Chapter II.

None can ascend to heaven without faith; in any case, he who hath so ascended thither will be cast out wherefore, faith must be zealously preserved. We ourselves each have a heaven within, the gates whereof must be opened and be raised by confession of the Godhead of Christ, which gates are not raised by Arians, nor by those who seek the Son amongst earthly things, and who must therefore, like the Magdalene, be sent back to the apostles, against whom the gates of hell shall not prevail. Scriptures are cited to show that the servant of the Lord must not diminish aught of his Master’s honour.

15. What shall we do, then? How shall we ascend unto heaven? There, powers are stationed, principalities drawn up in order, who keep the doors of heaven, and challenge him who ascends. Who shall give me passage, unless I proclaim that Christ is Almighty? The gates are shut,—they are not opened to any and every one; not every one who will shall enter, unless he also believes according to the true Faith. The Sovereign’s court is kept under guard.

16. Suppose, however, that one who is unworthy hath crept up, hath stolen past the principalities who keep the gates of heaven, hath sat down at the supper of the Lord; when the Lord of the banquet enters, and sees one not clad in the wedding garment of the Faith, He will cast him into outer darkness, where is weeping and gnashing of teeth,677    That is, in respect of substance or nature, though the Persons must be distinguished.    S. Matt. xxii. 11.    S. Matt. xxiv. 45, 46. if he keep not the Faith and peace.

17. Let us, therefore, keep the wedding garment which we have received, and not deny Christ that which is His own, Whose omnipotence angels announce, prophets foretel, apostles witness to, even as we have already shown above.678    1 Tim. vi. 15.    Bk. II. iv.    S. John xxi. 15 ff.

18. Perchance, indeed, the prophet hath spoken of His entering in not only with regard to the gates of the universal heaven; for there be other heavens also whereinto the Word of God passeth, whereof it is said: “We have a great Priest, a High Priest, Who hath passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God.”679    1 Tim. vi. 13.    Heb. iv. 14.    S. Matt. xxvi. 70 ff. What are those heavens, but even the heavens whereof the prophet sayeth that “the heavens declare the glory of God”?680    That is to say, God and Christ Jesus are united in the work of quickening.    Ps. xix. 1.    1 Cor. iii. 2.

19. For Christ standeth at the door of thy soul. Hear Him speaking. “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man open to Me, I will come in to him, and I will sup with him, and he with Me.”681    Ps. lvi. 10.    Rev. iii. 20.    1 Cor. ix. 22. And the Church saith, speaking of Him: “The voice of my brother soundeth at the door.”682    1 Tim. vi. 13–16.    Song of Solomon v. 2.    Tit. iii. 10.

20. He stands, then—but not alone, for before Him go angels, saying: “Lift up the gates, O ye the princes.” What gates? Even those of the which the Psalmist sings in another place also: “Open to me the gates of righteousness.”683    Ps. xxxii. 1.    Ps. cxviii. 19.    Tit. iii. 9. Open, then, thy gates to Christ, that He may come into thee—open the gates of righteousness, the gates of chastity, the gates of courage and wisdom.

21. Believe the message of the angels: “Be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in, the Lord of Sabaoth.” Thy gate is the loud confession made with faithful voice; it is the door of the Lord, which the Apostle desires to have opened for him, as he says: “That a door of the word may be opened for me, to proclaim the mystery of Christ.”684    1 Tim. i. 11.    Col. iv. 3.    S. Matt. xiii. 25.

22. Let thy gate, then, be opened to Christ, and let it be not only opened, but lifted up, if, indeed, it be eternal and not condemned to ruin; for it is written: “And be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors.” The lintel was lift up for Isaiah, when the seraph touched his lips and he saw the Lord of Sabaoth.

23. Thy gates shall be lifted up, then, if thou believest the Son of God to be eternal, omnipotent, above and beyond all praise and understanding, knowing all things, both past and to come, whilst if thou judgest Him to be of limited power and knowledge, and subordinate, thou liftest not up the everlasting doors.

24. Be thy gates lifted up, then, that Christ may come in unto thee, not such a Christ as the Arians take Him to be—petty, and weak, and menial—but Christ in the form of God, Christ with the Father; that He may enter such as He is, exalted above the heaven and all things; and that He may send forth upon thee His Holy Spirit. It is expedient for thee that thou shouldst believe that He hath ascended and is sitting at the right hand of the Father, for if in impious thought thou detain Him amongst things created and earthly, if He depart not for thee, ascend not for thee, then to thee the Comforter shall not come, even as Christ Himself hath told us: “For if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you, but if I depart, I will send Him unto you.”685    Ps. lxxxix 19.    S. John xvi. 7.    2 Tim ii. 24, 25.

25. But if thou shouldst seek Him amongst earthly beings, even as Mary of Magdala sought Him, take heed lest He say to thee, as unto her: “Touch Me not, for I am not yet ascended unto My Father.”686    Wisd. viii. 13.    S. John xx. 17.    1 Cor. xi. 16. For thy gates are narrow—they give me no passage—they cannot be lifted up, and therefore I cannot come in.

