LETTER LXXV. 

This letter is a sequel to the preceding, and deals with the context o the passage of S. Paul which that letter discussed. S. Ambrose ends by maintaining that the Jews were 'heirs' only of the letter of the Old Testament promises, the Christian being the heir of the Spirit.

AMBROSE TO CLEMENTIANUS  08-9  9. a Why this letter, which plainly declares itself in the first section to he a sequel of the previous one, is addressed to a different name, it is difficult to say. There is a similar difficulty about Letter xxvi, and possibly the same solution may apply here as is suggested by the Ben. Edd. there. See Introd. to Lett. xxvi. .

1. I am indeed aware that nothing is more difficult than to treat properly concerning the Apostle's meaning, for even Origen's expositions of the New Testament are far inferior to his expositions of the Old. Yet since in my previous letter you think that I have not explained amiss the reason of the Law being called a Schoolmaster; in what I say to-day too I purpose to unfold to you the actual force of the Apostle's statement.

2. Now the former part of his discourse declares that no man shall be justified by the works of the Law, but by faith,  For as many as are of the works of the Law are under the curse; but  Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us. The inheritance therefore is not given by the Law but by promise.  Now to Abraham were the promises made, and to his seed which is Christ. Thus the Law  was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and therefore  all are concluded under sin, that the promise   by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under the Law, that is, under a schoolmaster;  and this because we are  all the sons of God, and are all in Christ Jesus. Now if we are all in Christ Jesus, then are we  Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. And this is the conclusion at which the Apostle arrives.

3. Still however he is met with this objection, that even the Jew might say, I also, being under the Law, have an heirship, for the Law is also called the Old Testament, and where is a Testament there also is an inheritance. And although the Apostle himself told the Hebrews that a testament is of no force, until the death of the testator happen, that is to say, a testament is of no strength while the testator liveth, but is established by his death, yet as in Jeremiah the Lord, speaking of the Jews, has said,  Mine heritage is unto Me as a lion, he would not deny that they were heirs. But there are heirs without possessions, there are heirs also with them; and while the testator lives those whose names are written in the will are called heirs, though without possessions.

4. Little children are also heirs, but they  differ in nothing from a servant, in that they are still under tutors and governors. Even so we were in bondage under the elements of the world. But, when the fulness of the time was come,  Christ also came, and now we are no longer servants but sons, if we believe in Christ. Thus He gave them the semblance of an inheritance, but withheld from them the possession of it. Thus they have the name but not the benefit of being heirs, for like children they possess the bare name of heirship without its privileges, and have no right either to command or to use, waiting for the fulness of their age that they may be delivered from their governors.

5. As then young children, so the Jews also, are under a schoolmaster.  The Law is our schoolmaster, the schoolmaster brings us to our Master; and our One Master is Christ:  Neither be ye called masters, for one is your Master, even, Christ. The schoolmaster is feared, the Master shews the way of salvation. Thus four brings us to liberty, liberty to faith, faith to love; love obtains adoption, adoption the inheritance. Where then faith is there is liberty; for the servant acts from fear, the free-man by faith; the one by the letter, the other by grace; the one in slavery the other by the Spirit; but  where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. If then where faith is, there is liberty; where liberty there grace, where grace there inheritance; and he that is a  Jew in the letter not in spirit is in bondage, he who hath not faith hath not the liberty of the spirit. Now where there is no liberty there is no grace, where no grace no adoption, where no adoption there no succession.

6. Thus, the tablets being, as it were, closed, he beholds  ^{08-10  10. b The phrase 'cernere hereditatem' is a well-known law-term, meaning' literally 'to decide to accept an inheritance,' and then 'to enter upon it.' But as this sense will not agree with the context, it seems necessary to take 'cernere,' as the Benedictine note does, in its common sense of 'to see.'} his inheritance but possesses it not, he has no permission to read it. For how can he say 'Our Father' who denies the true Son of God, Him by Whom our adoptive sonship is obtained for us? How can he rehearse the will who denies the death of the testator? How can he obtain liberty, who denies the Blood whereby he has been redeemed? For this is the price of our liberty, as Peter says,  ye were redeemed with the precious Blood, not indeed of a lamb, but of Him Who came as a lamb, in meekness and humility, and redeemed the whole world with the one offering of His Body, as He himself says,  I was brought as a lamb to the slaughter. Wherefore John also says,  Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. 

 7. Hence the Jew, being heir in the letter not in the spirit is as a child under tutors and governours; but the Christian, who recognizes that fulness of time wherein Christ came,  made of a woman, made under the Law, that He might redeem all who were under the Law; the Christian, I say,  by unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God grows up unto a perfect man: unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. 

Farewell, my son; love me, for I also love you.

EPISTOLA LXXV.

 1257B 

 Proposita eruendi Paulini sensus difficultate, subjungit textum ejusdem Apostoli, haeredem nullum fieri, nisi per fidem, affirmantis. Deinde Judaeos haereditatem propter vetus Testamentum sibi debitam contendentes refellit, cujusmodi haeredes habendi sint, patefaciens. 

AMBROSIUS CLEMENTIANO.

1. Etsi sciam quod nihil difficilius sit, quam de Apostoli lectione disserere; cum ipse Origenes longe minor sit in novo, quam in veteri Testamento: tamen quoniam superiori epistola visus tibi sum, cur pedagogus Lex diceretur, non absurde explicavisse; hodierno quoque sermone vim ipsam Apostolicae disputationis meditabor aperire.

