Augustine of Hippo, The Harmony of the Gospels

11. John remains, between whom and others there is left no comparison to be instituted. For, however the evangelists may each have reported some matters which are not recorded by the others, it will be hard to prove that any question involving real discrepancy arises out of these. Thus, too, it is a clearly admitted position that the first three—namely, Matthew, Mark, and Luke—have occupied themselves chiefly with the humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to which He is both king and priest. And in this way, Mark, who seems to answer to the figure of the man in the well-known mystical symbol of the four living creatures,1130 Apoc. iv. 6, 7. either appears to be preferentially the companion of Matthew, as he narrates a larger number of matters in unison with him than with the rest, and therein acts in due harmony with the idea of the kingly character whose wont it is, as I have stated in the first book,1131 See chap. iii. to be not unaccompanied by attendants; or else, in accordance with the more probable account of the matter, he holds a course in conjunction with both [the other Synoptists]. For although he is at one with Matthew in the larger number of passages, he is nevertheless at one rather with Luke in some others. And this very fact shows him to stand related at once to the lion and to the steer, that is to say, to the kingly office which Matthew emphasizes, and to the sacerdotal which Luke introduces, wherein also Christ appears distinctively as man, as the figure which Mark sustains stands related to both these. On the other hand, Christ’s divinity, in virtue of which He is equal to the Father, in accordance with which He is the Word, and God with God, and the Word that was made flesh in order to dwell among us,1132 John i. 1, 14. in accordance with which also He and the Father are one,1133 John x. 30. has been taken specially in hand by John with a view to its recommendation to our minds. Like an eagle, he abides among Christ’s sayings of the sublimer order, and in no way descends to earth but on rare occasions. In brief, although he declares plainly his own knowledge of the Lord’s mother, he nevertheless neither unites with Matthew and Luke in recording His nativity, nor associates himself with all the three in relating His baptism; but all that he does there is simply to present the testimony delivered by John in a lofty and sublime fashion, and then, quitting the company of these others, he proceeds with Him to the marriage in Cana of Galilee. And there, although the evangelist himself mentions His mother by that very name, He nevertheless addresses her thus: “Woman, what have I to do with thee?”1134 John ii. 1–11. In this, however, [it is to be understood that] He does not repel her of whom He received the flesh, but means to convey the conception of His divinity with special fitness at this time, when He is about to change the water into wine; which divinity, likewise, had made that woman, and had not itself been made in her.

12. Then, after noticing the few days spent in Capharnaum, the evangelist comes again to the temple, where he states that Jesus spoke of the temple of His body in these terms: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up:”1135 John ii. 12–22. in which declaration emphatic intimation is given not only that God was in that temple in the person of the Word that was made flesh, but also that He Himself raised the said flesh to life, in the veritable exercise of that prerogative which He has in His oneness with the Father, and according to which He does not act separately from Him; whereas it will perhaps be found that, in all other passages, the phrase which Scripture employs is one to the effect that God raised Him: neither is there any such expression found anywhere else as that, when God raised Christ, Christ also raised Himself, because He is one God with the Father; which is the import of the passage now before us, in which He says, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

13. Then how great and how divine are the words reported to have been spoken with Nicodemus! From these the evangelist proceeds again to the testimony of John, and brings before our notice the fact, that the friend of the bridegroom cannot but rejoice because of the bridegroom’s voice. In this statement He gives us to understand that the soul of man neither has light derivable from itself, nor can have blessing, except by participation in the unchangeable wisdom. Thereafter he carries us on to the case of the woman of Samaria, in connection with which mention is made of the water, whereof if a man drinks, he shall never thirst again. Once more, he brings us again to Cana of Galilee, where Jesus had made the water wine. In that narrative he tells us how He spoke to the nobleman, whose son was sick, in these terms: “Except ye see signs and wonders ye believe not:”1136 John iv. 48. in which saying He aims at lifting the mind of the believer high above all things mutable, so that He would not have even the miracles themselves, which, however they may bear the impression of what is divine, are yet wrought in the instance of what is changeable in bodies, made objects of seeking on the part of the faithful.

14. Next he brings us back to Jerusalem, and tells the story of the healing of the man who had an infirmity of thirty-eight years’ standing. What words are spoken on this occasion, and how ample is the discourse! Here we are met by the sentence, “The Jews sought to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but said also that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.”1137 John v. 18. In this passage it is made sufficiently plain that He did not speak of God as His Father in the ordinary sense in which holy men are in the habit of using the phrase, but that He meant that He is His equal. For, a little before this, He had said to those who were impeaching Him with violating the Sabbath-day, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.”1138 John v. 17. Then their fury flamed forth, not merely because He said that God was His Father, but because He wished it to be understood that He was equal with God, when He used the phrase, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” In which utterance He also shows it to be matter of course that, as the Father works, the Son should work also; because the Father does not work without the Son. And this is in accordance with what He states a little further on in the same passage, when these parties were incensed at His declaration, namely, “For what things soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.”1139 John v. 19.