26. Go thy way, therefore, to my brethren—that is, to those everlasting doors, which, as soon as they see Jesus, are lifted up. Peter is an “everlasting door,” against whom the gates of hell shall not prevail.687    Ezek. xviii. 20.    S. Matt. xvi. 18.    S. Matt. xxv. 15. John and James, the sons of thunder, to wit,688    “That is to say, immortality is not of the essential nature of an angel as it is of the essential Nature of God. For God’s existence is such that He necessarily exists, He cannot but exist; His existence is not derived from another, but is from the power of His essential Nature, or rather is that very Nature. Not so with the angel, whose existence is a gift of God, and so the angel’s existence is no part of the idea of an angel, but is a property which is, so to speak, added on from without and accessory to the conception of such a being. Hence, in so far as an angel’s existence issues not of the mere force of his essential properties, but only of the Creator’s Will, we may say that by virtue of the said Will, not by force of his own nature, he continues in existence, and so far is immortal, although in another sense immortality may be called a natural property of an angel, inasmuch as there is no created power whereby he may be destroyed, and nothing in him that renders him liable to be destroyed by God—nay rather, everything about him demands that, once he is created, he should be for ever preserved in being.”—H.    S. Mark iii. 17.    S. Matt. xxv. 26, 27. are “everlasting doom.” Everlasting are the doors of the Church, where the prophet, desirous to proclaim the praises of Christ, says: “That I may tell all thy praises in the gates of the daughter of Sion.”689    Hurter observes that St. Ambrose understands mortality in a wide sense, as including the capacity of any and every sort of change. Immortality, then, in accordance with this definition, would connote perfect absence of change. Hurter cites St. Bernard, § 81 in Cant.: “Omnis mutatio quædam mortis imitatio…Si tot mortes quot mutationes, ubi immortalitas?” and Plutarch, in Eusebius, Præpar. Ev. XI. 12. Plutarch’s view perhaps owed something to study of the reliques of Herachtus. Many fathers expounded 1 Tim. vi. 16 on this definition of immortality as=immutability. This definition would exclude angels, who are naturally fallible (as the rebellion of Lucifer and the third part of the host of heaven proved)—or if they are now no longer fallible, they owe it not to their own natural constitution but to grace. In so far then as angels are mutable, whether for better or worse, they are not immortal.    Ps. ix. 14.    S. Luke xix. 23.

27. Great, therefore, is the mystery of Christ, before which even angels stood amazed and bewildered. For this cause, then, it is thy duty to worship Him, and, being a servant, thou oughtest not to detract from thy Lord. Ignorance thou mayest not plead, for to this end He came down, that thou mayest believe; if thou believest not, He has not come down for thee, has not suffered for thee. “If I had not come,” saith the Scripture, “and spoken with them, they would have no sin: but now have they no excuse for their sin. He that hateth Me, hateth My Father also.”690    Angels being by nature mutable, either for better or for worse, that is, capable of good or evil, and so of death, are de facto sinless, and hence need not, are not meet to be placed under, penal discipline. Or the meaning may be that the angelic nature was not created to be gradually taught in the way of holiness as human nature was.    S. John xv. 22, 23.    1 Cor. iv. 1. Who, then, hates Christ, if not he who speaks to His dishonour?—for as it is love’s part to render, so it is hate’s to withdraw honour.691    Eccl. xii. 14. Hurter observes that God would not judge rational creatures, were they not capable of advance or retrogression, of becoming better or falling into degradation, and had, as a matter of fact, advanced or fallen back.    Orig. “derogare.” Derogare was a Roman law-term, meaning to repeal a law in part, to restrict or modify it—hence it came to be used generally of diminishing or taking away from anything already established.    1 Cor. iii. 5, 6. He who hates, calls in question; he who loves, pays reverence.

CAPUT II.

In coelum sine fide ascensurum neminem, vel si quis ascenderit, ejiciendum: illam itaque sedulo conservari debere. Esse etiam in nobis coelos, quorum portae aperiendae, ac per Christi divinitatis confessionem elevandae sunt. Has ab Arianis non elevari, nec ab iis qui requirunt Filium inter terrena; proindeque illos cum Magdalena remittendos ad Apostolos, in quos portae inferi non praevalebunt. Colligitur ex dictis a servo Domini dignitati non derogandum.

14. Quid igitur agemus? Quomodo ascendemus ad coelum? Sunt illic dispositae potestates, ordinati 0620B principes, qui coeli januas servant, qui ascendentem interrogant: quis me admittet, nisi omnipotentem annuntiem Christum? Clausae sunt portae, non cuicumque aperiuntur: non quicumque vult, nisi qui fideliter credit, ingredietur. Custoditur aula imperialis.