 1257C 2. Superiora enim lectionis ejus hoc habent, eo quod ex operibus Legis nemo justificetur, sed ex fide;  Quoniam qui ex operibus Legis sunt, sub maledicto sunt . . . . . Christus autem  redemit nos de maledicto Legis, factus pro nobis maledictum (Galat. III, 10, 13). Non ex Lege igitur haereditas data est, sed ex repromissione.  Etenim Abrahae dictae sunt repromissiones, et semini ejus . . . . . quod est Christus (Ibid., 16). Lex itaque  praevaricationum gratia posita est, donec veniret semen, cui repromissum est (Ibid., 19); et ideo  conclusa sunt 1084  omnia sub peccato, ut repromissio ex fide Jesu Christi daretur credentibus . . . . . Postquam autem venit fides, jam non sub Lege  (Ibid., 25), hoc est, sub paedagogo  sumus; et quia sumus filii Dei, et omnes sumus in Christo Jesu. Si autem omnes sumus in Christo Jesu, ergo Abrahae semen sumus,  1258A secundum promissionem haeredes. Haec est Apostolicae conclusio sententiae.

3. Sed occurrit adhuc ei, qui poterat etiam Judaeus dicere: Et ego haeres sum: quoniam sub Lege sum: Lex autem vetus dicitur Testamentum: ubi autem testamentum, ibi haereditas. Et licet ad Hebraeos ipse dixerit (Hebr. IX, 17), quia testamentum non valet, nisi mors intercedat testatoris, id est, quoniam testamentum non valet quamdiu vivit testator, sed ejus morte firmatur; tamen quia in Hieremia Dominus locutus est de Judaeis, et ait:  Facta est haereditas mihi sicut leo (Jerem. XII, 8); haeredes eos negare noluit. Sed sunt haeredes sine re, sunt et cum re: et dicuntur haeredes testatore vivente, qui scripti sunt, sed sine re.

4. Sunt etiam haeredes parvuli, qui nihil differunt  1258B a servulo, quoniam sub curatoribus sunt et actoribus:  Ita, inquit,  et nos eramus Judaei sub elementis mundi hujus servientes. Postquam vero venit plenitudo temporis, et Christus advenit (Galat. IV, 3); jam non sumus servi, sed liberi, si credamus in Christum. Ergo dedit illis speciem haereditatis, possessionem negavit. Habent nomen haeredis, usum non habent; quia sicut parvuli haeredes nomen nudum haereditatis, non auctoritatem usurpant, jubendi jus et utendi non habent; quia plenitudinem suae aetatis exspectant, ut a curatoribus liberentur.

5. Sicut ergo parvuli, ita et Judaei sub paedagogo sunt. Lex paedagogus est: paedagogus ad magistrum ducit; magister noster solus est Christus:  Nolite dicere vobis dominum et magistrum; quia dominus  1258C  et magister vester unus est Christus (Matth. XXIII, 10). Paedagogus timetur, magister viam salutis ostendit. Timor ergo ad libertatem perducit, libertas ad fidem, fides ad charitatem: charitas acquirit adoptionem, adoptio haereditatem. Ergo ubi fides, ibi libertas; servus enim sub metu, liber ex fide. Ille sub littera, iste sub gratia: ille in servitute, iste in spiritu. Ubi autem  spiritus Domini, ibi libertas (II Cor. III, 17). Si igitur ubi fides, ibi libertas; ubi libertas, ibi gratia; ubi gratia, ibi haereditas: Judaeus autem littera non spiritu in servitute est; qui non habet fidem, non habet spiritus libertatem. Ubi autem nulla libertas, nulla gratia; ubi nulla gratia, nulla adoptio; ubi nulla adoptio, nulla successio.

6. Tamquam clausis ergo tabulis, cernit 1085 haereditatem, non possidet, auctoritatem non habet  1259A lectionis. Nam quomodo dicit:  Pater noster (Matth. VI, 9), qui verum Dei Filium negat, per quem adoptivus acquiritur? Quomodo testamentum nuncupat, qui mortem testatoris negat? Quomodo libertatem usurpat, qui negat sanguinem, quo redemptus est? Hic enim est nostrae pretium libertatis, sicut Petrus dicit:  Sanguine pretioso redempti estis (I Pet. I, 19), non agni utique, sed ejus qui mansuetudine et humilitate, tamquam agnus advenit, et totum mundum una sui corporis hostia liberavit, sicut ipse ait:  Sicut agnus ductus sum ad immolandum (Esai. LIII, 7). Unde et Joannes ait:  Ecce agnus Dei, ecce qui tollit peccatum mundi (Joan. I, 29).

7. Ergo Judaeus haeres in littera, non spiritu (Galat. IV, 2), tamquam parvulus est sub curatoribus  1259B et actoribus: christianus autem, qui plenitudinem temporis agnovit, qua Christus advenit factus ex muliere, factus sub Lege; ut omnes qui sub Lege erant, redimeret: christianus, inquam, per unitatem fidei, et agnitionem Filii Dei in virum perfectum, in mensuram aetatis exsurgit plenitudinis Christi (Ephes. IV, 13). Vale, fili, et nos dilige; quia nos te diligimus.