15. Then at length John descends to bear company with the other three, whose course is with the same Lord, but upon the earth, and joins them in recording the feeding of the five thousand men with the five loaves. In this narrative, however, he is the only one who mentions, that when the people wished to make Him a king, Jesus departed into a mountain Himself alone.1140 John vi. 15. And in making that statement, his intention appears to me to have been just to communicate to the reasonable soul the truth, that Christ reigns over our mind and reason purely in a sphere in which He is exalted above us, in which He has no community of nature with men, and in which He is verily by Himself alone, as He is the Father’s only fellow. This, however, is a mystical truth, which escapes the cognizance of carnal men, whose life creeps upon the lower soil of this earth, just because it is so sublime a mystery. Hence Christ Himself also departs into the mountain from the men whose habit is to seek for His kingdom with earthly conceptions of it. Thus is it that He expresses Himself elsewhere to this effect, “My kingdom is not of this world.”1141 John xviii. 36. And this, again, is something which is reported only by John, who soars high over earth in a kind of ethereal flight, and delights himself in the light of the Sun of righteousness. Then, on passing from the narrative connected with this mountain, and from the miracle of the five loaves, he still keeps company with the same three for a little while, until the notice of the crossing of the sea is reached, and the occasion on which Jesus walked upon the waters. But at this point he at once rises again to the region of the Lord’s discourses, and relates those words, so grave, so lengthened, so sustainedly lofty and elevated, which had their occasion in the multiplying of the bread, when He addressed the multitudes to the following effect: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life.”1142 John vi. 26, 27. After which sayings, He continues to discourse in similar terms for a very long period, and in the most exalted strain. At that time, some fell away from the sublime teaching of such words, namely, those who walked no more with Him afterwards. But there were also those who did cleave to Him; and these were they who were able to receive the meaning of this saying, “It is the spirit that quickeneth, but the flesh profiteth nothing.”1143 John vi. 63. For surely it is true, that even through the flesh it is the spirit that profiteth,1144 The text gives: et per carnem spiritus prodest. Some editions read et carni, etc. = the spirit profiteth even the flesh. [The erroneous view of the term “flesh” leads to this explanation. It has already in this passage an ethical sense, which Augustin ignores.—R.] and the spirit alone that profiteth; whereas the flesh without the spirit profiteth nothing.

16. Next we come to the passage where His brethren—that is to say, His relations according to the flesh—urge Him to go up to the feast-day, in order that He may have an opportunity of making Himself known to the multitude. And here, again, how supremely elevated is the tone of His reply! “My time is not yet come, but your time is alway ready. The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it that the works thereof are evil.” 1145 John vii. 6, 7. So it is the case, then, that “your time is alway ready,” because ye desire that kind of day to which the prophet refers when he says, “But I have not laboured following Thee, O Lord; and the day of man I have not desired, Thou knowest:”1146 Jer. xvii. 16. that is to say, to soar to the light of the Word, and to desire that day which Abraham desired to see, and which he did see, and was glad.1147 John viii. 56. And again, how wonderful, how divine, how sublime are the words which John represents Him to have spoken after He had gone up to the temple, at the time of the feast! They are such as these: that where He was about to go, thither they could not come;1148 John vii. 34. that they both knew Him, and knew whence He was;1149 John vii. 28. that He who sent Him is true, whom they knew not,1150 John vii. 28. which is much the same as if He had said, “Ye both know whence I am, and know not whence I am.” And what else did He wish to be understood by such utterances, but that it was possible for Him to be known to them according to the flesh, in respect of lineage and country, but that, so far as regarded His divinity, He was unknown to them? On this occasion, too, when He spoke of the gift of the Holy Spirit, He showed them who He was, inasmuch as He could hold the power of bestowing that highest boon.

17. Again, how weighty are the things which this evangelist reports Jesus to have spoken, when He came back to the temple from Mount Olivet, and after the forgiveness which He extended to the adulteress, who had been brought before Him by His tempters, as one deserving to be stoned: on which occasion He wrote with His finger upon the ground, as if He would indicate that people of the character of these men would be written on earth, and not in heaven, as He also admonished His disciples to rejoice that their names were written in heaven!1151 Luke x. 20. Or, it may be that He meant to convey the idea that it was by humbling Himself (which He expressed by bending down His head) that He wrought signs upon the earth; or, that the time was now come when His law should be written, not, as formerly, on the sterile stone, but on a soil which would yield fruit. Accordingly, after these incidents, He affirmed Himself to be the light of the world, and declared that he who followed Him would not walk in darkness, but would have the light of life. He said, also, that He was “the beginning which also discoursed to them.”1152 Se esse principium quod et loqueretur eis, as the rendering of the τὴν ἀρχὴν ὁ τι καὶ λαλῶ ὑμῖν in John viii. 25. By which designation He clearly distinguished Himself from the light which He made, and presented Himself as the Light by which all things have been made. Consequently, when He said that He was the light of the world, we are not to take the words to bear simply the sense intended when He addressed the disciples in similar terms, saying, “Ye are the light of the world.” For they are compared only to the kindled light, which is not to be put beneath a bushel, but to be set upon a candlestick;1153 Matt. v. 14, 15. as He also says of John the Baptist, that “he was a burning and shining light.”1154 John v. 35. But He is Himself the beginning, of whom it is likewise declared, that “of His fulness have all we received.”1155 John i. 16. On the occasion presently under review, He asserted further that He, the Son, is the Truth, which will make us free, and without which no man will be free.1156 John viii. 36.

