Complete Course of Patrology, Latin Series, Volume 38: The Complete Works of Saint Augustine of Hippo, Volume Five, First Part

SERMO CXVII.

De verbis Evangelii Johannis, cap. 1, 1–5, In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum, etc. Contra Arianos.

  1. Verbum Dei ut intelligatur, quo pretio comparandum. Capitulum Evangelii quod lectum est, fratres dilectissimi, purum oculum cordis inquirit. Dominum enim nostrum Jesum Christum accepimus secundum divinitatem ad condendam universam creaturam, secundum humanitatem ad reparandam lapsam creaturam, evangelizante Joanne. In ipso autem Evangelio qualis et quantus vir Joannes fuerit, invenimus, ut ex dignitate dispensatoris intelligatur quanti pretii sit Verbum, quod per talem dici potuit: imo quam nullius pretii sit quod superat om

nia. Pretio enim aut comparatur res venalis, aut subjicitur, aut excedit eam. Quando tanto quisque comparat quanto valet, æquatur pretium rei quæ comparatur: quando vilius, subjicitur ei: quando carius, superat eam. Verbo autem Dei nec æquari aliquid potest, nec ad mutationem subjici, nec superponi aliquid. Subjici enim omnia possunt Verbo Dei, quia omnia per ipsum facta sunt: non tamen subjiciuntur, quasi pretium sint Verbi, ut quisque det aliquid, ut illud accipiat. Tamen si dici potest, et admittit nomen hoc ratio aliqua vel loquendi consuetudo, pretium comparandi Verbi ipse comparator est, qui se ipsum pro se ipso dederit huic Verbo. Itaque quando aliquid emimus, quærimus aliquid quod demus, ut habeamus rem dato pretio quam volumus emere. Et extra nos est quod damus; et si apud nos erat, fit extra nos illud quod damus, ut sit apud nos illud quod comparamus. Quidquid pretii invenerit qui emit aliquid, necesse est ut tale inveniat, ut det quod habet, et accipiat quod non habet; maneat tamen ille a quo abscedit pretium, et accedat illud pro quo dat pretium. Qui autem vult comparare Verbum hoc, qui vult habere, non quaerat extra se ipsum quod det, se ipsum det. Quod cum fecerit, non se amittit, sicut amittit pretium, quando aliquid emit.

  1. Pretium Verbi ipse homo. Verbum ergo Dei propositum est omnibus: comparent qui possunt; possunt autem qui pie voluerint. In illo enim Verbo pax: et pax in terra hominibus bonæ voluntatis (Luc. ii, 14). Ergo qui vult comparare, det se ipsum. Quasi pretium est hoc Verbi, si dici aliquo modo potest, quando nec se perdit qui dat, et acquirit Verbum pro quo se dat, et se ipsum in Verbo acquirit cui se dat. Et quid dat Verbo? Non aliquid ab ipso alienum, pro quo se dat; sed quod per ipsum Verbum factum est, hoc ei redditur ut reficiatur. Omnia per ipsum facta sunt. Si omnia, utique et homo. Si coelum, si terra, si mare, si omnia quæ in ipsis sunt, si universa creatura; utique ille manifestius, qui ad imaginem Dei factus per Verbum factus est homo.
  2. Verbum Dei forma quædam non formata. Forma sine tempore et loco. Non modo, fratres, tractamus, quomodo possit intelligi quod dictum est. In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum. Ineffabiliter potest intelligi: non verbis hominis fit ut intelligatur. Verbum Dei tractamus, et dicimus quare non intelligatur.

SERMON CXVII.

On the words of the Gospel of John 1:1–5, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” etc. Against the Arians.

  1. The Word of God as it is to be understood; at what price it is to be purchased. The passage of the Gospel that has been read, dearly beloved brethren, calls for the pure eye of the heart. For we have received our Lord Jesus Christ — through his divinity, as the one who established the whole of creation; through his humanity, as the one who restored fallen creation — as proclaimed by John the Evangelist. And in that Gospel itself we find what manner and how great a man John was, so that from the dignity of the messenger we may understand how great a price the Word commands that could be proclaimed through such a man — or rather, how beyond all price is that which surpasses all

things. For a thing that is for sale is either matched by its price, or falls below it, or exceeds it. When someone purchases a thing for exactly what it is worth, the price equals the thing purchased; when for less, the price falls below it; when for more, the price exceeds it. But nothing can be made equal to the Word of God, nothing can be subjected to it as a means of exchange, and nothing can be set above it. All things can indeed be subjected to the Word of God, because all things were made through him; yet they are not subjected to him as though they were the price of the Word — as though someone might hand over some thing in order to receive it. Nevertheless, if this manner of speaking is in any way admissible, if some rational principle or custom of speech permits the word, the price for obtaining the Word is the purchaser himself, who gives himself for himself to this Word. When we buy anything, we seek something to give in return, so that by handing over the price we may obtain the thing we wish to purchase. And what we give is outside us; or if it was with us, it passes outside us when we give it, so that the thing we purchase may be with us. Whatever price a buyer finds, he must find something such that he gives what he has and receives what he does not have; yet that from which the price departs remains, and that for which the price is given draws near. But one who wishes to obtain this Word, who wishes to have it, should not seek outside himself what he has to give — let him give himself. And when he has done so, he does not lose himself, as one loses a price when one buys something.

  1. The price of the Word is man himself. The Word of God, then, is set before all: let those who can purchase it do so; and those who are devoutly willing are able to do so. For in that Word there is peace: “and on earth peace to men of good will” (Luke 2:14). Therefore, let one who wishes to purchase it give himself. This is, so to speak, the price of the Word — if it can be called such in any manner — because the one who gives does not lose himself, and he gains the Word for which he gives himself, and gains himself in the Word to whom he gives himself. And what does he give to the Word? Not something alien to the Word, in return for which he gives himself; rather, that which was made through the Word itself is restored to it so that it may be remade. All things were made through him. If all things, then certainly man as well. If heaven, if earth, if sea, if all things that are in them, if the whole of creation — then certainly most manifestly that one who, made in the image of God, was made as man through the Word.
  2. The Word of God: a form that is itself unformed. Form without time and place. We are not now treating, brethren, of how that which was said can be understood: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” It can be understood ineffably: it is not through human words that one comes to understand it. We treat of the Word of God, and we say why it is not understood.