§14His patientiae uiribus secatur Esaias et de domino non tacet, lapidatur Stephanus et ueniam hostibus suis postulat.
By these strengths of patience, Isaiah is sawn asunder and does not keep silent about the Lord; Stephen is stoned and asks for forgiveness for his enemies.
o felicissimum illum quoque, qui omnem patientiae speciem aduersus omnem diaboli uim expunxit! quem non abactae greges, non] illae in pecore diuitiae, non filii uno ruinae impetu adempti, non ipsius denique corporis in uulnere crucia. tus a patientia fide domino dedita exclusit, quem diabolus totis uiribus frustra cecidit.
O most happy also was that man, who discharged every form of patience against all the power of the devil! Whom neither the driven-away flocks, nor those riches in cattle, nor his children taken away by a single impact of ruin, nor finally the torment of his own body in its wound, shut out from the patience of faith devoted to the Lord, whom the devil struck in vain with all his might.
neque enim a respectu dei tot doloribus auocatus ille est, sed constitit nobis in exemplum et testimonium tam spiritu quam carne tam animo quam corpore patientiae perpetrandae, ut neque damnis saecularium nec amissionibus carissimorum nec corporis quidem conflictationibus succidamus.
For he was not turned away from the regard of God by so many pains, but stood as an example and testimony for us of practicing patience, both in spirit and in flesh, both in mind and in body, so that we may not succumb either to the losses of worldly things, or to the bereavements of our dearest ones, or indeed to the afflictions of the body.
quale in illo uiro feretrum deus de diabolo extruxit, quale uexillum de inimico gloriae suae extulit, cum ille homo ad omnem acerbum nuntium nihil\' ex ore promeret nisi deo gratias, cum uxorem iam malis: delassatam et ad praua remedia suadentem execraretur! quid ridebat deus, quid dissecabatur malus, cum Iob inmundum ulceris sui redundantiam magna aequanimitate destringeret, cum erumpentes bestiolas inde in eosdem specus et pastus refossae carnis ludendo reuocaret! itaque operarius ille uictoriae dei retusis omnibus iaculis temptationum lorica clipeoque patientiae et integritatem mox corporis a deo recuperauit et quae amiserat conduplicata possedit et si filios quoque restitui uoluisset, pater iterum uocaretur.
What a trophy of victory did God erect over the devil in that man, what a banner over the enemy of His glory did He raise, when that man, at every bitter message, uttered nothing from his mouth except "thanks be to God", when he cursed his wife, who was already exhausted by evils and urging him to wicked remedies! How did God rejoice, how was the evil one cut to the heart, when Job with great equanimity scraped away the filthy discharge of his ulcer, when he playfully recalled the little worms breaking out from there back into the same caves and pastures of his excavated flesh! Therefore, that worker of God's victory, having blunted all the darts of temptations with the breastplate and shield of patience, both soon recovered the integrity of his body from God, and possessed double of what he had lost, and if he had wished his children also to be restored, he would have been called father again.
sed maluit in illo die reddi sibi: tantum gaudii, securus de domino, distulit: sustinuit iam uoluntariam orbitatem, ne sine aliqua patientia uiueret.
But he preferred that they be restored to him on that day; secure in the Lord, he deferred so great a joy; he sustained a voluntary bereavement for the time, lest he should live without some patience.
§15Adeo satis idoneus patientiae sequester deus: si iniuriam deposueris penes eum, ultor est; si damnum, restitutor est; si dolorem, medicus est;
So fully sufficient a depositary of patience is God: if you deposit an injury with Him, He is the avenger; if a loss, He is the restorer; if pain, He is the physician; if death, He is the resurrector.
si mortem, resuscitator est quantum patientiae licet, ut deum habeat debitorem! nec inmerito [enim.
How great a privilege is allowed to patience, to have God as its debtor! And not without reason.
omnia enim placita eius tuetur, omnibus mandatis eius interuenit: fidem munit, pacem gubernat, dilectionem ådiuuat, humilitatem instruit, paenitentiam expectat, exhomolo. gesin adsignat, carnem regit, spiritum seruat, linguam frenat, manum continet, temptationes inculcat, scandala pellit, martyria consummat, pauperem consolatur, diuitem temperat, infirmum non consumit, ualentem non extendit, fidelem delectat. gentilem inuitat, seruum domino, dominum deo commendat. feminam exornat. uirum adprobat; amatur in puero, laudatur in iuuene, suspicitur in sene; in omni sexu, in omni aetate, formosa est.