18. Next, after telling the story of the giving of sight to the man who was blind from his birth, John tarries for a space over the copious discourse to which that incident gave occasion, on the subject of the sheep, and the shepherd, and the door, and the power of laying down His life and taking it again, wherein He gave token of the supreme might of His divinity. Thereafter, he relates how, at the time when the feast of the dedication was being celebrated in Jerusalem, the Jews said to Him, “How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.”1157 John x. 24. And then he reports the sublime words which the Lord uttered when the opportunity thus arose for a discourse. It was on this occasion that He said, “I and my Father are one.”1158 John x. 30. After this, again, he brings before us the raising of Lazarus from the dead: in connection with which miracle the Lord said, “I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”1159 John xi. 25, 26. In these words what do we recognise but the sublimity of the Godhead of Him, in fellowship with whom we shall live for ever? Once more, John joins Matthew and Mark in what is recorded about Bethany, where the scene took place with the precious ointment which was poured upon His feet and His head by Mary.1160 John xii. 1–9; Matt. xxvi. 6–13; Mark xiv. 3–9. And then, on to the Lord’s passion and resurrection, John keeps by the other three evangelists, but only in so far as his narrative engages itself with the same places.

19. Moreover, so far as regards the Lord’s discourses, he does not cease to ascend to the sublimer and more extended utterances of which, from this point also, He delivered Himself. For he inserts a lofty address which the Lord spoke on the occasion when, through Philip and Andrew, the Gentiles expressed their desire to see Him, and which is introduced by none of the other evangelists. There, too, he reports the remarkable words which were spoken again on the subject of the light which enlightens and makes men the children of light.1161 John xii. 20–50. Thereafter, in connection with the Supper itself, of which none of the evangelists has failed to give us some notice, how affluent and how lofty are those words of Jesus which John records, but which the others have passed over in silence! I may instance not only His commendation of humility, when He washed the disciples’ feet, but also that marvellously overpowering and pre-eminently copious discourse which the Lord delivered to the eleven who remained with Him after His betrayer had been indicated by the morsel of bread, and had gone out. It was in this discourse, over which John lingers long, that He said, “He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father also.”1162 John xiv. 9. It was in it, too, that He expressed Himself so largely about the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, whom He was to send to them, and about His own glory, which He had with the Father before the world was, and about His making us one in Himself, even as He and the Father are one,—not that He and the Father and we should be one, but that we should be one as they are one. And many other things of a wonderfully sublime order did He utter in that connection. But who can fail to see that to discuss such themes in any manner that would be worthy of them, even if we were competent to do so, is at least not the task which we have undertaken in the present effort? For our object is to help those who are lovers of the Word of God and students of holy truth to understand that, in his Gospel, John was indeed an announcer and preacher of the same Christ, the true and truthful One of whom the other three who have composed Gospels also testified, and to whom the rest of the apostles likewise bore witness, who, although they did not take in hand the construction of written narratives, did at least discharge the kindred service in officially preaching of Him: but that, at the same time, he was borne to far loftier heights in the doctrine of Christ from the very beginning of his book, and that it was but on rare occasions that he kept to the level pursued by the others. These occasions were the following in particular, namely: first by the Jordan, in reference to the testimony of John the Baptist; secondly, on the other side of the sea of Tiberias, when the Lord fed the multitudes with the five loaves, and walked upon the waters; thirdly, in Bethany, where He had the precious ointment poured over Him by the devotion of a woman of faith. And so he proceeds, until he meets them at the time of the Passion, which, as matter of course, he had to relate in conjunction with them. But, even in that section, and on the particular subject of the Lord’s Supper, which has been left unnoticed by none of them, he has presented us with a much more affluent statement, as if he drew his materials directly from the treasure-store of that bosom of the Lord on which it was his wont to recline. Then, again, [John shows us how] He astonishes Pilate with words of a sublimer import, declaring that His kingdom is not of this world, and that He was born a King, and that He came into the world for this purpose, that He might bear witness to the truth.1163 John xviii. 36, 37. [It is in this Gospel also that] He withdraws Himself1164 The text gives vitans. Many mss. and editions read visitans =coming to Mary. from Mary with some deep mystical intention after His resurrection, and says to her, “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father.”1165 John xx. 17. It is here, too, that He imparts the Holy Spirit to the disciples by breathing on them1166 John xx. 22. giving us thereby to understand that this Spirit who is consubstantial and co-eternal with the Trinity, should not be considered to be simply the Spirit of the Father, but should also be held to be the Spirit of the Son.

