2. For, brethren, ye heard just now when the Gospel was read, at least if ye had for it the ear not only of the body but also of the heart. What said it? “Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men, to be seen of them.”405    Matt. vi. 1. Did He mean to say this, that whatever good things we do, we should hide them from the eyes of men,406    De Serm. Dom. in Monte, ii. 1, ff., Serm. cxlix. 10–13; De Civ. Dei, v. 14; Enarr. in Ps. lxv. sec 2. and fear to be seen? If thou fearest spectators thou wilt not have imitators: thou oughtest therefore to be seen. But thou must not do it to the end thou mayest be seen. Not there should be the end of thy joy, not there the goal of thy rejoicing, that thou shouldest account thyself to have gotten the whole fruit of thy good work, when thou art seen and praised. This is nothing. Despise thyself when thou art praised, let Him be praised in thee who worketh by thee. Therefore do not for thine own praise work the good thou doest: but to the praise of Him from whom thou hast the power to do good. From thy self thou hast the ill doing, from God thou hast the well doing. On the other hand, see perverse men, how preposterous they are. What they do well, they will needs ascribe to themselves; if they do ill, they will needs accuse God. Reverse this distorted and preposterous proceeding, which puts the thing, as one may say, head downwards, which makes that undermost which is uppermost,407    Quod susum faciens jusum; quod deorsum faciens sursum. Jusum vis facere Deum, et te susum? Infra, x. 8, Jusum me honoras, susum me calcas. Several mss. have sursum deorsum for susum jusum.—Ben. Laud. 116 and 136, and also Bodl. 813, as first written, have susum, jusum. and that upwards which is downwards. Dost thou want to make God undermost and thyself uppermost? Thou goest headlong, not elevatest thyself; for He is always above. What then? thou well, and God ill? nay rather, say this, if thou wouldest speak more truly, I ill, He well; and what I do well from Him is the well-doing: for from myself whatever I do is ill. This confession strengthens the heart, and makes a firm foundation of love. For if we ought to hide our good works lest they be seen of men, what becomes of that sentence of the Lord in the sermon which He delivered on the mount? Where He said this, there He also said a little before, “Let your good works shine before men.”408    Matt. v. 16. And He did not stop there, did not there make an end, but added, “And glorify your Father which is in Heaven.” And what saith the apostle? “And I was unknown by face unto the Churches of Judea which were in Christ: but they heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past, now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed. And in me they glorified God.”409    Gal. i. 22–24. See how he also, in regard that he became so widely known did not set the good in his own praise, but in the praise of God. And as for him, in his own person, that he was one who laid waste the Church, a persecutor, envious, malignant, it is himself that confesses this, not we that reproach him therewith. Paul loves to have his sins spoken of by us, that He may be glorified who healed such a disease. For it was the hand of the Physician that cut and healed the greatness of the sore. That voice from heaven prostrated the persecutor, and raised up the preacher; killed Saul, and quickened Paul.410    Serm. clxviii. 6. For Saul was the persecutor of a holy man; thence had this man his name, when he persecuted the Christians:411    1 Sam. xix. afterward of Saul he became Paul. What does the name Paulus mean? Little. Therefore when he was Saul, he was proud, lifted up; when he was Paul, he was lowly, little. Thus we say, I will see thee “paulo post,” i.e. after a little while.412    So Serm. ci. 1; clxviii. 7; cclxxix. 5; cccxv. 7; Lib. de Sp. et Litt. vii. sec. 12. But Confess. viii. 4, sec. 9, it is remarked, without reference to the etymology, that the change of name from Saul to Paul was designed to commemorate the conversion of Sergius Paulus, Acts xiii. 7, 12; Origen Præf. in Ep. ad Rom. “Some have thought that the Apostle took the name of Paulus, the Proconsul, whom at Cypress he had subjected to the faith of Christ: that as kings are wont to assume a title from the nations they have conquered, as Parthicus and Gothicus from Parthians and Goths, so the Apostle took the appellation Paulus from the Paulus whom he had subjugated. Which we do not think is altogether to be set aside.” St. Jerome Comm. in Ep. ad Philem. “As Scipio took the name Africanus as conqueror of Africa, so the Apostle took the name Paulus by way of trophy, &c.” Hear that he was made little: “For I am the least of the apostles;413    1 Cor. xv. 9; Eph. iii. 8. and, To me the least of all saints,” he saith in another place. So was he among the apostles as the hem of the garment: but the Church of the Gentiles touched it, as did the woman which had the flux, and was made whole.414    Matt. ix. 20–22.

