§3Et quid non habent, ait mihi aliquis, qui haec habent? tu dicis: habent baptismum Christi? dico.
"And what do they not have," someone says to me, "who have these things?" You say: "Do they have the baptism of Christ?" I say they do.
tu dicis: habent fidem Christi? dico.
You say: "Do they have the faith of Christ?" I say they do.
si ergo haec habent, quid non habent? quid est baptismus? sacramentum.
Therefore, if they have these things, what do they not have? What is baptism? A sacrament.
audi apostolum: si sciero omnia sacramenta. multum est scire omnia dei sacramenta;
Listen to the apostle: "If I should know all sacraments." It is a great thing to know all the sacraments of God; however many sacraments we may know, who knows all the sacraments of God?
quantacumque sciamus sacramenta, quis nouit dei omnia sacramenta? quid ait apostolus? si sciero omnia sacramenta, si habeam omnem prophetiam, adde adhuc: et omnem scientiam. (sed de fide dixeras).
What does the apostle say? "If I should know all sacraments, if I should have all prophecy," add still: "and all knowledge." (But you had spoken of faith).
audi adhuc: si habeam omnem fidem. difficile est habere omnem fidem, quomodo difficile est noscere omnia sacramenta.
Listen still: "if I should have all faith." It is difficult to have all faith, just as it is difficult to know all sacraments.
et quid est quod dicit: (omnem) ita ut montes transferam, caritatem autem non habeam, nihil sum? intendite, fratres, intendite, obsecro uos, apostoli uocem et uidete, quare cum tantis laboribus et periculis fratres nostros quaeramus.
And what is it that he says: "(all) so that I may move mountains, but have not charity, I am nothing"? Pay attention, brothers, pay attention, I beseech you, to the voice of the apostle and see why we seek our brothers with such great labors and dangers.
caritas eos quaerit de cordibus nostris.
Charity seeks them from our hearts.
propter fratres meos et propinquos meos, dicit psalmus, loquebar pacem de te, ad sanctam Hierusalem loquens.
"For the sake of my brothers and my neighbors," says the psalm, "I spoke peace concerning you," speaking to holy Jerusalem.
uidete ergo, fratres mei, quid dixit apostolus: si habuero omnia sacramenta, omnem scientiam, prophetiam, fidem — qualem fidem? — ita ut montes transferam, caritatem autem non habeam, nihil sum. non dixit: illa omnia nihil sunt,\' sed: si caritatem non habeam, nihil sum.
See therefore, my brothers, what the apostle said: "If I should have all sacraments, all knowledge, prophecy, faith" — what kind of faith? — "so that I may move mountains, but have not charity, I am nothing." He did not say: "All those things are nothing," but: "If I have not charity, I am nothing." For who in their madness would say: "The sacraments of God are nothing"?
quis enim demens diceret: nihil sunt dei sacramenta? quis demens diceret: nihil est prophetia, nihil scientia, nihil fides? non illa nihil sunt, sed cum illa magna sint, ego magna habens si caritatem non habeam, nihil sum.
Who in their madness would say: "Prophecy is nothing, knowledge is nothing, faith is nothing"? Those things are not nothing, but although those things are great, if I, having great things, have not charity, I am nothing.
magna illa sunt et magna habeo et nihil sum, si caritatem non habeo, per quam mihi prosunt quae magna sunt.
Those things are great, and I have great things, and I am nothing, if I have not charity, through which those things which are great are of benefit to me.
si enim non habeo caritatem, illa inesse possunt, prodesse non possunt.
For if I have not charity, those things can be present, but they cannot be of benefit.
§4Attende ergo, frater, attende, obsecro te. dicis mihi: quid me quaeris? respondeo: quia frater meus es.
Pay attention therefore, brother, pay attention, I beseech you.
respondes mihi et dicis: si perii, quid me quaeris? et ego respondeo: si non perisses, non quaererem. quid me quaeris? dicis mihi: si perii, quid me quaeris? cum ego respondeam: quaero quia peristi.
