LETTER XXXIV. 

Horontianus asks whether the soul is from heaven. S.Ambrose first refers him to the Book of Esdras, and then dwells upon S. Paul's statement in Rom. viii.

AMBROSE TO HORONTIANUS  04-10  10. a Horontianus appears to have been, like Irenaeus, a pupil of S. Ambrose, and to have been ordained by him, and to have been, as the Benedictine Editors say, 'In clericorum contubernio educatus ab infantia. ' Nothing more is known of him. See Letter lxx. 25. , GREETING.

1. You have enquired of me whether the soul is formed of a heavenly substance; for you are too well instructed to suppose that the soul is made of blood or fire or any harmony of nerves, as the common herd of philosophers believe, nor as that patrician sect of them, the descendants of Plato assert, does that which moves of itself and is not moved by others appear to you to be the soul, nor indeed have you approved that fifth kind of element which the keen genius of Aristotle has introduced, namely a kind of  04-11  11. 1 ἐντελέχεια. perfection of which the essence of the soul might be (as it were) framed and compounded.

2. On this subject I advise you to read the book of Esdras, who despised these trifles of the philosophers, and with a deeper wisdom which he had gathered from Revelation, pointed out that the soul is of a nobler substance.

3. The Apostle also, though he has not said it in so many words, has yet given us to understand, like a good master and spiritual husbandman calling forth the faculties of his disciples by the hidden seeds of doctrine, that our souls are of a better creation and a more excellent nature. For when he says that  the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly but by reason of Him Who hath subjected the same in hope, because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the sons of God,  he shews that the grace of souls is not small, seeing that by their strength and excellence mankind rises to the adoption of the sons of God, having within itself that which is given to it to make it in the likeness and image of God. For souls are not perceived by truth, nor are they seen by the bodily eye, wherefore they bear upon them the likeness of this incorporeal and invisible nature, and excel in their substance corporeal and sensible qualities.  For the things that are seen are temporal, they represent and are united to things that are temporal, but the things that are not seen are united to the Eternal and Chief Good,  in Him they live and move and have their being, and suffer not themselves, if they are wise, to be separated or divided from Him.

4. Every soul therefore, seeing herself shut up in the prison-house of the body, if it be not debased by her connexion with this earthly habitation, groans under the burthen of the body to which she is joined;  for the   corruptible body presseth down the soul, and the earthy tabernacle weigheth down the mind that museth upon many things, knowing also that she walks  by faith not by sight, she is willing  to be absent from the body to be present with the Lord. 

5. Let us consider then how  the creature hath been made subject to vanity, not indeed  willingly, but by the Divine ordinance, which has appointed that our souls should be united to our bodies on account of their hopes, in order that, hoping for good, they should make themselves worthy of a heavenly recompense.  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things belonging to the body   ^{04-12  12. 1 propria corporis.} . Every man's soul must therefore consider that she will be rewarded according to deserts of life. And he says well  the things belonging to the body, that is to say, the body which was assigned to her to govern, that if she have governed it well she may receive the reward for the sake of which she was subjected in hope, but if ill, she may be punished, forasmuch as she did not trust in God, nor aspire to that adoption of sons, and to the liberty of true glory.

6. So then the Apostle has taught that man is a creature subject to vanity. For what is so truly the man as his soul? of its companions he says,  For we that are in this tabernacle do groan being burthened. David also says,  Man is like a thing of nought, and,  livery man living is altogether vanity. Wherefore the life of man in this world is vanity, to which vanity the soul is subject. And when a holy man doeth the things of the body, he doeth them not willingly but  by reason of Him Who hath subjected the same in hope, he does them for obedience sake. From this example of the soul then let us proceed to the other creatures.

 7. Consider the sun the moon and the stars; these heavenly luminaries, although they shine with an excellent brightness, are yet but creatures, and rise and set in performance of their daily task, obeying the ordinance of the eternal Creator, dispensing the radiance wherewith they are clothed, and giving light by night and by day. As often as the sun is obscured by clouds, as often as is it hidden by the interposition of the earth, or when the rays of its light are intercepted, eclipses occur, and, as the Scripture saith,  The moon knoweth her going down   ^{04-13  13. 2 Sun, E. V. Sol, Vulg.}  . She knows when she shines with a full, and when with a diminished orb. The stars also are overclouded and disappear, while going through the service of this earthly ministry, not willingly indeed but in hope; for they hope for the reward of this their toil from Him Who subjected them. Wherefore they go through it for His sake, that is, to do His will.

8. Nor is it surprising that they bear it with patience, knowing that their Lord, the Creator of all things in heaven and in earth, took upon Him our frail body and our servile state. Should not they then patiently bear the bondage of their corruption, seeing that the Lord of all humbled Himself even to death for the whole world, took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made the sin of the world, nay even a curse for us? Wherefore the heavenly bodies although they groan in that they are subject to the vanity of this world, yet follow the example of His goodness, and console themselves with the expectation of being  delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of glory, when the adoption of the sons of God, that is, the redemption of all men, shall have arrived. For when  the fulness of the Gentiles shall be come in, then  all Israel shall be saved. For what people will He not pardon when He even pardons that persecuting people, who said,  Crucify Him, crucify Him, and,  His blood be on us and on our children. But since even the heavenly creation is subject to vanity, albeit in hope, will not He Who is ' truly Mercy itself and the Redeemer of the world, suffer even the perfidy and insolence into which these men through the vanity of the world have fallen to obtain pardon?

