
my inebriating cup how glorious it is. 3
x4. Therefore thou hast come to the altar, thou hast
received the grace of Christ, thou hast obtained the
heavenly sacraments. The Church rejoices in the re-
demption of many and is glad with spiritual exultation
that her white-robed household stand at her side. _
Thou hast this in the Song of Songs. In joy she calls
Christ, having ready a feast which can seem worthy of
heavenly banqueting. Therefore she says: Let my
brother come down into his garden and take the ]ruit o/his
]ruit-trees. 5 What are his fruit-trees ? Thou beeamest
a dry tree in Adam ; but now through the grace of
Christ thou hast budded into a fruitful tree.
x5. The Lord Jesus willingly accepts and with heavenly
condescension answers to his church. I am come down,

x The author follows .the numbering of the Psalms in the Latin

Version, which is also that of the LXX.

•• Ps. xxiii, Ixxli.

xxii. Vulg.) 5. Cf. de Myst. viii. 43 (note).
A reference to the newly-baptized in their white robes.
CL de
Myst. vii. 34. The word familia (rendered "household") is of
common occurrence in the prayers of the Western service-
books.
Cant. v. x. Cf. de Myst. ix. 56,
 I22 THE TREATISE

he says, 1 into my garden; I have gathered the vintage o/

myrrh with my ointments• I have eaten my bread with
my honey and I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat,
he says, my brethren, and be drunk.
x6. I have gathered the vintage o/myrrh with my oint-
ments. What is that vintage? Learn the vine and
you shall recognize the vintage. Thou hast brought, he
says, a vine out o/ Egypt, 2 that is the people of God.
Ye are the vine, ye are the vintage ; planted as a vine,
as a vintage have ye given fruit. I have gathered the
vintage o] myrrh with my unguents, that is for the sweet
savour which you have received.
x7. I have eaten my bread with my honey. Dost thou
see that in this bread there is no bitterness, but all is
sweetness ? 1 have drunk my wine with my milk. Dost
thou see that the joy is of that kind which is not defiled
with the stains of any sin ? For as often as thou drinkest
thou receivest remission of sins and art inebriated with
the spirit. Whence also the Apostle says : Be not drunk
with wine, but be fd.led with the Holy Spirit. s For he who
is drunk with wine staggers and reels : he who is inebriated
with the Spirit is rooted in Christ. And therefore it is
a glorious inebriation, which works sobriety of mind.
This is what we briefly mention with respect to the
sacraments."

CHAPTER IV
Ex2ho$itiono/tlte Lord'8 Prayer.
x8. NOW, what remains save prayer ? And think not
that it is a matter of little worth, to know how to pray.

x Cant. v.I. Cf. de My¢t. ix. 57, 58.

Ps. lxx_ 8 (lxxix. 9, Vulg.).
' Eph. v. 18. The reading "Holy Spirit" is also found in
Ambrose, de 2Voeet .circa, 29,
 ON THE SACRAMENTS x2 3

The holy Apostles said to the Lord Jesus : Lord teach us

to pray, as John taught his disciples, x Then the Lord
says a prayer, Our Father, which art in heaven, haUowed
be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done, as in
heaven, so on earth. Give us this day our daily 2 bread.
And ]orgive us our debts, as we also ]orgive our debtors.
And let us not be led into temptation, s but deliver us ]rom
evil. Thou seest how short the prayer is and full of all
excellencies ! What grace in the first word !
I9. O man, thou didst not dare to raise thy face to
heaven, thou didst direct thine eyes to the earth, and
suddenly thou didst receive the grace of Christ ; all thy
sins were forgiven. From a bad servant thou becamest
a good son. Therefore be bold, not because of thy own
action, but because of the grace of Christ. For by grace
are ye saved, 4 says the Apostle. Therefore there is no
arrogance here, but faith; to proclaim what thou hast
received is not pride, but devotion. Therefore raise thy
eyes to the Father who has begotten thee through the
laver, to the Father who has redeemed thee through the
Son, and say Our Father. A g_od boldness u that, but
modest. Thou calledst hiva "Father" as a son; but do
not claim anything specifically for thyself. He is the
Father of Christ alone specially, he is Father of us all in
common, because he begot him alone, us he created.
Therefore say thou also through grace, Our Father, that
x Lk. xi. L
s guotidianura. So Vulgate in Lk., but supersubstantialera in
Mt. (see§ _4,note).In thefollowing clause theaulhor' follows
theversion inMt.,reading deln'ta("dcbts").
3 The Old Latinversion of thisclause ; foundin Cyprian, dz
Or.Do#:.7,andstill earlier
inTertullian. SccIntrod. p.xli.
• Eph. ii. 8.
• praesun#tb. Fortheideacf. theprologue totheLord'sprayer
in the Roman Canon, audemus dicere ("we are bold to s_y"),
whlch'is found also in the Eastern rites, and is alluded to by Cyril
of Jerusalem, Jerome, and others.
_4 THE TREATISE

thou mayest deserveto be a son. Commend thyselfby

fixingthy looks and regardson the Church.I
20. Our Father, which art in heaven. What is in heaven?
Hear the scripture saying: The Lord is high above all
heavens. And everywhere thou fmdest it written that
the Lord is above the heaven o] heavens, 2 as if there were
not in heaven angels too, as if there were not in heaven
dominations too, 3 but in those heavens of which it
was said: The heavens declare the glory o] God. 4 Heaven
is there where guilt hath ceased, where crimes keep
holiday. Heaven is where there is no stroke of death.
2x. Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy
name. What is hallowed ? Is it as if we desired that he
should be hallowed who says : Ye shall be holy,/or I am
holy, 5 as if any hallowing could accrue to him from our
prayer? Not at all. But may it be hallowed in us, that
its hallowing may reach us.
22. Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy
name, thy kingdom come. As if the kingdom of God
were not eternal. Jesus himself says : To this end was 1
born, 6 and dost thou say to the Father, Thy kingdom
come, as if it had not come ? But the kingdom of God
then comes, when you have obtained his grace. For he
himself says : The kingdom o] God is within youY