20. Finally, He here commits His sheep to the care of Peter, who loves Him, and thrice confesses that love, and then He states that He wills this very John so to tarry until He comes.1167 John xxi. 23. In which utterance, again, He seems to me to have conveyed in a profound and mystical way the fact that this1168 Some mss. insert secretam = secret. evangelical stewardship of John’s, in which he is borne aloft into the most liquid light of the Word,1169 Reading, lucem liquidissimam verbi sublimiter. But various mss. and editions give verbi sublimitate fertur, etc. = borne aloft in the sublimity of the word into the most liquid light. where it is possible to behold the equality and unchangeableness of the Trinity, and in which, above all, we see at what a distance from all others in respect of essential character that humanity stands by whose assumption it occurred that the Word was made flesh, cannot be clearly discerned and recognised until the Lord Himself comes. Consequently, it will tarry thus until He comes. At present it will tarry in the faith of believers, but hereafter it will be possible to contemplate it face to face,1170 1 Cor. xiii. 12. when He, our Life, shall appear, and when we shall appear with Him in glory.1171 Col. iii. 4. But if any one supposes that with man, living, as he still does, in this mortal life, it may be possible for a person to dispel and clear off every obscurity induced by corporeal and carnal fancies, and to attain to the serenest light of changeless truth, and to cleave constantly and unswervingly to that with a mind thoroughly estranged from the course of this present life, that man understands neither what he asks, nor who he is that put such a supposition. Let such an individual rather accept the authority, at once lofty and free from all deceitfulness, which tells us that, as long as we are in the body, we are absent from the Lord, and that we walk by faith and not by sight.1172 2 Cor. v. 6, 7. And thus, with all perseverance keeping and guarding his faith and hope and charity, let him look forward to the sight which is promised, in accordance with that earnest which we have received of the Holy Ghost, who shall teach us all truth,1173 John xvi. 13. when God, who raised up Jesus Christ from the dead, shall also quicken our mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in us.1174 Rom. viii. 10, 11. But before this body, which is dead by reason of sin, is quickened, it is without doubt corruptible, and presseth down the soul.1175 Wisd. of Sol. ix. 13. And if, in the body, man is ever helped to reach beyond the cloud with which the whole earth is covered,1176 Ecclus. xxiv. 3.—that is to say, beyond this carnal darkness with which the whole life of earth is covered,—it is simply as if he were touched with a rapid coruscation, only to sink swiftly into his natural infirmity, the desire surviving by which he may again be excited (to what is evil), and the purity being insufficient to establish him (in what is good). The more, however, any one can do this, the greater is he; while the less he can do so, the less is he. And if the mind of a man has as yet had no such experience—in which mind nevertheless Christ dwells by faith—he ought to strive earnestly to diminish the lusts of this world, and to make an end of them by the exercise of moral virtue, walking, as it were, in the company of these three evangelists with Christ the Mediator. And, with the joy of large hope, let him in faith hold Him who is alway the Son of God, but who, for our sakes, became the Son of man, in order that His eternal power and Godhead might be united with 1177 Contemperata = attempered to. our weakness and mortality, and, on the basis of what is ours, make a way for us in Himself and to Himself. That a man may be kept from sinning, he should be ruled by Christ the King. If he happens to sin, he may obtain remission from Christ, who is also priest. And thus, nurtured in the exercise of a good conversation and life, and borne out of the atmosphere of earth on the wings of a twofold love, as on a pair of strong pinions, so may he be enlightened by the same Christ, who is also the Word, the Word who was in the beginning, the Word who was with God, and the Word who was God; and although that will still be through a glass darkly, it will be a sublime kind of illumination far superior to every corporeal similitude. Wherefore, although it is the gifts of the active virtue that shine pre-eminent in the first three evangelists, while it is the gift of the contemplative virtue that discerns such subjects, nevertheless, this Gospel of John, in so far as it also is in part, will so tarry until that which is perfect comes.1178 1 Cor. xiii. 12, 9, 10. And to one, indeed, is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit.1179 1 Cor. xii. 8. One man regardeth the day to the Lord;1180 Rom. xiv. 6. another receives a clearer draught from the breast of the Lord; another is caught up even to the third heaven, and hears unspeakable words.1181 2 Cor. xii. 2–4. But all, as long as they are in the body, are absent from the Lord.1182 2 Cor. v. 6. And for all believers living in the good hope, whose names are written in the book of life, there is still in reserve that which is referred to in the words, “And I will love him, and will manifest myself unto him.”1183 John xiv. 21. Nevertheless, the greater the advance which a man may make in the apprehension and knowledge of this theme during the time of this absence from the Lord, all the more carefully should he guard against those devilish vices, pride and envy. Let him remember that this very Gospel of John, which urges us so pre-eminently to the contemplation of truth, gives a no less remarkable prominence to the inculcation of the sweet grace of charity. Let him also consider that most true and wholesome precept which is couched in the words, “The greater thou art, the more humble thyself in all.”1184 Ecclus. iii. 18. For the evangelist who presents Christ to us in a far loftier strain of teaching than all the others, is also the one in whose narrative the Lord washes the disciples’ feet.1185 John xiii. 5.