2. Namque, fratres, audistis modo, cum Evangelium legeretur; certe si aurem ibi non tantum corporis, sed et cordis habuistis. Quid ait? Cavete facere justitiam vestram coram hominibus, ut videamini ab eis (Matth. VI, 1). Numquid hoc voluit dicere, ut quaecumque bona facimus, abscondamus ab oculis hominum, et timeamus videri? Si times spectatores, non hebebis imitatores debes ergo videri. Sed non ad hoc debes facere ut videaris. Non ibi debet esse finis gaudii tui, non ibi terminus laetitiae tuae, ut putes te totum fructum consecutum esse boni operis tui, cum visus fueris atque laudatus. Nihil est hoc. Contemne te cum laudaris: ille in te laudetur, qui per te operatur. Noli ergo ad laudem tuam operari quod bonum agis, sed ad laudem illius a quo habes ut bonum agas. Abs te habes male agere, a Deo habes bene agere. Contra perversi homines videte quam praeposteri sint. Quod faciunt bene, volunt sibi tribuere: si male faciunt, Deum volunt accusare. Converte hoc distortum nescio quid et praeposterum, faciens illud quodammodo capite deorsum: quod susum , faciens jusum: quod deorsum, faciens sursum. Jusum vis facere Deum, et te susum? Praecipitaris, non elevaris: ille enim semper sursum est. Quid ergo? tu bene, et Deus male? Imo hoc dic, si vis verius dicere, Ego male, ille bene; et quod ego bene, ab illo bene: nam a me quidquid ago male. Ista confessio firmat cor, et facit 2037 dilectionis fundamentum. Nam si opera nostra abscondere debemus bona, ne videantur ab hominibus; ubi est illa sententia Domini in eo sermone quem habuit in monte? Ubi hoc dixit, ibi et illud paulo ante dixit: Luceant opera vestra bona coram hominibus. Et non ibi cessavit, non ibi finem fecit; sed addidit, Et glorificent Patrem vestrum qui in coelis est (Matth. V, 16). Et Apostolus quid ait? Eram autem ignotus facie Ecclesiis Judaeae, quae in Christo sunt: tantum autem audientes erant quia qui nos aliquando persequebatur, nunc evangelizat fidem quam aliquando vastabat; et in me magnificabant Deum (Galat. I, 22-24). Videte quemadmodum et ipse, quia sic innotuit, finem non posuerit in laudem suam, sed in laudem Dei. Et quantum ad ipsum pertinet, vastator Ecclesiae, persecutor invidus, malignus, ipse confitetur, non nos conviciamur. Amat Paulus dici a nobis peccata sua, ut glorificetur ille qui talem morbum sanavit. Magnitudinem enim vulneris manus medici secuit, et sanavit. Vox illa de coelo prostravit persecutorem, et erexit praedicatorem; occidit Saulum, et vivificavit Paulum (Act. IX). Saül enim persecutor erat sancti viri (I Reg. XIX); inde nomen habebat iste quando persequebatur Christianos: postea de Saulo factus est Paulus (Act. XIII, 9). Quid est Paulus? Modicus. Ergo quando Saulus, superbus, elatus: quando Paulus, humilis, modicus. Ideo sic loquimur, Paulo post videbo te, id est, post modicum. Audi quia modicus factus est: Ego enim sum minimus Apostolorum (I Cor. XV, 9); et, Mihi minimo omnium sanctorum, dicit alio loco (Ephes. III, 8). Sic erat inter Apostolos tanquam fimbria vestimenti: sed tetigit Ecclesia Gentium tanquam fluxum patiens, et sanata est (Matth. IX, 20-22).