Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Preferring nothing whatsoever to Christ because he preferred nothing whatsoever to us

Ultimate source unknown
"All Christ did, all he taught, was the will of God. Humility in our daily lives, an unwavering faith, a moral sense of modesty in conversation, justice in acts, mercy in deed, discipline, refusal to harm others, a readiness to suffer harm, peaceableness with our brothers, a wholehearted love of the Lord, loving in him what is of the Father, fearing him because he is God, preferring nothing to him who preferred nothing to us, clinging tenaciously to his love, standing by his cross with loyalty and courage whenever there is any conflict involving his honor and his name, manifesting in our speech the constancy of our profession and under torture confidence for the fight, and in dying the endurance for which we will be crowned—this is what it means to wish to be a coheir with Christ, to keep God’s command; this is what it means to do the will of the Father."

"Voluntas autem Dei est quam Christus et fecit et docuit.  humilitas in conuersatione, stabilitas in fide, uerecundia in uerbis, in factis iustitia, in operibus misericordia, in moribus disciplina, iniuriam facere non nosse et factam posse tolerare, cum fratribus pacem tenere, Dominum toto corde diligere, amare in illo quod pater est, timere quod Deus est, Christo nihil omnino praeponere, quia nec nobis quicquam ille praeposuit, caritati eius inseparabiliter adhaerere, cruci eius fortiter ac fidenter adsistere, quando de eius nomine et honore certamen est, exhibere in sermone constantiam qua confitemur, in quaestione fiduciam qua congredimur, in morte patientiam qua coronamur:  hoc est coheredem Christi uelle esse, hoc est praeceptum Dei facere, hoc est uoluntatem patris inplere."

     St. Cyprian of Carthage, De dominica oratione 15, trans. Liturgy of the hours.  Latin from CSEL 3.1, ed. Hartel (1868), 277-278 (265-294).  =CCSL 3A, ed. Moreschini (1976) =ed. Reveillaud (1964) =PL 4, col. 546 (537 ff.).  There are many translations of this treatise into English.  The header is based on the 2004 Popular patristics series translation by Stewart-Sykes.

Monday, June 18, 2018

"Let me see the pure light; when I am there, I shall be truly a man at last."

ἄφετέ με καθαρὸν φῶς λαβεῖν·  ἐκεῖ παραγενόμενος ἄνθρωπος ἔσμαι.

     St. Ignatius of Antioch, Romans 6, trans. Liturgy of the hours.  Lake:  "Suffer me to receive the pure light; when I have come thither I shall become a man."  Ehrman:  "Allow me to receive the pure light; when I have arrived there, I will be a human."  ANF 1 reflects a variant reading sidelined in Loeb editions of both Lake and Ehrman:  "Suffer me to obtain pure light:  when I have gone thither, I shall indeed be a man God."