CAPUT X.

De Joanne evangelista, quid a caeteris tribus distet.

11. Joannes est reliquus, qui jam non restat cui conferatur. Quidquid enim singuli dixerunt, quae ab aliis non dicta sunt, difficile est ut habeant aliquam repugnantiae quaestionem. Ac per hoc liquido constat tres istos, Matthaeum scilicet, Marcum et Lucam, maxime circa humanitatem Domini nostri Jesu Christi esse versatos, secundum quam et rex et sacerdos est. Et ideo Marcus, qui in illo mysterio quatuor animalium (Apoc. IV, 6, 7), hominis videtur demonstrare personam, vel Matthaei magis comes videtur, quia cum illo plura dicit propter regiam personam quae incomitata esse non solet, quod in primo libro commemoravi (Lib. 1, cap. 3); vel quod probabilius intelligitur, cum ambobus incedit. Nam quamvis Matthaeo in pluribus, tamen in aliis nonnullis Lucae magis congruit: ut hoc ipso demonstretur ad leonem et ad vitulum, hoc est, et ad regalem quam Matthaeus, et ad sacerdotalem quam Lucas insinuat personam, id quod Christus homo est, pertinere, quam figuram Marcus gerit pertinens ad utrumque. Divinitas vero Christi qua aequalis est Patri, secundum quod Verbum est et Deus apud Deum, et Verbum caro factum ut habitaret in nobis (Joan. I, 11-4), secundum quod ipse et Pater unum sunt (Id. X, 30), a Joanne maxime commendanda suscepta est; qui sicut aquila in his quae Christus sublimius locutus est, immoratur, nec in terram quodammodo nisi raro descendit. Denique quamvis matrem Christi se nosse plane testetur, tamen nec in ejus nativitate cum Matthaeo et Luca aliquid dicit, nec ejus baptismum cum tribus commemorat, sed tantummodo ibi testimonium Joannis alte sublimiterque commendans, relictis eis pergit cum illo ad nuptias in Cana Galilaeae: ubi quamvis ipse Evangelista matrem ejus fuisse commemoret, ille tamen dicit, Quid mihi et tibi est, mulier (Id. II, 1-11)? non repellens de qua suscepit carnem, sed suam tunc maxime insinuans divinitatem, aquam conversurus in vinum: quae divinitas 1224 iliam etiam feminam fecerat, non in illa tacta erat.

12. Inde post paucos dies factos in Capharnaum, redit ad templum, ubi eum commemorat dixisse de templo corporis sui, Solvite templum hoc, et in tribus diebus excitabo illud (Ibid., 12-22): ubi maxime insinuat non solum quia Deus erat in templo Verbum caro factum; verum etiam, quia eamdem carnem ipse resuscitavit, non utique nisi secundum id quod unum est cum Patre, nec separabiliter operatur: cum caeteris locis fortassis omnibus Scriptura non dicat, nisi quod Deus illum suscitaverit; nec alicubi sic expressum est, quod cum Deus resuscitarit Christum, etiam ipse se resuscitavit, quia cum Patre unus Deus est, sicut hoc loco ubi ait, Solvite templum hoc, et in tribus diebus suscitabo illud.

13. Inde cum illo Nicodemo quam magna, quam divina locutus est! Inde rursus pergit ad testimonium Joannis, et commendat amicum sponsi non gaudere nisi propter vocem sponsi. Ubi admonet animam humanam non de seipsa sibi lucere, nec beari, nisi incommutabilis participatione sapientiae. Inde ad mulierem Samaritanam, ubi commemoratur aqua unde qui biberit non sitiet in aeternum. Inde rursus in Cana Galilaeae, ubi fecerat de aqua vinum: ubi eum commemorat dixisse regulo, cujus filius infirmabatur, Nisi signa et prodigia videritis, non creditis (Id. III, 1-IV, 54); usque adeo super omnia mutabilia volens mentem credentis attollere, ut nec ipsa miracula, quae quamvis divinitus de mutabilitate corporum fiunt, a fidelibus quaeri velit.