x i.e. by using the words " Our Father," which implies the
Church, we commend ourselves as members of it.
s In the former part of this passage the author has in mind
Ps. cxiii. (cxii. Vulg.) 4, which is here freely rendered. The words
"the Lord is above the heaven of heavens" appear to correspond
to no single passage, but represent the sense of such passages as
Ps. 1vii. (lvi. Vulg.) 6; Ps. lxvili. 33 (lxvii. 34, Vulg.); z Chron.
vi. x8 (cf. z Chron. ii. 6 ; :t Kings viii. 27).
s The passage is obscure, and the sense would he improved by
reading "quasi non in caelis ubi et angeli, quasi non in caelis ubi et
dominationes," imvlying "that He is not in.the heavens where the
angels are, but in the higher heaven. The emphasis is on the fact
that the Lord is "abo'z,ethe heavens." •
4 Ps. xix. (xviii. Vulg.) L s Lee. xi. 44 ; xix. z ; xx. 7.
' Jn. xviii. 37. 7 Lk. xviL 2x. '

+ "/
t

ON THE SACRAMENTS I_ 5

23. Thy kingdom come T thy will be done, as in heaven,

so on earth. Give us this day our daily bread. By the
blood o] Christ all things are set at peace, whether in
heaven or on earth, x "Heaven is hallowed, the devil is
east down. The place of his resort is that place, _ where
is also the man whom he has deceived. Thy will be
done, etc., i. e. let there be peace on earth as in heaven.
24. Give us this day our daily bread. I remember my
sermon when I was dealing with the Sacraments. 8 I
_aid to you that before the words of Christ that which is
offered is called bread: when the words of Christ have
been uttered, it is no longer called bread, but is named
body. Why then in the Lord's Prayer, which follows
afterwards, does he say : Our bread ? He called it bread
indeed, but he called it _no_,mv, 4 that is supersub-
stantial. It is not the bread which passes into the body,
but that bread o] eternal lite, _ which supports the sub-
stance of our soul. Therefore in Greek it is called
_mo_tov. The Latin, however, calls this bread "daily"
, which the Greeks call "coming." For the Greeks caU
the coming day _v _rto_av _/_c'Oav. Therefore'what the
i Cf. Col. i, 2o.
s Another reading is : ubi versa_fur? _i et _io,ao. "Where does
he resort? There, where man is."
s C£ iv. 4. x4, I9; iv. 5. zS.
The referenceof/-_06¢_os to abels (_cessence," 'cbeing," _' exist-
ence ") is due to Origen (or one of his Alexandrian teachers), and
descended from him to later commentators. The Old Latin Version
(as all the older versions) adopts the other sense and renders ¢uoa-
dianum ("daily"). Jerome changed this to su_ers_bstantialem
in Mr., but retained quotidianum in Lk. The liturgical form is
universally quotidianum. . Cf. Lighffoot, On a'fresh revision of t_
N. 7'. pp. 195 f. If the word supersubstanliall.r was .due to
.Terome, the fact furnishes a presumption that our author wrote after
him. Here an Old Latin text of the prayer is used by the author;
accordingly, quotidianum alone is recognized as the actual current
reading (T.). Ambrose'discusses the interpretation of the word,
and gives Origen's view in de Fide, iii. 5- I27. For Origen see
de Orat. z7. The closest p.arallel, however, to this section is in
Cyril of_erusalem, Cat. xxfii, x5.
s Cf. _n. vi. 48-50.

." t
 i26 THE TREATISE

Latin and what the Greek text said seem both useful.
The Greek indicated both in one expression, 1 the Latin
said "daily."
25. If it is daffy bread, why dost thou take it once a
year, 2 as the Greeks in the East are accustomed to do ?
Wake daily what is to profit thee daily. So live that
thou mayest deserve to receive it daily. He who does
not deserve to receive it daily, does not deserve to
receive it once a year ; as holy Job offered sacrifice daily
for his sons, lest perchance they should have done any
sin in heart or word. s Therefore dost thou hear that as
often as sacrifice is offered, the Lord's death, the Lord's
resurrection, the Lord's ascension and the remission of
sins is signified, 4 and dost thou not take this bread of
life daily ? He who has a wound needs a medicine.
The wound is that we are under sin ; the medicine is the
heavenly and venerable sacrament.
26. Give us this clay our daily bread. If thou receivest
• daffy, "this day" is "daffy" to thee. If Christ is for

x The writer means that /_4edcr,ovis capable of a twofold inter-

pretation. (x} "Bread which contributes to existence" (Origen),
which the writer, like Origen, explains as that "which supports the
substance of the soul." (z) °Bread for t he comm " g day" (_
iTr,o_av -_av), which in the Latin Version is represented by
eue_lianum ("daily"). This latter rendering leads him to speak
of "daily communion."
2 Similarly Augustine (_ Semi. Dam. in m_nte, ii, 7. 26) com-
plains that many inthe East donor communicate daily, though our
Lord speaks of "daily bread." Chrysostom in several of his
homilies complains of the neglect of communion at Constantinople,
and in one passage (in /ircb. xvii. 4) he asserts that many com-
municate once a year, others twice, others oRen. These strictures
on Eastern practice may just possibly show an acquaintance on the
part of the author with Chrysostom's writings, in which case they
are a further indication of the dat_ of de Saxram_4_is. Ambrose "
(de Paenit_ntia, ii. 9. Bg) similai'ly refers to those who abstain from
communion.
a Job L 5"
* The writer is probably referring to the Anamnesis, the words of
whlch he has quoted above (iv. 6. 27). For elcvatie of the "ascen-
sion" c_ Acts L 9 (Vulg.) ; e/_vatus est.
 ON THE SACRAMENTS I27

thee "this day," he rises again for thee "daily." How ?

Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.1 There-
fore "this day" is when Christ rises again. Yesterday
and to-day he himsel] is, 2 says the Apostle Paul. But in
another place he says, The night is Jar spent, the day is
at hand. s Yesternight is far spent, the present day is at
hand.
27. There follows: Forgive us our debts, as w'. also
]orgive our debtors. What is the debt but sin ? There-
fore if thou hadst not borrowed money at interest, thou
wouldst not now be in want; therefore sin is imputed
to thee. Thou hast had money, wherewith thou wast
born rich. Thou wast rich, being made in the image
and likeness of God. 4 Thou hast lost.what thou hadst,
that is humility ; whilst thou desirest to indicate thy
pride, thou hast lost money, thou hast become naked as
Adam, 5 thou hast accepted from the devil a debt which
was not necessary. And therefore thou who wast free in
Christ hast become a debtor to the devil. The enemy
held thy bond, but the Lord crucified it, and blotted it
out e with his blood. He took away thy debt, he restored
thy liberty.
28. Well, therefore, does he say: And ]orgive us our
debts, as we also ]orgive our debtors. Mark what thou
sayest. As I forgive so do thou also forgive me. If
thou hast forgiven, thou doest well in suing 7 that it be
forgiven thee. If thou'dost not forgive, how canst thou
sue him, that it may be forgiven thee ?
29 . And let us not be led into temptation, but deliver us
]rom evil. Mark what he says: And let us not be led
into temptation which we cannot endure, s He doth not
a Ps. ii. 7. I Heb. xiii. 8. s Rom. xiii. x2.
• Gen. i. _6. _ Gen. iii. 7. ' Cf. Col. ii. 14.
7 bene comsenis. Another readingis hesseconvenit,"iris right
and proper that it be forgiventhee."
s Cf.I Cor.x. 13.The wordsquamferrenonlbosntmfts ("which
 x28 THE TREATISE ON THE SACRAMENTS

say: "Lead us not into temptation," but as an athlete

he wishes such a trial as human nature can bear: that
each may be delivered ]rom evil, that is from the foe,
from sin.
39. But the Lord who has taken away your sin, and
pardoned your faults, is mighty to defend and guard you
against the wiles of the devil your adversary, that the foe
who is wont to beget guilt may not creep upon you.
But he who commits himself to God fears not the devil.
For if God is/or us, who is against us ? x To him, there-
fore, be praise and glory from the ages and now, always,
and for ever and ever.--AMEl_.

we cannot endure ") here are explanatory, and not a part of the
Lord's Prayer, as the author quotes the full text of that prayer
without them in v. 4- I8. But the words are found in some texts
of the Lord's Pra_'er,and are quoted by Jerome, Hilary, and Ps.
Aug., Strm. lxxxtv. For the reading "let us not be ted" {he
2batiarls indud nos) see note on v. 4- xS.
1 Rom. viii. 3i.
 BOOK VI

CHAPTER I
Tkc reality of tht gCft of Chrlst' s flesh and blood in the sacrament is
stwton and illustrated from.[okn vl.

x. As our Lord Jesus Christ is the true Son of God,

not after the manner of men, through grace, but as a son
of the essence of his father, so it is true flesh, as he
himself said, x which we receive, and his true blood is
our drink.
u. But perchance thou mayest say, what the disciples
of Christ also said then when they heard him saying:
Unless a man eat my aesh and drink my blood, he shall
not dwell in me, nor shall he have eternal li/e2--perchance
thou mayest say: "How are these things real? I who
see the likeness, do not see the reality of blood."
3. First of all, I told thee of the word of Christ,
which acts so that it can change and alter the appointed
forms s of nature. Then when the disciples of Christ
endured not his saying, but hearing that he gave his flesh
to eat and gave his blood to drink, they turned back ;
but Peter alone said : Thou hast the mords ol eternal file,
and horn shall I withdraw/rom thee _4 Accordingly, lest
others should say this, feeling a shrinking from actual
blood, and that yet the grace of redemption might
I Jn. vl. 55.
a The quotationis a conflationof Jn. vi. 53, 54, 56.
*g_nera instituta. Some MSS. read"genera et instituta"
($o Lanfranc). Erasmus has instituta generalia, "the general
ordinances."
• Jn. _ 68 (quoted freely).
x x29
I3o THE TREATISE

remain, therefore thou receivest the sacrament in a simili-

tude, but truly obtainest the grace and virtue of the
nature.1
4. I am, says he, the living bread which came doum
]rom heaven3 But flesh did not come down from heaven,
that is to say, he took flesh of the Virgin on earth.
How then did bread come down from heaven, and that,
too, living bread? Because our Lord Jesus Christ is
alike a sharer both in divinity and body. And thou
who reeeivest his flesh partakest of his divine essence in
that food.

CHAPTER II

The sacraments show the operation of the Trinity and the equality
of the Three Persons. Refutation of Arian teaching.

