§1Virtus animi, quae patientia dicitur, tam magnum dei donum est, ut etiam ipsius, qui nobis eam largitur, qua malos ut corrigantur expectat, patientia praedicetur.
The virtue of the mind, which is called patience, is so great a gift of God, that even the patience of Him who bestows it upon us, by which He waits for the wicked to be corrected, is proclaimed.
ita quamuis deus nihil pati possit, patientia uero a patiendo nomen acceperit, patientem tamen deum non modo fideliter credimus, uerum etiam salubriter confitemur.
Thus, although God can suffer nothing, and patience indeed has received its name from suffering, yet we not only faithfully believe but also wholesomely confess that God is patient.
sed dei patientia qualis et quanta sit, quem nihil patientem nec tamen inpatientem, immo etiam patientissimum dicimus, uerbis explicare quis possit? ineffabilis est ergo illa patientia, non tamen nulla, sicut zelus eius, sicut ira eius et si quid huius modi est.
But who can explain in words what kind and how great is the patience of God, whom we call not suffering anything, yet not impatient, but rather most patient? That patience, therefore, is ineffable, yet not non-existent, just as His zeal, just as His anger, and if there is anything else of this kind.
nam si tamquam nostra ista cogitemus, in illo nulla sunt.
For if we think of these things as ours, they are non-existent in Him.
nihil enim horum nos sine molestia sentimus; absit autem ut inpassibilem dei naturam perpeti ullam molestiam suspicemur.
For none of these things do we feel without distress; but far be it from us to suspect that the impassible nature of God suffers any distress.
sicut autem zelat sine aliquo liuore, irascitur sine aliqua perturbatione, miseretur sine aliquo dolore, paenitet eum sine alicuius suae prauitatis correctione: ita est patiens sine ulla passione.
But just as He is zealous without any malice, is angry without any perturbation, has mercy without any pain, and repents without any correction of His own depravity: so is He patient without any passion.
nunc itaque humana patientia, quam capere possumus et habere debemus, cuius modi sit, quantum dominus tribuit et quantum patitur breuitas praesentis sermonis, expediam.
Now, therefore, I will explain what kind of human patience it is, which we are able to receive and ought to have, as far as the Lord grants and as far as the brevity of the present discourse allows.
§2Patientia hominis, quae recta est atque laudabilis et uocabulo digna uirtutis, ea perhibetur, qua aequo animo mala toleramus, ne animo iniquo bona deseramus, per quae ad meliora perueniamus.
The patience of man, which is right and laudable and worthy of the name of virtue, is asserted to be that by which we tolerate evils with an even mind, lest with an uneven mind we should abandon the goods through which we may arrive at better things.
quapropter inpatientes, dum mala pati nolunt, non efficiunt, ut a malis eruantur, sed ut mala grauiora patiantur.
Wherefore the impatient, while they refuse to suffer evils, do not bring it about that they are rescued from evils, but that they suffer more grievous evils.
patientes autem, qui mala malunt non committendo ferre quam non ferendo committere, et leuiora faciunt, quae per patientiam patiuntur, et peiora euadunt, quibus per inpatientiam mergerentur.
But the patient, who prefer to bear evils by not committing them, rather than to commit them by not bearing them, both make lighter those things which they suffer through patience, and escape worse things in which they would be plunged through impatience.
bona uero aeterna et magna non perdunt, dum malis temporalibus breuibusque non cedunt, quoniam non sunt condignae passiones huius temporis, sicut apostolus dicit, ad futuram gloriam, quae reuelabitur in nobis, et iterum ait: quod est temporale leue tribulationis nostrae, in incredibilem modum aeternum gloriae pondus operatur in nobis.
Truly, they do not lose eternal and great goods, while they do not yield to temporal and brief evils, since the sufferings of this time are not worthy, as the Apostle says, to be compared with the future glory which shall be revealed in us; and again he says: that which is the temporary light thing of our tribulation, works for us in an incredible manner an eternal weight of glory.
§3Intueamur itaque, carissimi, quanta in laboribus et doloribus homines dura sustineant pro rebus, quas uitiose diligunt et quanto ipsi his feliciores fieri putant, tanto infelicius concupiscunt.
Let us therefore look, beloved, at how great hardships and pains men endure for the sake of things which they viciously love; and the happier they think themselves to become by these things, the more unhappily they desire them.
quanta pro falsis diuitiis, quanta pro uanis honoribus, quanta pro ludicris affectionibus periculosissima et molestissima patientissime tolerantur! pecuniae, gloriae, lasciuiae cupidos uidemus, ut ad desiderata perueniant adeptisque non careant, soles, imbres, glacies, fluctus et procellosissimas tempestates, aspera et incerta bellorum, inmanium plagarum ictus et uulnera horrenda non ineuitabili necessitate, sed culpabili uoluntate perferre.
How many most dangerous and troublesome things are most patiently tolerated for the sake of false riches, for the sake of empty honors, for the sake of playful affections! We see those who desire money, glory, and luxury, in order to arrive at the desired things and not to lack what they have acquired, endure suns, rains, ice, waves, and the most stormy tempests, the rough and uncertain things of wars, the blows of huge plagues, and horrible wounds, not by inevitable necessity, but by a culpable will.
uerum haec quodam modo licitae uidentur insaniae.
Yet these seem in some way to be permitted madnesses.
Namque auaritia, ambitio, luxuria et uariorum oblectamenta ludorum, nisi propter illa facinus aliquod admittatur siue flagitium, quod legibus prohibetur humanis, putantur ad innocentiam pertinere: immo etiam qui sine fraude cuiusquam aut pro habenda uel augenda pecunia aut pro adipiscendis uel retinendis honoribus aut in agone certando seu uenando seu theatricum aliquid plausibiliter exhibendo magnos labores doloresque pertulerit.
For avarice, ambition, luxury, and the amusements of various games, unless some crime or outrage prohibited by human laws is committed on their account, are thought to belong to innocence; nay, even he who without fraud toward anyone has endured great labors and pains, either for the sake of having or increasing money, or for the sake of acquiring or retaining honors, or in competing in a contest, or in hunting, or in exhibiting something theatrically to applause.
parum est quod populari uanitate nullis reprehensionibus cohibetur, sed insuper extollitur laudibus, quoniam laudatur, sicut scriptum est, peccator in desideriis animae suae.
It is not enough that by popular vanity he is restrained by no reprehensions, but moreover he is extolled with praises, since, as it is written, the sinner is praised in the desires of his soul.
uis enim desideriorum facit tolerantiam laborum et dolorum; et nemo nisi pro eo, quod delectat, sponte suscipit ferre quod cruciat.
For the force of desires produces the tolerance of labors and pains; and no one, except for the sake of that which delights, voluntarily undertakes to bear that which tortures.
sed istae, ut dixi, cupiditates, propter quas explendas qui eis flagrant multa dura et acerba patientissime sustinent, licitae existimantur legibusque concessae.
But these, as I have said, desires, for the sake of fulfilling which those who burn with them most patiently endure many hard and bitter things, are thought to be permitted and allowed by the laws.