14. Inde Jerosolymam redit; fit sanus triginta octo annorum languidus. Ex hac occasione quae dicuntur! quam diu dicuntur! Ibi dictum est, Quaerebant eum Judaei interficere, quia non solum solvebat sabbatum, sed et patrem suum dicebat Deum, aequalem se faciens Deo: ubi satis ostenditur quam non usitate, sicut solent sancti homines dicere, dixerit patrem suum Deum, sed quod ei sit aequalis insinuans: quippe paulo superius dixerat eis de sabbato calumniantibus, Pater meus usque modo operatur, et ego operor. Ibi exarserunt, non quia patrem suum diceret Deum; sed quod ei aequalis vellet intelligi, dicendo, Pater meus usque modo operatur, et ego operor: consequens esse ostendens, ut quoniam Pater operatur, et Filius operetur; quia Pater sine Filio non operatur. Ibi enim et paulo post ait, jam illis ob hoc irascentibus, Quaecumque enim ille fecerit, haec et Filius similiter facit (Id. V).

15. Inde tandem descendit Joannes ad illos tres cum eodem Domino in terra gradientes, ut quinque millia hominum panibus quinque pascantur: ubi tamen solus commemorat quod cum vellent eum regem facere, solus fugit in montem. Qua in re nihil mihi aliud videtur animam rationalem commonere voluisse, nisi eo se nostrae menti rationique regnare, quo est in excelsis, nulla cum hominibus communione naturae, solus, quia unicus Patri: hoc autem mysterium deorsum repentes carnales homines fugit, quia 1225 valde sublime est; unde illos et ipse fugit in montem, qui regnum ejus terreno animo requirebant; unde et alibi dicit, Regnum meum non est de hoc mundo (Joan. XVIII, 36): neque etiam hoc nisi Joannes ipse commemorat, volatu quodammodo aethereo supereminens terris, et gaudens luce solis justitiae. Ab illo itidem monte post miraculum de quinque panibus factum, cum iisdem tribus paululum remoratus, donec mare transissent, quando ambulavit super aquas, continuo rursus se in verbum Domini attollit, quam magnum, quam prolixum, quam diu supernum et excelsum, ex occasione panis exortum, cum dixisset turbis, Amen, amen dico vobis, quaeritis me, non quia signa vidistis, sed quia edistis de panibus, et satiati estis: operamini non cibum qui perit, sed qui permanet in vitam aeternam: et inde jam talia diutissime atque excelsissime. Tunc ab ista verbi celsitudine ceciderunt, qui post eum deinceps non ambulaverunt; cui sane inhaeserunt, qui potuerunt intelligere, Spiritus est qui vivificat, caro autem nihil prodest (Id. VI): quia utique et per carnem spiritus prodest ; et solus spiritus prodest; caro autem sine spiritu nihil prodest.

16. Deinde suis fratribus, id est cognatis carnis suae, suggerentibus ut ascendat ad diem festum, quo possit innotescere multitudini; quanta altitudine respondit, Tempus meum nondum advenit; tempus autem vestrum semper est paratum. Non potest mundus odisse vos; me autem odit, quia ego testimonium perhibeo de illo, quia opera ejus mala sunt! Hoc est ergo, Tempus vestrum semper est paratum, quia vos diem istum concupiscitis, de quo propheta dicit, Ego autem non laboravi subsequens te, Domine: et diem hominis non concupivi; tu scis (Jerem. XVII, 16): hoc est volare ad lucem Verbi, et concupiscere illum diem quem videre concupivit Abraham, et vidit, et gavisus est (Joan. VIII, 56). Inde jam ad diem festum cum ascendisset in templum, quae illum Joannes locutum esse commemorat, quam mirabilia, quam divina, quam excelsa! quod ipsi venire non possent quo esset iturus; quod et ipsum nossent, et unde esset scirent; et esset verus qui eum miserit, quem illi nescirent: tanquam diceret, Et unde sim scitis, et unde sim nescitis. Quod quid aliud voluit intelligi, nisi secundum carnem notum se illis esse potuisse, et gentem, et patriam ; secundum divinitatem autem incognitum? Ibi etiam de dono Spiritus sancti locutus, ostendit quis esset, quando munus altissimum dare potuisset (Id. VII).

17. Rursus illuc de Oliveti monte regredientem, quae et quanta narrat locutum, post veniam illi adulterae datam, quae velut lapidanda oblata illi a tentatoribus fuerat; quando digito scribebat in terra, tanquam illos tales in terra scribendos significaret, non in coelo, ubi monuit discipulos se scriptos esse gauderent (Luc. X, 20); aut quod se humiliando, quod 1226 capitis inclinatione monstrabat, signa in terra faceret; aut quod jam tempus esset ut in terra quae fructum daret, non in lapide sterili, sicut antea, lex ejus conscriberetur! Ergo post haec lucem mundi se dixit, et qui eum sequeretur non ambulaturum in tenebris, sed habiturum lucem vitae. Dixit etiam se esse principium, quod et loqueretur eis. Quo nomine utique se distinxit ab illa luce quam fecit, tanquam lux per quam facta sunt omnia: ut illud quod se dixerat lucem mundi, non sic acciperetur quemadmodum discipulis ait, Vos estis lux mundi. Illi enim tanquam lucerna, quae non est ponenda sub modio, sed super candelabrum (Matth. V, 14, 15), sicut et de Joanne Baptista, Ille erat, inquit, lucerna ardens et lucens (Joan. V, 35): sed ipse sicut principium, de quo dictum est, Nos omnes de plenitudine ejus accepimus (Id. I, 16). Ibi dixit se Filium esse veritatem , quae nisi liberaverit, nemo erit liber (Id. VIII, 1-36).