15. Sed esto, indignus obrepserit, latuerit principes portarum coelestium, discubuerit in coena Domini; ingressus Dominus convivii, videns non indutum nuptiale fidei vestimentum, projiciet eum in tenebras exteriores, ubi sit fletus et stridor dentium, si fidem pacemque non servet (Matth. XXII, 11 et seq.).

16. Servemus igitur nuptiale quod accepimus vestimentum, nec Christo propria denegemus, quem 0620C omnipotentem annuntiant angeli, prophetae significant, apostoli testificantur, sicut jam supra ostendimus (Lib. II, cap. 4).

17. Et fortasse non de istius tantummodo coeli portis propheta dixerit quod praeteribit; et alios enim coelos Dei Verbum penetrat, de quibus dictum est: Habemus enim sacerdotem magnum, principem sacerdotum, qui pertransivit coelos, Jesum Filium Dei (Hebr. IV, 14). Qui sunt isti coeli, nisi et hi de quibus dicit Propheta: Coeli enarrant gloriam Dei (Psal. XVIII, 1)?

18. Stat enim Christus ad januam mentis tuae, audi cum dicentem: Ecce sto ad januam, et pulso; si quis mihi aperuerit, ingrediar ad illum; et coenabo cum eo, et ipse mecum (Apoc. III, 20). Et Ecclesia de 0620D eo dicit: Vox fratris mei pulsat ad januam (Cant. V, 2).

19. Stat ergo, et non solus stat; sed praecedunt eum angeli, qui dicunt: Tollite portas, principes, vestri (Psal. XXIII, 7). Quas portas? Illas utique de 0621A quibus et alibi dicit: Aperite mihi portas justitiae (Psal. CXVII, 19). Aperi ergo Christo portas tuas, ut ingrediatur in te: aperi portas justitiae, aperi portas 525 pudicitiae, aperi portas fortitudinis atque sapientiae.

20. Crede angelis dicentibus: Et clevamini portae aeternales, et introibit rex gloriae, Dominus sabaoth (Psal. XXIII, 7). Porta tua vocis fidelis canora confessio est: porta tua ostium verbi est, quam sibi Apostolus optat aperiri, dicens: Ut aperiatur mihi ostium verbi ad eloquendum mysterium Christi (Coloss. IV, 3).

21. Aperiatur igitur Christo porta tua, nec solum aperiatur, sed etiam elevetur; si tamen aeternalis, est, non caduca; scriptum est enim: Et elevamini 0621B portae aeternales. Elevatum est super limen Esaiae, quando Seraphim labia ejus tetigit, et vidit regem Dominum sabaoth (Esai. VI, 7).

22. Tuae ergo portae elevabuntur, si sempiternum, si omnipotentem, si inaestimabilem, si incomprehensibilem, si eum qui et praeterita omnia et futura noverit, Filium Dei credas. Quod si praefinitae potestatis et scientiae, subjectumque opinaris, non elevas portas aeternales.

23. Eleventur ergo portae tuae, ut non Ariano sensu parvulus, non pusillus, non subditus ad te Christus introeat; sed intret in Dei forma, intret cum Patre, intret talis, qualis est et coelum et omnia supergressus, emittat tibi Spiritum sanctum. Expedit tibi ut credas quia ascendit, et sedet ad 0621C dexteram Patris. Nam si eum inter creaturas et terrena impia cogitatione detineas, si non tibi abeat, non tibi ascendat, nec Paraclitus ad te veniet, sicut ipse dixit: Nam si ego non abiero, Paraclitus non veniet ad vos: si autem abiero, mittam illum ad vos (Joan. XVI, 7).

24. Quod si inter terrena eum requiras, sicut Maria Magdalene requirebat, cave ne et tibi dicat: Noli me tangere; nondum enim ascendi ad Patrem meum (Joan. XX, 17). Portae enim tuae angustae sunt, capere me non queunt: elevari non queunt, intrare non possum.

25. Vade ergo ad fratres meos, hoc est, ad illas portas aeternales, quae cum Jesum viderint, elevantur (Ibid.). Aeternalis porta est Petrus, cui portae inferi 0621D non praevalebunt (Matth. XVI, 18). Aeternales portae Joannes et Jacobus, utpote filii tonitrui (Marc. III, 17). Aeternales portae sunt Ecclesiae, ubi laudes Christi annuntiare Propheta desiderans, dicit: Ut annuntiem omnes laudationes tuas in portis filiae Sion (Psal. IX, 15).

26. Grande ergo mysterium Christi, quod stupuerunt et angeli; et ideo venerari debes, et Domino famulus derogare non debes. Ignorare non licet; propterea enim descendit ut credas: si non credis, 0622A non descendit tibi, non tibi passus est. Si non venissem, inquit, et locutus non fuissem his, peccatum non haberent: nunc autem excusationem non habent de peccato suo. Qui me odit, et Patrem meum odit (Joan. XV, 22, 23). Quis igitur odit Christum, nisi qui derogat? Sicut enim amoris est deferre, ita odii est derogare. Qui odit, quaestiones movet; qui amat, reverentiam defert.