9. To conclude then, both this great and glorious sun, and this moon which is not obscured by the shades of night, and these stars which are the garniture of the heaven, all these now suffer  the bondage of corruption, for all creatures are corruptible, and the heavens shall perish and  the heaven and earth pass away. But hereafter the sun and moon and the stars of heaven shall rest in the glory of the sons of God, when God shall be  all in all, He Who now in His immensity and mercy is in thee and in us.

10. And shall we not believe that the Angels themselves, who in the toils of this world fulfil divers ministeries, as we read in the Revelation of S. John, do not also groan when made the ministers of vengeance and destruction? Seeing that their life is blessed, would they not rather pass it in* their ancient state of tranquillity than be interrupted by the infliction of vengeance on our sins? They who rejoice in the salvation of one sinner must surely groan over the miseries of so grievous sins.

11. If therefore the creatures and powers of heaven suffer the bondage of corruption, but still in hope, that hereafter they may rejoice on our behalf and together with us, let us also alleviate the sufferings of this present time by the hope and expectation of future glory. Farewell, my son; love me, for I love you.

EPISTOLA XXXIV.

HORONTIANUM  an anima, de qua prave sentiunt philosophi, coelestis substantiae sit, quaerentem primo remittit ad libros Esdrae; tum dignitatem ejus ostendens Pauli testimonio, qua ratione ibidem omnis creatura ingemiscere, ac rursus liberanda esse dicatur, explicat. 

AMBROSIUS HORONTIANO salutem.

1. Quaesisti a me utrum anima coelestis esse videatur substantiae; non enim aut 922 sanguinem, aut ignem, aut nervorum harmoniam animam putas,  1074B ut vulgus philosophorum interpretatur: aut, ut illa patricia quaedam eorum prosapia Platonis disputat, quod ipsum se movet, et non movetur ab alio, ipsa tibi anima videtur: vel certe ut Aristoteles acri ingenio quintum quoddam elementi genus induxit, probasti, id est ἐντελέχειαν, ex quo componeres et velut fingeres animae substantiam.

2. De quo tibi Esdrae librum legendum suadeo, qui et illas philosophorum nugas despexerit; et abditiore prudentia, quam collegerat ex revelatione, perstrinxerit eas substantiae esse superioris.

3. Apostolus quoque etsi non expresse, tamen intelligendum nobis reliquit, quasi bonus magister, et spiritalis agricola, occultis doctrinae seminibus excitans discipulorum ingenia, quod animae nostrae  1074C potioris creaturae sint, et cujusdam praestantissimae naturae. Cum enim dicit, quia  vanitati creatura subjecta est non sponte, sed propter eum qui subjecit in spe; quoniam et ipsa creatura liberabitur a servitute corruptionis in libertatem gloriae filiorum Dei  (Rom. VIII, 20 et seq.); ostendit non mediocrem animarum esse gratiam, quarum vigore et virtute in adoptionem filiorum Dei assurgit humanum genus, habens in se quod ad similitudinem et imaginem Dei tributum est sibi. Animae enim neque tactu aliquo comprehenduntur, neque visu corporeo videntur; et ideo praeferunt illius incorporeae et invisibilis naturae similitudinem, et supergrediuntur substantia sua corpoream et sensibilem qualitatem. Quae enim videntur, temporalia sunt, temporalia significant, temporalibus agglutinantur;  1074D illa autem quae non videntur, aeterno illi et summo adhaerent bono, atque in ipso vivunt, et sunt, et moventur (Act. XVII, 18); nec ab eo, si boni consulunt, se patiuntur separari ac dividi.

 1075A 4. Unaquaeque ergo anima videns se corporeo isto clausam gurgustio, quae tamen terrenae hujus habitationis consortio non degeneraverit, ingemiscit gravata corporis hujus conjunctione; quia corruptibile corpus gravat animam (II Cor. V, 4), et inclinat terrenum habitaculum mentem multarum cogitationum (Sap. IX, 15): simulque cognoscens quia per fidem ambulat, non per speciem, peregrinari vult de corpore, et adesse ad Dominum (II Cor. V, 7).

5. Advertamus igitur quomodo vanitati creatura subjecta sit (Rom. VIII, 20), non ex voluntate sua, sed ex divino arbitrio, quo dispositum est animas corporibus conjungi oportere propter spem earum; ut dum sperant bona, dignas se praestent coelesti  1075B remuneratione:  Omnes enim  nos oportet adesse ad tribunal Christi; ut referat unusquisque propria corporis (II Cor. V, 10). Ideo uniuscujusque anima praevideat rependenda sibi merita conversationis suae. Et pulchre ait,  propria corporis (Rom. VIII), id est, quod suscepit regendum; ut si bene rexit, praemium referat, propter quod in spe subjecta est: et si 923 male, supplicium; quia non speravit in Deum, nec ad illam adoptionem filiorum, et ad verae libertatem affectavit gloriae.