18. Inde posteaquam illuminavit a nativitate caecum, ex ipsa occasione in prolixo ejus sermone demoratur Joannes, de ovibus, et pastore, et janua, et de potestate ponendi animam suam et iterum sumendi eam, in quo excellentissimam potestatem suae divinitatis ostendit. Inde cum Encaenia in Jerosolymis fierent, commemorat ei dixisse Judaeos: Quousque animam nostram tollis? si tu es Christus, dic nobis palam. Atque inde sumpta opportunitate sermonis, quae etiam sublimia dixerit, narrat. Ibi dixit, Ego et Pater unum sumus. Inde jam resuscitatum ab eo Lazarum praedicat, ubi dixit, Ego sum resurrectio et vita: qui credit in me, etiam si mortuus fuerit, vivet; et omnis qui vivit et credit in me, non morietur in aeternum. In quibus verbis quid nisi altitudinem divinitatis ejus agnoscimus, cujus in aeternum participatione vivemus? Inde iterum Joannes occurrit in Bethania Matthaeo et Marco (Matth. XXVI, 6-13, et Marc. XIV, 3-9), ubi factum est illud de unguento pretioso, quo pedes ejus a Maria caputque perfusum est (Joan. IX, 1-XII, 8): atque hinc deinceps usque ad passionem et resurrectionem Domini cum tribus Evangelistis Joannes graditur, sed in locis eisdem narratione versante.

19. Caeterum quod ad sermones Domini attinet, non cessat se attollere in ea quae ille ab hinc etiam sublimiter diuturneque locutus est. Nam et quando eum voluerunt videre Gentiles per Philippum et Andream, habuit excelsum sermonem, quem aliorum Evangelistarum nullus inseruit: ibi praeclara iterum de luce illuminante et lucis filios faciente commemorat (Id. XII, 20-50). Deinde in ipsa coena, de qua, Evangelistarum nullus tacuit, quam multa et quam excelsa verba ejus Joannes commemorat, quae alii tacuerunt! non solum de commendatione humilitatis, quando pedes discipulorum lavit; sed cum expressus per buccellam traditor ejus exiisset, remanentibus cum illo undecim, in sermone ipsius mirabiliter stupendo maximeque diuturno idem Joannes immoratus est, ubi dixit, Qui vidit me, vidit et Patrem: ubi multa 1227 locutus est de Spiritu sancto paracleto quem missurus eis erat; et de sua clarificatione quam habuit apud Patrem priusquam mundus esset; et quod unum nos faceret in se, sicut ipse et Pater unum sunt; non ut ipse et Pater et nos unum, sed nos unum sicut ipsi unum: multaque alia mireque sublimia, de quibus disserere sicut dignum est, etiamsi essemus idonei, in hoc tamen opere non id nos suscepisse quis non advertat (Joan. XIII-XVII)? quod alibi fortasse reddendum est, hic certe non est expetendum. Commendare quippe volumus amatoribus verbi Dei et studiosis sanctae veritatis, quamvis ejusdem Christi qui verus et verax est, annuntiator atque praedicator Joannes in Evangelio suo fuerit, cujus et caeteri tres qui scripserunt Evangelium, et caeteri Apostoli qui non quidem ipsam narrationem scribendam susceperunt, in ea tamen praedicatione sui officii munus impleverunt: longe tamen hunc in Christi altiora subvectum ab ipso initio libri sui, raro fuisse cum caeteris, id est, primo circa Jordanem propter testimonium Joannis Baptistae; inde trans mare Tiberiadis, quando turbas de quinque panibus pavit, et super aquas ambulavit; tertio in Bethania, ubi unguento pretioso fidelis feminae devotione perfusus est; donec inde illis occurreret ad passionis tempus, quod cum eis erat necessario narraturus: ubi tamen ipsam Dominicam coenam, de qua nullus eorum tacuit, multo opulentius tanquam de cellario Dominici pectoris, ubi discumbere solebat, exhibuit. Ipsum deinde Pilatum verbis altioribus percutit, dicens regnum suum non esse de hoc mundo, regemque se natum, et ad hoc venisse in hunc mundum, ut testimonium perhibeat veritati (Id. XVIII, 36 et 37). Mariam quoque post resurrectionem mystica altitudine vitans , Noli me, inquit, tangere: nondum enim ascendi ad Patrem (Id. XX, 17). Discipulis etiam insufflando dedit Spiritum sanctum (Ibid. 22), ne ipse Spiritus qui Trinitati consubstantialis et coaeternus est, tantummodo Patris esse, non etiam Filii Spiritus putaretur.