5" THEREFORE thOU hast been taught about s the

•sacraments, thou hast learnt all things most fully, because
thou hast been baptized in the name of the Trinity. In
all that we have done the mystery of the Trinity has
been preserved. Everywhere Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost, one operation, one sanctification, though certain
things seem to be as it were special. 6
a The meaning is that, though the communicant receives the
body of Christ "in a similitude" (i. e. under the forms of bread and
wine), yet he no less truly receives the virtue of the reality, i. e. the
body of Christ. The outward appearance of the bread is a
"symbol," or "similitude," but it is a symbol of a _'grace" aud
"virtue _'which are truly received. The author, who has hitherto
expressed himself in such realistic terms as to the conversion of the
elements into the Body and Blood of Christ, here falls back upon
the earlier language current in East and West and represented in
the prayers of the Canon quoted by him in iv. S. 2I ("the figure
(flgura) of the body and blood of Christ"). See Introd. pp. xviii,
Y.XXYU.

z Jn. vi. 5 x. Cf. de .,hcyst.viii. 47.

• accefislis de. Another rendering is "thou hast received of"
the sacraments. But the more natural phrase in thg_ q_e would
have been accelbirtissacramenta.
4 i. e. to the differentPersons of the Trinity.
 ON THE SACRAMENTS x3I

6. How ? It is God who anointed thee, and the Lord

signed thee, and put the Holy Spirit in thy heart, x Thou
hast therefore received the Holy Spirit in thy heart.
Hear another truth, that as the Holy Spirit is in the
heart, so also is Christ in the heart. How ? Thou hast
Christ saying this to his Church in the Song of Songs :
Set me as a seal in thy heart, as a seal upon thy arms. 2
7. Therefore God anointed thee, Christ signed thee.
How ? Because thou wast signed with the image of the
cross itself unto his passion, thou receivedst a seal unto
his likeness, that thou mayest rise unto his image, and
live after His pattern, who was crucified to sin and liveth
to God.s And thy old man plunged into the font was
crucil_ed to sin, but rose again unto God. 4
8. Then thou hast elsewhere a special work that,
while God called thee, in baptism thou art as it were
specially crucified with Christ. 5 Then (as an instance of
special operation) when thou receivest the spiritual seal,
note that there is a distinction of persons, but that the
whole my-_tery of the Trinity is bound up together.
9. Then what said the Apostle to thee, as was read
the day before yesterday ? Now there are diversities of
gilts, but the same Spirit. There are diversities o/minis-
tries, but the same Lord. There are diversities o] opera-
tions, but it is the same God which worketk all in all.
All, says.he, God worketh. These words, too, were read
of the Spirit of God: one and the same Spirit dividing
to each as He willsY Hearken to the Scripture saying
that the Spirit divides according to I/is own will, not in
a ,_ Cot. i. 21. _z.
• Cant. viii. 6. Cf. de Mg, st. vii. 4 I, 42 for this and the fo|low_
sectlon.
s Rom. vi. to. ' Rom. vi. 6. • Cf. C_. ii. 19.
• x Cor. xii. 4-6. Some MSS. read mysteriorum for minis-
t_iorum. Butthe latter, whichis an OldLatin reading,is found
in the quotationsof the passagebymost of the Latin Fathers.
x Cor.xii. xx.
x32 THE TREATISE

obedience to others. So then the Spirit divides to you

grace as He wills, not as He is bidden, and chiefly so
because He is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ. And
hold fast this, that He is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of
God, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit the Paraclete.
io. The Arians think that they derogate from the
Holy Spirit, if they speak of Him as the Spirit the Para-
clete. What does Paraclete mean but consoler? As
though we did not read of the Father that He himself
is the God o/ consolation, t Thou seest then that they
think that an attribute, which pious affection proclaims,
as showing the power of the eternal Father, must be
derogatory to the Holy Spirit.,

CHAPTER III
Haw and zvhemChrisliam oughttoaeray.
XX. NOW learn how we should pray. Many are the
excellences of prayer. Where we should pray is no
small matter, no small subject of inquiry. The Apostle
says : I desire that men should pray in every place, lilting
up pure hands toithout torah and disputing, a And the
Lord says in the Gospel: But thou, **hen thou prayest,
enter into thy chamber, and when thou hast shut the door,
pray to thy lather, s Does not there seem to be a contra-
diction between the words of the Apostle, Pray in every
p/axe, and those of the Lord, Enter into thy chamber and
pray I But there is no contradiction. Let us then clear
up this point. Tl_en, how thou shouldst begin prayer,
under what system order its various parts, what subjoin,
t 2 Cot. i. 3.
t I Tim. ii. 8. Origen deals with the same p_q_ge in d_
Orat. 3L
s Mt_vi. 6.
 ON THE SACRAMENTS _33

what state as petition, 1 how close the prayer, then for

whom thou shouldst pray--all these we may discuss.
I2. First, where thou shouldst pray. Paul seems to
say one thing and the Lord another. Was it possible
that Paul could teach anything contrary to the precepts
of Christ? Surely not. Why? Because he is not the
opponent, but the interpreter of Christ. Be ye imitators,
he says, o] me, as 1 also o] Christ. _ What then ? Thou
canst pray everywhere, and yet always pray in thy
chamber. Everywhere thou hast thy chamber. Though
thou be amidst the nations, amidst the Jews, thou hast
everywhere thy secret place. Thy mind is thy chamber.
Though thou be set in a multitude, yet in the inner
man thou possessest thy place of secrecy and retirement}
z3. But thou when thou prayest enter into thy.charaber.
Well does he say enter; that thou mayest not pray like
the Jew, to whom it is said : This people honoureth me
with their lips, but their heart is Jar ]rom me. _ Let not
then thy prayer proceed only from thy lips. Let the
whole intention of thy mind be fixed, enter into the
recess of thy heart, enter it with thy whole self. Let
not him, whom thou wishest to please, see thee to be
careless, s Let him see that thou prayest from the heart,
that when thou prayest from the heart he may deign to
hear thee.
x4. But thou when thou prayest, enter into thy chamber.
In another place thou hast this too: Go, my people,
enter into thy secret places, shut thy door, hide thysel] [or
a little, until the anger o] the Lord be overpast, s This the