6. Docuit igitur Apostolus quod humani generis creatura subjecta vanitati sit. Quid enim tam homo, quam anima ejus? De consortibus ejus dicit:  Cum sumus in corpore isto, ingemiscimus gravati (II Cor. V, 4). Sed et David dicit:  Homo vanitati similis factus  1075C  est (Psal. CXLIII, 4); et:  Universa vanitas, omnis homo vivens (Psal. XXXVIII, 6). Vita itaque hominis in hoc saeculo vanitas est. Huic vanitati subjecta est anima. Itaque sanctus cum facit quae sunt corporis, non sponte facit, non volens, sed  propter eum qui subjecit in spe (Rom. VIII, 20), facit ut ei pareat. Ab hoc igitur exemplo animae progrediamur ad creaturas reliquas.

7. Propone tibi solem, lunam, et stellas, quae coeli lumina etsi praeclaro fulgent nitore, creaturae  1076A sunt tamen, et ad quotidianum ministerium vel suae gunt, vel accidunt, servientes dispositioni creatoris aeterni, ministrantes splendorem, quo vestiuntur, atque die nocteque emicant. Quoties sol iste obtexitur nubibus, quoties objectu aufertur terrae, vel cum e regione ejus luminis sui radius fuerit repercussus, oriuntur eclipses, et ut ait Scriptura:  Luna novit occasus suos (Psal. CIII, 19). Novit quando pleno orbe suo luceat, quando exinanito. Stellae quoque nebulis obductae vanescunt, quae sustinent ministerii hujus mundani usus, non sponte utique, sed in spe; quia sperant etiam hujus laboris gratiam ab eo, qui subjecit eas. Ideoque propter eum sustinent, id est, propter ejus voluntatem.

8. Nec mirum si patienter sustinent, cum sciant  1076B dominum suum, et creatorem omnium sive quae in coelo, sive quae in terra sunt, suscepisse nostri corporis fragilitatem, nostrae conditionis servitutem. Cur ergo illa servitutem corruptionis suae non patienter sustineant; cum Dominus omnium pro toto mundo se humiliaverit usque ad mortem, servi formam susceperit (Philip. II, 7), peccatum mundi, maledictum etiam pro nobis factus sit (Galat. III, 13)? Illius ergo imitantes bonitatem coelestes creaturae licet ingemiscant, quod mundi hujus vanitati subjectae sint, consolantur se tamen quod liberabuntur a servitute corruptionis, in libertatem gloriae; cum filiorum 924 Dei adoptio venerit, quae est universorum redemptio:  Cum enim intraverit plenitudo gentium, tunc omnis Israel salvus erit (Rom. XI, 25). Cui  1076C enim non ignoscet populo, qui ignoscit etiam illi persecutori suo, qui dixit:  Crucifige, crucifige eum (Joan. XIX, 6); et:  Sanguis ejus super nos et super filios nostros (Matth. XXVII, 25)? Sed quia vanitati etiam coelestis subjecta creatura est (Rom. VIII, 20), licet istud in spe, etiam horum perfidiam et temulentiam, vanitate hujus mundi lapsam, pertinere ad veniam patietur veritatis pietas, et redemptio universitatis.

9. Ergo ut concludamus, et ille tantus ac talis sol,  1077A et illa luna quam noctis tenebrae non operiunt, et illae stellae quae sunt ornamenta coeli, servitutem corruptionis nunc sustinent; quia corruptibile omne corpus: siquidem et coeli peribunt, et coelum et terra praeteribunt (Matth. XXIV, 35). Postea autem et sol et luna et caetera stellarum lumina requiescent in gloria filiorum Dei; quando  erit  Deus in omnia in omnibus (I Cor. XV, 28): qui et in te et in nobis sit per suam plenitudinem et misericordiam.

10. An ipsos quoque angelos, qui in istius mundi laboribus diversa sustinent ministeria, sicut in Apocalypsi legimus Joannis (Apoc. III, 1 et seq.), non ingemiscere credimus; cum adhibentur poenarum et excidiorum ministri? Qui habentes vitam beatam, mallent utique eam in illo superiore tranquillitatis  1077B suae statu recurrere, quam nostrorum peccatorum poenis ultricibus interpolari. Etenim qui gaudent unius peccatoris redemptione (Luc. XV, 10), utique tantorum peccatorum aerumnis ingemiscunt.

11. Si igitur etiam coelestes creaturae et Potestates servitutem corruptionis sustinent, sed in spe, ut pro nobis postea et nobiscum laetentur; etiam nos passiones hujus temporis futurae spe et exspectatione consolemur gloriae. Vale, fili, et nos dilige; quia nos te diligimus.