20. Postremo suas oves Petro se amanti, eumque amorem ter confitenti commendans, dicit eumdem Joannem sic se velle manere donec veniat (Id. XXI, 15 et 23): ubi etiam mihi videtur alto docuisse mysterio, istam ipsam Joannis evangelicam dispensationem, qua in lucem liquidissimam Verbi sublimiter fertur, ubi Trinitatis aequalitas et incommutabilitas videri potest, et qua maxime proprietate distet a caeteris homo cujus susceptione Verbum caro factum est, perspicue cerni cognoscique non posse, nisi cum ipse Dominus venerit: ideo sic manebit donec veniat; manebit autem nunc in fide credentium, tunc autem facie ad faciem contemplandum erit (I Cor. XIII, 12), cum apparuerit vita nostra, et nos cum ipso apparebimus in gloria (Coloss. III, 4). Quisquis autem arbitratur homini vitam istam mortalem adhuc agenti posse contingere, ut demoto atque discusso omni nubilo phantasiarum 1228 corporalium atque carnalium, serenissima incommutabilis veritatis luce potiatur, et mente penitus a consuetudine vitae hujus alienata illi constanter et indeclinabiliter haereat; nec quid quaerat, nec quis quaerat intelligit: credat ergo potius sublimi auctoritati minimeque fallaci, quamdiu sumus in corpore peregrinari nos a Domino, et ambulare per fidem, nondum per speciem (II Cor. V, 6, 7); ac sic perseveranter retinens atque custodiens fidem, spem et charitatem, intendat in speciem ex pignore quod accepimus sancti Spiritus, qui nos docebit omnem veritatem (Joan. XVI, 13), cum Deus qui suscitavit Jesum Christum a mortuis, vivificabit et mortalia corpora nostra per inhabitantem Spiritum ejus in nobis (Rom. VIII, 10, 11). Prius autem quam vivificetur hoc quod mortuum est propter peccatum, procul dubio corruptibile est, et aggravat animam (Sap. IX, 15); et si quando adjuta excedit hanc nebulam, qua tegitur omnis terra (Eccli. XXIV, 6), id est, hanc carnalem caliginem, qua tegitur omnis vita terrena, tanquam rapida coruscatione perstringitur, et in suam infirmitatem redit, vivente desiderio quo rursus erigatur, nec sufficiente munditia qua figatur. Et quanto quisque hoc magis potest, tanto major est: quanto autem minus, tanto minor. Si autem nihil adhuc tale mens hominis experta est, in qua tamen habitat Christus per fidem, instare debet minuendis finiendisque cupiditatibus hujus saeculi, moralis virtutis actione, tanquam in comitatu trium illorum Evangelistarum cum mediatore Christo ambulans: eumque qui Filius Dei semper est, propter nos filium hominis factum, ut sempiterna virtus ejus et divinitas nostrae infirmitati et mortalitati contemperata de nostro nobis in se atque ad se faceret viam, cum magnae spei laetitia fideliter teneat. Ne peccet, a rege Christo regatur; si forte peccaverit, ab eodem sacerdote Christo expietur: atque ita in actione bonae conversationis et vitae nutritus , pennis geminae dilectionis tanquam duabus alis validis evectus a terris, ab eodem ipso Christo Verbo illuminetur, Verbo quod in principio erat, et Verbum apud Deum erat, et Verbum Deus erat (Joan. I, 1); etsi per speculum et in aenigmate, longe tamen sublimius ab omni similitudine corporali. Quapropter, quamvis in illis tribus activae, in Joannis autem Evangelio dona contemplativae virtutis eluceant eis qui haec dignoscere sunt idonei; tamen et hoc Joannis, quoniam ex parte est, sic manebit donec veniat quod perfectum est (I Cor. XIII, 12, 9, 10). Et alii quidem datur per Spiritum sermo sapientiae, alii sermo scientiae secundum eumdem Spiritum (Id. XII, 8); alius diem Domino sapit (Rom. XIV, 6), alius de pectore Domini liquidius aliquid bibit, alius levatus usque ad tertium coelum, ineffabilia verba audit (II Cor. XII, 2-4): omnes tamen, quamdiu sunt in corpore, peregrinantur a Domino (Id. V, 6); et omnibus bonae spei fidelibus in libro vitae scriptis servatur quod dictum est, Et ego diligam eum, 1229 et ostendam meipsum illi (Joan. XIV, 21). Verumtamen in hac peregrinatione quantum in rei hujus intelligentia vel scientia quisque profecerit, tanto magis caveat diabolica vitia, superbiam et invidentiam. Meminerit hoc ipsum Evangelium Joannis quam multo amplius erigit ad contemplationem veritatis, tam multo 1230 amplius praecipere de dulcedine charitatis: et quia illud praeceptum verissimum ac saluberrimum est, Quanto magnus es, tanto humilia te in omnibus (Eccli. III, 20); qui evangelista Christum longe caeteris altius commendat, apud eum discipulis pedes lavat (Joan. XIII, 5).