• Cue re'dine dirKng_r¢, quid *ubte_ere, quid alleKare. This is

explained below, §§ zz-z 5. Subtextre ("subjoin ") seems to eor.
responct to the obse_ralia or "supplication" in § 22; allegare to
the postulatio ("petition"); see note on § zz. The question
•'*for whom we should pray" is, however, never dealt with.
t I Cor. xi. x. * Cf. de Inst. Virg. i. 7.
• Mt. xv. 8 ; Mk. vii. 6. • _functcriura.
• Is. xxvL 20.
I34 THE TREATISE

Lord spake by the prophet, but in the Gospel he said :

But thou zohen thou prayest, enter into thy chamber, and,
when thou hast shut the door, pray to thy Father.
z5. What is meant by "shutting the door"? Hear
what door thou hast, which thou shouldest shut, when
thou prayest. Would that the women would listen to
this l x Thou hast heard it already. Holy David taught
thee when he said : Lord, set a guard upon my mouth and
a door round about my lips. 2 Elsewhere there is the
door, which the Apostle Paul speaks of, when he says:
That the door o/ the word may be opened/or me, to speak
the mystery o/ Christ.* That is, when thou prayest, do
not shout aloud, nor let thy prayer go forth abroad, nor
noise it among the people. In thy privacy pray, sure
that he can hear thee in private, who sees all things,
hears all things. And pray in secrecy to thy Father, who
hears thy secret prayers.

CHAPTER IV
On prayer in secret. ExpositionoJ • Tim. ii. o°.
I6. BUr let us ask why this is profitable, why we should
rather pray in secrecy, than with loud calling. Hearken.
Let us take an example from the usage of men. If thou
art asking of a man, who hears quickly, thou dost not
think that there is need of loud shouting. Thou askest
softly in moderate tones. If thou askest of some deaf
person, dost not thou begin to caU aloud, that he may
be able to hear thee ? So then he who clamours thinks
that God cannot hear him, unless he clamours. .And in

a On this see Ambrose,de Virgini_s, ili. 3. H, wherethere is

a similarinjunctionof silencein church.
s Ps.cxli.{cxl.
Vulg.) 3.
s Col.iv.3. The reading "al_eriatur
miM ostium _er6i°'is
found inthewritings ofAmbrose.
I
 ON THE SACRAMENTS _35

asking Him thus he derogates from His power. But he

who prays in silence shows his faith, and confesses that
God is the searcher o] the heart and reins, 1 and hears thy
prayer before it is uttered by thy lips.
XT. Let us then consider this--/_oould that men should
pray in every place. 2 Why did he say "men" ? Surely
prayer is common both to men and women. I find no
reason for this, unless indeed the holy Apostle said
"men," lest the women should be too forward and
wrongly understand the words in every place and begin
to clamour everywhere. Such women we cannot endure
in the Church.
xS. I would that men, that is those who can observe
the precept, should pray in every place, lilting up pure
hands. What is meant by lilting up pure hands ? Oughtest
thou in thy prayer to show forth the cross of the Lord
to all and sundry?S That indeed is a proof of thy
piety, 4 not of thy modesty. But it is possible for thee
to pray, without displaying any outward figure, but lifting
up thy actions. If thou wouldst have thy prayer 5
effective, lift pure hands by thy innocence. Lift them
not every day. e Thou hast lifted them once for all;
there is no need to lift them again.
x9. I would that men should pray in every place, lilting
up pure hands without wrath and disputing. Nothing
can be truer. Wrath, it says, destroys even the wiseY

x Rev. ii. 23. C£ Jer. xvii. xo ; Ps. vii. 9 (II, Vulg.).

t x Tim. ii. 8.
a The reference is to the hands ot_tstretehed in prayer, in which
many Christian writers saw the symbolism of the Cross. Cf.
Minueius Felix, Ottav. 29, crucis signum e.st . . . cure homo
porreetis manibus deum pura mente veneratur.
• vlrtutis. Or the meaning may be "courage."
s orat_nem. Another reading is operatianem.
• The thought seems to be that the Christian at baptism enters
on the life of innocence. This is "the lit_ing up of pure hands,"
and this should not have to be repeated.
v Prov. xv. x (LXX. Not in Heb. or Vulg._.
i36 THE TREATISE

Therefore at all times, as far as is possible, a Christian

man should control his anger, and especially when he
comes to prayer. Let not the fierceness of wrath disturb
thy mind, let not a kind of fury hinder thy prayer. But
rather come with tranquil mind. For why wilt thou be
angry? Has thy servant committed a fault? Thou
comest to pray that thy faults may be forgiven thee, and
thou art indignant with another ! That is what is meant
by "without wrath."