For it protects all things pleasing to Him, it intervenes in all His commandments: it fortifies faith, governs peace, helps love, instructs humility, awaits repentance, assigns confession, rules the flesh, preserves the spirit, bridles the tongue, restrains the hand, tramples temptations under foot, drives away scandals, consummates martyrdoms, comforts the poor, tempers the rich, does not consume the weak, does not stretch the strong, delights the believer, invites the gentile, commends the servant to his master, and the master to God, adorns the woman, approves the man; it is loved in the boy, praised in the youth, respected in the old man; in every sex, in every age, it is beautiful.
age iam, sis. et effigiem habitumque eius comprehendamus.
Come now, if you please, let us also picture her appearance and attire.
uultus illi tranquillus et placidus, frons pura, nulla maeroris aut irae rugositate contracta; remissa aeque is laetum modum supercilia, oculis humilitate, non infelicitate deiectis; os taciturnitatis honore signatum; color, qualis securis et innoxiis; motus frequens capitis in diabolum et minax risus; ceterum amictus circum pectora candidus et corpori impressus, ut qui nec inflatur nec inquinatur.
Her countenance is tranquil and peaceful, her forehead pure, contracted by no wrinkling of grief or anger; her eyebrows are equally relaxed in a cheerful manner, her eyes cast down from humility, not from unhappiness; her mouth is sealed with the honor of silence; her color is such as belongs to the secure and innocent; her head is frequently shaken against the devil with a menacing laugh; moreover, the garment about her breast is white and fitted close to her body, as one that is neither puffed up nor defiled.
sedet! enim in throno spiritus eius mitissimi et mansuetissimi, qui non turbine glomeratur, non nubilo liuet, sed est tenerae serenitatis, apertus et simplex, quem tertio uidit Helias.
For she sits on the throne of that most mild and gentle spirit, which is not gathered in a whirlwind, nor livid with a cloud, but is of a delicate serenity, open and simple, which Elijah saw in the third place.
nam ubi deus, ibidem et alumna eius, patientia scilicet.
For where God is, there also is His foster-child, namely, patience.
cum ergo spiritus dei descendit, indiuidua patientia comitatur eum.
Therefore, when the Spirit of God descends, inseparable patience accompanies Him.
si non cum spiritu admiserimus, in nobis morabitur semper? immo nescio, an diutius perseueret- BKM sua comite ac ministra omni loco ae tempore angatur necesse est.
If we do not admit her along with the Spirit, will He abide in us always? Nay, I know not whether He would remain any longer; without His companion and handmaid, He must of necessity be grieved in every place and time.
quodcumque inimicus eius inflixerit, solus sustinere non poterit, carens instrumento sustinendi.
Whatever his enemy may inflict, He will not be able to sustain it alone, lacking the instrument of sustaining.
§16Haec patientiae ratio, haec disciplina, haec opera, — caelestis et uerae. scilicet Christiana non, ut illa patientia gentium terrae, falsa probrosa.
This is the principle of patience, this is its discipline, these are its works, — of the heavenly and true patience, namely, the Christian, not like that patience of the gentiles of the earth, which is false and shameful.
nam ut in isto quoque domino diabolus aemularetur, quasi plane ex pari — nisi quod ipsa diuersitas mali et boni aequaliter magnitudinis par est — docuit et suos patientiam propriam, illam dico, quae maritos dote uenales aut lenociniis negotiantes uxorum potestatibus subicit, quae aucupandis orbitatibus omnem coacti obsequii laborem mentitis adfectionibus tolerat, quae uentris operarios contumeliosis patrociniis gulae subiectione libertatis addicit.
For, so that in this master also the devil might rival Him, as if on completely equal terms — except that the very diversity of evil and good is equally matched in greatness — he also taught his own followers a patience of their own, I mean that which subjects husbands, vendible for dowries or trading in pandering, to the power of their wives, which, for the sake of catching childless inheritances, tolerates all the labor of forced obsequiousness with feigned affections, which binds the workers of the belly to insulting patronages by the subjection of their liberty for the sake of gluttony.
talia nationes patientiae studia nouerunt et tanti boni nomen foedis operationibus occupant; patientes riualium et diuitum et inuitatorum, impatientes solius dei uiuunt.
Such pursuits of patience the nations have known, and they occupy the name of so great a good with foul operations; living patient of rivals, of the rich, and of hosts, but impatient of God alone.
sed uiderint sua et sui praesidis, quam patientiam sub terra ignis expectat.
But let them look to their own affairs and those of their president: what kind of patience a fire awaits under the earth!
ceterum nos amemus patientiam dei, patientiam Christi: rependamus illi quam pro nobis ipse dependit; offeramus patientiam spiritus, patientiam carnis, qui in resurrectionem carnis et spiritus credimus.
But let us love the patience of God, the patience of Christ; let us pay back to Him that which He Himself expended for us; let us offer the patience of the spirit, the patience of the flesh, we who believe in the resurrection of the flesh and of the spirit.
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