1. As I am about to speak, beloved brethren, of patience, and to declare its advantages and benefits, from what point should I rather begin than this, that I see that even at this time, for your audience of me, patience is needful, as you cannot even discharge this duty of hearing and learning without patience? For wholesome discourse and reasoning are then effectually learnt, if what is said be patiently heard. Nor do I find, beloved brethren, among the rest of the ways of heavenly discipline wherein the path of our hope and faith is directed to the attainment of the divine rewards, anything of more advantage, either as more useful for life or more helpful to glory, than that we who are labouring in the precepts of the Lord with the obedience of fear and devotion, should especially, with our whole watchfulness, be careful of patience.2 [Hermas, vol. ii. 23, 49; also Tertullian, iii. 714, and elucidation, p. 717.]
I. DE patientia locuturus, fratres dilectissimi, et utilitates ejus et commoda praedicaturus, unde potius incipiam quam quod nunc quoque ad audientiam vestram patientiam video esse necessariam, ut nec hoc ipsum quod auditis et discitis, sine patientia facere possitis. Tunc enim demum sermo et ratio salutaris efficaciter discitur, si patienter quod dicitur audiatur. Nec invenio, fratres dilectissimi, inter caeteras coelestis disciplinae vias quibus ad consequenda 0622D divinitus praemia spei ac fidei nostrae secta dirigitur, 0623A quid magis sit vel utilius ad vitam vel majus ad gloriam, quam ut qui praeceptis dominicis obsequio timoris ac devotionis innitimur, patientiam maxime tota observatione tueamur .