CHAPTER V
On tke modestywMchwomenougMto s_om in p_ayer. The _Oarts
of _rayer are illustratedJCromI Tim. ii. x. Ap,Olicationto the
Zor_s Prayer and Psalm viii. Conclusion.
2o. Now as to "disputing." Often a man of business
comes to prayer, or a covetous man. One thinks of
money, the other z of gain, one of honour to be won,
the other of avarice ; and yet he thinks that God can
hear him. And therefore when thou prayest, it is right
that thou shouldest put divine things before human
things.
uI.Likewise too I would that the women pray, not _aunt-
ing themselves in ornaments or in pearls, says the Apostle
Paul. z The Apostle Peter also says 3: "The influence
of a woman availeth much to turn the affections of her
husband by the good conversation of his wife, and to
convert the unbeliever to the grace of Christ." Such
power has the grave demeanour and chastity of a wife
and her good conversation to summon her husband to
faith and devotion, and the same is often effected by the
z Or. we mayrender"another . . . another. . . afiother."
• The quotationis a veryfreecitationof t Tim.ii. 9.
• A free paraphraseof x Pet. iii. z) :_.
 ON THE SACRAMENTS I37

words of a wise man. Therefore let a woman's adorn-

merit, he says, not be in decking o/ the hair or braided
locks, but in prayer/tom a pure heart, where is the hidden
man o/the heart, which is always rich in the sight o/God. 1
Thou hast, therefore, wherein thou mayest be rich. In
Christ are thy riches, the badges of chastity and purity,
faith, devotion, and mercy. These are the treasures 01
righteousness, as the prophet said. _
2z. Next comes the question, what should be the
beginning of prayer ? Tell me, if you wished to make
a request of a man and were to begin thus: "Come,
grant me what I seek of thee," does not this seem an
arrogant form of prayer? 8 Prayer, therefore, should
begin with the praise of God, that thou mayest ask of
the almighty God, to whom all things are possible, who
has the will to grant. Then follows the supplication, as
the Apostle taught us when he said, 1 beseech, there/ore,
that iirst o/ all prayers, supplications, petitions, giving of
thanks be made. _ The first part of the prayer, therefore,
ought to contain the praise of God, the second the
- supplication, the third the petition, the fourth the giving
of thanks. Thou shouldest not, like a starveling for
food, begin with food, but with the praises of God.
* A conflation of passages from x Pet. iii. 3, I Tim. ii. 9 (" braided
locks"), _,Tim. ii. :tz ("those who call on the Lord from a pure
heart ").
• Is. xxxiB. 6 (LXX. The Heb. and Vulg. are different).
• The whole of this passage appears to be modelled upon Ambrose,
d_ Inst. I"irg. ii. 8--xo. In both the ord_ of words in x Tim. ii. x
is ore2ionts, obstcratiants {"prayers, supplications"), which is
reversed in the Vulgate. In both this order is essential to the
argument. The obsecre2iaor supplice21_ appears to be a general
wish or aspiration for the favour of God, while the fostulatia is a
petition for certain definite things. In de Satrara. "hallowed be
Thy name" is the obstzratia (" supplication "), while the rest of the
prayer ,is l_stulatio (" petition"), the gratiarum aztla (" giving of
thanks ') being represented by the doxology. In d* lnst. Fikg.
iL xo it is said that the Lord's Prayer can be divided in this way,
but the details are leR to the intelligence of the testier.
• x Tun. ii. x. el. Origen, de Ore2. x4.
 138 THE TREATISE

23. Thus it is that your prudent public speakers have

this rule that they court the favour of the judge. They
begin with his praises, that they may have the goodwill
of him who tries the case. Then he gradually begins to
beg the judge to deign to listen to him patiently. Thirdly,
he dares to put forward his petition, to set forth what
he seeks. Fourthly, as he began with the praises of
God, so he should end with praise:
• 4. Thou findest this in the Lord's prayer, Our Father,
which art in heaven. It is an act of praise to God to
declare Him a Father. Therein lies the glory that
belongs to fatherly goodness. It is the praise of God,
that he dwells in heaven, not on earth. Our Father,
tohich art in Heaven, hallowed be thy .name. That is,
that he should hallow his servants. For his name is
hallowed in us, when men are declared to be Christians.
So then Halloteed be thy name shows a wish. Thy kingdom
¢ome--a petition that the kingdom of Christ be in us.
If God reigns in us, the adversary cannot find a place.
Guilt does not reign, sin does not reign. But virtue
reigns, chastity reigns, devotion reigns. Then : Thy w///
be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us tMs day our
, daily bread. This petition is the chief of those things
which are asked. And ]orgive us, he says, our debts/as
toe also ]orgive our debtors. Therefore daily receive, 2
that daily thou mayest ask forgiveness for thy debt.
And suffer us not to be led into temptation, but deliver
us/tom etril. What follows ? Hearken what the priest
says: "Through our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom, with
whom, there is to thee honour, praise, glory, majesty,
power, with the Holy Spirit, from all ages, both now and
, always and for ever and ever.--AMrtN." s

With this section d. Ori_,en,d* Oral. 33.

i.e. receive that bread, ' a reference to the preceding petition.
s This doxology resembles that found in the Gre_, hturgies
(James, M-rk, Basil, Chrysostom) st the close of the Lord s Prayer.
 ON THE SACRAMENTS i39

25 . Another example. Though the Psalms of David

are one book, possessing the excellences of prayer, which
we have mentioned above, yet often too in a single psalm
we find represented all these parts of prayer, as we see
in the eighth psalm. Thus he begins as follows : O Lord,
our Lord, how wonder]ul is thy name in all the earth, t So
then we have the first part of the prayer." Then the
supplication. For I shall behold thy heavens, the works of
thy fingers, that is, 1 shall behold the heavens, the moon and
the stars which thou hast ]ounded. He surely does not
mean, I shall see the sky, but I shall see the heavens_
in which celestial grace and splendour begin to shine.
These heavens then the prophet promised should be
given to him, since he deserved s celestial grace from the
Lord. The moon and the stars which thou hast ]ounded.
He calls the Church the moon, and the saints shining
with celestial grace he calls the stars. _ Then observe his
petition : What is man that thou are mind/ut oI him, or the