You say to me: "Why do you seek me?" I answer: "Because you are my brother." You answer me and say: "If I am lost, why do you seek me?" And I answer: "If you were not lost, I would not seek you." "Why do you seek me?" you say to me; "If I am lost, why do you seek me?" while I answer: "I seek you because you are lost." And why do I seek, with what fruit do I seek?
et quare quaero, quo fructu quaero? ut aliquando dicatur mihi: frater tuus mortuus erat et reuixit, perierat et inuentus est. respondes et dicis mihi: sed habeo sacramentum. habes, agnosco;
So that at some time it may be said to me: "Your brother was dead and has come to life again, he was lost and has been found." You answer and say to me: "But I have the sacrament." You have it, I acknowledge; for this reason I seek you.
propter hoc te quaero. magnam causam addidisti, quare diligentius te quaeram.
You have added a great reason why I should seek you more diligently.
ouis es enim de grege domini mei, cum signo errasti; ideo quaero magis, quia ipsum signum habes.
For you are a sheep of the flock of my Lord, you have wandered with the sign; therefore I seek you more, because you have the sign itself.
quare unam ecclesiam non possidemus? unum signum habemus;
Why do we not possess one Church? We have one sign; why are we not in one fold?
quare in uno ouili non sumus? ideo te quaero, ut hoc sacramentum sit tibi in salutis adiutorium, non in damnationis testimonium.
Therefore I seek you, so that this sacrament may be for you an aid to salvation, not a testimony to damnation.
nescis quia desertor de charactere damnatur, de quo militans honoratur? ideo te quaero, ut non pereas cum signo.
Do you not know that a deserter is condemned by the character by which a soldier is honored? Therefore I seek you, so that you may not perish with the sign.
salutis enim signum est, si habeas salutem, si habeas caritatem.
For it is a sign of salvation if you have salvation, if you have charity.
hoc enim signum salutis extra tibi inesse potest, prodesse non potest.
For this sign of salvation can be present in you outside, but it cannot be of benefit.
ueni, ut prosit tibi quod habebas, non ut accipias quod habebas, sed ut prodesse tibi incipiat quod habebas et accipias quod non habebas.
Come, so that what you had may be of benefit to you, not that you may receive what you had, but so that what you had may begin to be of benefit to you and you may receive what you did not have.
habebas enim signum pacis, ipsam pacem non habebas.
For you had the sign of peace, but peace itself you did not have.
in domo illa, id est in te, discordia habitabat et in limine titulos pacis figebat.
In that house, that is, in you, discord was dwelling and was fixing the titles of peace on the threshold.
agnosco titulos, sed quaero habitantem.
I acknowledge the titles, but I seek the dweller.
lego titulum pacis: baptismus in nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti. titulus pacis est, lego; quis habitet, quaero.
I read the title of peace: "Baptism in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." It is a title of peace, I read it; who dwells there, I ask.
fratrem meum attendo, titulum pacis agnosco.
I attend to my brother, I acknowledge the title of peace.
ipsum et ego habeo, intrare uolo.
I myself also have it, I wish to enter.
quid est \'intrare uolo\'? fratrem me accipe, ut simul oremus patrem.
What is "I wish to enter"? Receive me as a brother, so that we may pray to the Father together.
\'non tecum oro\'.
"I do not pray with you." There are titles of peace, and does discord contradict me?
tituli pacis sunt, et mihi discordia contradicit? plane laborabo adiuuante domino eicere discordiam male possidentem et introducere pacem tamquam legitimum possessorem.
Plainly I will labor with the help of the Lord to cast out discord that holds possession wrongly, and to introduce peace as the lawful possessor.
cum ergo discordiam excludo, pacem introduco, titulos pacis quare depono? dico plane domino meo: \'o Christe, qui es pax nostra, qui fecisti utraque unum. fac nos unum, ut recte cantemus: ecce quam bonum et quam iucundum habitare fratres in unum.
When therefore I exclude discord and introduce peace, why do I take down the titles of peace? I say plainly to my Lord: "O Christ, who are our peace, who made both one, make us one, so that we may rightly sing: Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell in unity.
introduc concordiam, pelle discordiam; introduc te ipsum in titulos tuos.
Introduce concord, drive out discord; introduce yourself into your titles.
tu mane, non alter possideat et de titulis tuis fallat.
You remain, let not another possess and deceive concerning your titles.
tu muta istum contradictorem, qui una hora in cruce mutasti latronem. \'
You change this gainsayer, you who in one hour on the cross changed the thief."