§8Vnus igitur omnium dominus Deus: neque enim illa sublimitas potest habere consortem, cum sola omnem teneat potestatem.
Therefore, God is the one Lord of all; for that sublimity cannot have a partner, since it alone holds all power.
ad diuinum imperium etiam de terris mutuemur exemplum.
Let us borrow an example for the divine empire even from the earth.
quando umquam regni societas aut cum fide coepit aut sine cruore desiit? sic Thebanorum germanitas rupta, permanens rogis dissidentibus etiam in morte discordia.
When did the sharing of a kingdom ever either begin with trust or end without blood? Thus the brotherhood of the Thebans was broken, and discord remained on the opposing funeral pyres even in death.
et Romanos geminos unum non capit regnum, quos unum uteri cepit hospitium.
And a single kingdom did not hold the Roman twins, whom the single hospitality of a womb had held.
Pompeius et Caesar adfines fuerunt nec tamen necessitudinis foedus in aemula potestate tenuerant.
Pompey and Caesar were kinsmen, yet they did not maintain the treaty of relationship in their rival power.
nec tu de homine mireris, cam in hoc omnis natura consentiat.
And you should not wonder concerning man, since all nature consents in this.
rex unus est apibus et dux unus in gregibus et in armentis rector unus.
There is one king for bees, one leader in flocks, and one ruler in herds.
multo magis mundi unus est rector, qui uniuersa quaecumque sunt uerbo iubet, ratione dispensat, uirtute consummat.
Much more is there one ruler of the world, who commands all things that exist by His word, disposes them by His reason, and consummates them by His power.
§9Hic nec uideri potest, uisu clarior est, nec conprehendi, tactu purior est, nec aestimari, sensu maior est.
He cannot be seen, for He is brighter than sight; nor comprehended, for He is purer than touch; nor estimated, for He is greater than sense.
et ideo sic eum digne aestimamus deum, dum inaestimabilem dicimus.
And therefore we worthily estimate Him as God in this way, when we call Him inestimable.
quod uero templum habere possit Deus, cuius templum totus est mundus? et cum homo latius maneam, intra unam aediculam uim tantae maiestatis includam? in nostra dedicandus est mente, in nostro consecrandus est pectore.
But what temple can God have, whose temple is the whole world? And when I, a man, dwell more widely, should I enclose the power of so great a majesty within a single small shrine? He is to be dedicated in our mind, consecrated in our breast.
nec nomen Deo quaeras, Deus nomen est.
Nor should you seek a name for God; "God" is His name.
illic uocabulis opus est, ubi propriis appellationum insignibus multitudo dirimenda est.
There is need of words there, where a multitude must be distinguished by the proper marks of appellations.
Deo, qui solus est, Dei uocabulum totum est.
For God, who is alone, the word "God" is the whole.
ergo unus est et ubique ipse diffusus est.
Therefore He is one, and He Himself is diffused everywhere.
nam et uulgus in multis Deum naturaliter confitetur, cum mens et anima sui auctoris et principis admonetur.
For even the multitude in many circumstances naturally confesses God, when the mind and soul are reminded of their author and prince.
dici frequenter audimus ro Deus\' et Deus uidet\' et (Deo commendo\' et \'Deus mihi reddet' [et quod Deus uult\'] et si Deus dederit: at quae est haec summa delicti, nolle agnoscere quem ignorare non possis!
We frequently hear it said, "O God," and "God sees," and "I commend to God," and "God will repay me," [and "what God wills,"] and "if God shall give." But what is this height of crime, to be unwilling to acknowledge Him whom you cannot be ignorant of!
§10Quod uero Christus sit et quomodo per ipsum nobis salus uenerit, sic est ordo, sic ratio. Iudaeis [primum] erat apud Deum gratia.
But that there is a Christ, and how salvation came to us through Him, this is the order, this is the reason. [First] the Jews had favor with God.
sic olim iusti erant, sic maiores eorum religionibus oboediebant. [inde illis et regni sublimitas floruit et generis magnitudo prouenit. J sed illi indisciplinati postmodum facti et fiducia patrum inflati, dum diuina praecepta contemnunt, datam sibi gratiam perdiderunt.
Thus they were once righteous, thus their ancestors obeyed religions. [Thence the sublimity of the kingdom flourished for them, and the greatness of their race proceeded.] But they afterwards became undisciplined and puffed up with confidence in their fathers, while they despised divine precepts, they lost the favor given to them.
quam fuerit illis profana uita, quae contracta sit uiolatae religionis offensa, ipsi quoque testantur, qui etsi uoce tacent, exitu confitentur: dispersi et palabundi uagantur, soli et caeli sui profugi per hospitia aliena iactantur.
How profane their life was, what offense of violated religion was contracted, they themselves also bear witness, who, although they are silent in voice, confess by their end; dispersed and wandering they roam, fugitives from their own soil and sky, they are tossed through foreign hospitalities.
§11Nec non Deus ante praedixerat, fore ut uergente saeculo et mundi fine iam proximo [ex omni gente et populo et loco] cultores sibi adlegeret Deus multo fideliores, qui indulgentiam de diuinis muneribus haurirent [quam acceptam Iudaei contemptis religionibus perdidissent].
And indeed God had predicted beforehand that, as the age was declining and the end of the world was already near, God would choose for Himself [out of every nation and people and place] far more faithful worshippers, who would draw mercy from the divine gifts [which the Jews, having despised their religions, had lost after receiving it].
cuius igitur gratiae disciplinaeque arbiter et magister sermo et filius Dei mittitur, qui per prophetas omnes [retro] inluminator et deductor humani generis praedicatur.
Of this favor and discipline, therefore, the arbiter and teacher, the Word and Son of God, is sent, who through all the prophets [in the past] is proclaimed as the enlightener and leader of the human race.
hic est uirtus Dei, hic ratio, hic sapientia eius et gloria: hic in uirginem delabitur, carnem Spiritus sanctus induitur, Deus cum homine miscetur.
This is the power of God, this is His reason, this His wisdom and glory; He descends into the virgin, the Holy Spirit puts on flesh, God is mingled with man.
hic Deus noster, hic Christus est, qui mediator duorum hominem induit, quem perducat ad patrem.
He is our God, He is Christ, who, as mediator of the two, put on man that He might lead him to the Father.
quod homo est, esse Christus uoluit, ut et homo possit esse quod Christus est.
What man is, Christ willed to be, so that man also might be what Christ is.