A similar doxology formsthe conclusion of the Canon, and precedes

the Lord's Prayer in the Ambrosias Sacvamentary oi Biasca
(cent. x.), and also occurs in this latter position in the Roman
Canon (C-_lasian Sacramenlary, Wilson, p. 236). In this respect
the rite with which the author was familiar correspondedwith the
Greek rites mentioned above, and the position of the doxology in
the Sacramentary of Biasea may be due to a later rearrangement.
From its liturgical use the doxology passed into the text of ML
vi. I3.
I Psalm viii. i f. With the exposition which follows of.Ambrose,
de Inst. Virg. ii. 9.
2 Or "the prayer proper comes first," oratio signifying the open-
ing of praise. This seems to be the use in de Inst. k'irg, ii. 9,
koxtenus oratlo: Jude sefuitur obsecratio. It must be remembered
that orat/o would suggest any speech, as well as prayer.
• merevetur. The reading of the Benedictine edeL'mererentur
cannot be right. _.
Cf. Keble, Ckrlstian Year (Septuagnsima):
The Moon above, the Church below,
A wondrous race they run
The Saints, Hke stars, around His seat,
Perform their courses still.
_4o THE TREATISE ON THE SACRAMENT_

son o/ man that thou visitest him ? Thou madest him a little
lower than the angels, thou hast crowned him with glory
and honour, and hast set him over the works o] thy hands.
Then there is another thanksgiving: Thou hast put all
things under his/eet, all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts
o/ the /ield. x
26. We have taught, so far as we could grasp them,
truths which perhaps we have not learned, and we have
set them forth as fax as we were able. May your hofiness, _
informed by priestly training, labour to hold fast what it
has received from God. And may that oblation, like a
pure victim, always find in you its seal, that you your-
selves may be able to attain to grace and the rewards
of virtue by our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom is glory,
honour, praise, everlastingness, from the ages, and now,
and always, and for ever and ever.--AME_.
x It is difficult to-see, in the above interpretstion of Psalm viii.,
in what sense the words "I shall behold the heaven" and "What
is man ... that thou visitest him?" canbe regarded as "prayers."
The explanation, perhaps, is that the former verse is taken to refer
to the future establishment of the true heaven, L e. that in which
Christ is the sun, and the Church the moon ; while the latter verse
foreshadows the humiliation and exaltation of Christ. These verses,
in the author's view, were prophecies of David, but, as they lay in
the future, they were also aspirations, and therefore, in a sense,
prayers. The lines of Keble, quoted in the preceding note, and
the use of Ps. viii. as a properPsalm forAscension Day, are an echo
of some _ofthe ideas propounded in this section. In the author's
interpretation, the opening ascription of praise is the oralt_ (or
"prayer "). The words "I shall behold the heaven, the moon and
the stars" are the obsecratio ("supplication"); while the words
".What,is man ... works of Thy hands" axe. the _OostuIalio(" ti-
taon '). The words "Thou hast put all things . . . beasts o_et_e
field" form the concluding thanksgiving. In de Inst, I"irg. ii. 9,
Ambrose gives a similar interpretation of the psalm, though in a
more intelligible form. The opening of praise is the same, though
more of it is quoted ; but the obsecratt_is found in the words "' that
thou mayst destroy the enemy and the avenger." The words,
"I shall behold," etc., m'e interpreted in the same way a._here, but
are regardedas the lbOstulatio; while the rest of the psalm, beginning
"What is man," forms the concluding tb_-I_%giving.
s On this e.'cpressionsee note on i. 6. 24.
 INDEX
(Su also Tabl, of Contents.)

ADMINISTRATION, WOrC_S 0f, Chrysostom, xl, xvili, xxxviii,

xxxiv x26
Alexandria,Schoolof,ix Clement of Alexandria,ix,65
Alger of Liege,xxxviii, IIO Communion , frequencyof,xviii,
Ambrosiaster, xxxv I26
Amen, useof,xxxiv,70,xx5 Confessionof sin before bap-
Anamnes_, xxxi, HS, x26 tism,Io2
Angel, in Canon of Roman Mass, Confirmation, xxv
xxxii, H6 Connolly, Dora, xxxii, xxxiii,
ApostolicConstitutions, Liturgy x15
of, tI 5 Consecration of Font, xxii, 5o,
Arianism,xix, 56, XI7, 132 82., 90
Arnobins the Younger, 1I 5 Eucharist, xxxvlii, 69, H3f..
Aubertm, xvili Constantine, x
Augustine, x, xi, xiii, xx, xxiv, Creed, old Roman, lO9
xxxv, .xxxvii, xxxviii f., 99, , Profession of, xxlii, 52,
II5, 126 56 , 93
Cyprian, xxxv
Baptism, infant, xiii Cyril of Jerusalem, xi, xiii,
--, redemptive grace of, 9z f." xxxiv f., xxxviii, Ix5, x23, x25
, seasonsof,x, IO 4
Basil, Liturgy of St., xxx'v Dailld, xv, xviii, 58
Batiffol, xxxiii Daily Communion, I26
Berengar, xxxvii Doxology, after Lord's Prayer,
Bernard, xiv xvii, 138
Beroldns, xii, xxiv, xxvi, 77 Duchesne, xx, xxxii
Bishop, E., xxxi
, W. C., xi, xii, xxviii, Effeta, xxi, 46, 75, 76
77 Exorcism, xxiii, 8;_
Bobbio missal, xxii, xxiv, xxv,
94 Cardinal, xviii
Bona, Fail, consequencesof, 9 I
Brightman, xi Font, shape of, 96
Bulllnger, xviii
Gaudentins of Brescia, xi
Canon of Mass, xvii, xix, xxxi, Gos.pels, delivery of, at Rome,
XXX'iXj II0_ 113£ rat
Catechumen, ix Gregory of Nyssa, xi, xiv, xxxv,
Chrism, xxiii 69, 92
x x4 t
 x42 INDEX

Hebrews, Epistle to, attributed Offerings of bread and wine for

to St. Paul, 55, IO4, If7, I27 Eucharist, Io7
Old Testament--
Immersion, xxiii, 93, 97 Baptism, tyl2es of, 48 f.,
Incarnation, analogy of, to Eu- 8of., 83, _4, 87 f., Io4,
charist, 70, Ix2 Io8
-., analogy of, toBaptism, 73 Eucharist, types of, 63 f.,
Innocent I., xix, Ho xo7 f., IX4, xI6, x17, II8
Institution, recital of, xxxi, 113 Origen, ix, xiv, xx, 61, 125, t32 ,
138
Jerome, xxxv, 60, i23, 125
John the Deacon, xxv Pascha.sins Radbert, xxxvii
Pelagianism, xviii, xix, IO2
Keble, 139f. Perronne, Cardinal, III
Prayer, rules for, I32 f.
Lanfranc, xixvii, xlof. , Lord's, xli, 122 f., x38 ;
Lessons, xxvii L, 45, 5o, 58, 86, delivery and exposition of,
98, I31 xii f.
Libar ordinum, xxv, xxxiii Probst, xix, IIO
Lighffoot, I25 Procession to Altar, xxvi
Loofs, xv Profession. Set Creed, profes-
sion of.
• Manuale Ambrosianum, xii, Psalm viii. interpreted, I39
xxiv, xxvi, xxviif., 77 xxiii, interpreted, x2I
Maximus of Turin, xviii Psalter, Gallican, xlii
Me]chizedek, sacrifice of, xxxii,65
Melchizedekians, sect of, 117 Ratramn, Ixxvii
Methodius, xiv, 92 Regeneration, meaning of, 96
3[issale Gallicanum vetus, xxiv, Renewal of youth, Io6
94 Renunciations, xxii, 46, 77
Missale GotMcum, xxiv, xxv,
xxxii £ Sacramentary,. Ambrosian (of
Morin, Dom, xix, xxii, xxvi, 47, Biasca), xxxa, miv, I I5, 139
1I 5 , Gelasian, xix, xxiv, xxv,
Mozarabic rite, xxxiii xxvi, xxxi, xxxii, xxxiii, x-_iv,
52, 63, 94, Ixo, x39
Names given in for baptism, xi, --, Gregorian, xxv, xxxii, 94
1o2 Sacrifice, Eucharist as, xxxix
New Testament, illustrations St. GallMS. ofd¢ Sacrum.+ xix,
_rom-- Ix
Baptism of Christ, 54 Schermann, xviii
Blind man, healing of (John Scrutinies, xii, xiii
ix.), IOI f. Seal, xxv, xxvi, 63, IOO
Deaf and Dt_mb man, 46 Signing with the Cross, xxiii,
Descent of Spirit at Pente- 5o, 52, 89, I3I
cost, 9° Sin, original and actual, in rein-
Paralytic at Pool of Beth- tion to baptism, xxiv, 58,
esda, 53f., 86, 87 99 L
Water and Blood, II8 ; $g¢ Songof Songs (C,anticles), xiv£,
Mso Incarnation. xliif., 57, 6of., 7I f., x19£, x3 x
 INDEX I43

Spirit, Operation of, in Baptism, Unction after baptism, xxiii f.,

52 L 57, 94, 96
Spitting, xxii, 47
Stowe Missal, xxiv, xxxiii Versions, Old Latin, xix, xlf.,
z25
Tertullian, x, xxxv, 53, 73, 76 , Vulgate, xix, xlf., 125
Tillemont, xviii
Transubstantiation, xv, xxxvii, Washing of feet, xv, xvii, xxiv,
xxxviii xxvhi, 58, 98 f.
Trinity, doctrine of, 13o f. Water mixed with wine, I I7
White robes, vesting with, xxiv f.,
Unction before baptism, xxi, 59, z2l
77 Witmund of Aversa, xxxvii

angelus, 78, zI6 missa cateckumenorum, x, xii,

&wrfTtruov, xxxv xxviii, 45
-- fldelium, x
caro_'nales virtutes, Ioo missae 2_ro baptiza2is, xxvii
com_Oetentes,_d, 45 myron (_6pov), xxiii, 96
conficere, 69 mysterium, 98, fox
cowverlere (mutare) nattwam, xv,
xxxv o_ts, 8I

creatura, I07 _Oerfectto, xxv, 63, IOO

disci_lini areani, xli, 45 2bresbyter, xxiii, 47, 75 f-
dominus, use of title in reading qwrl_6_evo,, oI, xi
Gospel at Milan, 7o ee2hraesenlare , xxxv
•l_os, 54, 69 (v. species) sacerdos, xxiii, 47, 57, 75 f', 94
electi, xi sacramentum, 112
¢_Trto6o'iox,I2 _ 126 sanaiflcatio, 98
sanctigas vestra, 84, 14°
fanll'/f.a, 121 s/Oec/._s, xxxv, 54, 68, 69, 7o, 89,
flgura, xxxv zz3
suiOersubstanlialis , I'_3_ I2 5
hostia, z z 5
thymiaterium, IO4
_a_. x_;v, i tradz'tio symboli, xii
tramflgurare, xv
/ev//a, 47 (el. xxiii, 75) transitus, 80

_.t're, ff'rolxeto_v , X.XXV _.n'_J_um _u G I0I

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